أَلَا يَا نَازِلِينَ عَلَى الكَثِيبِ

أَلَا يَا نَازِلِينَ عَلَى الكَثِيبِمِنَ الوَادِي عَلَى المَرْعَى الخَصِيبِ

Alā yā nāzilīna ʿalā al-kathībi, Mina al-wādī ʿalā al-marʿā al-khaṣībi

O you who have alighted on the sand dune of the valley, by the fertile pasture,

نَأَتْ بِي عَنْكُمُ الدَّارُ فَمَا لِيْوَلِلْبُعْدِ المُفَتِّتِ لِلْقُلُوبِ

Naʾat bī ʿankumu ad-dāru famā liy, Walilbuʿdi al-mufattiti lilqulūbi

My home has taken me far from you; what have I to do with distance that breaks hearts?

تُرَوِّعُنِي الحَوَادِثُ كُلَّ حِينٍوَتَقْصِدُنِي مَهُولَاتُ الكُرُوبِ

Turawwiʿunī al-ḥawādithu kulla ḥīnin, Wataqṣidunī mahūlātu al-kurūbi

Misfortunes alarm me at every moment, and terrifying griefs make me their target.

وَلَوْ أَنِّي مُقِيمٌ فِي حِمَاكُمْأَرَاكُمْ لَمْ أُهَدَّدْ بِالخُطُوبِ

Walaw annī muqīmun fī ḥimākum, Arākum lam uhaddad bi-al-khuṭūbi

Were I living within your sanctuary, seeing you, I would not be threatened by calamities.

وَلَمْ أَسْلُوكُمُ يَا أَهْلَ وِدِّيفَلَا تَصْغَوْا لِإِرْجَافِ الكَذُوبِ

Walam aslūkumu yā ahla widdī, Falā taṣghaw liʾirjāfi al-kadhūbi

I have not forgotten you, O people of my love, so do not listen to the rumours of the liar.

يَرَى أَنِّي خَلِيٌّ عَنْ هَوَاكُمْوَلَمْ يَدْرِ بِمَا بَيْنَ الجُنُوبِ

Yarā annī khaliyyun ʿan hawākum, Walam yadri bimā bayna al-junūbi

He thinks my heart is free of love for you, not knowing what lies within my breast.

أُحِبُّكُمُ لَكُمْ وَلِمَا مَنَحْتُمْمِنَ الإِحْسَانِ وَاللُّطْفِ العَجِيبِ

Uḥibbukumu lakum walimā manaḥtum, Mina al-ʾiḥsāni wa-al-luṭfi al-ʿajībi

I love you for yourselves, and for all you have granted of kindness and wondrous gentleness.

وَكَمْ أَهْدَتْ إِلَى سِرِّي يَدَاكُمْمَوَاهِبَ دُونَهَا أَرَبُ الأَرِيبِ

Wakam ahdat ilā sirrī yadākum, Mawāhiba dūnahā arabu al-ʾarībi

How often your hands have given my inmost heart gifts beyond the desires of the wise!

وَكَمْ بَرَزَتْ لِرُوحِي مِنْ حِمَاكُمْمُحَجَّبَةٌ عَنِ الفَطِنِ اللَّبِيبِ

Wakam barazat lirūḥī min ḥimākum, Muḥajjabatun ʿani al-faṭini al-labībi

How often there appeared to my spirit from your sanctuary a veiled beauty hidden from the keen and intelligent!

وَلِي أَمَلٌ وَرَا هَذَا بَعِيدٌوَذَلِكَ أَنْ أَصِيرَ إِلَى الحَبِيبِ

Walī amalun warā hadhā baʿīdun, Wadhalika an aṣīra ilā al-ḥabībi

Yet I have a far hope beyond all this, and that is to reach the Beloved,

وَأَشْهَدَهُ مُشَاهَدَةً وَأَفْنَىعَنِ الكَوْنِ البَعِيدِ مَعَ القَرِيبِ

Waʾashhadahu mushāhadatan waʾafnā, ʿani al-kawni al-baʿīdi maʿa al-qarībi

To witness Him in true vision and pass away from creation, the far and the near alike,

وَأَنْ أَبْقَى بِهِ بَعْدَ التَّفَانِيفَيَا بُشْرَايَ مَا أَوْفَى نَصِيبِي

Waʾan abqā bihi baʿda at-tafānī, Fayā bushrāya mā awfā naṣībī

And then to abide through Him after passing away: oh, the glad tidings! How complete my portion!