حمد إلى السدة الشماء مرفوع — Khalil Gibran

حَمْدٌ إِلى السُّدَّةِ الشَّماءِ مَرْفُوعُ

بِمَا يَحِقُّ لَهَا وَالْحَقُّ مَشْرُوعُ

Praise is raised to the lofty throne,

With what is due to it, and what is rightful is sanctioned.

تِلْكَ الأَرِيكَةُ عَيْنُ اللهِ تَكْلَؤُهَا

فَالخَيْرُ فِيهَا وَعَنْهَا الشَّرُّ مَقْمُوعُ

That throne is watched over by the eye of God,

So goodness dwells in it, and evil is driven away from it.

مُمَكَّن أَصْلُهَا فِي عِزِّ مَنْبِتِهَا

وَفِي السَّماءِ لَهَا بِالسَّعدِ تَفْرِيعُ

Its root stands firm in the glory of its native soil,

And in heaven its branches spread with good fortune.

الشَّرْقُ مَحْتِدُهَا وَالغَرْبُ مَعْهَدُهَا

وَالفَخْرُ فِي بَنْدِهَا الخَفَّاقِ مَوْسُوع

The East is its ancestral origin, and the West its abode,

And glory abounds in its fluttering banner.

سُوَّاسُهَا أَشْرَفُ الأَسْبَاطِ مِنْ قِدَمٍ

بَنُو الحُسَيْنِ المُلوكُ القَادَةُ الرَّوْعُ

Its rulers are the noblest descendants from ancient times:

The sons of al-Husayn, kings and awe-inspiring leaders.

لِلْمَجْدِ مُبْتَدِعٌ مِنْهُمْ وَمُتَّبعٌ

وَلِلْمَحَامِدِ مَحْمُولٌ وَمَوضُوعُ

Among them are originators of glory and followers of it,

And in praise, they are both predicate and subject.

تَدَاوَلُوا المُلْكَ حَتَّى نابَهُ حَدَثٌ

أَصَمُّ خِيلَ بِهِ للْمُلْكِ تَضْيِيعُ

They held the kingdom in succession, until a calamity befell it,

An implacable one, thought to spell the kingdom's ruin.

فهَبَّ يَحْفَظُهُ عَبْدُ الْحَفِيظِ بِمَا

أَقَرَّهُ وَالفُؤَادُ الثَّبتُ مَخْلُوعُ

Then Abd al-Hafiz rose to safeguard it with means

By which he secured it, while the steadfast heart was wrenched with fear.

وَرَاضَ دَوْلَتَهُ حَتَّى اسْتَقرَّ بِهَا وَالعَرْشُ

فِي حِصْنِهِ وَالْحِصْنُ مَمْنُوعُ

And he tamed his realm until he was secure in it, and the throne

Was in its fortress, and the fortress impregnable.

صِينَتْ بِهِ غزَاةٍ فِي الدُّجَى انْسَرَبُوا

إِلى الحِمَى وَالسَّبيلُ البِكْرُ مَفْرُوعُ

Through him it was shielded from raiders who slipped through the darkness

Into the sanctuary, while the virgin path was breached.

فَلَمْ يَرِمْ زَمَناً أَنْ رَدَّ غَارَتَهُمْ

وَالحُكْمُ مَا شاءَهُ الحَقّ مَتْبُوعُ

So he did not budge for a moment until he repelled their raid,

And in governance, what justice wills is followed.

وَالشَّعبُ مُستَيْقِظٌ مِنْ غَفْلَةٍ سَلَفَتْ

وَالْعِلْمُ مُسْتَقْبَلٌ وَالجَهْلُ مدْفُوعُ

And the people have awakened from their former heedlessness,

And learning is welcomed, and ignorance driven away.

فَالْمَغْرِبُ العَرَبِيُّ الْيَوْمَ مُنْتَعِشٌ

جَذْلاَنَ وَالمَغْرِبْ الغَرْبِيُّ مَفْجوعُ

So the Arab Maghreb is revived today,

Rejoicing, while the Western world is grief-stricken.

نَجَا مَلاَذٌ خشِينَا مِنْ تضَعْضُعِهِ

وَنَابَ عَنْ أَمَلِ الأَعْدَاءِ تَرْوِيِّعُ

A refuge whose collapse we feared has survived,

And terror has replaced the enemies' hope.

فَقَدْ يُضَامُ قَوِيٌّ عَزَّ مَطْمَعُهُ

وَلاَ يُضَامُ ضَعِيفٌ فِيهَ مَطْمُوعُ

For the strong, hard to prey upon, may be oppressed,

While the weak, though coveted as prey, may go unharmed.

كمْ صَائِدٍ صَادَ مَا يُرْدِيهِ مَأْكَلُهُ

وَصَارِعٍ بَاتَ حَقّاً وَهْوَ مَصْرُوعُ

How many a hunter has caught what kills him when eaten,

And many a wrestler has truly spent the night thrown down.

بِئْسَ الفرِيسَةَ عَظْمٌ لا اهْتِياضَ لَهُ

يُغْرِي بِهِ الْحَتْفَ ذِئْباً شَفَّهُ الْجُوعُ

What wretched prey—a bone that cannot be broken,

With which death lures a wolf worn thin by hunger.

عَبْدَ الحَفِيظِ حَمَاكَ اللهُ عِشْ أَبَداً

وَأَمْرُكَ المُرْتَضَى وَالقَوْلَ مَسْمُوعُ

Abd al-Hafiz, may God protect you; live forever,

With your command approved and your word heeded.

وَافَتْ هَدِيَّتكَ الجُلَّى وَآيَتُهَا

أَنَّ الْفَخَارَ بِمَا أَهْدَيْتَ مَشْفُوعُ

Your magnificent gift has arrived, and its hallmark is

That glory is joined to what you have bestowed.

فَمَا يُحَاكِي جَمَالٌ فَضْلَ نِسْبَتِهَا

وَلاَ سَذَاجَتَهَا نَقْشٌ وَتَرْصِيعُ

So no beauty rivals the distinction of its provenance,

Nor do engraving and inlay rival its simplicity.

إِخَالُهَا إِذْ تَعُدٌ العُمْرَ مُنْتَقَصاً

تَزِيدُهُ وَبِهِ للروحِ تَمْتِيعُ

I fancy that, while it counts life's dwindling span,

It lengthens it, and through it the soul finds delight.

يَدٌ مِنَ الْجُودِ جَاءَتْ مِنْ أَبَرِّيَدٍ

تُحْيِي فَإِنْ عَاقَبَتْ فَالْعَذْلُ مَمْنُوعُ

A hand of bounty that came from the most benevolent hand

Gives life; if it punishes, blame is forbidden.

يَدٌ ترُدُّ عِدَاهَا أَعْيُناً نَضَبَتْ

فَإِنْ تَفِضْ بِنَدَاهَا فَهْيَ يَنْبُوعُ

A hand that turns its foes into springs run dry;

But if it overflows with its bounty, it is a fountain.

يَا حَامِياً لِلْحِمَى وَالرَّأْيُ حَائِطُهُ

وَالسَّيفُ مُنْصَلِتٌ وَالرُّمْحُ مَشْرُوعُ

O protector of the sanctuary, with counsel as its wall,

And the sword unsheathed and the spear leveled,

مَلَكْتَ مِنَّا نُفُوساً لَسْتَ وَالِيَهَا

بِصَوْنِكَ الْمُلْكَ أَنْ يَدْهَاهُ تَصْدِيعُ

You have won souls among us whose ruler you are not,

By guarding the kingdom lest division overwhelm it.

لَوْ يُشْتَرَى صَوْنُ ذَاكَ الْمُلْكِ مِنْ خَطَرٍ

لَمَا بَخِلْنا وَلَوْ أَبْنَاؤُنَا بِيعُوا

If that kingdom's protection from danger could be bought,

We would not stint, even if our sons were sold.

مُلْكٌ هُوَ العَرَبِيُّ الْفَذُّ لَيْسَ لَه

صِنْوٌ وَفِيهِ شَتِيت الفَخْرِ مَجْمُوعُ

A kingdom—the peerless Arab kingdom—that has no

Equal, and in it scattered glory is gathered.

لَعَلُّ أَتْبَاعَهُ يَرْعَوْنَ وَحْدَتَهُ

فَلاَ تُنَوِّعُهُم عَنهَا التَّناوِيع

May its followers safeguard its unity,

So that divisions do not draw them away from it.

هَذِي مُنَانَا وَفِي تَحْقِيقِهَا لَهُمْ

سَعْدٌ وَفِي تَرْكِهَا خَسْفٌ وَتَفْجِيعُ

These are our hopes, and their fulfillment brings them

Good fortune, and abandoning them brings abasement and anguish.

هُمُ الكِرَامُ أُبَاةُ الذَّمِّ نُكْرِمُهُمْ

عَنْ أَنْ يُلِمُّ بِهِمْ ذَمٌّ وَتَقْرِيعُ

They are noble, scorning blame; we hold them too honorable

For blame and rebuke to befall them.

دَامُوا وَدَامَ عَليْهِمْ مَجْدُ سَيِّدِهِمْ

عَبْدِ الْحَفِيظِ فَمَا ضِيمُوا وَلاَ رِيعُوا

May they endure, and their lord's glory endure over them,

Abd al-Hafiz—so may they never be wronged or frightened.