كتابٌ كريم جاءَني بعد فَتْرَةٍ

كتابٌ كريم جاءَني بعد فَتْرَةٍ

تَقيَّد مِنْها خاطِرِي لفُتُورِهِ

تَقيَّد مِنْها خاطِرِي لفُتُورِهِ

A noble letter came to me after a lapse,

A generous book came to me after a period

My mind had been fettered by it through its languor.

In which my mind was constrained by its torpor

وكبَّر طرفي حِين لاَح هِلاَلُه

وكبَّر طرفي حِين لاَح هِلاَلُه

وَبَادَرَ مِن طَعْم الكَرَى لفُطُورِهِ

وَبَادَرَ مِن طَعْم الكَرَى لفُطُورِهِ

And my eye proclaimed “God is greatest” when its crescent appeared,

And my eyes widened when its crescent appeared

And hastened from the taste of slumber to break its fast.

And I broke my fast with the taste of misery

وولَّت همومي تَسْتَجِنُّ بليلةٍ

وولَّت همومي تَسْتَجِنُّ بليلةٍ

وجَاءَ سروري يَسْتَضِيءُ بِنُوره

وجَاءَ سروري يَسْتَضِيءُ بِنُوره

And my cares fled, seeking shelter in a night,

And my worries faded for an evening

And my joy came, drawing illumination from its light.

And my joy came to illuminate with its light

أتاه سروري حين آنَس نَارَه

أتاه سروري حين آنَس نَارَه

فكان كَمُوسَى والكتَابُ كَطُوره

فكان كَمُوسَى والكتَابُ كَطُوره

My joy came to it when it perceived its fire,

My joy came to it when its fire brought warmth

So it was like Moses, and the letter like his Mount.

It was like Moses and the book like his Mount

وقبّلتُ منه طَيْفَ مَوْلىً أَحبُّه

وقبّلتُ منه طَيْفَ مَوْلىً أَحبُّه

سَرَى إِذ سَرَىَ في ليْلِ نقْسِ سُطُورِه

سَرَى إِذ سَرَىَ في ليْلِ نقْسِ سُطُورِه

And in it I kissed the phantom of a lord I love,

And I kissed from it the image of a beloved master

That journeyed by night as it journeyed through the ink-dark night of its lines.

Who traveled by night in the break of writing

وما نزهت عيني على وشْي حبره

وما نزهت عيني على وشْي حبره

ولكنَّها قد نُزهَتْ في حبيره

ولكنَّها قد نُزهَتْ في حبيره

My eye found no delight in the embroidery of its ink,

And my eyes were not entertained by its ink

But it did find delight in its brocade.

But they were entertained in its essence

فقد صِرْتُ عَبْدَ المُلْكِ مِنْ تَحْتِ سِرِّه

فقد صِرْتُ عَبْدَ المُلْكِ مِنْ تَحْتِ سِرِّه

وإِلاَّ فَرَبّ المُلْكِ فَوْقَ سُرِيره

وإِلاَّ فَرَبّ المُلْكِ فَوْقَ سُرِيره

For I have become the slave of dominion, from beneath its secret,

For I have become a servant of the King under his secret

Or else, the lord of dominion above its throne.

Unless the Lord of the Kingdom is above his throne