There are poems that are carefully preserved in manuscripts, and there are poems that live upon the tongues of lovers.
They travel from gathering to gathering, from one generation to another, carried not by ink alone but by voices softened through longing. Their words may vary slightly from one land to another, yet their heart remains unchanged.
The qaṣīdah Liyuḥibbūnahu belongs to this second family.
It has long been recited in gatherings of remembrance across Yemen, the Ḥijāz, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. As with many devotional poems transmitted orally, slight differences have appeared in wording and pronunciation over the centuries. Some expressions survive only as they were heard, producing spellings that no longer correspond neatly to Classical Arabic. This is not unusual. Oral traditions often preserve devotion more faithfully than orthography.
The enduring beauty of the poem lies elsewhere.
It asks a remarkably simple question:
What does it mean to love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
The answer unfolds, not through abstract theology, but through images that have nourished Muslim hearts for centuries.
The lovers remain at his door.
They never abandon him.
They seek nearness through him.
They remember him continually.
They walk in his footsteps.
They become known by his character.
Love, in this poem, is not merely an emotion. It becomes a way of being.
His beloved followers uphold his noble manners and establish his Sacred Law.
This pairing is profound.
The poem does not separate outward practice from inward beauty.
The Sharīʿah without beautiful character becomes harsh.
Character without revealed guidance loses its compass.
The lovers preserve both.
One may recite thousands of blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, yet if patience, generosity, humility, mercy, truthfulness, and gentleness fail to grow within the soul, something essential has been missed.
The measure of love is resemblance.
Why Remember Him Constantly?
The qaṣīdah repeatedly returns to remembrance.
This is deeply rooted in the Prophetic tradition.
The tongue shapes the heart.
What we repeatedly remember gradually becomes what we love.
What we love eventually becomes what we imitate.
And what we imitate slowly becomes our character.
This explains why generations of Muslims filled their mornings, evenings, journeys, gatherings, and moments of solitude with abundant ṣalawāt.
Not because Allah needs our praise.
Nor because the Messenger ﷺ gains honour through our words.
Rather, because we do.
Each blessing softens the heart.
Each remembrance reorients the soul.
Each mention renews a forgotten covenant.
The Language of Devotional Poetry
Some modern readers encounter lines describing the Prophet ﷺ as the light of creation, or portraying the sun and moon receiving their radiance through him, and immediately ask whether such expressions should be understood literally.
Classical Muslim poets never intended them to function as scientific descriptions.
They belong to the long tradition of madīḥ—devotional praise—which speaks through metaphor, beauty, reverence, and spiritual symbolism.
The Qur'an itself describes the Messenger ﷺ as "a radiant lamp" (sirājan munīrā). Muslim poets simply unfolded the spiritual implications of that image.
Poetry has its own language.
It seeks not to define, but to awaken.
The Beauty of an Oral Tradition
An interesting feature of this qaṣīdah is that no universally accepted written version appears to exist.
Different reciters sing slightly different words.
Some lines preserve regional pronunciations.
Others have accumulated small transcription errors over generations.
This should not surprise us.
Much of the Islamic scholarly tradition was oral long before it became textual.
Children memorised the Qur'an before they could write.
Students memorised ḥadīth before books became widespread.
Poetry was carried in the chest before it was preserved upon the page.
When oral traditions cross languages—from Arabic into Malay, Javanese, Swahili, or Urdu—small phonetic changes naturally emerge.
The task of scholarship is not merely to correct spelling.
It is to recover meaning while respecting the devotion that carried the words across centuries.
Education Begins with Love
Perhaps this is the greatest lesson of Liyuḥibbūnahu.
Education in Islam has never begun with information.
It begins with attachment.
A child first learns to love.
Then to imitate.
Then to understand.
Only afterwards does knowledge become deeply rooted.
This is why the earliest generations taught love of the Prophet ﷺ before many other sciences.
Not sentimentality.
Formation.
When the heart loves rightly, learning acquires direction.
Character acquires beauty.
Knowledge acquires purpose.
Without love, education becomes accumulation.
With love, education becomes transformation.
That They May Love Him
The poem ends as it began.
An invitation.
Not merely to admire the Messenger ﷺ from a distance.
Nor only to study his biography.
But to remember him until remembrance becomes familiarity.
To follow him until following becomes habit.
To imitate him until imitation becomes character.
And finally,
to love him until that love quietly reshapes everything else we love.
Perhaps that is why generations continued singing this simple refrain:
لِيُحِبُّونَهُ
That they may love him.
For in the end, every lesson of the Prophetic way begins there—and every journey of spiritual formation returns there.
Yā Nabī salām ʿalayka Yā Rasūl salām ʿalayka Yā Ḥabīb salām ʿalayka Ṣalawātullāh ʿalayka
Translation
O Prophet, peace be upon you.
O Messenger, peace be upon you.
O Beloved, peace be upon you.
May the blessings of Allah be upon you.
لِيُحِبُّونَهُ
دَائِم عَلَى بَابِهِ
مَا يُجَافُونَهُ
لِلْوَصْلِ طُلَّابُهُ
Sung transliteration
Illī yiḥibbūnah
Dāyim ʿalā bābah
Mā yijāfūnah
Lil-waṣl ṭullābah
Translation
That they may love him. Ever standing at his door, they never turn away from him, for they are seekers of nearness to him.
Explanation
The opening portrays sincere lovers who remain constantly at the Prophet's ﷺ door—not physically, but spiritually. "His door" is a traditional metaphor for seeking his intercession, guidance, and noble example. The final line means that those who seek true union (waṣl) remain attached to him.
The Generous One would never turn them away. He enveloped them in goodness and fulfilled their hopes.
Explanation
"Al-Karīm" may refer directly to Allah—the Most Generous—or, in devotional poetry, to the Prophet ﷺ as the most generous of creation, whose generosity is bestowed by Allah. Both meanings coexist in traditional madīḥ.
The moon and the sun receive their radiance through him. He possesses every excellence before them and after them.
Explanation
This is devotional hyperbole (madīḥ) common in Islamic poetry. It echoes the Prophetic description as Sirājan Munīrā ("an illuminating lamp") and emphasizes his spiritual precedence rather than physical causation.
On the Day of Divine Judgment, people long for him before the Most Merciful— that they may love him.
Explanation
This refers to the Prophet's ﷺ intercession (ash-shafāʿah al-kubrā) on the Day of Resurrection.
7
Arabic
لِيَسِيرُونَ قَامُوا بِآدَابِهِ
شَرْعَهُ يُقِيمُونَ لِلْمُصْطَفَى أَحْبَابُهُ
Transliteration
ī yisīrūn qāmaū b-ādābah
sharʿah yuqīmūn lil-Muṣṭafā aḥbābah
Translation
In order to walk his path, his beloved followers uphold his noble manners and his Sacred Law.
Explanation
Love for the Prophet ﷺ is shown through both adab (beautiful character) and Sharīʿah (faithful practice).
8
Arabic
فِي الْوَرَى وَاللّٰهِ لَا مَا مِثْلُهُمْ
مَنْ يُرِيَدِ الْقُرْبَ يَسْلُكْ دَرْبَهُمْ
Sung Transliteration
Fil-warā wallāhi lā mā mithluhum Man yurid al-qurba yasluk darbuhum
Translation
By Allah, among all creation, no—there are none like them. Whoever seeks nearness should follow their path.
Explanation
"Them" refers to the Prophet ﷺ and his righteous inheritors—his Companions, Family, and the people who faithfully preserve his way. In formal written Arabic, one might expect:
لَا مِثْلَ لَهُمْ
lā mithla lahum
But the sung oral form لَا مَا مِثْلُهُمْ has its own devotional rhythm and should be preserved here.
9
Arabic
مَنْ تَقَرَّبَ مِنْهُمْ مَرَّةً يَضُمُّونَهُ
لِيُحِبُّونَهُ
Sung Transliteration
Fil-warā wallāh lā mā mithluhum
Man yirid al-qurb yisluk darbahum
Translation
Whoever draws near to them even once, they embrace him— that they may love him.
Explanation
The imagery reflects the welcoming nature of the righteous, who receive sincere seekers with mercy and affection.
10
Arabic
قُلُوبٌ مَفْتُونَةٌ
وَأَرْوَاحٌ مُنْذَابَةٌ
Sung Transliteration
Qulūbun maftūnatun Wa arwāḥun mundhābah
Translation
Hearts captivated with love, and souls melted in longing.
Explanation
The expression "souls melted" is a classical Sufi metaphor for complete love and surrender.
11
Arabic
فِي نَظْرَةِ عُيُونِهِ
وَرَمْشِهِ وَأَهْدَابِهِ
Sung Transliteration
Fī naẓrati ʿuyūnihi Wa ramshihi wa ahdābihi
Translation
Within the gaze of his eyes, his eyelashes and every delicate beauty.
Explanation
This is a traditional poetic description of the Prophet's ﷺ physical beauty (Shamāʾil literature). It should not be read literally but as devotional praise.
Akthirū dhikra an-Nabiyyi yā man yuḥibbūnahu Liyuḥibbūnahu
Translation
Increase your remembrance of the Prophet, O lovers of him, that you may love him ever more.
Explanation
The poem concludes with a practical invitation: abundant remembrance of the Prophet ﷺ deepens love for him. This reflects the Prophetic teaching that one's heart becomes attached to what one's tongue frequently remembers.
Notes on the Text
Several expressions are not standard Arabic spellings and likely reflect dialectal pronunciation or transcription by ear. I have reconstructed them into grammatically correct Arabic while preserving the intended meaning.
For a critical edition, the ideal next step would be to locate an authoritative recording or manuscript from the Hadrami or Ḥijāzī tradition from which this qaṣīdah originates. That would allow every line to be established with confidence while preserving the original poetic meter and rhyme.
You can listening to the first rendering that I heard during my college years, here:
Muslim communities worldwide have celebrated the life of the Prophet ﷺ in myriad poetic forms and narratives, transmitted from manuscript page to prayer gathering, from private wird to congregational recitation, and even into weddings. One such mawlid that has taken deep root in living devotional practice is سِمْطُ الدُّرَر (Simṭ al-Durar). Associated with al-Ḥabīb ʿAlī b. Muḥammad b. Ḥusayn al-Ḥabshī, it remains a cherished mawlid in Ḥaḍramī and Indonesian circles.
The title Simṭ al-Durar—a string or necklace of pearls—is not merely decorative language; it sheds light on the work’s inner form. Pearls are gathered, threaded, and set in order; so too does this mawlid gather praise, lineage, longing, birth, beauty, and remembrance into a composition shaped by sequence and return. The fuller title preserved in public textual witnesses—Simṭ al-Durar fī Akhbār Mawlid Khayr al-Bashar wa-mā lahu min Akhlāq wa-Awṣāf wa-Siyar—makes plain that this is at once a praise text, a birth narrative, and a devotional sīrah.
One reason it has endured, in my view, is that it lives in several registers at once. There is the authored matn itself, and there is the received recital form, which many communities know by sound before they know it on the page: the opening ṣalawāt, the مأخذ, the Qurʾanic passages, the flowing prose, the repeated congregational responses, and the standing section of maḥall al-qiyām. Public recital copies make this layered life unmistakable.
The prose opening after the basmala already explains much of its staying power:
It is an opening of great amplitude. It does not hurry towards the narrative. It begins where a true mawlid should begin: with praise of Allah, and only then with the unfolding of the story of the Beloved ﷺ. That movement matters. Simṭ al-Durar is not simply a retelling of sacred biography; it is sīrah warmed by love, adab, and liturgical sound.
What continues to give the text life is its balance. It is learned without becoming dry, lyrical without losing structure, and intimate without becoming careless. It moves through themes the mawlid tradition knows well—the Muḥammadan light, noble lineage, blessed birth, beauty of character, and the sweetness of communal praise—yet it keeps returning the listener to something simple and lasting: gratitude, longing, remembrance, and ṣalawāt.
That is why Simṭ al-Durar still belongs as much to breath as to ink. It is preserved not only in printed editions and digital scans but also in gatherings where repeated recitation allows its cadences to settle in the heart. What follows, then, is more than an introduction to a famous mawlid text: it is an attempt to listen more carefully to one of the best-loved devotional compositions in the Ḥaḍramī–Nusantara inheritance.
Below is a widely performed recital form, heard not only in mawlid majālis (gatherings) but also at weddings within Yemeni diaspora communities in Southeast Asia. To follow the complete mawlid, play the video while reading the text below. I have also provided links to the corresponding points in the video alongside the relevant sections.
Indeed, We have granted you a manifest victory, so that Allah may forgive you what preceded of your fault and what followed, complete His favour upon you, guide you to a straight path, and support you with mighty support. (Qurʾan 48:1–3)
A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering weighs upon him; he is deeply concerned for you, and to the believers he is gentle and merciful. If they turn away, say: Allah is sufficient for me. There is no deity but Him. In Him I place my trust, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne. (Qurʾan 9:128–129)
Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with complete peace. (Qurʾan 33:56)
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ وَبَارِكْ عَلَيْهِ
Allāhumma ṣalli wa-sallim wa-bārik ʿalayhi.
O Allah, send blessings and peace upon him ﷺ, and bless him.
Ṣalawāt:
Section of the video corresponding to the Ṣalawāt:
And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without any partner — a testimony through which the tongue gives outward expression to what the heart already holds within it of belief and willing surrender.
Tathbutu bihā fī l-ṣudūri mina l-īmāni qawāʿiduhu, wa-talūḥu ʿalā ahli l-yaqīni min sirri dhālika l-idhʿāni wa-l-taṣdīqi shawāhiduhu.
Through it, the foundations of faith are established in hearts, while the signs of the secret of that submission and affirmation become manifest to the people of certainty.
Wa-ashhadu anna sayyidanā Muḥammadan al-ʿabdu l-ṣādiqu fī qawlihi wa-fiʿlihi, wa-l-muballighu ʿani Llāhi mā amarahu bi-tablīghihi li-khalqihi min farḍihi wa-naflihi.
And I bear witness that our master Muḥammad is the truthful servant in word and deed, and the one who conveyed from Allah what He commanded him to deliver to His creation, both the obligatory and the supererogatory.
A servant whom Allah sent to all the worlds as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. He conveyed the Message and discharged the trust. Through him Allah guided many people of the community; amid the darkness of ignorance, he was a lamp and a luminous moon for those seeking insight.
Fa-mā aʿẓamahā min minnatin takarrama Llāhu bihā ʿalā l-bashari, wa-mā awsaʿahā min niʿmatin intashara sirruhā fī l-baḥri wa-l-barri.
How immense a gift it was, that Allah in His generosity bestowed upon all of humanity — and how vast a blessing, whose secret has spread across both sea and land.
O Allah, send the most majestic and comprehensive of blessings, and the purest and most expansive of salutations, upon this servant who fulfilled the right of servitude completely — appearing within it clothed in the garment of perfection — and who stood firm in honoring the right of the Lord in every station of service to Allah, turning toward Him with the fullest and most absolute of turning.
A blessing through which the soul of the one who invokes blessings upon him becomes connected to him, so that the light of the secret of attachment to and love for him spreads within that person’s heart. Through it, by Allah’s care, that person is recorded among his company. And may blessings be upon his family and companions, who ascended the summit of glory through nearness to him and rested in the shade of innate nobility through affection and love for him,
O Allah, O Lord, O Knower of my state—perhaps after thirst a sweet drink will come to me.
A note on the language: this qaṣīdah keeps a consistent ḥālī end-rhyme—the lām–yāʾ pattern—and draws on the classical language of munājāh, intimate address to God. Several lines retain a Ḥaḍramī devotional register, including colloquial forms such as bā-yaqaʿ (‘it will happen or come to pass’) and hānā (‘here’). The phrase ʿulūm al-salāṭīn al-rijāl refers not to worldly kingship but to the inward knowledge of the great spiritual masters—the ‘sovereigns among humankind.’ The closing couplet expresses the hope of tabdīl al-sayyiʾāt ḥasanāt, the transformation of sins into good deeds, as in Qurʾan 25:70.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq has transmitted through his chain from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī, may God be pleased with them both, who said: "I said, 'O Messenger of God — may my father and mother be your ransom — tell me of the first thing God created before all things.'
And it has come to us from the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God ﷺ said: "I was the first of the prophets in creation, and the last of them in being sent."
This Light passed from the loins of Adam, then Noah, then Abraham, until the Hand of Pre-eternal Knowledge delivered it to the one it had singled out for honour—his noble father, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, the one of tremendous rank,
وَأُمِّهِ الَّتِي هِيَ فِي المَخَاوِفِ آمِنَةٌ
السَّيِّدَةِ الكَرِيمَةِ آمِنَةَ.
Wa-ummihi llatī hiya fī l-makhāwifi āmina
al-sayyidati l-karīmati Āmina.
and his mother—she who was safe amid dangers (āmina)—
She carried him under Allah’s care, as has been related of her—an easy pregnancy whose weight she did not feel, and from which she suffered neither pain nor illness.
The earth and heavens remained perfumed with joy at meeting the noblest of created beings and at his emergence from the world of concealment into the world of manifestation, after his passage through wombs and loins.
Through the emergence of this noble human being, Allah manifested the splendour of honour in existence and spread throughout the great world the banquet of ennoblement and glorification.
The rains of divine generosity poured abundantly upon the people of existence, while the tongues of the angels resounded with glad tidings for all the worlds.
Divine Power lifted the veil from this hidden one, so that his light might emerge fully in the world of manifestation—a light surpassing every other light.
وَأَنْفَذَ الْحَقُّ حُكْمَهُ
عَلَى مَنْ أَتَمَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ النِّعْمَةَ
مِنْ خَوَاصِّ الْأُمَّةِ
أَنْ يَحْضُرَ عِنْدَ وَضْعِهِ أُمَّهُ
Wa-anfadha l-Ḥaqqu ḥukmahu ʿalā man atamma Llāhu ʿalayhi l-niʿmata min khawāṣṣi l-ummati: an yaḥḍura ʿinda waḍʿihi ummahu.
The Real carried out His decree concerning those elect members of the community upon whom Allah had completed His favour: that they should attend his mother at the time of his birth.
Fa-ḥaḍarat bi-tawfīqi Llāhi l-sayyidatu Maryamu wa-l-sayyidatu Āsiyatu, wa-maʿahumā mina l-ḥūri l-ʿīni man qasama Llāhu lahu mina l-sharafi bi-l-qismati l-wāfiyati.
Then, by Allah’s enabling grace, the Lady Maryam and the Lady Āsiya attended, accompanied by those wide-eyed maidens of Paradise to whom Allah had apportioned a full share of honour.
Then came the moment upon whose arrival Allah had ordained the existence of this newborn. The dawn of perfection broke, revealing a pillar of light, and the Praiser, the Praised One, came forth—submissive to Allah in glorification and prostration.
O Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Messenger ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Beloved ﷺ, peace be upon you. O Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon you.
The universe shone with joy at the coming of the Chosen One, Aḥmad. For all creation there is companionship—O Messenger of Allah—and a joy ever renewed.
O Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Messenger ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Beloved ﷺ, peace be upon you. O Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon you.
Rejoice, O people of the oft-repeated praises; the nightingale of felicity has sung. Be illumined by a beauty—O Messenger of Allah—that surpassed all beauty in peerless uniqueness.
O Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Messenger ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Beloved ﷺ, peace be upon you. O Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon you.
O Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Messenger ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Beloved ﷺ, peace be upon you. O Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon you.
O Prophet ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Messenger ﷺ, peace be upon you; O Beloved ﷺ, peace be upon you. O Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings be upon you.
When he ﷺ emerged from his mother’s womb, he came forth with his gaze raised towards the sky, indicating by that upward gesture a nobility whose glory had risen high and soared.
It has been related that he ﷺ was born circumcised, with eyes lined as if with kohl and his umbilical cord already severed—the hands of Divine Power having attended to this in honour of his rank before Allah.
It is related from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, from his mother al-Shifāʾ, that when Āmina gave birth to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he fell into her hands and uttered his first cry. She heard a voice pray for mercy upon him, and everything between east and west was illuminated for him until she saw some of the palaces of Byzantium. She then experienced darkness and awe first from her right and then from her left, hearing that he had been taken to the west and to the east. The account remained in her mind until Allah raised him as a Prophet, and she was among the first people to embrace Islam.
How abundantly the Prophetic tradition has conveyed tremendous miracles and radiant, manifest signs—attesting to the greatness of his honour before his Lord, to the eye of divine care watching over him at every moment, and to his being the Guide to the Straight Path.
Wa qad inbasaṭa al-qalamu fī tadwīni mā afādahu al-ʿilmu min waqāʾiʿi mawlidi al-Nabiyyi al-Karīm,
wa ḥikāyati mā akrama Allāhu bihi hādhā al-ʿAbda al-Muqarraba min al-takrīmi wa al-taʿẓīmi wa al-khuluqi al-ʿaẓīm.
The pen has spread itself in setting down what knowledge has conveyed of the events of the birth of the Noble Prophet, and the account of what God bestowed upon this favoured servant of honour, veneration, and magnificent character.
Glad tidings to you, Āmina of contentment—through Muḥammad, the very essence of bliss. (The first phrase is sung four times, then the couplet is repeated.)
In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master Muḥammad, and bless the family of our master Muḥammad.
Now that thought has strung necklaces from the lustrous pearls of the Muḥammadan qualities, I turn to Allah, taking my master and beloved Muḥammad ﷺ as a means of approach. I ask Him to make my effort gratefully accepted and my deed praiseworthy, to inscribe my labour among accepted works, and my turning among sincere devotions and unbroken prayers.
O Allah, to whom all hopes turn and return triumphant, and at whose gate of glory travellers set down their loads and are enveloped by overflowing grace: we turn to You through the noblest means before You—the Master of the Messengers, Your truthful and trustworthy servant, our master Muḥammad, whose message encompassed all worlds. Send blessings and peace upon that Perfect Being: repository of Your trust, guardian of Your secret, bearer of the banner of Your all-embracing call, the great father, Your beloved, distinguished with splendid honour at every station of nearness and manifestation, distributor of Your aid among Your servants, pourer of the cups of Your guidance for those who love You, Master of the Two Worlds, the noblest of humankind and jinn, the beloved, sincere servant whom You singled out with the greatest distinctions.
Allāhumma innā nuqaddimu ilayka jāha hādhā l-nabiyyi l-karīmi, wa-natawassalu ilayka bi-sharafi maqāmihi l-ʿaẓīmi, an tulāḥiẓanā fī ḥarakātinā wa-sakanātinā bi-ʿayni ʿināyatika, wa-an taḥfaẓanā fī jamīʿi aṭwārinā wa-taqallubātinā bi-jamīli riʿāyatika wa-ḥaṣīni wiqāyatika, wa-an tuballighanā min sharafi l-qurbi ilayka wa-ilā hādhā l-ḥabībi ghāyata āmālinā, wa-tataqabbala minnā mā taḥarraknā fīhi min niyyātinā wa-aʿmālinā, wa-tajʿalanā fī ḥaḍrati hādhā l-ḥabībi mina l-ḥāḍirīna, wa-fī ṭarāʾiqi ittibāʿihi mina l-sālikīna, wa-li-ḥaqqika wa-ḥaqqihi mina l-muʾaddīna, wa-li-ʿahdika mina l-ḥāfiẓīna.
O Allah, we present before You the rank of this Noble Prophet and seek approach to You through the honour of his exalted station. Watch over our movements and stillness with Your care; preserve us through all our states and changes with Your beautiful protection and secure safeguarding; bring us to the utmost of our hopes in nearness to You and to this Beloved; accept from us whatever intentions and deeds we have undertaken; place us among those present in his presence and those who follow his paths; and make us fulfil what is due to You and to him and faithfully keep Your covenant.
O Allah, we yearn for Your special mercy, so do not deny us. Our good opinion of You is our means of approach, so do not disappoint us. We believe in You, Your Messenger, and the religion he brought. Through him we turn to You seeking intercession: meet the sinner among us with forgiveness, the wrongdoer with kindness, the petitioner with what was asked, and the hopeful with what was hoped for. Make us among those who supported this Beloved, stood by him, befriended him, and aided him. Through his blessing and noble spiritual direction, encompass our children, our parents, the people of our land and valley, and all Muslim and believing men and women everywhere. Keep the banner of the upright religion unfurled in every land and the signs of Islam and faith flourishing among their people, inwardly and outwardly.
O Allah, relieve the distressed, settle the debts of the indebted, forgive sinners, accept the repentance of the penitent, and spread Your mercy over all Your believing servants. Restrain the harm of aggressors and wrongdoers. Extend justice through righteous authorities in every region and land, and support them with reinforcement from You and victory over the obstinate among the hypocrites and disbelievers.
Place us, O Lord, within an impregnable fortress against every affliction and a secure refuge from sins and transgressions. Keep us steadfast in obedience to You and truthful service to You; and when You take our souls, take us as Muslims and believers.
By His grace: Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of Might, far above what they ascribe; peace be upon the messengers; and all praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds.
الْفَاتِحَةُ
Al-Fātiḥah.
(At this point the gathering recites Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.)
Early Childhood with Sayyidah Ḥalīma (not included in the video)
The wet nurses vied with one another to nurse him, and the people of existence longed to care for this blessed being. Then the decree issued from the Exalted Presence, by virtue of what had been preordained from eternity, that the lady Ḥalīma was most worthy to rear and nurture this Beloved.
Wa-ḥīna lāḥaẓat-hu ʿuyūnuhā, wa-baraza fī shaʾnihā min asrāri l-qudrati l-rabbāniyyati maknūnuhā, nāzala qalbahā mina l-faraḥi wa-l-surūri mā dalla ʿalā anna ḥaẓẓahā mina l-karāmati ʿinda Llāhi ḥaẓẓun mawfūrun.
When her eyes beheld him and the hidden secrets of Divine Power became manifest in her affairs, such joy and gladness came upon her heart that it revealed the abundant share of honour reserved for her with Allah.
She showed him the tenderness mothers show their sons, and longed to nurse him in the hope of receiving his blessings, which encompassed all the worlds.
She had arrived with her old she-camel and donkey both feeble; on the return journey they outpaced the caravan’s animals. The she-camel and sheep yielded so much milk that minds were left astonished.
He remained in her and her husband’s care for two years. During that time she received blessings and witnessed miracles that delighted the eye, while his mysteries spread through both worlds.
Then, while he was tending the sheep, the angels of special election and honour encountered him with the distinction whose blessing embraced all creation.
She therefore returned him to his mother, though she was deeply unwilling to part from him, because of the sorrow and anxious concern for him that had arisen within her heart.
