Qasida Burda - Chapter 2

فَإِنَّ أَمَّارَتِي بِالسُّوءِ مَا اتَّعَظَتْ
مِنْ جَهْلِهَا بِنَذِيرِ الشَّيْبِ وَالهَرَمِ
وَلَا أَعَدَّتْ مِنَ الفِعْلِ الجَمِيلِ قِرَى
ضَيْفٍ أَلَمَّ بِرَأْسِي غَيْرَ مُحْتَشِمِ
لَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي مَا أُوَقِّرُهُ
كَتَمْتُ سِرًّا بَدَا لِي مِنْهُ بِالكَتَمِ
مَنْ لِي بِرَدِّ جِمَاحٍ مِنْ غَوَايَتِهَا
كَمَا يُرَدُّ جِمَاحُ الخَيْلِ بِاللُّجُمِ
فَلَا تَرُمْ بِالمَعَاصِي كَسْرَ شَهْوَتِهَا
إِنَّ الطَّعَامَ يُقَوِّي شَهْوَةَ النَّهِمِ
وَالنَّفْسُ كَالطِّفِلِ إِنْ تُهْمِلْهُ شَبَّ عَلَى
حُبِّ الرَّضَاعِ وَإِنْ تَفْطِمْهُ يَنْفَطِمِ
فَاصْرِفْ هَوَاهَا وَحَاذِرْ أَنْ تُوَلِّيَهُ
إِنَّ الهَوَى مَا تَوَلَّى يُصْمِ أَوْ يَصِمِ
وَرَاعِهَا وَهْيَ فِي الأَعْمَالِ سَائِمَةٌ
وَإِنْ هِيَ اسْتَحْلَتِ المَرْعَى فَلَا تُسِمِ
كَمْ حَسَّنَتْ لَذَّةً لِلْمَرْءِ قَاتِلَةً
مِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَدْرِ أَنَّ السُّمَّ فِي الدَّسَمِ
وَاخْشَ الدَّسَائِسَ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَمِنْ شِبَعٍ
فَرُبَّ مَخْمَصَةٍ شَرٌّ مِنَ التُّخَمِ
وَاسْتَفْرِغِ الدَّمْعَ مِنْ عَيْنٍ قَدِ امْتَلَأَتْ
مِنَ المَحَارِمِ وَالْزَمْ حِمْيَةَ النَّدَمِ
وَخَالِفِ النَّفْسَ وَالشَّيْطَانَ وَاعْصِهِمَا
وَإِنْ هُمَا مَحَضَاكَ النُّصْحَ فَاتَّهِمِ
وَلَا تُطِعْ مِنْهُمَا خَصْمًا وَلَا حَكَمًا
فَأَنْتَ تَعْرِفُ كَيْدَ الخَصْمِ وَالحَكَمِ
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ مِنْ قَوْلٍ بِلَا عَمَلٍ
لَقَدْ نَسَبْتُ بِهِ نَسْلًا لِذِي عُقُمِ
أَمَرْتُكَ الخَيْرَ لَكِنْ مَا ائْتَمَرْتُ بِهِ
وَمَا اسْتَقَمْتُ فَمَا قَوْلِي لَكَ اسْتَقِمِ
وَلَا تَزَوَّدْتُ قَبْلَ المَوْتِ نَافِلَةً
وَلَمْ أُصَلِّ سِوَى فَرْضٍ وَلَمْ أَصُمِ

Because of its ignorance, my ill-commanding ego has paid no heed
To the warner of grey hair and approaching old age;
Nor has it prepared good deeds in welcome
For an unannounced guest who has settled on my head.
Had I realised, I would not have honoured it;
I would have used [black] katam-dye to hide what it showed
Who will help me restrain my bolting ego from its wilfulness
As a rebellious horse may be restrained with reins?
Do not try to thwart unlawful desires by satisfying them,
For food only increases a glutton’s desires.
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.
Divert its vain desires and beware of giving it power,
For vain desires pollute or destroy whatever they control.
Guard it as it grazes in the field of actions;
And should it find the grazing sweet, do not let it roam.
How often it has found delight in something fatal,
For [one] cannot tell that there is poison in the fat!
Beware of the snares of hunger and of satiety,
being hungry at times can be worse than gorging oneself!
Empty out the tears from an eye that has filled itself up
with forbidden sights. Maintain a strict diet of remorse.
Oppose the self and Satan and disobey them;
If they offer you advice, be suspicious of them.
Obey neither of them, whether they oppose or give judgment,
For you know the wiles of opponent and judge.
I seek Allah’s forgiveness for words bereft of deeds,
As by them I attributed progeny to a sterile man.
I enjoined goodness upon you while failing to heed the same.
I was not upright, so what use is my enjoining uprightness?
I have not gathered provisions of voluntary prayers before death,
or prayed and fasted beyond what is obligatory.