1. ذَر عنك سَلعاً وسَل عن حِلَّة القُدُسِ

    ورِد بها من تَرَدّى حُلَّة القُدُسِ

    Leave Salʿ behind, and ask about the abode of Jerusalem.

    And visit there the one who donned the robe of holiness.

  2. وخَلِّ سُلمى وسَل ما تبتغيهِ بها

    من الأماني ورَدِّد أطيَب النَفسِ

    Leave Sulma, and ask there for what you seek

    of wishes, and breathe the sweetest breath again.

  3. وزُر مغانيَ ذَرَّت شمسُ بَهجتِها

    بمَن أَتى بأديمٍ من دمِ الأُنُسِ

    And visit dwellings whose sun of splendor rose

    through him who came with a skin of human blood.

  4. قد حاكَهُ من دِما خيرِ الانامِ ومَن

    قد اصطفاها لهُ أُمّاً بلا دَنَسِ

    He wove it from the blood of the best of humankind, and of her

    whom he chose as his mother, without stain.

  5. معصومَةً من خطاءِ الجِدِّ ليسَ بها

    من وَصمةٍ فعليها قَطُّ لم يُقَسِ

    Preserved from the forefather's sin, she bears

    no blemish; no one has ever been compared with her.

  6. عَلَت على كُلّ خَلقِ اللَه مَنزِلةً

    أَسمى عُلى بِقياسٍ غيرِ منعكسِ

    She rose above all God's creation in rank,

    to the loftiest heights, by a comparison that cannot be reversed.

  7. وحلَّ فيها كما قد شاءَ مرتضياً

    بها حُلولَ النَدى الهامي على اليَبَسِ

    He dwelt in her as he had willed, well pleased,

    settling within her like pouring dew upon dry ground.

  8. بِكرٌ وأُمٌّ معاً تسمو غَرابتُها

    طَورَ العُقولِ وفَهمَ الحاذقِ النَدُسِ

    A virgin and a mother at once—her wonder surpasses

    the bounds of reason and the understanding of the skilled and discerning.

  9. من خيرِ بِكرٍ أتى والبِكرُ والدةٌ

    بمُعجِزٍ صُنعِ باهي رُوحهِ القُدُسِ

    From the finest virgin he came, and the virgin was a mother,

    by the miraculous work of his glorious Holy Spirit.

  10. في بيتَ لحمِ يَهُوذا كانَ مَولِدُهُ

    لَيلاً بهِ قد تَجَلَّت ظُلمةُ الغَلَسِ

    His birth was in Bethlehem of Judah,

    at night, when through him the darkness before dawn was dispelled.

  11. يومَ الملائكُ أَهدَوا للرُعاةِ بهِ

    بشائرَ البِشرِ أَنضت سادل الدَلَسِ

    When the angels brought the shepherds, concerning him,

    glad tidings of joy that stripped away darkness's hanging veil.

  12. وافت اليهِ مَجُوسٌ جلَّ قدرُهُم

    من كل ذي حِكمةٍ سامي الحجى نَطِسِ

    Magi came to him, men of exalted standing,

    each a man of wisdom, lofty in intellect and discerning.

  13. أَزجوا الرواسمَ في اثني عَشرَ مُرتَحَلاً

    برُشدِ نجمٍ بدا في الأُفقِ منبجسِ

    They urged their trotting camels onward through twelve stages,

    guided by a star that appeared, breaking forth on the horizon.

  14. وأوجفوا بالسُرى أنضوا الرِكابَ ولم

    يألوا لأفضلِ مأمولٍ ومُلتَمَسِ

    They sped through the night, exhausting their mounts, and did not

    spare any effort for the finest object of hope and pursuit.

  15. حتى أَتوا حيثَ كانَ الطِفلُ مضَّجِعاً

    بينَ البهائِمِ تُدفيهِ من القَرَسِ

    Until they reached the place where the infant lay,

    among the beasts, which warmed him against the bitter cold.

  16. على البسيطةِ موضوعٌ وموضعهُ ال

    خاصيُّ ذِروةُ نُور العرشِ والكُرُسي

    Laid upon the earth, though his dwelling—

    his very own—is the summit of the light of the Throne and the Seat.

  17. يا بيتَ لحمَ يَهُوذا في ممالكِها

    صغيرةٌ أَنتِ فيما كُنتِ بالأَمسِ

    O Bethlehem of Judah, among her realms,

    small were you in your former days.

  18. لكن غَدَوتِ سماءَ فالملائك قد

    قامت برحبكِ أفواجاً على الحَرَسِ

    But you became a heaven, for the angels had

    stood in your open spaces, in hosts on guard.

  19. فما لمجدكِ طولَ الدهرِ ممتهنٌ

    ولا يُدانيهِ يوماً كَفُّ ملتمسِ

    None can abase your glory throughout all time,

    nor shall a seeker's hand ever draw near it.

  20. فيا لَكَفرٍ لهُ الأَمصارُ حاسدةٌ

    لا سيَّما الجارةِ الخَرقاءِ نابُلُسِ

    What a village, then, that cities envy,

    especially its foolish neighbor, Nablus!

  21. بَنَى بها سنبلاطُ البيتَ فاختلست

    مجداً زميناً وهل مجدٌ لمختلسِ

    Sanballat built the House within her, and she usurped

    a crippled glory—can a thief have glory?

  22. تعظمت بُرهةً لكنَّها اندرست

    واصبحَ الكُفرُ فيها شرَّ مندرسِ

    She grew great for a while, but fell into ruin,

    and unbelief there became the vilest of things laid waste.

  23. وذلك البيتُ أَمسى قفر باديةٍ

    مأَوى الوحوشِ ومَثوى كلِّ مفترسِ

    And that House became a desolate wilderness,

    a refuge for wild beasts and a dwelling for every predator.

  24. ومجدُ صهيونَ يزهو دائماً أَبداً

    قد آنسَ الإِنسُ منها بهجةَ الأُنُسِ

    And Zion's glory shines continually, forever;

    humankind has found in her the joy of companionship.

  25. إِيوانُ كِسرى غدا اعلاهُ اسفلَهُ

    وقصرُ قيصرَ مثلَ الأَربُعِ الدُرُس

    Khosrow's vaulted hall—its top became its bottom,

    and Caesar's palace became like ruined dwelling-sites.

  26. ونارُ آل انوشِروانَ قد طَفِئَت

    وزالَ تسعيرُها من مُوبَذِ الفُرُسِ

    The fire of Anushirwan's house was extinguished,

    and the Persian priest's stoking of it ceased.

  27. وزُحزِحَت ظُلمةُ الأوثانِ وانحسَرَت

    ملابسُ التَبَسَت من كل ملتبسِ

    The darkness of idols was swept aside, and stripped away were

    the garments of confusion from every bewildered one.

  28. وزالَ منها أَفيكُ النُطقِ وانبكَمَت

    أفواهُها ومُنِي الشَيطانُ بالخَرَسِ

    Their lying utterance vanished, and speechless were

    their mouths; Satan was stricken dumb.

  29. وقُوِّضَت دِكَك الأَصنامِ وانهدَمَت

    وكلُّ مرتفعٍ أَقوى إِلى الأُسُسِ

    The idols' pedestals were dismantled and collapsed,

    and every lofty structure was laid waste down to its foundations.

  30. سارت إلى سائر الأَقطار دَعوتُهُ

    شَرقاً وغرباً فمن هِندٍ لأَندَلُسِ

    His call traveled to every land,

    east and west, from India to al-Andalus.

  31. ضاءَت بها فانجَلَت باللَهِ ظُلمتُها

    وأَسفَرَت كسُفُور الليل بالقَبَسِ

    They shone through it, and by God their darkness cleared,

    and grew bright, as night is illumined by a flame.

  32. كأَنها الشمسُ في الإِصباحِ إذ بَزَغَت

    جَلَت من الكونِ داجي خُلقِهِ الشِكسِ

    It was like the sun at daybreak, when it rose,

    clearing from the world the darkness of its ill-tempered nature.

  33. ذاوي الضَلالةِ أَمسى شرَّ مُقتَلَعٍ

    وناضرُ الهَدى أَضحى خيرَ منغَرِسٍ

    Withered error became the vilest growth uprooted,

    and flourishing guidance became the finest growth planted.

  34. بشَرعِهِ انتسَخَت كلُّ الشرائع وال

    أديانِ والشمسُ تمحو داجيَ الغَلَسِ

    His law superseded all laws and

    religions; the sun effaces the darkness before dawn.

  35. فاكرِم بدين الهٍ فوقَ كل نُهىً

    أَضحى أُولو الكُفرِ من معناهُ في هَوَسِ

    How noble is God's faith, beyond all understanding!

    Over its meaning the unbelievers fell into madness,

  36. الا الأُولى صدَّقوا تحقيقَ بَعثتِهِ

    لقد نَجوا من عِثارِ الشَكِّ والحدسِ

    except those who affirmed the truth of his mission:

    they escaped the stumbling of doubt and conjecture.

  37. وافي ليُنهِضَ جَدَّ الناس آدَمَ مَن

    أَخطى بنقلِ الخُطى في جَدِّهِ التَعِسِ

    He came to raise up mankind's forefather Adam, who

    had gone astray in his steps, in his unhappy lot,

  38. ويطلقَ المذنبَ المحبوسَ في نَفَقٍ

    بفَيضِ إِطلاق عفوٍ غير محتبسِ

    and to release the sinner imprisoned in a tunnel,

    through an outpouring of pardon released without restraint.

  39. حَلالَهُ عَسَلٌ من لَذَّةٍ فمُنِي

    بلسع أَيمِ المَنا من ذلك اللَعَسِ

    The honey of pleasure tasted sweet to him, and he was struck

    by the sting of death's serpent, brought on by that licking.

  40. حانت منيَّتُهُ حيناً بمُنيتهِ لما

    مَنَتهُ مُناهُ بالمَنَا البَئِسِ

    His death came upon him for a time through his desire, when

    his wishes doomed him to wretched death.

  41. وكان فوقَ الثُريَّا رايةً وسَنىً

    فصار تحتَ الثَرَى من رايهِ البَخِسِ

    He had been above the Pleiades, a banner and a light,

    then came to lie beneath the soil through his paltry judgment.

  42. قد اجتَبانا وما منا سِوى دَنِسٍ

    مستغرقٍ في حَما الآثام منغمسِ

    He chose us, though none among us is unstained,

    submerged and steeped in the mire of sins.

  43. أماطَ عنا حُبى الأَوزارِ حينَ حَبا

    رجاءَ خيرِ الحِبا للقانطِ اليَؤُسِ

    He removed from us the bonds of sin when he bestowed

    hope of the finest gifts on the despairing, hopeless one.

  44. أَدى لنا النعمةَ الفُضلى تجسُّدُهُ

    وعمَّ إذ خَصَّ بالإِحسانِ كلَّ مُسِي

    His incarnation brought us the supreme grace,

    embracing all by singling out every wrongdoer for kindness.

  45. هو المواسيُ والمؤسِي خلائَقهُ

    وان اساؤوا اليهِ فهو ليسَ يُسِي

    He is the consoler and healer of his creatures,

    and though they wrong him, he does no wrong.

  46. فالخالقُ الخَلقَ قد كانَ الخليقُ بهِ

    تهذيبَ أخلاقِ خَلقٍ جامحٍ شَرِسِ

    For the Creator of creation, what befitted him was

    to refine the character of an unruly, fierce creation.

  47. آنستَ نارَ الهُدى يا صاحِ فاعشُ إلى

    مَنارِهِ وسَناهُ لاحَ فاقتبِسِ

    You have seen guidance's fire, my friend; turn toward

    its beacon; its radiance has appeared, so take a flame.