اِرحَل بِنَفسِكَ مِن أَرضٍ تُضامُ بِها

اِرحَل بِنَفسِكَ مِن أَرضٍ تُضامُ بِها

وَلا تَكُن مِن فِراقِ الأَهلِ في حُرَقِ

وَلا تَكُن مِن فِراقِ الأَهلِ في حُرَقِ

Take yourself away from a land where you are wronged.

Go away by yourself from a land where you are wronged

And do not burn with grief at parting from your family.

And do not be of those who miss their families and fret

فَالعَنبَرُ الخامُ رَوثٌ في مَواطِنِهِ

فَالعَنبَرُ الخامُ رَوثٌ في مَواطِنِهِ

وَفي التَغَرُّبِ مَحمولٌ عَلى العُنُقِ

وَفي التَغَرُّبِ مَحمولٌ عَلى العُنُقِ

For raw ambergris is dung in its native haunts,

For uncured amber is but fossil dung where it originated

And abroad it is borne upon the neck.

And in exile it is worn around the neck as a jewel

وَالكُحلُ نَوعٌ مِنَ الأَحجارِ تَنظُرُهُ

وَالكُحلُ نَوعٌ مِنَ الأَحجارِ تَنظُرُهُ

في أَرضِهِ وَهوَ مُرميٌّ عَلى الطُرُقِ

في أَرضِهِ وَهوَ مُرميٌّ عَلى الطُرُقِ

And kohl is a kind of stone—you see it

And antimony is but a stone in its native land

In its own land, cast aside upon the roads.

Cast away unwanted on the roads

لَمّا تَغَرَّبَ حازَ الفَضلَ أَجمَعَهُ

لَمّا تَغَرَّبَ حازَ الفَضلَ أَجمَعَهُ

فَصارَ يُحمَلُ بَينَ الجَفنِ وَالحَدَقِ

فَصارَ يُحمَلُ بَينَ الجَفنِ وَالحَدَقِ

When it went abroad, it gained honor in full,

Yet when it traveled abroad it gained superiority

So it came to be borne between the eyelid and the pupils.

And came to be borne between eyelid and eyeball