يممت طيبة أرتجى منك النظر

يا خير من منه الشفاعة تنتظر

I made for Taybah, hoping for a glance from you.

O best of those from whom intercession is awaited!

يممت طيبة والجوانح ملوها

شوق به الدمع الهتون قد انهمر

I made for Taybah, my breast filled with

longing that has made the streaming tears pour forth.

يممت طيبة للزيارة راجيا

منك القبول وأن أفوز وأن أسر

I made for Taybah to visit, hoping

for your acceptance, for success, and for joy.

وعليك أحظى بالصلاة مسلما

وعلى أبى بكر وصاحبه عمر

And may I be blessed to invoke prayers upon you, offering peace,

And upon Abu Bakr and his companion Umar,

وعلى صحابتك الكرام ومن يلى

من آلك الطهر الميامين الغرر

And upon your noble Companions, and those who follow

among your pure household, the blessed, the radiant.

فعسى تقول إذا أتيتك مرحبا

أدخل حمانا فالمهيمن قد غفر

Perhaps, when I come to you, you will say: 'Welcome!

Enter our sanctuary, for the Guardian has forgiven.

وانزل على رحب الضيافة إنني

بالعز أكرم من لحضرتنا حضر

Alight amid spacious hospitality; indeed, I

honor whoever comes into our presence.

وأزود الضيفان كل كرامة

والعطف منى في الإقامة والسفر

I provide guests with every honor,

And kindness from me, during their stay and their travels.'

يا سيد الثقلين يا خير الورى

يا من عليه الضب سلم والحجر

O master of humans and jinn, O best of creation!

O you whom the spiny-tailed lizard and the stone greeted!

يا من لنور جلاله وجماله

تعنو الوجوه ومن له انشق القمر

O you, before the light of whose majesty and beauty

faces bow, and for whom the moon was split!

لولاك ما اخترت التغرب لحظة

وتركت أهلى في الشواغل والفكر

Were it not for you, I would not have chosen exile for a moment,

Nor left my family amid cares and troubled thoughts.

قد كنت أخشى البحر خشية مشفق

وأراه مفتاح المخاوف والخطر

I used to fear the sea with an anxious man's fear,

And see it as the gateway to terrors and danger.

لكن ركبت به أجل سفينة

ما إن رأيت بها وحقّك من كدر

Yet upon it I boarded the grandest ship;

By your honor, I saw no distress aboard her.

شقت عباب البحر تمخره كما

شقّ السحاب الجوّ ليس به مطر

She cleaved the sea's surging depths, plowing through them, as

clouds cleave the air when there is no rain in it.

فكأن نوحا كان رائد سيرها

ورست على الجوديّ ما أحلاه بر

It was as though Noah guided her course,

And she came to rest upon al-Judi—how sweet that land!

ثم امتطيت سفينة البر التي

كانت بسرعتها تحاكى المفتخر

Then I mounted the ship of dry land, which

in its speed rivaled the boastful one.

فقطعت بالوابور كل مفازة

جرداء لا ماء يلوح ولا شجر

By steam engine I crossed every wilderness,

barren, with neither water nor trees in sight.

والرمل مصطخد بها متوقد

فكأنها النيران ترمى بالشرر

The sand there blazed, burning hot,

as though it were fires hurling sparks.

وببعضها ماء الينابع قد جرى

غدقا من الصخر الأصم قد انفجر

In some parts, spring water flowed,

abundantly, bursting from the solid rock.

سبحان من خلق الأمور بحكمة

جلت إرادته تعالى واقتدر

Glory to Him who created all things with wisdom!

Exalted is His will; transcendent is He, almighty.

ونظرت بالبيد السراب كأنه

ماء بوجه الأرض للظمآن غر

In the deserts I saw the mirage as though it were

water on the earth's face, deceiving the thirsty.

لكن طوت أيدى البخار بساطها

طي السجل وذاك في لمح البصر

Yet the hands of steam rolled up their carpet,

as a scroll is rolled up, in the blink of an eye.

وإليك وجه الزائرين موجه

والقلب نحو حماك فارقنا وفق

Toward you the visitors' faces are turned,

And the heart left us for your sanctuary and found its way.

حتى بدت من نحو طيبة قبّة

فيها لخير الخلق أشرف مستفر

Until a dome appeared in the direction of Taybah,

holding the noblest resting place for the best of creation.

فيها السماحة والمكارم والندى

فيها النبي المصطفى خير البشر

Within it are generosity, noble virtues, and bounty;

Within it is the chosen Prophet, the best of humankind.

فيها شذا عطر النبي محمد

فيها المنى والقرب من قبلا الأغر

Within it is the fragrance of the Prophet Muhammad's perfume;

Within it are hopes and nearness to the radiant one of old.

يا نفس هذا البحر أعذب مورد

فاجلى الصدى من ورده ودعى الصدر

O soul, this sea is the sweetest watering place:

Quench your thirst at its water, and abandon departure.

وتضلّعي منه ومنه تزوّدى

إن المهيمن بالتزوّد قد أمر

Drink your fill of it, and from it take provisions;

For the Guardian has commanded taking provisions.

لا يشتكى ورّاده ظمأ ولا

جوعا ولا فقرا ولا أدنى ضرر

Those who come to its water complain of neither thirst nor

hunger, poverty, or the slightest harm.

يا نفس بالفضل العظيم وبالغنى

أمر النبي ولا مردّ لما أمر

O soul, great bounty and abundance

the Prophet has commanded; none can countermand his command.

يا عين من أنواره فتمتّعي

يا قلب طب نفسا فسعدك قد ظهر

O eye, delight in his lights!

O heart, be glad: your good fortune has appeared.

هذا الذي من وجهه وجبنه

نور السعادة في الوجود قد انتشر

This is he from whose face and brow

the light of happiness has spread throughout existence.

فسقى المئين بل الألوف وكلهم

ملئوا المزاود من يديه وهم زمر

He gave drink to hundreds—nay, thousands—and all of them

filled their provision bags from his hands, in throngs.

يا من على السبع الطباق قد اعتلى

ولقاب قوسين انتهى فحلا المقر

O you who rose above the seven layered heavens,

And reached two bow-lengths' distance—how sweet that station!

وعليك قد فرضت صلاة خمسة

نلنابها التحجيل مع ضوء الغرر

The five prayers were ordained for you;

Through them we gained radiant limbs and the glow of shining brows.

ورجعت مكة والبراق كأنه

برق على وجه البسيطة قد عبر

You returned to Mecca, and al-Buraq was like

lightning passing over the face of the earth.

وركابك الميمون تخدمه الملا

ئكة الكرام وأنت أنت المعتبر

And your blessed mount is served by the an-

gels most noble; and you—you are the honored one.

انظر إلينا بالرعاية والرضا

فالكل فيك لعز موطنه هجر

Look upon us with care and favor,

For everyone, for your sake, has forsaken his homeland's glory.

فالمال والأهلون دونك منزلا

أنت المؤمل أنت نعم المدخر

Wealth and family rank below you;

You are our hope; how excellent a treasure you are!

أنت الذي لولاك ما خلقت سما

كلا ولا شمس تضىء ولا قمر

You are he without whom no heaven would have been created—

No, nor a shining sun, nor a moon.

والأرض لم توجد ولم يك ماؤها

غدقا ولم تهم السحائب بالمطر

The earth would not have existed, nor would its waters have been

abundant, nor would clouds have poured down rain.

والجنّ لم تخلق ولم يك آدم

بشرا سويا في الوجود ولا أثر

The jinn would not have been created, nor would Adam have been

a well-formed human in existence, nor would there be any trace of him.

مولايَ بين يديك أحمد واقف

وجميع جسمي من مهابتك اقشعر

My master, Ahmad stands before you,

And my whole body shudders in awe of you.

والدمع يهمى خشية ومهابة

والقلب من فرط البكاء قد انفطر

Tears stream down in fear and reverence,

And my heart is rent by the excess of weeping.

دنست نفسي بالذنوب ولم أجد

بحرا يطهرني سواك من الوضر

I have stained my soul with sins and found

no sea but you to cleanse me of defilement.

فتولّني واستر بفضلك عورتي

إن الكريم إذا رأى عيبا ستر

So take me into your care, and by your grace conceal my shame;

The generous man, when he sees a fault, conceals it.

واقبل وإن كنت الأثيم زيارتي

وامنحني الإقبال مع حسن النظر

Accept my visit, though I am sinful,

And grant me welcome and a gracious glance.

وامدد يمينك للسلام تفضلا

فلديك يحظى بالقبول من اعتذر

Graciously extend your right hand in greeting;

For one who offers an apology finds acceptance with you.

مولاي كن لي في القيامة شافعا

كي لا أقول من العنا أين المفر

My master, be my intercessor on the Day of Resurrection,

Lest in anguish I say, 'Where is escape?'

وامنح نبيّ وإخوتي وقرابتي

حسن العناية والرعاية يا أبر

And grant [my sons?], my brothers, and my kin

loving attention and care, O most benevolent one.

وامنن على أهلى وصحبي بالرضا

وزيارة تجلو عن القلب الكدر

Bestow favor upon my family and my friends,

And a visit that clears sorrow from the heart.

وانظر لأصهاري وأهل مودتي

والسادة العلماء أقمار البشر

Look kindly upon my in-laws and those I love,

And the noble scholars, the moons of humankind.

وانظر إلى زوار روضتك الألى

ما إن لهم عن بعد نورك مصطبر

And look upon the visitors to your garden, who

cannot bear to be far from your light.

وامسح على صدرى براحتك التي

كم أبرأت داء وكم جادت بدر

Stroke my breast with your palm, which

has healed so many ailments and lavished so many pearls.

واملأ فؤادي حكمة ومعارفا

واحضره يا خير الأنام إذا احتضر

Fill my heart with wisdom and knowledge,

And be with it, O best of humankind, when it lies dying.

صلى عليك الله يا شمس الهدى

والآل والأصحاب ما بزغ القمر

May God bless you, O sun of guidance,

And your household and Companions, as long as the moon rises,

أو قال مفشيها يؤمل لمحة

يممت طيبة أرتجى منك النظر

Or the one proclaiming it says, hoping for a glance:

I made for Taybah, hoping for a glance from you.