1. أَأَحبابَنا ما ذا الرَحيلُ الَّذي دَنا

    لَقَد كُنتُ مِنهُ دائِماً أَتَخَوَّفُ

    O our beloveds, what is this departure that draws near?

    I have always feared it.

  2. هَبوا لِيَ قَلباً إِن رَحَلتُم أَطاعَني

    فَإِنّي بِقَلبي ذَلِكَ اليَومَ أُعرَف

    Give me a heart that will obey me if you depart;

    For on that day I am known by my heart.

  3. وَيالَيتَ عَيني تَعرِفُ النَومَ بَعدَكُم

    عَساها بِطَيفٍ مِنكُمُ تَتَأَلَّفُ

    And would that my eye could know sleep after you leave,

    Perhaps finding companionship in a dream-vision of you.

  4. قِفوا زَوِّدوني إِن مَنَنتُم بِنَظرَةٍ

    تُعَلِّلُ قَلباً كادَ بِالبَينِ يَتلَفُ

    Stop; grant me, if you would be gracious, a glance

    That soothes a heart near death from separation.

  5. تَعالَوا بِنا نَسرِق مِنَ العُمرِ ساعَةً

    فَنَجني ثِمارَ الوَصلِ فيها وَنَقطِفُ

    Come, let us steal an hour from life,

    And in it reap and pluck the fruits of union.

  6. وَإِن كُنتُمُ تَلقَونَ في ذاكَ كُلفَةً

    دَعوني أَمُت وَجداً وَلاتَتَكَلَّفوا

    And if you find that burdensome,

    Let me die of yearning, and do not trouble yourselves.

  7. أَأَحبابَنا إِنّي عَلى القُربِ وَالنَوى

    أَحِنُّ إِلَيكُم حَيثُ كُنتُم وَأَعطِفُ

    O our beloveds, whether near or far,

    I yearn for you wherever you are, and turn to you with affection.

  8. وَطَرفي إِلى أَوطانِكُم مُتَلَفِّتٌ

    وَقَلبي عَلى أَيّامِكُم مُتَأَسِّفُ

    And my gaze turns toward your homelands,

    And my heart grieves for the days with you.

  9. وَكَم لَيلَةٍ بِتنا عَلى غَيرِ ريبَةٍ

    يَحُفُّ بِنا فيها التُقى وَالتَعَفُّفُ

    And many a night we spent free of suspicion,

    With piety and chastity surrounding us that night.

  10. تَرَكنا الهَوى لَمّا خَلَونا بِمَعزِلٍ

    وَباتَ عَلينا لِلصَبابَةِ مُشرِفُ

    We set passion aside when alone in seclusion,

    And longing's watcher kept vigil over us.

  11. ظَفِرنا بِما نَهوى مِنَ الأُنسِ وَحدَهُ

    وَلَسنا إِلى ماخَلفَهُ نَتَطَرَّفُ

    We gained what we desired—companionship alone—

    And we do not venture beyond it.

  12. سَلوا الدارَ عَمّا يَزعَمُ الناسُ بَينَنا

    لَقَد عَلِمَت أَنّي أَعِفُّ وَأَظرَفُ

    Ask the house about what people allege between us;

    It knows well that I remain chaste and am more refined.

  13. وَهَل آنَسَت مِن وَصلِنا ما يُشينُنا

    وَيُنكِرُهُ مِنّا العَفافُ وَيَأنَفُ

    And has it found in our union anything that shames us,

    And that chastity would reject in us and disdain?

  14. سِوى خَصلَةٍ نَستَغفِرُ اللَهَ إِنَّنا

    لَيَحلو لَنا ذاكَ الحَديثُ المُزَخرَفُ

    Save one trait, for which we ask God's forgiveness:

    That embellished talk is indeed sweet to us.

  15. حَديثٌ تَخالُ الدَوحَ عِندَ سَماعِهِ

    لَما هَزَّ مِن أَعطافِهِ يَتَقَصَّفُ

    Talk that, when heard, makes you imagine the great trees

    Splintering from the shaking of their boughs.

  16. لَحى اللَهُ قَلباً باتَ خِلواً مِنَ الهَوى

    وَعَيناً عَلى ذِكرِ الهَوى لَيسَ تَذرِفُ

    May God rebuke a heart that spends the night empty of love,

    And an eye that sheds no tears at the mention of love.

  17. وَإِنّي لَأَهوى كُلَّ مَن قيلَ عاشِقٌ

    وَيَزدادُ في عَيني جَلالاً وَيَشرَفُ

    And I truly love everyone who is called a lover,

    And he grows in majesty and nobility in my eyes.

  18. وَما العِشقُ في الإِنسانِ إِلّا فَضيلَةٌ

    تُدَمِّثُ مِن أَخلاقِهِ وَتُلَطِّفُ

    And passionate love in a person is nothing but a virtue

    That softens his character and refines it.

  19. يُعَظَّمُ مَن يَهوى وَيَطلُبُ قُربُهُ

    فَتَكثُرُ آدابٌ لَهُ وَتَظَرَّفُ

    The one he loves is honored, and he seeks his nearness,

    So his manners grow richer and more refined.