Sol 5.6

  1. I heard the little night-bird of the third watch sing,

    Singing upon a dew-drenched tree with drooping branches.

  2. A songstress in Najd answered him,

    And repeated her answer whenever he repeated his song.

  3. Lightning over al-Abraqayn drove sleep from me,

    And at midnight denied me the beloved phantom’s visit.

  4. Najd’s east wind recalled to me a life

    At Dhat al-Ban—how sweet and pleasant it was!

  5. I remembered my beloved and the dwellings of my joy,

    And recalled the ample, carefree days I spent with them.

  6. My heart had nearly found consolation, but when

    It remembered Abraq al-Hanan, it yearned.

  7. Be gentle with me—may I ransom you, my companion:

    A slightly wakeful eye is not like a drowsing one.

  8. Lead me among the ruined camps and former dwellings;

    Do not lament, young man, a ruined campsite or dwelling.

  9. Perhaps lamentation will quench the fire of a heart

    That passion turns inside and out.

  10. I would spare you what has afflicted me, for I am

    Grief-stricken and tormented over the departing tribe’s traces.

  11. I share in the ardor of every lover

    When night folds a wing over him.

  12. Even if ‘Udhri love fully laid bare my excuse,

    I would not have suffered the fate of Qays, Lubna’s lover.

  13. I fell in love with the neighbors of the Yemeni pass;

    Were anguish and sorrow not to revisit me,

  14. I would write to them, though they have gone far away, with tears—

    Falling singly from their sockets, and two by two.

  15. I do not know whether they took possession of my heart

    By a contract of sale, or seized it as a pledge.

  16. I grew drunk on them, though I tasted no wine—

    Neither aged wine nor even drew near a jar.

  17. Be patient, and do not panic at the matter:

    How often success comes to one who waits patiently.

  18. Do not extend a hand in a humiliating plea

    To any but Him who enriches and grants possessions.

  19. By destiny, one who never toils may be provided for,

    While one who wearies himself may be denied.

  20. No allotted share wholly escapes a rich man through incapacity,

    Nor does prudence secure everything one desires.

  21. If you see what you see in me, it is because

    I am passionately devoted to beauty at its highest perfection:

  22. A tongue that selects the choicest meanings,

    And the Sun of creation contains them implicitly.

  23. Praise of Muhammad is my aim; any other poet,

    When he sings, imitates the soft-voiced young gazelle.

  24. May God preserve the Hijaz and all who dwell there,

    And rain upon it from a broad, rain-laden cloud;

  25. May He make fertile a garden filled with fidelity,

    Mercy, beneficence, and beauty—

  26. And a grave containing him who filled every region

    With guidance, generosity, faith, and blessing:

  27. Foremost of the messengers and most God-fearing,

    More bountiful than their clouds in dew and rain;

  28. Swiftest of them to the distressed, in tender compassion,

    And most attentive in hearing one who calls toward goodness;

  29. Best-rooted of all creation’s plantings,

    Purest in origin and fullest in bough.

  30. A mighty tree of Quraysh reared him, from whose

    First blossoms are fruits of goodness to be gathered.

  31. He came while pagan ignorance lay in shadow,

    And unbelief worshiped stones as idols,

  32. Ate carrion and blood, and savagely assailed

    Infant girls by burying them alive.

  33. Then he came with the creed of Islam, reciting

    Oft-repeated verses in the five daily prayers.

  34. He exchanged the injustice of their idolatry for justice,

    And the fear they felt for safety.

  35. Quraysh indeed suffered grievous loss by forsaking him,

    Though, had they relied upon him, he would have been their pillar.

  36. He called and admonished them, but they became blind and deaf;

    So his admonition gave way to blows and spear-thrusts.

  37. He passed judgment upon the slain in open combat,

    And granted captives either ransom or gracious release.

  38. He brought his enemies down from their fortresses,

    And left no rival to him upon the earth.

  39. He went forth girded with a polished sword,

    And carrying beneath his arm a supple spear, stout at its socket.

  40. He assailed them morning and evening with lion-like warriors,

    Upon lean steeds that ground the earth beneath them.

  41. How often their lofty spears raised great aspirations—

    Ranks built in the very courtyards of the stars!

  42. And how many virtues Hashemite Muhammad possesses—

    Virtues embracing the farthest and the nearest alike.

  43. Were all Arabs and non-Arabs weighed against him,

    I would make them his ransom; in weight they could not equal him.

  44. From me comes mention of the Beloved—for this is the Beloved.

    God praised him in the Torah,

  45. And the Messiah gave us glad tidings of him as a messenger,

    Confirming his description, his name, and his epithets.

  46. When Mount Sinai is mentioned and shines forth, remember

    The Throne’s confidant, needy so that you may be enriched.

  47. God spoke to that one through revelation,

    But spoke to this one face-to-face and drew him near.

  48. Moses fell down unconscious,

    While Ahmad’s mind was not overwhelmed.

  49. Compare the words, “You shall not see Me,”

    With “the heart did not lie,” and you will grasp the meaning.

  50. And if through you Jesus addressed the dead,

    The palm trunk won distinction: it yearned for this one and groaned.

  51. Inanimate things greeted him aloud—

    How, then, could the two men ever be equal?

  52. If Solomon is praised for possessing a kingdom,

    Remind him of the treasures once offered to our Prophet,

  53. And of Mecca’s vale turned to gold, which he refused:

    For sovereignty and pleasures perish.

  54. David’s coats of mail were garments

    Serving as a fortress against the violence of battle;

  55. Muhammad’s armor was the Qur’an: when

    He recited, “And God will protect you,” he rested assured.

  56. Noah destroyed his people upon the earth

    With a prayer that spared no one and annihilated them;

  57. But Ahmad prayed, “My Lord, guide my people,

    For they do not know,” as we have learned.

  58. The son of Amina was already a prophet

    Before Adam had become molded black mud.

  59. Beneath his banner the messengers will find shade

    Tomorrow, when the mountains become carded wool.

  60. Every messenger will cry, “Myself!”

    But Ahmad, “My nation!”—humankind and jinn.

  61. Intercessor for sinners, undertake my defense

    When time turns the shield’s inner face against me.

  62. With gracious intimacy, mend my fraying rope of hope:

    One far from the Abode asks your leave to approach.

  63. Hasten to visit me, for my limbs

    Have greatly weakened, and I have grown old.

  64. I made the pilgrimage but did not visit you—would that I knew

    When this estranged one might rejoice in visiting you.

  65. Here too is a dear young companion who hopes in you as I do;

    Distance from you has sickened and wasted him.

  66. He nearly melts with longing when you are mentioned,

    Yearning toward you; through your rank, might he be brought near?

  67. Perhaps compassion—perhaps relief—is near:

    The beloved ones have arrived, while we remain cut off.

  68. Honor us by treading the soil of a land

    Whose visitation lifts the burden of sin from us.

  69. And say, “Abd al-Rahim and those beside him

    Will dwell with me on eternity’s day in Eden.”

  70. On the Day of Presentation, if they ask you about me,

    Say, “Count him among us, for he is one of us;”

  71. Stand by all my brethren and companions;

    Include every father and son, whatever their lineage.

  72. No man who hopes in you, O star, will fail

    In his plea, so long as he thinks well of you.

  73. All the prophets are full moons of guidance,

    But you are the sun—the brightest and most exalted.

  74. They are the body of perfection, and you its spirit;

    They are your left hand, and you are the right.

  75. May your Lord’s blessing rest upon you whenever

    The woodland doves coo or a bough bends.

Sol 5.6