أمحمد بن الشيخ يا فخر القضا

يا معدن العرفان يا إكليل

O Muhammad, son of the Shaykh, pride of the judiciary,

O fount of knowledge, O crown!

يوم القيامة اتنا كمعفر

مسكا ومنك دم الشهيد يسيل

On the Day of Resurrection, come to us as one dusted

With musk, while the martyr's blood flows from you.

غدراً قتلت فلا أراه مبرءاً

لست الجبان ولا رآك عليل

Treacherously you were slain; I do not deem him blameless.

You were no coward, nor did an ailing man see you.

حذرٌ زمانك ما حييت مباشراً

أمر القضاء وشأنك التعديل

You were wary all your life as you administered

The affairs of justice, with fairness your concern.

لست المغفل انما أمر جرى

حسب القضا ما للنجاة سبيل

You were not heedless; it was merely an event that occurred

By fate's decree; there was no way of escape.

ما للبقا خلق الخلائق ربنا

بل كي يصيب جميعها تحليل

Our Lord did not create creatures to last forever,

But so that dissolution should overtake them all.

من لم يبارح راضيا متزوداً

خير الخصال له الكتاب دليل

Whoever does not depart content, provisioned with

The best of virtues, with the Book as his guide,

عما قريب سوف يدعى خاويا

صفر اليدين ويومه لطويل

Will soon be summoned, bereft,

Empty-handed, and his day will be long indeed.

كل يوافي يومه فلكم مشى

في ذلك الدرب الخطير جليل

Everyone meets his day; how many have walked

Along that perilous path—men of greatness!

كم جهبذ وغضنفر ذي سطوة

قهر الملوك به الزمان يميل

How many a sage and lion of might

Subdued kings, while time leaned in his favor,

خلى قصورا شاهقات شادها

بيد الفنا وتخطفته القبل

Left the towering palaces he had built

In destruction's hand, and kisses snatched him away.

لم يغنه مال ولا ولد ولا

جاه ولم يقبل له توكيل

Wealth did not avail him, nor a child, nor

Rank; no proxy was accepted on his behalf.

كرر تواريخ الألى سبقوا تجد

ان الفنا للانبياء سبيل

Review the histories of those who went before; you will find

That death is a path for the prophets.

لست المفاخر بالرثا شعراً ولا

ممن به نهر القريظ يسيل

I am not one to boast in elegiac verse, nor

Among those through whom poetry's river flows.

لست المحرر ما يعاب وانما

رؤيا الامام على الكمال دليل

I do not write what deserves censure; rather,

The Imam's dream bears witness to perfection.

رؤياه صالحة بلا ريب لذا

عنها لمدحك صار ذا التعويل

His dream is sound, without doubt; therefore

From it arose this reliance in praising you.

ما قال ذلك ناشراً الاله

سند وحسن الظن فيه كفيل

He did not say that to spread it abroad; God

Is a support, and thinking well of him is a guarantor.

ولعل جدك أو أباك الصالح

ن تشفعا فسقاك ذاك النيل

And perhaps your grandfather or father, both righteous,

Interceded, and that bounteous one gave you drink.

نعم الشهيد محمد أعطيت حق

أبيك في الدنيا ونعم سليل

Excellent martyr, Muhammad! You gave what was due

To your father in this world—an excellent descendant indeed!

ثم اجتذبت مجاوراً طود التقى

حسا ومعنى نعم ذا التحويل

Then you were drawn to dwell beside the mountain of piety,

In body and in spirit—what an excellent transfer!

كل يريد جواره لكن غدا

حظ القريب السدس وهو مقيل

Everyone desires to dwell beside him, yet now

The near kinsman's share is a sixth, and it is a resting place.

والجد حاز الكل عكسا للقضا

فالدار غير الدار لا تخويل

And the grandfather gained the whole, contrary to the law,

For this abode is not that abode; no rights are conferred.

ولأن غدوت مهنئاً بجوراهم

فسنان فقدك في الفؤاد نزيل

And because I now congratulate you on dwelling beside them,

The spear-point of your loss lodges in the heart.

لا صبر بعدك ما تطاول عمرنا

والدمع ما امتد الزمان يسيل

No patience after you, however long our lives may last,

And tears flow as long as time endures.

لا حزن لا والله والله لا

لكن مثلك في الرجال قليل

No grief—no, by God, by God, no!

Yet men like you are few.

كيف التحزن حائز من مثلنا

هلا له معنى وليس يزيل

How can grieving take hold of those like us?

Why not? It has meaning, though it removes nothing.

والسابقون من الخيار بلا مرا

ورد الحديث بدا ونعم القيل

And those who went before are among the best, without dispute;

The tradition has come to light—an excellent saying.

سقياً لربعك يا محمد فابلغن

مني التحية للرضي النيل

May rain water your abode, O Muhammad; do convey

My greetings to the worthy, bounteous one.

وليصبر الباقون ان شاءوا وان

جهلوا فعذرهم لدي ضئيل

And let those remaining be patient, if they wish; and if

They are ignorant, their excuse is slight in my eyes.

لكن أبا بكر أراه ممارسا

وله اطلاع زائد ونبيل

Yet I regard Abu Bakr as experienced,

And he possesses extensive and noble learning.

لا غرو ان ملك التجلد واكتسى

ثوب الرضا فالعلم فيه أصيل

No wonder he has mastered fortitude and donned

The robe of acceptance, for knowledge is deep-rooted in him.

قل يا أبا بكر نعم اني لها

ولكل خطب في الامور ثقيل

Say, O Abu Bakr: “Yes, I am equal to it,

And to every weighty calamity in life's affairs.”

كيما أقول مؤيدا لك دافعا

عنك الملامة اذ عناك زميل

So that I may speak in your support, warding

Blame from you, since a colleague singled you out.

حق لمثلك ان يعزيه الورى

حضراً مقيما قادر وعليل

It is right for one like you to be consoled by all,

While you remain at home—the able and the ailing alike.

أنت المصاب بدا ونحن أحبة

فاليك نقتحم الفلا ونطيل

You are plainly the bereaved one, and we are friends;

So to you we brave the deserts and journey far.

لا عيب إن لم تأتنا لديارنا

إلا الإمام فما عليه سبيل

There is no fault if you do not come to us at our homes,

Except the Imam—there are no grounds for reproaching him.

إن زرته نلت الرضا وكفيته

هذا أحق وما لديك جميل

If you visit him, you gain approval and spare him the trouble;

This is more fitting, and what you offer is gracious.

قوم هم غرر الزمان أفاضل

عابوك حباً لا الوداد نحيل

They are people of merit, the luminaries of the age,

Who reproached you out of love; affection is not weak.

فالود يبقى ما العتاب مواصل

إن لا فما لك في الأنام خليل

For affection endures as long as reproach continues;

If not, you have no close friend among humankind.

فاسمح لهم إذ عاتبوك وقل لهم

إني نصيرك والإمام كفيل

So forgive them when they reproach you, and tell them:

I am your supporter, and the Imam is a guarantor.

واصبر وصبر كل منتسب لكم

وقل البروني مخلص ووكيل

And be patient; encourage patience in all related to you,

And say: Al-Baruni is sincere and a representative.