يَا سَعْدُ قِفْ بِي عَلَى الطُّلُولْ

يَا سَعْدُ قِفْ بِي عَلَى الطُّلُولْأَبْكِي عَلَى الأَحِبَّهْ

Yā saʿdu qif bī ʿalā aṭ-ṭulūl, Abkī ʿalā al-ʾaḥibbah

O Sa'd, stop with me at the ruins, that I may weep for the beloveds,

وَأَسْكُبُ الدَّمْعَ كَالسُّيُولْمِنْ حَسْرَةٍ وَكُرْبَهْ

Waʾaskubu ad-damʿa ka-as-suyūl, Min ḥasratin wakurbah

And pour out tears like torrents from sorrow and distress.

لَعَلَّهَا تَبْرُدُ الكُلُولْمِنْ حَرِّ طُولِ غُرْبَهْ

Laʿallahā tabrudu al-kulūl, Min ḥarri ṭūli ghurbah

Perhaps they will cool the weariness from the heat of long exile.

لَهْفِي عَلَى الجِيرَةِ النُّزُولْبِخَيْرِ كُلِّ تُرْبَهْ

Lahfī ʿalā al-jīrati an-nuzūl, Bikhayri kulli turbah

Alas for the neighbours who dwelt in the best of all lands!

بَانُوا عَنِ الأَهْلِ وَالوَطَنْوَالرَّبْعِ وَالمَنَازِلْ

Bānū ʿani al-ʾahli wa-al-waṭan, Wa-ar-rabʿi wa-al-manāzil

They have departed from family and homeland, from the encampment and the dwellings,

وَأَوْحَشُوا الجَارَ وَالسَّكَنْوَالوِرْدَ وَالمَنَاهِلْ

Waʾawḥashū al-jāra wa-as-sakan, Wa-al-wirda wa-al-manāhil

Leaving desolate the neighbour and the home, the watering place and the springs,

وَخَلَّفُونِي عَلَى الدِّمَنْأَبْكِي بِدَمْعٍ سَائِلْ

Wakhallafūnī ʿalā ad-diman, Abkī bidamʿin sāʾil

And left me at the ruins, weeping with flowing tears.

يَا غَارَةَ اللهِ وَالرَّسُولْعَسَى رِضاً وَقُرْبَهْ

Yā ghārata Allāhi wa-ar-rasūl, ʿasā riḍan waqurbah

O swift help of Allah and His Messenger! Perhaps there will be good pleasure and nearness.

أَرَاكَ يَا سَاكِنَ الفُؤَادْتَبْخَلْ عَلَيْ بِنَظْرَهْ

Arāka yā sākina al-fuʾād, Tabkhal ʿalay binaẓrah

I see you, O dweller in my heart, begrudging me a single glance,

يَحْصُلْ بِهَا القَصْدُ وَالمُرَادْوَالأُنْسُ وَالمَسَرَّهْ

Yaḥṣul bihā al-qaṣdu wa-al-murād, Wa-al-ʾunsu wa-al-masarrah

Through which my aim and desire would be fulfilled, with intimacy and joy,

وَيَذْهَبُ الهَجْرُ وَالبِعَادْوَالبُؤْسُ وَالمَضَرَّهْ

Wayadhhabu al-hajru wa-al-biʿād, Wa-al-buʾsu wa-al-maḍarrah

And desertion and distance would vanish, with misery and harm.

فَاسْمَحْ لَكَ الخَيْرُ يَا مَلُولْوَاذْكُرْ عُهُودَ صُحْبَهْ

Fasmaḥ laka al-khayru yā malūl, Wadhkur ʿuhūda ṣuḥbah

So be generous, may good be yours, O weary one, and remember the pledges of companionship,

فِي حِينِ كُنَّا بِدَالْ مِيمْبِالوَادِي المُنَوَّرْ

Fī ḥīni kunnā bidāl mīm, Bi-al-wādī al-munawwar

From when we were at Dal-Mim, in the radiant valley,

بِجَانِبِ السَّفْحِ مِنْ تَرِيمْوَالعَيْشُ غَضٌّ أَخْضَرْ

Bijānibi as-safḥi min tarīm, Wa-al-ʿayshu ghaḍḍun akhḍar

By the hillside of Tarim, when life was fresh and green,

يَسْرِي لَنَا البَرْقُ وَالنَّسِيمْمُمَسَّكٌ مُعَنْبَرْ

Yasrī lanā al-barqu wa-an-nasīm, Mumassakun muʿanbar

And lightning and breeze came to us by night, scented with musk and ambergris,

حَيْثُ الأَحِبَّهْ بِهِ حُلُولْصِرْبَهْ تَؤُمُّ صِرْبَهْ

Ḥaythu al-ʾaḥibbah bihi ḥulūl, Ṣirbah taʾummu ṣirbah

Where the beloveds dwelt, group following group.