يا عين جودي لفقد البحر بالمطر — Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani

يا عَينُ جودي لِفَقد البحر بالمطرِ

أَذري الدُموع وَلا تُبقي وَلا تَذَري

O eye, pour rain for the loss of the ocean.

Shed tears; spare none and leave none unshed.

لَو رَدَّ تَرديدُ دَمعٍ ذاهِباً سَبَقَت

شهبٌ وَجَمرٌ بِعَيني جريةَ النَهرِ

If repeated tears could bring back one departed,

Meteors and embers in my eyes would outstrip a river's flow.

تَسقي الثرى فَمَتى لامَ العذولُ أَقُل

دَعها سمائيّةً تَجري عَلى قدرِ

They water the soil; whenever the reproacher blames me, I say:

Let it be heavenly rain, flowing in its appointed measure.

يا سائِلي جهرةً عمّا أُكابده

عَدَتكَ حالي فَما سرّي بمستِترِ

O you who openly ask me what I endure,

My condition has escaped you, yet my secret is not concealed.

لَم يَعلُ مِنّي سوى أَنفاسي الصُعَدا

ولست أَبصرُ دَمعي غَيرَ منحدرِ

Nothing rises from me except my deep sighs,

And I see my tears do nothing but descend.

أَقضي نَهاريَ في هَمٍّ وَفي حزَنٍ

وَطولَ ليليَ في فِكرٍ وَفي سَهَرِ

I spend my day in anxiety and sorrow,

And my whole night in thought and sleeplessness.

وَغاصَ قلبيَ في بحر الهُموم أَما

تَرى سَقيطَ دُموعي منه كالدررِ

My heart has plunged into the ocean of cares; do you not

See my falling tears emerge from it like pearls?

فَرَحمَةُ اللَه وَالرضوانُ يَشملهُ

سلامه ما بَكى باكٍ عَلى عمرِ

May God's mercy and good pleasure enfold him,

And His peace, as long as any mourner weeps for Umar.

بحر العُلوم الَّذي ما كَدَّرَته دِلاً

مِنَ المَسائِل إِن تُشكِل وَإِن تدُرِ

An ocean of learning that no buckets could muddy—

Buckets of questions, whether perplexing or pouring forth.

وَالحبر كم حبّرَت طِرساً يَراعتُهُ

حَتّى يُجانسَ بين الحِبر وَالحِبَرِ

And the scholar—how many pages his reed pen adorned,

Until he made ink resemble rich brocades.

لَم أَنسَ لما يَحُفُّ الطالِبونَ بهِ

مِثلَ الكَواكب إِذ يَحفُفنَ بِالقمرِ

I have not forgotten when students surrounded him,

Like stars when they surround the moon.

فيقسِمُ العلمَ في مُفتٍ وَمبتَدئٍ

كقسمةِ الغيث بين النبت والشجرِ

He distributed knowledge among mufti and beginner,

As rain is divided between plants and trees.

وَلَم يَخُصَّ بِبشرٍ منه ذا نَشَبٍ

بَل عمَّهم فَضلُهُ بِالبشر والبِشَرِ

He did not reserve his smiles for the wealthy;

Rather, his bounty embraced them all with gladness and smiles.

لَقَد أَقامَ مَنارَ الدين متّضحاً

سراجه فأضاء الكونُ لِلبشرِ

He indeed raised religion's beacon, shining clear,

Its lamp lighting the universe for humankind.

في القرن الأَول والقرنِ الأَخيرِ لَقَد

أَحيا لَنا العمران الدينَ عن قدرِ

In the first age and in the last, indeed,

The two Umars revived religion for us by decree.

في الإِسم والعلم وَالتَقوى قَد اِجتَمعا

وَإِنّما اِفترَقا في العصر والعمرِ

They shared their name, knowledge, and piety,

Differing only in their era and lifespan.

لكن أَضاءَ سَراج الدين منفرداً

وَذاكَ مُشتَرِكٌ مَع سَبعَةٍ زُهُرِ

But Siraj al-Din shone alone,

While that one shared his brilliance with seven radiant ones.

مَن لِلفَضائِل أَو مَن لِلفَواضِل أَو

مَن لِلمَسائِل يُلقيها بِلا ضَجَرِ

Who now for virtues, or who for generous favors, or

Who for questions, expounding them without impatience?

مَن لِلفَوائِد أَو من لِلعَوائد أَو

مَن لِلقَواعِد يَبنيها بِلا خوَرِ

Who now for useful insights, or who for recurring gifts, or

Who for principles, establishing them without weakness?

مَن لِلفَتاوى وَحَلِّ المشكلات إِذا

جَلَّ الخطاب وَظَلَّ القوم في فِكَرِ

Who for legal rulings and solving difficulties when

The matter grows grave and people remain lost in thought?

لمَن يَكون اِختلافُ الناس إِن اِتّفقَت

عَمياءُ وَالحكمُ فيها غَيرُ مستطرِ

To whom will people's disputes be entrusted if there arises

A blind perplexity whose ruling is nowhere written?

قالوا إِذا أَعضلَت نبّه لَها عُمَراً

وَنَم فَمَن بَعدَهُ لِلمُشكِل العسِرِ

They said: When it baffles you, awaken Umar for it,

And sleep. Who after him can face the difficult perplexity?

من لَو رآه ابنُ إِدريس الإِمامُ إِذاً

أَقرَّ أَو قَرَّ عَيناً منه بِالنَظَرِ

One whom, had the imam Ibn Idris seen him, he would then

Have acknowledged, or found delight in looking at him.

قَد كانَ بالأمّ بَرّاً حينَ هَذَّبها

تَهذيبَ مُنتَصِرٍ لِلحَقّ معتبرِ

He was dutiful to al-Umm when he refined it,

With the discerning refinement of a champion of truth.

تَرى خَوارقَ في اِستنباطه عجباً

يردّها العقل لَولا شاهِدُ البصرِ

You see astonishing wonders in his deductions,

Which reason would reject were it not for the witness of sight.

قالَت حواسِدُهُ لمّا رأوا غرراً

مِن بَحثِهِ خُبرها يُربي عَلى الخَبرِ

His enviers said, when they saw brilliant gems

Of his inquiry, whose firsthand experience surpassed report:

اللَه أَكبَرُ ما هَذا سِوى ملك

وَحاشَ لِلَّه ما هَذا مِن البشرِ

God is greatest! This is none but an angel.

Glory be to God! This is no human being.

عَهدي بأَكبرهم قَدراً بِحضرتهِ

مِثلَ البُغاثِ لدى صقر من الصغرِ

I remember the greatest of them in rank, in his presence,

As small as weak birds before a falcon.

مُحَدِّثٌ قل لِمَن كانوا قَد اِتّفقوا

كَي يَسمَعوا منه فُزتُم منه بالوَطَرِ

A hadith scholar—tell those who had gathered

To hear him: You have gained your desire from him.

علوتمُ فَتَواضعتم عَلى ثقةٍ

لمّا تواضعَ أَقوامٌ عَلى غَرَرِ

You rose high, then stooped, in sure confidence,

While others stooped at their peril.

مُحَدِّث كم له بِالفَتح مِن مَدَدٍ

تَحقيقُ رَجوى نبيّ اللَه في عمرِ

A hadith scholar—what abundant aid he had through illumination:

Fulfilling God's Prophet's hope concerning Umar.

حَكى الجنيدَ مقاماتٍ بِها كلمٌ

تَذكيرُ ناسٍ وَتَنبيهٌ لمُدّكِرِ

He resembled al-Junayd in spiritual stations, with words therein

That reminded people and awakened the mindful.

وبابه يتلقّى فيه قاصده

بِشرٌ وَسَهلٌ وَمَعروفٌ بِهِ وَسَري

At his door, the one who sought him was received

By Bishr, Sahl, Ma'ruf, and Sari.

لَو قال هذي السَواري الخُشب من ذهبٍ

قامَت لَهُ حُجَجٌ يشرِقن كالدررِ

Had he said these wooden pillars were made of gold,

Proofs would have arisen for him, shining like pearls.

وَإِن تكلّمَ يَوماً في مناظرةٍ

يَدُقُّ مَعناه عَن إِدراك ذي نظرِ

And if one day he spoke in a debate,

His meaning was too subtle for a discerning person's grasp.

سَل اِبنَ عدلانَ عَن تَحقيقه وَأَبا

حَيّان وَاِعدِل إِذا حُكِّمت واِعتبرِ

Ask Ibn Adlan about his exactitude, and Abu

Hayyan; judge fairly if made arbiter, and reflect.

مسدَّدُ الرأي حَجّاجُ الخصوم غَدا

في سَعيه خير حجّاج ومعتمرِ

Sound in judgment, a formidable debater against opponents, he became

In his striving the best of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.

كَم حَجَّةٍ وَغَزاةٍ قَد سما بهما

وكَم حوى عُمَرُ الخَيراتِ مِن عُمَرِ

How many pilgrimages and campaigns raised him high,

And how many Umrahs Umar of good deeds amassed!

أَصمَّ ناعيه آذاناً وَقيَّدَ أذ

هاناً وأطلَقَ أَجفاناً لمنكسرِ

His death's herald deafened ears and fettered

Minds, while releasing the eyelids of the brokenhearted.

سَعى إِلَينا بِهِ يَومَ الوقوفِ فَما

أَجابه الركبُ إِلّا بِالثنا العطرِ

He brought its tidings to us on the day of the Standing, and

The caravan answered him only with fragrant praise.

نَعاه في يَوم تَعريفِ الحَجيج فَقَد

ضَجّوا وَعَجّوا أَسىً من حادِث نُكُرِ

He announced his death on the pilgrims' day at Arafat, and they

Cried out and wailed in grief at this dreadful calamity.

يا من لَهُ جنّةُ المأوى غَدَت نُزُلاً

أرقُد هَنيئاً فَقَلبي منك في سعُرِ

O you for whom the Garden of Refuge has become a lodging,

Rest in comfort, for my heart burns for you.

حَباكَ رَبُّكَ بِالحُسنى وَرؤيَتِهِ

زِيادةً في رضاه عنك فَاِفتخرِ

Your Lord bestowed on you the best reward and the sight of Him,

An increase in His pleasure with you; so take pride.

أَزال عنك تكاليف الحَياة فَما

تَتلو إِذا شئت إِلّا آخرَ الزمرِ

He removed from you the burdens of life, so you need

Recite, if you wish, only the closing passage of al-Zumar.

أَوحشتَ صُحفَ علومٍ كنت تَجمعها

وَمَنزِلاً بك مَعموراً من الخَفَرِ

You have left desolate the pages of learning you collected,

And a dwelling once filled with your modest presence.

لَم يَستَمِلكَ لِشادٍ أَو لِغانِيَة

بَيتٌ مِن الشِعر أَو بَيتٌ مِنَ الشَعَرِ

You were never captivated, through a singer or a lovely woman,

By a verse of poetry or a tent of hair.

لَكِن عَكَفتَ عَلى اِستنباط مَسألة

أَو حَلِّ معضِلة أَعيَت عَلى الفِكَرِ

Instead, you devoted yourself to deducing a question's answer,

Or solving a perplexity that had defeated thought.

بِالنَصر قمت لِنَصٍّ نستدلّ بِهِ

كالسيفِ دلّ عَلى التأثير بالأثرِ

You stood in defense of a text by which we reason,

Like a sword whose traces attest its power.

طَويتَ عنّا بِساطَ العلم معتلياً

فَاِهنأ بمقعد صدقٍ عند مقتدرِ

You rolled up learning's carpet from before us, ascending;

So rejoice in a seat of truth beside the All-Powerful.

كنانَةٌ لك مأوى وَهيَ مُنتسَبٌ

الدارُ مصرَ غَدت وَالبَيتُ في مُضَرِ

Kinana is your refuge, and your ancestral affiliation;

Egypt became your dwelling, while your lineage lay in Mudar.

تَحمي قسيُّ رُكوع مَع سهام دعاً

ساحاتها بك من خاطٍ ومن خطرِ

Bows of bowing, together with arrows of prayer, protect

Its precincts through you from wrongdoer and danger.

كَم في كَنانة سهم لم يَصب غرضاً

لمّا بُعدتَ ومن قوسٍ بِلا وَتَرِ

How many arrows in Kinana failed to strike a target

Once you departed, and how many bows were left without a string!

بِضعاً وَستّين عاماً ظَلتَ مُنفَرِداً

برتبة العلم فيها أَيَّ مشتهرِ

For sixty-odd years you remained unrivaled

In the rank of learning, most renowned therein.

فَما برحتَ مُجِدّاً لِلعُلا يَقِظاً

وَلا اِنتَهيتَ إِلى كأس وَلا وترِ

You never ceased striving for the heights, ever watchful,

Nor did you turn to a wine-cup or a musical string.

قَد كنت تَحمي حِمى الإِسلام مُجتَهِداً

حَتّى تقلّدَ منه الجيد بالدررِ

You strove to guard Islam's sacred domain,

Until the neck was adorned with pearls from it.

فَرّقتَ جمع عدوّ الدين حَيث نحَوا

فَجمعُهم بَينَ تأنيث وَمنكسِرِ

You scattered the ranks of religion's enemies wherever they turned,

So their plural was left either feminine or broken.

طعنتَ غيرَ مُحابٍ في مقالتهم

بِالسَمهَريَّةِ دونَ الوَخزِ بالإِبَرِ

Without partiality, you thrust into their arguments

With stiff spears, not mere needle-pricks.

طوراً بِسَيف الهُدى في الملحدين سُطاً

وَتارَةً بسهام الذِكر في التترِ

At times you assailed the heretics with guidance's sword,

At others, the Tatars with arrows of remembrance.

رزءٌ عَظيم يسرُّ المحلدون بِهِ

كالاِتّحاديِّ وَالشيعيّ وَالقدَري

A grievous loss in which heretics rejoice,

Such as the Ittihadi, the Shi'i, and the Qadari.

ليتَ اللَيالي أَبقَت واحِداً جُمعت

فيهِ هِدايَةُ أَهل النفع وَالضررِ

Would that the nights had preserved one man in whom

Was gathered guidance for people of benefit and harm.

وَلَيتها إِذ فَدَت عَمراً فَدَت عُمَرا

بطالبيه وَأَولاهم بذا عمري

Would that, when they ransomed Amr, they had ransomed Umar

With his seekers' lives—and foremost among them, my own.

هَيهاتَ لَو قبل الموت الفدى بُذِلَت

في الشيخ من غير ثنيا أَنفس البشرِ

Alas! Had death accepted ransom, there would have been offered

For the shaykh, without exception, all human souls.

عجبي لِقَبرٍ حَواه إِنَّهُ عجب

إِذ بان منه اِتّساعُ الصدر لِلبحَرِ

I marvel at the grave that enclosed him—a wonder indeed,

For it showed a breast spacious enough to hold an ocean.

لَهفي عَلى فقد شيخ المُسلمين لَقَد

جَلَّ المُصابُ وَفيهِ عزَّ مُصطَبري

Alas for the loss of the Muslims' shaykh! Indeed,

The calamity is immense, and my endurance fails before it.

لَهفي عَلَيهِ سِراجاً كانَ متّقداً

يَسمو ذكاً بِذَكاء غير منحسرِ

Alas for him, a lamp that burned brightly,

Rising in flame with undiminished brilliance.

لَولا نَداه خَشينا نارَ فكرته

لكنّه بنداه مطفئُ الشررِ

Without his dew of generosity, we would have feared his thought's fire,

But with his dew he quenched the sparks.

أَضحى بِنار السراج النيلُ محترِقاً

لمّا قَضى فاِعجَبوا من فطنة النهَرِ

The Nile burned with the lamp's fire

When he died—marvel at the river's discernment!

لَهفي وهل نافعي إِبداع مرثية

وَكَيفَ يغنى كَسيرُ القلب بالفِقرِ

Alas for him! Will crafting an elegy profit me?

How can the brokenhearted be enriched by phrases?

لَهفي عليه لِلَيلٍ كانَ يقطعُهُ

نَفلاً وَذِكراً وَقُرآناً إِلى السحرِ

Alas for him, for the nights he used to spend

In voluntary worship, remembrance, and Qur'an until dawn.

لَهفي عَلَيهِ لِعِلمٍ كان يجمعه

يَشُقُّ فيهِ عَلَيهِ فرقةُ السهرِ

Alas for him, for the knowledge he used to gather,

For which the loneliness of sleeplessness weighed upon him.

لَهفي عَلَيهِ لعافٍ كان يَنفَعه

فعلاً وَقَولاً فَما يؤتى من الحصَرِ

Alas for him, for the suppliant he used to benefit

In deed and speech, never overcome by inarticulacy.

لَهفي عَلَيهِ لضَير كانَ يدفعه

عَن الخَلائق من بَدوٍ وَمِن حضرِ

Alas for him, for the harm he used to repel

From people, both nomads and townsfolk.

نَعَم وَيا طولَ حُزني ما حَييت عَلى

عبدالرَحيم فحزني غير مقتصَرِ

Yes—and how long my sorrow will endure, all my life, for

Abd al-Rahim; my grief knows no limit.

لَهفي عَلى حافِظ العصر الَّذي اِشتهرت

أَعلامُه كاِشتِهار الشمس في الظهُرِ

Alas for the hadith master of the age, whose banners became famous

As the sun is famous at noon.

علمُ الحَديث اِنقَضى لمّا قَضى وَمَضى

وَالدهر يَفجَعُ بعد العين بالأثرِ

The knowledge of hadith ended when he died and departed;

Time bereaves us of the traces after taking the man.

لَهفي عَلى فَقد شيخيَّ اللَّذَينِ هما

أَعَزُّ عنديَ مِن سَمعي ومن بصري

Alas for the loss of my two teachers, who are

Dearer to me than my hearing and my sight.

لَهفي عَلى مَن حَديثي عَن كمالهما

يحيي الرَميم وَيلهي الحيّ عَن سمرِ

Alas for those whose perfection, when I tell of it,

Revives decayed bones and distracts the living from evening talk.

اِثنان لَم يَرتَق النسران ما اِرتقيا

نسرُ السَما إِن يلُح وَالأَرضِ إِن يَطِرِ

Two men whose heights the two eagles never reached:

The eagle of the sky when it shines, and of earth when it flies.

ذا شِبهُ فخر غِفارٍ لَهجَةً صدقَت

وَذا جُهَينَةُ إِن تسأل عَن الخبرِ

This one resembled Ghifar's pride in truthful speech,

And that one was Juhayna when you asked for news.

لا يَنقَضي عجبي من وُفق عمرهما

العامُ كالعام حَتّى الشَهرُ كالشهرِ

My wonder at the concord of their lifespans never ends:

Year matched year, even month matched month.

عاشا ثَمانين عاماً بَعدَها سَنَةٌ

وَربعُ عام سِوى نَقصٍ لمعتَبِرِ

They lived eighty years, then one more year,

And a quarter-year, with a deduction for the reckoner.

الدين تتبعه الدنيا مَضَت بهما

رَزِيَّةٌ لَم تَهُن يَوماً عَلى بشرِ

Religion, with worldly life following it, was swept away with them

By a calamity no mortal ever found light.

بِالشَمس وَهوَ سِراجُ الدين يتبعُهُ

بَدرُ الدياجر زينُ الدين في الأثرِ

With the sun, Siraj al-Din, there followed

The full moon of dark nights, Zayn al-Din, in his wake.

ما أَظلمَ الأفق في عيني وَقَد أَفَلَت

شَمسي المنيرةُ عَنّي واِمّحى قَمَري

How dark the horizon is in my eyes, now that

My radiant sun has set from me and my moon is effaced!

قَد ذقتُ من بين أَحبابي العَذابَ وهم

لاحَ النعيمُ فَساروا سيرَ مبتدرِ

I tasted torment through parting from my beloveds, while they—

Bliss appeared, and they hastened eagerly toward it.

يا قلبُ ساروا وَما رافقتَهُم فَعَلَوا

إِلى الرَفيق لَدى الجنّات وَالنَهرِ

O heart, they departed, and you did not accompany them; they rose

To the Companion amid gardens and rivers.

وَعشتَ بَعدَ نَواهم مظهِراً جلداً

تكابدُ الشوق ما أَقساك من حجرِ

You lived after their departure, displaying endurance,

Struggling with longing—how hard a stone you are!

وَأَنتَ يا طرفُ لا تنظُر لِغَيرهِمُ

ما أَنتَ عِنديَ إِن تنظُر بذي نظرِ

And you, O eye, look at no one else;

If you look, I deem you possessed of no true sight.

وَلا يَغُرنّكَ بِشرٌ من خلافهِمُ

وَلَو أَنار فكم نَورٍ بلا ثمرِ

Let no smiling face from others deceive you,

Though it shine: how many blossoms bear no fruit!

وَقل لأسود عيشي بَعدَ أَبيضِهِ

يا آخرَ الصَفو هَذا أَوَّلُ الكدَرِ

Say to the darkness of my life after its brightness:

O end of serenity, this is the beginning of gloom.

ما بَعدهم غايَة يا موت تطلبها

بلغتَ في الأُفق المرَقى فَلا تَطِرِ

Beyond them there is no further goal for you to seek, O death;

You have reached the summit of the horizon; fly no higher.

بدورُ تِمٍّ خلَت منهم مَنازلُهم

فَالقَلبُ ذو كَمَدٍ وَالطَرفُ ذو سهرِ

Full moons: their dwellings are now empty of them;

The heart holds grief, and the eye sleeplessness.

غصون روضٍ ذوَت في التُربِ أَوجهُهم

واوحشتاهُ لذاك المنظرِ النضرِ

Branches of a garden: their faces withered in the dust;

Alas for the desolation left by that fresh, lovely sight!

دَمعي عَليهم وَشعري في رثائهُم

كالدرّ ما بين مَنظومٍ وَمنتثِرِ

My tears for them and my poetry in their lament

Are like pearls, some strung and some scattered.

دارَت كؤوسُ المَنايا حينَ غِبتُ عَلى

أَحباب قَلبي فَلَيت الكأس لم تدُرِ

The cups of death passed, while I was absent, among

My heart's beloveds; would that the cup had never passed!

حرَصتُ أَنّي أَلقاهم فَفاتَ فَقَد

زهدتُ في وَطَني إِذا فاتَني وطري

I yearned to meet them, but missed that chance; indeed,

I lost desire for home when my desire was denied me.

لَكِن رَجاءُ لِقا قاضي القضاة جَلا

لِ الدين حَثَّ عَلى أَوبي من السفرِ

But hope of meeting the chief judge, Jalal

Al-Din, urged my return from travel.

وليُّ عَهدِ أَبيهِ كان نصَّ عَلى اس

تخلافه فَاِنتَظر يا خير منتظَرِ

His father's designated heir: he had expressly stipulated his

Succession; so await it, O best of those awaited.

فتيُّ سنّ وَفي المِقدارِ شبهُ أب

هَذا اِتِّفاقُ فتاء السنّ والكِبَرِ

Young in age, yet in stature his father's likeness:

Here youth of years and maturity meet.

جارى أَباه وَأَخلِق أَن يُساويَهُ

وَالبَدرُ في شفق كالبَدر في السحَرِ

He kept pace with his father, and is likely to equal him;

The full moon at dusk is like the full moon before dawn.

لَهُ مَناقِبُ تَسري ما سَرى قَمَرٌ

وسيرةٌ سار فيها أَعدلَ السيرِ

His virtues travel as long as any moon travels,

And his conduct follows the most just course.

عِلمٌ وَحلم وعدل شامل وتُقىً

وعفّة وَنوال غَيرُ منحصرِ

Knowledge, forbearance, all-embracing justice, and piety,

Chastity, and bounty without limit.

خَلائِقٌ في العلا لمّا سمَت وَحَمت

فاحَت وَلاحَت لنا كالزُهرِ وَالزَهَرِ

Traits that rose high and guarded the heights

Spread fragrance and shone for us like stars and flowers.

يا كامِلَ الأَصل داني الوصل وافرَه

بَسيطَ فَضلِ العَطايا غَيرَ مختصرِ

O perfect in lineage, near and abundant in fellowship,

Lavish in the bounty of gifts, never scant.

يا سَيّداً في المَعاني طال مطلبُهُ

ملكتَها عنوةً بالحقّ فاِقتصرِ

O master whose pursuit of meanings grew long,

You mastered them by force through truth; now be content.

إِن فُهتَ بالفقه فُقتَ الأقدمين ذكاً

وَصُلتَ بِالحَقّ صولَ الصارِم الذَكَرِ

If you speak on jurisprudence, you surpass the ancients in brilliance,

And charge with truth like a keen steel sword.

وَإِن تكلّمتَ في الأَصلين فاِعلُ وطُل

وَقُل وَلا فخرَ ما الرازي بمفتخِرِ

If you speak on the two foundational sciences, rise and tower above,

And say, without boasting: Al-Razi has no cause to boast.

وَإِن تفسِّر تُحَقِّق كُلَّ مشتبِهٍ

فَسَيفُ ذهنك شَفّافٌ عَلى الطبري

If you interpret, you clarify every ambiguity,

For the sword of your mind surpasses al-Tabari.

وَلَيسَ يَرفَعُ رأساً سيبويهِ إِذا

نَصبتَ لِلنَحو طَرفاً غير مُنكَسِرِ

Sibawayh does not raise his head when

You turn an unbowed eye toward grammar.

ومن قَديم زَمان في الحَديث لَقَد

رقيتَ في الحفظ وَالعليا إِلى الزُهُرِ

And from long ago in hadith you have indeed

Risen in memorization and lofty rank to the stars.

مَولايَ صَبراً فَما يَخفاك أَن لَنا

في رزئنا أُسوةً في سيّد البشرِ

My lord, be patient: you know that we have

In our loss an example in the master of mankind.

وَاِعذُر محبَّك في إِبطاء تعزِيَةٍ

لِغربةٍ ظَلتُ منها أَيَّ معتذرِ

Forgive your loving friend his tardy condolences,

For my absence abroad, which gave me every cause for excuse.

وَلا تَقولَنَّ لي في غير مَعتَبَةٍ

عَليَّ لما أَطَلتُ المكثَ في سَفَري

Do not say to me, when I deserve no reproach

For having prolonged my stay on my journey:

أَبعدَ حَولٍ تُناجينا بِمَرثيَةٍ

هَلّا وَنَحنُ عَلى عَشرٍ مِن العُشُرِ

After a year, do you confide an elegy to us?

Why not when we were at ten of the tenth?

وحقّ حبّكِ لَولا القربُ منك لما

راجعتُ فكري ولا حقّقتُ في نظري

By the truth of your love, were it not for nearness to you, I would not

Have reconsidered my thoughts or closely examined my reflections.

بأي ذِهنٍ أَقولُ الشعرَ كُنتُ وَبي

غَمٌّ يَغُمُّ عَلى الأَلباب وَالفكَرِ

With what mind could I compose poetry, when there was within me

Grief that clouded minds and thoughts?

فِكرٌ وَحزنٌ بِقَلبي في الحشا سَكَنا

وَغربَةٌ ظَلتُ فيها أَيَّ منكسِرِ

Thought and sorrow dwelt in my heart, within my breast,

And exile, in which I remained utterly broken.

هَذا عَلى أَنَّ رُزءَ الشيخ لَيسَ لَهُ

عِندي اِنقِضاءٌ إِلى أَن يَنقَضي عمُري

All this, though grief for the shaykh has

For me no end until my life itself ends.

فَقَدتُ في سَفَري إِذا فاتَ منه دعاً

فَالفقدُ أَوجدُ ما لاقيتُ في سَفَري

On my journey I suffered loss, when his prayers no longer reached me;

Loss was the most grievous thing I encountered on my journey.

دامَت عَلى لحده سحب الرضى دِيَماً

ما ناحَت الورقُ في الآصال والبكرِ

May clouds of divine favor rain steadily upon his grave

As long as doves lament at evening and at dawn.

أَيقنت أَنَّ رياضاً قبرُهُ فَهَمَت

عيني عليه بمنهلٍّ ومنهمِرِ

I knew his grave was a garden, and there poured

My eye upon it in torrents and downpours.

وَدُم لَنا أَنتَ ما عَنَّ الهلال وما

غنّى المطوَّقُ في زاهٍ من الزهرِ

May you remain for us as long as the crescent appears, and

The ringdove sings amid bright blossoms.

وَدام بابُك مَخدوماً بأَربعةٍ

العِزِّ والنصر والإِقبال والظفَرِ

May your door remain attended by four:

Honor, victory, good fortune, and triumph.