Al Faswlul 'Aashiru · الْفَصْلُ الْعَاشِرُ

يَا أَكْرَمَ الخَلْقِ مَالَي مَنْ أَلُوذُ بِهِ
سِوَاكَ عِنْدَ حُلُولِ الحَادِثِ العَمِمِ

Yā akramal khalqi mālī man alūdhu bihi
Siwāka ʿinda ḥulūlil ḥādithil ʿamimi

O Noblest of Creation, whose protection can I seek But yours, when the Universal Event comes to pass?

وَلَنْ يَضِيقَ رَسُولَ اللهِ جَاهُكَ بيِ
إِذَا الكَرِيمُ تَجَلَّى بِاسْمِ مُنْتَقِمِ

Wa lan yaḍīqa rasūlaLlāhi jāhuka bī
Idhal karīmu tajjalā bismi muntaqimi

O Emissary of Allah, your rank will not be diminished By me when the Generous One appears, named as the Avenger.

فَإِنَّ مِنْ جُودِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَضَرَّتَهَا
وَمِنْ عُلُومِكَ عِلْمَ اللَّوْحِ وَالقَلَمِ

Fa inna min jūdikad dunyā wa ḍarratahā
Wa min ʿulūmika ʿilmal lawḥi wal qalami

For this world and its companion the Next come from your bounty, And part of what you know is knowledge of the Tablet and Pen.

يَا نَفْسُ لاَ تَقْنَطِي مِنْ زَلَّةٍ عَظُمَتْ
إَنَّ الكَبَائِرَ فِي الغُفْرَانِ كَاللَّمَمِ

Yā nafsu lā taqnaṭī min zallatin ʿaẓumat
Innal kabāʾira fīl ghufrāni kal lamami

O soul, despair not over a fault that is immense; Enormities, with divine forgiveness, are like minor errors.

لَعَلَّ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّي حِينَ يَقْسِمُهَا
تَأْتِي عَلَى حَسَبِ العِصْيَانِ فِي الْقِسَمِ

Laʿalla raḥmata rabbī ḥīna yaqsimuhā
Taʾtī ʿalā ḥasabil ʿiṣyāni fīl qisami

Perchance my Lord’s mercy, when He apportions it, Will be distributed in accordance with the measure of sins.

يَا رَبِّ وَاجْعَلْ رَجَائِي غَيْرَ مُنْعَكِسٍ
لَدَيْكَ وَاجْعَلْ حِسَابِي غَيْرَ مُنْخَرِمِ

Yā rabbi wajʿal rajāʾī ghayra munʿakisin
Ladayka wajʿal ḥisābī ghayra munkharimi

O my Lord, let not my hope in You be overturned And do not make my account devoid of value.

وَالْطُفْ بِعَبْدِكَ فِي الدَّارَيْنِ إَنَّ لَهُ
صَبْرًا مَتَى تَدْعُهُ الأَهْوَالُ يَنْهَزِمِ

Walṭuf biʿabdika fid dārayni inna lahu
Ṣabran matā tadʿuhul ahwālu yanhazimi

Be gentle with Your servant in this life and the Next; For his patience flees when he is visited by terrors.

وَأْذَنْ لِسُحْبِ صَلاَةٍ مِنْكَ دَائِمَةٍ
عَلَى النَّبِيِّ بِمُنْهَلٍّ وَمُنْسَجِمِ

Waʾdhan lisuḥbi ṣalātin minka dāʾimatin
ʿAlan nabiyyi bimunhallin wa munsajimi

And may clouds of Your blessings rain down constantly Upon the Prophet, pouring down in abundance.

مَا رَنَّحَتْ عَذَبَاتِ الْبَانِ رِيحُ صَبًا
وَأَطْرَبَ الْعِيسَ حَادِي الْعِيسِ بِالنَّغَمِ

Mā rannaḥat ʿadhabātil bāni rīḥu ṣaban
Wa aṭrabal ʿīsa ḥādil ʿīsi bin naghami

For as long as the east wind stirs the branches of willows, And camel-drivers bring joy to their camels with melody.

ثُمَّ الرِّضَا عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعَنْ عُمَرٍ
وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ وَعَنْ عُثْمَانَ ذِي الْكَرَمِ

Thummar riḍā ʿan abī bakrin wa ʿan ʿumarin
Wa ʿan ʿaliyyin wa ʿan ʿuthmāna dhil karami

Then extend Your good-pleasure to Abū Bakr and to ʿUmar And to ‘Ali, and to ʿUthmān, the generous

وَالآلِ وَالصَّحْبِ ثُمَّ التَابِعِيَن فَهُمْ
أَهْلُ التُّقَى وَالنَّقَا وَالحِلْمِ وَالْكَرَمِ

Wal āli waṣ ṣaḥbi thummat tābiʿīna fahum
Ahlut tuqā wan naqā wal ḥilmi wal karami

And to the Family and the Companions, and then the Followers—the people of Godfearingness, purity, forbearance and generosity.

يِا رَبِّ بِالمُصْطَفَى بَلِّغْ مَقَاصِدَنَا
وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا مَا مَضَى يَا وَاسِعَ الكَرَمِ

Yā rabbi bil muṣṭafā balligh maqāṣidanā
Waghfir lanā mā maḍā yā wāsiʿal karami

O Lord, by the Chosen One, allow us to attain our hopes And forgive us for what has gone past, O Vastly Generous.

وَاغْفِرْ إِلَهِي لِكُلِ المُسْلِمِينَ بِمَا
يَتْلُونَ فِي المَسْجِدِ الأَقْصَى وَفِي الحَرَمِ

Waghfir ilāhī li kullil muslimīna bimā
Yatluna fīl masjidil aqṣā wa fīl ḥarami

And forgive, O God, all of the Muslims, by virtue Of what they recite in the Furthest Mosque [al-Aqṣā] and the Sacrosanct Mosque [al-Ḥaram]

بِجَاهِ مَنْ بَيْتُهُ فِي طَيْبَةٍ حَرَمٌ
وَاسْمُهُ قَسَمٌ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْقَسَمِ

Bijāhi man baytuhu fī ṭaybatin ḥaramun
Wasmuhu qasamun min aʿẓamil qasami

By the rank of him whose house is a sanctum in Ṭayba [Medina] And whose name is an oath—from the greatest of oaths!

وَهَذِهِ بُرْدَةُ المُخْتَارِ قَدْ خُتِمَتْ
وَالحَمْدُ للهِ فِي بَدْءٍ وَفِي خَتَمِ

Wa hādhihi burdatul mukhtāri qad khutimat
Walḥamdu liLlāhi fī badʾin wa fī khatami

This Burda Ode of the Chosen One is thus complete And all praise is due to Allah in its beginning and its end.

أَبْيَاتُهَا قَدْ أَتَتْ سِتِّينَ مَعْ مِائَةٍ
فَرِّجْ بِهَا كَرْبَنَا يَا وَاسِعَ الْكَرَمِ

Abyātuhā qad atat sittīna maʿ miʾatin
Farrij bihā karbanā yā wāsiʿal karami

Its couplets—numbering one hundred and sixty—have come; Relieve us our difficulties by them, O Vastly Generous!