أداروا الهوى صِرْفاً فغادرهم صَرْعَى

أداروا الهوى صِرْفاً فغادرهم صَرْعَى

فلمّا صَحَوْا من سُكرِهم شَرِبوا الدَّمْعا

فلمّا صَحَوْا من سُكرِهم شَرِبوا الدَّمْعا

They passed love round, unmixed, and it left them fallen.

They turned love astray, so it abandoned them as corpses.

And when they sobered from their drunkenness, they drank tears.

When they woke from their drunkenness, they drank tears.

وما عَلِموا أنّ الهوى لو تكَلَّفوا

وما عَلِموا أنّ الهوى لو تكَلَّفوا

محَبَّةَ أهليه لصارَ لهم طبعا

محَبَّةَ أهليه لصارَ لهم طبعا

And they did not know that love, if they made the effort

They did not know that if they had pretended

to love its people, would become their nature.

To love their families, it would have become their nature.

ولما استلذّوا مَوْتَهم بعَذابه

ولما استلذّوا مَوْتَهم بعَذابه

وَعَيْشَهمُ في عُدْمِه سألوا الرُّجعى

وَعَيْشَهمُ في عُدْمِه سألوا الرُّجعى

And when they savored their death through its torment,

When they found pleasure in their death through its torment,

and their life in its absence, they asked to return.

And their life in its absence, they asked for return.

إذا فقدوا بعض الغرام توَلَّهوا

إذا فقدوا بعض الغرام توَلَّهوا

كأنَّ الهوى سَنَّ الغَرامَ لهم شَرْعَا

كأنَّ الهوى سَنَّ الغَرامَ لهم شَرْعَا

Whenever they lost some passion, they became distraught,

When they lost some of their passion, they became distracted,

as though love had ordained passion as their law.

As if love had made passion a law for them.

وقد دفعوا عن وَجْدِهمْ كلَّ سَلْوَةٍ

وقد دفعوا عن وَجْدِهمْ كلَّ سَلْوَةٍ

ولو وَجَدَتْه ما أطاقَتْ له دَفْعَا

ولو وَجَدَتْه ما أطاقَتْ له دَفْعَا

And they kept every solace away from their longing;

They repelled all solace from their love,

even had solace encountered it, it could not have driven it away.

And if solace had found it, it could not have repelled it.

وطاب لهم وَقْعُ السِّهام فما جَلَوْا

وطاب لهم وَقْعُ السِّهام فما جَلَوْا

لصائبها بِيضاً ولا نسَجوا دِرْعا

لصائبها بِيضاً ولا نسَجوا دِرْعا

And the arrows' blows pleased them, so they did not polish

The falling of arrows was sweet to them - they did not ward it off

bright swords against their marksman, nor weave a coat of mail.

With white shields or weave armor.

فكيفَ يُعَدُّ اللَّوْمُ نُصْحاً لَدَيْهمُ

فكيفَ يُعَدُّ اللَّوْمُ نُصْحاً لَدَيْهمُ

إذا كان ضُرّ الحُبّ عندهمُ نَفْعَا

إذا كان ضُرّ الحُبّ عندهمُ نَفْعَا

How, then, can blame be counted as counsel among them,

So how can blame be considered advice to them

when love's harm is benefit in their eyes?

When the harm of love is benefit to them?

خَلا الرَّبْع من أحبابِهم وقلوبُهمْ

خَلا الرَّبْع من أحبابِهم وقلوبُهمْ

مِلاءٌ بهم فالرَّبْعُ مَن سأل الرَّبْعا

مِلاءٌ بهم فالرَّبْعُ مَن سأل الرَّبْعا

The dwelling is empty of their beloveds, yet their hearts

Their dwellings are empty of their loved ones, yet their hearts

are full of them; whoever asks the dwelling is himself the dwelling.

Are full of them, so who needs dwellings?

سَلِ الوُرْقَ عن يوم الفِراق فإنّهُ

سَلِ الوُرْقَ عن يوم الفِراق فإنّهُ

بأَيْسَرِ خَطْبٍ منه عَلَّمَها السَّجَعا

بأَيْسَرِ خَطْبٍ منه عَلَّمَها السَّجَعا

Ask the gray doves about the day of parting, for it

Ask the leaves about the day of parting - it

taught them to coo through the least of its calamities.

Taught them prosody in the gentlest manner.

إذا صَدَحَتْ فاعلَمْ بأنّ كُبودَها

إذا صَدَحَتْ فاعلَمْ بأنّ كُبودَها

مُؤَرَّثَةٌ غَمّاً تُكابده صَدْعَى

مُؤَرَّثَةٌ غَمّاً تُكابده صَدْعَى

When they sing out, know that their livers

When they rustle, know that their bosoms

are ablaze with grief they struggle to bear, and riven.

Are bequeathed grief that they endure splitting them.

وذاك بأنّ البَيْنَ بانَ بإلْفِها

وذاك بأنّ البَيْنَ بانَ بإلْفِها

وكيف ينالُ الوَصْلَ من وَجَدَ القَطْعا

وكيف ينالُ الوَصْلَ من وَجَدَ القَطْعا

And that is because parting has carried off their mate;

That is because separation was brought about by their union,

and how can one who has known severance attain union?

And how can one attain union when one experiences separation?

وأهلُ الهوى إنْ صافحَتْهُم يدُ النَّوى

وأهلُ الهوى إنْ صافحَتْهُم يدُ النَّوى

رَأَوْا نَهْيَها أمراً وَتَفْريقَها جَمْعَا

رَأَوْا نَهْيَها أمراً وَتَفْريقَها جَمْعَا

And lovers, if the hand of separation shakes theirs,

And if the hand of destiny shakes the people of passion,

regard its prohibition as a command, and its sundering as union.

They see its prohibition as a command, and its parting as a union.

رعى وسقى اللهُ القلوبَ التي رَعَتْ

رعى وسقى اللهُ القلوبَ التي رَعَتْ

فَأَسْقَتْ بما أَلْقَتْ وأخرجَتِ المَرْعى

فَأَسْقَتْ بما أَلْقَتْ وأخرجَتِ المَرْعى

May God tend and water the hearts that tended,

God tended and quenched the hearts that tended,

then gave drink with what they poured forth, and brought forth pasture.

So they quenched with what they brought forth and produced pasture.

وحَيّا وأحْيا أَنْفُساً أَحْيَتِ النُّهى

وحَيّا وأحْيا أَنْفُساً أَحْيَتِ النُّهى

وحَيَّتْ فَأَحْيَتْنا مَناقِبُها سِمْعا

وحَيَّتْ فَأَحْيَتْنا مَناقِبُها سِمْعا

And may He greet and revive souls that revived reason,

They gave life and revived souls that gave life to propriety

and offered greetings, so their virtues revived us through hearing.

And came to life, so their virtues gave us life when we heard them.

سحائِبُ إنْ شِيمَتْ عن المَوْصِلِ التي

سحائِبُ إنْ شِيمَتْ عن المَوْصِلِ التي

بها حَلَّتِ الأنواءُ أَحْسَنتِ الصُّنْعا

بها حَلَّتِ الأنواءُ أَحْسَنتِ الصُّنْعا

Clouds that, if watched from Mosul, where

Clouds, if they withhold from the arrival for which

the rain-bearing stars have settled, do their work well.

The showers descended, have done the best work.

أوائِلُها من شَهْرَزورٍ إذا اعْتَزَتْ

أوائِلُها من شَهْرَزورٍ إذا اعْتَزَتْ

جزى اللهُ بالخيرِ الأراكة والفَرْعا

جزى اللهُ بالخيرِ الأراكة والفَرْعا

Their forebears are from Shahrazur, when they claim their lineage;

Their early rain in Shawwal when it is stingy

may God reward the arak tree and the branch with goodness.

May God reward the scattered isolated rain and branches with good.

وَجَدْتُ الحَيا عنها بنُجْعَةِ غيره

وَجَدْتُ الحَيا عنها بنُجْعَةِ غيره

فَأَعْقَبَنا رَيَّاً وأحْسَبَنا شِبْعا

فَأَعْقَبَنا رَيَّاً وأحْسَبَنا شِبْعا

I found rain from them on a quest for pasture elsewhere;

I found the serpents away from it for someone else's sake,

so it left us quenched and gave us our fill.

So it made us feel satisfied and counted us replete.

ونِلْنا به وِتْرَ العطاء وَشَفْعَهُ

ونِلْنا به وِتْرَ العطاء وَشَفْعَهُ

كأنّا أَقَمْنا نحوه الوتْرَ والشَّفْعا

كأنّا أَقَمْنا نحوه الوتْرَ والشَّفْعا

And through it we received gifts singly and in pairs,

Through it we attained grace’s string and its oddness,

as though we had offered the odd and even prayers toward it.

As if we stood for the odd prayer towards it and the even one.