حي حفلا كزخرف الروض عني

بتحايا كالعارض المرجحن

O life, you were bright like the adornment of a garden before my eyes

Greet a gathering like the ornamentation of a garden on my behalf,

With greetings like a swaying branch

With salutations abundant like a heavy, rain-laden cloud.

وتنزل عليه يا شعر روحا

مطمئنا في روعه المطمئن

And poetry descended upon it, O soul

And descend upon it, O poetry, as a spirit,

Reassured in its reassured spirit

Reassuring within its tranquil awe.

إقتبل أوجه الوجاهة بيضا

مشرقات السنا طوالع يمن

You met the faces of the eminent radiantly

Receive the faces of distinction, bright,

The risings of years, auspicious dawns

Shining with radiance, rising with good omens.

وقلوب الولاء منشرحات

طاهرات من كل ختل وضغن

And the hearts of loyalty expanded

And hearts of loyalty, expanded with joy,

Pure from any deceit and malice

Pure from all treachery and rancor.

وأكف السخاء لم تتعقب

بأذاة ولم تكدر بمن

And the palms of generosity did not follow

And hands of generosity that are not followed

With harm and were not troubled with disdain

By injury, nor muddied by reminders of favors,

ومزايا علوية من ذمام

في سلام وعزة في تأني

And Alawite virtues from reins

And lofty virtues of covenant and protection,

In peace and dignity with composure

In peace, and dignity within deliberation.

ثريت في ثرى النفوس كنوزا

وجلتها السنون من بعد دفن

You enriched in the land of souls treasures

Treasures that grew rich in the soil of souls,

And the years concealed them after burial

And the years polished them after they were buried.

بوركت في رياضكم من فروع

دانيات القطوف نضراء لدن

You were blessed in your meadows with branches

Blessed are they in your gardens as branches,

Fresh, tender grape buds

With fruits hanging low, fresh and soft.

مرحبا بالنفوس نشوى بخمر

بنت أنس لا بنت كأس ودن

Welcome to the souls intoxicated with pure wine

Welcome to souls intoxicated with wine,

Not the daughter of a cup and lowliness

The daughter of intimacy, not the daughter of cup and cask.

مرحبا بالقلوب صحفت كروما

والتقت في النمو غصنا بغصن

Welcome to the hearts that cultivated vineyards

Welcome to hearts that have become vineyards,

And the branches met in growth, branch with branch

And met in growth, branch to branch.

ألف الله شملها بعد شت

وتلافى غاراتها بعد شن

May God unite them after dispersion

God united their gathering after dispersion,

And reunite their raids after hostility

And rectified their raids after they were launched.

أيها المحتفون بالضاد هذا

حرم الضاد في سمو وأمن

O you who celebrate Alif, this is the sanctuary of Alif

O you who celebrate the 'Dad' (Arabic), this is

With sublime and security with composure

The sanctuary of the 'Dad' in loftiness and security.

أشرفت منه نحوكم شرفات

قائمات على قواعد رزن

From it balconies overlooking you were ennobled

Balconies have overlooked you from it,

Standing on sturdy foundations

Standing upon firm foundations.

من كهول به دهاة هداة

وشباب به أعاريب لسن

Of elders among them wise guides

From middle-aged men within it, shrewd and guiding,

And youth among them chivalrous knights

And youth within it, eloquent Arabs.

يتناجون حول بر وتقوى

بين فصل من الخطاب ولحن

They confer about righteousness and piety

Conversing secretly about righteousness and piety,

Between a chapter of speech and melody

Between decisive speech and melodious understanding.

ويهيبون بالنفوس إلى ما

يهب الجد من نباهة شأن

And they urge souls to what

And they call upon souls to aspire to what

Gives the grandfather a lofty status

Seriousness grants of high status.

ساءهم أن شعبهم مستكين

لفتور في جسمه مستكن

It saddened them that their people are weak

It grieved them that their people are submissive

To languor in its weak body

To a lethargy settled deep within their body.

مقفص كالهزار جاد لحونا

ليس يدرى أنائح أم مغني

Folded like silk, its tones flowed

Caged like a nightingale pouring out melodies,

Not knowing lamentations or songs

No one knows if he is wailing or singing.

أو غلت فيه والأدلة شتى

رادة قلبته ظهرا لبطن

Or it was misled, though the evidence is manifold

Or if misfortunes boiled within, and the evidence is various,

Contrary, it turned its back to its belly

Circular winds turned it inside out.

فأعاضت ثراه جدبا بخصب

وجزته على النوال بضن

So its fertile land became barren

So they exchanged its soil's fertility for barrenness,

And it punished it for its luck with stinginess

And rewarded it with stinginess instead of generosity.

والعوادي تهد بعد العوادي

منه هد الفؤوس من كل مبنى

And disasters strike after disasters

And calamities destroy, after calamities,

From it the axes struck every building

Destroying every building within it like the striking of axes.

يا حماة البلاد يا فتية الضا

د ترى هل لكم من الرأي مغنى؟

O protectors of the country, O youth of Alif

O protectors of the land, O youth of the 'Dad',

Do you have from opinion a refuge?

Do you think you have any avail in opinion?

سار جيرانكم مع العصر شوطا

ووقفتم ما بين وهم ووهن

Your neighbors have marched with time

Your neighbors have walked a long distance with the times,

While you stand between illusion and weakness

While you stood between illusion and weakness.

تحت شتى القوى تقاسون منها

ما تقاسون من أذى وتجني؟

Under various powers you suffer from them

Under various powers, enduring from them

What you suffer from harm and collect?

What you endure of harm and oppression?

أين منكم مهابة وانتصاف؟

أم سكنتم إلى احتقار وغبن؟

Where is your awe from you and vindication?

Where is your dignity and justice?

Or have you settled into contempt and injustice?

Or have you settled into contempt and fraud?

لا تقولوا .. هان الجدود فهنا

ساء نشئ له بهم سوء ظن

Do not say...the ancestors failed, for here

Do not say: 'The ancestors were weak, so we are weak;'

An upbringing that caused them ill thoughts

Bad is the generation that has a poor opinion of them.

في «تلمسان» في «بجاية» في (تيهر

ت) في «القلعة» ازدهى كل فن

In Tlemcen, in Béjaïa, in Tiaret

In Tlemcen, in Bejaia, in Tahert,

In Ghardaia, every art prospered

In the Citadel (Qalaa), every art flourished.

يوم كانت مهاجر الشرق والغر

ب مثابا كمعهد وكحصن

When they were the East and West's refuge

The day they were the destination of East and West,

Like an institute and fortress

A gathering place serving as both institute and fortress.

وعليها من الملوك ذوي العز

ة والبأس، كل سهران فطن

And upon it were mighty honorable kings

And upon them were kings of glory

Every vigilant, prudent lord

And might, every vigilant, astute one.

دعموا البر دعموا البحر بالأعـ

ـلام من منشئات مدن وسفن

They supported righteousness, supported the sea with flags

They supported the land, they supported the sea with nota-

From the structures of cities and ships

-bles, builders of cities and ships.

ومشوا في مناكب الأرض صيدا

بين جرارة ملائك جن

And they walked on the saddles of the earth hunting

They walked the shoulders of the earth proudly,

Between fierce angels and jinn

Between armies vast as angels and jinn.

يزعون الشعوب رأيا ورعيا

ويسوسونها بحكم وإذن

They guided the nations with opinion and shepherding

Governing nations with wisdom and care,

And ruled them with wisdom and permission

And leading them with judgment and authority.

ثم نيطوا من الظروف بمخز

وأحيطوا من الصروف بمخنى

Then they were tied by circumstances with constriction

Then they were attached by circumstances to disgrace,

And surrounded by conditions with affliction

And surrounded by the vicissitudes of time with destruction.

وطوتهم يد الزمان كما تطـ

ـوي يد الكاتب الكتاب وتثني

And the hand of time folded them

And the hand of time folded them just as folds

As the scribe's hand folds the book and bends

The hand of the scribe the book, bending it shut.

فإذا العيش حالك مثل ليل

وإذا الربع موحش مثل سجن

So life became like a miserable night

So behold, life is pitch black like night,

And the countryside lonely like a prison

And behold, the dwelling is desolate like a prison.

وإذا الأرض قفرة وإذا الجو معـ

ـمى تظله سحب حزن

And the earth is barren and the air blind

And behold the land is barren, and behold the air is blin-

Its shadow clouded by sorrow

-ded, shadowed by clouds of sorrow.

وتقضى ملك الجدود فلم يبـ

ـق بأيدي البنين غير التمني

And the kingdom of ancestors passed, leaving

The kingdom of the ancestors has passed, and there remains

In the hands of sons nothing but wishes

In the hands of the sons nothing but wishing.

يا لمجد مضيع غير مجد

عض كف عليه أو قرع سن

Oh lost glory other than glory

Oh for a lost glory! It is useless

That bit a palm or knocked a tooth

To bite a hand over it or gnash a tooth in regret.

قف معي بالجزائر اليوم واسبر

غور أحوالها بعين وأذن

Stand with me in Algiers today and probe

Stand with me in Algeria today and probe

Its conditions with an observant eye and ear

The depth of its conditions with eye and ear.

تجد الطفل في الأزقة يلهو

والفتى يشرب الخمور ويزني

You find the child playing in the alleys

You find the child in the alleyways playing,

And the youth drinking wines and committing adultery

And the young man drinking wine and sinning.

تجد الطفلة اليتيمة تشقى

تحت خدر تنوء أو تحت

You find the orphan girl suffering

You find the orphan girl suffering,

Under numbness, stooping or crouching

Burdened under a veil, or under

خدنأو لدى البيض نصروها وقالوا

أكرمتها يد المسيح بحضن

And though the whites have helped her and said

A lover, or with the Whites who Christianized her and said:

The hand of Christ has honored her with an embrace

'The hand of Christ has honored her with an embrace.'

ولو أن الرجال منار جال

لم يفتها تزوج وتبني

Had men of dignity passed by her

If the men had been guiding lights,

She would have married and been adopted

Marriage and building a family would not have passed her by.

ما على خرد الجزإئر غيرا

ن ولا بالحدود والاي معنى

Algeria's children have no other

There is no jealous protector over the virgins of Algeria,

Meaning or borders or law of any meaning

Nor is there concern for limits or divine verses.

والنيابات أسفرت عن مآس

بل مواس تحدها كالمسن

And the parliaments have uncovered tribulations

And the representations unveiled tragedies,

Not consolations that challenge them like years

Rather, razors sharpened like a whetstone.

كاذبات البروق من كل خب

يعد الناس باطلا ويمني

Like the lies of lightning in every discourse

False lightning flashes from every deceiver

Promising the people falseness and wishes

Promising people falsehoods and raising hopes.

والمشاريع، والشرائع، والآ

داب، والكتب، والنهى، في تعنى

And the projects, laws, manners, books, and prohibitions

And projects, laws, and literatures,

Have no meaning

And books, and intellects, are in suffering.

ومن اللسن في المجامع والأقـ

ـلام في الصحف شر طعم وطعن

And from the tongues in forums and pens in the press

And from the tongues in assemblies and the pe-

Evil taste and accusation

-ns in newspapers comes the worst taste and defamation.

وفشا الدجل فالولاية دعوى

كل ذي سبحة تطول وذقن

And pretense spread so every holder of a rosary

Charlatanism has spread, for sainthood is but a claim

With a long beard and chin claimed to be governor

Made by everyone with a long rosary and beard.

وغلا القوم في الولي فظنوا

أنه كالإله يغني ويقني

And the people went too far with the saint, thinking

The people went to extremes regarding the saint, thinking

He is like a god who enriches and provides

That he is like the Deity, enriching and possessing.

وأبوا كوثر العلوم عطاشا

طمعا في ورود علم لدني

And they refused the river of knowledge thirstily

They refused the abundant river of sciences, thirsty,

Hoping for the watering of partial knowledge

Coveting the arrival of mystical knowledge.

ضاق موسى بعلم صاحب موسى

بله بله أتوا بإفك وأفن

Moses felt constricted by the knowledge of Moses' companion

Moses was constrained by the knowledge of Moses' companion,

No no, they came up with superstition and perversity

Let alone these—they brought only falsehood and stupidity.

وتنادوا فبدعوا مصلحيهم

ومتى كان مصلح غير سني؟

And they called each other, thus innovating their reformers

They called out and accused their reformers of heresy,

And when was a reformer other than traditional?

And when was a reformer ever anything but a Sunni?

أيها المسلمون طال بنا الكر

ب فهل لانفراجه من تسني؟

O Muslims, our ship has long been sinking, is there a way to patch it?

O Muslims, the distre-

God forbid a people seeking His grace should drown

-ss has lasted long for us, so is there a way to relief?

حاش لله أن يغر بشعب

مستجير بلطفه مستجن

Revere God among them and guide the lost

Far be it from God to deceive a people

Among them who lost the path to the Garden of Eden

Seeking refuge in His kindness, hidden in His protection.

أرقبوا الله فيه واهدوا حيارى

منه ضلوا سبيل جنة عدن

And make the knot of creed firm in religion, strengthen it

Fear God regarding them, and guide the confused ones

From every rupture and strife

Among them who have lost the path to the Garden of Eden.

واعزموا عقدة العقيدة في الد

ين تقوها من كل فتق وفتن

Yes, the reward of jihad is with soul, wealth, and say to the rich: I mean you

And firm up the knot of doctrine in religion,

For the comfort of Algeria is in the comfort of its guardian

Protect it from every tear and sedition.

نعم أجر الجهاد بالنفس والما

ل وقل للغني: إياك أعني

Leave injustice in complaining of doom, for in my view, its time has passed or it is as if it never was

Excellent is the reward of Jihad with soul and wealth,

And seek your right to a just living, do not lean towards cruelty or cowardice

And say to the rich man: 'I mean you.'

إنما راحة الجزائر في راحة حر

يسدي العطاء ويسني

Raise your voice with it and die for it, do not despair even if a thousand centuries pass

The comfort of Algeria is only in the comfort

The scream of truth in the ears causes rupture

Of a free man who bestows giving and elevates it.

وذروا الحيف في التشكي من الحـ

ـف فعهدي به انقضى أو كأني

Like an arrow filling the air flexibly

And abandon injustice in complaining of hard-

So peace unto peace, peace on truth

-ship, for my covenant with it has ended, or so I feel.

وابتغوا حقكم من العيش عدلا

لا تميلوا لقسوة أو لجبن

And no ruin from a minaret or pillar

And seek your right to life with justice;

And peace on peace on the pure

Do not incline toward cruelty or cowardice.

ارفعوا صوتكم به واستميتوا

فيه لا تيأسوا ولو ألف قرن

On goodwill, consent, and rapprochement

Raise your voice with it and be willing to die

And peace be upon you and the delegation

For it; do not despair, even for a thousand centuries.

صرخة الحق في المسامع تنقض

ض، كسهم ملء الفضاء مرن

And what it contained of majesty and beauty

The cry of truth swoops down upon the ears,

Like a resounding arrow filling the expanse.

فسلام إلى سلام على الحقـ

ـق، ولا دك من منار وركن

So peace, upon peace, upon the Tru-

-th, and may no beacon or pillar be razed.

وسلام على السلام على الصفو

على البشر والرضى والتدني

And peace upon peace, upon clarity,

Upon joy, contentment, and drawing near.

وسلام عليكموا وعلى الحفـ

ـل وما ضم من جلال وحسن

And peace be upon you and upon the gather-

-ing, and all the majesty and beauty it embraces.