لِعربِ النقا أكرِم بهم عَرباً أهوى

لِعربِ النقا أكرِم بهم عَرباً أهوى

وَما مُنيتي ميٌّ ولا أرَبي أروى

وَما مُنيتي ميٌّ ولا أرَبي أروى

I yearn for the Arabs of al-Naqa—what noble Arabs they are!

For the virtuous Arabs I hold dear an Arab people I love

And Mayy is not my desire, nor Arwa my longing.

My death is not water, nor do I quench my thirst with water

فَكَم مِن يدٍ عِندي لهم أنعَموا بها

فَكَم مِن يدٍ عِندي لهم أنعَموا بها

وَما عندهم منٌّ ولا عندنا سلوى

وَما عندهم منٌّ ولا عندنا سلوى

For how many favors have they bestowed upon me!

So many hands they generously bestowed upon me

And they never vaunt their favors, nor do we forget them.

While they have no faults, nor do we have consolation

فَأحبِب بهم قوماً وأحبب بطيبةٍ

فَأحبِب بهم قوماً وأحبب بطيبةٍ

حِمىً فيه للمختارِ خير الورى مثوى

حِمىً فيه للمختارِ خير الورى مثوى

So how dear they are as a people, and how dear is Tayba,

So I loved a people, and loved Taybah

a sanctuary where the Chosen One, the best of creation, has his resting place.

A protected sanctuary, the best of all settlements is the dwelling place of the Chosen One

أعزُّ جميعِ العالمين محمّدٌ

أعزُّ جميعِ العالمين محمّدٌ

وَأكرمُهم شمسُ الهدى ليثهُ الأقوى

وَأكرمُهم شمسُ الهدى ليثهُ الأقوى

Muhammad is the most exalted of all beings,

Muhammad is the most honorable of all people

and their noblest: the sun of guidance, its mightiest lion.

And the most generous - the lion, the strongest sun

غَدت أفضلَ الأفلاكِ حين ثوى بها

غَدت أفضلَ الأفلاكِ حين ثوى بها

وَأرفعها قَدراً وأكثرها جدوى

وَأرفعها قَدراً وأكثرها جدوى

It became the finest of the heavenly spheres when he dwelt there,

It rose to be the highest of horizons when he settled in it

and the highest of them in rank, and the greatest in benefit.

And the highest in status and the most beneficial

بهِ فاقتِ الدنيا وصارَت أعزّها

بهِ فاقتِ الدنيا وصارَت أعزّها

وَأشرفها أرضاً وأشرقها جوّا

وَأشرفها أرضاً وأشرقها جوّا

Through him it surpassed the world and became its most exalted place,

Through him the world became superior and the most honorable

and its noblest in soil and most radiant in sky.

And its earth became the most noble and its sky the brightest

هَنيئاً لقومٍ جاوَروا خير مرسلٍ

هَنيئاً لقومٍ جاوَروا خير مرسلٍ

وَكانَ لهم فيها بأكنافهِ مأوى

وَكانَ لهم فيها بأكنافهِ مأوى

How fortunate the people who dwelt beside the best of messengers,

Congratulations to a people who lived alongside the best Messenger

and had a refuge there at his side!

And had in its folds a dwelling place near him

أَلا ليتَ شعري وهيَ أعظم منيةٍ

أَلا ليتَ شعري وهيَ أعظم منيةٍ

مَتى شُقّة البيداءِ ما بيننا تُطوى

مَتى شُقّة البيداءِ ما بيننا تُطوى

Ah, would that I knew—and this is the greatest longing—

Oh, would that I knew - which is a greater death wish

when the desert's stretch between us will be folded away.

When the distance between us in the desert could be folded

أَشدُّ رحالي كَي أَرى البدر مشرقاً

أَشدُّ رحالي كَي أَرى البدر مشرقاً

بِمطلعهِ فيها وما ضرّه العوّا

بِمطلعهِ فيها وما ضرّه العوّا

I fasten my traveling gear so that I may see the full moon shining

I urge my camel so I can see the full moon rising

at his rising-place there; the howler has done him no harm.

In it at its ascension, unperturbed by gusts of wind

وَأعجبُ شَيءٍ أنّه قد هدى الورى

وَأعجبُ شَيءٍ أنّه قد هدى الورى

وَقد ضلّ في أنواره ذلك الغوّا

وَقد ضلّ في أنواره ذلك الغوّا

And the strangest thing is that he has guided creation,

And the most wondrous thing is that he guided the people

yet that wayward one has gone astray amid his lights.

Yet those gusts of wind lost their way in his light