مضى خلَفُ الأبْرارِ والسيّدُ الطُّهرُ

فصدْرُ العُلى من قلبِه بعدَهُ صُفْرُ

The righteous have passed, and the pure master,

So the eminent's heart is empty after him.

وغُيِّبَ منه في الثّرى نيّرُ الهُدى

فغارَتْ ذُكاءُ الدّينِ واِنكسَفَ البدْرُ

The guide of light was buried in the ground,

So religion's intelligence has darkened and the full moon eclipsed.

وماتَ النّدى فلْتَرْثِهِ ألسُنُ الثّنا

وليثُ الوَغى فلتَبْكِه البيضُ والسُّمرُ

Dew has died, so let the tongues of praise elegize it,

And let the whites and browns weep the lion of turmoil.

فحقُّ المعالي أن تشُقَّ جُيوبَها

عليهِ وتنْعاهُ المكارمُ والفخرُ

It is right that virtues tear open their garments

And lament him, and nobility and pride mourn him.

هو الماجِدُ الوهّابُ ما في يَمينِه

هوَ العابِدُ الأوّابُ والشّفْعُ والوِتْرُ

He is the glorious giver - whatever is in his right hand -

He is the devoted returner, the intercessor and the odd prayer.

هوَ الحُرُّ يومَ الحربِ تُثْني حِرابُه

عليهِ وفي المِحرابِ يعرفُه الذِّكرُ

He is free on the day of war when swords sheathe him

And is remembered in the shrine by the mention.

فلا تحسبَنّ الدّهرَ أهلكَ شخصَهُ

ولكنّهُ في موتِه هلكَ الدّهرُ

So do not reckon that time has destroyed his person,

But by his death, time itself was destroyed.

فلو دفَنوهُ قومُه عندَ قدْرِه

لجلَّ ولو أنّ السِّماكَ له قَبْرُ

If his people buried him according to his merit,

The cosmos would be too small, even if the sky was his tomb.

وما دَفْنُه في الأرضِ إلّا لعِلْمِنا

به أنّه كنزٌ لها ولَنا ذُخْرُ

Burying him in the ground is only because of our knowledge

That he is a treasure for it and provision for us.

وما غَسْلُه بالماءِ إلّا تطوّعاً

وإلّا فَقولا لي متى نَجُسَ البحرُ

Only optionally did we wash him with water,

For say to me, when has the sea become impure?

فتىً يورِدُ الهِنديَّ وهْوَ حديدةٌ

ويَصدِقُ فيه وهوَ من علَقٍ تِبْرُ

A young man who imports Indian steel as if it were butter

And believes it to be sincere while it is deceitful tin.

حَوى الفضلَ والإيثارَ والزُّهْدَ والنُّهى

وصاحَبهُ المعروفُ والجودُ والبِرُّ

He contained virtue, preference, asceticism and prohibition

And accompanied benevolence, generosity and righteousness.

تعطّلَتِ الأحكامُ بعد وفاتِه

وضاعَتْ حُدودُ اللَّهِ والنهيُ والأمرُ

After his death, the laws were suspended

And God's boundaries, prohibitions and commands vanished.

فهل لفُروضِ الدّينِ والنّفْلِ حرمةٌ

وهل لليالي القَدْرِ من بعدِه قَدْرُ

Do religious duties and extra prayers have sanctity?

And after him, do the nights of destiny have any worth?

يعِزُّ على المُختارِ والصّنوِ رُزْؤُه

لعِلمِهما في أنّه الوَلَدُ البَرُّ

It is hard on the Chosen One and Sanu, his company,

Because they know he is the righteous son.

فغيرُ مَلومٍ جازِعٌ لمُصابِه

ففي مثلِ هذا الخطْبِ يُستَقبَحُ الصّبْرُ

So the grieved is not blamed, agonized by his tragedy,

For in the like of this misfortune, patience is unseemly.

أجَلُّ بَني المَهديّ لو أنّهُ اِدّعى

وقال أنا المهديُّ وازَرَهُ الخضْرُ

How great are the Mahdi's sons! If only he claimed

He is the Mahdi and the Green One supported him.

كريمٌ كأنّ اللّهَ أخّرَ موتَهُ

ليكسِبَ فيهِ الأجْرَ مَنْ فاتَهُ بَدْرُ

Noble, as if God deferred his death

So those who missed his full moon may earn reward through him.

فكيفَ رياضُ الحُزنِ يبسِمُ نَوْرُها

وترجو حياةً بعدَما هلَكَ القَطْرُ

How can the meadows of grief smile with his light

And hope for life when the rain has perished?

وكيفَ نُرجّي أنّ لليلِ آخِراً

وفي ظُلُماتِ الأرضِ قد دُفِنَ الفَجْرُ

How can we hope the night has an end

When darkness has buried the dawn in the earth?

فأيُّ عِظامٍ في ثَراهُ عظيمةٍ

تجِلُّ وعن إرثائِها يصغُرُ الشِّعْرُ

What bones in his grave are so momentous

That they make poetry seem paltry by grieving for him?

نصلّي عليها وهي عنّا غنيّةٌ

ولكنّنا فيها لنا يعظُمُ الأجْرُ

We pray for them while they are needless of us,

But through them our reward is magnified.

ونُثني عليها رغبةً في ثنائِها

ليَعبَقَ في الأفواهِ من طيبِها عِطْرُ

We praise them craving their praise

So that the scent of his sweetness lingers in mouths.

ترفَّعْنَ عن قدْرِ المَراثي جلالةً

وعنْ أدمُعِ الباكي ولو أنّها دُرُّ

They have risen above the level of elegies,

Above the tears of mourners, even if they are pearls.

فمَنْ لليَتامى والأرامِلِ بعدَهُ

وممّنْ نرجّي النّقْعَ إنْ مسّنا الضُّرُّ

After him, who remains for the orphans and widows?

And from whom can we expect relief if hardship strikes us?

كأنّ الورى من حولِه قبلَ بعثِهم

دَعاهُم من الأجداثِ في يومِه الحَشْرُ

As if the world around him before his mission

Called them from the graves on the day of his resurrection.

لَئِنْ غدرَتْ فيه اللّيالي فإنّها

بكُلِّ وفيِّ العهدِ شيمَتُها الغَدْرُ

If the nights betrayed him, their nature is betrayal,

And harming him would not hurt them if he were ransomed.

وما ضرّها لو أنّها في عبيدِه

منَ الخَلقِ يُفْدى ذلكَ السيّدُ الحُرُّ

The breeze of contentment blew toward his grave

With lingering traces of his sweet perfume.

سَرَتْ نسمةُ الرُّضوانِ نحو ضريحِه

ولا زالَ فيها من شَذا طِيبِه نَشْرُ

Entrusted to the Merciful is the best of farewells -

After him remains our fervor and contemplation.

وفي ذمّةِ الرّحمنِ خيرُ مودَّعٍ

أقامَ لدَينا بعدَهُ الوَجْدُ والفِكْرُ

He turned away, so for the world and its people

There is weeping, sorrow - and for it, good tidings.

تناءَى فللدُّنيا عليهِ وأهلِها

بُكاءٌ وحزْنٌ والجِنانُ لها بِشْرُ

The call to join the heavenly maidens made him visit them,

And he did not know after him who the separation would kill.

دعَتْهُ لوصْلِ الحورِ طوبى فزارَها

ولم يدْرِ فيمَنْ بعدَهُ قتلَ الهَجْرُ

So let not the envious gloat over him, for

His noble sons will silence them in death.

فلا يَشْمَتِ الحُسّادُ فيه فإنّه

سترغمُهُمْ بالموتِ أبناؤهُ الغُرُّ

If his sons and grandsons survive,

Woe to the enemies - let the wolf and eagle rejoice!

لَئِنْ سلِمَتْ أبناؤهُ وبَنوهُمُ

فويلُ العِدا ولْيَفرَحِ الذّئْبُ والنَّسْرُ

Brave lions who aspired to greatness as is their right,

And flourished, the influence of gratitude upon them.

فُروعٌ تَسامَتْ للعُلا وهْوَ أهلُها

فطابَتْ وفي أفنانِها أثّرَ الشُّكْرُ

Kings whose morals are pure, as if they are

Gardens of heavens and their morals are flowers.

مُلوكٌ زكَتْ أخلاقُهم فكأنّهُم

حدائِقُ جنّاتٍ وأخلاقُهُم زَهْرُ

As if between them Ali is the full moon of the fourteenth night,

And around him shine stars of flowers.

كأنّ عليّاً بينهُم بَدْرُ أربعٍ

وعَشْرٍ أضاءَتْ حولَهُ أنجُمٌ زُهرُ

If Ali remains safe in glory and eminence,

Then neither will Zeid speak nor Amr.

إذا ما عليٌّ كان في المجدِ والعُلا

سَليماً فلا زَيدٌ يَقولُ ولا عَمْرُو

The fall of any disaster is easy for us

If he exists, even if the matter is grave.

يَهونُ علينا وقْعُ كلِّ ملمّةٍ

إذا كان موجوداً وإن فدَحَ الأمرُ

My masters, this is the way of time in the world,

There is no lasting good or evil in it.

أمَولايَ هذا عادةُ الدّهرِ في الوَرى

وليس بهِ خيرٌ يَدومُ ولا شَرُّ

Excuse what it brings upon you - how often

Before you has it committed grave outrage.

فعُذْراً لِما يَجنِيهِ فيكُم فكَمْ وكَمْ

لهُ عِندَكُم من قبلُ فادحةٌ وِتْرُ

May God reward you multiplied compensation

And relieve the difficulty after it with ease.

عَسى اللّهُ يَجزيكَ الثّوابَ مُضاعَفاً

ويَعقُبُ عُسْرَ الأمرِ منْ بَعدِهِ يُسْرُ

May He inspire you with beautiful patience by His grace,

And extend upon you in fortune a happy lifetime.

ويُلْهِمُكَ الصّبرَ الجميلَ بفَضلِهِ

ويمتدُّ في الحظِّ السّعيدِ لكَ العُمْرُ