Sol 6.1

  1. هَوى كَوكَبٌ مِن أَنجُمِ العلم نَيّرُ

    فَلا غَرْوَ أَنّ الجهلَ يَبدو ويظهرُ

    A radiant star has fallen from the stars of learning;

    So no wonder ignorance appears and shows itself.

  2. هَوى الفلَكُ الأّعلى لِتَكسِفَ شَمسُه

    فَيا لَيتَها دامَت وَلا تَتَغيَّرُ

    The highest sphere has fallen, so its sun is eclipsed;

    If only it had endured and never changed!

  3. فَيا لَهفَ قَلبي لَيسَ كَالمَوتِ فاجِعٌ

    وَلَيسَ سِواهُ النّاسُ تَخشى وَتحذَرُ

    Alas for my heart! No calamity is like death.

    And people fear and dread nothing but it.

  4. وَلَيسَ بِغَيرِ المَوتِ لِلنّاسِ قاهِرٌ

    وَلَم يَكُ غَيرُ اللَّهِ لِلمَوتِ يَقهَرُ

    And nothing but death can overpower mankind,

    And none but God can overpower death.

  5. فَمَوتُ أُهَيْلِ العِلمِ أَعلى مُصيبَةٍ

    نَعَم مَوتُ خَيرِ الخَلقِ أَعلى وَأَكبرُ

    The death of the dear people of learning is the greatest calamity;

    Yes, the death of the best of creation is graver and greater.

  6. وَلَو أَنَّ في الدّنيا خُلوداً لِعالِمٍ

    لَمَا الرُّسْلُ قَد كانَت تَموتُ وتُقبَرُ

    Were any scholar granted immortality in this world,

    The messengers would never have died and been buried.

  7. وفي فَقدِ نورِ الدّينِ في الدينِ ثلمَةٌ

    وَلَيستْ تُسَدُّ الدَّهرَ صاحِ وتُجبَرُ

    In losing Nur al-Din, the faith has suffered a breach,

    Never to be closed or mended, my friend.

  8. ولا بِدْعَ أن قد كان نوراً فإنّه

    هو الشمعةُ الغَرّا تُضيء وتُزهِرُ

    And no wonder that he was a light, for

    He is the radiant candle that shines and glows.

  9. هو العالِمُ النِّحرير والفاضل الذي

    بِتَحقيقِهِ كلّ العلومِ يحرَّرُ

    He is the master scholar, the virtuous man,

    Through whose exacting inquiry every science is firmly established.

  10. هو الجهبَذُ المِفْضال ذو الفِطنة التي

    تكاد بلا فِكرٍ تضيء وتُنْوِرُ

    He is the discerning master, the bountiful man, endowed with an insight

    That almost shines and glows without reflection.

  11. عَليُّ السّجايا والخليقةِ والذُّرى

    وَمَنْ بِلِسانِ الصّدقِ مِنْ بعدُ يُذْكَرُ

    Lofty in character, in nature, and in rank,

    And remembered thereafter by a truthful tongue.

  12. هوَ البحرُ بَحرُ العلمِ وَالحِلمِ وَالنّدى

    هوَ البَرُّ ذو التّقوى النقيُّ المُطْهَرُ

    He is the sea—a sea of learning, forbearance, and generosity.

    He is the righteous man, devout, pure, and purified.

  13. ذَكيٌّ نضيجُ الرأيِ وهوَ إياسُه

    فما حِذقُه المشهور في الناس يُنكَرُ

    Keen-minded, mature in judgment, he is its Iyas;

    So his skill, famed among people, cannot be denied.

  14. تَصدَّر للتدريسِ مِن زمنِ الصِّبا

    وكان له أهلاً ونِعمَ التصدُّرُ

    He took the teaching chair in his youth,

    And was worthy of it—how excellent his presiding!

  15. فَفي أيِّ علمٍ قام يقرأ درسَهُ

    تخال لسانَ العلم يُثني ويشكرُ

    In whatever science he rose to deliver his lesson,

    You thought learning's own tongue was praising and giving thanks.

  16. يؤمُّ بأهل الفضل حيث مؤذِّنٌ

    يَقولُ بِأعلى صوتِهِ اللّه أكبرُ

    He leads the men of merit in prayer, where a muezzin

    Calls at the top of his voice, 'God is greatest.'

  17. فإنْ كان مثلَ الدّرِّ تقدير غيرِه

    فَتَقديرُه درٌّ ثمينٌ وجوهَرُ

    If another's worth is likened to pearls,

    His worth is precious pearls and gems.

  18. وَمِن حينِ أودى ذَلِك البدرُ غارِباً

    فَلا بَدرَ قَد يَبدو وَلا لَيلَ يبدُرُ

    And since that full moon perished as it set,

    No full moon appears, nor does night come forth.

  19. فَمَنْ لِعُلومِ الدّين مِن بَعدِ نورِهِ

    ومَنْ لِكِتابِ اللّهِ بَعدُ يفسِّرُ

    Who will tend the sciences of faith after his light is gone?

    And who henceforth will interpret the Book of God?

  20. وَمَنْ لأَحاديثِ النبيِّ مُبيِّنٌ

    وَمَنْ لأصولِ الفِقهِ بعدُ يقرِّرُ

    And who will explain the Prophet's traditions?

    And who henceforth will expound the principles of jurisprudence?

  21. وَمَنْ ذا لِعِلْمِ النَّحوِ يُبدي نُكاته

    وَمَنْ ذا لأَسرارِ البلاغةِ يُظْهِرُ

    And who is there to reveal the subtleties of grammar?

    And who is there to reveal the secrets of eloquence?

  22. وَمَن ذا لِتَأليفِ المَعارِفِ بَعده

    وَمَن ذا لِتَصنيفِ العلومِ يصدَّرُ

    And who is there, after him, to compile knowledge?

    And who is there to take the lead in composing scholarly works?

  23. وَمَن ذا الّذي للشّعر يودعُ حكمَةً

    ويسلبُ لبّاً بالبيان ويسحَرُ

    And who is the one to place wisdom in poetry,

    And steal the mind with eloquence and enchant it?

  24. فَمَن كانَ ذا كَتمٍ لِحُسنِ صِفاتِهِ

    فَإِنّي بِها ممّن يَبوحُ وَيجهرُ

    Whoever may conceal the beauty of his qualities,

    I am one who reveals and proclaims them.

  25. فَفي مِثله الأَمثالُ تُضرَبُ في الورى

    وَفي مِثلِهِ العَلياءُ تَسمو وَتفخَرُ

    For proverbs are coined among mankind about men like him,

    And in men like him, glory rises high and takes pride.

  26. يَعزُّ عَلَينا أَن نَراهُ بِمَيِّتٍ

    وَأنّا نَرى قَبراً لَهُ فيهِ يُقبَرُ

    It grieves us to see him dead,

    And to see a grave for him in which he is buried.

  27. فَيا مَوتُ إِن أَطفأتَ شَمعةَ جِلَّقٍ

    فَإِنَّ لَها نوراً إِلى الحَشرِ يظهرُ

    O Death, if you have quenched the candle of Jilliq,

    It has a light that will shine until the Resurrection.

  28. وَما ماتَ مَنْ في النّاسِ خَلَّف فَضلَهُ

    وَما ماتَ مَنْ في النّاسِ بِالمَدحِ يُذكَرُ

    He has not died who left his virtue among the people,

    Nor has he died who is remembered among them with praise.

  29. سَأَبكيهِ ما قَد دمتُ حيّاً بأدمُعٍ

    تَسيلُ بِها كَالوابِل الهَطل أَنهرُ

    I shall weep for him as long as I live, with tears

    That flow in rivers like a pelting downpour.

  30. وَأَنظِم في تَمداحِهِ كلَّ درّةٍ

    تخلّد في الدّنيا إِلى يومَ يُحشَرُ

    And I shall string every pearl in his praise,

    To endure in this world until the day he is gathered for judgment.

  31. وَلَو أَنّه يُفدى لَكُنتُ فَدَيتُهُ

    بِروحي وَما أَقوى عَليهِ وَأَقدرُ

    Could he have been ransomed, I would have ransomed him

    With my soul and whatever lay within my strength and power.

  32. وَلَكِنَّ ربّ الخَلقِ بِالمَوتِ قَد قَضى

    وإنّ فناءَ الخَلْقِ أمرٌ مسَطَّرُ

    But the Lord of creation has decreed death,

    And creation's passing is a matter inscribed.

  33. فَطوبى لَه لَمّا دَعاهُ إِلهُهُ

    إِلى جَنّةِ الفِردَوسِ بِالحُورِ تَعمرُ

    Blessed is he, when his God called him

    To the Garden of Firdaws, peopled with houris.

  34. فَسارَ مُجيباً يَحمَدُ السَّيرَ والسُّرى

    وَبِالجودِ وَالرِّضوانِ فيها يبشَّرُ

    So he set forth in answer, praising the journey and the night travel,

    And there he is given glad tidings of bounty and divine favor.

  35. ومن نفحةِ الفردوس عند دخوله

    يفوز بها أرِّخ بطيبٍ ويظفر

    And a fragrant breath of Firdaws, upon his entry,

    He gains—record the date—amid fragrance, and triumphs.

  36. عَلى قَبرِهِ المَعمورِ مِن غَيثِ رَحمةٍ

    سَحابةَ رِضوانٍ تسُحُّ وتمطِرُ

    Upon his well-tended grave, with showers of mercy,

    May a cloud of divine favor pour forth and rain,

  37. مَدى دَهرِهِ ما دَامَتِ الأرضُ والسّما

    وَما قَد هَوى نَجمٌ وَما الشّمسُ تُسفِرُ

    Throughout all time, as long as earth and heaven endure,

    As long as a star falls and the sun shines forth,

  38. وَما طابَ في التّمداحِ شعرُ خِتامِهِ

    بِنَظمِ اِبنِ فَتحِ اللَّهِ مِسكٌ وعَنبرُ

    And as long as praise-poetry is sweet, its ending

    In Ibn Fath Allah's verse is musk and ambergris.