قل لمن تاه دلالا وهوى

انتبه للموت واهجر ذا الهوى

Say to him who struts in coy pride and desire:

Take heed of death, and forsake this desire.

فمنادي الحزن قد أزعجنا

وغراب البين قد هد القوى

For sorrow's herald has disturbed us,

And the raven of parting has shattered our strength,

إذ نعانا بوفاة المرتضى

قاسم شهم همام ولوا

When it announced to us the death of the worthy one,

Qasim, noble-hearted, valiant, and a standard.

فسكبت الدمع ممزوجا دما

سائلا من قطره الورد روى

So I shed tears mingled with blood,

Flowing, its drops quenching the rose's thirst,

قائلا مسترجعا واها على

فقد هذا المنتحى والمنتوى

Saying, 'To God we return'—alas for

The loss of this refuge and goal!

كيف يهنا الصبر يا قوم وقد

غار بحركان للدر حوى

How can patience be sweet, my people, when

A sea that held pearls has sunk away?

هل لنا من بعد هذا أحد

يعظ الناس ويشفي بالدوا

Is there anyone for us after this

Who admonishes people and heals with medicine?

هل لنا من يقتفي آثاره

بعده من كان يدري ما روى

Is there anyone to follow his footsteps

After him—one who knew what he transmitted?

من يقيم الليل احياءا له

بركوع من تحاشى وارعوى

Who will keep the night alive in vigil,

With the bowing of one who shuns wrongdoing and turns back?

من يرى الصوم دواما حرفة

وله من خشية الله انزوا

Who makes continual fasting his calling,

And lives in seclusion for fear of God?

من لسكب الدمع خوفا للذي

جعل الارض بساطا واستوى

Who will shed tears in fear of Him

Who made the earth a carpet and rose on high?

من اذا ما جئته زائره

تلق بحرا منه تزداد ارتوا

Who, whenever you came as his visitor,

You find an ocean that quenches your thirst ever more?

أبني مصعب زوروا قبره

واطلبوا الله لنا حسن النوى

O sons of Mus'ab, visit his grave,

And ask God to grant us good intentions.

ابني مصعب أبكوه دماً

ما حييتم وان الجسم ضوى

O sons of Mus'ab, weep blood for him

As long as you live, even if the body wastes away.

قد بكاه الناس طرا ولذا

كل قلب سمع النعي انطوى

All the people have wept for him; thus

Every heart that heard the death-tidings folded inward.

وبكته الكتب اذ فارقها

وبه قد شفها حر الجوى

The books wept for him when he left them,

And the heat of anguish for him has worn them thin.

لا تقولوا انه ميت ولا

غاب عنابل مع الحور ثوى

Do not say that he is dead, nor

That he is absent from us; rather, he dwells with the houris.

وجنان الخلد من مسكنه

برد الله ثرى عنه احتوى

And the gardens of eternity are his dwelling.

May God cool the soil that has enclosed him.

أبني مصعب لا تستسلموا

واحذر والا تتبعوا طرق الهوى

O sons of Mus'ab, do not give in,

And beware: do not follow the paths of desire.

فجميل الذكر ذاك المنتقى

نجله الاكبر قد صارلوا

For that chosen one, of fair renown—

His eldest son—has become a standard,

وغدا فضلاً هما ما سيداً

فيصلا قاضٍ بعد ما نوى

And, in excellence, a valiant master,

An arbiter and judge, after he departed.

وأبو بكر كذا من بعده

اذ حوى الفضل وللعلم روى

And Abu Bakr likewise, after him,

For he possessed excellence and transmitted learning.

واذا الليث ثوى في رمسه

صار للدين من الشبل قوى

And when the lion lies in his grave,

Religion gains strength from the cub.

يا أبا بكر تجلد واصطبر

ان في الصبر لأجراً ودوا

O Abu Bakr, be steadfast and patient:

In patience there is surely reward and healing.

قد أصبنا وبلينا يا لها

قصة عمت ببلواها الهوا

We have been stricken and tried—ah, what

A tale whose affliction has filled the air!

لا تقل اني بها منفرد

اننا والله فيها لسوا

Do not say, 'I alone suffer it';

By God, we are surely equal in it.

واذا ضاق بك الحال فقم

واذكر الله تر الأمر انزوى

And when your circumstances close in on you, arise

And remember God: you will see the trouble recede.

وتذكر من مضى من قبلنا

من أطاع الله مع من قد غوى

And remember those who passed away before us,

Those who obeyed God, along with those who strayed.

كنبيء الله نوح جدنا

ملك الموت له العمر طوى

Like God's prophet Noah, our forefather:

The Angel of Death folded up his span of life.

وسليمان بن داود الذي

قهر الجن وللملك حوى

And Solomon son of David, who

Subdued the jinn and possessed dominion.

صلوات الله عنهم قد مضوا

بقضاء هكذا الرسل روى

God's blessings be upon them—they have passed away

By decree—so the messengers have related.

أين فرعون وشداد ومن

بعده ممن على العرش استوى

Where are Pharaoh and Shaddad, and those

After him who ascended the throne?

هدموا قصرا وعلوا غيره

وطغوا في الارض طوعا للهوى

They razed a palace and raised another,

And tyrannized on earth in obedience to desire.

كلهم بادوا ولم يبق لهم

غير ذكر بلسان ذي التوا

They all perished, and nothing remains of them

But mention on a crooked tongue.

واذا لم يكف فامعن نظرا

تلق فقد المصطفى يسلي الجوى

And if that is not enough, look more deeply:

You will find the loss of the Chosen One soothes anguish.

وقل ان الموت حوض والورى

كله يشرب كاسا بالسوا

And say: death is a pool, and humankind

All drink a cup in equal measure.

وهي باب كلنا ندخله

من حقير وجليل ذي قوى

And it is a gate we all enter,

The lowly and the noble, possessed of strength.

عظم الله لك الاجر فلا

جزع يورث غير الاكتوا

May God magnify your reward; let there be no

Despair—it brings nothing but searing pain.

وكذا كل قراري صفا

وبنو مصعب أهل الاستوا

And likewise every pure-hearted Qarari,

And the sons of Mus'ab, people of uprightness.

واذا ما جئت نحو القبر قل

رب روح روح من فيه انطوى

And whenever you approach the grave, say:

Lord, grant repose to the soul of him enclosed within.

وعلى المختار صلى ربنا

ما أضا برق وما رعد دوى

And may our Lord bless the Chosen One,

As long as lightning flashes and thunder resounds.