عسى من خفي اللطف سبحانه لطف — Al Burai

عَسى من خفيّ اللطف سبحانه لطف

بعطفة برّ فالكَريم له عطف

May kindness come from His hidden grace—glory be to Him—

with a compassionate act of goodness, for the Generous One has compassion.

عَسى من لطيف الصنع نظرة رحمة

الى من جفاه الأهل وَالصحب والالف

May a merciful glance come from the One whose work is subtle

toward one whom family, companions, and a close friend have forsaken.

عَسى فرج يأتي به اللَه عاجِلا

يسربه المَلهوف اذعمه اللهف

May relief come swiftly, brought by God,

gladdening the distressed one when anguish overwhelms him.

عَسى لِغَريب الدار تَدبير رأَفة

وبرّ من الباري اذا العيش لم يصف

May compassionate care be arranged for one far from home,

and goodness come from the Creator when life is not serene.

عَسى نفحة فردية صعدية

بها تَنقَضي الحاجات وَالشمل يلتف

May a singular, lofty breath of grace come,

through which needs are met and the company is reunited.

فاتى وَالشَكوى الى اللَه كالَّذي

رمى نفسه في لجة موجها يَطفو

For I, with my complaint to God, am like one who

has cast himself into a deep sea whose waves rise.

فمن محن الأَيام قَلبي معذب

أَلمّ بروحي قبل حتف الفنا حتف

For my heart is tormented by the trials of time;

a death has beset my soul before the death of extinction.

وانى لارضى ما قَضى اللَه لي وَلَو

عبدت عَلى حرف لازوى بي الحرف

And I am indeed content with what God decreed for me; even if I

worshipped on an edge, that edge would turn aside with me.

ولَم ابن حسن الظن في سيدى عَلى

شفا جرف هارفينها ربي الجر ف

Nor have I built my good opinion of my Master upon

the brink of a crumbling cliff, lest the cliff collapse with me.

وَلَكِن دعوت اللَه يكشف كُربَتي

فَما كربة الاومنه لها كشف

Rather, I have called upon God to dispel my distress,

for there is no distress whose relief does not come from Him.

فَكَم بسطت كف لسوء تريدني

فَقالَ لَها الكافى ألاغلب الكف

How often a hand has stretched forth for evil, seeking me,

and the All-Sufficing said to it, 'Behold, the hand is defeated!'

وَكَم هم صرف الدهر يصرف غابه

عَليّ فَجاء الغوث وانصرف الصرف

How often has time's adversity sought to turn its thicket

against me—then succor came, and adversity turned away.

وَلَم أَعتَصِم بِاللَه الاومدلى

من البر ظلا في رضاء له وكف

Never have I sought refuge in God without His extending to me

a shade of goodness within His favor's shelter.

واني لمستغن بِفَقري وَفاقَتي

اليه ومستقر وان كان بي ضعف

Indeed, I am made rich by my poverty and need

for Him, and am at rest, even though I have weakness.

وَفي الغبب للعبد الضَعيف لطائف

بها جفت الاقلام واِنطَوَت الصحف

And in the unseen lie subtle mercies for the weak servant,

for which the pens have dried and the scrolls been folded.

فَكَم راحَ روح اللَه في خلقه وَكَم

غَدا قبل أَن يرتد لِلناظر الطرف

How often God's relief has come among His creatures at evening, and how often

it has come at morning, before the beholder's glance returns—

بقدرة من شد الهوى وَبقى السما

طَرائق فوق الأَرض فهي لها سقف

by the power of Him who bound the air and maintained the heavens

in layers above the earth, so they are its roof;

وَمن نصب الكرسي وَالعَرش واِستَوى

عَلى العَرشوالاملاك من حوله حفوا

and Him who set up the Seat and the Throne, and established Himself

upon the Throne, while angels gathered around Him;

ومن بسط الارضين فهي بلطفه

لحى بَني الدنيا وميتهم ظرف

and Him who spread out the earths, so that by His kindness they are

a receptacle for this world's living children and their dead;

وَأَلقى الجبال الشم فيها رواسيا

فَلَيسَ لها من قبل موعد هانسف

and cast within them the lofty mountains, firmly anchored,

so they will not be scattered before their appointed time;

والبسها من سندس النبت بهجة

من القطر ما صنف يشابهه صنف

and clothed them in splendor, in the fine silk of vegetation

from the rain, no variety resembling any other;

وَسخر من نشر السحاب لواقعا

اذا اِنتَشَرَت درث سحائبها الوطف

and harnessed the spread-out clouds as rain-bearers;

when they spread, their dense clouds pour forth.

وأنشأ من الفافها كل حبة

بها الاب وَالريحان وَالحب وَالعَصف

And He brought forth every seed from its tangled growth;

therein are fodder, fragrant herbs, grain, and straw.

وَيَعلَم مسرى كل سار وَسارب

وَما أَعلَنوه من خَطايا وَما أَخفوا

He knows the course of every traveler by night and by day,

and the sins they proclaim, and what they hide;

وبحصى الحصى وَالقطر وَالنبت في الثَرى

والاحقاف عداقل أَو كثرا لحقف

and counts the pebbles, raindrops, and plants in the soil,

and numbers the dunes, whether few or many.

وَيَدري دَبيب النَمل في اللَيل ان سعت

وان وقفت ما أَمكن السعى وَالوقف

He knows the ants' creeping in the night, if they move,

and if they stop—as long as motion and rest are possible—

ووزن جِبال كَم مَثاقيل ذرة

وَكيل بحار لا يغيضها نزف

and the weight of mountains—how many mote-weights—

and the measure of seas that no draining can diminish.

وَكَم في غَريب الملك وَالمَلكوت من

عَجائِب لا يحصى لا يسرها وصف

And how many, in the mysteries of dominion and sovereignty, are

wonders beyond counting, which no description can make plain!

فَسُبحانه ان هم وهم لذاته

بكفء وَتكييف يلجمه الكف

Glory be to Him! If imagination seeks to conceive His essence

with an equal or a defined form, restraint bridles it.

وَلَم تحط الست الجهات بذاته

فأين يَكون الاين وَالقبل وَالخلف

Nor do the six directions encompass His essence;

where, then, could 'where,' front, and back be?

الهى أقلنى عثرَتي وَتولتي

بعفو فان النائبات لها عنف

My God, forgive my stumble and take me into Your care

with pardon, for calamities are harsh.

خلعت عذارى ثم جئتك عامِدا

بعذرى فان لم تعف عَني فمن يَعفو

I threw off my bridle, then came to You purposefully,

with my excuse—for if You do not pardon me, who will?

وَأَنتَ غياثي عند كل ملمة

وَلَهفي اذا لَم يَبقَ بين الوَرى كهف

And You are my succor in every calamity,

and the One I cry to when no refuge remains among humankind.

فَكَم صاحب رافقته ليَكون لي

رَفيقا فأَضحى وَهُو بادى الجفا خلف

How many a companion I have accompanied, that he might be my

friend, yet he became faithless, openly showing estrangement.

وَما شئت من قوم أعد صديقهم

اذا اِستنصر وازالوا وان وزنوا خفوا

And all manner of people whose friend I am reckoned

vanish when asked for help, and prove light when weighed.

طباع ذئاب في ثياب جَميلة

بصائرهم عمى قلوبهم غلف

Wolves' natures in beautiful clothes;

their inner sight is blind, their hearts are sealed.

تَلوح عليهم لِلنفاق دَلائل

وَبالحك يَبدو الزيف وَالذَهَب الصرف

Signs of hypocrisy show upon them,

and rubbing reveals the counterfeit and the pure gold.

فحل سيدى ما عشت بيني وَبينهم

بحولك حَتّى يَخضع الفرد والالف

So interpose, my Master, between me and them as long as I live,

by Your might, until the one and the thousand submit.

وَأَعلى مَقامي وانصب اسمي بحفظهم

لتصرف كل اسم يحق له الصرف

And raise my station, and establish my name by safeguarding them,

so that You may 'decline' every name that rightly admits declension.

لانك معروفى ومنك عوارفى

اذا اِستنكر المَعروف واِنقطَع العرف

For You are my benefactor, and my gifts come from You,

when kindness is disowned and benevolence is cut off.

واثبت بنور العلم وَالحلم منك لي

سَعادة حظ ما لمثبتها حذف

And establish for me, by the light of knowledge and forbearance from You,

a blessed lot that its Establisher will never erase.

وأيد بحرف الكاف وَالنون حِجَتي

لِيَسبق لي من كل صالحة حرف

And strengthen my plea with the letters kāf and nūn,

so that a letter from every good deed may go before me.

وَقل فزت يا عَبد الرَحيم برحمة

وَمغفرة يوم المَلائك يصطَفوا

And say, 'You have triumphed, O ʿAbd al-Raḥīm, through mercy

and forgiveness, on the day the angels stand in ranks.'

واكرم لاجلي من يليني واعطنا

من النار أَمنا يوم كل له ضعف

And honor, for my sake, those close to me, and grant us

safety from the Fire, on a day when everyone has weakness.

وَصل عَلى روح الحَبيب محمد

صَلاة عَلاها النور واِنتشر العرف

And send blessings upon the soul of the beloved Muḥammad—

a blessing crowned with light, whose fragrance spreads—

وأَزواجه والآل وَالصحب ما اِنثَنَت

أَراكَ الحمى وانساب بالابل الزحف

and his wives, family, and companions, as long as there sway

the sanctuary's arāk trees, and the camel procession glides onward.