S. R. Faruqi:

(1) They had the best of endings, the ones who came quickly to their senses.
It was too late when I became aware, dear friends and companions.

(2) Sicknesses broke my body because of my impatient heart.
Desire stretched to such lengths that I took to my bed.

(3) The heart--a treasure equal in value to the two worlds--
Was on offer in return for just one glance. But you refused to be a buyer.

["Two worlds": the human and the eternal.]

(4) Love obliged even those who lived in seclusion in the angels' dwellings
to come out to the marketplace and lose their rectitude and reputation.

[Two angels boasted of their imperviousness to temptation. God sent them down into the world where they fell in love with a dancing girl called Zuhra.They were punished with being hung upside down in a well, and the dancing girl became the planet Venus.]

(5) Morning breeze, you should be happy you can enjoy the garden's loveliness. I myself
hadn't made a single flight before I was captured.

(6) Those who admired the street of that tyrannical beloved
declared me sinful because I talked of paradise.

(7) No, I never thought God's promise to reveal himself on the day of resurrection was fanciful.
So I don't really know what led me to think you would let me gaze at you in the here and now.

[Some Qur'anic versus suggest that God will let himself be physically observed by human beings on the day of resurrection.]

(8) Just see how lazy and incompetent fortune is for me: I loved you so much and yet
my rivals were declared trustworthy while I was found faithless.

(9) No one knows what crime Mir sahib committed, that he was adjudged
to be worthy of such preeminent cruelty.

 

FWP:

(inspired by SRF's translation)

(1) They got off lightly, the ones who caught on quick.
I, my dear friends, was slow to heed the warning.

(2) My sad heart's restlessness denied me rest.
Longing so gripped me that, ah! -- I fell ill.

(3) The heart-- merchandise worth the two worlds--
was on sale for a single glance. You didn't buy it.

(4) Passion is such that they who lived in purity and seclusion--
even they became disgraced in the streets and the bazaars.

(5) Let the morning breeze go and enjoy the garden! As for me,
I hadn't made a single flight-- when I was caught.

(6) The devotees of that tyrant's street--
when I mentioned Paradise, they took me for a sinner. s

(7) Ah, I never doubted the promise of revelation on judgment day--
so on what grounds did I seek to see your face?

(8) Just look at the fickleness of fortune-- despite so much love,
the others were 'trustworthy'; I was deemed 'not faithful'.

(9) The Lord knows what fault Mir Sahib committed,
for which he earned such a violent punishment!

 

Zahra Sabri:

Zahra Sabri is a special guest translator for this site.

(1) They came to a good end, those who came to their senses quickly
It was late, oh my friends, when I gained awareness

(2) I was pained by the agitation of my weeping heart
My longing reached such an extent, alas, that I fell to ailing

(3) The merchandise that is my heart, whose worth was both the worlds
Became offered for the price of a single glance. You didn’t buy it.

(4) Love is such a thing, that even those who dwelt in holy seclusion (closeted with God)
Were drawn to disgrace in the streets and marketplace

(5) May the morning breeze be felicitated on enjoying the sights of the garden; whereas, I
Had not even made a single flight, when I became a captive

(6) Among those who hold in affection that cruel one’s lane
Mentioning paradise earned me the charge of sinning

(7) I did not doubt Resurrection Day’s promise
So, on what expectation did I seek to behold your face?

(8) Just look at the fecklessness of fortune, that despite such sincere love
My rival was called trustworthy, and I was not deemed faithful

(9) God knows what fault was committed by “Mir” Sahib
Which led him to be deemed deserving of such manifest cruelty