رُوَيدَكِ يا سَحابَةُ لا تَجودي

رُوَيدَكِ يا سَحابَةُ لا تَجودي

عَلى السَبخاتِ مِن جَهلٍ هَمَيتِ

عَلى السَبخاتِ مِن جَهلٍ هَمَيتِ

Take your time, O cloud; do not lavish your rain

Slow down, O cloud, do not be so generous

on salt flats; you poured down out of ignorance.

Watering the deserts out of ignorance, you have erred

طَلَبتِ دِيانَةً بَينَ البَرايا

طَلَبتِ دِيانَةً بَينَ البَرايا

لَقَد أَشوَت سِهامُكَ إِذ رَمَيتِ

لَقَد أَشوَت سِهامُكَ إِذ رَمَيتِ

You sought piety among humankind;

Seeking religion in the wilderness

your arrows indeed missed the mark when you shot.

Indeed your arrows went astray when you shot them

تَزَيّوا بِالتَصَوّفِ عَن خِداعٍ

تَزَيّوا بِالتَصَوّفِ عَن خِداعٍ

فَهَل زُرتِ الرِجالَ أَو اِعتَمَيتِ

فَهَل زُرتِ الرِجالَ أَو اِعتَمَيتِ

They assumed the guise of Sufism out of deceit;

Disguised in Sufism, deceitfully

so did you visit the men, or choose them?

Did you visit men or are you blind?

وَقاموا في تَواجُدِهِم فَداروا

وَقاموا في تَواجُدِهِم فَداروا

كَأَنَّهُمُ ثِمالٌ مِن كُمَيتِ

كَأَنَّهُمُ ثِمالٌ مِن كُمَيتِ

And they rose in their feigned ecstasy, then whirled,

And they stood in their gatherings and circled around

as though they were drunk on dark-red wine.

As if they were idols from a shrine

وَما رَقَصوا حِذاراً مِن إِلهٍ

وَما رَقَصوا حِذاراً مِن إِلهٍ

وَلا يَبغونَ إِلّا ما حَمَيتِ

وَلا يَبغونَ إِلّا ما حَمَيتِ

And they did not dance out of fear of a god,

They did not dance in awe of a god

nor do they seek anything but what you have guarded.

But desire only what you have offered

وَجَدتُ الناسَ مَيتاً مِثلَ حَيٍّ

وَجَدتُ الناسَ مَيتاً مِثلَ حَيٍّ

بِحُسنِ الذِكرِ أَو حَيّاً كَمَيتِ

بِحُسنِ الذِكرِ أَو حَيّاً كَمَيتِ

I found among people a dead man like a living one,

I found people to be dead like the living

through good repute, or a living man like one dead.

In good remembrance, or alive like the dead