1. يا صاحبي إن دمعي اليوم ينهمل

    علىالخدود حكاه العارض الهطل

    O my friend, today my tears pour forth,

    Down my cheeks; the pouring raincloud mirrors them.

  2. وفي الفؤاد وفي الأحشاء نار أسى

    إذا ألم بها التذكار تشتعل

    And in my heart and in my depths is a fire of grief;

    Whenever remembrance visits it, it flares.

  3. على الأحبة والإخوان إذ رحلوا

    إلي المقابر والألحاد واننقلوا

    For loved ones and brothers, when they departed

    To graveyards and burial niches, and passed away.

  4. كنا وكانوا وكان الشمل مجتمعاً

    والدار آهلةة والحبل متصل

    We and they were once a united company,

    The house was full, and the cord unbroken.

  5. حدا بهم هازم اللذات في عجل

    فلم يقيموا وعن أحبابهم شغلوا

    The vanquisher of pleasures drove them away in haste;

    So they did not linger, and were turned from their loved ones.

  6. ولم يعوجوا على أهل ولا ولد

    كأنهم لم يكونوا بينهم نزلوا

    Nor did they pause for family or child,

    As though they had never dwelt among them.

  7. إني لأعجب للدنيا وطالبها

    وللحريص عليها عقله هبل

    I marvel indeed at the world and its seeker,

    And at the one greedy for it, whose mind is unhinged.

  8. وغافل ليس للمغفول عنه وإن

    طال المدى غرة الإمهال والأمل

    And at the heedless man, himself not overlooked, though

    His span be long—respite and hope have deceived him.

  9. ناس لرحلته ناس لنقلته

    إلى القبور التي تعيا بها الحيل

    Forgetful of his journey, forgetful of his departure

    To the graves, where stratagems fail.

  10. فيها السؤال وكم هول وكم فتن

    للمجرمين الذي عن ربهم غفلوا

    There is the questioning—how many terrors, how many trials

    For sinners who were heedless of their Lord.

  11. وفي القبور نعيم للتقى كما

    فيها العذاب لمن في دينه دخل

    And in the graves is bliss for the devout, just as

    There is torment for those whose faith is tainted.

  12. قل للحزين الذي يبكي أحبته

    إبك لنفسك إن الأمر مقتبل

    Tell the sorrowful man who weeps for his loved ones:

    Weep for yourself, for the ordeal is yet to come.

  13. لسوف تشرب بالكأس الذي شربوا

    بها بها إن يكن نهل وإن علل

    You shall surely drink from the cup they drank from,

    From it, from it—be it a first draught or a second.

  14. فاغنم بقية عمر مرأ كثره

    في غير شيء فهلا أيها الرجل

    So seize what remains of a life whose greater part has passed

    In vain—why not act, O man?

  15. أما ترى القوم قد راحوا وقد ذهبوا

    من معشر زانهم علم به عمل

    Do you not see the people who have gone and departed,

    Of a company adorned by knowledge matched by deeds,

  16. من آل عالوي سادات الأنام من ال

    بيت المطهر لا شك ولا جدل

    Of the family of Alawi, lords of humankind, of the

    Purified Household—without doubt or dispute?

  17. كانت تريم بهم تزهو مساجدها

    ودورها وكذا الأقطار والسبل

    Through them, Tarim's mosques used to shine,

    And its houses, likewise the regions and the roads.

  18. تبلى إذا فقدوا منها وحق لها

    إذ هم مراهمها إن خيفت العلل

    It suffers when they are lost to it, and rightly so,

    For they are its healing balms when ills are feared.

  19. والأمن واليمن فيها للنزيل بها

    والواردين إذ جاءوا وإن قفلوا

    And safety and blessing were there for those who lodged in it,

    And for visitors, when they came and when they journeyed home.

  20. مثل الشريف المنيف الهند وإن شها

    ب الدين والعلم نعم الخاشع الوجل

    Like the noble, exalted al-Hindwan, a blazing star

    Of faith and learning—what a fine, humble, reverent man!

  21. صافي السريرة براق الأسرة مح

    فوض الجناح لأهل الخير مبتذل

    Pure of heart, radiant of brow, with lowered

    Wing before the virtuous, freely at their service.

  22. معمر الوقت بالأوراد حافظة

    بالعلم والذكر لا عجز ولا كسل

    Filling his time with litanies, safeguarding it

    With learning and remembrance, without weakness or sloth.

  23. هو الصفي الوفي الأخ من قدم

    على الصفا والوفا إن شئتم فسلوا

    He is the true, faithful friend, a brother from long ago,

    In sincerity and faithfulness—if you wish, ask.

  24. السيد الفاضل ابن السادة الفضلا

    الصالحين بهم حي الهدى خضل

    The virtuous master, son of virtuous masters,

    The righteous, through whom guidance's abode is lush.

  25. آه عليه وآه بعده وعسى

    يثبت اللَه إن السفر مرتحل

    Alas for him, alas after him; and may

    God grant steadfastness, for the traveling company is departing.

  26. فاللَه يرحمه واللَه يكرمه

    ويرض عنه وجنات العلا نزل

    So may God have mercy on him, and may God honor him,

    And be pleased with him; may the gardens on high be his abode.

  27. واللَه يخلقه بالخير في عقب

    مبارك وذوي ودبه كثلوا

    And may God care in his stead, with goodness, for descendants

    Blessed, and for loving friends bereaved of him,

  28. والأقربين وأهل القطر أجمعهم

    إذ فقد أمثاله خطب له زعل

    And for kinsfolk and all the people of the land,

    For the loss of his like is a calamity that brings grief.

  29. والحمد للَه لا يبقى سواه ولا

    يرجى سواه عليه الكل متكل

    And praise be to God: none remains but Him, and none

    But Him is looked to with hope; on Him all rely.

  30. ثم الصلاة على الهادي محمد ال

    مبعوث بالحق مختوم به الرسل

    Then blessings upon the guide, Muhammad, the

    One sent with truth, with whom the messengers were sealed,

  31. والآل والصحب ما لاح الصبا وما

    هب النسيم فمال البان والأثل

    And his family and companions, while dawn gleams, and while

    The breeze blows, making the moringa and tamarisk sway.