Harfut Taai · حرف التاء

تَذَكَّرْتُ وَالذِّكْرَى تُكَدِّرُ لِي الْمَحْـيَــــا
لَيَالِي اجْتِمَاعِ الْحَيِّ فِي الْحَضْرَةِ الْعُلْيَـا

Tadhakkartu wa al-dhikrā tukaddirū lī al-maḥyā
Layālī ijtimā‘i al-ḥayyi fī al-ḥaḍrati al-‘ulyā

I remembered—and the memory brings a cloud over my life—the nights of the tribe's gathering in the Sublime Presence.

يُحَاضِرُنِي فِتْيَانُ صِدْقٍ قَدْ أَخْلَـصُوا
إِلَى اللّٰهِ قَصْدًا لَنْ نَمُوتَ وَلَنْ نَحْـيَا

Yuḥāḍirunī fitiyānu ṣidqin qad akhlaṣū
Ilā Allāhi qaṣdan lan namūta wa lan naḥyā

Truthful youths would sit with me, having become sincere toward Allah with a purpose that transcends life and death.

تَنَازَعَ كَأْسَ الذِّكْرِ أَصْحَابُ شَيْـخِنَا
وَذِكْرَ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ فِي أَرْفَعِ الْـمَحْـيَا

Tanāza‘a ka’sa al-dhikri aṣḥābu shaykhinā
Wa dhikra Rasūli Allāhi fī arfa’i al-maḥyā

The companions of our Sheikh would pass around the cup of remembrance and the mention of the Messenger of Allah in the most pleasant of lives.

فَـطَوْرًا لِـوُرَّادٍ وَطَـوْرًا لِـصَـادِرٍ
وَآوِنَـةً لِلْحَـيِّ أَحْـسِنْ بِهِ سَـعْـيَا

Faṭawran li-wurrādin wa ṭawran li-ṣādirin
Wa āwinatan lil-ḥayyi aḥsin bihi sa‘yā

At times for those entering the spiritual path and at times for those returning, and at intervals for the One who is Ever-Living—how excellent is that striving.

نَـهِـيمُ بِهِ طَـوْرًا وَطَـــوْرًا بِسِــرِّهِ
وَسِـرِّ رَسُـولِ اللّٰهِ طَـيًّا عَلاَ طَـيَّا

Nahīmu bihi ṭawran wa ṭawran bi-sirrihi
Wa sirri Rasūli Allāhi ṭayyā ‘alā ṭayyā

We wander in love for Him at times, and at other times for his (the Prophet's) secret, and the secret of the Messenger of Allah is layers upon layers.

فَـطَــهَ رَسُــولُ اللّٰهِ مُـرْسَـلَ ذَاتِـهِ
نُرِيدُ فَـلاَ سُعْـدَى نَـرُومُ وَلاَ رَيَّـا

Fa Ṭahā Rasūlu Allāhi mursal dhātihi
Nurīdu fa-lā su‘dā narūmu wa lā rayyā

For it is Taha, the Messenger of Allah, the one sent from His very Essence, whom we desire; we seek neither Su'da nor Rayya.

وَلِمْ لاَ وَعَـيْنِـي قَدْ رَأَتْـــهُ بِيَقْـظَــــةٍ
بِحَيِّ الَّذِي أَهْوَى مَدَى الدَّهْرِ وَالدُّنْيَا

Wa limlā wa ‘ayniy qad ra’at-hu bi-yaqẓatin
Bi-ḥayyi alladhī ahwā madā al-dahri wa al-dunyā

And why not, when my very eye has seen him in a state of wakefulness, in the quarter of the one I love throughout time and the world?

وَأَيْـضًا أَرَى عَيْنَيْـهِ تُشْبِهُ عَـيْنَـهُ
جَـمَالاً فَـهَلْ تُـلْفِي لِأَحْمَدَ مِنْ ثُنْيَا

Wa ayḍan arā ‘aynayhi tushbihu ‘aynahu
Jamālan fa-hal tulfi li-Aḥmada min thunyā

Moreover, I see his (the Sheikh's) eyes resembling his (the Prophet's) eye in beauty; can you find any second or equal to Ahmad?

عَلَيْـهِ صَلاَةُ الْحَقِّ مَـا قَالَ مُـغْـــرَمٌ
تَذَكَّرْتُ وَالذِّكْرَى تُكَدِّرُ لِي الْمَـحْيَـا

‘Alayhi ṣalātu al-ḥaqqi mā qāla mughramun
Tadhakkartu wa al-dhikrā tukaddirū lī al-maḥyā

Upon him be the prayer of the Truth as long as an infatuated lover says: I remembered—and the memory brings a cloud over my life.