Harful Qaaf · حَرْفُ الْقَافِ

قَدِيمًا فَـــــرَبِّي الْمُصْطَفَى عَبْــــدُهُ الْحَـــقُّ
وَلِي فِي جَنَابِ الْمُصْطَفَى الْحُبُّ وَالشَّوْقُ

Qadīman fa-rabbī al-Muṣṭafā ‘abduhu al-ḥaqqu
Wa-lī fī janābi al-Muṣṭafā al-ḥubbu wal-shawqu

From eternity, my Lord is [God], and the Chosen One is His true servant; and in the presence of the Chosen One, I possess love and longing.

يُصَلِّــي عَلَيْـــــهِ رَبُّهُ وَهْــــوَ عَبْـــدُهُ
وَأُثْنِي عَلَيْهِ حَالَتِي الْحُــبُّ وَالْعِشْـــقُ

Yuṣallī ‘alayhi rabbuhu wa-huwa ‘abduhu
Wa-uthnī ‘alayhi ḥālatī al-ḥubbu wal-‘ishqu

His Lord sends blessings upon him while he is His servant; and I extol him, my state being one of love and passionate infatuation.

وَمَدْحِيَ مَقْبُــــــولٌ وَإِنِّــي خَدِيمُـــهُ
وَإِذْ كُنْتُ مَقْبُولاً تَبَيَّــــنَ لِي الْعِتْـــقُ

Wa-mad-ḥiya maqbūlun wa-innī khadīmuhu
Wa-idh kuntu maqbūlan tabayyana liva al-‘itqu

My praise is accepted, for I am his servant; and since I am accepted, my liberation [from the fire] has become clear to me.

يَهِيمُونَ شَوْقًــــا بِالرَّبَابِ وَفَرْتَنَــى
وَجَمْعِي حَبَانِي حُبَّ أَحْمَدَ وَالْفَرْقُ

Yahīmūna shawqan bir-Rabābi wa-Fartanā
Wa-jam‘ī ḥabānī ḥubba Aḥmada wal-farqu

Others wander ecstatically out of longing for [worldly lovers like] Rabab and Fartana; but my gathering has granted me the love of Ahmad and the "Differentiation."

وَهَلْ يَتَأَتَّــى حُــــــبُّ غَيْــــرِ مُحَمَّــدٍ
فَحُبُّ سِوَى الْمَاحِي الْعَمَايَةُ وَالْفِسْـــقُ

Wa-hal yata’attā ḥubbu ghayri Muḥammadin
Fa-ḥubbu siwā al-Māḥī al-‘amāyatu wal-fisqu

How could the love of anyone other than Muhammad be possible? For the love of anyone besides the Eraser is but blindness and transgression.

سِوَى حُبِّ آلِ الْمُصْطَفَـــى وَصِحَابِــهِ
وَمَنْ كَانَ صِدِّيقًا مَتَى حَصْحَصَ الْحَقُّ

Siwā ḥubbi āli al-Muṣṭafā wa-ṣiḥābihi
Wa-man kāna ṣiddīqan matā ḥaṣ-ḥaṣa al-ḥaqqu

Except for the love of the family of the Chosen One and his companions, and whoever was truthful when the Truth became manifest.

وَقَوْمٌ قَفَوْا مِنْهَاجَ أُولاَءِ سَرْمَــــدًا
فَأَمْرُهُــمُ صِـــدْقٌ وَحُبُّهُمُ صِــدْقُ

Wa-qawmun qafaw minhāja ulā’i sarmadan
Fa-amruhumu ṣidqun wa-ḥub-buhumu ṣidqu

And those people who followed their path eternally; their affair is truth and their love is truth.

فَمَالِكُ وَالنُّعْمَــــــانُ أَحْمَــــدُ كُلُّهُــمْ
كَذَا الشَّافِعِي لَوْ لاَهُمُ أَظْلَمَ الْأُفْــــقُ

Fa-Māliku wan-Nu‘mānu Aḥmadu kulluhumu
Kadhā al-Shāfi‘ī law lāhumu aẓlama al-ufqu

Malik, al-Nu'man (Abu Hanifa), and Ahmad [ibn Hanbal]—all of them; likewise al-Shafi'i—were it not for them, the horizons would be dark.

كَذَاكَ أَبُو الْعَبَّـــاسِ أَحْمَـــدَ سَيِّــدِي
كَذَاكَ الْجُنَيْدُ السَّالِكُ الْعَيْلَمُ الْخِرْقُ

Kadhāka Abū al-‘Abbāsi Aḥmada sayyidī
Kadhāka al-Junaydu al-sāliku al-‘aylamu al-khirqu

Likewise Abu al-Abbas Ahmad [al-Tijani], my master; and likewise al-Junayd, the wayfarer, the vast ocean of knowledge, the noble leader.

وَكَمْ بَيْنَهُمْ أَوْ بَعْدَهُمْ مِنْ مُحَمَّــدٍ
وَعَبْدٍ بِنُورٍ مِنْهُمُ يَهْتَدِي الْخَلْــقُ

Wa-kam baynahum aw ba‘dahum min Muḥammadin
Wa-‘abdin bi-nūrin minhumu yahtadī al-khalqu

And how many there are between them or after them named Muhammad, or servants through whose light creation is guided!

قَدِ اقْتَبَسُوا مِنْ ضَوْءِ أَحْمَدَ فَارْتَقَــوْا
ذُرَى قُنَنٍ فِي الْمَجْدِ مَا فَوْقَهَا فَـــوْقُ

Qadi-qtabasū min ḍaw’i Aḥmada far-taqaw
Dhura qunanin fī al-majdi mā fawqahā fawqu

They kindled [their lights] from the light of Ahmad, and thus they ascended the peaks of glory, above which there is no higher peak.

فَيَا رَبِّ هَـــــبْ لِي حُبَّهُمْ وَاقْتِفَاءَهُــمْ
وَفُكَّ وَثَاقِي وَلْيُـــــــزَلْ عَنِّيَ الــرِّقُّ

Fa-yā rabbi hab lī ḥubbahum wa-qtifā’ahum
Wa-fukka withāqī wal-yuzal ‘anniya al-riqqu

O my Lord, grant me their love and the ability to follow them; and break my bonds, and let my slavery [to other than You] be removed.

وَعَنْ كُلِّـهِمْ هَـــبْ لِي تَمــــامَ وِرَاثَـــةٍ
بِفِعْلٍ يُحَـــــــاكِي فِعْلَهُــــمْ وَكَذَا خُلْــقُ

Wa-‘an kullihim hab lī tamāma wirāthatin
Bi-fi‘lin yuḥākī fi‘lahum wa-kadhā khulqu

And from all of them, grant me a complete inheritance, with actions that mimic their actions and a character like theirs.

بِجَـــــاهِ رَسُـــــولِ اللّٰهِ أَحْمَـــــدَ سَيِّــدِي
وَزِينَةِ كُلِّ النَّاسِ مَنْ خُلْقُـــــهُ الرِّفْـــقُ

Bi-jāhi Rasūli Allāhi Aḥmada sayyidī
Wa-zīnati kulli al-nāsi man khulquhu al-rifqu

By the rank of the Messenger of Allah, Ahmad, my master, the ornament of all people, whose character is gentleness.

عَلَيْـــــهِ صَــــــــلاَةُ اللّٰهِ ثُــــمَّ سَلاَمُـــهُ
صَلاَةً بِهَــــا مِنِّـــي إِلَى الْعَالَــمِ الرِّزْقُ

‘Alayhi ṣalātu Allāhi thumma salāmuhu
Ṣalātan bihā minnī ila al-‘ālami al-rizqu

Upon him be the prayer of Allah and then His peace; a prayer through which sustenance flows from me to the world.

عَلَيْــــــهِ مَــعَ الْآلِ الْكِـــرَامِ وَصَحْبِــهِ
صَــلاَةً بِهَا يَبْقَــــى لِيَ الدَّكُّ وَالْمَحْـــقُ

‘Alayhi ma‘a al-āli al-kirāmi wa-ṣaḥbihi
Ṣalātun bihā yabqā liya al-dak-ku wal-maḥ-qu

Upon him, along with the noble family and his companions; a prayer through which my ego is crushed and annihilated.