عَسَى مَنْ بَلَانَا بِالبِعَادِ يَجُودُ

عَسَى مَنْ بَلَانَا بِالبِعَادِ يَجُودُوَعَلَّ لُيَيْلَاتِ اللِّقَاءِ تَعُودُ

ʿasā man balānā bi-al-biʿādi yajūdu, Waʿalla luyaylāti al-liqāʾi taʿūdu

Perhaps the One who tried us with distance will be generous, and perhaps the little nights of meeting will return,

وَتُسْعِدُ بَعْدَ البُعْدِ بِالقُرْبِ غَادَةٌمُوَرَّدَةٌ هَيْفَا القَوَامِ خَرُودُ

Watusʿidu baʿda al-buʿdi bi-al-qurbi ghādatun, Muwarradatun hayfā al-qawāmi kharūdu

And after distance a maiden will grant the joy of nearness, rosy, slender of form, shy and modest,

وَيَبْرُدُ حَرٌّ بِالفُؤَادِ وَلَوْعَةٌلَهَا تَحْتَ أَحْنَاءِ الضُّلُوعِ وَقُودُ

Wayabrudu ḥarrun bi-al-fuʾādi walawʿatun, Lahā taḥta aḥnāʾi aḍ-ḍulūʿi waqūdu

And the heat in my heart will cool, and an anguish whose fuel burns beneath the curve of my ribs.

خَلِيلَيَّ دَمْعِي فَوْقَ خَدَّيَّ شَاهِدٌعَلَيَّ بِوَجْدٍ فِي الفُؤَادِ عَتِيدُ

Khalīlayya damʿī fawqa khaddayya shāhidun, ʿalayya biwajdin fī al-fuʾādi ʿatīdu

My two friends, my tears upon my cheeks bear witness against me to an ecstasy deep-rooted in my heart.

وَكَمْ رُمْتُ أَنْ أُخْفِي هَوَى ظَبْيَةِ الحِمَىفَلَمْ أَسْتَطِعْ وَاللَّائِحَاتُ شُهُودُ

Wakam rumtu an ukhfī hawā ẓabyati al-ḥimā, Falam astaṭiʿ wa-al-lāʾiḥātu shuhūdu

How often I tried to hide my love for the gazelle of the sanctuary, but I could not, for the visible signs are witnesses:

نُحُولٌ وَحُزْنٌ وَاصْفِرَارٌ وَعَبْرَةٌوَسُهْدٌ طَوِيلٌ وَالأَنَامُ رُقُودُ

Nuḥūlun waḥuznun waṣfirārun waʿabratun, Wasuhdun ṭawīlun wa-al-ʾanāmu ruqūdu

Wasting, grief, pallor and tears, and long sleeplessness while people sleep.

فَلَمْ يَبْقَ لِي فِي كَتْمِهِ الآنَ مَطْمَعٌوَإِنْ ظَلَمُونِي عُذَّلٌ وَحُسُودُ

Falam yabqa lī fī katmihi al-ʾāna maṭmaʿun, Waʾin ẓalamūnī ʿudhdhalun waḥusūdu

So now I have no hope left of hiding it, even if blamers and the envious wrong me.

أُقَاسِي شُجُوناً لَوْ يُقَاسُونَ بَعْضَهَالَضَاقَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالكُرُوبِ وُجُودُ

Uqāsī shujūnan law yuqāsūna baʿḍahā, Laḍāqa ʿalayhim bi-al-kurūbi wujūdu

I endure sorrows; if they endured even some of them, existence itself would grow narrow for them with grief.

يَقُولُونَ مَا شَاؤُوا فَحَسْبِي وَحَسْبُهُمْإِلَهٌ عَظِيمٌ عَالِمٌ وَشَهِيدُ

Yaqūlūna mā shāʾū faḥasbī waḥasbuhum, Ilahun ʿaẓīmun ʿālimun washahīdu

Let them say what they will; my sufficiency and theirs is a mighty God, All-Knowing, All-Witnessing.

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ الضُّرَّ يَا سَعْدُ مَسَّنِيوَقَدْ كِدْتُ مِنْ فَرْطِ الضَّنَاءِ أَبِيدُ

Alam tara anna aḍ-ḍurra yā saʿdu massanī, Waqad kidtu min farṭi aḍ-ḍanāʾi abīdu

Do you not see, O Sa'd, that harm has touched me, and I have almost perished from excessive wasting?

فَإِنْ كُنْتَ مِنِّي وَالرَّفِيقُ مُسَاعِدٌيُعِينُ وَفِي مَسِّ الخُطُوبِ يُفِيدُ

Faʾin kunta minnī wa-ar-rafīqu musāʿidun, Yuʿīnu wafī massi al-khuṭūbi yufīdu

If you are with me, and a companion is a helper who aids and is of use when misfortunes strike,

فَبَادِرْ وَسِرْ عَنِّي وَخُذْ لِي رِسَالَةًإِلَى مَنْ ثَوَى فِي القَلْبِ وَهْوَ بَعِيدُ

Fabādir wasir ʿannī wakhudh lī risālatan, Ilā man thawā fī al-qalbi wahwa baʿīdu

Then hasten, go on my behalf and take a message for me to the one who dwells in my heart, though he is far,

تُبَلِّغُهَا فِي عَبْرَةٍ وَمَدَامِعٍوَعِنْدَكَ وُدٌّ صَادِقٌ وَأَكِيدُ

Tuballighuhā fī ʿabratin wamadāmiʿin, Waʿindaka wuddun ṣādiqun waʾakīdu

Delivering it with tears and weeping, for you have a sincere and steadfast love.

وَقُلْ لِحَبِيبِ القَلْبِ ذَاكَ الَّذِي أَنَابِحُبِّي لَهُ بَيْنَ الأَنَامِ سَعِيدُ

Waqul liḥabībi al-qalbi dhāka al-ladhī anā, Biḥubbī lahu bayna al-ʾanāmi saʿīdu

And say to the beloved of my heart, the one through whose love I am happy among all people:

عُبَيْدُكَ يَا مَوْلَايَ أَدْرِكْهُ إِنَّهُوَحِيدٌ فَرِيدٌ وَالزَّمَانُ شَدِيدُ

ʿubayduka yā mawlāya adrikhu innahu, Waḥīdun farīdun wa-az-zamānu shadīdu

"Your humble servant, my master: rescue him, for he is alone and solitary, and the times are harsh.

وَقَدْ ذَهَبَتْ أَيَّامُهُ وَتَنَكَّرَتْعَلَيْهِ أُمُورٌ وَاضْطَرَبْنَ عُهُودُ

Waqad dhahabat ayyāmuhu watanakkarat, ʿalayhi umūrun waḍṭarabna ʿuhūdu

His days have passed, and affairs have turned against him, and covenants have been shaken.

وَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا مَا يُرَجِّيهِ مِنْكُمُفَمُنُّوا وَجُودُوا يَا كِرَامُ وَعُودُوا

Walam yabqa illā mā yurajjīhi minkumu, Famunnū wajūdū yā kirāmu waʿūdū

Nothing remains but what he hopes from you; so be gracious and generous, O noble ones, and return."