خل الأنام وخذ خير الورى جاها

ولذ بأندى الورى كفا وأرجاها

Leave humankind and choose the noblest of creation in rank.

And shelter with creation's most generous of hand, its greatest hope.

جاه عريض وكف بالندى وكفت

سيان في الجود يمناها ويسراها

Vast standing, and a hand pouring forth bounty,

its right and left alike in generosity.

فكل جاه وذي جاه له تبع

إن الملوك به ولت مزاياها

All rank, and all who possess rank, are subordinate to him.

Indeed, through him the distinctions of kings vanished.

كسرى وقيصر لما هل طالعه

عليهما الأرض قد ضاقت بأرجاها

Kisra and Caesar, when his rising star appeared,

found the earth, in all its reaches, too narrow for them.

وزال مجدها وانحط سعدهما

إلى الحضيض فلا كسرى ولا شاها

Its glory vanished, and their fortune sank

to the depths: no Kisra remained, nor any shah.

وشمس عزهما بالمصطفى أفلت

بعد الظهور فما سارت بمسراها

The sun of their might set through the Chosen One,

after rising, and no longer followed its course.

وأصبح الكون بالمختار في رغد

والأرض تضحك حيث الغيث وافاها

With the Chosen One, the universe came to live in plenty,

and the earth smiles where the rain has reached it.

هذا النبي الذي كانت نبوّته

طب القلوب فداوات كل مرضاها

This is the Prophet whose prophethood was

medicine for hearts, healing all their ailing ones.

أحييت قواها وكانت قبل ميتة

جل الذي برسول الله أحياها

Their strength was revived, though they had been dead before.

Exalted is He who brought them to life through God's Messenger.

وكيف لا ورسول الله من أنزل

أصل العوالم أعلاها وأدناها

And how could it be otherwise? God's Messenger is the one sent down—

the origin of the worlds, their highest and their lowest,

سر الوجود وأسمى الكون منزلة

وخير من بحديث الصدق قد فاها

the secret of existence, highest in the universe in rank,

and the best of those who have spoken words of truth.

هذا النبي لنا ركن وملتجا

من يلتجىء لسواه ضل أوتاها

This Prophet is our pillar and refuge;

whoever seeks refuge in another goes astray or wanders lost.

حصن حصين وجاه كله أمل

وكعبة فاز من للنجح ولاها

An impregnable fortress, a patronage full of hope,

and a Kaaba: whoever turns to it for success prevails.

حاشى أضام ولى قلب يحدثني

بأن لي من يد المختار جدواها

Far be it that I suffer wrong, with a heart that tells me

that bounty from the Chosen One's hand is mine.

فكم له نعم جلت مناقبها

وكم له منح غراء أسداها

How many blessings are his, whose merits are exalted!

And how many radiant gifts he has bestowed!

بحر من الفضل لكن سال ساحله

وبر بر ولكن قل اشباها

An ocean of bounty, yet even its shore flows,

and a land of goodness, yet few are its equals.

فيض الفرات وماء النيل من يده

كقطرة من سحاب الكف ألقاها

The Euphrates' flood and the Nile's water, from his hand,

are like a drop he cast from the cloud of his palm.

عم البرايا بفيض الفضل من يده

فمنه نالت بغيث الغوث سقياها

He embraced all creatures with the flood of bounty from his hand,

and from him they received their watering through the rain of succor.

وكم وكم يده بالغيث قد هطلت

جودا وبرا وكم فاضت عطاياها

How often, how often, his hand has showered rain

of generosity and goodness; how its gifts have overflowed!

في حسن صورته الوصاف قد عجزوا

جل الذي من بهاء النور سواها

Describers have failed to convey the beauty of his form.

Exalted is He who fashioned it from the splendor of light.

تكاد تختطف الأبصار طلعته

لولا الجلال لأعيا الناس مرآها

His countenance almost snatches away all sight;

were it not for majesty, its sight would overwhelm people.

ما الشمس والبدر إلا بعض طلعته

من نوره الشمس قد غطت محياها

The sun and full moon are but part of his countenance;

because of his light, the sun has veiled her face.

من ذا يدانيه في ذات وفي صفة

حاشى وكلا فكل الحسن في طه

Who can approach him in essence or in quality?

Never, by no means: all beauty resides in Taha.

يا سيد الرسل كم أوليتني نعما

لولاك والله ما أعطيت إياها

O master of messengers, how many blessings you have bestowed on me!

Without you, by God, I would not have been given them.

وكم أجبت ندائي عند ما طلبت

نفسي المعالي فنالت منك علياها

How often you answered my call when

my soul sought the heights, and attained their highest from you!

وكم رددت يدا بالسوء تقصدني

فطاب قلبي كما قد خاب مرماها

How often you turned back a hand aimed at harming me,

and my heart rejoiced as its purpose failed.

لأنني بضعة الزهراء فاطمة

من أنجب السادة الأشراف نجلاها

For I am a part of al-Zahra, Fatima,

whose two sons begot the noble, honored masters.

فانظر إليّ ولا تقطع مواصلتي

واعطف على نفس عبد أنت مولاها

So look toward me, and do not sever my bond with you;

show compassion to the soul of a servant whose master you are.

وامنع أناسا بأيدي الغدر تقصدني

لولا التجائي لكم ما كان أقساها

And restrain people who target me with treacherous hands.

Without my seeking refuge in you, how cruel they would have been!

لكن بجاهك رد الله كيدهم

وأرغم الكل أقلاما وأفواها

But through your standing, God repelled their plotting

and humbled them all, pens and mouths alike.

حسبي النبي وحسبي حب عترته

جل المهيمن من بالحب ولاه ا

The Prophet suffices me, and love of his family suffices me.

Exalted is the Guardian who appointed him through love.

يا خير من يرتجى العاصي شفاعته

وخير من كان أوياا وأواها

O best of those whose intercession the sinner hopes for,

and the best of those who were compassionate and devoutly sighing.

نفسى وإن جنحت للغي في صغر

لكنها رجعت تستغفر الله

Though my soul inclined to error in youth,

it returned, asking God for forgiveness.

أرجو الشفاعة يوم الحشر من زللى

ومن ذنوب يثير الحزن ذكراها

I hope for intercession on the Day of Gathering for my slips,

and for sins whose recollection stirs sorrow.

لكن لي أملا في العفو يطمعني

وفي الشفاعة عظماها وقصواها

Yet I have a hope that makes me long for pardon,

and for intercession, its greatest and its fullest.

فقد روى السادة الأخيار أجمعهم

رواية صح معناها ومبناها

For all the noble, virtuous masters have transmitted

a report sound in its meaning and its wording:

من زار قبر النبي المصطفى وجبت

له الشفاعة مهما ضل أو تاها

Whoever visits the Chosen Prophet's grave is owed

intercession, however far he strayed or wandered.

والحمد لله قد شاهدت حجرته

وزرته زورة ما كان أبهاها

Praise be to God: I have seen his chamber

and visited him—how splendid that visit was!

فكم بكيت وكم قدمت من ندم

والروح خاشعة والنور يغشاها

How much I wept, how much remorse I offered,

my spirit humbled, with light enveloping it.

وكم بروضته لله قد سجدت

رأسى وعين رسول الله ترعاها

How often in his Rawda I bowed before God,

my head watched over by the eye of God's Messenger.

متى أعود رسول الله ثانية

أشمّ عرف الشذا من طيب ريّاها

When shall I return again, O Messenger of God,

to inhale the scent of perfume from its sweet aroma?

فالبعد عنك رسول الله أنهكني

ونار وجدي زند الشوق أوراها

Distance from you, O Messenger of God, has exhausted me,

and the fire-stick of longing has kindled the fire of my yearning.

لله طيبة قد طابت بساكنها

والله جل بنور العز جلاها

How wondrous is Tayba, made sweet by its inhabitant!

God, exalted be He, illumined it with the light of honor.

فالطيب والطب من مدلول لفظتها

بذا المهيمن سماها وأسماها

Sweetness and healing are contained in the meaning of its name;

for this, the Guardian named it and exalted it.

تزهو بخير الورى والله رؤيتها

كما زهت برسول الله سكناها

By God, the sight of it shines with the best of creation,

as dwelling there shone with God's Messenger.

لا يشتكى الضيم من آوته ساحتها

والسعد والمجد مضمون لمن جاها

No one sheltered in its precincts complains of oppression,

and happiness and glory are assured to whoever comes to it.

حمى الإله حماها يوم أن شرفت

بالمصطفى المجتبى والله زكاها

God protected its sanctuary on the day it was honored

by the Chosen, the Elect; God purified it.

ترابها التبر من سلع ومن أحد

ومن قبا ثم ما في القرب حاذاها

Its soil is gold—from Salʿ and from Uhud,

and from Quba, and whatever nearby lies alongside it.

يشفى الجذام ويشفى كل ذي مرض

كما شفى من صدور الناس مرضاها

It heals leprosy and heals all who are ill,

as it healed the sickness in people's breasts.

وعينها العذبة الزرقاء من ضرب

ما كان أطيبها طعما وأحلاها

And its sweet Blue Spring, from a stroke—

how delicious its taste, and how sweet it was!

كأنها وهي في الأخدود جارية

من كوثر الخلد باسم الله مجراها

As though, flowing in its channel, it came

from eternal Kawthar; in God's name is its course.

ياسا كنى طيبة المختار حسبكم

قرب النبي فباهوا كل من باهى

O dwellers of the Chosen One's Tayba, enough for you is

nearness to the Prophet; vie in pride with all who boast.

بالقرب من قبره فزتم بمأربكم

هذا هو الفخر هذا سر معناها

Through nearness to his grave, you have attained your desire.

This is true pride; this is the secret of its meaning.

واها وواها لمن كانت له سكنا

يمسى ويصبح مغبوطا بها واها

Ah, ah, for the one who has it as a home!

He passes evening and morning envied for it—ah!

بالله لا تتركوها فهي أمكم

والأم تحنو إلى إرضاء أبناها

By God, do not leave it, for it is your mother,

and a mother tenderly seeks to please her children.

فلا المسيخ ولا الطاعون يدخلوها

بل الملائكة الأبرار ترعاها

Neither the false Messiah nor the plague enters it;

rather, righteous angels watch over it.

ياليتني كنت في دار الهى معكم

استمطر الجود والإحسان من طه

Would that I were with you in my God's abode,

calling down showers of generosity and kindness from Taha.

لله من روضة بالحسن زاهية

غيث النهبي رحيم القلب أرواها

How wondrous a garden, radiant with beauty,

watered by the rain of the tenderhearted Prophet!

فاقت جميع بلاد الله في شرف

فما دمشق وما مصر وأحياها

It surpassed all God's lands in honor:

what are Damascus, or Egypt and its quarters, beside it?

أستغفر الله إلا مكة فلها

بالبيت فضل أتاها قبل مبناها

I seek God's forgiveness—except Mecca, for it has,

through the House, a distinction that came before its founding.

مولاي أسألك التوفيق في سعة

للحج والسعي مرات بمسعاها

My master, I ask you for success amid ample means,

for pilgrimage and repeated ritual walking along its course,

والشرب من زمزم أطفى بها ظمئي

وبالمناسك أحظى بين بطحاها

and drinking from Zamzam, quenching my thirst with it,

and gaining favor through the rites amid its gravelly plains.

يا خاتم الرسل هذا كل مطلبي

مع عزة النفس دنياها وأخراها

O seal of the messengers, this is all I ask,

along with dignity for my soul in this world and the next,

وصحة الجسم من سميع ومن بصر

وقوة العقل إن العقل أرقاها

and bodily health in hearing and sight,

and strength of intellect, for intellect is the highest of them.

وامنح بني وأهلى مع ذوي رحمى

عزا فنفسي مناها عز قرباها

Grant my sons and my family, together with my kin,

honor; my soul's wish is the honor of its relatives.

وانظر لصحبي وأشياخي ومن لهمم

فضل على النفس رباها ورقاها

Look kindly on my companions, my teachers, and those whose

favor to my soul has nurtured and elevated it.

صلى عليه إله العرش ما سجعت

في الدوح ورق وما غنت بمغناها

May the God of the Throne bless him as long as there is cooing

from gray doves in the trees, and singing in their haunts.

أوقات أمدح خير الخلق ملتجأً

خلّ الأنام وخذ خير الورى جاها

Whenever I praise the best of creation as a refuge:

Leave humankind and choose the noblest of creation in rank.