Qasida Burda - Chapter 7

يَا خَيْرَ مَنْ يَمَّمَ العَافُونَ سَاحَتَهُ
سَعْيًا وَفَوْقَ مُتُونِ الأَيْنُقِ الرُّسُمِ
وَمَنْ هُوَ الآيَةُ الكُبْرَى لِمُعْتَبِرٍ
وَمَنْ هُوَ النِّعْمَةُ العُظْمَى لِمُغْتَنِمِ
سَرَيْتَ مِنْ حَرَمٍ لَيْلًا إِلَى حَرَمٍ
كَمَا سَرَى البَدْرُ فِي دَاجٍ مِنَ الظُّلَمِ
وَبِتَّ تَرْقَى إِلَى أَنْ نِلْتَ مَنْزِلَةً
مِنْ قَابِ قَوْسَيْنِ لَمْ تُدْرَكْ وَلَمْ تُرَمِ
وَقَدَّمَتْكَ جَمِيعُ الأَنْبِيَاءِ بِهَا
وَالرُّسْلِ تَقْدِيمَ مَخْدُومٍ عَلَى خَدَمِ
وَأَنْتَ تَخْتَرِقُ السَّبْعَ الطِّبَاقَ بِهِمْ
فِي مَوْكِبٍ كُنْتَ فِيهِ صَاحِبَ العَلَمِ
حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ تَدَعْ شَأْوًا لِمُسْتَبِقٍ
مِنَ الدُّنُوِّ وَلَا مَرْقًى لِمُسْتَنِمِ
خَفَضْتَ كُلَّ مَقَامٍ بِالإِضَافَةِ إِذْ
نُودِيْتَ بِالرَّفْعِ مِثْلَ الْمُفْرَدِ العَلَمِ
كَيْمَا تَفُوزَ بِوَصْلٍ أَيِّ مُسْتَتِرٍ
عَنِ الْعُيُونِ وَسِرٍّ أَيِّ مُكْتَتَمِ
فَحُزْتَ كُلَّ فَخَارٍ غَيْرَ مُشْتَرَكٍ
وَجُزْتَ كُلَّ مَقَامٍ غَيْرَ مُزْدَحَمِ
وَجَلَّ مِقْدَارُ مَا وُلِّيتَ مِنْ رُتَبٍ
وَعَزَّ إِدْرَاكُ مَا أُولِيْتَ مِنْ نِعَمِ
بُشْرَى لَنَا مَعْشَرَ الإِسْلَامِ إِنَّ لَنَا
مِنَ العِنَايَةِ رُكْنًا غَيْرَ مُنْهَدِمِ
لَمَّا دَعَا اللهُ دَاعِينَا لِطَاعَتِهِ
بِأَكْرَمِ الرُّسْلِ كُنَّا أَكْرَمَ الأُمَمِ

Yā khayra man yammam-al-ʿāfūna sāḥatahu
Saʿyan wa fawqa mutūni al-aynuqi ar-rusumi
Wa man huwa al-āyatu al-kubrā li-muʿtabirin
Wa man huwa an-niʿmatu al-ʿuẓmā li-mugh-tanimi
Sarayta min ḥaramin laylan ilā ḥaramin
Kamā sarā al-badru fī dājin min-aẓ-ẓulami
Wa bitta tarqā ilā an nilta manzilatan
Min qābi qawsayni lam tudrak wa lam turami
Wa qaddamatka jamīʿu al-anbiyāʾi bihā
Wa-r-rusli taqdīma makhdūmin ʿalā khadami
Wa anta takh-tariqu as-sabʿa aṭ-ṭibāqa bihim
Fī mawkibin kunta fīhi ṣāḥiba al-ʿalami
Ḥattā idhā lam tadaʿ shaʾwan li-mustabiqin
Min-ad-dunuwwi wa lā marqan li-mustanimi
Khafaḍta kulla maqāmin bi-l-iḍāfati idh
Nūdiyta bi-r-rafʿi mithl-al-mufradi al-ʿalami
Kaymā tafūza bi-waṣlin ayyi mustatirin
ʿAn-il-ʿuyūni wa sirrin ayyi muktatami
Fa-ḥuzta kulla fakhārin ghayra mush-tarakin
Wa juzta kulla maqāmin ghayra muzdaḥami
Wa jalla miqdāru mā wullīta min rutabin
Wa ʿazza idrāku mā ūlīta min niʿami
Bushrā lanā maʿshara al-islāmi inna lanā
Min-al-ʿināyati ruknan ghayra munhadimi
Lammā daʿā Allāhu dāʿīnan li-ṭāʿatihi
Bi-akrami ar-rusli kunnā akram-al-umami

O best of those to whose courtyard seekers turn to
Hastening on foot or the backs of strong camels!
O Greatest Sign for those who contemplate!
O Supreme Grace for those who seek to gain!
You journeyed by night, from Sanctuary to Sanctuary
as the full moon travels through the pitch black sky.
That night you ascended till you reached a station
Of Two Bows’ Length—one never attained or hoped for!
There all the Prophets and Emissaries gave you precedence,
As a master is given precedence by those who serve him.
You traversed the seven heavens with them [behind you]
In a procession wherein you were the standard-bearer.
Until your proximity left no space for the avid seeker,
Nor any higher summit for one seeking elevation.
You surpassed all other stations in comparison
When acclaimed on high as ‘The Matchless and Eminent’–
So that you might triumph through a tryst hidden
From sight. How hidden a secret that was!
So you received every glory without rival
And gained every station alone, unbeset.
How glorious is the worth of the ranks you were given
How difficult it is to grasp the graces conferred!
Glad tidings for us, O people of Islam,
For we have an indestructible pillar of divine care.
When Allah named the one who called us to obey Him
The Noblest of Emissaries, we became the noblest of nations!