ما أَحمل القَلب لِلبَلوى وَاِصبرهُ
لا بَينَ إِلّا وَتَلقى مِنهُ أَعسَرهُ
My heart bears not the test of separation, though I steel it to patience
No solace amidst love but the most bitter fruit we reap
قَد فَرَّق البين مِنا كُل مُجتَمع
مِن أَبناء البين لقياناً وَأَخبرهُ
Parting has broken all ties that once bound us close
Kinship avails not when love and fate decree we part
لَيتَ الَّذي رَوَّع المضنى بِفرقَتِهِ
بَينَ المُنون وَبَينَ الصَدّ حيَّرهُ
Would that he who so torments me with his absence
Confuse the lover from the friend and bewilder them
أَولَيت مِن كثرت فينا إِساءَتُهُ
أَبقى لَنا مِن نَفيس العَيش أَيسرَهُ
Would that he who has wronged me so
Leave me some comfort in life, however meager
ما بتُّ أَرقب لَيلاً صَج مَوعده
إِلّا وَلِلحَشر أَلقاهُ وَأَنذَرَهُ
No night have I kept vigil, wakeful for his promised coming
But to the tryst he sends instead warning of our parting
غَض البَنان رَخيم الدَل طَلَعتُهُ
حَوَت مِن الحُسن أَبهاهُ وَأَنضَرهُ
A sapling, soft branch and tender leaf
Exquisite in beauty, in the bloom of youth
تَباً لِمَن بِهِلال الأُفق تَنبههُ
أَو بِالكَثيب وَبالخَطيّ تَنظرهُ
Curse the one who wakes at dawn’s crescent
Or watches the sands for what fate they portend
يا مَن وَهَبتُ لَهُ قَلبي فَانكرني
مِن بَعد مَعرِفَتي ظُلماً وَانكرهُ
You who once owned my heart then denied me wrongfully
After having known me - how you disavowed our bond
لَكَ الفِداءُ شَبابي أَنّ بي لَجوى
تَخشى المَنية أَدناهُ وَأَنذرهُ
For you, the sacrifice of my youth; though shielded
You fear the approach of death and keep warning
مالي وَلِلدَهر لا أَبغي بِهِ طَلَباً
إِلّا وَضيق ما أَرجو وَعُسرَهُ
No desire have I in this life sought
But that the attainment prove difficult and elusive
وَلا اِقتَضَت بِإِشراك المُنى رَشأ
إِلّا وَصادَفَهُ حَظي فَنَفَرهُ
No lucky star governed my destiny
But that fortune always my hopes evade
كَم جاهل غَلط الأَيام قدمهُ
وَذو الفَضائل أَقصاهُ وَأَخرَهُ
How many a fool’s steps have led him ahead
While the virtuous man is spurned and cast out
لَكنما الفَضل مَحمود عَواقبهُ
لَن يَهجو الدَهر إِنسان وَيَهجرهُ
Yet merit, in the end, is its own reward
No man of worth does time itself abandon
يَكفي الزَمان عَلى ما فيهِ مِن عوج
فَخراً بِنجل عَليّ حينَ أُبصرهُ
Enough that this age is crooked in its course
Glory to the son of Ali, since his light we behold
القارويُّ الَّذي أَدنا مَناقِبُهُ
أَعيا أَولى العلم وَصفاً أَن يُررهُ
Al-Qarawi, whose virtues approach so closely
The foremost of knowledge - how can minds comprehend?
مُبارك الوَجه ما لاحَت بَشاشَتهُ
لِلأَمر إِلّا وَبَعد العُسر يُسرهُ
Blessed his countenance, radiating joy
In every matter, through sorrow, an ease he renders
رَد الضَلال عَلى الأَعقاب مُنتَهكاً
لَما اِنتَضاهُ الهَوى عَضباً وَأَشهَرَهُ
He turned unbelief back on its heels
When passion drew the sword of violence against him
وَأَوضَح الحَق وَالأَيام داجية
وَمَقعَد العَدل في الآفاق سَيرهُ
The truth he made clear, though the world be darkened
Just leadership throughout the land his legacy
كَم باتَ يَطلبهُ الشَرع القَويم لَهُ
عَوناً مِن اللَهِ فيما اللَهُ قَدّرهُ
How often he prayed, seeking from his Lord
Succor in what his Lord alone determines
لَو أَن قسّاً رَأى ما ضَمَّ أَبرُدهُ
مِن الفَصاحة إِجلالاً لِوقرهُ
If a priest but glimpsed what his eloquence contains
Of reverence - it would humble his arrogance
أَو رامَ أَدراك وَصف مِن مَآثره
هَذا الزَمان لاعياه وَحيره
Or if he hoped to grasp the import of his deeds
This age would weary and confound him
يَهدي إِلَيك ثِمار الفَضل يانِعة
مِن كُلِ سَطر بِرَوض الطُرس حررهُ
To you the fruits of merit come to bloom
In every line his pen etched upon the parchment
ما عَزّ مِن مُشكل إِلّا وَبَينَهُ
وَلا طَغى حادث إِلّا وَدَبَرهُ
No tangled knot but he makes plain
No rising crisis but he resolves
وَلا أَتى شادِنٌ يَشكو سَطا أَسد
إِلّا وَحُكمَهُ فيهِ وَظَفَرهُ
No lion complaining of the tyranny of a wolf
Whose case before him does not meet with victory
مِن أُسرة مَلَكوا رَقَ الفَخار وَقَد
حازوا مِن الفَضل دونَ الناس أَوفَرَهُ
Of a family who gained supremacy
And in merit surpassed all other men
قاموا بِدين إِلَه العَرش وَاِنتَصَروا
ِما بِهِ جاءَنا الهادي وَقَرَرَهُ
They upheld the faith of the Lord of the Throne
As the Guide commanded, they carried out his decree
داموا وَدامَ مُقيماً تَحتَ ظِلَهُم ال
صافي في النَعيم الَّذي بُلِغَت أَكثَرَهُ
May they endure, and endure perpetual
In the blessing they attained in such abundance
