صلاة ربي دائماً

تغشى النبي خير البشر

May my Lord’s blessings always

enfold the Prophet, the best of humankind,

والآل مع أصحاب

أهل الحجا في المشتهر

and his family, together with his companions,

people of wisdom, as is well known,

وأولى النهى أهل التقى

من نعتهم جافى الخبر

people of understanding, people of piety,

whose qualities reports fail to match.

اني توسلت بهم

والمصطفى سيد مضر

I have sought intercession through them,

and through the Chosen One, the master of Mudar,

في كل أمر متعبي

وكذاك لذت مدى البكر

in every matter that wearies me;

and likewise sought refuge throughout the mornings:

غوث على مرّ الدهـ

ـور لدي الحوادث والغير

succor through the passing ages,

amid calamities and reversals,

ولسيما في الكرب اذ

طرأ التردد والفكر

especially in anguish, when

hesitation and worry arose.

ولقد دنا كأس الحما

م وما قضيت أخي وطر

The cup of death has indeed drawn near,

and you have not fulfilled a wish, my brother.

وتراكم الأوزار في

ك وأنت لا هي في الدهر

And the burdens of sin pile up within

you, while you remain heedless through time.

أمط القذي عن جفن عينـ

ـك وفق وهلم جر

Remove the mote from the lid of your eye;

wake up, and go on in that way.

فلربما يفجأك خطـ

ـب ذاك أدهى بل أمر

For a calamity may suddenly befall you—

one more dreadful, indeed more bitter.

يلقاك في لهو وسهـ

ـو صاح كلالا وزر

It finds you in amusement and heedlessness.

O friend—no indeed, there is no refuge!

حقاً إلى رب كريـ

ـم تلك رجعاك المقر

Truly, to a generous Lord

is your return, your final resting place.

يا رب فارحمني أجب

قد عيل مني المصطبر

My Lord, have mercy on me; answer me!

My endurance has been exhausted.

يا رب قد ضعفت قوا

ي ومسني النصر الكبر

My Lord, my strength has grown weak,

and victory has touched me—old age [wording unclear].

قد أثقلت ظهري المسا

وي وامتلت صحفي بشر

Misdeeds have weighed down my back,

and my pages are filled with evil.

يا من هو الرب القديـ

ـر وهادي قلب المنكسر

O You who are the all-powerful Lord,

and guide the heart of the brokenhearted,

أني سألتك بالنبي

فهبني حسن المستقر

I have implored You by the Prophet;

so grant me a good resting place,

من بعد تحسن لي الختا

م بطاعة لك في البشر

after You make my ending good,

through obedience to You among humankind,

ومقرب لك غاية

ولصاحب الوجه الأغر

and bring me utterly close to You,

and to the one with the radiant face—

ذاك النبي حبيبك الا

سنى المجير من الشرر

that Prophet, Your most radiant beloved,

the giver of refuge from the flames,

من يخجل البدر التما

م اذا م عن وجه سفر

who puts the full moon to shame

when he unveils his face.

وبه تهامة شرفت

وكذا ربيعة مع مضر

Through him Tihamah was ennobled,

and likewise Rabi‘ah and Mudar.

وتكن لي يا مولاي يو

م الحشر تنجي من سقر

And be there for me, my Master, on the Day

of Gathering; deliver me from Saqar,

اذ ألجموا كل الأنا

م بموقف بهمو ذخر

when all humankind are bridled,

at a standing-place; with them is a treasure [wording unclear].

لا فر منه ويك ان

اللَه يقبل من شكر

There is no escape from it. Take heed: indeed,

God accepts whoever gives thanks.

من تاب تاب عليه منه

الذنب يضحي مغتفر

Whoever repents, He turns to him in mercy; his

sin becomes forgiven.

كن لي الهي يوم ما

تبلى السرائر في الخطر

Be there for me, my God, on the day

when secrets are tested, amid peril,

والخلق ينسلون نحـ

ـو العرض أفواجاً زمر

and creation streams toward

the presentation, in crowds and bands—

عرض على رب كريم

للسؤال وللخبر

a presentation before a generous Lord,

for questioning and a report.

فهمو على خطر عظيم

منهم الاتقى الابر

They face tremendous peril,

among them the most God-fearing, the most righteous.

والناس طراً شأنهم

في غامض العلم الابر

All people’s affairs

lie in hidden knowledge; the Most Benevolent

مستأثر عنهم بعلـ

ـم اليس يعلمه البشر

keeps knowledge to Himself, apart from them—

is it not known to humankind? [Reading uncertain.]

أنت الحليم وراحم

رب مهيمن ثم بر

You are the Forbearing, and One who shows mercy,

a watchful Lord, and benevolent.

يا مالك العبد الذليـ

ـل الخاط هاشم ذي العبر

O Master of the lowly servant,

the writer Hashim, he of tears,

عِبرٌ ننوفُ عن الرما

ل وتيك دهما كالسحر

tears that surpass the sands [verb uncertain],

those dark as the predawn hours.

يا راحمي يا عاتقي

من نار يوم تستعر

O You who show me mercy, O You who free me

from the fire on the day it blazes,

ومزيل عني السوء والأهواء

حقاً والضرر

and remove from me evil and passions—

truly—and harm,

قد جاء يرسف في قيو

د الذنب آسف في كدر

he has come, shuffling in the chains

of sin, remorseful amid distress.

مما عليه من العنا

ء القلب أضحى منفطر

From the suffering upon him,

his heart has become torn apart.

أشعرك خلي ليس للـ

ـعاصي نجاة من سقر

I tell you, my friend: there is no

salvation for the sinner from Saqar,

الا اليه فذا النجا

ة وذا الطريق المشتهر

except in turning to Him; that is salvation,

and that is the well-known path.

صلى على المختار خيـ

ـر الخلق بل خير البشر

May He bless the Chosen One, the best

of creation—indeed, the best of humankind—

مع آله وصحابة

هم خير صاحب من أمر

with his family and companions,

they are the best companions of him who commanded.

واولئك السامون هم

من كل شهم معتبر

And those exalted ones are

each a noble man held in esteem,

ما لعلع الحادي بهم

أو يدع داع في السهر

as long as the camel-driver raises his ringing chant for them,

or a caller calls during the night vigil.