1. لمنْ وَبمنْ عسى يُرجى العزاءُ

    جميع العربِ في البلوى سواءُ

    For whom, and through whom, can consolation be hoped for?

    All the Arabs share alike in this affliction.

  2. رزئنا فيصلاً فرداً كجيلٍ

    تواتيه الكفاءَةُ والغناءُ

    We were bereaved of Faisal, one man like a generation,

    whom competence and effectiveness attended.

  3. طواه الدهرُ تاريخاً مجيداً

    لشعبٍ صحفُه غرٌّ وِضاءُ

    Time folded him away—a glorious history

    for a people, with pages resplendent and bright.

  4. أَهابَ بقومِه والليلُ داجٍ

    فضاءَ لهم كما ضاءَتْ ذكاءُ

    He called upon his people while the night was dark,

    then shone for them as Dhuka, the sun, shone.

  5. وشبَّ الثورَةَ الأُولى فأَذكى

    نفوساً كاد يدركها انطفاءُ

    And he kindled the first revolt, rekindling

    souls almost overtaken by extinction.

  6. فعلَّمنا جزاه اللهُ خيراً

    طريقتَها إذا طَفَحَ الإِناءُ

    Thus he taught us—may God reward him well—

    the way to revolt when the vessel overflows.

  7. وَما دامتْ نفوسُ القومِ يوماً

    تثورُ فلا يزال لهمْ رجاءُ

    And so long as the people's souls ever

    rise in revolt, hope remains for them.

  8. بصيرٌ بالسياسةِ ذو وفاءٍ

    وهيهاتَ السياسة والوفاءُ

    Astute in politics, a man of loyalty—

    yet how far apart are politics and loyalty!

  9. أَفاضَ عَلَى أَمانينا حياةً

    فكيف تظنُّ يدركه الفناءُ

    He poured life upon our hopes;

    so how can you think extinction could overtake him?

  10. أتعلمُ قبل منعاه نعيّاً

    تضجُّ الأرضُ منه والسماءُ

    Do you know of any death announcement before his

    that made earth and heaven cry aloud?

  11. أَما اشتركتْ بمأْتمِه البرايا

    وَغصَّ البحرُ وازدحم الفضاءُ

    Did not all creation join in his funeral mourning,

    and the sea choke, and the sky grow crowded?

  12. وَكان النعشُ للمعراج ذكرى

    رأتها حين حلَّق إِيلياءُ

    And the bier was a reminder of the Ascension,

    which Iliya beheld as it soared aloft.

  13. تولّيناه لا نبغي بديلاً

    به فجرى بما نأْبى القضاءُ

    We gave him our allegiance, seeking no substitute

    for him; yet fate decreed what we would not accept.

  14. فجربنا عَلَى كرهٍ سواه

    فلم نفلحْ وَتمَّ له الولاءُ

    So, unwillingly, we tried another,

    but we failed, and allegiance to him was complete.

  15. برمنا بالروايةِ حين طالتْ

    فصولٌ كلُّ ما فيها هراءُ

    We grew weary of the play as it dragged on:

    acts in which everything was nonsense,

  16. مناظرُ سمجةٌ وَسخيفُ لغوٍ

    فقلْ أَينَ التصاممُ والعماءُ

    ugly scenes and foolish prattle;

    so tell me: where are feigned deafness and blindness?

  17. فقدْنا الجدَّ بل والهزلَ فيها

    وَأشخاصُ الروايةِ أَغبياءُ

    We found no seriousness in it, nor even jest,

    and the play's characters were fools.

  18. فما بال الذي أَعطى طِلاءَ

    يمنُّ به وَقد نَصَلَ الطلاءُ

    What ails the one who gave a coat of paint,

    then boasts of it, though the paint has faded?

  19. وَمجملُ ما لنا فيه اختيار

    خضوعٌ أو إِسارٌ أَو جلاءُ

    And all the choice we have

    is submission, captivity, or exile.

  20. فلا واللهِ لا أَنساه يوماً

    بقربٍ منه أَسعدني اللقاءُ

    No, by God, I shall never forget him;

    meeting him at close quarters brought me joy.

  21. جلالُ نبوةٍ وَجلالُ ملكٍ

    عَلَى قسماتِه لهما رواءُ

    The majesty of prophethood and the majesty of kingship

    both showed their splendor upon his features.

  22. ذكرتُ له (دمشقَ) وَكيف باتتْ

    تراقُ عَلَى أَباطحها الدماءُ

    I spoke to him of Damascus, and how it lay

    with blood spilled upon its gravelly flats.

  23. أُبيحتْ حرمةُ الأَشياخِ فيها

    وَريعتْ في مآمنها النساءُ

    There the elders' dignity was violated,

    and women were terrorized in its safe havens.

  24. وَأَقفرتِ المساجدِ من مصلٍّ

    وَعُطِّلَ من مآذنِها النداءُ

    And the mosques lay empty of worshippers,

    and the call from their minarets was silenced.

  25. وَأصبحتِ الكنائسُ خاوياتٍ

    تفيضُ أَسى هياكلها قواءُ

    And the churches stood empty,

    their desolate sanctuaries overflowing with grief.

  26. فَدرَّ عَلَى جبينِ الملكِ عرقٌ

    تراءَى الحزنُ فيه والإِباءُ

    Then sweat welled upon the king's brow;

    sorrow and proud defiance were revealed in it.

  27. وغالبَ أَدمعاً في مقلتيه

    فلم يظفرْ وَقد غَلَب البكاءُ

    And he struggled against tears in his eyes,

    but did not prevail; weeping had won.

  28. فلا عجب إذا جزعتْ (دمشق)

    فلوعتُها للوعتِه جزاءُ

    So it is no wonder if Damascus grieves,

    for her anguish repays his own.

  29. هديرُ مياهها نوحٌ عليه

    وَهينمةُ النَّسيمِ بها رثاءُ

    The roar of her waters is lamentation for him,

    and the breeze's murmur within her is an elegy.

  30. وسودُ ظلالِها أَثوابُ حزنٍ

    عليها باتَ يخلعها المساءُ

    And her black shadows are garments of mourning

    that evening spends the night draping over her.

  31. عزاءُ النفسِ عن بانٍ عظيمٍ

    بنى ومضى إذا ثبتَ البناءُ

    The soul finds solace for the loss of a great builder

    who built and passed on, if the building stands firm.

  32. فلا تهنوا فما في الوهن إلا

    مضاعفة الرزيَّةِ والشقاءُ

    So do not falter, for weakness brings only

    a doubling of the calamity, and misery.

  33. ولا يذهبْ رجاؤكمُ هباءً

    لفرطِ أَسى وإنْ عَظُمَ البلاءُ

    And let not your hope vanish into dust

    through excessive grief, however great the affliction.

  34. فبعد (محمَّدٍ) والجرحُ دامٍ

    توالى الفتحُ وانتشرَ اللواءُ

    For after Muhammad, with the wound still bleeding,

    conquest followed conquest, and the banner spread.