يراع صنانيد الكتابة كالعضب

يدور عليه ما على الارض من حرب

The reed pen of the champions of writing is like a keen sword;

around it revolves all the warfare on earth.

وان لاقلام عن الحق ذادة

لضربا كما للمشرفية من ضرب

And indeed, pens that defend the truth

have blows to strike, as do Mashrafi swords.

ورب بلاد اخر الجهل اهلها

فقاسى بها الاحرار خطبا على خطب

And many a land has had its people held back by ignorance,

and there the free have suffered calamity upon calamity.

وكم من بريئ مبعد عن دياره

على غير ما جرم وفي غير ما ذنب

And how many an innocent is banished from his homeland,

for no crime at all, and for no sin.

ولكن من في صدره قلب يونس

يدافع في اليوم العصبصب عن شعب

But one whose breast holds the heart of Yunus

defends a people on the day of dire distress.

اذا انا لم اشهد لقومي تقدما

قضيت من اليأس المبرح بي نحبي

If I witness no progress for my people,

I would meet my end from the despair that torments me.

خلقنا عليها امة عربية

نحاول طياً للمسافات بالوثب

We were created upon the earth, an Arab nation,

seeking to fold up distances by leaping.

نريد من الايام مجدا مؤثلا

ولو كان ذاك المجد في مرتقى الشهب

We seek from the days a deeply rooted glory,

even if that glory were where the meteors rise.

خذوا المجد اما غيره ان لبسته

فليس سوى رسم بايدي البلى نهب

Take glory; as for anything else, if you wear it,

it is only an outline, prey to the hands of decay.

يرى بعضهم في الكذب منه سياسة

وما كل شعب يطمئن الى الكذب

Some of them see lying on their part as policy,

but not every people puts its trust in lies.

لقد عاث في الحملان قبلا رعاتها

ويا رب راع كان شراً من الذئب

Indeed, their shepherds once ravaged the lambs,

and oh, how many a shepherd was worse than the wolf!

طويل على الايام عتبى بموطني

ولكنما الايام صم عن العتب

Long is my reproach against the days over my homeland,

but the days are deaf to reproach.

لقد نال من اخوانه الغريونس

حفاء الى ان قال مكتفياً حسبي

Yunus has received from his noble brothers

such warm hospitality that, content, he said, 'Enough for me.'

اذا كان عن عين المحبه راحلا

فما هو ممن يرحلون عن القلب

If he departs from the eye of love,

he is not among those who depart from the heart.

رعى الله هذا الحفل بالعين انه

حوى دارة حول الحفي من الصحب

May God guard this gathering with His eye, for it

has gathered a circle of companions around the gracious man.

تحف به الاصحاب من كل جانب

كما حفت العين البصيرة بالهدب

Companions surround him on every side,

as the seeing eye is fringed with lashes.

عرفت له في الموقف الصعب قدرة

ويعرف قدر المرء في الموقف الصعب

I have seen his ability in a difficult situation,

and a person's worth is known in a difficult situation.

وبين قلوب الناس اما تماثلت

مبادئهم يوما طريق من الحب

And between people's hearts, if there is agreement

in their principles one day, lies a path of love.

له ثروة موفورة من خصاله

وما اكثر الاوراق في الفنن الرطب

He has abundant wealth in his qualities,

and how many leaves are on the fresh bough!

هو العضب يحمى حق شعب اضاعه

من الجبن افراد وامضى من العضب

He is the keen sword, guarding a people's right, squandered

through cowardice by individuals—and he is keener than the sword.

فتى عربي النجر يصبيك خلقه

ومن احسن الاخلاق في المرء ما يصبي

A youth of Arab stock, his character captivates you,

and among a person's finest qualities are those that captivate.

صريح لحزب الله في الارض ينتمي

واكبر بحزب الله في الارض من حزب

Forthright, he belongs to God's party on earth;

and what a great party is God's party on earth!

سيبقى نهار الناس ابيض مبصرا

وان حال دون الشمس سد من السحب

The people's day will remain white and bright,

even if a wall of clouds stands before the sun.

وللارض ارواح وشمس مضيئةض

فيا شمسها ذرى ويا ريحها هبى

And the earth has winds and a shining sun;

so rise, O its sun, and blow, O its wind!

اراد فريق بالعظام تشبها

واين الوطيئ المطمئن من الهضب

A group sought to imitate the great,

but how far is low, sunken ground from the highlands!

عزيز على اهل العراق جميعهم

فراق اخيهم يونس الكاتب الندب

Painful to all the people of Iraq

is parting from their brother Yunus, the gallant writer.

وددت لو اني كنت يوم رحيله

اسير على الضعف الذي بي مع الركب

I wished that, on the day of his departure,

I could travel with the caravan despite the weakness in me.

اذا شئت فابعد عن ذويك او اقترب

فانك موموق على البعد والقرب

If you wish, go far from your kin, or draw near;

for you are beloved in distance and in nearness.

ستلقى على كل البقاع حفاوة

وتنزل في كل البلاد على الرحب

You will find a warm welcome in every region,

and in every land you will alight to a generous welcome.

واما احتفال الشعب هذا فانه

لعمري احتفال فيك بالنفس للشعب

As for this celebration by the people, it is,

by my life, the people's celebration of their own soul in you.

يريد اناس ان تطأطئ ساكتا

عن الحق حتى يدفن الحق في الترب

Some people want you to bow your head, keeping silent

about the truth, until the truth is buried in the dust.

وما الحر الا من يقول بجرأةض

ويمشي مع الاحداث جنبا الى جنب

And the free man is none but one who speaks boldly

and walks side by side with events.

وان الحجا الوقاد في ذي زعامة

سراج يدل التهائهين على الدرب

And indeed, a leader's blazing intellect

is a lamp that guides those astray to the path.

اذا هددوا بالنفي يونس او نفوا

فلست ترى في وجهه اثر الرعب

If they threaten Yunus with banishment, or banish him,

then you will see no trace of terror on his face.

فما صد عن نصر الحقيقة يونسا

وعيد ولا نحاه وعد عن الذب

For Yunus has not been turned from championing the truth

by a threat, nor drawn away from its defense by a promise.

اذا لم يحرر كاتب عن عقيدة

فليس لفتق في السياسة من رأب

If a writer does not write from conviction,

then there is no mending a rift in politics.

اقول لجيران لنا لا تبجحوا

فنحن سواء في المصيبة والكرب

I say to neighbors of ours: do not boast,

for we are alike in calamity and distress.

بنو العرب في العصر الاخير لنفسهم

اشد عداء او قلى من بني العرب

The sons of the Arabs, in this latter age, are toward themselves

fiercer in enmity or hatred than the sons of the Arabs.

واكبر خصم للعروبة ولدها

فيا اسفي في كل يوم على العرب

And Arabhood's greatest foe is its own offspring;

oh, my sorrow for the Arabs every day!

ولم يتولد بعد في العرب مصلح

ولكنه بين الترائب والصلب

And no reformer has yet been born among the Arabs,

but he is still between the breastbones and the backbone.