CHAPTER VI

Evident are his miracles, manifest

Like stars guiding the lost to the shores.

Like pearls when strung look beautiful,

                                              And equally priceless, if not.

Hence, thy admirers wish for the virtues

Embedded in your kindness and traits.

You are the exponent of Allah’s signs

                                                                 In their eternity, for He is eternal.

Thus the signs, ancient but timeless, as the Quran tells

The tales of the extinct nations of A’ad and Iram.[1]

                                              Superior and eternal are your miracles, 

While ephemeral were of those who preceded.

The verses of Quran are authentic, beyond doubt,

And the attestation of a judge.

He quieted the bitterest doubters in his battles

                              As the repository of Allah’s verses.

Quran’s eloquence disproved doubters’ profanity, 

Like a chivalrous hand protects a threatened dame 

Like waves of the ocean, ceaseless are its meanings!

                        Noble and more beautiful in essence.

Countless are its wonders, riveting!

Innumerable its virtues.

O Reader of Quran! Your eyes are soothed.

                                       It is Allah's rope, hold on to it!

If you read it for fear of Hell,

Surely it'll quench the Fire and protect you. 

Whitening the pitch blackened faces of sinners,

                                    Countless in numbers, awed, trembling.

In them, is guidance to the right path.

Hence, dispensing justice to the people.

Do envious, feigning ignorance, surprise you,

                                            Knowing all too well what they deny?

Sunlight only blurs their eyes,

And water, strange to their tongues!

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CHAPTER VII

O ye better than all! Thy compassion others seek,

Who came running unto you in earnest.

Prophet's being is a sign huge for a learner,

                                                     And a blessing great for he who values it.

He traveled in one night from Makkah to Maqdis,

As the moon sails through the oceans of darkness.

He continued, till the distance remains of “two bows,”[2]

                              Perception and demand too high for ordinary folks.

Exalted! Leader of all prophets:

A luminary for others to borrow.

Penetrating through the seven heavens, he continued

                                    As commander of an army, bearing a standard.

Your modesty lets others rise,

But a foregone truth is your exaltation.

Your ascent won you the affinity to the Unseen!

                                                  That is the secret a confidant would not reveal.

Embodiment of all human virtues, are thee,

Touching the heights that no one else could. 

Consummate is thy being, exalted by Allah!

                                Countless are thy virtues.

Glad tidings are for us, the followers of Islam:

A code of life approved till the Day of Judgment.

                                                When Allah calleth us to follow Prophet,

Steadfast should we remain, loyal, compliant.

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CHAPTER VIII

 Prophet announced and rejecters quailed,

Sleeping herds awakened on the roar!

                                                Winning every war against the infidels;

His lances, like spits, piercing through them.

They wished to flee and almost did,

But turned into stumps rent by eagles.

                                                               Days passed by without reckoning

Until the days of sacred months[3].

Faith dawned at the rejecters,

Who reveled in blood of the faithful.

                                                       Galloping, rowing them behind in waves,

Prophet's horse sailed through the bodies.

Impatient to efface and supplant Kufr[4]

His followers, thirsty for Allah's blessings, complied.

Tying strangers into bonds of fraternity,

                                                           Which hitherto were foes of each other. 

Kindness enjoined for husbands and fathers,

Henceforth, there shall be no orphans, no widows.

Like mountains were the faithful in strength and awe!

Verify, if ye so desire, from the enemies they fought.

Badr and Ohad would tell their tale,[5]

How they met their ignominious destiny.

Honed swords soaked in red returned,

                                                             Embellished with quiff of young slain.

Their lances left no spot unmarked:

The story etched on their corpses.

In features, distinct were the ironsmiths,

                                      Like roses are from cacti.  

The winds bring the scent of their triumph,

As roses spread their fragrance all around.

                                                           Fixed like pegs on their horsebacks,

                                            Not by the harness, but wit and power.

Terrifying the hearts of their enemies,

Even the courageous running amok.

                                                              Savage beasts rendered harmless:  

Prophet's protection, kind, invincible.

The Faithful, triumphant against all odds.

The Rejectors, vanquished, decimated.

Prophet's aegis protecting the faithful, 

                                            Like a lion guarding his cubs.

Silent fell the doubters of Quran;

Every verse answering their cavils.

                                                Though unlettered and orphan,

Erudite and chivalrous was thy Prophet.

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CHAPTER IX

 Forgiven I was in reward, for this eulogy,

Of the sins committed by praising others.

                                                        Woeful is the end of eulogizing them!

Am I a beast of service to the ordinary?

I followed the calls of the enchantress, 

And my rewards were sins and remorse.

                                               Pity the soul that denigrated itself,

By bartering faith for the trifles mundane!

And he who has traded faith for the world,

Shall soon realize what a loss he has incurred.

No sin shall loosen my grip on Allah's rope,

                                                      Nor shall I renege on pledges to Prophet.

Assured is my absolution by the Truthful of all.

Intercession reserved for believers devout.[6]   

                                 No succour shall reach, nor intercession permitted

To the condemned on that Day, save his merciful hand.   

Neither sinner nor repentant turned away;

His mercy all encompassing, abound.   

                                                                        Devoted as I, my praise for him,

Devoted he is in salvation for me.

His hand lifting the sinners from abyss,

As rain blossoms flowers on a mound barren.  

                                               The toils that caught Zuhair I sure did avoid[7]

That of praising the ordinary folk like Harem.[8]

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CHAPTER X

To whom shall I turn for help save thee?

The Day when help itself becomes helpless!

Sure of your kindness shall I await the account, 

                               When fear engulfs the erring slaves.

Thy kindness unstinting in the world and after,

And Knowledge! Gushing forth from the Pen and Tablet.[9]

                                            Let not despair surround you for the wrong ye did!

                                            His forgiveness equal for faults venial and cardinal.

The greater the sins, the greater the mercies:

That is how Allah blesseth the sinners!

Never thee Allah! Hast returned my prayers,

                                               Nor shall Ye do on the Day of Judgment.

Bestow upon us Thy boundless blessings,

As tribulation stealeth our wealth of patience.

O Allah! Let the clouds pour their harmonious rain

                             Of thy eternal prayers on Muhammad!

Fragrant winds tingle the Bens like harp strings.

The herdsmen in rhapsody by the tunes enchanting!

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