مَلَكَ النُهى لا تَبعُدي

فَالخَلقُ في الدُنيا سِيَر

Angel of propriety, do not wander far,

For people in this world take different paths.

إِنّي أَرى لَكِ سيرَةً

كَالرَوضِ أَرَّجَهُ الزَهَر

I see you have a conduct

Like a garden made fragrant with flowers.

رَبّى أَبوكِ الناشِئي

نَ فَعاشَ مَحمودَ الأَثَر

Your father raised you, O eminent one,

So you lived a praiseworthy life.

وَسَلَكتِ أَنتِ سَبيلَهُ

في الناشِئاتِ مِنَ الصِغَر

And you took his path

Among girls from an early age.

رَبَّيتِهِنَّ عَلى الفَضي

لَةِ وَالطَهارَةِ وَالخَفَر

He raised them in excellence, purity, and modesty,

And to follow the Law revealed in the suras.

وَعَلى اِتِّباعِ شَريعَةٍ

نَزَلَت بِها آيُ السُوَر

So your home has virtue over all the living,

Female or male.

فَلِبَيتِكُم فَضلٌ عَلى ال

أَحياءِ أُنثى أَو ذَكَر

May God bless you if you scatter pearls,

And bless my lap if you scatter pearls.

لِلَّهِ دَرُّكِ إِن نَثَر

تِ وَدَرُّ حِفني إِن نَثَر

You were a good wife

In the desert and city you lived.

قَد كُنتِ زَوجاً طَبَّةً

في البَدوِ عاشَت وَالحَضَر

You excelled over castle dwellers

And made tent dwellers blacken their eyes.

سادَت عَلى أَهلِ القُصو

رِ وَسَوَّدَت أَهلَ الوَبَر

Western in your knowledge,

Distinguished among families.

غَربِيَّةٌ في عِلمِها

مَرموقَةٌ بَينَ الأُسَر

Eastern in your nature,

Sheltered among the stones.

شَرقِيَّةٌ في طَبعِها

مَخدورَةٌ بَينَ الحُجَر

While you can see her reading the stars

And learning from the lessons of time,

بَينا تَراها في الطُرو

سِ تَخُطُّ آياتِ العِبَر

And showing you the wisdom of experience

That handled events and tested.

وَتُريكَ حِكمَةَ نابِهٍ

عَرَكَ الحَوادِثَ وَاِختَبَر

And there she is in the kitchen

Cooking food in measure.

فَإِذا بِها في مَطبَخٍ

تَطهو الطَعامَ عَلى قَدَر

And there she sits sewing

And mending, piercing needles through.

وَإِذا بِها قَعَدَت تَخي

طُ وَتَرتَضي وَخزَ الإِبَر

She honored her father and mother

With her excellence and took pride.

فَخَرَت بِوالِدِها وَوا

لِدُها بِحِليَتِها اِفتَخَر

With knowledge she adorned her heart,

Not with pearls and gems.

بِالعِلمِ حَلَّت صَدرَها

لا بِاللَآلِئِ وَالدُرَر

So consider the features of her mind

On the Day of Assembly before God.

فَاُنظُر شَمائِلَ فِكرِها

بِاللَهِ يَومَ المُؤتَمَر

And read the minutes of the journal

And the precious articles.

وَاِقرَأ مُحاضَرَةَ الجَري

دَةِ وَالمَقالاتِ الغُرَر

And refer back to what she deposited

With the great journals.

وَاِرجِع إِلى ما أَودَعَت

عِندَ المَجَلّاتِ الكُبَر

You will know that we have lost

The best of teachers of thought.

تَعلَم بِأَنّا قَد فَقَد

نا خَيرَ رَبّاتِ الفِكَر

The sin of death's timing

In taking her youth cannot be forgiven.

ذَنبُ المَنِيَّةِ في اِغتِيا

لِ شَبابِها لا يُغتَفَر

I wish she had lived for Egypt

And the grave had not hidden her.

يا لَيتَها عاشَت لِمِص

رَ وَلَم تُغَيِّبها الحُفَر

She would have been a good example,

Hoped for and treasure stored away.

كانَت مِثالاً صالِحاً

يُرجى وَكَنزاً يُدَّخَر

I saw ignorant travelers

In danger.

إِنّي رَأَيتُ الجاهِلا

تِ السافِراتِ عَلى خَطَر

And I saw among them chastity

And virtue endangered.

وَرَأَيتُ فيهِنَّ الصِيا

نَةَ وَالعَفافَ عَلى سَفَر

No guardian, and they had set out,

An angel to protect them from harm.

لا وازِعٌ وَقَدِ اِنطَوَت

مَلَكٌ يَقيهِنَّ الضَرَر

Not like your day, a day when

Sorrow takes different forms.

لا كانَ يَومُكِ يَومَ لا

حَ الحُزنُ مُختَلِفَ الصُوَر

You taught the singer of the castle

To wail, and the trees to sob.

عَلَّمتِ هاتِفَةَ القُصو

رِ نُواحَ هاتِفِهِ الشَجَر

And you left your young friends

Grief that cuts their hair.

وَتَرَكتِ أَترابَ الصِبا

حُزنا يُقَطِّعنَ الشَعَر

They weep for your days of youth,

Morning and evening and dawn.

يَبكينَ عَهدَكِ في الصَبا

حِ وَفي المَساءِ وَفي السَحَر

And you left your husband not knowing

If Zayd was absent or present,

وَتَرَكتِ شَيخَكِ لا يَعي

هَل غابَ زَيدٌ أَو حَضَر

Overburdened with worries when

He persevered or faltered,

ثَمِلاً تُرَنِّحُهُ الهُمو

مُ إِذا تَحامَلَ أَو خَطَر

Like a branch shaken by winds

That twisted and then snapped,

كَالفَرعِ هَزَّتهُ العَوا

صِفُ فَاِلتَوى ثُمَّ اِنكَسَر

Or a building about to collapse

From the impact of decay.

أَو كَالبِناءِ يُريدُ أَن

يَنقَضَّ مِن وَقعِ الخَوَر

The hand of fate shook him

And the hand of destiny convulsed him.

قَد زَعزَعَتهُ يَدُ القَضا

ءِ وَزَلزَلَتهُ يَدُ القَدَر

I have not tasted the loss of sons

Or daughters in old age.

أَنا لَم أَذُق فَقدَ البَني

نَ وَلا البَناتِ عَلى الكِبَر

But when I saw his heart

Shattered and torn,

لَكِنَّني لَمّا رَأَي

تُ فُؤادَهُ وَقَدِ اِنفَطَر

And saw him almost set aflame

His visitors when he sighed,

وَرَأَيتُهُ قَد كادَ يُح

رِقُ زائِريهِ إِذا زَفَر

And witnessed him stumbling

However he stepped, carefully or not,

وَشَهِدتُهُ أَنّى خَطا

خَطواً تَخَبَّلَ أَو عَثَر

I understood the meaning of the sorrow, the grief

Of parents, and how bitter!

أَدرَكتُ مَعنى الحُزنِ حُز

نِ الوالِدَينِ فَما أَمَرّ

And I saw your husband bowed down,

Lonely amid the conversation,

وَشَهِدتُ زَوجَكِ مُطرِقاً

مُستَوحِشاً بَينَ السَمَر

Like the perplexed wanderer in the waste,

Misguided by the moon.

كَالمُدلِجِ الحَيرانِ في ال

بَيداءِ أَخطَأَهُ القَمَر

So I knew you were the bond of his bliss,

Now scattered.

فَعَلِمتُ أَنَّكِ كُنتِ عِق

دَ هَنائِهِ وَقَدِ اِنتَثَر

Patience, Abu Malik, patience,

For the patient have what remains.

صَبراً أَبا مَلَكٍ فَإِن

نَ الباقِياتِ لِمَن صَبَر

And by the measure of the afflicted’s patience

Is the length and shortness of calamity.

وَبِقَدرِ صَبرِ المُبتَلى

طولُ المُصيبَةِ وَالقِصَر

Be yourself when things go badly,

Be yourself when things go well.

كُن أَنتَ أَنتَ إِذا تُسا

ءُ كَأَنتَ أَنتَ إِذا تُسَرّ

O dutiful daughter to her parents,

Your father after you has no peace.

يا بَرَّةً بِالوالِدَي

نِ أَبوكِ بَعدَكِ لا يَقِرّ

So ask your God for solace

For your father, for he needs it most.

فَسَلي إِلَهَكِ سُلوَةً

لِأَبيكِ فَهوَ بِهِ أَبَرّ

And may the new loss make him calm,

For that is the lasting home.

وَليَهنِكِ الخِدرُ الجَدي

دُ فَذاكَ دارُ المُستَقَرّ