وقفت على بحر الجزائر ليلة

وناجيته لو كان يسمعني البحر

I stood by the sea of Algiers one night

I stood by the sea of Algiers one night, whispering confidences as if the sea could hear.

And confided in it, as if the sea could hear me

I said: "O Sea, why do you rage against the land in anger, when the land has not sinned?"

فقلت له: يا بحرمالك هائجا

على البر مغتاظا ولم يذنب البر

I said: O sea, why are you raging

"Why do you spare no effort in shoving and clamor, slapping it with hands of waves until the rock softens?"

Against the land, angered, though the land is blameless

"Perhaps you are enraged because it is too accepting, bearing calamities with patience."

وما لك لا تألوه دفعا وضجة

وصفعا بأيدي الموج رق له الصخر

Why do you not calm your surging and turmoil

"You ask: 'Why does the land remain, bearing burdens and insults that no rebuke can restrain?'"

And lashing with the hands of waves that smooth the rock

"'Shameful deeds come and go upon it in succession, with no authority to forbid or command.'"

لعلك مغتاظ عليه لأنه

كثير الرضا في النائبات له صبر

Perhaps you are angry with it because

"'From the corruptors within its borders spread matters that make the face of Divine Law blush red.'"

It is very content with misfortunes, enduring them with patience

"'People pursue their diverse paths upon it; every mortal among them acting on their own whim.'"

تقول: لماذا يمكث البر حاملا

عليه هنات لا ينهنهها زجر

You say: Why does the land remain, bearing

"'Like a flock of sheep straying from the sanctuary, losing the straight path amidst the gathering dust.'"

Burdens upon it, unaffected by rebuke

"'They commit reprehensible acts upon it—transgressions carrying a heavy burden of sin.'"

تروح عليه الشائنات وتغتدى

تباعا ولا نهي عليه ولا أمر

Misfortunes keep occurring and transgressing upon it

"'Like their commerce in fraud, lies, and usury, though trading in such things was never permitted.'"

One after another, with no prohibition or command

"'And their cultivation of tobacco which brings them harm, and their pressing of grapes into forbidden wine.'"

وتفشو من العاثين في جنباته

أمور لها وجه الشريعة يحمر

And the wrongdoers spread in its folds

"'Yet the land extends them ample provision in all this, encompassing them with dignity and benevolence.'"

Matters that make the lawful blush

"'Stranger still is that it serves as a cradle for their living and a grave for their dead.'"

ويذهب سعي الناس فيه مذاهبا

لكل ابن أنثى منهم فوقه أمر

And people's efforts go in it to extremes

Gently now, O Sea; you have dampened its face with your scolding, so be kind to it and receive my thanks.

For each son of womankind among them, his affair is above him

It is as if I see the jetty's head coming to offer you an excuse, if only excuses could reach your hearing.

كسرب من الأغنام أخطأت الحمى

فضلت سواء القصد والجو مغبر

Like a flock of sheep that missed the pen

Calling out: "O Sea, be compassionate and merciful to the land; perhaps it has been deceived by its inhabitants."

Wandering equally in purpose and in dusty weather

"Perhaps it saw some good in them and thus harbored them; for what good is ever entirely free of evil?"

ويأتون أفعالا عليه ذميمة

مخالفة، في فعلها يعظم الوزر

And they commit upon it despicable deeds

"For it is true that goodness still flows upon its soil from them, even if it is scarce."

Violating, in doing them, a grievous sin

"And today a call for knowledge has risen upon it, championed by a noble band spreading the light."

كتجرهم بالغش والكذب والربا

وما كان مسموحا بها لهم التجر

Like their trading in deceit, lies, and usury

"Marching upon the path of the Quran, their guide, and taking pride in faith, their treasure."

And what was not lawful for them to trade

"Yet this land did not remain silent regarding the iniquity within, even if iniquity had become widespread."

وزرعهم للتبغ وهو لهم أذى

وعصرهم للكرم وهو لهم خمر

And their planting of tobacco, which harms them

"It sends a profound cry of protest to the people, repeated to ears that remain deaf."

And their pressing of vines, which intoxicates them

"A warner of doom, speaking the truth plainly, crying out to Man that loss has conquered."

فيوسعهم في كل ذلك بسطة

وتشملهم منه الكرامة والبر

Yet it expands for them in all that its breadth

"Calamities that demand a glance from the intellect, yet the mind refuses to heed their call."

And showers upon them bounty and kindness

"He flounders, lost in a sea of illusion, diving deep where the sea of delusion knows no bottom."

وأعجب من هذا وذلك أنه

لأحيائهم مهد وأمواتهم قبر

More wondrous than this and that is that it

"He remains bewildered between misery and despair, like one seeking refuge in magic only to be betrayed by it."

Prepared for their livelihood and became their graves when dead

One who denies that inanimate objects speak said to me: "You have spun a tale the likes of which time has never told."

رويدك قد أنديت يا بحر وجهه

بتقريعه فارفق به ولك الشكر

Slow down, O sea, you have reproached its face

"It contradicts the consensus of mankind; perhaps it is merely drawn from your imaginative mind."

So be gentle with it, for which you have thanks

"For the movements of the land are but a collision of water and fire, producing cold and heat."

كأني (برأس المول) جاءك باسطا

له العذر لو يفضى إلى سمعك العذر

It is as if the land came to you extending

"And the movements of the sea are but undulations on its surface, governed by the ebb and flow of tides."

Explanations, if only its excuses would reach your hearing

I acknowledged his facts but said: "Pierce through appearances with insight, and the secret will be revealed."

يناديك كن يا بحر بالبر مشفقا

رحيما لعل البر بالخلق مغتر

Calling you: O sea, be compassionate with the land

"Lend your ear to the silent speech of reality, for it lacks a voice to speak aloud."

Merciful, perhaps the land is deluded by creation

"There you will see what you never saw before, and hear what the mind deems worthy of remembrance."

عساه رأى خيرا لهم فأقلهم

لذاك، وأي الخير فارقه الشر

It may have seen good for them, so led them

"Dazzling signs from the Unseen detailed across the cosmos, truths no book has ever fully gathered."

To that, and which good is devoid of evil?

"Renewed within the universe at every instant—what could pen and ink possibly recount?"

فقد صح أن الخير ما زال جاريا

على أرضه منهم ولو أنه نزر

For it is true that good continues flowing

"Mouths fail to preach these sermons to the nations of the world, for the universe itself publishes them."

Through its soil, even if it is little

I abandoned the futile attempt to count them all, returning to God in stunned silence, surrounded by awe.

وقامت عليه اليوم للعلم دعوة

تطوف بها للنشر طائفة غر

And the call to knowledge has risen upon it today

Verily, this universe is the truest witness that God's perfection knows no bounds.

Spread by a group of young people

تسير على القرآن فهو لها هدى

وتعتز بالإيمان فهو لها ذخر

They follow the Quran, for it guides them

And take pride in faith, for it enriches them

على أن هذا البر ما كان ساكنا

لما فيه من نكر وإن عمه النكر

However, this land was not tranquil

Due to the ignorance in it, even if ignorance pervaded it

نداء احتجاج منه للخلق بالغ

يعاد على الاستماع لكن بها وقر

A loud cry of protest from it to creation

Repeated for listening, but with calmness and dignity

ومنذر سوء بالحقيقة صادع

ينادى على الإنسان قد غلب الخسر

And a warner of evil in truth, blatant

Calling out to humankind that loss has prevailed

حوادث تستدعى من الفكر لفتة

إليها فيستعصى لدعوتها الفكر

Events that require attention from the mind

Yet the mind is resistant to their call

ويخبط في بحر من الوهم تائها

يغوص، وبحر الوهم ليس له قعر

And flounders in a sea of delusion, lost

Diving, and the sea of delusion has no bottom

فيمكث بين البؤس واليأس حائرا

كمستعصم بالسحر قد خانه السحر

So it remains between misery and despair, confused

Like one held by sorcery that has betrayed him

ومستنكر نطق الجمادات قال لي

رويت حديثا لم يعد مثله الدهر

And refusing to believe the speech of inanimate things, it said to me

I was told a story never told by time before

يخالف إجماع الورى ولعله

إليك من العقل الخيالي منجر

It contradicts the consensus of creation, and maybe

It reached you from fanciful reason, fabricated

فما حركات البر ألا تصادم

بماء ونار منهما البرد والحر

The land's motions are but collisions

With water and fire, from which come cold and heat

وما حركات البحر ألا تماوج

على سطحه يقضى به المد والجزر

And the sea's motions are but surging

Upon its surface, ruled by ebb and flow

فصدقته فيها وقلت له اخترق

ظواهرها بالرأي يظهر لك السر

I acknowledged this to be true, and said to it: Scrutinize

Their outer forms with reason, the secret will become clear to you

وأرع لسان الحال سمعك منصتا

فإن لسان الحال يعوزه الجهر

And heed the tongue of the situation, lending your hearing,

For the tongue of the situation lacks loudness

هناك ترى ما لم تكن قبل رائيا

وتسمع ما للعقل في ذكره ذكر

There you will see what you have not seen before

And hear what the mind cannot express in words

بواهر آيات من الغيب فصلت

على الكون لم يجمع حقائقها سفر

Clear signs from the unseen differentiated

Upon existence, which no book compiled completely

مجددة بالكون في كل لحظة

فماذا عسى تحصى اليراعة والحبر

Renewing through existence every instant

So what can vigilance and the pen encompass?

تعاصى على الأفواه نشر عظاتها

على أمم الدنيا فمنها لها النشر

They confound tongues from spreading their wonders

To the nations of the world, but it is for them to spread

برئت من الإيغال في العد راجعا

إلى الله مشدوها يحيط بي الذعر

I refrain from delving into counting, returning

To God, overwhelmed, terror surrounding me

ألا إن هذا الكون أصدق شاهد

بأن كمال الله ليس له حصر

Behold! This universe is the truest witness

That the perfection of God has no limit