تَفديك لو قبِلَ المنونُ فِداها

نَفسٌ عليكَ تقطَّعت بأساها

You would ransom him if death embraced him

A soul for you has torn itself with its grief

يا كوكباً قد خرَّ من أفق العُلى

في لَيلَةٍ كَسَت الصباحَ دُجاها

Oh you who like a planet has fallen from the horizon of sublimity

In a night clothed with darkness by the dawn

كانَت حياتُك للنواظر قرَّةً

وَاليومَ موتُك للعيون قَذاها

Your life was a delight for onlookers

And today your death is agony for eyes

يا لَيتَني غُيّبتُ قبلَك في الثَرى

وَسُقيتُ كاسَ الموت قبل تَراها

If only I was buried before you in the soil

And drank the cup of death before beholding it

أَو ليتَ عيني قبلَ تبصرُ يومَك ال

محتوم كحَّلها الردى بعَماها

Or if only my eye was blinded before the day

When fate lined it with the blindness of loss

لَم لا تَمنّى الموتَ دونك مهجةٌ

قد كنتَ تجهدُ طالباً لرضاها

Why wouldn't a burning heart wish for death without you

You who always strove for its contentment

أَم كَيفَ لا تَهوى العَمى لك مقلةٌ

قد كنتَ قرَّتها وكنت سَناها

Or how could an eyelid not yearn for blindness for your sake

You who were its comfort and its joy

آهٍ ليومكَ ما أَمضَّ مُصابَه

وأَحرَّ نارَ مصيبةٍ أَوراها

Alas for the day whose affliction persists

And the fire of calamity it uncovered

لا وَالَّذي أَبكى وأضحكَ والَّذي

أَفنى نفوساً بعدما أَحياها

No, by Him who makes me weep and laugh, by Him

Who gives life then takes it away

لَم يَبقَ لي في العيش بعدَك رغبةٌ

ما لي وللدنيا وطولِ عَناها

After you, living no longer holds appeal for me

What is left of life and its prolonged sorrows?

هَيهات ترغبُ في الحياة حشاشةٌ

قد كنتَ أَنتَ حياتَها وَمُناها

Far from it! A bereaved woman desires life

You were her life and refuge

كانَت تؤمِّل أَن تَكونَ لك الفِدا

فأَبيتَ إلّا أَن تَكونَ فداها

She wished to sacrifice herself for you

But you refused except to be her sacrifice

وَبررتَها حتّى كأَنَّك رأفَةٌ

وَتعطُّفاً كنتَ اِبنها وأَباها

You cared for her as if you were her son

Out of kindness you were her father and sibling

أفٍّ لها إِذ لم تشاطِركَ الرَدى

ما كانَ أَغلظَها وما أَقساها

Woe to her, that she did not share your fate

However hard and cruel it was

قسماً بربِّ العاكفين بمكّةٍ

والطائفين بِحجرها وَصفاها

I swear by the Lord of those praying in Mecca

And those circumambulating its stones and incline

لَولا يقيني أَنَّني بك لاحقٌ

لقهرتُها حتّى تذوقَ رداها

If not for my certainty that I will join you

I would have overwhelmed her with its bitterness

تاللَّه خابَ السعيُ واِنفصمت عُرى ال

آمال مِمّا نابَها وَعَراها

By God, futile is the effort and broken are the ties

Of hopes because of what has afflicted and stripped her

لا مُتِّعَت بالعيش بعدَكَ أَنفسٌ

كانَت حياتُك روضَها وَجَناها

No soul will enjoy life after you

Your life was their meadow and garden

بَل لا هَنا للقَلب غيرُ غليله

أَبَداً ولا للعين غيرُ بُكاها

Rather, the heart has no solace but grief

Nor the eye anything but tears, ever

يا دوحةً للمجد مثمرةَ العُلى

ذَهبت نَضارتُها وجفَّ نَداها

Oh you palm tree of glory bearing the heights

Whose freshness has withered and palms dried up

قد كنتَ ساعديَ الَّذي أَسطو به

وَيدي الَّتي يَخشى الزَمانُ سُطاها

You were the arm by which I wielded

And the hand by which time feared my power

تَنفي الأَسى عنّي وتحمي جانبي

من كُلِّ كارثةٍ يعمُّ أَذاها

You relieved my woes and protected my side

From every misfortune spreading its harm

وَاليومَ قد هجمت عليَّ حوادثٌ

ما كُنتُ أَحذرُها ولا أَخشاها

And today tribulations have assaulted me

Which I never worried about or feared

طوبى لأَيّام الوصال وطيبها

ما كانَ أَحلاها وما أَهناها

Blessed were the days of union and their goodness

However sweet and pleasant they were

أَيّام لي من حسنِ وجهك بَهجةٌ

بجمالها بين الوَرى أَتَباهى

Days in which the beauty of your face delighted me

With its perfection I took pride amongst all people

فإذا جلستَ بجانبي فكأَنَّني

قارنتُ من شمس النهار ضُحاها

When you sat by my side it was as if

I had coupled the sun’s brightness at noon

وإذا رأَيتُك بين آل المُصطَفى

عوَّذتُ منظَرك الجَميل بطاها

And when I saw you amongst the Prophet’s family

I shielded my eyes embarrrassed by your beauty

كانَت بقُربكَ في الزَمان مواردي

تَصفو ويعذُبُ وردُها ورواها

In your company the water springs of life

Would clear, its roses and basil ever fragrant

فمُنيتُ من حرِّ الفِراق بغلَّةٍ

حكم الرَدى أَن لا يبلَّ صَداها

So I have been afflicted by the heat of our separation

Fate decreed its echoes never subside

وَبُليتُ من أَرزائِه برزيَّةٍ

عظُمت مصيبتُها وَطالَ جَواها

And I was tested by its adversities with such calamity

Whose affliction was great and wounds vast

إنّي ليملكني التأَسُّفُ والأَسى

فيعزُّ من نَفسي عليكَ عزاها

Grief and sorrow surely overwhelm me

And condole you with the deepest consolations

فإذا ذكرتُ فناءَ دُنيانا الَّتي

لا لفظها يَبقى ولا مَعناها

For when I recall the fleeting nature of our lives

Whose utterance or meaning does not remain

خفَّ الأَسى عنّي وهان عليَّ ما

أَلقاه من أَهوالها وَبَلاها

Grief is lightened and tribulations mean little to me

However grave what it has unleashed and tested me with

كَيفَ البَقاءُ بهذه الدار الَّتي

من قد بَناها للفَناءِ بناها

How to survive in this abode

Which he who built, built for demise?

دارٌ قَضَت أَن لا يَدومَ نعيمُها

لا كانَ مسكنُها ولا سُكناها

An abode destined for no delight to last

Not its dwellings or habitations

لا يُسرُها باقٍ ولا إِعسارُها

سيّانَ حالا فقرها وغناها

Neither felicity makes it joyous nor adversity melancholic

Both states of poverty and riches are equal

مقرونةٌ خَيراتُها بشرورِها

وَنَعيمُها بعنائِها وَشَقاها

Its fortunes paired with misfortunes

And comforts with its misery and torment

إِن أَضحكت أَبكت وإِن برَّت بَرَت

وإِذا شَفَت شفَّت عليلَ ضَناها

When it laughs, it weeps, and when innocent, remains guilty

And if it heals, it wounds the sick, tired soul

أَينَ المُلوكُ المالكون لأَمرها

والعامِرو أَمصارِها وقُراها

Where are the kings who ruled it?

And inhabited its towns and villages?

أَينَ القياصرُ والأَكاسرةُ الألى

شادوا مَباني عزِّها وَعُلاها

Where are the Caesars and Emperors

Who raised the buildings of its glory and sublimity?

أَينَ الخواقينُ الَّذي تمسَّكوا

بعهودِها واِستمسَكوا بعُراها

Where are the Khusraus who clung

To its covenants and held onto its pillars?

غَرَّتهم بشَرابها وَسَرابها

حتّى اِنتشوا من كأسِها وطلاها

It seduced them with its wine and mirage

Until they perished by its cup and sought its ruins

بطشت بهم بطشَ الكمين بِغرَّةٍ

اللَه أَكبَرُ ما أَقلَّ وَفاها

It pounced on them with the cunning of ambush

God is Greatest! How little its loyalty!

قَد ضَلَّ رشدُ من اِطّباه جمالُها

فَصَبا إِليها واِزدَهاهُ زُهاها

Lost is the sanity of those who admired its beauty

And so were devoted and enhanced its charms

يَهوى الأَنامُ بها البقاءَ وإنَّما

شاءَ الإلهُ بقاءَهم بِسواها

The people crave surviving through it yet

God only wills that they survive without it

ما هذه الأَيّامُ غيرُ مراحلٍ

تُطوى وأَنفاسُ النفوس خُطاها

These days are but stages

Folded as the breaths of life march on

حتّى إِذا بلغت نهايةَ سَيرها

أَلقَت عَصاها واِستقرَّ نَواها

Until, reaching the end of their course

They let go of their staff and rest their burden

يا قُرَّةً للعين أَسخَنها الرَدى

وعزيمةً للقَلب فَلَّ شَباها

Oh comfort of the eye, scorched by loss

And resolute spirit, its flames have subsided

تَبكي عليكَ النفسُ من فرط الأَسى

وَتَنوحُ وجداً من عظيم شَجاها

The soul weeps for you in utter grief

Wailing in profound agony and wounds

وَتَقولُ حقّاً حين يَنكشفُ العَمى

عنها وَتبصرُ رشدَها وَهُداها

And it speaks the truth when blindness is lifted

And it sees its guidance and foresight

وُفِّقتَ حين رَفضتَ ألأَمَ منزلٍ

ورقيتَ من عُليا الجنان ذُراها

You succeeded when you refused vile dwellings

And ascended to the heavenly gardens’ heights

جارَيتَني فبلغتَ قَبلي غايةً

للحقِّ لم يبلغ أَبوكَ مَداها

You surpassed me, reaching before me the ultimate

Station of truth I could not attain

ما زلتَ تسهر كلَّ لَيلَةِ جمعةٍ

لِلَّه إِذ يَغشى العيونَ كَراها

Every Friday eve you stayed up worshiping God

As eyes fell shut and drowsiness drew near

حَتىّ دَعاكَ اللَهُ فيها راضياً

لِتَنالَ منه مثوبةً تَرضاها

Until God called you, pleased

To grant you glorious reward pleasing Him

لِلَّه همّتُك الَّتي فاقَت عَلى

هِمم الأَعاظِم شيخِها وَفَتاها

Your ambition surpassed that of the greatest

Their elders and youth in fervor

سعت الرجالُ لنيل دُنياها الَّتي

قد دُنِّست فعزفت عن دُنياها

While people strived for this world

Defiled, you turned away seeking the sanctified

وَسعيتَ للأخرى المقدَّسة الَّتي

لَم يرعَ غيرُ الطاهرين حِماها

You attained it while still a youth

Alas for your sublime ambition! Alas!

فحويتَها وَالعمرُ مُقتَبل الصِبا

واهاً لهمَّتك العليَّة واها

If you have settled in paradise in bliss

Then your father is relieved of worries and distress

إِن كنتَ أحلِلتَ الجنانَ منعَّماً

فأَبوكَ حلَّ من الهموم لَظاها

Taibah and its environs mourned your death

And Mecca and its minarets wept your loss

حزِنت لموتك طيبةٌ وبقيعُها

وَبكت لفوتِكَ مكَّةٌ ومِناها

Separation began inciting grief

In Tus, Baghdad, and Samarra

وَغَدا الغريُّ عليك يُغري بالأَسى

طُوساً وبغداداً وسامرّاها

You brought joy to eyes with your integrity

Gracing you in the prime of youth with its adornments

أَقررتَ أَعينَ من بها بنزاهَةٍ

حلَّتكَ في سنِّ الصِبا بحُلاها

God send His prayers upon you from the abode

Where perfection lies buried in its chambers

صَلّى عليكَ اللَهُ من مُستودَعٍ

في رَوضَةٍ ضمَّ الكمالَ ثَراها

And may your Lord’s mercy come upon you morn and eve

Watering your tomb, giving it life

وَتواتَرت رحماتُ ربِّك بُكرةً

وَعشيَّةً يَسقي ثَراك حَياها

No longing loved one or soul remembering its passion

Has ever grieved as I grieve for you

ما حنَّ مُشتاقٌ إِلى أَحبابِه

وتذكّرت نفسٌ أهَيلَ هَواها