أحلّك مِن أسرِ الغرام حلاحلُ

أحلّك مِن أسرِ الغرام حلاحلُ

وَأتلفَ يوم البينِ عقلك عاقلُ

وَأتلفَ يوم البينِ عقلك عاقلُ

A noble chief freed you from love's captivity,

I freed you from the shackles of love, freed completely,

and a wise one ruined your reason on the day of parting.

And the day of separation confused your sane mind,

وَقسّمك التوديع اِثنين واحد

وَقسّمك التوديع اِثنين واحد

معَ الظاعنِ الغادي وآخر نازلُ

معَ الظاعنِ الغادي وآخر نازلُ

Farewell divided you in two: one part

And parting divided you in two, one

with the traveler departing at dawn, and another staying behind.

With the departing stranger, and the other settled,

فجسمكَ في تلك المنازل نازلٌ

فجسمكَ في تلك المنازل نازلٌ

وقلبكَ في تلك الرواحل راحلُ

وقلبكَ في تلك الرواحل راحلُ

Your body stays within those dwellings,

So your body settled in those dwellings,

while your heart departs among those riding camels.

While your heart settled in those meadows,

تلذّذ في طعمِ الصبابة لذّةً

تلذّذ في طعمِ الصبابة لذّةً

أَواخرُها محبوبة والأوائلُ

أَواخرُها محبوبة والأوائلُ

Savor in the taste of passionate longing a delight

You enjoyed the sweetness of youth with pleasure,

whose endings and beginnings alike are beloved.

Its later stages beloved, and its first steps,

وَلا يشغلنّك اللوم عن لذّة الهوى

وَلا يشغلنّك اللوم عن لذّة الهوى

منَ اللوم والتعنيف في الناس شاغلُ

منَ اللوم والتعنيف في الناس شاغلُ

Let blame never distract you from love's delight;

Let not blame distract you from love's pleasure,

blame and harsh rebuke among people are a distraction.

For blame and rebuke amongst people are ever-present,

فَمَجنون ليلى خامرَ الحبُّ قلبَهُ

فَمَجنون ليلى خامرَ الحبُّ قلبَهُ

مَدى عمرهِ حتّى اِحتوته الجنادلُ

مَدى عمرهِ حتّى اِحتوته الجنادلُ

For love permeated the heart of Layla's Majnun

For Majnoon's love stirred his heart,

throughout his life, until the stones enclosed him.

Throughout his life until the tombs embraced him,

وَعمرو بن عجلان بهندٍ وحبّها

وَعمرو بن عجلان بهندٍ وحبّها

لهُ كانَ مِن شرحِ الأحاديث طائلُ

لهُ كانَ مِن شرحِ الأحاديث طائلُ

And Amr ibn Ajlan, through Hind and love for her,

And Imru al-Qais in his love for Hind,

had much of worth in the recounting of tales.

Found solace in interpreting traditions,

وَغيلان لم ينفكّ من حبّ ميّةٍ

وَغيلان لم ينفكّ من حبّ ميّةٍ

أسيراً إِلى أَن غال غيلان غائلُ

أسيراً إِلى أَن غال غيلان غائلُ

And Ghaylan never ceased, through love of Mayyah,

And Ghaylan never ceased in his love for Mayya,

to be a captive, until a destroyer struck Ghaylan down.

A captive until Ghaylan perished miserably,

بِنفسي من ودّعتها ودموعها

بِنفسي من ودّعتها ودموعها

عَلى وجنتَيها مسبلات هواطلُ

عَلى وجنتَيها مسبلات هواطلُ

My life be ransom for her whom I bade farewell, while her tears

By my soul, from the one I bid farewell, her tears

streamed down her two cheeks in pouring showers.

Flowing down her cheeks in torrents,

غَداةَ تجلّت لي وللبين رائح

غَداةَ تجلّت لي وللبين رائح

تُنازعُني روحي جهاراً ونابلُ

تُنازعُني روحي جهاراً ونابلُ

On the morning she appeared to me, parting had its traveler

On the morrow when the scent of separation appeared,

and its archer, as she openly wrested my soul from me.

It wrestled with my soul openly and stealthily,

تُغالِطُني الشكوى ولِلوجدِ بيننا

تُغالِطُني الشكوى ولِلوجدِ بيننا

مخارج فيما بيننا ومداخلُ

مخارج فيما بيننا ومداخلُ

Lamentation beguiles me; yearning, between us,

Complaint deceives me, and between us love

has outlets and entrances in the space between us.

Has avenues, entrances, and exits,

وَأكبادُنا من وجدنا وقلوبنا

وَأكبادُنا من وجدنا وقلوبنا

مشارب فيها للهوى ومآكلُ

مشارب فيها للهوى ومآكلُ

Our livers, through our yearning, and our hearts—

Our livers ache from our love, and our hearts

within them love has drinking places and feeding grounds.

Are pastures in which love grazes and feeds,

ممنّعة في المحصنات عقيلةٌ

ممنّعة في المحصنات عقيلةٌ

عَدتها بدارات العفافِ عقائلُ

عَدتها بدارات العفافِ عقائلُ

A noble lady, held inviolate among chaste women,

A married woman made inaccessible in her curtained litter,

whom noble ladies kept apart within chastity's precincts.

Her chastity guarded by virtuous women,

يَجولُ عليها وشحُها فوق خصرها

يَجولُ عليها وشحُها فوق خصرها

وفي ساقها أضحت تغضُّ الخلاخلُ

وفي ساقها أضحت تغضُّ الخلاخلُ

Her sashes move about her above her waist,

Poverty roams over her, above her waist,

while on her leg the anklets have fallen silent.

Below, her anklets make soft sounds,

فَلو وشّحت بالحجل والحجل صامتٌ

فَلو وشّحت بالحجل والحجل صامتٌ

لعاينتهُ في خصرها وهو حائلُ

لعاينتهُ في خصرها وهو حائلُ

If she were girdled with an anklet—the anklet now silent—

If she were to wear only the slip while still silent,

you would see it turning loosely about her waist.

You would see it about her waist, hardly hiding,

يَميسُ بِها في التيهِ قدٌّ كأنّه

يَميسُ بِها في التيهِ قدٌّ كأنّه

إِذا ماسَ غصنُ البانة المتمايلُ

إِذا ماسَ غصنُ البانة المتمايلُ

A figure sways with her in proud grace, as though,

In the wilderness, he walks beside her, his stature

when it sways, it were a bending moringa branch.

Swaying like a bough of the wild plum,

خلونَ لها من مدّة السنّ أربع

خلونَ لها من مدّة السنّ أربع

فأَحجمَ ثديها وعشر كواملُ

فأَحجمَ ثديها وعشر كواملُ

Four years of her lifetime have passed—

Leave her to the passage of years, four yet

and ten complete ones—so her breast has rounded.

Until her breast shrinks and ten cycles,

تُصيبُ شغافَ القلبِ منّي بأسهمٍ

تُصيبُ شغافَ القلبِ منّي بأسهمٍ

إِذا اِنجلت منها العيون النواجلُ

إِذا اِنجلت منها العيون النواجلُ

She strikes the very core of my heart with arrows

From me she shoots the arrows of her glances,

when her large, wide eyes are revealed.

When her bright eyes shine radiantly,

لَها حائلٌ دونَ اللِقا مِن عشيرها

لَها حائلٌ دونَ اللِقا مِن عشيرها

غيورٌ وَمِن كونِ التعفّف حائلُ

غيورٌ وَمِن كونِ التعفّف حائلُ

One of her kin stands as a barrier to meeting her,

A jealous kinsman prevents me from meeting her,

a jealous man; self-restraint itself is another barrier.

As does her virtue which prevents,

وَمستعجمات لا تجيب لسائلٍ

وَمستعجمات لا تجيب لسائلٍ

بما رام من أخبارها إذ يُسائلُ

بما رام من أخبارها إذ يُسائلُ

And speechless places give no answer to an inquirer

And strange women who do not answer a questioner,

with what he seeks of her news when he asks.

With the news about her that he asks,

لَها وسط وهي غيرُ أواهل

لَها وسط وهي غيرُ أواهل

منازل منها عامرات أواهلُ

منازل منها عامرات أواهلُ

She has, amid them—though they stand uninhabited—

She has a waist – though not one of the first! –

dwellings, some of them flourishing and peopled.

Stages not empty, but filled and inhabited,

سَقاها ملثُّ القطرِ كلّ مجلجلٍ

سَقاها ملثُّ القطرِ كلّ مجلجلٍ

وَثجّت عليها المعصرات الحواملُ

وَثجّت عليها المعصرات الحواملُ

May every thundering cloud water them with ceaseless rain,

The drops of rainwater quenched her thirst,

and may the laden rainclouds pour upon them.

While the cloudbursts made her heavy with child,

وَأَلبَسها نوء السماكين حلّةً

وَأَلبَسها نوء السماكين حلّةً

فَيشرق بالأزهار منها الحمائلُ

فَيشرق بالأزهار منها الحمائلُ

May the rain of the two Simak stars clothe them in a robe,

The starry nights clothed her in their gown,

so their sandy tracts shine with flowers.

So the meadows shine with flowers,

فيصبح منها سَيحها وعرارها

فيصبح منها سَيحها وعرارها

تمجُّ أعاليهِ الندا والأسافلُ

تمجُّ أعاليهِ الندا والأسافلُ

Then their running waters and their arar flowers

Her plain and hill country become by it

spill dew from their upper parts and their lower.

Plentiful, the lowlands and the heights abundant,

وَأَصبحَ فيها برهةً فكأنّما

وَأَصبحَ فيها برهةً فكأنّما

بهِ لفلاح راحة وأناملُ

بهِ لفلاح راحة وأناملُ

And he was there for a while, so it was as though

By it, the farmer rests at leisure, his hands stilled,

success had, in him, a palm and fingertips.

A steed whose hoofs when the thirsty crowd jostles

جوادٌ إِذا اِستسقى الظُماة أكفّه

جوادٌ إِذا اِستسقى الظُماة أكفّه

تساجل ودقاً غيثها المتساجلُ

تساجل ودقاً غيثها المتساجلُ

A generous man: when the thirsty seek water from his palms,

Paw the ground, and the racing rivulets rush,

they rival its successive rains, downpour for downpour.

Bestowing on us every morning a streaming,

تسحُّ علينا منه في كلِّ غدوةٍ

تسحُّ علينا منه في كلِّ غدوةٍ

مخايل ودقٍ تقتفيها مخائلُ

مخايل ودقٍ تقتفيها مخائلُ

From him, every morning, there pour upon us

With pawing and the water-drawers following,

rain-bearing clouds, followed by more rainclouds.

By it, the days were adorned in face, and shone

به زانتِ الأيّام وجهاً وأشرقت

به زانتِ الأيّام وجهاً وأشرقت

بدولته أبكارها والأصائلُ

بدولته أبكارها والأصائلُ

Through him the days grew fair of face, and bright shone

In its rule, their first fruits and nobilities,

their early mornings and late afternoons under his rule.

Love of it flowed through the people until it mingled

جَرى حبُّه بالناسِ حتّى تمازجت

جَرى حبُّه بالناسِ حتّى تمازجت

عروق الدما منه به والمفاصلُ

عروق الدما منه به والمفاصلُ

Love for him flowed through the people, until

The veins of their blood, its joints,

their blood-veins and joints mingled with that love from him.

And they referred to it their affairs’ problems,

وَأَلقوا إِليه مشكلات أمورهم

وَأَلقوا إِليه مشكلات أمورهم

عَلى أنّه والٍ عليهم وكافلُ

عَلى أنّه والٍ عليهم وكافلُ

They entrusted to him the difficulties of their affairs,

Seeing it as their guardian, caretaker,

since he was their ruler and protector.

O sun whose orbit revolves naught but

أَلا أيّها الشمس الّذي هو لم يَكن

أَلا أيّها الشمس الّذي هو لم يَكن

لَهُ الفلك إلّا النضا والصواهلُ

لَهُ الفلك إلّا النضا والصواهلُ

O you, the sun, who has never had

Purities and radiances!

any orbit but travel-worn mounts and neighing steeds.

You launched against your enemies a night raid

شَننتَ على أعداكَ شعواءَ بالضحى

شَننتَ على أعداكَ شعواءَ بالضحى

تزلزل منها المحكمات المجادلُ

تزلزل منها المحكمات المجادلُ

You launched a fierce assault against your enemies at midmorning,

That shook the firm judgments and disputes

at which the firmly built fortresses shake.

Stirring against them, with what angers you,

تُثيرُ عليهم عارضاً ما لمزنهِ

تُثيرُ عليهم عارضاً ما لمزنهِ

سَرى النبل واللدن الذوابل وابلُ

سَرى النبل واللدن الذوابل وابلُ

You raise a stormcloud against them, whose cloud bears no ordinary rain;

A torrent of valor, molten metal, and rain,

arrows speed forth, and supple, slender spears pour in torrents.

So you inflicted upon them horses’ chests, and for battle,

فَجشّمتهم صدرَ الحصان وللّقا

فَجشّمتهم صدرَ الحصان وللّقا

مصادرُ في حيزومه ومناهلُ

مصادرُ في حيزومه ومناهلُ

You made them face the stallion's breast; battle

Sources in the steeds' nostrils and watering places,

has its exits and watering places within its chest.

They fled, while among them the spear tip penetrated,

فَولّوا وفيهم عامر الرمح نافذٌ

فَولّوا وفيهم عامر الرمح نافذٌ

حَيارى وفيهم مضربُ السيفِ شاكلُ

حَيارى وفيهم مضربُ السيفِ شاكلُ

They turned and fled, the spearhead piercing them,

Bewildered, while among them the sword blade split,

bewildered, the sword's striking edge doing likewise among them.

You replaced for them the immediate

فَأبدلتهم ممّا اِستحقّوا بعاجلٍ

فَأبدلتهم ممّا اِستحقّوا بعاجلٍ

وَما عاجل إلّا ويتلوه آجلُ

وَما عاجل إلّا ويتلوه آجلُ

So you substituted an immediate outcome for what they deserved;

With the deferred, and nothing deferred is far,

and no immediate outcome lacks a deferred one following it.

They prepared graves for their deaths,

وَكانوا يعدّونَ القبور لموتهم

وَكانوا يعدّونَ القبور لموتهم

فَماتوا وما الأحداث إلا الحواصلُ

فَماتوا وما الأحداث إلا الحواصلُ

They had been preparing graves for their deaths;

But died, and events are naught but consequences,

so they died; the calamities were nothing but birds' crops.