English
In Mourning for Sa'd ibn Abu Bakr
No garden held a tree to equal his,
yet the storm-wind of death tore it up without mercy.
Who would trust the friendship of this world?
Every face it turns to you has a wandering, faithless eye.
By your grace, God, keep his soul at peace;
with that eternal life, make him content beyond this one.
Sa'd ibn Abu Bakr, son of Zangi, has not truly died,
for his hopeful son remains as his shadow on the earth.
If the sun has set, the shadow still remains;
long life to his household, his kin, and all he loved.
May it stay forever green and young in the garden of the realm,
that deep-rooted, flourishing tree of fortune.
I have offered one prayer for you and one against your enemy;
I will speak it, but if it is not good, do not approve it.
Whoever sets his foot in the stirrup to oppose you,
his horse will return home with no rider on its back.