1. أَخلَّايَ أَينَ المُعوِلاتُ النوائِحُ

    وأَينَ النُعَى والمُثكَلاتُ الصوائحُ

    My friends, where are the wailing mourners?

    And where are the death-announcements and the bereaved women crying out?

  2. وأَينَ الذي يبكي بعينٍ سخينةٍ

    دِماءً تُلظِّيها الحَشَى والجوارحُ

    And where is one who weeps with a fevered eye

    blood made to blaze by his entrails and limbs?

  3. رُبوعٌ غدت في وَحشةٍ بعدَ أُنسِها

    لذا سَفَحَت في سَفحِهِنَّ السوافحُ

    Dwellings have grown desolate after their companionship;

    so the tear-shedders poured their tears upon their slopes.

  4. تَضرَّمَتِ الأَحشاءُ حتَّى شُواظُها

    لسائِر مَحوَى ظاهر الجِسمُ لافحُ

    The entrails caught fire, until their flame

    scorched the whole expanse of the body's surface.

  5. ولم يَبرَحِ التبريحُ يُضرِمُ في الحَشَى

    لهيبَ أَسىً أَذكَت صِلاةُ البوارحُ

    And torment has not ceased to kindle within

    a blaze of sorrow whose burning the harsh winds fanned.

  6. فهل يُمكِنُ الإِضمارُ والشأنُ ظاهرٌ

    وهل تُكتَمُ الأَسرارُ والشأن بائِحُ

    Can anything be concealed when the matter is manifest?

    And can secrets be hidden when the matter divulges itself?

  7. فبي كَمَدٌ وأراهُ ذَيلُ تَجَلُّدي

    ولكنه أورته في القوادح

    Within me is anguish, concealed beneath the hem of my fortitude;

    yet it was kindled amid the fire-strikers.

  8. وأَجهَدتُ نفسي في استِتارِ مَصابها

    مَخافةَ أَن تَسطُو عليَّ المفاضحُ

    I strained myself to conceal my affliction,

    for fear that shameful disclosures would assault me.

  9. وناهيكَ دهرٌ شَوطُ كلِّ مُلِمَّةٍ

    وكلٌّ بهذا الشَوطِ سارٍ وسارحُ

    Enough for you is Time, the course of every calamity;

    everyone travels and roams along that course.

  10. تَهدَّمَ رُكنٌ وانهَوَى شامخُ الذُرَى

    وقُوِّضَ صَرحٌ ما لعُلياهُ ماسحُ

    A pillar crumbled, and a towering height came crashing down;

    a lofty edifice was razed, whose highest point none could touch.

  11. وغُيِّضَ بحرٌ زاخرٌ لا مُزاخِرٌ

    لذاخرهِ إذ أَفرَدَته الصوالحُ

    A surging sea was drained, with none to rival

    its abundance, for virtues had made it peerless.

  12. عَجِبتُ لرَمسٍ ضَمَّ بحراً عَرَمرَماً

    وكوكبِ أُفقٍ غَيَّبَتهُ الأَباطحُ

    I marveled at a grave that enclosed a vast sea,

    and a star of the horizon concealed by gravelly plains.

  13. حَنانَيكَ عبدَ اللَهِ غادرتَ صُحبةً

    لضِيقتها الجُلَّى تَضِيقُ الصحاصحُ

    Mercy, Abd Allah! You left a fellowship

    whose overwhelming distress makes the open plains constrict.

  14. أُحاشيكَ أَن أَدعُوكَ بحراً لأَنَّهُ

    وَرُودُكَ عَذبٌ والبُحورُ موالحُ

    I would spare you the name of a sea, for

    drinking at your waters is sweet, while seas are salt.

  15. فما الشرقُ إِلَّا شارقٌ ببُكائهِ

    عليكَ وغَربُ الغَربِ بِالدمعِ سافحُ

    The East does nothing but choke on its weeping

    for you, while the far West pours out tears.

  16. فيا لَكَ خَطباً عَمَّ شرقاً ومَغرِباً

    فخُصَّ بهِ كلٌّ قريبٌ ونازحُ

    What a calamity, encompassing East and West!

    Each one, near and far, was personally struck by it.

  17. اخير يوم العام عند غوؤبه

    قد انطفأ منه وعنا المصابح

    At sunset on the year's last day,

    the lamps went out in it and were taken from us.

  18. فأَغَرَبَتِ الشمسانِ واختَفَتا معاً

    فظَلنا ووَجهُ الكَونِ أَسفَعُ كالحُ

    The two suns set and vanished together,

    and we remained, the face of creation dark and grim.

  19. ووُشِحَ بالأَكفانِ وجهٌ مكرَّمٌ

    عليهِ من الفضل السنيِّ وشائحُ

    A noble face was draped in shrouds,

    bearing sashes of radiant virtue.

  20. لقد وجبت شمس الضحى قبل حينها

    وأوجب نجمٌ بالملامح لامحُ

    The forenoon sun set before its time,

    and a star gleaming in his features sank.

  21. وغَلَّ الثُرَيَّا غائلُ الدهرِ في الثَرَى

    وغالت فُؤادَ الفَرقَدَينِ الفَوادحُ

    Time's destroyer thrust the Pleiades into the dust,

    and crushing woes assailed the heart of the two Farqad stars.

  22. فهل سافت العَيُوقَ سيَّافةُ الرَدَى

    وهل رَمَحَ الجَبَّارَ بالموتِ رامحُ

    Has death's swordswoman cut down al-'Ayyuq?

    Has a spearman pierced al-Jabbar with death?

  23. نَحا عن دِيارٍ وانتَحَى لِدِيارةٍ

    وما زالَ فيها وَهوَ للمجدِ طارحُ

    He left dwellings and sought a monastery,

    and stayed there, casting glory aside,

  24. إلى أَن قَضَى ما بينَ رُهبانِها وهم

    لَدَيهِ وكلٌّ ناحبُ القلبِ نائِحُ

    until he died among its monks, with them

    at his side, each heart sobbing, each man lamenting.

  25. كهالةِ بدرٍ جُثَّماً بِصَلاتِهِم

    بأَلسِنةٍ سُجٌ وأَيدٍ مسابحُ

    Like a full moon's halo, kneeling in their prayers,

    with hushed tongues and rosary-bearing hands.

  26. وسَلَّمَ طَوعاً في يَدِ اللَهِ رُوحَهُ

    بكلِّ أمانٍ وهو جَذلانُ فارحُ

    Willingly he delivered his spirit into God's hand,

    in perfect peace, glad and rejoicing.

  27. فهذا خِتامُ التاركِ العالَمَ الذي

    بِوادي بَوادِيهِ تَجُوحُ الجوائِحُ

    Such is the end of one who forsook the world,

    in whose wilderness valley calamities wreak havoc,

  28. وعاشَ مع الأَبرارِ في الديرِ ناسكاً

    تُقدَّمُ بالإِمساكِ منهُ ذبائِحُ

    and lived among the righteous, an ascetic in the monastery,

    offering sacrifices through abstinence.

  29. لقد كانَ لي سعدَ السُعودِ فمُذ قَضَى

    تَقاضانيَ السعدُ الذي ليَ ذابحُ

    He was my Sa'd al-Su'ud, the fortune of fortunes; since he died,

    the fortune that slaughters me has exacted its due.

  30. وأَودَعَني إذ لم يَكُن لي مُودِّعاً

    وديعةَ نارٍ أُودِعَتها الجوانحُ

    Though he had not bid me farewell, he entrusted to me

    a deposit of fire lodged within my ribs.

  31. تَنازعَ عقلي الحالتانِ فنادبٌ

    عَوارفَهُ طَوراً وطَوراً فمادحُ

    Two moods contend for my mind: at times I lament

    his benefactions, and at times I praise him.

  32. فلم أَدرِ هل تَنعَى عليهِ المنايِح

    مَدَى الدهرِ أم تُثنِى عليهِ المدائحُ

    I do not know whether lamentations should mourn him

    for all time, or encomiums should sing his praise.

  33. أَما إِنَّهُ بحرُ المَجَرَّةِ بالحِجَى

    فضائِلُهُ فيهِ الدراري السوابحُ

    Indeed, in intellect he is the sea of the Milky Way;

    his virtues are the bright stars swimming within it.

  34. ونُقطةُ بيكار بدائِرَةِ العُلَى

    خُطوطُ التُقَى كلٌّ بهِ لا يُبَارِحُ

    And the compass-point in the circle of eminence;

    every line of piety remains with him.

  35. حديدُ النُهَى والعَزمِ والحَزمِ والقُوَى

    وسَهلُ اللِقا سَمحُ الأَكُفِّ مُسامحُ

    Keen in intellect, resolve, prudence, and strength,

    easy to meet, open-handed, forgiving.

  36. يُقطّبُ لكن لا غَضُوبٌ ونافرٌ

    ويَبسُمُ لكن لا لَعُوبٌ ومازحُ

    He frowns, but is neither irascible nor aloof,

    and smiles, but is neither frivolous nor jesting.

  37. تُقادُ إليه كلُّ نفسٍ أبيةٍ

    كأن بُرَةٌ منهُ عليها النصائح

    Every proud soul is led to him,

    as though his counsels were a nose-ring upon it.

  38. فما زالَ مأهولَ المغاني لأنهُ

    مُشيرٌ عجيبٌ صائِبُ الرأي ناصحُ

    His dwellings never ceased to be thronged, for he was

    a remarkable adviser, sound in judgment and sincere.

  39. يُبادِرُهُ إن فاهَ عقلٌ ومِسمَعٌ

    وإِن صَمَّمَ الآراءَ صَمَّ المُطارِحُ

    Mind and ear hasten to him whenever he speaks;

    when he settles judgments, the disputant falls silent.

  40. فكم من نُفُوسٍ قد دَهاها عُتُوُّها

    غَدَت ولَها عن غَيِها منهُ كابحُ

    How many souls had been assailed by their own arrogance,

    then found in him a restraint against their error!

  41. بتأنيِبِه آضَمت نُفوسٌ شواردٌ

    وتهذيبِهِ ارتاضَت رُؤسٌ جوامحُ

    His rebuke brought wandering souls under restraint,

    and his discipline tamed unruly heads.

  42. بتِرياقِهِ الشافي المجرَّبِ كم شَفَى

    لديغَ هوامِ الإِفكِ والحقُّ واضحُ

    How often, with his tried and healing antidote, he cured

    one bitten by the vermin of falsehood, while truth stood clear!

  43. وفَنَّدَ بالتفنيدِ كلَّ عضيهةٍ

    وأَرتَقةٍ فَهوَ الكَمِيُّ المُكافحُ

    He refuted with refutation every slander

    and heresy: he is the armored champion who fights them.

  44. وبَرهَنَ بالبُرهانُ كلَّ يقينةٍ

    فدانَ لها هامُ العنيدِ المُناطِحُ

    He proved with demonstration every certainty,

    and the obstinate challenger's head bowed before it.

  45. وكم رَدَّ بالرَدِّ الخطيرِ نُهىً لها

    جَماحٌ إلى مَهوَى الرَدَى ومَطامِحُ

    How often, with weighty refutation, he turned back minds that had

    runaway impulses and ambitions toward death's abyss!

  46. معاني جِدالٍ جَدلُهُنَّ قد انفَرَت

    بهِ جُدُلٌ ما صافَحَتها الصفائِحُ

    Themes of debate: his disputation unraveled

    stout cords no sword-blades had ever touched.

  47. وكَم ضاقَ صَدرٌ من معانٍ ضُئيلةٍ

    أَبانَ خوافيا بما هُوَ شارحُ

    How many a breast was cramped by trifling meanings;

    he made hidden matters clear through his explanations.

  48. ورَدَّ على عَجزِ الأَضاليل صَدرَها

    ففاءَت بعجزٍ ذَيَّلتهُ الفواصحُ

    He turned falsehoods' beginnings against their endings,

    so they recoiled in helplessness, to which eloquent words added a coda.

  49. أزالَ رِتاج المُشكِلاتِ كأَنَّهُ

    لأَقفالِ أَغلاقِ المعاني مفاتحُ

    He removed the gate of difficult questions, as though he were

    keys for the locks sealing meanings shut.

  50. وأَلقَحَ عقماءَ الفُهُوم بناتجٍ

    من العِلمِ فانصاعت بهِ وهي لائحُ

    He fertilized barren understandings with a fruitful yield

    of knowledge; they yielded to it and became radiant.

  51. حَوَى مَنطِقاً عِلماً ولفظاً تَجانَسَا

    فان فاهَ قلتَ الطيبُ والمسكُ فائِح

    He mastered logic, with knowledge and expression in harmony;

    when he spoke, you said, 'Fragrance and musk are wafting.'

  52. ونحواً وصرفاً صارفاً فيهِ نحوَهُ

    إلى اللَه لم يَجنَح لهُ عنهُ جانحُ

    And grammar and morphology, directing his course therein

    toward God, with no inclination turning him away from Him;

  53. ونظماً وإِنشاءً ونثرَ رسائِلٍ

    تُراسِلُ رَيَّاها العُطورُ النوافحُ

    and verse, composition, and prose epistles,

    whose fragrance exchanged messages with wafting perfumes.

  54. وحازَ بمَيدانِ اليَراعِ بَراعةً

    أَبَت أَن تُجاريهِ الفُحولُ القوارحُ

    In the arena of the reed-pen he attained a mastery

    that no full-grown stallion could keep pace with.

  55. وإِعرابَ أَسفارِ تَمنَّعَ خِدرُها

    جَلاها بَيانٌ منهُ للمنعِ فاتحُ

    And the elucidation of books whose secluded chamber resisted entry:

    his exposition unveiled them, opening their barriers.

  56. ووعظاً نَهِيٌّ الأمرِ والنَهيِ في النُهَى

    تَناهت بهِ فالجهلُ عنهنَّ زائِحُ

    And preaching, wise in command and prohibition for minds;

    they reached perfection through it, and ignorance left them.

  57. واصح صنعاً في اصطناع ضائع

    وتلك اختصاصات لها اللَه مانح

    And sound work in showing kindness to the neglected.

    These were special gifts that God bestowed.

  58. ولم يلف بطالاً ولو عمر ساعةٍ

    ولكنه الجسم والروح كادح

    He was never found idle, even for an hour of his life,

    but labored in body and soul.

  59. تًصدَّر بالتقديمِ كُلاً كمثلِ ما

    تُصدِّرُ أبوابَ الكِتابِ الفواتحُ

    He stood ahead of everyone, just as

    opening passages head a book's chapters.

  60. فأَثن ولا تنثنِ فيهِ مَبَرَّةً

    فما صالحٌ يأبى الثنا عنهُ صالحُ

    So praise him, and do not shrink from honoring him;

    no righteous man refuses praise to another righteous man.

  61. ذكا حاسدٌ من نشرِ معروفهِ وقد

    طَوَى كَشحَهُ منهُ على النارِ كاشحُ

    An envier burned at the spread of his kindness, while

    a foe nursed fire against him beneath his ribs.

  62. فأَتَّى تَوارَى نشرُ طِيبِ صنيعِهِ

    وهل تختفي الأَطيابُ والعَرفُ نافحُ

    How could the spreading scent of his good deeds be hidden?

    Can fragrances be concealed while their scent is wafting?

  63. وهل يُنكَرَنَّ البدرُ والضوءُ شاهدٌ

    وهل تُجحَدَنَّ الشمسُ والنُورُ لائِحُ

    Can the full moon be denied while its light bears witness?

    Can the sun be denied while its radiance is manifest?

  64. فتىً لم يَخَل إلَّا الصنيعةَ مَربَحاً

    فلم يَألُ عنها فَهيَ نِعمَ المرابحُ

    A man who deemed nothing profitable save acts of kindness,

    sparing no effort in them: excellent profits they are.

  65. غديقُ الحِبا لكِنَّهُ لا مُرحِّبٌ

    غديقُ الأَيادي للمكارمِ مائحُ

    Abundant in gifts, yet not one for words of welcome,

    abundant in benefactions, drawing noble bounty like water.

  66. خِلالٌ كالإِغريضِ حُسناً ونَضرةً

    بغيرِ ابتِذالٍ وَهيَ طَلعٌ وبالحُ

    Virtues like palm-blossoms in beauty and freshness,

    never cheapened, both blossoms and date-bearing growth.

  67. وطبعٌ كماءِ المُزنِ صَفواً ورِقَّةً

    مَدَى العُمرِ بالإِحسانِ وافٍ وسانحُ

    And a nature like rain-cloud water in clarity and tenderness,

    faithful and forthcoming in kindness throughout his life.

  68. ومستأثرٌ طبعاً بكلِّ فضيلةٍ

    لهُ سَعَةٌ فُضلَى بها ومَنادِحُ

    By nature uniquely endowed with every virtue,

    he had surpassing breadth and ample room for them.

  69. أَضاقَ نِطاقَ النُسكِ حِفظاً لِعفَّةٍ

    جوارحُهُ منها هِزالٌ طِلائحُ

    He drew asceticism's girdle tight to safeguard chastity,

    till his limbs were lean and exhausted by it.

  70. طويلُ أَيادٍ وافرُ الجُودِ كاملٌ

    وفي كل وزنٍ مستقيمٌ وراجحُ

    Long-handed in kindness, abundant in generosity, complete,

    and upright and weighty in every measure.

  71. أمينٌ على حِفظِ السرائِرِ لم يكن

    بفيهِ لسانٌ بالسرائِرِ بائحُ

    Trustworthy in guarding secrets, he never had

    a tongue in his mouth that divulged them.

  72. كأَنَّ وراءَ القلبِ منهُ لِسانَهُ

    فلا كاشفٌ سِتراً ولا هُوَ قادح

    It was as if his tongue lay behind his heart,

    so he neither lifted a veil nor uttered slander,

  73. ولا ناكثٌ عهداً ولا ناهكٌ حِمَى

    وِدادٍ ولو أَن طَوَّحَتهُ الطوائِحُ

    nor broke a pledge or violated the sanctuary

    of friendship, even when calamities tossed him about.

  74. ومنتبهُ الطَرفَينِ قلباً وناظراً

    على الخيرِ مِقدامٌ عن الشرِّ جانحُ

    Alert at both ends—in heart and eye—

    bold toward good, turning away from evil.

  75. نجا بنجيح الرأيِ من مقَتِصَ العِدَى

    وأُنجِحَ سعياً فَهوَ ناجٍ وناجحُ

    Through sound judgment he escaped his enemies' snares,

    and his efforts prospered: he was saved and successful.

  76. وصَرَّدَ سهمَ اليأس رَغفُ رَجائهِ

    وكَسَّرَ فَخّاً هَيَّأَتهُ الكواشحُ

    The fullness of his hope made despair's arrow miss,

    and shattered a trap laid by spiteful foes.

  77. وراعَ الأَعادي والحواسدَ جَمَّةً

    كما رَوَّعَت قلبَ البُغاثِ الجوارحُ

    He greatly frightened enemies and enviers,

    as birds of prey terrify the hearts of weaker birds.

  78. فَتىً لم يهله نزغٌ حاسدِ نعمةٍ

    كما لم تَهُل ليثَ العرينِ النوائِحُ

    A man whom an envier's malicious incitement did not frighten,

    as wailing women do not frighten a lion in its lair.

  79. فيرثيهِ بالأَشعار بادٍ وحاضرٌ

    ويبكيهِ في الأَسفارِ غادٍ ورائحُ

    So dwellers of desert and town elegize him in verse,

    and travelers, going and returning, weep for him on their journeys.

  80. وتَنعاهُ أَعماقُ المعاني على المدى

    وراموزُها ما عامَ فيهِنَّ سابحُ

    The depths of meanings mourn him for all time,

    and their symbolism, as long as a swimmer swims within them.

  81. ولو أَن تَوارَى الذِهنُ من جَزَع الأَسَى

    لأَورَى بهِ زَندٌ من الوجدِ قادحُ

    Even if the mind were hidden away by sorrow's anguish,

    a fire-stick striking with grief would draw fire from it.

  82. قَدِ اقتَرَحَت مدحاً علينا نِكاتُهُ

    فغِرنا لهُ لكن غَرَتنا القرائحُ

    His subtle points called upon us to praise him;

    we grew zealous for him, but our poetic gifts deceived us.

  83. لَئن دامتِ الآثارُ تَندُبُ فَقدَهُ

    فلا غرو أن دامت عليهِ المنايِحُ

    If his works go on lamenting his loss,

    it is no wonder that lamentations for him endure.

  84. فوُرقُ الحِمَى كُلٌّ عليهِ بأَيكِها

    نَعاءً ونعتاً نائحاتٌ صوادحُ

    Thus all the gray doves of the sanctuary, in their groves,

    wail and sing, announcing his death and recounting his virtues.

  85. تَغمَّدهُ الرَحمنُ في ظلِّ رحمةٍ

    وبلَّ ثَراهُ وابلُ الغيثِ ناضحُ

    May the Merciful enfold him beneath the shade of mercy,

    and may a pouring rain-shower moisten his grave's earth.

  86. وجازَت لهُ فينا وحازَت شَفاعةٌ

    من اللَه حُسنَ الصفحِ فاللَهُ صافحُ

    May his intercession for us be accepted and win

    gracious pardon from God, for God is forgiving.