الشدة عنوان الفرج — Omar Alyafi

الشدّة عنوان الفرجِ

فاحذر يا صاح من اللَجَجِ

Hardship is a sign of relief.

So beware, friend, of stubborn contention.

برقادك ليس الخير يجي

قم نحو حماه وابتهجِ

Good will not come through your sleeping.

Rise toward His protection and rejoice.

وعلى ذاك المحيا فعُجِ

ما خاب عُبيدٌ قد طرقا

And turn toward that radiant face.

No humble servant who knocked has failed

باباً ما قط قد انغلقا

فادخل للباب كمن سبقا

At a door that has never closed.

So enter the door as those before you did.

ودع الأكوان وقم غسقا

واصدق بالشوق وباللهج

Leave created things and rise in the dark.

Be sincere in longing and earnest speech.

ولجذع النخلة فادنُ وهُزْ

واقطف ثمراتِ القصد وحُزْ

Draw near the palm trunk and shake it.

Pick and claim the fruits of your aim.

وطريق الحقّ عليه فجُزْ

والزم باب الأستاذ تفُزْ

Cross upon the path of truth.

Keep to the teacher’s door and you will succeed.

وتكون بذلك خلّ نجي

من جدّ لوصلٍ قد وجدا

Thus you will become a devoted, saved friend.

Whoever strives for union will find it.

وسنا الإقبال له وردا

فاخلع نعليك بطور هدى

The radiance of welcome will come to him.

So remove your sandals on the Mount of guidance.

واخرج عن كلّ هوىً أبدا

ودع التلفيق من الهرج

Leave every desire behind forever.

Abandon contrivance and noisy talk.

وفروضك جمّلها بسننْ

طه المختارِ وجدِّ حَسَنْ

Adorn your obligations with the practices

Of Taha, the Chosen One, and strive well.

ومن المولى إن رمت مننْ

إيّاك أخيَّ ترافقُ منْ

And if you seek gifts from the Lord,

My brother, beware of accompanying one

لم ينهك عن طرق العوج

فبمن يهديك له فلذا

Who does not forbid you crooked paths.

Stay with whoever guides you to Him.

واحذر تغدو مع من نُبذا

ومن الدنيا إن تخش أذى

Beware of going with those cast aside.

And if you fear harm from this world,

فاقنع وازهد واذكره كذا

ك بباب سواه لا تلج

Be content, renounce it, and remember Him;

Do not enter the door of anyone besides Him.

أمريد الحيّ إليه تصلْ

إن كنت بفعل الخير تصلْ

Seeker of the Living One, you will reach Him

If you persist in doing good.

وانف الأغيار وعنك أزل

وادخل للحان خليلِ وملْ

Disown other attachments and remove them from yourself.

Enter the tavern of the Friend and incline

نحو الخمّار أبي السرج

واكرع راحاً للصفو حوى

Toward the wine server, father of lamps.

Drink deeply of wine that holds purity.

فبه لظماء القلب روا

واطفئ بالكأس لهيب جوى

In it is water for the thirsty heart.

With the cup, quench the flame of yearning.

واشرب واطرب لا تخش سوى

إيّاك تمل عن ذا النهج

Drink and rejoice; fear no other.

Beware of turning from this path.

ولدمع العين الدمَّ أرقْ

وعلى فقراء الخلق فَرِقْ

Let tears from the eye flow like blood.

Feel compassion for the poor among creation.

وارجع لله وفيه فثق

كم أنت كذا لم تصح أفق

Return to God and trust in Him.

How long will you remain thus? Wake up.

وإلى الأبواب فقم ولج

كن عن تأخيرك معتذرا

Rise and enter by the doors.

Apologize for your delay.

واخضع بالذلّ لتنتصرا

كرّر في الليل إذا اعتكرا

Bow in humility so that you may prevail.

Repeat when the night grows dark:

مولاي أتيتك منكسرا

ولغيرك شوقي لم يهج

My Lord, I come to You broken.

My longing has stirred for no one else.

واسأله بمن للعاص ضمِنْ

حاشاه به للراج يضِنْ

Ask Him through the one who has guaranteed aid to the sinner.

Far be it from Him to begrudge hope to one who seeks.

وقل استغفرتك ربّ فحن

وأتيت إليك خليّاً من

Say: I ask Your forgiveness, Lord; show tenderness.

I have come to You emptied of

صومي وصلاتي مع حِججي

وارحم منّا وأزل وجلي

My fasting, my prayers, and my arguments.

Have mercy on us and remove my fear,

بمحمّدنا ختم الرسل

فرجوتك معدوم الحيل

For the sake of our Muhammad, the seal of the messengers.

I hope in You, having no means,

وكذا علمي وكذا عملي

وكذاك دليلي مع حُججي

Nor learning, nor deeds,

Nor proof or arguments.

أعضائي الذنبُ لقد هدّمْ

وخميس الخطب فقد أدهمْ

Sin has ruined my limbs.

The host of affliction has grown dark.

والفقر بحاراً أجرى الدمْ

لا أملك شيئاً غير الدمْ

Poverty has made seas of blood flow.

I possess nothing but tears

ع مخافة أن يغشى وهَجي

ما غيرك نوّلني الأملا

From fear that my flame may be overwhelmed.

None but You grants me hope

فضلاً ولغيم الهمّ جلا

أنت الوهّاب لمن سألا

And, in grace, clears the cloud of worry.

You are the Giver to whoever asks.

هل غير جنابك يقصد لا

وجمالِك ذي الحسن البهِج

Could anyone but Your presence be sought? No,

By Your beauty, bright with loveliness.

أنا لست سواءك متّخذاً

ربّاً إذ غيرك صرف أذىً

I take no one besides You

As Lord, for any other would bring harm.

كن أنت بحقّك لي عوَذاً

من يقصد غيرك فهو إذن

By Your right, be my refuge.

Whoever seeks another besides You

بظلام البعد تراه فُجِي

كم لي بالقرب لديك أملْ

Is struck by the darkness of distance.

How much I hope for nearness to You.

لا شكّ بفضلٍ منك أُعَلْ

فأزل عنّي كرباً ووجلْ

Surely Your grace sustains my hope.

Remove my anguish and fear.

من أنت تضلّ فذاك من الْ

هُلّاك ومن تهدي فنجي

Whomever You let stray is among the

Lost; whomever You guide is saved.

وشراب الوصل تذوّقني

إذ بالأسماء تحقّقني

Let me taste the drink of union.

Make me know the truth through the Names.

ما هول الحال يرافقني

ودموع العين تسابقني

May the terror of my state not stay with me,

While tears race from my eyes,

من خوفك تجري كاللجج

كم يشفي ذكرك كلّ وجعْ

Flowing like surging waters in fear of You.

How Your remembrance heals every pain.

وسناه في الأحشاء سطعْ

ناديت بأشواقٍ وولعْ

Its light shines within me.

I called out with longing and ardor:

يا عاذل قلبي ويك فدعْ

عذلي واقصر عن ذا الحرج

O critic of my heart, alas, leave off

Your reproach and stop this distress.

أسرار الحكمة خذ عنّي

لترى معنى صافي الدنِّ

Take wisdom’s secrets from me

So you may see the meaning of pure wine.

فاقصر وارجع لا تشغلني

كم تعذلني لم تعذرني

Stop and go back; do not distract me.

How often you blame me without excusing me.

دعني في البسط وفي الفرج

لجمالك روحي سائرةٌ

Leave me in ease and relief.

My spirit journeys toward Your beauty.

وبهاؤك فيه حائرةٌ

وعن الأغيار فلاهيةٌ

It is bewildered by Your splendor.

It forgets all other attachments.

أذني لحبيبي صاغيةٌ

صمّت عند الواشي السمج

My ear listens to my Beloved.

It is deaf to the tiresome tale-bearer.

فالصبّ بفضل الحبّ يقرْ

وبراح الروح القلب يقرْ

By love’s grace, the lover finds peace.

The heart rests in the wine of the spirit.

فالذوق من الممزوج يفرْ

يا صاحب حان الخمر أدرْ

Taste flees from what is mixed.

Keeper of the wine tavern, pass around

صرفاً واترك للممتزج

للقلب شراب الصرف نفعْ

The pure wine and leave the mixed.

Pure drink benefits the heart.

وعناء القسوة عنه رفعْ

فأذقني منه ثلاث جرعْ

It lifts from it the hardship of hardness.

Let me taste three draughts of it.

وأدر كأس الأسرار ودعْ

ني أصير به من ذي الهمج

Pass the cup of secrets and let

Me cease to be among the heedless crowd.

فالسكر طلاه قد أخذا

منّا الأرواح وطاب شذا

The wine of intoxication has seized

Our spirits, and its fragrance is sweet

بحبيبٍ نهجَ الحقّ حذا

مولاي بسرّ الجمع كذا

Through a beloved who followed truth’s path.

My Lord, by the secret of gathering, and likewise

ك وجمع الجمع وكلّ شجي

بجمالٍ أبهر كلّ حسن

By the gathering of gathering and every sorrowful one,

By a beauty surpassing every beauty,

وبه أهل التقريب فتن

بصفاتٍ قد جلّت ومنن

Which has captivated those brought near,

By sublime attributes and gifts,

بالذات بسرّ السرّ بمن

أفضالك ربّي منك رَجِ

By the Essence and the secret of secrets, through one

Who hopes for Your favors, my Lord,

وبنور الذكر وبالكتْبِ

وشؤون الساكن في القلبِ

By the light of remembrance and the Books,

And the affairs of the One dwelling in the heart,

بمظاهر أسماء الحبِّ

بحقيقتك العظمى ربّي

By the manifestations of love’s Names,

By Your supreme reality, my Lord,

وبنور النور المنبلجِ

بسناءٍ فيه أتى مثَلا

And by the dawning light of light,

By a splendor that came as a likeness,

وبكنزٍ مخفيٍّ وجلا

وبما قلنا في العهد بلى

And by a hidden treasure made manifest,

And by our saying ‘Yes’ in the covenant,

بعماءٍ كنت به أزلا

بمحمّد من جا بالبلجِ

By the mystery in which You were eternally,

By Muhammad, who came with radiance,

يده بالخير عليك تَصُبْ

وبه الولهان إليه قَرُبْ

Whose hand pours goodness upon you,

Through whom the enraptured draws near to Him,

وبنورٍ فيه أتى بكتُبْ

وبسرّ القرب كذاك الحب

And by a light that came with scriptures,

By the secret of nearness and likewise love,

ب وأهل الجذب المنعرجِ

وبمن طرقَ الحُسنَى يهوى

And by the people drawn along its winding path,

By one who seeks the beautiful way in love,

وبمن يتقوَّى بالتقوى

وبمن عنه المثلى تروى

And one strengthened by reverence,

And one from whom the finest account is told,

وبما أوجدت من الأكوا

ن بما فيهنّ من الأرجِ

And by what You created of the worlds,

With all the fragrances within them,

وبأهل الحقّ وحُجّتهم

وبأهل الصدق وبُلجتهم

By the people of truth and their proofs,

By the truthful and their radiance,

وبأهل الذكر ولهجتهم

وبأهل الحيّ وبهجتهم

By the people of remembrance and their utterance,

By the people of the Living One and their joy,

وببحر القدرة والمرَجِ

بسنا الرضوان وجنّته

And by the sea of power and the open expanse,

By the radiance of divine pleasure and its garden,

ومريد السير وقبلته

وبخمر الحان ونشوته

By the seeker on the path and his direction,

By the tavern’s wine and its rapture,

وبطيب الوصل ولذّته

ببساط الأنس المنتسجِ

By the sweetness and delight of union,

By the woven carpet of intimacy,

وبفيض الجود لمن قصدا

وبنيل الفوز لمن عبدا

By the flood of generosity for whoever seeks,

By victory attained by whoever worships,

وبحادٍ في معناك حدا

وبقلبٍ في بلواك غدا

By a guide singing of Your meaning,

And by a heart that enters Your trial

وحياتك ليس بمنزعجِ

بأبي الضيفان وراحمه

And, by Your life, remains untroubled,

By the father of guests and the one merciful to him,

وكليم الطور وخادمه

وبعيسى الروح وآدمه

By the one addressed on the Mount and his servant,

By Jesus the spirit and Adam,

بتجلّي الليل وعالمه

وظلام الكون كما السبجِ

By the night’s unveiling and its world,

And the darkness of the universe, black as jet,

وبنوح الداع ومن نُبذا

وبدعوته أمرٌ نفذا

By Noah the caller and those cast aside,

And by his call, through which a decree took effect,

وبما قد فاح بطيب شذا

بمنازل أفلاكٍ وكذا

And by all that spread a sweet fragrance,

By the stations of the celestial spheres, and

بمطالعها ثمّ البرجِ

وبكلّ الرسل وصحبهم

By their risings and the constellations,

By all the messengers and their companions,

وذوي الإرشاد وحزبهم

وبأهل القرب وحبّهم

And the guides and their company,

By those brought near and their love,

بالآل بصحب من بهم

كلّ الخيرات إلينا تجي

By the Prophet’s family and companions, through whom

All good things come to us,

وبسرٍّ عنّا قد غمضا

وبنورٍ فيه الكون أضا

By a secret hidden from us,

And a light by which the world shone,

وبمن في الحبّ قد انتهضا

يسّر واجبر كسري برضا

And those who rose in love,

Make things easy and mend my brokenness with acceptance,

ليكون بوصلك مبتهجي

للمؤمن ورد الذكر حلا

So that union with You may be my joy.

The believer finds the litany of remembrance sweet

ولنيل القصد به وصلا

فاكشف عنّا كرباً نزلا

And through it reaches the desired aim.

Lift from us the anguish that has descended.

واخلع خلع الرضوان على

صبٍّ في حبّك حبُّ هجي

Clothe with robes of divine pleasure

A lover whose love for You burns.

بالاسم الأعظم ما جُليا

وكتاب الله وما تُليا

By the Greatest Name when it is revealed,

By God’s Book and what is recited,

زدني من نور هداك ضيا

وامنح قلبي نفحاتك يا

Increase the brightness of Your guiding light for me.

Grant my heart Your breaths of grace, O

مولاي وعجّل بالفرج

يا ربّ عُبيدك قد أجرمْ

My Lord, and hasten relief.

O Lord, Your little servant has sinned.

فالويل له إن لم ترحمْ

ونذير الموت له يمّمْ

Woe to him if You do not show mercy.

The warning of death has turned toward him.

واحسرة قلبي إن لم تم

ح خطايا الذنب من الدرجِ

Alas for my heart if You do not erase

The recorded offenses of sin.

يسّر مولاي لراقمِها

ومخمِّسها ومداومها

Make it easy, my Lord, for its writer,

Its arranger in five-line stanzas, and its regular reciter.

وامنن كرماً بخواتمها

واغفر يا ربّ لناظمها

Generously grant a good ending to them.

Forgive, O Lord, its composer,

وله رقّ أعلى الدرجِ

ما الألسنُ في الأسحار شدَتْ

And raise him to the highest ranks.

As long as tongues sing before dawn

ونفس القوم بها سعدَتْ

أنعم يا ربّ بما قصدت

And the people’s souls rejoice in it,

Grant, O Lord, what I have sought.

واسمح للسامع ما نُشدت

قم نحو حماه وابتهجِ

Show favor to the listener whenever it is sung:

Rise toward His protection and rejoice.

فبها الخيرات لنا تبدو

وبموردها فاح الوردُ

Through it, good things appear to us,

And roses bloom at its watering place,

ما الصبّ بحانتها يشدو

أو ما حادٍ سحراً يحدو

As long as the lover sings in its tavern

Or a guide sings at daybreak:

الشدّة أودت بالمهجِ

أنعم يا ربّ بإمدادي

Hardship has worn away our souls.

Grant me Your aid, O Lord.

فرّج لي غيهبَ أنكادي

بنبيٍّ قال به الشادي

Dispel the deep darkness of my troubles,

For the Prophet of whom the singer spoke.

وصلاة الله على الهادي

وسلامٌ يُهدى في الحججِ

May God’s blessings be upon the guide,

And greetings be offered through the years,

لمكمّلنا ولسيّدنا

ولناصحنا ولمرشدنا

To our perfecter and our master,

Our counselor and our guide.

وتحياتٌ من موجدنا

لمحمّدنا ولأحمدنا

Greetings from our Creator

To our Muhammad, our Ahmad,

ما فاح أقاحٌ في المرج

أو ضاء الكون ببعثتهِ

As long as daisies give fragrance in the meadow,

Or the world shines through his mission,

أو ساد الرسل بطلعتهِ

أو ما فزنا بمحبّته

Or he stands foremost among the messengers,

Or we prosper through love of him.

وعلى الصديق خليفته

وكذا الفاروق وكلّ نجي

And upon al-Siddiq, his successor,

And al-Faruq and every saved one,

وعلى الأنصار مع الشُهدا

ولمن في بدرٍ قد شهدا

And upon the Helpers and the martyrs,

And those who were present at Badr,

ولمن في الدين قد اجتهدا

وعلى عثمان شهيد الدا

And those who strove in the faith,

And upon Uthman, martyr of the house,

ر وفَى فسمَا أعلى الدرجِ

ولباب العلم ومن أولى

Who was faithful and rose to the highest ranks,

And upon the gate of knowledge, who bestowed

لذوي فقر منه طَولا

وهو الكرار كذا المولى

Generous aid on those in need,

The one who charges again, the master,

وأبى الحسنين مع الأولا

د كذا الأزواج وكلّ شجي

Father of the two Hasans and of the chil-

Dren; and upon the wives and every sorrowful one,

وعلى من قام بنصرته

وعلى الساري بطريقته

And upon all who rose to support him,

And those who travel his path,

من بعد جميع قرابته

وعلى المهديّ وعترته

After all his kin,

And upon the Mahdi and his family,

المشبع في زمن الوأَجِ

وعلى من بالتقرير رضي

Who gives abundance in a time of burning heat,

And upon one content with affirmation,

وعليه بحكم الحبّ قُضي

وعلى الولهان المنتهضِ

And one judged by the rule of love,

And upon the impassioned one who rises,

وعلى من مهّد للأرضي

ن كما قد برّح في الحبجِ

And upon one who prepared the earth

For others, as love’s distress became intense,

ما أعلى الله سموَّهُمُ

أو أذهب عنهم سهوَهمُ

As long as God raises their standing

Or removes their lapses,

فأدم يا ربّ علوّهمُ

ما مال محبٌّ نحوهمُ

Preserve their high rank, O Lord,

As long as a lover inclines toward them

أو سار الركب على السرجِ

أو ما نشروا فينا الطَولا

Or the caravan travels by lamplight,

Or they spread bounty among us

وبه عنّا كشفوا الهَولا

أو ما راعٍ صدق القَولا

And through it dispel our terrors,

Or a shepherd speaks truly,

أو ما داعٍ يدعو المولى

يرجو للنصر مع الفرجِ

Or a caller calls upon the Lord,

Hoping for victory and relief.