1. The soul naturally recoils from thoughts of death,
Fearing the unpleasant fate that awaits it.

2. Its fear or security in life
Comes only from its righteousness or corruption.

3. If it were well prepared for its departure,
The thought of it would be easy for it to endure.

4. Whoever takes reason and examination as his equipment
Will see clearly the truth of matters and their falsehood.

5. But undisciplined minds are startled by such contemplations
And little fear of dismay finds them unprepared.

6. We know the fleeting nature of the world’s pleasures,
Yet the braggart and the proud still revel in them.

7. However long our lives, whether extended or brief,
The far end is the same, however far or near.

8. The enjoyments of life that are not rightfully ours
Are false treasures that mislead the borrower.

9. I strive for detachment in my worldly life, yet how can I
When my goal is for it to be filled with joy?

10. And we blame the days for their betrayal,
Yet claim to be gladdened by their deception.

11. When the intelligent are mostly ruled by the world,
No warning comes to them that they have not already heard.

12. And death continues each day to come between us,
Its advents and its mornings to circulate among us.

13. So too the generations that passed before—
Their sorrows can be seen in how their matters ended.

14. They have been tried by the nights and days and found wanting,
Their dwellings are empty ruins and desolate abodes.

15. Indeed, these comprise the soul of life and its shadow,
Its blossoms and its streams and ponds.

16. And varieties of beauty amid varieties of pleasure
Follow each other in succession, days and months.

17. Sorrows accumulate in it, though buried
Until a day of anguish comes to revive them,

18. As the day we found Nabhan deceased,
Among the days that whetted their blades against us.

19. We were grieved by the death of the protector of glory, Nabhan,
Whose bier bows the necks of men.

20. We were pained by the burial of the honorable Nabhan
Whose brilliance the darkness of the earth shrouds.

21. Every soul concealed it as if
It resided in the conscience of each.

22. You would think each heart visits his grave
And eyes copiously weep over it.

23. Tears pour over it, one after another,
While few eyes withhold their flowing.

24. May the smooth stones cause Banu Nabhan to stumble
And may no missteps befall the chiefs of ‘Uteyk!

25. May you be honored through a company of ‘Umar
Whose nature is sublime and whose souls are vast,

26. Hard against the gibes of enemies, like the mountain flints,
Impregnable against the striking of calamities, like boulders.

27. They feel neither distress in gloom that incites them
Nor joy in favor that makes them vain.

28. They have seen their days bring them the vicissitudes of fate
Just as kingdoms came to men in successive generations.

29. Yet they neither complained about it nor submitted to it,
So their nobility would be content and their reward endure.

30. Resolute in patience against every adversity,
Their sorrows thereby dissipate and their aims become clear.

31. Swallowing the bitterness over the loss of senior brothers
With propriety, tranquility, and grief for siblings.

32. The beauty of their worldly life and intimate companion,
Their supporter in their affairs and advisor.

33. Lions that with one lion roar
So it is no surprise that they moan and growl.

34. Worthy for their children to mourn them,
And for the steadfast noble ones to endure.

35. What a terrible tragedy for their souls,
Though it cannot harm their glory.

36. May it raise them above every lofty height
And absolve them of every blemish, through its purity.

37. For the Banu Nabhan, no excellent and esteemed one remains
If the best of mankind are counted as their peers.

38. Who can compare to ‘Ali, Duhl, or Ya’rub
Among their most distinguished and their choicest nobles?

39. Who can rival Nabhan and Muhammad
When the desperate man’s difficulty becomes severe?

40. We see none among the people like Muhammad,
Nor like ‘Umar, al-Hajjaj, or their prisoners.

41. A time will never come bearing their like,
And peers of Nabhan are non-existent.

42. They likened them to Muhammad, but Muhammad
Is matchless on earth unless it be his own return.

43. The Banu ‘Umar are the lords of all Qahtan,
No elder or younger spoken of among them.

44. Kings whose individual merits rival one another—
Looking upon any, you would say “This is their prince.”

45. Wellsprings of the world’s provisions and its rainclouds,
Planets in the cosmos’ orbit and cycles.

46. The people are but hopeful supplicants to them,
Seeking their favors, or fearful ones seeking refuge.

47. Their fortresses protect those in fear,
And their oceans immerse the devout.

48. Their virtues are known and their forbearance,
As are their obedience and gratitude.

49. When their conduct is displayed in an assembly,
Their musk and fragrance exude from it.

50. Their quarters are filled with radiant eyes,
While their tombs crowd hearts into graves.

51. So their nobility has lasted and their bliss persists,
While their enemy is abased and their ally empowered.

52. O Abu’l Qasim, resign yourself! O Abu’l Hasan, rejoice!
O father of the Arabs, attain the ultimate ambition!

53. And O father of nobility, live on and turn hopefully
Toward that which, O Abu ‘Abdillah, brings you glad tidings!

54. Stay well, O Abu ‘Abdillah and O father of Ibn Ma’mar,
Enjoying the blessings that bring abundant comfort!

55. Thus do I convey, O father of Ibn Ma’mar and O father of Muhammad,
Good will in times of ease and plenteous grace.

56. And live, O Abu ‘Abdillah, in the shade of a blessing
Whose curtains shelter Abu ‘Abdillah.

57. And may He bestow upon you nightly in your bereavement
Scattering stars from the rainy constellation Muzn.

58. And O father of Ibn Ma’mar, may you continue
Upon the path of your father, walking in righteousness.