أوقات وصلكم عيد وأفراح

يا من هم الروح لي والروح والراح

Times of your arrival are a holiday and joy

The moments of union with You are a festival and pure joy,

O you who are the spirit to me, and the spirit and comfort

O You who are my Spirit, my Repose, and my Wine.

يا من إذا اكتحلت عيني بطلعتهم

وحقّقت في محيا الحسن ترتاح

O you when my eyes are lined with their rising

O You, whose countenance—when my eyes are anointed with its sight—

And in my cheek beauty is fulfilled and rests

Finds rest as it gazes deeply into the visage of Beauty.

دبّت حميّاهم في كل جوهرةٍ

عقل ونفس وأعضاء وأرواح

Their love permeates every gem

The intoxication of their love has pervaded every essence:

Mind and soul and limbs and spirits

My intellect, my self, my limbs, and my spirit.

فما نظرت إلى شيء بدا أبداً

إلا وأحباب قلبي دونه لا حوا

So I looked at nothing, nothing ever appeared

I have never looked upon anything manifest,

Except my heart's beloveds beyond it, no others

Without the beloveds of my heart appearing before it.

نظرت حسن الذي لا شيء يشبهه

فما يروقُ لقلبي بعد ملاح

I looked upon the beauty that nothing resembles

I gazed upon a Beauty that nothing can resemble,

So nothing pleases my heart after their radiance

So that afterwards, no other beautiful sights can please my heart.

وليس في طاقتي الرؤيا لغيرهم

ولو قلتني الورى في ذاك أو شاحوا

And I cannot bear to look at others

It is not within my power to look upon other than them,

Though the world said to me in this or disputed

Even if mankind hates me for it, or turns away in scorn.

غرقت في حبّهم دهرا ألم ترني

في بحرهم سفن حقا وملاح

I drowned lifelong in their love, did you not see me

I have been drowning in their love for an age; do you not see me?

In their sea ships in truth and sailor

Truly, amidst their ocean, I am both the ship and the sailor.

ماذا على من رأى يوما جمالهم

أن ليس تبدو له شمس وإصباح

What of one who saw one day their beauty

What blame falls upon one who has glimpsed their beauty,

That no sun or dawn appears to him

If neither the sun nor the morning dawn appears to him?

جبال مكة لو شامت محاسنهم

حنّوا ومن شوقهم ناحوا وقد صاحوا

If the hills of Mecca perceived their perfections

If the mountains of Mecca were to witness their charms,

They would bow, and from ardor they would moan and cry out

They would moan, wail, and cry out from their longing.

شهب الدراري مدى الأيام سابحة

لو أبصرتهم لما جاءوا ولا راحوا

The shooting stars throughout time swimming

The pearl-like stars, swimming through the days,

If they saw them they would not have come or gone

If they beheld them, would neither rise nor set.

لو كنت أعجب من شيء لأعجبني

صبر المحبين ما ناحوا ولا باحوا

If I marveled at anything, I would marvel

If I were to marvel at anything, I would marvel at

At the patience of lovers - they neither moaned nor cried out

The patience of lovers who neither wail nor reveal their secret.

أريد كتم الهوى حينا فيمنعني

تهتّكي كيف لا والحبّ فضّاح

I want to hide passion sometimes but my dissolution prevents me

I wish to conceal my passion for a time, but I am prevented

How not, and love is a blabbermouth indeed

By my complete unraveling—and how could it be otherwise when Love exposes all?

لا شيء يثني عناني عن محبّتهم

ولا الصوارم في صدري وأرماح

Nothing turns me from my love of them

Nothing can turn my reins away from loving them,

Not even swords upon my chest and spears

Not even sharp swords or spears piercing my chest.

قال العواذل فيك السحر قلت لهم

نعم ولي صحة فيه وإصلاح

The censurers said you are bewitched, I said to them

The critics said, "You are under a spell." I replied,

Yes, and I have health in it and correction

"Yes, and in it I find my health and restoration."

لا زال يربو مع الآنات بي أبدا

فلي به بين أهل الحبّ أمداح

It only grows within me forever with the moments

It continues to grow within me forever alongside my groans,

So for it among lovers I have praises

Earning me praise among the people of Love.

يا عاذلي كن عذيري في محبّتهم

فإن قلبي بما يهواه مشحاح

O my critic, make excuses for my love of them

O you who blame me, accept my excuse for loving them,

For my heart is cracked open by what it desires

For my heart clings stubbornly to what it desires.

إن الملام لأغراء وتقويةٌ

ملا فإنك مكثار وملحاح

Blame is seduction and strengthening

Indeed, blame only incites and strengthens my resolve;

So blame, for you are a prolific blamer

So blame on, for you are excessive and persistent.

إني لأهجر خلا لا يحدثني

عنهم وتحرم في التوراة ألواح

I shun any companion who does not speak to me of them

I truly abandon a friend who does not speak to me

And deprivation is forbidden in the Torah’s tablets

About them, as if silence were a breaking of sacred tablets.

شرع المحبة قاض في حكومته

بصرم خل من الأشجان يرتاح

The law of love rules in its dominion

The Law of Love has decreed in its governance

With a sword of aloes free of sorrows he rests

The severance of ties with any friend who rests free from sorrow.

مسكين ما ذاق طعم العشق منذ بدا

ولا استفزّته من لقمان أرواح

Poor is he who has not tasted love's flavor since it began

Wretched is he who has never tasted the flavor of passion,

Nor did spirits stir him from morsels

And who has not been stirred by the spirits of wisdom.

فما نديمي بحان الأنس غير فتىً

له لأخبارهم نشر وإيضاح

So my boon companion in intimacy is none but a youth

My companion in the tavern of intimacy is none but a youth

Who spreads and explains their news

Who spreads and clarifies the news of the Beloved.

لا كسب لي بل ولا شغلٌ ولا عملٌ

ففي حديثهم تجر وأرباح

I have no earnings, no work or labor

I have no earnings, no occupation, and no work;

For in their tales lies profit and benefits

For in speaking of them lies all my trade and profit.

ما جنّة الخلد إلا في مجالسهم

فيها ثمارٌ وأطيارٌ وأرواح

Paradise is naught but their gatherings

The Garden of Eternity is found only in their gatherings,

Wherein are fruits and birds and spirits

Wherein lie fruits, birds, and fragrant breezes.

هوى المحب لدى المحبوب حيث ثوى

وكيفما راح هبّت منه أرواح

The lover's passion is where the beloved settled

The lover's desire remains with the Beloved wherever He dwells;

And however he went, spirits wafted from him

And wherever He moves, fragrant winds blow from Him.

أودّ طول الليالي أن خلوت بهم

وقد أديرت أباريقٌ وأقداح

I want through the long nights to be alone with them

I wish to spend the long nights in seclusion with them,

With pitchers and goblets turned round

While ewers and cups of spiritual wine are passed around.

يروعني الصبحُ إن لاحت طلائعهُ

يا ليته لم يكن ضوء وإصباح

Dawn startles me when its harbingers appear

The morning terrifies me when its first rays appear;

Would that there were no light or dawn

Oh, how I wish there were no light nor dawn to break.

ليلي بدا مشرقا من حسن طلعتهم

وكل ذا الدهر أنوارٌ وأفراح

My night shone radiant in the beauty of their rising

My night has become radiant from the beauty of their countenance,

And all this life is lights and joys

And all of time is now filled with light and joy.

اسكن فؤادي وطب نفسا وقرّ لقد

بلغت ما رمت قرّ الناس أو ساحوا

Settle my heart and heal my soul and soothe me

Be at peace, my heart; be of good cheer and rest, for

For I have attained what I sought, the people's rest or wanderings

You have attained your desire, whether others settle or wander.

واطلب إلهك ما ترجو فإنّ له

خزائناً ما لها قفل ومفتاح

And seek from your God what you wish

Ask of your God whatever you hope for, for truly He possesses

For He has treasures without lock or key

Treasuries that have neither lock nor key.