يا ربَّ ليلٍ بته

يا ربَّ ليلٍ بته

مثل مبيتِ النابغهْ

مثل مبيتِ النابغهْ

Ah, many a night I have spent

O Lord of a night filled with tears

Like al-Nabighah’s night,

Like the night that befell Al-Nabigha

ولم يساورني سوى

ولم يساورني سوى

عقربِ صدغ لادغهْ

عقربِ صدغ لادغهْ

And nothing assailed me but

With nothing to trouble me but

A stinging scorpion of a temple-lock.

The sting of a scorpion on my temple

وقد بدا البدرُ المني

وقد بدا البدرُ المني

رُ والثريا بازغهْ

رُ والثريا بازغهْ

And the radiant full moon had appeared,

And the full moon has risen

And the Pleiades were rising,

With the Pleiades emerging

كأنهُ ترسُ لجينٍ

كأنهُ ترسُ لجينٍ

حولَ درعٍ سابغهْ

حولَ درعٍ سابغهْ

As though it were a shield of silver

As though it were a shield

Around a full-length coat of mail.

Around a coat of mail