1. لَيْسَ الغَريبُ غَريبَ الشَّامِ واليمنِ

    إِنَّ الغَريبَ غَريبُ اللَّحدِ والكَفَنِ

    The stranger is not the stranger in al-Sham and Yemen;

    indeed, the stranger is the stranger of the grave-niche and the shroud.

  2. إِنَّ الغَريِبَ لَهُ حَقٌّ لِغُرْبَتهِ

    على الْمُقيمينَ في الأَوطانِ والسَّكَنِ

    Indeed, the stranger has a claim because of his estrangement,

    upon those who dwell in homelands and homes.

  3. لا تَنْهَرَنَّ غَريباً حَالَ غُربتهِ

    الدَّهْرُ يَنْهَرَهُ بالذُّلِ و المِحَنِ

    Do not rebuke a stranger during his estrangement;

    time rebukes him with humiliation and ordeals.

  4. سَفْرِي بَعيدٌ وَزادي لَنْ يُبَلِّغَني

    وَقُوَتي ضَعُفَتْ والموتُ يَطلُبُني

    My journey is long, and my provisions will not see me through;

    my strength has weakened, and death seeks me.

  5. وَلي بَقايا ذُنوبٍ لَسْتُ أَعْلَمُها

    الله يَعْلَمُها في السِّرِ والعَلَنِ

    And I have sins remaining of which I am unaware;

    God knows them in secret and in the open.

  6. ما أَحْلَمَ اللهَ عَني حَيْثُ أَمْهَلَني

    وقَدْ تَمادَيْتُ في ذَنْبي ويَسْتُرُنِي

    How forbearing God is toward me, for He has given me respite,

    though I have persisted in my sin, and He conceals my faults.

  7. تَمُرُّ ساعاتُ أَيّامي بِلا نَدَمٍ

    ولا بُكاءٍ وَلاخَوْفٍ ولا حزَنِ

    The hours of my days pass without remorse,

    without weeping, without fear, and without sorrow.

  8. أَنَا الَّذِي أُغْلِقُ الأَبْوابَ مُجْتَهِداً

    عَلى المعاصِي وَعَيْنُ اللهِ تَنْظُرُني

    I am the one who shuts the doors, striving diligently

    at acts of disobedience, while God's eye watches me.

  9. يَا زَلَّةً كُتِبَتْ في غَفْلَةٍ ذَهَبَـتْ

    يا حَسْرَةً بَقِيَتْ في القَلبِ تُحْرِقُني

    Oh, a lapse recorded in a heedless moment now gone!

    Oh, a regret that remains in the heart, burning me!

  10. دَعْني أَنُوحُ عَلى نَفْسي وَأَنْدُبُها

    وَأَقْطَعُ الدَّهْرَ بِالتَّذْكِيرِ وَالحَزَنِ

    Let me lament my own soul and mourn it,

    and pass my time with reminders and sorrow.

  11. دَعْ عَنْكَ عَذْلِيَ يَا مَنْ كانَ يَعْذُلُني

    لَوْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ ما بِي كُنْتَ تَعْذِرُنِي

    Stop reproaching me, you who used to reproach me;

    if you knew what afflicts me, you would excuse me.

  12. دَعْنِي أَسُحُّ دُموعًا لا انْقِطاعَ لَها

    فَهَلْ عَسَى عَبْرَةٌ مِنْهَا تُخَلِّصُني

    Let me pour forth tears without cease;

    so might a tear among them deliver me?

  13. كَأَنَّنِي بَينَ جل الأَهلِ مُنطَرِحاً

    عَلى الفِراشِ وَأَيْديهِمْ تُقَلِّبُني

    It is as though I lie prostrate among most of my family,

    upon the bed, while their hands turn me over.

  14. وَ قَدْ تَجَمَّعَ حَوْلي مَنْ يَنوحُ و مَنْ

    يَبْكي عَلَيَّ و يَنْعاني و يَنْدُبُني

    And around me have gathered those who wail and those who

    weep for me, announce my death, and mourn me.

  15. وَ قَدْ أَتَوْا بِطَبيبٍ كَيْ يُعالِجَني

    وَلَمْ أَرَ الطِّبَّ هذا اليومَ يَنْفَعُني

    And they have brought a physician to treat me,

    but I have not seen medicine benefit me this day.

  16. واشَتد نَزْعِي وَصَار المَوتُ يَجْذِبُها

    مِن كُلِّ عِرْقٍ بِلا رِفقٍ ولا هَوَنِ

    My death-throes grew fierce, and death began pulling it out

    from every vein, without gentleness or ease.

  17. واستَخْرَجَ الرُّوحَ مِني في تَغَرْغُرِها

    وصارَ رِيقي مَريراً حِينَ غَرْغَرَني

    And it drew the soul from me amid its death-rattle,

    and my saliva grew bitter when it made my throat rattle.

  18. وَغَمَّضُوني وَراحَ الكُلُّ وانْصَرَفوا

    بَعْدَ الإِياسِ وَجَدُّوا في شِرَا الكَفَنِ

    They closed my eyes, and everyone went away and departed,

    after losing hope, and set earnestly about buying the shroud.

  19. وَقامَ مَنْ كانَ حِبُّ النّاسِ في عَجَلٍ

    نَحْوَ المُغَسِّلِ يَأْتيني يُغَسِّلُني

    And the one beloved by the people rose in haste,

    toward the washer, who would come to me and wash me.

  20. وَقالَ يا قَوْمِ نَبْغِي غاسِلاً حَذِقاً

    حُراً أَديبًا أَريباً عَارِفاً فَطِنِ

    And he said, 'O my people, we seek a skilled washer,

    free, well-mannered, discerning, knowledgeable, and perceptive.'

  21. فَجاءَني رَجُلٌ مِنْهُمْ فَجَرَّدَني

    مِنَ الثِّيابِ وَأَعْرَاني وأَفْرَدَني

    Then a man from among them came to me and stripped me

    of my clothes, left me naked, and left me alone.

  22. وَأَوْدَعوني عَلى الأَلْواحِ مُنْطَرِحاً

    وَصارَ فَوْقي خَرِيرُ الماءِ يُنْظِفُني

    They laid me prostrate upon the boards,

    and above me the water murmured, cleansing me.

  23. وَأَسْكَبَ الماءَ مِنْ فَوقي وَغَسَّلَني

    غُسْلاً ثَلاثاً وَنَادَى القَوْمَ بِالكَفَنِ

    He poured water over me and washed me,

    washing me three times, and called to the people for the shroud.

  24. وَأَلْبَسُوني ثِياباً لا كِمامَ لها

    وَصارَ زَادي حَنُوطِي حينَ حَنَّطَني

    They dressed me in garments with no sleeves,

    and my provisions became my funerary perfume when he perfumed me.

  25. وأَخْرَجوني مِنَ الدُّنيا فَوا أَسَفاً

    عَلى رَحِيلٍ بِلا زادٍ يُبَلِّغُني

    They took me out of this world—oh, my sorrow

    for a departure with no provisions to see me through!

  26. وَحَمَّلوني على الأْكتافِ أَربَعَةٌ

    مِنَ الرِّجالِ وَخَلْفِي مَنْ يُشَيِّعُني

    And they carried me upon their shoulders—four

    of the men—with my funeral escort behind me.

  27. وَقَدَّموني إِلى المحرابِ وانصَرَفوا

    خَلْفَ الإِمامِ فَصَلَّى ثُمَّ وَدَّعَني

    They brought me forward to the prayer niche, then withdrew

    behind the imam, who prayed and then bade me farewell.

  28. صَلَّوْا عَلَيَّ صَلاةً لا رُكوعَ لها

    ولا سُجودَ لَعَلَّ اللهَ يَرْحَمُني

    They offered a prayer over me with no bowing,

    nor prostration, that God might have mercy on me.

  29. وَأَنْزَلوني إلى قَبري على مَهَلٍ

    وَقَدَّمُوا واحِداً مِنهم يُلَحِّدُني

    They lowered me gently into my grave,

    and brought forward one of them to place me in the grave-niche.

  30. وَكَشَّفَ الثّوْبَ عَن وَجْهي لِيَنْظُرَني

    وَأَسْكب الدَّمْعَ مِنْ عَيْنيهِ أَغْرَقَني

    He drew back the cloth from my face to look at me,

    and poured tears from his eyes, drowning me.

  31. فَقامَ مُحتَرِماً بِالعَزْمِ مُشْتَمِلاً

    وَصَفَّفَ اللَّبْنَ مِنْ فَوْقِي وفارَقَني

    Then he rose respectfully, wrapped in resolve,

    and arranged the mud bricks above me and left me.

  32. وقَالَ هُلُّوا عليه التُّرْبَ واغْتَنِموا

    حُسْنَ الثَّوابِ مِنَ الرَّحمنِ ذِي المِنَنِ

    He said, 'Heap earth over him, and gain

    the fine reward of the All-Merciful, the giver of favors.'

  33. في ظُلْمَةِ القبرِ لا أُمٌّ هناك ولا

    أَبٌ شَفيقٌ ولا أَخٌ يُؤَنِّسُني

    In the darkness of the grave, there is no mother there, nor

    a tender father, nor a brother to comfort me.

  34. فَرِيدٌ وَحِيدُ القبرِ، يا أَسَفاً

    عَلى الفِراقِ بِلا عَمَلٍ يُزَوِّدُني

    Alone, solitary in the grave—oh, my sorrow

    at separation, with no deeds to provision me!

  35. وَهالَني صُورَةً في العينِ إِذْ نَظَرَتْ

    مِنْ هَوْلِ مَطْلَعِ ما قَدْ كان أَدهَشَني

    And a sight terrified me as my eye beheld it,

    so dreadful was the appearance of what had stunned me:

  36. مِنْ مُنكَرٍ ونكيرٍ ما أَقولُ لهم

    قَدْ هالَني أَمْرُهُمْ جِداً فَأَفْزَعَني

    Munkar and Nakir—what shall I say to them?

    Their affair greatly terrified me and filled me with dread.

  37. وَأَقْعَدوني وَجَدُّوا في سُؤالِهمُ

    مَالِي سِوَاكَ إِلهي مَنْ يُخَلِّصُنِي

    They sat me up and pressed on with their questioning;

    I have no one but You, my God, to deliver me.

  38. فَامْنُنْ عَلَيَّ بِعَفْوٍ مِنك يا أَمَلي

    فَإِنَّني مُوثَقٌ بِالذَّنْبِ مُرْتَهنِ

    So grant me pardon from You, O my hope,

    for I am fettered by sin, held in pledge.

  39. تَقاسمَ الأهْلُ مالي بعدما انْصَرَفُوا     

    وَصَارَ وِزْرِي عَلى ظَهْرِي فَأَثْقَلَني

    My family divided my wealth after they departed,

    and my burden of sin lay upon my back and weighed me down.

  40. واستَبْدَلَتْ زَوجَتي بَعْلاً لها بَدَلي

    وَحَكَّمَتْهُ على الأَمْوَالِ والسَّكَنِ

    My wife took another husband in my place,

    and gave him authority over the wealth and the home.

  41. وَصَيَّرَتْ وَلَدي عَبْداً لِيَخْدُمَه

    وَصَارَ مَالي لهم حلاً بِلا ثَمَنِ

    She made my child a slave to serve him,

    and my wealth became lawful for them, at no cost.

  42. فَلا تَغُرَّنَّكَ الدُّنْيا وَزِينَتُها

    وانْظُرْ إلى فِعْلِها بالأَهْلِ والوَطَنِ

    So do not let the world and its adornment deceive you,

    and look at what it does to family and homeland.

  43. وانْظُرْ إِلى مَنْ حَوَى الدُّنْيا بِأَجْمَعِها

    هَلْ رَاحَ مِنْها بِغَيْرِ الحَنْطِ والكَفَنِ

    And look at one who possessed the whole world:

    did he leave it with anything but funerary perfume and a shroud?

  44. خُذِ القَناعَةَ مِنْ دُنْيَاك وارْضَ بِها

    لَوْ لم يَكُنْ لَكَ إِلا رَاحَةُ البَدَنِ

    Take contentment from your world and be satisfied with it,

    even if you have nothing but rest for the body.

  45. يَا زَارِعَ الخَيْرِ تحصُدْ بَعْدَهُ ثَمَراً

    يَا زَارِعَ الشَّرِّ مَوْقُوفٌ عَلَى الوَهَنِ

    O sower of good, you will reap fruit afterward;

    O sower of evil, you are consigned to weakness.

  46. يا نَفْسُ كُفِّي عَنِ العِصْيانِ واكْتَسِبِي

    فِعْلاً جميلاً لَعَلَّ اللهَ يَرحَمُني

    O soul, cease your disobedience and acquire

    a beautiful deed, that God might have mercy on me.

  47. يَا نَفْسُ وَيْحَكِ تُوبي واعمَلِي حَسَناً

    عَسى تُجازَيْنَ بَعْدَ الموتِ بِالحَسَنِ

    O soul, alas for you! Repent and do good,

    that after death you may be rewarded with good.

  48. والحمدُ لله مُمسينَـا وَمُصْبِحِنَ

    مَا وَضَّأ البَرْقُ في شَّامٍ وفي يَمَنِ

    And praise be to God as we enter evening and morning,

    as long as lightning shines in al-Sham and in Yemen.

  49. ثمَّ الصلاةُ على الْمُختارِ سَيِّدِنا

    بِالخَيْرِ والعَفْوْ والإِحْســانِ وَالمِنَنِ

    Then blessings upon the Chosen One, our master,

    with goodness, pardon, beneficence, and favors.