Al-Alifu Al-Qaswiira · الْأَلِفُ الْقَصِيرَةُ

أَلاَ أَيُّهَا الْمَمْدُوحُ يَا أَفْضَلَ الْــوَرَى
وَيَا أَيُّهَا الْمَحْمُودُ ذُو الْحَمْدِ وَاللِّوَا

Alā ayyuhā al-mamdūḥu yā afḍala al-warā
Wa-yā ayyuhā al-maḥmūdu dhū al-ḥamdi wal-liwā

O the Praised One! O Best of Creation! O the one worthy of all Laudation, possessor of the Praise and the Banner!

بِسِــرِّكَ بِالـــذَّاتِ الْعَلِيَّــةِ بِاسْمِهَــا
وَبِالرُّسْلِ وَالْبَيْتِ الْحَرَامِ وَبِالْقُرَى

Bi-sirrika bidh-dhāti al-‘aliyyati bi-smihā
Wa-bir-rusuli wal-bayti al-ḥarāmi wa-bil-qurā

By your secret, by the High Essence, by Its Name, by the Messengers, by the Sacred House (Kaaba), and by all the towns;

جَمِيعًــا وَبِالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيــمِ وَأَهْلِـــهِ
وَالْأَسْمَاءِ وَالْأَفْلاَكِ وَالنَّجْمِ وَالثَّرَى

Jamī‘an wa-bidh-dhikri al-ḥakīmi wa-ahlihi
Wal-asmā’i wal-aflāki wan-najmi wath-tharā

By all of them, by the Wise Remembrance (Quran) and its people, by the Names, the celestial spheres, the stars, and the soil;

دَعَــــوْتُ لِنَفْسِـــي ثُمَّ أُمِّـــي وَوَالِــدِي
وَصَحْبِي وَأَحْبَابِي وَأَهْلِي وَمَنْ قَرَا

Da‘awtu li-naf-sī thumma ummī wa-wālidī
Wa-ṣaḥ-bī wa-aḥbābī wa-ahlī wa-man qarā

I have called for myself, then for my mother and my father, my companions, my beloveds, my family, and whoever recites [these words]:

هُدًى وَجَدًا عِلْمًا وَرِزْقًا وَرِفْعَــةً
وَأَمْنًا وَإِيمَانًا يَزِيدُ إِلَى الْأُخْـــرَى

Hudan wa-jadan ‘ilman wa-riz-qan wa-rif-‘atan
Wa-amnan wa-īmānan yazīdu ila al-ukhrā

For guidance, abundance, knowledge, sustenance, and elevation; for safety and a faith that increases until the Hereafter;

وَتَقْوًى وَزُهْدًا وَاعْتِلاَءً وَحِكْمَةً
وَعَافِيَـــةً بَعْـــدَ الْإِنَابَــةِ لِلْمَــوْلَى

Wa-taqwan wa-zuhdan wa-‘ti-lā’an wa-ḥikmatan
Wa-‘āfiyatan ba‘da al-inābata lil-Mawlā

For piety, asceticism, rising high, and wisdom; and for well-being after returning to the Master.

زِدِ الْعِلْـــمَ فِينَــا وَاكْفِنَا الشَّـــرَ جُمْلَــةً
وَصُنَّا جَمِيعًا عَنْ غُرُورٍ وَعَنْ أَهْوَا

Zidi al-‘ilma fīnā wak-finā al-shar-ra jum-latan
Wa-ṣunnā jamī‘an ‘an ghurūrin wa-‘an ahwā

Increase the knowledge within us and protect us from evil entirely; guard us all from delusion and from whims.

حَبَـــوْتَ لَنَا الْإِيمَـــانَ زِدْهُ وَأَبْقِــهِ
لَدَى الْمَوْتِ حَقًّا ثُمَّ زِدْهُ لَدَى اللُّقْيَــا

Ḥabayta lanā al-īmāna zid-hu wa-ab-qihi
Lada al-mawti ḥaqqan thumma zid-hu lada al-luqyā

You have bestowed faith upon us—so increase it and let it remain at the time of death, and then increase it further at the Meeting [with Allah].

طَوَيْتَ لِمَنْ أَحْبَبْتَهُ السُّبْلَ فَاطْوِيَـــنْ
لَنَا كُلَّ بُعْدٍ فِي الْمَمَاتِ وَفِي الْمَحْيَا

Ṭawayta liman aḥbabtahu al-subla fa-ṭwiyan
Lanā kulla bu‘din fī al-mamāti wa-fī al-maḥyā

You have "folded" the paths for those you love; so fold for us every distance, both in death and in life.

يَقِينًــــا تَقِينَـــا كُـــلَّ سُـــوءٍ فَلاَ نَــرَى
سِوَى فَضْلِ مَوْلًى لاَ نُرِيدُ جَزَا الْحُسْنَى

Yaqīnan taqīnā kulla sū’in falā narā
Siwā faḍ-li Mawlā lā nurīdu jazā al-ḥusnā

May a certain faith protect us from every evil, so we see nothing but the grace of a Master; we seek no reward other than the "Best" (the Vision of God).

كَتَمْتَ قَبِيحاً ثُمَّ أَظْهَـــرْتَ سَيِّــدِي
جَمِيلاً أَدِمْ هَــذَا وَأَتْحِفْ لَنَا الْبُغْيَا

Katamta qabīḥan thumma aẓ-har-ta sayyidī
Jamīlan adim hādhā wa-at-ḥif lanā al-bugh-yā

You have concealed my ugliness and then manifested, my master, what is beautiful—make this last and grant us our quest.

لَــكَ الْحَمْدُ لَوْ عَاقَبْتَ كُلَّ عُقُوبَــةٍ
نَكُونُ لِــذَا أَهْــــلاً فَأَعْمَالُنَا أَسْــوَا

Laka al-ḥam-du law ‘āqabta kulla ‘uqūbatin
Nakūnu lidhā ahlan fa-a‘mālunā aswā

To You belongs the praise even if You were to punish us with every punishment—we would be deserving of it, for our deeds are the worst.

مَتِينُ وَلَوْ أَحْسَنْتَ بِالْعَفْوِ وَالْعَطَا
فَأَنْتَ لَهُ أَهْلٌ فَالْإِحْسَانُ مَا تَهْوَى

Matīnu wa-law aḥsanta bil-‘afwi wal-‘aṭā
Fa-anta lahu ahlun fal-iḥsānu mā tahwā

O firm One! If You were to favor us with forgiveness and bounty, You are worthy of that, for excellence is what You love.

نَعَمْ قَدْ أَمَرْتَ الْعَبْدَ يُحْسِنُ نَحْوَ مَنْ
أَسَاءَ عَلَيْـــهِ فَالْكَرِيـــمُ بِــذَا أَوْلَــى

Na‘am qad amarta al-‘abda yuḥ-sinu naḥwa man
Asā’a ‘alayhi fal-Karīmu bidhā awlā

Yes, You commanded the servant to be excellent toward those who treated him ill; so the Most Generous is even more worthy of this.

صَبُورُ أَيَا سَتَّارُ قَـــادِرُ هَــبْ لَنَــا
صَلاَحًا وَرُشْدًا وَالْقَبُولَ لِمَا نَسْعَى

Ṣabūru ayā Sattāru qādiru hab lanā
Ṣalāḥan wa-rushdan wal-qabūla limā nas‘ā

O Patient One! O Concealer of faults! O Powerful One! Grant us righteousness, guidance, and the acceptance of what we strive for.

عَلَى أَحْمَدٍ فِي كُــلِّ بَــدْءٍ وَمَخْتَــمٍ
صَلاَةٌ وَتَسْلِيمٌ مَــدَى الدَّهْرِ وَالدُّنْيَا

‘Alā Aḥmada fī kulli bad-’in wa-makhtami
Ṣalātun wa-taslīmun madā al-dahri wad-dunyā

Upon Ahmad, at every beginning and every end, be a prayer and peace for as long as time and the world endure.

فَلِي فِيهِ حُـــبٌّ وَالرَّجَــاءُ يَزِيــدُهُ
عَلَيْهِ صَلاَةٌ مَا أَمَـــاتَ وَمَا أَحْيَــا

Falī fīhi ḥubbun wal-rajā’u yazīduhu
‘Alayhi ṣalātun mā amāta wa-mā aḥyā

In him I have a love, and hope only increases it; upon him be a prayer as long as [Allah] causes death and grants life.

ضَمِنْــــتُ لَــهُ وَاللّٰهِ أَنْفَـــكُّ ذَاكِــرًا
مَحَاسِنَهُ رَغْمَ الْبُغَاةِ ذَوِي الْأَهْـــوَا

Ḍamintu lahu wal-Lāhi an-fakku dhākiran
Maḥāsinahu ragh-ma al-bughāti dhawī al-ahwā

I have pledged to him—by Allah—that I shall never cease mentioning his beauties, despite the transgressors who follow their whims.

قَدْ أَسْلَمْتُهُ نَفْسِــي وَعَقْلِـي وَكَلْكَلِــي
وَرُوحِي وَسِرِّي فِي حَيَاتِي وَفِي الْأُخْرَى

Qad as-lamtuhu naf-sī wa-‘aq-lī wa-kal-kalī
Wa-rūḥī wa-sirrī fī ḥayātī wa-fī al-ukhrā

I have surrendered to him my self, my intellect, my chest, my spirit, and my secret, in my life and in the Hereafter.

رَجَعْــــــتُ بِـــهِ لِلَّهِ جَـــلَّ جَلاَلُــــــهُ
عَلَيْـــهِ صَـــلاَةٌ لاَ تُعَدُّ وَلاَ تُحْـصَى

Raja‘tu bi-hi lillāhi jalla jalāluhu
‘Alayhi ṣalātun lā tu‘addu wa-lā tuḥ-ṣā

Through him I have returned to Allah—Exalted is His Majesty; upon him be a prayer that cannot be counted or calculated.

سَلِيمًا مِــنَ الْإِشْرَاكِ وَالشَّكِّ عَارِفًا
وَحُرًّا فَلاَ سُعْــدَى أَرُومُ وَلاَ رَيَّــا

Salīman mina al-ish-rāki wash-shak-ki ‘ārifan
Wa-ḥurran falā Su‘dā arūmu wa-lā Rayyā

[I returned] sound from polytheism and doubt, as a gnostic and a free man—seeking neither [the worldly beauties] Su'da nor Rayya.

تَـــرَانِي مُـــــرَادًا لاَ مُرِيـــدًا وَإِنَّـــنِي
لِيَ الْمُلْكُ وَالتَّصْرِيفُ بِالْمُصْطَفَى الْمَأْوَى

Tarānī murādan lā murīdan wa-innanī
Liya al-mul-ku wat-taṣrīfu bil-Muṣṭafā al-ma’wā

You see me as one "Intended" (Murād), not merely a "seeker" (Murīd); and to me belongs authority and disposal through the Chosen One, the Refuge.

ثَقِيـــلٌ بِــــــهِ مِيزَانِــيَ الْخِــــفُّ فَائِــزًا
بِطَـــهَ وَيُعْلِينِي إِلَى الرُّتْبَـــةِ الْقُصْوَى

Thaqīlun bi-hi mīzāniya al-khiffu fā’izan
Bi-Ṭāhā wa-yu‘līnī ila al-rut-bati al-quṣwā

Through him, my light-weighted scale becomes heavy [with good deeds], finding success through Taha; he raises me to the furthest rank.

خَلَصْتُ وَخَلَّصْتُ الْمُحِبِّيـــنَ جُمْلَــةً
بِحُبِّ حَبِيبِ اللّٰهِ مَنْ يَرْكَبُ الْقَصْـــوَا

Khalaṣ-tu wa-khal-laṣ-tu al-muḥibbīna jum-latan
Bi-ḥubbi ḥabībi Allāhi man yar-kabu al-Qaṣwā

I have been saved, and I have saved the lovers entirely, through the love of the Beloved of Allah—the one who rides al-Qaswa (his she-camel).

ذَكَرْتُ صِحَابِي ثُمَّ قَوْمِــي وَمَعْشَــرِي
فَنَــالُوا جَمِيعًا فَوْقَ مَــا كَـانَ مِـنْ بُغْيَا

Dhakartu ṣiḥābī thumma qawmī wa-ma‘-sharī
Fa-nālū jamī‘an fawqa mā kāna min bugh-yā

I mentioned my companions, then my people and my group; and they all attained more than what they had sought.

ظَفِرْنَـــــا بِإِكْسِيـــرِ السَّعَـــادَةِ أَحْمَــدٍ
عَلَيْهِ صَلاَةٌ مِنْـــهُ صِرْنَا إِلَى الْحُسْنَى

Ẓafirnā bi-iksīri al-sa‘ādati Aḥmada
‘Alayhi ṣalātun minhu ṣirnā ila al-ḥusnā

We have triumphed through the "Elixir of Happiness"—Ahmad; upon him be a prayer from Him, through which we reached the Best Reward.

غَنِينَا بِــهِ عَـــنْ غَيْـــرِهِ وَكَفَى بِــــهِ
زَعِيمًا جَلِيلاً لَــنْ يَضِنَّ وَلَــنْ يَعْيَــى

Ghanīnā bi-hi ‘an ghayrihi wa-kafā bi-hi
Za‘īman jalīlan lan yaḍinna wa-lan ya‘yā

Through him, we became independent of all others; and he is sufficient as a majestic leader who is never stingy and never tires.

شِفَائِي وَأَعْيَـــادِي صَلاَتِـــي مُسَلِّمًــا
عَلَى سَيِّدِ الرُّسْلِ الْمُعَظَّمِ فِي الْــوَرَى

Shifā’ī wa-a‘yādī ṣalātī musalliman
‘Alā sayyidi al-rusuli al-mu‘aẓ-ẓami fī al-warā

My healing and my festivals are my prayer and my salutations upon the Master of Messengers, the one magnified among all creation.