للَهto God (an exclamation of wonder) قلبٌa heart تُقلِّبْهُturn it about عواملُهُits governing forces
للَه قلبٌ تُقلِّبْهُ عواملُهُ
فراحand so it became معمولَthe object acted upon أفراحٍjoys وأحزانِand sorrows
فراح معمولَ أفراحٍ وأحزانِ
What a heart I have! Its governing forces toss it this way and that,
What a heart, tossed about by the forces that govern it!
till it becomes the object of joys and sorrows.
And so it became the object of joys and sorrows.
لماwhen رأىsaw العاملانthe two governing forces القلبَthe heart بينهماbetween them both
لما رأى العاملان القلبَ بينهما
تنازعاهthey both vied for it فكانso was الفعلthe action; the verb للثانيfor the second
تنازعاه فكان الفعل للثاني
When the two agents saw the heart between them,
When the two governing forces saw the heart between them,
they vied to govern it—and the latter, sorrow, did the governing.
They vied for it, and the action fell to the latter.
Sol 6.1