العام أقبل قم نحي هلالا — Ahmed Shawqi

العامُ أَقبَلَ قُم نُحَيِّ هِلالا

كَالتاجِ في هامِ الوُجودِ جَلالا

The year has come; rise, let us salute a crescent,

Majestic as a crown upon existence's brow.

طُغرى كِتابِ الكائِناتِ لِقارِئٍ

يَزِنُ الكَلامَ وَيَقدُرُ الأَقوالا

The royal monogram of creation's book, for a reader

Who weighs speech and appraises sayings.

مَلَكَ السَماءَ فَكانَ في كُرسِيِّهِ

بَينَ المَلائِكِ وَالمُلوكِ مِثالا

It ruled the sky and, upon its throne,

Was an exemplar among angels and kings.

تَتَنافَسُ الآمالُ فيهِ كَأَنَّهُ

ثَغرُ العِنايَةِ ضاحَكَ الآمالا

Hopes vie within it, as though it were

Providence's mouth, smiling upon hopes.

وَالشَمسُ تُزلِفُ عيدَها وَتَزُفُّهُ

بُشرى بِمَطلَعِهِ السَعيدِ وَفالا

And the sun brings her feast near and ushers it forth,

As glad tidings and a good omen of its auspicious rising.

عيدُ المَسيحِ وَعيدُ أَحمَدَ أَقبَلا

يَتَبارَيانِ وَضاءَةً وَجَمالا

The feast of Christ and the feast of Ahmad have arrived,

Vying in radiance and beauty.

ميلادُ إِحسانٍ وَهِجرَةُ سُؤدَدٍ

قَد غَيَّرا وَجهَ البَسيطَةِ حالا

A birth of benevolence and a migration of glory

Have transformed the earth's face and condition.

قُم لِلهِلالِ قِيامَ مُحتَفِلٍ بِهِ

أَثنى وَبالَغَ في الثَناءِ وَغالى

Rise for the crescent as one who celebrates it,

Who praises it, lavishes praise, and exceeds all bounds.

نورُ السَبيلِ هَدى لِكُلِّ فَضيلَةٍ

يَهدي الحَكيمُ لَها وَسَنَّ خِلالا

Light of the path, it guided toward every virtue

To which the sage guides, and established noble ways.

ما بَينَ مَولِدِهِ وَبَينَ بُلوغِهِ

مَلَأَ الحَياةَ مَآثِراً وَفِعالا

Between its birth and its maturity,

It filled life with noble deeds and actions.

مُتَواضِعٌ وَاللَهُ شَرَّفَ قَدرَهُ

بِالشَمسِ نِدّاً وَالكَواكِبِ آلا

Humble, though God has exalted its rank,

With the sun as its peer and the stars as its kin.

مُتَوَدِّدٌ عِندَ الكَمالِ تَخالُهُ

في راحَتَيكَ وَعَزَّ ذاكَ مَنالا

Affectionate at its fullness, you imagine it

In your two palms—yet that is hard to attain.

وافٍ لِجارَةِ بَيتِهِ يَرعى لَها

عَهدَ السَمَوأَلِ عُروَةٌ وَحِبالا

True to the woman next door, it keeps for her

Al-Samaw'al's covenant, its bond and cords.

عَونُ السُراةِ عَلى تَصاريفِ النَوى

أَمِنوا عَلَيهِ وَحشَةً وَضَلالا

An aid to night travelers through the trials of distant travel;

With it they were safe from loneliness and losing the way.

وَيُصانُ مِن سِرِّ الصَبابَةِ عِندَهُ

ما باتَ عِندَ الأَكثَرينَ مُذالا

And with it are guarded those secrets of ardent love

That most people have laid bare.

وَيُشَكُّ فيهِ فَلا يُكَلِّفُ نَفسَهُ

غَيرَ التَرَفُّعِ وَالوَقارِ نِضالا

And though doubted, it imposes on itself

No defense beyond lofty reserve and dignity.

ساءَت ظُنونُ الناسِ حَتّى أَحدَثوا

لِلشَكِّ في النورِ المُبينِ مَجالا

People's suspicions grew so foul that they made

Room for doubting the manifest light.

وَالظَنُّ يَأخُذُ في ضَميرِكَ مَأخَذاً

حَتّى يُريكَ المُستَقيمَ مُحالا

And suspicion takes such a hold within your mind

That it makes the straightforward seem impossible to you.

وَمِنَ العَجائِبِ عِندَ قِمَّةِ مَجدِهِ

رامَ المَزيدَ فَجَدَّ فيهِ فَنالا

And among its marvels: at the summit of its glory,

It sought more, strove for it, and attained it.

يَطوي إِلى الأَوجِ السَماواتِ العُلا

وَيَشُدُّ في طَلَبِ الكَمالِ رِحالا

It traverses the lofty heavens toward the zenith,

And saddles up in pursuit of perfection.

وَيَفُلُّ مِن هوجِ الرِياحِ عَزائِماً

وَيَدُكُّ مِن مَوجِ البِحارِ جِبالا

And blunts the resolve of the raging winds,

And levels mountains of ocean waves.

وَيُضيءُ أَثناءَ الخَمائِلِ وَالرُبى

حَتّى تَرى أَسحارَها آصالا

And lights the recesses of thickets and hills,

Until you see their predawn hours as late afternoons.

وَيَجولُ في زُهرِ الرِياضِ كَأَنَّهُ

صَيبُ الرَبيعِ مَشى بِهِنَّ وَجالا

And roams among the gardens' blossoms, as though it were

A spring downpour that walked among them and roamed.

أُمَمَ الهِلالِ مَقالَةً مِن صادِقٍ

وَالصِدقُ أَليَقُ بِالرِجالِ مَقالا

Nations of the crescent: a word from a truthful man—

And truth is the speech most fitting for men—

مُتَلَطِّفٍ في النُصحِ غَيرِ مُجادِلٍ

وَالنُصحُ أَضيَعُ ما يَكونُ جِدالا

Gentle in counsel, not given to dispute;

And counsel is most fruitless when it turns to argument.

مِن عادَةِ الإِسلامِ يَرفَعُ عامِلاً

وَيُسَوِّدُ المِقدامَ وَالفَعّالا

It is Islam's custom to raise up the worker,

And give leadership to the bold and industrious.

ظَلَمَتهُ أَلسِنَةٌ تُؤاخِذُهُ بِكُم

وَظَلَمتُموهُ مُفَرِّطينَ كَسالى

Tongues have wronged it by holding it answerable for you,

And you have wronged it, negligent and idle.

هَذا هِلالُكُمُ تَكَفَّلَ بِالهُدى

هَل تَعلَمونَ مَعَ الهِلالِ ضَلالا

This crescent of yours has undertaken to guide;

Have you known misguidance in the crescent's company?

سَرَتِ الحَضارَةُ حُقبَةً في ضَوئِهِ

وَمَشى الزَمانُ بِنورِهِ مُختالا

Civilization traveled for an age in its light,

And time walked proudly by its radiance.

وَبَنى لَهُ العَرَبُ الأَجاوِدُ دَولَةً

كَالشَمسِ عَرشاً وَالنُجومِ رِجالا

And the noble Arabs built it a state,

With a throne like the sun and men like the stars.

رَفَعوا لَهُ فَوقَ السِماكِ دَعائِماً

مِن عِلمِهِم وَمِنَ البَيانِ طِوالا

For it they raised pillars above al-Simak,

Towering, made of their learning and eloquence.

اللَهُ جَلَّ ثَناؤُهُ بِلِسانِهِم

خَلَقَ البَيانَ وَعَلَّمَ الأَمثالا

God—exalted be His praise—in their tongue

Created eloquence and taught parables.

وَتَخَيَّرَ الأَخلاقَ أَحسَنَها لَهُم

وَمَكارِمُ الأَخلاقِ مِنهُ تَعالى

And chose for them the finest moral qualities,

And noble virtues come from Him, exalted be He.

كَالرُسلِ عَزماً وَالمَلائِكِ رَحمَةً

وَالأُسدِ بَأساً وَالغُيوثِ نَوالا

Like messengers in resolve, and angels in mercy,

And lions in valor, and life-giving rains in bounty.

عَدَلوا فَكانوا الغَيثَ وَقعاً كُلَّما

ذَهَبوا يَميناً في الوَرى وَشَمالا

They dealt justly, their impact like rain, whenever

They went right and left among humankind.

وَالعَدلُ في الدُولاتِ أُسٌّ ثابِتٌ

يُفني الزَمانَ وَيُنفِدُ الأَجيالا

And justice is a firm foundation in states,

Wearing out time and exhausting generations.

أَيّامَ كانَ الناسُ في جَهَلاتِهِم

مِثلَ البَهائِمِ أُرسِلَت إِرسالا

In days when people, in their ignorance,

Were like beasts turned loose without restraint,

مِن جَهلِهِم بِالدينِ وَالدُنيا مَعاً

عَبَدوا الأَصَمَّ وَأَلَّهوا التِمثالا

Through their ignorance of religion and worldly life alike,

They worshipped what could not hear and deified the statue.

ضَلّوا عُقولاً بَعدَ عِرفانِ الهُدى

وَالعَقلُ إِن هُوَ ضَلَّ كانَ عِقالا

Their minds went astray after knowing guidance;

And reason, if it strays, becomes a fetter.

حَتّى إِذا اِنقَسَموا تَقَوَّضَ مُلكُهُم

وَالمُلكُ إِن بَطُلَ التَعاوُنُ زالا

Until, when they split apart, their dominion collapsed;

And dominion falls when cooperation fails.

لَو أَنَّ أَبطالَ الحُروبِ تَفَرَّقوا

غَلَبَ الجَبانُ عَلى القَنا الأَبطالا

If the heroes of war were to split apart,

A coward would defeat the heroes amid the spears.