1. كلّما أجلبَ بالصمتِ الهَزِيعْ

    جاءَني الشوقُ بما لا أستطيعْ

    Whenever a watch of night clamored with silence,

    Longing came to me with what I could not bear.

  2. سائقَ الأظعانِ والريحُ شجىً

    والمدى نايٌ لهُ لحنٌ مُرِيْعْ

    O driver of the camel litters, while the wind is sorrow,

    And the expanse is a reed flute with a terrifying melody,

  3. فوقَ هذي العيسِ طَرْفٌ ناعِسٌ

    وأسيلٌ ناعمٌٌ حاكَىْ الربيعْ

    Upon these pale camels is a drowsy eye,

    And a soft, smooth cheek that mirrored spring,

  4. وحبيبٌ ضامِرُ الغُصنِ إذا

    مالَ ضِحْكاً قلتَ سبحانَ البديعْ

    And a beloved, slender as a bough: when

    He swayed with laughter, you said, ‘Glory to the Originator!’

  5. لا تخلفني وحيداً بعدَهُمْ

    خُذْ فؤاديْ كُلُّ نبْضاتيْ شفيعْ

    Do not leave me alone once they are gone.

    Take my heart; every beat of mine is an intercessor.

  6. إيهِ ما للقلبِ في ْ تِيْهِ الهوى

    كلما ناداهُ داعٍ لا يطيعْ

    Ah, what ails the heart in passion’s wilderness?

    Whenever a caller summons it, it does not obey.

  7. أوشكَ العمرُ به ما قد قضى

    قومُ موسى حينما تاه الجميعْ

    Life with it has almost reached the span

    Moses’ people spent when they all wandered.

  8. يا خَفِيَّ اللُّطْفِ أدركْ غُربتيْ

    أوشكّتْ نفسيَ من نفسيْ تضيعْ

    O You whose kindness is hidden, come to my aid in my estrangement.

    My soul is nearly lost through my own self.

  9. وخطايايَ ارتماءٌ مُخْبِـتٌ

    في مصلى الروحِ تشدو “يا سميعْ”

    And my sins are a humble casting of myself down

    In the soul’s place of prayer, singing, ‘O All-Hearing!’

  10. إن تُعامِلْنا بعَدْلٍ مُنْصِفاً

    لَهَوى قبلَ المسيئينَ المُطيعْ

    If You deal with us justly and fairly,

    The obedient one would fall before the wrongdoers.

  11. فأَعِذْ قلبيَ إنّيْ قاربٌ

    ثَقَبَ الأمنَ بهِ  سوءُ الصنيْعْ

    So grant my heart refuge; indeed, I am a boat

    Whose safety has been punctured by wrongdoing.

  12. مُمْطِرٌ بُعْدي وإثْميْ قارسٌ

    والهوى ذئبٌ وأحلامي قطيعْ

    My remoteness is rain-laden, and my sin is bitterly cold;

    And desire is a wolf, and my dreams a flock.

  13. فاملأنْ بالحبِّ قلباً تائهاً

    لم يزلْ بالوهمِ يَسقيْ كلَّ رِيْعْ

    So fill with love a wandering heart

    That still waters every hill with illusion.

  14. مُطْرِقٌ في هَيْبةِ المُلْكِ وفي

    عينِهِ إشفاقةُ العبدِ الوضيع

    Head bowed in awe of sovereignty, and in

    Its eye lies the lowly servant’s apprehension.

  15. ذائبٌ يأملُ ألا يلتقي

    أنبياءَ اللهِ  بالذنب الشنيعْ

    Melting away, it hopes not to meet

    God’s prophets while bearing heinous sin.

  16. زكّهِ واغرِسْ بجنبيهِ رضىً

    كالرضى الساكنِ في رمْلِ البقيعْ

    Purify it, and plant contentment at its sides,

    Like the contentment dwelling in the sand of al-Baqi.

  17. كُنْ لهٌ مِنْهُ وصِلْهُ واحْمِهِ

    فهو في قبضةِ دنياهُ الصريعْ

    Be for it against itself; draw it close and protect it.

    For it lies fallen in the grip of its world.

  18. خُذْهُ من شأنَ بِهِ اليأسُ طفى

    فوقَ كَتْفيهِ إلى شأنٍ رفيعْ

    Take it from a state where despair has floated up

    Above its shoulders, to an exalted state.

  19. إنْ يكُنْ طِينُ الخطايا لمّهُ

    وسقاهُ الحزنُ كأساً من ضَرِيع

    If the clay of sins has gathered it in,

    And sorrow has made it drink a cup of bitter thorn,

  20. روحُهُ قِنديلُ نورٍ لو سَرى

    بضياها الليلُ ليلاً لن يَضيعْ

    Its soul is a lantern of light; were it to journey—

    The night—by its radiance, at night, it would not lose its way.