1. إذا كان عُقْبَى ما يَسوء التَّصبُّرُ

    فتَعْجِيله عند الرَّزِيّة أَجْدَرُ

    If the outcome of what grieves is patient endurance,

    then hastening it at calamity is more fitting.

  2. وغايةُ أحزانِ النفوسِ سُلوُّها

    فأَوْلَى بها تَقْديُمه وهْي تُؤْجَر

    The end of souls' sorrows is their consolation,

    so better for them to hasten it and be rewarded.

  3. وليس الشجاعُ النَّدْبُ من يضرب الطُّلَى

    دِراكا ونارُ الحرب تُذْكَى وتُسْعَر

    The brave, gallant man is not the one who strikes necks

    in succession, while war's fire is kindled and inflamed;

  4. ولكنَّه من يُؤلمُ الثُّكْلُ قلبَه

    وتَعروه أحداثُ الزمانِ فيَصْبر

    rather, he is the one whose heart bereavement pains,

    whom time's misfortunes assail, yet he endures.

  5. فيا مالكَ الدنيا الذي الأرضُ والورى

    من العدلِ في أيامه تتبختر

    O master of the world, under whom earth and humankind

    stride proudly in his days because of justice!

  6. لئِنْ عَظُم الخطبُ الشديد مَحَلُّه

    فحلمُك أعلى منه قَدْرا وأكبر

    Though the grievous calamity is great in magnitude,

    your forbearance is loftier in stature and greater.

  7. وبعضُ الذي يَحْوِيه صدرُك هِمَّةٌ

    تضيق به الدنيا جميعاً وتَصْغُر

    Part of what your breast contains is an ambition

    beside which the whole world grows narrow and small.

  8. فللحلم منه والجلالِ شَوامِخٌ

    وللعلم منه والفضائل أَبْحُر

    Within it, forbearance and majesty have lofty peaks,

    and knowledge and virtues have seas within it.

  9. لقد زَعْزعتْ شُمَّ الجبال رزيةٌ

    أَلمَّتْ ولكنْ طودُ حلمِك أَوْقَر

    A calamity has indeed shaken the towering mountains;

    it has struck, yet the mountain of your forbearance stands firmer.

  10. وفضلُك مثلُ الشمسِ نورا ورفعةً

    وحاشاهُ بل أَعْلَى وأَسْنَى وأَسْيَر

    Your excellence is like the sun in radiance and height—

    far be it! Rather, it is higher, brighter, and farther-reaching.

  11. بعلمِك تَسْتهدِي نفوسُ ذَوِي النُّهَى

    وأنت بما قال المُعَزُّون أَخْبر

    Through your knowledge, the souls of discerning men seek guidance,

    and you know better what those offering condolences have said.

  12. وحكم التَّعازى سُنّةٌ نَبوية

    وإلا فمنك الحزمُ يَبْدو ويَصدُر

    The prescribed observance of condolence is a prophetic tradition;

    otherwise, prudence emerges and springs from you.

  13. وما قيل إلا بعض ما أنت عالم

    فسِيّانِ فيه مُقْصِرٌ ومُكَثِّر

    What has been said is only part of what you know,

    so in this, those who say little and those who say much are alike.

  14. وعلمُك بالأشياءِ مالا زيادةٌ

    عليهِ ولا تَنْساه ثم تُذَكَّر

    Your knowledge of things is such that nothing can be added

    to it; nor do you forget it and then need reminding.

  15. إذا صَحَّ فهمُ المرءِ صَحَّ لنفسه

    يقينٌ ومِسْبار العقولِ التَّصوُّر

    When a person's understanding is sound, his soul gains firm

    certainty; and conception is the probe of minds.

  16. لقد دانتِ الدنيا لعادٍ وتُبَّعٍ

    ودَبَّر فيها الملكَ كِسْرى وقَيْصَرُ

    The world indeed submitted to ʿĀd and Tubbaʿ,

    and Kisra and Caesar wielded royal power within it.

  17. وشادوا القصرَ المُشْمَخِرّات في الوَرى

    يُقَصِّر طرف العين عنها فَيَحْسَر

    They raised towering palaces among humankind;

    the eye's gaze falls short of them and grows weary.

  18. فهل أَبقتِ الأيامُ أو جانَبَ الرَّدى

    ذليلا فيُنْسَى أو عزيزا فيُذْكَر

    Have the days spared anyone, or has death avoided

    a lowly man, to be forgotten, or a mighty man, to be remembered?

  19. ولو خَلَّف الموتُ امرأً لجَلاله

    لكان بها أَوْلَى وأَحْرَى المُظَفَّر

    Had death spared a man for his majesty,

    al-Muzaffar would have been most deserving and worthy of that.

  20. لقد سَلبتْ كفُّ المنية مُهْجةً

    تَكنَّفها للحزم والعزم عسكر

    The hand of death has indeed snatched away a soul

    surrounded by an army of prudence and resolve.

  21. فويحَ المَنايا كيف غالتْه وهْي من

    صَنائِعِكم فيما يُخاف ويُحْذَر

    Woe to the fates of death! How did they slay him, though they are among

    your handiwork in what is feared and dreaded?

  22. وتصريفُها بين الصَّوارم والقَنا

    بأيديكمُ والخيلُ بالهام تَعْثُر

    Their deployment among keen swords and spears

    is in your hands, while horses stumble over heads.

  23. وأنتَ لها مثلُ الذريعة في الوَغى

    إذا صان نفسَ القوم درعٌ ومِغْفَر

    And you are like an instrument for them in battle,

    when mail and helmet protect men's lives.

  24. وأحسَبُه جادتْ يَداهُ بنفسه

    لقاصِده والموتُ في ذاك مُخْدر

    I think his two hands freely gave his soul

    to the one who sought him, with death lurking in that.

  25. وما مات من أَحْيا بك اللهُ ذِكْرَه

    ولكنّه في الدهر باقٍ مُعَمَّر

    He has not died whose memory God has revived through you;

    rather, he endures through time, long-lived.

  26. ولم تَعْدم الدنيا فَقيدا وإنْ سَما

    ووجهُك فيها مشرقُ النّورِ أَزْهَر

    The world is not bereft of the departed, however exalted he was,

    while your face shines within it, radiant with light.

  27. فأنت لهذا الخَلْق روحٌ وناظِر

    وكهفٌ به يَحْيَا ويَغْنَى ويَنظر

    For you are this creation's soul and seeing eye,

    and a refuge through which it lives, prospers, and sees.

  28. فلا عيشَ إلا في زمانك طيب

    ولا نفسَ إلا من نوالك تُجْبَر

    No life is pleasant except in your time,

    and no soul is restored except through your bounty.

  29. ولا مَلْكَ في الأرض إلا وظاهرٌ

    على وجهه من ذكر فضلك أسطر

    No king on earth is without visible

    lines upon his face recounting your excellence.

  30. لآمنت حتى ليس في الأرض خائفٌ

    ورَوَّعتَ حتى ذَلَّ من يَتجبَّرَ

    You have indeed made all secure, until none on earth is afraid,

    and struck terror until every tyrant was humbled.

  31. وأنصفتَ حتى ليس في الأرض مُشْتكٍ

    وأَغنيتَ حتى ليس في الأرض مُعْسِر

    You have dealt justly until none on earth has a grievance,

    and bestowed riches until none on earth is destitute.

  32. لك السيرة المشهورةُ الفضلِ في الورى

    ففي كل قُطرٍ نَشْرُها يَتعَّطر

    Yours is a conduct whose excellence is famed among humankind,

    so in every region its fragrance grows sweet.

  33. إذا قيل شاهِنْشاهُ لم يبقَ معجزٌ

    من الفضلِ إلا وهْو فيه يُحرَّر

    When 'Shahanshah' is uttered, no marvel remains

    of excellence but is inscribed in him.

  34. فللأَفضلِ الفضلُ الذي كلُّ فاضلٍ

    من الناسِ عن إدراكه متأخِّر

    So al-Afdal possesses the excellence that every excellent man

    among humankind falls short of attaining.

  35. فيا مهجةَ الإسلاِم رِفْقا بها له

    فهذا الأسى فيها وفيه مُؤَثِّر

    O soul of Islam, be gentle with yourself for its sake;

    for this sorrow affects both your soul and Islam.

  36. وما قيمةُ الدنيا قياسا لفعلها

    حِيالكَ كلا فهْي أَدْنَى وأَحْقَر

    What is the world's worth, measured against what it has done

    to you? Nay, it is lower and more contemptible.

  37. وإن كان أثير الفراق مثيره

    فقد نالك من فارقتَ ما هو أفخر

    Though the beloved lost in parting is what stirs this grief,

    from the one you parted from, you have gained what is more glorious.

  38. غَدا في جوارِ الله حيث يزوره

    سحابُ حَياً من رحمةِ الله يَهْمِر

    He has gone into God's care, where he is visited

    by a cloud of life-giving rain pouring down from God's mercy.

  39. فإن قَبَروا جُثْمانَه فثَناؤُه

    معَ الدهرِ في ألأفواهِ ما ليس يُقْبَر

    Though they have buried his body, his praise

    endures on men's lips through time, never to be buried.

  40. بقاؤك يُسْلِى النفسَ عن كلِّ فائتٍ

    وجودك يحيى الهالكين ويَنْشُر

    Your survival consoles the soul for every loss,

    and your bounty revives the perishing and resurrects them.

  41. سلمتَ مُفَدًّى بالنفوس جميعها

    وعمرُك ممندُّ الحياةِ مُكرَّر

    May you remain safe, ransomed by every soul,

    and may your span of life be extended and renewed.