ظلموك يا جدي ولست ظلوما

لمتى وحقك لم يزل مهضوما

They wronged you, Grandfather, though you were no wrongdoer.

Until when must your right remain denied?

رفع الدعاوي واستبد ضلالة

ذاك الزمان وجر عنك هموما

It raised accusations and ruled tyrannically in error—

that age—and drew sorrows out of you.

عدوا جرائمه عليك وبرأوا

ساحاتهم منها فبت ملوما

They charged its crimes against you and cleared

their own names of them, leaving you blamed.

نطقوا بما شاءوا وما شاء الهوى

وعليك كان بما قضوا محكوما

They spoke as they wished and as desire wished,

and judgment fell against you as they decreed.

ماذا يفيدك والمؤرخ ناقل

عنهم وإن كانوا إليك خصوما

What good can it do you when the historian merely reports

their words, though they were your adversaries?

قالوا بأنك جامع للمال لا

تلوي على شيء ولست رحيما

They said you amassed wealth and would not

heed anything, and that you were not merciful.

قالوا على الإصلاح لست بسائل

وربضت في كنف الفساد مقيما

They said you cared nothing for reform

and crouched, settled, in corruption's shelter.

قالوا بأنك في وعودك مخلف

راجيك فيهم لم يزل محروما

They said you broke your promises,

and whoever hoped in you remained deprived among them.

شفتاك تبسم والكف تصيد ما

جلبته سطوتكم ولست كريما

Your lips smile while your hand hunts for what

your power brought in, and you are not generous.

أطلقت معتسفا يدا استبدادكم

في الساكنين من الشقاء جحيما

You unjustly unleashed the hand of your tyranny,

a hell of misery upon the inhabitants.

أثقلت كاهلهم ونجلك مطلق ال

أيدي فبات الزرع منه هشيما

You burdened their shoulders, while your son, with unrestrained

hands, left the crops as shattered stubble.

ورتعت في اليت الحسيني مانعا

عنهم سواك لتحكم الإقليما

You reveled in the Husaynid household, keeping

everyone but yourself from them, to rule the province.

وحكمت نحو الأربعين فكانت ال

أيام نحسا في البلاد وشوما

You ruled for nearly forty years, and the

days were misfortune and ill omen in the land.

ووقفت قصدا في سبيل حماتها

زمنا لأنك تبغض التنظيما

You deliberately stood in the way of its protectors

for a time, because you hated reorganization.

وإلى فرنسا بالخصوص عداوة

لك ما رأوا للود منك نسيما

Toward France in particular you bore hostility;

they saw no breeze of affection from you.

هذي مناقبك التي أبقيتها

لبنيك قلبا داميا مكلوما

These are the virtues you left behind:

a bleeding, wounded heart for your children.

خمسون عاما قد مضت والحق في

غيبات جبّه لم يكن معلوما

Fifty years have passed, while truth, in

the hidden depths of its well, remained unknown.

حتى تقمّصت الحفيد وجئتهم

متمثّلا في شخصه مرسوما

Until you donned your grandson's form and came to them,

embodied and portrayed in his person.

هذا أوان القسط والقسطاط في ال

دنيا استمع للصوت فيك رخيما

This is the hour of justice and the just balance in the

world; listen to the mellow voice speaking of you.

سيريك من آيات عدله حاكم

يجري الحوادث كيف شاء قديما

A Ruler will show you signs of His justice,

who has long directed events as He willed.

بالوقت أمره موكل واليوم قد

وفاك حقك فارأ المنظوما

His decree is entrusted to time; today He has

paid you your due, so read this verse.

هبّت عليك رياح نصر سقتها

تذروه زرعا في عداك هشيما

Winds of victory blew upon you; I drove them on,

scattering it like broken, dry crops among your foes.

حججي اليك دقيقة تحتاج لل

إمعان يكبرها البصير نجوما

My arguments for you are subtle, calling for

close scrutiny; the discerning magnify them into stars.

قد كنت وحدك بالليالي عالما

مذ كنت في وسط الرجال زعيما

You alone knew the ways of the nights,

from the time you were a leader among men.

جلدا تصارع في البلاد بلاءها

مستسلما لقضائه تسليما

Steadfast, you wrestled with the land's afflictions,

surrendering wholly to His decree.

قد كنت فيهم كالزمان مؤدبا

تمشي الهوينا لا ترى التهويما

Among them you were a teacher, like Time,

walking gently, countenancing no aimless wandering.

والكل يشهد في السياسة أنك ال

رجل الدها فيها تعد عظيما

Everyone attests that, in politics, you are the

astute man, considered great in that field.

لو كنت خائنهم لبعت بلادهم

مذ كنت تحمل في يديك رقيما

Had you betrayed them, you would have sold their country,

since you held a written document in your hands.

فوضت في باريس تفعل ما تشا

ممن غدا لرسوله مخدوما

You were authorized in Paris to do as you wished

by one who was served by his envoy.

ما كان مالك في الحظوظ موزعا

لكن خزينة دولة مركوما

Your wealth was not distributed in shares,

but amassed as the treasury of a state.

أعددته للحادثات ذخيرة

ورضيت كونك بالأذى موسوما

You prepared it as a reserve against calamities

and accepted being branded with abuse.

كم كنت دورا في السياسة لاعبا

بين القناصل عارفيك حكيما

How often you played a role in politics,

a wise man among consuls who knew you.

بعت المصوغ مجهزا عند الضرو

رة جيش رستم ساقه مأموما

You sold the jewelry to equip, when necessity arose,

Rustam's army, which he led under command.

شهد العدو بأنك القوام في الث

لث الأخير بحقّه لتقوم

The enemy testified that you kept vigil in the

last third of the night, duly fulfilling its obligation.

لو لم يقلها أشهد اللّه على

ذاك القيام لك الدجى ونجوما

Had he not said it, God would have called as witnesses to

your vigil the darkness and the stars.

شهد العدو بأنك الهش البشو

ش ويا له خلقا لديك كريما

The enemy testified to your cheerfulness and ready

smile—what a noble disposition was yours!

شهد العدو بعفة تنفي علي

ك المعصيات ولم تكن معصوما

The enemy testified to a chastity that warded

sins off you, though you were not infallible.

لم يدر منطقك البذاء ولا درى

فمك الرحيق ولا اصطحبت نديما

Your speech knew no obscenity, nor did

your mouth know wine, nor did you keep a drinking companion.

هب ملت للحدثان مالت قبلك ال

كبرا فلاسفة ترى التنجيما

Suppose you inclined toward divination; before you, the

great philosophers had inclined that way, believing in astrology.

ما كان يظهر منك فهو نقيضها

إذ بات رايك في الأمور سليما

What appeared from you was its opposite,

for your judgment in affairs remained sound.

كنت الشديد الاعتقاد حقيقة

إن كان ذنبا فلتكن مذؤوما

In truth, your faith was strong;

if that was a sin, then let you be condemned.

شه العدو بقوة الإيمان في

ذاك الفؤاد وكان فيه صميما

The enemy testified to the strength of faith in

that heart, where it was firmly rooted.

لو لم تقم تلك القباب كشاهد

عدك اليك لأنكر المعلوما

Had those domes not stood as witnesses,

your enemy would have denied the known truth about you.

دلّت على الإخلاص في أعماله

للصالحين أقامها تعظيما

They testified to sincerity in his deeds;

he raised them to honor the righteous.

كم زودته شيوخها بدعائها

والفضل منه لم يكن معدوما

How often their shaykhs supplied him with their prayers,

and his bounty was never lacking.

من كان يؤمن بالإله يحبّه

فذروا منافقهم يراه غريما

Whoever believes in God loves him;

so leave their hypocrite to regard him as an adversary.

قد قيل يوم العزل في رمضان قد

أشبهت في تقييدك المرجوما

On the day of dismissal, in Ramadan, it was said: 'You have

resembled, in your binding, the accursed one.'

ما كان أكبرها وكيف يسغيها

شيخ أفاض من الكتاب علوما

How grave those words were! How could they be sanctioned by

a shaykh who poured forth knowledge from the Book?

خطّت فكانت في صحيفة عمره

خطأ مبينا واضحا معلوما

They were written, and in the record of his life became

a manifest, clear, known error.

لو لم يخف الاعتقاد لما ازدرى

بتقاك قائلها يعد أثيما

Had belief not weakened, he would not have mocked

your piety; their speaker is deemed sinful.

لكن اذا بانت اليك وجوههم

تتلو على الطرفين أية سيما

But when their faces become clear to you,

you read a sign, a distinguishing mark, on both sides.

يال الزمان خيانة في يوم عز

لك لا تقدر لو وجدت عليما

What treachery, O Time, on the day of your

dismissal—immeasurable, even if you found someone who understood!

عرضت حمايتها القناصل نصرة

للحق لكن قد رأوك حليما

The consuls offered their protection in support

of right, but they found you forbearing.

قلت البلاد بلاده والمال عا

رية وبت على الوفاء كظيما

You said, 'The country is his, and the money a

loan,' and remained faithful, swallowing your grief.

لو رمت احداث القلاقل عندها

لجعلت سيدك الأمير خديما

Had you sought to stir unrest then,

you would have made your lord, the prince, a servant.

وافاك من بيزمرك يحمل خطه

أحد الخواص كفى به تفخيما

One came to you from Bismarck, carrying his letter—

one of his intimates; that alone was honor enough.

يرجو مقابل ذاك بنزرت الي

أكبرت إعطاها وكنت رحيما

In return, he sought Bizerte, which

you deemed too great to give away, being merciful.

فأجبته للترك حق لا لنا

فيها فعاد كلاكما محروما

You answered him, 'The Turks, not we, have a right

to it,' so both of you went away denied.

علما بأنك في البراءة راتع

والرزق كان بأمره مقسوما

Knowing that you dwelt in innocence,

and that sustenance was apportioned by His decree,

تنوي التمحّض للعبادة حيث قد

عدموا ولست بموجد معدوما

you intended to devote yourself wholly to worship, since they had

been left bereft, and you could not create what did not exist.

هدموا بناءك بالمعاول في السيا

سة فاغتدت تلك الصروح رسوما

With pickaxes they tore down your edifice in

politics, and those palaces became mere traces.

يا جد كنت لكنز سرك طلسما

ففتحت بعدك بابه المختوما

Grandfather, you were a talisman guarding the treasure of your secret;

after you, I opened its sealed door.

كانت براءتكم قبيل براءتي

لغوا وإن يك خطها مرقوما

Your innocence, before my vindication,

was idle talk, even though its text was written down.

لكنها رجعت إليك صحيحة

لا خدش من بين السطور مشيما

But it returned to you valid and sound,

with no disfiguring scratch between the lines.

يا قوم ذنب أبي هو استقلالكم

مذ كان قطركمو له محكوما

People, my father's crime was your independence,

when your country was governed by him.

كان المخافظ عن كيان بلادكم

ضحى حياته ظالما مظلوما

He was the guardian of your country's existence;

he sacrificed his life, wronging and wronged.

يرجو بأن تبقى البلاد لأهلها

أبدا يرد من الجيوش هجوما

He hoped the land would remain its people's,

forever repelling the onslaught of armies.

والدهر يأبى والمقدر كائن

حتى سقوه على الدفاع سموما

Yet Time refused, and what was decreed would come to pass,

until they made him drink poison for defending it.

إذ كاد يظفر بالمنى لولا القضا

ألقى بسيفه بينهم مثلوما

He nearly attained his hopes, had Fate not

cast his sword among them, its blade notched.

ندم الأمير ولات حين ندامة

مذ حطمته يد الشقا تحطيما

The prince regretted it, when the time for regret was past,

after the hand of misfortune had shattered him utterly.

حضر الجنازة يوم دفنه قائلا

أني رممت وزارتي ترميما

He attended the funeral on the burial day, saying,

'I have patched up my ministry completely.'

يجري الدموع ولن يفيد عويله

وخز الضمير غدا إليه أليما

He shed tears, but his wailing would do no good;

the prick of conscience had become painful to him.

وكذاك خير الدين أصبح نادما

إذ لم يكن حر الضمير لئيما

Likewise, Khayr al-Din became remorseful,

for he was free in conscience, not base.

نقل ابن عياد ندامة صهره

هذا وكلمه بها تكليما

Ibn Ayyad reported his in-law's regret—

this regret—and spoke to him about it.

مذ قال أكبر غلطة عمت بها

البلوى خصوصا عزله وعموما

When he said, 'The greatest mistake, which brought calamity

in particular and in general, was his dismissal.'

إقرار من ظلموه شاهد حقه

قل فليكم حقا به مجزوما

The admission of those who wronged him attests his right;

say, then: let his right be held certain by it.

هذي هي الحجج التي أدلي بها

أتمتمها لبروره تتميما

These are the arguments I put forward;

I complete them, fully affirming his righteousness.

كانت كمثل الشمس تحت سحابة

فأزحت عنها بالقريض غيوما

They were like the sun beneath a cloud;

with poetry I swept the clouds away from it.

حفظت له الدعوى فقمت برفعها

أعلي البناء مدعما تدعيما

I preserved his case and rose to present it,

raising the edifice and strengthening it firmly.

وتركت للمنثور تفريدي له

سفرا يحوم به الهدى تحويما

And I left to prose my separate account of him,

a volume around which guidance circles.

هذا التقي الذاكر القوام في الليل

المعظم ربه تعظيما

This is the devout man, mindful of God, who stands through the night,

magnifying his Lord with reverence.

هذا التقي المظلوم ما بين الورى

من صيروه بظلمهم مشتوما

This is the devout man wronged among mankind,

whom they made reviled through their injustice.

ما كان يعرف للعبادة غيره

مذ كان هذا الساقسي فطيما

He knew none but Him in worship

since this al-Saqsi was a weaned child.

ما قدس الصلبان يوما واحدا

فيهم ولا ضما ولا تقنيما

Not for a single day did he sanctify crosses

among them, nor embrace them, nor profess divine hypostases.

حملوه طفلا في الأسارى سنه

خمس فان لصدرهم مضموما

They carried him, a child among captives; his age was

five, and he was clasped to their breast.

وافى لتونس فاصطفاه سميه

فرأى الجلال يحفّه تكريما

He came to Tunis, and his namesake chose him,

and he found majesty surrounding him in honor.

أم المشير تراه ضو وحيدها

ورأى العناية منه والتقديما

The marshal's mother saw him as her only child's light,

and he received care and preferment from him.

ما زال يرقى في الدنو مراتبا

حتى تزوج أخته كلثوما

He kept rising through ranks of closeness,

until he married his sister, Kulthum.

ما غادر البيت الحسيني لحظة

حبا وعظما في القبور رميما

Not for a moment did he leave the Husaynid house,

in love, and even as bones rotting in the graves.

منهم وفيهم شأنه ذو رفعة

كل يعظم كفه الملثوما

He was of them and among them, his standing exalted;

all revered his hand, so often kissed.

ملأ الفخار الصدر أوسمة له

شرفت فكانت فوقه مشموما

Glory filled his breast with his medals,

ennobled, fragrant upon his breast.

هذي شرائطها لدي شهيدة

بقيت وقد ذهب العصير كروما

Their ribbons remain with me as witnesses;

they endure, though the vines' juice has vanished.

ظل المؤرخ بيرم عشواء تخ

بط في الظلال وحطه تسويما

The historian Bayram remained a night-blind creature,

stumbling in shadows and branding him to demean him.

أملى عليه ضميره الدنس الذي

لم يعرف التحليل والتحريما

His filthy conscience dictated to him,

a conscience that knew neither what was lawful nor what was forbidden.

ذكر النقيض ليوهم القاري بأن

ه صادق كذب السفيه زنيما

He mentioned the opposite, to make the reader believe that

he was truthful; the base-born fool lied.

الله انطقه بها فجرى بها

قلم الحقيقة واضحا مفهوما

God made him utter it, and through it ran

the pen of truth, clear and intelligible.

قد نال من جدي فقيظني له

رب العدالة ناقما ملزوما

He had assailed my grandfather, so I was appointed against him

by the Lord of justice, an avenger bound to act.

جردت منه برغم موته مجرما

عاقبته وأمته محموما

Despite his death, I drew a criminal out of him,

punished him and killed him, fever-stricken.

قد كان جدي مبعدا أمثاله

بعد السلمي متى رأى المجذوما

My grandfather used to keep his like far away,

as a healthy man keeps away when he sees a leper.

عرضت عليه سطوره فتلا نبي

الشعر عنه بيته المنظوما

I laid his lines before him, and the prophet

of poetry recited on his behalf his crafted verse:

وإذا اتتك مذمتي من ناقص

فهي الشهادة لي ولست ذميما

'If disparagement of me comes to you from one deficient,

it is a testimony for me, and I am not blameworthy.'

ذكراها عظة يقوم بعدها

ما اعوج من فكر الورى تقويما

Its remembrance is a lesson, after which

whatever has warped in people's thought is set straight.

إذ لم يكن قول المؤرخ فيصلا

يعطي لنفسه وحده التحكيما

For a historian's word is not a final judgment,

granting himself alone the power to arbitrate.

كم ضاع حق و اختفت آثاره

متلاشيا ما بينهم مصروما

How many rights have been lost, their traces hidden,

fading away among them, cut off!

عجبا لقوم درسوا التاريخ لم

تفطن لما قد كان منك مروما

How strange that people who studied history did not

discern what you had intended!

سر السياسة لا يذاع زمانها

ولذاك كان الجد فيه كتوما

Politics' secret is not divulged in its own time;

that is why my grandfather kept it concealed.

حتى إذا كشف الزمان ستارها

برح الخفاء فلم يعد موهوما

Until, when Time drew back its curtain,

concealment vanished; it was no longer a matter of conjecture.