زهَتهُ الملاحةُ حتى سفرْ

زهَتهُ الملاحةُ حتى سفرْ

وخلى الدلالَ لذاتِ الخفرْ

وخلى الدلالَ لذاتِ الخفرْ

Beauty made him so proud that he unveiled his face,

Sailing lost its allure, so he bid adieu,

And left coquetry to the bashful woman.

And left the guides for the guards' land view,

وباتَ يسامرُ أهلَ الهوى

وباتَ يسامرُ أهلَ الهوى

وقدْ طابَ للعاشقينَ السمرْ

وقدْ طابَ للعاشقينَ السمرْ

And spent the night conversing with lovers,

He began conversing with the passionate ones,

And nighttime talk had grown sweet to lovers.

As night talk grew pleasant for lovers true,

يحدثنا عن بني عُذْرة

يحدثنا عن بني عُذْرة

ويروي لنا عن جميلٍ خبرْ

ويروي لنا عن جميلٍ خبرْ

He tells us of Banu ‘Udhra,

He tells us of Bani Udhra tales untold,

And relates to us a tale of Jamil,

And narrates to us Jameel's exploits too,

وليلى وعن حبِّ مجنونِها

وليلى وعن حبِّ مجنونِها

وعمن وفى للهوى أو غدرْ

وعمن وفى للهوى أو غدرْ

And Layla, and of her Majnun's love,

Of Layla and Majnun's unfading love,

And those who kept faith with love or betrayed it.

And those who stayed loyal or traitors grew,

ويذكرنا فعلاتِ الردى

ويذكرنا فعلاتِ الردى

بأهلِ البوادي وأهلِ الحضرْ

بأهلِ البوادي وأهلِ الحضرْ

And reminds us of death's deeds

He reminds us of reckless acts back then,

Among desert dwellers and townspeople:

Among dwellers of the wild and cities too,

كحظِّ السعيدِ إذا ما ارتقى

كحظِّ السعيدِ إذا ما ارتقى

وحظِّ الشقيِّ إذا ما انحدرْ

وحظِّ الشقيِّ إذا ما انحدرْ

Like the fortunate one's lot when he rises,

Like fate of one blessed as he climbed ahead,

And the wretched one's lot when he falls.

And fate of one damned as he further withdrew,

أرى كل شيءٍ له آيةٌ

أرى كل شيءٍ له آيةٌ

وآيةُ هذي الليالي العبرْ

وآيةُ هذي الليالي العبرْ

I see that everything has a sign,

Everything has a sign I do believe,

And the sign of these nights is the lessons they teach.

These nights of contemplation the clearest clue,

فيا قمرَ الأفقِ ماذا الزمان

فيا قمرَ الأفقِ ماذا الزمان

جيلٌ تخلَّى وجيلٌ غبرْ

جيلٌ تخلَّى وجيلٌ غبرْ

So, O moon of the horizon, what is time?

O moon of the horizon, what of our time?

A generation has departed, and a generation remains.

One generation strayed and one restored virtue,

ويومٌ يمرُّ ويومٌ يكر

ويومٌ يمرُّ ويومٌ يكر

فآناً نساءُ وآناً نُسرْ

فآناً نساءُ وآناً نُسرْ

And a day passes, and a day returns;

A day passes by and then one returns,

So at times we are saddened, and at times gladdened.

At times it's women at others it's men true,

بربكَ هل بالدجى لوعةٌ

بربكَ هل بالدجى لوعةٌ

فإن غابَ عنهُ سناكَ اعتكرْ

فإن غابَ عنهُ سناكَ اعتكرْ

By your Lord, is there anguish in the darkness?

Does your Lord's absence cause you grief at night?

For if your radiance is absent from it, it grows murky,

For if your brilliance left, He will darker grew,

كغانيةٍ فارقتْ صبَّها

كغانيةٍ فارقتْ صبَّها

فأرختْ غليها حدادَ الشعرْ

فأرختْ غليها حدادَ الشعرْ

Like a beauty who parted from her lovesick lover,

Like a songstress parted from her lover dear,

And let her hair's mourning garb fall over her.

Donning mourning's black garb and hair askew,

إذا ما سهرنا لما نابنا

إذا ما سهرنا لما نابنا

فما للنجومِ وما للسهرْ

فما للنجومِ وما للسهرْ

If we stay awake because of what has befallen us,

When we stay up awake till the break of dawn,

Then what ails the stars, and why their sleeplessness?

Do the stars and our vigil matter to you?

أترثي لمن باتَ تحتَ الدجى

أترثي لمن باتَ تحتَ الدجى

يُقَلِّبُ جنبيهِ حرُّ الضجرْ

يُقَلِّبُ جنبيهِ حرُّ الضجرْ

Do they mourn for one who spends the night beneath the darkness,

Shall I mourn one who lies awake in the dark?

Tossed from side to side by the heat of restlessness,

Tossing and turning, bored and intervention due,

على لوعةٍ يصطلي نارَها

على لوعةٍ يصطلي نارَها

وحرُّ الهوى في حشاهُ استعرْ

وحرُّ الهوى في حشاهُ استعرْ

In anguish, scorched by its fire,

Burning with yearning, fanning its flames,

While the heat of passion has flared within his breast?

While love's passion within him rages anew,

وقد بسطَ البدرُ فوقَ الثرى

وقد بسطَ البدرُ فوقَ الثرى

بساطاً فنامَ عليهِ الزهرْ

بساطاً فنامَ عليهِ الزهرْ

And the full moon had spread over the earth

The moon has unfurled its rug on the land,

A carpet, on which the blossoms fell asleep,

And flowers have slept on it in night's dew,

إلى أن طوتهُ يمينُ الصَّبا

إلى أن طوتهُ يمينُ الصَّبا

وقد بللتهُ عيونُ السحَرْ

وقد بللتهُ عيونُ السحَرْ

Until the east wind's right hand folded it up,

Until the morning breeze rolled it away,

And the eyes of predawn had moistened it.

Drenching it with the eyes of dawn's first view,

وباحَ الصباحُ بأسرارهِ

وباحَ الصباحُ بأسرارهِ

فحجبتِ الشمسُ وجهَ القمرْ

فحجبتِ الشمسُ وجهَ القمرْ

And morning divulged its secrets,

Morn shone revealing its secrets abound,

So the sun veiled the moon's face.

But the sun concealed the moon from our view.