حَاوَلْتُ صَبْراً عَلَى مَا نَابَ مِنْ نُوَبِ

وَهْوَ عَظيمٌ فَجَدُّ الصَّبْرِ فِي عَطَبِ

I tried patience for what befell from misfortunes

I sought patience against the calamities that have struck,

And it was great so the patience was frustrated

But the affliction is immense, and the strength of patience is broken.

فَلُذْتُ مِنْ ذاكَ بِالتَّأْبِينِ مُعْتَصِماً

إِذْ لاَ قَرارَ على جَمْرٍ لِمُحْتَطِبِ

So I took refuge with lamenting holding fast

Thus I took refuge in eulogy, holding fast to it for solace,

When there is no settling upon embers for one gathering firewood

For the wood-gatherer can find no rest upon burning embers,

مُرَوِّحاً عَنْ جَوَى يُكْنَى أَبَا لَهَبٍ

وَزَفَرَاتٍ لَهُ حَمَّالَةُ الْحَطَبِ

Airing from the heat called Father of Flame

Seeking to soothe an inner fire aptly named the father of flame,

And sighs carrying the firewood

And sighs of anguish that act as the carrier of its firewood.

مُقَدِّراً أَنَّنِي إِنْ قُلْتُ وَاسَنَدِي

وَاسَنَدَ الدِّينِ لَمْ أُنْسَبْ إِلَى كَذِبِ

Deeming that if I said support me

Knowing well that if I cry out, 'O my support!'

And the religion sought help I would not be attributed to lying

'O pillar of faith!', I would never be accused of a lie.

وَكَيْفَ يَكْذِبُ مَنْ يَرْثِي إِمَامَ هُدىً

فَمَا عَسَى أَنْ يَقُولَ التُّرْبُ فِي الذَّهَبِ

And how can one lie who laments an imam of guidance

And how could one lie when mourning an Imam of guidance?

So what can the dust say about gold

For what could the dust ever possibly say about gold?

أَمْ كيْفَ يُحْصَى عَلَى عُودِ الْبَخُورِ بُكَا

مَنْ كَانَ فِي الأَصْلِ مِنْ أَثْلٍ وَمِنْ خَشَبِ

Or how can crying be counted on incense sticks

Or how could the weeping of incense wood be held against it,

Who was originally from family and from wood

When its very essence was formed from tamarisk and timber?

فَمَا عَلَيَّ إِذَنْ إِنْ قُلْتُ مِنْ حَرَجٍ

وَالوَجْدُ فِي صَعَدٍ وَالدَّمْعُ في صَبَبِ

So there is nothing upon me if I say without embarrassment

There is no blame upon me, then, if I speak out,

And fervor is in ardour and tears are in outpouring

While my anguish rises high and my tears pour down,

وَالصَّبْرُ في قَلَقٍ وَالقَلْبُ في حُرَقٍ

وَاسَيِّدَ الْعُجْمِ في ذَا العَصْرِ والْعَرَبِ

And patience is in anxiety and the heart is in burning

While patience is agitated and the heart is consumed by flames,

And the master of non-Arabs in this time and Arabs

Crying, 'O master of both non-Arabs and Arabs in this age!'

يَبْكِي على الدينِ منْ يَبْكي عليهِ فَما

يَضُرُّ مَنْ قالَ يَبْكي الدِّينَ وَاحَرَبِي

Cries for the religion whoever cries for it so whoever

Whoever weeps for him is truly weeping for the faith, so

Said he cries for the religion did no harm

There is no harm in saying, 'He mourns religion, O my sorrow!'

فَالْبَوْحُ بالنوْحِ نَوْحِ الدِّينِ مُغْتَفَرٌ

بَلْ وَاجِبٌ عِنْدَنَا بِالصِّدْقِ وَالأَدَبِ

So expressing sadness in crying for the religion is forgiven

Thus, openly wailing in lamentation for the faith is forgiven;

Rather, it is obligatory for us in truthfulness and propriety

Indeed, it is a duty upon us, rooted in truth and proper reverence.

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَا بُحْتُ بِالتأْبِينِ مُنْتَحِباً

مِنْ مَوْتِ مَنْ لَمْ يَدَعْ دَمْعاً لِمُنْتَحِبِ

For this sake I lamented tearfully

For this reason I have voiced this elegy, sobbing aloud

For the death of one whose death left no tearful lamenter

Over the death of one who left no tears unwept by the mourner.

مَاتَ الرِّضَى شَيْخُنَا الفَاسِيُّ مُصْطَحِباً

للسَّرْوِوَالصوْنِ وَالتأْيِيدِ فِي الطَّلَبِ

The approval, our Shaykh al-Fasi, died accompanied

The well-pleasing one, our Sheikh Al-Fasi, has passed away, taking with him

By the cedar and protection and success in seeking

True nobility, preservation, and divine support in all pursuits.

ماتَ مُحَمَّدٌ الْمَحْمُودُ سَائِرُهُ

إِذْ سَائِرُ النَّاسِ مَعْلُولٌ مِنَ الرِّيَبِ

Muhammad the praiseworthy departed while the rest of

Muhammad has died, he whose entire character was praiseworthy,

People are infirm from suspicion

While the rest of mankind remains afflicted by doubts and flaws.

ماتَ الصَّدُوقُ الأَمِينُ الْبَرُّ مُعْتَزِلاً

مَنْ كانَ ناموسُهُ في الْخَبِّ ذَا خَبَبِ

The truthful trustee, righteous one, secluded died

The truthful, the trustworthy, the deeply pious has died, withdrawing from

Who made hypocrisy his constitution, well-versed in deceit

Those whose nature races toward deception and deceit.

ماتَ فَأَحْيَا عَظِيمَ الْحُزْنِ أَعْظَمُ مَنْ

أَماتَ كلَّ دَواعِي اللهْوِ وَاللَّعِبِ

He died so revived greatest of sorrows, greater than he who

He died, and thus the greatest of men resurrected an immense sorrow,

Killed all motives of vanity and play

He who had long extinguished all motives for idle amusement and play.

في سِتَّ عَشْرَةَ بَعْدَ الأَلْفِ مَعْ مِائَةٍ

يَوْمَ الخَمِيسِ الذِي في مُنْتَهى رَجَبِ

In sixteen after a thousand with a hundred

In the year one thousand, one hundred and sixteen,

On Thursday which is at the end of Rajab

On a Thursday, at the very close of the month of Rajab.

مَنْ لِلْمَعَارِفِ يُحْيِيهَا وَقَدْ دَرَسَتْ

مَنْ لِلَّطَائِفِ يُبْدِيهَا وَلِلنُّخَبِ

Who will revive the knowledge that has faded

Who is left to revive the fields of knowledge now that they have faded?

Who will express the subtleties and the elite

Who is left to reveal subtle wisdom and guide the chosen elite?

مَنْ لِلْحَقَائِقِ يُنْشِيهَا مُحَقَّقَةً

مَنْ لِلرَّقَائِقِ يُمْلِيهَا بِلاَ تَعَبِ

Who will revive the realities making them true

Who is left to establish the spiritual truths with verified certainty?

Who will dictate the niceties without toil

Who is left to effortlessly impart the heart-softening lessons?

مَنْ لِلنَّوَادِرِ يَرْوِيهَا مُحَبَّرَةً

مَنْ لِلدَّوَاوِينِ يُقٍرِيهَا وَلِلْكُتُبِ

Who will narrate the rarities making them adorned

Who is left to narrate rare anecdotes with such elegant mastery?

Who will recite the collections and books

Who is left to teach the great volumes of poetry and the sacred texts?

وَمَنْ لِمَا لاَ أَرَى نَظْماُ يُسَاعِدُنِي

في ذِكْرِهِ مِنْ كَرامَاتٍ كَمَا الشُّهُبِ

And who can assist me in composing what I do not see

And who is left for those matters where poetry fails to assist me,

Of his miracles as shooting stars do

In recounting his miracles that shine as brightly as shooting stars?

وَمَنْ لِمَا لَسْتُ أَدْرِي مِنْ جَلاَلَتِهِ

مِنْ رَغَبٍ لَهُ فِي الْبَاقِي وَمِنْ رَهَبِ

And who knows his majesty that I do not know

And who is left to encompass what I cannot fathom of his majesty,

Of his desire for the eternal and awe

Of his deep yearning for the Eternal, and his awe-filled reverence?

لَمْ يَحْتَسِبْ بَعْدَكَ البَاقُونَ فِي تَعَبٍِ

مِثْلَكَ في حَسَبٍ يَا خَيْرَ مُحْتَسَبِ

After you those remaining did not consider in hardship

Those who remain in weariness after you have never counted on anyone

One like you of lineage, O best genealogist

With merit like yours, O finest of those upon whom we rely.

وَلَنْ يُصَابُوا بِرُزْءٍ مِثْلَ ذَا أَبَداً

بِخَيْرِ مُنْقَلِِبٍ لِخَيْرِ مُنْقَلَبِ

And they will not be stricken with contempt like this, never

And never again will they be struck by a calamity such as this,

For the best transformer to the best transformed

As the best of souls departs to the best of destinations.

عِشْتَ حَمِيداً وَقَدْ مِتَّ السَّعِيدَ وَقَدْ

أَشْفَيْتَنَا بِحَياةِ الْبَثِّ وَالْوَصَبِ

You lived commendably and died fortunate, and you

You lived a life of praise, and you have died in blissful fortune,

Cured us with living and youthfulness

Leaving us to suffer a life of ceaseless sorrow and affliction.

هَلْ أَنْتَ ذَاكِرُنَا عِنْدَ الإِلَهِ وَمَا

خِلْنَاكَ تَنْسَى فَمَنْ تَذْكُرُهُ لَمْ يَخِبِ

Are you remembering us before God, and you

Will you remember us before God? For we could never

Did not forget us so whoever you remember will not disappoint

Imagine you forgetting us, and whoever you remember shall never be let down.

فَكُنْ لَنَا سَلَفاً إِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَنَا خَلَفاً

فَالْخَلْفُ رُبَّتَمَا أَعْلاَهُ ذُو الرُّتَبِ

So be for us a predecessor if not a successor

So be our guiding predecessor, even if you are no longer among us,

For the successor, his rank is often the highest

For those who follow are often elevated by the master of high ranks.

فَبَيْنَنَا رَحِمٌ يَْرعَى أَذِمَّتَنَا

مَنْ قَدْ رَعَتْهُ عُيُونُ الْمَجْدِ وَالْحَسَبِ

Between us is a womb that observes our honor

For between us lies a bond of kinship that guards our covenants,

Whom the eyes of glory and nobility observed

One watched over by the very eyes of glory and noble lineage.

وَبَيْنَنَا سَبَبٌ يُبْقِيهِ مُتَّصِلاً

مَنْ وَصَّلَتْهُ الْعُلاَ بِأَوْثَقِ السَّبَبِ

And between us is a connection keeping him connected

And between us lies a tie that remains ever-connected,

Whom the heights connected with the firmest of connections

Bound by greatness to the firmest and most unbreakable of bonds.

وَنَسَبٌ فِي الْعُلاَ لَيْسَ بِمُؤْتَشِبٍ

يَحُوطُهُ خَيْرٌ مَنْسُوبٌ لِخَيْرِ أَبِ

And lineage in the heights not fabricated

And a lineage of eminence that is pure and unmixed,

Enveloping him, good attributed to the best father

Encompassed by the best of sons tracing back to the best of fathers.

وَبَيْنَنَا قُرْبَةٌ فِي اللهِ يَرْقُبُهَا

مَنْ قَارَبَتْهُ قُرَابَاتٌ مِنَ الْقُرَبِ

And between us is a closeness to God overseeing it

And between us is a closeness in God, vigilantly guarded

Who drew him near the closest of kinships

By one drawn near through the most intimate spiritual affinities.

وَأنْتَ ذَاكَ فَمَا أَعْرِفُ مِثْلَكَ فِي

مَا قلتُ بِالْحقِّ فِي نَبْعٍ وَلا غَرَبِ

And you are that, so I do not know anyone like you in

And you are precisely that; I know of no one like you

What I said in truth, neither from a spring nor west

In all that I have truthfully said, whether among the strong or the weak.

بَلْ أنتَ سَيِّدُ أهْلِ العصْرِ قاطِبَةً

أَنْشَأَكَ اللهُ لِلتَّفْريجِ لِلْكُرَبِ

Rather, you are the master of the people of the time altogether

Rather, you are the undisputed master of all the people of this age,

God created you to relieve worries

Created by God to bring relief to those overwhelmed by distress.

وَلِلمُعَنَّى وَلِلْمَلْهوفِ تُنْقِذُهُ

إِذَا ادْلَهَمَّتْ عَلَيْهِ ظُلَمُالنُّوَبِ

And for the wistful you save him

You were a savior to the suffering and the desperate,

When darkness of misfortunes overwhelms him

Rescuing them when the pitch-black darkness of calamity fell.

وَلِلَّذِي تَاهَ في الأَوْهامِ تُرْشِدُهُ

بِهَدْيِ مُحْتَسِبٍ لاَ بِهَدْيِ مُكْتَسِبِ

And for one who strayed in imaginations, you guide him

You were a guide to the one lost in the wilderness of illusions,

With the guidance of one who enjoins right, not one who earns

Leading with the pure guidance of one seeking God, not earthly gain.

وَللذِي نامَ في العُدْوانِ تُوقِظُهُ

بِعَزْمِ مُنْتَدِبٍ لِلَّهِ مُحْتَسِبِ

And for one who slept in transgression, you awaken him

You were an awakener to the one slumbering in transgression,

With the resolve of one who calls to God enjoining right

Rousing them with the firm resolve of one appointed by God.

وَلِلذِي أَقْعَدَ الْعِصْيانُ تُنْهِضُهُ

بِهَمِّ مُنْتَسِبٍ لِلْحَقِّ مُنْتَصِبِ

And for one who was rendered immobile by disobedience, you raise him

You uplifted the one whom disobedience had left crippled,

With the concern of one devoted to truth, persisting

With the soaring ambition of one standing firmly for the truth.

وَللذِي اعْتَاصَ مِنْ مَعْنىً تُوَضِّحُهُ

حَتَّى يَصِيرَ سَنىً فِي عَيْنِ مُرْتَقِبِ

And for one who was defiant of meaning, you clarify for him

You clarified every obscure and difficult meaning,

Until he becomes accustomed in the eye of one who anticipates

Until it shone as a brilliant flash of light in the observer's eye.

فَرُبَّ بِكْرٍ منَ التأْليفِ مُؤْتَلِفٍ

جَلاهُ فَوْقَ مِنَصَّاتٍ مِنَ العَجَبِ

So how many maiden compositions authored

Many a pristine, harmonious volume of authorship

He surpassed upon platforms from wonder

He unveiled upon towering platforms of wonder.

وَاهاً لِمَا فَتَحَ الحِصْنَ الحَصِينَ به

مِنْ شَرْحِهِ فَانْتَهَى لِلْمَعْقِلِ الأَشِبِ

Alas! What he unlocked with his explanation the strong fortress

Oh, how masterfully he breached the fortified stronghold with it,

It ended at the impenetrable refuge

Through his profound explanation, penetrating the most tangled redoubts.

أَبْقَى لَهُ الْحَمْدَ محْبُوباً نَوَاسِمُهُ

كَالروْضِ سَامَرَهُ طَلٌّ مِنَ السُّحُبِ

Remaining for him is praise, its blossoms beloved

He left behind a legacy of praise with beloved, gentle breezes,

Like a meadow showered at night by clouds

Like a garden conversing in the night with the dew of the clouds.

وَزَارَهُ سَحَراً صَباً فَحَمَّلَهُ

مِنْ نَشْرِِهِ مَا يُسَلِّي هَمَّ مُكْتَئِبِ

And the dawn visited him, so it carried

Visited at dawn by an easterly wind that carried from it

From its diffusion what comforts the sorrowful

A fragrance profound enough to soothe the sorrow of the grieving.

أَبْقَى لَهُ حُلَلَ التقْرِيضِ رَائِقَةً

في زَيِّ مِرْطٍعلَى الْعِقْيانِ مُنْسَحِبِ

Remaining for him are apparels of presentation pleasing

He left behind pure, elegant robes of commendation,

In the adornment of silk over lavishness withdrawing

Like a silken cloak trailing majestically over pure gold.

فَقَدَّسَ اللهُ قَبْراً ضَمَّ أَعْظُمَهُ

أَعْظَمَ أَعْظُمِ أَمْوَاتٍ بِذِي الْحِقَبِ

So God sanctified a grave containing His greatest

May God sanctify the grave that now embraces his bones,

The greatest of the greatest of the dead over time

The greatest bones among all the dead in these eras.

وَطَيَّبَ الرُّوحَ بِالرَّيْحَانِ مُعْتَضِداً

رُوحاً لَهُ بِغُرُورِ الْعَيْشِ لَمْ تَطِبِ

And fragrance with sweet basil supporting

May He sweeten his soul with basil, offering solace to

A soul not pleased with the delusions of life

A spirit that was never seduced by the illusions of this worldly life.

وَلاَزَمَتْهُ تَحِيَّاتٌ نَوَاسِمُهَا

تَحَْا بِهَا أَرْيَحِيَّاتُ منَ الطَّرَبِ

And greetings clung to him, their blossoms

And may he be eternally accompanied by greetings whose breezes

Greet with most pleasant of enchantments

Revive the most generous and joyous of spiritual delights.

وَرَأْفَةٌ مِنْ رَؤُوفٍ جَلَّ مِنْ صَمَدٍ

وَرَحْمَةٌ مِنْ رَحِيمٍ مُنْتَهَى الأَرَبِ

And kindness from the Merciful, Exalted Refuge

May he receive compassion from the Compassionate, the Majestic, the Eternal Refuge,

And mercy from the Compassionate, endless in breadth

And mercy from the Merciful One, the ultimate goal of all desire.

وَنَفَحَاتٌ مِنَ الرِّضْوَانِ تَنْفَعُهُ

يَحْيَا بِهَا كُلُّ مَنْ يَدْعُوهُ مِنْ كَثَبِ

And breaths of approval benefitting him

Accompanied by fragrant breezes of divine pleasure to bless him,

With it lives all who call upon him of multitudes

Giving eternal life to all who intimately call upon Him.