أغيب وذو اللطائف لا يغيب — Al Burai

أَغيب وَذو اللطائف لا يَغيب

وَأَرجوه رجاء لا يخيب

I am absent, yet He of subtle kindnesses is never absent.

And I hope in Him with a hope that never fails.

واسأله السَلامة من زَمان

بليت به نوائبه تشيب

And I ask Him for safety from an age

By which I am afflicted, whose calamities turn hair gray.

وأنزل حاجَتي في كل حال

الى من تطمئن به القلوب

And in every circumstance I bring my need

To Him in whom hearts find peace.

وَلا أَرجو سواه اذا دهاني

زَمان الجور وَالجار المريب

And I hope in none but Him when I am assailed

By times of oppression and a suspect neighbor.

فَكَم لِلَّه من تَدبير أَمر

طوته عَن المشاهدة الغيوب

For how many an affair God has arranged

That unseen mysteries have concealed from sight!

وَكَم في الغَيب مِن تَيسير عسر

وَمن تفريج نائبة تنوب

And how much easing of hardship lies in the unseen,

And relief from a calamity that befalls,

وَمن كرم ومن لطف خفي

وَمن فرج تزول به الكروب

And generosity, and hidden kindness,

And deliverance through which sorrows vanish.

وَمالي غير باب اللَه باب

وَلا مولى سواه وَلا حَبيب

And I have no door but the door of God,

And no protector but Him, and no beloved.

كَريم منعم برّ لَطيف

جَميل الستر للداعي مجيب

Generous, bestowing blessings, beneficent, gentle;

Gracious in veiling faults, responsive to the supplicant;

حَليم لا يعاجل بالخَطايا

رَحيم غيم رحمته يصوب

Forbearing, not quick to punish sins;

Merciful: the cloud of His mercy pours down.

فَيا مَلِك المُلوك أَقل عثاري

فانى عنك أنأتني الذنوب

So, O King of kings, pardon my stumbling,

For my sins have driven me far from You.

وأمرضني الهوى لهوان حظي

وَلكن لَيسَ غيرك لي طَبيب

And passion has sickened me because of my lowly lot,

Yet I have no physician but You.

وَعاندني الزَمان وقل صبري

وَضاق بعبدك البلد الرَحيب

And time has opposed me, and my patience has dwindled,

And the spacious land has grown narrow for Your servant.

فآمن روعَتي واكبت حسودي

يعاملني الصَداقة وَهوَ ذيب

So soothe my terror and thwart my envier,

He acts as my friend, though he is a wolf.

وَعد النائبات الى عدوي

فان النائبات لها نيوب

And turn calamities toward my enemy,

For calamities have fangs.

وآنسني باولادي وَأَهلي

فَقَد يَستَوحش الرجل الغَريب

And comfort me with my children and my family,

For a man far from home may feel lonely.

وَلي شجن باطفال صغار

أَكادَ اذا ذكرتهم أذوب

And I grieve for little children;

I almost melt when I remember them.

وَلكني نبذت زمام أَمري

لمن تدبيره فيه عَجيب

But I have cast the reins of my affairs

To Him whose ordering of them is wondrous.

هُوَ الرَحمن حولى واِعتصامي

به واليه مبتهلا أَنيب

He is the All-Merciful; my strength and my refuge

Are in Him, and to Him I turn, beseeching.

الهي أَنتَ تَعلَم كَيفَ حالي

فَهَل يا سَيدي فرج قَريب

My God, You know how I fare;

So, O my Master, is relief near?

وَكَم متملق يَخفي عنادا

وَأَنتَ عَلى سريرته رَقيب

And how many a flatterer conceals hostility,

While You keep watch over his secret intentions.

وَحافر حفرة لي هار فيها

وَسهم البغي يدرك من يصيب

And the digger of a pit for me falls into it,

And the arrow of injustice catches whoever strikes.

وَممتنع القوى مستضعف بي

قصمت قواه عني يا حسيب

And one of formidable strength, who deems me weak—

You shattered his strength, sparing me, O All-Sufficient One.

وَذي عصبية بالمكر يَسعى

الى سعي به يوم عصيب

And one with factional backing strives through deceit

Toward an undertaking that brings a grievous day.

فَيا ديات يوم الدين فرج

هموما في الفؤاد لها دَبيب

So, O Judge of Judgment Day, dispel

Worries that creep within the heart.

وَصل حبلي بحبل رضاك وانظر

إِلى وتب عَلي عسى أَتوب

And join my cord to the cord of Your pleasure, and look

Upon me, and turn mercifully to me, that I may repent.

وَراع حمايتي وَتول نصري

وَشد عراي ان عرت الخطوب

And watch over my protection, and take charge of my victory,

And strengthen my bonds if calamities befall.

وافن عداي واقرن نجم حظي

بسعد ما لطالعه غروب

And destroy my enemies, and join the star of my fortune

With good fortune whose rising star never sets.

والهمني لذكرك طول عمري

فان بذكرك الدنيا تطيب

And inspire me to remember You throughout my life,

For through remembrance of You the world grows sweet.

وَقل عبد الرَحيم ومن يَليه

لهم في ريف رأفتنا نصيب

And say: “ʿAbd al-Rahim and those who follow him

Have a share in the fertile land of Our compassion.”

فَظَني فيك يا سندي جَميل

وَمَرعى ذود آمالي خصيب

For my hope in You, O my support, is fair,

And the pasture for the camel herd of my hopes is lush.

وَصل عَلى النَبي وآله ما

ترنم في الاراك العَندَليب

And bless the Prophet and his family as long as

The nightingale sings among the arak trees.