إلى اللهِ إلى اللهِ المفرُّ

فما ظلَّ عليها لا يسرُّ

To God, to God is the escape

For no shade has remained that brings comfort

و أيّامُ المزاميرِ تطولُ

وساعاتُ الأحاديثِ تمرُّ

And days of music become long

And hours of talk pass by

وأخلاقُ النبيّين تردُّ

ومنهاجُ الشياطين يقرُّ

And morals of prophets regress

And ways of devils become approved

وشرحُ الصحبِ للقرآنِ هذْرٌ

وأقوالُ الميامسِ فيه درُّ

And companions' explanation of Quran is nonsense

And words of adulterers in it are harm

وأمجادُ بني العبّاسِ شرُّ

وأيّامُ بني الأصفرَ غُرُّ

And glories of Abbasids are evil

And days of Banu Asfar are deceit

وهدْمُ مصانعِ التاريخ مرُّ

ولكنّ الفتوحاتِ أمرُّ

And destruction of history factories is bitter

But the conquests are a matter

وسيفُ الله للنسوةِ زيرٌ

ونابليون بونابرت حرُّ

And sword of God for women is insult

And Napoleon Bonaparte is free

وأسْدُ العُرْبِ في الغرْبِ تُسبُّ

وحُمْرُ الغربِ في العُرْبِ تُبرُّ

And lion of Arabs in West is insulted

And red of West in Arabs is purified

وإن سُبَّ النبيُّ فذاك رأيٌ

وإنْ رُفعَ الأذانُ فذاك ضُرُّ

And if the Prophet is insulted, that is an opinion

And if the call to prayer is raised, that is harm

وخيباتُ بني أمّي تزيدُ

وأصغرُها لأكبرِها تَجرُّ

And disappointments of my mother's sons increase

And their smallest drags their greatest

وصدرُ الأرضِ بالخلقِ يضيقُ

وما عادَ لخيباتٍ مقرُّ

And earth's chest is too tight for people

It no longer has room for disappointments

لها جوفٌ إذا ضاقتْ بقومٍ

أَحلَّهمُ الإلهُ لها فخرُّوا

It has a cavity, if it is too tight for a people

God destines them for it, so they fell proud

أكادُ أرى قضاءَ الله فيهِمْ

وليسَ لهمْ منَ الله مَفرُّ

I almost see God's judgement on them

And for them from God there is no escape

شَروْا حلماً لو استفتيتَ فيهِ

الشياطينَ لقالتْ ذاك شرُّ

They bought patience, which if you sought opinion on

The devils would have said that is evil

كذلك قامرُوا بالصّحوِ جهلاً

بأنّ الحُلمَ للصّحوِ مَمرُّ

Thus they gambled with sobriety out of ignorance

That patience is passage for sobriety

وأنّ مآلَ نهرهمُ القصيرِ

محيطٌ بلْ على الحمقِ أَصرُّوا

And that their short river's fate

Is an ocean, but they insisted on foolishness

وما انتبهوا إلى أنّ الصغيرَ

من الأحلامِ خُدّامُه كثْرُ

And did not realize that the small

Of dreams are its many servants

فما كانوا على قدْرِ الصّغيرِ

وقد فَرَغَتْ له أُممٌ تكرُّ

So they were not up to the small

And nations tired for it

فدُعُّوا لبياديهِ وجوهٌ

بأخبارِ الهزيمةِ تكْفَهِرُّ

So faces were left for its deserts

With news of defeat raging

بنوْا بيتاً من الوهمِ ببيدٍ

بها ريحٌ لذي وزنٍ تَثرُّ

They built a house of illusion in ruins

In it a wind blows for one with weight

وعلّوا فيه ناسينَ بأنّ

بُنى الوهمِ بلا ريحٍ تخرُّ

And forgot that houses of illusion

Without wind will collapse

شروْا أمساً على خدّيهِ ظلّت

معالمُ كفِّ أمسِهمُ الأغرُّ

Yesterday they bought on their cheeks shadows

Features of their yesterday's palm remained exposed

وفي عيْنيهِ شكوى من عصورٍ

هي البردُ بيومٍ يستحِرُّ

And in their eyes complaints of eras

That are the cold of a day getting hot

وفي أُذُنيْهِ بُقيا من صهيلٍ

لأمسٍ هابَهُ بحرٌ وبرُّ

And in their ears remains of neighing

Of a yesterday a sea and land fled from

وتسألُني لمَ الآنَ أفِرُّ

ومثلي بالهزيمةِ لا يُقرُّ

And you ask me why I escape now

And one like me with defeat feels no comfort

وكِسْراتٌ من الخبز يمنُّ

بها الجوعُ بحلقي لا تمُرُّ

And bits of bread which

My throat craves do not pass

وقطْراتٌ من الماءِ يمنُّ

بها الغُلُّ من الجمرِ أحَرُّ

And drops of water which

The burning coal's heat intensifies

فقلْ ما شئتَ لا رُدّت حياةٌ

بها الأعينُ والآذانُ ضرُّ

So say what you will, no life returned

In which eyes and ears are harmed

أفقتُ على أُسودٍ لا تلينُ

فحلّ محلّها سودٌ وحمْرُ

I awoke to lions that do not soften

So their place was taken by black and red

وخيلٍ حسنُها برهانُ عزٍّ

يسوس أُمورَها أُسْدٌ ونُمْرُ

And horses whose beauty proves might

Their affairs ruled by lions and panthers

وما ساستْهمُ الخيلُ ولو أن

نها فعلتْ فحكمُ الخيلِ فخرُ

And even if the horses did rule them

Judgment of horses is pride

وليت الأُسْدَ قد علِمتْ بجيلٍ

يسوسُ أمورَه بالموءِ هرُّ

If only the lion knew of a generation

Whose affairs are ruled by the bellowing donkey

لهم في الأرضِ خزيٌ ما استمرُّوا

وفي نارِ جهنّم مستقرُّ

They have on earth disgrace, however long they last

And in hellfire an abode