عَلى تَعميرِ نوحٍ ماتَ نوحُ

فَنائِحَةٌ لِأَمرٍ ما تَنوحُ

Noah toiled to build his ark until he died,

Though granted the longevity of Noah, even Noah died,

Yet no one weeps for that which made Noah weep.

So let the mourner wail for a cause that demands wailing.

أَمَعلولاً بِعَبرَتِهِ عَليلا

لَحاهُ عَلى البُكا لاح صَحيحُ

Sick with grief, his tears made him bedridden,

Is the sick man to be blamed for his tears while he is ailing,

But still he persevered weeping on his sickbed.

Even as the healthy man scolds him for his weeping?

فَكَيفَ الصَبرُ أَم كَيفَ التَعَزّي

وَمِن عِرنينِهِ وَلَدي ذَبيحُ

How can I be patient? How can I be consoled

How can there be patience, or how can there be solace,

When his helpless cries make me want to slaughter my own children?

When my son has been slaughtered by the blood of his own nose?

رَقَيتُ رُعافَه فَأَبى رُقوءاً

وَدامَ وَمَزجُهُ دَمِيَ السَفوحُ

I tried to soothe his convulsions but he resisted comfort

I tried to staunch his nosebleed, but it refused to cease,

As his blood continued to drench my garments.

It persisted, and its flow was the shedding of my own blood.

وَجَرَّحَ كُلَّ جارِحَةٍ بِجِسمي

مُفَضَّضُهُ وَمُذهَبُهُ الجَريحُ

He wounded every part of me with his frail body,

It wounded every limb within my body,

Lacerated and battered, the wounded one.

Leaving his silvered, gilded form broken and wounded.

فَلَمّا ماتَ مُتُّ أَسىً عَلَيهِ

كَأَنّي كُنتُ جِسماً وَهوَ روحُ

So when he died, I died of anguish over him,

When he died, I died of sorrow for him,

As if I were but a body and he my soul.

As if I were merely the body and he the soul.

فَنادَيتُ القَريحَةَ أَبِّنيهِ

فَقالَت نعمَ ما اِقتَرَحَ القَريحُ

I called upon the intellect to explain it to me;

I called upon my poetic muse, saying, "Eulogize him!"

It said: “Yes, this is what the wise intellect has determined.”

She replied, "Excellent is what the wounded heart proposes."

سَلامُ اللَهِ وَالصَلَواتُ تَترى

عَلى قَمَرٍ أَنارَ بِهِ الضَريحُ

May the blessings and prayers of God

May the peace of God and prayers in succession

Be upon a moon that illuminated the tomb,

Descend upon a moon who has illuminated the tomb.

عَلى زَهرٍ أَنارَت مِنهُ أَرضٌ

تَهُبُّ لَهُ مِنَ الفِردَوسِ ريحُ

Upon a flower whose fragrance made the earth

Upon a flower who has lit up the earth,

Smell of paradise, with the winds conveying its scent.

For whom a breeze from Paradise now blows.

فَنَمَّ عَلى الثَرى طيبٌ يَفوحُ

وَنورٌ مِن مَحاسِنِهِ يَلوحُ

So he slept in earth’s embrace, his sweet scent still diffusing,

A fragrance wafted over the soil, spreading perfume,

His beauty's light still shining.

And a light from his virtues began to shimmer.

أَغِبّ مَزارَهُ وَأَغيب عَنهُ

وَأَحزاني كَما تَغدو تَروحُ

I avoid his tomb, distancing myself,

I visit his grave intermittently, then stay away,

While my sorrows alternate as they come and go.

While my sorrows come and go as they please.

وَلكِنّ الزَمانَ عَلَيَّ حَتّى

بِعرفِ ضَريحِهِ الشافي شَحيحُ

But time is against me, so that I rarely

But time has become so stingy with me,

Get to savor his healing shrine.

Begrudging even the healing scent of his shrine.

نَبا بَصَري فَنابَ القَلبُ عَنهُ

وَبِتُّ بِهِ ألحُّ وَلا أَليحُ

My eyes caught sight of it, so my heart recoiled;

My sight failed, so my heart stood in its place,

I insist on staying there and refuse to budge.

I pass the night insisting on seeing him, yet I cannot see.

أَلَم تَرَ أَنَّني بِهُدى فُؤادي

تَبيّنَ لي مِنَ الحَسَنِ القَبيحُ

Don’t you see that my heart’s guidance

Do you not see that through the guidance of my heart,

Shows me clearly what is ugly and what is beautiful?

The ugly has become distinct to me from the beautiful?

فَلَو تُرِكَ المَسيحُ يُريدُ بُرئي

لَقالَ كَفَت بَصيرَتُكَ المَسيحُ

Had the Messiah wanted to test my vision, he would have said

If the Messiah were left wishing to cure me,

“Your sight is sufficient, oh spiritual teacher.”

He would say, "Your own insight suffices without the Messiah."

وَماتَ اِبني فَها أَنا لا فُؤادٌ

وَلا بَصَرٌ وَلا مَوتٌ مُريحُ

But my son died, and now I have neither a heart,

My son has died, so here I am with no heart,

Nor sight, nor is death a comfort.

With no sight, and no death to bring relief.

تَشَبَّث أَيُّها المَرزوءُ صَبراً

وَإِلّا فاتَكَ الأَجرُ الرَبيحُ

So brace yourself, oh afflicted one, with patience,

Cling, O afflicted one, to patience,

Else you will miss out on ample reward.

Otherwise, the profitable reward will escape you.

أَتُنكِر مَن أَتى أَو سَوفَ يَأتي

وَرَبُّكَ مَن أَتاحَ وَمَن يُتيحُ

Can you deny what has happened or what will eventually happen?

Do you deny the One who came or is yet to come,

It is your Lord who gives and takes away.

When your Lord is the One who grants and determines all?

نَصيحُ بِكَ اِصطَبِر فَتضمَّ ثُكلاً

أَما يَكفيكَ مِن غَيٍّ نَصيحُ

My advice to you is: have patience and you will win;

An advisor calls to you: "Be patient," lest you compound your loss;

Are these calamities not enough advice for you?

Is not a sincere advisor enough to save you from error?

نَطيحُ فَتُؤخَذَ الثاراتُ مِنّا

وَناطِحُ كُلِّ جَمّاءٍ نَطيحُ

I attack so vengeance is taken from us,

We are struck down, and retributions are taken from us,

Ready to gore any stubborn opponent.

And he who butts against fate is the one who gets broken.

نَزوحُ عَنِ الأَسى وَنَلِجُّ فيهِ

أَعَمركَ لَم يَشُق سَكَنٌ نَزوحُ

I avoid sorrow and plunge right into it -

We try to move away from sorrow, yet we plunge further into it,

Has solitude in exile never burdened you during your life?

By your life, leaving one's home has never been easy.

نَبوحُ بِشُكرِ خالِقِنا وَنَنسى

فَيَردَعُ مِنكَ زَمّاراً نَبوحُ

I pour out thanks to our Creator and forget,

We profess thanks to our Creator, yet we forget,

So cease moping and tune your reed pipe!

For the barking of grief silences the singer within you.

نَفوحُ وَأَنتَ جَبنتَ قَلباً

فَأَن تَشجُع فَكر نَفوحُ

I excel while you have cowardly hearts,

We breathe heavy sighs, while you were faint of heart,

So how can thought ever excel?

But if you take courage, then thought becomes fragrant.

فَقَد صَدَقوا وَلكِن هُدَّ رُكني

فَمَن يَحمي وَأَعدائي تبيحُ

They spoke true, but guide my pillar of faith -

They spoke the truth, yet my pillar has been demolished,

Who will protect me while my enemies run rampant?

So who will protect me when my enemies violate the sanctuary?

هَوى نَجمي السَعيدُ وَفُلَّ سَيفي

وَأَبطلَ مِنّيَ البَطَلُ المشيحُ

My lucky star has fallen and my sword failed;

My lucky star has fallen, and my sword is blunted,

The brave hero has been vanquished.

And the cautious hero within me has been rendered void.

وَفُرِّقَ جَمعُ فِهرٍ وَهيَ شَتّى

وَأَوحَشَتِ المَنازِلُ وَهيَ سيحُ

The army of fierce lions is scattered,

The gathering of the clan of Fehr is dispersed and scattered,

And the once flourishing dwellings are desolate.

And the dwellings have become desolate, though they are vast.

أَعَن عَبد الغنيّ غِنىً وَفيهِ

تَناهَت غمَّةُ المَجدِ الطَموحُ

Is Abd al-Ghani in need when in him

Is there any substitute for Abd al-Ghani? In him,

Lies the perfection of glorious ambition?

The anguish of ambitious glory reached its limit.

مَضى مَن قَبَّلَت يَدَهُ الثُرَيّا

وَمَن رُكِبَت بِهِ الدُنيا الجَموحُ

He whose hand was kissed by fate has gone,

Gone is the one whose hand the Pleiades kissed,

As has he who rode the wild horse of glory.

And by whom the unruly world was tamed.

وَمَن زانَ العَشيرَةِ وَهوَ طِفلٌ

وَقيلَ كَأَنَّهُ عِلماً سَطيحُ

He who honored his clan while still a child,

He who adorned the tribe while still a child,

And was called a flowing stream of knowledge.

And of whom it was said, "He is like Satih in knowledge."

وَريعَت بِاِسمِهِ الأُسدُ الضَواري

وَفُلَّ بِحَدِّ مِقوَلِهِ الصَفيحُ

At his name the fierce lions fled,

The predatory lions were terrified by his name,

And the sharp sword submitted to his words.

And the broadsword was dulled by the sharpness of his eloquence.

خَبا قَمَراً وَغابَ زُلال صادٍ

فَخابَ المُستَمي وَالمُستَميحُ

The shining moon has set, and the beauty of the full moon faded,

He faded like a moon, and the cool water for the thirsty vanished,

So failed the one who hoped, and the hopeful one.

So the seeker of rain and the seeker of favors were disappointed.

تَأمَّل كَيفَ جَنَّ الصُبحُ لَيلاً

وَكَيفَ تَضايَقَ البَلَدُ الفَسيحُ

Observe how the dawn has veiled the night,

Contemplate how the morning turned into dark night,

And how the vast land has narrowed.

And how the vast land became constricted.

وَأَصبَحَت الغَواني ثاكِلاتٍ

أَحَقُّ بِها مِنَ الوَشيِ المَسوحُ

The singing girls have become forsaken,

The beautiful women became bereaved mourners,

More deserving of them than the unkempt drunkard.

Hairshirts are more fitting for them now than brocade.

أَقُرَّةَ أَعيُنِ الأَشرافِ فهرٍ

وَجَدُّكَ مِنهُمُ المَحض الصَريحُ

Delight of the nobles’ eyes, O Fahar!

O delight of the eyes of the nobles of Fehr,

You were the purest quintessence to them.

Whose lineage among them is pure and unmixed.

حَديثكَ وَالأَباريقُ المَآقي

غَبوقُ القَومِ بَعدَكَ وَالصبوحُ

Your conversation and the morning draughts

Your conversation is gone, and the wine-ewers are now tear-ducts,

Were the people’s most precious final sip and predawn drink.

Becoming the people's evening draught and morning drink after you.

دَميتَ بِرَغمِ أَنفِ المَجدِ حَتّى

تَغَيَّرَ وَجهُكَ الحَسنُ المَليحُ

You bled in spite of the glory’s anger until

You bled, despite the nose of glory being held high, until

Your lovely cheerful face changed.

Your beautiful, comely face was altered.

وَقِحتَ وَلَم يَقِح جُرحي فَيَبرا

وَهَل تَدمى الأَهِلَّةُ أَو تَقيحُ

You were wounded, but my wound will not heal and close up -

Your wound dried, while my wound did not dry to heal,

Do new moons bleed or wounds fester?

But do crescent moons ever bleed or fester?

وَلَو أَدماكَ غَيرُ اللَّهِ أَجرَوا

دَماً في سيلِهِ تَكبو السبوحُ

If none but God had made you bleed,

If other than God had caused you to bleed, they would have unleashed

Your blood would have flooded the torrents.

Blood in a torrent wherein strong swimmers would stumble.

هِيَ الأَقدارُ لَيسَ تَقي دُروعٌ

مَنِ اِستَولَت عَلَيهِ وَلا صُروحُ

It is fate; no shields or citadels

It is the Fates; no shields can protect

Protect those it has overtaken.

Whomever they have seized, nor can lofty towers.

دَنا مِنّي الرَحيلُ وَقَلَّ زادي

وَشِبتُ وَما لِأَعمالي صُلوحُ

My departure draws near, and my supplies are few;

My departure draws near, and my provision is scant,

I’ve grown old and my deeds lack piety.

I have grown gray, yet my deeds lack righteousness.

وَما أَذنَبتُ مَحضاً في كِتابٍ

وَمَحوُ الذَنبِ تَوبَتي النَصوحُ

I have sinned not in secret,

I have not sinned purely in the written record,

And repentance blots out my unveiled sins.

And the erasure of sin is my sincere repentance.

فَهَلّا تُبتها مِن قَبلِ يَومٍ

بِما أَسرَرتُ مِن سوءٍ يَبوحُ

Why not repent before a day comes

So why did I not repent before a day

When my whispered sins are laid bare?

When the evil I concealed will be revealed?

أَيا عَبدَ الغنيّ اِشفَع غَداً لي

لِيَصفَحَ عَنّي الرَبّ الصَفوحُ

O Abd al-Ghani, intercede for me tomorrow

O Abd al-Ghani, intercede for me tomorrow,

So the oft-forgiving Lord will pardon me.

That the Forgiving Lord may pardon me,

فَيُسعِدَ ذا الشَقَيَّ بِما تَمَنَّى

وَيُحسِنَ قُربَكَ العَيشُ القَبيحُ

And so make happy the wretched one with what he desires,

And grant this wretched soul the joy it longed for,

For proximity to you makes miserable life pleasant.

And that your nearness may make this ugly life beautiful.