I am incredibly thrilled to share that my English translation of the classical Arabic poem If I Had Two Hearts by the renowned Najdi Bedouin poet Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah has been published in ICON magazine.
The translation appears in the beautiful literary essay “My Favourite Neuroses: Mapping the Ecstasy and Comedown of Romance Across the Arab Love Song” by Yasmin Alrabiei — a powerful exploration of love, longing, devotion, and emotional inheritance across Arab poetry and music traditions.
As a translator, I have always believed that translation is far more than transferring words from one language into another. It is an act of carrying emotion, rhythm, memory, and cultural depth across worlds. When I first translated If I Had Two Hearts, I was completely captivated by the tenderness and devastation within its verses. The poem carries an intensity that feels timeless — a love so consuming that it becomes both a source of transcendence and suffering.
Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah, famously known as Majnun Layla, remains one of the most enduring voices in Arabic literary history. His poetry shaped centuries of Arabic and Persian love traditions, and his devotion to Layla became the archetype of impossible love and sacred longing.
Seeing my translation published in ICON is honestly a surreal and deeply emotional moment for me. There is something profoundly moving about witnessing a classical Arabic text continue to resonate with contemporary readers and enter new cultural conversations through translation.
I am deeply grateful to Yasmin Alrabiei for including my translation in such a thoughtful and beautifully written essay, and for contextualizing the poem within the wider emotional landscape of Arab love songs, poetry, and longing.
Most of all, I want to thank everyone who has supported my journey as a translator and writer. Your encouragement means more than I can express.
Below is the published excerpt from the translation:
If I had two hearts I would live with one,
And devote the other to torment in your love.
Alas I only have one heart, possessed by love.
Neither pleased by living nor that death is near.
Like a tiny bird in the hands of a child, disgracing it,
Suffering the torment of death while the child is at play.
Neither the child is aware of its suffering,
Nor the bird’s wings are free, for it to fly.
— Qays Ibn al-Mulawwah
Translated by Dina Al-Mahdy
This publication means a great deal to me, not only as a translator, but as someone deeply passionate about preserving and reintroducing the emotional richness of Arabic literary heritage to wider audiences.
Thank you for reading, and I hope to share more translations and literary projects with you soon.
Dina Al-Mahdy: Award-winning Writer and Translator 