1. Look how the moons fade away,
And how the faces of good fortune change,

2. And how the lofty mountains lean
When the returning winds gesture, so they lean.

3. And how the winds blow without stopping,
While dust overwhelms them, abased.

4. And how the eagles' lifespans have shortened,
Yet an eagle's lifetime is long.

5. In every high-ranking position,
A moon of virtues is killed by fate.

6. Fate casts them down, none can protect them,
Alas, fate cannot be resisted.

7. Heaven's gates opened and its light settled the land,
So the land rejoiced while the sky grieved.

8. Travel in the air and hold on to the forelocks of horses,
Death knows no obstacle in its path.

9. Ride on the wings of an eagle, it will not protect you
From an eagle in which flies Azrael.

10. Each soul has an appointed hour, one who does not die in it,
Dies disgraced though he lived esteemed.

11. Have you settled for life though it is full of death,
While dreams occupy the sleeping?

12. Do not be distracted by its sorrows or joys,
The bliss and pain of life are but confusion.

13. Between its blossoming and wilting,
Is the lifetime of roses, and it is short indeed.

14. The one who brought good news yesterday is today a mourner,
As if the interpretation has belied the dream.

15. Tears flow around his tales,
Where once joy overflowed.

16. Many a wedding party hides a funeral,
Like a garden's shade conceals snakes.

17. O you martyrs, you will not be forgotten,
A conquest more splendid than you adorns the sky.

18. In life, the first pioneer takes the glory,
And whoever comes after lengthens it.

19. Were it not for souls who went astray on the path of ascension,
No guide would lead the climbers.

20. While some give their soul, money or knowledge,
Others remain useless.

21. Victory prides itself on its vanguards in battle,
While the camp followers trail behind like sheep.

22. How many thousands of miles towards Egypt you traveled!
Why stop when Egypt is but a mile away?

23. Your wings humble Mount Toros,
When you ascended the clouds like the new moon.

24. You relinquish the reins to the winds, though they
Are submissive to you in their rebellion.

25. Two and two you marched, unaware that death
Would be a third companion.

26. Among the wonders of your time is that you found
In life and death a faithful friend.

27. If one destined to die could be ransomed,
The eagles in the sky would be stingy with life.

28. Which conquerors have approached martyrdom before you?
Their graves are the sky's expanse and its horizons.

29. Its inhabitants greet you each morning
With glorification and praise.

30. Idris with a basil plant above his right,
And Jesus with a wreath above his right.

31. In a world whose inhabitants' breaths are sweet,
And the whispers of their talk are the Gospels.

32. I fear for the sky from harm,
On a day when the generation corrupts the sky.

33. It used to be immaculate, untouched,
With no Adam or Cain in it.

34. The weary turns to its mercies,
And the ailing sees in it the light of hope.

35. The crowned old man gestures toward it,
As does the innocent-eyed virgin.

36. But today it harbors lusts and desires -
A torrent, and for blood and tears, a channel.

37. Fleets of airships circle it,
And from the air, hordes of horses.

38. Its protected temple and secret are gone,
And time strips bare the secret.

39. Damascus panicked, and desperately
Rushed to her people, not knowing what to say.

40. Sorrows walked her streets, and her wailing
Spread among the rivers and springs, withering them.

41. In every plain are groans and laments,
With every grief, cries and wailing.

42. As if all Umayyad Damascus were mourning
The Umayyad Mosque, for it is her towering knight.

43. In it, the rows bow down to you and prayers are brought near for you,
And recitals and chanting draw close.

44. From each coffin, its glory is like myrrh in the earth -
Lofty, while in the sky, rooted.

45. In it lies a martyr shrouded in the Book,
Washed with the tears of the Trustworthy Spirit.

46. His pillars are between the men, while his roots
Are between the praised ones, and He is borne witness to.

47. The soldiers carry him, and were it not for their precedent,
Gabriel would have carried him.

48. Until you reached a spot where desires
And hospitality once lodged.

49. The grave of Joseph loomed over it,
As if the deceased in it were a messenger.

50. My poetry, when you traverse the seas thrice,
And shade accompanies you in shady halts,

51. And you are passed from one Arab gathering
To another, between minarets and castles,

52. Until you reach, from the gate of the Caliphate, an elevation
Where you kiss its curtains and caress them,

53. Say to the Imam Muhammad and his family:
Patience over loss of life is seemly.

54. Such were your tribulations, while you bore part,
With the Euphrates bearing part, and the Nile.

55. If you miss the lions or their cubs,
The wilderness is filled with their likes.

56. Have patience - for Muslims awaits a great reward, as for you,
Yours, with God, is plentiful.

57. O you whose rightly-guided Caliphate is a protection
For truth, you guarantee truth be upheld.

58. God knows among his Caliphs is one of justice,
Who will make the kingdom upright when it tilts.

59. Justice raises for kingdoms an impregnable wall,
Not an army or armada raises it.

60. This is the standing of Muhammad,
And gentleness with Muhammad is hoped for.

61. By God, by Islam, by the wound
That still flows on the crescent's side!

62. Release the prisoner from his shackles,
For shackles are heavy on the noble.

63. Will some slanderer say, or a gloating enemy repeat:
"Buraihah is shackled and bound"?

64. He is one of your swords they have sheathed for suspicion -
Your unsheathed sword is not to be sheathed.

65. Remember then the Commander of the Faithful's ordeal,
And prioritize him, for swords are few.