ذادَ عن مُقْلِتي لذيذَ المنامِ
شُغلها عنهُ بالدموعِ السجامِ
Sweet sleep has been driven from my eyes,
which streaming tears have kept from it.
أيُّ نومِ من بعد ما حل بالبصْ
رَةِ من تلكمُ الهناتِ العظام
What sleep can there be after what befell Bas—
ra—those tremendous calamities?
أيُّ نومٍ من بعد ما انتهك الزّنْ
جُ جهاراً محارمَ الإسلام
What sleep, after the Zan—
j openly violated the sanctities of Islam?
إنَّ هذا من الأمورِ لأمْرٌ
كاد أن لا يقومَ في الأوهام
This, among all events, is a thing
the imagination could scarcely conceive.
لرأينا مُسْتَيْقظين أموراً
حسبُنا أن تكونَ رُؤيا منام
Had we seen such things while awake,
we would have deemed them visions in a dream.
أقدم الخائنُ اللعينُ عليها
وعلى الله أيَّما إقدام
The accursed traitor dared attack her—
how boldly he defied God!
وتسمَّى بغير حقٍّ إماماً
لا هدى اللَّهُ سعيَه من إمام
Wrongfully he styled himself an imam;
may God never guide the striving of such an imam.
لهفَ نفسي عليكِ أيَّتُها البص
رةُ لهفاً كمثل لفحِ الضِّرام
Alas for my soul over you, O Bas—
ra—a grief as scorching as flame!
لهف نفسي عليك يا معدن الخي
رات لهْفاً يُعضُّني إبهامي
Alas for my soul over you, mine of all good—
ness—a grief that makes me bite my thumb!
لهف نفسي يا قُبَّةَ الإس
لام لهفاً يطولُ منه غرامي
Alas for my soul, O dome of Is—
lam—a grief whose anguish will endure!
لهف نفسي عليكِ يا فُرضةَ البل
دانِ لهفاً يبْقى على الأعوام
Alas for my soul over you, O port of all the—
lands—a grief that will outlive the years!
لهف نفسي لجمعكِ المتفاني
لهف نفسي لِعِزِّكِ المُستضام
Alas for my soul over your annihilated people;
alas for my soul over your violated glory!
بينما أهلُها بأحسنِ حالٍ
إذ رماهمْ عبيدُهمْ باصطلامِ
While her people were in the finest state,
their slaves suddenly struck them with annihilation.
دخلوها كأنهم قِطع اللْي
لِ إذا راحَ مُدْلَهِمَّ الظلام
They entered like masses of night
when thick darkness advances.
طلعُوا بالمُهَنَّداتِ جِهْراً فألقتْ
حملها الحاملات قبل التَّمام
They appeared openly with Indian blades, and pregnant women cast—
their burdens before their term was complete.
وحقيقٌ بأن يُراع أناسٌ
غوفصوا من عدوهم باقتحام
The people had every reason to be terrified
when their enemy surprised them with an assault.
أيَّ هَوْل رأوْا بهمْ أيّ هَوْلٍ
حُقَّ منه تشيبُ رأسُ الغلام
What horror they witnessed at their hands—what horror!
Enough to turn a young boy’s hair gray.
إذ رموْهُمْ بنارهم من يمينٍ
وشِمال وخلفِهمْ وأمام
They hurled their fire upon them from the right,
from the left, from behind, and from before.
كم أغصُّوا من شاربٍ بشراب
كم أغصُّوا من طاعمٍ بطعام
How many a drinker they made choke upon his drink;
how many an eater upon his food!
كم ضنينٍ بنفسهِ رامَ مَنْجىً
فتلقّوا جبينه بالحسام
How many a man, jealous of his life, sought escape,
only to meet a sword-blade with his brow!
كم أخٍ قد رأى أخاهُ صريعاً
ترِبَ الخَدِّ بينَ صَرْعى كرامِ
How many a brother saw his brother struck down,
his cheek in the dust among the noble slain!
كم أبٍ قد رأى عزيزَ بنيه
وهْوَ يُعلَى بصارمٍ صمصام
How many a father saw the dearest of his sons
as a keen, ruthless sword claimed him!
كم مُفدّىً في أهلهِ أسْلمُوه
حين لم يحْمِه هنالك حامي
How many a cherished man did his own people surrender,
when no protector there could shield him!
كم رضيع هناكَ قد فطموه
بشبا السيف قبل حينِ الفطام
How many a nursing infant did they forcibly wean
with the sword’s edge before the time of weaning!
كم فتاةٍ بخاتِم الله بِكرٍ
فضحوها جَهْراً بغير اكتتام
How many a virgin, sealed by God,
did they expose openly, without concealment!
كم فتاةٍ مصونة قد سبوْها
بارزاً وجهها بغير لثام
How many a guarded woman did they carry away,
her face uncovered, without a veil!
صبحوهُمْ فكابدَ القومُ منهم
طولَ يومٍ كأنه ألفُ عامِ
They fell upon them at dawn, and the people endured from them
an evil day that seemed a thousand years.
ألفُ ألفٍ في ساعةٍ قتلوهُمْ
ثم ساقوا السِّباءَ كالأغنام
A thousand thousand they killed within an hour,
then drove the captive women away like sheep.
من رآهُنَّ في المساقِ سبايا
دامياتِ الوجوهِ للأقدام
Whoever saw them being driven as captives—
their faces bloodied beneath trampling feet;
من رآهنَّ في المقاسم وسْطَ ال
زنج يُقسَمْنَ بينهم بالسِّهام
whoever saw them amid the division of spoils, among the—
Zanj, apportioned between them by lots;
من رآهُنَّ يُتّخذنَ إماءً
بعد ملْكِ الإماء والخُدَّام
whoever saw them taken as slave women
after they themselves had owned maids and servants—
ما تذكرتُ ما أتى الزنج إلا
أُضرم القلب أيّما إضرام
whenever I remember what the Zanj committed,
my heart blazes into a mighty fire.
ما تذكرتُ ما أتى الزنج إلا
أوجعَتْني مرارةُ الإرغام
Whenever I remember what the Zanj committed,
the bitterness of humiliation torments me.
رُبَّ بيعٍ هناك قد أرخصُوهُ
طال ما قدْ غلا على السُّوَّام
How many a precious thing there did they sell cheaply—
what had been costly went cheaply to the bidders!
رُبَّ بيتٍ هناك قد أخرجُوهُ
كان مأوى الضِّعافِ والأيتام
How many a household did they drive away,
that had sheltered the weak and the orphaned!
رُبَّ قصْرٍ هناك قدْ دخلوه
كان من قبلِ ذاك صَعْبَ المرام
How many a palace did they enter
that once had been almost impossible to reach!
رُبَّ ذي نعمةٍ هناك ومالٍ
تركوه مُحالفَ الإعدام
How many a wealthy, fortunate man was there,
whom they left wedded to destitution!
رُبَّ قوم باتوا بأجمعِ شَمْلٍ
تركوا شملَهُمْ بغير نظام
How many a people went to bed with their whole company united,
then had their order scattered beyond repair!
عرِّجا صاحبيَّ بالبصرةِ الزَّهْ
راء تعريج مُدنفٍ ذي سقام
Pause, my two companions, at radiant Basra—
the pause of a lovesick, ailing man.
فاسْألاها ولا جوابَ لديها
لسؤال ومن لها بالكلام
Greet her, though she has no answer;
she is empty—and who remains to speak?
أين ضوضاءُ ذلك الخلقِ فيها
أين أسواقُها ذواتُ الزِّحام
Where is her bustle of arrivals and departures?
Where are her crowded markets?
أين فُلْكٌ فيها وفُلْكٌ إليها
مُنشآتٌ في البحر كالأعلام
Where are the ships within her and the ships bound for her,
raised upon the sea like mountains?
أين تلك القصورُ والدورُ فيها
أين ذاكَ البنيانُ ذو الإحكام
Where are those palaces and houses within her?
Where is that firmly fashioned architecture?
بدِّلتْ تِلكُمُ القصورِ تِلالا
من رمادٍ ومن تُراب رُكامِ
Those palaces have been changed into mounds
of ash and piled earth.
سُلِّطَ البَثْقُ والحريقُ عليهم
فتداعت أركانُها بانهدامِ
Flood and fire were unleashed upon them,
and their pillars collapsed in ruin.
وخلتْ من حُلولها فهْي قَفْرٌ
لا ترى العين بين تلك الأكام
Emptied of her inhabitants, she is a wasteland;
the eye sees nothing among those mounds
غيرَ أيْدٍ وأرْجُلِ بائناتٍ
نُبذَتْ بينهنَّ أفلاقُ هام
but severed hands and feet,
with fragments of skulls cast among them,
ووجوهٍ قد رمَّلتْها دماءٌ
بأبي تلكمُ الوجوه الدوامي
and faces matted with blood—
may my father be ransom for those bleeding faces!
وطِئتْ بالهوانِ والذُّلِّ قسراً
بعد طولِ التبجيلِ والإعظام
They were trodden under humiliation and abasement by force
after long receiving reverence and honor.
فتراها تَسْفي الرياحُ عليها
جارياتٍ بهبوة وقتام
Now you see the winds sweeping over them,
racing with gusts and clouds of dust;
خاشعاتٍ كأنَّها باكياتٌ
بادياتِ الثغور لا لابتسام
humbled, as though they were weeping,
showing their teeth—but not in smiles.
بل ألِمَّا بساحةِ المسجدِ الجا
مع إنْ كُنْتُما ذَوِي إلمام
Rather, stop at the courtyard of the congregational mosque,
if you two would make a visit.
فاسألاهُ ولا جوابَ لدْيهِ
أين عُبَّادُهُ الطوالُ القيام
Question it, though it has no answer.
Where are its worshippers, who stood long in prayer?
أينَ عُمَّاره الأُلى عمَروهُ
دَهْرَهُمْ في تلاوة وصيام
Where are its inhabitants, who kept it flourishing,
passing their lives in recitation and fasting?
أين فِتيانه الحِسانُ وجُوهاً
أين أشياخُهُ أولو الأحلام
Where are its fair-faced young men?
Where are its elders, men of understanding?
أيُّ خَطْبٍ وأيُّ رُزْء جليلٍ
نالنا في أولئكَ الأعمام
What calamity, what tremendous affliction
has befallen us in those years!
كم خذلنا من ناسكٍ ذي اجتهادٍ
وفقيهٍ في دينهِ علَّام
How many a diligent worshipper have we lost,
and how many a jurist, a great authority in his faith!
وا ندامي على التَّخلُّفِ عنهمْ
وقليلٌ عنهُم غَناء نِدامي
O my grief that I remained behind them—
yet my grief can avail them little.
وا حيائي منهُمْ إذا ما التقينا
وهُمُ عند حاكم الحُكّام
What shame will be mine before them when we meet,
in the presence of the Judge of all judges!
أيُّ عُذْرٍ لنا وأيُّ جوابٍ
حين نُدْعَى على رؤوسِ الأنامِ
What excuse shall we have, what answer,
when we are summoned before all humankind?
يا عبادي أما غَضِبْتُم لوجهي
ذي الجلال العظيم والإكرام
‘My servants, did you not grow angry for My sake—
I, Lord of majesty, greatness, and honor?
أخذلتُمْ إخوانَكُم وقعدْتُمْ
عنهُمُ ويحَكُم قُعودَ اللئام
Did you abandon your brothers and sit back,
forsaking them—shame on you—like base men?
كيف لم تعطفوا على أخواتٍ
في حِبال العبيدِ من آل حامِ
How did you feel no compassion for sisters
bound by slaves’ ropes, with no protector?
لم تغاروا لغَيْرتي فتركْتُمْ
حُرماتِي لمَنْ أحَلَّ حرامي
You did not rise in jealous defense, but surrendered—
what was most sacred—to violation.
إنَّ من لم يَغَرْ على حُرُماتي
غيرُ كُفْءٍ لقاصراتِ الخيام
Whoever will not defend his own sanctities
is unfit as a husband for sheltered women.
كيف ترضى الحَوراء بالمرءِ بَعْلاً
وهو من دونِ حُرمة لا يُحامي
A free woman is wronged when given as husband a man
who will not defend her inviolability.
وا حيائي من النَّبيِّ إذا ما
لامني فيهم أشدَّ الملام
What shame will be mine before the Prophet when
he reproaches me for this with the severest blame!
وانقطاعي إذا هُمُ خاصموني
وتولَّى النبيُّ عنهُمْ خصامي
How helpless I shall be when they dispute with me
and the Prophet himself undertakes their case!
مثِّلُوا قولهُ لكُمْ أيُّها النَّا
سُ إذا لامكُمْ مع اللُّوَّام
Imagine his words to you, O peo—
ple, when the blaze of thirst reaches you:
أُمَّتي أينَ كُنْتُمُ إذْ دَعتْني
حُرَّةٌ من كرائمِ الأقوامِ
‘My community, where were you when she called to me—
a freeborn woman from a noble people?
صرختْ يا مُحمّداهُ فهلّا
قام فيها رعاةُ حقي مقامي
She cried, “O Muhammad!” Why did no one
stand there in my place to safeguard her right?
لم أجبْها إذ كنتُ مَيْتاً فلولا
كان حيٌّ أجابها عن عِظامي
I did not answer her because I was dead; if only
some living man had answered her on behalf of my bones!’
بأبي تلكُمُ العِظامُ عظاماً
وسقَتْها السماءُ صوْبَ الغمام
May my father ransom those bones—what mighty bones!
May heaven water them with pouring rain;
وعليها من المليك صلاةٌ
وسلامٌ مؤكَّدٌ بسلام
around them may the angels stand in ranks,
and peace be upon them, confirmed with peace.
انفرُوا أيها الكرامُ خِفافاً
وثِقالاً إلى العبيدِ الطَّغام
Go forth, noble men, lightly
and heavily, against those vile slaves!
أبْرَمُوا أمرَهُمْ وأنتُمْ نِيامٌ
سوءةً سوءةً لنوْمِ النيام
They settled their purpose while you slept—
shame, shame upon the sleep of sleepers!
صدِّقوا ظنَّ إخوة أمَّلوكم
ورجوْكُمْ لنبوةِ الأيامِ
Vindicate the hope of brothers who trusted in you
and looked to you against the turns of time.
أدْرِكوا ثأْرَهُمْ فذاك لديْهِم
مثلُ ردِّ الأرواحِ في الأجسامِ
Secure their vengeance: to them that would be
like spirits restored to bodies.
لم تُقِرُّوا العيونَ منهم بِنَصْرٍ
فأقِرُّوا عيونهمْ بانتقام
If you did not gladden their eyes through victory,
then gladden their eyes through vengeance.
أنقِذُوا سَبْيَهُمْ وقلَّ لهُمْ ذا
ك حفاظاً ورعْيَةً للذِّمام
Rescue their captives, and tell them: this
is fidelity and due protection of the covenant.
عارُهُمْ لازمٌ لكُمْ أيُّها النَّا
سُ لأنَّ الأديانَ كالأرحام
Their disgrace clings to you, O peo—
ple, for faiths bind like ties of the womb.
إن قعدتُمْ عن اللعينِ فأنْتُمْ
شركاءُ اللَّعينِ في الآثامِ
If you hold back from the accursed one, then you
share with the accursed one in his sins.
بادروهُ قبلَ الرويَّةِ بالعَزْ
م وقبل الإسراج بالإلجام
Hasten against him resolutely, before deliberation;
bridle the mount before saddling it.
من غدا سرجُهُ على ظهرِ طِرفٍ
فحرامٌ عليه شدُّ الحزام
Whoever sets out with his saddle on a noble steed’s back
is forbidden then to tighten the girth.
لا تطيلوا المقام عن جنَّة الخل
دِ فأنتمْ في غير دار مُقام
Do not tarry away from the Garden of ever—
lasting life; you are not in an abiding home.
فاشتروا الباقيات بالعرَضِ الأد
نى وبِيعوا انقطاعه بالدَّوام
Buy what endures with this paltry, passing—
world, and barter its transience for permanence.
