ليلاي ليلاي إن الدهر أشقانا

والمجد أنهكنا والوجد أضنانا

My nights, my nights, time has caused us so much grief,

Glory has exhausted us, and passion has worn us down.

ليلاي ليلاي قد شالت نعامتنا

من طول كرب وليت الكرب ما كانا

My nights, my nights, our vitality is long gone,

From enduring so much hardship, if only there was no agony.

يا أربع الشؤم قد أودى بطارفنا

مع التليد زمان قد تحدانا

O four harbingers of ill fate that has led to our demise,

Along with the passage of time that has challenged us.

إنا رزئنا لأن الحظ عاكسنا

وحالف القوم من قطاع هاجانا

We were stricken with grief for fortune turned against us,

And the people that attacked us were granted success.

قد أعطي الناس ما شاءوا وما رغبوا

أما الرزايا فقد كانت عطايانا

People were given what they desired and craved,

Yet afflictions were bestowed upon us as gifts.

من كان يحسب أَن العرب يخدعهم

من كنت تحسبهم للعرب إخوانا

Whoever thought the Arabs would ever deceive them,

You'd think they were brothers to the Arabs.

أبا طلال وأنت اليوم رائدنا

نغدو إليك إذا ما الدهر عادانا

O Abi Talib, you are our leader today,

We come to you when time oppresses us.

إنا أَتيناك من بدو ومن حضر

نسعى إليك وقد كلت مطايانا

We came to you from both desert and city dwellers,

Seeking you out as our riding beasts grew weary.

فخذ بأيدينا يا ابن النبي وثب

فإِنك اليوم بعد اللّه ملجانا

Take us by the hand, O son of the Prophet, take a stand,

For after Allah today you are our refuge.

إن الوعود التي منوا وما صدقوا

بها علينا لعمري كن بهتانا

The promises they made to us but did not keep,

By my life, were nothing but lies.

فحسبنا من وعود القوم ما دغلوا

على الأَعاريب أشكالاً وألوانا

We've had enough of the people's false pledges,

Deceiving the nomads in various cunning ways.

إنا ضحايا لهذا المين مينهم

من يوم حطين حتى اليوم والآنا

We are victims of their betrayal,

From the day of Hittin until now and forevermore.

لو أن ساستنا أوفوا بما وعدوا

ما كان يا سيدي ما كان ما كانا

If only our leaders kept the promises they made,

Things would not have turned out as they did, my lord.

هذي الربوع ليوم الفصل ناظرة

فكن لها يا رعاك اللّه عنوانا

These lands now look to the day of reckoning,

So be their champion, may God watch over you.

أطلال يافا وحيفا أمس برقهما

قد رف وهناً فأشجانا وأبكانا

The ruins of Jaffa and Haifa, yesterday their lights shone,

But now sorrow and tears have been awakened in us.

يا ابن النبي ألم عن أهل أندلس

تأتيك دارعة تروي حكايانا

O son of the Prophet, have not stories reached you,

From Andalusia, relating our tales to you?