حاشى أضام ولى بالمصطفى نسب

نعم الحبيب ونعم الجاه والحسب

Far be it that I suffer injustice, when kinship binds me to the Chosen One.

Excellent is the beloved, excellent the standing and noble lineage.

إنى امرؤ ملأت قلبي محبته

فالقلب بالحب مأخوذ ومنجذب

I am a man whose heart love for him has filled;

the heart is captivated and drawn by love.

روحي وجسمي وما أحرزت من نشب

وقف عليك وهذا بعض ما يجب

My soul, my body, and whatever wealth I have acquired

are dedicated to you; this is but part of what is due.

هو الوسيلة والجاه العظلم لمن

رام النجاة إذا ما انتابت النوب

He is the means of approach and great prestige for whoever

seeks deliverance when calamities descend.

هذا الذي شرف الدنيا بمولده

وقاض فيض الغنى فالغيث منسكب

This is he whose birth ennobled the world,

and abundance overflowed, with rain pouring down.

وأخصب الناس بعد الجدب وارتضعوا

ثدى الصفاء وزال الجدب والشغب

People prospered after drought and suckled

at the breast of serenity; drought and strife vanished.

في ليلة الوضع والميلاد قد ظهرت

آيات صدق رأتها العجم والعرب

On the night of his delivery and birth there appeared

signs of truth witnessed by non-Arabs and Arabs.

فأهل ساوة قد غاضت بحيرتهم

وانشق إيوان كسرى فهو مضطرب

The people of Sāwa had their lake recede,

and the palace hall of Kisrā split and stood shaken.

ونار فارس من آيات مولده

صارت رمادا وكانت قبل تلتهب

And the fire of Persia, among the signs of his birth,

became ashes, though before it had blazed.

وكل مسترق للسمع قد رجمته

الشهب نارا فما عادوا وما انقلبوا

And every thief of a hearing was pelted

by meteors with fire; they neither returned nor came back.

والجبت صار مع الأولام في صغر

وقد تحطمت الصلبان والنصب

And the idol, with the divining arrows, was brought low,

and crosses and cult-stones were shattered.

فالدهر في طرب والكفر في حرب

وعصبة الشرك باتت وهي تنتحب

The age was in rapture, and unbelief at war,

and the band of idolatry spent the night lamenting.

وردّ بالكيد والتضليل أبرهة

عام الولاد وبالسجيل قد ذهبنا

And Abraha was repelled by stratagem and misdirection,

in the year of his birth; and with baked-clay stones we departed.

هذا النبي به الأكوان قد شرفت

والعرش والفرش والأملاك والشهب

This is the Prophet through whom the worlds were ennobled,

and the Throne, the earthly expanse, the angels, and the meteors.

سرى من الحرم الأسمى إلى الحرم

الأقصى وفيه وفود الرسل ترتقب

He journeyed by night from the Sublime Sanctuary to the sanctuary

farthest away, where delegations of messengers waited.

صلى بهم بعد ما أدوا تحيتهم

لأنه الأصل عنه الكل منتدب

He led them in prayer after they offered their greeting,

for he is the origin, from whom all are commissioned.

ثم ارتقى نحو معلى العرش في شرف

لقاب قوسين أو أدنى فلا حجب

Then he ascended in honor toward the heights of the Throne,

to two bow-lengths, or nearer, with no veils.

وقد دنا فتدلى نحو سيده

لمستوى دونه الأملاك تحتجب

He drew near, then lowered himself toward his Master,

to a station beneath which the angels are veiled.

رأى الإله بعيني رأسه ورأى

ما ليس يدركه عقل فلا عجب

He saw God with the two eyes in his head, and saw

what no mind can comprehend; there is no cause for wonder.

لا الأين يدرى ولا التكييف محتمل

هذا هو الحق لا شك ولا ريب

No 'where' is known, nor can a 'how' be conceived.

This is the truth, with neither doubt nor uncertainty.

عليه قد فرض المولى الصلاة ومن

تلك الفريضة وافى العز والأرب

The Lord enjoined prayer upon him, and from

that obligation came honor and fulfillment.

وعاد مكة مسرورا برؤيته

والليل ليل وضوء الصبح محتجب

He returned to Mecca, delighted by his vision,

while night was still night and dawn's light remained hidden.

جبريل بات وميكائيل يخدمه

هذا هو العز لا مالٌ ولا نشب

Gabriel and Michael spent the night serving him.

This is honor, not money or wealth.

وكم بمكة من ردوا مقالته

وقال قائلهم هذا هو الكذب

And how many in Mecca rejected his account,

and their spokesman said, 'This is a lie.'

وارتد عن منهج الإسلام طائفة

وغالبوه ولكن بالهدى غلبوا

A group turned away from the path of Islam,

and contended with him, but were defeated by guidance.

وبعد رغبتهم عنه وفرقتهم

عادوا وفيه بفضل الله قد رغبنا

And after their aversion to him and their separation,

they returned; and by God's grace we came to long for him.

هذا النبي له الأحجار قد نطقت

هذا النبي به قد بشرت كتب

This is the Prophet to whom the stones spoke;

this is the Prophet of whom scriptures gave glad tidings.

هذا النبي الذي سارت بسيرته ال

كبان وانجلت الأحزان والكرب

This is the Prophet whose life story was borne by the

riders; sorrows and anguish were dispelled.

هذا النبي الذي لولا نبوته

ما كان ركن ولا شرط ولا سبب

This is the Prophet without whose prophethood

there would be no foundation, no condition, and no cause.

فنوره الأصل في التكوين من أزل

فكل شي له في الكون منتسب

For his light is creation's source from eternity,

so everything in existence is related to him.

كانت رسالته للكون مرحمة

فالكل من ورد المرتاد قد شربوا

His mission was a mercy to all creation,

so all have drunk from the seeker's watering place.

متى أراني وسفن البر تحملني

تطوى الفيافي بأيديها و تنتهب

When shall I see myself borne by the ships of the land,

folding up the wastelands with their forelegs and devouring them?

من كل عيساء تسرى وهي صامته

في ظهرها قتب في سيرها خبب

Each a pale she-camel journeying silently by night,

a saddle on her back, a trot in her gait.

تمد أعناقها في السير مسرعة

نحو الحبيب وما إن مسها يقب

They stretch their necks as they travel swiftly

toward the beloved, untouched by fatigue.

تهيم وجدا إلى الهادي وطيبته

وتذرف الدمع شوقا حين تقترب

They yearn in ardor for the Guide and his Ṭayba,

and shed tears of longing as they draw near.

أو أمتطي صهوة الوابور متجها

نحو المدينة حيث العز والأرب

Or shall I mount the steam engine's back, heading

toward Medina, where honor and fulfillment lie?

فيها النبي وفيها كل مكرمة

فيها السعادة فيها معشر نجب

In it is the Prophet, and in it every noble virtue;

in it is happiness, and in it a company of noble people;

فيها نبي الهدى فيها صحابته

نعم النبي ونعم القوم قد صحبوا

in it is the Prophet of guidance, and in it his Companions.

Excellent is the Prophet, and excellent the people who kept him company.

هناك أبكى خشوعا من مهابته

والطرف ساج ودمع العين منسكب

There I weep in humility, awed by his majesty,

with my gaze still and tears pouring from my eyes.

وأرفع اليد بالتسآل ملتجئا

إلى الكريم وعفو الله أرتقب

And I raise my hand in supplication, seeking refuge

with the Generous One, awaiting God's pardon.

وألثم الترب من أعتاب حجرته

فتربها التبر فيه القصد والطلب

And I kiss the dust from the thresholds of his chamber;

for its dust is gold; in it are my aim and quest.

وأسأل المصطفى الهادي شفاعته

فإنني لعظيم الذنب مرتكب

I ask the Chosen One, the Guide, for his intercession,

for I am guilty of grievous sin.

لعل مغفرة الغفار تدرمني

في موقف حيث لا منجى ولا هرب

Perhaps the forgiveness of the Oft-Forgiving will reach me

at a station where there is neither refuge nor escape.

إذا أقول ولا لوم ولا حرج

إنى نجوت فلا خوف ولا رهب

Then I shall say, without blame or constraint,

'I am saved; there is neither fear nor dread.'

هذا هو العز في الدنيا وضرتها

وغاية المبتفى هذى هي الرتب

This is honor in this world and its co-wife, the hereafter,

and the ultimate sought-for goal: these are the ranks.

صلى عليه الذي بالحق أرسله

ما هبت الريح واهتزت بها القضب

May He who sent him with the truth bless him,

as long as the wind blows and the branches sway with it,

والآل والصحب والأتباع قاطبة

ما اشتاق ذو شجن أو سارت النجب

and all his family, Companions, and followers,

as long as a sorrowful one yearns or fine camels journey.