وَلَيْلٍ بحرُه فِي الجَوّ مَاجَا

وَلَيْلٍ بحرُه فِي الجَوّ مَاجَا

وَلَمْ نَرَ للهلاَلِ بِهِ سِرَاجَا

وَلَمْ نَرَ للهلاَلِ بِهِ سِرَاجَا

And a night whose sea surged in the sky,

The night's sea surged in the atmosphere

And we saw in it no lamp of the crescent moon.

Yet we saw no crescent moon shine there

أنَرْنَا فِيهِ من شَمْعٍ نُجُومًا

أنَرْنَا فِيهِ من شَمْعٍ نُجُومًا

وَصَيَّرْنَا مَجَرَّتَهُ زُجَاجَا

وَصَيَّرْنَا مَجَرَّتَهُ زُجَاجَا

We lit within it stars of wax,

We lit it with stars like candles

And turned its Milky Way to glass.

And made its galaxy a glassware

وَقَلَّدْنَاهُ بِالأزْهَارِ عقداً

وَقَلَّدْنَاهُ بِالأزْهَارِ عقداً

وَألْبَسْنَاهُ بالأفراحِ تَاجَا

وَألْبَسْنَاهُ بالأفراحِ تَاجَا

And adorned it with a necklace of flowers,

We adorned it with a necklace of flowers

And clothed it in a crown of joys.

And crowned it with joys and powers

وَأطْلَعْنَا بِهِ الصَّهْبَاءَ شَمْاً

وَأطْلَعْنَا بِهِ الصَّهْبَاءَ شَمْاً

فَأمْسى آبَنُوسُ الليلِ عَاجَا

فَأمْسى آبَنُوسُ الليلِ عَاجَا

And in it we made the tawny wine rise as a sun,

We made the fair lady inhale its air

So the ebony of night became ivory.

So Absynthus, the night's, turned into nectar