1. بِرُوحي مَن رَيبُ المَنون رَماها

    بِصائب سَهمٍ سالَ مِنهُ دِماها

    My soul would ransom her whom death's calamity struck

    With an unerring arrow, from which her blood flowed.

  2. وَغادَرَني مِن بَعد شَرخ شَبابها

    أَنوحُ كَثَكلى جَفَّ ماء بُكاها

    And left me, after the bloom of her youth,

    Lamenting like a bereaved mother whose tears have run dry.

  3. أَنوحُ كَثَكلى عِندَ فَقد وَحيدها

    تَقطَّع في يَوم الوداع حَشاها

    I lament like a mother bereaved of her only child,

    Whose heart was torn apart on the day of farewell.

  4. أَنوح كَثَكلى عِندَ فَقد وَحيدها

    قَضى بَعلُها فَوراً وَخابَ رَجاها

    I lament like a mother bereaved of her only child,

    Whose husband died at once and whose hope was dashed.

  5. أَنوح كَثَكلى ماتَ بَعدَ حَليلها

    أَخوها وَباقي قَومها وَفتاها

    I lament like a bereaved mother whose husband was followed in death by

    Her brother, the rest of her kin, and her boy.

  6. أَعائشُ لَولا أَنَّني لِمحمد

    وَليٌّ وَأَخشى أَن يضيع سفاها

    O Aisha, were I not Muhammad's

    Guardian, fearing he might be lost through folly,

  7. لشَيَّع نَعشي قَبل نَعشك صارمٌ

    يُبلِّغ نَفسي سؤلَها وَمُناها

    A keen sword would have escorted my bier before yours,

    Granting my soul its wish and its desires.

  8. أَعائش لَو تفدى بِبَعلٍ حَليلةٌ

    لَكانَ لِنَفسي في الفِداء رِضاها

    O Aisha, if a wife could be ransomed by her husband,

    My soul would find contentment in that ransom.

  9. فَقَد كُنت أَرجو قَبل مَوتك أَنَّهُم

    يَقولون ماتَ المَجد وَهُوَ فِداها

    For before your death I had hoped that they

    Would say, ‘Glory has died, a ransom for her.’

  10. أَعائش إِن العَيش بَعدَكَ ما صَفا

    لِمَن طَلَّق الدُنيا وَحَلَّ وِكاها

    O Aisha, life after you has lost its sweetness

    For one who has divorced the world and untied its binding cord.

  11. أَأَطمَع في الدُنيا وَلَستِ مَعي بِها

    وَأَنتَ لِعَيني نُورُها وَضِياها

    Shall I desire this world when you are not here with me,

    You who are my eye's light and radiance?

  12. أَعائشُ حفظي لِلعُهود سَجيةٌ

    أَقوم وَإِن خانَ الوَرى بِوَفاها

    O Aisha, keeping my pledges is my nature;

    I honor them faithfully, though mankind proves false.

  13. فَيا طالَما عايَنتِ مني مَودة

    يَدوم عَلى طُول الزَمان بقاها

    How often you witnessed in me a love

    Whose life endures throughout all time.

  14. أَعائش صَبري عيل مذ بنت وَاِنقضت

    لَيالي مَسراتٍ مَضَت بِسَناها

    O Aisha, my patience has failed since you left, and gone are

    The nights of joy, departed with their radiance.

  15. وَكَيفَ تُطيق الصَبر بَعدك ساعةً

    حَشاشةُ صَب في المَنون شِفاها

    How can it bear an hour of patience after you—

    A lover's lingering soul, whose cure lies in death?

  16. أَعائش أُمي حينَ ماتَت تخرّبت

    دِيارُ أَبي قَبل اِنقِضاء عَزاها

    O Aisha, when my mother died, laid waste were

    My father's dwellings, before her mourning ended.

  17. وَعاش قَليلاً بَعدَها بَينَ أَهلِها

    عَليلاً حَليفَ الحُزن ثُمَّ تَلاها

    He lived a little longer among her kin,

    Ailing, a companion to grief, then followed her.

  18. وَهَيهات أَني لا أَموت بِحَسرة

    سَريعاً عَلى شَمس العُلا وَضُحاها

    How could I fail to die of grief,

    And soon, for the sun of glory and her morning light?

  19. أَعائش إنّا عَن قَريب سَنَلتَقي

    عَلى حَوض ياسين المُشفَّع طاها

    O Aisha, before long we shall meet

    At the pool of Yasin, the accepted intercessor, Taha.

  20. وَإنا سَنَنسى ما لَقينا مِن العَنا

    وَنَذكُرُ في الجَنات حُسن صَفاها

    And we shall forget the suffering we endured,

    And recall in the Gardens the beauty of their serenity.

  21. أَعائش إِني عَنكِ راضٍ فَسارِعي

    إِلى رَوض جَنات يَفوح شَذاها

    O Aisha, I am pleased with you; hasten

    To the meadows of gardens whose fragrance spreads.

  22. وَفوزي بِرَيحان وَرُوح وَنعمة

    وَفاكِهَة لذَّت وَطابَ غِذاها

    And win sweet basil, repose, and blessing,

    And delicious fruit, whose nourishment is sweet.

  23. وَبِالوَصل نَحظى في قُصورٍ مشيدةٍ

    لَكِ اللَه في تِلكِ الجِنان بَناها

    And we shall enjoy reunion in lofty palaces

    That God has built for you in those Gardens.

  24. فَلا كانَ حَبسُ الطَمث أَودى بِجسمها

    إِلى ذات جَنب فيهِ عزَّ دواها

    Would that retained menses had never brought her body

    To pleurisy, for which a cure proved so elusive.

  25. وَلا كانَ لَيل السَبت مِن رَجب أَتى

    بِصرع وَهَت في الحال مِنهُ قِواها

    And would that Saturday night in Rajab had never brought

    A seizure that at once sapped her strength.

  26. وَلا كانَ بَعدَ الصَرع خالط عَقلها

    ذهولٌ طَوى مَنشور نُور حجاها

    And would that, after the seizure, her mind had never been seized by

    A stupor that folded away her reason's outspread light.

  27. وَلا كانَ بَدر جاء يُحيي مَواتها

    بطب عَسيف كانَ فيهِ أَذاها

    And would that Badr had never come to revive her lifeless form

    With harsh treatment that brought her harm.

  28. فَإِن اِنصِبابَ الماء مِن فَوق رَأسِها

    عَلى رَغم أَنفي كانَ فيهِ بِلاها

    For the pouring of water over her head,

    Against my will, brought her ruin.

  29. وَفي الأَخذ مِنها لِلدّماء مَدامِعي

    رَوَت كُل أَرض لا يُقاس فَضاها

    And as her blood was drawn, my tears

    Watered all the earth, its vastness beyond measure.

  30. وَفي الخَردل المَوضوع مِن فَوق ساقِها

    شَواظ بِقَلب فيهِ شيد حِماها

    And in the mustard laid upon her leg

    Was a blaze within a heart where her sanctuary stood.

  31. وَفي نَزعها إِتلافُ مُهجةِ سامعٍ

    مُطيعٍ مُجيبٍ بِالقبول نَداها

    And her death throes destroyed the heart of one who listened,

    Who obeyed and answered her call with willing assent.

  32. وَلا كانَ شَهرَ اللَهِ سابعُ عَشرِهِ

    بَدت شَمسُهُ إِلا بِغَيرِ عَناها

    And would that the seventeenth day of God's month

    Had seen its sun rise only with her free of pain.

  33. وَلا كُنتَ يا يَوم العَروبة مُشرِفاً

    بِفَقد فَتاةٍ لا أُحب سِواها

    And would that you, O Friday, had never dawned

    With the loss of a woman besides whom I love no other.

  34. وَلا كُنتَ يا يَوم الوَداع أَتيتَني

    بِما فيهِ عِندي لِلنُفوس شِفاها

    And would that you, O day of farewell, had never brought me

    What, in my view, holds a cure for souls.

  35. وَلا كُنتَ يا صبح القَطيعة مُسفِراً

    بِنَزع الثُرَيّا مِن نُجوم سَماها

    And would that you, O morning of severance, had never dawned

    With the Pleiades plucked from the stars of her sky.

  36. وَلا كُنت يا لَيل الفراق مُفاجِئاً

    بِنَعي الَّتي لي ساغَ بَثُّ ثَناها

    And would that you, O night of parting, had never startled me

    With news of her death, whose praises I delighted to proclaim.

  37. فَلَيت سُهادي طُول لَيليَ بِالَّذي

    لَها كانَ عَنها رَدَّ بَأسَ رَداها

    If only my vigil throughout the night, over what

    She suffered, had warded off death's assault upon her.

  38. وَلَيتَ اِهتِمامي بِالبخور أَفادَني

    لَها صحة فيها يَطول مَداها

    If only my care with incense had gained me

    Health for her, long-lasting in its span.

  39. وَلَيتَ اِعتِنائي بِالتَمائم عَمَّها

    بِنَفع وَعَنها قَد أَزال عَياها

    If only my care with amulets had enfolded her

    In benefit, and taken away her exhaustion.

  40. وَلَيتَ رضاها بِالعِلاج إِطاعةً

    لِأَمريَ بِالعُمر الطَويل حَباها

    If only her acceptance of treatment, in obedience

    To my bidding, had bestowed long life on her.

  41. وَلَيتَ غرابَ البين قُصَّ جَناحُه

    وَلا كانَ لي قَبل الأَوان نَعاها

    If only the raven of parting had had its wing clipped,

    And had not announced her death to me before its time.

  42. وَلَيتَ زَماني ما سَقاني لِفَقدِها

    بِكاس فراق بِالهَوان مَلاها

    If only my days had not, at her loss, made me drink

    From a cup of parting they had filled with humiliation.

  43. وَلَيتَ المَنايا حينَ فُوِّقَ سَهمُها

    إِلى نَحرِها شُلَّت بِمَصرَ يَداها

    If only death, when its arrow was aimed

    At her throat, had lost the use of its hands in Egypt.

  44. وَلَيتَ الرَدى ما كانَ جرّد سَيفه

    وَشَق بِهِ أَحشاءها وَكِلاها

    If only death had never drawn its sword

    And cleft with it her entrails and her kidneys,

  45. وَكانَ رَماني مِن كِنانة نبله

    بِما فيهِ لي حَتفي وَفيهِ نَجاها

    But had shot me from its quiver of arrows

    With what would bring me death and her deliverance.

  46. وَيا لَيتَها كانَت بِأَفراح نَجلِها

    نَظيم تَحلَّى جيدها بِحلاها

    If only, amid the wedding celebrations of her son

    Nazim, her neck had been adorned with their jewels.

  47. وَكانَت رَأَت مِن نَسله نَحوَ عشرة

    بِهم يَزدَهي بَينَ النِساء بَهاها

    And she had seen some ten of his offspring,

    Through whom her splendor would shine among women.

  48. وَكانَت بِهم عَني إِذا متُّ قَبلَها

    تسلت وَعاشَت مَعْهُمُ بِخباها

    And through them, if I had died before her,

    She would have found solace for my loss and lived with them in her tent.

  49. وَكانَت تَرى في النَوم رُوحي تَزورها

    كَما تَشتَهي في صُبحِها وَمساها

    And in sleep she would have seen my spirit visiting her,

    As she desired, in her mornings and evenings.

  50. فَلَست عَلَيها باخلاً بِحَشاشة

    برتها مَواضي صدّها وَجَفاها

    For I would not begrudge her a remnant of life

    Worn away by the keen blades of her turning away and estrangement.

  51. وَيا لَيتَني مِن قَبل حَمل سَريرها

    وَقفت مَع الأَموات تَحتَ لِواها

    If only, before her bier was borne,

    I had stood with the dead beneath her banner.

  52. وَإِلا مَحى رَسمي لَدى قَبض رُوحها

    وَسرت إِلى دار البَقاء وَراها

    Or else my form had been effaced when her soul was taken,

    And I had journeyed behind her to the abode of eternity.

  53. وَهالوا عَلى جسمي وَجسم حَليلَتي

    تُراب الرضا كَيما بِها أَتَباهى

    And they had heaped upon my body and my wife's

    The dust of contentment, so I might take pride in her,

  54. وَأَظفر مِنها في الضَريح بِقُربِها

    وَأَرشف مِنها ثَغرَها وَلَماها

    And gain her nearness in the tomb,

    And sip her mouth and the dark bloom of her lips.

  55. وَما كانَ ظَني وَهيَ رُوحي وَراحَتي

    بِأَني أَحيا بَعد يَوم فَناها

    I had never thought, she being my soul and solace,

    That I would live beyond the day of her death.

  56. وَلَكنّ أَمر اللَه في الخَلق نافذ

    وَلَيسَ لِنَفس أَن تردّ قَضاها

    But God's command prevails over creation,

    And no soul can turn back its appointed fate.

  57. فطوبَى لَها حَيث المهيمن خَصَّها

    بِرَحمته لَما أَراد لِقاها

    So blessed is she, for the All-Guarding One singled her out

    For His mercy when He willed to meet her.

  58. وَسارَت إِلى جَنات عَدنٍ فَقابَلَت

    بِها في نَعيم أُختَها وَأَباها

    She went to the Gardens of Eden and met

    There, in bliss, her sister and her father,

  59. وَخالتها مَع بنتها وَهيَ طفلة

    بِها اِزداد فيها أُنسها وَهَناها

    And her maternal aunt, with her daughter, still a child,

    Through whom her comfort and happiness there increased.

  60. وَرضوان مذ وافته قالَ مؤرِّخاً

    لِعيوشةٍ دار النَعيم بَناها

    And Ridwan, when she came to him, declared in a chronogram:

    ‘For Ayyusha He built the abode of bliss.’