Sol 6.1

  1. O you who came upon time's deficiency and made it whole.

    What reached perfection in him never truly reached perfection in humankind.

  2. He united preeminence and all learning.

    Thus their branches are rooted in his very being.

  3. He became a leader through every noble virtue.

    While others became like neglected propositions.

  4. That is the one in whom perfection returned to its source.

    Thus the hearts of the masters of perfection are bound to him.

  5. Who can rival one whose father is Muhammad,

    whom my Lord favored above all creation?

  6. A lineage whose light and radiance ascended,

    Until it towered above the tips of Virgo.

  7. From Hashim, from Khindif, from Ghalib—

    Have you, then, heard of a chain like that?

  8. It is a spreading tree of Quraysh and Mudar.

    It has become crowned with every kind of glory.

  9. Concerning their perfection, their glory, and their dignity,

    Verses of truth have been revealed by One All-Wise.

  10. Or who can match his excellence and his learning,

    Pouring like the eyelids of morning rain-clouds sent forth?

  11. An unveiler of secrets, and a treasury's pearls,

    And a sea's pure water—how far its tide reaches!

  12. A key to the secrets of eloquence: should there appear

    A summary of it, it would be fully expounded before him.

  13. A treasure whose jewels, if you beheld them

    In darkness, would appear to you as a blazing fire.

  14. The eye of humankind, an ocean for whoever seeks guidance;

    In his breast the finest points of knowledge are summed up.

  15. An exemplar of scholars, meeting the needs of whoever comes

    Seeking pure healing from the sickness of longing.

  16. My lord, indeed I have made you my safeguard

    Against time's unruliness—how swift it is to bring hardship!

  17. And my helper if one day my arm grows weary,

    And my soul's refuge in intractable affairs.

  18. So rise and help me with a matter I could not

    Bear—oh, woe to it! What have I to do with it?

  19. By God, what passed a man by never befell him—

    Assuredly; nor did what was decreed for a man pass him by.

  20. So a young man may attain what was intended for him,

    And a young man may miss what he hoped for.

Sol 6.1