أمانعُنا من دون إلفٍ نَزورُهُ

أمانعُنا من دون إلفٍ نَزورُهُ

غداةَ تَرحالُهُ وبُكورُهُ

غداةَ تَرحالُهُ وبُكورُهُ

Will we be barred from a beloved we would visit

Our acquaintance unaccustomed to visit us

at daybreak, by his departure and early setting out?

In the morning of his departure and its dawn

وأنتَ إذا ما أزمَعَ الحيّ رحلةً

وأنتَ إذا ما أزمَعَ الحيّ رحلةً

أحيرانُ أم جَلدُ الفؤاد صَبورُهُ

أحيرانُ أم جَلدُ الفؤاد صَبورُهُ

And you, when the clan resolves to journey,

While you, if the beloved prepares for travel

are you bewildered, or stout-hearted and patient?

Perplexed or patient is the heart in its grief

وذي صبوَةٌ تَعتادّه إثْرَ عَبْرَةٍ

وذي صبوَةٌ تَعتادّه إثْرَ عَبْرَةٍ

على لوعة أنفاسُه وزَفيرُهُ

على لوعة أنفاسُه وزَفيرُهُ

And many a man of longing is revisited after a tear

And he who has patience gets used to it after weeping

by his anguished breaths and sighs.

At the agony of his sighs and his moaning

أجِدَّك ما ينفكّ يعتادَك الجوَى

أجِدَّك ما ينفكّ يعتادَك الجوَى

والفك ممنوعُ المزَارِ عسيرُهُ

والفك ممنوعُ المزَارِ عسيرُهُ

Are you in earnest? Lovesickness never ceases to revisit you,

I find you never cease to get accustomed to separation

though your beloved is off-limits and difficult to visit.

And the beloved whose visit is difficult is forbidden

حجازية هيهات منك وأُمها

حجازية هيهات منك وأُمها

ومن دونها درب العزيز وسورُهُ

ومن دونها درب العزيز وسورُهُ

A woman of the Hijaz—far from you, she and her mother!

A Hejazi woman, never from you and her mother

And between you and her lie al-Aziz's gateway and wall.

And without her the path of the dear one and its fence

أرتك مكانَ النَّجم في رأس باذخٍ

أرتك مكانَ النَّجم في رأس باذخٍ

طوالٌ ذراه مشرفات قصورُهُ

طوالٌ ذراه مشرفات قصورُهُ

She showed you the star's station on a lofty summit,

I left the place of the star in the highest summit

its peaks tall, its palaces towering.

Its lanterns illuminate its lofty palaces

فديناك من إلفٍ على القرب نازحٍ

فديناك من إلفٍ على القرب نازحٍ

وإن مسّنا إعراضُهُ ونُفورُهُ

وإن مسّنا إعراضُهُ ونُفورُهُ

May we be your ransom, beloved, distant despite being near,

So we were accustomed by friendship to approach

even though his rejection and aversion afflict us.

Though his aloofness and estrangement hurt us

وإنّي لأرضى بالصدود وبيننا

وإنّي لأرضى بالصدود وبيننا

رقيبٌ إذا المحبوبُ صَحَّ ضميرُهُ

رقيبٌ إذا المحبوبُ صَحَّ ضميرُهُ

And I am content with rejection, while between us stands

And I am content with aloofness while between us

a watcher, if the beloved's heart is true.

A watcher when the beloved’s conscience is right

إذا العاشق استصفْى هوىً من حبيبهِ

إذا العاشق استصفْى هوىً من حبيبهِ

فكل أذى من أجله لا يَضيرُهُ

فكل أذى من أجله لا يَضيرُهُ

If the lover secures pure love from his beloved,

When the lover purified his love for his beloved

then no harm endured for his sake can hurt him.

Then any harm for his sake does no injury

تعالَوا نُصَدّقْ يا أحبّةُ في الهوى

تعالَوا نُصَدّقْ يا أحبّةُ في الهوى

بما قال واشيهِ وظنَّ غيورُهُ

بما قال واشيهِ وظنَّ غيورُهُ

Come, beloved friends, let us believe, concerning love,

Come let us believe, O beloved ones in love

in what its tale-bearer said and its jealous one suspected.

In what the jealous one said and supposed

كذا زعمَ الفِتيان أنَّ لذي الهوى

كذا زعمَ الفِتيان أنَّ لذي الهوى

إذا انهتكتْ في العاشقين سُتورُهُ

إذا انهتكتْ في العاشقين سُتورُهُ

Such is the lover's lot, the young men claimed,

So the youths claimed, that for the passionate lover

when his veils are torn away among lovers.

If inhibitions are shattered in the lovers

وماذا علينا في حبيب يَزورنا

وماذا علينا في حبيب يَزورنا

بلا ريبة أو في حبيب نزُورُهُ

بلا ريبة أو في حبيب نزُورُهُ

And what harm is there in a beloved who visits us

What is it to us, in a lover who visits us

without suspicion, or in a beloved whom we visit?

Without doubt or a lover we visit

وليلٍ إذا ما الشِّعريان تَدلَّيا

وليلٍ إذا ما الشِّعريان تَدلَّيا

غُمَيصاؤُه جنحَ الدُّجى وعبورُهُ

غُمَيصاؤُه جنحَ الدُّجى وعبورُهُ

And a night when the two Shi‘ra stars hung low—

A night, when the Pleiades inclined

its Ghumaysa and its ‘Abur in the wing of darkness—

Its darkness, the wings of gloom its crossing

طرقتُ به ذاتَ الوشاحِ بجهمة

طرقتُ به ذاتَ الوشاحِ بجهمة

وقد غاب في تفسيره زمهريرُهُ

وقد غاب في تفسيره زمهريرُهُ

in its gloom I paid a night visit to the woman of the sash,

I knocked with it the one in the headscarf angrily

and its moon—as the term is interpreted—had already set.

While explaining it, the twitter of its bird was absent

لهَوتَ بها لا طالباً شرَّ مأثَمٍ

لهَوتَ بها لا طالباً شرَّ مأثَمٍ

ولكنَّه علم الحديث وزيرُهُ

ولكنَّه علم الحديث وزيرُهُ

You dallied with her, not seeking the evil of sin,

It wavered with it, not seeking any shameful sin

but his minister knew of the conversation.

But he knew the discourse and its minister

إذا حركت ريحَ الصّبا ذيلَ مرطها

إذا حركت ريحَ الصّبا ذيلَ مرطها

تضوَّع لي من كل شيءٍ عبيرُهُ

تضوَّع لي من كل شيءٍ عبيرُهُ

When the east wind stirred the hem of her mantle,

When the breeze of the zephyr moves its train

the fragrance of everything wafted toward me.

The fragrance of everything emanates from it

يُخَوفني ضؤ الصّباحِ وقد بدا

يُخَوفني ضؤ الصّباحِ وقد بدا

على أبلق في وسط دُهمٍ نذيرُهُ

على أبلق في وسط دُهمٍ نذيرُهُ

Morning's light frightens me, and now appears

The dimness of dawn frightens me when it appears

its herald on a piebald steed among dark ones.

In the blackest darkness, its warning

وذَو رَعَثاثٍ ما يزال يُروعنا

وذَو رَعَثاثٍ ما يزال يُروعنا

على شرفٍ تصفيقُه وزميرُهُ

على شرفٍ تصفيقُه وزميرُهُ

And the wattled one keeps startling us

And one disheveled, who still terrifies us

on a height, with his wing-flapping and crowing.

On a balcony, its clapping and twittering

أغيرانُ كان الدّيك أوصاحُ مُشفقاً

أغيرانُ كان الدّيك أوصاحُ مُشفقاً

حذارَ رقيبٍ حان منه نُشورُهُ

حذارَ رقيبٍ حان منه نُشورُهُ

Was the rooster jealous, or did he crow anxiously,

Perplexed, was it the rooster or a concerned warner

fearing a watcher whose time to rise had come?

Beware of a watcher whose time of wakefulness approached

كذلك ليلُ العاشقين طويلَهُ

كذلك ليلُ العاشقين طويلَهُ

مضرٌ بهم في حالهِ وقصيرُهُ

مضرٌ بهم في حالهِ وقصيرُهُ

Such is the lovers' night: its long duration

So is the night of the lovers, its long duration

harms them in its way, as does its short duration.

Harmful to them, in its state and its shortness

أكلُّ محبَّين اسْتَسَرا زيارةً

أكلُّ محبَّين اسْتَسَرا زيارةً

جرى بهما صِدْقُ الحديث وزُورُهُ

جرى بهما صِدْقُ الحديث وزُورُهُ

Does every pair of lovers who keep a visit secret

Every two secret lovers feared exposure

become the subject of both truthful and false talk?

Sincerity of discourse and lies flowed between them

وكلُّ مُبارٍ يدَّعي المجدَ عزَّةَ

وكلُّ مُبارٍ يدَّعي المجدَ عزَّةَ

حمَى لبني نبهان ليسَ يطورُهُ

حمَى لبني نبهان ليسَ يطورُهُ

And every rival who proudly claims glory—

And everyone claiming glory and pride of might

Banu Nabhan's preserve—never comes near it.

Protected the children of Nabhan, it is not his wont

حوى شرفَ الدنيا أبو عَمرٍ معاً

حوى شرفَ الدنيا أبو عَمرٍ معاً

له أوَّل المجد اغتدى وأخيرُهُ

له أوَّل المجد اغتدى وأخيرُهُ

Abu ‘Amr has gathered all the world's honor;

Contained the glory of the world, together, Abu Amr

glory's beginning and end have become his.

For him is the first glory, it transgressed and its last

أغرُّ عتيكيٌّ كأنَّ جبينه

أغرُّ عتيكيٌّ كأنَّ جبينه

سَنا قَمر شقّ الدُّجنّة نورُهُ

سَنا قَمر شقّ الدُّجنّة نورُهُ

Radiant, of ‘Atik, as though his brow were

A flirtatious Utayki, as if his forehead

a moon's brilliance, its light splitting the darkness.

Is a shining moon that illuminates the dark with its light

وكم طامحٍ نحو السّماء بِنظرةٍ

وكم طامحٍ نحو السّماء بِنظرةٍ

إليه فردَّ الطَّرفَ وهو حسيرُهُ

إليه فردَّ الطَّرفَ وهو حسيرُهُ

And many a man has strained his gaze toward the sky,

And how many ambitious with a glance to the sky

toward him, then drawn it back, exhausted.

He turned his eye away while it despaired

له بيتُ عزّ باذخٍ دون نقلِهِ

له بيتُ عزّ باذخٍ دون نقلِهِ

ذُرى حَضَنٍ أركانهُ وصخورُهُ

ذُرى حَضَنٍ أركانهُ وصخورُهُ

He has a lofty house of honor; beneath its pebbles

He has a lofty honored house without his moving it

lie Hadan's peaks, its pillars and rocks.

The orbits of a bosom, its corners and rocks

لقد شهد الدَّهرُ الذي أنتَ عينُه

لقد شهد الدَّهرُ الذي أنتَ عينُه

بأنك ياشمسَ العتيك أميرُهُ

بأنك ياشمسَ العتيك أميرُهُ

Indeed the age, whose very eye you are, has testified

Time witnessed, of which you are its eye

that you, O sun of ‘Atik, are its prince.

That you, O sun of Utayk, are its prince

فإنك غصن المجد في دوحة العلى

فإنك غصن المجد في دوحة العلى

أبا عمرٍ والعالمونَ شَكيرُهُ

أبا عمرٍ والعالمونَ شَكيرُهُ

For you are glory's bough in the great tree of exalted rank,

You are the branch of glory in the lofty palm tree

O Abu ‘Amr, and the world's people are its small shoots.

Abu Amr while all people are your vines

لكم خاتم المجد القديم وطوقهُ

لكم خاتم المجد القديم وطوقهُ

ومنبرهُ أو تاجه وسَريرُهُ

ومنبرهُ أو تاجه وسَريرُهُ

Yours are ancient glory's signet and collar,

For you are the seal of old glory and its collar

and its pulpit, or its crown and throne.

Its pulpit, its crown or its throne

بكم عمرَ الله الزَّمانَ وخصّه

بكم عمرَ الله الزَّمانَ وخصّه

ليأمنَ جانيه ويَغنى فقيرُهُ

ليأمنَ جانيه ويَغنى فقيرُهُ

Through you God has made the age flourish and favored it,

With you God made time live and singled it out

so its wrongdoer may be safe and its poor man grow rich.

So its transgressor may be safe and the poor gain riches

لنا في بني نبهانَ مع كل حاجة

لنا في بني نبهانَ مع كل حاجة

ذَريً يعتفيه أو حمىً يستجيرُهُ

ذَريً يعتفيه أو حمىً يستجيرُهُ

For every need, we have among Banu Nabhan

For us in the children of Nabhan, with every need

a shelter for seeking bounty, or a sanctuary for seeking refuge.

Offspring who seek refuge or protection that gives refuge

لعمرك من خاف الزَّمان وحَلّ في

لعمرك من خاف الزَّمان وحَلّ في

جوار بني نبهان عزَّ نصيرُهُ

جوار بني نبهان عزَّ نصيرُهُ

By your life, whoever fears the age and takes shelter in

By your life, he who feared time and sought refuge

Banu Nabhan's protection has a mighty defender.

In the protection of the children of Nabhan, mighty is their help

عرفنا صميم المجد في الأزد سالفاً

عرفنا صميم المجد في الأزد سالفاً

قديماً خلت أيامه وعصورُهُ

قديماً خلت أيامه وعصورُهُ

We knew glory's essence among the Azd in former times,

We knew the core of glory in past Azd

long ago—its days and ages have passed away.

Of old, its days passed and its eras

توارثه آل العتيك وبعدهم

توارثه آل العتيك وبعدهم

إليك انتهى ميراثهُ ومصيرُهُ

إليك انتهى ميراثهُ ومصيرُهُ

The clan of ‘Atik inherited it successively; after them,

Inheriting it, the family of Utayk and after them

its inheritance and destiny have come to you.

To you its inheritance and fate came

فليسَ لأزديّ سواك فضيلةٌ

فليسَ لأزديّ سواك فضيلةٌ

سوى ما نحاكي منك أو نستعيرُهُ

سوى ما نحاكي منك أو نستعيرُهُ

No Azdi other than you has any excellence,

So for no other Azdi has merit

save what we imitate from you or borrow.

Except what we imitate from you or borrow

أبا عمر عمّرت وازددتَ رفعةً

أبا عمر عمّرت وازددتَ رفعةً

مَدى الدَّهر وانقادَتُ إليك أُمورُهُ

مَدى الدَّهر وانقادَتُ إليك أُمورُهُ

O Abu ‘Amr, may you live long and rise in eminence

Abu Amr you made live and increased glory

throughout all time, and may its affairs submit to you.

Eternally and its affairs yielded to you

وعاش ابنكَ القَرمُ الأجلُّ محمدٌ

وعاش ابنكَ القَرمُ الأجلُّ محمدٌ

وسَرَّك فيه كلَّ يومٍ سرورُهُ

وسَرَّك فيه كلَّ يومٍ سرورُهُ

And may your son Muhammad, the mighty, most illustrious chief, live,

And lived your noblest son, al-Qaram Muhammad

and may his happiness make you rejoice in him each day,

Gladdening you through him each day, his joy

ونلتَ المنى في ماجدٍ الخِيم سيّدٍ

ونلتَ المنى في ماجدٍ الخِيم سيّدٍ

بدا فضُله في العالمين وخيرُهُ

بدا فضُله في العالمين وخيرُهُ

and may you attain your wishes in a lord of noble character,

And you attained your wish in Majid al-Khayyim, a lord

whose excellence and goodness have shone forth among mankind.

Whose merit appeared to all people and his good