Qasida al-Burdah, the Poem of the Mantle

أَمِنْ تَذَكُّرِ جِيرَانٍ بِذِي سَلَمِمَزَجْتَ دَمْعاً جَرَى مِنْ مُقْلَةٍ بِدَمِ

Is it from remembering neighbours at Dhū Salam that you have mixed the tears flowing from your eye with blood?

Dhū Salam

A place between Mecca and Medina, named after its salam trees (a thorny acacia). The poet uses it to mean the Prophet’s homeland ﷺ, and the “neighbours” are the people who live near him.

tears … with blood

Weeping so long that the tears run red: an old Arabic image of the deepest grief.

أَمْ هَبَّتِ الرِّيحُ مِنْ تِلْقَاءِ كَاظِمَةٍوَأَوْمَضَ الْبَرْقُ فِي الظَّلْمَاءِ مِنْ إِضَمِ

Or is it that the wind has blown from the direction of Kāẓima, and lightning has flashed in the darkness over Iḍam?

Kāẓima

A place in Arabia on the old road to Mecca, often named in classical love poetry.

Iḍam

A valley near Medina. A breeze or a flash of lightning from the Beloved’s direction is enough to set the lover weeping.

فَمَا لِعَيْنَيْكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ اكْفُفَا هَمَتَاوَمَا لِقَلْبِكَ إِنْ قُلْتَ اسْتَفِقْ يَهِمِ

What is wrong with your eyes? Tell them "Stop" and they pour all the more. And your heart? Tell it "Come to your senses" and it wanders lost.

أَيَحْسَبُ الصَّبُّ أَنَّ الْحُبَّ مُنْكَتِمٌمَا بَيْنَ مُنْسَجِمٍ مِنْهُ وَمُضْطَرِمِ

Does the lover think his love can stay hidden, between tears that stream and a heart that burns?

لَوْلَا الْهَوَى لَمْ تُرِقْ دَمْعاً عَلَى طَلَلٍوَلَا أَرِقْتَ لِذِكْرِ الْبَانِ وَالْعَلَمِ

Were it not for love, you would not shed tears over abandoned ruins, nor lie awake at the mention of the willow and the mountain.

abandoned ruins

The traces of a deserted campsite. Classical Arabic poems open with the poet weeping where the beloved once lived, and al-Būṣīrī begins his poem the same way.

the willow and the mountain

Al-bān, a slender, sweet-scented tree usually translated “willow”, and al-‘alam, a mountain. Both stand for the Beloved’s country.

فَكَيْفَ تُنْكِرُ حُبّاً بَعْدَ مَا شَهِدَتْبِهِ عَلَيْكَ عُدُولُ الدَّمْعِ وَالسَّقَمِ

So how can you deny a love when two honest witnesses have testified to it against you: your tears and your sickness?

two honest witnesses

In Islamic law a claim is proven by two upright witnesses (‘udūl). His tears and his sickness are the two witnesses against him.

وَأَثْبَتَ الْوَجْدُ خَطَّيْ عَبْرَةٍ وَضَنىًمِثْلَ الْبَهَارِ عَلَى خَدَّيْكَ وَالْعَنَمِ

Passion has written two lines on your cheeks, one of weeping and one of wasting, yellow as the ox-eye flower and red as the ‘anam blossom.

ox-eye flower

Bahār, a yellow flower: the colour of a face drained by illness.

‘anam

A plant with bright red tips: the colour of the bloody tears.

نَعَمْ سَرَى طَيْفُ مَنْ أَهْوَى فَأَرَّقَنِيوَالْحُبُّ يَعْتَرِضُ اللَّذَّاتِ بِالْأَلَمِ

Yes, the image of the one I love came to me by night and kept me awake. Love always cuts across pleasure with pain.

the image of the one I love

Ṭayf, the phantom of the beloved that visits a lover in sleep, a favourite image of Arabic love poetry.

يَا لَائِمِي فِي الْهَوَى الْعُذْرِيِّ مَعْذِرَةًمِنِّي إِلَيْكَ وَلَوْ أَنْصَفْتَ لَمْ تَلُمِ

You who blame me for this pure and chaste love, forgive me. Had you been fair, you would not have blamed me.

pure and chaste love

Al-hawā al-‘udhrī, named after the tribe of ‘Udhra, whose poets were famous for loving chastely and dying of longing.

عَدَتْكَ حَالِيَ لَا سِرِّي بِمُسْتَتِرٍعَنِ الْوُشَاةِ وَلَا دَائِي بِمُنْحَسِمِ

May my condition never reach you! My secret is not hidden from the gossips, and my sickness shows no sign of ending.

May my condition never reach you

A well-wisher’s phrase, meaning “may you be spared what I am going through”.

مَحَّضْتَنِي النُّصْحَ لَكِنْ لَسْتُ أَسْمَعُهُإِنَّ الْمُحِبَّ عَنِ الْعُذَّالِ فِي صَمَمِ

You gave me sincere advice, but I cannot hear it. A lover is deaf to those who reproach him.

إِنِّي اتَّهَمْتُ نَصِيحَ الشَّيْبِ فِي عَذَلٍوَالشَّيْبُ أَبْعَدُ فِي نُصْحٍ عَنِ التُّهَمِ

I even doubted the advice of my grey hair when it scolded me, though grey hair is the adviser least open to doubt.

grey hair

The first grey hairs warn that old age and death are near. No adviser is more honest, yet he ignored them.

فَإِنَّ أَمَّارَتِي بِالسُّوءِ مَا اتَّعَظَتْمِنْ جَهْلِهَا بِنَذِيرِ الشَّيْبِ وَالْهَرَمِ

For my soul, which urges me to evil, in its ignorance has taken no lesson from the warning of grey hair and old age.

my soul, which urges me to evil

Al-nafs al-ammāra bil-sū’, the lower self that pushes a person toward wrong, named in the Qur’an (Yūsuf 12:53).

وَلَا أَعَدَّتْ مِنَ الْفِعْلِ الْجَمِيلِ قِرَىضَيْفٍ أَلَمَّ بِرَأْسِي غَيْرَ مُحْتَشِمِ

Nor has it prepared any good deeds as a meal of welcome for the guest who settled on my head without shame.

a meal of welcome

Qirā, the meal an Arab host must set before a guest. The guest is his grey hair, which arrived uninvited, and his soul had no good deeds ready to serve it.

لَوْ كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي مَا أُوَقِّرُهُكَتَمْتُ سِرّاً بَدَا لِي مِنْهُ بِالْكَتَمِ

Had I known I would not honour that guest, I would have hidden with dye the secret it revealed to me.

dye

Katam, a plant used with henna to dye grey hair. Had he known he would give his grey hair no respect, he would at least have hidden it.

مَنْ لِي بِرَدِّ جِمَاحٍ مِنْ غَوَايَتِهَاكَمَا يُرَدُّ جِمَاحُ الْخَيْلِ بِاللُّجُمِ

Who will help me rein in its runaway waywardness, as a bolting horse is pulled back by the bridle?

فَلَا تَرُمْ بِالْمَعَاصِي كَسْرَ شَهْوَتِهَاإِنَّ الطَّعَامَ يُقَوِّي شَهْوَةَ النَّهِمِ

Do not try to break its appetite by feeding it sins. Food only strengthens the glutton's hunger.

وَالنَّفْسُ كَالطِّفْلِ إِنْ تُهْمِلْهُ شَبَّ عَلَىحُبِّ الرَّضَاعِ وَإِنْ تَفْطِمْهُ يَنْفَطِمِ

The soul is like an infant: neglect it and it grows up still loving to suckle; wean it and it is weaned.

فَاصْرِفْ هَوَاهَا وَحَاذِرْ أَنْ تُوَلِّيَهُإِنَّ الْهَوَى مَا تَوَلَّى يُصْمِ أَوْ يَصِمِ

So turn its desires away, and beware of putting them in charge. Whenever desire takes control, it kills or it disgraces.

وَرَاعِهَا وَهْيَ فِي الْأَعْمَالِ سَائِمَةٌوَإِنْ هِيَ اسْتَحْلَتِ الْمَرْعَى فَلَا تُسِمِ

Watch over it as it grazes among deeds, and if it finds a pasture too sweet, do not let it graze there.

grazes … pasture

The soul is pictured as livestock at pasture. If it starts to enjoy a good deed for the pleasure or praise it brings, move it on.

كَمْ حَسَّنَتْ لَذَّةً لِلْمَرْءِ قَاتِلَةًمِنْ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَدْرِ أَنَّ السُّمَّ فِي الدَّسَمِ

How often it has made a deadly pleasure look good to a man, who never knew the poison was in the fat.

وَاخْشَ الدَّسَائِسَ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَمِنْ شِبَعٍفَرُبَّ مَخْمَصَةٍ شَرٌّ مِنَ التُّخَمِ

Fear the hidden traps of both hunger and fullness. An empty stomach can be worse than an overfull one.

an empty stomach

Hunger here means fasting and going without. Commentators explain that it can breed pride, or weaken a person for worship, and so do more harm than overeating.

وَاسْتَفْرِغِ الدَّمْعَ مِنْ عَيْنٍ قَدِ امْتَلَأَتْمِنَ الْمَحَارِمِ وَالْزَمْ حِمْيَةَ النَّدَمِ

Empty the tears from an eye that has filled itself with forbidden sights, and keep to the diet of regret.

the diet of regret

Ḥimya, a doctor’s strict diet. Regret is the cure, and he must keep to it.

وَخَالِفِ النَّفْسَ وَالشَّيْطَانَ وَاعْصِهِمَاوَإِنْ هُمَا مَحَّضَاكَ النُّصْحَ فَاتَّهِمِ

Go against the self and Satan, and disobey them both. Even if they offer you sincere advice, suspect it.

وَلَا تُطِعْ مِنْهُمَا خَصْماً وَلَا حَكَماًفَأَنْتَ تَعْرِفُ كَيْدَ الْخَصْمِ وَالْحَكَمِ

Obey neither of them, whether as opponent or as judge, for you know the tricks of such an opponent and such a judge.

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ مِنْ قَوْلٍ بِلَا عَمَلٍلَقَدْ نَسَبْتُ بِهِ نَسْلاً لِذِي عُقُمِ

I ask God's forgiveness for words without deeds. With them I have claimed children for someone who is barren.

children for someone who is barren

Words without deeds bear no fruit. Taking credit for them is like naming children for a man who cannot have any.

أَمَرْتُكَ الْخَيْرَ لَكِنْ مَا ائْتَمَرْتُ بِهِوَمَا اسْتَقَمْتُ فَمَا قَوْلِي لَكَ اسْتَقِمِ

I told you to do good, but I did not do it myself. I have not been upright, so what is my "Be upright" worth to you?

وَلَا تَزَوَّدْتُ قَبْلَ الْمَوْتِ نَافِلَةًوَلَمْ أُصَلِّ سِوَى فَرْضٍ وَلَمْ أَصُمِ

I have stored up no extra worship as provision before death. I have prayed only what was obligatory, and fasted no more than I had to.

extra worship

Nāfila, voluntary prayer and fasting beyond what is obligatory (farḍ).

ظَلَمْتُ سُنَّةَ مَنْ أَحْيَا الظَّلَامَ إِلَىأَنِ اشْتَكَتْ قَدَمَاهُ الضُّرَّ مِنْ وَرَمِ

I have wronged the way of the one who brought the nights to life with prayer until his feet complained of pain from swelling.

the way

The Sunna, the example of the Prophet ﷺ. He prayed so long at night that his feet swelled.

وَشَدَّ مِنْ سَغَبٍ أَحْشَاءَهُ وَطَوَىتَحْتَ الْحِجَارَةِ كَشْحاً مُتْرَفَ الْأَدَمِ

Who, from hunger, bound his stomach and pressed a stone against his side, soft as its skin was.

a stone against his side

Arabs tied a stone against the stomach to dull hunger. The Prophet ﷺ did this while digging the Trench at Medina in 627 CE.

وَرَاوَدَتْهُ الْجِبَالُ الشُّمُّ مِنْ ذَهَبٍعَنْ نَفْسِهِ فَأَرَاهَا أَيَّمَا شَمَمِ

The towering mountains offered themselves to him as gold to tempt him, and he showed them a loftier disdain.

mountains … as gold

A hadith relates that he was offered the valley of Mecca turned to gold, and chose instead to be full one day and hungry the next.

وَأَكَّدَتْ زُهْدَهُ فِيهَا ضَرُورَتُهُإِنَّ الضَّرُورَةَ لَا تَعْدُو عَلَى الْعِصَمِ

His poverty only confirmed his turning away from the world. Need has no power over those whom God protects.

those whom God protects

‘Iṣma, God’s protection of the prophets from sin. Poverty could never push him into wrongdoing.

وَكَيْفَ تَدْعُو إِلَى الدُّنْيَا ضَرُورَةُ مَنْلَوْلَاهُ لَمْ تُخْرَجِ الدُّنْيَا مِنَ الْعَدَمِ

How could need draw toward this world the one without whom the world would never have been brought out of nothingness?

مُحَمَّدٌ سَيِّدُ الْكَوْنَيْنِ وَالثَّقَلَيْــنِ وَالْفَرِيقَيْنِ مِنْ عُرْبٍ وَمِنْ عَجَمِ

Muhammad, master of both worlds, of both humankind and jinn, and of both peoples, Arab and non-Arab.

both worlds

This world and the next.

jinn

Beings created from smokeless fire, unseen by people. The Qur’an addresses them alongside humankind.

نَبِيُّنَا الْآمِرُ النَّاهِي فَلَا أَحَدٌأَبَرَّ فِي قَوْلِ لَا مِنْهُ وَلَا نَعَمِ

Our Prophet, who commands and forbids. No one is truer than he in saying "no", nor in saying "yes".

هُوَ الْحَبِيبُ الَّذِي تُرْجَى شَفَاعَتُهُلِكُلِّ هَوْلٍ مِنَ الْأَهْوَالِ مُقْتَحِمِ

He is the beloved whose intercession is hoped for in every terror that comes crashing in.

intercession

Shafā‘a, the Prophet’s pleading with God for others on the Day of Judgement ﷺ.

دَعَا إِلَى اللهِ فَالْمُسْتَمْسِكُونَ بِهِمُسْتَمْسِكُونَ بِحَبْلٍ غَيْرِ مُنْفَصِمِ

He called people to God, and those who hold fast to him are holding a rope that will never break.

a rope that will never break

An echo of the Qur’an: “the firmest handhold, which will never break” (al-Baqara 2:256).

فَاقَ النَّبِيِّينَ فِي خَلْقٍ وَفِي خُلُقٍوَلَمْ يُدَانُوهُ فِي عِلْمٍ وَلَا كَرَمِ

He surpassed the prophets in form and in character, and they did not come near him in knowledge or in generosity.

form and character

A play on words: khalq (outward form) and khuluq (character) are written with the same letters.

وَكُلُّهُمْ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ مُلْتَمِسٌغَرْفاً مِنَ الْبَحْرِ أَوْ رَشْفاً مِنَ الدِّيَمِ

Every one of them seeks from the Messenger of God a handful from his ocean, or a sip from his endless rain.

وَوَاقِفُونَ لَدَيْهِ عِنْدَ حَدِّهِمِمِنْ نُقْطَةِ الْعِلْمِ أَوْ مِنْ شَكْلَةِ الْحِكَمِ

They stand before him, each at his own limit: a single dot of his knowledge, or a single vowel mark of his wisdom.

dot … vowel mark

Arabic letters carry dots (nuqṭa) and small vowel marks (shakla). Each prophet’s share is like one dot or one vowel mark from the whole book of his knowledge.

فَهْوَ الَّذِي تَمَّ مَعْنَاهُ وَصُورَتُهُثُمَّ اصْطَفَاهُ حَبِيباً بَارِئُ النَّسَمِ

He is the one whose inner meaning and outward form were made complete, and then the Creator of souls chose him as His beloved.

مُنَزَّهٌ عَنْ شَرِيكٍ فِي مَحَاسِنِهِفَجَوْهَرُ الْحُسْنِ فِيهِ غَيْرُ مُنْقَسِمِ

No one shares in his beauty. The essence of beauty in him is whole and undivided.

دَعْ مَا ادَّعَتْهُ النَّصَارَى فِي نَبِيِّهِمِوَاحْكُمْ بِمَا شِئْتَ مَدْحاً فِيهِ وَاحْتَكِمِ

Leave aside what the Christians claimed for their prophet; beyond that, praise him however you wish, and stand by it.

what the Christians claimed

That Jesus is divine. Any praise short of that is allowed.

وَانْسُبْ إِلَى ذَاتِهِ مَا شِئْتَ مِنْ شَرَفٍوَانْسُبْ إِلَى قَدْرِهِ مَا شِئْتَ مِنْ عِظَمِ

Attribute to his person whatever honour you wish, and to his rank whatever greatness you wish.

فَإِنَّ فَضْلَ رَسُولِ اللهِ لَيْسَ لَهُحَدٌّ فَيُعْرِبَ عَنْهُ نَاطِقٌ بِفَمِ

For the excellence of the Messenger of God has no limit that any speaker could put into words.

لَوْ نَاسَبَتْ قَدْرَهُ آيَاتُهُ عِظَماًأَحْيَا اسْمُهُ حِينَ يُدْعَى دَارِسَ الرِّمَمِ

If his miracles matched his rank in greatness, the mere mention of his name would bring crumbled bones back to life.

لَمْ يَمْتَحِنَّا بِمَا تَعْيَا الْعُقُولُ بِهِحِرْصاً عَلَيْنَا فَلَمْ نَرْتَبْ وَلَمْ نَهِمِ

Out of care for us, he never tested us with what minds cannot grasp, so we neither doubted nor lost our way.

أَعْيَا الْوَرَى فَهْمُ مَعْنَاهُ فَلَيْسَ يُرَىفِي الْقُرْبِ وَالْبُعْدِ فِيهِ غَيْرُ مُنْفَحِمِ

Understanding his true meaning has defeated all creation. Near or far, everyone is left speechless before him.

كَالشَّمْسِ تَظْهَرُ لِلْعَيْنَيْنِ مِنْ بُعُدٍصَغِيرَةً وَتُكِلُّ الطَّرْفَ مِنْ أَمَمِ

Like the sun, which looks small to the eyes from far away, yet dazzles and tires the sight up close.

وَكَيْفَ يُدْرِكُ فِي الدُّنْيَا حَقِيقَتَهُقَوْمٌ نِيَامٌ تَسَلَّوْا عَنْهُ بِالْحُلُمِ

How can people in this world grasp his reality, when they are asleep and content with dreams of him?

asleep and content with dreams

An old saying, often attributed to ‘Alī: “People are asleep, and when they die they wake up.” In this life we know him only as a dreamer knows.

فَمَبْلَغُ الْعِلْمِ فِيهِ أَنَّهُ بَشَرٌوَأَنَّهُ خَيْرُ خَلْقِ اللهِ كُلِّهِمِ

The sum of our knowledge of him is that he is a human being, and that he is the best of all God's creation.

وَكُلُّ آيٍ أَتَى الرُّسْلُ الْكِرَامُ بِهَافَإِنَّمَا اتَّصَلَتْ مِنْ نُورِهِ بِهِمِ

Every sign that the noble messengers brought reached them only from his light.

فَإِنَّهُ شَمْسُ فَضْلٍ هُمْ كَوَاكِبُهَايُظْهِرْنَ أَنْوَارَهَا لِلنَّاسِ فِي الظُّلَمِ

He is a sun of excellence and they are its stars, showing its light to people in the darkness.

أَكْرِمْ بِخَلْقِ نَبِيٍّ زَانَهُ خُلُقٌبِالْحُسْنِ مُشْتَمِلٍ بِالْبِشْرِ مُتَّسِمِ

How noble the form of a prophet made beautiful by his character, wrapped in beauty and marked by a cheerful face.

كَالزَّهْرِ فِي تَرَفٍ وَالْبَدْرِ فِي شَرَفٍوَالْبَحْرِ فِي كَرَمٍ وَالدَّهْرِ فِي هِمَمِ

Like a flower in freshness, the full moon in nobility, the ocean in generosity, and time itself in resolve.

كَأَنَّهُ وَهْوَ فَرْدٌ مِنْ جَلَالَتِهِفِي عَسْكَرٍ حِينَ تَلْقَاهُ وَفِي حَشَمِ

Even when he is alone, his majesty makes him seem, when you meet him, surrounded by an army and an entourage.

كَأَنَّمَا اللُّؤْلُؤُ الْمَكْنُونُ فِي صَدَفٍمِنْ مَعْدِنَيْ مَنْطِقٍ مِنْهُ وَمُبْتَسَمِ

It is as if pearls hidden in their shells came from two sources in him: his speech and his smile.

لَا طِيبَ يَعْدِلُ تُرْباً ضَمَّ أَعْظُمَهُطُوبَى لِمُنْتَشِقٍ مِنْهُ وَمُلْتَثِمِ

No perfume equals the earth that holds his body. Blessed is the one who breathes its scent and kisses it.

the earth that holds his body

His resting place in Medina, inside the Prophet’s Mosque.

أَبَانَ مَوْلِدُهُ عَنْ طِيبِ عُنْصُرِهِيَا طِيبَ مُبْتَدَإٍ مِنْهُ وَمُخْتَتَمِ

His birth showed the purity of his origin. How pure his beginning, and how pure his end!

يَوْمٌ تَفَرَّسَ فِيهِ الْفُرْسُ أَنَّهُمُقَدْ أُنْذِرُوا بِحُلُولِ الْبُؤْسِ وَالنِّقَمِ

A day on which the Persians sensed that they had been warned of the coming of misery and ruin.

the Persians

The Sasanian Persian empire, the great power east of Arabia when the Prophet ﷺ was born.

وَبَاتَ إِيوَانُ كِسْرَى وَهْوَ مُنْصَدِعٌكَشَمْلِ أَصْحَابِ كِسْرَى غَيْرَ مُلْتَئِمِ

That night the palace of Chosroes split apart, like the followers of Chosroes, never to be joined again.

Chosroes

Kisrā, the title of the Persian emperors. Reports say the arch of his palace at Ctesiphon, near today’s Baghdad, cracked on the night of the Prophet’s birth ﷺ and fourteen of its battlements fell.

وَالنَّارُ خَامِدَةُ الْأَنْفَاسِ مِنْ أَسَفٍعَلَيْهِ وَالنَّهْرُ سَاهِي الْعَيْنِ مِنْ سَدَمِ

The sacred fire died down, its breath stilled by grief, and the river stared blankly in sorrow.

the sacred fire

The fire of the Persian fire-temples, said to have burned for a thousand years, went out that night.

وَسَاءَ سَاوَةَ أَنْ غَاضَتْ بُحَيْرَتُهَاوَرُدَّ وَارِدُهَا بِالْغَيْظِ حِينَ ظَمِي

Sāwa was grieved when its lake sank away, and whoever came to drink was turned back, thirsty and angry.

Sāwa

A town in Persia whose lake, the reports say, sank away on the night of his birth.

كَأَنَّ بِالنَّارِ مَا بِالْمَاءِ مِنْ بَلَلٍحُزْناً وَبِالْمَاءِ مَا بِالنَّارِ مِنْ ضَرَمِ

It was as if, in grief, the fire had taken the water's wetness and the water had taken the fire's blaze.

وَالْجِنُّ تَهْتِفُ وَالْأَنْوَارُ سَاطِعَةٌوَالْحَقُّ يَظْهَرُ مِنْ مَعْنىً وَمِنْ كَلِمِ

The jinn called out, lights shone, and the truth appeared, in meaning and in words.

عَمُوا وَصَمُّوا فَإِعْلَانُ الْبَشَائِرِ لَمْتُسْمَعْ وَبَارِقَةُ الْإِنْذَارِ لَمْ تُشَمِ

But they were blind and deaf. The announcement of good news went unheard, and the flash of warning went unseen.

مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَخْبَرَ الْأَقْوَامَ كَاهِنُهُمْبِأَنَّ دِينَهُمُ الْمُعْوَجَّ لَمْ يَقُمِ

This after their own soothsayers had told the people that their crooked religion would not stand,

soothsayers

Kāhin, the fortune-tellers of pre-Islamic Arabia. Reports say some of them foretold the coming of a prophet.

وَبَعْدَ مَا عَايَنُوا فِي الْأُفْقِ مِنْ شُهُبٍمُنْقَضَّةٍ وَفْقَ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مِنْ صَنَمِ

and after they had seen shooting stars fall across the sky, just as the idols on earth were falling.

حَتَّى غَدَا عَنْ طَرِيقِ الْوَحْيِ مُنْهَزِمٌمِنَ الشَّيَاطِينِ يَقْفُو إِثْرَ مُنْهَزِمِ

Until the devils fled from the path of revelation, one routed devil running in the tracks of another,

the path of revelation

The Qur’an says devils used to listen in on heaven, and after the Prophet came ﷺ they were driven off by shooting stars (al-Jinn 72:8-9).

كَأَنَّهُمْ هَرَباً أَبْطَالُ أَبْرَهَةٍأَوْ عَسْكَرٌ بِالْحَصَى مِنْ رَاحَتَيْهِ رُمِي

as though in their flight they were the warriors of Abraha, or the army pelted with pebbles thrown from his palms:

Abraha

The ruler of Yemen who marched on Mecca with elephants in the year the Prophet ﷺ was born. Birds pelted his army with stones (Sūrat al-Fīl, 105).

pebbles thrown from his palms

In battle the Prophet ﷺ threw a handful of pebbles at the enemy. The Qur’an says: “You did not throw when you threw, but God threw” (al-Anfāl 8:17).

نَبْذاً بِهِ بَعْدَ تَسْبِيحٍ بِبَطْنِهِمَانَبْذَ الْمُسَبِّحِ مِنْ أَحْشَاءِ مُلْتَقِمِ

pebbles he threw after they had glorified God in his hands, just as the one who glorified God (Jonah) was cast out from the belly of the whale that swallowed him.

glorified God in his hands

A hadith reports that pebbles in his hand were heard glorifying God (tasbīḥ).

Jonah

The prophet Yūnus, swallowed by the whale and cast out onto the shore because he glorified God (al-Ṣāffāt 37:143-145).

جَاءَتْ لِدَعْوَتِهِ الْأَشْجَارُ سَاجِدَةًتَمْشِي إِلَيْهِ عَلَى سَاقٍ بِلَا قَدَمِ

At his call the trees came to him bowing, walking toward him on trunks without feet,

the trees came to him

Hadiths tell of trees that moved to him when he called them, then went back to their places.

كَأَنَّمَا سَطَرَتْ سَطْراً لِمَا كَتَبَتْفُرُوعُهَا مِنْ بَدِيعِ الْخَطِّ فِي اللَّقَمِ

as if their branches were writing lines of beautiful script along the middle of the road.

مِثْلَ الْغَمَامَةِ أَنَّى سَارَ سَائِرَةًتَقِيهِ حَرَّ وَطِيسٍ لِلْهَجِيرِ حَمِي

Like the cloud that moved wherever he moved, shielding him from the furnace heat of midday.

the cloud

As a boy travelling with a caravan to Syria, he was shaded by a cloud that moved with him. The monk Baḥīrā saw it and recognised him.

أَقْسَمْتُ بِالْقَمَرِ الْمُنْشَقِّ إِنَّ لَهُمِنْ قَلْبِهِ نِسْبَةً مَبْرُورَةَ الْقَسَمِ

I swear by the moon that split in two: it has a kinship with his heart (which was also split open). My oath is true.

the moon that split

“The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split” (al-Qamar 54:1).

his heart … split open

As a child, angels opened his chest and washed his heart (sharḥ al-ṣadr).

وَمَا حَوَى الْغَارُ مِنْ خَيْرٍ وَمِنْ كَرَمٍوَكُلُّ طَرْفٍ مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ عَنْهُ عَمِي

And I swear by the goodness and nobility the cave held, while every eye among the unbelievers was blind to him.

the cave

The cave of Thawr near Mecca, where the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr hid for three nights on their migration (the Hijra) to Medina.

فَالصِّدْقُ فِي الْغَارِ وَالصِّدِّيقُ لَمْ يَرِمَاوَهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَا بِالْغَارِ مِنْ أَرِمِ

Truth itself and al-Ṣiddīq (Abu Bakr) did not leave the cave, while they were saying, "There is no one in the cave."

Truth itself and al-Ṣiddīq

“Truth” (al-ṣidq) is the Prophet ﷺ. Al-Ṣiddīq, “the one who confirms the truth”, is Abu Bakr’s title. The pursuers stood at the mouth of the cave and saw no one.

ظَنُّوا الْحَمَامَ وَظَنُّوا الْعَنْكَبُوتَ عَلَىخَيْرِ الْبَرِيَّةِ لَمْ تَنْسُجْ وَلَمْ تَحُمِ

They thought that no dove would hover and no spider would spin over the best of creation.

dove … spider

A spider spun its web across the cave’s mouth and doves nested there, so the pursuers were sure no one had gone in.

وِقَايَةُ اللهِ أَغْنَتْ عَنْ مُضَاعَفَةٍمِنَ الدُّرُوعِ وَعَنْ عَالٍ مِنَ الْأُطُمِ

God's protection made double-layered armour and high fortresses unnecessary.

مَا سَامَنِي الدَّهْرُ ضَيْماً وَاسْتَجَرْتُ بِهِإِلَّا وَنِلْتُ جِوَاراً مِنْهُ لَمْ يُضَمِ

Whenever time has treated me unjustly and I sought his protection, I received from him a protection that could not be violated.

time

Al-dahr, fate or the turning of time, which Arabic poetry blames for every misfortune.

وَلَا الْتَمَسْتُ غِنَى الدَّارَيْنِ مِنْ يَدِهِإِلَّا اسْتَلَمْتُ النَّدَى مِنْ خَيْرِ مُسْتَلَمِ

I never sought the riches of both worlds from his hand without receiving generosity from the best hand ever held.

لَا تُنْكِرِ الْوَحْيَ مِنْ رُؤْيَاهُ إِنَّ لَهُقَلْباً إِذَا نَامَتِ الْعَيْنَانِ لَمْ يَنَمِ

Do not deny the revelation that came to him in dreams. He has a heart that does not sleep when his eyes sleep.

a heart that does not sleep

A prophet’s dreams are revelation. The Prophet ﷺ said: “My eyes sleep, but my heart does not sleep” (al-Bukhārī).

وَذَاكَ حِينَ بُلُوغٍ مِنْ نُبُوَّتِهِفَلَيْسَ يُنْكَرُ فِيهِ حَالُ مُحْتَلِمِ

That was when he came of age in his prophethood, and the state of one come of age is not to be denied.

came of age

His revelation began with true dreams, around the age of forty. The Arabic plays on muḥtalim, which means both “one who dreams” and “one who has come of age”.

تَبَارَكَ اللهُ مَا وَحْيٌ بِمُكْتَسَبٍوَلَا نَبِيٌّ عَلَى غَيْبٍ بِمُتَّهَمِ

Blessed is God! Revelation is not something earned, and a prophet is not to be doubted about the unseen.

the unseen

Al-ghayb, what is hidden from human knowledge and known only through revelation.

كَمْ أَبْرَأَتْ وَصِباً بِاللَّمْسِ رَاحَتُهُوَأَطْلَقَتْ أَرِباً مِنْ رِبْقَةِ اللَّمَمِ

How often the touch of his palm cured the sick, and freed the troubled from the noose of madness.

وَأَحْيَتِ السَّنَةَ الشَّهْبَاءَ دَعْوَتُهُحَتَّى حَكَتْ غُرَّةً فِي الْأَعْصُرِ الدُّهُمِ

His prayer brought a barren year of drought back to life, until it shone like a white blaze on the dark face of time,

a barren year of drought

In a year of drought a man asked the Prophet ﷺ, during the Friday sermon, to pray for rain. It rained for a week.

a white blaze

Ghurra, the white mark on a horse’s forehead. That year shines out against dark times.

بِعَارِضٍ جَادَ أَوْ خِلْتَ الْبِطَاحَ بِهَاسَيْبٌ مِنَ الْيَمِّ أَوْ سَيْلٌ مِنَ الْعَرِمِ

with a cloud so generous you would think the valleys were flooded by the sea, or by the torrent of the great dam (of Maʾrib).

the great dam

Sayl al-‘Arim, the flood that burst the dam of Ma’rib in Yemen (Saba’ 34:16).

دَعْنِي وَوَصْفِي آيَاتٍ لَهُ ظَهَرَتْظُهُورَ نَارِ الْقِرَى لَيْلاً عَلَى عَلَمِ

Leave me to describe his signs, which appeared as clearly as a welcoming fire lit at night on a mountain top.

a welcoming fire

Nār al-qirā. Arabs lit fires on hilltops at night so that travellers could find their way to food and shelter.

فَالدُّرُّ يَزْدَادُ حُسْناً وَهْوَ مُنْتَظِمٌوَلَيْسَ يَنْقُصُ قَدْراً غَيْرَ مُنْتَظِمِ

Pearls grow more beautiful when strung together, yet lose none of their worth when they are not.

Pearls

The pearls are the virtues of the Prophet ﷺ. Setting them in verse makes them lovelier, but they lose nothing if left unstrung.

فَمَا تَطَاوُلُ آمَالِ الْمَدِيحِ إِلَىمَا فِيهِ مِنْ كَرَمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ وَالشِّيَمِ

How far can the hopes of praise reach toward the noble character and virtues that are in him?

آيَاتُ حَقٍّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ مُحْدَثَةٌقَدِيمَةٌ صِفَةُ الْمَوْصُوفِ بِالْقِدَمِ

Verses of truth from the Most Merciful: new in their coming down, yet eternal, an attribute of the One who is eternal.

new … yet eternal

A point of belief: the Qur’an came down at moments in time, yet as the Speech of God it is eternal, like all His attributes.

لَمْ تَقْتَرِنْ بِزَمَانٍ وَهْيَ تُخْبِرُنَاعَنِ الْمَعَادِ وَعَنْ عَادٍ وَعَنْ إِرَمِ

They are bound to no single time, and they tell us of the Hereafter, and of ‘Ād, and of Iram.

the Hereafter

Al-ma‘ād, “the Return”: life after death.

‘Ād … Iram

‘Ād, an ancient Arabian people destroyed for their arrogance, to whom the prophet Hūd was sent. Iram “of the lofty pillars” was their city (al-Fajr 89:6-8).

دَامَتْ لَدَيْنَا فَفَاقَتْ كُلَّ مُعْجِزَةٍمِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ إِذْ جَاءَتْ وَلَمْ تَدُمِ

They have stayed with us, and so surpass every miracle of the earlier prophets, which came and did not remain.

مُحَكَّمَاتٌ فَمَا تُبْقِينَ مِنْ شُبَهٍلِذِي شِقَاقٍ وَمَا تَبْغِينَ مِنْ حَكَمِ

They are clear and decisive, leaving no doubt for the quarrelsome, and needing no one to judge between them.

clear and decisive

Muḥkamāt, the Qur’an’s clear, firmly established verses (Āl ‘Imrān 3:7).

مَا حُورِبَتْ قَطُّ إِلَّا عَادَ مِنْ حَرَبٍأَعْدَى الْأَعَادِي إِلَيْهَا مُلْقِيَ السَّلَمِ

Whenever they were fought against, even their fiercest enemy came back from the fight offering surrender.

رَدَّتْ بَلَاغَتُهَا دَعْوَى مُعَارِضِهَارَدَّ الْغَيُورِ يَدَ الْجَانِي عَنِ الْحُرَمِ

Their eloquence threw back the claims of anyone who tried to match them, as a protective man pushes an intruder's hand away from his family.

anyone who tried to match them

The Qur’an challenges anyone who doubts it to produce even one chapter like it (al-Baqara 2:23).

لَهَا مَعَانٍ كَمَوْجِ الْبَحْرِ فِي مَدَدٍوَفَوْقَ جَوْهَرِهِ فِي الْحُسْنِ وَالْقِيَمِ

Their meanings roll on like the waves of the sea, and surpass the sea's pearls in beauty and value.

فَمَا تُعَدُّ وَلَا تُحْصَى عَجَائِبُهَاوَلَا تُسَامُ عَلَى الْإِكْثَارِ بِالسَّأَمِ

Their wonders cannot be counted or measured, and however often they are repeated, they never grow tiresome.

قَرَّتْ بِهَا عَيْنُ قَارِيهَا فَقُلْتُ لَهُلَقَدْ ظَفِرْتَ بِحَبْلِ اللهِ فَاعْتَصِمِ

They brought joy to the eye of the one who recites them, so I told him: you have taken hold of God's rope, so hold on tight.

God’s rope

“Hold fast, all together, to the rope of God” (Āl ‘Imrān 3:103). The rope is the Qur’an.

إِنْ تَتْلُهَا خِيفَةً مِنْ حَرِّ نَارِ لَظَىأَطْفَأْتَ حَرَّ لَظَى مِنْ وِرْدِهَا الشَّبِمِ

If you recite them out of fear of the blazing Fire, you will put out that blaze with their cool, fresh water.

the blazing Fire

Laẓā, one of the names of Hell in the Qur’an (al-Ma‘ārij 70:15).

كَأَنَّهَا الْحَوْضُ تَبْيَضُّ الْوُجُوهُ بِهِمِنَ الْعُصَاةِ وَقَدْ جَاؤُوهُ كَالْحُمَمِ

They are like the Prophet's Pool, where the faces of sinners turn white, though they arrived black as coal.

the Prophet’s Pool

Al-Ḥawḍ, the Pool on the Day of Judgement where the Prophet ﷺ gives his people water. Whoever drinks from it will never thirst again.

faces … turn white

“On the Day when some faces turn white and some turn black” (Āl ‘Imrān 3:106).

وَكَالصِّرَاطِ وَكَالْمِيزَانِ مَعْدَلَةًفَالْقِسْطُ مِنْ غَيْرِهَا فِي النَّاسِ لَمْ يَقُمِ

And like the Bridge and the Scale in their justice. Without them, fairness would never have stood among people.

the Bridge and the Scale

Al-Ṣirāṭ, the bridge over Hell that everyone must cross, and al-Mīzān, the scale that weighs every person’s deeds on the Day of Judgement.

لَا تَعْجَبَنْ لِحَسُودٍ رَاحَ يُنْكِرُهَاتَجَاهُلاً وَهْوَ عَيْنُ الْحَاذِقِ الْفَهِمِ

Do not be surprised at the envious man who denies them, pretending not to understand, when he is sharp and perceptive.

قَدْ تُنْكِرُ الْعَيْنُ ضَوْءَ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ رَمَدٍوَيُنْكِرُ الْفَمُ طَعْمَ الْمَاءِ مِنْ سَقَمِ

A sore eye may reject the light of the sun, and a sick mouth may reject the taste of water.

يَا خَيْرَ مَنْ يَمَّمَ الْعَافُونَ سَاحَتَهُسَعْياً وَفَوْقَ مُتُونِ الْأَيْنُقِ الرُّسُمِ

O best of all to whose door those in need have come, on foot and on the backs of swift camels.

وَمَنْ هُوَ الْآيَةُ الْكُبْرَى لِمُعْتَبِرٍوَمَنْ هُوَ النِّعْمَةُ الْعُظْمَى لِمُغْتَنِمِ

You who are the greatest sign for anyone who reflects, and the greatest blessing for anyone who seizes it.

سَرَيْتَ مِنْ حَرَمٍ لَيْلاً إِلَى حَرَمٍكَمَا سَرَى الْبَدْرُ فِي دَاجٍ مِنَ الظُّلَمِ

You travelled by night from one sanctuary to another (Mecca to Jerusalem), as the full moon travels through the pitch-dark night.

one sanctuary to another

The Night Journey (al-Isrā’), in a single night, from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqṣā in Jerusalem (al-Isrā’ 17:1).

وَبِتَّ تَرْقَى إِلَى أَنْ نِلْتَ مَنْزِلَةًمِنْ قَابِ قَوْسَيْنِ لَمْ تُدْرَكْ وَلَمْ تُرَمِ

All night you rose, until you reached a station "two bow-lengths" near, never reached and never even hoped for by anyone.

two bow-lengths

From the Qur’an: “He was two bow-lengths away, or nearer” (al-Najm 53:9). It describes the closeness he reached on the Ascension (al-Mi‘rāj).

وَقَدَّمَتْكَ جَمِيعُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ بِهَاوَالرُّسْلِ تَقْدِيمَ مَخْدُومٍ عَلَى خَدَمِ

There all the prophets and messengers put you before them, as a master is put before his servants.

put you before them

In Jerusalem he led all the prophets in prayer.

وَأَنْتَ تَخْتَرِقُ السَّبْعَ الطِّبَاقَ بِهِمْفِي مَوْكِبٍ كُنْتَ فِيهِ صَاحِبَ الْعَلَمِ

You passed through the seven heavens with them in a procession in which you carried the banner.

the seven heavens

On the Ascension (al-Mi‘rāj) he rose through the seven heavens, meeting prophets in each one.

حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ تَدَعْ شَأْواً لِمُسْتَبِقٍمِنَ الدُّنُوِّ وَلَا مَرْقىً لِمُسْتَنِمِ

Until you left no goal of nearness for anyone racing after you, and no height for anyone to climb.

خَفَضْتَ كُلَّ مَقَامٍ بِالْإِضَافَةِ إِذْنُودِيتَ بِالرَّفْعِ مِثْلَ الْمُفْرَدِ الْعَلَمِ

Beside you every other rank was lowered, when you were called and raised up, like a name called out on its own. (A play on Arabic grammar: a word "added" to another is lowered in case, while a single name that is called is raised.)

كَيْمَا تَفُوزَ بِوَصْلٍ أَيِّ مُسْتَتِرٍعَنِ الْعُيُونِ وَسِرٍّ أَيِّ مُكْتَتَمِ

So that you might win a closeness hidden from every eye, and a secret kept utterly concealed.

فَحُزْتَ كُلَّ فَخَارٍ غَيْرَ مُشْتَرَكٍوَجُزْتَ كُلَّ مَقَامٍ غَيْرَ مُزْدَحَمِ

You gathered every honour, sharing it with no one, and passed every station, crowded by no one.

وَجَلَّ مِقْدَارُ مَا وُلِّيتَ مِنْ رُتَبٍوَعَزَّ إِدْرَاكُ مَا أُولِيتَ مِنْ نِعَمِ

Great beyond measure are the ranks you were given, and beyond understanding the blessings you received.

بُشْرَى لَنَا مَعْشَرَ الْإِسْلَامِ إِنَّ لَنَامِنَ الْعِنَايَةِ رُكْناً غَيْرَ مُنْهَدِمِ

Good news for us, the people of Islam! We have, from God's care, a pillar that will never fall.

لَمَّا دَعَا اللهُ دَاعِينَا لِطَاعَتِهِبِأَكْرَمِ الرُّسْلِ كُنَّا أَكْرَمَ الْأُمَمِ

Since God called the one who calls us to obey Him the noblest of messengers, we became the noblest of nations.

the noblest of nations

An echo of the Qur’an: “You are the best community brought out for mankind” (Āl ‘Imrān 3:110).

رَاعَتْ قُلُوبَ الْعِدَا أَنْبَاءُ بِعْثَتِهِكَنَبْأَةٍ أَجْفَلَتْ غُفْلاً مِنَ الْغَنَمِ

News of his mission struck fear into the hearts of his enemies, like a sudden noise that scatters grazing sheep.

مَا زَالَ يَلْقَاهُمُ فِي كُلِّ مُعْتَرَكٍحَتَّى حَكَوْا بِالْقَنَا لَحْماً عَلَى وَضَمِ

He kept meeting them on every battlefield, until the spears left them like meat on a butcher's block.

وَدُّوا الْفِرَارَ فَكَادُوا يَغْبِطُونَ بِهِأَشْلَاءَ شَالَتْ مَعَ الْعِقْبَانِ وَالرَّخَمِ

They longed to run away, and almost envied the fallen whose remains were carried off by eagles and vultures.

تَمْضِي اللَّيَالِي وَلَا يَدْرُونَ عِدَّتَهَامَا لَمْ تَكُنْ مِنْ لَيَالِي الْأَشْهُرِ الْحُرُمِ

Nights went by and they lost count of them, except the nights of the sacred months (when fighting stopped).

the sacred months

Four months in which fighting was forbidden: Dhū al-Qa‘da, Dhū al-Ḥijja, Muḥarram and Rajab. Only then could the enemy rest and count the nights.

كَأَنَّمَا الدِّينُ ضَيْفٌ حَلَّ سَاحَتَهُمْبِكُلِّ قَرْمٍ إِلَى لَحْمِ الْعِدَا قَرِمِ

It was as if the faith were a guest arriving in their courtyard with every noble chief, hungry to meet the enemy.

noble chief … hungry

A play on words: qarm is a noble chief, and qarim is someone who is hungry.

يَجُرُّ بَحْرَ خَمِيسٍ فَوْقَ سَابِحَةٍيَرْمِي بِمَوْجٍ مِنَ الْأَبْطَالِ مُلْتَطِمِ

It led a sea of an army on swift horses, throwing up crashing waves of heroes.

a sea of an army

Khamīs, an Arabic word for an army, from its five parts: vanguard, rearguard, centre and two wings.

مِنْ كُلِّ مُنْتَدِبٍ لِلهِ مُحْتَسِبٍيَسْطُو بِمُسْتَأْصِلٍ لِلْكُفْرِ مُصْطَلِمِ

Every man of them answering God's call and seeking His reward, striking with a blade that tears unbelief out by the roots.

حَتَّى غَدَتْ مِلَّةُ الْإِسْلَامِ وَهْيَ بِهِمْمِنْ بَعْدِ غُرْبَتِهَا مَوْصُولَةَ الرَّحِمِ

Until, through them, the religion of Islam, once a stranger, had its family ties restored,

once a stranger

A hadith: “Islam began as a stranger, and will return as a stranger” (Muslim).

مَكْفُولَةً أَبَداً مِنْهُمْ بِخَيْرِ أَبٍوَخَيْرِ بَعْلٍ فَلَمْ تَيْتَمْ وَلَمْ تَئِمِ

cared for by them for ever, by the best of fathers and the best of husbands, so it was never orphaned and never widowed.

fathers … husbands

Islam is pictured as a woman who always has a father and a husband to protect her, so she is never orphaned or widowed.

هُمُ الْجِبَالُ فَسَلْ عَنْهُمْ مُصَادِمَهُمْمَاذَا رَأَى مِنْهُمُ فِي كُلِّ مُصْطَدَمِ

They were mountains. Ask anyone who clashed with them what he saw of them in every clash.

وَسَلْ حُنَيْناً وَسَلْ بَدْراً وَسَلْ أُحُداًفُصُولَ حَتْفٍ لَهُمْ أَدْهَى مِنَ الْوَخَمِ

Ask Ḥunayn, ask Badr, ask Uḥud: seasons of death for their enemies, deadlier than plague.

Ḥunayn, Badr, Uḥud

Three of the Prophet’s battles ﷺ: Badr (624 CE), Uḥud (625) and Ḥunayn (630).

الْمُصْدِرِي الْبِيضِ حُمْراً بَعْدَ مَا وَرَدَتْمِنَ الْعِدَا كُلَّ مُسْوَدٍّ مِنَ اللِّمَمِ

Their white swords came back red, after they had gone down among the black-haired heads of the enemy.

وَالْكَاتِبِينَ بِسُمْرِ الْخَطِّ مَا تَرَكَتْأَقْلَامُهُمْ حَرْفَ جِسْمٍ غَيْرَ مُنْعَجِمِ

They wrote with dark spears of al-Khaṭṭ, and their "pens" left no "letter" of a body without its dot.

al-Khaṭṭ

A port on the eastern coast of Arabia, famous for its spears.

pens … letter … dot

The spears are pictured as pens, the enemies’ bodies as letters, and the wounds as the dots on Arabic letters.

شَاكِي السِّلَاحِ لَهُمْ سِيمَا تُمَيِّزُهُمْوَالْوَرْدُ يَمْتَازُ بِالسِّيمَا عَنِ السَّلَمِ

Fully armed, they carried a mark that set them apart, as the rose is set apart from the thorn tree by its mark.

a mark

Sīmā. The Qur’an says of the believers: “Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration” (al-Fatḥ 48:29).

the thorn tree

Salam, the thorny acacia: the same tree that gives Dhū Salam its name in verse 1.

تُهْدِي إِلَيْكَ رِيَاحُ النَّصْرِ نَشْرَهُمُفَتَحْسَبُ الزَّهْرَ فِي الْأَكْمَامِ كُلَّ كَمِي

The winds of victory carry their fragrance to you, so that you would take every armoured warrior for a flower in its bud.

a flower in its bud

A play on words: akmām means both the green casing of a flower bud and a sleeve, and kamī is a warrior closed up in armour.

كَأَنَّهُمْ فِي ظُهُورِ الْخَيْلِ نَبْتُ رُباًمِنْ شِدَّةِ الْحَزْمِ لَا مِنْ شَدَّةِ الْحُزُمِ

On horseback they seemed rooted like plants on a hillside, held there by firm resolve, not by tight saddle straps.

resolve … saddle straps

A play on words: ḥazm (resolve) and ḥuzum (saddle straps).

طَارَتْ قُلُوبُ الْعِدَا مِنْ بَأْسِهِمْ فَرَقاًفَمَا تُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ الْبَهْمِ وَالْبُهَمِ

The enemies' hearts flew away in terror at their strength, until they could not tell a lamb from a warrior.

a lamb from a warrior

A play on words: bahm (lambs) and buham (brave warriors) differ only in their vowels.

وَمَنْ تَكُنْ بِرَسُولِ اللهِ نُصْرَتُهُإِنْ تَلْقَهُ الْأُسْدُ فِي آجَامِهَا تَجِمِ

Whoever has the Messenger of God as his help, even lions fall silent if they meet him in their dens.

وَلَنْ تَرَى مِنْ وَلِيٍّ غَيْرَ مُنْتَصِرٍبِهِ وَلَا مِنْ عَدُوٍّ غَيْرَ مُنْقَصِمِ

You will never see a friend of his who is not helped to victory through him, nor an enemy of his who is not broken.

أَحَلَّ أُمَّتَهُ فِي حِرْزِ مِلَّتِهِكَاللَّيْثِ حَلَّ مَعَ الْأَشْبَالِ فِي أَجَمِ

He settled his community inside the fortress of his faith, like a lion settling with its cubs in the thicket.

كَمْ جَدَّلَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللهِ مِنْ جَدِلٍفِيهِ وَكَمْ خَصَمَ الْبُرْهَانُ مِنْ خَصِمِ

How often the words of God have thrown down those who argued about him, and how often the proof has defeated his opponents.

كَفَاكَ بِالْعِلْمِ فِي الْأُمِّيِّ مُعْجِزَةًفِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ وَالتَّأْدِيبِ فِي الْيُتُمِ

It is miracle enough for you: such knowledge in a man who could not read, in an age of ignorance, and such refinement in an orphan.

a man who could not read

Al-ummī, the unlettered. The Prophet ﷺ never learned to read or write, yet brought the Qur’an.

an age of ignorance

Al-jāhiliyya, the name for Arabia before Islam.

an orphan

His father died before he was born, and his mother when he was six.

خَدَمْتُهُ بِمَدِيحٍ أَسْتَقِيلُ بِهِذُنُوبَ عُمْرٍ مَضَى فِي الشِّعْرِ وَالْخِدَمِ

I have served him with praise, hoping through it to be pardoned for the sins of a life spent on poetry and on serving others.

poetry and serving others

Before this poem, al-Būṣīrī wrote praise poems for rulers and worked in government service.

إِذْ قَلَّدَانِيَ مَا تُخْشَى عَوَاقِبُهُكَأَنَّنِي بِهِمَا هَدْيٌ مِنَ النَّعَمِ

For those two hung around my neck a burden whose outcome I fear, as though I were an animal garlanded for sacrifice.

garlanded for sacrifice

Hady, an animal led to Mecca for sacrifice with a garland hung around its neck. Poetry and service have hung their sins around his neck in the same way.

أَطَعْتُ غَيَّ الصِّبَا فِي الْحَالَتَيْنِ وَمَاحَصَلْتُ إِلَّا عَلَى الْآثَامِ وَالنَّدَمِ

In both I followed the folly of youth, and gained nothing but sins and regret.

فَيَا خَسَارَةَ نَفْسٍ فِي تِجَارَتِهَالَمْ تَشْتَرِ الدِّينَ بِالدُّنْيَا وَلَمْ تَسُمِ

What a loss for a soul in its trading! It did not buy the next life with this world, and did not even ask the price.

وَمَنْ يَبِعْ آجِلاً مِنْهُ بِعَاجِلِهِيَبِنْ لَهُ الْغَبْنُ فِي بَيْعٍ وَفِي سَلَمِ

Whoever sells what is to come for what is at hand will see how badly he was cheated, whether he sold now or sold in advance.

sold in advance

Salam, a sale paid for now with the goods delivered later. Whether the deal is immediate or deferred, trading the next life for this one is a loss.

إِنْ آتِ ذَنْباً فَمَا عَهْدِي بِمُنْتَقِضٍمِنَ النَّبِيِّ وَلَا حَبْلِي بِمُنْصَرِمِ

If I commit a sin, my bond with the Prophet is not broken, and my rope to him is not cut.

فَإِنَّ لِي ذِمَّةً مِنْهُ بِتَسْمِيَتِيمُحَمَّداً وَهْوَ أَوْفَى الْخَلْقِ بِالذِّمَمِ

For I hold a promise of protection from him, because I bear the name Muhammad, and he is the most faithful of all creation to his promises.

the name Muhammad

Al-Būṣīrī’s own name was Muḥammad.

إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي مَعَادِي آخِذاً بِيَدِيفَضْلاً وَإِلَّا فَقُلْ يَا زَلَّةَ الْقَدَمِ

If, on the Day of Return, he does not take me by the hand out of kindness, then say: "What a fall!"

the Day of Return

Al-ma‘ād, the Day of Resurrection.

حَاشَاهُ أَنْ يُحْرَمَ الرَّاجِي مَكَارِمَهُأَوْ يَرْجِعَ الْجَارُ مِنْهُ غَيْرَ مُحْتَرَمِ

Far be it from him that one who hopes for his generosity should be refused, or that one who seeks his protection should go away dishonoured.

وَمُنْذُ أَلْزَمْتُ أَفْكَارِي مَدَائِحَهُوَجَدْتُهُ لِخَلَاصِي خَيْرَ مُلْتَزِمِ

Ever since I bound my thoughts to praising him, I have found him the best guarantor of my rescue.

وَلَنْ يَفُوتَ الْغِنَى مِنْهُ يَداً تَرِبَتْإِنَّ الْحَيَا يُنْبِتُ الْأَزْهَارَ فِي الْأَكَمِ

His riches will not pass by an empty, dusty hand. Rain makes flowers grow even on stony hills.

وَلَمْ أُرِدْ زَهْرَةَ الدُّنْيَا الَّتِي اقْتَطَفَتْيَدَا زُهَيْرٍ بِمَا أَثْنَى عَلَى هَرِمِ

I do not want the flowers of this world, the kind that Zuhayr's hands picked as payment for praising Harim.

Zuhayr … Harim

Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā, a famous poet before Islam, was richly rewarded by the chief Harim ibn Sinān for praising him. Al-Būṣīrī wants no worldly reward for his praise.

يَا أَكْرَمَ الْخَلْقِ مَا لِي مَنْ أَلُوذُ بِهِسِوَاكَ عِنْدَ حُلُولِ الْحَادِثِ الْعَمِمِ

O most generous of creation, I have no one to turn to but you when the calamity that covers everyone arrives.

the calamity that covers everyone

The Day of Judgement.

وَلَنْ يَضِيقَ رَسُولَ اللهِ جَاهُكَ بِيإِذَا الْكَرِيمُ تَجَلَّى بِاسْمِ مُنْتَقِمِ

O Messenger of God, your standing with God will not be too narrow for me, on the day the Generous One appears by His name "the Avenger".

the Avenger

Al-Muntaqim, one of the names of God: the One who brings wrongdoers to account.

فَإِنَّ مِنْ جُودِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَضَرَّتَهَاوَمِنْ عُلُومِكَ عِلْمَ اللَّوْحِ وَالْقَلَمِ

For this world and the next are part of your generosity, and the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen is part of what you know.

the Tablet and the Pen

Al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ, the Preserved Tablet on which God’s decree is written, and the Pen that wrote it.

يَا نَفْسُ لَا تَقْنَطِي مِنْ زَلَّةٍ عَظُمَتْإِنَّ الْكَبَائِرَ فِي الْغُفْرَانِ كَاللَّمَمِ

O my soul, do not despair because of a slip, however great. In the face of forgiveness, the gravest sins are like small ones.

the gravest sins … small ones

Kabā’ir (major sins) and lamam (small slips), words taken from the Qur’an (al-Najm 53:32).

لَعَلَّ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّي حِينَ يَقْسِمُهَاتَأْتِي عَلَى حَسَبِ الْعِصْيَانِ فِي الْقِسَمِ

Perhaps my Lord's mercy, when He shares it out, will come in portions that match the sins.

يَا رَبِّ وَاجْعَلْ رَجَائِي غَيْرَ مُنْعَكِسٍلَدَيْكَ وَاجْعَلْ حِسَابِي غَيْرَ مُنْخَرِمِ

O my Lord, do not let my hope in You be turned back, and do not let my account fall short.

وَالْطُفْ بِعَبْدِكَ فِي الدَّارَيْنِ إِنَّ لَهُصَبْراً مَتَى تَدْعُهُ الْأَهْوَالُ يَنْهَزِمِ

Be gentle with Your servant in both worlds, for his patience runs away whenever terrors call on it.

وَائْذَنْ لِسُحْبِ صَلَاةٍ مِنْكَ دَائِمَةٍعَلَى النَّبِيِّ بِمُنْهَلٍّ وَمُنْسَجِمِ

And let clouds of Your blessings rain without end upon the Prophet, pouring and flowing,

مَا رَنَّحَتْ عَذَبَاتِ الْبَانِ رِيحُ صَباًوَأَطْرَبَ الْعِيسَ حَادِي الْعِيسِ بِالنَّغَمِ

for as long as the east wind sways the tips of the willow branches, and the camel driver delights his camels with his song.

the east wind

Ṣabā, the gentle east wind of Arabic poetry, which carries news and scent from the beloved.

the willow

Al-bān again, the slender tree of verse 5.

the camel driver … his song

Ḥudā’, the chant camel drivers sing to keep their camels moving on long journeys.