درى لا درى دهرٌ ذممنا طباعَه

درى لا درى دهرٌ ذممنا طباعَه

لأيِّ حمًى يا راعه اللهُ راعَه

لأيِّ حمًى يا راعه اللهُ راعَه

Did Time—may it know nothing!—whose nature we condemned, realize

The ages knew not, nor did their natures realize

what sanctuary it terrified? Ah, may God terrify it!

To which protector of faith their Lord would entrust their care?

وأيّ عليٍّ ساقَ للنزع نفسَه

وأيّ عليٍّ ساقَ للنزع نفسَه

لقد كابدت نفسُ المعاني نزاعه

لقد كابدت نفسُ المعاني نزاعه

And what an Ali whose soul it drove into death's throes!

And which Ali stormed forth to meet his inevitable fate?

The very soul of meaning endured his death-struggle.

My very soul has endured the suffering of such ordeals

وأُدرجت التقوى بأثناء بردِه

وأُدرجت التقوى بأثناء بردِه

وأزمعَ خيرُ الأرض عنها زماعه

وأزمعَ خيرُ الأرض عنها زماعه

And piety was folded within his mantle,

And piety crept amid the expanse of its chilling solitude

and the best upon earth resolved to depart from it.

While the best on earth turned away from it in hordes

مضت ليلةُ الاثنين عنه بواحدٍ

مضت ليلةُ الاثنين عنه بواحدٍ

له في النهى مرأًى يفوق سماعه

له في النهى مرأًى يفوق سماعه

Monday night passed, taking from Time a peerless man,

The night of Monday slipped away with its fleeting hours

whose wisdom, witnessed, surpassed what was heard of him.

To its warnings he lent an ear, listening intently

تفرق شملُ الصبر ساعة بينه

تفرق شملُ الصبر ساعة بينه

وأقبلَ شملُ الهمِّ يبدي اجتماعه

وأقبلَ شملُ الهمِّ يبدي اجتماعه

Patience's unity shattered at the hour of his departure,

Patience scattered its collected shards in a moment’s time

and sorrow's company approached, displaying its unity.

While sorrow marshalled its determined ranks in a show of solidarity

طوى يومهُ بشرَ الزمان بهاءه

طوى يومهُ بشرَ الزمان بهاءه

بشاشته إبهاجه والتماعه

بشاشته إبهاجه والتماعه

The day of his passing folded away Time's cheer, its splendor,

The day whose morning was heralded by the light of dawn

its smiling welcome, its delight, and its gleam.

With joy and merriment spreading their wings in celebration

وغادره ما عاشَ ينشرُ رزءه

وغادره ما عاشَ ينشرُ رزءه

جديداً فيبكي ثكله وانتجاعه

جديداً فيبكي ثكله وانتجاعه

And left it, as long as it lives, proclaiming its loss

And left behind all that it lived for, now spreading its misery

anew, weeping for its bereavement and its quest for his bounty.

Anew it weeps for its own bereavement and wailing distress

أصاح بماذا يملك الجلدُ جفنه

أصاح بماذا يملك الجلدُ جفنه

على الدمع أو ينهي الحليمُ التياعه

على الدمع أو ينهي الحليمُ التياعه

O friend, how can fortitude keep its eyelid closed

It cries, what strength of will does the eyelid possess

against tears, or the forbearing man end his anguish?

To hold back tears, or how far can the forbearing restrain their effusion?

ويطرد في أيِّ الرقى ماردَ الجوى

ويطرد في أيِّ الرقى ماردَ الجوى

ويحوي لديغ الهمِّ فيها شجاعه

ويحوي لديغ الهمِّ فيها شجاعه

And with what incantations can he drive out anguish's demon,

And which amulet might cage the fierce winds of fate

and can sorrow's bitten victim capture its serpent with them?

And contain the sting of sorrow deep within its resistant exterior?

وكيف وأنِّي والتماسَك والذي

وكيف وأنِّي والتماسَك والذي

به يشتكي كلٌّ أجدّ وداعه

به يشتكي كلٌّ أجدّ وداعه

How—and whence—can there be composure, when the one

And how could I restrain myself, when even those

over whom everyone laments has renewed his farewell?

Who bemoan their lot cannot adequately convey their woe?

سل الحلة الفيحاء عن عقد نحرها

سل الحلة الفيحاء عن عقد نحرها

أتعلم منها الدهرُ أين أضاعه

أتعلم منها الدهرُ أين أضاعه

Ask spacious al-Hilla about the necklace at her throat:

Ask the faded necklace about the pearls torn from its thread

did Time learn from her where it lost it?

Does fate even know anymore where it has cast them aside?

نعم سامه فابتاعه الموتُ بالجوى

نعم سامه فابتاعه الموتُ بالجوى

ويا ربحها لو تستطيعُ ارتجاعه

ويا ربحها لو تستطيعُ ارتجاعه

Yes, it offered it for sale, and Death bought it with anguish;

Yes, it poisoned them, and death has bought them for a pittance

and what a gain for her, if only she could reclaim it!

If only you could retrieve and reclaim them!

مغمّضه مهلاً أتحفظ للتقى

مغمّضه مهلاً أتحفظ للتقى

بكفّيك جفناً ما أعفَّ ارتفاعه

بكفّيك جفناً ما أعفَّ ارتفاعه

You who close his eyes, gently! Do you preserve for piety

Keep them shut awhile gently if you would preserve piety

in your two palms an eyelid—how chaste its lifting was!

In your hands, a lid not lifted lightly in some time

وغاسله رفقاً فمن جسد العُلى

وغاسله رفقاً فمن جسد العُلى

تقلبُ جسماً ما أشقَّ انتزاعه

تقلبُ جسماً ما أشقَّ انتزاعه

And you who wash him, gently! From the body of sublimity

And wash it carefully, for it is the body of a noble soul

you turn a body—how agonizing its wrenching away!

You turn over, none too gently wrested away

ورادعَه طيباً ألست بناشقٍ

ورادعَه طيباً ألست بناشقٍ

على جسمه طيبَ التقى ورداعه

على جسمه طيبَ التقى ورداعه

And you who anoint him with perfume, are you not inhaling

And curb it softly! Are you not infinitely more merciful

upon his body piety's fragrance and its perfumed traces?

Than fate in its caprice, which robbed it of its sanctity?

وحامله في النعشِ دونك فاحتمل

وحامله في النعشِ دونك فاحتمل

به النسكَ إنَّ النسكَ كانَ متاعه

به النسكَ إنَّ النسكَ كانَ متاعه

And you who carry him in the bier, take him, and bear

Bear it forth in the bier, for only you now shoulder

with him devotion, for devotion was his provision.

The burden of its legacy, once its sole possession

ومضجعَه في لحده أضجع التقى

ومضجعَه في لحده أضجع التقى

به فهو يهوى مع أخيه اضطجاعه

به فهو يهوى مع أخيه اضطجاعه

And you who lay him in his grave, lay piety

And lay it to rest in its grave, for piety desires

with him, for it longs to lie beside its brother.

To sleep alongside its brother, drawing close in intimacy

وباكيَه لا تبكي بالدمع وحده

وباكيَه لا تبكي بالدمع وحده

بلى بدم الأحشاء مدّ اندفاعه

بلى بدم الأحشاء مدّ اندفاعه

And you who weep for him, do not weep with tears alone;

And mourn it sincerely, not just with tears alone

rather, swell their torrent with the blood of your entrails.

But with blood of your innermost being surging forth unrestrained

وراثيَه إنَّ الكلام لضائقٌ

وراثيَه إنَّ الكلام لضائقٌ

بعظم الجوى بل لا يضيق استماعه

بعظم الجوى بل لا يضيق استماعه

And you who elegize him, words are surely too confined

And console its kin, though words scarcely suffice,

by grief's vastness; yet listening to them has no limit.

So profound the sorrow, but does aching hearts ease?

نعم إن غدت منه خلاءً فهذه

نعم إن غدت منه خلاءً فهذه

بقيته في المجدِ تعلو يفاعه

بقيته في المجدِ تعلو يفاعه

Yes, though she stands bereft of him, here is

Yes, though it leaves you hollow and wanting, such

his surviving line in glory, overtopping its heights.

Was the height of its glory, towering to the skies

بهمَّته تسمو إلى شرف العُلى

بهمَّته تسمو إلى شرف العُلى

وتبسط في كسب المعالي ذراعه

وتبسط في كسب المعالي ذراعه

Through his resolve, it soars toward the heights of eminence,

With its ambition, rising to the honor of highest place

and stretches his arm to gain lofty honors.

And stretching to attain the most splendid goals

مضى وهو البدرُ المنيرُ وأنجموا

مضى وهو البدرُ المنيرُ وأنجموا

بأبراجه شهباً كساها شعاعه

بأبراجه شهباً كساها شعاعه

He departed as the shining full moon, and they became stars

It has gone, that brilliant moon, and they are stars

in his celestial mansions, bright stars clothed by his rays.

Whose orbits it illumined with its radiant beams

أطايبُ قد حلُّوا من العزِّ ربعه

أطايبُ قد حلُّوا من العزِّ ربعه

فعطَّر طيبُ الفخر منهم بقاعه

فعطَّر طيبُ الفخر منهم بقاعه

The choicest souls have settled in his abode of honor,

The sweetest perfumes of honor have dissipated from its abode

so the fragrance of their pride has scented his lands.

And the scent of pride is diffused throughout its domains

فصبراً بني التقوى وإن كانَ رزؤكم

فصبراً بني التقوى وإن كانَ رزؤكم

عرى الدهرُ منه ما أراعَ ذراعه

عرى الدهرُ منه ما أراعَ ذراعه

So patience, sons of piety, though your bereavement

So patience, O people of piety, though your grief

has brought upon Time what struck terror into its arm.

Has stripped bare what little solace the age afforded you

لنا ولكم حسنُ العزا عن أبيكم

لنا ولكم حسنُ العزا عن أبيكم

بخيرِ أبٍ سرَّ الندى قد أذاعه

بخيرِ أبٍ سرَّ الندى قد أذاعه

For us and you there is fair solace for your father's loss

For you and for us, the seemly mourning of a father

in the best of fathers, who has disclosed generosity's secret.

Who brought happiness to the dew, spreading its moisture

هو الحلف المهديُّ من في جبينه

هو الحلف المهديُّ من في جبينه

بدا للهدى نوراً يزين التماعه

بدا للهدى نوراً يزين التماعه

He is the sworn ally, al-Mahdi, upon whose brow

He is the rightly-guided Proof, on whose brow

a light appeared for guidance, its gleam adorning him.

A light appeared, adorning the throngs in their vigil

ولم يتبعْ الإقتداء به الهُدى

ولم يتبعْ الإقتداء به الهُدى

بلى أوجب اللهُ العظيم اتِّباعه

بلى أوجب اللهُ العظيم اتِّباعه

Nor did emulating him merely follow from guidance;

And the guidance did not follow in his footsteps

rather, Almighty God made following him obligatory.

Rather God ordained his great example be followed

أبو سادةٍ لو حلَّق النسرُ طائراً

أبو سادةٍ لو حلَّق النسرُ طائراً

لنيلِ ذرى عليائهم ما استطاعه

لنيلِ ذرى عليائهم ما استطاعه

A father of masters: were the eagle to soar in flight

O Father of Sa'ada! If the eagles circling high

to reach the summits of their eminence, it could not.

Could attain the lofty reaches of their nobility, they could not

فجعفرُ فضلٌ صالحٌ ومحمدٌ

فجعفرُ فضلٌ صالحٌ ومحمدٌ

حسينٌ حبا المهديَّ كلٌّ طباعه

حسينٌ حبا المهديَّ كلٌّ طباعه

Thus Ja'far, Fadl, Salih, and Muhammad,

For Ja'far is virtuous and good, and Muhammad

and Husayn—each bestowed his character upon al-Mahdi.

Is Hussein. Each bears his nature and character.

فروعُ فخارٍ رشحتها أصولها

فروعُ فخارٍ رشحتها أصولها

لمجدٍ تمنَّى المجدُ منه ارتفاعه

لمجدٍ تمنَّى المجدُ منه ارتفاعه

Branches of pride, their roots fitted them

Branches of a noble tree, watered at the root

for a glory from which Glory itself wished to rise.

To feed its glory, reaching upward for the sky

لهم حسبٌ لو كايلوه بنو العُلى

لهم حسبٌ لو كايلوه بنو العُلى

بأحسابهم فخراً لما كِلنَ صاعه

بأحسابهم فخراً لما كِلنَ صاعه

They have a lineage: if the sons of eminence measured it

In them is honor enough, even if the nobles

against their own lineages in pride, those would not fill its measure.

Measured it in their valuations, to find it beyond measure

أبا صالحٍ كم مبهماتٍ جلوتها

أبا صالحٍ كم مبهماتٍ جلوتها

وملتبسٍ منها كشفتَ قناعه

وملتبسٍ منها كشفتَ قناعه

Abu Salih, how many obscurities you have clarified,

O Father of Salih! How many perplexities you have resolved

and how many tangled matters among them you have unveiled!

And ambiguities obscured beneath their masks brought to light

سنا البدر قد أطفا سناك شعاعه

سنا البدر قد أطفا سناك شعاعه

ونوركَ ذا فيه رأينا انطباعه

ونوركَ ذا فيه رأينا انطباعه

The full moon's glow—your radiance has extinguished its rays,

The full moon of your countenance has darkened our stars

and we have seen this light of yours imprinted in it.

And in it we see the imprint of your radiance reflected

هل المجدُ إلاَّ ما رفعتَ عماده

هل المجدُ إلاَّ ما رفعتَ عماده

أو الجودُ إلاَّ ما تجيد اصطناعه

أو الجودُ إلاَّ ما تجيد اصطناعه

Is glory anything but that whose pillar you have raised,

What is glory if not the pillars you erected to prop it up

or generosity anything but what you fashion so well?

And what is generosity without the skill you perfected in its practice?

وأعجبُ شيءٍ أن يطاول فاضلٌ

وأعجبُ شيءٍ أن يطاول فاضلٌ

علاكَ ومنكَ الفترُ يفضلُ باعه

علاكَ ومنكَ الفترُ يفضلُ باعه

And the strangest thing is that a worthy man should rival

Most wondrous is that any man of merit would presume

your eminence, when your finger-span exceeds his arm-span.

To surpass you, when the least of your gifts exceeds any other's sum

وكيف الفضا في عظم فخرك لم يطقْ

وكيف الفضا في عظم فخرك لم يطقْ

أفخرُك قد أعطى الفضاءَ اتَّساعه

أفخرُك قد أعطى الفضاءَ اتَّساعه

And how could space fail to contain your mighty glory?

And how could your lofty eminence be constrained

Did your glory give space its vastness?

When the proudest of your feats has broadened the horizons of possibility?

تُراجعُ أعطاء الكثير ولا كمن

تُراجعُ أعطاء الكثير ولا كمن

إذا هو أعطى النزرَ ودَّ ارتجاعه

إذا هو أعطى النزرَ ودَّ ارتجاعه

You repeatedly give abundantly, unlike one

You return the excessive grants of the wasteful, unlike those

who, when he gives a trifle, wishes to reclaim it.

Who give but the smallest of gifts, only to demand them back

سلمتَ لدين الله ترأبُ صدعه

سلمتَ لدين الله ترأبُ صدعه

وتحفظ ما منه سواكَ أضاعه

وتحفظ ما منه سواكَ أضاعه

May you remain safe for God's religion, mending its breach,

You have devoted yourself to restoring the rift in the faith, preserving

and preserving what others besides you have squandered of it.

What none other than you could from ruin and devastation

ولا زلتَ غيث اللطف يمنح ضرعُه

ولا زلتَ غيث اللطف يمنح ضرعُه

ضريح عليٍّ درَّه ورضاعه

ضريح عليٍّ درَّه ورضاعه

And may you ever be a rain of kindness, whose udder grants

Ever the raincloud of kindness, its udders give milk

Ali's tomb its flowing milk and nurture.

To the shrine of Ali, flowing and nursing in abundance