تعلمت الألحان من نوحي الورقا

وقد أخذت عني الصبابة والعشقا

I learned melodies from the inspiration of leaves,

And youth took from me passion and love.

ورفقتي في الحب وجد هواكم

فأصبحت عبدا في الغرام لكم وفقا

My companions found love in your affection,

So I became a slave to love for your sake.

ولم يبق لي غير السقام هواكم

فتحب ما افنى وللروح ما ابقى

Nothing remains for me but lovesickness for you.

So love what I have wasted, and leave my soul what remains.

حياتي بكم اني اموت صبابة

وفيكم نعيمي في الغرام بان اشقى

My life is in you - were I to die from passion!

And in you is my bliss in love, though I suffer.

ومن لم يجد بالروح طوعا لامركم

ورام حياة لا يعيش ولا يبقى

Whoever does not find his soul obedient to your command

And seeks a life that neither lives nor remains,

أأحبابنا ليت الذي بيننا سعى

والقى حديث الزور يلقى الذي القى

O my loved ones! If only what is between us is effort,

And whoever casts false words meets what he has cast.

علقت بكم طفلا ولولا هواكم

لما كنت أدري ما الغرام وما العشقا

I clung to you as a child, and were it not for your love

I would not know what passion and love are.

بذكرني التشبيب بالبان والنقا

اذا غردت بالايك في الورق الورقا

My youth reminds me of the wilderness and plains

When I sing your name upon the leaves.

واسأل عرف الريح عن طيب نشركم

وعنكم اذا ما ضاع استنشق الطرقا

And I ask the breeze about your sweet scattering,

And when lost, I inhale your traces from the roads.

وان خفق البرق اليماني عشية

فيزداد قلبي من تلهفه خفقا

And if the Yemeni lightning flickers at night,

My heart increases in its fervent beating.

ومالي لا تنهل سحب مدامعي

اذا شمت من تلقاء ارضكم برقا

And why do not my tears flow like pouring rain

When I smell your land from afar?

وان دام هذا الدمع يجري صبابة

فاني اخشى منه ان يكثر الغرقى

And if this tear continues flowing, o youth,

I fear the drowned will become many.

واني لابكي من لهيب بأضلعي

لعلّ به تطفى جوانحي الحرقى

And I weep not but for the blaze in my ribs -

Perhaps it may extinguish my burnt pinions.

وماذا عسى تغني التمائم والرقى

اذا كان لي دمع من العين لا يرفا

What good can amulets and incantations do

When I have a tear that does not dry?

فعطفا عريب الحي عطفا لمغرم

ورفقا بمن اودى الغرام به رفقا

So gently, O kind one, gently with a passionate lover,

And be kind to one led by passion to kindness.

فلي عندكم عهدٌ قديم وموثقٌ

لأن رسول الله عروتي الوثقى

With you I have an ancient covenant and pact,

For the Messenger of Allah is my firm pact.

نبي له الله اصطفاء لنفسه

حبيبا ولولاه لما اوجد الخلقا

A prophet whom Allah chose for Himself,

A beloved, and were it not for him existence would not have been created.

نبيّ اتى من اشرف الناس عنصرا

سلوا البيت عنه فهو يخبركم صدقا

A prophet who came from the noblest of lineages,

Ask his clan and it will tell you the truth.

نبي اتى بالحق للخلق رحمة

فيافوز من والاه واتبع الحقا

A prophet who came with the truth as a mercy to creation,

So joy to one who followed and embraced the truth.

نبيّ به الرحمن اقسم واسمه

من الحمد والفرقان قد جاء مشتقا

A prophet by whom the Merciful swore an oath, and his name

Is derived from praise and the Quran, and was thus coined.

نبي غدا في حلبة الفضل سابقا

فمن ذا يجاريه وقد احرز السبقا

A prophet who tomorrow will lead in the race of merit,

So who can compete with him when he has won the race?

نبي له كانت تظل غمامة

اذا سار غربا في الظهيرة او شرقا

A prophet over whom a cloud provided shade

When traveling west at noon or east.

نبيٌ له قد ردت الشمس آية

وبدر الدجى في النصف طوعا له انشاق

A prophet for whom the sun was brought back as a sign,

And the moon at its zenith split open for him.

نبي اتت تسعى الغزالة نحوه

وعادت ومنه نورها يملأ الافقا

A prophet to whom gazelles hastened,

Then turned back with his light filling the horizon.

نبيٌ اعاد العين بعد ذهابها

وفاضت معينا من اصابعه دفقا

A prophet who restored the lost eye,

And it gushed forth as a fountain from his fingers.

نبي به اسري الى العرش فارتقى

مكانا عليا غيره الدهر لا يرقى

A prophet who ascended by night to the Throne, and thus ascended

A lofty position none before him ever attained.

نبي على السبع الطباق لقد علا

مكانا وقد صلى وام بهم حقا

A prophet who prayed atop the seven heavens,

Truly attaining an abode and leading them in prayer.

نبي دنا من قاب قوسين وانتهى

الى الغاية القصوى وحقا رأى الحقا

A prophet who came near, to two bow lengths’ distance,

And attained the ultimate limit, and truly saw the Truth.

فيالغ وحدث عن علو مقامه

فكل علو جاء في مدحه طبقا

So describe and relate the loftiness of his rank,

For every lofty description of his praise is true.

ودع كل مدح في الورى غير مدحه

فذاك الذي اخطا ولم يشهد الفرقا

Leave off every other praise in existence but his praise,

For that is mistake, and does not distinguish the difference.

له الروضة الفيحاء للحسن جنة

فمن حل فيها لا يجوع ولا يشقى

For him is the fragrant Garden of Beauty, a paradise,

Where whoever enters is never hungry or suffering.

فياطيبة طوبى لما قد حويت من

محل علا اعلى السماك له مرقى

O excellence! Blessed are you for what you contain

Of the Most High's abode - for him is the ascent.

ترى عيشيَ المغبر يرجع اخضرا

وبالمقلة السودا ارى عينها الزرقا

Will I see my dusty life return verdant?

And the black pupil see again its blueness?

وانشق تربا طيب عرف عبيره

يضوع كنشر المسك ينعشني نشقا

Will my blessed earth crack open, its perfume redolent,

Diffusing like musk, giving me relief?

واشدو تجاه القبر يا اشرف الورى

ببابك عبد اجاء يرجو بك العتقا

And I sing facing his tomb - O Best of Creation!

A slave has come to your door seeking emancipation.

وسائل ذاك الدمع ذلا لعزكم

ترامى وبالاعتاب صبا غدا ملقى

Ask that tear, weeping in humility,

Cast down in pleading - at dawn it was cast.

وحاشاك من يرجوك يرجع خائبا

ونائلك الاوفى ومنزلك الاتقى

Far be it from you! One who seeks you will not return disappointed,

And your most loyal attainer has the safest place.

عسى ابن مليك منك يشفى بنظرة

ومن حوضك المورود يوم الظما يسقى

Perhaps a king's son will be cured by your glance,

And on the Day of Great Thirst drink from your overflowing pool.

ويبلغ في الدارين منك مرامه

ومطلوبه سهل لدى مجدك الارقى

And through you achieve his aims in both abodes,

Easy for your towering glory.

ففي تلك دار الخلد يرجو تكرما

ويرجو بهذا حسن خاتمة يلقى

For in that Abode of Eternity he hopes for your generosity,

And with this, hopes for a good conclusion.

عليك صلاة الله ثم سلامه

صلاة على طول المدى ابدا تبقى

Upon you, blessings of God, then His peace,

Blessings forever enduring through all time.

وآلك والاصحاب ما هيجت صبا

بلابل مشتاق وما سجعت ورقا

And upon your family and companions whenever

Passionate yearning was stirred by nightingales among leaves.