1. لا تسأمي يا ناق طول السري

    فقد بدت أعلام وادي القرى

    Do not weary, O she-camel, of the long night journey.

    For the landmarks of Wadi al-Qura have appeared.

  2. ولا تملي قطع عرض الفلا

    وشدة السير وجذب البرى

    Nor tire of crossing the breadth of the wilderness,

    of the hard pace and the tugging of the nose-rings.

  3. فقد عرضت الروح في حب من

    سرت إليه والحبيب اشترى

    For I have offered my soul for love of the one

    to whom I journeyed—and the beloved has bought it.

  4. غدا ترين الدار مأهولة

    وحسن من تهوين قد أسفرا

    Tomorrow you will see the abode inhabited,

    and the beauty of the one you love shining forth.

  5. فأسري هداك الله في ذا الدجى

    بنوره يلق الدجى مقمرا

    So travel by night—may God guide you—through this darkness;

    by his light, the darkness is found moonlit.

  6. بشراك هذي الدار قد اشرقت

    وهذه أنوار خير الورى

    Glad tidings to you! This abode has shone forth,

    and these are the lights of the best of creation.

  7. قصدت من عم الوري جوده

    فاستبشري منه بحسن القري

    You have sought him whose generosity embraces creation;

    so rejoice in his gracious hospitality.

  8. سيري على اسم اللهواسم الذي

    علامة افيمان أن يذكرا

    Travel in the name of God and the name of the one

    whose mention is a sign of faith.

  9. واغتفري الأدمع في حبه

    ففي سبيل الدمع ما قد جري

    And pardon the tears shed for love of him;

    for whatever has flowed is in the path of tears.

  10. محمد المختار من هاشم

    أزكى الورى كلهم عنصرا

    Muhammad, the chosen one of Hashim,

    the purest in origin of all creation,

  11. ذو المعجزات الباهرات التي

    أصغرها يكبر أن يحصرا

    possessor of dazzling miracles, of which

    even the smallest is too great to be encompassed.

  12. أسري به الله فأكرم به

    سار وأكرم بسراه سري

    God took him on a night journey—how noble he is!

    He traveled—and how noble his journey by night!

  13. حن إليه الجذع من حسرة

    عليه لما صعد المنبرا

    The palm trunk yearned for him out of sorrow

    over him when he ascended the pulpit.

  14. وسبح الجلمد في كفه

    وفاض منه الماء مثغجرا

    And the stone glorified God in his palm,

    and water poured from him, gushing forth.

  15. وأشبع الألف وما فوقها

    من قدر نصف الصاع أو أكثرا

    And he fed a thousand to their fill, and more,

    from a measure of half a saʿ, or more.

  16. وقد عوداً لأمري ماله

    سيف فاضحى صار ما أبترا

    And he cut a stick for a man who had no

    sword; it became a keen, cleaving blade.

  17. ورد عيناً فقد فاغتدي

    صاحبها من وقته مبصرا

    And he restored a lost eye, and

    its owner could see from that very moment.

  18. أن يدنني وخدك من بابه

    قبلت ما بين يديك الثرى

    If your swift trot brings me near his door,

    I will kiss the dust before your forelegs.

  19. ولم أكفك السري بعدها

    إلا إليه رائحاً مبكراً

    And thereafter I would not burden you with night travel

    except to him, at evening and early morning.

  20. واحسرتاً طال المدا دونه

    مع أنه أقرب شيء يرى

    Alas, the distance to him has grown long,

    though he is the nearest thing one can see.

  21. اصبر القلب وبأبي لما

    يلقى من الشواق أن يصبرا

    I urge my heart to patience, yet it refuses, because of

    the longings it suffers, to be patient.

  22. اسمع بالقرب ولكنني

    لا تنطفي ناري حتى أرى

    I hear of his nearness, yet

    my fire will not go out until I see him.

  23. أحد ريحاً خطرت بالحمى

    وبارقاً في ساحتيه سرى

    I sense a breeze that drifted through the sanctuary,

    and lightning that traveled by night through his two courtyards.

  24. قالوا غدا ندنو فواحسرتا

    لو كان بالعمر غد يشترى

    They said, 'Tomorrow we draw near'—alas!

    If only tomorrow could be bought with a lifetime!

  25. يا ليلة قد بقيت هل ترى

    أحمد في صبح دجاك السري

    O night that still remains, I wonder:

    will I praise the night journey at the dawn of your darkness?