أرى الحب لا يفنى ولم يفنه الألى

أرى الحب لا يفنى ولم يفنه الألى

أحبوا أرقد كانوا على سالف الدهر

أحبوا أرقد كانوا على سالف الدهر

I see that love does not perish, nor have those destroyed it

I see love does not perish, nor did time cause it to cease

Who loved—[unclear word]—and lived in ages long past.

All who loved, whether asleep or awake in ages past

وكلهم قد خاله في فؤاده

وكلهم قد خاله في فؤاده

بأجمعه يحكون ذلك في الشعر

بأجمعه يحكون ذلك في الشعر

And each of them has imagined it within his heart,

Were all possessed by it in their innermost hearts

In its entirety; they recount that in verse.

Speaking of it altogether in verse

وما الحبُّ إلّا سمعُ أذنٍ ونظرةٌ

وما الحبُّ إلّا سمعُ أذنٍ ونظرةٌ

وَجنّة قلبٍ عَن حديثٍ وعن ذكرِ

وَجنّة قلبٍ عَن حديثٍ وعن ذكرِ

And love is nothing but an ear’s hearing and a glance,

Love is but a hearing by the ear and a glance by the eye

And a heart’s madness, arising from conversation and remembrance.

A garden of the heart, beyond talk and recollection

وَلَو كانَ شيء غيره فني الهوى

وَلَو كانَ شيء غيره فني الهوى

وَأَبلاه مَن يهوى ولو كان من صخرِ

وَأَبلاه مَن يهوى ولو كان من صخرِ

And were love anything else, it would have perished,

If it were aught else, passion would have worn it away

And whoever loves would have worn it out, even if it were rock.

And rendered it feeble, even were it made of rock