For the sake of the Prophet ﷺ

For the Prophet's sake we have seen the radiance of the Sanctuary;By his grace alone we have seen the clouds of mercy.

My Master passed by and the deserts shone;By the Prophet's light we have seen settlements filled with light.

The owner of Paradise and the Garden will ever bestow;We are his revellers; we have seen such intoxications.

Those who take his name are ever exalted;By Allah's grace we have never seen degradation.

Where is such resolve, Afaq? Who has such courageAs the Companions had, who saw hardships of every kind?

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For Allah's Sake, Be Generous

The feeling of grief always makes us weep, O Prophet;May not even an enemy ever receive this punishment, O Prophet.

Ask not of the ruin of the rose garden of the Sunni way;The way of Ahmad Raza is in the path of the storm, O Prophet.

O Master, save your Ummah from trials (fitan);May the religious atmosphere be pure of the stench of Najdism, O Prophet.

May there be an age of knowledge and practice, may the Sunnah prevail;May embodiments of truthfulness and purity arise again, O Prophet.

May hearts remain safe from the colours and charms of the world;May they ever stay bright with the light of piety (taqwa), O Prophet.

My sons and daughters, my friends, all my disciples (murids),May all sing your praises and remain devoted to you, O Prophet.

We appeal to you, O Prophet: for Allah's sake, be generous;Hear Afaq's lament, his sighs and weeping, O Prophet.

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The City of Faithfulness

Call it the city of faithfulness or call it the city of modesty;Call the Master's Taybah the light of the eyes.

Radiance at every moment, new splendours at every moment;Call every blessing of the Creator simply an ocean of giving.

Become his wine-drinkers: if you stagger, he will hold you up;Call the wine-drinking of Taybah the pleasure of the Creator.

Love of Madinah alone is the comfort of heart and soul;Call Taybah the cure for us, the stricken with pain.

He is beauty embodied; none will be as beautiful as he;Call being effaced for the Master of both worlds eternal life.

O houris and angels, come and behold the beautiful one of Taybah;Call the glorious Qur'an the praise of the Master.

He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward too;He is Ahmad, he is Muhammad; call him the repeller of calamity too.

That which rises in every direction and rains down upon all:Call that King of both worlds the cloud of mercy.

Be it the light of faith or the parts of the Qur'an,Call this knowledge, practice and gnosis all his gift.

He is the most perfect manifestation, superior to everything;Do not call him Allah, nor call him separate from Him.

Afaq, that you have come to Madinah in your poverty,Call it his generosity and call it the grace of Allah.

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Come to Taybah

To the Taybah of the Leader of the righteous, come;On your heads, O beggars, come to Batha.

Give your lives for his pure name;Walk the road of those slain by love.

O destitute ones, if you want Paradise,The bargain there is very cheap: come.

O you stricken by the times, do not despair;His door is the refuge and shelter: come.

Life and heart, wealth and goods, glory and retinue:Sacrifice them all for him; come to Taybah.

Patience in separation from him is not easy;Do something, Afaq: come to Taybah.

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Come, My Master

It is a time of adversity: come, my Master;O owner and master of kindness and generosity, come.

Every moment there is strange anguish, no peace at all;It is the time for help: O helper of all, come.

For Allah's sake, be generous to the state of us grief-stricken ones;Our eyes are tearful, O consoler: come.

Every moment, O Prophet, we hope for your pardon;O leader of the caravan of pardon and generosity, come.

Whom shall we call? Who is there to have mercy on us?The Gathering has risen: O mercy of the All-Forgiving, come.

May our houses of darkness also be lit with light;O beloved of the heart-wounded Afaq, come.

֍֍֍֍Separation from the Beloved

What can I tell you of the moments of separation from the Beloved?What can I tell you of the states that passed over my heart?

There was a seal of silence on my tongue, tears in my eyes;What can I tell you of the marks of the wounds in my heart?

Strange sadness, strange grief, strange pain, friends;There was a rain of calamities: what can I tell you?

May Allah never give even an enemy such a punishment;What can I tell you of the hours that passed over me?

How can I describe the splendours of the Beloved,And the favours that came one after another? What can I tell you?

Peace of heart, peace of soul, peace of life:What can I tell you of the blessings of grief for the Beloved?

The gaze is sad, the heart desolate, a throng of pain:These are the fruits of fate; what can I tell you?

At every step my heart longed to prostrate:What can I tell you of the gift of the Beloved's land?

Afaq, let the thought of the Beloved be constant at every moment;What can I tell you of the delights of the thought of the Beloved?

֍֍֍֍My Beloved

My beloved, my consoler, come;Where are you, the cry of my heart? Come.

Without you the gathering of my heart is very empty;Light of my eyes, rest of my soul, come.

The adornment of our love comes from your being;You are the radiance of our life: come.

My existence has its splendour from your generosity;You alone are my season of spring: come.

May only your splendours fill my sight;You alone are my nights and days: come.

My final moments will pass in great peace;My state is wretched, my eyes are tearful: come.

Afaq will prostrate in thanks every momentIf you would come, even once, in a dream.

֍֍֍֍Beautiful Thoughts

Beautiful are the thoughts, beautiful the remembrance of you, O beautiful one;Your kohl-dark eyes are the peace of heart and soul.

Let the age search out all the beautiful ones of the world;It can never anywhere offer your equal.

Rivers of your gifts and bounty have flowed through the ages;Let anyone say if he has ever heard your "no".

What are the heavens, the Throne, and the Lote Tree of the Garden of Refuge?The earth that all of them long for is yours.

֍֍֍֍A Throng of Grief

Whenever the throng of grief grew and he came to mind,We found peace and rest, safety and security.

Ask not, O people, the blessings of his smile:It has made flowers bloom in the autumn-stricken garden.

This thirst of mine has served me well:Today he himself has come to give me the cup to drink.

At the hour of death, when the longing to see him grew beyond bounds,He came to show me his radiant face.

By settling him in our hearts we have triumphed;We are in his refuge, and his shade is over us.

Ask not of his greatness: Allah alone knows him;He is the soul of love, he is the most beloved of all.

By his generosity, Afaq, from his hands we have alwaysReceived luminous cups of divine radiance.

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Quatrain

I have set out to erase the mark of the grief of separation;I have set out to adorn my heart with your splendours.

Seeing the rains of beautiful generosity upon the people of the world,I have set out to quench my own thirst.

A Persian Na'at

O Mustafa, be generous to us; O Mujtaba, have mercy on us;My state is manifest to you; my pain and sorrow are beyond all bounds.

O you whose being is the light of Allah, the sun of the forenoon, the full moon of the dark night,This and that were lit up by you; give us the cup of generosity.

O my master, O my leader, O my king, my generous one too,You know my state always: my nights and days are pain.

Our sins are beyond all bounds, your grace exceeds all bounds;Write pardon and forgiveness, rest and peace in our record.

My heart and soul are wounded; your kindness is my cure;Cast one glance at my state, that as long as I live I may be glad.

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Quatrain

My state is broken, O Messenger of Allah;My fortune is asleep, O Messenger of Allah.

I seek one generous glance;My heart is broken, O Messenger of Allah.

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