الله أكبر رزء نكس العلما

وأسس الحزن في البابنا ألَمَا

God is greatest! A calamity has lowered the banner,

and grief has planted pain within our minds.

واهتزت الأرض عاليها وسافلها

حتى السموات والعرش الذي عظما

The earth has shaken, its heights and its depths,

even the heavens and the mighty Throne.

في الشرق والغرب منها رجة رجفت

تكاد تقلب هذا الكون منعدما

In east and west, a tremor from it shook,

almost overturning this universe into nothingness.

والخطب يرجف أكواناً إذا اندهشت

نعم ويوري سعيراً بالجوى ضرما

The catastrophe makes worlds tremble in bewilderment;

yes, and kindles a fierce blaze of anguish.

مصيبة ساقت الأقدار سائقها

وعاق عائقها وقعاً بما دهما

A calamity whose driver fate drove onward,

whose crushing onset thwarted all that might resist it.

وأرصدت لأوان آن موقعه

وللمواقع أوقات كما علما

It was held in store for a season whose moment had arrived;

occurrences have their appointed times, as is known.

رزيئة الدهر هل أبقيت باقية

تبقى لنا سلوة الأحزان مستلما

O calamity of time, have you left anything behind

to remain for us, a solace to embrace amid our sorrows?

ما للنوائح لا ترقى لها مقل

ما للجوانح حرى والبلاء طمى

What ails the mourners, that their eyes never cease weeping?

Why do hearts burn, while affliction overflows?

أرى الحياة ولا عيش يلذ بها

رغداً وحادي المنايا زادنا غمما

I see life, yet living in it offers no sweetness

or ease; death's driver has increased our sorrows.

أرى الظلام سجى طمسا معالمه

ما للسراة اهتدا يخطونه قدما

I see darkness settled, its landmarks obliterated;

no guidance for night travelers to follow onward.

حقاً تغيب بدر الأرض تحت ثرى

حتى تجسد ديجور الدجى ظلما

Truly, earth's full moon has vanished beneath the soil,

until night's deepest gloom took bodily form as darkness.

فمن يقدر تقديراً منازله

بعد الأفول فلا نور لما انبهما

Who now can rightly measure out its stations

after its setting, with no light for what lies shrouded?

بل من على الشمس إذ تجري مقدرة

لمستقر لها حيث الضيا انكتما

Who, rather, can govern the sun as it runs its ordained course

toward its resting place, where radiance is concealed?

هذي منازل من ولى على أسف

أعني الامام وأعني المفرد العلما

These are the stations of one whose departure we mourn:

I mean the Imam, I mean that peerless, eminent man.

أعني الخليلي امام المسلمين ومن

دهى الكوائن من منعاه ما دهما

I mean al-Khalili, Imam of the Muslims, whose

death announcement overwhelmed all beings with calamity.

محمد نجل عبد الله نجل سعي

د الأبر ونجل السادة العلما

Muhammad, son of Abd Allah, son of Saʿid

the most dutiful, and descendant of noble scholars.

من لي على صرف دهر سل صارمه

فما انثنى عنه حتى حز واصطلما

Who will aid me against time's vicissitudes, which drew its sword

and did not turn from him until it cut and utterly destroyed?

قل للذي طير المنعى بذا نبأ

أطرت طائر شؤم روع الأمما

Tell him who sent this tidings of death flying:

you loosed a bird of ill omen that terrified the nations.

أطرت روح حياة العلم فانجذبت

وللمعارف روح تنشط الهمما

You sent the soul of learning's life flying, and it was drawn away;

for knowledge has a soul that rouses aspirations.

هذي الرزيئة أهل الأرض إن لها

وقعاً وصدعاً عظيماً ليس ملتئما

People of earth, this calamity surely has

a crushing impact and a mighty fracture that will not heal.

حكت بدهشتها سعداً وهزته

عرش الإله بخير القرن لو قدما

Its stunning shock recalls Saʿd and his shaking

of God's Throne in the finest generation, though he came long before.

هما شبيهان في رزء وفي جلل

وفي موازنة الأقدار بينهما

The two are alike in bereavement and grievous loss,

and in the weighing of their respective worth.

سعد بسعد حياة طاب مسكنه

وطاب مأمنه يهنا الهنا نعما

Saʿd enjoyed life's felicity; his dwelling was blessed,

and blessed his refuge; may he enjoy bliss and blessings.

وذا اقتفاه اقتداء في طريقته

في العلم والحلم والتعديل ان حكما

This man followed his footsteps, taking his way as a model,

in learning, forbearance, and justice when he judged.

كذلك العلم يعلى المرء منزلة

رفيعة الشأن في أسمى الذرى قمما

Thus knowledge raises a person to a station

of lofty honor, among the highest summit-peaks.

لكن على الجد والاخلاص في عمل

وفي ثبات واخبات وكشف عمى

But through earnestness and sincerity in deeds,

through steadfastness, humility, and clearing blindness away.

ولاحق فضله مع سابق فرطا

سيان في الرتب العليا لهم عظما

The later man in merit and the earlier, gone before,

are equal in the highest ranks, exalted in greatness.

هذا مقامك في دنياك غايته

بدءا وما نقص المقدار مختتما

Such was your station in this world, at its utmost height

from the outset; your stature was no less at the end.

أبا خليل تركت الأرض موحشة

فما أرى ثغرها بالأنس مبتسما

Abu Khalil, you have left the earth desolate;

I no longer see its lips smiling with companionship.

تركت دولتك الزهراء ذاوية

بعد النضارة لما غيثها انعدما

You have left your radiant state withering

after its freshness, now that its rain has ceased.

ارجع فديتك للافتاء كان له

كنز من العلم يؤتي الحكم والحكما

Return—I would ransom you!—to the giving of fatwas, which had

a treasure of learning yielding judgment and wisdom.

أيدفن الكنز والآمال راجية

منه المنافع كم أغنى وكم عمما

Is the treasure to be buried while hopes still await

its benefits? How much it enriched, how widely it bestowed!

ارجع فديتك للدين الحنيف بكى

بأعين اليتم لما فارق الرحما

Return—I would ransom you!—to the upright faith, which wept

with orphaned eyes when parted from the merciful one.

كنت الكفيل له حفظاً تؤيده

حامي الذمار شديد الغار محتزما

You were its guardian, preserving and upholding it,

defender of what is sacred, fiercely zealous, girded for action.

قلد فديتك هذا الحق صارمه

لا يغمد السيف والبطلان قد نجما

Gird this truth with its sword—I would ransom you!

Let not the sword be sheathed while falsehood has arisen.

أدري المحال فما والله مرتجع

لعالم الفقد سهم الموت فيه رمى

I know it is impossible: by God, there is no return

for a lost scholar whom death's arrow has struck.

لكن عهود حياة قمت أذكرها

وأنتقي الدر مكنوناً لها كلما

Yet I rise to recall the days of your life,

and choose hidden pearls as words to speak of them.

لهفي عليك امام العلم حين سرت

بك المنايا مطايا ما انثنت قدما

How I grieve for you, Imam of learning, when there bore

you away death's mounts, never turning back from their advance.

كأنما النار في أحشائنا التهبت

وعاديات الليالي تبعث الغمما

It is as though fire blazed within our entrails,

and the nights' assaults stir sorrows anew.

ان نبكك اليوم ندباً خير مرتحل

نبك الفضيلة والأخلاق والشيما

If we weep for you in lament today, best of those departed,

we weep for virtue, moral character, and noble traits.

نبك المكارم بسطاً صار منقبضا

انقبض الكف عن بسط الندى كرما

We weep for noble deeds, an outstretched bounty now withdrawn;

the hand is closed that once spread gifts in generosity.

نبك السياسة إذ أبوابها انغلقت

قد كنت فاتح مخفي بها انبهما

We weep for statecraft, now its doors have shut;

you opened what lay hidden and obscure within it.

نبك المعارف لما غاب عارفها

نبكي وفاءك يا أوفى الورى ذمما

We weep for learning, now its knower has vanished;

we weep for your fidelity, most faithful of mankind to every pledge.

نبكي مجالسك الزهراء حيث خلت

تشكو الجفاء فأين الوفد مزدحما

We weep for your radiant gatherings, now deserted,

complaining of neglect: where are the thronging visitors?

نبكي شمائلك الحسناء خالدة

في صفحة الدهر تأثيراً سنا علما

We weep for your beautiful qualities, enduring

on time's page as an imprint, a radiance, a beacon.

نبك الكمال ونفساً فيك كاملة

نبك المحيا فكم بالمنظر ابتسما

We weep for perfection, and for your perfected soul;

we weep for that countenance, so often bright with smiles.

نبك القناة فقد لانت لغامزها ال

أصباح الامسا أراك الشيب والهرما

We weep for the spear-shaft, now softened beneath the pressure of

mornings and evenings, which showed you gray hair and old age.

ويلاه ويلاه ما يجدي البكاء وما

يبدي الحداء لمودوع غدا رمما

Alas, alas! What use is weeping, and what

can the camel-driver's song offer one laid away, now decayed remains?

قطب الأوان ويا زين المكان ويا

نور الزمان أخا الايمان بدرسما

O axis of the age, adornment of this place, and

light of time, brother of faith, a full moon risen high!

قربت سيرة أصحاب النبي هدى

صافحتهم بيد ولو مضوا قدما

You brought the Prophet's Companions' way near through your guidance,

and clasped their hands, though they had passed away long before.

وما نظرت إلى الدنيا وزهرتها

وكيف والنور جلاء الدجى ظلما

You never looked toward this world and its splendor;

how could you, when light dispels night's darkness?

أبصرت غايتها من بعدما انكشفت

إن البقاء سراب ما يبل ظما

You saw its end once it stood unveiled:

enduring here is a mirage that slakes no thirst.

وما لبست سوى التقوى على حذر

والله يخشاه من هذا الورى العلما

You clothed yourself in nothing but piety, ever watchful;

of all mankind, it is the learned who fear God.

أقمتها مدة بالعدل سائرة

بالحق ظاهرة حزماً ومعتزما

You maintained it for a span, proceeding in justice,

triumphant in truth, with firmness and resolve.

وتلك وصلة عمر لا مزيد لها

وليس ينقص عمر أن يطل نسما

That was a span of life admitting no increase,

nor does a life diminish when its breaths are prolonged.

قضى الإله فناء العالمين كما

قضى البقاء له في لوحه ارتسما

God decreed the passing of all worlds, just as

He decreed eternity for Himself, inscribed upon His Tablet.

ماذا أقول إمام المسلمين وقد

عاج العنان عن المعدى فما اقتحما

What can I say, Imam of the Muslims, when

the rein has turned from the crossing and has not plunged through?

قد لزني العجز عن إدراك غاية ما

أروم في الندب منثوراً ومنتظما

Incapacity has pressed me back from reaching all

I seek in lamentation, whether prose or ordered verse.

وللذهول انفعال بالنهى وقفت

به المدارك عن إلمام ما التأما

Bewilderment so unsettles reason

that perception cannot grasp a coherent whole.

وكيف تبلغ أقدار لك ارتفعت

بها الورى انتفعت كالغيث حين همى

How can one reach the lofty degrees you attained,

by which mankind benefited, as from pouring rain?

أفضت بحرين من علم ومن كرم

كلاهما زاخر في الفيض حين طمى

You poured forth two seas, of learning and generosity,

each surging, abundant in its overflowing flood.

سست الرعية بالتدبير متئداً

بالحق معتمداً بالله معتصما

You governed your subjects with deliberation and care,

relying upon truth, holding fast to God.

وقف على الشرع في حكم وضرب يد

على الظلوم وانصاف لمن ظلما

You stood by sacred law in judgment, striking a hand

against the oppressor and granting redress to the wronged.

كم حز بالسيف قطاع الطريق وكم

قد بز بالعزم أرباب السطى عزما

How often he cut down highway robbers with the sword, and how often

his resolve surpassed the resolve of violent men!

تخشى مهابته قبل المثار فإن

غشى المثار أطار البطل وانقصما

His majesty was feared before the clash; and when

he entered the fray, the champion was routed and broken.

موفق الفتح ما فوجي باصبعها

مصاعب الأمر الا سهل الأزما

Favored with victory: whenever the finger of

difficult affairs surprised him, he eased the crises.

لله غيرته لله سيرته

لله نصرته لله إن هجما

For God was his zeal; for God was his way of life;

for God was his aid, for God his charge into battle.

كم حمل الصدر أثقالاً لو اجتمعت

صدور كل الورى ضاقت بها همما

How many burdens his breast bore! Had there gathered

the breasts of all mankind, their resolve would shrink beneath them.

كم ترجع الناس بعد الوصل راضية

شاءت معارف أو شاءت يداً كرما

How often people returned content after meeting him,

whether seeking knowledge or a generous hand!

يملي ويكتب والأشغال عارضة

ويوجز القول إعجازاً فلم يرما

He dictated and wrote while duties crowded in,

and made speech inimitably concise, beyond all reach.

كم حار ذو الفكر في سطر بموجزة

من البيان والقى عيه القلما

How often a thinker was baffled by a line of his concise

expression, his incapacity casting down his pen!

الله آتاه هذا العلم منزلة

سما بها الوهب والالهام حيث سما

God bestowed this learning on him as a station

raised high by divine gift and inspiration.

أتيتنا يا امام الدين في زمن

أنت الغريب به فضلاً علا عظما

You came to us, O Imam of the faith, in an age

in which your towering merit made you a stranger.

أين المثيل على حسنى تقوم بها

والوجهة الحق والاخلاص ملتزما

Where is your equal in the good you undertook,

with truth your aim and sincerity your constant pledge?

قضيت عمرك في زهد وفي ورع

حتى أتاك يقين وقعه انحتما

You spent your life in abstinence and pious restraint,

until the certainty of death, whose coming was inevitable, reached you.

لبيتها دعوة جاء البشير بها

بمقعد الصدق والرضوان مغتنما

You answered the call brought by the bearer of glad tidings,

gaining a seat of truth and divine good pleasure.

قدمت صالحة الأعمال خالصة

لوجه ربك شكاراً له نعما

You sent good deeds ahead, sincerely offered

for your Lord's sake, ever thankful for His blessings.

والمتقون لهم أجر على عمل

ذاك الجزاء فيا طوبى لمن رحما

The God-fearing have their reward for their deeds;

such is the recompense—blessed is he who receives mercy!

قرائح الوهب جودي بالرثاء ففي

هذا المقام مقال ينتفى كلما

O gifted minds, pour forth lament, for in

this occasion there is speech of carefully chosen words.

ويا بني ملة الاسلام تعزية

مني إليكم وقلبي بالأسى اضطرما

O children of Islam's community, accept condolences

from me to you, while my heart blazes with sorrow.

دمع تحدر من عيني منسكباً

تخاله السحب في تسكابها الديما

Tears have streamed from my eyes, pouring down;

you would think them clouds shedding steady rain.

بشرى سعادته في الاحتضار أتت

طلاقة الوجه براقاً ومبتسما

The glad sign of his blessedness came at death:

an open countenance, radiant and smiling.

من الكرامة يا مولاي إن بقيت

خلافة الله في رأس العلى علما

It is a sign of grace, my master, if there remains

God's vicegerency, a banner upon glory's summit.

من الكرامة يا مولاي مجتمع

حوى الجموع من الآفاق مزدحما

Among the signs of grace, my master, was a gathering

that held thronging multitudes from every horizon.

من الكرامة حر الشمس حجبه

ظل الغمامة حال الدفن مرتكما

Among the signs of grace: the sun's heat was veiled by

the shadow of a dense cloud at the burial.

من الكرامة نفح الطيب من جدث

أودعت فيه ونور ساطع لسما

Among the signs of grace: perfume wafting from a grave

where you were laid, and a light shining heavenward.

من الكرامة هذا الكون أجمعه

راض عليك كما أخلصت معتزما

Among the signs of grace: this entire universe

is pleased with you, as you were sincere and steadfast.