1. عَدِمَ الإِسلامُ مَعدومَ المِثالِ

    وَهَوَت مِن أَوجِها شَمسُ المَعالي

    Islam has lost a man without peer,

    And the sun of lofty virtues has fallen from its zenith.

  2. يا لَهُ رزءاً لَقَد حَلَّ حُباً

    قَبلَهُ ليثَت عَلى شُمِّ الجِبالِ

    What a calamity! It has undone the knee-bands

    Once wound about the towering mountains.

  3. جَلَّ حَتّى دَقَّ فيهِ كُلّ رزءٍ

    جَلَلٍ وانكَدَرَت شُهبُ الجَلالِ

    So great that every calamity dwindled beside it,

    However mighty; and grandeur's bright stars grew dim.

  4. فَالشُّعورُ السُّودُ كَالأَيّامِ بيضاً

    وَالوُجوهُ البيضُ سوداً كَاللَيالي

    Thus black hair turned white as days,

    And white faces turned black as nights.

  5. وَلِسانُ الشَّرعِ قَد أُلبِسَ عِيّاً

    بَعدَ أَن كانَ جَريئاً في المَقالِ

    And the tongue of sacred law has been clothed in speechlessness,

    After being bold in speech.

  6. وَسَماءُ الدينِ قَد رانَ عَلى

    بَدرِها النُقصانُ مِن بَعدِ الكَمالِ

    And in religion's heaven there has settled upon

    Its full moon a decline, after perfection.

  7. وَالقَضايا قاضِياتٌ نَحبَها

    إِثرَهُ حُزناً عَلى تِلكَ الخِلالِ

    And legal cases are breathing their last,

    Following him, grieving for those virtues.

  8. وَنَجيبُ العِلمِ مَعقولٌ وَقَد

    أُنشِطَ الجَهلُ إِذَن بَعدَ عِقالِ

    Knowledge's noble camel is hobbled, while

    Ignorance has now been freed, after being tethered.

  9. ماتَ مَن كانَ لِأَهلِ العِلمِ كَهفاً

    وثِمالاً مُحسِناً أَيَّ ثِمالِ

    Dead is he who was a refuge for the learned,

    And a beneficent sustainer—what a sustainer!

  10. ماتَ مَن خَلَّفَ أَخلافَ النَدى

    شَولاً مِن بَعدِ دَرٍّ وَاِحتِفالِ

    Dead is he who left generosity's teats

    Dry, after flowing milk and fullness.

  11. مَوتُهُ أَقرَحَ أَجفانَ العُلى

    وَاِنطَوَت مِن بَعدِهِ بُسطُ النَوالِ

    His death has ulcerated the eyelids of greatness,

    And after him the carpets of bounty were rolled up.

  12. يا أَبا الفَضلِ أَبى فَضلُكَ أَن

    يَترُكَ العافينَ في أَسوَأ الحالِ

    O Abu al-Fadl, your bounty refused to

    Leave those seeking favor in the worst plight.

  13. فَبَنو الآمالِ مِن بَعدِكَ لا

    تَشتَكي إِبلُهُمُ مَرَّ الكَلالِ

    Thus, for the sons of hope after you, no longer

    Do their camels complain of bitter exhaustion.

  14. حَرَّموا بَعدَكَ يا اِبنَ المُرتَضى

    أَبَداً شَدَّ حُدوجٍ وَرِحالِ

    After you, O son of al-Murtada, they forbade

    Forever the strapping of camel-litters and saddles.

  15. فَالجَلابيبُ القَشيباتُ مِنَ ال

    عِلمِ مِن بَعدِكَ أَسمالٌ بَوالي

    So the splendid robes of

    Learning, after you, are worn-out, tattered rags.

  16. عَطَّلَت مِنكَ المَنايا طَيلَساناً

    كانَ تاجاً بِلَآلي العِلمِ حالي

    The fates have left a scholar's mantle bereft of you,

    Once a crown adorned with learning's pearls.

  17. أُلبِسَت دارُكَ إيحاشاً وَكَم

    حَلَّها الإيناسُ في حَليِ الجَمالِ

    Your house has been clothed in desolation—how often

    Warm companionship dwelt there, adorned with beauty!

  18. كَم يَدٍ بَيضاءَ قَد أَسدَيتَها

    بِيَمينٍ ذاتِ يُمنٍ وَشِمالِ

    How many a white hand of kindness you extended,

    With a right hand blessed with fortune, and a left!

  19. كُنتَ بَحرَ الجودِ إِن حَلَّ سُؤالٌ

    كُنتَ حَبرَ العِلمِ في كُلِّ سُؤالِ

    You were a sea of generosity whenever a plea arrived;

    You were a sage of learning on every question.

  20. كَم فَقيهٍ بِالجَدا أَحيَيتَهُ

    بَعدَ أَن جَدَّلتَ فاهُ بِالجِدالِ

    How many a jurist you revived with gifts,

    After you had felled his mouth in debate.

  21. فَلَئِن ماتَ كمالُ الدينِ مِن

    بَعدِ سُلطانٍ وَعِزٍّ مُتَوالي

    And though Kamal al-Din has died,

    After power and honor in unbroken succession,

  22. فَلَقَد خَلَّفَ ذِكراً طابَ كَال

    مسكِ تُهدي عَرفَهُ ريحُ الشَمالِ

    He has indeed left a memory fragrant as

    Musk, whose scent the north wind carries.

  23. أَيُّها الشامِتُ بِالمَوتِ اِنتَظِر

    فَالرَدى كَأسُ مُديرٍ ذي اِنتِقالِ

    You who gloat over death, wait:

    For death is a cup passed by a roving cupbearer.

  24. لَيسَ يَنجو مِن سُطاهُ مَن سَطا

    بِجُيوشٍ تَملَأُ الأَرضَ وَمالِ

    None escapes its assault, even one who assails

    With armies filling the earth, and wealth.

  25. قَسَماً لَو رَدَّ عَنهُ المَوتَ بَأسٌ

    لانثَنَت مُحمَرَّةً بيضُ النِّصالِ

    I swear: if valor could have warded death from him,

    The white blades would have returned reddened,

  26. وَتَمَطَّت تَحتَهُم أُسدُ شَرىً

    تَحتَها خَيلٌ كَأَمثالِ السَعالي

    And lions of Shara would have stretched out beneath them,

    With horses beneath them, like she-ghouls.

  27. لا يَرَونَ العِزَّ في الغَزوِ سِوى

    ما بَنى العَزمُ بِأَطرافِ العَوالي

    They see no glory in raiding save

    What resolve builds with the tips of long spears.

  28. وَلَخاضَت لجَجَ الحَربِ رِجالٌ

    يَشرَبونَ المَوتَ كَالماءِ الزُلالِ

    And men would have plunged into the depths of war,

    Who drink death like clear, sweet water.

  29. وَفَدَتهُ بِنُفوسٍ طائِعاتٍ

    أُسُدٌ حُمسٌ وَرَبّاتُ حِجالِ

    And with willing souls they would have ransomed him:

    Fierce lions and ladies of curtained chambers,

  30. مِن بَني عَمٍ وَأَبنا زَمَنٍ

    ذي وَلاءٍ وَعَبيدٍ وَمَوالي

    From cousins and contemporaries

    Bound by loyalty, and slaves and clients.

  31. قَد رَأى الراؤونَ مِنهُ ما رَوى

    قَبلَهُ الراوونَ في الكُتبِ الخَوالي

    Those who saw him witnessed in him what was recounted

    Before him by narrators in bygone books.

  32. يا لَها مِن سيرَةٍ كَم عَقَدَت

    مِن عُقودٍ فَوقَ أَجيادِ الأَمالي

    What a life! How often it strung

    Necklaces upon the necks of dictated lessons!

  33. ما رَأَينا قَبلَهُ مَن خَطُّهُ

    لاحَ في أَسودِهِ بيضُ اللآلي

    Before him, we never saw anyone whose handwriting

    Had white pearls gleaming amid its black ink.

  34. فَهوَ كَالشَمسِ عُلُوّاً كاتِباً

    وَعَلِيُّ بنُ هِلالٍ كَالهِلالِ

    For as a scribe he is as lofty as the sun,

    And Ali ibn Hilal is like the crescent.

  35. مُنشِئٌ إِن شاءَ إِنشاءً رَمى

    كُلَّ ذي لَفظِ اِحتِيالٍ بِاختِلالِ

    A prose master: if he wished to compose, he struck

    Every master of artful phrasing with disarray.

  36. يُكلَمُ البَحرُ لَدى غَضبَتِهِ

    بِكَلامٍ راقَ كَالسِحرِ الحَلالِ

    The sea is wounded when he grows angry,

    By words delightful as lawful magic.

  37. ثابِتُ الجَأشِ إِذا جاشَت لَدى ال

    غَيضِ في المَحفَلِ أَكبادُ الرِجالِ

    Steadfast of heart when there seethe, amid

    Rage in the assembly, the livers of men.

  38. وَقَرٌ في حالَةٍ يَهفو لَها

    كُلّ عِرنينٍ مِنَ الآصالِ عالي

    Composed in a state that unsettles

    Every lofty nose of noble lineage.

  39. يا ضِياءَ الدينِ صَبراً كُلّ حَيٍّ

    لِفَناءٍ غَيرَ رَبّي وَزَوالِ

    O Diya al-Din, patience! Every living being

    Is destined to perish and pass away, except my Lord.

  40. أَينَ طَسمٌ وَجَديسٌ وَالأُلى

    عَمَروا الدُنيا بِأَموالٍ وَآلِ

    Where are Tasm and Jadis, and those

    Who filled the world with wealth and households?

  41. وَالنَبِيّونَ وَمَن تابَعَهُم

    كُلُّهُم آلَ إِلى هَذا المَآلِ

    And the prophets, and those who followed them—

    All of them came to this same end.

  42. كُن كَما كانَ كَمالُ الدينِ في

    صَبرِهِ عِندَ المُلِمّاتِ الثِقالِ

    Be as Kamal al-Din was in

    His patience when heavy calamities struck:

  43. ثابِتٌ في الخَيرِ وَالشَرِّ مَعاً

    لِذَوي الطَيشِ لَدى الحالَينِ قالي

    Steadfast in good and ill alike,

    Scorning the reckless in either state.

  44. كَم ثَوى في لَحدِهِ مِن سُؤدَدٍ

    وَصِفاتٍ كاثَرَت عَدَّ الرِمالِ

    How much nobility rests in his grave,

    And qualities that outnumbered the grains of sand!

  45. رَحمَةُ اللَهِ عَلَيهِ كُلَّما

    رُوِّعَت في مَهمَهٍ أُمُّ رِئالِ

    May God's mercy be upon him whenever

    A mother of ostrich chicks is startled in a trackless waste.

  46. إِنَّ ذا الدَهرِ خَئونٌ لَم يَزَل

    مُؤذِناً بَعدَ رِضاعٍ بِفِصالِ

    This age is surely treacherous; it has never ceased

    To announce weaning after suckling.

  47. يَحرِقُ النابَ عَلَينا عاتِباً

    كُلَّ وَقتٍ في حَرامٍ وَحَلالِ

    It gnashes its fang at us in reproach,

    At every moment, in the forbidden and the lawful.

  48. يا ضِياءَ الدينِ أَنتُم سادَةٌ

    عِندَهُم مازالَ سِعرُ الشِعرِ غالي

    O Diya al-Din, you are lords

    With whom poetry's price has always been high.

  49. مَن يَرُم مِثلاً لَكُم في دَهرِكُم

    فَلَقَد باءَ بِزورٍ وَمُحالِ

    Whoever seeks your equal in your age

    Has indeed returned with falsehood and impossibility.

  50. كَم عَمَرتُم بِاللُهى مِن داثِرٍ

    وَدَثَرتُم بِالنُهى سُبلَ ضَلالِ

    How many a ruined thing you restored with gifts,

    And with wisdom you effaced the paths of error.

  51. فَلِآلِ الشَّهرَزَورِيِّ مَحَلٌ

    دونَهُ الجَوزاءُ في بُعدِ المَنالِ

    For the house of al-Shahrazuri has a station

    Beneath which al-Jawza lies, itself far beyond reach.

  52. بَرمَكِيّونَ لَدى كُلِّ سُؤالٍ

    فَارِسِيّونَ لدى كُلِّ مَقالِ

    Barmakid-like at every request,

    Farisi-like in every discourse.

  53. مِنهُمُ كُلُّ خَطيبٍ مِصقَعٍ

    وَفَقيهٍ مِدرَهٍ عِندَ الجِدالِ

    Among them is every eloquent orator,

    And every jurist, a formidable advocate in debate.

  54. بَلَغَت أَقلامُهُم ما بَلَغَت

    بِالقَنا الأَبطالُ في يَومِ النِّزالِ

    Their pens have attained what was attained

    By heroes with spears on the day of combat.

  55. إِن يَكُن حاسِدُهُم ذا فَرَحٍ

    فَسَيُرمى بَعدُ مِنهُم بِخَبالِ

    If their envier feels any joy,

    He will yet be struck by them with madness.

  56. فَسَقى قَبرَ كَمالِ الدينِ في

    كُلِّ وَقتٍ جائِداً صَوبُ العزالي

    So may Kamal al-Din's grave be watered at

    Every hour by a generous downpour from the cloud-spouts.