بحرُ الفصاحةِ غاضَ يا إخواني
وأخو الإبانة لفَّ في الأكفانِ
The sea of eloquence has withdrawn, O my brothers,
And the brother of clarity has wrapped himself in shrouds.
جبلٌ من الأجبال أضحْىَ ساقطاً
متهدمَ الأرجاءَ والأركانِ
A mountain among mountains has fallen,
Its corners and pillars destroyed.
كلا هو البحرُ الغزيرُ عَنَت له
فصحاء هذا الدهرِ بالإذْعَانِ
Neither is it the copious sea that has wearied of it,
The eloquence of this age has submitted to it in acquiescence.
لا زالَ مفتاحاً لكلِّ غريبة
تُتْلى من الآثارِ والقرآن
It remains a key to every strange thing
Recited from relics and the Qur'an.
ولقد شغلتَ عيونَنا وقلوبنا
مُذْ هِمتَ بالهمَلانِ والخفقَانِ
You have preoccupied our eyes and hearts
Since you fell ill and became frail.
وعمرتَ أفئدةَ الرجال وأهلها
بالهم والأوصاب والأحزانِ
And you have filled the hearts of men and their households
With worries, sorrows, and griefs.
ولقد نزلتَ بمنزلٍ فرداً به
مع جيرة متقاربي الأوطان
You have come to dwell in a singular abode
Among neighbors of adjacent homelands.
لو يعلمون بأن شخصك عندهم
فرحوا بما تحويه من تِبيانِ
If only they knew that your person is among them
They would rejoice in the elucidation you contain.
عجباً لقبر يحتويك بلحدِه
ويضيقهِ وبصدرِكَ البحرانِ
How wondrous is a grave that contains you in its niche
Yet strains to do so, as vast as your heart is.
أبكى فراقُك كلَّ حبرٍ عالمٍ
من جملةٍ الزهّادِ والرَّهْبانِ
Your separation makes every knowledgeable pen weep
Among the ascetics and monks altogether.
من حيثُ إنَّك للفصاحةِ مَعْدِن
وملخِّص لغرائبِ الفرقان
Since you are the mine of eloquence
And summarizer of the wonders of the Criterion.
وغدَا محيّا العلمِ أعمى بعدما
قد كانَ تحت جبينه عينانِ
And the life of knowledge has become blind after
There were two eyes beneath its forehead.
وصممُ علمِ النحو أصبحَ ذاوياً
بعد اخضرارِ العودِ والأغْصانِ
And the science of grammar has become deaf
After the greenery of its timber and branches.
يَا نَازلاً بعد التنعمِ والغنى
في برزَخٍ ما عنده من ثانِ
O you who has descended from luxury and wealth
To a limbo that has no second.
من قبل كنت منعماً بلذاذةِ
مع رتبة الأصحابِ والخلانِ
Before, you were indulged in the pleasures
Along with the station of the elite and intimate.
هل بعدك الدنيا تطيب لهمْ وهم
كالرأسِ أحياءٌ بغيرِ لسانِ
After you, will the world even taste good to them
When they are like a living head without a tongue?
لو يقبلُ الموت الفداءَ فدوْك
بالأموالِ والأولادِ والوِلْدَانِ
If death would accept ransom, I would sacrifice
My wealth, children, and youths for you.
يا غائبَ الجثمانِ ذكرك حاضرٌ
من سابقٍ في أعصرِ الأزْمانِ
O you absent in body, your memory is present
As the foremost figure of the epochs.
هلْ من فصيح في الورى كمحمدٍ
نسلِ الصفىّ ابن الفتى عمرانِ
Is there one more eloquent in the land than Muḥammad
The progeny of the Pristine, son of Imrān the Upright?
هجمت عليه الحادثات بكلكل
فطواه صرفُ حوادِثِ المَلَوانِ
Calamities have assaulted him in droves
So the vicissitudes of fates have shrouded him.
إنّ المنيَّةَ لا تردّ إذا أَتَتْ
مأمورةً مِنْ ربنا المنَّانِ
Death does not turn back when it comes
Commanded by our Munificent Lord.
إخواننا ى تحزنوا واستَمسِكوا
وتوثَّقُوا بِعُرى عظيمِ الشانِ
My brothers! Do not grieve, persevere,
And hold fast to the strong rope of the One so Grand.
صبراً فإن اللهَ جلَّ جلالهُ
قد قالَ أجمعُ من عليها فانِ
Patience, for Allah—Glorified is His Majesty—has said
That over it are all those who perish and vanish.
حقّاً ويبقَى وجه ربك ذُو العلى
والطولِ والآلاء والإحسانِ
The Face of you Lord—High, Eternal and Munificent—remains in truth
As well as His Grace and Nobility.
إنا خلقنا للتصبرِ والأسَى
والنوحُ والأحزانُ للنِّسْوَانِ
We were created for suffering and sorrow,
While weeping, grief and dirges are for women.
أعداءَنا لا تشمتوا بمصابِنا
فالموت مورد جملةِ القُطَّانِ
O enemies! Do not rejoice at our affliction
Death is the destination for all creatures.
إنا لنلهو والمنايا شُرَّعٌ
لا بدَّ تأتينا على الغَفَلانِ
We play while death lies in ambush,
It must come to us while we are unaware.
إن كنتَ ذا عقلِ فلا تنسَ المُنَى
واذكر فراقَ الأهلِ والسكَّانِ
If you be reasonable, do not forget your death,
And recall the departure of your kith and kin.
واتركْ هواكَ فإن عمركَ منقضٍ
وترقبنَّ لحادثِ الحدَثانِ
Abandon your passions, for your life is fleeting,
And anticipate the occurrence of new events.
من قبلِ أنُ يلقوكَ في بيتِ البلى
في برزخِ الأهوالِ والديدانِ
Before they deliver you to the Abode of Moldering
In the abyss of horrors and insects galore.
ماذا تقولُ إذا حللتَ بِبَلْقَعٍ
فرداً به إما أتى المَلَكانِ
What will you say when you lie alone
In a constricting tomb where the two Angels arrive?
وهما النكيرُ ومنكرٌ حتى إذا
ما أقصداك وأقبَلا يَسَلاَنِ
Namely, the Denier and the Questioner who, when
They approach to question you, will be very stern.
إن كنتَ من أهل السعادة بُشْرا
ك برحمةٍ ومسرةٍ وجنانِ
If you be among the people of bliss, glad tidings!
For you is mercy, solace, and gardens.
وبراحةٍ ولذاذة وحلاوةٍ
وبرأفة من ربنا وأمانِ
As well as comfort, pleasure, sweetness
And care from our Lord and safety.
أو كنتَ من أهلِ الشقاوة بش
راك بغصة ومذلةٍ وهَوانِ
But if you be among the people of misery, glad tidings!
For you are distress, humiliation, and disgrace.
وبِكُرْبةٍ وبحسرةٍ وندامةٍ
وإقامةٍ في جَاحِمِ النَّيرانِ
As well as anguish, remorse, and regret
And abiding amid the searing Fires.
ثم الصلاةُ على النبيِّ محمدٍ
خيرِ الورَى المبعوثِ مِنْ عَدْنَانِ
Then, prayers upon the Prophet Muḥammad
The best of creation, sent from noble Ādnan.
صلّى عليه ما وسقَ الدُّجَى
أو لاحَ في خضرائها القَمرَانِ
Blessings upon him lasting as long
As the horizons are dark or the two moons shine.
