أَيُّها المَوت أَيّ مَجلس أنسٍ
وَوَقارٍ عَطّلتَ بَعد سَعيدِ
O Death, what company and dignity
Did you destroy after Sa'id?
أدبٌ كَالرِياض في الحسن وَالطي
ب قَريبٌ جَناه لِلمُستَفيدِ
Manners like gardens in beauty and charm,
Its fruits being near for the benefit of the needy.
وَكَأَنّي بِعلمه البحر عمقاً
وَاِتِساعاً تَغشاه عَذب الوُرودِ
It seemed to me his knowledge was an ocean,
Deep and vast, covered with sweet roses.
وَنُفوس الجلّاس تَأنف إِلّا
عِندَه أَن تَكون رَهن القُيودِ
And the souls of the congregation disdained
To be bound in shackles other than his.
بِغَزير مِن علمه وَمُفيدٍ
وَقَريب مِن حفظه وَبَعيد
Abundant in his beneficial knowledge,
And near in his retention and far in his intimacy,
وَغَريبٍ مِن أُنسِهِ وَعَجيبٍ
وَطَريفٍ مِن ظَرفه وَتَليد
And strange in his company and wondrous,
Refined in his manners and collected.
جامع الفَضل في الرِواية وَالشع
ر إِلى الأَصمَعيّ طَبع الوَليدِ
He gathered excellence in narration and poetry
To al-Asma'i, nature of al-Walid.
سلف صالح بَقية قَومٍ
بارك اللَهُ عَهدَهُم في العُهودِ
A righteous ancestor, remainder of a people
Whose covenant Allah blessed in contracts.
عَرَفوا الخَير أَكرَموا فَاعليه
جَهلوا اللؤم جَهلهم للجُحودِ
They knew good, honored its doers.
They were ignorant of villainy, ignoring transgressions.
وَإِذا ما تَجَرَّدوا لِعِداءٍ
وَقَفوا بِالعداء عِندَ حُدودِ
And when they disrobed for enmity,
They stopped at enmity within limits.
لَيتَ قَومي تَخلّقوا بِكَريم الخل
ق هَذا عِندَ الخِصام الشَديدِ
Would that my people would adorn themselves with the noble manners
Of this man in intense conflict.
ما أَشَدَّ اِفتِقارنا لسموّ ال
خلق في هَذِهِ اللَيالي السودِ
How great is our need for the loftiness of manners
In these dark nights!
ما لَكُم بَعضَكُم يمزق بَعضاً
أَفرَغتُم مِن العَدوّ اللدودِ
What is with you tearing each other apart?
Have you finished with the hostile enemy?
إِذهَبوا في البِلاد طولاً وَعَرضاً
وَاِنظُروا ما لِخَصمكم مِن جُهودِ
Go lengths and breadths in the countries
And see what your opponent has of exertions.
وَالمَسوا بِاليدين صَرحاً مَنيعاً
شادَ أَركانه بِعَزم وَطيدِ
And touch with your hands a firm edifice
Whose pillars he erected with firm resolution,
شادَهُ فَوق مَجدكم وَبَناه
مشمخراً عَلى رُفات الجُدودِ
Erecting it above your glory, building it
Towering over the skulls of ancestors.
كُل هَذا اِستَفاده بَينَ فَوضى
وَشقاق وَذُلة وَهجودِ
He gained all this amidst chaos,
Disunity, humiliation, and submission,
وَاِشتِغالٍ بِالتُرَهاتِ وَحُبِّ الذ
ذات عَن نافع عَميم مَجيدِ
And preoccupation with nonsense and love of others
Away from the beneficial, universal, magnificent.
شهد اللَه أَن تِلكَ حَياة
فُضِّلَت فَوقَها حَياة العَبيدِ
Allah bears witness that that life
Is preferred over the life of slaves.
أَصبَح المَوت نعمةً يُحسَدُ المي
تُ عَلَيها موسّداً في الصَعيدِ
Death has become a blessing; the dead
Are envied pillowed in the dust.
وَسَعيد مَن نالَ مثل سَعيدٍ
بَعد دار الفَناء دار الخُلودِ
Happy is he who attains the like of Sa'id
After the abode of annihilation, the abode of eternity.
فَهَنيئاً لَكَ النَعيم مُقيماً
أَنتَ فيهِ جارُ العَزيز الحَميدِ
So congratulations to you for lasting bliss,
You in which are the companion of the Almighty, All-Praiseworthy.
