1. سَما فَوقَ أَعناق الرِجال عبابُ

    وَتَحتَ تخوم الأَرض غاض سَحابُ

    A surging flood rose above the necks of men,

    and a cloud sank beneath the bounds of the earth.

  2. وَقَد حجبت شَمسَ العُلوم غَمامةٌ

    وَأَربى عَلى بَدر الفُنون ضَباب

    And a cloud has veiled the sun of learning,

    and fog rose over the full moon of the arts.

  3. وَأَصبَحت الآداب تَبكي إمامَها

    وَينعيه مِنها دَفترٌ وَكِتاب

    And literature began to weep for its master,

    and its notebook and book announce his death.

  4. وَغاب شِهاب الدين عَنها فَنالَها

    عَلى فَقده دُون الأَنام مُصاب

    And Shihab al-Din vanished from it, and it was struck

    by a calamity at his loss, separate from humankind's.

  5. وَأَصمت سِهامُ الدَهر مِنها فؤادَها

    فَعاشَت بِلا قَلب وَذاكَ عُجاب

    And Time's arrows fatally pierced its heart,

    so it lived without a heart—and that is a marvel.

  6. وَأَركانها مِن بَعده قَد تهدّمت

    وَلاحَ عَلَيها يَوم فاظَ خَراب

    And its pillars had crumbled after him,

    and ruin appeared upon it the day he breathed his last.

  7. وَآوى إِلَيها البوم في عَرصاتها

    وَجاوره فيها هُناك غراب

    And the owl sought refuge with it, in its open courts,

    and there a crow dwelt beside it.

  8. فَلا كانَ يَومٌ سار عَنها ركابُه

    وَواراه عَنها جَندل وَتُراب

    May the day never have been when his caravan left it,

    and stones and earth concealed him from it.

  9. لَقَد كانَ في مضمارها لَيث غابة

    يَكرّ فَلا تلوي عَلَيهِ ذئاب

    Indeed, in its arena he was a lion of the forest,

    charging, while no wolves would turn toward him.

  10. أَما وَمعانٍ كان أَوّل مُبدع

    لَها وَمَبان فَوقهنّ قباب

    Indeed, by meanings he was the first to create,

    and by structures with domes above them,

  11. وَرقة أَلفاظ وَحُسن سَلاسة

    تحلَّى بِها طُرس وَراق شَراب

    by delicacy of words and beauty of fluency,

    with which a page was adorned and a draught became delightful,

  12. وَدرّ فَريد في عُقود بَديعة

    بِأَجياد حُور ما لهنّ حِجاب

    and by peerless pearls in exquisite necklaces

    upon the necks of houris who have no veil:

  13. لَئن ماتَ هَذا السَيد الحبر وَاِنقَضى

    فَما ماتَ تَأليف لَهُ وَصَواب

    even if this master, this learned scholar, has died and passed away,

    his writings and sound judgment have not died.

  14. وَكَيفَ لَدى الأَحيا يَموت وَذكرُه

    مَدى الدَهر باق يَقتفيهِ ثَواب

    And how could he die among the living, when his memory

    endures for all time, with reward following it?

  15. وَمِن عَجَب تَحويه أَرض وإنه

    لَهُ في السَما بَين النُجُوم حِساب

    And it is a marvel that the earth contains him, although

    he is reckoned among the stars in the sky.

  16. أَيا راجِياً لِلفَوز بِالسَبق بَعدَه

    تَأخَّر فَما كُل الطُيور عُقاب

    O you who hope to win first place after him,

    fall back: not every bird is an eagle.

  17. وَهَيهات يَوماً أَن تَكون مدانياً

    لَهُ في ضُروب الفَضل وَهوَ عباب

    And far from possible is it that you should ever come close

    to him in the kinds of excellence, for he is a surging sea.

  18. فَمَن رامَ يَحذو حَذوه فَهوَ قاصر

    وَلَو أَنَّهُ بَينَ الأَنام نقاب

    Whoever seeks to follow his footsteps falls short,

    even if he is a discerning expert among humankind.

  19. وَلِلوارد الظَمآن ماءُ علومِه

    فُراتٌ وَماء المدّعين سَراب

    And for the thirsty one who comes to drink, the water of his learning

    is sweet and fresh, while the pretenders' water is a mirage.

  20. فَكَم هَذب الانشا بنظم عَقائدٍ

    لَها بَيننا في الخافِقين طلاب

    For how often he refined composition by versifying creeds,

    which have seekers among us in the East and the West.

  21. وَكَم في رَسول اللَه صاغَ فُوائِداً

    بِها في جِنان المُتقين يثاب

    And how many insights he fashioned concerning God's Messenger,

    for which he is rewarded in the gardens of the God-fearing.

  22. وَكَم بِنَسيم الأُنس سارَت سَفينة

    لَهُ في بِحار الوفق وَهيَ حباب

    And how many a ship sailed on the breeze of companionship,

    his, through seas of concord, itself mere foam.

  23. وَقَد فازَ في الدُنيا بعز ورفعة

    وَنالَ بِها الآمال وَهيَ صِعاب

    And in this world he won honor and high rank,

    and fulfilled his hopes there, difficult though they were.

  24. وَهامَ لَهُ المَعقول عِندَ فِطامه

    فَأَظهَر في المَنقول مِنهُ شَباب

    And rational learning fell in love with him at his weaning,

    so he displayed youthful vigor in transmitted learning.

  25. وَلا زالَ هَذا الفاضل الحبر يَرتقي

    إِلى أَن دُعِي للخلد وَهوَ مُهاب

    And this distinguished scholar never ceased to rise,

    until he was called to eternity, held in awe.

  26. وَجاور في دار الكَرامة رَبه

    فَطُوبى لَهُ مِن حَيث طاب مآب

    And he dwelt beside his Lord in the abode of honor.

    So blessed is he, for his final abode is fair!

  27. وَبُشراه فالرضوان قال مؤرّخاً

    إِلى الحُور في الفَردوس راح شِهاب

    And glad tidings to him! For Ridwan said, giving a chronogram:

    To the houris in Paradise Shihab has gone.