دع الصب يدمع منه المآقيا

فقد ظن كل الظن أن لا تلاقيا

Let the lovesick lover weep from the corners of his eyes.

For he is utterly convinced that there will be no reunion.

وعدت ترى داء الغرام بحاله

وإن لم يكن أبقى به الوجد باقيا

And you returned to find love's sickness unchanged,

although yearning has left nothing surviving within him.

وعده بجمع الشمل يجنى بوعده

بقية أرماق بلغن التراقيا

Promise him reunion; through that promise may be gathered

the last breaths of life that have reached his collarbones.

لذيغ فراق كيف يرجى شفاؤه

وليس له شيء سوى القرب راقيا

Stung by separation, how can his healing be hoped for,

when nothing but nearness can charm away his illness?

ترامت به أيدي الغرام ولم يجد

على الوجد عوناً أو من الصد واقيا

The hands of passion have tossed him about, and he has found

no help against yearning, nor protection from rejection.

ففي لا يرى صبراً جميلا مساعنا

جواه ولا دمعاً على البعد راقيا

For [wording unclear], he finds no noble patience to soothe

his heartache, nor tears that cease during separation.

يروح إلى حزن ويغدو إلى جوى

إذا بصر الركب الحجازي غاديا

He goes into sorrow at evening and into heartache at morning,

when he sees the Hijazi caravan departing.

ويبكي عقيق الحرتين بمثله

إذا ما هموا أموا العقيق اليمانا

He weeps for the ʿAqiq of the two lava fields with its like,

whenever they set out toward the Yemeni ʿAqiq.

فإن رمت أجراً أو سناء معجلا

فعلله وأبسط في هواه الأمانيا

If you seek reward or swiftly granted glory,

soothe him with hope and unfold wishes within his love.

وقل ثق بأن الدهر قد يعكس النوى

ويدني من الأحباب من ليس دانيا

Say: Trust that time may reverse separation

and bring near those beloved ones who are not near.

وتطوى إلى نبل المني شقة السرى

ويقوى قوي الحظ الذي بات واهيا

The span of night travel is folded away toward lofty wishes,

and the fortunate man, who spent the night weak, grows strong.

فكم كف روح الله أساوكم لقى

عناء وكم باللطف قد فك عانيا

How often God's relief has warded off sorrow; how often one has met

hardship; and how often His kindness has freed a captive.

وأضحى قريب الدار من كان نازحاً

وظل رضي البال من بات باكيا

One whose dwelling was distant has become a close neighbor,

and one who spent the night weeping remains contented.

فأمسى على فقر إلى داره الحمي

بها عن مغاني الأرض أجمع غانيا

Though needy for his dwelling in the sanctuary, he passes the evening

enriched by it, needing none of earth's other dwellings.

يري جانباً غناء يقضي بغضها

لصرف النوى عما له بات جانبا

He sees a lush quarter whose hatred condemns

the turns of separation from what he has come to shun [wording unclear].

ولا واحد يلقاه عما بينه

من الوجد في تلك المعالم ثانيا

Nor does anyone he meets turn him from what is within him:

his yearning among those landmarks.

ويشرف من وادي من نور روض عواطلا

بنت من سنا نور الجلال حواليا

He overlooks a valley and a garden's unadorned blossoms [wording unclear],

adorned by the radiance of Majesty's light [wording unclear].

وأن تخل من وحي فلم تر من شذا

زيارة أملاك السماء حواليا

And if it is empty of revelation, you have seen no fragrance [wording uncertain]

of heaven's angels visiting all around.

ويقبل من نحو المصلي إلى حمي

به خير خلق الله أصبح ثاويا

He turns from the prayer-place toward a sanctuary

where the best of God's creation has come to rest.

إلى حرم أن يحد حادي السرى به

مطاياه مدت في سراها الهواديا

Toward a sanctuary where, if the night-journey's guide chants,

his mounts stretch their necks as they travel through the night.

إلى حرم يسترخص الناس في السرى

إليه لتلقاه النفوس الغواليا

Toward a sanctuary for whose nighttime journey people hold cheap

their precious souls, so that they may reach it.

إلى حرم يدنيه منهم غرامهم

فسيان دانيه ومن كان قاصيا

Toward a sanctuary their passion brings near to them;

one near it and one far away are alike.

وتسري له براً وبحراً فتشبه

السجواري المطايا الجواريا

They travel toward it by land and sea, so that

the sailing vessels resemble the coursing mounts.

ترى الفلك تجري في رياح ارتياحهم

ويلقى حنين العيش للركب حاديا

You see the ships running in the winds of their delight,

and the camels' yearning [reading uncertain] becomes the caravan's chanting guide.

فيرقى جبال الموج راكب بحره

ويهوى فيغدو صاعداً فيه هاويا

The rider upon its sea climbs mountains of waves,

then plunges, rising within it and falling.

ويسبح ساري البر في بحراً له

وبقذفه التيار ريان ظاميا

The land-traveler swims in a sea of his own,

and, tossed by its current, is quenched yet thirsty.

وقل للذي يلقون في حبهإذا

غدا في المنايا الفوز صرن أمانيا

Say of what they encounter in loving him: when

victory lies in death, deaths become wishes.

وأخلي الهوى ما شبهوا في سلوكه

ببرق الثغور والمرهفات المواضيا

The sweetest love [reading uncertain] is what, in pursuing it, they likened

to the flash of teeth and keen, cutting blades.

وأغلي من الأرواح تعجيل روحه

إلى من سرى نحو السموات راقيا

Dearer than souls is hastening his spirit

toward him who journeyed by night, ascending toward the heavens:

محمد المبعوث من خالق الورى

إلى خلقه طرا نذيراً وهاديا

Muhammad, sent by the Creator of all beings

to all His creation as a warner and a guide.

دناه فأدناه إلى حضرة الرضي

فبورك مدعرا وقدس داعيا

He approached Him, and He brought him near to the presence of favor;

blessed as one summoned [word uncertain], sanctified as one who calls.

وأتاه آيات الكتاب منيرة

تضي لتاليها وسبعاً مثانيا

He gave him the Book's luminous verses,

shining for their reciter, and seven oft-repeated verses.

فأظهر في التوحيد برهان به

وقام به فرداً ولم يك وأنيا

Through it he displayed proof of God's oneness,

and upheld it alone, never flagging.

وجاء بآيات رأى نورها الورى

كما لاح قرن الشمس في الأفق ضاحيا

He brought signs whose light all beings saw,

as the sun's rim appears, shining on the horizon,

سوى من أضل الله عن سنن الهدى

فقابل جد الحق بالكفر هاذيا

except those whom God led astray from the paths of guidance,

who met the earnest truth with unbelief, raving.

فادحض بالبرهان من كان جامحاً

واصبح من أمسى عدواً مصافيا

He refuted the defiant with proof,

and those who had been enemies became sincere friends.

تناقلها حتى العدى وأدل ما

على الفضل أن يغدو له الضد راويا

Even enemies transmitted these signs; and the strongest evidence

of excellence is that an adversary becomes its narrator.

فمنها انشقاق البدر كيف بكتمه

وكل له في الأفق أصبح رائيا

Among them was the splitting of the full moon—how could it be concealed,

when everyone had come to see it on the horizon?

ومنهن نطق الذئب يشهد أنه

رسول الذي أرسى الجبال الرواسيا

Among them was the wolf's speech, testifying that he

was the messenger of Him who firmly anchored the rooted mountains,

بقول فصيح وابن اهبان قد غدا

له سامعاً ذاك المقال وواعيا

with eloquent speech; Ibn Ahban had come

to hear that utterance and understand it.

وفي مثلها ضب السليمى أسمعت

شهادته بالحق من كان دانيا

In a like miracle, al-Sulami's lizard made

its testimony to the truth heard by those nearby.

وجاء بعير نحوه متبادرا

يمرغ خديه على الأرض شاكيا

A camel came hastening toward him,

rubbing its cheeks upon the earth, complaining.

وسبح للرحمن في كفه الحصا

فاسمع من أضحى ومن كان ساهيا

The pebbles in his palm glorified the Merciful,

and he made those present by day, and those heedless, hear.

وحن له الجذع الذي كان قائما

إليه حنيناً أسمع الناس عاليا

The trunk beside which he used to stand yearned for him,

with a loud yearning that made the people hear.

وعاد إليه فاستسكن بضمه

كما يستسكن موجع القلب باكيا

He returned to it and calmed it by embracing it,

as one soothes a weeping person whose heart aches.

وحين دعا الأشجار جاءت بسمة

وقال لها عودي فعادت كماهيا

When he called the trees, they came with a smile,

and he told them, Return; they returned as they had been.

وخيره لحم الذراع بسمه

وقد أودعت فيه اليهود الدواهيا

The foreleg's flesh told him of its poison [reading uncertain],

for the Jews had placed calamities within it.

وأعطي ببدر عود نخل عكاشة

فألفاه سيفاً مرهف الحد ماضيا

At Badr he gave ʿUkasha a palm stick,

and he found it a sword, keen-edged and cutting.

ووافته أملاك السماء كتيبة

تعين مواليه وتردي المعاديا

Heaven's angels came to him as an army,

helping his allies and felling the enemy.

وأبصرهم من كون يبصر خصمه

يخربلا ضرب إلى الأرض هاويا

They were seen by one who watched his foe [wording uncertain]

falling to the ground without a blow.

ويوم حنين أذرمت كفيه العدى

بحصباء عمتهم قريباً وهانيا

On the day of Hunayn, his palms set the enemies aflame

with gravel that swept them all, near and [unclear].

فاعجب لها كفاً أثارت بقبضة

على ذلك الجمع العرم واثيا

Marvel at that palm, which with a single handful stirred

against that fierce multitude [the last word is unclear].

كذا نخل سلمان بيمن يمينه

غدا بسره عام الفراسة زاهيا

Likewise, through the blessing of his right hand, Salman's palms

had their unripe dates flourish in the year of planting [reading uncertain].

فاعتق سلمان على فوره بها

وكان بطول الكد فيهن راضيا

Through them he immediately freed Salman,

who had resigned himself to long toil among them.

كذلك كان الحكم في تمر جابر

ولم يره للدين يغدو مكافيا

Likewise was the outcome with Jabir's dates,

which he thought would not suffice for the debt.

فوافاه فاكتالوا فكمل حقهم

وألفاه جما مثل ما كان وافيا

He came to him; they measured them out and received their full due,

and he found them abundant, as full as before.

كذلك في بئر الحديبية التي

رآها بكيا ليس تنهل ظاميا

Likewise with the well of al-Hudaybiyya, which

he saw nearly dry, unable to quench a thirsty person.

فعج بها من ريقه فتفجرت

منابعها واسترفع الماء طاميا

He put some of his saliva into it [verb uncertain], and there burst forth

its springs, while the water rose, overflowing.

وفضلة ماء في أناء كفهم

وضوءاً وريا وانبرى الماء جاريا

A little water remaining in a vessel sufficed them

for ablution and drinking, and the water began flowing.

واشبع ثلث الألف من شاة جابر

ولو بلغوا ألفاً لألفوه كافيا

He fed a third of a thousand from Jabir's sheep;

even had they numbered a thousand, they would have found it enough.

له معجزات كالنجوم إضاءة

وعدا ومن يحصى النجوم السواريا

He has miracles like the stars in brightness

and number—and who can count the journeying stars?

ولكن يسير من كثير كمن غدا

يمثل بالطل الغيوث الهواديا

But this is a little of much, like one who

represents guiding rainstorms through a drop of dew.

وما ذكرها مما تزيد به سنا

كفى الشمس نور طبق الألفق باديا

Mentioning them does not increase his radiance;

the sun needs only its light, plainly filling the horizon.

ولكن ليعلو قدر ناظمها بها

ويبدو به من كان في الناس خافيا

Rather, it is so that their poet's rank may rise through them,

and one obscure among people may become apparent through him,

ويجعله فيما لديه وسيلة

إليه إذا وافاه في الحشر صاديا

and make this, among what he possesses, a means

to reach him when he comes to him thirsting at the Gathering.

وإلا فأين البدر من متناول

هل تنظم الأيدي النجوم الدراريا

Otherwise, how could the full moon lie within reach?

Can hands string together the glittering stars?

إلهي بجاه المصطفى كن لعثرتي

مقيلاً فقد أوهي خطاي خطائيا

My God, by the Chosen One's standing, be for my stumbling

a pardoner; my sins have weakened my steps.

وقد كان خوفي من ذنوبي أنه

وحاشاه يغد غالباً لرجائيا

My fear, because of my sins, was that it

might—far be such a thing—come to overpower my hope.

وبالرغم مني أن أكون وقد أرى

مواقع رشدي جامح القلب عاصيا

Against my will I am, though I can see

the paths of my right guidance, headstrong at heart and disobedient.

وحتام أسرى في دجى ليل شقوتي

كفى الشيب وافسلام للمرء ناهيا

How long shall I travel through the dark night of my misery?

Gray hair and Islam [reading uncertain] suffice to restrain a person.

عسى نفخة فيها القبول تردلي

عوارفها قلباً عن الرشد لاهيا

May a breath bearing acceptance restore to me,

through its gifts, a heart distracted from right guidance.

وتنجدني قبل الممات بنوبة

تخفف أثقالاً تركت ورائيا

And help me before death with a turning [perhaps repentance]

that lightens the burdens I have left behind.

فإني لم أبرح بجاه محمد

بحي له في موقف الحشر راجيا

For I have never ceased, through Muhammad's standing,

hoping for him at the station of the Gathering [wording unclear].

فمالي سوى عفو الإله وجاهه

إذا أخذت مني الذنوب النواصيا

I have nothing but God's pardon and his standing,

when sins seize me by the forelock.

اولا رجائي في شفاعته غدا

رجوت نجاتي لا علي ولا ليا

Were it not for my hope in his intercession tomorrow [reading uncertain],

I would hope only to escape, with nothing against me or for me.

لكنني لا أكتفي وبجاهه

تمسكت إلا أن أنال الأمانيا

But I am not content—and to his standing

I have clung—with anything less than attaining my wishes.

رجائي فسيح والشفاعة ظلها

ظليل وعفو الله ذخر مآليا

My hope is boundless, and intercession's shade

is deep; God's pardon is my store for my final return.

عليه سلام الله ما هام شيق

وما بات جفن المزن في الروض هاميا

God's peace be upon him as long as a yearning lover wanders,

and the rain-cloud's eyelid streams through the night over the garden,

وما شدت الورقاء وأورق الغضا

وما سار نجم وأهدى النجم ساريا

and the gray dove sings and the ghada trees put forth leaves,

and a star travels and a star guides a night-traveler.