وَيا لَيتَ شِعري أَيُّ شَيءٍ مُحَصِّلٌ

وَيا لَيتَ شِعري أَيُّ شَيءٍ مُحَصِّلٌ

يَرى شَخصُ مَن قَد ماتَ وَهوَ دَفينُ

يَرى شَخصُ مَن قَد ماتَ وَهوَ دَفينُ

And oh, would that I knew what perceiving thing

Oh how I wonder what can perceive

Sees the figure of one who has died and lies buried.

Someone who's passed away and lain beneath

أَهو هُوَ أَم خَلقٌ شَبيهٌ بِما رَأى

أَهو هُوَ أَم خَلقٌ شَبيهٌ بِما رَأى

فَهَل لِلقُلوبِ النائِماتِ عُيونُ

فَهَل لِلقُلوبِ النائِماتِ عُيونُ

Is it he himself, or a creation resembling what he saw?

Is it him or a creation resembling what he saw

Do sleeping hearts, then, have eyes?

Do slumbering hearts have eyes?

وَكَيفَ يَرى وَالعَينُ قَد ماتَ نورُها

وَكَيفَ يَرى وَالعَينُ قَد ماتَ نورُها

وَواقِعُهُ شِبهَ الرُقادِ سُكونُ

وَواقِعُهُ شِبهَ الرُقادِ سُكونُ

And how does he see when the eye's light has died,

How can he see when his eyes' light is gone

And his condition is stillness, like slumber?

And he's settled in a state like sleep's repose

إِذَن كانَتِ الأَرواحُ مِن بَعدِ بَينِها

إِذَن كانَتِ الأَرواحُ مِن بَعدِ بَينِها

بِهِنَّ إِلى ما خَلفَهُنَّ حَنينُ

بِهِنَّ إِلى ما خَلفَهُنَّ حَنينُ

Then the souls, after their parting,

Then spirits after parting must have been

Had within them a longing for what lay behind them.

Yearning for what they left behind