Poetry in Translation: A Bouquet of Flowers to ‘Wad el-Makki’

Renowned Sudanese poet Mohammed el-Makki Ibrahim composed this poem many years back. It depicts deep yearning for Al Madinah Al Munawarah, the second holiest city in Islam and home to the Prophet’s Mosque.

As Muslims worldwide are celebrating the Prophet’s birthday anniversary this month, here is an English translation of the poem, dedicated to the great poet who is being hospitalized in Cairo, wishing him a speedy recovery. – Adil Babikir.

Home of Guidance and Light

By Mohammed el-Makki Ibrahim

Translated by Adil Babikir

Your city is the home of guidance and light…

Domes…

Tears from pious hearts, luminous faces…

Angels’ ceaseless supplications atop palm trees…

and on the gravel-strewn floors.

Your city is the abode of truth and peace;

Doves on windowsills.

Sparrows on hilltops.

Your city is a heavenly garden, O prophet of Allah.

 

The air there has a saintly fragrance,

redolent with the scent of heaven

and its camphor-tempered wine cups.

The soil scented with lovers’ tears

and pearls scattered around.

The forenoon brisk and cheerful,

shining brightly against the Baqie fence,

Prayers there have their unique fragrance;

Recitation of the Quran at dawn

gushing out of enchanted throats and chests.

Torrents of supplication.

The whole place is on tiptoe for divine endorsement.

 

Salam to every corner of Yathrib,

our legendary love poem.

Salam to her gates.

Her homes. Her luxuriant palm trees.

Salam to her minarets, their doves in their perpetual yearning song.

Salam to the martyrs’ mount and the Baqie cemetery.

 

On the tamarisk and lote-trees of the Hijaz,

and its lavender,

the desert poem blows.

For those orchards with twisted streams,

and the green-clad domes,

the hearts of the entire world are longing.

and desert travellers spurring their camels.

 

At your doorsteps the scared and anxious take refuge,

and the poor feel at home.

Through your gate, piety strolls in

and so does wisdom.

In the bliss of your fairness

the world revels

and the scale of justice

stands firm.

 

Bareheaded, barefooted,

we find seats in your ample heart.

In your saintly light we take refuge

from our evil world.

And in your graceful example

we seek shelter from our own greed.

 

Your city is the home of guidance and light.

Angels’ ceaseless supplications atop palm trees

and on the gravel-strewn floors.

Your city is the abode of truth and peace.

Doves on windowsills.

Sparrows on hilltops.

Your city is the garden,

the nearest spot to heaven’s gate

and its angel-guarded ceiling.

 

مدينتك الهدى والنور

مدينتك القباب ..

ودمعة التقوى ووجه النور

وتسبيح الملائك في ذؤابات النخيل

وعلى الحصى المنثور

مدينتك الحقيقة والسلام

على السجوف حمامة

وعلى الربى عصفور

**

مدينتك الحديقة يا رسول الله …

هنالك للهواء أريجه النبوي

موصولاً بأنفاس السماء وكأسها الكافور

هنالك للثرى طيب

بدمع العاشقين ولؤلؤ منثور

هنالك للضحى حجل بأسوار البقيع

وخفة وحبور

هنالك للصلاة رياضها الفيحاء

والقرآن فجرياً

تضج به لهى وصدور

بساعات الإجابة تحفل الدنيا

وأنهار الدعاء تمور

سلام الله يا أنحاء يثرب

يا قصيدة حبنا العصماء

سلام الله يا أبوابها

وبيوتها ونخيلها اللفّاء

سلام يا مآذنها وفوج حمامها البكّاء

ويا جبل الشهادة والبقيع سلام

على أثل الحجاز وضالها

وعلى خزاماها

تهب قصيدة الصحراء

إلى تلك البساتين المعرجة الجداول

والقباب الخضر

يهفو خاطر الدنيا

وتحدى العيس في البيداء

ببابك يستجير الخائفون

ويجلس الفقراء

ببابك تدخل التقوى فتوح الفاتحين

وحكمة الحكماء

وفي نعماء عدلك ترتع الدنيا

وميزان الحساب يقام

حفاة الرأس والأقدام

ندخل في نبوتك الرحيبة

ومن الزمن الكئيب وناسه لذنا بنورك

ومن شح النفوس ودائها المودي

لنا بجمالك استعصام

مدينتك الهدى والنور

وتسبيح الملائك في ذؤابات النخيل

وعلى الحصى المنثور

مدينتك الحقيقة والسلام

على السجوف حمامة

وعلى الربى عصفور

مدينتك الحديقة أقرب الدنيا

إلى باب السماء وسقفها المعمور

Mohammed el-Makki Ibrahim (b. 1939) is a poet, writer, book critic, and political analyst. He earned his BA in law from the University of Khartoum and his MA in political science from the Sorbonne. A career diplomat, he has numerous publications, including four books of verse, a collection of satirical essays, and hundreds of articles published in the Arab media.

Adil Babikir is a Sudanese translator and copywriter based in the UAE. He has translated and edited several works, including Modern Sudanese Poetry: an Anthology (Nebraska, 2019) and Mansi: A Rare Man in His Own Way, by Tayeb Salih (Banipal Books, London, 2020). His latest book, The Beauty Hunters: Sudanese Bedouin Poetry: Evolution and Impact, was published by University of Nebraska Press in April 2023.