Al Faswlul Awwalu · الْفَصْلُ الْاوَّلُ

أَمِنْ تَذَكُّرِ جِيرَانٍ بِذِي سَلَمِ
مَزَجْتَ دَمْعًا جَرَى مِنْ مُقْلَةٍ بِدَمِ

Amin tadhakkuri jīrānin bi dhī salami
Mazajta damʿan jarā min muqlatin bidami

Is it from remembering neighbours at Dhū Salam That you shed tears admixed with blood from your eyes?

أَمْ هَبَّتِ الرِّيحُ مِنْ تِلْقَاءِ كَاظِمَةٍ
وَأَوْمَضَ البَرْقُ فِي الظَّلْمَاءِ مِنْ إِضَمِ

Am habbatir rīhu min tilqāʾi kādhimatin
Wa awmaḍal barqu fīẓ ẓulmāʾi min iḍami

Or because wind has blown from the direction of Kāẓima And lightning has flashed in the dark of Iḍam?

فَمَا لِعَيْنَيْكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ اكْفُفَا هَمَتَا
وَمَا لِقَلْبِكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ اسْتَفِقْ يَهِمِ

Famā li ʿaynayka in qultakfufā hamatā
Wa mā li qalbika in qultastafiq yahimi

So what ails your eyes that when you tell them ‘stop’, they continue to weep still more? And what ails your heart that when you bid it awake, it wanders further in distraction?

أَيَحْسَبُ الصَّبُّ أَنَّ الحُبَّ مُنْكَتِمٌ
مَا بَيْنَ مُنْسَجِمٍ مِنْهُ وَمُضْطَرِمِ

Ayaḥsabuṣ ṣabbu annal ḥubba munkatimun
Mā bayna munsajimin minhu wa muḍṭarimi

Does the lovelorn man think that love can be hidden Behind a torrent from his [eyes], or a heart’s raging fire?

لَوْلاَ الهَوَى لَمْ تَرِقْ دَمْعًا عَلَى طَلَلٍ
وَلاَ أَرِقْتَ لِذِكْرِ البَانِ وَالْعَلَمِ

Lawlal hawā lam turiq damʿan ʿalā ṭalalin
Wa lā ariqta li dhikril bāni wal ʿalami

But for passion, you would not shed tears at an abandoned camp, Or lie awake at night recalling the fragrant willow or the mountain;

فَكَيْفَ تُنْكِرُ حُبًّا بَعْدَمَا شَهِدَتْ
بِهِ عَلَيْكَ عُدُولُ الدَّمْعِ وَالسَّقَمِ

Fakayfa tunkiru ḥubban baʿda mā shahidat
Bihi ʿalayka ʿudūlud damʿi was saqami

So how can you deny this love when tears and sickness, truthful witnesses, have testified to it against you?

وَأَثْبَتَ الوَجْدُ خَطَّيْ عَبْرَةٍ وَضَنىً
مِثْلَ البَهَارِ عَلَى خَدَّيْكَ وَالعَنَمِ

Wa athbatal wajdu khaṭṭay ʿabratin wa ḍanā
Mithlal bahāri ʿalā khaddayka wal ʿanami

Lovesickness has etched two lines, of tears and gauntness, Upon your cheeks, like yellow spice and red ʿanam

نَعَمْ سَرَى طَيْفُ مَنْ أَهْوَى فَأَرَّقَنِي
وَالحُبُّ يَعْتَرِضُ اللَّذَّاتِ بِالأَلَمِ

Naʿam sarā ṭayfu man ahwā fa arraqanī
Wal ḥubbu yaʿtariḍul ladhdhati bil alami

Yes, my beloved’s apparition came to me and denied me sleep, For love always opposes pleasures with pain!

يَا لاَئِمِي فِي الهَوَى العُذْرِيِّ مَعْذِرَةً
مِنِّي إِلَيْكَ وَلَوْ أَنْصَفْتَ لَمْ تَلُمِ

Yā lāʾimī fīl hawal ʿudhriyyi maʿdhiratan
Minnī ilayka wa law anṣafta lam talumi

O you who blame me for this chaste love, pardon me! But had you judged fairly, you would not have blamed me.

عَدَتْكَ حَالِيَ لاَ سِرِّي بِمُسْتَتِرٍ
عَنِ الْوُشَاةِ وَلاَ دَائِي بِمُنْحَسِمِ

ʿAdatka ḥāliya lā sirrī bi mustatirin
ʿAnil wushāti wa lā dāʾī bimunḥasimi

May you be spared my condition! My secret cannot be concealed From detractors, nor is there any cure for my ailment!

مَحَضْتَنِي النُّصْحَ لَكِنْ لَّسْتُ أَسْمَعُهُ
إِنَّ المُحِبَّ عَنْ العُذَّالِ فِي صَمَمِ

Maḥḥaḍtanī nuṣḥa lākin lastu asmaʿuhu
Innal muḥibba ʿanil ʿudhdhāli fī ṣamami

You have given me sincere advice, but I cannot hear it; A lover’s ears are deaf to the reproaches of critics.

إِنِّي اتَّهَمْتُ نَصِيحَ الشَّيْبِ فِي عَذَلٍ
وَالشَّيْبُ أَبْعَدُ فِي نُصْحِ عَنِ التُّهَمِ

Innit tahamtu naṣīḥash shaybi fī ʿadhalin
Wash shaybu abʿadu fī nuṣḥin ʿanit tuhami

I hold suspect even the advice of my own grey hairs, Even though their advice is far from deception.