ألَا ما لهذا الليلِ تَدْجَى جوانِبُهْ
على شَفَقٍ دامٍ تَلَظَّى ذوائِبُهْ؟!
What ails this night that its edges are obscured
By lingering dusk, its fringes wrapped in gloom?!
وما ذلكَ الظِّلُّ المَخوف بأفقِهِ
يُطِلُّ فترتَدُّ ارتياعًا كواكِبُهْ؟!
And what is that fearsome shadow on the horizon
That looms and then retreats, its stars terrified?!
أأيَّتُهَا الأرض انظري، وَيْكِ! واسمَعِي!
توثَّبَ فِيكِ الشَّرُّ حُمْرًا مخالِبُهْ
O Earth, behold! Listen!
Evil has sprung up within you, its claws red.
أرَى فِتْنَةً حَمْرَاءَ يَلْفِظُهَا الثَّرَى
دُخَانًا تُغَشِّي الكائناتِ سَحَائِبُهْ
I see a red sedition spewed up by the soil,
Its clouds veil all creatures.
وأشتمُّ من أنفاسها حَرَّ هَبْوَةٍ
كأنَّ هجيرَ الصَّيْفِ يلفَحُ حاصبُهْ
And I smell the hot breath of its eruption
As if the summer's heat were blowing through its bushes.
أرى قبضةَ الشيطانِ تستلُّ خِنجرًا
توَهَّجَ شَوْقًا للدماءِ مَضَارِبُهْ
I see the hand of Satan unsheathing a dagger,
Eager for bloodshed, its blades bare.
تسلَّلَ يبغي مَقْتَلًا من «محمدٍ»
لقد خُيِّبَ البَاغي وَخَابَتْ مآرِبُهْ
It crept seeking to kill “Mohammed” -
But the aggressor failed, and his schemes came to naught.
تقدَّمْ سليلَ النارِ! ما البابُ موصَدٌ!
فَمَاذَا تَوَقَّاهُ، وَمَاذَا تُجَانِبُهْ
Step forward, spawn of fire! The door is not locked!
What did it protect him from? What did it ward off?
تأمَّلْ! فَهَلْ إلَّا فتًى في فراشِهِ
إِلى النورِ تَهْفُو في الظَّلَامِ ترائبُهْ؟!
Look! Do you see anything but a lad in his bed
While into the dark shine the spangles of his gown?
يُسَائِلُكَ الأشياعُ زَاغَتْ عُيونُهُم
وأنتَ حَسيرٌ ضائعُ اللُّبِّ ذاهبُهْ:
Your followers will ask you, their eyes wandering,
And you are confused, your wits scattered:
تُرَانَا غَفَوْنَا أم تُرَى عَبَرَتْ بنا
نُفاثَةُ سِحْرٍ خدَّرَتْنَا غرائِبُهْ؟!
“Did we sleep or did some magic charm
Bewitch us with its strange spells?!”
وما زال منا كلُّ أشوَسَ قابضًا
على سيفِهِ لم تَخْلُ منه رواجبُهْ
Yet each knight still grips fast his sword
That has not lost its sharp cutting edge.
تُرَى كيفَ لم تُبصِرْ غريمَكَ ساريًا
وأين تُرى يَمضي؟ وتَمضي ركائبُهْ؟
How did you not see your enemy passing
And which way did he go? Which way did his riders disappear?
تقدَّمْ، وجُسْ في الدار وَهْنًا؟ فما ترى؟
لقد هَجَرَ الدارَ النبيُّ وصاحِبُهْ!!
Advance and feel your way softly in the house. What do you see?
The Prophet and his friend have left the house!
يحثَّانِ في البَيداءِ راحلَتَيهما
إلى جَبَلٍ يُئوي الحقيقةَ جانبُهْ
They spur their two camels in the wasteland
Toward a mountain that shelters the truth in its sides.
فَقِفْ، وتنظَّرْ حائرًا نُصبَ غارِهِ
تَحدَّاكَ فيه ورْقُهُ وعناكِبُهْ
Stop and peer about, confused by the mouth of his cave that challenges you -
Its leaves and spiders scorn you!
لتعلمَ أنَّ الحقَّ روحٌ وفكرةٌ
يذلُّ لها الطاغي وتَعْنُو قواضِبُهْ
So you may know that truth is spirit and idea
To which the tyrant is subjected and his steeds grow weary.
فَطِرْ، أيها الشيطان، نارًا أو انطلق
دُخَانًا، فأخسِر بالذي أنت كاسبُهْ!
So begone, Satan! Set yourself on fire or vanish as smoke, and lose what you sought to gain!
You have failed! Had not his Lord protected him
خَسِئْتَ! ولو لم يَعْصِمِ الحقَّ ربُّه
طوى الأرضَ ليلٌ ما تزولُ غياهِبُهْ
A night would have descended whose darkness knows no end.
