ثَكِلَ الشَرقُ فَتاهُ

لَيتَني كُنتُ فِداه

The East has lost its youth

The East has lost its noble son,

Would that I had ransomed him

Would that I had been his ransom,

لَيتَني كُنتُ أَصَمّاً

عِندَما الناعي نَعاه

Would that I'd been deaf

Would that I were struck deaf,

When the mourner mourned him

When the crier announced his death.

قَد نَعى الناعونَ زَي

داناً إِلى البَدرِ سَناه

The mourners have mourned Zaid

The criers have mourned Zaydan,

A crescent whose brilliance shone to the full moon

Reporting his brilliance to the full moon,

وَإِلى التاريخِ وَالعِل

مِ أَباهُ وَأَخاه

And to history and knowledge

Announcing to History and Knowledge,

His father and his brother

Their father and their brother.

سَرى نَعيُهُ فَالدَمعُ في كُلِّ مِحجَرٍ

كَأَنَّ قُلوبَ الناسِ خَلفَ المَحاجِرِ

His passing brought tears to every stone

His death notice spread, leaving tears in every eye,

As if people's hearts were behind the rocks

As if people's hearts lay bleeding behind their gaze,

وَلِلطَيرِ في الجَنّاتِ إِرنانُ ثاكِلٍ

وَلِلماءِ أَنّاتُ الغَريبِ المُسافِرِ

And the birds in the gardens sang the dirges of a bereaved mother

The birds in paradise cry like a bereaved mother,

And the water wept the tears of a lonesome traveler

And the waters groan like a stranger far from home,

وَلِلنَجمِ وَهُوَ النَجمُ مِشِيَةُ ظالِعٍ

وَلِلأَرضِ وَهِيَ الأَرضُ وِقفَةُ حائِرِ

The star, as it rose, paused

The star, though still a star, moves with a limp,

And the earth, as it was, stopped confused

And the earth, though solid ground, halts in confusion,

وَما كامِنٌ فيهِ الأَسى غَيرُ كامِنٍ

وَلا ظاهِرٌ فيهِ الأَسى غَيرُ ظاهِرِ

What was hidden in it was still hidden

The sorrow hidden within is not truly hidden,

What was apparent in it was still apparent

And the sorrow revealed is not merely what appears.

فَمَن لَم يَرَ الباكينَ في كُلِّ مَنزِلٍ

فَما أَبصَرَت عَيناهُ شَقَّ المَرائِرِ

Whoever didn't see the weeping in every house

Whoever has not seen weepers in every dwelling,

His eyes didn't see the rending of veils

His eyes have not seen the true rending of souls.

وَهيَ البَرقُ مِمّا حَمَلوهُ فَلَم يُطِق

يُحَدِّثُنا عَنهُ بِغَيرِ الأَشائِرِ

It was the lightning from what they carried but couldn't bear

It is the lightning-wire; unable to bear the burden,

Telling us about him with mere signs

It speaks to us of him only through signals.

فَيا خَبَراً أَلقى الفَجيعَةَ بَينَنا

لَأَنتَ عَلَينا اليَومَ أَشأَمَ طائِرِ

Oh, the news that brought devastation amongst us

O tidings that have cast tragedy among us,

Today, you are the most inauspicious of omens

You are to us today the most ominous of birds,

وَيا ناقِلَ الأَنباءِ يَجهَلُ كُنهَها

كَرِهناكَ حَتّى قادِماً بِالبَشائِرِ

Oh, bearer of news, ignorant of their essence

O bearer of news who is ignorant of its essence,

We've come to hate you even bearing good news

We have come to hate you, even when bringing joy.

أَقامَ الأَسى بَينَ العَزاءِ وَمُهجَتي

وَباعَدَ ما بَينَ القَريضِ وَخاطِري

Sorrow came between condoling and my mind

Grief has settled between my solace and my soul,

And distanced what was between my poem and my thoughts

And driven poetry far from my mind,

فَأَمسَيتُ لا أَدري أَسِترٌ مِنَ الدُجى

عَلى الشَمسِ أَم ضَيَّعتُ أَسوَدَ ناظِري

So I don't know, was it the darkness covering the sun

I know not: is it a veil of darkness over the sun,

Or did I lose sight of my dark eyes?

Or have I lost the light of my own eyes?

وَباتَ فُؤادي يَتَّقي نَزَواتِهِ

كما يَتَّقي العُصفورُ بَأسَ الكَواسِرِ

And my heart began to fear its outbursts

My heart spends the night guarding against its tremors,

As a sparrow fears the grip of predators

As a sparrow guards against the might of hawks,

كَأَنَّ بِقَلبي شاعِراً يَنظُمُ الأَسى

كَأَنّي تَوَلّى مَدمَعي كُلَّ ناثِرِ

It was as if there was a poet in my heart composing sorrow

As if a poet sits within my heart composing sorrow,

As if my tears had taken over every sprinkler

As if my tears are managed by a writer of prose.

أَلا لَيتَ شِعري بَعدَما طارَ نَعيُهُ

أَفي أَرضِ مِصرٍ نائِمٌ غَيرُ ساهِرِ

Oh, if only my poetry knew, after the news of his passing flew

Oh, would that I knew, now that his death notice has flown,

If there was anyone in Egypt awake besides him

Is there anyone in the land of Egypt asleep, not keeping vigil?

وَهَل في سَماءِ النيلِ غَيرُ دَياجِرٍ

وَهَل في مِياهِ النيلِ غَيرُ مَجامِرِ

And if the Nile's sky had any but stars

Is there anything in the sky of the Nile but darkness?

And if the Nile's waters had any but gamblers

Is there anything in the waters of the Nile but burning coals?

وَهَل في ضِفافِ النيلِ بَينَ نَخيلِهِ

مُغَرِّدَةٌ أَو آنِسٌ غَيرُ نافِرِ

And if on the banks of the Nile, between its palms

Is there on the banks of the Nile, amidst its palms,

There was a singing bird or companion besides him

Any singing bird or friendly soul not struck with panic?

بِمَ سَمَرُ الإِخوانِ في كُلِّ لَيلَةٍ

وَصاحِبُهُم في اللَحدِ غَيرُ مُسامِرِ

With whom will his brethren commune each night?

How shall the brethren converse in their nightly gatherings,

While their companion is in his grave without fellow

When their companion lies in the grave, no longer conversing?

لِيَبكِ عَلَيهِ المُسلِمونَ فَإِنَّهُم

أَضاعوا بِهِ مُحيِ العُصورِ الدَوائِرِ

Let the Muslims bewail him, for they

Let the Muslims weep for him, for in him,

Have lost the orbit of eras in him

They lost the reviver of the circling ages,

وَتَبكِ النَصارى فَخرَها وَعَميدَها

فَما بَعدَهُ مِن حُجَّةٍ لِمُفاخِرِ

And let the Christians weep; their pride and pillar is gone

And let the Christians weep for their pride and pillar,

After him, none can boast and vie

For after him, no boaster has any proof left.

فَما جادَتِ الدُنيا عَلَيهِم بِمِثلِهِ

وَغَيرُ يَسيرٍ أَن تَجودَ بِئاخَرِ

The world hasn't been so generous with the like of him

The world did not grant them another like him,

And it's rare that it would with another

And it is no easy thing for it to grant another.

أَيا جَبَلَ العِلمِ الَّذي مادَ هاوِياً

عَزيزٌ عَلَينا أَن تُرى في الحَفائِرِ

Oh, mountain of knowledge that collapsed and fell

O mountain of knowledge that swayed and fell,

Dear, that you be seen in the pits

It is hard for us to see you in the hollows of the earth.

عَلَيكَ يَوَدُّ الغَربُ لَو كانَ مُشرِقاً

وَفيكَ يُحِبُّ الحَيُّ أَهلَ المَقابِرِ

The West wishes it were the East just for you

For your sake, the West wishes it were the East,

And the living love the inhabitants of graves for you

And because of you, the living love the dwellers of the tombs.

وَيَغُطُ تِبرُ الأَرضِ فيكَ تُرابَها

وَيَحسُدُ ماءَ الجَفنِ ماءُ الخزَريرِ

The dust of the earth will cover your dust

The earth's gold is humbled by the dust that covers you,

And the water of tears will envy the flowing of mucus

And the running stream envies the water of the weeping eye.

وَما عادَةٌ خَفضُ الرِجالِ رُؤوسَها

وَلَكِنَّما في الأَرضِ كَنزُ الجَواهِرِ

It's not the custom of great men to bow their heads

It is not the habit of men to lower their heads,

But you were the treasure of gems in the earth

But they look down because the earth holds a treasure of jewels.

لِتَفخَر عَلى الشُهبِ الجَنادِلُ وَالحَصى

فَفيها هِلالُ العِلمِ شَمسُ المَحاضِرِ

To take pride over pebbles and asteroids

Let the stones and pebbles boast over the shooting stars,

For the crescent of knowledge and the sun of lectures were in you

For within them lies the crescent of knowledge, the sun of assemblies.

شَأَوتَ الأَوالي جامِعاً وَمُؤَلِّفاً

وَزِدتَ بِأَن أَحرَزتَ فَضلَ الأَواخِرِ

You excelled in compiling and authoring

You surpassed the ancients in gathering and composing,

And you gained the merit of the final ones

And you exceeded them by achieving the merit of the moderns.

تَخَيَّرَ أَحداثُ اللَيالي كِبارَنا

كَأَنَّ المَنايا صَبَّةٌ بِالأَكابِرِ

The nights have chosen our elders

The events of the nights select our greatest men,

As if death pours its cups with the greatest

As if Death is infatuated with the elite.

وَنَضحَكُ لِلآمالِ ضِحكَةُ وامِقٍ

فَيَضحَكُ مِنّا الدَهرُ ضِحكَةَ ساخِرِ

We laugh at hopes a mocking laugh

We smile at our hopes with the smile of a lover,

Then time laughs at us a deriding laugh

While Time laughs at us with the laugh of a mocker.

رَضينا بِأَن تَغشى الغُزاةُ بِلادَنا

وَنِمنا وَما نامَت عُيونُ المَعاثِرِ

We were content that invaders conquered our lands

We accepted that invaders should overrun our lands,

While the eyes of the watchful couldn't sleep

We slept, while the eyes of disaster did not sleep.

لَها كُلَّ يَومٍ بينَنا حُكُمُ جائِرٍ

وَإِقدامُ مَوتورٍ وَفَتكَةُ ثائِرِ

Every day amongst us there is tyrannical rule

Every day among us, it holds the rule of a tyrant,

Cowardly stance and defiant killing

The advance of an avenger, and the strike of a rebel,

عَلى أَنَّها تَقتَصُّ مِن غَيرِ مُذنِبٍ

وَتَأخُذُ بِالأَوتارِ مِن غَيرِ واتِرِ

For it seeks vengeance without a sinner

Though it exacts retribution from the guiltless,

And grasps the strings without a composer

And takes revenge upon those who did no wrong.

فَيا وَيحَ هَذا الشَرقِ كَيفَ اِغتِباطُهُ

وَأَمضى مَواضيهِ كَليلُ الأَظافِرِ

Oh woe to this East, how blissful it is

Woe to this East! How can it find joy,

While its horizons are like the night of nails

When its sharpest swords have dull edges?

جَلَلٌ في مِصرَ لَكِن

في العِراقَينِ صَداه

There is glory in Egypt but its echo

A momentous event in Egypt, but,

Is in the two Iraqs when they heard it

Its echo resounds in the two Iraqs.

مادَ لُبنانُ وَمادَ

الشامُ لَمّا سَمِعاه

Lebanon and Syria leaned

Lebanon swayed, and Syria swayed,

When they heard him, nearly failing every towering mountain

When they heard the news.

كادَ أَن يَخذِلَ فيهِ

كُلَّ طَودٍ مَنكِباه

You who has left us

The shoulders of every mountain,

Sorrow has reached its utmost

Almost collapsed therein.

أَيُّها الراحِلُ عَنّا

بَلَغَ الحُزنُ مَداه

The horizon wept you until

O you who are departing from us,

It laid you down and tended to you

Sorrow has reached its utmost limit.

قَد بَكاكَ الأُفقُ حَتّى

فَرقَداهُ وَسُهاه

Oh, beloved of my eyes

The horizon has wept for you, even,

Whoever knew you was happy with him

Its polar stars and its distant lights.

يا خَليلَيَّ أَعينا

مَن عَصاهُ مُسعِداه

The self betrayed its strength

O my two friends, assist one,

Absence betrayed its strength

Whose comforters have disobeyed him.

خانَتِ النَفسُ قُواها

خانَتِ البَينَ قُواه

He who every eye wishes to see

The soul has betrayed its strengths,

Has passed away

And strength has betrayed the separation.

قَد مَضى مَن تَتَمَنّى

كُلُّ عَينٍ أَن تَراه

Every grave wished, when it took him

He has passed, whom every eye,

If only it could contain him

Wished it could behold.

فَتَمَنّى كُلُّ قَبرٍ

حينَ أَودى لَو حَواه

Zaidan, father of history, died

And every grave wished,

So his youth may live

When he perished, that it could hold him.

ماتَ زَيدانُ أَبو التا

ريخِ فَليَحيَ فَتاه

Zaydan, the father of History, has died,

So may his noble legacy live on.