Sol 5.6

  1. This is the calamity that struck jinn and humankind,

    and eclipsed the two luminaries—the sun and the moon.

  2. Its blow befell the radiant world,

    and befell the dusty, earthly world; both became renowned through it.

  3. It made heaven weep and made the earth weep with grief,

    and blinded the eye, bereft of knowledge and transmitted tradition.

  4. Through it heaven was folded up and earth overturned;

    the sun was swept away and the sea set ablaze.

  5. The earth was demolished from head to foot,

    and all were engulfed, neither Qahtan nor Mudar spared.

  6. Let whoever delights in seeing knowledge buried and lost—

    here is its grave, now that Jum‘a has been entombed.

  7. O gaping breach opened in the faith!

    Here is the fracture in Islam, still unmended.

  8. Piety, discernment, and learning have all passed into darkness,

    while praise, glory, and goodness lie hostage to the soil.

  9. Never did I imagine that a sea and a mountain could both be contained

    within a span of earth, or an armspan when measured.

  10. Oblivion now lies upon the world and all its inhabitants;

    after Jum‘a, neither benefit nor harm remains.

  11. If he has become a captive in a barren waste,

    then the people, grieving for him, are captives after him.

  12. O son of Ahmad, O Abu Zahir, indeed

    you have bequeathed us anguish, sorrows, and distress.

  13. Who after you will give the people rulings when problems become intractable—

    questions grown tangled, whose chains of transmission were a treasure?

  14. So abundant was your learning that, had you been the ocean, neither

    Moses, who spoke with God, nor al-Khidr could have crossed its depths.

  15. Who will tend the roots, the root’s branch, or the root of a bran—

    ch—the branch in which none but you could see what lay within?

  16. You were the trusted guardian over the world and all its inhabitants;

    whoever was absent from you found through you the sufficiency of one present.

  17. Within the radiant faith you manifested a miracle,

    penetrating through the subtlety of your learning the inward meaning of what appeared outwardly.

  18. You revived the practice of one who kept the night alive—and how often

    you journeyed by night with knowledge among the learned world.

  19. Oman was verdant through you, sheltered

    from the clashing calamities of time and all its changes.

  20. Today, after you, it stands exposed before fools,

    seeking in your absence one shelter after another.

  21. O you who endured thirst through every blazing noon,

    fasting, and enjoyed wakeful nights spent in obedience;

  22. O sea, O age, O raincloud of humankind, O

    full moon of perfection, whose rising brought delight!

  23. The foundations of learning weep for you, bereft

    of you—the sources you entrusted with transmitted tradition.

  24. The branches of those foundations weep for you, asking:

    Who after you will expound them with the knowledge received from you?

  25. Assemblies weep for you, so long filled

    with learning, remembrance, chains of transmission, and tested insight.

  26. The congregations in their mosques weep for you,

    left desolate, with none to offer hospitality there or receive it.

  27. The poor and every widow weep for you,

    as do the widower and orphan whose means fell short.

  28. A whole people weep for you—a people whose master you were;

    you shielded them from calamities, enemies, and dangers.

  29. The guardians of learning weep for you, their hearts torn apart;

    governors and commanders weep as well.

  30. By God, what blessedness you brought the people of earth, O sage!

    The earth itself is rolled up like a scroll after having been spread.

  31. Amid consolation and grief, I fear that

    I have been left after you to live out my allotted days.

  32. Yet it is a consummate wisdom within creation:

    who can repel God’s decree or destiny?

  33. Death is a path every creature must travel;

    one goes before as leader, and another follows behind.

  34. This world is nothing but meadows of desire,

    and we are like a flock grazing its low plants and blossoms.

  35. Death is like a snaring hunter who has caught whoever

    he could before the Resurrection in his beguiling snares.

  36. We did not realize until, within his snares,

    our lifetimes were caught; his purpose is to demolish all that has been built.

  37. We build and plant in this world, hoping that

    we shall remain, though lasting life and the attainment of hopes are difficult.

  38. Some of us bid others farewell and bury them

    in their graves, while dust is heaped upon them.

  39. Whoever remains then turns back to divide his inheritance,

    as though what he saw befall another could never befall him.

  40. Though Jum‘a has departed, he indeed possesses

    nearness to God, free of insolent exultation and pride.

  41. And Bashir remains after him as a successor,

    with his brother Ahmad rebuilding the house of glory.

  42. One is like Abu Bakr beside his Companion,

    and the other supports him in his cause like Umar.

  43. They are indeed those very two; through them both we place our hopes

    in learning, renunciation, beneficence, and steadfast patience.

  44. Your father was no exception to mortality, though

    he has left us grief, burning pangs, and tears.

  45. I console you both for him, though I have an eye

    I fear will be overwhelmed by the assault of copious tears.

  46. Whenever a flowing tear falls upon my cheek,

    it leaves the blazing embers of grief burning in my heart.

  47. Who after him will be my brother in faith, counseling me without

    guile or rancor, disguise or hidden malice?

  48. Parting is certain. Will no dream-vision visit you both

    after sleep, so that I might meet you through it at dawn?

  49. Perhaps then the heart’s fires might be quenched,

    or the copious, ever-streaming tears be stopped.

  50. O grave of Jum‘a, may abundant rain greet you,

    from two pouring rainclouds, full and streaming,

  51. from night-traveling clouds and fair, departing clouds,

    whose rain continues through the ages, morning and night.

  52. May lingering clouds water the hollows around you, O

    you whose open palm outdoes both torrent and rain.

  53. May the gentle graces of felicity visit you from

    the bounty of the Gentle One, leaving neither fear nor caution.

  54. And may our master, the Prophet, intercede for you; upon

    him may God bestow blessings as long as anyone performs Hajj and Umrah.

Sol 5.6