1. أَبدَلتَ يا عيد عَيني حام من سام

    فَفاضَ جَفني بِما أَفضى إِلى يامِ

    You have given my eyes Ham in place of Sam, O Eid;

    so my eyelids overflowed with what reached Yam.

  2. قَد كُنت هَيمان مَهموماً بِلا جَلدِ

    فَزِدتُ ضِعفَينِ في هَمّي وَتهيامي

    I was already distraught, sorrowful, without endurance;

    now I have doubled in sorrow and yearning.

  3. عَهدتُ لَيلَتَكَ البَيضاءَ نيّرَةً

    فَما لَها كَحَّلت عَيني بِإِظلامِ

    I knew your white night as radiant;

    why has it lined my eyes with darkness?

  4. حَتّى تَناسَيتُ ما عوَّدتُ مِن فَرَحٍ

    وَقُبحُ يَومٍ يُنَسّي حُسنَ أَيّامِ

    Until I forgot the joy I had grown used to:

    one ugly day makes the beauty of many days forgotten.

  5. وَلَو تَراني صَباحَ اليَومَ إِذ بَرَزوا

    ثَكلان أَبكي وَتَبكي حَولي الآمِ

    If only you could see me this morning, when they went out,

    bereaved, weeping, with mothers weeping around me.

  6. فَما لَبِستُ سِوى الأَحزان سابِغَةً

    وَلا نَحَرتُ سِوى إِنساني الدامي

    I wore nothing but sorrow, an ample robe,

    and sacrificed nothing but my bleeding pupil.

  7. وَلا بَرَزتُ لِزُوّاري مَخافَة أَن

    أساءَ مِنهُم بِطَلقِ الوَجهِ بَسّامِ

    Nor did I appear before my visitors, for fear

    a bright-faced, smiling one among them might grieve me,

  8. وَرافِلٍ في جَديدٍ كانَ يَرفلُ في

    مِثالِهِ اِبني غُداةَ العيدِ مُذ عامِ

    or one parading in new clothes, the like of which

    my son wore on Eid morning a year ago.

  9. حُبيب النَفسِ لَو أعطيتُ سُؤلَتها

    أَصابَ نَحري وَأَخطا نَحرَكَ الرامي

    Beloved of my soul, had I granted it its wish,

    the archer would have struck my throat and missed yours.

  10. كَأَنَّني لَم أُكَلِّم مِنكَ نابِغَةً

    وَلا رَأَيتُكَ مِلءَ العَينَ قُدّامي

    It is as though I never spoke with the prodigy you were,

    nor saw you before me, filling my eyes,

  11. وَلا سَمِعتُكَ تَتلو الذِكرَ في سحرٍ

    بِصَوتِ داوودِ في إِفصاحِ هَمّامِ

    nor heard you recite the Remembrance before dawn,

    with David’s voice and a noble man’s eloquence.

  12. مَخايِلٌ فيكَ راقَتني مَحاسِنُها

    سرَّت بِبَدءٍ وَلَم تسرر بِإِتمامِ

    Signs of promise in you delighted me with their beauty:

    they pleased in their beginning, but not in completion.

  13. الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ عَدلٌ عَنكَ ما نَفَذَت

    بِهِ المَقاديرُ مِن نَقضٍ وَإِبرامِ

    Praise be to God: just is whatever has been enacted concerning you

    by destiny, whether undoing or binding.

  14. أَنا أُجيبُ من اِستَفَتى بِنادِرَةٍ

    وَخاطِري بَينَ إِنجادٍ وَإِتهامِ

    I answer whoever consults me with a rare insight,

    while my mind wanders between Najd and Tihama,

  15. مُفَكِّراً في مَعانٍ كُنتُ أَسمَعُها

    مِن فيكَ قَد حَيَّرَت لُبّي وَأَفهامي

    pondering meanings I once heard

    from your mouth, which bewildered my mind and understanding.

  16. لا أَنقُشُ اِسمَكَ في الخيتامِ مِن شَغَفٍ

    قَلبي أَحقُّ بِهِ مِن فصِّ خَيتامِ

    Not on a ring do I engrave your name out of ardent love:

    my heart deserves it more than a signet’s stone.

  17. كَأَنَّنا لا أَصاب البَينُ إِلفَتها

    فأفرَدَت أَلفٌ لِلشَّوقِ مِن لامِ

    We were like lam-alif: separation shattered its union,

    leaving an alif alone in longing, parted from a lam.

  18. كانَ اِشتِفائيَ في دَمعي وَفي نَفسي

    حَتّى اِفتَضَحتُ بِذا الجاري وَذا الطامي

    My solace lay in my tears and sighs,

    until the flowing tears and surging sighs betrayed me.

  19. لَيتَ المَدامِعَ تَجري وَالزَفير يرى

    في خلوَتي قَطّ أَوفى كُلَّ حمامِ

    Would that tears flowed and sighs were visible

    only in my solitude—more constant than any dove.

  20. كَم رَدَّ قَبرُكَ أَلحاني بِمَوعِظَةٍ

    وَهاجَني طَيفُكَ الساري بِإِلمامِ

    How often your grave answered my laments with admonition,

    and your night-wandering shade stirred me with a visit.

  21. لَو ساءَني فيكَ غَيرُ اللَهِ رحتَ وَقَد

    قَرَعتُ سِنّي أَو أَدمَيتُ إِبهامي

    Had any but God grieved me through you, at your passing I would have

    gnashed my teeth or bloodied my thumb,

  22. ثُمَّ اِثَّأَرتُ وَحَولي جَحفَلٌ لَجبٌ

    غَزا وَبَحرُ المَنايا حَولَهُ طامِ

    then taken vengeance, a clamorous army around me,

    marching to war as death’s sea surged around it,

  23. بفَيصلٍ مِن سُيوفِ اللَهِ مُنصَلِتٍ

    ماضي الغِرارِ وَإِن لَم يَمضِ في الهامِ

    with a drawn, decisive sword among God’s swords,

    keen-edged, even if it had never cut through skulls.

  24. لكن مَضَت فَأَمَضَّت فيكَ ذا ثَكَلٍ

    مَقادِرٌ كلَّ عَنها كُلُّ صَمصامِ

    But decrees took effect, tormenting one bereaved of you—

    decrees against which every keen sword grew blunt.

  25. إذا تَأَمَّلتُ صَرعى المَوتِ لَم أرَني

    مُفرِّقاً بَينَ ضبعانٍ وَضرغامِ

    When I contemplate those struck down by death, I cannot see myself

    distinguishing between a hyena and a lion.

  26. فاِنظُر غَداً هَل عَلا البَرجيس مانِعُهُ

    مِنَ الحَوادِثِ أَو عَلياءُ بَهرامِ

    Look tomorrow: will Jupiter’s height protect it

    from calamities, or the lofty place of Mars?

  27. سيَهوِيانِ وَيُطفي اللَهُ نورَهُما

    وَإِن تَراخى بَقاءُ النَيِّرِ السامي

    Both will fall, and God will extinguish their light,

    though the lofty luminary’s life be long.

  28. ما أصدَقَ الناس لَو قالوا إِذا سُئِلوا

    عَن كُلِّ عيشٍ مَضى أَضغاثُ أَحلامِ

    How truthful people would be if, when asked

    about every life gone by, they said: “A jumble of dreams.”

  29. المرءُ حَرفٌ وَمَحياهُ تَحَرُّكُهُ

    وَعُمرُهُ مِثلُ رومٍ أَو كَإِشمامِ

    A man is a letter; his living is its vocalization,

    his lifespan like a faint vowel or silent lip-rounding.

  30. عَبدُ الغَنِيّ أَبي وَاِبني فَقَدتُهُما

    فَضامَني الدَهرُ حَتّى اِرتَعت بِالظامِ

    Abd al-Ghani—my father and my son—I lost them both;

    Time oppressed me until I trembled before the oppressor.

  31. كانا هُما حَرَميَّ الآمِنَينِ فَيا

    وَيلاهُ أَبدَلتُ إِحلالي بإِحرامي

    They were my two secure sanctuaries—alas,

    woe is me! I exchanged freedom for sacred restraint.

  32. فَلَيسَ لي ها هُنا حِجرٌ وَلا حجر

    وَلا حَميمٌ يُواليني وَلا حامِ

    Here I have neither sanctuary nor stone,

    nor a devoted kinsman, nor a protector.

  33. فَكانَ ذا عِوضاً مِن ذاكَ فيهِ بَقي

    وَفيكَ مَفخَرُ أَخوالي وَأَعمامي

    This one replaced that one; in him he lived on,

    and in you lived the pride of my maternal and paternal uncles.

  34. نَمى فَأَشبَهَني مَجداً وَأشبههُ

    فَنابَ عَن أَبَويهِ المُشبِهُ النامي

    He grew, resembling me in glory, and resembling him;

    the growing likeness stood in for his two fathers.

  35. لَم يجبر العَظمَ حَتّى هاضَ وا أسفاً

    ما اِبتَزَّ لي حَسَناتي غَيرُ إِجرامي

    No sooner had he mended the bone than he broke it anew—alas!

    Nothing robbed me of my blessings but my own wrongdoing.

  36. حَكَمتُ في اِبني بِإِدراك المُنى فَأَبَت

    أَحكامُ رَبّي إِلّا فَسخ أَحكامي

    I decreed for my son the fulfillment of my wishes, but

    my Lord’s decrees insisted on undoing mine.

  37. ضَلَّت عُقولُ بَني الدُنيا لَقَد عَلِقوا

    فيها بِحَبلٍ مِنَ الآمالِ أَرمامِ

    The minds of worldly men have gone astray: they cling

    within it to a rotting rope of hopes.

  38. تَبكي عَلَيها وَمِنها وَهيَ ضاحِكَةٌ

    فَتَرتَضي وَهيَ عَينُ السخطِ وَالذامِ

    You weep over it and because of it, while it laughs;

    yet you approve it, though it is loathing and blame itself.

  39. أُفٍّ لَها إِنَّها أُمٌّ مُبَرَّتُها

    في مَنعِ مَرحَمَةٍ أَو قَطعِ أَرحامِ

    Fie on it! It is a mother whose kindness

    lies in withholding mercy or severing family ties.

  40. إِنَّ الحَياة مَتاعٌ وَالألى خَسِروا

    أَغرَتهُمُ فَاِشتَروا جَهلاً بِأَحلامِ

    Life is a commodity, and those who lost

    were tempted by it, buying ignorance with wisdom.

  41. فازَ المُخِفّونَ بِالحُسنى وَقَيّدَني

    وَراءَهُم ثِقلُ أَوزارٍ وَآثامِ

    The lightly laden won the finest reward, while I was fettered

    behind them by the weight of burdens and sins.

  42. ما لي بَكيتُ عَلى اِبني وَالذُنوبُ غَدا

    تهينُني وَهوَ في عِزٍّ وَإِكرامِ

    Why have I wept for my son, when tomorrow my sins

    will humiliate me, while he dwells in honor and esteem?

  43. هَلّا بَكيتُ عَلى نَفسي وَما جَرَمت

    مِنَ الجَرائِمِ وَاِستَبكَيتُ لوّامي

    Why did I not weep over myself and what I committed

    of crimes, and make my reproachers weep?

  44. لا أَمنَ إِلّا بِإيمانٍ غَداةَ غَدٍ

    وَلا سَلامَةَ لي إِلّا بِإِسلامي

    No security but through faith on the morrow,

    and no safety for me but through my submission to God.

  45. هذا إِذا أَنعَمَ المَولى فَأَسعَدَني

    في القَنيَتَينِ بِتَثبيتٍ وَإِلهامِ

    This, if the Lord bestows favor and blesses me

    in those two treasures with steadfastness and inspiration,

  46. لِكَي أَفوزُ مَع اِبني حَيثُ بَوَّأَهُ

    بِرَحمَةٍ مِنهُ أَرجوها وَإِنعامِ

    so I may triumph with my son where He has lodged him,

    through mercy from Him, which I hope for, and grace.

  47. وَعداً عَلى المُصطَفى لا بُدَّ مِنهُ وَلَو

    أَقسَمتُ فيهِ أَبَرَّ اللَه إِقسامي

    A promise through the Chosen One, certain to be fulfilled—and were I

    to swear to it, God would make my oath come true.

  48. قالوا غَض الدَمعُ هَل رَدَّ البُكا وَلَدا

    لثاكلٍ أَو أَباً برّ لِأَيتامِ

    They said: “Restrain your tears. Has weeping ever restored a son

    to a bereaved parent, or a dutiful father to orphans?”

  49. فُقُلتُ أَنهاهُ وَالأَحزانُ تَأمُرُهُ

    فَكَيفَ يرقَأُ دَمعُ الهائِمِ الهامي

    I said: “I forbid it, but sorrows command it;

    how then can a distraught man’s streaming tears cease?”

  50. حَسِبتُ عَينيّ تَشفي بِالبُكا حرقي

    وَإِنَّما وُكِّلَت فيها بِإِضرامِ

    I thought my eyes would cure my burning grief by weeping,

    but they were charged only with fanning its flames.

  51. يا دُرَّةً مِن نَفيس الدُرِّ غالِيَةً

    وسامَة مَحضَة مِن طَيِّبِ السامِ

    O precious pearl among the choicest pearls,

    and pure ingot of finest gold!

  52. حامَت لِداتُكَ حَومَ الطَيرِ ظامِئَةً

    حَولي وَكُنتُ أَراهُم غَير حُوّامِ

    Your peers hovered like thirsty birds

    around me, yet I deemed them not to be circling.

  53. تَفَقَّدوكَ فَقالوا أَينَ فَرقَدُنا

    وَأَينَ أَفهَمُنا مِن غَيرِ إِفهامِ

    They missed you and said: “Where is our Farqad star?

    Where is our wisest, without needing to be taught?”

  54. فَقُم لِتحدقَ إنَّ الصِبيَةَ اِنتَظَروا

    وَعداً عَلَيكَ بِإِطلاقٍ وَإِطعامِ

    Rise, so they may gather around you! The children have awaited

    your promise of release and food.

  55. أَينَ اِبتِكاركَ لِلكُتّابِ مُجتَهِداً

    وَالناسُ ما بَينَ أَيقاظٍ وَنُوّامِ

    Where is your early, eager departure for the Qur’an school,

    while people were still divided between waking and sleeping?

  56. وَأَينَ تَجريرُكَ الثَوب المَصون إِذا

    راحوا لِتَجريرِ أَثوابٍ وَأَكمامِ

    Where is your trailing of that well-kept robe, when

    they went out trailing robes and sleeves?

  57. وَأَينَ آياتُكَ اللّاتي ملَأنَ دَماً

    عَيني وَآلَمنَ قَلبي أَيّ إيلامِ

    Where are your verses, which filled with blood

    my eyes, and pained my heart beyond measure?

  58. وَأَينَ قَولُكَ لِلمَفجوعَةِ اِحتَفِظي

    حَتّى أفيقَ بِألواحي وَأَقلامي

    Where is your saying to the grief-stricken woman: “Keep safe,

    until I recover, my tablets and my pens”?

  59. تَاللَهِ أَنسى محيّاكَ الجنيَّ وَلا

    فاكَ الفَصيحَ إِذا فاهوا بِإِعجامِ

    By God, I shall never forget your fresh face, nor

    your eloquent mouth when theirs uttered inarticulate sounds,

  60. وَلا قراءَتكَ السوراتِ بَينَهُمُ

    مُرَتَّلاتٍ بِإِظهارٍ وَإِدغامِ

    nor your reciting the surahs among them,

    in measured tones, with clear articulation and assimilation.

  61. يا رُبَّ مَعنىً قَد اِستَنبَطتهُ فَهماً

    فَقيلَ يَحفَظُ تَفسيرُ اِبن سَلامِ

    Ah, how many a meaning you drew out through understanding,

    so people said: “He knows Ibn Sallam’s commentary by heart!”

  62. كَم مِن فُؤادٍ وَمِن جِسمٍ تَرَكتَهُما

    قِسمَينِ ما بَينَ أَشواقٍ وَأَسقامِ

    How many a heart and body you left

    divided between yearnings and sicknesses!

  63. هَل نَحنُ فيكَ جسومٌ دونَ أَفئِدَةٍ

    أَم نَحنُ أَفئِدَةٌ مِن دونِ أَجسامِ

    In grief for you, are we bodies without hearts,

    or hearts without bodies?

  64. سَبَقتَ والِدَكَ الواني وَضُمَّرُهُ

    مُهَيَّئاتٌ لِإِسراجٍ وَإِلجامِ

    You outran your weary father, while his lean steeds

    stood ready for saddles and bridles.

  65. كُنّا نُفَدّيكَ لَو أَنّا نَرى علماً

    يُفدى مِنَ القَدرِ الجاري بِأَعلامِ

    We would have ransomed you, had we seen one great man

    ransomed from unfolding fate with other great men.

  66. هَيهات لا يُدَّرى عَن كُلِّ قَسوَرَة

    ريبُ المَنونِ وَلا عَن كُلِّ قمقامِ

    Alas, there is no warding off, from any lion,

    the ravages of death, nor from any mighty lord.

  67. وَالناسُ سَعيُهُمُ شَتّى وَأَمرُهُمُ

    مِن أَمرِ مُقتَدِرٍ بِالغَيبِ عَلّامُ

    People’s endeavors differ, but their affairs

    come from the decree of One Almighty, all-knowing of the unseen.

  68. هذا صَريعٌ وَذا حَيٌّ إِلى أَجَلٍ

    وَذا فَقيرٌ وَذا مُثرٍ بِأَقسامِ

    This one lies slain, that one lives until his appointed time;

    this one is poor, that one rich, by allotted shares.

  69. وَخَيرُ ما يَكسَبُ الإِنسانُ عِندَ غِنىً

    شُكرٌ عَلَيهِ وَصَبرٌ عِندَ إِعدامِ

    The best a man can earn in times of wealth

    is gratitude for it, and patience in destitution.

  70. صَبَرتُ لِلدَّهرِ إلّا عِندَ فَقدِ أَبٍ

    وَاِبنٍ فِداؤُهُما نَفسي وَأَقوامي

    I endured Time, except at the loss of a father

    and a son—may my life and my people be their ransom.

  71. مَن لي بِنُصرَةِ ماضي الحَدِّ بَعدَهُما

    مَن لي بِدَعوَةِ صَوّامٍ وَقَوّامِ

    Who will bring me the aid of one keen of edge after them?

    Who will bring me the prayers of one devoted to fasting and night vigils?

  72. عَلَيهِما صَلَواتُ اللَّهِ دائِبَة

    وَأَدمُعي وَالغَوادي ذاتُ إثجامِ

    May God’s blessings be upon them continually,

    and my tears, and the steady morning rains.