Chapter 8
ﷺ ON THE MARTIAL STRUGGLE OF THE PROPHET
مَوْلَاىَ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ دَائِمًا أَبَدًا
عَلَى حَبِيبِكَ خَيْرِ الخَلْقِ كُلِّهِمِ
mawlā’a ṣalli wasallim dā’iman abadan
ʿalā ḥabībika khayril khalqi kullihimi
O my Lord, bless and grant peace always and forever
Upon Your beloved one, the Best of all Creation
رَاعَتْ قُلُوبَ العِدَا أَنْبَاءُ بِعْثَتِهِ
كَنَبْأَةٍ أَجْفَلَتْ غُفْلاً مِنَ الغَنَمِ
rāʿat qulūbal ʿidā anbā’u biʿthatihi
kanabatin ajfalat ghuflan minal ghanami
News of his marching out cast fear into the hearts of the enemy,
Just as heedless goats are startled at a sudden noise
مَا زَالَ يَلْقَاهُمُ فِي كُلِّ مُعْتَرَكٍ
حَتَّى حَكَوْا بِالقَنَا لَحْمًا عَلَى وَضَمِ
mā zāla yalqāhumu fī kulli muʿtarakin
ḥattā ḥakaw bil qanā laḥman ʿalā waḍami
He continued to meet them on every battleground,
Until they were cut to pieces by spears, Like meat upon a butcher’s block
وَدُّوا الفِرَارَ فَكَادُوا يَغْبِطُونَ بِهِ
أَشْلاَءَ شَالَتْ مَعَ العِقْبَانِ وَالرَّخَمِ
waddūl firāra fakādū yaghbiṭūna bihi
ashla’a shālat maʿal ʿiqbāni war rakhami
They were longing to flee, almost envying
The corpses carried off by the eagles and vultures
تَمْضِي اللَّيَالِي وَلاَ يَدْرُونَ عِدَّتَهَا
مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ مِنْ لَيَالِي الأَشْهُرِ الحُرُمِ
tamḍīl layālī wala yadrūna ʿiddatahā
mā lam takun min layālīl ashhuril ḥurumi
The nights passed, without them being able to keep count,
Except if they were the nights of the Sacred Months
كَأَنَّمَا الدِّينُ ضَيْفٌ حَلَّ سَاحَتَهُمْ
بِكُلِّ قَرْمٍ إِلَى لَحْمِ العِدَا قَرِمِ
ka annamad dīnu ḍayfun ḥalla sāḥatahum
bikulli qarmin ilā laḥmil ʿidā qarimi
As if the religion were a guest that had arrived at their courtyards,
With every brave chieftain ready to rend the flesh of their enemies
يَجُرُّ بَحْرَ خَمِيسٍ فَوْقَ سَابِحَةٍ
يَرْمِى بِمَوْجٍ مِنَ الأَبْطَالِ مُلْتَطِمِ
yajurru baḥra khamīsin fawqa sābiḥatin
yarmiā bimawjin minal abṭāli multaṭimi
Bringing in its wake a sea of armed men upon fast horses,
Hurling forth waves of brave warriors in clashing tumult
مِنْ كُلِّ مُنْتَدَبٍ لِلّهِ مُحْتَسِبٍ
يَسْطُو بِمُسْتَأْصِلٍ لِلكُفْرِ مُصْطَلِمِ
min kulli muntadabin lillāhi muḥtasibin
yasṭū bimusta’ṣilin lilkufri muṣṭalimi
Each responding to Allah’s summons, seeking His good pleasure,
Mounting a fierce assault, to tear out unbelief by its roots
حَتىَّ غَدَتْ مِلَّةُ الإِسْلاَمِ وَهْيَ بِهِمْ
مِنْ بَعْدِ غُرْبَتِهَا مَوْصُولَةَ الرَّحِمِ
ḥata ghadat millatul islami wahya bihim
min baʿdi ghurbatihā mawṣūlatar raḥimi
Until the religion of Islam, thanks to them,
After banishment from her homeland, Was once again united with her kin
مَكْفُولَةً أَبَدًا مِنْهُمْ بِخَيْرِ أَبٍ
وَخَيْرِ بَعْلٍ فَلَمْ تَيْتَمْ وَلَمْ تَئِمِ
makfūlatan abadan minhum bikhayri abin
wakhayri baʿlin falam taytam walam ta’imi
Ever protected from her enemies by the best father
And most excellent husband, So that she was neither orphaned nor widowed
هُمُ الجِبَالُ فَسَلْ عَنْهُمْ مُصَادِمَهُمْ
مَاذَا رَأَى مِنْهُمُ فِي كُلِّ مُصْطَدَمِ
humul jibālu fasal ʿanhum muṣādimahum
mādhā ra’ā minhumu fī kulli muṣṭadami
They were mountains — ask those who fought against them,
Just what they saw of them on every battlefield
وَسَلْ حُنَيْنًا وَسَلْ بَدْرًا وَسَلْ أُحُدًا
فُصُولَ حَتْفٍ لَهُمْ أَدْهَى مِنَ الوَخَمِ
wasal ḥunaynan wasal badran wasal uḥudan
fuṣūla ḥatfin lahum adhā minal wakhami
Ask Hunayn, ask Badr, ask Uhud — seasons of death and destruction,
More calamitous for them than fatal epidemics
المُصْدِرِي البِيضِ حُمْرًا بَعْدَ مَا وَرَدَتْ
مِنَ العِدَا كُلَّ مُسْوَدٍّ مِنَ اللِّمَمِ
almuṣdirīl bīḍi ḥumran baʿda mā waradat
minal ʿidā kulla muswaddin minal limami
Their burnished swords returned quenched and bloody,
After drinking deep beneath black locks on their enemies’ heads
وَالكَاتِبِينَ بِسُمْرِ الخَطِّ مَا تَرَكَتْ
أَقْلاَمُهُمْ حَرْفَ جِسْمٍ غَيْرَ مُنَعَجِمِ
wal kātibīna bisumril khaṭṭi mā tarakat
aqlamuhum ḥarfa jismin ghayra munaʿajimi
Like writers wielding reed pens for spears,
Their pens left no part of the bodies unpointed or unmarked
شَاكِي السِّلاَحِ لَهُمْ سِيمَا تُمَيِّزُهُمْ
وَالوَرْدُ يَمْتَازُ بِالسِّيمَا عَنِ السَّلَمِ
shākīs silaḥi lahum sīmā tumayyizuhum
wal wardu yamtāzu bis sīmā ʿanis salami
Bristling with arms, yet a special quality distinguished them,
Just as a rose differs by its fragrance From the thorny salam tree
تُهْدِي إِلَيْكَ رِيَاحُ النَّصْرِ نَشْرَهُمُ
فَتَحْسَبُ الزَّهْرَ فِي الأَكْمَامِ كُلَّ كَمِي
tuhdī ilayka riyāḥun naṣri nashrahumu
fataḥsabuz zahra fīl akmāmi kulla kamī
The winds of victory would present to you their fragrance,
So that you imagine each valiant one of them To be a beautiful flower in bud
كَأَنَّهُمْ فِي ظُهُورِ الخَيْلِ نَبْتُ رُبًا
مِنْ شِدَّةِ الحَزْمِ لاَ مِنْ شَدَّةِ الحُزُمِ
ka annahum fī ẓuhūril khayli nabtu ruban
min shiddatil ḥazmi la min shaddatil ḥuzumi
As if, riding their steeds, they were flowers blooming upon a height,
Held there not by the tautness of their saddles, But by the firmness of their resolve
طَارَتْ قُلُوبُ العِدَا مِنْ بَأْسِهِمْ فَرَقًا
فَمَا تُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ البَهْمِ وَالبُهَمِ
ṭārat qulūbul ʿidā min ba sihim faraqan
famā tufarriqu baynal bahmi wal buhami
The enemy hearts in turmoil, terrified at their mighty power,
Could hardly tell brave warriors from herds of sheep
وَمَنْ تَكُنْ بِرَسُولِ اللهِ نُصْرَتُهُ
إِنْ تَلْقَهُ الأُسْدُ فِي آجَامِهَا تَجِمِ
waman takun birasūlillāhi nuṣratuhu
in talqahul usdu fī ājāmihā tajimi
Those whose help comes from the Messenger of Allah —
Even lions encountering them in their dens would be struck dumb with fear
وَلَنْ تَرَى مِنْ وَليٍّ غَيْرِ مُنْتَصِرٍ
بِهِ وَلاَ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ غَيْرِ مُنْقَصِمِ
walan tarā min walyyin ghayri muntaṣirin
bihi wala min ʿaduwwin ghayri munqaṣimi
You would never see a friend of his unaided by him,
Nor yet an enemy of his undefeated
أَحَلَّ أُمَّتَهُ فِي حِرْزِ مِلَّتِهِ
كَاللَّيْثِ حَلَّ مَعَ الأَشْبَالِ فِي أَجَمِ
aḥalla ummatahu fī ḥirzi millatihi
kal laythi ḥalla maʿal ashbāli fī ajami
He established his community within the fortress of his religion,
As the lion settles down with its cubs in its lair
كَمْ جَدَّلَتْ كَلِمَاتُ اللهِ مِنْ جَدِلٍ
فِيهِ وَكَمْ خَصَمَ البُرْهَانُ مِنْ خَصِمِ
kam jaddalat kalimātu Allahi min jadilin
fīhi wakam khaṣamal burhānu min khaṣimi
How often have the words of Allah
Thrown down those who contended with him! How often has the Clear Proof defeated his opponents in argument!
كَفَاكَ بِالعِلْمِ فِي الأُمِّيِّ مُعْجِزَةً
فِي الجَاهِلِيَّةِ وَالتَّأْدِيبِ فِي اليُتُمِ
kafāka bil ʿilmi fīl ummiyyi muʿjizatan
fīl jāhiliyyati wat ta’dībi fīl yutumi
Enough of a miracle for you — such knowledge found
In someone unlettered, living in the Age of Ignorance, And such refinement in an orphan!