Sol 6.1

  1. هَلِ الحَربُ إِلّا أَن تَطيرَ الجَماجِمُ

    أَمِ البَأسُ إِلّا ما تَجيءُ الضَراغِمُ

    Is war anything but skulls flying?

    Or martial might anything but the deeds of lions?

  2. بِأَيِّ سِلاحٍ يَطلُبُ النَصرَ هالِكٌ

    سِلاحُ المَنايا قاصِفٌ مِنهُ قاصِمُ

    With what weapon does a doomed man seek victory?

    Death's weapon shatters him and crushes him.

  3. لِواآهُ في الهَيجاءِ جُبنٌ مُنَكَّبٌ

    بِهِ عَن سَبيلَيها وَرُعبٌ مُلازِمُ

    His two banners in battle are cowardice, turning

    Him from its two paths, and ever-present fear.

  4. يَرى النَصراتِ البيضِ يَلمَعنَ دونَهُ

    وَلَيسَ لَهُ مِنهُنَّ إِلّا الهَزائِمُ

    He sees bright victories gleam before him,

    Yet of them he has nothing but defeats.

  5. رَمى نَفسَهُ في جَوفِ دَهياءَ أَطبَقَت

    عَلَيهِ فَأَمسى وَهوَ خَزيانُ نادِمُ

    He cast himself into the depths of a dark calamity that closed

    Upon him, leaving him disgraced and remorseful.

  6. وَما الحَتفُ إِلّا نَزوَةٌ مِن مُخَدَّعٍ

    تَمادَت بِهِ أَوهامُهُ وَالمَزاعِمُ

    Death is nothing but a rash impulse from a deluded man,

    Whose illusions and pretensions carried him too far.

  7. رُوَيداً بَني روما فَلِلحَربِ فِتيَةٌ

    تَهيجُ الظُبى أَطرابَهُم وَاللِهاذِمُ

    Gently, sons of Rome: war has young men

    Whose raptures sword-edges and keen spearheads stir.

  8. إِذا نَفَروا لَم يَنفُروا عَن شِمالِها

    وَلَم يصحروا عَن سَيلِها وَهوَ عارِمُ

    When they mobilize, they do not shrink from its north wind,

    Nor retreat from its torrent as it rages.

  9. بَنوها الأُلى لا يرهبونَ بِها الرَدى

    إِذا اِهتَزَمتَ في حافَتَيها الزَمازِمُ

    Its sons, who fear no death within it,

    When rumbling roars resound along its two flanks.

  10. مُعِمّونَ فيها مُخوِلونَ إِذا اِعتَزَوا

    نِمَتهُم قُرَيشٌ في الحِفاظِ وَهاشِمُ

    Noble in paternal and maternal kin when they proclaim their lineage,

    Quraysh and Hashim reared them to defend honor.

  11. وَشوسٌ شِدادُ البَأسِ مِن آلِ يافِثٍ

    تَخوضُ دَمَ الأَبطالِ وَالبَأسُ جاحِمُ

    And fierce warriors, mighty in valor, of the house of Japheth,

    Wade through heroes' blood while battle blazes.

  12. لَهُم كُلَّ يَومٍ غارَةٌ تُصبِحُ العِدى

    وَأُخرى تُضيءُ اللَيلَ وَاللَيلُ فاحِمُ

    Each day they launch a raid that strikes the foe at dawn,

    And another lights the night when night is coal-black.

  13. إِذا أَقدَموا لَم يَثنِهِم عَن مَغارِهِم

    غَداةَ الوَغى أَهوالُها وَالمَآزِمُ

    When they advance, nothing turns them from their assault,

    On battle's morning—neither its terrors nor its straits.

  14. أولَئِكَ أَبطالُ الخِلافَةِ تَحتَمي

    بِأَسيافِهِم إِن داهَمَتها العَظائِمُ

    Those are the champions of the Caliphate, which takes shelter

    Behind their swords when mighty calamities assail it.

  15. هُمُ المانِعوها أَن يُقَسَّمَ فَيئُها

    وَأَن تُستَبى بَيضاتُها وَالمَحارِمُ

    They guard it against the division of its spoils,

    And its heartlands and sanctities being taken captive.

  16. دَعائِمُها الطولى وَآطامُها العُلى

    إِذا أَسلَمَت آطامَ أُخرى الدَعائِمُ

    Its tallest pillars and its loftiest fortresses,

    When other fortresses are forsaken by their pillars.

  17. وَما المُلكُ إِلّا ما أَطالَت وَأَثَّلَت

    طِوالُ العَوالي وَالرِقاقُ الصَوارِمُ

    Dominion is only what is extended and firmly founded

    By long spears and slender, cutting swords.

  18. لَقَد خابَ مَن ظَنَّ الأَساطيلَ عُدَّةً

    تَقيهِ الرَدى إِن قامَ لِلحَربِ قائِمُ

    Disappointed indeed is whoever thought fleets a safeguard

    To shield him from death when a champion rises to war.

  19. أَلَستَ تَرى ذُؤبانَ روما وَما لَهُم

    مِنَ الحَتفِ في بَطحاءِ بُرقَةَ عاصِمُ

    Do you not see Rome's wolves, with none

    To shield them from death on Barqa's plain?

  20. إِذا اِستَصرَخوا أُسطولَهُم لَم يَكُن لَهُم

    مِنَ النَصرِ إِلّا أَن تَثورَ الدَمادِمُ

    When they cry to their fleet for aid, they gain

    No victory but the rising of rumbling blasts.

  21. تَناءى بِهِ الأَمواجُ آناً وَتَدَّني

    وَيَجري حِفافَيهِ الرَدى المُتَلاطِمُ

    The waves bear it far off a while, then bring it near,

    And surging death runs along both its sides.

  22. فَفي البَحرِ مَذعورٌ وَفي البَرِّ طائِحُ

    وَما مِنهُما إِلّا عَلى الحَربِ ناقِمُ

    At sea, a terrified man; on land, a fallen one,

    And neither has anything but resentment for war.

  23. رَجوا مِن لَدُنّا السِلمَ إِذ فاتَ حينُهُ

    وَإِنَّ الَّذي يَرجو المُحالَ لَواهِمُ

    They sought peace from us when its time had passed,

    But whoever hopes for the impossible is surely deluded.

  24. أَبَوا أَن يَكُفَّ المَشرَفِيّاتِ حِلمُها

    أَفالآنَ لَمّا اِستَجهَلَتها المَلاحِمُ

    They refused to let forbearance restrain the Mashrafi swords;

    And now, when slaughter has driven them to fury?

  25. أَسِلماً وَفي البَيداءِ عاوٍ مِنَ الطَوى

    وَفي الجَوِّ عافٍ يَطلُبُ القَومَ حائِمُ

    Peace, while in the desert a beast howls with hunger,

    And in the sky a scavenger circles, seeking the men?

  26. عَلَينا لِكُلٍّ ذِمَّةٌ لا نُضيعُها

    وَعَهدٌ عَلى ما يُحدِثُ الدَهرُ دائِمُ

    To each we owe a pledge we will not neglect,

    And a covenant enduring through all that time may bring.

  27. تَواصَوا بِهِ الآباءُ حَتّى إِذا مَضَوا

    تَوارَثَهُ مِنّا الأُباةُ القَماقِمُ

    The fathers charged one another to keep it; when they passed,

    Our proud, mighty chieftains inherited it.

  28. وَما عابَ عَهدَ العُربِ في الناسِ عائِبٌ

    وَلا لامَهُم يَوماً عَلى الغَدرِ لائِمُ

    No faultfinder among men has faulted the Arabs' covenant,

    Nor has any critic ever blamed them for treachery.

  29. وَلا جاوَرَتهُم مُنذُ كانوا مَسَبَّةٌ

    وَلا فارَقَتهُم مُنذُ حَلّوا المَكارِمُ

    No disgrace has dwelt beside them since they came to be,

    Nor have noble deeds left them since they settled.

  30. هُمُ الناسُ لا ما تُنكِرُ العَينُ مِن قَذىً

    وَتوشِكُ أَن تَنشَقَّ مِنهُ الحَيازِمُ

    They are true men, not the grit the eye rejects,

    At which the ribs almost split apart.

  31. أَرى أُمَماً فَوضى يَسوسُ أُمورَهُم

    مَسيمٌ بِأَطرافِ الدَياميمِ هائِمُ

    I see nations in chaos, their affairs governed

    By a herdsman wandering the edges of the wastelands.

  32. لَهُ جَهلاتٌ يَرتَمينَ بِهِ سُدىً

    كَذي أَولَقٍ لَم تُغنِ عَنهُ التَمائِمُ

    His follies fling him aimlessly about,

    Like one maddened, whom amulets could not help.

  33. أَلا إِنَّ بِالبيضِ الخِفافِ لَغُلَّةً

    وَإِنَّ بِنا ما لا يُطيقُ المُكاتِمُ

    Behold, the light, white blades have a burning thirst,

    And within us is what no man could bear to conceal.

  34. رَفَعنا لِواءَ السِلمِ بِرّاً وَرَحمَةً

    وَقُلنا يُسَوّى الأَمرُ وَالسَيفُ نائِمُ

    We raised the banner of peace in goodness and mercy,

    And said, 'Let matters be settled while the sword sleeps.'

  35. فَما هابَنا مِن جيرَةِ السوءِ هائِبٌ

    وَلا سامَنا غَيرَ الهَضيمَةِ سائِمُ

    But none of our evil neighbors feared us,

    And none imposed upon us anything but humiliation.

  36. أَرى القَومَ أَحيوا سُنَّةَ الظُلمِ وَالأَذى

    فَقامَت بِهِم آثارُها وَالمَعالِمُ

    I see the people revive the practice of oppression and harm,

    And through them its traces and landmarks rise again.

  37. وَأَصبَحَ ما سَنَّ الهُداةُ وَما بَنوا

    تَعاوَرُهُ تِلكَ الأَكُفُّ الهَوادِمُ

    And what the guides laid down and what they built

    Is now assailed in turn by those destructive hands.

  38. سَماعاً بَني الحَقِّ المُضاعِ فَإِنَّني

    لَأَطمَعُ أَن يُعطي السَوِيَّةَ ظالِمُ

    Listen, sons of squandered right, for I

    Do hope that an oppressor may grant equal justice.

  39. وَما هِيَ إِلّا غَضبَةٌ فَاِنطِلاقَةٌ

    فَوَثبَةُ ضارٍ تَتَّقيهِ الضَياغِمُ

    It is but a burst of anger, then a rush,

    Then the leap of a predator whom lions fear.

  40. أَنُذعِنُ لِلباغي وَنُعطيهِ حُكمَهُ

    وَفي التُركِ مِقدامٌ وَفي العُربِ حازِمُ

    Shall we submit to the aggressor and grant him his decree,

    While the Turks have a bold champion and the Arabs a resolute one?

  41. هُما أَخوا العِزِّ الَّذي دونَ شَأوِهِ

    تَخِرُّ الصَياصي خُشَّعاً وَالمَخارِمُ

    They are brothers in a glory before whose reach

    Fortresses and mountain passes fall in humble submission.

  42. أَقَمنا عَلى عَهدَي وَفاءٍ وَأُلفَةٍ

    فَما بَينَنا قالٍ وَلا ثَمَّ صارِمُ

    We have stood by twin covenants of loyalty and concord,

    With no hater among us and none who severs ties,

  43. عَلى طولِ ما قالَ الوُشاةُ وَخَبَّبَت

    حُقودُ الأَعادي بَينَنا وَالسَخائِمُ

    Despite the slanderers' endless talk and the discord sown

    Between us by our enemies' rancors and grudges.

  44. وَكَيفَ نُطيعُ العاذِلينَ وَتَرتَقي

    إِلَينا وِشاياتُ العِدى وَالنَمائِمُ

    How could we heed the faultfinders, and let rise

    To us the foes' slanders and malicious tales?

  45. أَنَصدَعُ رُكنَ الدَهرِ مِن بَعدِ ما رَسا

    وَقَرَّت أَواسيهِ بِنا وَالقَوائِمُ

    Shall we split the pillar of time after it has stood firm,

    Its foundations and supports made steady by us?

  46. فَأَينَ الوَصايا وَالمَواثيقُ جَمَّةً

    وَأَينَ القُوى مَشدودَةً وَالعَزائِمُ

    Where, then, are the counsels and the many covenants?

    Where are our tightly bound strengths and resolves?

  47. وَأَينَ النُهى مَوفورَةً لا يُزيغُها

    مِنَ الأَمَلِ المَكذوبِ ما ظَنَّ حالِمُ

    Where is sound judgment, unimpaired, which cannot be swayed

    By the false hopes a dreamer has imagined?

  48. أَلا إِنَّ مَن شَقَّ العَصا لَمُذَمَّمٌ

    وَإِنَّ الَّذي يَبغي الفَسادَ لَآثِمُ

    Behold, whoever splits the staff of unity is blameworthy,

    And whoever seeks corruption is surely sinful.

  49. وَمَن كانَ يَأبى أَن يُوالي إِمامَهُ

    طَواعِيَةً والاهُ وَالأَنفُ راغِمُ

    Whoever refuses to give allegiance to his imam

    Willingly will give it with his nose in the dust.

  50. سَيَعلَمُ مَن خانَ الخَليفَةَ أَنَّهُ

    مُواقِعُ أَمرٍ شَرُّهُ مُتَفاقِمُ

    Whoever betrayed the Caliph will learn that he

    Is plunging into an affair whose evil grows ever greater.

  51. أَطاعَ هَواهُ وَاِستَزَلَّتهُ فِتنَةٌ

    عَضوضٌ تَلَوّى في لَهاها الأَراقِمُ

    He obeyed his desire and was led astray by a sedition,

    Viciously biting, with speckled serpents writhing in its jaws.

  52. لَهُ الوَيلُ ماذا هاجَ مِن نَزَواتِهِ

    فَثارَ يُرامي رَبَّهُ وَيُراجِمُ

    Woe to him! What stirred among his reckless impulses,

    That he rose to trade missiles and stones with his Lord?

  53. أَيَطلُبُ مُلكاً أَم يُريدُ خِلافَةً

    تُقامُ لَها في المشعَرَينِ المَواسِمُ

    Does he seek a kingdom, or desire a caliphate

    For which festivals are held at the two sacred sites?

  54. تَبارَكتَ رَبّي كَيفَ يَعصيكَ مُسلِمٌ

    فَيوقِعُ بِالإِسلامِ ما أَنتَ عالِمُ

    Blessed are You, my Lord! How can a Muslim disobey You,

    And inflict on Islam what You know?

  55. فَيا رَبِّ بِالبَيتِ العَتيقِ وَما ثَوى

    بِيَثرِبَ مِن قَبرٍ لَهُ الروحُ خادِمُ

    O Lord, by the Ancient House, and by what rests

    At Yathrib—a tomb the Spirit serves—

  56. تَوَلَّ شُعوبَ المُسلِمينَ بِرَحمَةٍ

    تُؤَلِّفُ فيما بَينَهُم وَتُلائِمُ

    Watch over the Muslim peoples with a mercy

    That unites and reconciles them.

  57. أَيُرضيكَ رَبّي أَن يُقادوا لِحَتفِهِم

    قِيادَ الأُسارى أَوثَقَتها الأَداهِمُ

    Does it please You, my Lord, that they be driven to their deaths,

    Like captives bound fast in iron fetters?

  58. وَلَولا ذِماءٌ مِن حَياةٍ ذَميمَةٍ

    لَقامَت عَلَينا في البِلادِ المَآتِمُ

    Were it not for a last flicker of a wretched life,

    Funeral lamentations for us would have risen across the lands.

  59. وَلَولا إِباءٌ مِن رِجالٍ أَعِزَّةٍ

    إِذَن وَطِئَت مِنّا الجِباهَ المَناسِمُ

    And were it not for the defiance of honorable men,

    Then camel feet would have trampled our foreheads.

  60. وَضاعَت بِلادٌ نامَ عَنها وُلاتُها

    إِلى أَن تَوَلّاها المُغيرُ المُهاجِمُ

    And lands were lost whose rulers slept heedless of them,

    Until the raiding aggressor seized control.

  61. أَقامَ يُصاديهِم وَظِلُّ مَلاوَةٍ

    يُراوِدُهُم عَن عُقرِها وَيُساوِمُ

    He stayed, cajoling them, and went on for a long while

    Trying to coax them from its heartland, and bargaining.

  62. فَقالوا يَمينُ اللَهِ نُسلِمُ أَرضَنا

    وَلَمّا تَزُل أَنجادُها وَالتَهائِمُ

    They said, 'By God, shall we surrender our land

    While its highlands and lowlands still stand?

  63. وَإِنّا لَنَأبى أَن يُحارِبَ قَومَنا

    عَدُوٌّ وَفينا ما حَيينا مُسالِمُ

    We surely refuse to let our people be attacked

    By an enemy while any of us lives at peace with him.'

  64. وَجاشوا إِلَينا بِالقَواضِبِ وَالقَنا

    سِراعاً كَما جاشَت بُحورٌ خَضارِمُ

    They surged toward us with cutting swords and spears,

    Swift as vast seas surge.

  65. أولَئِكَ جُندُ اللَهِ هَل مِن مُغالِبٍ

    وَفَيلَقُهُ الغازي فَأَينَ المُقاوِمُ

    Those are God's soldiers—is there anyone to overpower them?—

    And His raiding host: where is one who can withstand them?

  66. لَهُم مِن فُنونِ الحَربِ ما تَجهَلُ العِدى

    وَتَعرِفُهُم أَسلابُهُم وَالغَنائِمُ

    They possess arts of war unknown to the foe,

    And their spoils and booty know them.

  67. وَقائِعُ يَمشي النَصرُ في جَنَباتِها

    وَسِربُ المَنايا وَالنُسورُ القَشاعِمُ

    Battles through whose reaches victory walks,

    With the flock of deaths and the hoary vultures.

  68. وَلَلصَدمَةُ الكُبرى قَريبٌ وَإِنَّها

    لِتِلكَ الَّتي يَزوَرُّ عَنها المُصادِمُ

    The great clash is indeed near, and it

    Is that from which even the attacker turns aside.

  69. لَئِن هَدَّ بَأسَ الباسِلينَ مِنَ العِدى

    فَإِنَّ كَبيرَ الباسِلينَ لَقادِمُ

    If the foe has shattered the might of valiant warriors,

    The greatest of the valiant is surely coming.

  70. سَيُحيي رجاءَ المشرِقينَ وَتَشتَفي

    عَلى يَدِهِ مِنّا النُفوسُ الحَوائِمُ

    He will revive the hope of the two Easts, and healing will come

    At his hand to our hovering souls.

  71. لَنِعمَ الشِهابُ المُستَضاءُ بِنورِهِ

    إِذا اِسوَدَّ مِن لَيلِ الحَوادِثِ قاتِمُ

    How excellent the meteor whose light we borrow,

    When the gloom of calamity's night grows black!

  72. وَنِعمَ فَتى الجُلّى إِذا ما تَوَثَّبَت

    وَأَمسى الفَتى مِن دونِها وَهوَ جاثِمُ

    And excellent the champion of great calamity when it springs up,

    And a young man crouches before it!

  73. سَلامٌ عَلَيهِ يَومَ يَسمو إِلى الوَغى

    يَهُزُّ لِواءَ النَصرِ وَالنَصرُ باسِمُ

    Peace be upon him the day he rises to battle,

    Shaking victory's banner while victory smiles,

  74. وَيَومَ يُعيدُ السَيفَ في الغِمدِ ما بِهِ

    فُلولٌ وَلَكِن أَعوَزَتهُ الجَماجِمُ

    And the day he returns his sword to its sheath, with no

    Nicks in it—it has only run out of skulls.