قَد طَالَ بِي شَوقٌ إلى لُقيَاكَا

قَد طَالَ بِي شَوقٌ إلى لُقيَاكَا

وَاليَومَ وافاني الزَّمَانُ بِذاكَا

وَاليَومَ وافاني الزَّمَانُ بِذاكَا

My longing to meet you has lasted long.

Longing for your encounter has wearied me,

And today Time has brought me that meeting.

And today time has brought me that.

إِني لأشكُرُ لِلزَّمَانِ صَنِيعَه

إِني لأشكُرُ لِلزَّمَانِ صَنِيعَه

مَا كُنتُ أعهُدهَا له لَولاَكَا

مَا كُنتُ أعهُدهَا له لَولاَكَا

Indeed, I thank Time for its kindness,

I thank time for its deed,

which I would not have known from it but for you.

Had it not been for you I would not expect this from it.

رَحُبَت بِمَقدَمِكَ الصدورُ فَهل مشَى

رَحُبَت بِمَقدَمِكَ الصدورُ فَهل مشَى

فَصلُ الرَّبيعِ لِصَدرِنضا بخُطاكا

فَصلُ الرَّبيعِ لِصَدرِنضا بخُطاكا

Hearts opened wide at your arrival; did

Hearts welcomed your arrival, so did

spring walk into our heart with your footsteps?

The season of spring walk to the cheerful chest with your steps?

يَا طاهرَ القَلبِ الرحيبِ وطاهرَ النَّسَبِ

يَا طاهرَ القَلبِ الرحيبِ وطاهرَ النَّسَبِ

الحَسيبِ وطاهرٌ أشُمُّ نَداكا

الحَسيبِ وطاهرٌ أشُمُّ نَداكا

O Tahir, pure of heart, broad-hearted, and pure of lineage,

O you whose heart is pure, and lineage is pure,

noble and pure—I breathe the fragrance of your bounty.

And reckoning is pure, I sense your pleasant scent.

قد رُرتَنا فَكشَفتَ عَنَّا غُمَّةً

قد رُرتَنا فَكشَفتَ عَنَّا غُمَّةً

ما كانَ يكشِفُها سِوى مَرآكَا

ما كانَ يكشِفُها سِوى مَرآكَا

You visited us and dispelled from us a cloud of distress

You have delighted us and cleared away gloom from us

that nothing but the sight of you could dispel.

None other than seeing you could have cleared it away.

وتَضوَّعت مرَّاكشٌ مِسكاً بِكُم

وتَضوَّعت مرَّاكشٌ مِسكاً بِكُم

لَو ضَاع مِن مِسكٍ شَذاً كشَذَاكا

لَو ضَاع مِن مِسكٍ شَذاً كشَذَاكا

And Marrakech exhaled musk through your presence,

Cities have been perfumed with musk through you.

if musk could waft a fragrance like yours.

If any fragrance of musk is lost, it is your fragrance.

تَرتدُّ عينُ النَّاظِرينَ كَلِيلَةً

تَرتدُّ عينُ النَّاظِرينَ كَلِيلَةً

يَا شمسُ إن نُظِرَت لنُورُ سَنَاكا

يَا شمسُ إن نُظِرَت لنُورُ سَنَاكا

The beholders’ eye recoils, weary,

The onlookers' eyes tire like a sleepy person’s

O sun, if it looks upon the light of your radiance.

O sun, when looking at the light of your brilliance.

قد كُنتَ أكبرَ شَخصِه بِالعِلم وال

قد كُنتَ أكبرَ شَخصِه بِالعِلم وال

آدَابِ مُستمِعاً لِحَاكٍ حاكَى

آدَابِ مُستمِعاً لِحَاكٍ حاكَى

I had esteemed his person for learning and the

You were the greatest in knowledge and etiquette,

literary arts, listening to a narrator who recounted,

listening to a storyteller narrating tales,

وأوَابدٌ في الشِّعرِ لَم تُلحَق ومَا

وأوَابدٌ في الشِّعرِ لَم تُلحَق ومَا

خَشِيَت بِتَيهَاءِ الخَيَال شَرَاكا

خَشِيَت بِتَيهَاءِ الخَيَال شَرَاكا

and for untamed wonders of verse, never caught, nor

And a seasoned poet whom none could equal,

fearful of snares in imagination’s wilderness;

and you did not fear the delusions of imagination.

من كلِّ معنًى مُودَنعٍ فِي لَفظهِ

من كلِّ معنًى مُودَنعٍ فِي لَفظهِ

كَعُقُود دُرٍّ أُودِعَت أسلاَكَا

كَعُقُود دُرٍّ أُودِعَت أسلاَكَا

each meaning embedded in its wording,

Every delicate meaning in its words

like pearl necklaces threaded upon strings.

was like strands of pearls placed on a string,

حَتَّى ظِفرتُ بِرُؤيَةٍ مِن وَجهِهِ

حَتَّى ظِفرتُ بِرُؤيَةٍ مِن وَجهِهِ

فرأيتُ شخصَه فوق ذاك وذاكَا

فرأيتُ شخصَه فوق ذاك وذاكَا

Until I won a glimpse of his face,

Until I won seeing him, his face

and saw his person above that, and that too.

So I saw his person above that and that.

نُورُ الهُدَى إن حُلَّ باطِنُ مَهدِهِ

نُورُ الهُدَى إن حُلَّ باطِنُ مَهدِهِ

لاَ نستَطيعُ لكُنهِه إدرَاكَا

لاَ نستَطيعُ لكُنهِه إدرَاكَا

The light of guidance—if its cradle’s interior is laid open—

The light of guidance, if it originated from his cradle

we cannot grasp its true essence.

We cannot comprehend its essence.

يَا مَن رَآه وَمَا رَآه وَإن غَدَت

يَا مَن رَآه وَمَا رَآه وَإن غَدَت

مَملُوءةً مَن شَخصِه عَينَاكَا

مَملُوءةً مَن شَخصِه عَينَاكَا

O you who saw him yet did not see him, though

O you who saw him and what you saw

your two eyes were filled with his person.

even if your eyes brimmed with his persona.

حَسبِي وَحسبُكَ ما أقولُ وَمَا تَقُو

حَسبِي وَحسبُكَ ما أقولُ وَمَا تَقُو

لُ وَلَيسَ مَن يَبكي عندَنَا مَثوَاكا

لُ وَلَيسَ مَن يَبكي عندَنَا مَثوَاكا

Enough for me and for you is what I say and what you

My saying and your saying is enough,

say; and no one weeps over your stay among us.

And none who cries over us has a dwelling.

الله يعلم أنني لك شيقٌ

الله يعلم أنني لك شيقٌ

لكن تقاصر عندنا مثواكا

لكن تقاصر عندنا مثواكا

God knows that I yearn for you,

God knows I long for you,

but your stay with us was all too brief.

But our dwelling has been too small for you.

فَذَهبتَ فِي كَنفِ الإِلهِ وحِفظِهِ

فَذَهبتَ فِي كَنفِ الإِلهِ وحِفظِهِ

وَاللهُ جَلَّ جَلاَلهُ يَرعَاكَا

وَاللهُ جَلَّ جَلاَلهُ يَرعَاكَا

So you departed in God’s shelter and safekeeping,

So you went under God’s care and protection,

and God—exalted be His majesty—watches over you.

And God, glorious is His majesty, watches over you.