1 ▶︎
فَإِنَّ أَمَّارَتيِ بِالسُّوءِ مَا اتَّعَظَتْ
مِنْ جَهْلِهَا بِنَذِيرِ الشَّيْبِ وَالهَرَمِ
Fa inna ammāratī bis sūʾi mat taʿaẓat
Min jahlihā bi nadhīrish shaybi wal harami
Sungguh, hawa nafsuku tak dapat mendengar nasihat
karena bodoh akan peringatan uban dan kerentaan.
Because of its ignorance, my ill-commanding ego has paid no heed
To the warner of grey hair and approaching old age;
My evil ego, in its stupidity, paid no heed
To all the warning of graying hair and seniority.
2 ▶︎
وَلاَ أَعَدَّتْ مِنَ الفِعْلِ الجَمِيلِ قِرَى
ضَيْفٍ أَلَمَّ بِرَأْسِي غَيْرَ مُحْتَشِمِ
Wa lā aʿaddat minal fiʿlil jamīli qirā
Ḍayfin alamma bi raʾsī ghayra muḥtashimi
Nafsuku tidak pula menyambut dengan jamuan amal baik
untuk para tamu (uban) yang singgah di kepalaku tanpa rasa malu.
Nor has it prepared good deeds in welcome
For an unannounced guest who has settled on my head.
And hasn't set out a spread of pleasing actions to host
A guest who showed at my head, bereft of timidity.
3 ▶︎
لَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي مَا أُوَقِّرُهُ
كَتَمْتُ سِرًّا بَدَاليِ مَنْهُ بِالكَتَمِ
Law kuntu aʿlamu annī mā uwaqqiruhu
Katamtu sirran badālī minhu bil katami
Andai tahu aku tak dapat memuliakannya,
niscaya kusembunyikan rahasia ketuaanku (uban) dengan semir.
Had I realised, I would not have honoured it;
I would have used [black] katam-dye to hide what it showed
And had I known that I'd fail to honor him, I'd have hid-
Den using hair colorant his first appearance to me.
4 ▶︎
مَنْ لِي بِرَدِّ جِمَاحٍ مِنْ غِوَايَتِهَا
كَمَا يُرَدُّ جِمَاحُ الخَيْلِ بِاللُّجَمِ
Man lī biraddi jimāḥin min ghiwāyatihā
Kamā yuraddu jimāḥul khayli bil lujumi
Siapakah yang dapat mengembalikan hawa nafsuku dari kesesatannya,
sebagaimana liarnya kuda dapat dikendalikan dengan tali kekang?
Who will help me restrain my bolting ego from its wilfulness
As a rebellious horse may be restrained with reins?
Who's there for me to control the fight of its wandering-
Just as a bit bridles horses in their obstinacy?
5 ▶︎
فَلاَ تَرُمْ بِالمَعَاصِي كَسْرَ شَهْوَتِهَا
إِنَّ الطَّعَامَ يُقَوِّي شَهْوَةَ النَّهِمِ
Falā tarum bil maʿāṣī kasra shahwatihā
Innaṭ ṭaʿāma yuqawwī shahwatan nahimi
Janganlah berangan-angan bisa menghentikan hawa nafsumu dengan melakukan kemaksiatan.
Sungguh, makanan dapat memperkuat nafsu pemakan yang rakus.
Do not try to thwart unlawful desires by satisfying them,
For food only increases a glutton’s desires.
So do not count on offenses to get rid of its lust;
Food only intensifies the craving of gluttony.
6 ▶︎
وَالنَّفْسُ كَالطِّفِلِ إِنْ تُهْمِلْهُ شَبَّ عَلَى
حُبِّ الرَّضَاعِ وَإِنْ تَفْطِمْهُ يَنْفَطِمِ
Wan nafsu kaṭṭifli in tuhmilhu shabba ʿalā
Ḥubbir raḍāʿi wa in tafṭimhu yanfaṭimi
Hawa nafsu laksana bayi. Jika dibiarkan, ia akan tetap menyusu sampai dewasa.
Namun bila engkau sapih, dia akan berhenti dari kebiasaan menyusu itu.
The ego is like a child: neglect it and it will grow up loving
To suckle; but if you wean it, it will be weaned.
The ego is like a baby: leave it and it grows up
In love with suckling; but wean it, and it's weaned finally.
7 ▶︎
فَاصْرِفْ هَوَاهَا وَحَاذِرْ أَنْ تُوَلِّيَهُ
إِنَّ الهَوَى مَا تَوَلَّى يُصْمِ أَوْ يَصِمِ
Faṣrif hawāhā wa ḥādhir an tuwalliyahu
Innal hawā mā tawallā yuṣmi aw yaṣimi
Maka palingkan keinginan nafsu. Waspadalah, jangan sampai dia menguasaimu.
Sungguh, apabila nafsu telah berkuasa, niscaya ia akan membinasakan atau minimal mencercamu.
Divert its vain desires and beware of giving it power,
For vain desires pollute or destroy whatever they control.
So fight its whim, and beware of giving power to it;
When whim's empowered, it kills or damages markedly.
8 ▶︎
وَرَاعِهَا وَهِيَ فِي الأَعْمَالِ سَائِمَةٌ
وَإِنْ هِيَ اسْتَحَلَّتِ المَرْعَى فَلاَ تُسِمِ
Wa rāʿihā wa hiya fīl aʿmāli sāʾimatun
Wa in hiyastaḥlatil marʿā falā tusimi
Gembalakan nafsumu dengan baik tatkala ia sedang sibuk mengerjakan kebaikan. Nafsu laksana gembalaan.
Jika ia telah merasa nyaman di tempat gembalaan, engkau tak akan dapat mengendalikannya.
Guard it as it grazes in the field of actions;
And should it find the grazing sweet, do not let it roam.
And shepherd it carefully as it is grazing in deeds;
And if the pasture you find it fancies, don't let it be.
9 ▶︎
كَمْ حَسَّنَتْ لَذَّةً لِلْمَرْءِ قَاتِلَةً
مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَدْرِ أَنَّ السُّمَّ فِي الدَّسَمِ
Kam ḥassanat ladhdhatan lil marʾi qātilatan
Min ḥaythu lam yadri annas summa fid dasami
Betapa sering hawa nafsu menggoda manusia dengan kenikmatan yang mematikan.
Tanpa disadar, ada racun tersembunyi di balik makanan yang lezat.
How often it has found delight in something fatal,
For [one] cannot tell that there is poison in the fat!
How many times it's convinced a man of killer delights-
While blind to the poison in the gravy so savory!
10 ▶︎
وَاخْشَ الدَّسَائِسَ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَمِنْ شَبَعٍ
فَرُبَّ مَخْمَصَةٍ شَرُّ مِنَ التُّخَمِ
Wakhshad dasāʾisa min jūʿin wa min shibaʿin
Farubba makhmaṣatin sharrun minat tukhami
Takutlah terhadap tipuan yang disembunyikan nafsu pada rasa lapar dan kenyang.
Terkadang, kelaparan lebih berbahaya daripada kekenyangan.
Beware of the snares of hunger and of satiety,
being hungry at times can be worse than gorging oneself!
Beware the ambush of being hungry and being full;
Starvation at times is even worse than satiety.
11 ▶︎
وَاسْتَفْرِغِ الدَّمْعَ مِنْ عَيْنٍ قَدِ امْتَلأَتْ
مِنَ المَحَارِمِ وَالْزَمْ حِمْيَةَ النَّدَمِ
Wastafrighid damʿa min ʿaynin qadimtalaʾat
Minal maḥārimi walzam ḥimyatan nadami
Tumpahkanlah air mata dari mata yang penuh dosa.
Senantiasalah dalam penyesalan akan maksiat yang telah kau perbuat.
Empty out the tears from an eye that has filled itself up
with forbidden sights. Maintain a strict diet of remorse.
And void of tears eyes that have been stuffed with forbidden things.
Keep in the shelter of pure repentance unceasingly.
12 ▶︎
وَخَالِفِ النَّفْسَ وَالشَّيْطَانَ وَاعْصِهِمَا
وَإِنْ هُمَا مَحَضَاكَ النُّصْحَ فَاتَّهِمِ
Wa khālifin nafsa wash shayṭāna waʿṣihimā
Wa in humā maḥaḍākan nuṣḥa fat tahimi
Lawan hawa nafsu dan setan. Durhakalah terhadap mereka.
Curigai bila keduanya terlihat tulus menasihatimu.
Oppose the self and Satan and disobey them;
If they offer you advice, be suspicious of them.
And contradict both the Self and Devil, and disobey!
And if they give true advice to you, still look skeptically.
13 ▶︎
وَلاَ تُطِعْ مِنْهُمَا خَصْمًا وَلاَ حَكَمًا
فَأَنْتَ تَعْرِفُ كَيْدَ الخَصْمِ وَالحَكَمِ
Wa lā tuṭiʿ minhumā khaṣman walā ḥakaman
Fa anta taʿrifu kaydal khaṣmi wal ḥakami
Janganlah engkau turuti nafsu dan setan, baik sebagai musuh maupun sebagai hakim.
Sungguh, engkau telah mengetahui bagaimana tipu daya seorang musuh dan seorang hakim.
Obey neither of them, whether they oppose or give judgment,
For you know the wiles of opponent and judge.
And do not settle with either as your lawyer or foe;
You're well aware of a lawyer's and a foe's treachery.
14 ▶︎
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ مِنْ قَوْلٍ بِلاَ عَمَلٍ
لَقَدْ نَسَبْتُ بِهِ نَسْلاً لِذِي عُقُمِ
AstaghfiruLlāha min qawlin bilā ʿamalin
Laqad nasbtu bihi naslan lidhī ʿuqumi
Aku memohon ampunan Allah dari ucapan yang tidak kuamalkan.
Sungguh, aku telah menyematkan keturunan kepada orang yang mandul.
I seek Allah’s forgiveness for words bereft of deeds,
As by them I attributed progeny to a sterile man.
I ask for pardon from God for empty word with no deed;
I have ascribed by it to a sterile man progeny.
15 ▶︎
أَمَرْتُكَ الخَيْرَ لَكِنْ مَا ائْتَمَرْتُ بِهِ
وَمَا اسْتَقَمْتُ فَمَا قَوْليِ لَكَ اسْتَقِمِ
Amartukal khayra lākin māʾtamartu bihi
Wa māstaqamtu famā qawlī lakastaqimi
Engkau kuperintah lakukan amal kebajikan, namun diriku sendiri tak mengerjakannya.
Apa gunanya perintahku jika aku tak menjalankan?
I enjoined goodness upon you while failing to heed the same.
I was not upright, so what use is my enjoining uprightness?
I've ordered you to do good, but have ignored it, myself;
I'm not upstanding, so who am I to tell you to be?
16 ▶︎
وَلاَ تَزَوَّدْتُ قَبْلَ المَوْتِ نَافِلَةً
وَلَمْ أُصَلِّ سِوَى فَرْضٍ وَلَمْ أَصُمِ
Wa lā tazawwadtu qablal mawti nāfīlatan
Wa lam uṣalli siwā farḍin wa lam aṣumi
Dan aku tidak mempersiapkan tambahan bekal amal sunnah sebelum ajal menjemput.
Tidak pula aku shalat dan puasa, melainkan hanya ibadah wajib saja.
I have not gathered provisions of voluntary prayers before death,
or prayed and fasted beyond what is obligatory.
I haven't packed extra deeds in preparation for death;
I haven't prayed, haven't fasted, but the compulsory.