كما قلتمُ لن يرتَضي السِّلمَ مُجرِمُ
ولا حُكمَ إذ إنَّ الحُسامَ المُحَكَّمُ
As you said: no criminal will ever accept peace.
Nor any judgment, when the sword is made the judge.
وإنَّ اتِّقاءَ الشَّرِّ لِلمَرءِ لازِمٌ
وإنَّ اتِّقاءَ الشَّرِّ بِالشَّرِّ أَلزَمُ
For a man, guarding against evil is necessary,
and guarding against evil with evil is more necessary still.
يُجَمجِمُ في القولِ الخَبيثِ تَختُّلاً
لِيُفصِحَ حَدُّ السيفِ حينَ يُجَمجِمُ
He mumbles vile words, speaking evasively,
so the sword’s edge may speak plainly when he mumbles.
طَغَى وبَغى المغرورُ جهلاً وغَرَّهُ
منَ القومِ حلمٌ عنهُ والحُرُّ يَحلُمُ
The deluded man tyrannized and transgressed in ignorance, deceived
by a people’s forbearance toward him—for the freeborn are forbearing.
ولكنَّ خبثَ النفسِ داؤُه مُعضِلٌ
ولاَ لِقَضاءٍ عَن مَريضِه مَبرَمُ
But the vileness of his soul is an incurable disease;
no final cure is ordained for his sickness.
تَطاولَ عن شَعبٍ بَريءٍ مُجاوِرٍ
له وبِحارُ السُّوءِ طبعٌ مُذَمَّمُ
He overreached against an innocent neighboring people;
bad neighborliness is a blameworthy trait in him.
ونادى خُضوعاً أو لِحَربٍ تَقَدَّموا
فكان جوابَ الباسِلينَ التَّقَدُّمُ
He cried, “Submit—or, if it is war, advance!”
The valiant answered him by advancing.
كأنَّهُ عن أَنيابِه الوحشُ كاشراً
وقد خَاله شُهداً إذا بهِ عَلقَمُ
He bared his teeth like a snarling beast;
he had fancied it honey, but there it was—bitter colocynth.
ولما دَرَى ما لم يَكن له دارياً
وأيقنَ يومَ الرَّوعِ أنَّهُمُ هُمُ
When he learned what he had never known before,
and knew on the day of terror that they were truly themselves,
وشاهَدَ مِنهُم في صفوفِ قِتالِهِم
أُسوداً وفي جَوٍّ نُسوراً تُهَوِّمُ
and saw among their battle ranks
lions—and eagles hovering in the sky—
وأصلُوهُ نيرانَ الجَحَيمِ وتابعت
شَياطينَه شُهبُ المَناطيد تَرجُمُ
they made him taste the fires of hell, while
the meteors of the airships pelted his devils.
تَرامى ذليلاً بَين أقدامِ خَصمِه
وقال أَغِثني والغَنيمَةُ تُقسَمُ
He threw himself, abject, at his foe’s feet
and said, “Save me!” while the spoils were being divided.
ولا تُشمِتِ الاَعدَاءَ ولتَكُ نَاسياً
لِمَا بيننا إني لِنَعلِكَ أَلثِمُ
“Do not let the enemies gloat; forget
what lies between us—I will kiss your shoe.”
ومدَّ يداً مَخضوبةً بدَمٍ الوَرى
لِصُلحٍ ومسٌّ للنَّجاسَةِ يَحرُمُ
He held out a hand dyed with the blood of humankind
to offer peace—yet touching filth is forbidden.
كأنَّهُ يُبدي لِلأَنامِ تَنَدُّماً
وهل لمناتين الضمير تندم
He seemed to show the world remorse;
but can a dead conscience ever repent?
وهل ثِقَةٌ فيمن يَقولُ لِسانُهُ
وأَعالُهُ عَن عكسِ قَولٍ تُتَرجِمُ
What trust can there be in one whose tongue says one thing
while his deeds translate its very opposite?
على مِثلِ هتليرٍ تَهونُ كرامَةٌ
فَيصغُرُ عندَ الناسِ من حيثُ يَعظُمُ
In the face of a Hitler, dignity is cheapened,
and a man grows small in people’s eyes where he imagines himself great.
أيا شعبَ بولونيا الشهيدَ ومَن بَنى
لِمَجدِه صَرحاً شامخاً ليس يُهدَمُ
O martyred people of Poland, and all who built
for its glory a lofty edifice that cannot be demolished:
لكَ اللهُ من شَعبٍ رأى أن مَوتَهُ
شريفاً هو العيشُ الهَنيءُ المُنَعَّمُ
God be with you, a people who saw that to die
honorably is the pleasant, richly blessed life.
سهامُ المَنيا سُدِّدَت نحو صَدرِهِ
فَمدَّ إليها صَدرَهُ وهو يَبسِمُ
The arrows of death were aimed at its breast,
and it offered them its breast with a smile.
وطارَ إليها في السَّماءِ وقد رأى
على رأسِهِ طَيرَ المَنايا تُحَوِّمُ
It flew to meet them in the sky, having seen
the birds of death circling over its head.
وضَحَّى وما ضَحّى بغيرِ حياتِه
جواباً لصوتٍ من ضميرٍ يُكَلِّمُ
It sacrificed—and sacrificed nothing less than its life—
in answer to a voice speaking from within its conscience.
على أنكم لا زلتمُ خيرَ دولةٍ
كما كنتمُ قبلاً كذاكَ بَقِيتُمُ
Yet you have remained the finest state,
just as you were before; so you have remained.
سَتُقشَعُ سُحبُ الظلِم بعد تَغَيُّمٍ
متى طالَ مِن ظُلمٍ سحابٌ مَغَيِّمُ
The clouds of oppression will clear after their gathering;
however long has a cloud of oppression ever remained?
تَوَهَّمَ أن يَحظى بنيلِ مُرادِه
ولكنَّهُ قد ساءَ ما يَتَوَهَّمُ
He imagined he would attain his desire,
but evil indeed was what he imagined.
فما زالتِ الأنصارُ دوما وراءَكُمُ
تُطالِبُهم بالثَّأرِ والنارُ تُضرَمُ
Supporters have never ceased to stand behind you,
demanding vengeance upon them while the fire blazes.
على أنَّنا والحُزنُ ملءَ فُؤادِنا
سَنَبكيكمُ ما دامتِِ العينُ تَسجُمُ
Yet grief fills our hearts,
and we shall weep for you as long as eyes pour tears.
سَنبكي على ما قد جنَت يدُ ظالِمٍ
وأعجَبُ منه ظالِمٌ يَتَظَلَّمُ
We shall weep for what an oppressor’s hand has wrought;
stranger still is an oppressor who claims to be wronged.
ويَتَّمَ أطفالاً وأرمَلَ نِسوةً
وكم ثاكِلٍ تُشجي الفُؤادَ وأيِّمُ
He orphaned children and widowed women—
how many bereaved women and widows grieve the heart.
ورُبَّ أبٍ والحزنُ يلتاعُ قلبَه
على ابنهِ لا يشكو ولا يَتَأَلَّمُ
A father was sent back, sorrow consuming his heart,
grieving for his son, yet neither complaining nor showing pain.
وهل يَشتَكي مَن لا يَرَى له رَاحماً
وإنَّ لِصلدِ الصَّخرِ قلباً فَيَرحَمُ
How can one complain when he sees no one to pity him?
Even solid rock has a heart, and shows mercy.
تَمتَّعتمُ بالعطفِ مِن كل أُمَّةٍ
فَدُوموا كما كُنتُم فأنتمُ أنتمُ
You have enjoyed the sympathy of every nation;
remain as you have been—for you are yourselves.
وأوفت فرنسا والحليفَةُ أُختُها
بعهدٍ وعهدُ لاحُرِّ دَينٌ مُحَتَّمُ
France kept her pledge, and so did her allied sister,
for a free person’s pledge is an inescapable debt.
وهذا هلالُ العِزٍّ والمجدِ خافِقٌ
لواءٌ عليه النَّصرُ دوما مُخَيِّمُ
Here is the crescent of might and glory, fluttering:
a banner over which victory forever broods.
أَمامَ شُعوبِ المُسلمين تَقَدَّمت
بهِ دولةَ التُّركِ التي تَتَقَدَّمُ
At the head of the Muslim peoples there advanced,
bearing it, the Turkish state, ever advancing.
لواءٌ تَسامى فِي السَّماءِ هلالُهُ
شعوبُ بني الإسلامِ حَولَهُ أنجُمُ
A standard rising high in the sky, its crescent
ringed by the peoples of Islam like stars.
هي الدولةُ الغَرَّاءُ أمَّا حُسامُها
فنارٌ وأما جيشُها فَعَرَمرَمُ
She is the radiant state: her sword
is fire, and her army a mighty host.
وأوفت بعهدٍ شَانُها في عُهودِها
وحاشاهُ لم يَنكُث لِعِهدِه مُسلِمُ
Faithful to a pledge—that is her way with pledges;
far be it from a Muslim to break his covenant.
ولا كَالأُلى في العالَمِين تَمَيَّزوا
بَنكثِ عُهودٍ عاهَدوها وأقسَموا
Not like those who, among all the worlds, distinguished themselves
by breaking pledges they had made and sworn.
هو السِّلمُ مَحمودٌ ولكن مَعَ أهلِهِ
وأمَّا العِدا فالزُّهدُ في السِّلمِ أسلَمُ
Peace is praiseworthy—but only with those worthy of it;
with enemies, renouncing peace is safer.
سقَى اللهُ دهراً فيه صارت عُيونُنا
تَرى ذا جُنونٍ عاقِلا يَتزَّعَّمُ
May God rain grace upon an age in which our eyes have come
to see a madman posing as a sane leader.
يَسوقُهُ نحو الموتِ يَقضي عليه أو
على غيرِه يَقضي وأنفُه مُرغَمُ
He drives his victim toward death, which finishes him—or
he finishes another, though his own nose is ground in dust.
مُثيرٌ لِحُزنِ المَرءِ يُبصرُ مُجرِماً
يُنَغِّصُ عيشَ الناسِ إذ هو يَنعَمُ
It is cause for sorrow when a man sees a criminal
embittering people’s lives while he himself thrives.
مُثيرٌ لحزنِ المرءِ يُبصرُ مجرماً
يُعذِّبُ خَلقَ اللهِ طُراًّ وَيظلِمُ
It is cause for people’s sorrow to see a criminal
tormenting all God’s creatures and committing injustice.
مُثير لحزنِ الناس يُبصرُ مُجرماً
له في رِقابِ الأبرياءِ تَحَكُّمُ
It is cause for people’s sorrow to see a criminal
holding power over the lives of the innocent.
أليسَ منَ البلوى انطماسُ حَقائقٍ
فَيَشقى بَريءٌ حين يَسعَدُ مُجرِمُ
Is it not among our afflictions that truths are blotted out,
so that an innocent person suffers while a criminal rejoices?
فليسَ يَطيبُ العيشُ إلا بِخَنقِهِ
وجُرثومةُ النازي تُبادُ وتُعدَمُ
Life cannot be sweet unless he is strangled
and the Nazi germ is eradicated and destroyed.
على الصَّخرةِ الصَّماءِ حَطَّمَ نَفسَهُ
وكان جديراً بالسَّفيهِ التَّحطُّمُ
Against the solid rock he shattered himself;
the fool deserved to be shattered.
ولا عمَلٌ مثلُ التعاوُنِ واجبٌ
ولا شرَفٌ منهُ أعزَّ وأعظَمُ
No duty equals cooperation,
and no honor is dearer or greater than it.
لِيَرضى به تاريخُنا وضَميرُنا
ويَرضى به المولى الإمامُ المُعَظَّمُ
So may our history and our conscience approve it,
and may our sovereign, the exalted Imam, approve it.
مليكُ الورَى الميمونُ طالِعُه ومَن
به غِبطَةُ أيامِهِ تَتَبَسَّمُ
The auspicious sovereign of humankind, whose rising
makes the days smile with delight.
أدامَهُ ربُّ العَرشِ لِلخَلق مُؤمَلاً
وأنجحَ منهُ السَّعىَ ماخابَ غَيشَمُ
May the Lord of the Throne preserve him as a hope for creation
and prosper his endeavor—the fearless lion does not fail.
وشَفَّعَ وهَّابُ المُنى عيدَ عَرشِهِ
قَريباً بشعيدِ النّضصرِ واللهُ أَكرَمُ
May the Giver of hopes make the feast of his throne be followed
soon by the feast of victory; God is most generous.
وقولكُمُ آمينَ يا سامعينَ لي
يَكون خِِتاماً والسَّلامُ عَلَيكمُ
Your saying “Amen,” O you who hear me,
shall be my conclusion—and peace be upon you.
