لا يمنع الموت حجّاب ولا زَرَدُ

ولا المواضي ولا العادية الجرد

Neither veils nor armor can prevent death,

Nor meadows, nor barren plains,

ولا الجيوش التي ضاق الفضاء بها

ولا أخ عن أخ أو عن أب ولد

Nor the armies that filled the space,

Nor brother from brother, or son from father.

وما عمرناه للدنيا فمخترب

ونحن للموت كالآبا وما نلد

What we built for the life is an experiment,

As we are for death like the fathers - we do not last.

والموت باب وكل الناس داخله

والحشر نهج له كل الورى تحتد

And death is a door, and all people enter it,

And the resurrection is a path, to which all creation is led.

وكل حي له عن يومه أمد

إن جاز لم يبق عن أيامه عدد

Every living being has a time,

If it passes, its days will not remain.

كم مرتج أن يقضي عيشه رغدا

والموت تقصر عنه العيشة الرغد

How many who wished to live comfortably

Yet death shortened the comfortable living.

وغيب عن رداهم قبل موجبه

وحين جاء القضا حكم القضا شهدوا

And it was absent from their thoughts before its reason,

And when the decree came, the decree bore witness.

صادت سليمان مولانا حبائله

وفرّ منها بباقي عمره أسد

Solomon’s schemes failed him,

And what remained of his life, he escaped like a lion.

وذاك من جدنا في من بقى ولنا

بعد الَّذي قد مضى من قبلنا أمد

That is from our ancestor, so for whoever remains of us

After what has passed before us, it is a lesson.

يا بحر أغرقت بحراً لم يزل أَبدا

عذباً وأنت الاجاج الملح والصرد

O sea, you drowned an ocean that never

Ceased being fresh, while you are bitter and turbid.

وأنت موجك موج لا انتفاع به

وذاكَ أمواجه الفتياء والسند

Your waves are useless waves,

While its waves are youthful and sturdy.

على مطاك العفا من بعد غرقته

فلا عليك جرت سفن ولا مسد

It forgave you after you drowned it,

So ships and rafts did not matter to you.

ومن جلالته ما رُمت تحفظه

منك الفرائص لما ساح مرتعد

And from its glory is that you did not attempt preserving it

From you - the obligations - when it flowed terrified.

أغرقته للقضا الجاري عليك به

وهعته وجيوش الموت تطر

You drowned it by fate imposed upon you,

And you moaned, and the armies of death weep.

للعلم إنك لم تقدر تضمنه

فاخترت أنك من حوباه تبتعد

Know that you could not guarantee it,

So you chose to distance yourself from its decay.

حتى به ظفرت أصحابه وبه

نور الايابة مثل الشمس يتقد

Until through it, its companions succeeded, and through it

The light of return shone like the sun.

في ساحل كتب اللَه الجلال له

به فأصبح فيه وهو معتمد

On the shore God decreed glory for it,

So it settled there, steady.

خير البقاع سليمان أقام بها

حيا وميتاً ولا فيما أرى فند

The best place is where Solomon stayed

Alive and dead - and in what I see, nothing matches it.

لأنه في بلاد اللَه جوهرة

تضيء نوراً وباقي العالم الصفد

For it is in God's land a gem

That shines brightly while the rest of the world is dark.

هيهات ليس لقبر حله مثل

ولا لموطنه نزوى ترى بلد

Alas, no grave can equal it,

Nor a place like Nuzwah you will find.

لما مررت بدار كان ساكنها

وحةض نعماه فيه والورى يرد

When I passed by the house where he lived

And enjoyed his blessings, while people came and went.

والخلق فوضى كطير الجو من ظمأ

إِليه لم تدر من تنوي وتقتصد

And people were chaotic like birds in the sky, thirsty

To him - you could not tell who aims and who rations.

وقد تمازجت الأصوات من حزن

هذا يحن وذاك باك وذا غر

Voices were mixed with sorrow

This one wails, that cries, and another moans.

سد الشجي نفسي حتى غصصت به

وكان لولاه ما بالمحنق السدد

I held back my flooding tears until I choked on them

And were it not for him, I would not have been patient and steadfast.

كأنني متي بين النفختين فلا

أَبدي لما قال لي صبراً ولا أعد

It was as if I died between the two blasts - so I have

No permanence - when he told me patience and no more.

كأنما هذه الدنيا وساكنها

في لحده كلهم لما مضى لحدوا

As if this world and its inhabitants

Were all in his grave when he passed away.

ناديت بعد انتباهي أين كوكبها

قالوا تغور والدنيا فمن ترد

I called, after regaining my awareness, where is its star?

They said it disappears while the world - so who can bring it back?

إِن كنت تطلب جدواه فمات بها

أَو كنت تطلب شرواه فلا تجد

If you seek its brilliance, it died out,

Or if you seek its lights, you will not find them.

كانت عمان به وجهاً ولا كلف

به وعين صفت ما مسها رمد

Oman through him was radiant, but now without him

It lost its splendor, and its eyes are clouded with no clarity.

مغني مفاقرها مفتي حرائرها

مفتي مجازرها حمال ما يئد

Its singer, the caller of its free women,

The guide of its massacres, bearing what flows.

كأنما الوفد حيرى بعد مصرعه

صيارف لوجوه القوم تنتقد

It is as if the delegation after his death

Were confused, examining the people’s faces.

قالوا فقدنا سليمانا وقد علموا

أن الندى والحجى والعلم قد فقدوا

They said we lost Solomon, and they knew

That charm, wisdom and knowledge were lost.

كأنما العالم العفري حيث مضى

نهجا سليمان هم من بعده نقدوا

It is as if the world where he went

Became, after him, counterfeit.

ماتت قلوبهم مذ مات مرشدها

فاليوم لا راشد باق ولا رشد

Their hearts died when their guide died

So today no guide remains, nor guidance.

تعسا ونكسا لذي الدنيا وآهلها

عقبى سليمان لا دنيا ولا أحد

Woe and shame to the world and its people

After Solomon - neither world remains nor anyone.

كأنما الناس والدنيا وإِن عظموا

في كفه طارف يقنيه أَو تلد

It is as if people and the world, though great,

Were in his grip, a blade he wipes or forges.

كأنه من ذكاء العقل في رفق

أنوار موسى على سيناء تتقد

It is as if from the intellect's wisdom in gentleness

Moses' lights shine on Sinai.

بيومه قد يرى ما الامس فات به

رؤياه بالعقل ما يأتي إليه غد

Through his day, he sees what the past brought

His vision with the intellect - what comes to him tomorrow.

لا يرقد الليل إِلا وهو مقتبل

وجه الإِله فمن خوف فمرتقد

He does not sleep at night but facing

God's face - so in awe, observant.

كأنما الليل معمول لمقلته

ميلا وإثمدُها فالدمع والسهد

It is as if the night was made for his vigil

Inclining to Him - so tears and wakefulness.

كأنما سقر إِلا له خُلقت

مازال منها لقرب اللَه يبتعد

It is as if hell was created only for him

He remains distant from it, drawing near to God.

كأنما عنده الدنيا غراب نوى

وكل زخرفها في عينه سفد

It is as if to him the world is a crow's nest,

And all its decor in his eyes is rubble.

ولا تجد أحداً إِلا عليه له

من علمه أَو هداه أَو نداه يد

You will not find anyone but for him

From his knowledge, guidance or help, has a hand.

فاليوم بعدك ركن الدين ما تركت

ركناً من الخلق إلا خمشته يد

Today after you, pillar of the faith, you left

No pillar for people but your hand marked it.

كأن حزنك في وسط القلوب لظى

تجري الدموع عليها وهي تتقد

It is as if the grief within hearts burns

Tears flow over them and they blaze.

كأن ذكرك بين العالمين شذى

روض أجاد عليها الوابل البرد

It is as if your remembrance between worlds is fragrance

A garden he poured rain upon.

نروم ننساك لكن قد تركت لنا

خلائقاً منك تنعينا فنجتهد

We attempt to forget you, but you left

Traits of you that make us remember and strive.

سقى ضريحك محلول النطاق له

زماجر كدموعي فيك تنسرد

Your tomb was watered by the dissolved shackles -

Wailing - like my tears for you pouring down.

وخلد اللَه روحاً كنت متعبها

فيه إِلى جنة سكانها خلدوا

May God immortalize a spirit you wearied

To a Paradise whose people are immortal.

وإِن بقي للذي يبقى على أَسف

بنو أخيك فنعم القادة النجد

If there remains for who remains, my sorrow

For your brother's children - excellent leaders and aid.

وإِن شقوا بالَّذي تشقى الكرام به

فهم على الصبر مذ فارقتهم سعدوا

If they endure what the noble endure,

Then in patience since you left them, they succeeded.

وإن خصصت بفضل وانفردت به

فهم به عن جميع العالم انفردوا

If you were distinguished by a merit and singled out with it

Then through it, above all people they were singled out.

لا أدخل اللَه واو العطف بينكم

وإن فقدت فهم عاشوا ولا فقدوا

May God not join between you and them that conjunction

If I lost, they lived and did not lose.