إليك توجهنا فلاحت لنا البشرى — Aloshari

إِلَيك توجهنا فَلاحَت لَنا البُشرى

وَتَمت لَنا الدُنيا بِجاهك وَالأخرى

Toward you we turned, and glad tidings appeared to us.

Through your standing, this world and the next became complete for us.

حَبسنا عَلى حر الهَجير نُفوسنا

لأَنا عَلِمنا أن سنوردها بَحرا

We held our souls fast under the noonday heat,

For we knew we would lead them to a sea.

وَلَم نَصحب المسك الفَتيت لعلمنا

بِكون ثَراكم فَوقَ أَرداننا عطرا

We brought no powdered musk, knowing

Your soil would be perfume upon our sleeves.

وَلَم نَحمل الدينار علما بِأَننا

سَنلقط مِن حَصباء أَرضكم درا

We carried no dinar, knowing that we

Would gather pearls from the pebbles of your land.

وَما قَصدنا إِلا الحُضور بِحضرة

عَلى عَرش بلقيس سما فَضلها قَدرا

We sought only to stand in a sacred presence

Whose excellence rose in rank above Bilqis's throne,

وَرؤية قَبر قَد تضمن سَيداً

هُوَ البَحر سمته العِباد لَنا حبرا

And to see a tomb that enclosed a master:

An ocean, described to us by the people as a learned sage.

مَحل حَوى علما وَجوداً وَسُؤددا

إِلى مُنتَهى الدُنيا تَدوم لَهُ الذِكرى

A place containing learning, generosity, and nobility,

Whose remembrance endures until the world's end.

كَريم نجار مِن لُؤي بن غالب

وَصَفوة عَدنان وَمن مضر الحَمرا

Of noble lineage, from Lu'ayy son of Ghalib,

The choicest of Adnan and of Mudar the Red.

وَلَما قَصَدناه تَرَكنا عيالنا

وَأَولادنا الأَطفال وَالبَلدة الزورا

When we set out toward him, we left our dependents,

Our little children, and the town of al-Zawra'.

إِلى أَن نَزَلنا الخان أَول مَنزل

وَنمنا وَصَلينا بِساحَتِه الظُهرا

Until we alighted at the inn, our first stopping place,

And slept and prayed the noon prayer in its courtyard.

وَمِن قَبل عَصر قَد شَدَدنا رِحالنا

وَجئنا لبئر النصف وَالرَكب قَد سَرا

Before the afternoon prayer, we had fastened our saddles,

And came to Bir al-Nisf, the caravan traveling by night.

وَمن بَعد ذا جئنا إِلى الخان بَعده

وَبِتنا بِهِ وَالنَوم عَن مُقلَتي فرا

After that, we came to the inn beyond it,

And spent the night there, while sleep fled my eyes.

وَلَما بَدا الصُبح المُنير وَأَقبَلَت

كَتائبه تَسعى بِرايته الشَقرا

When the radiant morning appeared and there advanced

Its battalions, hastening with its tawny banner,

نَهَضنا وَرَوَينا جَميع دَوابنا

بلُطف وَصَلَينا بِجانبه الفَجرا

We rose and watered all our beasts

With care, and prayed the dawn prayer beside it.

وَسرنا إِلى خان المَحاويل وَالهَوى

لِحب أَبي السبطين يقدمنا شَهرا

We traveled to Khan al-Mahawil, while longing,

For love of the father of the two grandsons, ran a month ahead of us.

قُمنا بِهِ حَتّى أَتى العَصر فانثنت

إِلى الحلة الفَيحا رواحلنا تَتَرى

We remained there until afternoon; then there turned

Toward spacious al-Hillah our mounts, one after another.

نَزَلنا عَلى قَوم كِرام بِها نَشوا

عَلى الجود وَالأَضياف في دورهم تَقرى

We lodged there with noble people, reared

In generosity; guests are feasted in their homes.

وَمِن بَعد ذا سرنا صَباحاً وَعِندنا

مِن الشَوق ما يَستوعب السهل وَالوعرا

After that, we traveled in the morning, bearing

A longing vast enough to fill both plain and rugged ground.

وَلَما أَتينا قَبر ذي الكفل وَانجلت

لَنا عَن طَريق القَصد باقعة غَبرا

When we reached the tomb of Dhu al-Kifl, and there cleared

From our intended path a dust-gray affliction,

نَظَرت تِجاه السائِرين أشعة

تَبين وَيَستخفي لَنا تارة أُخرى

I saw rays ahead of the travelers,

Appearing to us, then hiding once again.

فَزحزحت عَن عَيني الكَرى وَنَظَرت عَن

نَواظر عَن صَنعا تَلوح لَنا بصرى

I brushed drowsiness from my eyes and gazed with

Eyes that let Busra appear to us from Sana'a.

وَقالَت أَتلك الشَمس أَرخَت ثِيابها

وَأَلقَت عَلَيها مِن أَشعتها سِترا

And they said: 'Has that sun let down her garments

And spread over them a veil of her rays?

أَم اِنتَشَرَت نار الكَليم لِناظري

عَلى طور سينا وَالفُؤاد بِها أَدرى

Or has Moses' fire spread before my gaze

On Mount Sinai, while my heart knows it better?

أَم البَرق في تِلكَ العراص تَلألأَت

لَوامعه حَتّى أَبان لَنا فَجرا

Or is it lightning in those open grounds, sparkling

In flashes until it revealed a dawn to us?'

فَراجَعت خضر القَلب عَن دَرك ما أَرى

يَبين لِعَيني كَي أحيط بِهِ خَبرا

I then consulted the Khidr of my heart to grasp what I saw

Appear before my eyes, that I might fully know it.

فَقالَ إِذا أَخبَرتك اليَوم سره

وَأَنتَ كَليم القَلب لَم تَستَطع صَبرا

He said: 'If I tell you its secret today,

You, the heart's Moses, will not be able to remain patient.'

فَقُلت وَلَو أَخبَرتَني لَوَجَدتَني

صَبوراً وَلا أعصي لما قُلته أَمرا

I said: 'Even if you told me, you would find me

Patient, disobeying no command in what you say.'

فَقالَ هُوَ القَصر المُنيف الَّذي عَلَت

عَلى القبة الخَضراء قُبته الصَفرا

He said: 'It is the lofty palace, where there rises

Above the green dome its yellow dome.

هُوَ المرقد السامي الشَريف الَّذي حَوى

محيا أَبي السبطين وَالغرة الغرا

It is the exalted, noble resting place that holds

The face of the father of the two grandsons, and his radiant brow.

فالق العَصا في بابه وَأنخ بِه

قلوصك وَانزل عِندَ همته الكُبرى

So cast down your staff at its gate, and make kneel there

Your young she-camel; alight beneath his mighty resolve.'

فَهاجَت بِنا نار الغَرام وَقَد جَرَت

مَدامع تصلي نارها وَجنَتي حرا

Then the fire of passion flared within us, and there flowed

Tears whose fire scorched both my cheeks with heat.

إِلى أَن أَتَت خان العقيل خيولنا

وَبتنا بقرب البئر نستوجب البرا

Until our horses reached Khan al-Aqil,

And we stayed near the well, hoping to merit kindness.

وَلَما رَأينا الفَجر سرنا بسرعة

إِلى بَلدة ضَمت بِها الحَيدر الطهرا

When we saw the dawn, we hurried

To a town that held within it the pure Haydar.

نَزَلنا بِدار السيد المُصطَفى الَّذي

رَأَينا بِها الأَفضال وَالكَرَم الوفرا

We lodged in the house of Sayyid al-Mustafa, where

We saw bounties and abundant generosity.

كَريم لَهُ جود غَزير وَراحة

تَصب عَلى الأَضياف مِن وَبلِها قَطرا

A noble man of abundant generosity, with a palm

Pouring drops of its downpour upon his guests.

وَمِنها أَتَينا حَضرة الطهر حَيدر

وَقُمنا عَلى باب وَجدنا بِهِ اليُسرا

From there we came to the presence of the pure Haydar,

And stood at a gate where we found ease.

وَألقَت عَصاها وَاستقر بِها النَوى

وَقَد حَمَدوا عِندَ الصَباح لَها المَسرى

She cast down her staff, and her wandering came to rest there;

At morning they praised her nighttime journey.

تَقي نَشا في رَوضة الدين سابِقاً

إِلى الحَق والإسلام كُل الوَرى طرا

A pious man, raised in religion's garden, preceding

All creation, without exception, to truth and Islam.

وَلَم يَرَ شركاً كَرم اللَه وَجهه

عَن الشرك وَالديان طَهره طهرا

He never knew idolatry; God ennobled his face,

Keeping it from idolatry; the Judge purified him utterly.

فَدى المُصطَفى إِذ باتَ فَوقَ فِراشه

وَأَعداء دين اللَه قَد أَظهَروا الشرا

He ransomed al-Mustafa by spending the night upon his bed,

While the enemies of God's religion had revealed their evil.

فَباهى بِهِ الرحمَن جَل جَلاله ال

مَلائكة الأَبرار أكرم بِذا فَخرا

The All-Merciful—exalted in majesty—gloried in him before the

Righteous angels: how noble a source of pride!

وَزَوَّجه الزَهراء فَوقَ سَمائه

وَأنقَدها مِن حُسن ألطافه مَهرا

Above His heaven He married him to al-Zahra',

And paid her a dowry from His gracious kindness.

وَفي يَوم بَدر كَم أَباد بِسَيفه

أَئمة كفر مارسوا الحَرب وَالكُفرا

On the day of Badr, how many he slew with his sword—

Leaders of unbelief, practiced in warfare and unbelief!

فَجدل مِنهُم كُل أَروع باسل

وَأصبح يَدعو نَحوه الطائر النسرا

He felled among them every imposing, valiant warrior,

Who then drew the vulture bird toward himself.

وَيَوم حنين حينَ فَرَّت كَتائب

عَن المُصطفى وَالمُرتَضى القرم ما فرا

On the day of Hunayn, when battalions fled

From al-Mustafa, al-Murtada, the champion, did not flee.

فَقام عَلى طَرف البَسالة ثابِتاً

قَوياً وَلَم يَبرح عَن المُجتبى شبرا

He stood firm upon the steed of valor,

Strong, never moving an inch from the Chosen One.

وَفي غَزوة الأَحزاب أكرم بِه فَتى

لَهُ الوَثبة الشماء وَالصدمة الكُبرى

In the expedition of al-Ahzab, what a noble youth he was!

His was the towering leap and the mighty assault.

وَبارزه عمرو فَأرداه عاجلا

وَأَورَده مِن كَأس صارمه خَمرا

Amr challenged him, and he promptly struck him down,

Giving him wine from the cup of his cutting sword.

وَمُذ لَمَعت مِن ذي الفقار لِطَرفه

سَنا شُعلة قَد أَورَثَت ظَهره كَسرا

As soon as there flashed from Dhu al-Fiqar before his eye

A flame's radiance that brought a breaking to his back,

تَيَقن أَن المَوت دارَت كُؤوسه

عَلَيه بِلا شَك وَقَد فارَقَ العُمرا

He knew that death's cups had circulated

Over him without doubt, and he had parted from life.

وَرَدت إِلَيهِ الشَمس بَعدَ غُروبها

فَصَلى أَمير المُؤمنين بِها العَصرا

The sun was returned to him after its setting,

And the Commander of the Faithful prayed the afternoon prayer by it.

وَفي خَيبَر أَعطاه راية نَصره

وَعَممه في كَفه فسَما قَدرا

At Khaybar he gave him the banner of his victory,

And turbaned him, with it in his hand, so he rose in rank.

فَسارَ بِها وَالمُسلمون وَراءه

فَصادف فَتحاً نالَ في ضمنه نَصرا

He marched with it, the Muslims behind him,

And met with a conquest in which he attained victory.

وَلَما أَتى لِلباب وَالباب مُرتج

دحاه بِكَف كفت الشَر وَالعُسرا

When he came to the gate, the gate was shut;

He flung it aside with a hand that checked evil and hardship.

فَأَصبَح ترساً في يَديه بِقوة

سَماوية بشرى لِمعتقد بشرا

It became a shield in his hands through a power

From heaven—a glad tiding for one who deems him human.

وَجدل مِنهُم مَرحَباً وَهوَ ضَيغم

وَلَكن مَولانا هُوَ الضَيغم الأَجرا

He felled Marhab among them, though he was a lion;

But our master was the bolder lion.

وَبَلغ عَن خَير الأَنام بَراءة

فَكَم مِن سقام بَعد تَبليغه أبرا

He conveyed Bara'ah on behalf of the best of humankind;

How many illnesses he cured after conveying it!

وَقال الَّذي عَني يبلغ إنما

فَتى هُوَ مِن بَيتي فَكانَ بِها أَحرى

And he said: 'The one who conveys on my behalf is only

A man of my household'; so he was worthiest of it.

وَمُذ رَمدت عَيناه في خَيبر أَتى

إِلى المُصطفى المُختار خَير الوَرى طرا

When his eyes became inflamed at Khaybar, he came

To al-Mustafa, the Chosen One, best of all creation.

وَمُذ تَفل المختار في الحال فيهما

رنا الحَيدر الكرار عَن مقلة حورا

As soon as the Chosen One spat into them then and there,

Haydar the ever-charging gazed with an eye of brilliant black and white.

وَأمن مِن حر وَبَرد فَما رَأى

مَدى عُمره بَرداً مضراً وَلا حَرا

He was safe from heat and cold, and never felt

Throughout his life either harmful cold or heat.

وَقَد طَلق الدُنيا ثَلاثاً وَلَو أَتَت

لَهُ بَعد ذا تَسعى لطلقها أخرى

He divorced the world three times, and even if it came

Seeking him afterward, he would divorce it once more.

وَقَد قالَ خَير الخَلق إني مدينة

مِن العلم أَنتَ الباب فاشكر لَنا شكرا

The best of creation said: 'I am a city

Of knowledge; you are the gate, so offer us your thanks.

وَمَن كُنتُ مَولاه وَإِن جل قَدره

فَأَنتَ لَهُ مَولى بِذا جاءَت الذكرى

Whomever I am master of, however great his rank,

You are his master': thus the account declares.

وَإنك مني وَالنُبوة قَد مَضت

كَهرون مِن موسى فارحب بذا صَدرا

'You stand to me—prophethood having passed—

As Aaron to Moses; so welcome this with an open heart.

وَإنك أَقضى القَوم فاحكم بِما تَرى

عَلى الملة السمحاء وَالسنة الغرا

You are the people's finest judge; rule as you see fit,

According to the tolerant faith and the radiant Sunnah.'

وَقَد قالَ مُذ آخى الصَحابة كُلهم

لَأَنت أَخي في هَذِهِ الدار وَالأخرى

When he joined all the Companions in brotherhood, he said:

'You are indeed my brother in this abode and the next.'

وَأَدخله تَحتَ الكساء وَولده

وَزَوجته حَتّى مَلا ضده ذُعرا

He brought him beneath the cloak, along with his offspring

And his wife, until he filled his adversary with terror.

وَلَو باهلوه بِالألى في كِسائه

لَذاقوا وَبالا يدهش العَقل وَالفكر

Had they invoked mutual curses against him with those beneath his cloak,

They would have tasted a calamity confounding mind and thought.

وَإِن حَديث الطَير قَد صَح نَقله

لمرتبة عليا وَمنقبة غرا

Indeed, the account of the bird has been soundly transmitted—

A lofty rank and a radiant distinction.

وَجاءَ وَقَد وَارى التُراب جَبينه

وَكانَ مَغيظاً ضاقَ في حاله صَبرا

He came when dust had covered his brow,

And he was vexed, his patience strained by his condition.

فَقالَ لَهُ مُستَرضياً قُم أَيا أَبا

تراب فَقَد أَعلى الإِلَه لَكَ الأَجرا

He said to him soothingly: 'Rise, O Abu

Turab! God has surely increased your reward.'

مَراتب فَضل لا أطيق لِبعضها

حِساباً وَلا أَقوى لافرادها حَصرا

Ranks of merit, some of which I cannot

Reckon, nor can I enumerate each one exhaustively.

فَيا صاحب الفَضل الجَزيل الَّذي رَقى

بِهِ فلك العَلياء حَتى غَدا بَدرا

O possessor of abundant merit, who ascended

Through it the sphere of loftiness until he became a full moon,

أَتيناكَ يا غَوث الوُجود وَغَيثه

إِذا اغبرت الخَضراء وَاسوَدت الغبرا

We have come to you, O succor of creation and its rain,

When the green heavens grow dusty and the dusky earth turns black.

وَعَيبة علم اللَه ذا الحكمة الَّتي

عَلى صَفحات الكَون أسطرها تقرا

O repository of God's knowledge, possessor of the wisdom whose

Lines are read upon the pages of the universe,

وَصهر رَسول اللَه أَكرَم مُرسل

وَزَوج البتول الطهر فاطمة الزَهرا

Son-in-law of God's Messenger, noblest of messengers,

And husband of the pure maiden, Fatimah al-Zahra'.

أَتيتك أَطوي البيد وَالبر مقفر

وَقد رمت الرَمضاء في مُهجَتي جَمرا

I came to you, folding up deserts, while the land lay desolate,

And the scorching ground had cast embers into my heart.

دَخيلاً عَلى أَعتاب بابك واقفاً

أَروم لكسري يا ولي العُلى جَبرا

Standing at your gate's thresholds as one seeking refuge,

I seek repair for my brokenness, O master of the heights.

أَسير ذُنوب قَيدتني يَد الهَوى

وَأَنتُم كِرام عِندكُم تنقذ الأَسرى

A captive of sins, I was fettered by the hand of desire;

You are noble: with you captives are rescued.

فَقير إِلى أَخذ النَوال وَأَنتُم

غيوث أَيادي جودكم تذهب الفقرا

Poor, in need of receiving bounty, while you are

Rains whose generous gifts banish poverty.

وَقَد ضامَني الدَهر الخؤون وَلَم يَزَل

يُعارض آمالي وَيُرهقني عسرا

Treacherous Time has oppressed me, and continues

To thwart my hopes and burden me with hardship.

وَقَد لذت بِالجاه العَريض الَّذي بِهِ

تَلوذ أولو البَلوى فَيمنحهم برا

I have sought refuge in the vast eminence in which

The afflicted take shelter, and it grants them kindness.

عَمى نَظرة مِنكُم لعبد أَتى لَكُم

يُنادي بِأَعلى صَوته ضارِعاً جَهرا

My uncle—a glance from you for a servant who has come to you,

Calling at the top of his voice, humbly, aloud.

وَذاك الحُسين المُلتجي لحماكم

مِن الدَهر يَبغي مِن حمايتكم نَصرا

That is al-Husayn, seeking shelter in your sanctuary

From Time, seeking aid through your protection.

فَكونوا لَهُ وَارعوا محل جواره

وَنسبته أكرم بِهَذا لَهُ ذخرا

So stand by him, and safeguard his place as your neighbor,

And his kinship—how noble a treasure this is for him!

أَتى بِمديح فاقبلوه تَفضلاً

وَحلوه مِن أَفضالكُم حللا خَضرا

He has brought praise; accept it graciously,

And adorn him from your bounty with green robes.

عَلى المُصطَفى صَلى الإله مُسلماً

مَدى الدَهر أَضعافاً مُضاعفة تَتَرى

May God bless al-Mustafa and grant him peace

For all time, in manifold blessings, one after another.

وَأَشرف رُضوان لحضرتك الَّتي

أَقَمت بِها يَهدي لساحتها نَشرا

And may the noblest divine favor reach your sacred presence, where

You dwell, bearing fragrance to its courtyard.