أَشَمسٌ ما رَأَيت بِلا كُسوفِ
أَمِ البدرُ المَصونُ عَنِ الخُسوفِ
Is what I saw a sun without eclipse,
Suns that I have not seen without eclipse,
Or the full moon, protected from eclipse,
Nor the protected full moon without waning,
أَمِ الدرُّ المنظّمُ في عُقودٍ
بِها اِزدانَ النحورَ مِنَ الخشوفِ
Or pearls strung into necklaces,
Nor the threaded pearls in necklaces
With which the necks of young gazelles are adorned?
With which the slender necks were adorned,
أَجَل غَيداءُ بِكر بِنتُ فكرٍ
تَقَرطَقُ بِالثّمينِ مِن الشنوفِ
Yes—a graceful virgin, a daughter of thought,
But Ghayda', the virgin daughter of Fikr,
She arrays herself in precious earrings.
Who shakes her bracelets set with costly gems,
كَخوطَةِ بانَةٍ ماسَت دَلالاً
بِلَيِّن عِطفِها الحَسنِ القضيفِ
Like a bān-tree twig, she swayed coquettishly,
Like a gazelle marked with musk for gracefulness
With her supple, lovely, slender flank.
With the softness of its slender, elegant turning,
تَخدّرُ بِالغَريبِ مِنَ المَعاني
وَتَبرزُ بِالبَديعِ وَبِاللّطيفِ
She veils herself in unusual meanings,
She uses strange metaphors
And emerges with the exquisite and the subtle.
And produces novelty and refinement,
وَلَكِن خُطِّبت مِن غَيرِ كُفؤٍ
وَضيعٍ في البريَّةِ لا شَريفِ
But she was wooed by one unworthy of her,
But she was betrothed to one not her equal,
A lowly man among mankind, not a noble one.
An undistinguished man in the wilderness, no nobleman,
هِيَ الحَسناءُ لَيسَ بِحاجِبٍ حس
نِها لِبسُ الغَليظِ وَلا الشّفوفِ
She is the fair one; her beauty is not concealed
She is the beauty who has no frown of disdain
By coarse clothing or sheer fabric.
For her no thick veils or light wraps,
وَليدةُ فِكرِ مَن أَضحى خَطيباً
بَليغاً بِالبَيانِ وَخير موفِ
Born of the thought of one who became an orator,
Born to the mind that has become the suitor
Eloquent in expression, and the finest keeper of his word;
Eloquent in rhetoric and most trustworthy,
فَصيحاً لا يُعبِّرُ عَن مَعانٍ
إِذا ما قالَ إِلّا بِالطّريفِ
Fluent of tongue, he conveys no meanings,
Articulate, expressing meanings
When he speaks, except in fresh expression.
Only in the most excellent style,
وَلا يَهوى بِتَركيبِ المَباني
سِوى المَبنى البَديعِ مَعَ الطّريفِ
Nor, in arranging words, does he favor
And he desires in combining themes
Anything but exquisite phrasing joined with freshness.
Only the most excellent structure with the most excellent style,
هُمامٌ في الوَرى فَردٌ وَجيهٌ
يُعَدُّ مِنَ الأفاضِلِ بِالأُلوفِ
A noble-spirited man, unique and eminent among mankind,
A man of great distinction in the world, unique
He is reckoned worth thousands of the excellent.
Counted among the most excellent by thousands,
تُطَأطِئ رَأسها أَهلُ المَعالي
وَتَخضَعُ عِندَهُ شُمُّ الأُنوفِ
People of lofty rank lower their heads,
Before him the people of rank bow their heads
And proud noses bow before him.
And in his presence the haughtiest are humble,
إِمامٌ في العُلومِ بِلا نَظيرٍ
فَقيهٌ عارِفٌ بِاللَّهِ صوفي
An authority in the sciences, without a peer,
Without peer in the sciences, jurist, gnostic of God, Sufi,
A jurist, a knower of God, a Sufi.
He is the all-encompassing ocean while every sea
هُوَ البحرُ المُحيطُ فكلُّ بَحرٍ
بِنِسبَتِهِ لَهُ دونَ الطّفيفِ
He is the encompassing ocean; so every sea,
Compared to him is less than paltry,
Compared with him, is less than a trifle.
The renewer of this age, undoubtedly
مُجدِّد ذا الزّمانِ بِلا اِرتِيابٍ
هوَ المَهدي بِذا الزّمَنِ النّحيفِ
The renewer of this age, without a doubt,
He is the rightly-guided one of this fragile time,
He is the Mahdi in this feeble age.
He built the way of the chosen (Prophet) Ta Ha (Muhammad)
وَشَيَّدَ سُنَّةَ المُختارِ طَهَ
كَما قَد شَيَّدَ الدّينَ الحنيفي
And he strengthened the Sunna of the Chosen One, Taha,
As he built the upright religion,
Just as he has strengthened the upright faith.
By transmission and reason he dispelled
وَبِالمَنقولِ وَالمَعقولِ أَضحى
يُزيحُ ظَلامَ زَيغِ الفَيلَسوفِ
And through transmitted and rational knowledge, he came
The darkness of the misguided philosopher,
To dispel the darkness of the philosopher's error.
And from him flourished Al Azhar of Egypt in knowledge
وَأَزهَرَ مِنهُ أَزهَرُ مِصرَ عِلماً
فَفاقَ الأَرضَ بِالفَخرِ المنيفِ
And through him Egypt's Azhar shone with learning,
Excelling the earth in glorious splendor,
Thus it surpassed the world in lofty glory.
He brought it alive through teaching, revived it,
وَبالتدريسِ قَد أَحياهُ قَلباً
وَبِالتقريرِ بِالوجهِ الرّصيفِ
And through teaching, he revived its heart,
Through lecture in the proper methodical way,
And through exposition in a sound manner.
Through writing and editing he revived
وَبِالتصنيفِ وَالتحريرِ أَحيا
رُسومَ العِلمِ مِن كلِّ الصنوفِ
And through authorship and careful editing, he revived
The features of science of every kind,
The traces of learning in all its forms.
May my Lord reward him well for every good
جَزاهُ اللَّهُ رَبّي كُلَّ خَيرٍ
وَسَلَّمهُ مِنَ الهَولِ المُخيفِ
May God, my Lord, reward him with every good thing,
And save him from fearful adversity,
And keep him safe from terrifying dread.
And maintain him as a cave for those hoping in him
وَأَبقاهُ لِمَن يَرجوهُ كَهفاً
وَغَوثاً لِلعُفاةِ وَلِلضعيفِ
And preserve him as a refuge for those who look to him,
And a relief for the weak and the impoverished
And succor to petitioners and to the weak,
For many days, however much thousands sing,
مَدى الأَيّامِ ما غَنَّى هَزارٌ
وَمالَ الغصنُ بِالرّيحِ العَصوفِ
Throughout the days, as long as a nightingale sings,
And the branch sways in the whistling wind.
And the branch bends in the tempestuous wind.
Sol 6.1