1. My mercy and blessings in the turns of my time
Wherever the arrows of my fate have struck

2. I ask - though my friends have endured -
Will my affliction by the vicious be prolonged?

3. Who will inform the Sulwan, wounded at heart?
The paths to the Sulwan are blocked to him

4. You forbid me, O Abdelaziz, send me on my way
And added sorrows upon my sorrows

5. You surprised me with estrangement before its time
Is there a burning like estrangement before its time?

6. Would you treat brothers ill whose hearts you've won
With grace, and you were the joy of the brothers?

7. O Lord of eloquence, and you are its consummate master
Your precedence in wondrous eloquence has rendered my eloquence futile

8. A literary polish whose ayahs intimate
That speech is but derivative and plagiarized

9. You surpassed those from whom you learned as a youth
And outshone all your distinguished peers

10. This by consensus, so what has the claim
Of a pretender to law disproved?

11. No good in a time when upstarts
Overrun the heights of culture

12. You created a style and were its imam
Remaining unmatched in it, you who are without peer

13. Your words combine ease and gravity
Contraries reconciled in elegance

14. An Arabic robe Egyptian brocade
Embroidered in a wondrous palette

15. For witticisms, plucking from them subtle fragrance
Whatever you wish of the gardens' perfumes

16. For insights, no one gives of their like
Before conception, freshest in the minds

17. For drollery, which you have matched to
The forbearance of elders, levity of youths

18. When refined, it is gentle, and in its laughter
Flashes of lightning, no bared teeth

19. A nectar quaffed by hearts assuaging
Fetters - hearts secured in peace

20. Ordeals of the most brilliant writer and conversationalist
Pristine spontaneity, eloquent exposition

21. In earnest and jest resourceful
With charming dexterity and a clever tongue

22. Rare in humankind an age that did not have
The likes of that example, a peerless pair

23. A unique persona, a sheltering shadow
Walking while the shoulders do not sway

24. Easy of manner when you see him, though perhaps
In the pocket of his shirt the eyes may sleep

25. His features gilded with a touch of duskiness
Descendant of us or of Adnan

26. With the two drooping lines and a hint
Of unkempt hair, never groomed for ceremony

27. And a slight stoop, chest curved over it
As if forever leaning upon it

28. From that statue shone for all
Signs of what sanctity, what heavens

29. A lighthouse's beauty is in the radiance of its beacon
Not its decor nor architecture

30. As for his nature - say what you will of
The essence of chivalry, staunch faith

31. No breast was straitened, his being the truest Muslim
By difference of views and religions

32. What a gallant lad in absence or presence
What a gallant lad in secret and openly

33. With justice he rules in rights, and with dew
He rules the rights of family and neighbors

34. He labors, as assiduous as one who has toiled for a mission
However grueling, though he suffers

35. Girt for rising and retiring
Hastening, steps unfaltering

36. Not for his diligence would his station have reached
The heavens, had he not been thus content

37. But he never spent a day complaining
Or seeking what isn't possible

38. And he respected the truth of his soul, and its nobility
Lest honor be replaced by disgrace

39. No position above positions, no wealth
Beyond yearning, the artist's ultimate goals

40. However he makes his living, dignity to him
Lies in his workmanship and excellence

41. What would the scion of a virtuous house be
Lofty of pillar, firm of foundation

42. His father the Shaykh, the Rais, and his son
Partook of literary grace and mystical knowledge

43. Noble patience, my brother, you are one who
Through wisdom attains the Merciful's wisdom

44. How in fate for the astute are glimpses
Of succor and consolation

45. And console yourselves, his family - he whom
You mourn is in grace and gardens

46. And console yourselves, you enamored of his excellence
In homelands near and distant