1. بحرُ الفصاحةِ غاضَ يا إخواني

    وأخو الإبانة لفَّ في الأكفانِ

    The sea of eloquence has receded, O my brothers,

    And the brother of clear expression was wrapped in shrouds.

  2. جبلٌ من الأجبال أضحْىَ ساقطاً

    متهدمَ الأرجاءَ والأركانِ

    A mountain among mountains has fallen,

    With its sides and pillars collapsed.

  3. كلا هو البحرُ الغزيرُ عَنَت له

    فصحاء هذا الدهرِ بالإذْعَانِ

    No! He is the abundant sea, to whom bowed

    The eloquent of this age in submission.

  4. لا زالَ مفتاحاً لكلِّ غريبة

    تُتْلى من الآثارِ والقرآن

    He never ceased to be a key to every obscure expression

    Recited from the traditions and the Qur'an.

  5. ولقد شغلتَ عيونَنا وقلوبنا

    مُذْ هِمتَ بالهمَلانِ والخفقَانِ

    Indeed, you have occupied our eyes and hearts,

    Since you wandered away—with tears streaming and hearts throbbing.

  6. وعمرتَ أفئدةَ الرجال وأهلها

    بالهم والأوصاب والأحزانِ

    And you filled men's hearts and those dwelling in them

    With worry, ailments, and sorrows.

  7. ولقد نزلتَ بمنزلٍ فرداً به

    مع جيرة متقاربي الأوطان

    And indeed, you descended into a dwelling, alone in it,

    With neighbors whose homes lie close together.

  8. لو يعلمون بأن شخصك عندهم

    فرحوا بما تحويه من تِبيانِ

    If they knew that your person was among them,

    They would rejoice in the clear exposition you contain.

  9. عجباً لقبر يحتويك بلحدِه

    ويضيقهِ وبصدرِكَ البحرانِ

    How wondrous, a grave enclosing you in its burial niche,

    And narrowing it, though your breast holds the two seas!

  10. أبكى فراقُك كلَّ حبرٍ عالمٍ

    من جملةٍ الزهّادِ والرَّهْبانِ

    Your departure made every learned scholar weep,

    Among the company of ascetics and monks.

  11. من حيثُ إنَّك للفصاحةِ مَعْدِن

    وملخِّص لغرائبِ الفرقان

    For you are a mine of eloquence,

    And an elucidator of the Furqan's obscure passages.

  12. وغدَا محيّا العلمِ أعمى بعدما

    قد كانَ تحت جبينه عينانِ

    And the face of learning has become blind, after

    Two eyes had once lain beneath its forehead.

  13. وصممُ علمِ النحو أصبحَ ذاوياً

    بعد اخضرارِ العودِ والأغْصانِ

    And the deafness of grammatical learning has withered,

    After its stem and branches had been green.

  14. يَا نَازلاً بعد التنعمِ والغنى

    في برزَخٍ ما عنده من ثانِ

    O you who descended, after comfort and wealth,

    Into an intermediate realm without a companion.

  15. من قبل كنت منعماً بلذاذةِ

    مع رتبة الأصحابِ والخلانِ

    Previously, you were blessed with pleasure,

    With standing among companions and close friends.

  16. هل بعدك الدنيا تطيب لهمْ وهم

    كالرأسِ أحياءٌ بغيرِ لسانِ

    Can the world be sweet to them after you, while they are

    Alive like a head without a tongue?

  17. لو يقبلُ الموت الفداءَ فدوْك

    بالأموالِ والأولادِ والوِلْدَانِ

    If death accepted ransom, they would ransom you

    With wealth, children, and young boys.

  18. يا غائبَ الجثمانِ ذكرك حاضرٌ

    من سابقٍ في أعصرِ الأزْمانِ

    O you whose body is absent, your memory is present,

    From times past, throughout the ages.

  19. هلْ من فصيح في الورى كمحمدٍ

    نسلِ الصفىّ ابن الفتى عمرانِ

    Is there anyone eloquent among humankind like Muhammad,

    Offspring of al-Safi, son of the young man Imran?

  20. هجمت عليه الحادثات بكلكل

    فطواه صرفُ حوادِثِ المَلَوانِ

    Calamities charged upon him with their breast,

    So the shifting events of night and day folded him away.

  21. إنّ المنيَّةَ لا تردّ إذا أَتَتْ

    مأمورةً مِنْ ربنا المنَّانِ

    Death cannot be repelled when it comes,

    Commanded by our Lord, the Bountiful Giver.

  22. إخواننا ى تحزنوا واستَمسِكوا

    وتوثَّقُوا بِعُرى عظيمِ الشانِ

    Our brothers, do not grieve, and hold fast,

    And secure yourselves to the bonds of the One of great majesty.

  23. صبراً فإن اللهَ جلَّ جلالهُ

    قد قالَ أجمعُ من عليها فانِ

    Patience! For God—exalted is His majesty—

    Has said: all who are upon it shall perish.

  24. حقّاً ويبقَى وجه ربك ذُو العلى

    والطولِ والآلاء والإحسانِ

    Truly, your Lord's face remains, possessed of exaltedness,

    And bounty, blessings, and beneficence.

  25. إنا خلقنا للتصبرِ والأسَى

    والنوحُ والأحزانُ للنِّسْوَانِ

    We were indeed created for patient endurance and sorrow,

    While wailing and grief are for women.

  26. أعداءَنا لا تشمتوا بمصابِنا

    فالموت مورد جملةِ القُطَّانِ

    Our enemies, do not gloat over our calamity,

    For death is the watering place of all inhabitants.

  27. إنا لنلهو والمنايا شُرَّعٌ

    لا بدَّ تأتينا على الغَفَلانِ

    We do indeed make merry while deaths stand poised;

    They must surely come upon us while we are heedless.

  28. إن كنتَ ذا عقلِ فلا تنسَ المُنَى

    واذكر فراقَ الأهلِ والسكَّانِ

    If you possess reason, do not forget your hopes,

    And remember parting from family and fellow dwellers.

  29. واتركْ هواكَ فإن عمركَ منقضٍ

    وترقبنَّ لحادثِ الحدَثانِ

    Abandon your desire, for your life is coming to an end,

    And keep watch for the calamity of passing time,

  30. من قبلِ أنُ يلقوكَ في بيتِ البلى

    في برزخِ الأهوالِ والديدانِ

    Before they cast you into the house of decay,

    Into the intermediate realm of terrors and worms.

  31. ماذا تقولُ إذا حللتَ بِبَلْقَعٍ

    فرداً به إما أتى المَلَكانِ

    What will you say when you settle in a barren waste,

    Alone there, when the two angels come?

  32. وهما النكيرُ ومنكرٌ حتى إذا

    ما أقصداك وأقبَلا يَسَلاَنِ

    They are Nakir and Munkar; when at last

    They seek you out and draw near, asking:

  33. إن كنتَ من أهل السعادة بُشْرا

    ك برحمةٍ ومسرةٍ وجنانِ

    If you are among the blessed, glad tidings

    Are yours of mercy, joy, and gardens,

  34. وبراحةٍ ولذاذة وحلاوةٍ

    وبرأفة من ربنا وأمانِ

    And rest, delight, and sweetness,

    And compassion from our Lord, and safety.

  35. أو كنتَ من أهلِ الشقاوة بش

    راك بغصة ومذلةٍ وهَوانِ

    Or if you are among the wretched, glad tidings

    Are yours of choking grief, humiliation, and abasement,

  36. وبِكُرْبةٍ وبحسرةٍ وندامةٍ

    وإقامةٍ في جَاحِمِ النَّيرانِ

    And distress, anguish, and remorse,

    And abiding in the blaze of fires.

  37. ثم الصلاةُ على النبيِّ محمدٍ

    خيرِ الورَى المبعوثِ مِنْ عَدْنَانِ

    Then blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad,

    The best of humankind, sent forth from Adnan's line.

  38. صلّى عليه ما وسقَ الدُّجَى

    أو لاحَ في خضرائها القَمرَانِ

    May He bless him as long as darkness gathers,

    Or the two luminaries gleam in its green expanse.