1. سَلامٌ على العَمل الصالحِ

    وغادٍ من النُّسكِ أو رائحِ

    Peace upon righteous work,

    and one going forth in devotion at dawn or dusk.

  2. سلامٌ على السَّنَنِ المستقيمِ

    سلامٌ على المَتْجرِ الرّابحِ

    Peace upon the straight path,

    peace upon profitable trade.

  3. سلامٌ على صوم يومِ الهجيرِ

    وهبّةِ ذِي مدمَعٍ سافِحِ

    Peace upon fasting on a day of scorching heat,

    and the waking of one with a streaming eye.

  4. سلامٌ على عَرصَاتٍ خَلَوْ

    نَ للدّين من غابقٍ صابحِ

    Peace upon courtyards left empty

    for faith, with no visitor at dusk or dawn.

  5. وفارقنا يومَ جدّ الرّحي

    لُ عُريانَ مِن مِيسَمٍ فاضِحِ

    And when departure grew earnest, there left us,

    bare of any disgraceful brand,

  6. فتىً كان في دارنا هذِه

    بطَرْفٍ إِلى غيرها طامحِ

    a youth who, in this abode of ours,

    had his gaze raised longingly toward another.

  7. تراهُ إذا غَسَقَ الخابطونَ

    على منهجٍ للهُدى واضحِ

    You would see him, when the groping wanderers entered darkness,

    upon a clear path of guidance.

  8. محمّدُ فارقْتنا عَنْوةً

    فجرحِي الرّغيبُ بلا جارحِ

    Muhammad, you left us against our will;

    so my gaping wound has no one who dealt it.

  9. وأوْدعتنِي في صميم الفؤا

    دِ مِنِّيَ ما ليس بالبارحِ

    And you lodged in the innermost core of my heart

    something that will never leave me.

  10. وهوّن رُزْءَك أنّي أقولُ

    مضيتَ إلى مُنيةِ الفارحِ

    And what eased the loss of you was my saying:

    you have gone to what the joyful one desires,

  11. إلى نِعَمٍ ليس كالأعْطياتِ

    ونافحُها ليس كالنافحِ

    to blessings unlike gifts,

    and their giver is unlike any other giver.

  12. كنار العَراءِ بلا مُصطَلٍ

    وسَجْلِ القَليبِ بلا ماتِحِ

    Like a fire in the open, with no one warming himself,

    and a well's full bucket, with no one to draw it;

  13. ودارُ السّياسةِ مجفُوَّةٌ

    وغدرانُهنَّ بلا نَاشِحِ

    the house of governance stands abandoned,

    and their pools have no one drawing water.

  14. وكنتَ وقد طَرَحَتْها بَنان

    كَ مُحتقِراً خيرَ ما طارحِ

    And when your fingers had cast it aside,

    in contempt, you were the finest ever to cast it off.

  15. فلو سُئِلَتْ عنك لاِستَعجلتْ

    إلى منطقِ الشّاكر المادحِ

    So, had it been asked about you, it would have hastened

    to the words of one grateful and praising.

  16. وكم لك في المجدِ من ثورةٍ

    إلى البلد الشّاحط النازحِ

    And how many a charge for glory was yours

    toward the far-off, distant land,

  17. على كلّ منفرجِ الكاذَتَين

    كَتُومٍ لأنفاسهِ سابحِ

    on every steed with wide-set haunches,

    quiet of breath, swimming in its stride.

  18. تَراهُ إِذا اِسوَدّ ليلُ العَجاجِ

    من الرَّوْعِ كالكوكبِ اللائحِ

    You would see him, when the night of dust turned black,

    amid terror, like a gleaming star.

  19. وَقَد عَلِموا حينَ شبّوا الأُوارَ

    مَجَسَّكَ من لاذِعٍ لافِحِ

    And when they kindled the blaze, they learned

    from testing your stinging, scorching mettle

  20. بِأَنّك أَضربُ من حامِلٍ

    لسيفٍ وأطعنُ من رامحِ

    that you struck harder than any bearer

    of a sword, and thrust harder than any lancer;

  21. وَأَكتَم للسِّرِّ حين اِكتَوَتْ

    خطوبٌ على النّاشر البائِحِ

    and guarded secrets better when

    calamities burned against the spreader and divulger.

  22. وأنّك منتقماً إذ تكون

    لِذُحْلِكَ خيرٌ من الصّافِحِ

    And that, when you take vengeance

    for your grievance, you are better than one who pardons.

  23. تفِيءُ إلى الأبْلجِ المستنيرِ

    من الرأْيِ في المُعضِلِ الفادِحِ

    You turn to what is bright and luminous

    in judgment, in grave, intractable trouble.

  24. وإن عَنَّ يومُ حِباءٍ هَطَلْتَ

    وفي النّاسِ مَنْ ليس بالرّاشحِ

    And if a day of giving arose, you poured like rain,

    while some among the people did not even trickle.

  25. مضيتَ خفيفاً من الموبقاتِ

    وأين الخفيفُ من الدالِحِ

    You departed unburdened by ruinous sins;

    how far the light-laden is from the heavily burdened!

  26. ولو أنصف النّاسُ تُرباً أُهيلَ

    على جَسَدٍ ناصعٍ ناصحِ

    And had people dealt justly with the dust heaped

    upon a body pure and sincere,

  27. لَزاروهُ وَاِستَنزلوا عندهُ

    عطاءً من المانع المائحِ

    they would visit it and call down beside it

    a gift from the Withholder, the Bestower.

  28. فإمّا نزحتَ وراءَ الصَّفيحِ

    فلستَ عن الخير بالنَّازحِ

    Even if you have gone far behind the stone slabs,

    yet you are not far removed from goodness.

  29. فَللّهِ قبرٌ أراقوا بهِ

    ذَنوباً من الذُّخُر الصّالحِ

    By God, what a grave! Into it they poured

    a bucketful of righteous treasure.

  30. تمرُّ به أرِجَ الخافقين

    ملآنَ من عَبَقٍ فائِحِ

    You pass by it, fragrant to east and west,

    filled with perfume wafting forth.

  31. فإنْ نحن قِسنا إليه القبورَ

    أَبَرَّ بميزانِهِ الرّاجحِ

    If we measure other graves against it,

    it prevails, its scale outweighing theirs.

  32. ولا زالَ منهمرُ الطُّرَّتين

    يَسُحُّ بماءٍ له سائحِ

    And may a cloud pouring from both edges never cease

    to pour down its flowing water

  33. عليه وإنْ كان مستغنياً

    بما فيه من كرمٍ طافِحِ

    upon it, though it has no need,

    because of the overflowing nobility within it.

  34. تساوى الأنامُ بهذا الحِمام

    فسهلُ المعاطِفِ كالجامِح

    This death makes all humankind equal;

    the pliant of limb is like the headstrong.

  35. وقامتْ به حجّةُ الزّاهدين

    وضاق له عُذُرُ الكادحِ

    And through it the ascetics' argument is proved,

    and it leaves the toiler little excuse.

  36. وكلٌّ مُصيخٌ وإنْ كان لا

    يَحسُّ إلى هَتفةِ الصّائِحِ

    And all listen attentively—even if they do not

    perceive—to the shout of the crier.