لمّا نَزَلَ الشَّيْبُ بِرَأْسِي وَخَطَا

لمّا نَزَلَ الشَّيْبُ بِرَأْسِي وَخَطَا

والعُمْرُ معَ الشَبَابْ ولّى وخَطَا

والعُمْرُ معَ الشَبَابْ ولّى وخَطَا

When gray hair descended upon my head and strode across it,

When gray hairs descended on my head, traced lines,

And life, along with youth, turned away and moved on,

And life with youth receded, traced its course,

أصبحتُ بسُمْرِ سمرقندٍ و خَطا

أصبحتُ بسُمْرِ سمرقندٍ و خَطا

لا أُفَرّقُ ما بَيْنَ صَوَابٍ وخَطَا

لا أُفَرّقُ ما بَيْنَ صَوَابٍ وخَطَا

Among the brown-skinned beauties of Samarkand and Khata, I am now

I took to heart the lesson Samarqand taught

Unable to distinguish right from wrong.

And ceased distinguishing right conduct from wrong.