تذكرت والذكرى تهيج البواكيا

وتظهر مكنوناً من الحزن ثاويا

I remembered—and remembrance stirs the weeping women,

And reveals the sorrow that lies concealed—

معاهد كانت بالهدى مستنيرة

وبالعلم يزهو ربع تلك الروابيا

The places once illumined by guidance,

And through learning the abode on those hills flourished.

وأراضيها بالعلم والدين قد زهت

وأطواد شرع الله فيها رواسيا

And their lands had flourished through learning and faith,

And the mighty mountains of God's law stood firm within them.

وقد أينعت منها الثمار فمن يرد

جناها ينلها والقطوف دوانيا

And their fruits had ripened; so whoever sought

Their harvest would obtain it, with the fruit clusters close at hand.

وأنهارها للواردين شريعة

مناهلها كالشهد فعم صوافيا

And their rivers were watering places for those who came to drink;

Their watering places, like honey, were brimful and pure.

وقد غردت أطيارها برياضها

يرجعن ألحان الغواني تهانيا

And their birds had sung in their gardens,

Echoing fair maidens' melodies in celebration.

وكنا على هذا إزماناً بغبطة

وأنوارُ هذا الدين تعلو سواميا

And we lived thus for long ages in contentment,

And the lights of this faith were rising on high.

فما كان إلاَّ برهةً ثم أطبقت

علينا بأنواع الهموم الروازيا

It was but a brief while; then there closed in

Upon us calamities with every kind of anguish.

فكنا أحاديثاً كأخبار من مضى

ونسمع عنها في القرون الخواليا

So we became tales, like accounts of those long gone,

And we hear of them from centuries long past.

لعرمي لأن كانت أصيبت قلوبنا

وأوجعها فقدان تلك المعاليا

By my life, since our hearts have been stricken,

And the loss of those lofty glories has made them ache,

لقد زادت البلوى اضطراماً وحرقة

فحق لنا إهراق دمع المآقيا

Affliction has indeed grown fiercer and more searing,

So it is fitting that we pour tears from the corners of our eyes.

فقد أظلمت أرجاء نجد وأطفئت

مصابيح داجيها لخطب وداهيا

For the reaches of Najd have darkened, and extinguished are

The lamps of its darkness, through calamity and disaster.

لموت إمام الدين والعلم والتقى

مذيق العدى كاسات سم الأقاليا

Because of the death of the imam of religion, learning, and piety,

Who made foes taste cups of the poison of [unclear].

فعبد اللطيف الحبر أوحد عصره

إمام هدى قد كان الله داعيا

For ʿAbd al-Laṭīf, the learned scholar, was peerless in his age,

An imam of guidance who called to God.

لقد كان فخراً للأنام وحجة

وثقلاً على الأعداء عضباً يمانيا

He was indeed a source of pride for humankind and a proof,

And a burden upon the enemies, a keen Yemeni sword.

إمامًا سمى مجداً إلى المجد وارتقى

وحل رواق المجد إذ كان عاليا

An imam who rose in glory toward glory and ascended,

And dwelt in glory's pavilion, for he was exalted.

تصدى لرد المنكرات وهدما

بنته عداة الدين من كان طاغيا

He stood forth to repel wrongdoing and to demolish

What the enemies of religion had built—those who were tyrannical.

فأضحت به السمحاء يبسم ثغرها

ويحمي حماها من شرور الأعاديا

Thus, through him, the gracious faith's mouth smiled,

And he guarded its sanctuary from the evils of foes.

حياه إله العرش في العلم والنهى

بما فاق أبناء الزمان تساميا

The God of the Throne honored him with learning and understanding,

By which he surpassed the sons of his age in loftiness.

وقد جد في ذات الإله بجهده

ولم يأل في رأب والمناهيا

And he strove in God's cause with all his effort,

And spared no effort in mending [breaches] and [curbing] forbidden deeds.

ولما نمى الركبان أخبار موته

وأصبح ناعي الدين فينا مناديا

And when the riders spread news of his death,

And the herald of religion's death cried out among us,

رثيناه جبراً للقلوب لما بها

وحل بها من موجعات التآسيا

We elegized him to mend hearts for what lay within them,

And the pains of shared mourning that had befallen them.

لشمس الهدى بدر الدجى علم الهدى

وغيظ الي فاليبك من كان باكيا

For the sun of guidance, the full moon in darkness, the banner of guidance,

And the bane of [unclear]—let whoever would weep, weep.

لئن ظهرت منا عليه كآبةٌ

وحل بنا خطبٌ من الرزء شاجيا

Though grief for him has shown itself in us,

And a grievous calamity of loss has befallen us,

فقد كسفت للدين شمس منيرة

يضيء سناها للورى متساميا

A shining sun of religion has indeed been eclipsed,

Its soaring radiance lights humankind.

سقى الله رمساً حل وابل الرضى

وهطال سحب لعفو من كان غاديا

May God water the grave he entered with a downpour of favor,

And with clouds pouring pardon upon the one who went forth at dawn.

ولازال إحسان الإله وبره

على قبره ذي ديمة ثم هاميا

And may God's beneficence and kindness never cease

Upon his grave, in steady gentle rain, then pouring showers.

وأسكنه الفردوس فضلاً ورحمةً

والحقه بالصالحين المهاديا

And may He lodge him in Paradise, by grace and mercy,

And join him to the righteous [guided ones].

عليه تحيات السلام وإن نيء

وأحضى دفيناً في المقابر ثاويا

Upon him be greetings of peace, though [he is distant],

And [has become] one buried, resting among the graves.

يفوق عبير المسك عرف عبيرها

ويبهر ضوء الشمس أزكى سلاميا

The scent of their fragrance surpasses musk's perfume,

And the purest of my greetings outshines the sunlight.

فيا معشر الإخوان صبراً فإنما

مضى لسبيل كلنا فيه ماضيا

O company of brothers, be patient, for he has only

Gone down a path along which all of us will go.

فإن أفل البدر الفريد وأصبحت

ربوع ذوي الإسلام منه خواتليا

For though the peerless full moon has set, and

The dwellings of Islam's people stand empty of him,

فقد شاد أعلام الشريعة واقتفى

بآثار آباء كرام المساعيا

He did raise the banners of the sacred law and followed

The footsteps of forefathers noble in their endeavors.

هموا جدد والإسلام بعد اندراسه

وأحيوا من الأعلام ما كان خافيا

They renewed Islam after its effacement,

And revived the landmarks that had been hidden.

وكم لهمو من منحة وفضيلة

يقصر عن تعدادهن نظاميا

And how many gifts and virtues were theirs,

My verse falls short of enumerating them.

مناقبهم لا يحصها النظم عدةً

وليس يواريها غطاء المعاديا

Their virtues are too numerous for verse to count,

Nor can the foe's veil conceal them.

فيا رب جد بالفضل تكرماً

وبالعفو عنهم يا مجيب المناديا

O Lord, bestow Your bounty generously,

And pardon them, O You who answer the caller.

وابق لهم سادة يقتدى بهم

إلى الخير يا من ليس عنا بلاهيا

And preserve for them leaders whose example is followed

Toward goodness, O You who are not heedless of us.

ونسئلك اللهم ستر عيوبنا

ومحو الذنوب المثقلات الشواجيا

And we ask You, O God, to cover our faults,

And erase our burdensome, grievous sins.

فعفوك مأمول لكل مؤمل

وسترك مسدول على الخلق ضافيا

For Your pardon is hoped for by everyone who hopes,

And Your ample covering is draped over creation.

وأحسن ما يحلو القريض بختمه

صلاةً وتسليماً على خير هاديا

And the finest thing that sweetens verse at its close

Is blessings and peace upon the best guide,

وأصحابه والآل ما ماض بارق

وما انهل صوب المدجنات الغواديا

And his companions and family, as long as lightning flashes,

And as long as rain pours from dark clouds at dawn.