1. هَوى قَمر الزَوراء مِن أُفق المَجد

    فَيا وَيح عَين لا تَفيض عَلى الخَد

    The moon of al-Zawra fell from the horizon of glory.

    Ah, woe to an eye that does not overflow upon the cheek!

  2. وَأعيى جَواد السَبق إِذ حانَ حينه

    وَيا طالَما فاقَ السَوابق للقصد

    The racing steed grew weary when his appointed hour came;

    yet how often he surpassed the front-runners in reaching the goal!

  3. نَعم وَنبا السَيف اليَماني إِذ رَأى

    سُيوف العُلى رَدت فَرد إِلى الغَمد

    Yes, the Yemeni sword faltered when it saw

    the swords of eminence put away, and so was returned to its sheath.

  4. مَصائب سود وافت الناس بغتة

    فَضلوا وَلَم يَدروا الظلال مِن الرشد

    Black calamities overtook the people suddenly,

    so they strayed, unable to distinguish shadows from right guidance.

  5. وَخَطب جَليل أدهش العَقل رزؤه

    أَتانا عَلى كره وَجاءَ بِلا وَعد

    A grave affliction, whose loss bewildered the mind,

    came to us unwelcome, arriving without an appointment.

  6. أَلا فابك يا جفن الوجود بعبرة

    عَلى ماجد قَد راح في طرق المجد

    Come, weep, O eyelid of existence, a tear

    for a noble man who has departed along the paths of glory.

  7. وَباللَه لا تَبك سواه فإِنه

    هُو السَيد المَدعو بالعلم الفَرد

    By God, weep for no one else, for he

    is the master hailed as the peerless luminary.

  8. وَهَيهات لا يَأتي الزَمان بِمثله

    وَكَيف يُقاس التبر بِالحجر الصَلد

    Far be it! Time will never bring his like;

    how can raw gold be compared with solid stone?

  9. لَقَد أظلمت دار السَلام لِفقده

    وَأَصبح مِنها الشَمل مُنتَثر العقد

    The Abode of Peace has indeed darkened at his loss,

    and its fellowship lies scattered like an unstrung necklace.

  10. فَتى كانَ بَينَ الناس للخلق رحمة

    أَنامله تروي وَأَفعاله تهدي

    A young man who, among the people, was mercy to creation;

    his fingertips quench thirst, and his deeds give guidance.

  11. كَريم المَساعي طاهر الذيل واسع

    المَكارم بسام النَواجذ للوفد

    Noble in endeavor, pure of hem, abundant

    in generous deeds, smiling till his molars show for visitors.

  12. وَصيب جود قَد أَفاض عَلى الوَرى

    سَحائب بر في الخَليقة ممتد

    And a downpour of bounty, he poured over humankind

    clouds of goodness extending throughout creation.

  13. وَعَمهم بِالفَضل مِنهُ فَأَصبحوا

    بِأَفضاله قَد طوقتهم يَد الرفد

    He encompassed them with his bounty, so they found themselves

    through his benefactions, encircled by the hand of giving.

  14. سَأبكيك عَبد اللَه عبرة فاقد

    مِن السمط أَغلاه وَواسطه العقد

    I shall weep for you, Abd Allah, with the tear of one who has lost

    the dearest jewel from the string, the necklace's centerpiece.

  15. لَهُ قَدم سام وَذكر مخلد

    يَعيش بِهِ في حلية المَدح وَالحَمد

    His footing is lofty, his remembrance everlasting;

    he lives through it, adorned with praise and acclaim.

  16. سَأَبكي عَلى تِلكَ المَحاسن إنَّها

    عَلى خاطِري وَاللَه أَحلى مِن الشَهد

    I shall weep for those virtues; they are

    to my mind, by God, sweeter than honey.

  17. سَأَبكي عَلى أَخلاقك الغُر وَالوَرى

    مَعي وَسَواد العَين أمحقه وَحدي

    I shall weep for your radiant character, and all humankind

    with me; yet I alone shall wear away my eye's black pupil.

  18. وَهَيهات أَن أَصبو لِغَيرك في الدنا

    وَأَنتَ ضيا عيني وَموري سَنا زندي

    Never could I yearn for another in this world,

    when you are my eye's light and the kindler of my fire-stick's glow.

  19. أَجفني جودا بِالدُموع عَلى فَتى

    حَوى شَرف الدُنيا فَراح إِلى الخُلد

    O my two eyelids, pour forth tears for a young man

    who gathered the world's honor, then departed to eternity.

  20. وَلا تَنظرا شَخصاً سواه فَإِنَّه

    هُوَ النور للأحداق وَالأَعين الرمد

    And look upon no person but him, for he

    is the light for pupils and inflamed eyes.

  21. وَلا تَلحَظا غَيثاً سِواه فَإِنُّه

    هُوَ البَحر يروي مَن أَتاه وَلا يَردي

    And behold no rain but him, for he

    is the sea that quenches whoever comes to him and never destroys.

  22. أَجفني جودا بِالدُموع لواحد

    أَنامله تَنهل بِالجود وَالرفَد

    O my two eyelids, pour forth tears for one

    whose fingertips gush with generosity and bounty.

  23. ولا ترمقا فرداً سواه فإنه

    هو الوابل الوسمي من سالف العهد

    And gaze upon no other man, for he

    is the heavy autumn rain of days gone by.

  24. أجفني جودا بالدموع فإنها

    مصائب قد وافت على الحر والعبد

    O my two eyelids, pour forth tears, for these are

    calamities that have overtaken the free and the enslaved.

  25. ولا تريا هذا الوجد فشمسه

    توارت عن الأبصار في ظلمة اللحد

    And do not behold this grief, for its sun

    has vanished from sight in the grave's darkness.

  26. أجفني جودا بالدموع فإنها

    حشاشة قلبي فرقتها يد الوجد

    O my two eyelids, pour forth tears, for they are

    the remnant of my heart's life, scattered by the hand of grief.

  27. وَلا تبصرا في الكَون رَطبا وَيابِسا

    فَشَأنكما شَأني وَوردكما وَردي

    And behold nothing in the universe, moist or dry,

    for your plight is mine, and your watering-place is mine.

  28. فَلا قدس الرَحمن دَهراً أَصابه

    وَسَهماً رَماه بِالمَنية عَن عَمد

    So may the All-Merciful not bless the age that struck him,

    nor the arrow that deliberately struck him with death.

  29. إِلا مبلغا عَني أَكارم أَهله

    وَأَولاده حَياهم اللَه مِن ولد

    [O for] someone to convey from me to his noble family

    and his sons—may God bless them, such fine offspring:

  30. سُليمان عَين المَجد بَل مُقلة العُلى

    خَليفة ذاكَ الوَالد الأسد الوَرد

    Sulayman, the eye of glory—indeed, the pupil of eminence—

    successor to that father, that tawny lion;

  31. وَسُلطان حامي ود كُل حَفيظة

    نَعم وَحَبيب القَلب في القُرب وَالبُعد

    and Sultan, guarding affection for every bond of honor;

    yes, and the heart's beloved, near and far;

  32. وَمَولاي تاج الأَذكياء مُحَمداً

    وَعَبد العَزيز المجتني ثمر الحَمد

    and my lord Muhammad, crown of the keen-minded;

    and Abd al-Aziz, gatherer of the fruit of praise;

  33. وَأَصغرهم عَبد الغَني وَأَحمد ال

    كَريم المَساعي طَيب الأَب وَالجد

    and their youngest, Abd al-Ghani, and Ahmad, the

    generous in endeavor, of good father and grandfather.

  34. وَحَقكم لَو يَلتقي البَين بِالظبا

    وَسمر القَنا الخَطي وَالصارم الهندي

    By your worth, if separation could be faced with sword-edges

    and dusky Khatti lances and the keen Indian sword,

  35. شَدَدنا عَلَيه شدة حميرية

    تَذوب لَها صم الجَنادل بِالوَقد

    we would have assailed it with a Himyarite onslaught

    whose blaze would melt the solid boulders.

  36. وَلَكنما الأَقدار تَمضي لِشَأنها

    فَصَبراً لحُكم الواحد الأَحَد الفَرد

    But destinies pursue their own course,

    so be patient before the decree of the One, the Only, the Unique.

  37. رحلتم وَسارَ الصَبر غب مَسيركُم

    نَعم وَعمت مِن بَعدكم مقلة المَجد

    You departed, and patience set out in the wake of your departure;

    yes, and after you the pupil of glory went blind.

  38. وَغابَت شُموس الفَضل حَتّى تَبَدَلت

    بِثَوب مِن الأَكدار وَالحُزن مسود

    And the suns of virtue vanished, until they were exchanged

    for a garment blackened by distress and sorrow.

  39. سَلام عَلى تِلكَ الوُجوه فَإنها

    مَصابيح فَضل بَل مَطالع مِن سَعد

    Peace upon those faces, for they are

    lamps of virtue—nay, rising-places of good fortune.

  40. سَلام عَلى تِلكَ المَحافل إنَّها

    رِياض العُلى يا صاح بَل جنة الخُلد

    Peace upon those gatherings, for they are

    gardens of eminence, my friend—nay, the Garden of Eternity.

  41. أَننساهم لا وَالَّذي أخرجَ الحَيا

    وَأَنزَلَ ماء الغَيث بِالبَرق وَالرَعد

    Shall we forget them? No, by Him who brought forth life-giving rain

    and sent down rainwater with lightning and thunder,

  42. إِلى أَن يَعود الشَمل صاف غَديره

    وَيخصب ذاكَ الحَي بِالعُشب وَالوَرد

    until the company is reunited, its pool clear,

    and that quarter flourishes with grass and roses;

  43. وَتَظهر شَمس الفَضل بَعدَ غُروبها

    عَلى صَفحات الأَرض بِالنَشر وَالمَد

    and the sun of virtue appears after its setting

    across the earth's surfaces, spreading and extending its light.

  44. فَحينئذ أَرنو الوُجود بِمُقلَتي

    وَأَغسل مِن آماقها صَدأ السُهد

    Then I shall gaze upon existence with my eye,

    and wash the rust of sleeplessness from its inner corners.

  45. وَأرغم أَنف الكاشحين بِوَطأتي

    وَأسحب في مشيي عَلى رغمِهم بردي

    And rub the noses of the spiteful in the dust with my tread,

    and trail my mantle as I walk, in defiance of them.

  46. سَتجمَعُنا الأَيام وَاللَهُ قادر

    يعيد الَّذي يَختاره مثلما يبدي

    The days will reunite us, and God is able

    to restore what He chooses, just as He brings it forth.

  47. وَما هَذِه الدُنيا بِدار مخلد

    وَلَكنها الآجال تَرسُم بِالحَد

    And this world is no home for one who lives forever,

    but its appointed lifetimes are marked by a limit.

  48. فَصَبراً فَأَنتُم أَهل كُل فَضيلة

    وَبَيت براه اللَه مِن طينة الرُشد

    So be patient, for you are people of every virtue,

    and a house God fashioned from the clay of right guidance.

  49. لَئن غابَ مِنكُم كَوكَب فَلأنتُم

    كَواكب فَضل في مَواكب مِن مَجد

    If a star among you has vanished, you are surely

    stars of virtue in processions of glory.

  50. وَما ماتَ مَن كانَت بَقاياه مثلكُم

    وَما غابَ نَجم أَنتُم نوره المهدي

    And one whose survivors are like you has not died,

    nor has a star vanished when you are its guiding light.

  51. فَلا فَرق الرَحمن يا قَوم شَملَكُم

    وَلا ذكرت ما بَينكُم شقة البُعد

    So may the All-Merciful never scatter your fellowship, O people,

    nor may a gulf of distance between you ever be named.

  52. وَلا خلت الزَوراء مِنكُم فَإِنَّها

    بِأَنواركُم في ظُلمة اللَيل تَستهدي

    And may al-Zawra never be bereft of you, for she

    seeks guidance by your lights in the darkness of night.