أَبكي وَعَينُ الشَرقِ تَبكي مَعي
عَلى الأَريبِ الكاتِبِ الأَلمَعي
I weep and the eye of the East weeps with me
For the eloquent, brilliant Arab writer
جَرى عَصِيُّ الدَمعِ مِن أَجلِهِ
فَزادَ في الجودِ عَلى الطَيِّعِ
The water of tears flowed for his sake
Increasing his generosity over the obedient
نَقصٌ مِنَ الشَرقِ وَمِن زَهوِهِ
فَقدُ اليَراعِ المُعجِزِ المُبدِعِ
A loss for the East and its glory
The absence of the miraculous, creative genius
لَيسَ لِمِصرٍ في رِجالاتِها
حَظٌّ وَلا لِلشامِ في أَروَعِ
Egypt has no fortune among its men
Nor Syria among its most handsome
مُصابُ صَرّوفٍ مُصابُ النُهى
فَليَبكِهِ كُلَّ فُؤادٍ يَعي
An affliction for Sarrouf, an affliction for decorum
Let every heart that comprehends weep for him
كُرِّمَ بِالأَمسِ وَأَكفانُهُ
تَنسِجُها الأَقدارُ لِلمَصرَعِ
Honored yesterday, today his shroud
Is woven by the fates for his demise
يا صائِغَ الدُرِّ لِتَكريمِهِ
صُغهُ لِمَنعاهُ مِنَ الأَدمُعِ
O maker of pearls, fashion them for his honor
To spare him from tears
قَد زَيَّنَ العِلمَ بِأَخلاقِهِ
فَعاشَ مِلءَ العَينِ وَالمَسمَعِ
He adorned knowledge with his ethics
And lived full of insight and hearing
تَواضُعٌ وَالكِبرُ دَأبُ الفَتى
خَلا مِنَ الفَضلِ فَلَم يَنفَعِ
Humility while arrogance was the habit of the lad
Devoid of merit, he did not benefit
تَواضُعُ العِلمِ لَهُ رَوعَةٌ
يَنهارُ مِنها صَلَفُ المُدَّعي
The humility of knowledge has a brilliance
At which the insolence of the pretentious crumbles
وَحُلَّةُ الفَضلِ لَها شارَةٌ
أَزهى مِنَ السَيفَينِ وَالمِدفَعِ
The garb of merit has a insignia
More radiant than sword and cannon
يُشبِعُ مَن حَصَّلَ مِن عِلمِهِ
وَهوَ مِنَ التَحصيلِ لَم يَشبَعِ
He satisfies those who gain his knowledge
Yet he was never sated from seeking it
مُبَكِّرٌ تَحسَبُهُ طالِباً
يُسابِقُ الفَجرَ إِلى المَطلَعِ
Seeming a student from his early rising
Racing the dawn to the horizon
قَد غالَتِ الأَسقامُ أَضلاعَهُ
وَالرَأسُ في شُغلٍ عَنِ الأَضلُعِ
Illnesses wasted his ribs
While his head was busy beyond his sides
ماتَ وَفي أَنمُلِهِ صارِمٌ
لَم يَنبُ في الضَربِ عَنِ المَقطَعِ
He died with a sword still in his fingers
Unrelenting in combat and decisive arguments
صاحَبَهُ خَمسينَ عاماً فَلَم
يَخُن لَهُ عَهداً وَلَم يَخدَعِ
For fifty years his companion never
Broke a promise to him or was deceitful
مُوَفَّقاً أَنّى جَرى مُلهَماً
ما ضَلَّ في الوِردِ عَنِ المَشرَعِ
Successful, inspired wherever he went
Never straying from the path in his pursuits
لَم يَبرِهِ بارٍ سِوى رَبِّهِ
وَلَم يَحُزهُ جاهِلٌ أَو دَعي
None guided him but his Lord
No ignorant or fraudulent person led him astray
في النَقلِ وَالتَصنيفِ أَربى عَلى
مَدى اِبنِ بَحرٍ وَمَدى الأَصمَعي
In transmitting and authoring he surpassed
Ibn Bakr and al-Asma'i in scope
أَيَّ سَبيلٍ لِلهُدى لَم يَرِد
وَأَيُّ بابٍ مِنهُ لَم يَقرَعِ
What path of guidance did he not walk
What door did he not knock and open
يَقتَطِفُ الزَهرَ وَيَختارُهُ
كَالنَحلِ لا يَعفو عَنِ الأَينَعِ
He picks and chooses the flowers
Like bees, not neglecting the freshest
فَتَحسَبُ القُرّاءَ في جَنَّةٍ
عُقولُهُم في رَوضِها تَرتَعي
You'd think the readers were in a garden
Their minds grazing in its meadows
صَرّوفُ لا تَبعُد فَلَستَ الَّذي
يَطويهِ طاوي ذَلِكَ المَضجَعِ
Sarrouf, you have not gone far, it was not you
Laid down in that final resting place
أَسكَتَكَ المَوتُ وَلَكِنَّهُ
لَم يُسكِتِ الآثارَ في المَجمَعِ
Death silenced you but it did not
Silence your legacy in the academy
ذِكراكَ لا تَنفَكُّ مَوصولَةً
في مَعهَدِ العِلمِ وَفي المَصنَعِ
Mention of you is ever connected
To the institute of knowledge and the factory
