Wa Aḥsanu Minka Lam Tara Qaṭṭu ‘Aynin · No Eye Has Seen Such Beauty as Thine

Wa Aḥsanu Minka Lam Tara Qaṭṭu ‘Aynin (وأحسن منك لم تر قط عين) is the first hemistich of a famous couplet by the Companion of the Prophet ﷺ, Ḥassān ibn Thābit. The two short lines of poetry are a masterfully succinct expression of the incomparable beauty of the Prophet ﷺ. There is some variation in the first line, where aḥsanu and ajmalu are often swapped for ajmalu and aṭyabu respectively; also, ‘aynin is sometimes instead rendered ‘aynī , slightly changing the meaning of the first line to mean “my eye has never before seen anything as beautiful as you” rather than “no eye has . . .” Being so short, the poem is often recited at the beginning of a session of singing, or as an interlude between two qasidas. For instance, it is often sung before the much-loved Egyptian qasida Qamarun. The couplet has been rendered into English verse, retaining metre and rhyme, by Mostafa Azzam.

Lyrics

وَأَحْسَنُ مِنْكَ لَمْ تَرَ قَطُّ عِيْنٍ
وَأَجْمَلُ مِنْكَ لَمْ تَلِدِ النِّسَاءُ
خُلِقْتَ مُبَرَّأً مِنْ كُلِّ عَيْبٍ
كَأَنَّكَ قَدْ خُلِقْتَ كَمَا تَشَاءُ

Wa aḥsanu minka lam tara qaṭṭu ‘aynin
wa ajmalu minka lam talidin–nisaa’u
Khuliqta mubarra’an min kulli ‘aybin
ka’annaka qad khuliqta kamaa tashaa’u

No eye has seen such beauty as thine,
No dame has borne such a one so fine,
You were created free of flaw,
As if by your own design.

Audio Samples

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