يا غاديا ببريد الشام ينتحب — Ahmad Muharram

يا غادِياً بِبَريدِ الشامِ يَنتَحِبُ

ماذا دَهاكَ وَماذا أَنتَ مُحتَقِبُ

O morning traveler bearing Syria's mail, sobbing,

What has befallen you, and what are you carrying?

ما لِلحَقائِبِ وَلهى لا قَرارَ لَها

ماذا تَمُجُّ بِها الأَنباءُ وَالكُتُبُ

Why are the saddlebags distraught, finding no rest?

What do the tidings and letters spew forth within them?

إِنّي أَرى الدَمَ يجري من جَوانِبِها

فالأرضُ حولك مخضلٌّ ومختضبُ

I see blood flowing from their sides,

So the earth around you is drenched and stained.

أنصت لتسمعَ ما ضمَّت جَوانِحُها

إِنّي لَأَسمَعُ فيها الحُزنَ يَصطَخِبُ

Listen closely to hear what their ribs enfold;

Indeed, I hear grief clamoring within them.

أَفرِغ غَليلَ الأَسى ناراً عَلى كَبِدي

وَخَلِّ قَلبي لِأُخرى فيهِ تَلتَهِبُ

Pour sorrow's burning thirst as fire upon my liver,

And leave my heart for another flame to blaze within it.

هَذي لِمِصرَ تُؤَدّي الحَقَّ ناحِيَةً

وَتِلكَ لِلشامِ تَقضي مِنهُ ما يَجِبُ

This one, on one side, pays Egypt its due,

And that one pays Syria what is owed.

هَمّانَ في كُلِّ جَنبٍ مِنهُما ضَرَمٌ

عالٍ وَفي كُلِّ عَينٍ واكِفٌ سَرِبُ

Two sorrows, each with a blaze in one side,

Rising high, and in each eye a streaming torrent.

عاثَت يَدُ الشَرِّ بِالقُطرَينِ وَاِنطَلَقَت

في الأُمَّتَينِ عَوادي الدهرِ وَالنُوَبُ

The hand of evil ravaged both countries, and broke loose

Among both nations the ravages of time and calamities.

تَغشاهُما زُمَراً تَحتَثُّها زُمَرٌ

تَرمي بِها عُصَبٌ تَقتادُها عُصَبُ

They overwhelm them both in groups, urged onward by other groups;

Bands fling them forth, themselves led by other bands.

ضاقَ الفَضاءُ فَما يَمشي بِهِ نَفَسٌ

إِلّا يَكادُ عَلى الأَعقابِ يَنقَلِبُ

The open expanse has narrowed: no breath moves through it

Without nearly turning back upon its heels.

كَأَنَّ لِلمَرءَ مِن أَعضائِهِ رَصَداً

يَكادُ يَنقَضُّ مِن عَينَيهِ أَو يَثِبُ

As though a man's own limbs held an ambush for him,

Ready to swoop from his own eyes or leap.

ما يَرهَبُ المَرءُ أَو يَرجو وَقَد نُكِبَت

مِنّا النُفوسُ بِعَيشٍ كُلُّهُ رَهَبُ

What can a man fear or hope for, now that affliction has struck

Our souls through a life that is all dread?

أَعدى عَلى الشَرِّ يَومٌ مِنهُ مُحتَضَرٌ

لا خَيرَ فيهِ وَيَومٌ بَعدُ مُرتَقَبُ

A day of it, now dying, is ever more bent on evil,

With no good in it, and another day still awaited.

يا أُمَّةً في رُبوعِ الشامِ يوحِشُها

عَيشٌ جَديبٌ وَرَبعٌ لِلمُنى خَرِبُ

O nation in Syria's quarters, made desolate

By a barren life and a ruined dwelling of hopes,

طاحَت بِآمالِها الخُضرِ اللِدانِ يَدٌ

خُضرُ الحَدائِقِ في إِعصارِها حَطَبُ

A hand swept away its green, supple hopes;

The green of gardens is firewood in its whirlwind.

عَسراءُ سَوداءُ يَجري مِن أَنامِلِها

حَتفُ الشُعوبِ وَيَهمي الوَيلُ وَالحَرَبُ

A black left hand: from its fingertips flows

The doom of peoples, while woe and destitution pour down.

لا تَلمِسُ الأَرضَ إِلّا اِسوَدَّ جانِبُها

بَعدَ الضِياءِ وَجَفَّ الماءُ وَالعُشُبُ

It never touches the earth without blackening its side

After brightness, and drying up the water and grass.

ماذا لَقيتِ مِنَ القَومِ الأُلى كَفَرَت

مِمالِكُ الشَرقِ ما مَنّوا وَما وَهَبوا

What have you suffered from those people whose

Favors and gifts the kingdoms of the East have disowned?

ظَنّوا الحَضارَةَ لا تَعدو مَنازِلَهُم

وَلا تُجاوِزَهُم أَيّانَ تَنتسِبُ

They thought civilization never passed beyond their homes,

Nor extended beyond them, whenever its lineage was traced,

وَأَنَّنا أُمَمٌ فَوضى مُضَلَّلَةٌ

تَظَلُّ في غَمَراتِ الجَهلِ تَضطَرِبُ

And that we were disordered, misguided nations,

Forever floundering in the depths of ignorance.

ضَجَّ الزَمانُ اِرتِياعاً مِن جَرائِرِها

وَذاقَتِ المُرَّ مِن أَخلاقِها الحِقَبُ

Time cried out in terror at its crimes,

And the ages tasted bitterness from its ways.

رَموا بِعَهدِكِ في هَوجاءَ عاصِفَةٍ

ما تُستَطاعُ وَلا يُرجى لَها طَلَبُ

They hurled your covenant into a raging storm,

Unmasterable, with no hope of pursuing it.

طارَت فَما عَلِقَت مِنها بِأَجنِحَةٍ

نُكبُ الرِياحِ وَلا هَمَّت بِها السُحُبُ

It flew, and to its wings clung

No crosswinds; nor did the clouds attempt to reach it.

ضاعَ الحِمى وَاِستَباحَ الضَيمُ جانِبُكُم

أَينَ الحُماةُ وَأَينَ العَطفُ وَالحَدَبُ

The sanctuary was lost, and oppression violated your domain;

Where are the defenders, and where affection and solicitude?

أَينَ المَواعيدُ تَستَهوي رَوائِعُها

مِنكُم نُفوساً أَبِيّاتٍ وَتَختَلِبُ

Where are the promises whose splendors entice

And beguile proud souls among you?

لا تَعجَبوا إِن رَأَيتُم مَوعِداً كَذِباً

إِنَّ السِياسَةَ مِن أَسمائِها الكَذِبُ

Do not be astonished if you find a promise false;

Indeed, lying is one of politics' names.

ماذا تُرَجّونَ مِن أَمنٍ وَمِن دَعَةٍ

المالُ يُسلَبُ وَالأَرواحُ تُنتَهَبُ

What security and ease do you hope for?

Wealth is stolen, and lives are plundered.

يا أُمَّةَ البَأسِ أَينَ البَأسُ يَمنَعُكُم

يا أُمَّةَ المَجدِ أَينَ المَجدُ وَالحَسَبُ

O nation of valor, where is the valor that protects you?

O nation of glory, where are glory and noble lineage?

لا تَقبَلوا الضَيمَ وَاِحموا مِن مَحارِمِكُم

إِنَّ المَحارِمَ مِمّا تَمنَعُ العَرَبُ

Accept no oppression, and defend what is sacred to you;

Indeed, the Arabs defend what is inviolable.

إِنّي أَرى أُمَمَ الغَبراءِ يَشغَلُها

جِدُّ الأُمورِ فَلا لَهوٌ وَلا لَعِبُ

I see the nations of the dusty earth preoccupied

With serious affairs: no diversion and no play.

إِمّا الحَياةُ يَصونُ العِزُّ جانِبَها

عَنِ الهَوانِ وَإِمّا الحَتفُ وَالعَطَبُ

Either life, with honor shielding its domain

From humiliation, or death and destruction.

وَيلي عَلى الجيرَةِ الغالينَ يَأخُذُهُم

مِن طارِقِ البُؤسِ حَتّى العُريُ وَالسَغَبُ

Alas for the dear neighbors, seized

By visiting misery—even nakedness and hunger.

أَزرى بِهِم مِن خُطوبِ الدَهرِ ما طَعِموا

وَغالَهُم مِن هُمومِ العَيشِ ما شَرِبوا

What they tasted of time's calamities brought them low,

And what they drank of life's cares destroyed them.

لَو أَنصَفوا البَأسَ لَم يَنزِل بِساحَتِهِم

ظُلمٌ وَلا شَفَّهُم هَمٌّ وَلا نَصَبُ

Had they given valor its due, there would not have descended upon their courtyard

Oppression, nor would care or fatigue have worn them down.

لا يَعجَبِ الفاتِحُ المُغتَرُّ إِن غَضِبوا

إِنَّ الضَراغِمَ مِن أَخلاقِها الغَضَبُ

Let the conceited conqueror not be surprised if they grow angry;

Indeed, anger is among the traits of lions.

كَأَنَّني لِلأَيامى الجازِعاتِ أَخٌ

وَلِليَتامى الأُلى مَلّوا الحَياةَ أَبُ

It is as though I were a brother to the distraught widows,

And a father to the orphans who have grown weary of life.

أَحنو وَأَعطِفُ لا مالٌ وَلا وَلَدٌ

لي بِالشَآمِ وَلا قُربى وَلا نَسَبُ

I show tenderness and compassion; I have no wealth or child

In Syria, no kinship and no lineage.

ماهاجَني شَجَنٌ بِالشامِ أَطلُبُهُ

وَإِنَّما هاجَني الإِسلامُ وَالأَدَبُ

No personal concern I pursue in Syria has stirred me;

Only Islam and moral duty have stirred me.

إِنَّ الحَضارَةَ دينُ اللَهِ نَعرِفُها

في مُحكَمِ الذِكرِ لا ظُلمٌ وَلا شَغَبُ

Indeed, civilization is God's religion, which we recognize

In the decisive text of Revelation: no oppression and no strife.

الناسُ أَهلٌ وَإِخوانٌ سَواسِيَةٌ

في كُلِّ شَيءٍ فَلا رَأسٌ وَلا ذَنبُ

People are one family and brothers, equal

In everything: neither head nor tail.

العَدلُ إِن حَكَموا وَالحَقُّ إِن طَلَبوا

وَالخَيرُ إِن عَمِلوا وَالبِرُّ إِن رَغِبوا

Justice when they rule, and truth when they seek,

Goodness when they act, and righteousness when they desire.

حَتّى لَو اِعوَجَّ في أَحكامِهِ عُمرٌ

هَبَّت تُقَوِّمُهُ الهِندِيَّةُ القُضُبُ

Even if Umar became crooked in his judgments,

The keen Indian swords would spring up to straighten him.

الحُكمُ لِلَهِ فَرداً لا شَريكَ لَهُ

أَلا لَهُ المُلكُ وَالسُلطانُ وَالغَلَبُ

Rule belongs to God alone, with no partner;

Behold: His are dominion, authority, and victory.

أَقامَ لِلناسِ ديناً مِن جَلالَتِهِ

تَهوي التَماثيلُ عَن رُكنَيهِ وَالنُصُبُ

He established a religion for mankind; in its majesty,

Statues and altar-stones topple from its two pillars.

قُل لِلمُلوكِ أَفيقوا مِن وَساوِسِكُم

زالَت غَواشي العَمى وَاِنشَقَّتِ الحُجبُ

Tell the kings: awaken from your delusions;

The coverings of blindness have vanished, and the veils have split apart.

فَلا الشُعوبُ تُسامُ الخَسفَ مِن ضَعَةٍ

وَلا الحُقوقُ بِأَيدي العَسفِ تُغتَصَبُ

So peoples shall not be subjected to abasement through weakness,

Nor shall rights be usurped by the hands of tyranny.

أَشعَلتُمُ الحَربَ مِلءَ الأَرضِ ظالِمَةً

فَوضى المَذاهِبِ حَمقى ما لَها سَبَبُ

You kindled unjust war across the whole earth,

Chaotic in its courses, senseless, without a cause.

إِذا تَدافَعَ فيها جَحفَلٌ لَجِبٌ

خاضَ الحُتوفَ إِلَيهِ جَحفَلٌ لَجِبُ

Whenever a roaring army charged within it,

A roaring army waded through deaths to meet it.

زَجّوا المَلايينَ في أَعماقِها أُمَماً

يوفونَ بِالنذرِ إِن عُدّوا وَإِن حُسِبوا

They hurled millions into its depths, whole nations,

Fulfilling the vow, whether counted or reckoned,

مِن كُلِّ أَهوَجَ قَذّافٍ بِأُمَّتهِ

في جَوفِ جَأواءِ يُذكيها وَيَجتَنِبُ

From every reckless hurler of his nation

Into the belly of a dark war he kindles and avoids.

تَدَفَّقَ الدَمُ لَم يَمدُد إِلَيهِ يَداً

وَلَم يَرُعهُ رُعافٌ مِنهُ يَنسَكِبُ

Blood poured forth; he did not stretch a hand toward it,

Nor did a spurt of it, spilling out, alarm him.

أَقوَت خَزائِنُهُم فَاِستَحدَثوا وَرَقاً

يَهفو مَعَ الريحِ إِلّا أَنَّهُ نَشَبُ

Their treasuries emptied, so they created paper

That flutters with the wind, yet counts as wealth.

زادوا بِهِ الحَربَ مِن جَهلٍ وَمِن نَزَقٍ

ما كَفَّ مِن مِثلِهِ وَاِستَنكَفَ الذَهَبُ

In ignorance and recklessness they prolonged the war with it,

Doing what gold had refrained from and disdained.

ظَلَّت تَهونُ عَلى الأَيّامِ قيمَتُهُ

حَتّى تَرَفَّعَ عَنهُ التُربُ وَالخَشَبُ

Its value kept declining as the days passed,

Until dust and wood rose above it in worth.

يَبتاعُ ذو الأَلفِ مِنهُ حينَ يَملِكُها

أَدنى وَأَهوَنَ ما يُشرَى وَيُجتَلَبُ

With a thousand of it in hand, a man buys

The lowest, cheapest things that can be bought and brought.

لَو فارَقَ الناسَ أَو طاحَ الزَوالُ بِهِ

إِذَن لَزالَ عَناءُ العَيشِ وَالتَعَبُ

If it left mankind, or destruction swept it away,

Then life's hardship and toil would vanish.

يا أُمَّةَ الشامِ هَل بِالشامِ مُبتَهِجٌ

وَالنيلُ مِن أَجلِكُم حَرّانُ مُكتَئِبُ

O nation of Syria, is anyone in Syria joyful,

While the Nile burns with grief and is dejected for your sake?

صونوا البِلادَ وَكونوا مَعشَراً صُبُراً

لا يَخطِفونَ جَناحَ الذُلِّ إِن نُكِبوا

Protect the country, and be a steadfast people

Who do not seize humiliation's wing when afflicted.

دَعوا لِفَيصَلَ ما تُملي مَشيئَتُهُ

لا فَيصَلَ اليَومَ إِلّا المُرهَفُ الذَرِبُ

Leave to Faisal what his will dictates;

There is no Faisal today but the keen, sharp blade.

أَمسى مُعَنّى الأَماني ما تُصانُ لَهُ

تِلكَ العُهودُ وَلا يُقضى لَهُ أَرَبُ

He became tormented by hopes; no longer are kept for him

Those covenants, nor is his wish fulfilled.

لَم يَلبِسِ التاجَ حَتّى راحَ يَخلَعُهُ

مُشَرَّداً في فِجاجِ الأَرضِ يَغتَرِبُ

He had scarcely donned the crown before he went to remove it,

Driven into exile, wandering through the earth's broad passes.

كانَت أَمانِيَ أَو أَحلامَ ذي سِنَةٍ

طارَت فَلا أَمَمٌ مِنهُ وَلا كَثَبُ

They were wishes, or the dreams of one who dozes,

That flew away, neither within his reach nor close to him.

إِن يُفزِعِ النيلَ وَالأُردُنَّ ما بِهِما

فَبِالفُراتِ وَشَطَّي دِجلَةَ العَجَبُ

If what afflicts the Nile and Jordan terrifies them,

Then at the Euphrates and the Tigris's two banks is cause for wonder.

وَيحَ العِراقِ وَقَومٍ بِالعِراقِ عَلا

ضَجيجُهُم وَتَمادى مِنهُمُ الصَخَبُ

Alas for Iraq and a people there: rising

Is their clamor, and their tumult has gone on.

طاشَ الرَجاءُ بِهِم فَالأَمرُ مُضطربٌ

فَوضى بِأَرجائِهِ وَالصَدعُ مُنشَعِبُ

Hope went astray for them, and affairs are in turmoil,

Chaos throughout their regions, and the rift branching apart.

بَغدادُ تَنظُرُ وَالأَحشاءُ خافِقَةٌ

وَالعَينُ دافِقَةٌ وَالقَلبُ مُرتَقِبُ

Baghdad watches, its entrails throbbing,

Its eye overflowing, and its heart waiting.

أَينَ الرَشيدُ وَأَيّامٌ لَهُ سَلَفَت

أَينَ الحُماةُ وَأَينَ الفِتيَةُ النُجُبُ

Where is al-Rashid, and where his bygone days?

Where are the defenders, and where the noble young men?

دارَ السَلامِ أَهَزَّتكِ الخُطوبُ أَسىً

لَمَّا فُجِعتِ بِهِم أَم هَزَّكِ الطَرَبُ

Abode of Peace, did calamities shake you with sorrow

When you were bereaved of them, or did delight shake you?

أَينَ الحَضارَةُ يَحميها وَيَرفَعُها

لِلبَأسِ وَالعَدلِ مِنهُم مَعقِلٌ أَشِبُ

Where is the civilization protected and uplifted

By their impenetrable stronghold of valor and justice?

جاءوا بِغَربِيَّةٍ ما لاحَ طالِعُها

في الشَرقِ حَتّى هَوَت عَن أُفقِهِ الشُهُبُ

They brought a Western one: no sooner did its star appear

In the East than the shooting stars fell from its horizon.

وَحشِيَّةِ الدارِ وَالأَنسابِ ما بَرَحَت

خَلفَ الطَرائِدِ في الآفاقِ تَنسَرِبُ

Savage in home and ancestry, it has never ceased

Slipping through the horizons after its quarry.

كُلُّ الشُعوبِ لَها في أَرضِهِ قَنَصٌ

وَكُلُّ ما مَلَكَت أَيمانُهُم سَلَبُ

All the peoples of the East are quarry for it,

And all that their right hands possess is spoil.

تَمشي الضَرّاءَ تُصادينا وَآوِنَةً

تَنقَضُّ ضاحِيَةً يَعدو بِها الكَلَبُ

It walks under cover, luring us, and at times

Pounces in the open, driven by rabid fury.

هُبّوا بَني الشَرقِ لا نَومٌ وَلا لَعِبٌ

حَتّى تُعَدَّ القُوى أَو تُؤخَذَ الأُهَبُ

Rise, sons of the East: no sleep and no play,

Until the forces are marshaled or preparations made.

ماذا تَظُنّونَ إِلّا أَن يُحاطَ بِكُم

فَلا يَكونُ لَكُم مَنجىً وَلا هَرَبُ

What do you expect but to be surrounded,

With neither refuge nor escape?

كونوا بِهِ أُمَّةً في الدَهرِ واحِدَةً

لا يَنظُرُ الغَربُ يَوماً كَيفَ تَحتَرِبُ

Be one nation in the East for all time,

So the West never sees it fighting within itself.

الدينُ لِلَهِ لا الإِسلامُ يَصرِفُها

عَنِ الحَياةِ وَلا الأَوثانُ وَالصُلُبُ

Religion belongs to God: neither Islam turns the nation

Away from life, nor do idols or crosses.

ما لِلسِياسَةِ تُؤذينا وَتُبعِدُنا

عَمّا يَضُمُّ قُوانا حينَ نَقتَرِبُ

Why does politics hurt us and distance us

From what unites our strength when we draw close?

أغرَت بِنا الخُلفَ حَتّى اِجتَاحَ قُوَّتَنا

وَطاحَ بِالشَرقِ ما تَجني وَتَرتَكِبُ

It set discord upon us until it swept away our strength,

And what it perpetrates and commits brought the East low.

تَقتادُ شَعباً إِلى شَعبٍ وَمَملَكَةً

في إِثرِ مَملَكَةٍ أُخرى وَتَجتَذِبُ

It leads one people against another, and a kingdom

In the wake of another kingdom, drawing them along.

أَغارَةً جَدَّ رُوّادُ السَلامِ بِها

لَولا الفَريسَةُ ما جَدّوا وَلا دَأَبوا

Is it for a raid that the pioneers of peace have striven?

Were it not for the prey, they would neither strive nor labor tirelessly.

تَكَشَّفَ الغَربُ وَاِنصاحَت مَآرِبُهُ

فَلا الشُكوكُ تُواريها وَلا الرَيبُ

The West stood exposed, and its aims were laid bare;

Neither doubts nor suspicions conceal them.

لا عُذرَ لِلقَومِ إِن قُلتُ اِنفِروا فَأَبَوا

الحَزمُ مُستَنفِرٌ وَالرَأيُ مُنتَدَبُ

The people have no excuse if I say, 'Mobilize,' and they refuse;

Resolve summons you, and judgment is called to serve.

سيروا بَني الشَرقِ في ظِلِّ الإِخاءِ عَسى

أَن تُفلِحوا وَلَعَلَّ الصَدعَ يَرتَئِبُ

March, sons of the East, beneath brotherhood's shade, in hope

That you may prosper, and perhaps the rift will heal.