Oum Kalthoum - رباعيات الخيام (Rubaiyat al khayyam) (English translation #2)

Oum Kalthoum – رباعيات الخيام

English translation

Arabic

Original lyrics

رباعيات الخيام

سمعت صوتا هاتفا فى السحر

نادى من الغيب غفاة البشر

هبوا املأوا كأس المنى قبل أن

تملأ كأس العمر كف القدر

لا تشغل البال بماضى الزمان

ولا بآت العيش قبل الأوان

واغنم من الحاضر لذاته

فليس فى طبع الليالى الأمان

غد بظهر الغيب واليوم لى

وكم يخيب الظن فى المقبل

ولست بالغافل حتى أرى

جمال دنياى ولا أجتلى

القلب قد أضناه عشق الجمال

والصدر قد ضاق بما لا يقال

يارب هل يرضيك هذا الظما

والماء ينساب أمامى زلال

أولى بهذا القلب أن يخفق

وفى ضرام الحب أن يحرق

ما أضيع اليوم الذى مر بى

من غير أن أهوى وأن أعشق

أفق خفيف الظل هذا السحر

نادى دع النوم وناغ الوتر

فما أطال النوم عمرا ولا

قصر فى الأعمار طول السهر

فكم توالى الليل بعد النهار

وطال بالأنجم هذا المدار

فامش الهوينا ان هذا الثرى

من أعين ساحرة الإحورار

لا توحش النفس بخوف الظنون

واغنم من الحاضر أمن اليقين

فقد تساوى فى الثرى راحل غدا

وماض من الوف السنين

أطفىء لظى القلب بشهد الرضاب

فإنما الايام مثل السحاب

وعيشنا طيف خيال فنل حظك

منه قبل فوت الشباب

لبست ثوب العيش لم استشر

وحرت فيه بين شتى الفكر

وسوف انضو الثوب عنى ولم

ادرك لماذا جئت اين المفر

يا من يحار الفهم فى قدرتك

وتطلب النفس حمى طاعتك

اسكرنى الإثم ولكننى

صحوت بالآمال فى رحمتك

إن لم أكن اخلصت فى طاعتك

فإننى أطمع فى رحمتك

وانما يشفع لى اننى قد

عشت لا أشرك فى وحدتك

تخفى عن الناس سنى طلعتك

وكل ما فى الكون من صنعتك

فأنت محلاه وأنت الذى

ترى بديع الصنع فى آيتك

إن تفصل القطرة من بحرها

ففى مداه منتهى أمرها

تقاربت يارب ما بيننا

مسافة البعد على قدرها

ياعالم الأسرار علم اليقين

ياكاشف الضر عن البائسين

ياقابل الأعذار عدنا الى ظلك

فاقبل توبة التائبين

English

Translation#1#2

Robaeyat al khayam

I heard a voice calling at dawn,

calling from the unseen,

for the unmindful of people

to get up and fill in the cups of hope before fate fills their life cups. ( your life ends)

Don't preoccupy with the past that had gone nor with the future that is not here yet.

Just take advantage of the pleasures of the present moment, you know, loyalty is not one of the attributes of the nights.

Tomorrow is unknown and today is mine.

And how much disappointment have I gotten from speculating the future.

I am not unmindful, to see all the beauty of my world and not watch it for long and meditate

My heart is exhausted from the love of beauty.

My chest has narrowed from all the unsaid things that is filling it.

Oh God, is this thirst satisfying you, when I have fresh water running before me

This heart should rather be beating, and get burned in the fire of love.

The day that I spend without being in love, is such a waste

Get up, you cheerful one, at dawn today,

Wake up, let the sleep, and talk to the lord , sleeping hasn't made anyone live longer and staying up all night hasn't made anyone live less.

How many nights have come after mornings!

How many stars have rotated in this magnificent orbit!

Walk softly on land, as so many beautiful eyes have been buried underneath it.

Don't fill your heart with the fear of the unknown

Take the chance and get from today the serenity of the believer as after all, we will be equal, who passes today will be buried with who died from a thousand years.

Put out the fire of love

Days are like the clouds and our lives are an faint shadow of illusion

So get your fair share before youth is gone.

I was given the life's dress (brought to life) without being asked

And got confused between various thoughts from here and there

I will take off the dress one day ( die) without even knowing why I came here in the first place ( my life's purpose).

Oh, you, the one who is beyond our ability to comprehend

The one who our souls obey, in hopes for protection

My sins have made me unmindful

I woke up hoping for your forgiveness and mercy

I may have not been that devoted in worshiping you

But still, I hope for your mercy

I have lived my life believing in you

and that may intercede for me

You kept yourself unseen

Yet all the universe is your beautiful creation

We are much like drops of water, that may separate from the sea, yet it will return to it definitely one day

You know what we keep in our hearts

You are the one capable of comforting our pain

You are the one who accepts our excuses

We have come back to you

So please accept our repentance

thanked 85 times

You can thank submitter by pressing this button

User	Time ago
Marion	12 years 7 months

Submitted by

marwa.elsayed.7798 on 2013-03-01

Added in reply to request by

Marion

Author's comments:

Very difficult to translate. I have done my best, I am no expert. Words are amazingly written in Arabic so they need a professional poet/ translator to reflect their beauty, yet I have done what I can. Hope I helped

Translations of "رباعيات الخيام ..."

English #1, #2

French #1, #2

Greek

Hebrew

Transliteration

Comments