Harfud Dwaad · حَرْفُ الضَّادِ

ضَمِنْتُ لَــهُ وَهْيَ النُّذُورُ فُــرُوضُ
يُوَافِيـــهِ مِنِّـــي بِالثَّنَـــاءِ قَـــرِيضُ

Ḍamintu lahu wahya al-nudhūru furūḍu
Yuwāfīhi minnī bith-thanā’i qarīḍu

I have pledged to him—and vows are like obligations—that my poetry shall consistently reach him with praise.

وَذَاكَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ أَحْمَــدُ سَيِّــدٌ
لِقَلْبِي لَدَى ذِكْرِ الْأَمِينِ نُهُـــوضُ

Wa-dhāka Rasūlu Allāhi Aḥmadu sayyidun
Li-qalbī lada dhikri al-Amīni nuhūḍu

That is the Messenger of Allah, Ahmad, a master; at the mention of the Trustworthy One, my heart experiences a "rising."

نَـهَـضْتُ بِهِ مِنْـهُ إِلَى اللّٰهِ رَاحِـــلاً
حَبَانِي وَلاَ نَفْلٌ وَلَيْسَ فُــــرُوضُ

Nahaḍtu bihi minhu ila Allāhi rāḥilan
Ḥabānī wa-lā naflun wa-laysa furūḍu

Through him and from him, I set out traveling toward Allah; He gifted me [realities] beyond supererogatory or obligatory acts.

وَهَلْ أَبْصَرَتْ عَيْنَاكَ مِثْلِيَ سَائِرًا
سُلُوكِي وَجَذْبِي وَالْعُلُومُ فُيُـــوضُ

Wa-hal abṣarat ‘aynāka mithliya sā’iran
Sulūkī wa-jadh-bī wal-‘ulūmu fuyūḍu

Have your eyes ever seen a traveler like me? My methodic wayfaring, my ecstatic attraction, and my knowledges are all overflows.

كَفَانِيَ فِي سَيْــرِي الْعَنَـــاءَ وَقَادَنِي
إِلَى الذَّاتِ لاَ نَجْدٌ عَرَا أَوْ حَضِيضُ

Kafāniya fī sayrī al-‘anā’a wa-qādanī
Ila al-dhāti lā najdun ‘arā aw ḥaḍīḍu

He spared me the exhaustion in my journey and led me directly to the Essence—no plateau or lowland afflicted me.

وَكَشْفِيَ فِي الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالذِّكْرِ لَمْ أَحِضْ
حَيَاتِي إِذَا بَعْـــضُ الرِّجَــالِ يَحِيــضُ

Wa-kashfī fī al-asmā’i wal-dhikri lam aḥiḍ
Ḥayātī idhā ba‘ḍu al-rijāli yaḥīḍu

My unveiling regarding the Names and the Remembrance remains constant; I have never "menstruated" (ceased) while some men still do.

وَسِرِّي سَرَى فِي الْخَافِقَيْنِ وَعُقِّمَتْ
شُيُوخٌ عَلَوْا حَتَّى يَحُــــولَ جَرِيــضُ

Wa-sirrī sarā fī al-khāfiqayni wa-‘uqqimat
Shuyūkhun ‘alaw ḥattā yaḥūla jarīḍu

My secret has traveled through the East and the West, while other high-ranking Sheikhs have become "barren" until the choking of death.

عَلَى ذَلِكَ الْمَحْبُوبِ كَهْفِي وَمُرْشِدِي
صَـــلاَةٌ بِهَـــا قَلْبِـــي أَرَاهُ رَحِيـــضُ

‘Ala dhālika al-maḥbūbi kahfī wa-murshidī
Ṣalātun bihā qalbī arāhu raḥīḍu

Upon that Beloved—my cave and my guide—be a prayer through which I see my heart purified.

عَلَيْــــهِ صَــــلاَةُ اللّٰهِ ثُــــمَّ سَلاَمُـــهُ
صَلاَةً بِهَا عَنَّا الزَّمَـــانُ غَضِيــضُ

‘Alayhi ṣalātu Allāhi thumma salāmuhu
Ṣalātan bihā ‘annā al-zamānu ghaḍīḍu

Upon him be the prayer of Allah and then His peace; a prayer through which time itself looks away from us (in respect/shame).

عَلَيْــــــــهِ صَـــــلاَةُ اللّٰهِ ثُـــمَّ سَلاَمُــهُ
مَدَى الدَّهْرِ مَا دَمْـــعُ الْمُحِبِّ يَفِيـــضُ

‘Alayhi ṣalātu Allāhi thumma salāmuhu
Madā al-dahri mā dam‘u al-muḥibbi yafīḍu

Upon him be the prayer of Allah and then His peace, for as long as the lover's tears continue to flow.

عَلَيْهِ مَــــعَ الْآلِ الْكِـــرَامِ وَصَحْبِـــهِ
مَنَاسِــــكُ شِعْــــرِي فِي ثَنَاكَ تَفِيــضُ

‘Alayhi ma‘a al-āli al-kirāmi wa-ṣaḥ-bihi
Manāsiku shi‘rī fī thanāka tafīḍu

Upon him, along with the noble family and his companions; the rites of my poetry overflow in your praise.