نور النبي على العوالم أسفرا

فأبان أسباب الرشاد وأظهرا

The Prophet's light shone forth upon the worlds,

Revealing the means of right guidance and making them plain.

وبحسن طلعته الشريفة قد بدا

نور السعادة والسيادة مقمرا

And through the beauty of his noble countenance appeared

The light of happiness and sovereignty, moon-bright.

وشريعة الإسلام راق رواوّها

والكفر اصبح جيشه متقهقرا

The splendor of Islam's law was pleasing,

And unbelief's army fell into retreat.

لما أتى خير الأنام بدينه

وانحل ما عقد الغواة من الفرى

When the best of humankind came with his religion,

The fabrications knotted by the misleaders unraveled.

هاموا جميعا بالنبي ودينه

والكفر بعد العرف صار منكرا

All were enraptured by the Prophet and his religion,

And unbelief, once accepted, became repudiated.

واستبشروا بالمصطفى وبنوره

والكل صاح مهللا ومكبرا

They rejoiced in the Chosen One and his light,

And all cried out, proclaiming God's oneness and greatness.

والأمن بعد الخوف أصبح ضاربا

أطنابه بين المهامه والقرى

And safety, after fear, stretched out

Its tent-ropes amid the wildernesses and villages.

والخصب قد عم الأنام فوجه

قد كان ميمون النقيبة أنضرا

And abundance spread through humankind, for his countenance

Was auspicious in nature and radiant.

كم ىية ظهرت لمولده وكم

خرت إلى الأذقان أصنام الورى

How many signs appeared at his birth, and how many

Idols of humankind toppled onto their chins!

وارتج إيوان لكسرى رجّة

جعلته من بعد الثبات مكسرا

Kisra's palace hall shook with a tremor

That left it shattered after standing firm.

نيرانهم خمدت وزال لهيبها

وغدت هباء في القضاء مبعثرا

Their fires went out, and their blaze vanished,

And became dust, scattered under the decree.

وغدت ملوك الأرض تخشى بأسهُ

وأخاف كسرى ما رآه وقيصرا

The kings of the earth came to fear his might,

And what he saw frightened Kisra and Caesar.

وتخوف الرهبان يوم ولاده

إذ عزهم بعد التقدم أدبرا

The monks grew fearful on the day of his birth,

As their glory, after preeminence, receded.

لله ليلة مولد فيها بدا

من كان في نفس العوالم مضمرا

Glory to God for the birth-night, when there appeared

He who had been concealed within the soul of the worlds.

فالكون ما ست بالهنا أعطافه

فرحا وأصبح بالعبير معطرا

So the universe's flanks swayed in bliss,

Joyfully, and it became scented with perfume.

هذا النبي المصطفى من معشر

كانوا الأفق المجد بدرا نيرا

This chosen Prophet is from a people

Who were a radiant full moon in glory's firmament.

سادوا الأنام فكل فرد دونهم

في المكرمات ولو رقى أعلى الذرا

They were lords of humankind; every individual is beneath them

In noble deeds, though he climb the highest peaks.

سبحان من أسرى به ليلا إلى

حرم بأرض الشام ظل مطهرا

Glory to Him who took him by night to

A sanctuary in the land of al-Sham, which remained purified.

صلى بكل الأنبياء جماعة

إن الوفود يقدمون الأكبرا

He led all the prophets in congregational prayer,

For delegations set the greatest at their head.

ثم ارتقى نحو السماء لمستوى

فيه رأى المجد الأثيل موفرا

Then he ascended toward heaven, to a station

Where he beheld deep-rooted glory in abundance.

فحباه مولاه بأكبر نعمة

وأمده كرما بأنواع القرى

His Lord then granted him the greatest blessing,

And generously furnished him with many kinds of hospitality.

ورأى الإله جماله وجلاله

أما سواه فقد أجيب بلن ترى

And he saw God, His beauty and His majesty;

As for another, he was told, 'You shall not see.'

وعليه قد فرض الصلاة وبعد ذا

آوى الفراش كأنه ما قد سرى

And He prescribed prayer for him; after that,

He retired to bed as though he had not traveled by night.

قد كان هذا السر أكبر آية

كانت لخير الخلق أكبر مظهرا

This mystery was indeed the greatest sign,

The greatest manifestation for the best of creation.

كم معجزات أفحمت أعداءه

حاشى علاها أن يعد ويحصرا

How many miracles silenced his enemies!

Their grandeur is beyond all counting and confining.

في الغار قد نسجت عليه عناكبٌ

والورق عشّش والعدوّ تحيرا

In the cave, spiders wove their webs over him,

And the doves nested, while the enemy grew bewildered.

قد ظللته في الهجير سحابة

والجزع حن لبعده وتأثرا

A cloud shaded him in the midday heat,

And the trunk yearned at his absence and was moved.

والضب سلم والبعير قد اشتكى

تعبا وجوعا منهما الجسم انبرى

The desert lizard greeted him, and the camel complained

Of weariness and hunger, which had wasted its body away.

وبه استجارت في الفلاة غزالة

فأجاره وأجارها مما جرى

A gazelle sought his protection in the wilderness,

So he sheltered him, and sheltered her from what had happened.

وأشار للأشجار جاءت سجدا

ودنا له العرجون شوقا مثمرا

He beckoned to the trees, and they came prostrating,

And a fruit-bearing palm stalk drew near him in longing.

والماء فاض زلاله من كفه

فسقى المئين بل الألوف فأكثرا

Clear water flowed forth from his palm,

And he gave drink to hundreds—nay, thousands, and more.

وانشق بدر في السماء وقدرا

الناس في شرق وغرب نيرا

And a full moon split in the sky, beheld

By people in east and west as a radiant light.

وأجلّ معجزة هي القرآن إذ

بقيت مدى الأزمان لن تتغيرا

And the greatest miracle is the Qur'an, for

It has endured through the ages and will never change.

خرّوا إلى الأذقان طرا سجدا

لما رأوه معجزا ومحيرا

They all fell upon their chins in prostration

When they saw it, inimitable and bewildering.

هذا النبي له الفخار فدينه

لمكارم الأخلاق جاء مقررا

This Prophet possesses glory, for his religion

Came to affirm the noblest virtues.

نسخ الشرائع قبله فجميعها

بشريعة الإسلام صار مدهورا

It superseded the religious laws before it; all of them

Were overthrown by the law of Islam.

يا سيد الرسل الكرام وخير من

ركب البراق وخير من وطىء الثرى

O master of the noble messengers, and best of those who

Rode al-Buraq, and best of those who trod the earth,

امنن علينا بالشفاعة في غد

واجعل لنا عزّا يدوم ومظهرا

Grant us the favor of intercession tomorrow,

And grant us lasting honor and prominence.

يا ربّ ممتنا برؤية نوره

والطف بنا في كل أمر قدّرا

O Lord, let us delight in beholding his light,

And be gentle with us in every matter decreed.

واجعل ختام المسلمين جميعهم

مسكا يفوح شذا شذاه وعنبرا

And make the final end of all Muslims

Musk wafting the fragrance of its scent, and ambergris.

وأدم صلاتك والسلام على الذي

ختم الرسالة منذرا ومبشرا

And perpetuate Your blessings and peace upon him who

Sealed the message, a warner and bearer of glad tidings.