1. تعز فعز حي لا يموتُ

    علا فله العلاوالجبروتُ

    Take comfort: mighty is the Living One who never dies.

    He is exalted; His are loftiness and sovereign might.

  2. وكل غيره ميت مميت

    ومجتمع فمفترق شتيت

    All besides Him are mortal and bereaved;

    and all that gathers will part and be scattered.

  3. أَلم تخبر عن السلف المواضي

    ولاة السمر والقضب المواضيد

    Have you not heard of the forebears who passed away,

    lords of tawny spears and keen-edged swords?

  4. مضوا والكل منا فهو ماضي

    وعن عوض البيوت لنا بيوت

    They passed away, and every one of us must pass away.

    And in place of our houses, other houses await us.

  5. وأكبر عبرة فينا وفيكا

    مضت أَبناؤنا تقفو بنيكا

    The greatest lesson lies in us and in you:

    our sons have passed away, following your sons.

  6. وهم كانوا مصاليتاً ملوكاً

    وكل منهم صتم صليت

    They were fearless warriors, kings,

    each of them stout and bold.

  7. فلي من حزنك الموجود قسم

    لكم سهم ولي في الحزن سهم

    So a share of your present grief is mine.

    You have a share, and I have a share in sorrow.

  8. ففي قلبي من الأحزان رقم

    ورسم لم يزل حتى أَموت

    For sorrow has inscribed a mark upon my heart,

    and a trace that will not fade until I die.

  9. ظننت قبيل فاطمة ظنوناً

    بأن تبقى كأن بنا جنونا

    Shortly before Fatimah's death, I harbored hopes

    that she would remain—as though we were mad.

  10. ومذ ماتت فمزقنا الجفونا

    نصل على الفقائد أَو نبيت

    And since she died, we have torn our eyelids;

    we [burn?] over the departed women, or pass the night.

  11. ولولا أن حلمك والمنايا

    مقدرة على كل البرايا

    But for your forbearance, and for death

    decreed for all created beings,

  12. لأفنت حلمنا هذي الرزايا

    وما إن لذ لي شرب وقوت

    these calamities would have destroyed our forbearance.

    Neither drink nor food has brought me pleasure.

  13. ولكن إن بقيت لنا عزيزاً

    فلم نسمع لحادثة أَزيزا

    Yet if you remain with us, cherished,

    we shall hear no calamity's roar,

  14. ولم نحسن لموقعها هزيزا

    فكل مقدر ما إِن يفوت

    nor [feel?] a tremor at its impact.

    For nothing ordained ever fails to come.

  15. وإِن طالَ البكاء فليس يجدي

    لنا ويعيد ما يمضي ويبدي

    Even if weeping lasts long, it is no help

    to us, nor does it restore what is gone and bring it forth.

  16. وإِن أَظهرت بالاعوال سبدى

    فخطب الدهر بالارزا صموت

    Even if I reveal my [anguish?] through wailing,

    time's calamity remains mute amid bereavements.

  17. وإني لست أخشى الحادثات

    إِذا ما عشت لي في الحادثات

    And I do not fear calamities

    so long as you live for me amid calamities,

  18. أَبا العرب المحامي الحاذيات

    وعاشت لي المنى غير الصلوت

    O Abu al-Arab, defender against [afflictions?],

    and my hopes live on for me, not [blighted?].

  19. فأنتم عيبة الأسرار عندي

    وأنتم عن صروف الدهر سبدي

    For you are, to me, the chest that holds my secrets,

    and you are my [support?] against time's reversals.

  20. وعند حدودكم إسعاد حدي

    وذخري للشدائد ما بقيت

    And at your boundaries, my strength finds aid;

    you are my reserve against hardships as long as I live.

  21. فعيشوا ما بقي ثهلان باقي

    لكم باريكم الرحمن واقي

    So live as long as Thahlan stands enduring.

    Your Maker, the All-Merciful, is your protector.

  22. ومن عاداكم ما من خلاق

    له ومعاشه عيش رتيت

    And whoever opposes you has no share

    of good; his livelihood is a wretched life.

  23. لكم حُسن العزاء بمن تقضى

    وصار بأسر أصفاد الحمام

    May you find good consolation for those who passed away

    and became captive in death's fetters.

  24. ولو يخطي الردى أَخطى هديلا

    فأبكى حزنه فخت الحمام

    Had death ever missed its mark, it would have spared Hadil;

    yet grief for him made the ringdoves weep.

  25. وإِن الحزن بينكم وبيني

    لكم سهم وأعطاني سهامي

    Indeed, sorrow is shared between you and me:

    you have a share, and it has given me my shares.

  26. خديرات مضت عنكم فأبقت

    جديد الحزن في المقل السجام

    Secluded ladies have passed from you, leaving

    fresh sorrow in tear-streaming eyes.

  27. ثلاث يا لها أودت ثلاثاً

    كسمط الدر سل من النظام

    Three—alas for them! All three were lost,

    like a strand of pearls drawn from its thread.

  28. فبنت الأخت خالتها دعتها

    لمصرع أم مانعها المحام

    So the niece was summoned by her maternal aunt

    to her death—or could the defender have held her back?

  29. الا نعم الثلاث نساء صدق

    نُقلن من الخيام إِلى الرجام

    Ah, excellent were those three, women of true worth,

    carried from the tents to the burial cairns.

  30. سقى الرحمن أرماساً حوتها

    إِلى يوم التغابن والقيام

    May the All-Merciful water the graves that received her,

    until the Day of Mutual Loss and Resurrection,

  31. حياً متداركاً غدَقاً سكوبا

    ملثا صيب القطرين هام

    with rain in succession, abundant and pouring,

    unceasing, a rain-cloud streaming from both sides.

  32. ورحمة ربها تترى عليها

    فتحيي ميت أعظمها الرمام

    And may her Lord's mercy come upon her unceasingly,

    bringing her dead, crumbling bones to life.