لَيْسَ لَنَا في سِوى ابْنِ الحاجِ منْ حَاجِ
شَيْخٌ سَمَا لِلْعُلاَ بِأيِّ مِعْراجِ
We have no need for anyone other than Ibn al-Hajj,
A master who ascended to the heights of glory by the greatest of ascensions;
بالْعِلْمِ وَالحِْلْمِ والإِدْراكِ في مَهَلٍ
لمَّا تَعَاصَى على السُّمَّارِ في الدَّاجِ
With knowledge, forbearance, and deliberate insight,
When matters grew difficult for those conversing in the dark of night.
ضَاءَتْ مَعارِفُهُ في كلِّ ناحِيَةٍ
كالْبَدْرِ يُبْدِي سَنًا في كلِّ أَبْرَاجِ
His knowledge illuminated every direction,
Like the full moon casting its radiance across every constellation.
بَحْرٌ وَمَا البحْرُ إِلاَّ منْ مَشَابِهِهِ
عُمْقٌ بِعُمْقٍ وَأَمْواجٌ بِأمْواجِ
He is an ocean, and the ocean is but a reflection of him—
Depth matching depth, and wave mirroring wave.
أسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ أَيْنَ الْبَحْرُ مُلْتَطِماً
مِنْ ذِي مَوَارِدَ عَذْبٍ غَيْرِ مُهْتَاجِ
But I seek God's forgiveness! How can a crashing, turbulent ocean
Compare to this calm source of sweet, unagitated waters?
وَرَاكِبُ البَحْرِ لاَ يَنْفَكُّ مِنْ خَطَرٍ
وَبَحْرُهُ مُمْتَطِيهِ كُلُّهُ نَاجِ
The one who rides the sea is never free from peril,
While everyone who sails his ocean is utterly saved.
بَدْرٌ مُنِيرٌ وَأَيْنَ البَدْرُ ذَا كَلَفٍ
مِنْ كَوْكَبٍ في سَمَاءِ النُّبْلِ وَهَّاجِ
He is a shining moon, but how can a spotted, blemished moon
Compare to a brilliantly glowing star in the sky of nobility?
نَعَمْ مَآثِرُهُ كالْبَدْرِ مُكْتَمِلاً
نُورٌ بِنُورٍ وَإِدْلاَجٌ بِإِدْلاَجِ
Indeed, his enduring legacies are like the fully realized moon:
Light upon light, guiding through the darkest of night journeys.
نَعَى لَنَا مَوْتَهُ مَنْ كَانَ أَشْبَهَهُمْ
كَالنَّمَرِيِّ وَعَبْدِ الْحَقِّ وَالْبَاجِي
His death announced to us the passing of the one who most resembled them,
Like Al-Namari, Abd al-Haqq, and Al-Baji;
وَمَنْ تَقَدَّمَهُمْ مِنْ كلِّ مُعْتَبَرٍ
كَالْفَارِسِيِّ وَعَمْرٍو وَابْنِ سَرَّاجِ
And those esteemed figures who preceded them,
Like Al-Farisi, 'Amr, and Ibn Sarraj.
عَلَى ثَرَاهُ سَلاَمٌ فَائِحٌ عَبِقٌ
وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ تَغْشَاهُ بِأَفْوَاجِ
Upon his resting soil be a fragrant, sweet-smelling peace,
And may the mercy of God envelop him in continuous waves.
ونَوَّرَ اللهُ قَبْراً ضَمَّ مِنْهُ سَناً
مِنْهُ اقْتَبَسْنَا بِإِبْلاَجٍ وَإِسْرَاجِ
May God illuminate the grave that enfolds such radiance from him,
From which we drew our light, brightness, and illumination.
وَهِمَماً تَاقَ أَدْنَاهَا إِلىَ نَهَلٍ
مِنَ الْحِمَامِ وَقَدْ عُلَّتْ بإِحْراجِ
And what high resolves! The least of which yearned for a first sip
From the cup of death, having been quenched through hardship,
تَخَلًّصاً منْ أَذى ما إِنْ يُلائِمُهُ
إِلاَّ السُّلُوكُ لَهُ في غَيْرِ مِنْهَاجِ
Seeking deliverance from the harm of that which does not suit him,
Except navigating it on an uncharted path;
لُقْيَا الْحِمامِ بِوَجْهِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَلاَ
لُقْيَا الْهَوَانِ بِوَجْهٍ غَيْرِ مِبْهَاجِ
Meeting death with the radiant face of the pious,
Rather than meeting disgrace with a face devoid of joy.
لَهْفِي عَلَى ما فَقَدْنا مِنْ شَمَائِلِِه
إِنَّا فَقَدْنَا بِهِ يَاقُوتَةَ التَّاجِ
Oh, my grief for the noble traits we have lost with him!
In him, we have truly lost the crowning ruby,
وَخِلْعاً كَانَ شَخْصُ الدِّينِ يَلْبَسُهَا
طَارَتْ بِهَا كلُّ إِعْصارٍ بِإِدْراجِ
And the robes of honor that the embodiment of religion used to wear,
Which every fierce whirlwind has flown away with and folded up;
وَحُلَّةً كَانَتِ التَّقْوَى تُلِمُّ بِهَا
أَلْقَتْ بِهَا هُوجُ أَهْوَالٍ بِعَجَّاجِ
And a garment that piety once gathered around itself,
Cast aside by fierce terrors into roaring dust storms.
كانتْ مَنِيَّتُهُ أحبَّ مُنْيَتِهِ
فَنالَها نَيْلَ مُحْتَاجٍ لِمُحْتاجِ
His death was the most beloved of his desires,
So he attained it as one desperately needing it attains their need.
إِنَّ الْمَنايَا أَمَانِي الأَفْضَلينَ إِذَا
خَافُوا الدَّنايَا عَلى مَا كَانَ مِنْ حَاج
Indeed, death is the ultimate desire of the most excellent, when
They fear disgrace despite whatever needs they may have.
بِيسَ الأَذِلَّةُ قَوْمٌ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمُ
فَرَمَّدُوا مَا شَوَوْا مِنْ بَعْدِ إِنْضَاجِ
Miserable are the humiliated, a people whose efforts went astray;
They turned to ashes what they had roasted, right after it was perfectly cooked.
وَاسْتَسْلَمُوا لِلدَّنَايَا وَهْيَ تُقْذِعُهُمْ
مِنْ حُبِّ أَوْلاَدٍ أَوْ مِنْ حُبِّ أَزْوَاجِ
They surrendered to base vices even as they were disgraced by them,
Out of excessive love for children or for spouses;
وَأَخْلَدُوا لِلْأَمَانِي لاَ تُخَلِّدُهُمْ
فَأُزْعِجُوا لِلْمَنَايَا أَيَّ إِزْعَاجِ
They clung to worldly hopes that would never make them immortal,
And thus were violently driven to their deaths, what a terrible driving!
