تَأَسَّفَت جارَتي لَمّا رَأَت زَوَري

وَعَدَّتِ الحِلمَ ذَنباً غَيرَ مُغتَفَرِ

My neighbor regretted when she saw my falsehood

And considered forbearance a sin that cannot be forgiven

تَرجو الصِبا بَعدَ ما شابَت ذَوائِبُها

وَقَد جَرَت طَلَقاً في حَلبَةِ الكِبَرِ

She hopes for youth after her locks have grayed

And she has flowed freely in the arena of old age

أَجارَتي إِنَّ شَيبَ الرَأسِ ثَقَّلَني

ذِكرَ المَعادِ وَأَرضاني عَنِ القَدَرِ

My neighbor, the graying of my hair has burdened me

With thoughts of the Hereafter and made me accept fate

لَو كُنتُ أَركَنُ لِلدُنيا وَزينَتِها

إِذَن بَكَيتُ عَلى الماضينَ مِن نَفَري

If I were to incline towards this world and its adornments

I would have wept for those of my comrades who passed

أَخنى الزَمانُ عَلى أَهلي فَصَدَّعَهُم

تَصَدُّعَ القَعبِ لاقى صَدمَةَ الحَجَرِ

Time has been cruel to my family and shattered them

Like a waterskin being hit with stones and bursting

بَعضٌ أَقامَ وَبَعضٌ قَد أَهابَ بِهِ

داعي المَنِيَّةِ وَالباقي عَلى الأَثَرِ

Some stayed while others whom

The caller of death took away, and the rest remain behind

أَمّا المُقيمُ فَأَخشى أَن يُفارِقَني

وَلَستُ أَوبَةَ مَن وَلّى بِمُنتَظِرِ

As for those who stayed, I fear that they may leave me

And I do not hope for the return of those who have gone ahead

أَصبَحتُ أُخبِرُ عَن أَهلي وَعَن وَلَدي

كَحالِمٍ قَصَّ رُؤيا بَعدَ مُدَّكَرِ

I have come to ask about my family and my children

Like a dreamer relating a dream after pondering

لَولا تَشاغُلُ نَفسي بِالأُلى سَلَفوا

مِن أَهلِ بَيتِ رَسولِ اللَهِ لَم أَقِرِ

If it were not for my soul being preoccupied with grieving over them

They would not have passed from the Prophet's family without my weeping

وَفي مَواليكَ لِلمَحزونِ مَشغَلَةٌ

مِن أَن تَبيتَ لِمَفقودٍ عَلى أَثَرِ

And in your states, O sorrowful one, there is occupation

To prevent you from spending the night weeping for the lost one

كَم مِن ذِراعٍ لَهُم بِالطَفِّ بائِنَةٍ

وَعارِضٍ مِن صَعيدِ التُربِ مُنعَفِرِ

How many arms of theirs severed at the elbow are evident

And how many forearms buried in the dust have decayed

أَنسى الحُسَينَ وَمَسراهُم لِمَقتَلِهِ

وَهُم يَقولونَ هَذا سَيِّدُ البَشَرِ

I forget al-Husayn and their journey to his killing

While they say this is the master of all mankind

يا أُمَّةَ السوءِ ما جازَيتِ أَحمَدَ عَن

حُسنِ البَلاءِ عَلى التَنزيلِ وَالسُوَرِ

O wicked nation, you did not reward Ahmad

For his excellent trial with the revelation and the surahs

خَلَفتَموهُ عَلى الأَبناءِ حينَ مَضى

خِلافَةَ الذِئبِ في أَبقارِ ذي بَقَرِ

After he passed, you made his sons his successors

With the succession of a wolf over cattle

وَلَيسَ حَيٌّ مِنَ الأَحياءِ نَعلَمَهُ

مِن ذي يَمانٍ وَمِن بَكرٍ وَمِن مُضَرِ

And none of the living tribes that we know

Neither from Yemen, nor Bakr, nor Mudar

إِلّا وَهُم شُرَكاءٌ في دِمائِهُمُ

كَما تَشارَكَ أَيسارٌ عَلى جُزُرِ

Except they shared in shedding their blood

As neighbors share improper gain

قَتلاً وَأَسراً وَتَحريقاً وَمَنهَبَةً

فِعلَ الغُزاةِ بِأَرضِ الرومِ وَالخَزَرِ

Killing, capturing, burning, and plundering

Is what the invaders did in the land of Rome and Khazar

أَرى أُمَيَّةَ مَعذورينَ إِن قَتَلوا

وَلا أَرى لِبَني العَبّاسِ مِن عُذرِ

I see the Umayyads as having an excuse if they killed

But I see no excuse for the Abbasids

أَبناءُ حَربٍ وَوَمَروانٍ وَأُسرَتُهُم

بَنو مُعَيطٍ وُلاةُ الحِقدِ وَالوَغَرِ

The sons of Harb, Marwan and their family

The Banu Mu'ayt, the rulers of hatred and rancor

قَومٌ قَتَلتُم عَلى الإِسلامِ أَوَّلَهُم

حَتّى إِذا اِستَمكَنوا جازَوا عَلى الكُفُرِ

A people who killed the early Muslims

Until when they gained power, they exceeded in disbelief

أَربَع بِطوسٍ عَلى قَبرِ الزَكِيِّ بِها

إِن كُنتَ تَربَعُ مِن دينٍ عَلى وَطَرِ

Four graves in Tus, at the tomb of the pure one

If you claim to follow a religion gone astray

قَبرانِ في طوسَ خَيرُ الخَلقِ كُلِّهِمُ

وَقَبرُ شَرِّهِمُ هَذا مِنَ العِبَرِ

Two graves in Tus - the best of all mankind

And the grave of their worst, a lesson

ما يَنفَعُ الرِجسَ مِن قُربِ الزَكِيِّ وَما

عَلى الزَكِيِّ بِقُربِ الرِجسِ مِن ضَرَرِ

Filth cannot benefit from the pure one's nearness

Nor can the pure one be harmed by filth's closeness

هَيهاتَ كُلُّ اِمرِىءٍ رَهنٌ بِما كَسَبَت

لَهُ يَداهُ فَحُذ ما شِئتَ أَو فَذَرِ

Alas, all men are hostage to what their hands reaped

So take what you will or leave what you will