سَلَامٌ عَلَى إِخْوَانِنَا وَالأَحِبَّةِ

سَلَامٌ عَلَى إِخْوَانِنَا وَالأَحِبَّةِسَلَامٌ كَأَنْفَاسِ الصَّبَا فِي اللَّطَافَةِ

Salāmun ʿalā ikhwāninā wa-al-ʾaḥibbati, Salāmun kaʾanfāsi aṣ-ṣabā fī al-laṭāfati

Peace be upon our brethren and beloveds, a peace as gentle as the breaths of the east wind,

وَكَالمِسْكِ نَشْراً إِذْ تَهُبُّ بِطِيبِهِنُسَيْمَاتُ وَادِي المُنْحَنَى حَيْثُ هَبَّتِ

Waka-al-miski nashran idh tahubbu biṭībihi, Nusaymātu wādī al-munḥanā ḥaythu habbati

Fragrant as musk when the little breezes of the winding valley spread its scent wherever they blow.

سَلَامٌ عَلَى الأَحْبَابِ أَنَّى تَبَاعَدَتْمَنَازِلُهُمْ عَنَّا فَعَنْ غَيْرِ جَفْوَةِ

Salāmun ʿalā al-ʾaḥbābi annā tabāʿadat, Manāziluhum ʿannā faʿan ghayri jafwati

Peace be upon the beloveds, however far their dwellings lie from us, for it is not from estrangement.

فَإِنَّ لَهُمْ فِي القَلْبِ ذِكْراً وَمَوْضِعاًوَهُمْ نُصْبَ عَيْنِ القَلْبِ فِي كُلِّ حَالَةِ

Faʾinna lahum fī al-qalbi dhikran wamawḍiʿan, Wahum nuṣba ʿayni al-qalbi fī kulli ḥālati

They have a remembrance and a place in the heart, and they stand before the heart's eye in every state.

إِذَا ذُكِرَتْ أَوْقَاتُ وَصْلٍ تَصَرَّمَتْلَنَا بِرُبَا نَجْدٍ وَأَوْطَانِ طَيْبَةِ

Idhā dhukirat awqātu waṣlin taṣarramat, Lanā birubā najdin waʾawṭāni ṭaybati

When I recall the times of union that passed for us on the hills of Najd and in the homelands of Tayba,

وَمُجْتَمَعِ الأَحْبَابِ فِي كُلِّ مَرْبَعٍبِأَسْمَارِ أُنْسٍ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الصَّبَابَةِ

Wamujtamaʿi al-ʾaḥbābi fī kulli marbaʿin, Biʾasmāri unsin min ḥadīthi aṣ-ṣabābati

And the gathering of beloveds in every encampment, with intimate night talks of the tales of love,

بَكَتْ عَيْنُ قَلْبِي بِالدُّمُوعِ وَبِالدِّمَافَوَا حَسْرَتِي حَتَّى أَمُوتَ بِحَسْرَةِ

Bakat ʿaynu qalbī bi-ad-dumūʿi wabi-ad-dimā, Fawā ḥasratī ḥattā amūta biḥasrati

The eye of my heart weeps tears and blood; oh, my regret, until I die of regret!

وَوَا لَهْفِي يَا حُزْنَ قَلْبِي وَلَوْعَتِيعَلَى جِيرَةٍ مِنْ خَيْرِ عُرْبٍ وَجِيرَةِ

Wawā lahfī yā ḥuzna qalbī walawʿatī, ʿalā jīratin min khayri ʿurbin wajīrati

And oh, my sorrow, my heart's grief and anguish for neighbours who were the best of Arabs and of neighbours!

وَلِي أَمَلٌ فِي مَعْشَرٍ وَبَقِيَّةٍحَبَاهُمْ إِلَهُ العَالَمِينَ بِنَظْرَةِ

Walī amalun fī maʿsharin wabaqiyyatin, Ḥabāhum ilahu al-ʿālamīna binaẓrati

Yet I have hope in a company and a remnant whom the Lord of the worlds has favoured with a glance,

وَخَصَّصَهُمْ بِالقُرْبِ مِنْهُ وَبِالرِّضَاوَبِالنُّورِ وَالفَتْحِ المُبِينِ وَرَحْمَةِ

Wakhaṣṣaṣahum bi-al-qurbi minhu wabi-ar-riḍā, Wabi-an-nūri wa-al-fatḥi al-mubīni waraḥmati

And singled out for nearness to Him and good pleasure, for light, a clear opening, and mercy.

وَخَصَّ صَفِيَّ الدِّينِ مِنْهُمْ بِفَضْلِهِزِيَادَةَ إِحْسَانٍ وَأَلْطَافِ رَأْفَةِ

Wakhaṣṣa ṣafiyya ad-dīni minhum bifaḍlihi, Ziyādata iḥsānin waʾalṭāfi raʾfati

Among them He singled out Safi al-Din with His grace, with increased kindness and tender favours,

سَلِيلَ الشُّيُوخِ العَارِفِينَ مَعَادِنِ السَّرَائِرِ وَالعِرْفَانِ أَهْلِ الوِلَايَةِ

Salīla ash-shuyūkhi al-ʿārifīna maʿādini as-sa, Rāʾiri wa-al-ʿirfāni ahli al-wilāyati

Scion of the gnostic shaykhs, mines of the secrets and of gnosis, the people of sainthood.

لَنَا مِنْهُمُ نِعْمَ الصِّلَاتُ وَمُحْكَمُ الرَّوَابِطِ فِي أَحْكَامِ عِلْمِ الطَّرِيقَةِ

Lanā minhumu niʿma aṣ-ṣilātu wamuḥkamu ar-ra, Wābiṭi fī aḥkāmi ʿilmi aṭ-ṭarīqati

From them we have the finest connections and the strongest bonds in the rulings of the knowledge of the Path.

فَعَنْهُمْ أَخَذْنَا وَاقْتَبَسْنَا حَقَائِقَ الطَّرَائِقِ عَنْ صِدْقٍ وَصَفْوِ مَوَدَّةِ

Faʿanhum akhadhnā waqtabasnā ḥaqāʾiqa aṭ-ṭa, Rāʾiqi ʿan ṣidqin waṣafwi mawaddati

From them we took and gleaned the realities of the paths, in sincerity and pure affection.

فَبِالحَقِّ فَلْنَأْخُذْ عُلُومَ طَرِيقِهِمْيَداً بِيَدٍ حَتَّى مَقَامِ النُّبُوَّةِ

Fabi-al-ḥaqqi falnaʾkhudh ʿulūma ṭarīqihim, Yadan biyadin ḥattā maqāmi an-nubuwwati

So truly let us take the sciences of their path, hand in hand, up to the station of prophethood.

فَيَا أَحْمَدُ الحَبْرَ المُبَارَكَ يَا ابْنَ مَنْسَمَا بِعُلُوِّ القَدْرِ بَيْنَ البَرِيَّةِ

Fayā aḥmadu al-ḥabra al-mubāraka yā bna man, Samā biʿuluwwi al-qadri bayna al-bariyyati

O Ahmad, the blessed scholar, O son of one who rose to lofty rank among creation,

فَعَنْ عَيْدَرُوسِ السِّرِّ بَعْدَ عَفِيفِهِإِلَى الشَّيْخِ قُطْبِ العَارِفِينَ الأَئِمَّةِ

Faʿan ʿaydarūsi as-sirri baʿda ʿafīfihi, Ilā ash-shaykhi quṭbi al-ʿārifīna al-ʾaʾimmati

From al-'Aydarus of the secret, after his 'Afif, up to the shaykh, pole of the gnostics and the imams,

عَلِيِّ ابْنِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الإِمَامِ مَلَاذِنَاوَعُمْدَتِنَا فِي نَقْلِ عِلْمِ الحَقِيقَةِ

ʿaliyyi bni abī bakrin al-ʾimāmi malādhinā, Waʿumdatinā fī naqli ʿilmi al-ḥaqīqati

'Ali ibn Abi Bakr, the imam, our refuge and our support in transmitting the knowledge of Reality:

بِأَبْيَاتِكَ الغُرِّ الَّتِي قَدْ نَظَمْتَهَاتَذَكَّرْتُ أَوْقَاتاً خَلَتْ لِلأَحِبَّةِ

Biʾabyātika al-ghurri al-latī qad naẓamtahā, Tadhakkartu awqātan khalat lilʾaḥibbati

Through your radiant verses which you composed, I remembered times gone by with the beloveds.

وَكَمْ بَعَثَتْ لِي مِنْ شُجُونٍ وَحَرَّكَتْكَوَامِنَ أَشْوَاقٍ بِقَلْبِي وَمُهْجَتِي

Wakam baʿathat lī min shujūnin waḥarrakat, Kawāmina ashwāqin biqalbī wamuhjatī

How many sorrows they stirred in me, and how they moved hidden longings in my heart and soul!

فَدُمْ فِي صَلَاحٍ نَاعِمَ البَالِ صَالِحَ السَّرَائِرِ مَغْمُورَ الوُجُودِ بِنَفْحَةِ

Fadum fī ṣalāḥin nāʿima al-bāli ṣāliḥa as-sa, Rāʾiri maghmūra al-wujūdi binafḥati

So remain in righteousness, at ease, pure of inward state, your being immersed in a breath of grace.

وَصَلَّى إِلَهِي كُلَّمَا هَبَّتِ الصَّبَاعَلَى المُصْطَفَى الهَادِي وَآلٍ وَعِتْرَةِ

Waṣallā ilahī kullamā habbati aṣ-ṣabā, ʿalā al-muṣṭafā al-hādī waʾālin waʿitrati

And may my God, whenever the east wind blows, send blessings upon the Chosen One, the guide, and his family and descendants.