وَوَعَظْتَ فَقَسَوْتُ،

wa-wa‘aẓta fa-qasawtu,

and You admonished, yet I hardened (my heart),

وَأَبْلَيْتَ الْجَمِيلَ فَعَصَيْتُ،

wa-ablayta l-jamīl fa-‘aṣaytu,

and You showed beautiful favour, yet I disobeyed,

ثُمَّ عَرَفْتُ مَا أَصْدَرْتَ؟

thumma ‘araftu mā aṣdart?

Then I knew what You had issued (the warning)?

إذْ عَرَّفْتَنِيهِ فَاسْتَغْفَرْتُ، فَأَقَلْتَ فَعُدتُ،

idh ‘arraftanīhi fa-staghfartu, fa-aqalta fa-‘udtu,

When You made me know it, I sought forgiveness, and You overlooked (my fault), yet I returned (to sin),

فَسَتَرْتَ فَلَكَ إلهِي الْحَمْدُ.

fa-satarta fa-lak ilāhī l-ḥamd.

and You concealed (my fault), so for You, my God, is the praise.

تَقَحَّمْتُ أَوْدِيَةَ الْهَلاَكِ،

taqahḥamtu awdiyata l-halāk,

I plunged into the valleys of perdition,

وَحَلَلْتُ شِعَابَ تَلَف تَعَرَّضْتُ فِيهَا لِسَطَوَاتِكَ،

wa-ḥalaltu shi‘āba talaf ta‘arraḍtu fīhā li-saṭawātik,

and I settled in the passes of ruin, where I exposed myself to Your assaults,

وَبِحُلُولِهَا عُقُوبَاتِكَ،

wa-bi-ḥulūlihā ‘uqūbātik,

and to the descent of Your punishments by settling in them,

وَوَسِيلَتِي إلَيْكَ التَّوْحِيدُ،

wa-wasīlatī ilayk at-tawḥīd,

And my means (of approach) to You is Monotheism (at-tawḥīd),

وَذَرِيْعَتِي أَنِّي لَمْ أُشْرِكْ بِكَ شَيْئاً،

wa-dharī‘atī annī lam ushrik bik shay’ā,

and my plea is that I did not associate anything with You,

وَلَمْ أَتَّخِذْ مَعَكَ إلهاً،

wa-lam attakhidh ma‘ak ilhā,

and I did not take any god alongside You,

وَقَدْ فَرَرْتُ إلَيْكَ بِنَفْسِي،

wa-qad farartu ilayk bi-nafsī,

and I have fled to You with myself,

وَإلَيْكَ مَفَرُّ الْمُسِيءِ،

wa-ilayk mafarrul-musī’,

and to You is the escape of the one who does wrong,

وَمَفْزَعُ الْمُضَيِّعِ لِحَظِّ نَفْسِهِ، الْمُلْتَجِئِ.

wa-mafza‘u l-muḍayyi‘ li-ḥaẓẓi nafsih, al-multaji’.

and the refuge of the one who wasted his own portion, the refugee.

فَكَمْ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ انْتَضَى عَلَيَّ سَيْفَ عَدَاوَتِهِ،

fa-kam min ‘aduwwin antaḍā ‘alayya sayfa ‘adāwatih,

So how many an enemy has unsheathed his sword of enmity against me,

وَشَحَذَ لِيْ ظُبَةَ مُدْيَتِهِ،

wa-shaḥadha lī ẓubata mudiyatih,

and sharpened the blade of his knife for me,

وَأَرْهَفَ لِي شَبَا حَدِّهِ،

wa-arhafa lī shabā ḥaddih,

and made keen the sharpness of its edge for me,

وَدَافَ لِيْ قَوَاتِلَ سُمُومِهِ،

wa-dāfa lī qawātila sumūmih,

and mixed the deadly poisons of his venom for me,

وَسَدَّدَ نَحْوِي صَوَائِبَ سِهَامِهِ،

wa-saddada naḥwī ṣawā’iba sihāmih,

and aimed the accurate shots of his arrows at me,

وَلَمْ تَنَمْ عَنِّْي عَيْنُ حِرَاسَتِهِ،

wa-lam tanam ‘annī ‘aynu ḥirāsatih,

and the eye of his guard did not sleep concerning me,

وَأَضْمَرَ أَنْ يَسُومَنِي الْمَكْرُوهَ وَيُجَرِّ عَنِّي زُعَافَ مَرَارَتِهِ،

wa-aḍmara an yasūmanī l-makrūh wa-yujarri ‘annī zu‘āfa marāratih,

and he intended to impose evil upon me and to make me swallow the deadly bitterness of his venom –

فَنَظَرْتَ يا إلهِيْ إلَى ضَعْفِي عَنِ احْتِمَـالِ الْفَـوَادِحِ،

fa-naẓarta yā ilāhī ilā ḍa‘fī ‘ani ḥtimāli l-fawādiḥ,

Then You looked, O my God, at my weakness in bearing the calamities,

وَعَجْزِي عَنِ الانْتِصَارِ مِمَّنْ قَصَدَنِيْ بِمُحَارَبَتِهِ،

wa-‘ajzī ‘ani l-intiṣāri mimman qaṣadanī bi-muḥārabaith,

and my incapacity to defend myself against the one who intended to make war on me,

وَوَحْدَتِي فِي كَثِيرِ عَدَدِ مَنْ نَاوَانِيْ

wa-waḥdatī fī kathīri ‘adadi man nāwānī

and my solitude amid the large number of those who showed me hostility

وَأَرْصَدَ لِيْ بِالْبَلاءِ فِيمَا لَمْ أُعْمِلْ فِيهِ فِكْرِي،

wa-arṣada lī bi-l-balā’ fīmā lam u‘mil fīhi fikrī,

and lay in wait for me with tribulation in a matter in which I did not employ my thought—

فَابْتَدَأْتَنِي بِنَصْرِكَ،

fa-btada’tanī bi-naṣrik,

So You began by granting me Your help,

وَشَدَدْتَ أَزْرِي بِقُوَّتِكَ،

wa-shadadta azrī bi-quwwatik,

and You strengthened my back with Your power,

ثُمَّ فَلَلْتَ لِيَ حَدَّهُ،

thumma falalta liya ḥaddah,

Then You blunted his edge for me,

وَصَيَّرْتَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ جَمْع عَدِيْد وَحْدَهُ،

wa-ṣayartahū min ba‘di jam‘in ‘adīd waḥdah,

and You made him, after a large gathering, stand alone,

وَأَعْلَيْتَ كَعْبِي عَلَيْهِ،

wa-a‘layta ka‘bī ‘alayh,

and You raised my heel above him (gave me victory over him),

وَجَعَلْتَ مَا سَدَّدَهُ مَرْدُوداً عَلَيْهِ،

wa-ja‘alta mā saddadahū mardūdan ‘alayh,

and You made what he aimed return upon him,

فَرَدَدْتَهُ لَمْ يَشْفِ غَيْظَهُ،

fa-radadtahū lam yashfi ghayẓah,

So You drove him back without his having satisfied his rage,

وَلَمْ يَسْكُنْ غَلِيلُهُ،

wa-lam yaskun ghalīluh,

and without his heat of thirst being quenched,

قَدْ عَضَّ عَلَى شَوَاهُ،

qad ‘aḍḍa ‘alā shawāh,

he bit his lips,

وَأَدْبَرَ مُوَلِّياً قَدْ أَخْلَفَتَ سَرَاياهُ.

wa-adbara muwalliyan qad akhlafat sarāyāh.

and he turned away in retreat, his expeditions having failed.

وَكَمْ مِنْ باغ بَغانِيْ بِمَكَائِدِهِ،

wa-kam min bāghin baghānī bi-makā’idih,

And how many an oppressor sought to oppress me with his plots,

وَنَصَبَ لِيْ شَرَكَ مَصَائِدِهِ،

wa-naṣaba lī sharaka maṣā’idih,

and set up the net of his traps for me,

وَوَكَّلَ بِيْ تَفَقُّدَ رِعَايَتِهِ،

wa-wakkala bī tafaqquda ri‘āyatih,

and assigned to me the checking of his vigilance,

وَأَظْبَأَ إلَيَّ إظْبَآءَ السَّبُعِ لِطَرِيْدَتِهِ،

wa-aẓba’a ilayya iẓbā’a s-sab‘i li-ṭarīdtih,

and lay in wait for me like a wild beast for its quarry,

انْتِظَاراً لانْتِهَازِ الْفُرْصَةِ لِفَرِيسَتِهِ،

intiẓāran li-ntihāzi l-furṣati li-farīsatih,

waiting to seize the opportunity for his prey,

وَهُوَ يُظْهِرُ لِيْ بَشَاشَةَ المَلَقِ،

wa-huwa yuẓhiru lī bashāshata l-malaq,

while he displayed to me the cheerfulness of flattery,

وَيَنْظُـرُنِي عَلَى شِدَّةِ الْحَنَقِ،

wa-yanẓurunī ‘alā shiddati l-ḥanaq,

and looked at me with intense wrath—

فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتَ يَا إلهِي تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ دَغَلْ سَرِيرَتِهِ،

fa-lammā ra’ayta yā ilāhī tabārakta wa-ta‘ālayta daghala sarīratih,

So when You saw, O my God—blessed and exalted be You—the corruption of his inner being,

وَقُبْحَ مَا انْطَوى عَلَيْهِ، أَرْكَسْتَهُ لاُِمِّ رَأْسِهِ فِي زُبْيَتِهِ،

wa-qubḥa mā nṭawā ‘alayh, arkastahū li-umm rā’sihī fī zubyatih,

and the foulness of what he concealed, You made him fall headlong into his own pit,

وَرَدَدْتَهُ فِي مَهْوى حُفْرَتِهِ،

wa-radadtahū fī mahwā ḥufratih,

and You turned him back into the downfall of his own hole,

فَانْقَمَعَ بَعْدَ اسْتِطَالَتِهِ ذَلِيلاً فِي رِبَقِ حِبالتِهِ

fa-nqama‘a ba‘da stiṭālatihī dhalīlan fī ribaq ḥibālatih

So he was humbled after his aggression, disgraced in the snares of his own trap

الَّتِي كَانَ يُقَدِّرُ أَنْ يَرَانِي فِيهَا،

allatī kāna yuqaddir an yarānī fīhā,

in which he intended to see me,

وَقَدْ كَادَ أَنْ يَحُلَّ بِيْ لَوْلاَ رَحْمَتُكَ مَا حَلَّ بِسَاحَتِهِ.

wa-qad kāda an yaḥulla bī lawlā raḥmatuka mā ḥalla bi-sāḥatih.

and what befell his courtyard had nearly fallen upon me, were it not for Your mercy.

وَكَمْ مِنْ حَاسِد قَدْ شَرِقَ بِي بِغُصَّتِهِ،

wa-kam min ḥāsidin qad shariqa bī bi-ghuṣṣatih,

And how many an envier (ḥāsid) has choked on account of me with his grief,

وَشَجِيَ مِنِّي بِغَيْظِهِ، وَسَلَقَنِي بِحَدِّ لِسَانِهِ،

wa-shajī minnī bi-ghayẓih, wa-salaqanī bi-ḥaddi lisānih,

and suffered on my account with his rage, and stung me with the sharpness of his tongue,

وَوَحَرَنِي بِقَرْفِ عُيُوبِهِ،

wa-waḥaranī bi-qarf ‘uyūbih,

and vexed me by slandering my faults,

وَجَعَلَ عِرْضِيْ غَرَضاً لِمَرَامِيهِ،

wa-ja‘ala ‘irḍī gharaḍan li-marāmīh,

and made my honour a target for his aims,

وَقَلَّدَنِي خِلاَلاً لَمْ تَزَلْ فِيهِ،

wa-qalladanī khilālan lam tazal fīh,

and accused me of qualities that were never absent from him,

وَوَحَرنِي بِكَيْدِهِ، وَقَصَدَنِي بِمَكِيدَتِهِ،

wa-waḥaranī bi-kaydih, wa-qaṣadanī bi-makīdatih,

and vexed me with his guile, and intended me with his plot—

فَنَادَيْتُكَ يَا إلهِي مُسْتَغِيْثاً بِكَ،

fa-nādaytuka yā ilāhī mustaghīthan bik,

So I called upon You, O my God, seeking help in You,

وَاثِقاً بِسُرْعَةِ إجَابَتِكَ،

wāthiqan bi-sur‘ati ijābatik,

confident in the swiftness of Your response,

عَالِماً أَنَّهُ لاَ يُضْطَهَدُ مَنْ آوى إلَى ظِلِّ كَنَفِكَ،

‘āliman annahū lā yuḍṭahadu man āwā ilā ẓilli kanafika,

knowing that no one who takes shelter under the shadow of Your protection will be wronged,

وَلاَ يَفْزَعُ مَنْ لَجَأَ إلَى مَعْقِل انْتِصَارِكَ،

wa-lā yafza‘u man laja’a ilā ma‘qil intiṣārik,

and no one who seeks refuge in the stronghold of Your help will be terrified—

فَحَصَّنْتَنِي مِنْ بَأْسِهِ بِقُدْرَتِكَ.

fa-ḥaṣṣantanī min ba’sihī bi-qudratik.

So You fortified me against his malice with Your power.

وَكَمْ مِنْ سَحَائِبِ مَكْرُوه جَلَّيْتَهَا عَنِّي،

wa-kam min saḥā’ibi makrūhin jallaytahā ‘annī,

And how many clouds of detestable things You cleared away from me,

وَسَحَائِبِ نِعَم أَمْطَرْتَهَا عَلَيَّ،

wa-saḥā’ibi ni‘amin amṭartahā ‘alayy,

and clouds of blessings You showered upon me,

وَجَدَاوِلِ رَحْمَة نَشَرْتَهَا،

wa-jadāwili raḥmatin nashartahā,

and streams of mercy You spread,

وَعَافِيَة أَلْبَسْتَهَا، وَأَعْيُنِ أَحدَاث طَمَسْتَهَا،

wa-‘āfiyatin albasthā, wa-a‘yuni aḥdāthin ṭamastahā,

and well-being You clothed me in, and eyes of calamities You blinded,

وَغَواشي كُرُبَات كَشَفْتَهَا،

wa-ghawāshī kurubātin kashaftahā,

and overpowering distresses You removed,

وَكَمْ مِنْ ظَنٍّ حَسَن حَقَّقْتَ، وَعَدَم جَبَرْتَ،

wa-kam min ẓannin ḥasanin ḥaqqaqt, wa-‘adamin jabart,

And how many a good expectation You fulfilled, and a lack You remedied,

وَصَرْعَة أَنْعَشْتَ وَمَسْكَنَة، حَوَّلْتَ،

wa-ṣar‘atin an‘ashta wa-maskanatin ḥawwalt,

and a fall You revived, and wretchedness You transformed—

كُلُّ ذَلِكَ إنْعَامَاً وَتَطَوُّلاً مِنْكَ،

kullu dhālik in‘āman wa-taṭawwulan mink,

All of that being favour and bestowal from You,

وَفِي جَمِيعِهِ انْهِمَاكاً مِنِّي عَلَى مَعَاصِيْكَ،

wa-fī jamī‘ihī inhimākan minnī ‘alā ma‘āṣīk,

while in all of it, I was absorbed in Your acts of disobedience,

لَمْ تَمْنَعْكَ إساءَتِي عَنْ إتْمَامِ إحْسَانِكَ،

lam tamna‘k isā’atī ‘an itmāmi iḥsānik,

My wrongdoing did not prevent You from completing Your benevolence,

وَلاَ حَجَرَنِي ذالِكَ عَنِ ارْتِكَابِ مَسَاخِطِكَ،

wa-lā ḥajaranī dhālik ‘ani rtikābi masākhiṭik,

and that did not restrain me from committing Your displeasing acts,

لاَ تُسْأَلُ عَمَّا تَفْعَلُ، وَلَقَدْ سُئِلْتَ فَأَعْطَيْتَ،

lā tus’alu ‘ammā taf‘al, wa-laqad su’ilta fa-a‘ṭayt,

You are not questioned about what You do, and You were asked, and You gave,

وَلَمْ تُسْأَلْ فابْتَدَأْتَ، وَاسْتُمِيحَ فَضْلُكَ فَمَا أَكْدَيْتَ،

wa-lam tus’al fa-btada’t, wa-stumīḥa faḍluk fa-mā akdayt,

and You were not asked, and You initiated, and Your favour was sought, and You did not fail—

أَبَيْتَ يَا مَوْلاَيَ إلاَّ إحْسَانَـاً

abayta yā mawlāya illā iḥsānā

You refused, O my Master, except to show benevolence,

وَامْتِنَاناً وَتَطوُّلاً وَإنْعَامـاً ،

wa-mtinānan wa-taṭawwulan wa-in‘āmā,

and bestowal of grace, and granting of favour, and blessing,

وَأَبَيْتُ إلاَّ تَقَحُّماً لِحُرُماتِكَ،

wa-abaytu illā taqaḥḥuman li-ḥurumātik,

and I refused except to plunge into violation of Your sanctities,

وَتَعَدِّياً لِحُدُودِكَ، وَغَفْلَةً عَنْ وَعِيدِكَ.

wa-ta‘addiyan li-ḥudūdik, wa-ghaflatan ‘an wa‘īdik.

and transgression of Your bounds, and heedlessness of Your threat.

فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ إلهِي مِنْ مُقْتَدِر لاَ يُغْلَبُ،

fa-laka l-ḥamdu ilāhī min muqtadirin lā yughlab,

So for You is the praise, O my God, as the One who is Powerful, Who is not overcome,

وَذِي أَناة لاَ تَعْجَلُ.

wa-dhī anātin lā ta‘jal.

and the One Possessing Deliberation, Who does not hasten.

هَذَا مَقَامُ مَنِ اعْتَرَفَ بِسبوغِ النِّعَمِ،

hādhā maqāmu mani ‘tarafa bi-subūgh i-n-ni‘am,

This is the station of one who acknowledged the fullness of blessings,

وَقَابَلَهَا بِالتَّقْصِيرِ، وَشَهِدَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ بِالتَّضْيِيْعِ.

wa-qābalahā bi-t-taqṣīr, wa-shahida ‘alā nafsihī bi-t-taḍyī‘.

and met them with deficiency, and bore witness against himself of wasting (them).

أللَّهُمَّ فَإنِّي أَتَقَرَّبُ إلَيْكَ بِالْمُحَمَّدِيَّةِ الرَّفِيعَةِ،

allāhumm fa-innī ataqarrabu ilayk bi-l-muḥammadiyyati r-rafī‘ah,

O God, truly I draw near to You by the lofty Muḥammadiyyah (the path/status of Muḥammad),

وَالْعَلَوِيَّةِ الْبَيْضَآءِ، وَأَتَـوَجَّهُ إلَيْكَ بِهِمَا،

wa-l-‘alawiyyati l-bayḍā’, wa-atawajjahu ilayk bihimā,

and the radiant ‘Alawiyyah (the path/status of ‘Alī), and I turn to You through them both,

تُعِيذَنِيْ مِنْ شَرِّ [كَذَا وَكَذَا] فَإنَّ ذَالِكَ

tu‘īdhanī min sharr [kadhā wa-kadhā] fa-inna dhālik

(asking that) You grant me refuge from the evil of [such and such], for truly that

لا يَضِيْقُ عَلَيْكَ فِي وُجْدِكَ،

lā yaḍīqu ‘alayk fī wujdik,

does not strain You in Your richness,

وَلاَ يَتَكَأدُّدُكَ فِي قُدْرَتِكَ،

wa-lā yataka’adduk fī qudratik,

and it does not weary You in Your power,

وَأَنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْء قَدِيرٌ،

wa-anta ‘alā kulli shay’in qadīr,

and You have power over everything,

فَهَبْ لِي يا إلهِي مِنْ رَحْمَتِكَ وَدَوَامِ تَوْفِيقِكَ،

fa-hab lī yā ilāhī min raḥmatik wa-dawāmi tawfīqik,

So grant me, O my God, from Your mercy and the lastingness of Your enabling (tawfīq),

مَا أَتَّخِذُهُ سُلَّماً أَعْرُجُ بِهِ إلى رِضْوَانِكَ،

mā attakhidhuhū sullaman a‘ruju bihī ilā riḍwānik,

that which I may take as a ladder by which I may ascend to Your good pleasure,

وَآمَنُ بِهِ مِنْ عِقَابِكَ، يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ.

wa-āmanu bihī min ‘iqābik, yā arḥama r-rāḥimīn.

and by which I may be safe from Your punishment, O Most Merciful of the merciful ones.