Harfun Noon · حرف النون

هَدَانِـي إِلَــى حُـبِّ الْأَمِيــنِ إِلَـهُـنَــا
قَدْ أَوْصَلَنِي مَوْلَى الْبَرَايَا إِلَى هُنَا

Hadānī ilā ḥubbi al-Amīni ilāhunā
qad awṣalanī mawlā al-barāyā ilā hunā

Our God guided me to the love of the Trustworthy One; the Lord of all beings has brought me to this very point.

فُــــؤَادِيَ مَرْهُـــونٌ بِحُــبِّ مُحَمَّــدٍ
فَلاَطِفْ مُحِبًّا صَارَ لِلْقَلْــبِ رَاهِنَـا

Fu’ādī marhūnun bi-ḥubbi Muḥammadin
fa-lāṭif muḥibban ṣāra lil-qalbi rāhinā

My heart is held in mortgage by the love of Muhammad; so be gentle with a lover who has pawned his heart.

جُبِلْتُ بِحُبِّ الْـهَاشِمِيِّ وَزِدْتَنِــــي
لِمَا حُزْتَ يَا خَيْرَ الْأَنَامِ مَحَاسِنَـا

Jubiltu bi-ḥubbi al-Hāshimiyyi wa-zidtanī
limā ḥuzta yā khayra al-anāmi maḥāsinā

I was fashioned with the love of the Hashemite, and you increased my love because of the beauties you possess, O Best of Mankind.

فَسَكَّتَنِي ذَاكَ الْجَمَـــــالُ وَرُبَّمَـا
أَطَالَ لِسَانِــي فِيــهِ لِلْمَدْحِ وَازِنَا

Fa-sakkatanī dhāka al-jamālu wa-rubbamā
aṭāla lisānī fīhi lil-madḥi wāzinā

That beauty struck me silent, yet at times it made my tongue lengthy in composing measured praise.

فَحُبِّبَ ذَاتُ الْمُصْطَفَى وَصِفَاتُهُ
لِقَلْبِي وَقَلْبِي قَـدْ يُسَرُّ بِمَـا جَنَـا

Fa-ḥubbiba dhātu al-Muṣṭafā wa-ṣifātuhu
li-qalbī wa-qalbī qad yusarru bi-mā janā

The essence and attributes of the Chosen One were made beloved to my heart, and my heart rejoices in what it has harvested.

فَتُنْزِلُ أَمْرًا كُلَّ حِينٍ لِمَنْ بَغَـى
لِحِبِّكَ شُغْلاً مُسْتَكِنًّا وَظَاعِنَــا

Fa-tunzilu amran kulla ḥīnin liman baghā
li-ḥibbika shughlan mustakinnan wa-ẓāʿinā

You (O Allah) send down a decree at every moment against whoever seeks to distract Your beloved, whether they are stationary or traveling.

لِتَكْفِ وَتَرْدُدْ مَكْـــرَ خِبٍّ بِنَحْرِهِ
فَيُمْسِي كَمَنْ قَدْ جَذَّ بِالْكَفِّ مَارِنَا

Li-takfi wa-tardud makra khibbin bi-naḥrihi
fa-yumsī ka-man qad jadhdha bi-l-kaffi mārinā

To suffice him and turn the plot of the deceiver back upon his own throat, so he becomes like one who severed his own nose with his hand.

وَكَالْمُحْتَسِي السُّمَّ النَّقِيـعَ وَبَاحِثٍ
بِظِلْفٍ لَـهُ حَتْفًا فَيُرْدَى بِمَا جَنَى

Wa-ka-l-muḥtasī al-summa al-naqīʿa wa-bāḥithin
bi-ẓilfin lahu ḥatfan fa-yurdā bi-mā janā

Or like one who drinks soaked poison, or like the animal digging with its hoof for its own death, only to be struck down by what it wrought.

فَعَبْدٌ مُقِــرٌّ بِالْقُصُـــورِ وَبِالْوَنَــى
وَلَـكِنَّهُ عَـنْ حُـبِّ أَحْمَدَ مَـا وَنَى

Fa-ʿabdun muqirrun bi-l-quṣūri wa-bi-l-wanā
wa-lākinnahu ʿan ḥubbi Aḥmada mā wanā

Here is a servant admitting to his shortcomings and lethargy, yet regarding the love of Ahmad, he has never tired.

وَالْأُمَّةُ قَصْدِي فِيهِــمُ أَنْ أَسُوقَهُــمْ
إِلَى حَضْرَةِ الْبَــرِّ الرَّحِيــمِ إِلَهِنَـا

Wa-l-ummatu qaṣdī fīhimu an asūqahum
ilā ḥaḍrati al-Barri al-Raḥīmi ilāhinā

My goal regarding the community is to lead them to the presence of the Benign and Merciful, our God.

وَتَعْلَمُ هَلْ فِي الْخَلْقِ أَحْنَى عَلَيْهِمُ
مَدَى الدَّهْرِ مِنِّي وَالْبَعِيـدُ كَمَنْ دَنَـا

Wa-taʿlamu hal fī al-khalqi aḥnā ʿalayhimu
madā al-dahri minnī wa-l-baʿīdu ka-man danā

And You know: is there anyone in all creation more compassionate toward them throughout time than I, for whom the distant is as the near?

وَمَا فِيكَ مِمَّا فِيكَ يَبْدُو مُفَصَّحًــا
وَطَــهَ حَدِيثِــي لِلسَّمِيــرِ مُثَافِنَــا

Wa-mā fīka mimmā fīka yabdu mufaṣṣaḥan
wa-Ṭāhā ḥadīthī lil-samīri muthāfinā

Not all that is within you can be expressed eloquently, but Taha is my constant discourse with every companion who sits with me.

لَــهُ الرَّأْسُ مِنِّـي وَالْمُحَيَّـا وَكَلْكَلِـي
وَبَطْنِي وَرِجْلِي وَالْفُؤَادُ وَمَا هُنَا

Lahu al-ra’su minnī wa-l-muḥayyā wa-kalkalī
wa-baṭnī wa-rijlī wa-l-fu’ādu wa-mā hunā

To him belongs my head, my face, and my chest; my stomach, my legs, my heart, and all that is within.

وَسَالِفَتِي أَوْ كَــاهِلِي ثُــمَّ جَانِبِــي
فَكُلِّي لِخَيْـــرِ الْخَلْقِ بَلْــهَ الْمُدَاهِنَـا

Wa-sālifatī aw kāhilī thumma jānibī
fa-kullī li-khayri al-khalqi balha al-mudāhinā

My neck, my shoulders, and my sides; my entirety belongs to the Best of Creation, far from any mere flattery.

وَالْأَهْلُونَ وَالْأَوْلاَدُ وَالصَّحْبُ ثُمَّ مَا
حَوَى أَنْمُلِي مُلْكًا وَمَـا كَانَ دَاجِنَـا

Wa-l-ahlūna wa-l-awlādu wa-l-ṣaḥbu thumma mā
ḥawā anmulī mulkan wa-mā kāna dājinā

My family, my children, my companions, and all that my fingers possess of property or livestock.

تَسَتَّرْتُ عَـنْ دَهْـرِي بِطَــهَ مُحَمَّــدٍ
وَمَـنْ كَانَ لِلْمُخْتَـارِ مَا انْفَـكَّ آمِنَـا

Tasattartu ʿan dahrī bi-Ṭāhā Muḥammadin
wa-man kāna lil-Mukhtāri mā n-fakka āminā

I have veiled myself from the vicissitudes of time through Taha Muhammad; and whoever belongs to the Chosen One remains forever secure.

فَمَا عَرَفَ الْأَيَّامُ رَبْعِي وَمَا دَرَتْ
سُمَاتِيَ مُذْ سَاكَنْـــتُ أَحْمَــدَ قَاطِنَـا

Famā ʿarafa al-ayyāmu rabʿī wa-mā darat
sumātī mudh sākantu Aḥmada qāṭinā

The days no longer recognize my dwelling, nor do they know my features, since I took up residence with Ahmad as my neighbor.

وَأَحْمَدُ سِرُّ الذَّاتِ وَالذَّاتُ سِرُّهَــا
تَقَاصَرَ عَنْ إِدْرَاكِهِ الْجَلْـــدُ وَاهِنَا

Wa-Aḥmadu sirru al-dhāti wa-l-dhāti sirruha
taqāṣara ʿan idrākihi al-jaldu wāhinā

Ahmad is the secret of the Divine Essence, and the Essence is his secret; even the strongest mind falls short and weak in perceiving him.

بِكَنْزِيَّـــةٍ أَوْ كُنْــتُ قَبْــلَ تَعَــارُفٍ
تَحَرَّكَ مِنْ ذَا السِّرِّ مَا كَانَ سَاكِنَا

Bi-kanziyyatin aw kuntu qabla taʿārufin
taḥarraka min dhā al-sirri mā kāna sākinā

Through the "Hidden Treasure," or before our worldly recognition, that which was still within this secret began to move.

بِذَاكَ بَدَا التَّشْتِيــتُ مِنْ نَحْوِ سِـرِّهِ
وَعُلِّقْتُ مِنْ ذَاكَ الزَّمَانِ إِلَى هُنَا

Bi-dhāka badā al-tashtītu min naḥwi sirrihi
wa-ʿulliqtu min dhāka al-zamāni ilā hunā

Through that, the outward manifestation began from his hidden reality, and I have been suspended in that love from that time until now.

عَلَى بَاطِنِ الْأَسْرَارِ أَزْكَى صَلاَتِهِ
مَعَ الْآلِ أَوْ مَنْ كَانَ لِلْبَــدْرِ كَائِنَــا

ʿAlā bāṭini al-asrāri azkā ṣalātihi
maʿa al-āli aw man kāna lil-badri kā’inā

Upon the inward reality of secrets be His purest prayers, along with the Family and all those who belong to that full moon.