1. This is the birthday of the son of Abd al-Muttalib
Not the birthday of an inventor or discoverer

2. I exalt your status, O son of Abdallah, beyond
Composing meters or sculpting rhymes

3. You are but an unexplored treasure whose essence
Prevails over the describers

4. A tumultuous sea, though its pearls
Remain concealed within shells

5. Had it not been for you, time would have ceased;
Its circles weren't linked at their edges

6. The centuries fell dark; so your religion stood guard
Protecting the ruins of ancestors' civilization

7. A helpless orphan shook existence in his cradle
An offspring of Kananah, well-bred

8. The deserts conceived him of the purest clay
And a fold from their clear air

9. Sturdier than their red dunes
And fiercer than their raging storms

10. So the Caesars were made subservient to his rule
And the emperors had their noses rubbed in the dirt

11. His principles opened fortresses before him
Before the swords and the heavily armed cavalry

12. They invaded hearts with their charm; as if they
Had touched every affection therein

13. Where is he who invades hearts compared to him
Who invades necks with the sharpness of swords?

14. Those manifold principles were gathered
In two tenets: truth and justice

15. The son of Abdallah brothered communities
That used to claw at each other like wild beasts

16. His call tamed them, not the ridicule of critics
It can even tame the disposition of a stubborn lion

17. This is the miracle, not a sea split in half
Nor a moon cleft into two halves

18. A verse from the Wise Scripture brought them
Then hearts softened after rigidity

19. Had thousands prostrated to him from doubt
That wouldn't have sufficed as evidence

20. A wonder! Did Muhammad mesmerize with magic in his verses
Or infuse them with nonsense?

21. Or was their submission to him hypnotism?
What is that obscure, profound secret?

22. I swear, Prophet Muhammad was no
Sorcerer or fortune-teller, no!

23. But faith - he who attains it
Finds life's riddles easy to unravel

24. If a boulder were granted faith, it would ascend
On wings made of its stones and pebbles

25. This is what made the Prophet and his fellows
Victorious over multitudes when warring

26. Their faith intensifies in the tumult of war
Meeting death with disdain

27. Outnumbered, yet never weak
For their confidence in God is absolute

28. Summoned to battle, they march; summoned to wealth,
They spurn it with utmost chastity

29. Arise, O doubting Bedouin: what state
Did they establish carried on shoulders?

30. "Athena's" seeds spawned a nation in civilization
Who cared for naught but homes and furnishings

31. Preoccupied with philosophy and science after
Being busy describing mansions and furniture

32. They took mansions as homes and dressed
In silk, not camel hair and wool

33. So the peninsula became after barrenness
A quivering garden with bending branches

34. O Lord, they are a navy of prophethood as if
A turbulent sea above another tide

35. The elite of all humanity ruled the world
Blessed be the rule of the elite of humanity!

36. Whatever you wish of justice, equality,
And consultation - what a splendid trinity!

37. O East, o cradle of creeds, may you be shown mercy!
Why are your people in you like strangers?

38. O East, you are the horizon of every sun
Why is your horizon in the worst condition?

39. It pains us to see you moan from
The shackling of feet and binding of shoulders!

40. Civilization began its journey from the East
Will its journey never resume?