يقولونَ لي ما بالُ لونِك شاحباً

يقولونَ لي ما بالُ لونِك شاحباً

فقلتُ لهم إن الحبيبَ سَلاني

فقلتُ لهم إن الحبيبَ سَلاني

They say to me, “Why is your complexion pale?”

They ask me, why is your color so pale?

I said to them, “Indeed, the beloved has forgotten me.”

I said to them, it's because my beloved reproached me.

تسليتُ عن حيٍّ بدا لي بعادهم

تسليتُ عن حيٍّ بدا لي بعادهم

وفارقتُهم بالكُره مُنذ زَمانِ

وفارقتُهم بالكُره مُنذ زَمانِ

I ceased to pine for a clan whose estrangement became clear to me,

I consoled myself for one alive by their absence,

And parted from them unwillingly some time ago.

And I had come to dislike them for a long time.

ولكنّه لما أتاني كتابُهم

ولكنّه لما أتاني كتابُهم

وجدّد لي تذكارَهم فَشَجَاني

وجدّد لي تذكارَهم فَشَجَاني

But when their letter came to me,

But when their letter came to me,

And renewed my memory of them, it stirred my sorrow,

And renewed for me the memory of them, it made me ache.

وذكّرني عهداً مضَى بوصالهم

وذكّرني عهداً مضَى بوصالهم

فصيرَ قلبي دائم الخَفَقَانِ

فصيرَ قلبي دائم الخَفَقَانِ

And reminded me of a bygone time of union with them,

And reminded me of a time passed in their company,

It made my heart flutter without cease.

So my heart now beats constantly.

عليك سلامى ما همَي واكفُ الحيا

عليك سلامى ما همَي واكفُ الحيا

وما دارتِ الأفلاك بالمَلَوَانِ

وما دارتِ الأفلاك بالمَلَوَانِ

My greeting be upon you as long as the rain pours down,

My greetings be upon you, as long as I and the stars revolve,

And as long as the celestial spheres revolve through night and day.

And as long as the planets turn in their orbits.