Sol 5.6

  1. Look upon this poor soul with sustaining grace,

    O Messenger of the One, the One and Only.

  2. O you of vast prestige, O support of the—

    helpless needy one who longs for support.

  3. O lamp of the messengers, O moon of the—

    prophets, O star of right guidance.

  4. O leader of the messengers, O

    crown upon the heads of the elect, the pillars.

  5. You are my treasure and my succor whenever

    my spacious world grows narrow or my strength gives way.

  6. You are my aid and helper when

    affliction’s sword has slashed my very liver.

  7. I seek refuge at the gate of your sanctuary from

    the cares and miseries of this age,

  8. and from pains and ordeals, the over—

    whelming ones, and from enemies and their multitudes.

  9. O noblest of all beings, come to my aid

    by gently untying these knots.

  10. For my sins have overflowed and grown;

    their tally has passed all bounds of number.

  11. And for this, my fortune has betrayed me,

    and the band of envy has assailed me.

  12. My tears, for all these calamities, have

    drowned—alas for my sorrow—my body.

  13. My cares have weakened all my resolve;

    so shelter me—you are my reliance.

  14. O father of al-Zahrāʾ, O hope of the—

    hopeful, O proof of the Eternal Refuge.

  15. O far-reaching one, O lion of the—

    Unseen, O sign for all eternity.

  16. O Book whose wisdom is a treasure

    hidden from the seeker who keeps watch.

  17. Within him the mysteries have been folded,

    some unbound and some knotted.

  18. Truly, the stature of his dominion rises

    beyond lofty intellect and offspring.

  19. He is a sea within whose essence lies

    every sea with foam afloat.

  20. Neither in this world nor in its rival, the Hereafter,

    is there anyone for humankind besides him.

  21. That is God’s gate, the gate of hope

    for every distressed soul and all who seek support.

  22. The very essence of all existence, a refuge

    for the fearful one who calls: Be my support!

  23. I have come seeking sustaining grace from you;

    do not forsake me—take me by the hand.

  24. You are the mercy of God that has embraced

    all things—the choicest article of my faith.

  25. A tablet of gnosis, its subtleties

    engraved upon the frame of eternity.

  26. And along his path I have fulfilled

    the traversing of many appointed spans.

  27. Beneath the hem of his court were folded

    the lofty heads of elephants and lions.

  28. In him I sought refuge, while sins had clothed—

    me in fresh robes of affliction.

  29. To his exalted height I fled, while I had

    an eye streaming from anguish.

  30. My hope is that he will favor me,

    despite my lowliness, with a life of ease,

  31. and with every kind of acceptance when

    I come bearing a deed of mine that is vile;

  32. and with compassion through which I may receive

    a breath from the Creator, through the best of hands;

  33. and through the bounty of his grace’s overflow,

    through him my pillars rise toward heaven;

  34. and by the gentle might of his dominion’s host—

    fight whoever means me misery;

  35. and by the beneficence of his true essence,

    whose palm is dewy with noble gifts.

  36. May God’s blessings flow forever,

    from the orbit of eternal mercy,

  37. and peace whose arriving fragrance is musk,

    coming from the Presence of sustaining grace,

  38. upon God’s beloved Aḥmad, the best—

    of all creation, the master and support,

  39. and upon the House, our noble lords,

    and the Companions, those lion-hearted lords.

Sol 5.6