حبيب نفسي ومناي والوطر

ذكراك أنسي وحديثي والسمر

Beloved of my soul, my wish and desire,

Remembering you is my solace, my talk, my evening converse.

ولست اخشى فيك لوماً انما

يلوم من لم ير وجهك الأغر

And I fear no blame on your account; only

those who have not seen your radiant face reproach me.

اسمع فدتك النفس شكوى عاشق

يقدح في احشائه الوجد شرر

Listen—may my soul ransom you—to a lover's complaint:

passion strikes sparks within his entrails.

مقسّم القلب لشوق وجدي

موزع الطرف لدمع وسهر

My heart is torn by my passion's yearning,

my gaze divided between tears and sleeplessness.

لم يبق للقلب الذي أذبته

من الجفا يا نور عيني من اثر

Nothing is left of the heart you melted

through estrangement, O light of my eyes—not a trace.

يا رشأ ليس له غير الحشا

مرعى وغير الدمع ورد وصدر

O fawn, who has only my heart

for pasture, and only tears for watering and returning.

اسكنته قلبي ولكن لم يزل

يرميه في سهم الجفا حتى انكسر

I lodged him in my heart, but he never ceased

assailing it with estrangement's arrow until it broke.

رأيته احببته عشقته

اعرض عني وجفاني وهجر

I saw him, loved him, adored him;

he turned from me, spurned me, and deserted me.

لست أنا وحدي أسير صدغه

بكل صدغ مأة مثلي اسر

I am not alone a captive of his temple-lock:

in each temple-lock, a hundred like me are captive.

ما اسود ذاك الشعر الا مذ غدا

لشمس ذياك المحيا مستقر

That hair has been black only since it became

a resting place for the sun of that countenance.

مالي سوى الصبر على رقيبه

ومن جنى الورد على الشوك صبر

I have only patience with his watcher;

and whoever plucks roses must endure the thorns.

ورد النعيم في رياض خدّه

ذو ارج ومثله ورد الخفر

The roses of bliss in the gardens of his cheek

are fragrant, and so are the roses of modesty.

قد اخذ الريم صفات حسنه

لفتة جيد ونفار ونظر

The gazelle has borrowed the traits of his beauty:

a turn of the neck, a shy recoil, a glance.

واقتبست شمس الضحى من نوره

وذلك النور تجلى في القمر

And the forenoon sun borrowed from his light,

and that light shone forth in the moon.

ياثغره من مزج الراح التي

فيك بشهد فحلا رشف السكر

O mouth of his, who mixed the wine that is

in you with honey, sweetening the sip of intoxication?

غاص على اللؤلؤ قوم ما دروا

ان بذاك الثغر أحسن الدرر

People dived for pearls, not knowing

that in that mouth lie the finest pearls.

لا بدع ان تحمي سهام لحظه

ريقاً فشهد النحل يحمي بالأبر

No wonder the arrows of his glance guard

his saliva: bees' honey is guarded by stings.

أراك يا بدر ادعيت حسنه

وتلك دعوى لم تكن لتعتبر

I see, O full moon, that you have claimed his beauty;

and that claim is not one to be credited.

يزداد حسناً وسناً وبهجة

وأنت يعتادك نقص وغير

He grows in beauty, radiance, and splendor,

while waning and change repeatedly visit you.

وأنت يا غصن ويا ريم النقا

لم تحكيا منه اعتدالا وحور

And you, O branch, and you, O gazelle of the dunes,

neither of you has matched his shapeliness and dark-eyed beauty.

قيامة العشاق من قامته

فحق ان يشخص نحوها البصر

His stature brings lovers their Judgment Day;

so eyes rightly stare transfixed toward it.

غصن تحلى باللئالي فاعجبوا

من غصن له من الدر ثمر

A branch adorned with pearls—marvel

at a branch whose fruit is pearls!

يجول في الخصر الوشاح راوياً

احلى حديث نافع عن مختصر

The sash moves freely about his waist, relating

the sweetest useful tale of a slender waist.

وطرفه الصارم وهو ساحر

عن بابل ينقل مأثور الخبر

And his sword-sharp glance, itself a sorcerer,

transmits the lore handed down from Babylon.

من فر من خوف فاني لم اجد

الا له من سيف عينيه مفر

Others may flee in fear; I have found

no refuge from his eyes' sword except with him.

من لم يشاهد فتكات طرفه

لم يدر ما معنى القضاء والقدر

Whoever has not witnessed his glance's deadly assaults

does not know the meaning of decree and destiny.

افدي حبيباً لم يشاهد مكتباً

فيحسن الخط ويقرأ الزبر

I would ransom a beloved who has never seen a school,

yet masters handwriting and reads the books.

وكل لحظ فيه درس حكمة

لألف نحرير حكيم ذي نظر

And every glance contains a lesson in wisdom

for a thousand learned, discerning sages.

قل للذي رام سلوي ليس لي

من سلوة فاطو احاديث السمر

Tell him who sought to make me forget: I have

no solace; fold away the tales of evening converse.

فلست اصغي لحديث غيره

ما لم يكن حديث سيّد البشر

For I will not listen to talk of anyone but him,

unless it is talk of the master of humankind:

محمد المختار والنور الذي

قد اشرق الكون به لما زهر

Muhammad, the Chosen One, and the light

through which the universe shone when it blazed forth.

من اصطفى الله من الخلق له

سر قريش وقريشاً من مضر

He for whom God chose, from creation,

the choicest essence of Quraysh, and Quraysh from Mudar.

وليلة الميلاد كانت آية

في الأرض والسماء جاءت بالنذر

And the night of his birth was a sign

on earth and in heaven, bringing portents.

فانصدع الايوان فيه وخبت

نار مجوس من قديم تستعر

At his birth the palace hall split, and died down

the Magians' fire, blazing since ancient times.

بحيرة غاضت ونار خمدت

وجاء رؤيا المؤبذان بالخطر

A lake subsided, and a fire went out,

and the chief Magian priest's dream came fraught with danger.

أوجس كسرى خيفة في نفسه

وصرح الكاهن عنها بالخبر

Kisra sensed fear within himself,

and the soothsayer plainly declared the news of it.

فانكسرت شوكة كسرى عندها

كسراً على كرّ الليالي ما انجبر

Then Kisra's might was shattered,

a break the returning nights could never mend.

كأن تاريخ انقضاء ملكه

ليلة ميلاد النبي المنتظر

As though the date his reign ended

were the night the awaited Prophet was born.

فإن تكن ساوة غاض ماؤها

فقد طمى بحر النوال وزخر

So if Sawa's waters had sunk away,

the sea of bounty had overflowed and surged.

وان تكن نيرانهم قد خمدت

فقد تجلى نور حق وسفر

And if their fires had gone out,

the light of truth had appeared and shone forth.

هدى إلى الله أناساً عكفوا

على الضلال من عبادة الحجر

He guided to God people who had clung

to the error of worshipping stone.

انقذهم من ليل جاهلية

الظلم فيها والظلام المستمر

He rescued them from the night of ignorance,

with its oppression and unbroken darkness.

قد خاصموه فحجا خصيمهم

وحاربوه وعليهم انتصر

They disputed with him; their opponent bested them in argument,

and they fought him, but he triumphed over them.

يحمل سيفين لساناً ناطقاً

ومرهفاً وفي كليهما الظفر

He bears two swords: a speaking tongue

and a keen blade, with victory in both.

مد يداً تسدي الايادي ويداً

تفني الاعادي بالمهند الذكر

He extended one hand that bestowed favors, and another

that destroyed enemies with a stout Indian sword.

كأن ذاك السيف في راحته

والجود فيها ومض برق ومطر

As though that sword in his palm

and the bounty there were lightning's flash and rain.

قد بعث الله به متمماً

مكارم الاخلاق من كل البشر

God sent him to perfect

the noble virtues of all humankind.

ابدع حسن خلقه وخلقه

والسر في الصنع البديع قد ظهر

He wondrously fashioned his beautiful form and character;

and the secret in that wondrous making was revealed.

ما اتخذ الله حبيباً غيره

فكيف لا يخلق أحسن الصور

God took none but him as His beloved;

how, then, could He not create the fairest of forms?

قد نزلت كناية عن حسنه

في يوسف آية ما هذا بشر

A verse was revealed, alluding to his beauty,

about Yusuf: 'This is no mortal.'

قد نفد المعنى بمدح من له

من المزايا كل معنى مبتكر

Meaning is exhausted in praising him who possesses

every fresh conception of excellence.

صفاته غر ولا حصر لها

لكنها ترمي البليغ بالحصر

His attributes are radiant and beyond counting,

yet they strike the eloquent speaker dumb.

كأن من فيض نداه قد جرى

ماء الحياة فارتوى منه الخضر

As though from his overflowing generosity flowed

the water of life, from which al-Khidr drank his fill.

يحيى الرميم ذكره فهو الذي

قد جاء من اسراره عيسى بسر

Mention of him revives decayed bones; he is the one

from whose mysteries Isa brought a secret.

شق له البدر وسبّح الحصا

في الكف والعود بها عاد نضر

For him the full moon split, and pebbles praised God

in his palm; there a branch grew verdant again.

وقال هذا معجز الباري فمن

منكم يباري سورة من السور

He said: 'This is the Creator's miracle; who

among you can rival any one of its surahs?'

لو استطاعوا مثله ما حاربوا

وهو لهم ايسر من كرّ وفر

Had they been able to produce its like, they would not have fought,

for that was easier for them than charging and retreating.

اضحت صناديد قريش كلها

بين طليق وقتيل منعفر

All Quraysh's champions came to be

either freed captives or slain men in the dust.

ذاقوا ببدر منه بأس باسل

وشاهدوا بالفتح عفو مقتدر

At Badr they tasted his valiant might,

and at the Conquest witnessed the pardon of one with power.

ايده الرحمن بابن عمه

نعم العضيد والنصير والوزر

The All-Merciful supported him through his cousin:

what an excellent helper, supporter, and refuge!

كان عليّ يده وسيفه

يضرب فيه من بغى ومن كفر

Ali was his hand and his sword;

with it he struck those who rebelled and those who disbelieved.

اردى قريشاً وأباد خيبراً

وهدّ عمرواً بحسام ذي اثر

He laid Quraysh low and destroyed Khaybar,

and felled Amr with a sword that left its mark.

ورد في يوم حنين بالردى

هوازناً وغيره ولى وفر

On the day of Hunayn he brought death

to Hawazin, while others turned and fled.

وقد تجلى يوم بدر سيفه

شمساً بها انجاب الظلام وانحسر

And on the day of Badr his sword shone forth

as a sun before which darkness parted and receded.

هل غيره من احد في احد

حامي على الدين وواسى ونصر

Was there anyone but him at Uhud

who defended the faith, gave solace, and gave aid?

حتى استقر في مزالق الوغى

دين هدى لولا علي ما استقر

Until, amid battle's pitfalls, there stood firm

a faith of guidance that, but for Ali, would not have stood.

يا شارباً غير ولاء حيدر

كيف من الصفو رضيت بالكدر

O you who drink anything but devotion to Haydar,

how could you accept the murky in place of the clear?

مدحت في مدح علي أحمداً

حيث هما نفس بوحي واثر

In praising Ali I praised Ahmad,

for revelation and tradition declare them one soul.

انظر إلى أخوة بينهما

فهو بديع من جناس ذي خطر

Look at the brotherhood between them:

it is a marvel of wordplay, rich in significance.

يا أيها النور الذي قد جاءنا

بالنور من آيات وحي وسور

O light who has come to us

with light from verses of revelation and surahs,

بالوحي والسنة قد هديتنا

يا هادياً في سور وفي سير

through revelation and the Sunna you have guided us,

O guide in surahs and in ways of life,

وخاتماً نبوة قد بدأت

قبل الورى والخلق في عالم ذر

and you who sealed a prophethood that began

before humankind, while creation was in the realm of particles.

كن لي شفيعاً يوم لا شفاعة

الا بكم فكل ذنب يغتفر

Be my intercessor on the day when there is no intercession

except through you all, whereby every sin is forgiven.

صلى عليك الله ما هبّت صباً

بنشر أخلاقك لا نشر الزهر

May God bless you whenever an east wind blows,

bearing the fragrance of your character, not that of flowers,

وآلك الغرّ الميامين ومن

كآلك البيض الميامين الغرر

and your radiant, blessed family—and who

is like your bright, blessed, illustrious family?