أبعدتُمُ بعدَ الدُّنو مزارا

أبعدتُمُ بعدَ الدُّنو مزارا

وسَلبتُمُ الصَّبرَ الكَئيبَ قَرارا

وسَلبتُمُ الصَّبرَ الكَئيبَ قَرارا

You made the meeting-place distant after closeness,

You have banished me far from home

And you robbed sorrowful patience of repose.

And robbed my grieving heart of peace.

وجَفَوتُمُ بُخلاً ولمَّا جُدتُمُ

وجَفَوتُمُ بُخلاً ولمَّا جُدتُمُ

صَيَّرتُمُ سُحبَ الدُّموعِ غزارا

صَيَّرتُمُ سُحبَ الدُّموعِ غزارا

And you were aloof out of stinginess; and when you were generous,

You spurned me out of stinginess, though when

You made the clouds of tears rain abundantly.

You wept, you made tears flow plentifully.

وَرأَيتُم أنَّ البعادَ يزيدُنا

وَرأَيتُم أنَّ البعادَ يزيدُنا

كلفاً بكُم فأَخذتُمُوهُ شعارا

كلفاً بكُم فأَخذتُمُوهُ شعارا

And you saw that separation increased our

You thought that distance would increase

Passion for you, so you adopted it as your emblem.

Our longing, so took it for your motto.

وعلمِتمُ أنَّ الفُؤاد لِبينكُم

وعلمِتمُ أنَّ الفُؤاد لِبينكُم

ذُو لَوعَةٍ وَمنحتمُوهُ النَّارا

ذُو لَوعَةٍ وَمنحتمُوهُ النَّارا

And you knew that the heart, at parting from you,

You knew my heart was ravaged with pining for you

Was filled with anguish, and you bestowed fire upon it.

Yet you handed it fire to burn.

ومنَعتُمُ الطَّيفَ الطَّروقَ زِيَارةً

ومنَعتُمُ الطَّيفَ الطَّروقَ زِيَارةً

ما ضرَّكُم من طيفِكُم لو زار

ما ضرَّكُم من طيفِكُم لو زار

And you forbade the night-visiting phantom to visit;

You denied my wistful ghost the right

What harm would have come to you from your phantom, had it visited?

To visit. What harm if it came by?

للهِ أيَّامُ الصَّريمِ تَصرَّمت

للهِ أيَّامُ الصَّريمِ تَصرَّمت

وَهي التي كانت لَنا الأَعمارا

وَهي التي كانت لَنا الأَعمارا

How wondrous were the days of al-Sarim, now passed away!

Oh days of parting! You have slipped away

And they were our very lives.

Though you were our lifetime.

وَلقَد بَكيتُ ليالياً طالت وقد

وَلقَد بَكيتُ ليالياً طالت وقد

كانت بساعاتِ الوصالِ قصارا

كانت بساعاتِ الوصالِ قصارا

And indeed I wept through nights that grew long, though they

Many long nights I cried until

Had been brief in the hours of union.

Dawn broke, which were fleeting hours of union.

وَلَّت وكانت مِثل ليلٍ طارِقِ

وَلَّت وكانت مِثل ليلٍ طارِقِ

ما سَرَّ مِنهُ القربُ حتَّى سارا

ما سَرَّ مِنهُ القربُ حتَّى سارا

They passed, and were like a night that came calling:

The nights sped by like a moonlit night

No sooner had its nearness brought joy than it departed.

Whose nearness brought no joy before it passed.

يا أهلَ نجدٍ هل لأيَّام النَّقا

يا أهلَ نجدٍ هل لأيَّام النَّقا

من عودةٍ فَيرَى الأُهَيلُ الدَّار

من عودةٍ فَيرَى الأُهَيلُ الدَّار

O people of Najd, will the days of al-Naqa

O people of Nejd, will the days of al-Naqa ever return

Return, so the dear folk may see the dwelling,

That the tribes may see their homes again?

ونُجددُ العهدَ القَديمَ على الحِمى

ونُجددُ العهدَ القَديمَ على الحِمى

فنقُصُّ في جُنجِ الدُّجَى أسمارا

فنقُصُّ في جُنجِ الدُّجَى أسمارا

And we renew the old pledge at the protected pasture,

May we renew the old pact of protection

Then recount evening tales at the onset of darkness,

And in the darkness' lap tell tales?

وَنقولُ قَد أَضحى الزَّمانُ مُساعداً

وَنقولُ قَد أَضحى الزَّمانُ مُساعداً

لا ناكِثاً عَهداً ولا غَدَّارا

لا ناكِثاً عَهداً ولا غَدَّارا

And say, “Time has indeed become favorable,

And say time has become a true friend,

Neither a breaker of pledges nor a betrayer”?

No more violating pacts or betraying?