حضرت صلاة العصر خلف مبلّغٍ

حضرت صلاة العصر خلف مبلّغٍ

بهيّ المحيَّا يعشق الجمع شكلهُ

بهيّ المحيَّا يعشق الجمع شكلهُ

I attended the afternoon prayer behind a muballigh,

I attended the afternoon prayer behind a man relaying the imam’s calls,

radiant of countenance, whose looks the congregation adores.

radiant of face, whose looks the congregation adores.

فأقسم من خدَّيه والثغر بالضحى

فأقسم من خدَّيه والثغر بالضحى

وبالصبح ما أبصرت في العصرِ مثله

وبالصبح ما أبصرت في العصرِ مثله

So, at his cheeks and gleaming smile, I swear by the bright forenoon,

So I swear by the morning brightness of his cheeks and mouth,

and by the dawn: never at ʿaṣr—never in this age—have I beheld his like.

and by the dawn: in this age I have seen none like him.