1 ▶︎
دَعْنيِ وَوَصْفِي آيَاتٍ لَهُ ظَهَرَتْ
ظُهُورَ نَارِ القِرَى لَيْلاً عَلَى عَلَمِ
Daʿnī wa waṣfī āyātin lahu ẓaharat
Ẓuhūra nāril qirā laylan ʿalā ʿalami
Let me describe to you the signs that were manifested for him,
Visible like the village beacons lit atop hills at night.
2 ▶︎
فَالدُّرُّ يَزْدَادُ حُسْنًا وَهُوَ مُنْتَظِمٌ
وَلَيْسَ يَنْقُصُ قَدْرًا غَيْرَ مُنْتَظِمِ
Fad durru yazdādu ḥusnan wa huwa muntaẓimun
Wa laysa yanquṣu qadran ghayra muntaẓimi
Though a pearl is more lovely when strung [with others],
Its value is not diminished when alone and unstrung.
3 ▶︎
فَمَا تَطَاوُلُ آمَالِ المَديحِ إِلَى
مَا فِيهِ مِنْ كَرَمِ الأَخْلاَقِ وَالشِّيَمِ
Famā taṭāwulu āmālil madīḥi ilā
Mā fīhi min karamil akhlāqi wash shiyami
To what hope can the giver of praise aspire
Of doing justice to his noble qualities and traits?
4 ▶︎
آيَاتُ حَقٍّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَانِ مُحْدَثَةٌ
قَدِيمَةٌ صِفَةُ المَوْصُوفِ بِالقِدَمِ
Āyātu ḥaqqin minar raḥmāni muḥdathatun
Qadīmatun ṣifatul mawṣūfi bil qidami
Signs of truth from the All-Merciful—revealed within time
Yet pre-eternal; the attribute of Him who is pre-eternal.
5 ▶︎
لَمْ تَقْتَرِنْ بِزَمِانٍ وَهِيَ تُخْبِرُنَا
عَنْ المَعَادِ وَعَنْ عَادٍ وَعَنْ إِرَمِ
Lam taqtarin bizamānin wa hيya tukhbirunā
ʿAnil maʿādi wa ʿan ʿādin wa ʿan irami
They are not connected with time, yet they inform us
About the Resurrection, and about ʿĪd and Iram.
6 ▶︎
دَامَتْ لَدَيْنَا فَفَاقَتْ كُلَّ مُعْجِزَةٍ
مَنَ النَّبِيِّينَ إِذْ جَاءَتْ وَلَمْ تَدُمِ
Dāmat ladaynā fafāqat kulla muʿjizatin
Minan nabiyyīna idh jāʾat wa lam tadumi
They remained with us, thus surpassing every miracle
Of the other Prophets, which came but did not last.
7 ▶︎
مُحْكَّمَاتٌ فَمَا تُبْقِيْنَ مِنْ شُبَهٍ
لِذِي شِقَاقٍ وَمَا تَبْغِيْنَ مِنْ حَكَمِ
Muḥkamātun famā tubqīna min shubahin
Lidhī shiqāqin wa mā tabghīna min ḥakami
Unequivocal verses leaving no doubt to remain
in dissenters, and requiring no arbiter.
8 ▶︎
مَا حُورِبَتْ قَطُّ إِلاَّ عَادَ مِنْ حَرَبٍ
أَعْدَى الأَعَادِي إِلَيْهَا مُلْقِيَ السَّلَمِ
Mā ḥūribat qaṭṭu illā ʿāda min ḥarabin
Aʿdal aʿādī ilayhā mulqiyas salami
No implacable foe has attacked them
But that he retreated from battle and sued for peace.
9 ▶︎
رَدَّتْ بَلاَغَتُهَا دَعْوَى مُعَارِضِهَا
رَدَّ الغَيُورِ يَدَ الجَانيِ عَنِ الْحُرَمِ
Raddat balāghatuhā daʿwā muʿāriḍihā
Raddal ghayūri yadal jānī ʿanil ḥurami
Their sheer eloquence refutes the claim of their opponent,
As a jealous man wards off an assailant’s hand from his wife.
10 ▶︎
لَهَا مَعَانٍ كَمَوْجِ البَحْرِ فِي مَدَدٍ
وَفَوْقَ جَوْهَرِهِ فِي الْحُسْنِ وَالقِيَمِ
Lahā maʿānin ka mawjil baḥri fī madadin
Wa fawqa jawharihi fīl ḥusni wal qiyami
They contain meanings like the sea’s bountiful waves,
And surpass the sea’s jewels in beauty and value.
11 ▶︎
فَمَا تُعَدُّ وَلاَ تُحْصَى عَجَائِبُهَا
وَلاَ تُسَامُ عَلَى الإِكْثَارِ بِالسَّأَمِ
Famā tuʿaddu wa lā tuḥṣā ʿajāʾibuhā
Wa lā tusāmu ʿalal ikthāri bis saʾami
Their marvels can neither be counted nor numbered,
And frequent repetition never gives rise to tedium.
12 ▶︎
قَرَّتْ بِهَا عَيْنُ قَارِيْهَا فَقُلْتُ لَهُ
لَقَدْ ظَفِرْتَ بِحَبْلِ اللهِ فَاعْتَصِمِ
Qarrat bihā ʿaynu qārīhā fa qultu lahu
Laqad ẓafirta bi ḥabliLlāhi faʿtaṣimi
They delighted the one who recited them, so I told him,
‘You have the Rope of Allah, so hold fast to it!’
13 ▶︎
إِنْ تَتْلُهَا خِيفَةً مِنْ حَرَّ نَارِ لَظَى
أَطْفَأْتَ حَرَّ لَظَىَ مِنْ وِرْدِهَا الشَّبِمِ
In tatluhā khīfatan min ḥarri nāri laẓā
Aṭfaʾta ḥarra laẓā min wirdihash shabimi
If you recite them out of fear of a blazing fire’s heat
from their cool wells they will quench the blazing heat
14 ▶︎
كَأَنَّهَا الحَوْضُ تَبْيَضُّ الوُجُوهُ بِهِ
مِنَ العُصَاةِ وَقَدْ جَاءُوهُ كَالحُمَمَ
Ka annahal ḥawḍu tabyaḍḍul wujūhu bihi
Minal ʿuṣāti wa qad jāʾūhu kal ḥumami
Like the Pool, they brighten the faces of the sinful,
Though they had come to it as black as charcoal.
15 ▶︎
وَكَالصِّرَاطِ وَكَالمِيزَانِ مَعْدَلَةً
فَالقِسْطُ مِنْ غَيْرِهَا فِي النَّاسِ لَمْ يَقُمِ
Wa kaṣṣirāṭi wa kalmīzāni maʿdalatan
Falqisṭu min ghayrihā fin nāsi lam yaqumi
Like the Traverse and like Scales in justice;
True justice amongst men cannot be upheld from any other source.
16 ▶︎
لاَ تَعْجَبَنْ لِحَسُودٍ رَاحَ يُنْكِرُهَا
تَجَاهُلاً وَهُوَ عَيْنُ الحَاذِقِ الفَهِمِ
Lā taʿjaban liḥasūdin rāḥa yunkiruhā
Tajāhulan wa huwa ʿaynul ḥādhiqil fahimi
Do not be amazed at an envious person who denies them
Feigning ignorance, though he has perception and understanding.
17 ▶︎
قَدْ تُنْكِرُ الْعَيْنُ ضَوْءَ الشَّمْسِ مِنْ رَمَدٍ
وَيُنْكِرُ الفَمُ طَعْمَ المَاءِ مِنْ سَقَمِ
Qad tunkirul ʿaynu ḍawʾash shamsi min ramadin
Wa yunkirul famu ṭaʿmal māʾi min saqami
For the eye, when inflamed, may be averse to the sun’s light;
And the mouth, when ailing, may loathe water’s taste.