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

Because of its ignorance, my ill-commanding ego has paid no heed
To the warner of grey hair and approaching old age;

2 ▶︎

وَلاَ أَعَدَّتْ مِنَ الفِعْلِ الجَمِيلِ قِرِى
ضَيْفٍ أَلَمَّ بِرَأْسِي غَيْرَ مُحْتَشِمِ

Wa lā aʿaddat minal fiʿlil jamīli qirā
Ḍayfin alamma bi raʾsī ghayra muḥtashimi

Nor has it prepared good deeds in welcome
For an unannounced guest who has settled on my head.

3 ▶︎

لَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي مَا أُوَقِّرُهُ
كَتَمْتُ سِرًّا بَدَاليِ مَنْهُ بِالكَتَمِ

Law kuntu aʿlamu annī mā uwaqqiruhu
Katamtu sirran badālī minhu bil katami

Had I realised, I would not have honoured it;
I would have used [black] katam-dye to hide what it showed

4 ▶︎

مَنْ ليِ بِرَدِّ جِمَاحٍ مِنْ غِوَايَتِهَا
كَمَا يُرَدُّ جِمَاحُ الخَيْلِ بِاللُّجَمِ

Man lī biraddi jimāḥin min ghiwāyatihā
Kamā yuraddu jimāḥul khayli bil lujumi

Who will help me restrain my bolting ego from its wilfulness
As a rebellious horse may be restrained with reins?

5 ▶︎

فَلاَ تَرُمْ بِالمَعَاصِي كَسْرَ شَهْوَتِهَا
إِنَّ الطَّعَامَ يُقَوِّي شَهْوَةَ النَّهِمِ

Falā tarum bil maʿāṣī kasra shahwatihā
Innaṭ ṭaʿāma yuqawwī shahwatan nahimi

Do not try to thwart unlawful desires by satisfying them,
For food only increases a glutton’s desires.

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

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.

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

Divert its vain desires and beware of giving it power,
For vain desires pollute or destroy whatever they control.

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

Guard it as it grazes in the field of actions;
And should it find the grazing sweet, do not let it roam.

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

How often it has found delight in something fatal,
For [one] cannot tell that there is poison in the fat!

10 ▶︎

وَاخْشَ الدَّسَائِسَ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَمِنْ شَبَعٍ
فَرُبَّ مَخْمَصَةٍ شَرُّ مِنَ التُّخَمِ

Wakhshad dasāʾisa min jūʿin wa min shibaʿin
Farubba makhmaṣatin sharrun minat tukhami

Beware of the snares of hunger and of satiety,
being hungry at times can be worse than gorging oneself!

11 ▶︎

وَاسْتَفْرِغِ الدَّمْعَ مِنْ عَيْنٍ قَدِ امْتَلأَتْ
مِنَ المَحَارِمِ وَالْزَمْ حِمْيَةَ النَّدَمِ

Wastafrighid damʿa min ʿaynin qadimtalaʾat
Minal maḥārimi walzam ḥimyatan nadami

Empty out the tears from an eye that has filled itself up
with forbidden sights. Maintain a strict diet of remorse.

12 ▶︎

وَخَالِفِ النَّفْسَ وَالشَّيْطَانَ وَاعْصِهِمَا
وَإِنْ هُمَا مَحَضَاكَ النُّصْحَ فَاتَّهِمِ

Wa khālifin nafsa wash shayṭāna waʿṣihimā
Wa in humā maḥaḍākan nuṣḥa fat tahimi

Oppose the self and Satan and disobey them;
If they offer you advice, be suspicious of them.

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

Obey neither of them, whether they oppose or give judgment,
For you know the wiles of opponent and judge.

14 ▶︎

وَاسْتَغْفِرُ الله مِنْ قَوْلٍ بِلاَ عَمَلٍ
لَقَدْ نَسَبْتُ بِهِ نَسْلاً لِذِي عُقُمِ

AstaghfiruLlāha min qawlin bilā ʿamalin
Laqad nasbtu bihi naslan lidhī ʿuqumi

I seek Allah’s forgiveness for words bereft of deeds,
As by them I attributed progeny to a sterile man.

15 ▶︎

أَمَرْتُكَ الخَيْرَ لَكِنْ مَا ائْتَمَرْتُ بِهِ
وَمَا اسْتَقَمْتُ فَمَا قَوْليِ لَكَ اسْتَقِمِ

Amartukal khayra lākin māʾtamartu bihi
Wa māstaqamtu famā qawlī lakastaqimi

I enjoined goodness upon you while failing to heed the same.
I was not upright, so what use is my enjoining uprightness?

16 ▶︎

وَلاَ تَزَوَّدْتُ قَبْلَ المَوْتِ نَافِلَةً
وِلَمْ أُصَلِّ سِوَى فَرْضٍ وَلَمْ أَصُمِ

Wa lā tazawwadtu qablal mawti nāfīlatan
Wa lam uṣalli siwā farḍin wa lam aṣumi

I have not gathered provisions of voluntary prayers before death,
or prayed and fasted beyond what is obligatory.