يا صاح شمس العلوم اليوم قد غربت — Mufti Fathallah

يا صاحِ شَمس العُلومِ اليومَ قَد غَربت

وَالأَنجُم اِنكَدَرَت وَالسّاعَةُ اِقتَرَبت

O friend, the sun of learning has set today.

And the stars have dimmed, and the Hour has drawn near.

وَضَجَّتِ الأَرضُ وَاِهتزّت مُزلزَلَةً

فَخالَها النّاسُ لَمّا زُلزلت وَجَبت

And the earth cried out and shook, convulsed by tremors;

So, when it quaked, people thought the Hour had arrived.

وَالنّاسُ قَد ذُهِلَت بِما أَلمّ بِها

وَهاجَها ما دَهاها الآنَ وَاِضطَرَبت

And people were stunned by what befell them,

And what struck them now roused them, and they were shaken.

وَالعَقلُ قَد تاهَ وَالأَبصارُ شاخِصةٌ

وَالفَهمُ قَد ضاعَ وَالأَفكار قَد ذَهَبَت

And reason has wandered, and eyes stare fixedly;

And understanding is lost, and thoughts have fled.

وَأَظلَم الكَون وَالأَطيارُ حائِرةٌ

وَالنّاسُ سَكرى وَمنها لبّها سُلِبَت

And the universe has darkened, and birds are bewildered;

And people are drunken, their reason stolen from them.

وَالقَلبُ مُنفَطِرٌ وَالروحُ قَد زهقت

وَشَبَّتِ النّارُ في الأكبادِ وَاِلتَهَبَت

And the heart is rent, and the soul has departed,

And fire has flared in the livers and blazed.

وَالعَينُ قَد سَفَحت مِنها مَدامِعُها

مِثل العَقيقِ وَمثلَ السّحبِ قَد سكبَت

And the eye has shed its tears,

Like agate, pouring them out like clouds.

تَبكي عَلى مَن أُصيبَ المُسلِمونَ بِهِ

شَمس العُلومِ الّتي عَنهُم قَدِ اِحتَجَبَت

It weeps for him whose loss afflicted the Muslims,

The sun of learning that has been veiled from them.

العارِفُ الفردُ وَالقطبُ الوليّ وَمَن

لَهُ الكَراماتُ قَد صحّت وَما كَذبت

The peerless gnostic, the spiritual pole, the saint, and one

Whose miracles were proven true, never false.

الزّاهِدُ المُتّقي طَودُ المَعارفِ من

عَليهِ أَعلامُها لِلهدْيِ قَد نصبَت

The ascetic, the God-fearing, a mountain of knowledge, one

Upon whom its banners were raised for guidance.

بَحرُ المَعارِفِ لَم تُدرك سَواحِله

مِنهُ لَنا دُررُ الأَسرارِ قَد جلبت

An ocean of knowledge whose shores have not been reached;

From him the pearls of mysteries were brought to us.

كَأَنّما أَبحُر العِرفانِ لَو عظمت

جَداولُ لَو إِلى عِرفانِهِ نُسبَت

As though the seas of gnosis, however vast,

Were rivulets if compared with his gnosis.

الجَهبَذُ العالِمُ النّحرير سيّدنا

بَحرُ العلومِ الّذي أَلفاظُهُ عذبت

The discerning expert, the scholar, the consummate authority, our master,

An ocean of learning whose words were sweet.

البارِعُ المُتقنُ الحَبر الإِمام بِهِ

كلّ الأَئِمّةِ رَوْمَ القدوةِ اِنتَصَبَت

The brilliant, accomplished sage and imam; through him

All imams stood forth, seeking to follow his example.

كلُّ العُلومِ تَبَدَّت وَسطَ فِكرَتِهِ

كَأَنّما صوّرت فيها أَوِ اِكتَتَبت

All branches of learning appeared within his thought,

As though pictured there or inscribed.

محقِّقٌ دقّة التّدقيقِ مِنهُ غَدَت

تَبدو عَلى جَبهَةِ التّحقيقِ قَد كتبت

A meticulous scholar: his precision in scrutiny came

To be seen inscribed upon the brow of inquiry.

مُفسّرُ الوَقتِ بَيضاوي الزّمانِ وَمَن

فيهِ التّفاسيرُ للإِتقانِ قَد رغبَت

The age's exegete, the Baydawi of his time, and one

In whom commentaries aspired to perfection.

الحافظُ الثّقةُ الثّبت الصّدوقُ وَمَن

هوَ البخاري بِهَذا العَصرِ صحّ ثبت

The hadith master, trustworthy, reliable, truthful, and one

Who was al-Bukhari in this age, truly and assuredly.

فَقيه ذا العَصرِ بدر الفِقهِ مالِكهُ

سبكي الأُصول بِهِ اِعتزّت وَفيهِ رَبت

The jurist of this age, jurisprudence's full moon, its Malik;

The Subki of legal principles: through him they gained glory, in him they flourished.

الأَشعَري الّذي أَسياف حجّته

سُلّت عَلى زيغِ أَهلِ الزّيغِ وَاِقتضبَت

The Ash'ari whose swords of argument

Were drawn against the deviation of the errant and cut it down.

الشّاعِرُ الفذُّ مَن دامَت قَريحَتهُ

نَضّاخة العَين لا قَلَّت ولا نضبَت

The peerless poet whose inspiration remained

A gushing spring, neither dwindling nor running dry.

مُحمّدٌ شَمسُ دينِ اللَّه سَيّدنا

وَمَن بِهِ في الهُدى الأَمثال قَد ضُرِبَت

Muhammad, sun of God's faith, our master,

And one held up as a proverbial model of guidance.

هُوَ المَسيريُّ مَن قَلَّت نَظائِرهُ

وَلِلوجودِ أَبَت في ذا الزّمانِ أبت

He is al-Masiri, whose equals were few,

And would not, would not, come into being in this age.

أَكرِم بِأَخلاقِهِ تَزهو مَحاسنها

بِالحُسنِ قَد نَشأت لِلطف قَد كسبَت

How noble his character! Its fine qualities shine,

Having grown in beauty and acquired grace.

سَطَت عَلَيه المَنايا وَهيَ غادرة

فَفيهِ يا أَسفي أَظفارها نشبَت

The fates of death assailed him, treacherous as they are,

And so into him, alas, their claws sank.

إِنّ المَنايا لُيوث تِلك ضارِية

عَلى النُّفوسِ بِلا ريب لَقَد وَثَبَت

Indeed, the fates of death are ravening lions,

That have surely leapt upon souls, without doubt.

غَدّارة تَخطِفُ الأَخيارَ عادِيَة

أَما تَراها لَه مِن بَينِنا اِغتصبَت

Treacherous raiders, snatching the good away;

Do you not see how they seized him from among us?

كُلّ النّفوسِ غَدَت في أَسرِ قَبضَتِها

لا نَفس مِنها وربِّ البيتِ قَد هَرَبَت

All souls have fallen captive in their grasp;

No soul, by the Lord of the House, has escaped them.

كَم بُرج عُمر لَقَد هَدّت وَقَد هَدمت

أَما بِها أَبرج الأَعمارِ قَد خَرِبَت

How many towers of life they have demolished and destroyed!

Have not the towers of lifetimes been ruined by them?

لَو أَنّها تَرتَضي الأَرواح فَديتهُ

لَعَنهُ أَرواحنا مِنّا لَها وهبَت

If they would accept souls, I would ransom him;

Our souls would be given by us to them in his stead.

نَبكي دَماء عَلَيه الأَرضَ خاضبة

أَما تَرى الأَرضَ مِن تلكَ الدّما اِختَضبت

We weep blood for him, staining the earth;

Do you not see the earth dyed with that blood?

كِدنا نَسيلُ نُفوساً مِن لَواحِظنا

وَالكلّ يَحسب مِن آماقِهِ جذبت

We almost poured our souls out through our eyes,

And each thinks his soul was drawn from the corners of his eyes.

دَعاهُ مَولاهُ لِلفردَوسِ يَسكُنها

وَالحور فيها لَهُ لا شَكّ قَد خطبت

His Lord called him to dwell in Paradise,

And there, no doubt, the houris were betrothed to him.

لَبّى مُجيباً يَجدّ السّير تَحمِلُه

لَها مَطايا الرّضا إِذ فيهِ قَد ذهبت

He answered the call, hastening on, borne

To it by the mounts of favor, as they went along the way.

إِن غابَ عَنّا فَقَد أَبقى لَنا خلفاً

شَمساً مِنَ الفَضلِ لا زالَت وَلا حجبت

If he has vanished from us, he has left us a successor,

A sun of excellence—may it neither vanish nor be veiled.

وَالشّمس إِن غَربت فَالبدرُ يَخلِفُها

كَأَنّها لَم تَغِب عنّا وَلا غربت

And when the sun sets, the full moon takes its place,

As though it had neither left us nor set.

هوَ اِبنهُ مُصطفى العَلياء في شَرَفٍ

وَمِن مَعاليهِ مِن أَسنى العُلى اِنتخبت

He is his son Mustafa, of lofty distinction and honor,

And among his distinctions are those chosen from the loftiest heights.

الكامِلُ الشّهمُ بَدرُ العلمِ كَوكبه

أَنوارهُ لِظلامِ الجَهلِ قَد غَلَبَت

The accomplished, noble man, learning's full moon and star,

Whose lights have overcome ignorance's darkness.

غُصنُ الكَمالِ وَمِن رَوضِ الكَمالِ بَدا

مَا أَحسَن الغُصن في رَوضِ الكَمال نَبَت

A branch of perfection, sprung from perfection's garden;

How beautiful the branch that grew in perfection's garden!

تَسري اللّطافة في أَجزاءِ قامَتِهِ

كَأَنّها مِن مِياهِ اللّطفِ قَد شربت

Grace courses through the parts of his form,

As though his form had drunk from the waters of grace.

خِدن البَلاغَةِ حدِّثْ عَن بَلاغَتهِ

فَإِنّها لِسواه الآنَ ما وهبت

Eloquence's companion—tell of his eloquence,

For it has now been granted to no other.

أَهل البَلاغَةِ لَم تسمَع بَلاغَته

إِلّا وَمِن حُسنِها الزّاهي لَقَد عجبت

Masters of eloquence never heard his eloquence

Without marveling at its radiant beauty.

ما إِن تَكلّم إِلا الرّوح قَد فَرِحَت

وَالعَينُ قرّت وَإِلّا الأُذن قَد طربَت

He never spoke but the soul rejoiced,

And the eye found solace, and the ear was delighted.

فَكَم نَهَبنا ثَمينَ الدُّرِّ مِن فَمِهِ

مِن نَثرهِ درّه آذاننا نهبَت

And how often we plundered precious pearls from his mouth!

From his prose, our ears plundered his pearls.

حَيّاهُ مَولاهُ وَأَحياهُ الزّمانُ لَنا

وَأَكمَد اللَّهُ أَضداداً لَه وَكبت

May his Lord bless him, and may time keep him alive for us,

And may God grieve his adversaries and bring them low.

وَدامَ يبقى لَنا حتّى نَشِمّ بِهِ

شَذى أَبيهِ فَتشفى أَكبدٌ وصبَت

May he remain with us, so that through him we may breathe

His father's fragrance, and ailing livers may be healed.

يا أَيّها الشّهمُ سَلّم لِلقضاءِ فَما

غَير القَديمِ لَه غير الفَناءِ ثَبَت

O noble man, submit to the decree, for nothing

But extinction is certain for anyone but the Eternal.

وَيا أَخا اللبّ صَبراً إِذ أَصَبت بِهِ

مَنِ المَصائبُ عَنه يا نَبيه نَبَت

And, O man of understanding, be patient: you are bereaved of

One from whom calamities recoiled, O discerning man.

مَن يَصطَبِر فَلَهُ الأجرُ الجَزيلُ كَما

لَهُ عَليهِ جنانُ الخلدِ قَد وجبت

Whoever bears patiently has a bountiful reward, just as

The gardens of eternity are his due for that patience.

وَالمَوتُ حَتمٌ وَكلُّ النّاسِ تطعمه

أَلَم تَكُ الرّسل كَأس الحَتفِ قَد شَرِبَت

And death is inevitable, and all people taste it;

Did not the messengers drink the cup of death?

لِذا خُلقنا لِهذا النّاسُ قَد وجدت

كَذا بِهِ بنية الآجالِ قَد خربت

For this we were created; for this people were brought into being.

Thus, through it, the edifice of lifespans has crumbled.

وَفي المُصيبَةِ بِالمختالِ تَسلية

عَن كلِّ ما نَكبة فيها الورى نكبت

And in the loss of the proud one there is consolation

For every calamity in which mankind has been afflicted.

وَاللَّه يَحبوهُ في الفِردَوسِ مَنزلة

مِنهُ تَعالى دَنت مِنهُ لَقَد قربت

And may God grant him a station in Paradise,

Near Him—exalted is He—indeed brought close to Him.

وَاِسلَم وَدُم في أَمانِ اللَّهِ ما هَطَلت

سَحائِبُ الأفقِ ما لِلوَبلِ قَد سكبت

And be safe; remain in God's protection as long as rain falls

From the horizon's clouds, as long as they pour their downpours,

ما الفَتحُ في رثيهِ إِيّاه أَنشَدكم

يا صاحِ شَمس العُلوم اليومَ قَد غَرُبَت

As long as al-Fath, in his elegy for him, recites to you:

“O friend, the sun of learning has set today.”