Sol 6.1

  1. مِن الفَقير كاتب المَواقف

    إِلى الإِمام الأَلمعي العارف

    From the poor man, the scribe of al-Mawaqif,

    To the discerning imam, the spiritual knower,

  2. إِلى سُليمان النَبيل الأَوحد

    الجَوهر الفَرد البَليغ المُفرَد

    To Sulayman, noble and peerless,

    The unique jewel, eloquent and unrivaled.

  3. أَهدي سَلاماً عطره يَفوح

    وَطيبه تنعش فيهِ الرُوح

    I offer a greeting whose perfume wafts abroad,

    And in its fragrance the spirit revives.

  4. وَنوره يَأخذ بِالأَبصار

    وَذكره يُشيع في الأَمصار

    Its light captivates the eyes,

    And its renown spreads through the cities.

  5. قَد صاغَهُ مِن ذهنه وَفكره

    تَحمله أَيدي كِرام برره

    He has fashioned it from his mind and thought;

    The hands of noble, righteous men carry it

  6. إِلى حَبيب حازَ رق الحُب

    وَقَد ثَوى لي مُهجَتي وَقَلبي

    To a beloved who has gained the bondage of love,

    And who has dwelt in my lifeblood and my heart.

  7. سارَ وَسار القَلب في رِكابه

    كَأَنَّهُ يا صاح مِن أَصحابه

    He journeyed, and the heart journeyed in his train,

    As though, O friend, it were one of his companions,

  8. إِلى محل الوَحي وَالرِسالة

    وَمَعدن الحكمة وَالبَسالة

    To the abode of revelation and the prophetic message,

    And the mine of wisdom and valor,

  9. وَمَصدر الفَضل وَروح شَخصه

    كَما أَتى في نَقله وَنَصه

    And the source of virtue, and the spirit of his person,

    As given in his transmitted account and his text:

  10. سَيد سادات الوَرى وَراسها

    وَمسكها وَطيبها وَآسها

    Master of the masters of creation, and its head,

    Its musk, its fragrance, and its myrtle,

  11. مُحمد أَحمَد كُل الخَلق

    وَخَير أَهل جَمعها وَالفرق

    Muhammad, Ahmad, most praiseworthy of all creation,

    And the best of its people, together and apart.

  12. هُناكَ حَط رَحله سلمان

    طوبى لَهُ قَد جاءَهُ الأَمان

    There Salman set down his travel-pack.

    Blessed is he: safety has come to him.

  13. ثُم يُناديه لِسان الحال

    سَلمان مِنا فازَ بِالوِصال

    Then the tongue of circumstance calls to him:

    Salman is one of us; he has attained union.

  14. وَبَعد أَن يَقضي مِن المُختار

    أَوطاره يَأتي رَفيق الغار

    And after he has fulfilled, through the Chosen One,

    His desires, he comes to the companion of the cave:

  15. السَيد الصديق خَير الخلفا

    وَبَعده الفاروق مَولى الحنفا

    The master al-Siddiq, the best of the caliphs;

    And after him, al-Faruq, patron of the upright monotheists;

  16. وَبَعده للشاهد المنوره

    وَبَعد أَن يَقضي هُناكَ وَطره

    And after him, to the illumined witness.

    And after fulfilling his desire there,

  17. يَسير نَحوَ مَكة المشرفة

    يَطوف بِالبَيت وَيَأتي عرفة

    He journeys toward honored Mecca,

    Circles the House, and comes to Arafat.

  18. فَيا لَها سَعادة قَعساء

    شَماء عُليا دونها السَماء

    Oh, what unassailable happiness—

    Lofty and sublime, with the sky beneath it!

  19. هنيت يا ابن الفتية الأَكارم

    بِما حَباك اللَه مِن مَكارم

    May you be blessed, O son of the noblest young men,

    For the honors God has bestowed upon you.

  20. قَد سرت عنا راشِداً وَعالما

    وَرَدك اللَه إِلَينا سالِما

    You departed from us rightly guided and learned;

    May God return you to us unharmed.

  21. فَاِسمَع أَبا أَحمَد ما جَرى لي

    في سفرك المكرم المفضال

    So listen, Abu Ahmad, to what happened to me

    During your journey, O honored, generous one.

  22. شَرح المَواقف الَّذي ما نسجا

    حَقاً عَلى منهاجه من درجا

    The Commentary on al-Mawaqif, whose like none has woven,

    Truly, among those who have followed its method—

  23. لَما وَصَلت هيت خلكم شَرع

    بِخَطه وَالصدق قَول متبع

    When you reached Hit, your friend began

    Copying it—and truth is a saying to be followed.

  24. فَجاءَنا بَرد شَديد قر

    ما لِفَتى مِن بَأسه مغر

    Then severe, biting cold came upon us,

    From whose fury no young man had escape.

  25. أشل مِنا الكَف وَالأَصابِعا

    وَأَخرس الأَلسنة المصاقعا

    It paralyzed our hands and fingers,

    And struck the eloquent tongues dumb.

  26. وَكسر الجليد كُل آنية

    وَأخمَدت يا سلم كُل ثاغية

    The ice shattered every vessel,

    And stilled every bleating creature, O Salm.

  27. وَلَم يَزَل يسوسنا بنقمته

    كَأَنَّهُ الحَجاج في رعيته

    It kept ruling us with its vengeance,

    As though it were al-Hajjaj among his subjects.

  28. ثُم انقَضَت أَيامه المتسقه

    وَما كَتَبنا مِنهُ خمسي وَرقة

    Then its consecutive days came to an end,

    And we had not copied two-fifths of a leaf of it.

  29. وَبَعدَما أَدبر عَنا وَرَحَل

    وَشَمس عَزمي قَد عَلَت فَوقَ زُحَل

    And after it turned away from us and departed,

    And the sun of my resolve had risen above Saturn,

  30. شَدَدت أَزري موقداً نِبراسي

    أَكتب كراساً عَلى كراس

    I girded my loins, lighting my lamp,

    Writing quire upon quire.

  31. وَلَم أَزَل أَكتُب بِالحَواشي

    حَتّى وَهَت مِن نصبي مشاشي

    I kept writing in the margins,

    Until my joints weakened from my toil.

  32. وَكُلَّما أَذكُر خلاً حَسَنا

    يَأتي نَشاطي مِن هُنا وَمِن هُنا

    And whenever I remember a good friend,

    My vigor comes from here and from there.

  33. لَكِنَّني أَخَذت حبراً أَحمَرا

    وَكَاغداً تَتمة وَمسطرا

    But I took red ink,

    And paper to complete it, and a ruling-board.

  34. لا زِلت مَنصوراً عَلى أَعدائِنا

    وَرَدك اللَه إلى بِلادنا

    May you remain victorious over our enemies,

    And may God return you to our land.

  35. وَقَد أَتَتنا عَنكُم الأَخبار

    بِما أَتَته الفتية الأَشرار

    News of you has reached us

    Of what the wicked young men did:

  36. إِذ جَمَعوا جُيوشَهُم وَحارَبوا

    وَاِنتَشَرَت بُغاتهم وَضارَبوا

    When they gathered their armies and fought,

    And their rebels spread out and exchanged blows,

  37. فاستقبلتهم ذاتك الجَميلة

    وَأَنتَ في شرذمة قَليلة

    Your beautiful self then confronted them,

    Though you were among a small band.

  38. وَقَد حَماك رَبُنا مِن ضرهم

    حَتّى رَدَدت كَيدَهُم في نَحرِهم

    Our Lord protected you from their harm,

    Until you turned their plot back upon their own throats.

  39. فَالحَمد لِلّه عَلى السَلامة

    فَما عَلى مَن حازَها نَدامة

    So praise be to God for safety;

    Whoever gains it has no regret.

  40. ثُم السَلام عَن غَرام زائد

    إِلى الأَخ الشَقيق ملا حامد

    Then greetings, born of growing love,

    To the true brother, Mulla Hamid,

  41. وَبَعده السَيد عيسى الكُردي

    كَأَنَّهُ وَإِن تَناءى عِندي

    And after him, Sayyid Isa al-Kurdi,

    As though he were with me, even though far away.

  42. وَنَسأل الدُعا مِن الجَميع

    في رَوضة المطهر الشَفيع

    And we ask everyone for prayers

    In the garden of the purified one, the intercessor.

  43. صَلى عَلَيه اللَه ما انهل الحَيا

    وَالآل وَالصَحب الكِرام الأتقيا

    May God bless him as long as the rain pours down,

    And his family and his noble, pious companions.

  44. إِلى الحِجاز أَو إِلى دمشق

    وُصول هَذا الطرس فافهم نطقي

    To the Hijaz or to Damascus,

    May this sheet arrive—so understand my words—

  45. مُقبلاً أَنامل التَحرير

    سَلمان ذي الحكمة وَالتَدبير

    Kissing the writing fingertips

    Of Salman, possessor of wisdom and prudence.

  46. وصوله بِالخَير وَالسَعادة

    وَاليمن وَالأَمان وَالسِيادة

    May it arrive with goodness and happiness,

    And good fortune, safety, and eminence.