1. أكسف من سماء ساقط أم

    كسوف ضحى عشيته خسوف

    Has a fragment fallen from the sky, or

    is it a morning solar eclipse, with a lunar eclipse at evening?

  2. أم السيل العربيم طفى فغطى ال

    أماكن فهو جرّاف عسوف

    Or has the overwhelming torrent overflowed and covered

    the places, sweeping them away with violence?

  3. أم السادات أعلام الهدى قد

    توفي منهم شيخ شريف

    Or, among the masters, the beacons of guidance, has

    a noble shaykh died?

  4. فما بال النهار دجى ظلاماً

    وما للأرض يرجفها الرّجيف

    Why has daylight grown dark with gloom?

    Why does trembling shake the earth?

  5. وما لقلوبنا فرقا وخوفاً

    تطير ولا يفارقها الوجيف

    Why do our hearts, in terror and fear,

    fly about, their pounding never leaving them?

  6. وما للحلو في الأفواه مُرٌّ

    ودمع العين ليس له جفوف

    Why is sweetness bitter in our mouths?

    Why do the eye's tears never dry?

  7. أجيبوني فذا خطب عظيم

    مهول وقعه وقع مخوف

    Answer me: this is a tremendous calamity,

    terrifying, its impact a fearful blow.

  8. نعم ثكلتك أمك لم تس

    مع الناعي على الدنيا يطوف

    Yes—may your mother mourn you! Have you not

    heard the death-announcer making his rounds through the world?

  9. يقول ألا فمن شأفليمت فال

    مصائب والفواقم والصُّروف

    He says: Listen! Whoever wishes, let him die, for

    calamities, grievous disasters, and turns of fate—

  10. جرعناها وذقناها جميعاً

    تقارنها الغصائص والحتوفُ

    we have swallowed and tasted them all,

    accompanied by choking sorrows and deaths—

  11. لموت العارف المولى الولي ال

    المربيّ من معارفه صنوفُ

    have come with the death of the knower of God, the master, the saint,

    the spiritual guide, whose insights are manifold;

  12. لفقد السيد العلاّمة الكا

    مل الحدّاد فاعلم يا أسيفُ

    with the loss of the lord, the consummate scholar,

    al-Haddad—know this, O grieving one.

  13. فحين سمعت أن حبيب قلبي

    تغشى شمس مدته كسوفُ

    When I heard that my heart's beloved

    had the sun of his lifetime covered by an eclipse,

  14. دهاني ما دهى فذهلت كرباً

    أُنادي يا رحيم ويا لطيفُ

    what befell me befell me, and I was dazed with anguish,

    crying: O Merciful One, O Gentle One!

  15. وقلبي صار منفوشاً كعهن

    وأن العهن في التفسير صوف

    My heart became fluffed like dyed wool,

    and in the commentary, ‘ʿihn’ means wool.

  16. وظلت لما أصبت به كأني

    سقيم مذ خلقت كذا دنيف

    Because of what struck me, I remained as though

    I had been sick since birth, wasted by illness.

  17. جفى الاغفاء جفني بل تجافى ال

    مضاجع جنبي الواهي النحيف

    Slumber forsook my eyelid; indeed, forsaken were

    the beds by my frail, emaciated side.

  18. وقبل بأشهر عنديب اكتئاب

    وحزن منه أهل الجهل عوفوا

    Months earlier, depression had already been with me,

    and sorrow from which the ignorant were spared.

  19. قلا قلبي فلا تسأل إذا ما

    أصيب بقلبه المضنى الهنيف

    It seared my heart; do not ask what happens when

    the heart of the wasted, frail sufferer is struck,

  20. لموت الفاضل الشيخ الشريف ال

    مولى وانّه نعم الشريف

    at the death of the eminent, noble shaykh,

    the master—and what an excellent nobleman he was—

  21. ابي حسن علي العيدروسي

    هو المشهور والبحر المطيف

    Abu Hasan Ali al-Aydarusi,

    the renowned one, the all-encompassing ocean.

  22. وقبلهما الشهاب وفاته في ال

    حشا شهب لها لهب عنيف

    Before those two, al-Shihab: his death set within

    the breast meteors with a fierce blaze.

  23. عنيت الهندوان السيّد أحمد

    له شرف على الجوزى ينيف

    I mean al-Hindawan, the lord Ahmad,

    whose nobility rises above Gemini.

  24. تراكمت الغموم على فؤادي

    وجسمي عن تحملها ضعيف

    Sorrows piled up upon my heart,

    and my body is too weak to bear them.

  25. فثانيهم لاولهم رديف

    وثالثهم لثانيهم رديف

    Their second followed their first,

    and their third followed their second.

  26. ثلاثة الشريعة أيدوها

    فهم أبطالها وهم السيوف

    Three men who upheld the sacred law:

    they were its champions, its swords.

  27. ثلاثة العبادة حالفوها

    على صوم يبوح به الخلوف

    Three men who bound themselves to worship,

    to fasting disclosed by the breath's changed odor.

  28. ثلاثة على الطريقة لازموها

    وان أضنتُهم وبدا النحوف

    Three men who steadfastly followed the spiritual path,

    though it exhausted them and their thinness became apparent.

  29. أكابر الحقيقة شاهدوها

    وللأملاك حولهم حفوف

    Great ones who witnessed spiritual reality,

    with angels gathered around them.

  30. أيمة اهتدوا وهدوا وساروا

    وهم للعلم أوعية ظروف

    Imams who found guidance, guided others, and journeyed onward,

    vessels and receptacles of knowledge.

  31. أولوا همم بها وصلوا ونالوا

    أولوا كرم به قوي الضعيف

    Men of aspirations through which they attained and achieved,

    men of generosity through which the weak grew strong.

  32. يضيفون السخا بالمال للعل

    م والتقوى نعما هم يضوف

    They added generosity with wealth to learning

    and piety—how excellent was what they brought together!

  33. لهم خلق السماحة والحنيفي

    ة السمحاء فيها لم يحيفوا

    Their character was generosity; in the upright

    and tolerant faith they never acted unjustly.

  34. أبا الحدّاد فبعدك ليس يشفى

    غليلي النوح والدّمع الذروف

    O Abu al-Haddad, since you left, nothing can heal

    my burning pain—neither lamentation nor flowing tears.

  35. فراقك فرّق التركيب منِّي

    فجسمي منه منهشم عجيف

    Separation from you tore apart my very composition,

    leaving my body shattered and gaunt.

  36. حبيبي منك كنت أشم شيئاً

    به الأرواح تنعش والأنوف

    My beloved, from you I used to breathe something

    that revived souls and noses alike.

  37. لفقدك ماجت المهج اضطراباً

    إلى طلب الخروج لها زفيف

    At your loss, souls surged in agitation,

    rushing to seek release.

  38. بنفسي أنتَ لو قيل الفدا مع

    تليد المال يتبعه الظريف

    My life for you, were ransom asked, together with

    inherited wealth, followed by newly acquired wealth.

  39. لقد خلفتنا عطشى حيارى

    لنا في النفس حاجات تطوف

    You have left us thirsty and bewildered,

    with needs circling within our souls.

  40. فما لك قط من قلبي غروب

    ونفسي عنك ليس لها عزوف

    Within my heart you never set,

    and my soul never turns away from you.

  41. بكتك مؤلفات نافعات

    ونظم للقريض هو الشنوف

    Beneficial writings wept for you,

    and verse that serves as earrings for poetry.

  42. فوائدها عوائدها كثير

    وآئدها لها المعنى اللطيف

    Their benefits and their returns are many,

    and their [unclear term] possess delicate meaning.

  43. حقائقها رقائقها تنير ال

    قلوب وكلها شيء ظريف

    Their truths and tender counsels illuminate

    hearts; all of them are something exquisite.

  44. مواعظ تكسب الهمم انتهاض

    وتجذب من به حجب كثيف

    Admonitions that stir aspirations to rise,

    and draw those covered by thick veils.

  45. وعلمك زانه حفظ وفهم

    وتقوى الله أنت لها حليف

    Your knowledge was adorned by memorization and understanding,

    and you were bound to reverence for God.

  46. ومن حفظ الكتاب بغير فهم

    تشابهه القماطر والرّفوف

    Whoever memorizes the Book without understanding

    resembles book chests and shelves.

  47. ومن لا علم معه ولا استماع

    لاهل العلم ماثله الخروف

    Whoever has neither knowledge nor a willingness to listen

    to learned people is the equal of a sheep.

  48. وأية بلدة لا علم فيها

    ولا تقوى يعاد لها الكنيف

    Any town containing no learning

    and no piety is matched by a privy.

  49. وهمتك الترقي في المعالي

    وَهَم الغِمر تمراً ورغيف

    Your aspiration was to ascend to lofty heights,

    while a fool's concern is dates and a loaf.

  50. وكم أوتيت من علم لدُّني

    تكشف سر غامضه الكشوف

    How much knowledge bestowed directly by God you received,

    its obscure secrets disclosed by unveilings!

  51. ولا الأغيار غارت منك شيئاً

    وليس لها بياطنك الهتوف

    Nor did worldly distractions steal anything from you,

    nor did their clamor find a place within you.

  52. بكتك تريم والدنيا جميعاً

    وفصل شتا وصيف والخريف

    Tarim and the whole world wept for you,

    and winter, summer, and autumn.

  53. لأنك غيثها وغياها والّ

    ذي بك وجهها نضر نظيف

    For you were its rain and its succor, the one

    through whom its face became radiant and clean.

  54. عفيف الدين لما كنت كنزا

    دفنت فانت ذخر يا عفيف

    Afif al-Din, since you were a treasure,

    you were buried; you remain a store of wealth, O Afif.

  55. وروحك قدّست هي في رياض ال

    جنان لها التنعم والخطوف

    Your soul—may it be sanctified—is in the gardens

    of Paradise, enjoying bliss and swift movement.

  56. تشاهد ما تشاهد من هبات ال

    كريم لصفوة صفوا وصوفوا

    It witnesses what it witnesses of the gifts of

    the Generous One to elect souls, purified and made Sufis.

  57. مقام لم يزاحمه التمنّي

    ولم يره الحكيم الفيلسوف

    A station that wishful thinking could not rival,

    nor could the sage philosopher behold.

  58. وفي ذي القعدة الشهر الحرام ان

    تقالك فيه ايما لطيف

    In Dhu al-Qaʿdah, the sacred month, your

    passing took place—how gentle it was!

  59. إلى ان العزايم اقعدت عن

    أمَام الدين يفهمه الظريف

    Until firm resolves were held back from

    the imam of faith—the discerning understands it.

  60. أبا حسن حوالي دارك النّا

    س ينتظرون كلهم وقوف

    O Abu Hasan, around your house the

    people wait, all standing.

  61. اليك لهم حوائج كنت نعم ال

    معين لهم وكنت بهم تروف

    They brought their needs to you; you were the finest

    helper to them, and you treated them tenderly.

  62. بسورة كنت نورا بل وسوراً

    منيعاً لا تقاربه الزحوف

    In Surat you were a light, indeed a rampart,

    impregnable, which advancing armies could not approach.

  63. وسرّك في جميع الهند سارٍ

    وزاد بأرضها الخير اللّفيف

    Your spiritual secret spread throughout India,

    and abundant goodness increased upon its land.

  64. ومنصدع الأمور بجاهكم من

    صحيح الحب ملتئم ثقيف

    What is fractured in affairs, through your standing and

    genuine love, becomes whole and sound.

  65. وان الهندوان مهند من

    سيوف الله مصقول رهيف

    Al-Hindawan is indeed an Indian-forged blade among

    God's swords, polished and keen.

  66. هو القوام في صرات ليل ال

    شتاء للصوّام ان وهج المصيف

    He keeps vigil in the bitter cold of the nights of

    winter, and fasts continually when summer blazes.

  67. وأمّار بمعروف وتقوى

    ونهاء عن النكر صدوف

    He constantly enjoins goodness and piety,

    and forbids wrongdoing, turning away from it.

  68. وكل منهم شيخ إِمام

    وليَّ واصل حبر عروف

    Each of them is a shaykh and an imam,

    a saint who has attained, a deeply knowing scholar,

  69. رضي مرضي نور مضيء

    سخي محسن برُّ ألوف

    content and approved, a shining light,

    generous, beneficent, righteous, and affectionate.

  70. نقود كلامهم في كل زمن

    خوالص لم تمازجها الزيوف

    The coins of their speech, in every age,

    are pure, unmixed with counterfeits.

  71. لارباب الارادة والوفادة

    على أبوابهم أبداً عكوف

    Those of spiritual aspiration who come as visitors

    constantly attend their doors.

  72. فكم ركبوا البحار وكابدوها

    وان كانت تروع أو تخيف

    How often they took to the seas and endured them,

    even when they terrified or frightened!

  73. وكم قطعوا الفيافي فوق نجب

    لها خبب المسير أو القطوف

    How often they crossed the deserts upon noble mounts,

    moving at a traveling trot or a slow walk!

  74. بهم شوق لهم ظمأ الى ما

    به منحوا وخصّم اللّطيف

    Longing is in them, a thirst for what

    the Gentle One bestowed on these men and reserved for them.

  75. متى نفحوا المريد صفا وصوفي

    وليس عن الوصول له وقوف

    Whenever they bestow upon a seeker, he becomes pure and a Sufi,

    and nothing stops him from attainment.

  76. فأين اليوم يذهب من يريد ال

    سَّلوك وعند من تأوى الضيوف

    Where, today, can one go who seeks

    the path, and with whom can guests find shelter?

  77. إذا وَرَدَ المريدُ يريد شربا

    وَرُدَ وقلبه ضام لهيف

    When the seeker arrives desiring a drink,

    he is turned away, his heart thirsty and anguished.

  78. لعمري ثلمة في الدين كبرى

    لعمري طعنه نجلا تجيف

    By my life, this is a great breach in religion!

    By my life, a gaping, deeply penetrating wound!

  79. تفتت أكبد العقلا وان لم

    اليها يهتدي العقل السخيف

    It shatters the livers of the wise, although

    the foolish mind cannot grasp it.

  80. ألا أن السما والأرض تبكي

    عليهم والمساجد والصفوف

    Indeed, heaven and earth weep

    for them, as do the mosques and prayer rows.

  81. فهم عمد دعايم ممسكات

    لبيت الدين أركان سقوف

    They are pillars, sustaining supports,

    corners and roofs for the house of religion.

  82. اذا الصلحا ذكرت فحيهلا

    بهم فمقامهم فيها منيف

    When the righteous are mentioned, then welcome

    these men: their station among them is exalted.

  83. مناقبهم بحور زاخرات

    عماق مالها طرف وسيف

    Their virtues are overflowing seas,

    deep, without edge or shore.

  84. فما أنا بالمقال أروم حصرا

    لها هيهات تحصرها الحروف

    I do not seek through speech to encompass

    them—far beyond letters' power to contain them!

  85. وتعدادي غرف ببحر

    فهل بالغرف يلحقه نزيف

    My enumeration is a scoop from an ocean;

    can scooping ever drain it?

  86. على الأرواح والأشباح منهم

    والحاد ذكت نور عكوف

    Upon their spirits and their bodies,

    and their fragrant graves, may light abide,

  87. ورضوان وريحان مدام

    وروح حول ربتهم حفوف

    with everlasting favor and sweet basil,

    and solace surrounding their resting places.

  88. سقاها صيِّب المزن الهتون ال

    مريع النافع الغدق الوكوف

    May rain from the pouring clouds water them—

    fertilizing, beneficial, abundant, ever-dripping rain—

  89. به نبتت رياض ناضرات

    تنافح زهرها والثمر ريف

    through which fresh gardens sprout,

    their blossoms wafting fragrance, their fruit abundant.

  90. وهم في غنيه عن نبتها اذ

    مضاجعهم ذكت فيها عروف

    Yet they have no need of that growth, since

    rich fragrances already arise in their resting places.

  91. وكم ميّاسة هيفاء حورا

    تزفهم لها وهي الزَّفوف

    How many a swaying, slender, wide-eyed maiden

    leads them to herself in bridal procession, herself the bride!

  92. بدار الخلد والولدان فيها

    لهم زفن وقد ضربت دفوف

    In the abode of eternity, where the young attendants

    dance for them, and tambourines are beaten,

  93. على فرح بمقدمهم اليهم

    فهم لهم الوصائف والوصيف

    rejoicing at their arrival among them,

    the maidservants and the serving boy are theirs.

  94. وكم أخفى لهم من قرة العين

    مما ليس تدركه الوصوف

    How much delight of the eyes has been hidden for them,

    of what no descriptions can encompass!

  95. وسبحان الذي أحكامه كلّ

    ها بالعدل تجري لا تحيف

    Glory be to Him whose decrees, all

    of them, proceed with justice and never wrong.

  96. قضى ما شا وقد فرض الرضا بال

    قضا والله بالرّاضي يروف

    He decreed what He willed, and made acceptance obligatory

    of the decree; God is gentle with the one who accepts.

  97. ونسأل ربنا حسن العزا مع

    عظيم الأجر إذ فقد الأليف

    We ask our Lord for gracious consolation, with

    a mighty reward when a loved one is lost,

  98. لكل فروعهم ولآلهم والّ

    ذي مثلي بحبهم شغيف

    for all their descendants, their households, and anyone

    who, like me, is passionately devoted to their love.

  99. حماهم ربَّهم من كل سوءٍ

    وما هذه الدنيا تديف

    May their Lord protect them from every evil,

    and from whatever this world mingles in.

  100. وأرجو أن سادتنا الاجلاّ

    بنيهم فيهم خلف عطوف

    I hope that our most illustrious masters,

    their sons, have among them a compassionate successor,

  101. مفيد مرشد أرب نجيب

    تقي عارف ورع خوف

    helpful, guiding, discerning, and noble,

    pious, knowing God, scrupulous, and God-fearing,

  102. يجبر كسر افئده بها من

    توالي ما يهشمها قصوف

    who mends the brokenness of hearts beset by

    successive blows that shatter them.

  103. ولم لا والصلاح يفوح منهم

    ومهما عاهدوا بالعهد يوفوا

    And why not, when righteousness wafts from them,

    and whenever they pledge, they fulfill their promise?

  104. ونور الصدق لوّاح عليهم

    وكل قلبه صاف شغوف

    The light of sincerity shines upon them,

    and each one's heart is pure and ardently devoted.

  105. وهم أغصان تلك الحذر حقا

    وفي الأغصان منبتها القطوف

    They truly are branches of those roots,

    and on the branches their fruits grow.

  106. أفاض الله من بركات كل

    علينا انه البر الرّوّوف

    May God pour the blessings of each

    upon us; He is the Good, the Compassionate.

  107. توسلنا بهم ان ناب أمر

    ثقيل عض منه اخفيف

    We seek mediation through them if a matter befalls—

    a heavy burden, even the lighter part of which bites.

  108. وأهل الفضل للرّاجي كنوز

    وللآجي المعاقل والكهوف

    People of excellence are treasures for the hopeful,

    and strongholds and caves for those seeking refuge.

  109. وألف صلاة اتصلت بألفي

    سلام والثنا الزاكي ألوف

    A thousand prayers joined to two thousand

    greetings of peace, and thousands of pure praises,

  110. على أعلى الورى شرفا وقدرا

    نبي دينه الدين الحنيف

    upon the highest of creation in nobility and rank,

    a prophet whose religion is the upright faith,

  111. وآل ثم اصحاب على سائر

    العلماء والصلحاء أنيفوا

    and his family, then his companions, who above all

    scholars and righteous people stand exalted.

  112. بهم أعمالنا ختمت بخير

    بلا خوف إذا قوم اخيفوا

    Through them, may our deeds be brought to a good end,

    without fear when other people are made afraid.