ألا فاسقِني خمراً، وقل لي: هيَ الخمرُ،

ألا فاسقِني خمراً، وقل لي: هيَ الخمرُ،

ولا تسقني سرّاً إذا أمكن الجهرُ

ولا تسقني سرّاً إذا أمكن الجهرُ

Come, pour me wine, and tell me, 'It is wine.'

Pour me wine, and say it is wine,

Pour me some wine, and tell me: "This is wine,"

And do not pour it for me secretly when openness is possible.

Do not secretly pour, if it can be done openly,

And serve me not in secret when open display is possible.

فما العيْشُ إلاّ سكرَة ٌ بعد سكرة ٍ،

فما العيْشُ إلاّ سكرَة ٌ بعد سكرة ٍ،

فإن طال هذا عندَهُ قَصُرَ الدهرُ

فإن طال هذا عندَهُ قَصُرَ الدهرُ

For life is nothing but one bout of drunkenness after another;

For life is only drunkenness after drunkenness,

For life is naught but drunkenness upon drunkenness,

For if this lasts long, time grows short beside it.

And if it were long with Him, time would be short.

And if one lingers thus, the span of time grows short.

وما الغَبْنُ إلاّ أن ترَانيَ صاحِيا

وما الغَبْنُ إلاّ أن ترَانيَ صاحِيا

و ما الغُنْمُ إلا أن يُتَعْتعني السكْرُ

و ما الغُنْمُ إلا أن يُتَعْتعني السكْرُ

And the only loss is for you to see me sober,

And loss is only that you see me sober,

True loss is nothing but that you should see me sober,

And the only gain is for drunkenness to make me stagger.

And gain is only that drunkenness makes me stagger.

And true gain is but that intoxication leaves me staggering.

فَبُحْ باسْمِ من تهوى ، ودعني من الكنى

فَبُحْ باسْمِ من تهوى ، ودعني من الكنى

فلا خيرَ في اللذّاتِ من دونها سِتْر

فلا خيرَ في اللذّاتِ من دونها سِتْر

So proclaim the name of the one you love, and spare me the bynames;

So confess the name of her you love, and spare me from aliases,

So speak the name of whom you love, and spare me vague allusions,

For there is no good in pleasures with a veil before them.

For there is no good in pleasures without them being hidden,

For there is no good in pleasures hidden behind a veil.

ولا خيرَ في فتكٍ بدونِ مجانة ؛

ولا خيرَ في فتكٍ بدونِ مجانة ؛

ولا في مجونٍ ليس يتبعُه كفرُ

ولا في مجونٍ ليس يتبعُه كفرُ

Nor is there good in reckless daring without wantonness,

Nor any good in outrage without forgiveness,

There is no good in daring deeds without shameless vice;

Nor in debauchery not followed by unbelief.

Nor any good in forgiveness not followed by unbelief.

Nor in debauchery that is not followed by impiety.

بكلّ أخي فتكٍ كأنّ جبينَه

بكلّ أخي فتكٍ كأنّ جبينَه

هِلالٌ، وقد حَفّتْ به الأنجمُ الزُّهرُ

هِلالٌ، وقد حَفّتْ به الأنجمُ الزُّهرُ

With every reckless fellow, whose brow is like

With each brother in outrage as if his forehead

[I am] with every brazen brother, whose brow appears

A crescent, with radiant stars gathered around it.

Were a crescent, surrounded by bright stars,

As a crescent moon, surrounded by the radiant stars.

و خَمّارَة ٍ نَبّهْتُها بعد هجْعَة ٍ ،

و خَمّارَة ٍ نَبّهْتُها بعد هجْعَة ٍ ،

و قد غابت الجوزاءُ ، وارتفعَ النّسرُ

و قد غابت الجوزاءُ ، وارتفعَ النّسرُ

And a woman wine-seller I roused after a spell of sleep,

And a tavern girl I awoke after a nap,

And a tavern-mistress whom I roused from her slumber,

When Orion had set and the Eagle had risen.

While Al Jawza had set and the eagle risen,

When Gemini had set and the Eagle star had risen.

فقالت: من الطُّرّاق ؟ قلنا : عصابة

فقالت: من الطُّرّاق ؟ قلنا : عصابة

خفافُ الأداوَى يُبْتَغَى لهُم خمرُ

خفافُ الأداوَى يُبْتَغَى لهُم خمرُ

She said, 'Who are the night visitors?' We said, 'A band

She said: who is knocking? We said: a gang

She asked: "Who comes knocking?" We replied: "A band"

Whose flasks are light, for whom wine is sought,

Of light-footed ones, for whom wine is sought.

"With empty skins, seeking wine for ourselves."

ولا بدّ أن يزنوا، فقالت: أو الفِدا

ولا بدّ أن يزنوا، فقالت: أو الفِدا

بأبْلَجَ كالدّينَارِ في طرفهِ فَتْرُ

بأبْلَجَ كالدّينَارِ في طرفهِ فَتْرُ

And they must fornicate.' She said, 'Or let the ransom be

It is inevitable they commit adultery, she said. I said: or my life

"And we must have our pleasure." She said: "Or perhaps a ransom—"

A radiant one, like a dinar, with languor in his gaze.'

For one fair like a golden dinar with a slit in its edge.

"With a bright-faced lad like a gold dinar, with languor in his gaze?"

فقلنا لها: هاتِيهِ، ما إن لمِثْلِنا

فقلنا لها: هاتِيهِ، ما إن لمِثْلِنا

فديناك بالأهْلينَ عن مثل ذا صَبرُ

فديناك بالأهْلينَ عن مثل ذا صَبرُ

So we said to her, 'Bring him! People like us cannot—

We said to her: bring it here. The like of us,

We said to her: "Bring him forth! For truly, for men like us,"

May we ransom you with our families!—bear to go without one like this.'

Our religion does not prevent what we desire.

"—May our kin be your ransom—there is no patience for such a prize."

فجاءَتْ بهِ كالبَدْرِ ليلَة َ تمّهِ ،

فجاءَتْ بهِ كالبَدْرِ ليلَة َ تمّهِ ،

تخالُ به سحراً، وليس به سحْرُ

تخالُ به سحراً، وليس به سحْرُ

Then she brought him, like the full moon on the night of its fullness;

She came with it, like the full moon on a completed night,

So she brought him, resplendent as the full moon at its peak,

You would imagine magic in him, though no magic was in him.

Walking proudly with it at dawn, no sorcery in it.

You would think him possessed of magic, yet no magic is there.

فقُمنا إليه واحداً بعدَ واحِدٍ،

فقُمنا إليه واحداً بعدَ واحِدٍ،

فكان بهِ من صَومِ غُربتنا الفِطرُ

فكان بهِ من صَومِ غُربتنا الفِطرُ

Then we rose and approached him, one after another,

We stood, one after the other.

So we rose to him, one after another,

And through him we broke the fast of our exile.

With it, the fast of our estrangement broke.

And in him was the breaking of the fast of our long abstinence.

فبِتنا يرانا الله شَرَّ عِصابة ٍ،

فبِتنا يرانا الله شَرَّ عِصابة ٍ،

نُجَرّرُ أذْيالَ الفُسوقِ ولا فَخْرُ

نُجَرّرُ أذْيالَ الفُسوقِ ولا فَخْرُ

So we spent the night, God seeing us as the vilest company,

We spent the night, with God seeing the worst of gangs,

We spent the night while God watched us, the most wicked of bands,

Dragging the hems of debauchery, without boasting.

Dragging the trains of wickedness, and no pride.

Trailing the long robes of debauchery, with no shred of shame.