به هجر يتيمه

كلا جفنيك يعلمه

Estrangement grips him, enslaving him to love;

both your eyelids know it.

هما كادا لمهجته

ومنك الكيد معظمه

They both plotted against his heart,

and most of the guile comes from you.

تعذِّبه بسحرهما

وتوجده وتعدمه

You torment him with their magic,

bringing him into being and annihilating him.

فلا هاروت رق له

ولا ماروت يرحمه

Neither Harut has pitied him,

nor does Marut show him mercy.

وتظلمه فلا يشكو

إلى من ليس يظلمه

You wrong him, yet he does not complain

to one who does not wrong him.

أَسَرَّ فمات كتمانا

وباح فخانه فمه

He kept his secret and died of concealment;

he spoke out, and his mouth betrayed him.

فويح المدنف المعمو

د حتى البث يُحرمه

Alas for the ailing, sorely afflicted man,

denied even the outpouring of his grief!

طويل الليل ترحمه

هواتفه وأنجمه

He whose night is long is pitied

by its unseen voices and its stars.

إذا جد الغرام له

جرى في دمعه دمه

When passion grows fierce within him,

his blood flows in his tears.

يكاد لعهده أبدا

بعادى السقم يسقمه

For his fidelity, he is forever assailed

by a ravaging sickness that lays him low.

ثنى الأعناق عوّده

وألقى العذر لوّمه

His sickbed visitors have bowed their heads,

and his reproachers have offered excuses.

قضى عشقا سوى رمق

إليك غدا يقدمه

He has died of love, save one last breath;

tomorrow he will offer it to you.

عسى إن قيل مات هوى

تقول الله يرحمه

Perhaps, if they say he died of passion,

you will say, “May God have mercy on him.”

فتحيا في مراقدها

بلفظ منك أعظمه

Then they will live again in their resting places—

his bones, at a word from you.

بروحي البان يوم رنا

عن المقدور أعصمه

My soul for the bān tree, the day he gazed!

I shield him from what has been decreed.

ويوم طعنتُ من غصن

منَّعمه معلَّمه

And the day I was pierced by a branch

whose nurturer is its instructor.

قضاء الله نظرته

ولطف الله مبسمه

His glance is God's decree;

his smiling mouth is God's gentleness.

رمى فاستهدفت كِبدى

بىَ الرامي وأسهمه

He shot, and my liver became a target;

my life for the archer and his arrows!

له من أضلعي قاع

ومن عجب يسلمه

For him, my ribs form an open plain,

and, strangely, it keeps him safe.

ومن قلبي وحبته

كِاس بات يهدمه

And from my heart and its kernel,

[a lair?] that he keeps destroying.

غزال في يديه التي

ه بين الغيد يقسمه

A gazelle holds haughtiness in his hands,

apportioning it among the graceful beauties.

كأن أباه مر بأح

مدَ الهادى يكلمه

As though his father had passed by Ahmad,

the Guide, speaking to him.

نبىُّ البر والتقوى

منار الحق معلمه

The prophet of goodness and piety,

the beacon of truth, its landmark.

معاني اللوح أشرفها

رسالته ومقدمه

Of the Tablet's meanings, the noblest

are his message and his coming.

له في الأًصل أكرمهم

عريق الأصل أكرمه

His ancestry holds their noblest—

deep-rooted in lineage, its noblest one.

خليل الله معدنه

فكيف يزيف درهمه

God's Friend is his ore;

how, then, could his dirham be counterfeit?

أبوّة سؤدد أخذت

بقرن الشمس تزحمه

An ancestry of lordship takes hold

of the sun's horn, pressing it aside.

ذبيجون كلهم

أمير البيت قيَّمه

[Sacrificial victims?], all of them—

each a prince of the House, its custodian.

تلاقوا فيه أطهارا

بسيماهم تَسَوُّمه

They met in him, pure;

he bears their distinguishing signs.

فنعم الغمد آمنة

ونعم السيف لهذمه

Excellent is the sheath, Amina,

and excellent the sword, his keen blade.

سرى في طهر هيكلها

كمسرى المسك يفعمه

He passed through the purity of her frame,

as musk diffuses through it, filling it.

يتيما في غِلالتها

تعالى الله مُوتمه

An orphan beneath her inner garment—

exalted is God, who orphaned him!

تزف الآىُ محملَه

إلى الدنيا وتقدمه

The signs escort his litter

into the world and usher him forward.

ويمسى نور أحمد في

ظلام الجهل يهزمه

And Ahmad's light comes to dwell in

the darkness of ignorance, defeating it,

وفي النيران يخمدها

وفي الإيوان يثلمه

and in the fires, extinguishing them,

and in the palace hall, breaching it,

وفي المعود من دين

ومن دنيا يقوّمه

and in the accustomed ways of religion

and worldly life, setting them straight.

فلما تم من طهر

ومن شرف تنسمه

When his fragrant breath was perfected in purity

and nobility,

تجلى مولد الهادى

يضئ الكون موسمه

the birth of the Guide appeared;

its festival lights the universe.

هلموا أهل ذا النادى

على قدم نعظمه

Come, people of this gathering;

standing, let us honor him.

بدا تستقبل الدنيا

به خيرا تَوسَّمه

He appeared; the world welcomes

in him the goodness it had foreseen.

يُجِّملها تهلله

ويحييها تبسمه

His radiance beautifies it,

and his smile revives it.

إلى الرحمن جبهته

ونحو جلالها فمه

His forehead turns toward the All-Merciful,

and his mouth toward its majesty.

وفي كتفيه نور الح

ق وضاح وروسمه

Upon his shoulders, the light of truth

is brilliant, and so is its seal.

يتيم في جناح الل

ه يرعاه ويعصمه

An orphan beneath God's wing—

He tends him and protects him.

فمن رحم اليتيم ففي

رسول الله يرحمه

Whoever shows an orphan mercy

shows mercy to God's Messenger in him.

يقوم به عن الأبو

ين جبريل ويخدمه

In place of his parents, he is cared for

by Gabriel, who serves him.

وترضعه فتاة البر

ر من سعد وترحمه

A maiden of goodness nurses him,

of Saʿd, and has mercy on him.

ويكفله موشَّى البر

د يوم الفخر مُعلَمه

He is sheltered by a wearer of an embroidered cloak,

its distinguished bearer on the day of glory.

نبىّ البر علمه

وجاء به يعلمه

The prophet of goodness is its banner;

he brought it, teaching it.

أبر الخلق عاطفة

وأسمحه وأحلمه

Creation's kindest in affection,

its most generous and most forbearing,

وأصبره لنائبة

ومحذور يجَّشمه

its most patient with calamity

and a feared danger he endures.

لكل عنده في البر

حق ليس يهضمه

Everyone has with him, in goodness,

a right he does not diminish.

ولىّ الأهل والأتبا

ع والمسكين يطعِمه

Guardian of family and followers,

and the poor man, whom he feeds.

سحاب الجود راحته

وفي برديه عيلمه

His palm is bounty's raincloud,

and beneath his two mantles lies its ocean.

وما الدنيا وإن كثرت

سوى خير تقدّمه

This world, however plentiful,

is nothing but the good you send ahead.

يضئ القبرَ موحشُه

عليك به ومظلمه

It lights the grave, its desolate part—

hold fast to it!—and its dark part.

وتغنمه إذا ولَّى

عن الإنسان مغنمه

You profit from it when

a person's gains have deserted him.

نظام الدين والدنيا

أُتِيح له يتممه

The ordering of faith and worldly life

was granted him to complete.

تطلع في بنائهما

على التوحيد يدعمه

He aspired, in building them both,

to God's oneness, upholding it.

بشرع هام في النا

س هاشمه وأعجمه

With a law that enthralled people—

their Hāshimite and their non-Arab alike.

كضوء الصبح بيِّنه

وكالبنيان مُكَمه

Its clarity is like the light of dawn,

and its [firm structure?] like a building.

بيان جل موحيه

وعلم عز ملهمه

A declaration—glorious is its Revealer;

and knowledge—mighty is its Inspirer.

حكيم الذكر بين الكت

ب مظهره وميسمه

The wise Reminder, among scriptures,

is his manifestation and his hallmark.

وكم للحق من غاب

رسول الله ضيغمه

How many a thicket truth possesses,

whose lion is God's Messenger!

له الغزوات لا تُحصى

ولا يحصى تكرمه

His campaigns cannot be counted,

nor can his generosity be counted.

تكاد تقيد الإسداء ق

بل السيف أنعمه

His favors almost bind [lions?]

before the sword does.

أمين قريش اختلفت

فجاءته تُحكَّمه

Quraysh's trusted one: when it disputed,

it came to him, appointing him judge.

صبيا بين فتيتها

إليه الأمر يرسمه

A boy among its youths,

the matter came to him to settle.

وإن أمانة الإنسا

ن في الدنيا تقدّمه

Indeed, a person's trustworthiness

advances him in this world.

زكى القلب طُهِّر من

هوىً وغوايةٍ دمه

Pure of heart, his blood was cleansed

of desire and error.

عفيف النوم يصدقُ ما

يرى فيه ويحلُمه

Pure in sleep, true is what

he sees there and dreams.

وخلوته إلى مَلك

على حلم يحلِّمه

In his solitude he turns to an angel,

who schools him in forbearance.

يفيض عليه من وحى

فيَفهمه ويُفهِمه

He pours revelation upon him,

so he understands it and makes it understood.

كتاب الغيب مفضوض

له باد محكَّمه

The book of the unseen is unsealed

for him; its sure content lies revealed.

مبين فيه ما يأتي

وما ينوى ويعزمه

Clear within it is what will come,

and what he intends and resolves.

ويظهر كل معجزة

لشانيه فيفحمه

He manifests every miracle

to his hater, silencing him.

فغاديةٌ تظلله

وباغمة تكلمه

A morning cloud shades him,

and a softly calling gazelle speaks to him.

تروِّى الجيش راحته

إذا استسقى عرمرمه

His palm gives the army its fill of water

when his mighty host asks for it.

ويستهدى السماء حيا

لسائله فتسجُمه

He asks the sky for rain as a gift

for his petitioner, and it pours it down.

ويرسل سهم دعوته

إلى الباغي فيقِصمه

He sends the arrow of his prayer

at the oppressor, breaking him.

تبارك من به أسرى

وجل الله مكرمه

Blessed is He who took him by night,

and exalted is God, who honors him.

يريه بيته الأقصى

ويُطلعه ويعلمه

He shows him His Farthest House,

and raises him and teaches him.

على ملَكٍ أمين الل

هُ مسرجه وملجمه

Upon an angel, God's trusted one

is its saddler and bridler.

معارجه السموات ال

عُلى والعرس سلَّمه

His ascents are the heavens

on high; [the Throne?] is his stairway.

فلما جاء سدرته

وكان القرب أعظمه

When he reached his lote-tree,

and nearness was at its greatest,

دنا فرأى فخَّر فكا

ن من قوسين مجثمه

he drew near, saw, and fell down;

his kneeling place was two bow-lengths away.

رسول الله لن يشقى

ببابك من يُيَمِّه

Messenger of God, none shall suffer

who seeks your door.

وأين النار من بشر

بسدّته تحرمه

How could the Fire reach a mortal

who seeks sanctuary at his threshold?

لواء الحشر بين يد

يك يوم الدين تقدمه

The banner of the Gathering is in your hands;

on Judgment Day you bear it forward,

شفيعا فيه يوم يلو

ذ بالشفعاء مجرمه

an intercessor there, on the day when

the guilty man seeks refuge with intercessors.

ففي يمناك جنته

وفي اليسرى جهنمه

In your right hand lies his Paradise,

and in the left, his Hell.

أنا المرحوم يومئذ

بِدرُ فيك أنظمه

I am the one shown mercy that day

through pearls I string in your praise.

ولا منٌّ عليك به

فِمن جدواك منجمه

I claim no favor over you for them,

for their mine is your bounty.

أينطق حكمة وحجا

لسان لا تقوّمه

Can wisdom and reason be spoken

by a tongue you do not set straight?

خلاصي لست أملكه

وفضلك لست أعدمه

My salvation is not mine to command,

and I do not lack your bounty.

ثراك متى أطيف به

وأنشقه وألثمه

Your earth—when shall I circle it,

breathe it in, and kiss it?

ففيه الخلق أعظمه

وفيه الخلق أوسمه

For within it lies creation's greatest,

and within it creation's most handsome.

سقاه من نمير الخل

د كوثره وزمزمه

May it be watered from eternity's sweet waters,

by its Kawthar and its Zamzam.

ولا برحت معطَّرةٌ

من الصلواتِ تلزمه

And may fragrant blessings never cease

to abide with him.