1. ما بال جيراننا بالبان

    مالوا عن الود والحب

    What ails our neighbors at al-Bān?

    They have turned away from affection and love,

  2. وصبروا حظنا الهجران

    منهم وما ثم من ذنب

    And made estrangement our lot,

    From them, though there was no fault.

  3. أصبحت من بعدهم ولهان

    متيم الجسم والقلب

    Since their departure, I have become distraught,

    Enslaved by love in body and heart.

  4. تجري دموعي على الأوجان

    كأنها ما طر السحب

    My tears flow over my cheeks,

    As though they were rain falling from the clouds.

  5. يا سعد ما كان في ظني

    أن الأحبة والجيران

    O Saʿd, I never imagined

    That the beloved ones and the neighbors

  6. بعد اللقا يعرضوا عني

    ويتركوني كذا حيران

    Would turn away from me after meeting,

    And leave me so bewildered.

  7. فقل لهم يا أخا اليمن

    أين المواثيق والأيمان

    So tell them, O brother of Yemen:

    Where are the covenants and the oaths?

  8. وأين عهد لنا قد كان

    بالسفح من جانب الشعب

    And where is the pledge we once had

    On the slope beside the ravine?

  9. سقيا لأيامنا اللاتي

    مرت لنا بالحمى المأنوس

    May rain bless those days of ours

    That passed in the familiar sanctuary.

  10. كانت بها كل لذاتي

    في عالم الروح والمحسوس

    In them were all my delights,

    In the world of spirit and sense.

  11. لولا الترجي لما يأتي

    من نفحة الملك القدوس

    Were it not for hope of what is to come

    From a breath of the King, the Most Holy,

  12. لمزقت قلبي الأحزان

    وذبت من شدة الكرب

    Sorrows would have torn my heart apart,

    And I would have melted from intense anguish.

  13. عش بالرجا والأمل يا صاح

    وحسن الظن بالمعبود

    Live by hope and expectation, my friend,

    And with trust in the One you worship.

  14. وروح وقتك بالأرواح

    فإنه الأصل والمقصود

    And refresh your hours with spirits,

    For it is the foundation and the goal.

  15. ولا تعزل على الجثمان

    وإنما هو للترب

    And do not rely on the body,

    For it is meant only for dust.

  16. فهل ترى يسعد الدهر

    من بعد التفرق والبين

    So, do you think time will bring happiness

    After separation and parting,

  17. من قبل أن ينقضي العمر

    بملتقى قرة العين

    Before life comes to an end,

    Through reunion with the delight of the eye,

  18. ويدنو الركن والحجر

    من منتهى الحسن والزين

    And the Corner and the Stone draw near—

    Of the utmost beauty and loveliness—

  19. وبالمعروف من نعمان

    مواقف الفوز والقرب

    And, in the well-known part of Nuʿmān,

    The stations of triumph and nearness?