بني الكنانةِ هذا صوتُها ارتفعا
لا تُنكروا الحقَّ إنّ الحقَّ قد سطعا
O Kinana, this is her voice raised
Do not deny the truth, the truth has shone
أشقى الشُّعوبِ وأولاها بمرحمةٍ
شَعبٌ تَلقَّفَهُ الغاوونَ فانْخدعا
The most wretched of peoples and the first to receive mercy
A people seized by the misguided then deceived
سلوا الأُلىَ صرَعوا الدُّستورَ ما فعلوا
إذ مالَ قائِمُه بالأمسِ فاضطجعا
Ask the exalted, they laid the constitution down, what did they do
When yesterday's pillar tilted and collapsed
هُمُ الجُناةُ على الشّعبِ الذي وصلت
أيديهمو من رباقِ الذُلِّ ما قطعا
They are the criminals against the people to whom their hands reached
From the meadows of humiliation whatever was cut
يَبغِي السَّبيلَ إلى اسْتقلالهِ ويرى
كيدَ الحُماةِ وتضليلَ العِدى شَرَعا
It wants the path to its independence and sees
The cunning of the protectors and the misleading of the enemies permitted
إذا هُمُ انْتَزعوا الدّستورَ من يدهِ
حَسِبْتَهُ من سَوادِ القلبِ مُنتزَعا
When they snatched away the constitution from its hand
You would think it was torn out of the heart of darkness
يا مُطفِئَ الفتنةِ الكبرى وقد رجفتْ
أرضُ الكِنانةِ من أهوالها فَزعا
O quencher of the great strife when
The land of Kinana shook from its terrors, alarmed
لولا دِفاعُكَ طارتْ نارُها شُعَلاً
واسْترسلَ الدَّمُ في أرجائها دُفَعا
Had it not been for your defense, its fire would have blazed
And blood would have flowed unrestrained in its regions
وقفتَ للشرِّ تَنهاهُ وتزجُرُه
حَتى تراجعَ بعد الكرَّ وارْتَدعا
You stood against evil, stopped it, and deterred it
Until it retreated after being repelled and recoiled
لمّا طلعت على الأحداثِ تدفعُها
تكشّفَ العارضُ المُسودُّ وانْقشعا
When you rose to the events pushing them back
The clouded adversity was exposed and dispersed
قالوا السّلاحُ وهاجوها مُضلَّلةً
عمياءَ تبغي وراءَ الحقِّ مُطَّلعا
They said weapons and provoked them, misguided
Blind, seeking the truth behind it rising
لو أنصفوكَ لقالوا ذو مُحافظةٍ
حَمَى البلادَ وصان الشَّعبَ فامتنعا
If they were fair to you, they would have said one who protects
Who guarded the country and protected the people so he refused
لقد تورّعتَ حتّى باتَ كلُّ فتىً
من الجُنودِ يُوارِي سَيْفَهُ وَرَعا
Indeed, you refrained until every young
Soldier concealed his sword and shied away
لو كنتَ غيرَك لم تَرفقْ بسيِّدِهم
ولم تُبال من الدَّهماءِ ما جمعا
Had it been other than you, you would not have been gentle with their master
And would not have cared what the oppressors amassed
يُصِيبُك الجرحُ يغشى مِن صحابتِه
مَن يشتكيك فتُمسِي مُشفِقاً جَزِعا
Injury strikes you, overwhelms whoever complains about you
So you spend the evening grieved and anxious
أما بكَوْا يَومَ تُسدِي الصُّنعَ منك يدٌ
تَشفِي الجِراحَ وتنفِي الهمَّ والوَجَعا
Do they not weep the day your good deed from you is blocked
A hand that heals wounds and dispels worries and pain
لو كان للدَّمعِ في آماقِهم عَملٌ
جَرَى على الدَّمِ يُجريه بما صنعا
If tears had effect in their depths
It would have flowed on the blood caused by what they did
هاجوا النُّفوسَ فلمّا طاحَ هالكُها
طاروا سِراعاً وعادوا مُهطِعين معا
They provoked the souls, so when their destroyer fell
They fled quickly and returned terrified together
أين المواثيقُ والأَيْمانُ يَحشُدُها
من لَو رأى الحربَ في أحلامِه هَلَعا
Where are the covenants and oaths, bringing them together
One who, had he seen war in his dreams, would have panicked
كانت نوازعَ نَفْسٍ ردَّها قَدَرٌ
يَردُّ كلَّ غوِيٍّ للأَذى نَزعا
The promptings of a soul were repelled by destiny
Which turns back every deviant from harm intended
اللهُ أدركَ شَعبَ النِّيلِ فانصدعتْ
عنه الخُطوبُ ولولا اللهُ لانْصدَعا
God helped the people of the Nile, so
Afflictions recoiled from them, and had it not been for God, they would have collapsed
أَجرى على يدِ إسماعيلَ رحمَتَهُ
فكان من مُستحبِّ الأمرِ ما وقعا
He made His mercy flow through the hand of Ismail
So what happened was among the beloved matters willed
راح السّلامُ مَصوناً في كِلاءتِه
وبات كلُّ فتىً بالأمنِ مُدَّرعا
Peace rested protected in his competence
And every young man retired armed with security
فراجع الصّانعُ المذعورُ مَيْعتهُ
بعد الوَنى وسقَى الفلّاحُ ما زرعا
So the frightened maker returned to his livelihood
After sorrow and the farmer watered what was planted
لا الأرضُ زالت بأهليها كما زعموا
ولا السّماءُ هوت أجرامُها قِطَعا
Neither did the land disappear with its people as they claimed
Nor did its celestial bodies fall to pieces
طافوا البلادَ وقالوا كلَّ ما ابتدعوا
فما رأى الشّعبُ من شيءٍ ولا سَمِعا
They roamed the country and said whatever they invented
But the people saw nothing of it nor heard
ما انفكَّ سيِّدهُم في كلِّ مُضطَربٍ
حرّانَ يستصرخُ الأنصارَ والشِّنَعا
Their master did not stop grieving every troubled one
Burning, calling out for supporters and defenders
يُغرِي السّوادَ بمأمونين ما اعتصروا
دَمَ السَّوادِ ولا زانوا له الشُّنَعا
Tempting the commons with protectors who did not
Wring the blood of the commons or insult them
يَجزيهمُ السُّوءَ أَن بَرُّوا بأُمَّتهم
وأَن أَبَوْا من سبيلِ الغَيِّ ما اتّبعا
May evil repay them for their goodness to their nation
And for refusing the path of misguidance however alluring
يَزدادُ بالحكمِ إمّا ذاقَهُ شَغفاً
كالخمرِ يزدادُ مَن يَعتادُها وَلَعا
With power he increasingly desires it
Like wine, the more accustomed one becomes the greater the craving
يَطغَى فإن راعَهُ إيماضُ بارقةٍ
من جانبِ الغاصِبينَ انْحطَّ واتَّضعا
He tyrannizes, but if the glimmer of a lightning bolt
From the side of the usurpers startles him, he wilts and humbles himself
مُستهلِكٌ يبتغِي من وُدِّهم سَبباً
إذا وَهَى السَّببُ الموصولُ فانقطعا
A spendthrift seeking from their affection a reason
If the connected cause weakens then it is severed
بثَّ الشكاةَ فلم يَتركْ لِذي شَجَنٍ
يشكو جَوى الحُبِّ من قولٍ وإن برعا
He complained so much he left no lovelorn one
To complain of the torment of love in words however eloquent
لمّا تبيَّنَ مكدولندُ لوعَتَهُ
تحدّرَ الدَّمعُ من عَينَيْهِ أو همعا
When Mcdonald realized his distress
Tears streamed from his eyes or spilled
وقال ما بالُ إسماعيلُ يُنكرنا
أما يَرى رأيَ مَن أمسَى لنا تبعا
And he said, why does Ismail deny us?
Does he not see the view of those who have become our followers?
لقد رمانا بخطبٍ من رسالتِه
ما مسَّنا مثله خطبٌ ولا قرعا
With speeches from his message he pelted us
Nothing has struck us like them, not even a slap
خاضَ البِحارَ فلم نَعجبْ لما وجدت
منه ولم نَلُمِ الأُسْطولَ إذ خشعا
He sailed the seas but we were not amazed by what we found in him
Nor did we blame the fleet when it recoiled
ويحَ الكِنانةِ لا استقلالُها صَدقتْ
فيه الظُّنونُ ولا دُستورُها نَفَعا
Woe to Kinana! Neither its independence was true
In it suspicions were confirmed, nor its constitution effective
ضاقَ الرَّجاءُ فما تُقضَى له سَعةٌ
إن لم تَجِدْ دولةُ الإصلاحِ مُتَّسعا
Hope narrowed so no latitude was decided for it
Unless the state of reform found room to spread
ما يفعلُ المصلحُ الباني لأُمَّتِه
إن عاجلَ الهادمُ الموتورُ ما رفعا
What will the reformer who builds his nation do
If the destructive disenchanted hasten what he erected?
