أَحسَنتَ ظَنَّكَ بِالأَيامِ إِذ حَسُنَت

أَحسَنتَ ظَنَّكَ بِالأَيامِ إِذ حَسُنَت

وَلَم تَخَف سوءَ ما يَأتي بِهِ القَدَرُ

وَلَم تَخَف سوءَ ما يَأتي بِهِ القَدَرُ

You thought well of the days when they were good,

You deemed the days benevolent when they were fair,

And did not fear the evil that fate would bring.

And feared not the calamity that fate brings forth.

وَسالَمَتكَ اللَيالي فَاِغتَرَرتَ بِها

وَسالَمَتكَ اللَيالي فَاِغتَرَرتَ بِها

وَعِندَ صَفوِ اللَيالي يَحدُثُ الكَدَرُ

وَعِندَ صَفوِ اللَيالي يَحدُثُ الكَدَرُ

And the nights were at peace with you, so you were beguiled by them,

The nights made peace with you, so you were beguiled by them,

And amid the nights’ serenity, trouble arises.

Yet it is when the nights are serene that trouble strikes.