ماذا يُظَنُّ بِلَيلى إِذ أَلَمَّ بِها

ماذا يُظَنُّ بِلَيلى إِذ أَلَمَّ بِها

مُرَجَّلُ الرَأسِ ذو بُردَينِ مُزّاحُ

مُرَجَّلُ الرَأسِ ذو بُردَينِ مُزّاحُ

What can one think of Layla, when she was visited by

What is one to think of Layla when she was visited by

a man with well-combed hair, clad in two cloaks, full of jest—

A man with combed hair and two cloaks, a joker?

حُلوٌ فُكاهَتُهُ خَزٌّ عَمامَتُهُ

حُلوٌ فُكاهَتُهُ خَزٌّ عَمامَتُهُ

في كَفِّهِ مِن رُقى إِبليسِ مِفتاحُ

في كَفِّهِ مِن رُقى إِبليسِ مِفتاحُ

his wit delightful, his turban silk,

His humor is sweet; his turban is of silk and wool;

and in his palm a key forged from the spells of Iblis?

In his palm is a key from Iblis’s spells.