1. Were these tears shed remembering past neighbors
Blended with blood flowing from an aching eyelid?

2. Or did the winds blow from the abode of the patient one
As lightning flashed amid the gloom?

3. Why then, if I say "cease your concerns," do your eyes weep?
Why does your heart ache if I say "awaken from anxiety"?

4. Does the lover think his love is secret
When all is harmonized and kindled within him?

5. Were it not for passion, no tears would flow for the ruins
Nor would you stay wakeful remembering the ruins and the banner

6. How can you deny love after what bore witness to you -
The flowing tears and the sickness?

7. Longing and sadness etched lines of sorrow and emaciation
Like flowers upon your cheeks and specks of dew

8. Indeed, the specter of the one I love disturbed me,
For love obstructs pleasures with pain

9. O you who blame me for my passionate love, hear my excuse
Even if you were fair, you would not blame me

10. My state has betrayed me, not because my secret was exposed
To the slanderers, but because my love was evident

11. Good advice admonished me but I do not listen
For the lover turns a deaf ear to the reproacher

12. I accused the advice of the elders wrongfully
Yet old age is furthest from suspect advice

13. My soul heeds no warning from its ignorance
Nor prepares good deeds for the guest with a revered head

14. Had I known it would dishonor him I would have concealed it
And kept secret what appeared to me secretively

15. Who can restrain my soul's passions?
As a bridled horse is restrained with straps

16. So do not seek to weaken its desires through deprivation
For food strengthens the glutton's greed

17. The soul is like a child - if neglected it grows accustomed
To suckling, but if weaned, it weans

18. So turn its passion away and beware obeying it
For passion makes the hearing deaf and the speech mute

19. Shepherd it while it is roaming listlessly in deeds
And if it sees the pasture lawful, do not allow it access

20. How often a sweet sin seems fair
Where poison lies camouflaged amid the sweet!

21. And fear the traps of hunger and satiation
For dire poverty is worse than excessive wealth

22. Let flow the tears a sinful eye has gathered
And adhere to the remorse of the penitent

23. Oppose the soul and Satan and disobey them
Though they admonish you sincerely, deem it a fraud

24. Do not obey them as adversary or judge
For you know the deceit of the adversary and judge

25. I seek God's forgiveness for words without action
With which I falsely claimed a barren man had children

26. I ordered you to do good but did not do it myself
Nor was I steadfast, yet I say to you "be steadfast!"

27. I did not perform supererogatory prayers before death
Nor prayed anything but the obligatory, nor fasted

28. I wronged the sunna of one who revived the darkness
Until his feet swelled from illness and from tumors

29. And cramps wracked his bowels as he bent over
In tattered clothes, once dressed in fine garments

30. Tempting him, the mountains donned gold ornaments
Yet he saw them as deadly as the viper's fangs

31. Necessity affirmed his asceticism, for necessity
Does not transgress the bounds of restraint

32. How can necessity make you crave the world
When, were it not for him, the world would not exist?

33. Muhammad is the master of the two realms and races
Arabs and non-Arabs, the two groups mankind comprises

34. Our Prophet who commands and prohibits - none
More fully realized the meanings of “no” and “yes”

35. He whose intercession is hoped for every fear
And mighty favor for those who are thankful

36. He called to God - so those who cling to him
Cling to an unsevered rope that will not snap

37. Surpassing the prophets in character and manners
None matched his knowledge, generosity or merit

38. The prophets all seek of God's Messenger
A draft from the sea or a sip from the bucket

39. Halting beside him according to their stations
In some droplets of knowledge or legal niceties

40. He is the sun of virtue, they are its planets
Displaying its lights to mankind amid the darkness

41. So transcending likeness in his beauty and perfection
The essence of beauty lies in him without division

42. Leave off what the Christians falsely claim about their Prophet
And judge as you wish in praise of him, and decide

43. Ascribe to his being whatever nobility you wish
And ascribe to his destiny whatever glory you wish

44. For the Messenger's superiority has no boundary
That an eloquent speaker's mouth can express

45. If his miracles matched his rank in magnificence
His name would revive the ruined traces

46. Hopes of praising him can never reach
His perfect character and virtuous traits

47. Wondrous signs of truth from the Merciful newly occurring
Yet eternal, describing the One called Eternal

48. Unbounded by time, though informing us
Of the Resurrection, and of Aad and Iram

49. Remaining with us, they surpassed all other miracles
Which occurred then ceased, but theirs remain

50. Decisive, leaving no doubts for the dissenters
Or judgments they desire from the wise judge

51. Never defeated, they return triumphant from war
With the fiercest foe suing them humbly for peace

52. Their eloquence refutes the claims of all who disagree
As a jealous husband refutes the hands of one who disgraces his honor

53. Above intrinsic beauty and worth
They cannot be counted or numbered, such are their wonders

54. Leaving no desire for more from their repetitions
Nor any boredom from frequent recitations

55. They delighted those who recited them, so I said to him
"You have won God's rope, so take hold of it!"

56. If you read it fearing the heat of blazing fire
You extinguish fires blazing from its soft streams

57. As if it were the Basin, whitening sinners' faces
Approaching covered in grime and filth

58. And the Bridge, and the Scale, perfectly balancing
For apart from it, justice amongst people does not stand

59. Do not wonder that some envious person denies it
Feigning ignorance though he is perceptive and wise

60. A blinded eye can deny the sun's light from cataracts
And a sickened mouth deny the taste of water

61. O best of those who strove to attain virtues
Above the beautiful, well-bred horses

62. And who is the greatest sign for the admonished
And supreme blessing for those who are thankful?

63. You travelled from a sanctuary by night to a sanctuary
As the moon journeys in darkness' garb

64. And continued ascending until you attained
A position only two bow-lengths away or even nearer

65. All the prophets preceded you there with it
The led before the leader, the servants before the master

66. You penetrated the seven heavens with them
In a procession where you held the banner

67. Until, leaving no rank for the competitor
Or climber to aspire to,

68. You lowered every station by attaining
The exaltation of a singular elevated banner

69. So you obtained every exclusive merit
And attained every unrivaled rank

70. The extent of ranks you assumed became too vast
And the blessings you received too mighty to grasp

71. Good tidings to us Muslims! For caring for us
We have a pillar from Him that will not topple

72. When God summoned us through the noblest Messenger
We were the most noble community summoned

73. The enemies' hearts quailed at news of his mission
As news of their people's defeat disheartens plunderers

74. He never stopped facing them in every battle
Until they deemed the sword blades closer than their jugulars

75. And preferred fleeing though they envied
The body parts the vultures and hyenas drug away

76.
They know not how many nights have passed

77. Unless they fall in the sacred months of truce
As if the religion were a guest who befell their abode

78. Shredding the idolaters' flesh with every bite
On the day of Khamees he hauled a sea

79. With warriors plunging in like ferocious waves
Every volunteer striving for God's sake

80. Wielding his sword to uproot disbelief entirely
Until by them the religion of Islam

81. Was reunited with its kin after estrangement
Forever cared for by the gracious fathers

82. And good husbands, never orphaned or widowed
Ask their opponents what they observed of them

83. In every clash - what did they see from their onslaught?
Ask about Badr, Hunain and Uhud

84. Crises of death for them, grimmer than Destiny's darkest night
They dyed white swords red after

85. Every black-clad villain darkened them with villainy

86. The writers wrote with chalky swords
Leaving no torso among the enemy intact

87. Complaining of their arms, their markers distinguished them
As fragrance distinguishes the rose from the fir

88. Winds of victory blow to you dispersing their legions
As if the blossoms burst from the buds

89. As if amid the horses they were a meadow
Grown not from interwoven halters but from solidarity

90. The enemies' hearts took flight from their might scattering
As gazelles when confronted by growling hyenas

91. Whoever is supported by God's Messenger, if
The lions meet him in their dens, they retreat

92. You will never see a loyal friend unvictorious through him
Or a shattered foe - this is how he severs and mends

93. He secured his community in the fortress of his religion
As a lion secures cubs sharing its den

94. How many of God's decrees he untangled
And how many opponents his proof silenced!

95. Knowledge's miracle in the Unlettered suffices
To instruct the ignorant orphan in discipline

96. I praised with poetry, resigning with it
A lifetime's sins in verse and odes

97. Since they adorned me with what I fear the outcome of
I deemed them to be a gift of blessings

98. I obeyed the temptations of misguided youth in both states
Achieving nothing but sins and regret

99. Woe to a soul whose trade loses
Not purchasing religion through the world, and not fasting

100. One who sells the lasting for the fleeting
Will obviously be duped in buying and selling on credit

101. If I come with a sin, I have no pact with one
Who rejects in God's Messenger, nor rope severed from Him

102. For I have a bond with him in my name Muhammad
While he is worthy of keeping bonds

103. I dared describe his superior merit
As if, because of them, I am secured from all fears

104. His generosity will not deprive one who hopes in his nobility
Even if I am called "disgraceful" and "immoderate"

105. His generosity encompasses this world and its wealth
And the knowledge of the Guarded Tablet

106. O most noble of creation, whom can I seek refuge with
Other than you, when immense adversity strikes?

107. God's Messenger will not begrudge me his vast bounty
If I am garbed in the name of "avenger"

108. His generosity includes this world and its harm
And the knowledge of the inscribed tablet

109. O soul! Do not despair of a grave sin
For major sins equal minor sins in forgiveness

110. Perhaps my Lord's mercy, when apportioned
Matches our sins in fair allotment

111.
O Lord, make my hopes in You unshaken

112. And make my judgment free of all disgrace and shame
And show kindness to Your servant in both abodes

113. If horrors make him lose heart and flee
And allow the constant prayer from You upon the Prophet

114. With a steady and harmonious connection
The clear wine has not relaxed as the morning breeze blows

115. And the warbler trills to the warbling mate
I swear by the cloven moon, he has a relation

116. To its heart, blessings sanctify this oath!
What the cave contained of good, generosity and honor

117. While every eye of the disbelievers was blinded
Truth and the Trustworthy were in the cave

118. While they said "there is no one in the cave!"
They thought the doves and spider upon the best of creation

119. Failed to weave and nest when they took refuge!
God's protection sufficed without multiplying

120. Shields or tall helmets over the turbans

121. What adversity has the ages brought me
Except that I received dew from the best water-bearer?

122. Do not reject revelation in his waking visions
For if his eyes sleep, his heart is not asleep

123. That was when his prophethood culminated
So it cannot be denied if one sees a wet dream

124. Glory to God! - no revelation is acquired
Nor any prophet suspected of the unseen

125. How his holy hand revived the withered palm
And made the old man robust, released from the knot!

126. As if the trees came prostrating to him
Walking without legs in beautiful script

127. Like lines inscribed, their branches composed
Exquisite calligraphy not yet dried

128. As if a cloud shaded him wherever he walked
Defending him from heat and from hot gusts

129. By the cloven moon I swear he has a sanctioned
Relation to its essence, may this oath be blessed!

130. What the cave contained of good, honor and nobility
While the disbelievers' eyes were blinded to him

131. Truth and the Trustworthy One were in the cave
Though they said "None are in the cave!"

132. They thought the doves and spider upon the Prophet
Failed to nest and weave when he took refuge!

133. God's protection availed him without multiplying shields
Or lofty helmets atop the turbans

134. Adversity never touched me except that I gained
The dew from the best water-bearing cloud

135. Do not reject the revelation in his waking vision
For if his eyes sleep, his heart is not asleep

136. That was when his prophethood culminated
So in him, the state of one seeing a dream cannot be denied

137. Glory to God! Revelation is not acquired
Nor are prophets accused of suspecting the unseen

138. How his holy touch revived the withered palm
And released the elderly man from being knotted

139. It was as if the trees bowed prostrating to him
Walking without feet in beautiful handwriting

140. As if they composed lines with their branches
Of wondrous calligraphy not yet dried

141. Like a cloud shading him wherever he walked
Protecting him from heat and hot gusts

142. As if it journeyed, wandering, wherever he went
Defending him from the burning heat and easterly winds

143.
On that day the Persians were forewarned

144. Of wretched sorrows and vengeance yet to come
Khosrau's palace cracked and split

145. Like the condition of Khosrau's subjects, unamended
The flames subsided from lamenting his death

146. While the river's eyes fogged from obstruction
Saawa's waters fermented when its lake Choked from anger, its streams dammed

147. As if what befell the fire, befell the water -
Grief in one, and in the other, boiling rage

148. The jinn clamored while the celestial lights shone
And the truth appeared in explicit words and verses

149. They are deaf, they are mute, though good tidings
And warnings' lightning was not heard or seen

150. After their priests warned the nations avowing
Their crooked religion was doomed and would not stand

151. And after they witnessed falling stars on the horizon
And collapse of all idols upon earth

152. Until by divine revelation, defeated, they fled
Like champions of Abraha routed by his thrown pebbles

153. Pelting them with his abdomen after glorifying God within
Casting them like the innards of the repenting worshipper

154. It was as if great heroes of Abraha
Fled from the blows of his two palm-widths

155. As if they were an army pelted with pebbles
From his palms, from one bowed down in prayer

156.
The trees approached him bowing down in prostration

157. Walking without legs, summoned to him
As if they composed lines with their branches

158. Of beautiful script, still moist from writing
Like a cloud shading him wherever he walked