أضرب السحر الذي أنت ناظمه

أضرب السحر الذي أنت ناظمه

أم اللؤلؤ المنضود في الرق راقمه

أم اللؤلؤ المنضود في الرق راقمه

Is it a kind of magic that you have woven,

Is it a kind of magic that you compose,

or strung pearls that you have inscribed on parchment?

or strung pearls that you inscribe on parchment?

بلى إنه السحر الحلال وإنما

بلى إنه السحر الحلال وإنما

تحل عويص المشكلات عزائمه

تحل عويص المشكلات عزائمه

Yes—it is lawful magic, and it is only

Yes, it is lawful magic, and all it does

its incantations that solve the knottiest problems.

is unravel the knottiest problems with its incantations.

وعقد لا عقاد العقائد عاقد

وعقد لا عقاد العقائد عاقد

ومحض وداد يختلي الهجر صارمه

ومحض وداد يختلي الهجر صارمه

And knots no master-binder of doctrines has ever tied,

And a necklace no stringer of necklaces can string,

and pure affection whose blade mows estrangement down.

and pure affection whose keen sword cuts down estrangement.

أبنت به ما بيننا قل بيننا

أبنت به ما بيننا قل بيننا

فلا البين يفنيه ولا الهجر ثالمه

فلا البين يفنيه ولا الهجر ثالمه

Through it you made plain what lies between us—call it our bond:

You have shown through it what lies between us—say, our bond—

neither separation destroys it nor estrangement breaches it.

so neither separation destroys it nor estrangement mars it.

وقد كنت فيما قبل أدعوك هاجراً

وقد كنت فيما قبل أدعوك هاجراً

فبان بما أفحصت ما أنا كاتمه

فبان بما أفحصت ما أنا كاتمه

Before this I used to call you one who had forsaken me,

And I had indeed once called you one who shunned me,

but what I had concealed became plain in what you disclosed.

then what I concealed became clear through what you uncovered.

وهيج لي من ذكراك العهد لوعةً

وهيج لي من ذكراك العهد لوعةً

تأق منها الجفن وانهل ساجمه

تأق منها الجفن وانهل ساجمه

At the memory of you, those bygone days stirred my anguish;

And at the thought of you, the old days stirred a burning ache in me;

my eye brimmed because of it, and its streaming tears poured down.

my eyelid brimmed from it, and its tears poured down.

فلله ذاك العهد لو عاد لانجلت

فلله ذاك العهد لو عاد لانجلت

هموم وأهمت بالسرور غمائمه

هموم وأهمت بالسرور غمائمه

Ah, those days! Were they to return, there would lift away

God bless those days! If they returned, they would dispel

all cares, and their clouds would rain down joy.

sorrows, and their clouds would shower joy.

وعاد حزين القلب فرحان جاذلاً

وعاد حزين القلب فرحان جاذلاً

وغنت بهاتيك المغاني حمائمه

وغنت بهاتيك المغاني حمائمه

The sorrowful heart would become glad and jubilant,

And the sad-hearted would become happy and jubilant again,

and its doves would sing in those beloved haunts.

and their doves would sing in those dwellings.

وإني بربع الحب مازلت بارحاً

وإني بربع الحب مازلت بارحاً

مقيماً على العهد الذي أنت عالمه

مقيماً على العهد الذي أنت عالمه

Indeed, though long gone from love’s abode,

And in love's dwelling I am still departing,

I abide by the covenant that you know.

yet remaining true to the pledge you know.

فلا تحسبن الحال حالت وإنني

فلا تحسبن الحال حالت وإنني

تناسيت عهداً الود أو أنا صارمه

تناسيت عهداً الود أو أنا صارمه

So do not think circumstances have changed, nor that I

So do not think my state has changed and that I

have put love’s covenant from mind, or that I would sever it.

have wilfully forgotten a pledge of affection, or am severing it.