كَمْ تَشْتَكِي وَتَقُولُ إِنَّكَ مُعْدِمُ

وَالْأَرْضُ مِلْكُكَ وَالسَّمَا وَالْأَنْجُمُ؟

How often you complain and say you are desolate,

How often you complain, claiming you are destitute,

Yet the earth is your kingdom, and the sky and the stars too.

When the earth is yours, as are the sky and the stars?

وَلَكَ الْحُقُولُ وَزَهْرُهَا وَأَرِيجُهَا

وَنَسِيمُهَا وَالْبُلْبُلُ الْمُتَرَنِّمُ

The meadows are yours, and their flowers and fragrances,

The fields are yours, with their flowers and fragrance,

Their breeze, and the melodious nightingale.

And their breeze, and the chanting nightingale.

وَالْمَاءُ حَوْلَكَ فِضَّةٌ رَقْرَاقَةٌ

وَالشَّمْسُ فَوْقَكَ عَسْجَدٌ يَتَضَرَّمُ

The water around you is silver, rippling,

The water around you is a shimmering silver,

And the sun above you is radiant, beaming.

And the sun above you is blazing gold.

وَالنُّورُ يَبْنِي فِي السُّفُوحِ وَفِي الذُّرَى

دُورًا مُزَخْرَفَةً وَحِينًا يَهْدِمُ

And light builds in the slopes and the hills

The light builds, upon the slopes and peaks,

Adorned mansions, though at times it destroys.

Ornate palaces, which at times it tears down.

فَكَأَنَّهُ الْفَنَّانُ يَعْرِضُ عَابِثًا

آيَاتِهِ قُدَّامَ مَنْ يَتَعَلَّمُ

It is as though the Artist displays whimsically

As though it were an artist, playfully displaying

His signs before one who wishes to learn.

His masterpieces before one who seeks to learn.

وَكَأَنَّهُ لِصَفَائِهِ وَسَنَائِهِ

بَحْرٌ تَعُومُ بِهِ الطُّيُورُ الْحُوَّمُ

And it is as though, for its clarity and brightness,

It is as if, in its clarity and brilliance,

It is a sea in which carefree birds circle.

It is a sea wherein the hovering birds swim.

هَشَّتْ لَكَ الدُّنْيَا فَمَا لَكَ وَاجِمًا

وَتَبَسَّمَتْ فَعَلَامَ لَا تَتَبَسَّمُ

The world blossomed for you, so why are you gloomy,

The world has beamed at you, so why do you gloom?

And it smiled, so why do you not smile?

It has smiled, so why do you not smile back?

إِنْ كُنْتَ مُكْتَئِبًا لِعِزٍّ قَدْ مَضَى

هَيْهَاتَ يُرْجِعُهُ إِلَيْكَ تَنَدُّمُ

If you are dejected for glory now past,

If you are depressed over glory that has passed,

Alas! Regret will not bring it back to you.

Regret, alas, will never bring it back to you.

أَوْ كُنْتَ تُشْفِقُ مِنْ حُلُولِ مُصِيبَةٍ

هَيْهَاتَ يَمْنَعُ أَنْ تَحِلَّ تَجَهُّمُ

Or were you fearful of some affliction befalling,

Or if you fear the arrival of some calamity,

Alas! Fretting will not prevent it from happening.

Scowling will never prevent it from occurring.

أَوْ كُنْتَ جَاوَزْتَ الشَّبَابَ فَلَا تَقُلْ

شَاخَ الزَّمَانُ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَهْرَمُ

Or had you passed your youth, yet do not say

Or if you have passed your youth, do not say:

Time has withered, for it does not grow old.

"Time has grown old," for Time never ages.

انْظُرْ فَمَا زَالَتْ تُطِلُّ مِنَ الثَّرَى

صُوَرٌ تَكَادُ لِحُسْنِهَا تَتَكَلَّمُ

Look! Forms still rise from the earth

Look! From the soil there still gaze up

Whose beauty is such, they seem about to speak.

Forms so beautiful they almost speak,

مَا بَيْنَ أَشْجَارٍ كَأَنَّ غُصُونَهَا

أَيْدٍ تُصَفِّقُ تَارَةً وَتُسَلِّمُ

What lies between trees is like hands

Amidst trees whose branches seem like

Clapping at times, waving at others.

Hands that clap at times, and at others wave hello.

وَعُيُونِ مَاءٍ دَافِقَاتٍ فِي الثَّرَى

تَشْفِي السَّقِيمَ كَأَنَّمَا هِيَ زَمْزَمُ

And gushing springs in the ground

And springs of water gushing from the earth,

Heal the ailing, as though they were Zamzam.

Healing the sick as though they were Zamzam's well.

وَمَسَارِحٍ فَتَنَ النَّسِيمَ جَمَالُهَا

فَسَرَى يُدَنْدِنُ تَارَةً وَيُهَمْهِمُ

And theaters - the breeze's beauty seduced them,

And open meadows whose beauty has charmed the breeze,

So it crept, humming at times, whispering at others.

So it wanders through them, humming and murmuring,

فَكَأَنَّهُ صَبٌّ بِبَابِ حَبِيبَةٍ

مُتَوَسِّلٌ مُسْتَعْطِفٌ مُسْتَرْحِمُ

It is like a lover at his beloved's door,

Like a lover standing at his beloved's door,

Entreating, conciliatory, seeking favor.

Pleading, seeking affection, begging for mercy.

وَالْجَدْوَلُ الْجَذْلَانُ يَضْحَكُ لَاهِيًا

وَالنَّرْجِسُ الْوَلْهَانُ مُغْفٍ يَحْلُمُ

The playful, vivacious stream laughs lightheartedly,

While the joyful stream laughs in play,

While the bashful narcissus forgives, dreaming.

And the love-struck narcissus dozes and dreams.

وَعَلَى الصَّعِيدِ مُلَاءَةٌ مِنْ سُنْدُسٍ

وَعَلَى الْهِضَابِ لِكُلِّ حُسْنٍ مِيسَمُ

And on the meadow, a carpet of lilies,

Upon the highlands lies a mantle of green silk,

And on the plateaus, the seat of every beauty.

And on the hills, beauty leaves its mark everywhere.

فَهُنَا مَكَانٌ بِالْأَرِيجِ مُعَطَّرٌ

وَهُنَاكَ طَوْدٌ بِالشُّعَاعِ مُعَمَّمُ

And over there a hillock capped with rays.

Here is a spot perfumed with fragrance,

Images and signs pouring with vitality,

And there, a mountain turbaned in rays of light.

صُوَرٌ وَآيَاتٌ تَفِيضُ بَشَاشَةً

حَتَّى كَأَنَّ اللهَ فِيهَا يَبْسِمُ

As though God Himself smiles through them.

Images and signs overflowing with cheer,

So walk above them, pondering,

As if God Himself were smiling through them.

فَامْشِ بِعَقْلِكَ فَوْقَهَا مُتَفَهِّمًا

إِنَّ الْمَلَاحَةَ مِلْكُ مَنْ يَتَفَهَّمُ

For discernment is the possession of one who ponders.

So traverse them with your mind, seeking understanding;

Does your soul visit a paradise and miss it

For true beauty belongs to those who understand.

أَتَزُورُ رُوحُكَ جَنَّةً فَتَفُوتُهَا

كَيْمَا تَزُورَكَ بِالظُّنُونِ جَهَنَّمُ؟

While hell visits you with delusions?

Does your soul visit a paradise only to miss it,

And you see Truth embodied,

So that hell may visit you through your dark thoughts?

وَتَرَى الْحَقِيقَةَ هَيْكَلًا مُتَجَسِّدًا

فَتَعَافُهَا لِوَسَاوِسٍ تُتَوَهَّمُ

Yet spurn it for suspicions you imagine?

You see the truth as an embodied temple,

O you who yearns for a tomorrow in his day!

Yet you shun it for delusions you imagine.

يَا مَنْ يَحِنُّ إِلَى غَدٍ فِي يَوْمِهِ

قَدْ بِعْتَ مَا تَدْرِي بِمَا لَا تَعْلَمُ

You sell what you know not for what you know not.

O you who yearn for tomorrow while yet in today,

Rush to enjoy pleasures before they are gone,

You have traded what you know for what you do not know.

قُمْ بَادِرِ اللَّذَّاتِ قَبْلَ فَوَاتِهَا

مَا كُلُّ يَوْمٍ مِثْلُ هَذَا مَوْسِمُ

Not every day is a season like this.

Arise and seize the pleasures before they pass;

And secretly drink the strength of your youth’s secret,

Not every day is a season such as this.

وَاشْرَبْ بِسِرٍّ حِصْنَ سِرِّ شَبَابِهِ

وَارْوِ أَحَادِيثَ الْمُرُوءَةِ عَنْهُمُ

And shun in their gatherings the talk of dignity.

And drink deep from the secret fortress of their youth,

Those who shun disgrace - when a voice says “Onwards

And recount the tales of their chivalry.

الْمُعْرِضِينَ عَنِ الْخَنَا فَإِذَا عَلَا

صَوْتٌ يَقُولُ: «إِلَى الْمَكَارِمِ» أَقْدَمُوا

to greatness!”, step forward!

Those who turn away from obscenity, yet when

Those who do good, not out of greed

A voice calls out "To noble deeds!" they charge forward.

الْفَاعِلِينَ الْخَيْرَ لَا لِطَمَاعَةٍ

فِي مَغْنَمٍ إِنَّ الْجَمِيلَ الْمَغْنَمُ

For spoils - for the beautiful is the gain!

Those who do good, not out of greed

You are wealthy when you find among them a comrade,

For profit—for the beautiful deed itself is the prize.

أَنْتَ الْغَنِيُّ إِذَا ظَفِرْتَ بِصَاحِبٍ

مِنْهُمْ وَعِنْدَكَ لِلْعَوَاطِفِ مَنْجَمُ

And you have within you a constellation of emotions.

You are truly rich if you gain a friend

They raised the banner of their religion high,

From among them, possessing a goldmine of feeling.

رَفَعُوا لِدِينِهِمُ لِوَاءً عَالِيًا

وَلَهُمْ لِوَاءٌ فِي الْعُرُوبَةِ مَعْلَمُ

And theirs is a banner in Arabism that is a landmark.

They raised a high banner for their faith,

If some people gained a share in supremacy,

And in Arab heritage, they hold a landmark standard.

إِنْ حَازَ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ سَهْمًا فِي الْعُلَا

فَلَهُمْ ضُرُوبٌ لَا تُعَدُّ وَأَسْهُمُ

Then they have feats beyond count and countless arrows.

If some hold but a single share in glory,

I have no merit should I set out to proclaim their merit

They hold countless varieties and shares.

لَا فَضْلَ لِي إِنْ رُحْتُ أُعْلِنُ فَضْلَهُمْ

بِقَصَائِدِي إِنَّ الضُّحَى لَا يُكْتَمُ

In my poems - for the morning cannot be concealed.

I claim no credit for proclaiming their merit

But I fear the remark of one who would say

Through my poems—for the morning sun cannot be hidden.

لَكِنَّنِي أَخْشَى مَقَالَةَ قَائِلٍ

هَذَا الَّذِي يُثْنِي عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْهُمُ

“This one who praises them - he is one of them!”

Yet I fear the words of a critic saying:

My loved ones! How beautiful life is with you in it!

"He who praises them is merely one of their kin."

أَحْبَابَنَا مَا أَجْمَلَ الدُّنْيَا بِكُمْ

لَا تَقْبُحُ الدُّنْيَا وَفِيهَا أَنْتُمُ

The world is not ugly while you are in it!

O our beloveds, how beautiful the world is with you!

The world can never be ugly while you are in it.