رُسُلَ الثقافةِ من مُضَرْ

وَجْهُ العراق بكِم سَفَرْ

Messengers of culture from Mudar

The face of Iraq has become radiant through you

حَرَصَ القضاء عليكم

وَرَعتْكُمُ عينُ القَدَر

Fate was keen on you

And the eye of destiny protected you

جئتتُمْ وهاطلةُ الغَمام

معاً ورُحْتُم والقمَر

You came while the clouds were pouring

Together you came and with the moon

رشَّ السماءُ طريقَكم

أيُحبُّكم حتى المطر !

The sky sprinkled your path

Does even the rain love you!

في القلبِ منزلُكم وبين

السَمع منا والبَصر

In the heart is your abode, and between

Our hearing and sight

نحن الحُجولُ وانتم

في كل بارزةٍ غُررّ

We are the calves and you

Are the gems in every prominence

ليل الجزيرة لم يكنْ

لولاكمُو فيه سَحَر

The night of the peninsula would not have been

Were it not for you, filled with magic

يا سادتي ان العراق

جميعُه بكُمُ ازدَهَر

My masters, all of Iraq

Has prospered through you

والمحتفونَ بكم وإنْ

كانوا ذوي كَرٍّ وفَرّ

And those celebrating you, even if

They are honoured and virtuous

وجميعُهُم اهلُ البلاد

ولا يُقاسُ بِما نَدَر

And all of them are people of the country

And cannot be compared to the rare

فأجَلُّ من زُمَرٍ تَلَقَّتْكُمْ

قد اختبأتْ زُمَر

The best of all groups that received you

Were hidden groups

وأجَلُّ ممن قادَهُمْ

حبُّ الظهورِ مَن استَتَر

And the best of those who led them

The love of appearing made them conceal themselves

خَفيَت ذواتٌ جَمّةٌ

وبَدَتْ لكم بعضُ الصُور

Many excellent souls hid

And some forms appeared to you

وأُزيِحَ من ظَفِروا به

ومشى اليكم من ظَفِر

And whoever managed to meet you was removed

And whoever Fate destined came to you

ملءَ النوادي معجَبون

بفضلِكِم ملء الحَجَر

The clubs are filled with admirers

Of your virtue, filling the rock

كنَّهُمْ لم يملِكوا

حقّ الجلوس على السُرُر

As if they never possessed

The right to sit on the beds

غيرُ المناسِب ان يَمسَّ

حريرَ سادَتنا الوَبَر

It is inappropriate that someone who is unsuitable

Would touch the silk of our noble masters

فاذا أرَدْتُم ان يُتاح

لهم بصُحبْتكم وَطَر

So if you want it to be possible

For them to join your company and ties

فضَعوا بقارعةِ الطريق

لَهُم بُيوتاً من شَعَر

Then place on the side of the road

For them, houses made of hair

وسيسُمعونَكُمُ من الترحيب

خاتَمةَ السُوَر

And they will hear you greeting

The conclusion of the chapters

وَضْع العراقِ خذوه من

عذبَات أقلامِ أُخر

Take Iraq's condition from

The sweetest pens of others

ولحفظِ حُرِيّاتِهِمْ

من أن تُداسَ وتُحتَقَر

And for safeguarding their freedoms

From being trampled and disrespected

لَتُرحْ لمصرَ سُعاتُكم

ليَجئْكُمُ منها خَفَر

Your hours will depart to Egypt

To bring you from there news

هم مُرهقون لانَّهمْ

لا يصدَعون لمن أَمَر

They are exhausted because they

Do not relent to he who commands

ومُضايَقون لانَّهمْ

ما في عزائِمهم خَوَر

And strained because they

Have no weakness in their resolves

عندي مقالٌ يستَوي

من لامَ فيه ومن عَذّر

I have an article that suits

Both the critic and the exonerator

سقَطَتْ على الأرض الثمار

وجاءَكم يمشي شَجَر

The fruits fell to the ground

And the trees came walking to you

ماذا احدّثُكُمْ حديثَ

القَلب من جَمْر أحَرّ

What can I tell you, talk of

A heart burning with embers

كلُّ المسائل مُرَّةٌ

وسكوتُنا عنها أمَر

All issues are bitter

And our silence about them is prudent

أعليكم يَخفَى وفي

كلِّ الورى ذاعَ الخَبر

Does anything escape you, while

The news has spread in all the land

لستُمْ من القوم الذينَ

يُخادَعون بما ظَهَر

You are not of those people

Who are deceived by appearances

حتى نغالِطكم ونزعمُ

أنَّنا فوقَ البَشر

That we would delude you and claim

We are above mortals

رُسلَ الثقافة من أجلِّ

صفاتِكم بُعْدُ النَظر

Messengers of culture, because of

Your qualities, have far sight

ولداُتنا في كلِّ نَفع

للسياسةِ أو ضَررَ

Our traits, in any benefit

Or harm to politics, are covered

غَطَّى علينا سادتي

وعليكُمُ جِلدُ النَمِر

My masters, the skin of a tiger

Has covered us and you alike

وعلى السَواء لنا كما

لكُمُ يُكادُ ويُؤتمرَ

And equally for us as

For you, things are plotted and deliberated

وعلى قياسٍ واحدٍ

حُفِرتْ لكم ولنا الحُفَر

And on the same scale

Pits were dug for you and for us

انتُمْ لنا عِبرٌ وفيما

نحن فيه لكُمْ عِبَر

You are a lesson for us, and in what

We are in, there is a lesson for you

عن أي شيءٍ تَسألون

فكل شيء مُحتكَر

About anything you ask

Everything is reserved

لم يخلُ دَرْب من عراقيلٍ

ولم يسَلَم مَمَرّ

No path was without obstacles

And no passage was safe

وسَلُوا الخبيرَ فانني

ممن بواحدةٍ عَثَر

And ask the expert, for I

Am of those who stumble at one

حتى لقد اشفقت أن

يعتاقَ رحلتَكم حَجَر

I even worried that

A rock would impede your journey

تهتاجُنا النعرات طائشةً

وينجَحُ من نَعَر

Our chants go wild and stray

And the one who brays succeeds

في كلِّ حَلق نغمةٌ

ولكلِّ أنملةٍ وَتَر

In every circle, a tune

And for each finger, a string

ويعاف من لم يرض

أصحاب النفوذِ وينتهِر

And the one displeased by the influential survives and endures

The poisons of the biased creep

تمشى سموم المُغرِضين

بسُوحنا مشيَ الخَدَر

In our plains like snakes

They bandy about our minds

يتقاذَفُون عقولَنا

وقلوبَنا لَعِبَ الأُكر

And hearts, a plaything of bats

And we do applaud the orator

ولقد نُُصفِّق للخطيب

ونحن منه على حَذَر

While we are wary of him

In the name of the country, glorified is he

باسم البلاد يجل من

جرَّ البلادَ الى الخَطَر

Who dragged the country into danger

My masters: the outpouring of feeling does not end

يا سادتي : لا ينتَهي

فيضُ الشعور اذا انفَجَر

When it erupts

And so that I may relieve you, I will

ولكي أريحَكُمُ أجيءُ

لكم بشيء مُختَصَر

Come to you with something concise

Politics did not remain

إن السياسة لَم تبقِّ

على البلادِ ولم تَذَر

In the country nor did it pass through

And despite the tribulations in the two rivers

وبرغم ما في الرافدينِ

من المصائبِ والغِيَر

And despite that even cows

Have taken leadership among us

وبرغم أنا قد تزعَّمَ

عندنا حتى البَقَر

Whose vigor is one of the greatest

Masses that are energized for life

فهنا شبابٌ ناهضونَ

عقوقُهم إحدى الكُبَر

Led by an arousing leader

They walk in the light of culture

كِتَلٌ تَحَفَّزُ للحياة

يسوقهُا حادٍ اغّر

With the gait of the confident victorious

In them is the courage of Ali

تمشي على نُور الثقافة

مشيَ موثوقِ الظَفَر

And the politics of Omar

And if you command me to converse with you

فيها الشجاعةُ من عليٍّ

والسياسةُ من عُمّر

Then conversation is delightful

About a literary awakening

واذا أمَرتُم ان أسامرَكم

فقد لذَّ السَمَر

That cannot escape from you

Were it not for you, the poets

عن نَهْضةٍ أدبية

ما إن لها عنكُمْ مَفَر

Would have no impact among us

The tomb of the brilliant writer

لولاكُمُ ما كان للشعراء

فينا من أثَر

Is spread here and in Egypt

May God reward those who benefit

قبر الاديبِ الالمَعَيِّ

هنا وفي مصرَ انتَشَر

And those who help and spread

I ask you, and I know

الله يُجزي من أفاد

ومن أعانَ ومن نَشَر

The expected answer

Would you accept it being said

اني اسائلُكم وأعلَم

بالجواب المُنتَظَر

The writer of Egypt has become deprived

Or that "Shawqi" is

هل تَقبَلون بأن يقالَ

اديبُ مصرَ قد افتَقَر

On the verge of death from seeking his livelihood

Or that "Hafez" has fallen

او أنَّ " شوقي " من

حَراجة عيشِه كالمُحتَضَر

So you respond: to hell!

Never! That would be a sin

او أنَّ " حافظَ " قد هوى

فتجاوبونَ : الى سَقَر

And crime that cannot be forgiven

"Shawqi" lives in what befits

حاشا : فتلكَ خطيئةٌ

وجَريمةٌ لا تُغتَفَر

One who contemplates or composes poetry

Amidst flourishing palaces

" شوقي " يعيشُ كما يَليقُ

بمن تَفكِّر او شَعَر

And fragrant flowers

Under the care of the most precious nation

وسطَ القصورِ العامراتِ

وبين فائحةِ الزَهَر

And the zeal of the dutiful king

And Ibrahim is protected by the affection

برعايةِ الوطَن الأعَزِّ

وغيرةِ الملِك الأبَر

Of the prince since childhood

As for here, poetry is something

وتحوطُ ابراهيمَ عاطفةٌ

الأمير من الصِغَر

To be stored for witticisms

Equally, whether our excellent

أما هُنا فالشعر شيء

للتملُّح يُدَخَر

Poet was present or absent

The wares and his excellence

وعلى السواءِ اغابَ

شاعرُنا المجوِّدُ أم حَضر

When needed are bartered

In every corner a writer

سَقَطُ المتاع وجوُده

عند الضرورة يُدَّكَر

Has concealed himself in despair

And a talent they envied

في كل زاويةٍ أديبٌ

بالخمول قد استَتَر

That did not flourish or thrive

To the meeting, and our concern

وقريحة حَسَدوا عليها

ما تجودُ فلم تثر

Is that guests are leaving

May God gather our fate

والى اللقاءِ وهمُّنا

أن الضيوف على سَفر

And Egypt's fate as destined

جَمَعَ الالهُ مصيرَنا

ومصيرَ مصرَ على قَدَر