والَّذي عَلَّمَ القُلوبَ المَعاني

والَّذي عَلَّمَ القُلوبَ المَعاني

وأطاشَ العُقولَ في مَعْناها

وأطاشَ العُقولَ في مَعْناها

By Him who taught hearts meanings,

He who taught hearts their meanings

And bewildered minds with their meaning,

And unleashed minds into comprehending them

ذاتُكُمْ روحُنا ونحنُ هَباءٌ

ذاتُكُمْ روحُنا ونحنُ هَباءٌ

عَدَمٌ في ذَواتِنا لوْلاها

عَدَمٌ في ذَواتِنا لوْلاها

Your essence is our soul, and we are dust,

Your being is our spirit, and we are evanescence

Nothing in ourselves, were it not for it.

Nothingness in our beings were it not for you

واللَّيالي اللَّواتي مَرَّتْ عَلَينا

واللَّيالي اللَّواتي مَرَّتْ عَلَينا

بِحِماكُمْ الله ما أحْلاها

بِحِماكُمْ الله ما أحْلاها

And the nights that passed over us

And the nights that passed over us

Within your sanctuary—God, how sweet they were!

By God's protection, how beautiful they were

وأُوَيْقاتُكُمْ بِطيبِ التَّلاقي

وأُوَيْقاتُكُمْ بِطيبِ التَّلاقي

في طِباقِ التُّرابِ لا نَنْساها

في طِباقِ التُّرابِ لا نَنْساها

And your brief moments, sweet with meeting—

And your times of sweet company

Within the layers of earth, we shall not forget them.

In the embrace of soil, we do not forget them

كُلَّ آنٍ نَئِنُّ شَوقاً إلَيكمْ

كُلَّ آنٍ نَئِنُّ شَوقاً إلَيكمْ

إن قَطَعْنا آهاً نُواصِلُ آها

إن قَطَعْنا آهاً نُواصِلُ آها

Every moment we moan with longing for you;

Every moment we moan longing for you

If we break off one 'ah,' we continue with another 'ah.'

If we cease one sigh, we follow with another

قَد شَمَمْنا من بابِكُمْ عَتَباتٍ

قَد شَمَمْنا من بابِكُمْ عَتَباتٍ

ضِمْنَها تَزْحَمُ الجِباهُ الجِباها

ضِمْنَها تَزْحَمُ الجِباهُ الجِباها

We have breathed in the scent of thresholds at your door,

We have smelled from your doorsteps, thresholds

Where foreheads jostle foreheads.

Crowded with foreheads against foreheads

ورَأينا لَكُمْ خَفِيَّ شُؤُنٍ

ورَأينا لَكُمْ خَفِيَّ شُؤُنٍ

تَتَجَلَّى بِسِرِّنا شِمْناها

تَتَجَلَّى بِسِرِّنا شِمْناها

And we have seen your hidden affairs

And we saw your hidden affairs

Revealing themselves within our inward secret—we beheld them.

Revealed through our secret, we sensed them

فَطَوَيْنا شَمسَ الغَرامِ شُروقاً

فَطَوَيْنا شَمسَ الغَرامِ شُروقاً

في سَمَواتِ سِرِّنا وضُحاها

في سَمَواتِ سِرِّنا وضُحاها

So we enfolded the sun of passionate love at its rising

So we folded the sun of passion into sunrises

In the heavens of our inward secret, along with its morning radiance.

In the skies of our secret, making them glow

وقَرَأنا عَنْكُمْ رُموزاً رِقاقاً

وقَرَأنا عَنْكُمْ رُموزاً رِقاقاً

دَقَّ في حُكْمِ نَمْطِها مَعْناها

دَقَّ في حُكْمِ نَمْطِها مَعْناها

And we read delicate symbols concerning you;

And we read about you symbols, parchments

Their meaning was subtle in the ordering of their pattern.

Whose subtle wisdom proved their meaning

وذَهَبْنا مِنكُمْ إليكُمْ بِرُكْبا

وذَهَبْنا مِنكُمْ إليكُمْ بِرُكْبا

نِ قُلوبٍ بالشَّوقِ شَبَّ لَظاها

نِ قُلوبٍ بالشَّوقِ شَبَّ لَظاها

And we journeyed from you to you with a cavalcade

And we went from you to you in a procession

Of hearts whose blaze flared up with longing.

Of hearts the longing set ablaze and burned them

فارْحَموا ذُلَّها وَجودوا عَلَيها

فارْحَموا ذُلَّها وَجودوا عَلَيها

فَهَوانُ الهَوى المُلِحِّ كَفاها

فَهَوانُ الهَوى المُلِحِّ كَفاها

So have mercy on their abasement, and be generous to them,

So have mercy on their humiliation and grace them

For the humiliation of relentless love has been enough for them.

For ardent love's abasement suffices them

واسْتَعيدوا حَياتَها بِوِصالٍ

واسْتَعيدوا حَياتَها بِوِصالٍ

يا لَقَوْمي فالهَجْرُ قَ أفْناها

يا لَقَوْمي فالهَجْرُ قَ أفْناها

And restore their life through reunion—

And restore their lives with a union

O my people! For separation has annihilated them.

Oh my people, for separation has destroyed them