مَا بَالُ جِيرَانِنَا بِالبَانْ

مَا بَالُ جِيرَانِنَا بِالبَانْمَالُوا عَنِ الوُدِّ وَالحُبِّ

Mā bālu jīrāninā bi-al-bān, Mālū ʿani al-wuddi wa-al-ḥubbi

What is wrong with our neighbours at the ban trees, that they have turned away from affection and love,

وَصَيَّرُوا حَظَّنَا الهِجْرَانْمِنْهُمْ وَمَا ثَمَّ مِنْ ذَنْبِ

Waṣayyarū ḥaẓẓanā al-hijrān, Minhum wamā thamma min dhanbi

And made desertion our portion from them, though there was no sin?

أَصْبَحْتُ مِنْ بُعْدِهِمْ وَلْهَانْمُتَيَّمَ الجِسْمِ وَالقَلْبِ

Aṣbaḥtu min buʿdihim walhān, Mutayyama al-jismi wa-al-qalbi

Their distance has left me distraught, enthralled in body and heart.

تَجْرِي دُمُوعِي عَلَى الأَجْفَانْكَأَنَّهَا مَاطِرُ السُّحْبِ

Tajrī dumūʿī ʿalā al-ʾajfān, Kaʾannahā māṭiru as-suḥbi

My tears run down over my eyelids as though they were the rain of the clouds.

يَا سَعْدُ مَا كَانَ فِي ظَنِّيأَنَّ الأَحِبَّةَ وَالجِيرَانْ

Yā saʿdu mā kāna fī ẓannī, Anna al-ʾaḥibbata wa-al-jīrān

O Sa'd, I never imagined that my beloveds and neighbours,

بَعْدَ اللِّقَا يُعْرِضُوا عَنِّيوَيَتْرُكُونِيْ كَذَا حَيْرَانْ

Baʿda al-liqā yuʿriḍū ʿannī, Wayatrukūniy kadhā ḥayrān

After our meeting, would turn away from me and leave me bewildered like this.

فَقُلْ لَهُمْ يَا أَخَا اليُمْنِأَيْنَ المَوَاثِيقُ وَالأَيْمَانْ

Faqul lahum yā akhā al-yumni, Ayna al-mawāthīqu wa-al-ʾaymān

So say to them, O brother of good fortune: "Where are the covenants and the oaths?

وَأَيْنَ عَهْدٌ لَنَا قَدْ كَانْبِالسَّفْحِ مِنْ جَانِبِ الشِّعْبِ

Waʾayna ʿahdun lanā qad kan, Bi-as-safḥi min jānibi ash-shiʿbi

And where is the pledge we once had on the hillside beside the ravine?"

سَقْياً لِأَيَّامِنَا اللَّاتِيمَرَّتْ لَنَا بِالحِمَى المَأْنُوسْ

Saqyan liʾayyāminā al-lātī, Marrat lanā bi-al-ḥimā al-maʾnūs

May rain bless our days that passed for us in the familiar sanctuary!

كَانَتْ بِهَا كُلُّ لَذَّاتِيفِي عَالَمِ الرُّوحِ وَالمَحْسُوسْ

Kānat bihā kullu ladhdhātī, Fī ʿālami ar-rūḥi wa-al-maḥsūs

In them were all my delights, in the world of the spirit and of the senses.

لَوْلَا التَّرَجِّي لِمَا يَأْتِيمِنْ نَفْحَةِ المَلِكِ القُدُّوسْ

Lawlā at-tarajjī limā yaʾtī, Min nafḥati al-maliki al-quddūs

Were it not for hope in what will come of a breath from the Holy King,

لَمَزَّقَتْ قَلْبِيَ الأَحْزَانْوَذُبْتُ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الكَرْبِ

Lamazzaqat qalbiya al-ʾaḥzān, Wadhubtu min shiddati al-karbi

Sorrows would have torn my heart apart, and I would have melted from the intensity of grief.

عِشْ بِالرَّجَا وَالأَمَلْ يَا صَاحْوَحَسِّنِ الظَّنَّ بِالمَعْبُودْ

ʿish bi-ar-rajā wa-al-ʾamal yā ṣāḥ, Waḥassini aẓ-ẓanna bi-al-maʿbūd

Live by hope and expectation, my friend, and think well of the One you worship.

وَزَجِّ وَقْتَكَ بِالأَفْرَاحْوَلَا تَأَسَّفْ عَلَى مَفْقُودْ

Wazajji waqtaka bi-al-ʾafrāḥ, Walā taʾassaf ʿalā mafqūd

Pass your time in joy, and do not grieve over what is lost.

وَارْقَ إِلَى عَالَمِ الأَرْوَاحْفَإِنَّهُ الأَصْلُ وَالمَقْصُودْ

Warqa ilā ʿālami al-ʾarwāḥ, Faʾinnahu al-ʾaṣlu wa-al-maqṣūd

Rise to the world of the spirits, for it is the origin and the goal.

وَلَا تُعَوِّلْ عَلَى الجُثْمَانْفَإِنَّمَا هُوَ لِلتُّرْبِ

Walā tuʿawwil ʿalā al-juthmān, Faʾinnamā huwa liltturbi

And do not rely on the body, for it belongs only to the dust.

فَهَلْ تَرَى يُسْعِدُ الدَّهْرُبَعْدَ التَّفَرُّقِ وَالبَيْنِ

Fahal tarā yusʿidu ad-dahru, Baʿda at-tafarruqi wa-al-bayni

Do you think time will grant, after separation and parting,

مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَنْقَضِي العُمْرُبِمُلْتَقَى قُرَّةِ العَيْنِ

Min qabli an yanqaḍī al-ʿumru, Bimultaqā qurrati al-ʿayni

Before life comes to its end, a meeting with the delight of my eye,

وَيَدْنُوَ الرُّكْنُ وَالحِجْرُمِنْ مُنْتَهَى الحُسْنِ وَالزَّيْنِ

Wayadnuwa ar-ruknu wa-al-ḥijru, Min muntahā al-ḥusni wa-az-zayni

And that the Corner and the Hijr will draw near, the utmost of beauty and adornment,

وَبِالمُعَرَّفِ مِنْ نَعْمَانْمَوَاقِفُ الفَوْزِ وَالقُرْبِ

Wabi-al-muʿarrafi min naʿmān, Mawāqifu al-fawzi wa-al-qurbi

And at 'Arafat near Na'man the stations of triumph and nearness?