Sol 6.1

  1. A pilgrimage as the faithful, hopeful man wished,

    and a duty bearing immediate reward.

  2. You performed it, making it binding upon

    whoever hopes in you, no distraction turning him from it.

  3. You sought it for a time, while barring its path

    were men who saw ill omens, as the reproacher wishes.

  4. It was a yearning man's desire, and you fulfilled it;

    your enemies are friends, and your era prospers.

  5. Among the constitution's blessings is that he be rewarded according to

    the measure of his mercy—the loving, wise man.

  6. When you journeyed to the Hijaz, renewed were

    the Muslims' resolves and noble traits.

  7. You journey onward, and mankind's hopes follow you,

    longed for by seasons and assemblies.

  8. As though they were ships upon the surging sea,

    and armies behind the mounted caravan.

  9. Were it not for the ship's haste, seeking

    its distant destinations, the shore would have hastened toward you.

  10. And the pale camels, their backs towering, seem

    dwellings and strongholds of your own building.

  11. They took a share of your yearning, and there were folded away

    for them deserts and stages before the journey's end.

  12. When the circling birds above chanted them onward,

    pebbles and boulders beneath answered the call.

  13. You honored them in the last days of their age

    one day, and their vanished glory returned.

  14. So allow them to rest, for

    roving iron has now become their successor.

  15. The desert grew green for the army

    whose company comforted it, though fearsome and awesome.

  16. Its wild beasts grew fond of it, and it was shaded by

    two flocks on the horizon: sandgrouse and falcons.

  17. And the noble consort of the great king, around her

    noble ladies from among the mothers of illustrious men,

  18. in a procession that Sheba never sent forth for

    Bilqis, nor Babylon for Semiramis.

  19. Mary indeed welcomed them, around her

    the crowded circle of the messengers' wives.

  20. And the two blossoms from the gardens have upon them

    other jewels and fine robes than those they own.

  21. Piety, beloved to them both,

    is a burden under which the strong, valiant man staggers.

  22. You brought it early to them, just as youth came early;

    princely rank is chastity and virtues.

  23. Most fitting for one whose share has filled the lands

    of this world is a full measure of goodness.

  24. Though you dwelt in towns and kingdoms revered you,

    you also entered the desert, and tribes revered you.

  25. The longing cities wish they were

    caravans beside your mounts on both your routes.

  26. Had your feet not wished to honor the soil,

    led steeds and north winds would have borne you above it.

  27. Before dawn you entered, nothing preceding your caravan

    except fragrance wafting ahead of it and torches.

  28. Those mountains asked one another: Is this a fragrant breath

    from Egypt, or a noble king arriving?

  29. The noble Stone came toward you, and it is indeed

    the noblest thing a hand or fingertips have touched.

  30. Rocks softened to your whispered prayer; wherever you stood,

    their boulders were dunes of flowing sand.

  31. Your tears healed in its sands such burning heat

    as the pouring raincloud cannot heal.

  32. Though you wept, you never wept in supplication

    except while standing before your Lord.

  33. Never did you walk between Marwa and Safa

    without asking after your subjects.

  34. And if you prayed for their welfare, as

    you pledged to them, that prayer embraces all.

  35. Why should Zamzam's spring not overflow, flooding

    those plains, when you are drinking from it?

  36. Manna and quails are no nobler today than

    the poor man's bread, when you eat of it.

  37. How splendid you are, offering sacrifice and redeeming yourself!

    How excellent the nearness to God, how excellent the gift!

  38. How excellent your kindness to the pilgrims, when twisted

    are the roads and an assailant attacks the mounts.

  39. Their safety was assured by the ringing of an Indian-steel sword

    in your keeping for God, or by a neighing steed.

  40. They count among God's blessings upon them

    hearing you pray in hope.

  41. Their dearest gifts to their homelands

    are reports of what the generosity they received revived.

  42. It is as though the rain that filled the villages

    vied with your largesse in those regions.

  43. What lies between your grandfather and the Friend of God, his namesake,

    is a bond reaching God, the All-Protecting.

  44. This one has the honor of its blessed construction;

    before it bow tyrants and mighty kings.

  45. And that one has the merit of its deliverance, after

    earthquakes had nearly toppled its two walls.

  46. Hashim received your noble affection,

    a blessed affection, and Wa'il sought it too.

  47. They pitched tents for you there, and they were

    like palaces, firmly set and filled with dwellers.

  48. It was as though their statures were the tents' guy ropes,

    and the heartstrings of those hearts their cords.

  49. And Ta-Ha was shown to you in all his solemn majesty

    through marks and signs upon his sons.

  50. O champion of the Sultan, what is his standing

    among the Arabs of those deserts, he who is just?

  51. What you carried to them was the trust,

    as though faithful Gabriel were its bearer.

  52. If al-Batha was reddened, on the day they rebelled,

    by their blood, you wash away that blood.

  53. And if you planted keen swords and lofty spears,

    you left them in the wilderness as leafy groves.

  54. If you wish, reins leave the steeds;

    or, if you wish, sword-belts part from swords.

  55. Do they challenge commanders over the caliphate,

    without whom a destroyer would have ruined the caliphate?

  56. God ordained it for them and gave them might,

    as long as among them remain a worshipper and a fighter.

  57. So let the noble Arabs put their trust in them,

    and let the overreacher preserve his own dignity.

  58. Will he redeem it when calamities are great,

    who did not attain it when calamities were few?

  59. Every remote wanderer answered your call,

    and the heedless rebel understood your counsel.

  60. You have indeed witnessed; no hidden matters remain there,

    and you have looked closely; no unknown places remain there.

  61. But for your strength, you would have been detained in Yathrib

    and in Mecca by remembrance, as you departed.

  62. The Rightly Guided praised you and held in high esteem

    what you seek and strive for in their legacy.

  63. From heaven, messages bearing approval

    come to you in succession, and from Furuq come messages.

  64. Jerusalem has a full claim upon you, one that would reproach you

    had the pilgrimage not promised it a future year.

  65. O you who restore the world to us in its freshness,

    restore religion to us, for it is our guarantor.

  66. Enough for mankind as its exposition and interpretation

    is what you do and what I say.

  67. In it is tolerance for what churches contain,

    if only they knew, and for what temples contain.

  68. Were they compelled to follow its path,

    falsehood would never murder truth among humankind.

  69. When you raise its beacon among a people

    one day, the departed companion has returned.

  70. O traveler over the earth, blessed in your steps,

    experiences are polishers of souls.

  71. Free men would not have stayed behind,

    but for countless hindrances and barriers.

  72. So carry to the two Easts what you gained

    in the two Wests, for you are the finest bearer.

  73. The people accept what you accept; indeed they

    will surely work among the world's peoples as you have worked.

  74. Hasten their steps toward glory, for

    the sluggish riser has grown used to a leisurely pace.

  75. The earth is not thorny, nor are the horizons

    dark, nor is the hoped-for support unsteady.

  76. If you approve its free and proud men

    one day, then the needy man loves the one he relies on.

  77. And if you grant them what they asked of you,

    no further desires or requests remain.

  78. If they see good, it is from you; and if they

    are denied, you are not the withholding miser.

  79. O builder of heroes before their dwellings,

    have means and resources ever failed you?

  80. Never trust the homelands' enemies with them

    for a day, while pickaxes lie in the enemies' hands.

  81. My lord, help your supporters against them;

    when we join forces, the deserter is transformed.

  82. Care for those who filled the lands with demands for their dues;

    perhaps the procrastinating debtor will repay them.

  83. What excuse has one who turns a blind eye, yet grows angry whenever

    you advance, unless he is prejudiced?

  84. Better for us is time's sternness, though it be harsh,

    than to be deceived by time in jest.

  85. Our meeting with you is our promised hour, worthy of all

    the good-news bearer recounts and the optimist mentions.

Sol 6.1