يا قَلبُ يا خائِنَ الحَبيبِ

ما أَنتَ إِلّا مِنَ القُلوبِ

O heart, O betrayer of the beloved

O heart, O betrayer of the beloved,

You are nothing but one of the hearts

You are nothing but an ordinary heart.

قُرَّةُ عَيني وَبَردُ عَيشي

بانَ وَرَيحانَتي وَطيبي

The delight of my eye and the joy of my life

The delight of my eye and the coolness of my life

My radiance, my basil, and my scent

Has departed, along with my sweet basil and my fragrance.

وَلَم تُقَطِّع وَلَم تُضَمِّن

أَثوابَكَ البيضَ في الجَنوبِ

You did not rend your white robes

Yet you did not shred, nor did you tear apart

In the south wind

Your white robes down their sides,

غَدَرتَ لا شَكُّ بِالحَبيبِ

أَحلِفُ بِالسامِعِ المُجيبِ

You betrayed, no doubt, the beloved

You have surely betrayed the beloved;

I swear by the All-Hearing, the Responder

I swear by the All-Hearing, the Responder.

فَقالَ ذَنبٌ عَزايَ عَنهُ

فَقُلتُ مِن أَعظَمِ الذُنوبِ

It said it was a sin beyond it

It said: "My finding solace for him is a sin,"

I said it was among the greatest sins

And I replied: "Indeed, one of the greatest sins,"

أَو يُقرَنُ القَلبُ بِالوَجيبِ

وَتُغمَرَ الأُذنُ بِالنَحيبِ

Or that the heart be chained to grief

Unless the heart is yoked to trembling palpitations,

And the ear immersed in weeping

And the ear is drowned in the sound of wailing,

وَتُرسِلُ العَينُ ماقِيَيها

بِالفَيضِ مِن مائِها السَكوبِ

And the eye sends forth its waters

And the eye unleashes its tear-ducts

In a torrent from its springs

With an overflowing flood of pouring water.

فَثَمَّ أَدري أَشَرَّ قَلبٍ

أَنَّكَ تَأسى عَلى الحَبيبِ

Then I knew no viler heart

Only then will I know, O most wicked of hearts,

Than yours, grieving for the beloved

That you truly mourn for the beloved.