سَما فَوقَ أَعناق الرِجال عبابُ
وَتَحتَ تخوم الأَرض غاض سَحابُ
The clouds are above the necks of men
And beneath the edges of the earth, clouds pouring down
وَقَد حجبت شَمسَ العُلوم غَمامةٌ
وَأَربى عَلى بَدر الفُنون ضَباب
The sun of knowledge has been veiled by clouds
And mist has dwelled upon the full moon of arts
وَأَصبَحت الآداب تَبكي إمامَها
وَينعيه مِنها دَفترٌ وَكِتاب
Literature now weeps for its leader
As books and scripts mourn him
وَغاب شِهاب الدين عَنها فَنالَها
عَلى فَقده دُون الأَنام مُصاب
The meteors of religion have vanished from it
So it was struck by tribulation over their absence
وَأَصمت سِهامُ الدَهر مِنها فؤادَها
فَعاشَت بِلا قَلب وَذاكَ عُجاب
The arrows of fate have silenced its heart
So it lives without a heart - how wondrous!
وَأَركانها مِن بَعده قَد تهدّمت
وَلاحَ عَلَيها يَوم فاظَ خَراب
Its pillars have collapsed without him
And the day of ruin shone upon it
وَآوى إِلَيها البوم في عَرصاتها
وَجاوره فيها هُناك غراب
Owls came to rest in its courtyards
And ravens settled next to them
فَلا كانَ يَومٌ سار عَنها ركابُه
وَواراه عَنها جَندل وَتُراب
Never again came the day his caravan marched
As his shroud and soil concealed him
لَقَد كانَ في مضمارها لَيث غابة
يَكرّ فَلا تلوي عَلَيهِ ذئاب
In its arena he was a lion of the thicket
Wolves do not twist themselves around him
أَما وَمعانٍ كان أَوّل مُبدع
لَها وَمَبان فَوقهنّ قباب
He was the first to create meanings for it
With constructions above them like domes
وَرقة أَلفاظ وَحُسن سَلاسة
تحلَّى بِها طُرس وَراق شَراب
Delicate words and eloquent fluency
Adorning its verses like fine wine
وَدرّ فَريد في عُقود بَديعة
بِأَجياد حُور ما لهنّ حِجاب
A unique pearl in ingenious strands
With free women whose veils are unveiled
لَئن ماتَ هَذا السَيد الحبر وَاِنقَضى
فَما ماتَ تَأليف لَهُ وَصَواب
If this master writer dies and perishes
His compositions do not die nor his correctness
وَكَيفَ لَدى الأَحيا يَموت وَذكرُه
مَدى الدَهر باق يَقتفيهِ ثَواب
How can he die while alive and his memory
Endures forever pursued by reward
وَمِن عَجَب تَحويه أَرض وإنه
لَهُ في السَما بَين النُجُوم حِساب
It is wondrous that earth contains him
When he has a place between the stars in the sky
أَيا راجِياً لِلفَوز بِالسَبق بَعدَه
تَأخَّر فَما كُل الطُيور عُقاب
Whoever hopes to surpass him: wait
Not all birds are eagles
وَهَيهات يَوماً أَن تَكون مدانياً
لَهُ في ضُروب الفَضل وَهوَ عباب
It is far-fetched one day you can equal him
In all aspects of virtue - he is a torrent
فَمَن رامَ يَحذو حَذوه فَهوَ قاصر
وَلَو أَنَّهُ بَينَ الأَنام نقاب
Whoever tries to emulate him falls short
Even if he is the most eminent among people
وَلِلوارد الظَمآن ماءُ علومِه
فُراتٌ وَماء المدّعين سَراب
For the thirsty reaching its water are his sciences
A Euphrates, while the water of the pretenders is a mirage
فَكَم هَذب الانشا بنظم عَقائدٍ
لَها بَيننا في الخافِقين طلاب
How he refined prose with verses of doctrine
For which students in the two worlds yearn
وَكَم في رَسول اللَه صاغَ فُوائِداً
بِها في جِنان المُتقين يثاب
How much he composed in the Messenger of God
Rewarding the pious in the Gardens
وَكَم بِنَسيم الأُنس سارَت سَفينة
لَهُ في بِحار الوفق وَهيَ حباب
How the ship of intimacy sailed with the breeze of company
On the seas of harmony - they are a gift
وَقَد فازَ في الدُنيا بعز ورفعة
وَنالَ بِها الآمال وَهيَ صِعاب
He succeeded in the world with might and esteem
Achieving hopes though they were tribulations
وَهامَ لَهُ المَعقول عِندَ فِطامه
فَأَظهَر في المَنقول مِنهُ شَباب
The mind hovered over him in its infancy
Revealing its freshness in transmitted texts
وَلا زالَ هَذا الفاضل الحبر يَرتقي
إِلى أَن دُعِي للخلد وَهوَ مُهاب
This virtuous writer kept rising
Until he was called to immortality - yet he was timid
وَجاور في دار الكَرامة رَبه
فَطُوبى لَهُ مِن حَيث طاب مآب
He settled near his Lord in the Abode of Nobility
Blessed is he in the place his resting place was perfumed
وَبُشراه فالرضوان قال مؤرّخاً
إِلى الحُور في الفَردوس راح شِهاب
Good tidings to him, for the recorder said
The shooting star went to the Houris in Paradise
