1. The brokers of the country are a gang,
A disgrace to the people of the land is their stay.
١. أمَّا سماسرةُ البلاد فعصبة
عارٌ على أهل البلاد بقاؤها
2. Iblis has confessed bankrupt and broken,
When their seduction was clear to him.
٢. إبليسُ أعلن صاغراً إفلاَسه
لمَّا تحقَّق عنده إغراؤها
3. They enjoy delights honored as if
Their bliss has relieved the country’s misery.
٣. يتنعَّمون مُكرَّمين كأنَّما
لنعيمهم عمَّ البلاد شقاؤها
4. They are the people of its salvation though you deny them,
And they, despite your dislike, lead its chieftains.
٤. همْ أهلُ نجدتها وإن أنكرتَهم
وهمو وأنفك راغم زعماؤها
5. They are its guardians, and through them its ruin comes about,
Its sale and purchase are done by their hands.
٥. وحماتُها وبهم يتم خرابُها
وعلى يديهمْ بَيْعُها وشراؤها
6. And of the wonders, if you unveil their pots,
Is that some newspapers are their covers.
٦. ومن العجائب إنْ كشفتَ قدورهم
أنَّ الجرائد بعضَهنًّ غطاؤها
7. How can there be deliverance when desires jostle,
Their greed and whims conflict?
٧. كيف الخلاص إذا النفوس تزاحمت
أطماعُها وتدافعتْ أهواؤها