قفا برياض الشعب شعب القرنفل

نجد ما بدمع في المَحاجِر مسبل

Halt, you two, in the ravine's gardens—the Ravine of Cloves;

we find what is there, with tears streaming in our eyes [text unclear],

وَتندب آثارا أَثارَت غرامنا

وأجرت حميا الوجد في كل مفصل

and you lament traces that stirred our passion

and sent the ardor of longing coursing through every joint.

مَنازِل كنا أَهلها فاحالها

تقلب دهر بالبلاء موكل

Dwellings we once inhabited, transformed by

the turns of a Time entrusted with affliction.

فأضحت لارواح الرياح ملاعبا

تَناوحن فيها من جنوب وَشمأل

They became playgrounds for the breaths of the winds,

which wailed to one another there, from south and north.

وَلَم يَبقَ منها غير سفع رواكد

وآثاراطلال وَبئر معطل

Nothing remained of them but blackened, motionless stones,

traces of ruins, and an abandoned well.

خَليلي لا تستخبر اني عَن الهوى

فَيَشكو لسان الحال حال التذلل

My two friends, do not question me about love,

lest the tongue of my condition lament its abasement.

وَما أَنا للشكوى بأهل وانما

ملكت سَبيلا لست فيها بأول

I am not one entitled to complain; rather,

I have claimed a path on which I am not the first.

لَقَد نزلت منيبربيع رَبيعة

تَرامى عيون العبر في كل مقتل

Rabiʿa has indeed alighted within me, in spring [text unclear];

tear-filled eyes shoot at every mortal spot.

وَلَم يدر رب الربع أي دم جنى

وأي فَتى أفتى بحكم التحوّل

The master of the dwelling did not know whose blood he had shed,

or which youth had pronounced the decree of departure.

وَكَم من شهيد كرفى مشهد الهوى

فَراحَ وَروح الوصل غير موصل

How many a martyr charged onto love's battlefield,

then passed away, with union's solace never reaching him!

تَقاضته باقي دينها غربة النَوى

فأصبح بعد الظاعنين بمعزل

The estrangement of separation exacted from him the rest of its debt,

and he was left isolated after those who journeyed away.

اذا رام اعتاب الزَمان تعرضت

خطوب تذل العصم عَن كل معقل

Whenever he sought redress from Time, there arose

calamities that humbled the mountain goats, driving them from every refuge.

فَكَيف تَراني أَرتَجي نجح مطلب

اذا لَم يَكن بالهاشمي توسلي

How, then, can you think I hope to succeed in any quest

unless I seek intercession through the Hashimite?

جعلت عَريض الجاه في كل حادِث

ثمالى ومأمولي وَمالي وَموئلي

I have made him, vast in standing, in every calamity,

my succor, my hope, my wealth, and my refuge.

اردبه كيد العدوّ اذا اعتدى

وألقى به سود الخطوب فتتجلى

Through him I repel the enemy's plotting when he attacks,

and through him face dark calamities, which then clear away.

وأورد آمالي منا هل برّه

وأنزل آمالي بأجوذ منزل

I bring my hopes to the watering places of his bounty,

and lodge my hopes in the most generous abode,

بأبلج من قرمي لؤي بن غالب

ملاذ غياث مستغاث مؤمل

with a radiant one of Luʾayy ibn Ghalib's two chieftains:

a refuge, a succor, one invoked for help, a source of hope;

بشير نذير مشفق متعطف

رؤف رَحيم شاهد متوكل

a bearer of good tidings, a warner, compassionate and tender,

kind, merciful, a witness, trusting in God.

هوَ الشافِع المَقبول في الحشر للورى

اذا عمل الانسان لم يتقبل

He is the accepted intercessor for humankind at the Gathering,

when a person's deeds go unaccepted.

أَيا نسمات الريح من طيب طيبة

أعيدي لروحي روح ند ومندل

O breezes of wind from the fragrance of Tayba,

restore to my soul the refreshment of nadd incense and sandalwood.

وَياهطلات السحب جودي كَرامة

عَلى خير أَرض اودعت خير مرسل

O downpours of the clouds, pour generously in honor

upon the finest land, entrusted with the finest messenger:

محمد المستغرق الحمد باسمه

حَميد المَساعي ذو الجناب المجلل

Muhammad, whose name encompasses all praise,

praiseworthy in his endeavors, his presence clothed in majesty;

نَبي زَكي أَريحي مهذب

شَريف منيف سربه غير مهمل

a pure prophet, open-handed and refined,

noble and exalted, his flock never neglected.

بتوراة موسى نعته وَصفاته

وانجيل عيسى وَالزبور المفصل

His description and attributes are in Moses' Torah,

Jesus' Gospel, and the clearly expounded Psalms.

وَفي الملا الاعلى علو مناره

وَتَشريفه عَن كل ذي شرف عَلى

In the Highest Assembly his beacon stands high,

and his exaltation rises above all who possess honor.

لمسراه ابواب السَموات فتحت

وَقيل له اهلا وَسهلا بك ادخل

For his night journey the gates of the heavens were opened,

and he was told, 'Welcome to you! Enter at ease!'

وَخص بادنى قاب قوسين رفعة

وَبالحوض في بحر السنا المتهلل

He was singled out for exaltation in nearness within two bow-lengths,

and with the Pool in a sea of gleaming radiance,

وَبالآية الكبرى وَتَعليم ذى القوى

وَسبع المَثاني وَالكتاب المنزل

and with the greatest sign, and instruction by the mighty in power,

and the seven oft-repeated verses and the Book sent down;

وَبالبدر منشقا وَبالضب ناطِقا

وَبالجذع وجدا وَالسحاب المظلل

and with the full moon split apart, and the spiny-tailed lizard speaking,

and with the tree trunk's longing, and the sheltering cloud.

وَكَم آية تقرا وأعجوبة تَرى

وَمعجزة تَروى بنقل مسلسل

How many a sign is recited, and marvel seen,

and miracle related through a continuous chain of transmission!

فَما وَلدت انثى ولا اشتملت عَلى

اجل وأَعلى منه قدرا واجمل

No woman has borne, or carried within her,

anyone more august, higher in rank, or more beautiful than he.

وَلا ضمت الاقطار مثل ابن هاشم

بحسن واحسان وَمجد مؤثل

Nor have the lands embraced anyone like the scion of Hashim,

in beauty, beneficence, and deep-rooted glory.

عسى منك يا مَولاي نهضة رحمة

بعبد الرَحيم السائِل المتوسل

May an upsurge of mercy come from you, my master,

for ʿAbd al-Rahim, the petitioner seeking intercession,

واصحابه والوالدين وان علوا

وَقرباه والولدان أَسفل اسفل

and his companions and parents, however far the line ascends,

and his kin and children, descending ever farther.

فأَنتَ لنا كنز وَعز وَملجأ

وَنهج لمأمول وَفتح لمقفل

For you are to us a treasure, honor, and refuge,

a path to what is hoped for, and an opening for what is locked.

حَوائج في الدنيا بجاهك عجلت

وآجلة أخرى ليوم مؤجل

Through your standing, worldly needs are swiftly met,

and other needs are deferred to a day still to come.

فصل حبل ودي ما ذكرتك واهدني

بمصباح نور العلم في كل مشكل

Keep the cord of my love joined whenever I remember you, and guide me

by the lamp of knowledge's light in every difficulty.

وَعند فِراق الروح كن لي مشاهدا

ليشهد بالتَوحيد قَلبي وَمقولي

At the soul's departure, be present as my witness,

so that my heart and speech may attest to God's oneness.

اذا لَم تَكُن لي في الشَدائِد عدة

فمن يا شفيع المذنبين يَكون لي

If you are not my resource in adversity,

who, O intercessor for sinners, will be there for me?

وَصلى عليك اللَه ما لاحَ بارق

وَماسح ودق تحت رعد مجلجل

May God bless you whenever lightning flashes,

and whenever rain pours beneath resounding thunder,

وَما سجعت ورق الحَمائم في الجمى

وغرد قَمَري لتغريد بلل

and whenever gray doves coo in the sanctuary [reading uncertain],

and a turtledove warbles to a nightingale's song [reading uncertain];

صَلاة تؤدي كل حقك رفعة

وَمجدا وَتَفضيلا عَلى كل أَفضل

a blessing that fulfills all your due in exaltation,

glory, and preeminence over all who excel,

وتشمل من والاك نصر أَو هجرة

وَكل محب للصحابة أَو ولى

and embraces those who allied with you through aid or emigration,

and all who love the Companions or a saint.