يا هل لجيراننا بالمربع الخضر

من جانب الحي من علمي ومن خبري

Ah, do our neighbors in the green spring encampment

beside the settlement have any knowledge or tidings of me—

بما نقاسيه من وجدي ومن حزني

ومن شجوني ومن شوقي ومن سهري

of what we suffer: my anguish and my grief,

my sorrows, my longing, and my sleeplessness,

ومن توجع أحشاء ومن قلق

ومن دموع من الأجفان كالمطر

the aching of my innards and my unrest,

and tears from my eyelids falling like rain?

لو كان عندهم علم لربتما

رقوا لذي سقم مشف على الخطر

If they had any knowledge, perhaps

they would pity one whose sickness brings him to the brink of peril.

بما المزار وقرب الدار من عجب

فاعجب لصب على الحالين مصطبر

Concerning the place of visitation and the nearness of home—how strange!

So marvel at a lover patiently enduring both conditions,

لا باختيار ولكن حكم مقتدر

ماض على العبد من نفع ومن ضرر

not by choice, but through the decree of One all-powerful,

binding upon the servant, in benefit and in harm.

رضا وإلا فصبر للإله على

إقراره وهو أهل الحمد والخير

Contentment—or else patience before God with

what He ordains; He is worthy of praise and goodness.

فيا نسيمات نجد إحملي خبراً

إلى الأحبة أما جزت في السحر

So, O breezes of Najd, carry a message

to the beloved ones, if you pass by before dawn.

وبلغيهم تحيات ممسكة

تهدي إليهم مع الآصال والبكر

And convey to them musk-scented greetings,

offered to them in the evenings and mornings.

واستطلعي علم أسرار قد استترت

عني وظني بأن العين كالأثر

And seek knowledge of secrets that have been hidden

from me; I believe the reality accords with the report.

فليت شعري هل سعدي تساعدني

بوصلة الشمل من قبل انقضا العمر

Would that I knew: will Sa'da favor me

with the reunion of our company before life's end?

وهل جرى قدر بالوصل في قدم

فالأمر والشان سبق الحكم والقدر

And was union decreed in eternity past?

For every matter and circumstance rests on prior judgment and decree.

يا صاحبي أنت في لهو وفي لعب

ماذا تريد بوصل الغاني الخفر

O my companion, you are occupied with diversion and play.

What do you seek in union with that lovely, bashful one?

محجب وجيه بدر وطرته

ليل وقامته كالمائس النضر

Veiled, his face a full moon, his forelock

night, his stature like a swaying, verdant bough.

وقد فنيت وولى العمر أكثره

في غير شيء وهذا غاية الخسر

You have worn yourself away, and most of life has passed

in nothing worthwhile; this is the utmost loss.

وأقبل الشيب مع ضعف ومع كبر

وما الهوى بعد مس الضعف والكبر

Gray hair has arrived with weakness and old age.

What place has passion once weakness and age have touched you?

فارجع إلى اللَه في سر وفي علن

واترك هواك وهيء الزاد للسفر

So return to God in secret and in public,

leave your passion, and prepare provisions for the journey.

فقد دنا سفر لا بد منه إلى

قبرو بعث وحشر الروح والصور

For a journey draws near that cannot be avoided, to

the grave, resurrection, and the gathering of spirit and bodily forms.

وموقف فيه كم هول وكم كرب

وفيه وزن ومدود على سقر

And a standing-place filled with many terrors and distresses.

There is weighing, and a span stretched over Saqar.

وفيه حوض طهور الماء عطره

للمصطفى سيد السادات من مضر

And there is a pool whose water is pure and fragrant,

for the Chosen One, master of masters from Mudar:

محمد خاتم الرسل الكرام ومن

أتى من اللَه بالآيات والسور

Muhammad, seal of the noble messengers, and he who

brought from God the signs and the surahs.

وخصه اللَه بالفضل العظيم وبالذك

ر الرفيع وبالإخلاص والسير

God singled him out for immense favor, and for

exalted remembrance, sincerity, and noble conduct.

وبالمعاجز مما لا بقا معه

لعذر معتذر يعتل للعذر

And for miracles beside which no room remains

for an excuse from one who pleads pretexts to excuse himself.

أبعد تنزيل رب العالمين وما

أقام من حجج كالشمس والقمر

After the revelation of the Lord of all worlds, and what

He established of proofs like the sun and moon,

يبقى لذي مرض أو مرية شبه

أو مشكل لا ورب البيت والحجر

does any ambiguity remain for one afflicted with sickness or doubt,

or any difficulty? No, by the Lord of the House and the Stone!

لكن شقاوة أقوام وحظهم ال

منحوس أوقعهم في الشر والشرر

But the wretchedness of some people, and their

ill-starred lot, cast them into evil and sparks of fire.

فالحمد للَه نار الحق واتضحت

معالم الرشد بين البدو والحضر

So praise be to God: truth shone, and clear became

the landmarks of right guidance among nomads and townspeople.

وأظهر اللَه دين الحق وانتظمت

في دينه سائر الأديان فادكر

God made the religion of truth prevail; gathered

within His religion were all religions—so take heed.

بوجه أبيض مأمون النقيبة مح

مود الشاميل والأفعال والأثر

Through one with a radiant face and trustworthy nature, praised

for his qualities, his deeds, and his legacy.

مهذب هاشمي لا نظير له

في العالمين بلا شك ولا نكر

Refined, Hashimite, without a peer

in all the worlds, beyond doubt or denial.

مؤيد بجنود اللَه من ملك

ومؤمن وبنصر اللَه والظفر

Supported by God's hosts, both angels

and believers, and by God's help and victory.

وبالصبا وبرعب في قلوبهم

مسير شهر كما قد صح في الخبر

And by the east wind, and by terror in their hearts

a month's journey away, as the report confirms.

مجاهد في سبيل اللَه مجتهد

في طاعة اللَه في الآصال والبكر

Striving in God's path, diligent

in obedience to God in the evenings and mornings.

مشمر في مراضي اللَه محتسب

باللَه مقتدر باللَه منتصر

Assiduous in what pleases God, seeking His reward,

strong through God, victorious through God.

ذلت لوطأته غلب الرقاب من ال

أعراب والعجم من خوف ومن حذر

The thick-necked bowed beneath his tread, among the

Bedouins and non-Arabs, from fear and caution.

لما دعاهم إلى الإسلام فامتنعوا

كفراً وبغياً دعاهم بالقنا السمر

When he called them to Islam and they refused

in disbelief and rebellion, he called them with dark lances,

وبالسيوف المواضي البيض يحملها

مهاجرون وأنصار من الغرر

and with keen, bright swords, borne

by Emigrants and Helpers, among the most illustrious.

أثمة الدين أصحاب السوابق في ال

إسلام والقدم المشكور والأثر

Leaders of the faith, possessors of precedence in

Islam, with honored early service and lasting deeds.

مثل العفيف أنيس الغار صاحبه

فيه على الصدق صديق العلا الشهر

Like the chaste one, intimate of the cave, his companion

there in truthfulness—the famed, exalted Siddiq.

والثاني التالي البر التقى حوى ال

إحسان والعدل يا للَه من عمر

And the second, who followed, righteous and devout, who embraced

goodness and justice—by God, what an Umar!

وابن عفان ذي النورين من جمع ال

قران والمنفق البذال في العسر

And Ibn Affan, he of the Two Lights, who gathered the

Qur'an, and who spent with lavish generosity in hardship.

وزوج خير نساء العالمين أبي ال

سبطين صنو النبي المصطفى الطهر

And the husband of the best of all the world's women, father of the

two grandsons, brother to the pure, Chosen Prophet.

وحمزة الباس عم المصطفى وكذا ال

عباس أبو الفضل والطيار خير سرى

And Hamza the valiant, uncle of the Chosen One; likewise

Abbas, Abu al-Fadl, and the Winged One, finest night-traveler.

آل النبي وأصحاب النبي هم ال

قوم الذين هدوا فاقتد بهم وسر

The Prophet's family and the Prophet's companions are the

people who were guided: follow them and proceed.

والتابعون علي الآثار بعدهم

من كل من قد قضى نحباً ومنتظر

And those who followed their footsteps after them,

from among all who have fulfilled their vow, and those still waiting.

على مسالك خير الأنبيا سلكوا

بالجد والصدق في عسر وفي يسر

They traveled the paths of the best of prophets,

with earnestness and truth, in hardship and in ease.

ننبينا المجتبى هادي الأنام إلى

دار السلام ودار الخلد والنظر

Our Prophet, the chosen, guide of creation to

the abode of peace, the abode of eternity and beholding.

اللَه عظمه اللَه كرمه

اللَه قدمه في الورد والصدر

God magnified him; God honored him.

God placed him first in going to water and returning.

اللَه فضله اللَه جمله

اللَه أرسله للجن والبشر

God favored him; God made him beautiful.

God sent him to jinn and humankind.

اللَه شرفه اللَه أزلفه

بالحب والقرب والأسرار والأثر

God ennobled him; God drew him near

through love, nearness, mysteries, and traces.

يا سيدي يا رسول اللَه أملي

ويا غياثي ويا كهفي ومدخري

O my master, O Messenger of God, my hope,

O my succor, O my sheltering cave and my treasure!

عليك بعد إله العرش معتمدي

في كل خطب ومرهوب من الضرر

On you, after the God of the Throne, is my reliance

in every calamity and every dreaded harm.

وكل حادثة ما لي بها قبل

وكل نائبة خدائة الظفر

And every event I have no power to withstand,

and every calamity with a raking claw.

وفي المواطن والأحوال أجمعها

مما ألاقيه في الدينا وفي الأخر

And in every place and every circumstance,

whatever I encounter in this world and the next.

يا سيدي عبدك الجني المقصر قد

أتاك منكسراً فاجبر لمنكسر

O my master, your offending, negligent servant has

come to you broken; bring healing to one broken.

ومستغيثاً لأمر قد عناه من ال

أمر المهم فلا تمهل ولا نذر

And seeking help for a matter that has troubled him, a

pressing concern—so do not delay or abandon him.

وحاجة في ضمير النفس واقفة

فسل تجب ثم قل تقضي على قدر

And a need lingers in the innermost recess of the soul.

Ask, and you will be answered; then speak, and it will be fulfilled as decreed.

فأنت ذو الوجه والجاه الوسيع لدى ال

رب الكريم عظيم الجواد والقدر

For yours is honor and vast standing before the

generous Lord, immense in bounty and majesty.

لا تدعني رسول اللَه مطرحاً

بين الحوادث والآفات والغير

Do not leave me, Messenger of God, cast aside

amid calamities, afflictions, and changes of fortune.

فإن لي نسباً فيكم ولي رحماً

منكم وإن كنت ذا ذنب وذا غرر

For I have lineage among you, and a bond of kinship

from you, even though I bear sin and heedlessness.

فالعفو أوسع والغفران منتظر

من ربنا خير غفار ومقتدر

Yet pardon is wider, and forgiveness is awaited

from our Lord, the best forgiver, mighty in power.

سبحانه جل لا نحصي ثناه ولا

نرجو سواه لنيل السؤال والوطر

Glory be to Him, exalted! We cannot number His praises, nor

do we hope in any but Him to obtain what we ask and desire.

وبانبي الهدى وافتك من بعد

مديحة من كثير العي والحصر

And O Prophet of guidance, there has reached you from afar

a praise-poem from one beset by faltering speech and tongue-tiedness.

فاسمح واعذر رسول اللَه إنك بالس

ماح والعرف معروف بالعذر

So be gracious and excuse me, Messenger of God; you are

known for generosity, kindness, and pardoning.

عليك أزى صلاة اللَه يتبعها

منه السلام مدى الآصال والبكر

Upon you be God's purest blessing, followed

by peace from Him through all evenings and mornings.

والآل والصحب ما غنت مطوقة

وما سرت نسمات الحي في السحر

And upon the family and companions, so long as a collared dove sings,

and so long as the encampment's breezes drift before dawn.