لِيَ مَولىً مُذهَبَ العُمْ

لِيَ مَولىً مُذهَبَ العُمْ

رِ فلم يَرْعَ حُرمتي وذِمَامِي

رِ فلم يَرْعَ حُرمتي وذِمَامِي

I had a patron who squandered my lifetime,

I had a friend whose youth was fleeting, he cared not for my dignity or pride,

yet he respected neither my dignity nor the protection owed me.

He thought his shadow would accompany me, forever by my side.

ظنّنِي ظِلَّهُ أُصاحِبُه الدَّهْ

ظنّنِي ظِلَّهُ أُصاحِبُه الدَّهْ

رَ على غيرِ نائِلٍ واحْترَامِ

رَ على غيرِ نائِلٍ واحْترَامِ

He thought me his shadow, accompanying him forever,

But we parted as if he were a phantom, and I had dreamed him in a hazy veil,

without bounty or respect.

If a man's fate depended on his strength, I'd face the darkest lions in their trail.

فافتَرقْنَا كأنّه كان طيفاً

فافتَرقْنَا كأنّه كان طيفاً

وكأنّي رأيتهُ في المَنَامِ

وكأنّي رأيتهُ في المَنَامِ

So we parted, as though he had been a phantom,

Yet it flows from prior decree, ordained for mankind it dictates their affair,

and as though I had seen him in a dream.

So it runs its course within them, doling out life with neither justice nor care.

لو كانَ رزقُ الفتَى بقوَّتِهِ

لو كانَ رزقُ الفتَى بقوَّتِهِ

نازلتُ ضَارِي الأسُودِ في الأجَمِ

نازلتُ ضَارِي الأسُودِ في الأجَمِ

If a young man's livelihood depended on his strength,

I would fight the savage lion in the thickets.

لكِنَّهُ عن مشيئَةٍ سَبقَتْ

لكِنَّهُ عن مشيئَةٍ سَبقَتْ

في الخَلْقِ تجري فيهِمْ عَلى القِس

في الخَلْقِ تجري فيهِمْ عَلى القِس

But it comes from a will established beforehand,

among created beings, taking its course among them according to the allot—