أبا عامر ناديت خلا مصافياً

أبا عامر ناديت خلا مصافياً

يفديك من دهم الخطوب الطوارق

يفديك من دهم الخطوب الطوارق

O Abu Amir, you have called upon an intimate, devoted friend

Aba Amer I called when the hardships intensified

O Abu ‘Amir, you called upon a pure and devoted friend,

who would ransom you from dark calamities that strike unexpectedly.

May he ransom you from the onslaught of the Tuaregs

Who would ransom his soul to shield you from sudden, dark calamities.

وآلمت قلباً مخلصاً لك ممحضاً

وآلمت قلباً مخلصاً لك ممحضاً

بودك موصول العرى والعلائق

بودك موصول العرى والعلائق

And a heart sincere toward you, wholly devoted, has been pained,

And I pained a heart devoted to you sincerely

You have grieved a heart entirely faithful and sincere to you,

its bonds and ties bound by love for you,

Your love joined together veins and bonds

Bound fast to your affection by the firmest ties and bonds.

شدائد يجلوها الإله بلطفه

شدائد يجلوها الإله بلطفه

فلا تأنس إن الدهر جم المضايق

فلا تأنس إن الدهر جم المضايق

by hardships that God dispels through His kindness.

Hardships will be made easy by God with His kindness

These are hardships that God shall dispel with His gentle grace,

So do not feel secure: time is rife with straits.

So do not despair, for time has straitened the roads

So surrender not to despair, though fate is crowded with straits.

فمعقب سوء الحال حسني وفرحة

فمعقب سوء الحال حسني وفرحة

وتالي رخاء العيش احدى البوائق

وتالي رخاء العيش احدى البوائق

For hardship is followed by good fortune and joy,

For the bad state comes good fortune and joy

For adversity is ever succeeded by goodness and delight,

and ease of living is followed by one of the calamities.

And following easy living are obstacles

Just as after a life of ease may follow dire catastrophe.

ورب أسير في يد الهول مطلق

ورب أسير في يد الهول مطلق

ومنطلق والدهر أسوق سائق

ومنطلق والدهر أسوق سائق

And many a captive in terror's grip is released,

Many a prisoner is freed from terror

Many a captive in the grip of terror has been set free,

and many a free man is driven by time, the most forceful driver.

While the free are driven by time the driver

While one who roams free is relentlessly driven by time, the sternest herder.

سفينة نوح لم تضق بحلولها

سفينة نوح لم تضق بحلولها

وضاق بهم رحب الملا والسمالق

وضاق بهم رحب الملا والسمالق

Noah's ark was not cramped by its occupants,

Noah's ship was not too narrow for its lodging

Noah's ark did not prove too narrow for those who boarded it,

yet the vast open country and barren plains were too narrow for them.

Yet the expanse of prostration was too narrow for them

Even when the vast expanses and open plains became suffocating.

فإن تنج قلت الحمد لله مخلصاً

فإن تنج قلت الحمد لله مخلصاً

فمن أعظم النعمى بقاء المصادق

فمن أعظم النعمى بقاء المصادق

If you survive, I shall sincerely say, 'Praise be to God.'

If you are saved, I say praise be to God as a savior

If you are saved, I shall say with heartfelt devotion, "Praise be to God,"

For a true friend's survival is among the greatest blessings.

For the greatest of blessings is loyal friendship remaining

For among the greatest of blessings is the preservation of true friends.

وإن تكن الأخرى فأقرب بلاحق

وإن تكن الأخرى فأقرب بلاحق

تأخر منا من تقدم سابق

تأخر منا من تقدم سابق

And if the other outcome comes, how near is a follower

And if it be the other, the end is drawing near

And if it be the other fate, how swiftly will the follower join,

who has lingered among us to the one who went ahead!

Those preceding us will be followed by those delaying

And whoever among us lingers behind will soon catch up with the one gone ahead.

فقربك لي أنس وبعدك موحشي

فقربك لي أنس وبعدك موحشي

ولقياك مسلاتي وفقدك شائقي

ولقياك مسلاتي وفقدك شائقي

For your nearness is my comfort, and your distance leaves me lonely,

For your nearness gives me comfort, and your remoteness saddens me

For your nearness brings me solace, and your absence leaves me desolate,

and meeting you is my solace; losing you fills me with longing.

and seeing you gladdens me, while your loss captivates me

Meeting you is my consolation, and losing you consumes me with aching sorrow.