Sol 6.1

  1. آذَنَت شَمسُ حَياتي بِمَغيبِ

    وَدَنا المَنهَلُ يا نَفسُ فَطيبي

    The sun of my life has announced its setting.

    And the watering place draws near; O soul, be glad.

  2. إِنَّ مَن سارَ إِلَيهِ سَيرَنا

    وَرَدَ الراحَةَ مِن بَعدِ اللُغوبِ

    For whoever has journeyed to it as we have

    Has reached rest after weariness.

  3. قَد مَضى حِفني وَهَذا يَومُنا

    يَتَدانى فَاِستَثيبي وَأَنيبي

    Hifni has gone, and this, our day,

    Draws near; seek reward and turn back in repentance.

  4. وَاِرقُبيهِ كُلَّ يَومٍ إِنَّما

    نَحنُ في قَبضَةِ عَلّامِ الغُيوبِ

    And watch for it every day; indeed,

    We are but in the grasp of the Knower of all unseen things.

  5. اُذكُري المَوتَ لَدى النَومِ وَلا

    تُغفِلي ذِكرَتَهُ عِندَ الهُبوبِ

    Remember death when going to sleep, and do not

    Neglect its remembrance upon waking.

  6. وَاُذكُري الوَحشَةَ في القَبرِ فَلا

    مُؤنِسٌ فيهِ سِوى تَقوى القُلوبِ

    And remember the loneliness in the grave, for there is no

    Comforting companion there but the piety of hearts.

  7. قَدِّمي الخَيرَ اِحتِساباً فَكَفى

    بَعضُ ما قَدَّمتِ مِن تِلكَ الذُنوبِ

    Send good deeds ahead, seeking reward; enough

    Are some of those sins you have already sent ahead.

  8. راعَني فَقدُ شَبابي وَأَنا

    لا أُراعُ اليَومَ مِن فَقدِ مَشيبي

    The loss of my youth frightened me, yet I

    Am not frightened today by the loss of my gray hairs.

  9. حَنَّ جَنبايَ إِلى بَردِ الثَرى

    حَيثُ أُنسى مِن عَدُوٍّ وَحَبيبِ

    My sides yearn for the coolness of the soil,

    Where I am forgotten by enemy and beloved.

  10. مَضجَعٌ لا يَشتَكي صاحِبُهُ

    شِدَّةَ الدَهرِ وَلا شَدَّ الخُطوبِ

    A resting place whose occupant does not lament

    Time's harshness or the grip of calamities.

  11. لا وَلا يُسئِمُهُ ذاكَ الَّذي

    يُسئِمُ الأَحياءَ مِن عَيشٍ رَتيبِ

    No, nor is he wearied by that which

    Wearies the living: monotonous life.

  12. قَد وَقَفنا سِتَّةً نَبكي عَلى

    عالِمِ المَشرِقِ في يَومٍ عَصيبِ

    We stood, six of us, weeping for

    The scholar of the East on a grievous day.

  13. وَقَفَ الخَمسَةُ قَبلي فَمَضَوا

    هَكَذا قَبلي وَإِنّي عَن قَريبِ

    The five stood before me, then passed away,

    Thus ahead of me—and I too will go before long.

  14. وَرَدوا الحَوضَ تِباعاً فَقَضَوا

    بِاِتِّفاقٍ في مَناياهُم عَجيبِ

    They reached the pool in succession, then died,

    With a strange coincidence in their deaths.

  15. أَنا مُذ بانوا وَوَلّى عَهدُهُم

    حاضِرُ اللَوعَةِ مَوصولُ النَحيبِ

    I, since they departed and their era passed,

    Am ever in anguish, my sobbing unbroken.

  16. هَدَأَت نيرانُ حُزني هَدأَةً

    وَاِنطَوى حِفني فَعادَت لِلشُبوبِ

    The fires of my sorrow subsided for a while,

    And Hifni passed away, and they blazed anew.

  17. فَتَذَكَّرتُ بِهِ يَومَ اِنطَوى

    صادِقُ العَزمَةِ كَشّافُ الكُروبِ

    So through him I recalled the day there passed away

    The man of steadfast resolve, the dispeller of sorrows.

  18. يَومَ كَفَّنّاهُ في آمالِنا

    وَذَكَرنا عِندَهُ قَولَ حَبيبِ

    The day we shrouded him in our hopes,

    And beside him recalled Habib's words:

  19. عَرَفوا مَن غَيَّبوهُ وَكَذا

    تُعرَفُ الأَقمارُ مِن بَعدِ المَغيبِ

    “They knew whom they had hidden away; and so

    Are moons known after they have set.”

  20. وَفُجِعنا بِإِمامٍ مُصلِحٍ

    عامِرِ القَلبِ وَأَوّابٍ مُنيبِ

    And we were stricken by the loss of a reforming imam,

    Rich of heart, and oft-returning to God in repentance.

  21. كَم لَهُ مِن باقِياتٍ في الهُدى

    وَالنَدى بَينَ شُروقٍ وَغُروبِ

    How many lasting deeds he has in guidance

    And generosity, between sunrise and sunset!

  22. يَبذُلُ المَعروفَ في السِرِّ كَما

    يَرقُبُ العاشِقُ إِغفاءَ الرَقيبِ

    He bestows kindness in secret, just as

    A lover watches for the watchman's slumber.

  23. يُحسِنُ الظَنَّ بِهِ أَعداؤُهُ

    حينَ لا يَحسُنُ ظَنٌّ بِقَريبِ

    His enemies think well of him

    When one cannot think well of a kinsman.

  24. تَنزِلُ الأَضيافُ مِنهُ وَالمُنى

    وَالخِلالُ الغُرُّ في مَرعىً خَصيبِ

    Guests lodge with him, along with hopes

    And radiant virtues, in a fertile pasture.

  25. قَد مَضَت عَشرٌ وَسَبعٌ وَالنُهى

    في ذُبولٍ وَالأَماني في نُضوبِ

    Seventeen years have passed, while intellects

    Wither and hopes run dry.

  26. نَرقُبُ الأُفقَ فَلا يَبدو بِهِ

    لامِعٌ مِن نورِ هادٍ مُستَثيبِ

    We watch the horizon, but there appears in it no

    Gleam of light from a guide seeking reward.

  27. وَنُنادي كُلَّ مَأمولٍ وَما

    غَيرُ أَصداءِ المُنادي مِن مُجيبِ

    And we call to every hoped-for one, yet none

    Answers but the echoes of the caller.

  28. دَوِيَ الجُرحُ وَلَم يُقدَر لَهُ

    بَعدَ ثاوي عَينِ شَمسٍ مِن طَبيبِ

    The wound has festered, and none was appointed for it

    As physician after the one laid to rest in Ayn Shams.

  29. أَجدَبَ العِلمُ وَأَمسى بَعدَهُ

    رائِدُ العِرفانِ في وادٍ جَديبِ

    Learning grew barren, and after him

    The scout of knowledge found himself in a barren valley.

  30. رَحمَةُ الدينِ عَلَيهِ كُلَّما

    خَرَجَ التَفسيرُ عَن طَوقِ الأَريبِ

    May religion's mercy be upon him whenever

    Exegesis exceeds the discerning man's powers.

  31. رَحمَةُ الرَأيِ عَلَيهِ كُلَّما

    طاشَ سَهمُ الرَأيِ في كَفِّ المُصيبِ

    May judgment's mercy be upon him whenever

    Judgment's arrow strays in the sure marksman's hand.

  32. رَحمَةُ الفَهمِ عَلَيهِ كُلَّما

    دَقَّتِ الأَشياءُ عَن ذِهنِ اللَبيبِ

    May understanding's mercy be upon him whenever

    Things grow too subtle for the intelligent man's mind.

  33. رَحمَةُ الحِلمِ عَلَيهِ كُلَّما

    ضاقَ بِالحِدثانِ ذو الصَدرِ الرَحيبِ

    May forbearance's mercy be upon him whenever

    The broad-hearted man is distressed by life's vicissitudes.

  34. لَيسَ في مَيدانِ مِصرٍ فارِسٌ

    يَركَبُ الأَخطارَ في يَومِ الرُكوبِ

    There is no knight in Egypt's arena

    Who rides into danger when the day for riding comes.

  35. كُلَّما شارَفَهُ مِنّا فَتىً

    غالَهُ المِقدارُ مِن قَبلِ الوُثوبِ

    Whenever a youth from among us approaches it,

    Fate destroys him before he can leap.

  36. ما تَرى كَيفَ تَوَلّى قاسِمٌ

    وَهوَ في المَيعَةِ وَالبُردِ القَشيبِ

    Do you not see how Qasim departed,

    While still in youthful vigor and a fresh new cloak?

  37. أُنسِيَ الأَحياءُ ذِكرى عَبدِهِ

    وَهيَ لِلمُستافِ مِن مِسكٍ وَطيبِ

    The living were made to forget the memory of Abduh,

    Though to whoever breathes it in, it is musk and perfume.

  38. إِنَّهُم لَو أَنصَفوها لَبَنَوا

    مَعهَداً تَعتادُهُ كَفُّ الوَهوبِ

    Indeed, had they done it justice, they would surely have built

    An institute frequented by the bountiful giver's hand,

  39. مَعهَداً لِلدينِ يُسقى غَرسُهُ

    مِن نَميرٍ فاضَ مِن ذاكَ القَليبِ

    An institute for religion, its plantings watered

    With sweet water that overflowed from that well.

  40. وَنَسينا ذِكرَ حِفني بَعدَهُ

    وَدَفَنّا فَضلَهُ دَفنَ الغَريبِ

    And we forgot Hifni's memory after him,

    And buried his merit as a stranger is buried.

  41. لَم تَسِل مِنّا عَلَيهِ دَمعَةٌ

    وَهُوَ أَولى الناسِ بِالدَمعِ الصَبيبِ

    Not a tear flowed from us for him,

    Though he of all men most deserved streaming tears.

  42. سَكَنَت أَنفاسُ حِفني بَعدَ ما

    طَيَّبَت في الشَرقِ أَنفاسَ الأَديبِ

    Hifni's breaths grew still after they

    Had perfumed the writer's breaths in the East.

  43. عاشَ خِصبَ العُمرِ مَوفورَ الحِجا

    صادِقَ العِشرَةِ مَأمونَ المَغيبِ

    He lived a fruitful life, abundantly endowed with reason,

    Sincere in companionship, trustworthy out of sight.