مِزَاجٌ رَقِيقٌ وَجِسْمٌ نَحِيفْ

مِزَاجٌ رَقِيقٌ وَجِسْمٌ نَحِيفْ

وَقَلْبٌ رَفِيقٌ وَظِلٌّ خَفِيفْ

وَقَلْبٌ رَفِيقٌ وَظِلٌّ خَفِيفْ

A delicate temperament and a slender body,

A gentle temperament and a slender body

And a gentle heart and a light shadow,

And a kind heart and lightweight shadow

وَلفْظٌ لَعُوبٌ وَلَحْظٌ وَثُوبٌ

وَلفْظٌ لَعُوبٌ وَلَحْظٌ وَثُوبٌ

وَعَقْلٌ رَصِينٌ وَرَأْيٌ حَصِيفْ

وَعَقْلٌ رَصِينٌ وَرَأْيٌ حَصِيفْ

And playful speech and a darting glance,

Playful words and a glancing look and dress

And a sober mind and a discerning judgment.

Reasonable mind and judicious opinion

كَذَاكِ خُلِقْتِ فَكُنْتِ كَمَا

كَذَاكِ خُلِقْتِ فَكُنْتِ كَمَا

يَشَاءُ الصِّبا وَالضَّميرُ العَفِيفْ

يَشَاءُ الصِّبا وَالضَّميرُ العَفِيفْ

Thus were you created, and were just as

Thus you were created, so you were as

Youth and a chaste conscience would wish.

The youthful breeze and the chaste conscience willed

وَلَمْ تَرْتَضِي الحُسْنَ إِلاَّ الصَّحِيحَ

وَلَمْ تَرْتَضِي الحُسْنَ إِلاَّ الصَّحِيحَ

وَلاَ الطَّبْعَ إِلاَّ الأَنِيسَ الأَلِيفْ

وَلاَ الطَّبْعَ إِلاَّ الأَنِيسَ الأَلِيفْ

And you accepted no beauty but the genuine,

You never approved of anything but genuine beauty

Nor any disposition but the companionable and congenial.

Nor any nature but the most congenial and intimate

وَليْلَةِ بَدْرٍ صَفَا جَوُّهَا

وَليْلَةِ بَدْرٍ صَفَا جَوُّهَا

وَبَاحَ بِسِرِّ السُّكونِ الحَفِيفْ

وَبَاحَ بِسِرِّ السُّكونِ الحَفِيفْ

And on a full-moon night whose air was clear,

On a full moonlit night, its air purified

And rustling revealed the secret of stillness,

And the faint stillness whispered confidentialities

وَأَلْقَتْ بِسَمْعٍ ظِلاَلُ الريَا

وَأَلْقَتْ بِسَمْعٍ ظِلاَلُ الريَا

ضِ لِنَجْوَى قُلوبٍ بِهِنَّ تُطِيفْ

ضِ لِنَجْوَى قُلوبٍ بِهِنَّ تُطِيفْ

And the shadows of the gardens lent an ear

The shadows of the sand dunes threw unto attentive hearts

To the whispers of hearts circling about them,

That with tender affections are ever restless

وَصَبَّ عَلَى النيلِ شِبْهَ السُّيو

وَصَبَّ عَلَى النيلِ شِبْهَ السُّيو

لِ مُنِيرُ الدُّجَى مِنْ سَنَاهُ الضَّعِيفْ

لِ مُنِيرُ الدُّجَى مِنْ سَنَاهُ الضَّعِيفْ

And upon the Nile was poured a likeness of torrents,

And upon the Nile was poured the semblance of swords

By the light-giver of darkness, from its faint radiance,

Illuminating the gloom, its weak blade shimmering

فَموَّجْنَهُ ثُمَّ ضَاحَكْنَهُ

فَموَّجْنَهُ ثُمَّ ضَاحَكْنَهُ

وَجَارَيْنَهُ فِي دِعَابٍ لَطِيفْ

وَجَارَيْنَهُ فِي دِعَابٍ لَطِيفْ

So they set it rippling, then laughed with it,

So we made it ripple, then laugh

And kept pace with it in gentle play—

And flow with us in gentle play

رَأَيْتُكِ خَلاَّبَةً لِلْعُقُو

رَأَيْتُكِ خَلاَّبَةً لِلْعُقُو

لِ فِي مُتَجَلى سَنِيٍّ مُنِيفْ

لِ فِي مُتَجَلى سَنِيٍّ مُنِيفْ

I saw you, bewitching minds,

I saw you a charmer of minds

In a radiant, lofty manifestation:

Revealing longing in the smile of an affectionate elder

مُنىً وَمَعَانٍ أَبَى الحُسْنُ أَنْ

مُنىً وَمَعَانٍ أَبَى الحُسْنُ أَنْ

تُرَى فِي مِثَالِ التُّرَابِ الكَثِيفْ

تُرَى فِي مِثَالِ التُّرَابِ الكَثِيفْ

Hopes and meanings that beauty refused to let

Aspiration and meanings that beauty refused

Be seen in a form of dense earth.

To be seen in the form of dense dust

فَخَيَّلهَا البَدْرُ رُوحاً بَدَتْ

فَخَيَّلهَا البَدْرُ رُوحاً بَدَتْ

عَلَى البُعْدِ فِي حُلَّةٍ مِنْ شُفُوفْ

عَلَى البُعْدِ فِي حُلَّةٍ مِنْ شُفُوفْ

So the full moon pictured them as a spirit that appeared

So the moon imagined it a spirit that appeared

Far off, in a robe of sheer fabric,

In the distance, in a dress of thin fabrics

تَلُوحُ وَتَخْفي كَأَنَّ الأَشِعَّة

تَلُوحُ وَتَخْفي كَأَنَّ الأَشِعَّة

آناً مَرَاءٍ وَآناً سُجُوفْ

آناً مَرَاءٍ وَآناً سُجُوفْ

Glimmering and vanishing, as though the rays

Appearing and disappearing as if the rays

Were mirrors one moment, and curtains the next.

Now deceit, and now sincerity

فَيُلْقِي شُعَاعٌ عَلَيْهَا نَصِيفاً

فَيُلْقِي شُعَاعٌ عَلَيْهَا نَصِيفاً

وَيَنْزِعُ آخرُ عَنْهَا النَّصيفْ

وَيَنْزِعُ آخرُ عَنْهَا النَّصيفْ

So one ray casts a veil upon her,

Thus a ray casts itself purely upon it

And another removes the veil from her.

And another withdraws the purity from it