عَرَفْتَ صَبابَةَ هذي النِّياق

عَرَفْتَ صَبابَةَ هذي النِّياق

فما لكَ تسأل عن دائها

فما لكَ تسأل عن دائها

You know the ardent longing of these she-camels;

You knew the illness of this languishing gazelle,

So why do you ask about their ailment?

So why do you ask about her sickness

كأنَّك لم تَدْرِ أنَّ الهوى

كأنَّك لم تَدْرِ أنَّ الهوى

دواها وجالبُ ضرَّائها

دواها وجالبُ ضرَّائها

As though you did not know that love

As if you didn’t know that passion

Is their cure and the bringer of their misery.

Is what cures her and brings her afflictions.

أُعيذك ممَّا بها يا هذيم

أُعيذك ممَّا بها يا هذيم

غرامٌ أقام بأحشائها

غرامٌ أقام بأحشائها

I seek protection for you from what ails them, O Hudhaym:

I seek refuge for you from her, O critic,

A passion has settled in their inmost parts.

It is an obsession that resides in her veins.

نَأَتْ عن منازلها في الغميم

نَأَتْ عن منازلها في الغميم

سَقَتْها السَّماءُ بأنوائها

سَقَتْها السَّماءُ بأنوائها

They have gone far from their dwellings in al-Ghamim;

She departed from her abodes in the clouds,

May the sky water them with its seasonal rains.

The rain quenched her with its streams

وأَجْرَتْ مدامعها حسرةً

وأَجْرَتْ مدامعها حسرةً

على النَّازلين بجرعائها

على النَّازلين بجرعائها

And they have let their tears flow in sorrow

And she shed tears of regret

For those encamped upon their sandy plain.

For those who share her bitter cups.

ألا صبَّح الغيث تلك الدِّيار

ألا صبَّح الغيث تلك الدِّيار

وحيَّى منازلَ أحيائها

وحيَّى منازلَ أحيائها

Ah, may rain visit those dwellings at dawn

Indeed, the rain greeted those homes

And greet the homes of their clans.

And revived the places of her neighborhoods,

فما هي إلاَّ منى العاشقين

فما هي إلاَّ منى العاشقين

تلوح الدِّيار بأرجائها

تلوح الدِّيار بأرجائها

For they are nothing but the wishes of lovers;

Which are but the tryst of lovers

The dwellings gleam across their expanses.

Beckoning from all its corners.

فَخَلِّ المطيَّ على ما بها

فَخَلِّ المطيَّ على ما بها

ووافِقْ تَخَالُفَ أَهوائها

ووافِقْ تَخَالُفَ أَهوائها

So leave the riding camels with whatever ails them,

So unleash your riding beast despite her

And go along with their conflicting desires.

And accept her changing passions.

لئن وَقَفَتْ بك في الرّقمتين

لئن وَقَفَتْ بك في الرّقمتين

وَقَفْتَ على بعض أدوائها

وَقَفْتَ على بعض أدوائها

If indeed they halt with you at al-Raqmatayn,

If she paused for you at the two stopping places

You will learn something of their ailments.

You’d grasp some of her cures.

فما عُرِفَتْ أوجُهُ المغرمين

فما عُرِفَتْ أوجُهُ المغرمين

لعمرك إلاَّ بسيمائها

لعمرك إلاَّ بسيمائها

For the faces of the love-stricken are recognized,

For the faces of passionate lovers were not known,

By your life, only by their telltale signs.

By your life, except by their markings.

وإنَّك إنْ تَعْذِلِ الوامقين

وإنَّك إنْ تَعْذِلِ الوامقين

فإنَّك أكبر أعدائها

فإنَّك أكبر أعدائها

And indeed, if you reproach those who love,

And you, if you blame the infatuated,

Then you are their greatest enemy.

Then you are her biggest enemy.