English Translation: Literal: "O friend, you have brought an enemy upon us. Choose either friend or enemy as friend. Not seeing a friend, though a difficult pain, is easier than seeing her with an enemy." Poetic: "A foe you've placed, dear friend, between us two, Choose friendship true, or enmity …

English Translation: Literal: "To see a needle in the eye instead of kohl, to see a spark that has set a haystack on fire, to see a chain around the neck in a foreign land, is better than seeing an enemy instead of a friend." Poetic: "A needle in the …

English Translation: Literal: "They brought the moon from the sky to my roof, and from Rome, they brought a church to the Shaam. At the time of dawn, they brought the prayer of the evening. We can try, but you cannot be trapped." Poetic: "From heaven's vault, they brought the …

English Translation: Literal: "I will sweep the dust of her threshold, with my eyes. O enemy, say whatever you wish. Like a fly stuck in honey, I am so entangled that I cannot leave, no matter how much you drive me away." Poetic: "I'd be the dust beneath his feet, …

English Translation: Literal: "Issue a decree, O king of the world's beauties, that the cypress tree might play the lute before your stature. How long shall I endure the tumult of your cruelty? It is neither the law of Muhammad nor the edict of a khan." Poetic: "Command, O beauty's …

English Translation: Literal: "Companions, engrossed in the music of the flute and the pipe, are turning their garments. We, with our eyes fixed on a place, are bewildered and worried. That love is mine, and that amusement is for others. I will turn my eyes away, while you listen to …

English Translation: Literal: "My tears flowed like a stream, as she passed by, She thought I was seeking sympathy from her. How can I tell her my story? She is a Turk and will strike me with a polo mallet if I speak." Poetic: "My tears, like rivers, flowed and …

English Translation: Literal: "We sell the fruit of a lifetime in a moment, we sell a hundred sheaves of joy for sorrow. If a thousand lives are given in an instant, we would sell them to dust for a moment's sake." Poetic: "A lifetime's worth, exchanged for a fleeting breath, …

English Translation: Literal: "I will not make a covenant with anyone else. I know that no rival can separate you from me. I will place my heart with you because you are the comfort of my soul. And if I were to remove my heart from you, to whom would …

English Translation: Literal: "As that bird of the sun drags me away [to death], I will not surrender my body to shame and disgrace. At least, let me give her two or three kisses on her mouth, and then let her drag me away as she will for my sin." …

English Translation: Literal: "You come, and I see your kindness and grace. I see the comfort of my soul in your steps. And when you are absent, I see you, In every direction I look, I see you." Poetic: "When you arrive, your grace and kindness shine, My soul finds …

English Translation: Literal: "I will rise and see her stature like that of a cypress and that sun-like radiance of her face. If they do not allow me to come near, they will not be able to prevent me from seeing her from afar." Poetic: "I'll rise and gaze upon …