ما مُرتَقاكَ عَلى مَن رامَهُ أَمَمُ
فَلتَسلُ عَن نَيلِ ما أوتيتَهُ الأُمَمُ
No matter who aspires to reach your heights, nations,
Then let him seek to attain what you have been granted, O nations!
وَليَيأَسوا رَمَّةً كانَت مُؤَهَّلَةً
لِهِمَّةٍ ما اِهتَدَت في طُرقِها الهِمَمُ
And let them despair of a goal that was once so hopeful
For an aspiration that could not find its way, O resolves!
فَما تَحُطُّ مَطايا المَجدِ أَرحُلَها
إِلّا بِحَيثُ أَناخَ البَأسُ وَالكَرَمُ
For the steeds of glory rein in nowhere
But where valor and generosity have camped, O resolve!
وَإِنَّ أَولى الوَرى بِالأَمرِ أَوفَرُهُم
قِسماً إِذا ظَلَّتِ الأَخطارُ تُقتَسَمُ
And the one most right to rule is he who has the greatest share
When dangers are apportioned, though he remains humble.
وَمَن أَحَقُّ بِمُلكِ الأَرضِ مِن مَلِكٍ
بِسَيفِهِ اِنكَشَفَت عَن أَهلِها الغُمَمُ
Who more deserves to rule the land than a king
With whose sword its people were freed from sorrows, O resolve!
عَدلَ القَضِيَّةِ يُمضي وَهوَ مُطَّرِحٌ
ثَوبَ الحَياءِ وَيَندى وَهوَ مُحتَشِمُ
He passes just judgment though he discards
The garment of modesty and shows humility,
أَغَرُّ لَو وَهَبَ الدُنيا بِأَجمَعِها
لَما تَتَبَّعَها مَنٌّ وَلا نَدَمُ
He would disdain, though granted the whole world,
To be followed by blame or regret, O resolve!
وَرُبَّ عَفوٍ إِذا لاذَ الجُناةُ بِهِ
أَنساهُمُ بِجَميلِ الصَفحِ ما اِجتَرَموا
And how often has a pardon, when criminals flock to it,
Made them forget the beauty of amnesty their crimes!
وَذي يَدٍ تَلِدُ النُعمى فَإِن قَصَدَت
كَيدَ العَدُوِّ فَمِن أَولادِها الرَقِمُ
And a hand that gives birth to blessings - if it aims
To foil the enemy, will bear no fruit but loss!
سَيفَ الإِمامِ بِكَ اِزدادَ الهُدى وَضَحاً
وَفيكَ كادَتَ تُغَطّي نورَها الظُلَمُ
By your sword the right path shone ever brighter
And in you, its light almost dispelled the darkness, O resolve!
وَمُذ دَعاكَ إِمامُ العَصرِ عُدَّتَهُ
ذَلَّ العِدى فَأَزالَ الحَقُّ إِفكَهُمُ
Since the imam of the age appointed you his strength,
Deceit yielded, and truth removed their fabrications, O resolve!
قَد كانَ مُتَّهَماً صَرفُ الزَمانِ وَمُذ
وَفى بِقُربِكَ لَم تَعلَق بِهِ التُهَمُ
The turning of time was long suspect, but since
Your nearness proved true, no blame clings to it, O resolve!
وَغَيرُ مُستَوجِبٍ ذَمَّ الوَرى زَمَنٌ
أَيّامُهُ لَكَ فيما تَشتَهي خَدَمُ
No time undeserving of the world's blame when its days
Are at your service, as you desire, O resolve!
ثَبَّتَّ وَطأَةَ دينِ اللَهِ مُعتَصِماً
بِاللَهِ مِن بَعدِ ما زَلَّت بِهِ القَدَمُ
Upholding the weight of God's religion, taking your stand,
By God, when feet had slipped - and how they had slipped, O resolve!
لَقَد نَهَضتَ بِعِبءٍ في حِمايَتِهِ
لا يَستَقِلُّ بِهِ رَضوى وَلا إِضَمُ
You have shouldered a burden whose protection
Would exhaust the acceptable and the unwilling, O resolve!
بِهِمَّةٍ لَو أَرادَ العُصمَ صاحِبُها
لَم يَحمِها في ذُرى الأَطوادِ مُعتَصِمُ
With a determination - had its author wished for invincibility -
No walls would have protected him on high, O protected one!
وَعَزمَةٍ مُذ أَلَمَّت بِالشَآمِ بَنَت
دونَ الخِلافَةِ سوراً لَيسَ يَنهَدِمُ
A resolve that when it gripped Syria did build,
Before the caliphate, a wall no treachery could breach, O resolve!
وَطالَما عَرَّسَت في أَرضِهِ فِتَنٌ
تَشيبُ مِنها قُلوبُ الخَلقِ لا اللِمَمُ
How often did seditions take root in its land,
Turning the hearts of people gray, but not the resolves!
وَرُبَّ جَيشٍ إِذا سالَ الفَضاءُ بِهِ
رَأَيتَ فيهِ جِبالَ الأَرضِ تَصطَدِمُ
And how often, when an army flooded the desert,
Did you see in it mountains collide, O resolve!
بَحرٌ فَإِن عَسَلَت فيهِ الرِماحُ أَرَت
أَمواجَ بَحرِ المَنايا كَيفَ تَلتَطِمُ
A sea - when the lances clashed in it you would see
The billows of the death-sea - how they seethed and foamed!
لِخَيلِ فُرسانِهِ مِن طَعنِ ما لَقِيَت
بَراقِعٌ وَلَهُم مِن نَقعِها لُثُمُ
For the steeds of its horsemen, the thrusts they suffered
Left shields rent, and their rips bloodied, O resolve!
ثَناهُ بَأسُكَ فَاِنصاعَت كَتائِبُهُ
كَأَنَّ آسادَهُ مِن ذِلَّةٍ نَعَمُ
Your might bent its battalions, so they bowed down
As if their joints were loosened by humiliation, O calm one!
عَنَت حُماةُ بُيوتِ الشَعرِ راغِمَةً
مُذ طُنِّبَت لَكَ في أَوطانِها الخِيَمُ
The starry anchors of the houses of poetry - forcibly
They wept, once encamped against them in their lands were your tents, O resolve!
وَكَم لَهُم مَوقِفٌ جالَ الحِمامُ بِهِ
لَو كانَ غَيرُكَ فيهِ الخَصمَ ما خُصِموا
And how many a stance, when the battle was aflame,
Had you been their opponent, they would not have contended!
وَكَم لَقوا فيكَ يَوماً أَيوَماً خَلَقَت
فيهِ السَنابِكُ لَيلاً جَنَّهُ الخَدَمُ
And how many a day they met in you - days that revealed
By night the darkness lit up by your lamps' gleam, O resolve!
لَيلاً إِذا غَطَّتِ الأَبصارَ ظُلمَتُهُ
كانَت مَصابيحَكَ الهِندِيَّةُ الخُذُمُ
By night, when its darkness enveloped all sights,
Your Indian lanterns were flickering flames, O resolve!
مَنَعتَ آسادَهُم قَسراً فَرائِسَها
فَلَيسَ يُنكَرُ أَن تَنبو بِها الأَجَمُ
You kept their lions, by force, from their lairs,
So it is no wonder if by them death is heralded, O resolve!
وَما تَظَلُّ قَناةُ العِزِّ قائِمَةً
إِلّا بِحَيثُ القَنا الخَطِّيُّ يَنحَطِمُ
The canal of glory remains not standing
But where the pen is shattered, O resolve!
وَإِن تَكُن نارُ تِلكَ الحَربِ قَد خَمَدَت
فَإِنَّها في قُلوبِ القَومِ تَضطَرِمُ
And if the fire of that war has died out
In their hearts it still blazes, O resolve!
عَن هَيبَةٍ سَكَنَت أَحشاءَهُم فَقَضَت
أَن يَقفِلَ الجَيشُ عَنهُم وَهوَ عِندَهُمُ
Out of awe that dwelled in their breasts and decreed
The army retreat from them, though still able, O resolve!
عَضَّت رُؤوسَهُمُ بَعدَ الجِماحِ ظُبىً
عَلى المَوارِنِ مِن آثارِها حِكَمُ
After the struggle, it left their heads ringingly sore,
White scars on the Maronites from its traces, O wise one!
بيضٌ إِذا فارَقَت في يَومِ مَعرَكَةٍ
أَغمادَها فارَقَت أَجسادَها القِمَمُ
Blades - when on a day of battle they left
Their sheaths, they left bodies headless, O resolve!
وَلَو تَوَخَّيتَ إِعناتَ المُذِمِّ لَهُم
لَم يَرضَ سَيفُكَ حَتّى تُخفَرَ الذِمَمُ
Had you sought to aid those who blamed you,
Your sword would not have rested until the blamers were subdued!
لَوَ اِنَّهُم جاوَزوا الجَوزاءَ ما اِمتَنَعوا
مِن ذي العِتاقِ المَذاكي أَن تَدوسَهُمُ
Had they crossed the mountain ridges, they would not have escaped
Being trampled under the noble horseman's hooves!
ذَرهُم وَنُصرَةَ مَن لاذوا بِعَقوَتِهِ
فَقَد وَهَت عَرَبٌ بِالرومِ تَعتَصِمُ
Leave them, and leave aiding those who sought the refuge
Of perversity - many an Arab has thus sought Rome's protection, O resolute one!
أَرى لَيالِيَ مَن أَدنَيتَهُ زُهُراً
كَما لَيالِيَ مَن أَقصَيتَهُ سُحُمُ
I see the nights of those brought near by you are blossoms,
While the nights of those kept far are clouds, O resolve!
إِن لَم تَكُن بَينَهُم قُربى فَبَينَهُمُ
مِنَ المُساواةِ في خَوفِ الرَدى رَحِمُ
If they are not bound by blood, then between them
There is the kinship of equality in fear of harm, O womb!
غاضَت دِماؤُهُمُ خَوفاً فَلَو شَرَعَت
فيهِم رِماحُكَ لَم يَعلَق بِهِنَّ دَمُ
Their blood ran cold from fear - had your lances
Then gored them, no blood would have stuck to them, O blood!
وَلَو أَرَدتَ لَأَغرَيتَ التُرابَ بِهِم
فَلَم يَكُن لَهُمُ في الأَرضِ مُنهَزَمُ
Had you wished, you could have covered them with dust,
And none upon earth could have fled them, O resolute one!
لَكِن جَرَيتَ عَلى رَسمٍ ظَلِلتَ بِهِ
في العَفوِ مُلتَزِماً ما لَيسَ يُلتَزَمُ
But you followed a pattern you used to shade
Pardoning though unbound to - nothing is really binding, O resolve!
وَمُذ رَأَيتُكَ تولي العَفوَ كافِرَهُ
عَلِمتُ أَنَّكَ بِالإِنعامِ تَنتَقِمُ
And since I saw you favor pardoning the unbeliever,
I knew you were taking vengeance through kindness, O resolve!
عِلماً بِأَنَّ الَّذي عُوِّدتَ نُصرَتَهُ
يُحيقُ بِالكافِري نُعماكَ كُفرَهُمُ
Knowing that he whom you were used to aiding -
Your favors will be bound to shame the ungrateful for their ingratitude, O resolve!
وَالرومُ قَد أَيقَنوا لا شَكَّ أَنَّهُمُ
لَو ساهَموكَ بِسَهمٍ في الوَرى سُهِموا
The Romans, without a doubt, are certain that had
They met you in battle on earth, they would have been doomed, O resolve!
وَكَيفَ تَطمَحُ نَحوَ الحَربِ أَعيُنُهُم
وَذِكرُ بَأسِكَ في أَفواهِهِم لُجُمُ
How can their eyes still look with longing to battle
When tales of your might are on their tongues, silenced dumb, O resolve!
وَلَو أَعَرتَهُمُ أَلبابَهُم لَدَرَوا
أَنَّ الَّذي جَهِلوا أَضعافَ ما عَلِموا
Had you unveiled their minds, they would have known
That what they were ignorant of was manifold what they knew, O resolve!
إِنَّ المُظَفَّرَ مَن ما حَلَّ في بَلَدٍ
إِلّا تَحَمَّلَ عَنهُ الخَوفُ وَالعَدَمُ
He who conquers is one who, residing in a country,
Bore its fears and disasters, O resolve!
وَكَيفَ تُظلَمُ أَرضٌ أَنتَ ساكِنُها
نوراً تَساوَت بِهِ الأَظهارُ وَالعَتَمُ
How can a land you dwell in be darkened
When by you the horizons and gloom are equal in light, O resolve!
أَو تَشتَكي الناسُ إِمحالاً وَقَد فَعَلَت
فيهِم يَمينُكَ ما لا تَفعَلُ الدِيَمُ
Or how can people complain of injustice when your right hand
Has done for them what no blood-money can do, O resolve!
وَأَينَ مِنكَ حَياً يَحيا التُرابُ بِهِ
أَنّى وَأَنتَ حَياً يَحيا بِهِ النَسَمُ
Where in relation to you is an enlivened soil
When you are the life by which breath lives, O soft one!
خَلائِقٌ عَمَّتِ الدُنيا بِما نَسَلَت
مِنَ العَطايا وَأُمّاتُ النَدى عُقُمُ
Creations whose ample gifts have spread through the world -
Though the nations are dumb, they praise it in deeds, O resolve!
يُثني بِآلائِها مَن في الحَياةِ وَلَو
تَسطيعُ نُطقاً إِذاً أَثنَت بِها الرِمَمُ
And what meteors of glory sincerely appeared
But I perceived them, O resolves of men!
وَأَيُّ بارِقَةٍ لِلمَجدِ صادِقَةٍ
لاحَت وَلَمّا تَشِمها هَذِهِ الشِيَمُ
Can your equals be possessions of those gone and those to come
Whose names are drowned in your famed name, O resolve!
وَهَل تُساويكَ أَملاكٌ مَضَوا وَبَقوا
أَسماؤُهُم في اِسمِكَ المَشهورِ مُدَّغَمُ
Virtues beyond counting - their pride belongs
To your father's clan, and they encompass all humankind, O resolve!
مَناقِبٌ لَيسَ تُحصى خَصَّ مَفخَرُها
بَني أَبيكَ وَعَمَّ الناسَ كُلَّهُمُ
So no Arab is without a boast
Of the one of lofty deeds - though foreigners boast of it too, O resolve!
فَما خَلا عَرَبِيٌّ مِن مُفاخَرَةٍ
بِذي المَعالي وَإِن خُصَّت بِها العَجَمُ
O you who have with great deeds often plunged
Into depths no fears can fathom, O resolve!
فَاِعلُ الوَرى بِمَساعٍ طالَما اِقتَحَمَت
إِلى العُلى غَمَراتٍ لَيسَ تُقتَحَمُ
Listen to a judge residing powerfully in the heart
No less potent than what Zuhair's creation heard, O old one!
وَاِسمَع لِحاكِمَةٍ في القَلبِ مُحكَمَةٍ
لَم يَستَمِع مِن زُهَيرٍ مِثلَها هَرِمُ
And I am rightful to speak at length should I one day
Guide a crown whose pearls are words, O resolve!
وَإِنَّني لَجَديرٌ أَن أَطولَ إِذا
أَصبَحتُ مُهدِيَ تاجٍ دُرُّهُ الكَلِمُ
Words that exceed the limits of glory - neither
Strings nor melody can add to their beauty, O resolve!
قَولٌ يُجاوِزُ غاياتِ البَهاءِ فَما
تَزيدُ في حُسنِهِ الأَوتارُ وَالنَغَمُ
Hard to lead, if you lend them an ear,
You will know I am but a tongue, and time is the mouth, O resolve!
صَعبُ القِيادِ إِذا أَرعَيتَهُ أُذُناً
عَلِمتَ أَنّي لِسانٌ وَالزَمانُ فَمُ
What ambition is there I will not attain
When this position is as I aspire, O resolve!
وَأَيُّما بُغيَةٍ تَنأى عَلى أَمَلي
وَذا المَقامُ إِلى ما أَبتَغي لَقَمُ
Our days in you are holidays, and our months,
For their ample safety, inviolable months, O resolve!
أَيّامُنا بِكَ أَعيادٌ وَأَشهُرُنا
مِن كَثرَةِ الأَمنِ فيها أَشهُرٌ حُرُمُ
So may God, mighty, answer the prayers of one
Whose sanctuary encompasses those praying in your security, O resolve!
فَاللَهُ عَزَّ مُجيباً فيكَ مُستَمِعٌ
دُعاءَ مَن ضَمَّهُ في أَمنِكَ الحَرَمُ
The hopes of Muslims in you were not dashed, so by your power
Their world and religion were restored, protected in might, O resolve!
لا خابَ فيكَ رَجاءُ المُسلِمينَ فَقَد
صَحَّت بِعِزِّكَ دُنياهُم وَدينُهُمُ
And may your abode remain populous, and never
Cease your blessings upon you, made perfect through you, O resolve!
وَدامَ رَبعُكَ مَأهولاً وَلا بَرِحَت
وَقفاً عَلَيكَ كَما تَمَّت بِكَ النِعَمُ
