أَمدَّه الدمعُ حتى غاضَ جائدُه
فمنْ بأَدمعِ عينيه يرافدُه
Tears sustained him as his eyelids overflowed,
So who will replenish him with the tears of his eyes?
الروحُ والدمُ والأحداقُ وَدَّ لها
لو تستحيلُ إلى دمعٍ يناجده
The soul, blood, and pupils have loved him,
If only they could turn into tears crying for him.
مشرّد النومِ ما قَرَّتْ مضاجعُه
وَهلْ تقرُّ بموتورٍ وَسائده
Insomnia scattered, his bed did not comfort him,
Can it be comforting while his pillow is in agony?
باتتْ دمشقُ عَلَى طوفان من لهبٍ
يا ديْن قلبيَ من خطبٍ تكابده
Damascus spent the night in a flood of flames,
Oh my aching heart, from the disasters it endured.
موجٌ من النارِ لا تهدا زواخرُه
يمدّه آخرٌ ما ارتدَّ وافده
A wave of fire whose vessels cannot be calmed,
One recedes and another surges forth undeterred.
وَبْلُ القذائفِ هطَّالاً له مددٌ
والنارُ والنفطُ والتهديمُ رافده
Shells rain down supplies of aid upon it,
While fire, petroleum and destruction nourish it.
ترى القبابَ به غرقى فتحسبها
سفناً تهاوى ببحرٍ ثار راعده
You’d think the domes drowned in it were ships
Foundering in a raging, rumbling sea.
في ذمةِ اللهِ والتاريخ ما لقيتْ
وَفي سبيلِ الأماني ما تصامده
What it endured is now under God and history’s protection,
And in the cause of aspirations, how it resisted!
أمسى الذي كان في جنَّاتِها بَهِجاً
بمارجٍ مِنْ سعيرٍ فار واقده
He who dwelt happily in its gardens
Spends the evening in marshes of blazing hellfire.
النارُ من فوقه والنارُ دائرةٌ
به فإنْ فَرَّ أردته رواصده
The flames above and ring of fire below,
If he escapes, its guards will push him back in.
في كلِّ زاويةٍ رامٍ وَمن نفروا
شيباً وَحوراً وَأطفالاً طرائده
In every corner, snipers target
The gray-haired, maidens, and children.
وَربَّ مكنونةٍ كالدرِّ ضنّ به
عَلى العيونِ فصانته نواضده
How many hidden pearls were preserved
By their veils, protecting their eyes’ modesty.
تخطَّتِ النارَ ليلاً وَهي حاملةٌ
طفلاً قضى برصاصِ القومِ والده
The fire was traversed at night by a woman
Carrying a baby whose father was killed by their bullets.
فما تناءتْ به حتى أُتيحَ له
شظيّةٌ بانَ منها عنه ساعده
No sooner had she picked him up
Than a shard, revealing its blade, severed his arm.
ضمّتْ إلى صدرِها شلْواً يسيلُ دماً
كالطيرِ هاض جناحاً منه صائد
She clutched to her chest his dripping blood
Like a bird whose wing was clipped by a hunter.
يا هول ذلك من مرآى شهدتُ وَفدْ
وَددتُ لو كنت أعمى لا أشاهده
Oh, the horror of what I saw that day!
I wish I were blind, unable to witness it.
قفْ في الخرائبِ وابكِ المجدَ معتبطاً
فإنها يا لأحزاني مراقده
Stand amid the ruins, cry for the lost glory,
For these, alas, were its resting grounds.
الذكرياتُ من التاريخِ قد دُرستْ
وَطارفُ المجدِ موؤُدٌ وَتالده
Memories from history have been erased,
And vestiges of glory are fading and perishing.
يا آسيَ الجرحِ بادرْ ضمدَ سائله
إذا تريَّثتَ لم تنجعْ ضمائده
Oh healer of wounds, hurry to dress its injuries,
If you hesitate, your bandages will be of no use.
إن الذين تولوا كبرَ نكبتنا
أخطاهُم من قويمِ الرأي أرشده
Those who neglected the gravity of our disaster,
Their steps deviated from the path of wisdom.
لو يفعلُ اللهُ جلّ اللهُ ما فعلوا
بأهلِ جلّق لم يعبده عابده
If God should do to the traitors of Ghouta
What they did, none would worship Him.
بَلَتْ دمشقُ بنيها يومَ محنتِها
فلمْ تجدْ غير مَنْ صحّتْ عقائده
Damascus tested its people on the day of tribulation,
Finding none but those of genuine faith.
ترى الحنيفيَّ يومَ الروعِ مبتدراً
إلى المسيحيِّ في البلوى يساعده
You see on the fearful day the Hanafi
Hurrying to help the Christian in adversity.
خلَّى حماه ليحمي عِرْضَ صاحبِه
وَصالَ خشيةَ أن تؤتى موارده
Homs left its protection to guard a neighbor’s honor,
Fearing its sanctuaries would be violated.
أما سريرهُ من خانوا فقد فُضحت
وَانماز عن ثابتِ الإيمانِ فاسده
As for those who betrayed, their sins were exposed,
Deviants from the steadfastness of faith, corrupt.
الحمدُ لله أنَّي في حمى وَطنٍ
تحمي كنائسَه فيه مساجدُه
Praise God I am in a homeland
Whose churches are protected by its mosques.
فكيف يغمطُ حقاً في قضيته
واللهُ وَهو الشهيدُ العدلُ شاهدُه
How could the truth of its cause be unjust
When God, The Just Witness, observes all?
بقيةَ السيفِ والنيرانِ إنَّ لكم
شأْناً تراءَتْ عَلَى قربٍ شواهده
What remains of the sword and fire, you have
An issue seeming close when its signs appeared.
لكمْ وَإِنْ مسّكم قرحٌ وَطولُ أذى
من طيّبِ الذكرِ بعد اليومِ خالده
You were hit with wounds and long torment,
Yet you will have good remembrance everlasting.
لله يومكمُ يوماً فإنَّ له
ما بعده وَإِن اشتدتْ شدائده
God’s is your day, for after it, He has
What comes next, however severe the trials.
لله معقلكمْ من معقلٍ أشبٍ
عَلَى الوئامِ لقد شيدتْ قواعده
God’s is your fortress, built from one most valiant
On concord - its foundations He erected.
عالي البروج تعالى فوقه علمٌ
الحقُ رافعهُ والحقُ عاقده
Tall of minarets, above it flies a flag
Of truth, raised by truth, and by truth unfurled.
فتى دمشق اصطبرْ للخطب تجبهه
إنَّ العروبةَ جيشٌ أنت قائده
Damascus youth, be patient facing disasters!
You are the leader of Arabism’s army.
لا عذر في اليأس مما كان ممتنعاً
إذا تقصيّت أمراً أنت واجده
No excuse for despair at what was impossible,
If you investigate a matter, you will find it.
أما دمشقُ فلا ترجو لنجدتِها
سوى فتاها الذي شاعت محامده
As for Damascus, it hopes for no salvation
But its youth whose glories have spread.
بلَوعةِ الثكلِ تدعوه لينصرها
وَبالجراح التي تدمي تناشده
It calls him in the agony of bereavement
And with its bleeding wounds appeals to him.
