قِف بِطوكِيو وَطُف عَلى يوكاهامَه

وَسَلِ القَريَتَينِ كَيفَ القِيامَه

Stop in Tokyo and tour Yokohama

And ask both the towns, how fares the Day of Judgment

دَنَتِ الساعَةُ الَّتي أُنذِرَ النا

سُ وَحَلَّت أَشراطُها وَالعَلامَه

The hour has come near, that people were warned of

Its conditions have occurred and the signs

قِف تَأَمَّل مَصارِعَ القَومِ وَاِنظُر

هَل تَرى دِيارَ عادٍ دِعامَه

Stop, contemplate the battlegrounds of the people, and look

Do you see any pillars remaining of Aad's abodes?

خُسِفَت بِالمَساكِنِ الأَرضُ خَسفاً

وَطَوى أَهلُها بِساطَ الإِقامَه

The land was made to cave in with their dwellings sinking down

And its inhabitants were wrapped up from settling down

طَوَّفَت بِالمَدينَتَينِ المَنايا

وَأَدارَ الرَدى عَلى القَومِ جامَه

Death circulated in both the cities

And time brought ruin upon the people utterly

لا تَرى العَينُ مِنهُما أَينَ جالَت

غَيرَ نِقضٍ أَو رِمَّةٍ أَو حُطامَه

The eye cannot see where they roamed

Other than rubble, ruins or wreckage

حازَهُم مِن مَراجِلِ الأَرضِ قَبرٌ

في مَدى الظَنِّ عُمقُهُ أَلفُ قامَه

They were seized by graves from the earth’s depths

In the imagination, their depth is a thousand cubits

تَحسَبُ المَيتَ في نَواحيهِ يُعي

نَفخَةَ الصورِ أَن تَلُمَّ عِظامَه

You would think the dead in its surroundings can perceive

The Trumpet's blow so that it may recollect his bones

أَصبَحوا في ذَرا الحَياةِ وَأَمسَوا

ذَهَبَت ريحُهُم وَشالوا نَعامَه

They were at the prime of life in the morning and expired by dusk

Their spirit departed and they packed up their belongings

ثِق بِما شِئتَ مِن زَمانِكَ إِلّا

صُحبَةَ العَيشِ أَو جِوارَ السَلامَه

Trust in whatever you desire from your time except

The company of livelihood or the proximity of safety

دَولَةُ الشَرقِ وَهيَ في ذِروَةِ العِزِّ

تَحارُ العُيونُ فيها فَخامَه

The glory of the East at its peak of honor

Perplexes the eyes with its arrogance

خانَها الجَيشُ وَهوَ في البَرِّ دِرعٌ

وَالأَساطيلُ وَهيَ في البَحرِ لامَه

Its army betrayed it, though armored on land

And its fleets, though bladed in the sea

لَو تَأَمَّلتَها عَشِيَّةَ جاشَت

خِلتَها في يَدِ القَضاءِ حَمامَه

If you contemplated it one evening frothing

You'd find it in the hands of fate a bet

رَجَّها رَجَّةً أَكَبَّت عَلى قَر

تَيهِ بوذا وَزَلزَلَت أَقدامَه

It shook it a shake that crashed down the thrones

of Buddha and shook its pillars

اِستَعَذنا بِاللَهِ مِن ذَلِكَ السَي

لِ الَّذي يَكسَحُ البِلادَ أَمامَه

We seek refuge in Allah from that torrent

Which decimates cities wherever it goes

مَن رَأى جَلمَداً يَهُبُّ هُبوباً

وَحَميماً يَسُحَّ سَحَّ الغَمامَه

Whoever saw hail blowing a blowing gale

And a hot wind dispersing like cloud masses

وَدُخاناً يَلُفُّ جُنحاً بِجُنحٍ

لا تَرى فيهِ مِعصَمَيها اليَمامَه

And smoke whirling wings with wings

Wherein its confines cannot be seen

وَهَزيماً كَما عَوى الذِئبُ في كُل

لِ مَكانٍ وَزَمجَرَ الضِرغامَه

And an onslaught as the wolf descended

Howling in every place and the hyenas clamoring

أَتَتِ الأَرضُ وَالسَماءُ بِطوفا

نٍ يُنَسّي طوفانَ نوحٍ وَعامَه

The earth and heaven came with a flood

That makes Noah's flood a forgotten thing

فَتَرى البَحرَ جُنَّ حَتّى أَجازَ ال

بَرَّ وَاِحتَلَّ مَوجُهُ أَعلامَه

You see the ocean raging until it crosses the land

And its waves take on flags

مُزبِداً ثائِرَ اللُجاجِ كَجَيشٍ

قَوَّضَ العاصِفُ الهَبوبُ خِيامَه

Seething with intense tumult like an army

Whose encampment the blustery gale demolished

فُلكُ نوحٍ تَعوذُ مِنهُ بِنوحٍ

لَو رَأَتهُ وَتَستَجيرُ زِمامَه

Noah's ship would seek refuge in Noah

If it saw it, and grasp onto its helm

قَد تَخَيَّلتُهُم مَتابيلَ سِحرٍ

مِن قِراعِ القَضاءِ صَرعى مُدامَه

I imagined them as magic spells

From the clanging of fate felled unconscious

وَتَخَيَّلتُ مَن تَخَلَّفَ مِنهُمُ

ظَنَّ لَيلَ القِيامِ ذاكَ فَنامَه

And whoever lagged behind them

Thought that was the night of Resurrection while he slept

أَبَراكينُ تِلكَ أَم نَزَواتٌ

مِن جِراحٍ قَديمَةٍ مُلتامَه

Were those shining glimmers or revelations

From old wounds tightly bound?

تَجِدُ الأَرضَ راحَةً حَيثُ سالَت

راحَةُ الجِسمِ مِن وَراءِ الحَجامَه

The earth finds relief wherever blood was shed

The relief of body from the bloodletting

ما لَها لا تَضِجُّ مِمّا أَقَلَّت

مِن فَسادٍ وَحُمِّلَت مِن ظُلامَه

Why does it not shake from what little

Corruption it was carrying and darkness it was loaded with?

كُلَّما لُبِّسَت بِأَهلِ زَمانٍ

شَهِدَت مِن زَمانِهِم آثامَه

Whenever it was worn by the people of an era

It witnessed their deep immoral sins

اِستَوَوا بِالأَذى ضِرِيّاً وَبِالشَر

رِ وُلوعاً وَبِالدِماءِ نَهامَه

They equaled in harm, evildoing, crime

Bloodlust, and shedding blood

لَبَّسَت هَذِهِ الحَياةُ عَلَينا

عالَمَ الشَرِّ وَحشَهُ وَأَنامَه

This life has attired us

In the world of evil, fear, and vermin

ذاكَ مِن مُؤنِساتِهِ الظُفرُ وَالنا

بُ وَهَذا سِلاحُهُ الصَمصامَه

That was of its pleasures: triumph and ambition

While this is its weapon: the scimitar

سَرَّهُ مِن أُسامَةَ البَطشُ وَالفَت

كُ فَسَمّى وَليدَهُ بِأُسامَه

It loved from Usamah valor and conquest

So it named its son Usamah

لَؤُمَت مِنهُما الطِباعُ وَلَكِن

وَلَدُ العاصِيَينِ شَرٌّ لَآمَه

They inherited evil nature from it

But the son of sinners is even worse calamity