يا سائلي عن حِصْن قريتنا لِم ال

يا سائلي عن حِصْن قريتنا لِم ال

بُنيانُ لا تبعد وأنتَ قريبُ

بُنيانُ لا تبعد وأنتَ قريبُ

O you who ask me about our village’s fort—why the

O you who ask about the fortress of our village, why not

building? Do not stay away when you are near.

Come closer, you are near, and behold its wonders

فهلُمَّ تلقَ عجائباً بشموخه

فهلُمَّ تلقَ عجائباً بشموخه

فهو العجيبُ ومَن بناهُ نجيبُ

فهو العجيبُ ومَن بناهُ نجيبُ

Come, then, and find wonders in its towering grandeur.

It is a marvel, and he who built it is noble

For it is wondrous, and whoever built it is noble.

Adorned, arranged, and well-ordered

فمحسَّنٌ ومُزَيَّنٌ ومُرَتَّبٌ

فمحسَّنٌ ومُزَيَّنٌ ومُرَتَّبٌ

وبناؤه ما مثلُه ترتيبُ

وبناؤه ما مثلُه ترتيبُ

It is beautified, adorned, and well arranged,

Its construction has no equal in design

and its construction has no equal in its layout.

Do good with what is beloved in hearts

أَحْسِن بما هو في القُلوب مُحبَّبٌ

أَحْسِن بما هو في القُلوب مُحبَّبٌ

ولكل مَن يرنو إليه حبيبُ

ولكل مَن يرنو إليه حبيبُ

How fine is that which is beloved in people’s hearts,

And it is a lover to all who yearn for it

and dear to everyone who gazes toward it.

The stranger forgets his family, as though

ينسَى الغريبُ عِياله فكأنه

ينسَى الغريبُ عِياله فكأنه

جَنَّاتُ عدنٍ ما بهنَّ غريبُ

جَنَّاتُ عدنٍ ما بهنَّ غريبُ

The stranger forgets his family, as though it were

It were the gardens of Eden, no stranger within

the gardens of Eden, where no one is a stranger.

My eyes have not seen a fairer sight

ما أبصَرَتْ عينايَ أحسنَ منظراً

ما أبصَرَتْ عينايَ أحسنَ منظراً

منه فما منه الضياءُ يغيبُ

منه فما منه الضياءُ يغيبُ

My eyes have never seen a lovelier sight

Than it, its radiance does not wane

than it, for radiance never departs from it.

He who shelters in it wants to be jailed forever

ويَوَدُّ مَن يُؤويه يُسجَن دائماً

ويَوَدُّ مَن يُؤويه يُسجَن دائماً

فيه وليس إلى العِيالِ يؤوبُ

فيه وليس إلى العِيالِ يؤوبُ

And whoever it shelters wishes to be imprisoned forever

In it, and does not return to his family

within it, never returning to his family.

It is the meadow of horizons, beneath it flow

هو رائقُ الآفاقِ تجرى تحته

هو رائقُ الآفاقِ تجرى تحته

الأنهارُ وهو بساكنيه حبيبُ

الأنهارُ وهو بساكنيه حبيبُ

Its vistas are lovely; beneath it flow

Rivers, and it is a lover to its inhabitants

rivers, and it is dear to its inhabitants.

Lofty pillars, orderly and high

عالي العِمادِ عُلُوُّه مترتِّبٌ

عالي العِمادِ عُلُوُّه مترتِّبٌ

وأساسه من جِصَّهم مصبوبُ

وأساسه من جِصَّهم مصبوبُ

Its pillars are lofty, its height well ordered,

Its foundations solid rock

and its foundation is cast from their plaster.

Its curtains like the poems

أستارُه بسروجهن كأنها

أستارُه بسروجهن كأنها

سينُ ابن مُقْلَةَ في الحَصَى مكتوبُ

سينُ ابن مُقْلَةَ في الحَصَى مكتوبُ

Its curtain walls, with their saddles, seem like

Of Ibn Muqla etched in stone

Ibn Muqlah’s letter sīn, inscribed in the pebbles,

Or the smile of a singing girl

أو ثغرُ غانَيةٍ يروقُ تبسُّماً

أو ثغرُ غانَيةٍ يروقُ تبسُّماً

سمطين فيه اللؤلؤ المثقوبُ

سمطين فيه اللؤلؤ المثقوبُ

or a beauty’s mouth, enchanting in its smile—

Scattering round pearls from her mouth

two strands of pierced pearls within it.

In its beauty, the chambers have not been dwelled in

مِن حُسنه الغُرُفاتُ لم يسكن بها

مِن حُسنه الغُرُفاتُ لم يسكن بها

مِن روح سَجْسَجِه النسيم هبوبُ

مِن روح سَجْسَجِه النسيم هبوبُ

Among its beauties are the chambers, where there is no lull

By any soul, so refreshing is its breeze

in the breeze blowing from its refreshingly temperate air.

Whoever said in describing it, it is a piece

مَن قالَ في أوصافه هو قطعةٌ

مَن قالَ في أوصافه هو قطعةٌ

من روضة الجنَّات فهو مُصيبُ

من روضة الجنَّات فهو مُصيبُ

Whoever says, describing it, that it is a piece

Of the garden of heavens, is right

of the garden of Paradise is right.

And if he says, I saw a fortress like it

وإذا يقولُ رأيتُ حِصناً مثله

وإذا يقولُ رأيتُ حِصناً مثله

بعُمانَ في الترتيب ليس يصيبُ

بعُمانَ في الترتيب ليس يصيبُ

And if he says, ‘I have seen a fort like it

In design in Oman, he errs

in Oman in its layout,’ he is mistaken.

It has no flaw, but that

لا عيبَ فيه تراهُ إلا أنه

لا عيبَ فيه تراهُ إلا أنه

يُنْسِى المحبَّ حبيبه فيطيبُ

يُنْسِى المحبَّ حبيبه فيطيبُ

No fault can you see in it, except that

It makes the lover forget his beloved in contentment

it makes the lover forget his beloved, and so he is content.