لِمِثلِ ذا الخَطبِ فَلتَبكِ العُيونُ دما

فَما يُماثِلُهُ خطبٌ وَإِن عَظُما

For a calamity such as this, let eyes weep blood,

For no other tragedy compares to it, however great.

كانَت مَصائِبُنا من قَبلهِ جَلَلاً

فَالآنَ جُبَّ سنامُ المَجدِ وَاِنهَدَما

Our misfortunes before this were manageable,

But now the very hump of glory is severed and has collapsed.

سَقى ثَرىً حَلَّهُ شَيخُ الهُدى سُحُبٌ

مِن واسِع العَفوِ يَهمي وَبَلُها ديما

May rain-clouds water the soil where the Sheikh of Guidance has settled,

From the vastness of Pardon, pouring down continuous showers.

شَيخٌ مَضى طاهِرَ الأخلاقِ مُتَّبِعا

طريقَةَ المُصطَفى بِاللَهِ مُعتَصِما

A Sheikh who passed, pure in character, following

The path of the Chosen One, holding fast to God.

بَحرٌ مِن العِلمِ قَد فاضَت جداوِلهُ

لكنَّهُ سائِغٌ في ذَوقِ من طَعِما

A sea of knowledge whose streams overflowed,

Yet palatable to the taste of whoever partook.

تَنشَقُّ أَصدافهُ في البَحث عن دُرَرٍ

تَهدي إِلى الحَقِّ مَفهوماً وَمُلتَزِما

His oyster shells split open in the search for pearls,

Guiding to the Truth, both understood and adhered to.

فكم قَواعِدِ فِقهٍ قد أَبانَ وَكم

أَشادَ رَسماً من العَليا قدِ اِنثُلَما

How many foundations of jurisprudence did he clarify,

And how many crumbled traces of high virtue did he rebuild?

نَعى إِلَينا العُلا وَالبِرَّ مَصرَعهُ

وَالعِلمَ وَالفَضلَ وَالإِحسانَ وَالكَرَما

His death announced to us the loss of eminence and piety,

And knowledge, merit, benevolence, and generosity.

هذي الخِصالُ التي كانَت تُفَضِّلُهُ

على الرِجالِ فَأَضحى فيهِمُ علما

These are the qualities that distinguished him

Above other men, until he became a beacon among them.

فَلَيتَ شِعري من لِلمُشكلاتِ إِذا

ما حَلَّ منها عَويصٌ يُبهِمُ الفَهِما

Oh, I wish I knew: who is left for the difficult problems,

When a complex issue arises that baffles the understanding?

وَلِلعُلومِ التي تَخفى غَوامِضُها

على الفُحولِ من الأحبارِ وَالعُلما

And for the sciences whose depths remain hidden

Even from the masters among the scribes and scholars?

من لِلأَرامِلِ وَالأَيتامِ إِن كَلَحَت

غُبرُ السِنينَ وَأَبدَت ناجِذاً خَذِما

Who remains for the widows and the orphans if

The dusty years scowl and reveal a cutting fang?

لَو كُنتُ أَملِكُ إِذ حانَت مَنِيَّتهُ

دَفَعتُها عنهُ وَلكِن حُمَّ ما حُتما

If I had the power when his fate arrived,

I would have pushed it away from him, but what is decreed is decreed.

فَقُل لِمَن غُرَّهُ في دَهرهِ مهلٌ

فَظَلَّ يَمري بِحالِ الصِحَّةِ النِعَما

So say to the one deceived by a respite in his time,

Who continues to milk the blessings of health:

لا تَستَطِل غَفوَةَ الأَيّامِ إِن لها

وَشكَ اِنتِباهٍ يُرى مَوجودُها عَدَما

Do not deem the slumber of days to be long, for it has

A sudden awakening where existence is seen as nothingness.

إِنَّ الحَياةَ وَإِن طالَ السُرورُ بها

لا بُدَّ يَلقى الفَتى مِن مَسِّها أَلما

Indeed, this life—even if its joy is prolonged—

The youth must inevitably encounter pain from its touch.

فَخُذ لِنُقلَتِك الآتي المَصيرُ لَها

زاداً فَما أَلحَقَ الباقي بِمَن قَدَما

So gather provisions for your journey to that inevitable destination,

For surely the living shall be made to join the dead.

لا بُدَّ مِن ساعَةٍ يُبكي عَلَيك وَلا

تَدري بِمَن قد بَكى أَوشَقَّ أَو لَطَما

There must come an hour when you are wept over,

Unaware of who weeps, or tears their clothes, or strikes their face.

ما تَرى الشَيخَ عَبد اللَهِ كَيفَ مَضى

وَكان عِقداً نَفسياً يَفضلُ القِيما

Do you not see Sheikh Abdullah, how he passed away?

He was a precious necklace that exceeded all value.

عِشنا به حِقبَةً في غِبطَةٍ فَاَتى

عَلَيهِ ما قد أَتى عاداً أَخا إِرَما

We lived with him for an era in bliss, until there came upon him

What came upon the tribe of 'Ad, the brother of Iram.

وَقَبلَهُ اِختَلَسَت ساماً وَإِخوَتَهُ

أَيدي المَنونِ وَأَفنَت بَعدَهُم أُمما

And before him, the hands of Death snatched Shem and his brothers,

And annihilated nations that came after them.

لَهفي عَلَيهِ وَلَهفَ المُسلِمينَ مَعي

لَو أَنَّ لَهفاً شَفى من لاهفٍ سَدَما

My sorrow is for him, and the sorrow of the Muslims with me,

If only sorrow could heal the grief of the sorrowful.

وَلَهفَ مَدرَسَةٍ بِالذِكرِ يَعمُرُها

وَمَسجدٍ كانَ فيهِ يَنثُرُ الحِكَما

And the sorrow of a school he used to fill with remembrance,

And a mosque where he used to scatter pearls of wisdom.

اللَهُ أَكبَرُ كَم باكٍ وَباكِيَةٍ

وَحائِرٍ كاظِمٍ لِلغَيظِ قَد وَجَما

God is Great! How many weeping men and women are there,

And confused souls, suppressing rage, struck dumb by silence?

وَفَجعَةِ الدينِ وَالدُنيا لِمَصرَعِهِ

وَفَرحَةِ الناسِ وَالإِسلامِ لَو سَلِما

What a tragedy for both Religion and the World is his demise,

And what a joy for the people and Islam had he remained safe.

لكنَّهُ مَورِدٌ لا بُدَّ وارِدهُ

مَن يُعتَبَط شارِخاً أَو مَن وَهى هَرما

But death is a watering hole that must be visited

By the one snatched away in youth and the one who weakens in old age.

عَمري لَقَد غَرَّنا من دَهرِ خِدَعٌ

مِن حَيثُ لا يَعلَمُ المَخدوعُ أَو عَلِما

By my life, the deceptions of time have truly beguiled us,

From whence the deceived one knows not—or perhaps he knows.

يَقودُنا نَحوَها التَسويفُ أَو طَمَعٌ

في مُضمَحِلٍّ قَليلٍ مُعقِبٍ نَدَما

Procrastination leads us toward them, or greed

For a vanishing trifle that leaves only regret behind.

وَالعُمرُ وَالعَيشُ في الدُنيا لهُ مَثَلٌ

كَالظِلِّ أَو مَن يَرى في نَومهِ حُلُما

Life and existence in this world have a likeness

To a shadow, or one who sees a dream in his sleep.

كلٌّ يَزولُ سَريعاً لا ثَباتَ لهُ

فكُن لِوَقتكَ يا مِسكينُ مُغتَنِما

Everything vanishes quickly; it has no permanence,

So, O poor soul, seize the advantage of your time.

لَيسَ البُكاءُ وَإن طالَ العَناءُ بهِ

بِمُرجعٍ فائِتاً أَو مطفىءٍ ضَرَما

Weeping, even if the suffering within it is prolonged,

Will not bring back what has passed, nor extinguish the burning fire.

فَاللَهُ يُنزِلهُ عَفواً وَيَرحمهُ

فإنَّهُ جلَّ قَدراً أَرحمُ الرُحما

So may God send down pardon upon him and have mercy on him,

For He, glorified be His power, is the Most Merciful of the merciful.

ثم الصَلاةُ على من في مُصيبَتِهِ

لنا العَزاءُ إِذا ما حادِثٌ عظُما

Then, blessings be upon the one in whose own calamity

We find consolation whenever a tragedy becomes great,

محمد خيرِ مَبعوثٍ وَشيعتهِ

وَصحبهِ ما أَضاءَ البَرقُ مُبتَسِما

Muhammad, the best of messengers, and his followers,

And his companions, as long as the lightning flashes and smiles.