أَزَفَّ الرَحيلُ وَحانَ أَن نَتَفَرَّقا

فَإِلى اللِقا يا صاحِبَيَّ إِلى اللِقا

The time of parting has drawn near, it is time for us to separate

Departure is imminent, and the time has come for us to part,

Farewell my companion, until we meet again

So farewell, O my two friends, farewell,

إِن تَبكِيا فَلَقَد بَكَيتُ مِنَ الأَسى

حَتّى لَكِدتُ بِأَدمُعي أَن أَغرَقا

If you weep, I have wept profusely from sorrow

If you weep, know that I have already wept from sorrow,

I almost drowned in my tears and flooded

Until I nearly drowned in my own tears.

وَتَسَعَّرَت عِندَ الوَداعِ أَضالِعي

ناراً خَشيتُ بِحَرّها أَن أَحرَقا

My ribs burned at the farewell, fearing their heat would ignite me

And my ribs blazed with fire at the farewell,

I've always dreaded separation before it happened

A fire whose heat I feared would burn me to ash.

ما زِلتُ أَخشى البَينَ قَبلَ وُقوعِهِ

حَتّى غَدَوتُ وَلَيسَ لي أَن أُفرَقَ

Until I resigned myself with no choice but to part

I remained fearful of separation before it occurred,

The day of parting, how harsh is parting

Until I woke to find myself parted, with no way to stay.

يَومَ النَوى لِلَّهِ ما أَقسى النَوى

لَولا النَوى ما أَبغَضَت نَفسي البَقا

If not for parting I would not have hated remaining alive

The day of distance—by God, how cruel is distance!

We left confused and silent as if

Were it not for distance, my soul would not have hated to remain.

رُحنا حَيارى صامِتينَ كَأَنَّما

لِلهَولِ نَحذُرُ عِندَهُ أَن نَنطِقا

Fearing speaking in our devastation

We departed bewildered, silent, as though

Our hearts palpitating, our eyes cannot see from crying

Out of terror, we were cautious to utter a word.

أَكبادُنا خَفّاقَةٌ وَعُيونُنا

لا تَستَطيعُ مِنَ البُكا أَن تَرمُقا

Our glances pulling, though they are weak

Our hearts fluttering, and our eyes

We restrain our breaths lest they vanish

Unable to glance up due to weeping.

تَتَجاذَبُ النَظَراتِ وَهيَ ضَعيفَةٌ

وَنُغالِبُ الأَنفاسَ كَيلا تُزهَقا

If we did not comfort ourselves with the hope of meeting again

Exchanging gazes while they were weak,

Our tears would have nearly gushed out

And struggling against our breaths lest our souls expire.

لَو لَم نُعَلِّل بِاللِقاءِ نُفوسَنا

كادَت مَعَ العَبَراتِ أَن تَتَدَفَّقا

My friend, be patient, perhaps

Had we not soothed our souls with the promise of meeting,

We will return and reunite beautifully

They would have nearly flowed out with the tears.

يا صَحِبَيَّ تَصَبَّرا فَلَرُبَّما

عُدنا وَعادَ الشَملُ أَبهى رَونَقا

If the days have not been kind to us

O my two friends, have patience, for perhaps

It is wrong for our souls not to be kind

We shall return, and our reunion will be of splendid luster.

إِن كانَتِ الأَيّامُ لَم تَرفُق بِنا

فَمِنَ النُهى بِنُفوسِنا أَن ترَفُقا

He who decreed the separation and parting

If the days have not been gentle with us,

Can unite those separated

Then it is wisdom that we be gentle with ourselves.

إِنَّ الَّذي قَدَرَ القَطيعَةَ وَالنَوى

في وُسعِهِ أَن يَجمَعَ المُتَفَرِّقا

I rode the raging sea howling

Truly, He who decreed the estrangement and the distance,

Like a lion separated from its cubs, distraught

Is capable of gathering those who are scattered.

وَلَقَد رَكِبتُ البَحرَ يَزأَرُ هائِجاً

كَاللَيثِ فارَقَ شِبلَهُ بَل أَحنَقا

My soul is anxious, yet I do not blame it

And I rode the sea as it roared, raging,

The sea is the most frightening and avoided

Like a lion separated from its cub, nay, even more enraged.

وَالنَفسُ جازِعَةٌ وَلَستُ أَلومُها

فَالبَحرُ أَعظَمُ ما يُخافُ وَيُتَّقى

I have seen it act wisely and rationally

The soul is anxious, and I do not blame it,

And I have seen it act ignorantly and fractured

For the sea is the greatest of what is feared and dreaded.

فَلَقَد شَهِدتُ بِهِ حَكيماً عاقِلاً

وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ بِهِ جَهولاً أَخرَقا

Provoking whatever it wished to toy with us

There I witnessed it act as a wise, rational man,

Gentle whenever it wished to be gentle

And there I saw it act as an ignorant, clumsy fool.

مُستَوفِزٌ ما شاءَ أَن يَلهو بِنا

مُتَرفِّقٌ ما شاءَ أَن يَتَرَفَّقا

Its waves battling each other

Poised to strike when it wished to toy with us,

Arguing over ignorance just as we argue over remaining alive

Gentle when it wished to show kindness.

تَتَنازَعُ الأَمواجُ فيهِ بَعضَها

بَعضاً عَلى جَهلٍ تُنازِعُنا البَقا

While the eye sees it as erect walls

The waves inside it struggle against one another,

It transforms into trenches

A struggle born of ignorance, while they dispute our survival.

بَينا يَراها الطَرفُ سوراً قائِماً

فَإِذا بِها حالَت فَصارَت خَندَقا

The ship flowing, splitting its foam

One moment the eye sees them as a standing wall,

As if tearing a loose robe

Then suddenly they shift and become a trench.

وَالفُلكُ جارِيَةٌ تَشُقُّ عُبابَهُ

شَقّاً كَما تَفري رِداءً أَخلَقا

It rises and we reckon it intends good upon us

And the ship runs, cleaving its tumultuous expanse,

And thinks we are flying aloft

Tearing through, as one tears a worn-out garment.

تَعلو فَنَحسَبُحا تَأُمُّ بِنا السَما

وَتَظَنُّ أَنّا راكِبونَ مُحَلَّقا

Until when it lowers us into an abyss

It rises, and we think it seeks the heavens with us,

I was certain death stared upon us

And you would think we were riding a flying spirit.

حَتّى إِذا هَبَطَت بِنا في لُجَّةٍ

أَيقَنتُ أَنَّ المَوتَ فينا أَحدَقا

The horizon has covered its leather curtain

Until, when it descends with us into the abyss,

As if obscured ink has flooded

I became certain that death had encircled us.

وَالأُفقُ قَد غَطّى الَبابُ أَديمَهُ

فَكَأَنَّما غَشِيَ المِدادَ امُهرَقا

Neither does the sun shine in the morning nor do we see

The fog had covered the skin of the horizon,

Either the night has been prolonged or a shining full moon

As if spilled ink had overwhelmed it.

لا الشَمسُ تَسطُعُ في الصَباحِ وَلا نَرى

إِمّا اِستَطالَ اللَيلَ بَدراً مُشرِقا

I spent twenty days or more

No sun shines in the morning, nor do we see,

How strange were the sights I saw, an abundance of water

Whenever the night grows long, a shining full moon.

عِشرونَ يَوماً أَو تَزيدُ قَضَيتُها

كَيفَ اِتَفَتُّ رَأَيتُ ماءً مُغدِقا

New York, daughter of steam, we intend to come to you

Twenty days or more I spent,

Perhaps in the West we may forget the East

Wherever I turned, I saw pouring water.

نيويوركُ يا بِنتَ البُخارِ بِنا اِقصُدي

فَلَعَلَّنا بِالغَربِ نَنسى المَشرِقا

A homeland we wanted out of love for the sublime

New York, O daughter of steam, steer us your way,

Yet it refused except withdrawal into seclusion

That perhaps in the West we may forget the East.

وَطَنٌ أَرَدناهُ عَلى حُبِّ العُلى

فَأَبى سِوى أَن يَستَكينَ إِلى الشَقا

Like a slave who fears after wasting his youth

A homeland we desired for the love of glory,

That his masters would set him free

But it refused all else but to settle into misery.

كَالعَبدِ يَخشى بَعدَ ما أَفنى الصِبى

يَلهو بِهِ ساداتُهُ أَن يُعتَقا

Or whenever the times bring a reformer

Like a slave who fears—after his youth is wasted—

To its people, they say he transgressed and apostatized

While his masters toy with him, that he might be freed.

أَو كُلَّما جاءَ الزَمانُ بِمُصلِحٍ

في أَهلِهِ قالوا طَغى وَتَزَندَقا

As if the injustices they committed were not enough

Or whenever time brought forth a reformer

And as if it were not enough that we have failed

Among its people, they said: "He has transgressed and turned heretic."

فَكَأَنَّما لَم يَكفِهِ ما قَد جَنوا

وَكَأَنَّما لَم يَكفِهِم أَن أَخفَقا

This is the reward of rigidity, the people of refusal in a nation

As if what they had committed was not enough for the land,

Rigidity has taken its children hostage

And as if the land's failure was not enough for them.

هَذا جَزاءُ الجُمودِ ذَوي النُهى في أُمَّةٍ

أَخَذَ الجُمودُ عَلى بَنيها مَوثِقا

A homeland where the free feel cramped

This is the reward of stagnation, O people of intellect, in a nation

And you see it even narrower than the free

Where stagnation has taken a solemn oath upon its sons.

وَطَنٌ يَضيقُ الحُرُّ ذَرعاً عِندَهُ

وَتَراهُ بِالأَحرارِ ذَرعاً أَضيَقا

I did not see in it a prosperous intellectual

A homeland where the free man feels his patience narrow,

Nor an ignorant sycophant

And you see it feeling even more narrowed by the free men.

ما إِن رَأَيتُ بِهِ أَديباً موسَراً

فيما رَأَيتُ وَلا جَهولاً مُملِقا

Ignorance has spread in it dragging its tail

I never saw a wealthy man of letters within it,

Aimlessly, while knowledge walks dejected

In all I saw, nor did I see a destitute fool.

مَشَتِ الجَهالَةُ فيهِ تَسحَبُ ذَيلَها

تيهاً وَراحَ العِلمُ يَمشي مُطرِقا

Its people have become in a condition

Ignorance walked through it, dragging its skirts

That if it exposed the inanimate, they would have pitied

In arrogance, while Knowledge went walking with head bowed low.

أَمسى وَأَمسى أَهلُهُ في حالَةٍ

لَو أَنَّها تَعرو الجَمادَ لَأَشفَقا

A people as fragmented as abandonment and whims desired

It and its people ended up in a condition

Nearly torn apart and about to be shredded

That, were it to afflict inanimate stone, it would feel pity.

شَعبٌ كَما شاءَ التَخاذُلُ وَالهَوى

مُتَفَرِّقٌ وَيَكادُ أَن يَتَمَزَّقا

It does not accept the united religion of God

A people, as defeatism and whim desired,

Yet it accepts the fragmented religion of God

Divided, and on the verge of being torn to shreds.

لا يَرتَضي دينَ الإِلَهُ مُوَفَّقاً

بَينَ القُلوبِ وَيَرتَضيهِ مُفَرَّقا

Annoyed with the devout and the pious

They are not pleased with God's religion when it reconciles

While evil is between devotion and piety

Between hearts, but they are pleased with it when it divides.

كَلِفٌ بِأَصحابِ التَعَبُّدِ وَالتُقى

وَالشَرُّ ما بَينَ التَعَبُّدِ وَالتُقى

Weakened unless it flatters one day

Infatuated with the people of outward worship and piety,

Hoping to see a flatterer

While evil lies between that worship and that piety.

مُستَضعَفٌ إِن لَم يُصَب مُتَمَلِّقا

يَوماً تَمَلَّقَ أَن يَرى مُتَمَلِّقا

It does not believe in science which is truth

Weak; if he is not found to be a sycophant,

Rather, it believes in talismans and folk remedies

One day, he flatters just to see a flatterer.

لَم يَعتَقِد بِالعِلمِ وَهوَ حَقائِقٌ

لَكِنَّهُ اِعتَقَدَ التَمائِمَ وَالرُقى

Perhaps it dislikes rigidity, but it is difficult

He did not believe in science, which is the truth,

For a human to change his nature

But he believed in amulets and incantations.

وَلَرُبَّما كَرِهَ الجُمودَ وَإِنَّما

صَعبٌ عَلى الإِنسانِ أَن يَتَخَلَّقا

A government no sooner deposes a fool

And perhaps he hated stagnation, but truly

Than it installs a fool

It is difficult for a human to change his nature.

وَحُكومَةٌ ما إِن تُزَحزِحُ أَحمَقاً

عَن رَأسِها حَتّى تُوَلِّيَ أَحمَقا

It has antagonized us as if

And a government that never budges a fool

We have come to betray or committed some grave iniquity

From its leadership, until it appoints another fool.

راحَت تُناصِبُنا العِداءَ كَأَنَّما

جِئنا فَرِيّاً أَو رَكِبنا موبِقا

And it has refused except to exhaust us as if

It went on declaring hostility against us, as if

All justice to it is that we be exhausted

We had committed a great slander or rode a mortal sin.

وَأَبَتَ سِوى إِرهاقِنا فَكَأَنَّما

كُلُّ العَدالَةِ عِندَها أَن نُرهَقا

While foreigners roam it as if

And it refused all but to exhaust us, as if

The morning breeze played with the branches of saplings

All justice, in its view, is that we be exhausted.

بَينا الأَجانِبُ يَعبَزونَ بِها كَما

عَبِثَ الصَبا سَحَراً بِأَغصانِ النَقا

Baghdad is in danger and Egypt a captive

While foreigners toy with it, just as

Tomorrow the hands of greed will snatch them

The east wind toys at dawn with the branches of the dunes.

بَغدادُ في خَطَرٍ وَمِصرُ رَهينَةٌ

وَغَداً تَنالُ يَدُ المَطامِعِ جِلَّقا

Its pillars have weakened, it does not realize

Baghdad is in danger, and Egypt is a hostage,

Its plight until it passes away and perishes

And tomorrow the hand of greed will reach Damascus.

ضَعُفَت قَوائِمُها وَلَمّا تَرعَوي

عَن غَيِّها حَتّى تَزولَ وَتُمحَقا

It was said love it, I said nothing remains for us

Its pillars have weakened, yet it does not refrain

With which to love and become impassioned

From its error, until it vanishes and is effaced.

قيلَ اِعشَقوها قُلتُ لَم يَبقَ لَنا

مَعَها قُلوبٌ كَي نُحِبَّ وَنَعشَقا

If the motherland is not affectionate

It was said, "Love her." I said, "We have no remaining

Alas, it will not find affection from its children

Hearts for her, that we might love and adore."

إِن لَم تَكُن ذاتُ البَنينِ شَفيقَةً

هَيهاتَ تَلقى مِن بَنيها مُشفِقا

I have come where the soul does not fear harm

If the mother of sons is not compassionate,

Ever, and where the mind roams freely every morning

Far be it that she finds a compassionate one among her sons.

أَصبَحتُ حَيثُ النَفسُ لا تَخشى أَذىً

أَبَداً وَحَيثُ الفِكرُ يَغدو مُطلَقا

My soul, eternalize yourself and leave yearning behind

I have reached a place where the soul fears no harm

For it is ignorance today for you to long

Ever, and where thought runs free and unbound.

نَفسي اِخلُدي وَدَعي الحَنينَ فَإِنَّما

جَهلٌ بُعَيدَ اليَومِ أَن تَتَشَوَّقا

How the light of knowledge radiates in it

O my soul, find peace and leave nostalgia behind, for it is

I have guaranteed you a delightful life

Ignorance, after today, to yearn for the past.

هَذي هِيَ الدُنيا الجَديدَةُ فَاِنظُري

فيها ضِياءَ العِلمِ كَيفَ تَأَلَّقا

Among its people, and the most beautifully blossoming living

This is the New World, so behold

Within it, how the light of knowledge sparkles.

إِنّي ضَمِنتُ لَكِ الحَياةَ شَهِيَّةً

في أَهلِها وَالعَيشَ أَزهَرَ مونِقا

I have guaranteed for you a life that is sweet

Among its people, and a living that is blooming and bright.