1. دَعا عَزَماتي والمطيّةَ والوَخْدا

    وإلاّ فكُفّا الشّوْق عنّي والوَجْدا

    Leave my resolves, the mount, and swift travel alone;

    otherwise, restrain longing and passion from me.

  2. ولا تطلُبا دمْعي بتَجْريحِ مُقْلَتي

    فدَمعيَ مقْبولٌ على القلْبِ ما أدّى

    Do not seek my tears by wounding my eye:

    my tears are accepted for whatever they pay on the heart's behalf.

  3. ألمْ تَرَياني كلّما هبّتِ الصَّبا

    أبُلُّ بِها من نارِ لوْعَتيَ الوَجْدا

    Have you two not seen me, whenever the east wind blows,

    cool my passion with it against the fire of my anguish?

  4. وأصْبو الى البرْقِ الحِجازيِّ كلّما

    أجالَتْ أكُفُّ الأفْقِ في السُّحُبِ الزَّنْدا

    I yearn toward the lightning of the Hijaz whenever

    the horizon's palms turn the fire-stick among the clouds.

  5. وما كان قبْلَ اليومِ جفْنيَ ساهِداً

    نعَمْ هجْرُ سُعْدى علّمَ المُقْلَةَ السُّهْدا

    Before today my eyelid had never been sleepless;

    yes, Su'da's desertion taught the eye sleeplessness.

  6. ولمّا تَفانى الصبْرُ إلا صُبابَةً

    تسهِّلُ من وقعِ الحوادثِ ما اشْتَدّا

    When patience dwindled away, save for a remnant

    that softened whatever was harsh in calamity's blows,

  7. ولمْ يبْقَ منّي غير رعْيِ مواقِفٍ

    تعلّمَ منْها الآسُ أن يحْفظَ العَهْدا

    and nothing of me remained but cherishing meeting places

    from which the myrtle learned to keep its pledge,

  8. حنَنْتُ الى العهْدِ القديمِ الذي قضى

    حَميداً فما أغْنى الحَنينُ ولا أجْدى

    I yearned for the old time that had passed

    in goodness; but longing neither helped nor availed.

  9. لي اللهُ كمْ أهْذي بنجْدٍ وحاجِرِ

    وأكْني بدَعْدٍ في غَرامي أو سُعْدى

    God is my help! How often I rave of Najd and Hajir,

    and speak indirectly of my passion through Da'd or Su'da.

  10. وما هي إلا زَفْرَةٌ هاجَها الجَوى

    وأبْدى بِها تذْكارَ يثْرِبَ ما أبْدى

    It is only a sigh stirred by lovesickness;

    through it, remembrance of Yathrib revealed what it revealed.

  11. وكم قد كتَمْتُ الشّوْقَ لوْلا مدامِعٌ

    ترَوّي مَجاريها المحاجِرَ والخَدّا

    How often I would have concealed longing, but for tears

    whose courses drench the eye sockets and the cheek,

  12. وتُخْرِجُ منْ بحْرِ الجُفونِ جَواهِرا

    تُحاجُ بها مَنْ أنْكرَ الجوْهَرَ الفَرْدا

    bringing forth jewels from the sea of the eyelids

    with which you dispute with whoever denies the indivisible atom.

  13. أبْعدَ سُرى الرّكْبِ الحِجازيّ موْهِناً

    أمُدُّ لنَفْسي في تَعَلُّلِها مَدّا

    After the Hijazi caravan's late-night journey,

    shall I prolong my soul's self-consolation,

  14. وأرْجعُ عُمْري منْ زَماني لِقابِل

    كأنّيَ قد أحْصَيْتُ أيّامَهُ عَدّا

    and defer my life from the present to another year,

    as though I had counted out all its days?

  15. ألا يا حُداةَ الرّكْبِ يبْغونَ يثْرِبا

    ويَلْقونَ في اللهِ السّآمَةَ والجُهْدا

    O camel-drivers of the caravan seeking Yathrib,

    enduring weariness and hardship for God's sake:

  16. بِما بيْنَنا منْ خُلّةٍ طابَ ذكْرُها

    إذا فرَعَتْ عُوجُ المطيِّ بكُمْ نجْدا

    by the friendship between us, sweet in remembrance,

    when the bent-legged mounts bear you up into Najd,

  17. وأبْصَرْتُمُ نورَ النّبوّةِ ساطِعاً

    قدِ اكْتَنَفَ التّرْبَ المقدَّسَ واللّحْدا

    and you behold the light of prophethood shining,

    enfolding the holy soil and the tomb,

  18. وناجَيْتُما منْ مطْلَع الوحْيِ روْضَةً

    أعَدّ لَها اللهُ السّعادَةَ والخُلْدا

    and you two commune with a garden where revelation dawned,

    for which God prepared happiness and eternity,

  19. ولا قلْبَ إلا خافِقٌ في شِغافِهِ

    بِها وكَساها منْ نَسيجَتِهِ بُرْدا

    with every heart throbbing in its innermost core

    for it, and clothing it in a mantle of its own weaving;

  20. وهَبّ العَليلُ اللَّدْنُ مُستَشْفِياً بها

    فكانَ الدّواءُ البانَ والشّيحَ والرَّنْدا

    and the soft, ailing breeze rises, seeking healing there,

    its medicine being moringa, wormwood, and laurel;

  21. ودارٍ أقامَ الوحْيُ في عَرَصاتِها

    فلمْ يَبْقَ عنْها بعْدَ خُلَّتها بُعْدا

    and a dwelling in whose courtyards revelation abode,

    remaining no longer distant after such intimacy—

  22. فقولا رسولَ الله يا خيْرَ خَلْقِهِ

    وأكْرَمَ مُخْتارٍ أبانَ به الرشْدا

    then say: Messenger of God, O best of His creation,

    and noblest chosen one through whom He made right guidance plain,

  23. غَريبٌ بأقْصى الغَرْبِ طالَ اشْتِقاقُهُ

    فلَوْلا تعِلاّتُ المُنى لقَضى وجْدا

    a stranger in the farthest West has long endured yearning;

    but for hope's consolations, he would have died of longing.

  24. يؤمِّلُ نيْلَ القُرْبِ والذّنْبُ مبْعِدٌ

    وقد سدّ من طُرْق التخلُّصِ ما سَدّا

    He hopes to attain nearness, while sin holds him far away

    and has blocked the paths of escape as it has blocked them.

  25. ولوْ أخذَ المِقْدارُ منْكَ مُرادَهُ

    وشافَه منْك القُرْبَ لاسْتَوْجَبَ الرّدّا

    Even if destiny won him what he desires from you,

    and he attained your presence face to face, he would deserve rejection.

  26. ولكنّهُ يرْجو الذي أنْتَ أهْلُهُ

    وأنتَ الذي أعْطى الجَزيلَ وما أكْدى

    Yet he hopes for what befits you;

    you are the one who gave abundantly and never withheld.

  27. وأنتَ ملاذُ الخلْقِ حيّاً وميِّتاً

    وأكْرَمُهُمْ ذاتاً وأعْظَمُهُمْ مجْدا

    You are creation's refuge, alive and dead,

    the noblest in person and the greatest in glory.

  28. فلوْلاكَ ما بانَ الضّلالُ منَ الهُدى

    ولا امْتازَ في الأرضِ المكِبُّ منَ الأهْدى

    But for you, error would not be distinguished from guidance,

    nor, on earth, the face-down strayer from the better-guided.

  29. ولمّا محَتْ آيَ الشرائِعِ فترةٌ

    وأصْبَحَتِ الأهْواءُ لا تعرِفُ القصْدا

    When an interregnum erased the signs of revealed laws,

    and passions no longer knew the straight course,

  30. وتعبُدُ منْ دونِ الإلاهِ حِجارةً

    طَغامُ رِجالٍ يجْعَلونَ لهُ نِدّا

    and stones were worshipped instead of God

    by a rabble of men who set up a rival to Him,

  31. وقد شُنّتِ الغاراتُ منْ كلِّ تلْعَةٍ

    فأصْبَحَ حُرُّ القوْمِ عنْ كَثَبٍ عبْدا

    and raids were launched from every hillside,

    so that a free man of the people soon became a slave,

  32. أرادَ بكَ اللهُ إنْحِكامَ شَتاتِهِم

    وسَلَّ وشيكاً من صُدورِهِمُ الحِقْدا

    God willed through you to knit their scattered ranks together,

    and swiftly drew rancor from their breasts.

  33. وفاضَ على الأدْيانِ دينُكَ واحْتوَتْ

    جُنودُكَ أقْصى الشّامِ والصّينَ والهِنْدا

    Your faith overflowed the other faiths, and

    your armies encompassed the farthest reaches of Syria, China, and India.

  34. وأنْحَتْ على مُلْكِ العِراقَيْنِ وانْتهَتْ

    بثُبَّتَ حتى واجَهَتْ خيْلُها السّدّا

    They assailed the kingdom of the two Iraqs and reached

    Tibet, until their cavalry faced the barrier.

  35. وكمْ قد تجشّمْتَ الخُطوبَ كَوالِحاً

    وصابَرْتَ ليْلَ الرّوْعِ وهْوَ قدِ ارْبَدّا

    How often you braved grim calamities

    and steadfastly endured terror's night when it had darkened!

  36. وآذَتْكَ في اللهِ العشيرةُ جُهْدَها

    فجادَلْتَها بالحقِّ ألسِنَةً لُدّا

    Your clan harmed you for God's sake with all its strength;

    you confronted its stubbornly disputing tongues with truth.

  37. وكم قد جلَوْتَ المُعْجِزاتِ عليهِمُ

    شُموساً أقاموا دونَها اللُّبْسَ والجُحْدا

    How often you displayed miracles to them

    as suns, before which they raised confusion and denial!

  38. وما يُثْمِرُ البُرْهانُ إلا لَجاجةً

    إذا لَقيَتْ أنْوارُهُ أعيُناً رُمْدا

    Proof bears no fruit but obstinacy

    when its lights meet inflamed eyes.

  39. فصلّى عليْكَ اللهُ يا خيْر راحِمٍ

    وأشْفَقَ مَنْ يَثْني على رأفَةٍ كبْدا

    May God bless you, O best of the merciful,

    and tenderest of those whose hearts bend with compassion.

  40. ويا لَيْتَ أنّي في جِوارِكَ ثاوِياً

    أوَسِّدُ منْهُ المِسْكَ والعَنْبَرَ الوَرْدا

    Would that I dwelt beside you,

    pillowing the rose of my cheek on its musk and ambergris!

  41. وإنْ فسحَ الرّحْمانُ في العُمْرِ برْهَةً

    فلابُدّ من حثِّ المطيّةِ لابُدّا

    If the All-Merciful grants a little more life,

    the mount must be urged onward—there is no avoiding it.

  42. خليليَّ ماذا يحْصُرُ القوْلُ إنْ غَلا

    وماذا عسى يُحْصي الكلامَ وإنْ ندّا

    My two friends, what can speech encompass, however lofty,

    and what can words enumerate, however far they roam?

  43. وماذا يعدُّ الوصْفُ منْ مُعْجِزاتِهِ

    وآيُ رسولِ اللهِ تستَغْرِقُ العَدّا

    What of his miracles can description number,

    when the signs of God's Messenger exhaust all counting?

  44. سَما فوْقَ أطْباقِ السّماءِ مُناجِياً

    وكلّمَ تكْليماً بها الأحَدَ الفرْدا

    He rose above the layered heavens in intimate communion,

    and there spoke directly with the One, the Unique.

  45. وما زاغَ منْهُ الطّرْفُ كَلاً ولا طَغى

    فللّهِ ما أجْلى وللّهِ ما أهْدى

    His gaze did not swerve from weariness, nor overstep;

    by God, how clear his vision! By God, how true his guidance!

  46. ولمّا دَعا بالجِذْعِ أقبَلَ خاضِعاً

    إلَيْهِ وشقّ البدْرَ واسْتَنْطَقَ الصّلْدا

    When he summoned the tree trunk, it came submissively

    to him; he split the full moon and made hard stone speak.

  47. ولمّا شَكا لهُ اللُّهامُ منَ الظَّما

    أسالَ لهُ منْ ماءِ أنْمُلِهِ وِرْدا

    When the great army complained to him of thirst,

    he let a drinking supply flow for it from his fingertips' water.

  48. وأثْبَتَ منْهُ الرّيقُ عيْنَ قَتادَةٍ

    فأحْكَمَها من بعْدِ ما ذَهَبَتْ ردّا

    His saliva restored Qatada's eye,

    setting it firmly back after it had been lost.

  49. وفي ليلَةِ الميلادِ أكْبرُ آيةٍ

    تخِرُّ الجِبالُ الراسياتُ لها هَدّا

    On the night of his birth was the greatest sign,

    before which firmly rooted mountains fall crashing.

  50. أشادَتْ بِها الكُهّانُ قبلَ طُلوعِها

    ومِنْ هوْلِها إيوانُ كِسْرى قدِ انْهَدّا

    Soothsayers proclaimed it before its dawning;

    at its terror, Kisra's palace hall collapsed.

  51. فيا لَيلَةً قد عظّمَ اللهُ قدْرَها

    وأنْجَزَ للنَّورِ المُبينِ بها وعْدا

    O night whose worth God magnified,

    fulfilling through it a promise to the manifest Light!

  52. وصيّرَ أوْثانَ الضّلالةِ خُضَّعا

    إلَيْها فلمْ يتْرُكْ سُواعاً ولا وُدّا

    He made the idols of error bow

    before it, sparing neither Suwa' nor Wadd.

  53. وعاجَلَ بالإخْمادِ ناراً لِفارِسٍ

    فلمْ ترَ للنّيرانِ منْ بعْدِها وَقْدا

    He swiftly extinguished Persia's fire,

    so afterward you saw no fire burning.

  54. أعَدّكَ مِيلاداً لخاتَمِ رُسْلِهِ

    وأطْلَعَ في آفاقِكَ الشّرَفَ العِدّا

    He appointed you for the birth of the seal of His messengers,

    and made inexhaustible honor rise on your horizons.

  55. فصولي على مرّ الزّمانِ وفاخِري

    بهَذا النّبيِّ الحالَ والقَبْلَ والبَعْدا

    So exult throughout the ages, and boast

    of this Prophet, now, before, and hereafter.

  56. حَقيقٌ عليْنا أنْ نحُلَّ لكِ الحُبى

    ونَقْريكِ منّا البِرَّ والشُّكْرَ والحَمْدا

    It is fitting that we unfasten our knee-bands for you,

    and offer you our devotion, thanksgiving, and praise,

  57. ونجعَلُ منْك اليومَ عيداً ومَشْهَداً

    نُشيعُ منَ الذّكْرِ الحَكيمِ بهِ شُهْدا

    and make your day a festival and gathering

    where we share honey from the Wise Remembrance.

  58. وَنَخْلَعُ منْ أمْداحِ أحْمَدَ حُلّةً

    علَيْك ومِنْ منْظومِ آياتِهِ عِقْدا

    We bestow a robe made from Ahmad's praises

    upon you, and a necklace of his signs strung in verse.

  59. وفِينا سَليلُ النّصْرِ يحْفَظُ منْكَ ما

    أُضيعَ ويَلْقى فيكَ بالبَدرِ الوَفْدا

    Among us is a scion of Nasr who preserves what of you

    was neglected, and greets your delegations with a full moon's radiance.

  60. إمامٌ أفاضَ اللهُ في الأرضِ عدْلَهُ

    فأوشَكَ فيها الضّدُّ أنْ يألَفَ الضِّدّا

    An imam whose justice God has spread across the earth,

    so that opposites there almost grow fond of one another.

  61. أقامَ على حُبّ النّبيِّ وآلِهِ

    وأشْرِبَ تقْوى ربِّهِ الحلَّ والعَقْدا

    He remains devoted to the Prophet and his family,

    steeped in reverence for his Lord in binding and unbinding.

  62. نَما سيّدُ الأنْصارِ سعْدٌ وسدّدَتْ

    يدُ اللهِ في أغراضِهِ النّصْرَ والسّعْدا

    His lineage springs from Sa'd, lord of the Ansar, and

    God's hand directed victory and good fortune toward his aims.

  63. وأوْرثَ حقَّ النّصْرِ لا عنْ كَلالَةٍ

    وللسّبْطِ في المشروعِ أن يرثَ الجَدّا

    He bequeathed the right to victory, not through collateral kinship;

    sacred law allows a daughter's son to inherit his grandfather.

  64. أيوسُفُ يا حامي الجزيرَةِ حيثُ لا

    نَصيرٌ ومُصْلي بأسِها الضُّمّر الجُرْدا

    O Yusuf, protector of the Peninsula where there is no

    helper, who sends lean, sleek steeds into its battle's fire:

  65. أفاضَ عليْها اللهُ مُلْكَكَ ديمةً

    وروّى ثَراها منْكَ مُنْسكِباً عِهْدا

    may God pour your rule over it like ceaseless rain,

    and water its soil with renewing showers poured from you.

  66. فمُلْكُك فيها ما أجلَّ جلالَهُ

    وسيْفُكَ ما أسْطى وكفُّكَ ما أنْدى

    Your kingship there—how exalted its majesty!

    Your sword—how mighty! Your hand—how generous!

  67. صدَعْتَ بأمْرِ اللهِ في جَنَباتِها

    فألْبَسَكَ التّقْوى وقلّدَكَ العَهْدا

    You proclaimed God's command throughout its regions,

    so He clothed you in piety and invested you with the covenant.