al-Qasidah—An Ode in Praise of the Holy Prophet SAW (Arabic Poem)

O fountainhead of Divine grace and knowledge!
All creation flocks towards you like the thirsty.

O ocean of the grace of the Generous Benefactor!
Multitudes throng towards you holding empty cups.

O sun of the kingdom of beauty and grace!
You have illumined the face of deserts and dwellings
alike.

A nation had the honour to behold you and another
heard
Of this full moon that has enchanted me.

They shed tears in remembrance of your beauty;
And the pangs of separation from you make them cry.

I find hearts throbbing wildly;
And tears streaming from the eyes.

O ye who in his light and radiance is like the sun and
the moon;
And has illumined the day with his light.

O full moon of ours, O the sign of our Gracious Lord!
O the most guided of all guides, and the bravest of all
the brave.

I perceive in your bright face
A quality far superior to human qualities.

He is genial, gracious, bounteous, lover of
righteousness;
Generous, and one who has excelled all the youth.

He surpasses all creation in his perfection and beauty;
In his glory, and his pleasant nature.

No doubt, Muhammad is the best of creation;
He is the elect of the elect and chief of chiefs.

All excellence attained perfection in his person;
The bounties of every age reached their climax in him.

I call Allah to witness that Muhammad is His
vicegerent;
Through him alone access is possible to the Divine
court.

He is the pride of every pious and holy person;
In him does the spiritual army take pride.

He is superior to all those who attained nearness to
Allah in earlier times;
For the criterion of excellence is virtue, not time.
A light drizzle often precedes rain;

But there is a world of difference between the two.
He is the one and only archer whose arrows never miss
the target;

He is the master archer whose arrows hit the target and
kill the Satan.
He is like a heavenly garden: I see his fruits;

Whose bunches have been lowered towards my heart.
I found him an ocean of verities and guidance:

Full of lustre like a pearl.
Verily ‘Isa—Jesus—quietly breathed his last, but our

Prophet is alive;
God is my witness, I have had the honour to meet him.

I swear by Allah! I have witnessed his beautiful
countenance;
With my own eyes while sitting in my house.

Our Holy Prophet is alive—of this I am a witness;
And I have been blessed with the fruit of converse with
him.

I had the honour of witnessing his blessed countenance
in my early youth;
He graced me with his presence when I was wide
awake.

Surely, I have been brought back to life by his lifegiving
grace,
Praise be to Allah, What a miracle! What a life he has
granted me!

O my Lord, shower Your blessings upon the Holy
Prophet,
Ever and always, here and in the hereafter.

O my master! I have come to your door as the one
wronged and aggrieved;
For my people have hurt me by calling me a kafir.

Do look upon me with mercy and compassion!
O my master, I am the humblest of your slaves.

O my beloved! My soul, my senses, my heart;
Are all saturated with your love.

O garden of my delight, never for a moment,
Am I without the remembrance of your countenance.

Overwhelmed with longing, my body yearns to fly
towards you;
If only I had the power to fly!!!

[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 5, pp.590-594]