Sol 5.6

  1. In the wake of a fragrant prayer,

    from a radiant garden of mystery,

  2. guiding through a night alive with worship,

    inwardly and outwardly,

  3. at the dazzling self-disclosure,

    it gladdened you, your heart attentive,

  4. from the secret of a wayfarer’s secret

    to the heights of the sacred precincts,

  5. to the glorious Beloved,

    descended from purest stock:

  6. Muhammad, famed for noble deeds,

    he who is the finest helper

  7. and—none can gainsay it—

    is, to me, among the greatest.

  8. May he endure like an unveiled full moon

    in the firmament of manifestations,

  9. shining upon the spheres,

    radiant with his heart’s light,

  10. under the protection of a sheltering Lord,

    amid abundant, pleasant life

  11. and the safekeeping of an all-powerful Lord

    from the guile of every schemer,

  12. the plot of every traitor,

    and the rancor of every oppressor.

  13. This glorious gift

    came like pouring rain;

  14. my eyes were refreshed by it,

    and my inmost heart rejoiced.

  15. So I arose in fullest gratitude

    for a blessing of grace flowing forth.

  16. And I composed my heart’s thoughts

    as a necklace of jewels

  17. from a prayer that journeys on,

    seeking nearness to a sheltering Lord,

  18. with a cup of intimacy passed around,

    and a seal of fragrant musk—

  19. a delight to the beholder’s eye,

    at the beginning and the end.

Sol 5.6