دع عنك صهباء الدساكر

وإلى بيوت الدرس بادر

Put aside the tawny wine of country taverns;

and hasten to the houses of study.

فلأنت في عصر تفر

د بالمعارف والمآثر

For you live in an age distinguished

by knowledge and noble achievements.

قد حاز فيه الغرب غا

يات السباق بلا مشاجر

In it the West has reached

the winning posts, without a rival.

قطر علا أهلوه اس

مى ذروة فيها المفاخر

A land whose people have climbed the loftiest

summit, where glories reside.

فعلومهم بلغت إلى

حد تحار به الخواطر

For their sciences have reached

a limit that bewilders the mind.

بحثوا عن الأجرام في الا

فلاك وانتبثوا المغاور

They investigated celestial bodies in

the spheres, and explored the caves.

وترصدوا سير النجو

م وراقبوا أعلى الدوائر

They observed the course of the stars

and watched the highest celestial circles.

سيروا البحار وحللوا

ما في الوجود من العناصر

They navigated the seas and analyzed

the elements that exist in the world.

والكهرباء بجدهم

اضحى بها ذو اللب حائر

Electricity, through their diligence,

has left the man of intellect bewildered.

جاءت بما شده العقو

ل عجائبا وسبى النواظر

It brought what astonished minds:

marvels that captivated the eyes.

والكيمياء بدت بوج

ه في الحقائق لا يخامر

And chemistry emerged in a form

of truths beyond all doubt.

قد هام في أسرارها

من بعد جابر الف جابر

Its secrets have enthralled

a thousand Jabirs after Jabir.

نظروا إلى ما دق مم

ا ليس تدركه البواصر

They examined things so minute

that eyes cannot perceive them.

درسوا الجماد مع النبا

ت ومنهما عرفو المصادر

They studied inanimate matter alongside plants,

and from both learned their sources.

نظروا إلى الحيوان في

انواعه نظرات فاكر

They considered animals in

their various kinds with a thinker's gaze.

حتى إذا عرفوا طبي

عته وما طوت المشاعر

Until, once they knew their nature

and what the senses concealed,

عمدوا إلى تشريحه

وهناك كم شقت مرائر

they proceeded to dissect them;

and there, how many gallbladders were split!

نشروا الرسوم الدارسا

ت وكل مطوي ودائر

They revived the effaced traces

and everything hidden or vanished.

قد زعزعوا أهرام مص

ر وفتشوا تلك المقابر

They shook the pyramids of Egypt

and searched those tombs.

فرأوا بها آثار من

قدموا من الناس الاكبار

There they saw the traces of those

great men of old who had gone before.

واستخدموا لمنافع ال

تأريخ هاتيك الذخائر

They employed, for the benefit of

history, those treasures.

وعن الحقائق زحزحوا

سترا من الأوام ساتر

And from the truths they removed

a concealing veil of smoke.

قد خططوا سطح البسي

طة والبحار مع الجزائر

They mapped the surface of the earth,

and the seas along with the islands.

والبعد قاسوا والعلو

وعامرا منها وغامر

They measured distance and height,

its inhabited regions and its wastes.

وبابرة القطب اهتدوا

في البحر والديجور كافر

With the compass needle they found their way

at sea, while black night concealed all.

وجلوا خفيات الطبي

عة فاستبانت كالظاهر

They unveiled the hidden things

of nature, which became as plain as the visible.

والسحر قد اضحى حدي

ث خرافة أو قول هاذر

And magic has become a tale

of superstition, or a babbler's speech.

قاسوا الفضاء وقربوا ال

أقصى وقد فشل المكابر

They measured space and brought near

the farthest reaches; the obstinate denier failed.

قد حلقوا في الجو بال

منطاد تحليق الكواسر

They soared through the air in

balloons, soaring like birds of prey.

والبرق قد قادوه بالا

سلاك يعنو للأوامر

And lightning they guided through

wires, submitting to commands.

قد سخروه بحمل من

طوق الرسائل والدفاتر

They harnessed it to carry the wording

of messages and written records.

فأطاعهم ولذلك اس

تغنوا به عن كل طائر

It obeyed them, and therefore

with it they dispensed with every bird.

قد اسمعوك ندا البعي

د بالة من صنع ماهر

They made you hear the distant one's call

with a device crafted by a skilled artisan.

قد هندسوا وبنوا بنا

يات لهم شادت مفاخر

They designed and erected buildings

that raised glories for them.

رصفوا الحجارة في البحا

ر وفوقها شادوا معابر

They laid stones in the seas,

and above them erected crossings.

نقلوا البحار إلى القفا

ر وفوقها شادوا معابر

They brought the seas into the deserts,

and above them erected crossings.

ومراكب قد راح يج

ريها البخار وليس ماخر

And vessels are now propelled

by steam, not by a sailor.

جابوا الفلاة على عجا

ل قد جرت جري البواخر

They crossed the wilderness on wheels

that raced like steamships.

خرقوا الجبال لسيرها

وعلى الوهاد بنوا قناطر

They pierced the mountains for their passage,

and over the lowlands built bridges.

واستنبطوا للطبع آ

لات تدور على محاور

They devised for printing

machines revolving on axles.

فإذا تفحّصت العما

رة والتجارة فحص خابر

So if you examine architecture

and commerce with an expert's eye,

وإلى الحياكة والصبا

ة والدباغة بتّ ناظر

and toward weaving and dyeing

and tanning you turn your gaze,

وإذا تأملت الفلز

بعيد ما صاغوه باهر

and if you contemplate metal,

dazzling soon after they have fashioned it,

من كل آنية تقر

بحسن صنعتها النواظر

in every vessel that delights

the eyes with the beauty of its workmanship—

لا بد منها للمنا

فع والتجمل في الحواضر

indispensable for usefulness

and adornment in the cities—

ايقنت ان الشرح ليس

يفي ولست عليه قادر

you will be certain that description cannot

do it justice, and you are unequal to it.

في النسج فاقوا غيرهم

فتخال صوفهم حرائر

In weaving they have surpassed others,

so you would take their wool for silk.

ولباسهم وفراشهم

هذا وثير ذاك فاخر

And their clothing and their bedding:

this is soft, that is splendid.

فإذا اتيت بلادهم

الفيت فيها العيش ناضر

So if you visit their lands,

you find life flourishing there.

جمعت شوارعهم احا

سن كل شيء كان نادر

Their streets have gathered the finest

of everything that was rare.

فبيوت الحان بها

تشدو الفيان على المزاهر

There are houses of song, where

singers sing to the lutes.

وديار لهو يلتقي

فيها المباكر والمسامر

And houses of amusement, where meet

the early visitor and the nighttime companion.

ورياض أنس ترتعي

فيها السباع مع الجآذر

And gardens of delight, where

beasts of prey graze beside wild-cow calves.

وديار تمثيل بها

أدب لأرباب الخواطر

And playhouses, which offer

instruction to thoughtful minds.

تلقى الذين سمعت في ال

تأريخ عنهم والدفاتر

You meet those you have heard of in

history and written records.

وترى ضروب عوائد

وملابس عبرا لفاكر

And you see varied customs

and clothes—lessons for a thinker.

رفعوا لصوت الحق في

أوطانهم أعلى المنابر

They raised for the voice of truth, in

their homelands, the loftiest pulpits.

وأضا لهم صبح اليقي

ن وبات ليل الشك دابر

And the dawn of certainty shone for them,

and the night of doubt passed away.

وعلى التساوي في الحقو

ق مشى الأكابر والأصاغر

And on equal terms in rights,

the great and the humble walked.

ساروا على نهج العدا

لة لم يطيقوا حكم جائر

They followed the path of justice,

unable to tolerate a tyrant's rule.

نقضوا مباني المستبد

بن العتاة ذوي الكبائر

They demolished the structures of despots,

the ruthless perpetrators of grave wrongs:

ممن يسوم الناس خس

فا ليس تزجره الزواجر

those who impose humiliation upon people,

whom no restraints restrain.

جعلوا التقدم في الأمو

ر لكل ندب لا يخامر

They entrusted advancement in affairs

to every valiant man who does not waver.

وتبرأوا سقيا لهم

من كل محتال وماكر

And they disowned—may blessings rain on them—

every swindler and schemer.

وعلى الولا وتقدم الأ

وطان قد عقدوا الخناصر

And for loyalty and the advancement of their

homelands, they tied their little fingers in pledge.

وأتوا بكل غريبة

أعيت وحقك كل ساحر

They produced every marvel

that, by your life, defeated every magician.

لو شامها اليونان وال

رومان ارباب المآثر

Had the Greeks beheld them, and the

Romans, masters of noble achievements,

أو أهل مصر الأقدمو

ن ذوو المعارف والمفاخر

or the ancient people of Egypt,

possessors of knowledge and glory,

لرأيتهم خروا إلى الا

ذقان للرجل المعاصر

you would have seen them fall upon their

chins before the man of the present age.

وزكنت معنى القول كم

ترك الأوائل للأواخر

And you would have grasped the saying's meaning: 'How much

the ancients have left to those who came after!'

ما أن تحيط بما أتت

ه علومهم ابيات شاعر

No poet's verses can encompass what

their sciences have achieved.

ذا شأنهم اضحى وأن

ت غدوت تسحب ذيل عائر

Such has their condition become, while you

have come to trail a wanderer's hem.

تلهو ببعض خزعبلا

ت والتسر منك ظاهر

You amuse yourself with a few absurdities,

while your outward cheerfulness is plain.

تخفي الاسى والله يع

لم ما اكنته الضمائر

You hide your sorrow, yet God knows

what hearts have concealed.

وتقول حكم مقدر

وعليه قد أمسيت صابر

And you say: 'It is a decreed judgment,

and I have become resigned to it.'

يا أيها المغرور ما

ذا القول الا قول خاسر

O deluded man, this

saying is nothing but a loser's speech.

تعزوا إلى الاقدار حك

ما من فعالك كان جارئ

You ascribe to fate a judgment

that arose from your own actions.

والله ليس يريد شر

را بالأنام وليس غادر

God does not desire harm

for humankind, nor is He treacherous.

هذا الخنوع وذا الخمو

ل وكل جبن فيك خادر

This submission, this inertia,

and every fear lying dormant within you

حقا شهود عدل

نمت عليك بها الظواهر

are truly upright witnesses;

through them, outward signs have testified against you.

إن عن حقوقك نمت فاء

لم لن يكون سواك ساهر

If you sleep heedless of your rights, know

that no one else will keep vigil.

وإذا ظلمت فما لظل

مك غير عزم منك ناصر

And when you are wronged, against that wrong

nothing will champion you but your own resolve.

بالجهل بت لدى الملا

مثلا من الأمثال سائر

Through ignorance you have become, among the people,

a proverb passed from mouth to mouth.

فيقال زيد قد حكى

في جهله بعض البرابر

So it is said: 'Zayd has resembled,

in his ignorance, some of the Berbers.'

قوم لهم ينمى الصغا

ر فهم لذا قوم الأصاغر

A people to whom abasement is ascribed,

and thus a people of the lowly.

بسوى التفرق والتحا

مل لا تطيب لهم خواطر

Only division and mutual hostility

bring contentment to their minds.

وتمسكوا جهلا بأع

راض وقد تركوا الجواهر

In ignorance they cling to outward attributes,

having abandoned essences.

حسد واحقاد بها

يتفاخرون على المفاخر

Envy and grudges: with these

they vaunt themselves above glorious deeds.

وتباغض وتباعد

في ذاك كل بات فاكر

And mutual hatred and estrangement:

each spends the night thinking of these.

وبما جنت ايديهمو

ما أن لهم في الناس عاذر

And for what their hands have wrought,

they have no excuser among humankind.

دارت علينا يا لصح

بي في الورى شر الدوائر

O my companions, upon us has turned

the worst of calamities among humankind.

من نام عن طلب الحقو

ق فانه وابيك خاسر

Whoever sleeps through the pursuit of rights

is, by your father, a loser.

يا ليت قومي يذكرو

ن فلم يخب في الناس ذاكر

Would that my people remembered,

for none who remembers has failed among men!

أويتهم ساروا على

منهاج اجداد هزابر

Or would that they followed

the path of lion-hearted forefathers!

فهم الألى في العلم اض

حى صيتهم في الأفق طائر

For they are those whose fame in learning

has taken wing across the horizon.

وهم الألى بالحزم قد

بلغوا العلا والحزم ظافر

They are those who, through resolve,

attained the heights—and resolve triumphs.

وهم الألى فتحوا المما

لك فتح غلاب مثابر

They are those who conquered kingdoms

with the conquest of a tireless victor.

طرقت حوافر خيلهم

اقصى البوادي والحواضر

Their horses' hooves beat upon

the farthest deserts and cities.

وجنودهم دكت حصو

ن الغابرين من الجبابر

And their armies battered the fortresses

of bygone mighty rulers.

وببأسهم قد دوّخوا

دول القياصر والأكاسر

And by their valor they humbled

the realms of Caesars and Chosroes.

وعنت لهيبتهم ملو

ك الأرض والأمم الغوابر

And before their majesty bowed the kings

of the earth and the nations of old.

فمتى ارى الوطن المفد

ى عن محيا الفضل سافل

When shall I see the cherished homeland

unveil the face of excellence?

ومتى توافي بالأما

ني لي بواكير البشائر

And when will there come, fulfilling my wishes,

the first glad tidings for me?

هبوا إلى طلب المعا

لي فهي تهدي كل حائر

Rise to seek lofty aims,

for they guide every bewildered soul.

وتشبهوا ان لم تكو

نوا مثلهم فالفرق ظاهر

And imitate them, if you are not

their equals—for the difference is plain.

ومليكنا عبد الحمي

د لكم معين بل مظاهر

And our sovereign, Abd al-Hamid,

is your helper, indeed your supporter.

ملك اليه تنتمي

كل المحامد والمآثر

A king to whom belong

all praises and noble achievements.

ملك لديه كل ذي

حزم وزعزم بات صاغر

A king before whom every man of

firmness and resolve stands humbled.

لم تلق إلا حامدا

منا اياديه وشاكر

Among us you meet none but those praising

his benefactions and giving thanks.