أيا ذا الفضل والمنن

وربِّ السرِّ والعلنِ

O possessor of bounty and favors,

and Lord of the hidden and the manifest,

ومن شهدت بريته

له بفعاله الحِسَنِ

and the One whose creation has borne witness

to Him through His beautiful deeds:

أنلت السؤل من منحٍ

كفيتَ السوء من محن

You granted what was sought through gifts,

You warded off the harm of afflictions,

بما لم يجرِ في خلدٍ

ولم يخطر على أذن

by what had never passed through a mind,

nor ever reached an ear.

فكوّنت الأنام فكا

ن عن عدم ولم يكن

So You formed all creatures, and they came

from nothingness, having never existed.

ونبَّهت العقول علي

ك فاطردت على السنن

And You awakened minds to

You, so they proceeded along the proper course.

فلم يثبت سواك لها

صحيح الفكر والفطن

Thus none but You was affirmed for them

by sound thought and discernment.

ونطت أمانة الدنيا

بجيد أغرَّ مؤتمن

And You hung the world's trust

about the neck of a radiant, trusted man:

إمام أوليِّ الذك

ر جاء بآخر الزَّمن

an imam of those of renown,

who came at the end of time.

أتته خلافةُ الدُّنيا

وأمر الدِّين في قرن

The caliphate of the world came to him,

and religious authority, joined in one bond.

فأجرى الأمر مضطلعاً

على سنن من السُّنن

So he conducted affairs, equal to the task,

along a path among the established ways.

وأغنى الناس قاطبة

عن الأهلين والوطن

And he enriched all the people,

beyond need of kin and homeland.

فقد أمِنَ الأنام به

دعاة الشّرّ والفتن

For through him all people were safe

from the instigators of evil and strife.

وقد ظفرت جفونهم

بلذَّتها من الوسن

And their eyelids have won

their delight in drowsiness.

له صحّ الكمال ولم

يكن إلاّ لِمَن ومَن

Perfection was truly his, and it had not

belonged except to a rare few:

ذكاءُ إياسٍ المزني

وزهد أويس القرني

the intelligence of Iyas al-Muzani,

and the asceticism of Uways al-Qarani.

فقل للحاسدين له

وتلك نتيجة الأحن

So say to those who envy him—

and such is the outcome of grudges:

وجودكم إلى عدم

وهدنتكم إلى دخن

Your existence is headed toward nothingness,

and your truce toward concealed rancor.

أفيقوا من عمايتكم

وكفُّوا فضلة الرَّسن

Awake from your blindness,

and take up the slack of the halter.

وهل تلغي حقائقنا

بباطل تلكم الظنن

And can you annul our truths

with the falsehood of those conjectures?

وهل ينأى عن التَّحقيق

إلاَّ ضيّقُ العَطَنِ

And does anyone shun verification

except one whose watering-ground is narrow?

تركتم جانب التّوفيق

تعويلاً على وثن

You abandoned the side of right guidance,

relying upon an idol.

ولم تخشوا فوات الحظ

ظِ بين الغَبن والغَبَن

And you did not fear losing your fortune,

between loss and poor judgment.

وهل ضاحٍ مع السَّبَرا

تِ كالآوي إلى حِصن

And is one exposed amid bitter cold

like one taking refuge in a fortress?

كأني إن تماديتم

وما نلقي سوى الدِمَن

I can almost see, if you persist—

and we find nothing but ruined camps—

بحكم الأبيض الهنديّ

أو بالأسمر اللَّدِنِ

the verdict of the white Indian sword,

or of the supple brown spear:

فَمِن بَدَنٍ بلا روحٍ

ومن رُوحٍ بلا بَدَنِ

some bodies without souls,

and some souls without bodies.

خدوا للموت أُهبتَهُ

فليس يكفّ بالجنن

Take up the preparations for death,

for it cannot be warded off with shields.

ولا تقفوا فقد دفعت

سيولُ العارض الهتن

And do not linger, for there have surged

the torrents of the downpouring cloud.

رياح الحق عاصفة

وما للإفك من سفن

The winds of truth are tempestuous,

and falsehood has no ships.

وليس لكم مع العصيان

غير السَّيف والكفن

And with rebellion, there is nothing for you

but the sword and the shroud.