1. الصَّبرُ أجمَلُ لو أطَقت الأَجمَلا

    وأَخفُّ لو صَدق التجُّملُ مَحمَلا

    Patience is nobler, if only I could bear the nobler course.

    And lighter to bear, if composure were genuine.

  2. يا واحِداً عَمَّ الجميعَ مُصابُهُ

    ما كنتَ إلا عارِضاً مُتَهلّلا

    O peerless one, whose loss has overwhelmed all,

    You were nothing but a radiant raincloud.

  3. قُدّمت قبلي في الوُفاة وهكذا

    يتقدّم الأَخيار أوَّلَ أَوّلا

    You were taken before me in death, and thus

    The best go first, one after another.

  4. ولقد تَخَرَّمتِ المَنيّة شَطرنا

    وبَقيتُ في شطرٍ فكان الأَفضَلا

    And death had indeed snatched away half of us,

    And I remained in the other half, which was the better.

  5. عِشنا بذلك حِقبَةً في غِبطَةٍ

    ونَداك يحملُ كلّ عِبءٍ أَثقَلا

    We lived so for a time in happiness,

    And your bounty bore every crushing burden.

  6. وسَددت خُلَّةَ مَن مَضى لَمّا انقضَى

    واستَقبَل البَاقُون خَطباً مُقبِلا

    You filled the void of those who passed when their days were done,

    And those remaining faced an approaching calamity.

  7. وكفيتني وكَفَيتَهُم ما يُتّقى

    وجَلوت خَطبَ الدَّهرِ عَنّا فانجلى

    You shielded me and shielded them from what is feared,

    And cleared time's calamity from us, and it vanished.

  8. فَليبكينَّكَ كُلُّ نادٍ صَالحٍ

    وليَندُبَنَّكَ منَ أحبّ ومَن قَلى

    Then let every worthy assembly weep for you,

    And let lover and hater alike lament you.

  9. وليبقيَنَّ عليكَ ذِكرٌ ناصِعٌ

    ما أَدبَر اللَّيلُ البَهيمُ وأَقبَلا

    And may an unsullied remembrance of you endure,

    As long as pitch-black night departs and returns.

  10. جَمّلت عِشرَتنِا وطُولَ زَمانِنا

    لَمّا تَفَرَّطِنا فكَان كَلا ولا

    You graced our companionship and our long years,

    When you went before us, that span became as brief as 'no, no.'

  11. يا مَن تَواضع قَدرُهُ عن رِفعَةٍ

    ما فَوقَ ما أَصبحتَ فيهِ مُعتَلى

    O you whose rank was humble beside such eminence—

    No height lies above the station you now hold.

  12. فاستَوفِ حَظَّكَ عند ربِّكَ كُلَّه

    واحطُط لَدَيهِ فقد بَلغتَ المَنزلا

    Receive, then, your full portion with your Lord,

    And alight in His presence, for you have reached your destination.

  13. فلهُ تركتَ الغَانِيَات ولم تَزل

    بالبَاقياتِ الصَّالحاتِ مُوَكَّلا

    For His sake you forsook beautiful women, and ever remained

    Devoted to enduring righteous deeds.

  14. ما مَرَّ يومٌ من حياتِك عاطِلاً

    بل كانَ بالتَّقوى مُحلَّىً مُخملا

    No day of your life passed unadorned;

    Rather, each was jeweled and velvet-clad with piety.

  15. واللّيلُ يعرفُ منك نِضواً خاشعاً

    لِلّهِ يَسكُب فيه دَمعاً مُسبَلا

    And night knows in you a gaunt, humble man,

    Pouring forth streaming tears through it before God.

  16. ما ذاقَ طعمَ النّومِ إلا خِلسَةً

    بخِلت على أَجفانِه أَن يُكحَلا

    He tasted sleep only in a stolen snatch,

    That grudged his eyelids the kohl of sleep.

  17. فطوَاه بينَ رُكوعِه وسُجودِه

    بدموعِ تَقواهُ مُنَدى مُخضَلا

    So he folded it away between his bows and prostrations,

    Bedewed and drenched with the tears of his piety.

  18. أحشاؤه مَوقُوذةٌ ولِسَانُه

    يُهدِي إلى اللَه الكِتَابَ مُرَتَّلا

    His inmost parts are bruised, while his tongue

    Offers God the Book in measured recitation.

  19. ماذا أؤَمِّلُ بعدَ وضعِكَ في الثَّرى

    هيهات أخطأ آمِلٌ ما أمّلا

    What can I hope for after laying you in the earth?

    In vain! A hopeful man has missed what he hoped for.

  20. يا واهبَ العِلقِ النّفيسِ أخَذتَهُ

    فاجعَلهُ في دارِ الرِّضا مُتَقَبَّلا

    O Giver of the precious treasure, You have taken him;

    Then make him welcome in the abode of Your good pleasure.

  21. ولقَد فقدتُ سَمِيَّهُ مِن قَبلِهِ

    مُتَضَرِّجاً بدمِ الفؤاد مُقَتَّلا

    And I had lost his namesake before him,

    Drenched in the heart's blood, slaughtered.

  22. رُزءٌ على رُزءٍ تتابَع ثُكلُهُ

    وكمَا ثكلتُ فَغايَتِي أَن أُثكَلا

    Loss upon loss, bereavement following bereavement.

    And as I have been bereaved, my own end is to be mourned.

  23. عزيَّتُ نفسِي عَنهُما ولَرُبّما

    غلبَ البُكاءُ تَجَلُّدي فاستَرسَلا

    I consoled myself for them both, yet often

    Weeping overcame my fortitude and flowed unchecked.

  24. يا أيها السَّهم المغبُّ لِوَقتِه

    لا بُدّ يَوماً أن تُصِيبَ المَقتَلا

    O arrow that bides its appointed time,

    One day you must strike the fatal spot.

  25. عُذراً أبا مَروان عِشتُ ولم أَمُت

    كَمداً عليكَ وكان مَوتي أسهَلا

    Pardon me, Abu Marwan: I lived and did not die

    Of grief for you, though my death would have been easier.

  26. فاذهَب كما ذهَب الحَيا أَحيى الرُّبا

    عُلواً وغادَر كل خَفضٍ منهلا

    Go, then, as rain departs, having revived the hills

    On high, and left every lowland drenched.

  27. فلقد تركتَ بناءَ صِدقٍ خالداً

    يبقى جَديداً والجَدِيدُ إلى بلى

    For you have left a lasting edifice of honor,

    That stays new, while all new things pass into decay.

  28. يا ليتَني قَد مِتُّ قَبلكَ سابِقاً

    وبقيتَ بَعدي ثابتاً مُتَهَلّلا

    Would that I had died before you, going first,

    And you had remained after me, steadfast and radiant.

  29. يَأوي إليكَ طَلِيقُنا وأَسيرُنا

    وَتَفُكُّ رِبقةَ كلّ عانٍ مُبتلى

    Our free men and our captives would seek refuge with you,

    And you would loose the fetter of every afflicted captive.

  30. لا تُخلِفُ الأَيّامُ مثلَكَ ماجداً

    أَندى وأَعطى في الحُقوق وأبذَلا

    The days will never bring forth a noble man like you,

    So openhanded, so giving in fulfilling duties, so unstinting,

  31. وأَشَدَّ في ذاتِ الإلهِ صريمةً

    وأَمدَّ شأواً في الصّعاب وأقولا

    So firm of resolve in the cause of God,

    So long of stride through hardships, so eloquent.

  32. لَودِدتُ بِرَّكَ أَن يشابَ بجفوةٍ

    فيكونَ عُذراً عند قَلبِي إن سَلا

    I wish your kindness had been mingled with some coldness,

    So my heart might have an excuse if it ceased to grieve.

  33. لكن صفَت منكَ الخلائقُ واعتلَت

    عن عِلَّةٍ تُبدِي العيون تَنَصُّلا

    But your virtues were pure, and rose

    Above any fault the eyes could plead as an excuse.

  34. صلّى عليك اللَهُ من مُتَقَدّم

    ظهرَت كرامَتُه فكانَ الأَمثَلا

    May God bless you, one who has gone before,

    Whose honor shone forth, so that he was the finest.

  35. وسَقتكَ دِيمةُ مُزنَةٍ هَطَّالةٍ

    تَروي مع العِلم المُنيفَ المُجملا

    And may steady rain from a pouring cloud water you,

    Watering, along with learning, the lofty, gracious one.

  36. وتعهدَّتكَ من المُهَيمن رَحمَةٌ

    فتَحت إلى الفِردوسِ باباً مُقفَلا

    And may mercy from the Guardian watch over you,

    Opening a locked gate into Paradise.

  37. أَعددتُ بعدك حالَتين هُما هُما

    صَبراً أُقيّدهُ ودَمعا مُهمَلا

    After you, I have prepared two states, those two alone:

    Patience I bind fast, and tears I leave unchecked.

  38. هَمَلَت عليكَ العَينُ إذ أَقَرَرتَها

    ومن الوَفاءِ بعهدِها أَن تَهمِلا

    My eye streamed for you, for you had gladdened it,

    And faithfulness to its pledge requires that it stream.

  39. لم تَبقَ لي في العَيشِ بعدك لَذّةٌ

    ولئن أَمرّ مذاقُهُ في ما حَلا

    No pleasure in life remains for me after you.

    And if indeed its taste has grown bitter in what once was sweet,

  40. ناجيتُ قَبرَك والدّموع سَوافِح

    ورأيتُ شَخصَك بالضّمير مُخَيَّلا

    I have whispered to your grave, with tears streaming,

    And seen your form pictured in my mind.

  41. وودتُ إذ عِشنَا معاً أَنّا مَعاً

    إذ فات صنوَك أَن يَكونَ الأَعجَلا

    And wished, since we lived together, that we were together,

    Since your brother missed being the first to go.