دُنيايَ فيكَ هَوى نَفسي وَمهلِكُها

دُنيايَ فيكَ هَوى نَفسي وَمهلِكُها

وَالماءُ يودي بِنَفسِ الوارِدِ الصادي

وَالماءُ يودي بِنَفسِ الوارِدِ الصادي

My world, in you lie my soul's desire and its undoing.

My world, in you lies the passion of my soul and its demise

And water takes the life of the thirsty one who comes to it.

And water leads to the death of the intent drinker

وَما قَصَدتُكِ مُختاراً فَتَعذُلَني

وَما قَصَدتُكِ مُختاراً فَتَعذُلَني

فيكِ العَواذِلُ إِن حاوَلتِ إِقصادي

فيكِ العَواذِلُ إِن حاوَلتِ إِقصادي

Nor did I seek you by choice, that I should be reproached

I did not choose you, so do not blame me

On your account by reproachers, if you tried to kill me outright.

In you are temptations, if I try to avoid them

وَالمَرءُ يَطلُبُ أَمراً ما يُبَيِّنُهُ

وَالمَرءُ يَطلُبُ أَمراً ما يُبَيِّنُهُ

كَالحَرفِ يُلفَظُ بَينَ الزاي وَالصادِ

كَالحَرفِ يُلفَظُ بَينَ الزاي وَالصادِ

And man seeks something he does not make clear,

A man seeks something unclear

Like a letter pronounced between zāy and ṣād.

Like a letter uttered between a 'z' and an 's'

مَوتانِ هَذا بِوَرسٍ عُلَّ مَيِّتُهُ

مَوتانِ هَذا بِوَرسٍ عُلَّ مَيِّتُهُ

وَآخَرَ زادَ عَن وَرسٍ بِفِرصادِ

وَآخَرَ زادَ عَن وَرسٍ بِفِرصادِ

Two deaths: this one's corpse was steeped in yellow wars dye,

One death is from a firm rope which killed its dead

And the other went beyond wars with mulberry red.

Another exceeded a rope’s allotted time through destiny’s deception