يا دار أهلك بالسلامة عادوا — Khalil Gibran

يَا دَارُ أَهْلُكِ بِالسَّلاَمَة عَادُوا

لاَ النَّفيُ أَنْسَاهُمْ وَلاَ الإِبْعَادُ

O dwelling, your people have returned safely.

Neither exile nor banishment made them forget.

بُشْرَاكِ أَنْ كَان الذي أَمَّلتِهِ

وَالكَائِدونَ تَمَيَّزوا أَوْ كَادُوا

Glad tidings to you: what you hoped for has come to pass.

And the schemers burst with rage, or nearly did.

ذَادُوا جُسُوماً عَنْ تضحِيةِ رَكْبِهِمْ

هَلْ عَنْ تَحِيَّتهِ النفُوسُ تذَادُ

They kept bodies from greeting their caravan;

Can souls be kept from greeting it?

زَارَتْهُ قَبْلَ عُيونِنَا آمَالُنا

وَتَقَدَّمَتْ أَبْدَانَهَا الأكْبَادُ

Our hopes visited it before our eyes did,

And the livers outstripped the bodies that housed them.

اليَوْمَ عِيدٌ في الكَنَانَة كُلهَا

هَيْهَاتَ تُدْرِكُ جَاهَهُ الأَعْيَادُ

Today is a feast throughout Kinana;

Other feasts can never attain its majesty.

كَادَ الصفَاءُ بِه يَتِم لأَهْلِهَا

لوْ لَمْ يَشُبْ ذَاكَ الصَّفاءَ حِدَاد

Through it, its people's serenity would have been nearly complete,

Had mourning not marred that serenity.

فَلِحِكْمَةٍ يَخشى الجَبَابِرُ بَأْسَهَا

وَيَخَافُ لَفْتَةَ عَدْلِهَا الحسَّادُ

For, through a wisdom whose might tyrants dread,

And whose justice's glance the envious fear,

ضِدَّانِ جَاءَا فِي مَقَامٍ وَاحِدٍ

لَمْ تَجْتَمِعْ فِي مِثْله الأَضْدَادُ

Two opposites came together on one occasion,

As opposites had never met on any like it.

بِالساعَة البَيْضَاءِ حِينَ تَبَلَّجَتْ

أَذِنَ الْمُهَيْمَنُ أَنْ يُلَمَّ سَوَادُ

In the white hour, as it dawned,

The All-Watchful allowed darkness to gather.

فَبَدَا عَلَى الحَالَيْنِ شَعْبٌ آخِذ

بِأَجَل قِسْطٍ مِنْهَا وبِلاَدُ

Thus, in both states, a people appeared, taking

The greatest share of it, and a land

أَرَتِ النِّهايَةَ فِي تَجِلَّةِ أُمَّةٍ

لِمُلُوكِهَا مَا أَخْلَصُوا وَأَفَادُوا

That showed the utmost in a nation's reverence

For its kings, so long as they were sincere and did good.

أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً بِالَّذينَ رَكَابُهم

حُرَّاسُهُ الأَرْوَاحُ وَالأَجْنَادُ

Welcome to those whose cavalcade

Is guarded by souls and soldiers.

مَهْمَا يَكنْ فَرَح فَلَيْسَ بِبَالِغٍ

فَرَح اللقَاءِ وَمَا بِه مِيْعَاد

Whatever joy there may be, it cannot reach

The joy of reunion for which no date was set.

كَيْفَ اغْتِبَاطُ عَشِيرَةٍ اَوْلَتُهُمْ

مَحْضَ الوَلاَءِ وَمَا يظن مَعَاد

How great the delight of a clan that gave them

Pure loyalty when no return was expected!

ظَلَّتْ عَلَى رَعْيِ الذِّمَامِ مُقِيمَة

وَتَغَيَّرَ الآنَاءُ وَالآرَاد

It remained steadfast in honoring its pledges,

Though times and wishes changed.

لِقلوبِهَا أَرَب وَحِيد شامِل

وَمَآرِبُ النَّاسِ العِدَاد عِدَادُ

Its hearts have one all-embracing desire,

While the aims of countless people are countless.

وَالقَوْمُ إِنْ صَدَقوا الهَوَى أَيمَانَ

هُمْ فَمُرَادُهُمْ أَبَدَ الأَبِيد مُرَادُ

And if a people are true to love in their oaths,

Then what they desire is desired for ever and ever.

أَهْلاً وَسَهْلاً بِالأَلى لَهَمو عَلى

قُرْبٍ وَبَعْدٍ ذِمة وَوِدَاد

Welcome to those to whom are owed, whether

Near or far, pledged loyalty and affection.

النَّازِلِينَ مِنَ السَّوَاد بِحَيْثُ إِنْ

فَاتَ العُيُونَ فَلِلْقلُوبِ سَوَادُ

Who dwell in the eye's dark center—yet, if

They elude the eyes, hearts too have a dark core.

الشَّائِقِينَ نُهى العِبَاد وَمَا رَأَى

مِنْهُمْ سِوَى الأَثرِ الجَمِيلِ عِبَادُ

Who stir longing in people's minds; none has seen

Of them anything but the beautiful traces they leave.

لاَ بَلْ رَآهُمْ كُل رَاءٍ فَضْلَهُمْ

فِيمَا كَسَوا أَوْ أَطْعَموا أَوْ شَادُوا

No—every beholder has seen them in their bounty,

In those they clothed or fed, or in what they built,

مِنْ كل مَفْخَرَةٍ تصَورُ حُسْنَهُمْ

فَيَرَاهُ فِي تَصْوِيرِهَا الأَشْهَادُ

In every proud achievement portraying their goodness,

So witnesses behold it in that portrayal.

الشَّمسُ فِي أَوْجِ السَّماءِ وَرَسْمُهَا

فِي المَاءِ يُدْنِيهِ السَّنى الوَقَّادُ

The sun is at the height of heaven, yet its image

In water is brought near by its blazing radiance.

وَلَهَا بِتَعْدَاد الأَشِعَّة في النَّدَى

صُوَرٌ يَضِيقُ بِحَصْرِهَا التَّعدَادَّ

And, as numerous as its rays, it has in the dew

Images too many for counting to encompass.

فِي كُلِّ صُنعٍ يُجْتَلَى صُنَّاعُهُ

وَبِجَوْدِهَا تَتَمَثَّل الأَجْوَاد

In every work its makers are revealed,

And through its bounty the generous are embodied.

شَرَّفْتِ أُمَّ المحسنين مَبَاءَة

هَشَّ النباتُ وَبَشَّ جَمَادُ

You have honored a dwelling, O mother of benefactors;

The plants rejoiced, and lifeless things smiled.

وَازَّينَتْ بِكِ بَعْدَ أَنْ خَلَّفْتِهَا

وَكَأَنَّ زُخْرُفَهَا عَلَيْه رَمَاد

And it adorned itself with you, after you had left it

With its finery as though covered in ash.

فَإِذَا نَظَرْتِ فَكَمْ جَديدٍ حَوْلَهَا

تزْهى بِه الأَغْوَارُ وَالأَنجَادُ

And when you look, how much is new around it,

With which the lowlands and highlands glow!

أَلنِّيلُ ضَحَّاكٌ إِلَيْكِ بِوَجْهِهِ

بِشْراً وَقَدْ يُلْفَى شَجَاهُ بِعَاد

The Nile turns its laughing face toward you

In delight; its sorrow may be found in separation.

وَالروْضُ مُهْدِيَة إِلَيْكِ سَلاَمَهَا

فَتَسَمَّعي مَا يَحْمِلُ الإِنْشاد

And the gardens offer you their greeting;

So listen to what the singing bears.

أَلبلْبلُ الْمَحْكِيُ يُوْقِعُ لَحْنَهُ

وَالطيْرُ مُجْمِعَة تَقولُ يُعَاد

The imitated nightingale sounds its melody,

And the birds agree, calling for it to be repeated.

أَي الجَزَاءِ يَفِي بِمَا لَكِ مِنْ بَدٍ

بَيْضاءَ لَيْسَ يَفِي بِهَا الإِجْمَادُ

What recompense can repay your hand,

White with bounty, which praise cannot repay?

بَلْ مِنْ طَوَالعَ لِلسُعُود بَعَثْتِهَا

فِي كلِّ مَوِقِعِ شِقْوة تَرْتَاد

Or rather, the rising stars of good fortune you sent forth

To seek out every place of misery,

وَمِنْ مَفاخِرَ في البِلاَد ثوابِتٍ

أَخْلدْتِهَا وَلِمِثْلِهَا الإِخلاَدُ

And the glories firmly rooted in the land,

Which you made immortal—such things deserve immortality.

تَبْنِينَ لِلوَطَنِ الرجَالَ وَإِنمَا

هُمْ فِي مَدَارِسَ شِدْتِهَا أَوْلاَدُ

You build men for the homeland, though

They are still children in the schools you built.

وَمِنَ الرمَالِ تصَاغ أَصْلاْدُ الصفَا

وَبِهِن تَحْمِي الوَادِي الأَطوادُ

And from the sands, hard blocks of rock are fashioned,

And with these, the mountains defend the valley.

لله بَيْنَ بَنِي نَوَالِكِ فِتْيَةٌ

طَلَبُوا الفنونَ فَأَتْقَنوا وَأَجَادُوا

God be praised for the youths among the children of your bounty,

Who sought the arts, mastered them, and excelled.

زَادُوا كنوزَ الشَّرْقِ مِنْ تُحَفٍ بِمَا

فِي الغَرْبِ قصرَ دُونَهُ الأَندَادُ

They added to the East's treasures of wonders what

Their peers in the West fell short of achieving.

وَأَتوا ضُروباً مِنْ بَدَائِعِ حَذْقِهِمْ

خَلاّبَةً لَمْ يَأْتِهَا الأَجْدَادُ

And produced many kinds of marvels through their skill,

Enchanting works their forefathers had never produced.

فاليَومَ تجْمَلُ فِي فَخارِ بِلادِهِمْ

مُسْتَحْدثاتُ العَصْرِ وَالأَبْلادُ

Today, adorning the glory of their country, are

The innovations of the age and of the lands.

وَسِوَى المَدَارِسِ كَمْ بُيُوتِ عِبَادَةٍ

أَسسْتِ حَيْثُ تَشَتتَ العِبَّاد

And besides schools, how many houses of worship

You founded where worshippers were scattered,

وَمَضَايفٍ وَمَلاَجِيءٍ وَمَوَاصِفٍ

تُشْفَى بِهَا الأَرْوَاحُ والأَجْساد

And guesthouses, refuges, and dispensaries,

Where souls and bodies are healed!

تِلْك الفَضَائِلُ نَولتْكِ مَكَانَة

فِي الناسِ قَبْلَكِ نَالَهَا أَفرَادُ

Those virtues have won you a station

Among people that few before you attained.

وَاسْتَعْبَدَتْ لَكِ يَا مليكَةُ مَعْشَراً

حُرّاً يَشِقُّ عَلَيْه الاسْتِعْبَادُ

And have enslaved a people to you, O queen—

Free, and for whom enslavement is hard to bear.

يَا خَيْرَ مُنْجِبَةٍ لأَسْنَى مَنْ نَمَا

فِي النَّبعَتَيْنِ أَعِزَّةٌ أَمْجَاد

O finest mother of the noblest offspring

Of the two stocks, mighty and glorious,

لِلمَالِكِينَ السَّائِدينَ بَنِي الأُولى

مَلَكُوا زِمَامَ العَالَمِينَ وَسَادُوا

Of rulers and lords, the sons of those who

Held the reins of the worlds and held sway!

لَوْ صَوَّروا شَخْصَ الكَمَالِ لَكُنْتهِ

وَبِحُسْنِ فِعْلِكِ حُسْنُةُ مُزَدَادُ

Had they given perfection a human form, you would be it,

And the beauty of your deeds increases its beauty.

مَا غِبْتِ عَنَّا كَيْفَ غَيبَةُ مَنْ لَنَا

فِي كُلِّ مَكْرُمَةٍ بِهَا اسْتِشْهَادُ

You were never absent from us—how could one be absent

Whom we cite as an example in every noble deed?

ذِكْرَاكِ فِي أَفْوَاهِنَا يَحْلُو لَنا

تَرْدَادُها أنْ أَسْأَمَ الترْدَاد

Your remembrance is on our lips; sweet to us is

Repeating it, even if repetition wearies.

وَحِيَاضُ رِفْدكِ لَمْ تَشُحَّ وَلَمْ يَزَلْ

عَنْهَا كَعَهْدكِ يَصْدُرُ الورَّاُ

The pools of your bounty have not run dry, and still

From them, as always with you, the water-seekers depart.

عِيِشِي طَويلاً وَابْسِطي الظِّلَّ الَّذي

هوَ رَحْمَةٌ وَنَزَاهَةٌ وَرَشَادُ

Live long, and spread the shade that

Is mercy, integrity, and right guidance.

إِنِّي رَفَعْتُ تَهَانِئِي وَقَبُولُهَا

هُوَ مِنْ لدُنْكِ السَّعدُ وَالإِسْعَادُ

I have offered my congratulations; their acceptance

By you is good fortune and the gift of joy.

حَرَّرْتُهَا وَسَوَادُ عَيْنَي يَشْتَهِي

لَوْ كَانَ مِنْهُ لِلسُّطورِ مِدَادُ

I penned them, while the black of my eyes wished

That some of it might serve as ink for these lines.