Sol 6

  1. When the lover reached the height of longing,

    he exchanged the pearls of his tears for rubies.

  2. He yearns, and his heart is aflame;

    how can he survive such a raging fire?

  3. The sea of tears surges over his high ground;

    what rescue can a drowning man hope for?

  4. He swallows the bitterness of separation from one who left,

    whenever longing for his beloved stirs in him.

  5. His beauty, in its splendor, captivates thoughts;

    his elegance makes souls fall in love.

  6. He holds gazes captive whenever he appears to a watcher;

    eyes cannot turn away from looking at him.

  7. The moon has a gleam like the brightness of his face;

    musk has a scent like the fragrance of his perfume.

  8. The minds of those who glimpse him grow drunk, as though

    they had drunk a cup of his pure wine in youth.

  9. They thirst for lips whose moisture they cannot reach,

    except by glimpsing the flash of their gleam.

  10. What harm would it do a master whose lovers are his servants

    to soften in pity for the plight of his servant?

  11. As for patience with him, I cannot obey it,

    nor can I bear forgetfulness.

  12. The doves’ cooing stirs the refrain of love,

    rousing one yearning lover’s grief through another’s song.

  13. A dove cooed in tears, alarmed by separation;

    one parted from a beloved has cause to weep.

  14. And those like me have cause to weep, for I

    have not fulfilled my Master’s binding rights.

  15. I was heedless during the years of youth now gone;

    how ugly to replace dutifulness with disobedience.

  16. Gray hair appeared, a warning to people of understanding,

    if only its signs could make me heed it.

  17. Repentance suffices me, grieving for what I have done,

    joining sob to gasp beneath the burden of my sin.

  18. It would mend what passion tore in the days of youth,

    and seek from its Master the closing of its breaches.

  19. It repeats its complaint before Him in humility,

    perhaps His favor will grant it what it seeks.

  20. Then it may sober from the intoxication of youthful passion,

    replacing the morning draught’s rule with the evening’s.

  21. Had I turned toward piety and kept its company,

    and chosen to follow its straight path,

  22. I would have gained benefits and rare treasures from it,

    offered for profit in its market.

  23. How wondrous are the people of devoted hearts: they

    belong to the company of those who have won favor.

  24. They stood while others slept, and their light

    pierced the darkness with its radiance and dawn.

  25. They found companionship with their Beloved, and through Him

    the truth of grace brought joy to them.

  26. I fell behind them when they passed the limit;

    the one ahead excels the one behind.

  27. Were it not for hope of glimpsing their light,

    which revives the heart by its passing and arrival,

  28. and of breathing a fragrance from their souls,

    whose fine scent refreshes the spirit,

  29. my offenses would have driven me to despair;

    fear of them keeps my heart trembling.

  30. Yet I have prepared a hope of intercession

    as a reserve against time’s blows and hardships:

  31. my love and praise for Ahmad, the guide,

    through belief in whom humankind’s salvation is assured.

  32. He is the loftiest of people in rank and lineage,

    of the noble, deeply rooted line of Hashim.

  33. He revealed the truth after it had been hidden,

    and set religion in order when it was scattered.

  34. His guidance dispelled the error of one who strayed,

    though he had clung firmly to its marks and hindrances.

  35. Glory to the One who sent him to us as a mercy,

    guiding and granting grace through His favor.

  36. Miracles appeared in proof of His Messenger’s truth,

    and he was worthy of noble deeds.

  37. Such as the gazelle speaking to him, and the tree trunk

    moaning for him, and the moon being split.

  38. And the fire going out at the light of his birth,

    and brackish water turning sweet through his saliva.

  39. Provisions were scarce, then grew through his blessings,

    so that his dates and ground grain sufficed armies.

  40. Water springing from his hand was among his signs,

    as was the greeting of stones along his path.

  41. When he called the palm tree, it came to him,

    swiftly, with its roots and fruit clusters.

  42. He looked upon the earth when it was drawn together for him,

    and saw its near places as clearly as its distant ones.

  43. The sheep’s foreleg likewise spoke to him,

    with speech as clear and fluent as a tongue’s.

  44. He threw a handful of pebbles at his enemies, and they turned

    and fled like frightened, fainthearted men.

  45. The verses of the Book descended upon him,

    recited in their lofty majesty and ordered course.

  46. He was given the pure draught of love’s cup;

    glory to the One who poured it and gave him to taste.

  47. He attained splendor through his ascent,

    passing through the layered heavens.

  48. How many signs he received from his Lord,

    and how much care and protection befitting him.

  49. O choicest of messengers before his God,

    O you who gained the highest station among His creatures:

  50. I have fastened my hopes to your standing as my provision,

    and hope does not fail when fastened there.

  51. I have secured a support from the cord of my trust

    by holding firmly to its strength and soundness.

  52. Though I am held captive by my sin,

    I hope, by seeking you, to be freed.

  53. Since I sought refuge at your door, my stagnant market

    may gain circulation and thriving trade.

  54. My heart yearns, even while far away,

    for a visit to him and the eastern glow of seeing you.

  55. Its anguish grows whenever, urging night travel onward,

    a camel driver sings to his camels.

  56. I see the fresh fabric of life grown worn;

    the passing of my days has set about tearing it.

  57. I fear I will die before attaining my wish,

    when the arrow of my death strikes and passes through.

  58. When shall I set down my baggage at al-Liwa,

    my mounts having reached the sanctuary and al-Aqiq?

  59. When shall I press my cheeks into earth

    as fragrant to the breath as musk?

  60. When shall I sing again and compose praise

    in the fine and tender verse of my imagination,

  61. until I move lovers with delight,

    like a branch bent by a breeze over a slender form?

  62. Let my greeting of peace be the strongest intercessor for me,

    together with praise, both new and old.

  63. And to the possessor of honor and high rank, his minister,

    his companion, and the guide’s brother, al-Faruq:

  64. from me be peace upon them, like flowers

    in their arrangement and blossoms in their composition.

Sol 6