أَهكَذا البَدرُ تُخفي نورَهُ الحَفرُ
وَيُفقَدُ العِلمُ لا عَينٌ وَلا أَثَرُ
Is it thus the full moon's light is shrouded by the grave?
And knowledge vanishes, leaving neither sight nor trace?
خَبَت مَصابيحُ كُنّا نَستَضيءُ بها
وَطَوَّحَت لِلمَغيبِ الأَنجمُ الزُهُر
The lamps by which we sought illumination have extinguished,
And the brilliant stars have been cast down to their setting.
وَاِستَحكَمَت غُربَةُ الإِسلامِ وَاِنكَسَفَت
شَمسُ العُلومِ التي يُهدى بها البَشرُ
The estrangement of Islam has taken firm hold, and eclipsed
Is the sun of knowledge by which mankind is guided.
تُخُرِّمَ الصالحونَ المُقتَدى بهمُ
وَقامَ منهُم مقامَ المُبتَدا الخَبَرُ
The righteous exemplars have been cut down one by one,
And the predicate has risen to occupy the subject's place.
فَلَستَ تَسمَعُ إِلّا كان ثمَّ مَضى
وَيَلحَقُ الفارِطُ الباقي كما غَبَروا
You hear nothing now but 'He was, and then he passed,'
As the predecessor joins those remaining, just as they too shall turn to dust.
وَالناسُ في سَكرَةٍ من خَمرِ جَهلِهِمُ
وَالصَحوُ في عَسكَرِ الأَمواتِ لَو شَعَروا
People are lost in a stupor from the wine of their ignorance,
While true sobriety lies within the army of the dead, if only they knew.
نَلهو بِزُخرُفِ هذا العَيشِ من سَفهٍ
لَهوَ المُنَبِّتِ عوداً ما لهُ ثَمَرُ
In folly, we amuse ourselves with life's hollow adornments,
Like one who plants a barren stick that bears no fruit.
وَنَستَحثُّ منايانا رَواحِلُنا
لِمَوقِفٍ ما لنا عَن دونهِ صَدَرُ
We spur our mounts to hasten toward our own demise,
Toward a destination from which there is no return.
إِلّا إِلى مَوقِفٍ تَبدو سَرائِرُنا
فيهِ وَيَظهَرُ لِلعاصينَ ما سَتَروا
Only to a gathering place where our deepest secrets are laid bare,
And where the sinners' hidden deeds are brought to light.
فَيا لهُ مَصدراً ما كانَ أَعظَمَهُ
الناسُ مِن هو لهِ سكرى وَما سَكِروا
Oh, what a return! How tremendous is its gravity;
Mankind is drunken with its terror, yet they have not drunk wine.
فكُن أخي عابِراً لا عامِراً فَلَقد
رَأَيتَ مَصرَعَ من شادوا وَمن عَمَروا
So be a traveler, my brother, not a settler, for you have surely seen
The ruin of those who erected high towers and built grand halls.
اِستُنزِلوا بَعد عزٍّ عن مَعاقِلِهم
كَأَنَّهُم ما نَهَوى فيها وَلا أَمَروا
They were brought down from their fortresses after all their might,
As though they never held power there to command or forbid.
تُغَلُّ أَيديهِمُ يومَ القِيامةِ إن
بَرّوا تُفَكُّ وفي الأَغلالِ إن فَجروا
Their hands shall be shackled on the Day of Resurrection;
Unbound if they were righteous, but fettered if they sinned.
وَنُح على العِلمِ نوحَ الثاكلاتِ وَقُل
وَالهفَ نفسي على أَهلٍ لهُ قُبِروا
Mourn for knowledge with the wailing of a bereaved mother, and cry:
'Oh, the sorrow of my soul for its people who are buried!'
الثابتينَ على الإيمانِ جُهدَهُمُ
وَالصادِقينَ فما مانوا وَلا خَتَروا
Those who remained steadfast in faith with all their might,
The truthful ones who never lied nor broke a covenant.
الصادِعينَ بِأَمرِ اللَهِ لَو سَخطوا
أَهلُ البَسيطَةِ ما بالوا وَلو كثُروا
Those who proclaimed God's command openly; even if the people
Of the earth were angered, they paid no heed to the multitudes.
وَالسالِكينَ على نَهجِ الرَسولِ على
ما قَرَّرَت مُحكَمُ الآياتِ وَالسوَرُ
Those who walked the path of the Messenger, adhering strictly
To what the decisive verses and chapters have decreed.
وَالعادِلينَ عن الدُنيا وَزَهرَتِها
وَالآمرينَ بخيرٍ بعدَ ما اِئتُمِروا
Those turning away from the world and its fleeting bloom,
Enjoining the good only after practicing it themselves.
لَم يَجعَلوا سُلَّما لِلمالِ عِلمَهُم
بَل نَزَّهوهُ فَلَم يَعلُق بهِ وَضَرُ
They did not make their knowledge a ladder to acquire wealth,
But kept it pure, untainted by any stain of greed.
فَحيَّ أَهلاً بهِم أَهلاً بِذِكرهِمُ
الطَيّبينَ ثَناءً أَينَما ذُكِروا
So hail to them! And hail to their memory!
Those whose praise is fragrant wherever they are named.
أَشخاصهُم تَحتَ أَطباقِ الثَرى وَهُمُ
كَأَنَّهُم بَينَ أَهلِ العِلمِ قَد نُشِروا
Their bodies lie beneath layers of earth, yet it is as if
They move among the scholars, resurrected by their works.
هذي المَكارمُ لا تَزويقُ أَبنِيَةٍ
وَلا الشُفوفُ التي تُكسى بها الجدُرُ
These are true nobilities—not the ornamentation of buildings,
Nor the sheer tapestries with which walls are draped.
وابك على العَلَمِ الفَرد الذي حَسُنَت
بِذِكرِ أَفعالِهِ الأَخبارُ وَالسِيَرُ
Weep for the singular luminary whose virtuous deeds
Have beautified all chronicles and biographies.
مَن لم يُبالِ بحقِّ اللَهِ لائِمَةً
وَلا يُحابي امراءً في خدِّهِ صَعَرُ
He who feared no blame in upholding the rights of God,
And flattered no princes who turned their cheeks in pride.
بَحرٌ من العِلمِ قد فاضَت جداوِلهُ
أَضحى وَقد ضَمَّهُ في بَطنهِ المَدرُ
A sea of knowledge whose tributaries overflowed;
Now he lies embraced within the belly of the earth.
فَلَيتَ شِعريَ مَن لِلمُشكِلات إِذا
حارَت بِغامِضِها الأَفهامُ وَالفِكَرُ
I wish I knew: who now will solve the complex problems
When minds and thoughts are baffled by their obscurity?
مَن لِلمَدارس بِالتَعليمِ يَعمُرُها
يَنتابُها زُمرٌ من بَعدِها زُمَرُ
Who will enliven the schools with teaching,
As crowds of students flock to them, wave after wave?
هذي رُسومُ عُلومِ الدينِ تَندبهُ
ثَكلى عَليهِ وَلكن عَزَّها القَدرُ
The very traces of religious sciences mourn him,
Like a bereaved mother, though fate has sealed the loss.
طَوَتكَ يا سَعدُ أَيّامٌ طَوت أُمَماً
كانوا فَبانوا وَفي الماضينَ مُعتَبَرُ
The days have folded you away, O Sa'd, just as they folded nations;
They existed, then departed—and in the ancients is a lesson.
إِن كان شَخصُكَ قد واراهُ مُلحِدهُ
فَعِلمُكَ الجَمُّ في الآفاقِ مُنتَشِر
Though your physical form is hidden within the grave's niche,
Your vast knowledge remains spread across the horizons.
وَالأُسوَةُ المُصطَفى نَفسي الفِداءُ لهُ
بِمَوتهِ يَتَأَسّى البَدرُ وَالحَضَرُ
Our exemplar is the Chosen One—may my soul be his ransom;
In his death, both Bedouin and city-dweller find consolation.
بَنى لكُم حمدٌ يا لِلعَتيقِ عُلا
لم يَبنِها لكمُ مالٌ وَلا خَطَرُ
Praise has built for you, O family of al-Atiq, a height of glory
That neither wealth nor social rank could ever raise.
لكنَّهُ العِلمُ يَسمو من يَسودُ بهِ
عَلى الجهولِ وَلو من جدُّهُ مُضرُ
It is knowledge alone by which a leader ascends
Above the ignorant, even one of noble Mudar lineage.
وَالعِلمُ إن كان أَقوالاً بلا عملٍ
فَلَيتَ صاحبهُ بِالجَهل مُنغَمِرُ
But if knowledge remains mere words without action,
Then would that its possessor were immersed in ignorance!
يا حامِلَ العِلمِ وَالقُرآنِ إِنَّ لَنا
يَوماً تُضَمُّ بهِ الماضونُ وَالأُخرُ
O bearer of Knowledge and the Quran, know that we face
A Day where the first generations and the last shall be gathered.
فَيَسأَلُ اللَهُ كلّاً عَن وَظيفَتهِ
فَلَيتَ شِعري بماذا منهُ تَعتَذِرُ
Then God will question each soul about its duty;
I wonder, with what plea will you offer your excuse?
وَما الجَوابُ إِذا قالَ العَليمُ أَذا
قالَ الرَسولُ أَو الصَدّيقُ أَو عُمَرُ
What will be the answer when the All-Knowing asks:
'Is this what the Messenger said, or al-Siddiq, or Umar?'
وَالكُلُّ يَأتيهِ مَغلولَ اليَدينِ فمن
ناجٍ وَمن هالكٍ قَد لَوَّحَت سَقَرُ
All shall come to Him with hands shackled;
Who then is saved, and who is lost, as the fires of Hell loom near?
فَجَدِّدوا نِيَّةً لِلَّهِ خالِصَةً
قوموا فُرادى وَمَثنى وَاِصبِروا وَمُروا
So renew your intentions, making them pure for God;
Stand singly and in pairs; be patient, and enjoin the good.
وَناصِحوا وَاِنصَحوا مَن وَليَ أَمرَكمُ
فَالصَفوُ لا بُدَّ يَأتي بَعدهُ كَدرُ
Offer sincere counsel to those who govern your affairs,
For times of clarity are inevitably followed by turmoil.
وَاللَهُ يَلطُفُ في الدُنيا بِنا وَبكُم
وَيومَ يَشخَصُ مِن أَهوالهِ البَصَرُ
May God be gentle with us and with you in this world,
And on the Day when eyes stare fixedly in terror.
وَصَفِّ رَبِّ على المُختارِ سَيِّدِنا
شَفيعِنا يَومَ نارُ الكَربِ تَستَعِرُ
And send Your blessings, my Lord, upon the Chosen One, our Master,
Our Intercessor on the Day when the fire of anguish rages,
محمدٍ خيرِ مَبعوثٍ وَشيعَتِهِ
وَصَحبِهِ ما بَدا من أُفقِهِ قَمَرُ
Muhammad, the best of all messengers, and upon his followers
And companions, for as long as the moon rises from its horizon.
