1. There was once a revered old man renowned for his generosity
Who would play the oud, enchanting and beguiling all

2. In his comfortable life he would advise and command
But time betrayed him, for time is ever a traitor

3. And days long past deceived him when his hair turned white
So he battled time with graceful patience

4. Hoping this patience would set his affairs right
But when he was tested with the loss of his son, he gnashed his teeth in grief

5. And the patience he had deserted and betrayed him
So he became an outcast, captive to sorrows

6. And he parted from this world, tired of its worship
Wandering in God's lands, traversing its valleys

7. The world felt too confining, so he blamed it and shunned its affection
And when alone with his soul, he sought to guide it saying:

8. "Oh soul, woe to you, melt away"
Sometimes between the mountains you would see his silhouette

9. And hear his oud moaning through the valleys
Roaming as his oud became his bosom friend

10. Comforting him in times of distress, sheltering him
Clasped to his chest like a beloved

11. He came to a river to sit for a while
And relieve the anguish and regret overwhelming him

12. When he saw the water and greenery before him
He drew the oud close and let flow a tear

13. Yearning for the past, a stranger's lament
Ceaselessly he recalled his youth

14. Shedding tears as memories sparked a blaze in his mind
Saying to the river whose water seethed and churned

15. "Greetings O river, cool my agonies
Whenever I come to you, you relieve my troubles"

16. As he bid farewell to this life
And sacrificed a soul long tormented

17. Sending a faded glance searching
He saw the trees before him fragmented in agony

18. And it shattered the heart of each terrified witness
He saw a beautiful gazelle confounded

19. The breeze playing with her hair
One hand on her cheek, the other on her chest

20. Mourning the loss of her companion like Al-Khansa
With none to hear her voice or answer her call

21. The old man drew near her, lamenting her beauty
Speaking to counsel her, to delight in her daze

22. Asking gently about her state
Hoping he could somehow end her sorrows

23. And she might live a happy, fruitful life
He said "Are you lost here, weeping

24. From overwhelming misery and hardship?
Why, why such tears and melancholy

25. Tell me of your life, has your joy been severed?
You seem like a blossoming branch in the gardens"

26. "Has a beloved shunned you in his passion and affection?
If he has broken his vow, have patience

27. With the ways of time and its cunning
Through patience, the state of the wise tastes sweet"

28. "Do not reject life's joys
Leave regret to the days of old age

29. You have days ahead - beware their deception
On which woes will etch their lines

30. Time holds death, the best healer"
When she understood, the old man's heart burned brighter

31. And he drew closer to the beauty, seeking nearness
Stretching his hands to the maiden with propriety

32. Saying in an imploring tone, wooing her:
"Answer my call, O angel, answer"

33. She replied as tears flowed in torrents:
"O Sheikh, leave me now to my anguish

34. For by chance of fate, I am in Sukrah
Perhaps when I die, I will glimpse

35. My love, my fate in the hereafter"
"By God, I left behind my family and home

36. Seeking to free my soul in isolation
Alas, my love died yesterday, and I have nothing left

37. Except my agony and humiliation after him
Oh, how I wish for death after my beloved"

38. She continued lamenting the days and what they had wrought
Weeping and wailing as her heart blazed

39. Oh, that you had not heard or seen
Her weeping, as the sheikh looked on bewildered

40. His being melted by the searing flames
When he called her to acceptance of the ordained fate

41. She flung herself into the river as the sheikh watched
And her last words were "I die absolved and pardoned

42. I hope God forgives my deeds and grants me grace
And pardons one like me, erasing my sins"

43. When the soul despairs and its torment intensifies
Triumphing over the joys of life and its misery

44. It bids the world farewell, renouncing all hope in it
Just as that sheikh's soul found consolation unbearable

45. And bid farewell to his oud, crying:
"O solace of sorrows, in you troubles smoldered,

46. The passions of lovers stirred and crumbled
Without you my hopes of old would have been severed

47. So much comfort you brought when you embraced me
And you so often told my woeful soul: be soothed"

48. "You who wept without tears
Yearning, love's tranquility warmed your core

49. How many times you carved the longing of one consumed by passion
A melancholy soul lost in desire and submission

50. In a melody that mesmerized the lovers"
"My companion in my isolation and estrangement

51. You were my relief in times of distress
You were my only desire, not apart from you

52. Ever present whether I was with you or apart
In a heart open until the day of resurrection"

53. "May the breeze blow and sway and bend
To strum your strings and make them tremble

54. So a longing spreads through the air sweetly
And touches my spirit in the sky, befriending it

55. And the wind will carry what is near"
"O feather that dictates the feelings of the heart

56. Bringing the strings to life, revealing their secrets
Uncovering the essence of love in every line

57. And what the melodies concealed in their course
Farewell, in the morn and eve's dusk"

58. "And how your tears flowed copiously
As the world felt too small however vast

59. He cast off a soul seeking its Lord's pardon
Wandering in yearning toward the axis of its pole

60. A heart bound for the abode of eternity and bliss"