1. We complain where we have no hope of an answer
To a time that does not listen to reproach

2. And we complain of its injustice like a drowning man
To waves that only increase turbulence

3. A time from which we do not escape every day
Seeing in it crookedness and upheaval

4. In which the dear one is led to the lowly
And the raven snatches the eagle in it

5. The lion dies of hunger in the wilderness
And the overfed dogs bark loudly

6. And he whom we want to live goes away
While he whom we want gone stays

7. Ibn Fiyyad’s son left us and his
Tears flowed like rainclouds

8. Tears flowed down his cheeks like water
But in his innermost heart they were raging wars

9. He escaped the war of his world safely
So who calls him victorious hits the mark

10. The angels shade him in his burial place
With wings they stretched over him like canopies

11. A generous man whom we knew no fault in
Nor character that would displease companions

12. He never wrongfully seized a willing soul
But sought to appease wrath

13. We've lost him but not lost his company
So that absence made us feel him near

14. Our hearts say as they bade him farewell
In the dust, "Would that we were dust!"

15. A friend of mine, truthful since his youth
Who did not forget friendship when he matured

16. I cried over him and summoned my patience
So patience turned into sorrow and lament

17. He who does not willingly show patience
Helplessness forces patience upon him