ولَمّا تنازَعنَ مَعنى الحديث

ولَمّا تنازَعنَ مَعنى الحديث

بمختلف اللفظ أو متّفِقْ

بمختلف اللفظ أو متّفِقْ

And when they disputed the meaning of the conversation,

When we disputed the meaning of words

in differing words or matching ones,

With different terms or some aligned

لوينَ الحواجبَ نَزْعَ القسيّ

لوينَ الحواجبَ نَزْعَ القسيّ

وأرسلنَ عَنهُنّ نَبْلَ الحَدَقْ

وأرسلنَ عَنهُنّ نَبْلَ الحَدَقْ

they bent their brows as bows are drawn,

She arched her eyebrows, plucking them like a bowstring

and loosed from them the arrows of their pupils.

And shot from them arrows from her eyes

فلم يُصِبِ القلبَ من قبلها

فلم يُصِبِ القلبَ من قبلها

سهامٌ مُنَصَّلَةٌ بالحدَقْ

سهامٌ مُنَصَّلَةٌ بالحدَقْ

For before these, the heart had never been struck

So no arrows reached my heart from her side

by arrows tipped with pupils.

Feathered arrows shot from her eyes

فكان علينا الهوى لا لنا

فكان علينا الهوى لا لنا

وعَنَّ الفراقُ وَمِنهُ الفرَق

وعَنَّ الفراقُ وَمِنهُ الفرَق

Thus love was against us, not for us,

And so love came upon us, not from us

and parting loomed, and from it came fear.

And parting arrived, as did our divide

فيا لو رأيتَ ارتعادَ الجسومِ

فيا لو رأيتَ ارتعادَ الجسومِ

لَقُلتَ الرّياحُ تهزُّ الوَرَق

لَقُلتَ الرّياحُ تهزُّ الوَرَق

Ah, had you seen the trembling bodies,

Oh, if you had seen the trembling of bodies

you would have said, 'The winds are shaking the leaves.'

You'd have said the winds shake the leaves

وأبصرتَ حُمْرَ دموعِ الجفونِ

وأبصرتَ حُمْرَ دموعِ الجفونِ

لقلتَ تَعَلّقَ منها العلق

لقلتَ تَعَلّقَ منها العلق

And had you seen the red tears of the eyelids,

And seen the redness of tears on eyelids

you would have said, 'Clotted blood hangs from them.'

You'd have said some clung there, suspended