Question:

Shaykh Gibril,

Can you translate the poem by Hasan bin Thabit that begins:

w’amsat bilad alharami wahshan yaqa`uha…

Answer:

وَأَمْسَتْ بِلَادُ الْحُرْمِ وَحْشًا بِقَاعُهَا … لِغَيْبَةِ مَا كَانَتْ مِنْ الْوَحْيِ تُعْهَدُ
قِفَارًا سِوَى مَعْمُورَةِ اللّحْدِ ضَافَهَا … فَقِيدٌ يُبَكّينَهُ بَلَاطٌ وَغَرْقَدُ
وَمَسْجِدُهُ فَالْمُوحِشَاتُ لِفَقْدِهِ … خَلَاءٌ لَهُ فِيهِ مَقَامٌ وَمَقْعَدُ
وَبِالْجَمْرَةِ الْكُبْرَى لَهُ ثَمّ أَوْحَشَتْ … دِيَارٌ وَعَرَصَاتٌ وَرَبْعٌ وَمَوْلِدُ
فَبَكّي رَسُولَ اللّهِ يَا عَيْنُ عَبْرَةً … وَلَا أَعْرِفَنّكِ الدّهْرَ دَمْعُك يُجْمَدُ
وَمَا لَكِ لَا تَبْكِينَ ذَا النّعْمَةِ الّتِي … عَلَى النّاسِ مِنْهَا سَابِغٌ يُتَغَمّدُ
فَجُودِي عَلَيْهِ بِالدّمُوعِ وَأَعْوِلِي … لِفَقْدِ الّذِي لَا مِثْلُهُ الدّهْرَيُوجَدُ“

… And the sanctified country has become desolate
After the disappearance of prophecy which descended on it,
Wild caves, except for the oft-visited side-niche dwelt
By the one they lost, wept by Balat [in Madina] and the gharqad-tree,
And also by his Mosque, filled with sad reminders of his loss:
His empty spots where he used to stand in prayer and where he sat,
And at the Major Stoning Station, there also he is missed
By houses and plains and dwelling quarters and his place of birth.
Therefore weep the Messenger of Allah O my eyes, with flowing tears,
And let me never catch you refraining for the rest of my life!
And why should you not weep the owner of favor
That bestowed it on the people who then basked in it?
So weep him and weep with profuse tears and sobs
For the loss of the one like whom none will ever exist….”
Hassan b. Thabit al-Ansari

Hajj Gibril Haddad