1. حسبيَ الله أحقاً

    ماتَ يَحيى بن سليمِ

    God is enough for me! Is it true

    that Yahya ibn Salim has died?

  2. وأُصيبَ المجدُ منه

    في فتى المجدِ الصّميمِ

    And glory has been stricken through him,

    in a youth who was glory to its core.

  3. يا لهُ رزءاً عظيماً

    بانَ بالصّبرِ العَظيمِ

    What a tremendous calamity,

    which carried mighty patience away!

  4. لم يدعْ للحلمِ معنى

    عندَ ذي الرَّأي الحَليمِ

    It left forbearance no meaning

    even for the wise, forbearing man.

  5. سلَبَ الفكر مُلمٌ

    جاءَ بالخطبِ الأليمِ

    An affliction has stolen reason,

    bringing a painful calamity.

  6. خَطَّ للموتِ رُسوماً

    فلنَقفْ عند الرُّسومِ

    It traced out death's marks;

    so let us stand beside those traces.

  7. ولنسحَّ الدَّمعَ سّحَّاً

    من غُيومٍ للغُيومِ

    And let us pour tears in torrents,

    from clouds, for clouds.

  8. فالبُكا يُشفي فؤاداً

    ذا صُدوعٍ وكُلومِ

    For weeping heals a heart

    full of fissures and wounds.

  9. سنّهُ يعقُوبُ قِدماً

    لأخي الحُزنِ الكَظيمِ

    Jacob established it long ago

    for sorrow's companion, choked with grief.

  10. واقتداءً بالكريمِ ال

    هَدي من هَدي الكريمِ

    And emulating one noble in

    conduct is itself the conduct of the noble.

  11. لهفَ نفسي لفَقيدٍ

    فاقدِ المثلِ عَديمِ

    My soul aches for one departed,

    without an equal, utterly without peer.

  12. غالَه ريبُ المنايا

    غَول ذي الثأرِ المُضيمِ

    The treachery of death seized him,

    with the deadly stroke of a vengeful oppressor.

  13. وسَطَا منه ببدرِ التْ

    تم في أفقِ النُّجومِ

    And in him struck down the moon at its

    fullest, on the horizon of stars.

  14. ورَمى بالمتلألي

    تحتَ أطباق التُّخومِ

    And cast the glittering one

    beneath the layers of the earth's depths.

  15. فوجوهُ الزُّهر رُبْدٌ

    بعدَ ذي الوَجهِ الوَسيمِ

    So the bright stars' faces are dusky

    after the passing of the handsome-faced one.

  16. وعيونُ الفَخرِ تبكي

    غَرَّةَ الدَّهرِ البهيمِ

    And the eyes of glory weep

    for the bright brow of darksome time.

  17. أنّ جفناً جفَّ فيه

    وجَفَا جدُّ لئيمِ

    Indeed, an eyelid that stays dry for him

    and turns cold is utterly base.

  18. في فتى فاتَ كُهولاً

    في رُجيحَاتِ الحُلومِ

    For a youth who surpassed mature men

    in weighty, well-balanced judgment.

  19. مخوَلٌ كان مُعمي

    في زكيّاتِ الأرومِ

    Noble through maternal kin, he was noble through paternal kin,

    among lineages of pure roots.

  20. كانَ غيظاً وسَروراً

    لعَدوٍ وحميمِ

    He was fury and joy

    to foe and close friend,

  21. تابعاً آثار قومٍ

    واضحي النَّهج القَويمِ

    following the footsteps of people

    whose upright path was clear.

  22. كان قد رامَ كمالاً

    فازَ منهُ بالمُرومِ

    He had sought perfection

    and attained what he sought of it,

  23. في شباب لم يمتعْ

    بمتاعِ المُستديمِ

    in youth, not granted long enjoyment

    of the pleasures of enduring life.

  24. لم يكنْ إلا كلمحِ الْ

    طَّرْفِ والبَرقِ المُشيمِ

    It was no more than the blink of an

    eye and a lightning flash watched for rain.

  25. فطَواه الحق طيَّ السْ

    جلِ منشورَ الرقيمِ

    So the True One folded him away, as a

    scroll enfolds its outspread written page.

  26. وانتحاهُ باخترامٍ

    خارمُ الشّمل النظيمِ

    And he was singled out for untimely death

    by the breaker of closely knit company.

  27. ودعته لرحيمٍ

    رَحمةُ الرَّبِّ الرَّحيمِ

    And he was summoned to One merciful

    by the mercy of the Merciful Lord.

  28. فأغذَّ السيرَ سبْقاً

    بينَ وَخْدٍِ ورَسيمِ

    So he hastened along, racing ahead,

    between a brisk stride and a swift trot.

  29. ومضى وهو كريمٌ

    عندَهُ غيرُ ذَميمِ

    And he went, held in honor

    before Him, not condemned.

  30. اَتَرى اشْتاقَتْ له أُمْ

    مٌ بدارٍ للنّعيمِ

    Do you think a mother longed for him

    in an abode of bliss,

  31. فاستزارت منه براً

    خيمه أحسنُ خيم

    and called her dutiful son to visit,

    whose character was the finest of characters?

  32. زارَها شَوقاً ولكنْ

    زَورةَ الحبّ المُقيمِ

    He visited her in longing, but

    with a visit of love that stays forever.

  33. لم يعرِّجْ في مراضي

    هَا على طفْلٍ فَطيمِ

    In seeking her pleasure, he did not turn aside

    to a weaned little child,

  34. صارَ منه مُليمةِ الدْ

    دَهرِ يُدعى باليتيمِ

    who, through his loss and the calamity of

    time, came to be called an orphan.

  35. سلّمَ الأمر وولّى

    مخلصَ القَلبِ السّليم

    He surrendered the matter and departed,

    with sincerity and an uncorrupted heart.

  36. فسقَى الّله ثَراه

    كلَّ مُنْهَلٍّ سَجومِ

    May God water his grave's earth

    with every pouring, streaming cloud,

  37. وكساهُ حيثُ تَبلى

    مُستعاراتُ الجَسومِ

    and clothe him, where decay

    the borrowed forms of bodies,

  38. نضرةَ يصبحُ فيها

    ناعمَ العَظم الرَّميمِ

    with freshness, in which he becomes

    blissful in his crumbling bones.

  39. وأتى بالصّبر قوماً

    لَيلهُم لَيلَ السّليمِ

    And grant patience to a people

    whose night is the night of the snake-bitten,

  40. ونَهارٌ لم يَروهُ

    فيهِ كالَلَيلٍ البَهيمِ

    and whose day, when they do not see him,

    is like a pitch-black night.

  41. فُجعُوا فيه خُصوصاً

    وفُجعنا في العُمومِ

    They suffered his loss in particular,

    and we suffered it in general.

  42. ليسَ يمتازُ لَعمري

    أجنبيٌّ من قَسيمِ

    By my life, there is no distinction

    between stranger and kinsman.

  43. قد تَقَاسَمْنا جميعاً

    رَوعةَ الرُّزءِ الجَسيمِ

    We have all shared together

    the terror of this grievous calamity.

  44. لا ترى غيرَ حَليفٍ

    لاكتئابِ ووجومِ

    You see none but one allied

    with dejection and silent gloom,

  45. من قريبٍ أو بعيدِ الدْ

    دَار طُوِّيلِ الهُمومِ

    whether near or far away in

    dwelling, burdened with enduring sorrows.

  46. ضاعفَ الحُزنَ مغيبي

    عن حُضورٍ ولُزُومِ

    My absence doubled the grief,

    keeping me from being present and staying close.

  47. وأنا أشكو ببثِّي

    لغرامٍ لي غَريمِ

    And I complain in my anguish

    of a consuming sorrow that is my creditor.

  48. كيفَ أهدي لصراطٍ

    من لعزٍ مستقيمِ

    How can I guide to a path

    one upright in dignity,

  49. وصحيحِ الوَجدِ يُبدي

    خلَلَ الصّبر السّقيمِ

    when genuine anguish reveals

    the frailty of ailing patience?

  50. من مُعزٍ لخليلي

    فيه بالقول الحكيمِ

    Who can console my dear friend

    for him with words of wisdom?

  51. ليسَ إلا ما لديه

    من نُهى ثَبْتٍ حليمِ

    There is only what he already has

    of the wisdom of a steadfast, forbearing man,

  52. عارفٍ بالدَّهرِ مهما

    جَهلَ النّاس عَليمِ

    versed in time's ways, however

    ignorant people may be, himself wise.

  53. يا أبا بكرِ المعالي

    يا أخا الفَضلِ العميمِ

    O Abu Bakr of lofty merits,

    O brother of all-embracing excellence,

  54. أصدِقْ العَزمَ بصبرٍ

    حبَّذا صدقُ العَزيمِ

    Be true in your resolve through patience;

    how fine is firmness of resolve!

  55. إن بكى فقدَ ابنِ أُختٍ

    فَقدُها غَيرُ قَديمِ

    If he weeps for the loss of a sister's son,

    her own loss still recent,

  56. جدَّد الحزنَ فأذكى

    بالحشَى أيَّ ضريمِ

    it has renewed sorrow and kindled

    what a blaze within the heart!

  57. فعظيمٌ في الرّزايا

    خُصّ منكم بعَظيمِ

    So a great man, among calamities,

    has been singled out among you for a great trial,

  58. وكريمٌ من ثوابٍ

    جاء من ربٍّ كريمِ

    and a generous recompense

    has come from a generous Lord.

  59. فارضَ بالمحتومِ من

    تَقديرِ ذي العزّ العَليمِ

    So accept what is decreed by

    the ordinance of the All-Knowing Possessor of might.

  60. فهو قاضٍ في البرايا

    بالمنايا والحُتومِ

    For He judges among His creatures

    with deaths and inescapable decrees.

  61. وإذا ريحُ شَعوبٍ

    عَصفَتْ عَصفَ عَقيمِ

    And when the wind of Death

    blows with the blast of a barren wind,

  62. لم تدع في الارض شيئاً

    من حميم وهشيم

    it leaves nothing on earth,

    neither dear friend nor brittle stubble.

  63. كل شيءٍ فهو فانٍ

    ما سوى الباقي القَديمِ

    Everything is perishing,

    save the Everlasting, the Eternal.

  64. لا يريم للغنا أو

    ليس يبقى من أريم

    He never departs, being self-sufficient; or

    none made to depart remains.

  65. فأعلم الصّبر وعَلّم

    فهو من خيرِ العُلومِ

    So learn patience and teach it,

    for it is among the best kinds of knowledge.

  66. وارسمِ النّدب له في

    ندبِ رَبعٍ ورُسومِ

    And prescribe lamentation for him in

    mourning an abode and its traces.

  67. وإذا ما صنُو يحيى

    باعَ بالحزنِ الكتومَ

    And when Yahya's brother

    barters his reticence for sorrow,

  68. وغدا يَبكي فيَحكي

    صوبَ أجفانِ الغُيومِ

    and begins weeping, imitating

    the downpour from the clouds' eyelids,

  69. ذاكراً بابن أخيهِ

    فعلةَ الدَّهر الغَشومِ

    recalling, through his brother's son,

    the deed of ruthless time,

  70. والهاً يَحنو عليه

    بحَنينٍ كالرَّؤومِ

    distraught, bending tenderly over him,

    with the yearning of a tender mother,

  71. فَمرُوهُ باصْطبارٍ

    يمتثلْ أمرَ الزَّعيمِ

    then bid him to endure patiently;

    he will obey the leader's command.

  72. إن أولى بخدين

    حازمٍ شدُّ الحَزيمِ

    For what most befits a companion

    of firm resolve is to tighten his belt.

  73. والرِّضا يَنشقُ رَوحاً

    عاطراً عند الشّميمِ

    And acceptance breathes in solace,

    fragrant when inhaled.

  74. فأهبُوا في سموم ال

    وَجدِ معطارَ النّسيمِ

    So send forth, amid the scorching wind of

    grief, a richly scented breeze,

  75. وأهيبُوا بمديرٍ

    كأسَ سلوان مُديمِ

    and summon a cupbearer

    ever passing the cup of consolation.

  76. وهَبُوا أسنى دُعاءٍ

    لرضيٍّ في رَميمِ

    And offer the most radiant prayer

    for one well-pleasing, amid decaying remains.

  77. واسلموا من كلِّ رزءٍ

    بعدَ يَحيى بن سَليمِ

    And remain safe from every calamity

    after Yahya ibn Salim.