وَبالِيَ فيكِ يا دُنيا وَبالي

وَبالِيَ فيكِ يا دُنيا وَبالي

وَأَفنَيتِ الخَليلَ وَلَم تُبالي

وَأَفنَيتِ الخَليلَ وَلَم تُبالي

And my preoccupation with you, O world, is my undoing.

My woes for you, O world, and my woes for me!

And you destroyed the dear friend, and did not care.

You destroyed the beloved, yet felt no remorse.

أَغَرتِ لَنا حِبالاتِ المَنايا

أَغَرتِ لَنا حِبالاتِ المَنايا

بِما غَزَلَت ذُكاءُ مِنَ الحِبالِ

بِما غَزَلَت ذُكاءُ مِنَ الحِبالِ

You twisted for us the snares of death

You lured us with the ropes of death's snares

With cords that Dhukāʾ, the sun, has spun.

Through the threads that wit spun as ropes.

وَأَربَعَةٍ أَنِسنَ بِكُلِّ حَيٍّ

وَأَربَعَةٍ أَنِسنَ بِكُلِّ حَيٍّ

رَمَتهُنَّ الحَوادِثُ بِالنِبالِ

رَمَتهُنَّ الحَوادِثُ بِالنِبالِ

And four things, at home with every living being—

And four who found joy in every living soul

Misfortunes shot them with arrows:

Were struck down by the arrows of fate.

حُشاشَةُ عائِشٍ وَنَجيعُ نَحضٍ

حُشاشَةُ عائِشٍ وَنَجيعُ نَحضٍ

وَهَيكَلُ مَيتٍ وَعُروقُ بالي

وَهَيكَلُ مَيتٍ وَعُروقُ بالي

A living being's remnant of life, and the dark blood of flesh,

Aisha's charm, Nahezh's grace,

And a dead one's frame, and a decayed one's veins—

A corpse's pallor, veins bursting their dams.

كَجُذوَةِ موقِدٍ وَسِراجِ لَيلٍ

كَجُذوَةِ موقِدٍ وَسِراجِ لَيلٍ

وَماءِ حَبِيَّةٍ وَشَفا ذُبالِ

وَماءِ حَبِيَّةٍ وَشَفا ذُبالِ

Like a fire-kindler's ember and a lamp at night,

Like embers, a lamp in the night,

And a slow-moving cloud's water, and the tips of wicks.

A loved one's water, a mountain goat's cure.

إِذا كانَ الحِمامُ بِكُلِّ أَرضٍ

إِذا كانَ الحِمامُ بِكُلِّ أَرضٍ

فَبُعداً لِلوُهودِ وَلِلجِبالِ

فَبُعداً لِلوُهودِ وَلِلجِبالِ

If death is found in every land,

If doves nest on every land,

Then away with the lowlands and the mountains!

Then distant are meadows and mountains.

وَإِن إِقبالُ قَومٍ زالَ عَنهُم

وَإِن إِقبالُ قَومٍ زالَ عَنهُم

فَما يُغني المَعاشِرُ مِن قِبالِ

فَما يُغني المَعاشِرُ مِن قِبالِ

And if a people's good fortune deserts them,

And if a people's affection has gone from them,

Then their clans offer no help—not a sandal strap's worth.

No friends can bring affection again.