إلام تجن الحادثات وتظلم — Ahmad Muharram

إِلامَ تَجُنُّ الحادِثاتُ وَتَظلمُ

وَحَتّى مَتى تَبغي العِداةُ وَتظلُمُ

How long will calamities rage and oppress?

And until when will enemies transgress and oppress?

حَملنا مِن الأَيّامِ ما لا يَطيقه

أَبانٌ وَلا يَقوى عَلَيهِ يَلملمُ

We have borne from the days what cannot be borne

by Aban, nor can Yalamlam withstand it.

نَوائِبٌ تَتلوها إِلَينا نَوائبٌ

صِعابٌ تَهدُّ الراسياتِ وَتهدمُ

Calamities, followed by calamities coming upon us,

grievous ones that shake firm mountains and demolish them.

إِذا نَحنُ قُلنا قَد تولّت غُيومُها

تَوالَت عَلَينا تَرجَحِنُّ وَتسجمُ

Whenever we say that their clouds have departed,

they gather over us again, hanging heavy and pouring.

ظَللنا لَها ما بَين باكٍ دُموعُهُ

تَسيلُ وَشاكٍ قَلبُهُ يَتَضرَّمُ

Because of them we remain, some weeping, their tears

flowing, and some lamenting, their hearts ablaze.

جَزى اللَهُ ما يَجزي المُسِيئينَ مَعشراً

تَمادَت بِنا شَكوى الإِساءَةِ مِنهُمُ

May God repay a people as He repays wrongdoers,

of whose abuse our complaints have long persisted.

أَتوا مِصرَ ضَيفاناً أَطلنا قِراهمو

وَإِكرامهم وَالحرُّ للضّيفِ يُكرِمُ

They came to Egypt as guests; we prolonged our hospitality

and our honoring of them—the noble honor guests.

فَما بَرحوا يَأتون كُلَّ عَظيمَةٍ

فَنُغضي وَيَأبون الجَميلَ فَنحلُمُ

Yet they never ceased committing every enormity;

we overlook it; they reject kindness, and we forbear.

أَهَذا جَزاءُ المُحسِنينَ وَفوا بِهِ

فَيا بئسما يَجزي اللَئيمُ المُذَمَّمُ

Is this the recompense they paid their benefactors?

How vile the repayment of the contemptible, blameworthy man!

بذلنا لَهُم أَرياً وَجاءوا بعلقمٍ

وَهَل يَستوي الضدّانِ أَريٌ وَعَلقَمُ

We offered them honey, and they brought bitter colocynth;

can two opposites, honey and colocynth, be equal?

نَقيضان هَذا مرّ في الذَوق مطعماً

فَمُجَّ وَهَذا قَد حَلا مِنهُ مَطعَمُ

Two contraries: this one is bitter to the taste,

so it is spat out; that one has a sweet savor.

لِئامٌ لَقوا مِنّا كِراماً لَقوهمو

بِأَحلام عادٍ يلأمون وَنكرُمُ

Base men encountered noble ones among us, who met them

with the forbearance of Ad; they act basely, and we nobly.

همو زعموا أَنّا ضِعافٌ فَضاعفوا

أَذانا وَكَم مِن مُخطئٍ حينَ يَزعمُ

They claimed that we were weak, so they doubled

the harm they did us—how many err when making claims!

يَزيدُ الأَذى مِنهُم فَيزدادُ حِلمنا

وَيعظم وَقعُ الخَطبِ فينا فَنعظمُ

Their harm increases, and our forbearance grows;

calamity strikes us harder, and we grow greater.

وَجاروا وَماروا وَاعتدوا وَتمرّدوا

وَجالوا وَصالوا وَازدروا وَتهضَّموا

They oppressed and disputed, transgressed and rebelled;

they roamed and assaulted, scorned and trampled rights.

وَعادوا وَكادوا وَاستبدُّوا وَعاندوا

وَخانوا وَمانوا واستطالوا وَأَجرَموا

They were hostile and schemed, ruled despotically and defied;

they betrayed and lied, acted arrogantly and committed crimes.

وَلم يَتركوا شَيئاً لَنا مِن بلادنا

نَلذُّ بِهِ بين الأَنامِ وَننعمُ

They left us nothing of our country

to delight in and enjoy among humankind.

نعم تَركوا آلامَ حُزنٍ مُبرِّحٍ

بِها كُلُّ قَلبٍ مِن بَني مِصرَ مُفعَمُ

Yes, they left the pangs of agonizing grief,

with which every heart among Egypt's children is filled.

كَفى حَزَناً أَنّا نَرى مِصرَ أَصبَحت

بِعَينِ بَنيها وَهيَ نَهبٌ مُقَسَّمُ

Grief enough that we see Egypt now become,

before her children's eyes, plunder shared out.

تُناديهمو كي يُدركوها وَلا أَرى

سِوى مُحجِمٍ يَعتاقُ ساقَيهِ محجِمُ

She calls them to rescue her, yet I see

only a laggard whose legs another laggard holds back.

بَني مِصرَ هُبّوا قَد تَطاوَلَ نَومُكم

أَأَنتُم مَدى الآمادِ عَن مَصر نُوَّمُ

Sons of Egypt, rise! Your sleep has lasted long.

Will you sleep, heedless of Egypt, for all ages?

بَني مصرَ هيّا قَد تَمادى جُثومُكم

أَأَنتم إِلى يَوم القِيامَةِ جُثَّمُ

Sons of Egypt, come! You have crouched too long.

Will you crouch until the Day of Resurrection?

بَني مَصر هَذِي مصرُ تَبكي مُصابَها

أَلا مُشفِقٌ يَحنو عَلَيها وَيرحمُ

Sons of Egypt, here is Egypt mourning her affliction.

Is there no compassionate soul to tend her and show mercy?

بني مصرَ هذي مصرُ قَد ساءَ حالُها

وَأَسوأ حالاً لَو تُفيقونَ أَنتمُ

Sons of Egypt, here is Egypt, her condition grown wretched;

and yours is worse, if only you would awaken.

بَني مصرَ قَد أَوردتمو مصرَ مورداً

يُذيقُ الرَدى وُرّادَه لَو عَلِمتمُ

Sons of Egypt, you have led Egypt to a watering place

that gives its visitors a taste of death, if you but knew.

أَسأتم إِلَيها جاهِدينَ وَأَنتمو

بَنوها فهلّا للعِداةِ أَسأتمُ

You have striven to wrong her, though you

are her sons; why did you not wrong the enemies instead?

فَيا لَيتَها مِن قبلُ كانَت عَقيمةً

وَيا لَيتَها في مُقبلِ الدَهرِ تَعقُمُ

Would that she had been barren before,

and would that she might be barren in the time to come!

فَما ثاكِلٌ شَمطاءٌ أَمسى وَحيدُها

تخَرَّمهُ صَرفُ الرَدى المتخرِّمُ

No gray-haired, bereaved mother, whose only son now lies—

snatched away by death's ravaging onslaught—

رَهينَ بِلىً قَد حَلَّ في جَوف حُفرَةٍ

يُسَدُّ عَلَيها بِالرجام وَيُردَمُ

a prisoner of decay, settled in a hollow pit,

sealed over with stones and filled with earth,

تَولَّت بِقَلبٍ مُوجعٍ لفراقِهِ

تَشقُّ عَلَيهِ الجَيبَ حُزناً وَتلطمُ

who turns away with a heart aching at his loss,

tearing her neckline in grief and slapping her face,

يُقرِّحُ جفنَيها لطولِ بُكائها

دُموعٌ سَخيناتٌ يُعندِمُها دَمُ

her eyelids ulcerated through her long weeping

by hot tears that blood dyes crimson—

بِأَعظَم مِن مَصرَ اِكتِئاباً وَحسرَةً

وَقَد زالَ عَنها عِزُّها المُتصرِّمُ

is more dejected and sorrowful than Egypt,

whose waning glory has now departed.

لَقَد هَرِمت مصرٌ وَنزعَمُ أَنَّها

فَتاةٌ فَهَل أُدعى فَتىً حينَ أَهرَمُ

Egypt has indeed grown old, yet we claim that she

is a maiden; am I called a youth when I grow old?

بَدا ظَهرُها بَعد الشَبابِ مُقوَّساً

وَقَد كانَ قَبل الشَيبِ وَهوَ مُقوَّمُ

Her back appears bent after youth,

though before her hair turned gray it was straight.

وَلَو أَسفَرَت عَن وَجهِها لَبَدَت لَنا

حَقيقتُها لَكنّها تتلثُّمُ

Were she to unveil her face, there would appear to us

her true condition; but she keeps herself veiled.

إِذا حاوَلت مِصرٌ إِلى المجدِ نَهضَةً

أَبى ذاكَ عَظمٌ واهِنٌ مُتهشِّمُ

Whenever Egypt attempts to rise toward glory,

a frail, shattered bone denies her.

أَتلك فَتاةٌ يا بَني مِصرَ إِنَّكُم

تَوهّمتُمو هَذا فَخابَ التَوهُّمُ

Is that a maiden, sons of Egypt? You

imagined this, and your imagining proved false.

وَفلّاحُ مصرٍ كَم تَوالَت مَصائِبٌ

عَلَيهِ تَلقّى شَرَّها وَهوَ مُرغَمُ

And Egypt's peasant—how many calamities have followed

upon him! He endures their worst under compulsion.

رَأى القُوتَ مِن هَمِّ الحَياةِ فَباعَهُ

يَخافُ أَذاهُم وَانثَنى يَتألَّمُ

Amid life's cares, he looked at his food and sold it,

fearing their abuse, and turned away in pain.

لَهُ صِبيَةٌ خُمصُ البُطُونِ كَأَنَّهُم

جَوازِلُ وَكرٍ ما لَها فيهِ مُطعِمُ

He has children with hollow bellies, as though they were

nestlings in a nest, with no one there to feed them.

وَبادية الثَديَينِ أَخلَقَ ثَوبُها

وَأَبلاهُ بَعد الحَولِ حَولٌ مُجرَّمُ

And a woman, her breasts exposed, her garment threadbare,

worn out by a full year following another year,

توجَّعُ تَبغِي بَعدَ عامَينِ غَيره

حِفاظاً على العَوراتِ وَالمرءُ مُعدِمُ

laments, seeking another after two years,

to cover her nakedness; but the man is penniless.

يقول لَها لا ترفعي الصَوتَ واجعَلي

لِباسَكِ حُسنَ الصَبرِ ما ثَمَّ دِرهَمُ

He tells her: Do not raise your voice; make

patient endurance your clothing: there is not a dirham.

مَغارمُ شَتّى لا تَزالُ تُصِيبُني

إِذا مَغرمٌ مِنها انقَضى جاءَ مَغرَمُ

Various levies keep falling upon me;

as soon as one levy ends, another comes.

نُمارسُ أَنواع الشَقاءِ وَغيرُنا

بِما نَحن نَجنِي دُوننا يَتنعَّمُ

We endure every kind of misery, while others

enjoy what we reap, to our exclusion.

نَبيعُ بِبَخسٍ ما علمتِ وَنَشتري

مِن القَومَ لا بِالبخسِ ما نحنُ نُنجِمُ

We sell for a pittance what you know, and buy

from those people, not cheaply, what we pay for in installments.

فَلو أَنّ في مصرٍ مَصانِعَ لَم يَكُن

كَمغنمِ أَهليها عَلى الدَهرِ مَغنمُ

If only Egypt had factories, there would be

no gain in all time like the gain of her people.

بِلادٌ يَفيضُ الخَيرُ فيها وَتشتَكي

وَشعبٌ يَفوزُ الأَجنبيُّ وَيُحرَمُ

A land overflowing with plenty, yet complaining;

a people deprived, while the foreigner prospers.

أَلا لَيتَ هَذا الدَهرَ يَعكس سَيرَهُ

فَيَعتادُ مِصراً عَهدُها المتقدِّمُ

Would that this age reversed its course,

so Egypt's former era would return to her!

لَقَد كانَ عيداً لِلبلادِ وَموسِماً

تُسَرُّ بِهِ لَو دامَ عيدٌ وَمَوسِمُ

It was indeed a feast and a festive season for the country,

in which she rejoiced—if only feasts and seasons lasted!

ترقَّت بُروجَ العزِّ فيهِ بَواذِخاً

لَها مِن صَميمِ العَزمِ وَالحَزمِ سُلَّمُ

In it she climbed the lofty towers of honor,

her ladder made of steadfast resolve and prudence.

أَتى بَعدهُ عَهدٌ وَعَهدٌ كلاهما

أَضرُّ وَأَنكى للبلادِ وَأَشأمُ

After it came one era, then another, both

more harmful, more wounding, and more ill-omened for the land.

كَفى حَزَناً أَنّ المَدارِسَ أَصبَحَت

دَوارِسَ فيها لِلبَلى مُتخيَّمُ

Grief enough that schools have become

ruins, where decay has pitched its camp.

أَرى أُمَّةً حَيرى يَظلُّ سَوادُها

صَريعَ العَمى وَالجَهلِ ما يَتعلَّمُ

I see a bewildered nation, its multitude remaining

stricken by blindness and ignorance, learning nothing.

أَلا مُصلحٌ يَبني الحَياةَ لِقَومِهِ

أَلا مُنقِذٌ يَحمي البِلادَ وَيَعصمُ

Is there no reformer to build life for his people?

No deliverer to protect the country and preserve it?

سَما مِن سَما بِالعلمِ وَاعتزَّ بِالحِجى

مَن اعتزَّ فينا وَالذين تقدَّموا

Knowledge raised those who rose; reason gave strength

to those who grew strong among us, and those who advanced.

رَأَيتَ سَنامَ المَجدِ لا يَستطيعهُ

بِلا أَدَبٍ يَسمو بِهِ المُتَسنِّمُ

You have seen that glory's crest cannot be attained

without learning by which its climber rises.

وَكَيفَ تَنالُ المَجدَ في الناسِ أُمَّةٌ

أَزِمَّتُها للإِنكليزِ تُسلَّمُ

How can a nation attain glory among people

when its reins are handed to the English?

أَنطمعُ كَالأَحياءِ في نَيلِ بُغيةٍ

وَأَعداؤُنا تَقضِي عَلينا وَتحكمُ

Can we hope, like the living, to attain a wish,

while our enemies pass judgment on us and rule?

وَلَم أَرَ كَالسُودان أَبعَثَ لِلأَسى

وَإِن لجَّ في ترنامِهِ المترنِّمُ

I have seen nothing like Sudan for awakening grief,

though the singer persists in his singing.

أَكانوا عِداةً فَابتدرنا قِتالَهُم

وصاولهم منّا الخَميسُ العرمرمُ

Were they enemies, that we rushed to fight them,

and our vast army engaged them in battle?

دهمناهمو لا بل دهمنا نُفوسَنا

فهلّا علمنا أَيُّنا كان يُدهَمُ

We fell upon them—no, we fell upon ourselves;

why did we not know which of us was being assailed?

سُيوفٌ لِغَير اللَهِ سُلَّت عَليهمو

تُطبِّقُ فيهم مَرَّةً وَتُصمِّمُ

Swords were drawn against them for other than God,

at times severing their joints, at times cleaving their bones.

تَمَنّى لَوَ اَنّ الحامليها تثلّمت

سَواعِدُها أَو أَنَّها تَتثلَّمُ

They wish that those who wield them had their

arms maimed, or that they themselves were blunted.

وَمُشتجِراتٌ في الصُدورِ نَوافذٌ

تَودُّ تُقىً لَو أَنَّها تَتَحطَّمُ

And tangled spears, piercing through chests,

wish, out of piety, that they would shatter.

فَيا عَجَباً لِلدَهر كَيفَ يَضمُّنا

وَإِخوانَنا الأَدنين في الحَرب مَأزِمُ

How strange is time, that we should be joined

with our closest brothers in war's narrow strait!

أَلا حُرمةٌ وافى بِها الدّينُ تُتَّقى

أَلا رَحِمٌ أَوصى بِها اللَهُ تُرحَمُ

Is there no sanctity brought by religion to be respected?

No kinship God enjoined to be shown mercy?

كَأنّي بِأَرواحٍ قَضَت شهداؤُها

تَسامى إِلى ديّانها تَتظلَّمُ

I seem to see the souls of those who died as martyrs

ascending to their Judge to complain of wrong.

لعمري لَقد غِيظَت لِسوءِ صَنيعنا

مَلائِكَةُ الجبّارِ فَهيَ تُدمدِمُ

By my life, our evil deeds have angered

the Almighty's angels, who rumble in wrath.

تجدَّلت الحامون مِنّا وَمنهمو

وحدّثتِ الناعون عَنّا وَعنهمُ

Defenders from our ranks and theirs were struck down,

and death-announcers told of us and of them.

فَمَن لِنساءٍ قَد شَجاها التَأيُّمُ

وَمَن لِصغارٍ قَد دَهاها التيتُّمُ

Who will care for women whom widowhood has grieved?

Who for children whom orphanhood has stricken?

يُهنِّئُنا قَومٌ بِهذا وَإِنَّما

يُهنّأُ مَن يَغزو العَدوَّ فَيغنَمُ

Some people congratulate us for this, yet only

those who fight the enemy and gain spoils deserve congratulations.

عَلام أَرى الغاوين تُسدِي وَتُلحِمُ

وَتنثرُ في مَدحِ العِداةِ وَتنظمُ

Why do I see the misguided weaving warp and weft,

composing prose and verse in praise of enemies?

أَلا قاتل اللَهُ المقطَّمَ إِنَّهُ

لَيُوشِك أَن يندكَّ مِنهُ المقطَّمُ

May God smite al-Muqattam! It

nearly brings Mount Muqattam itself crashing down.

نَودُّ لَهُ أَن يَهتدي مِن ضَلالهِ

فَيَأبى وَأَن يَحذو الكِرامَ فَيلأمُ

We wish it to find guidance out of its error,

but it refuses; to follow the noble, but it acts basely.

وَكَيفَ يَرى سُبلَ الهِدايَةِ مُبغضٌ

لَها مُستهامٌ بِالغِوايةِ مُغرَمُ

How can one see the paths of guidance who hates

them, infatuated and enamored with error?

يَدُبُّ يَقولُ السُوءَ في مصر جاهِداً

كَما دَبّ لَيلاً يَنفثُّ السُمَّ أَرقَمُ

It creeps about, striving to speak ill of Egypt,

as a speckled snake creeps by night, spitting venom.

أَلم يَدرِ أَنّ الصدقَ أَهدى طَريقَةً

وَأَجدى وَأَنّ الحَقَّ أَقوى وَأَقوَمُ

Does it not know that truthfulness offers a straighter path,

and greater benefit, and that truth is stronger and more upright?

تَمَنّى العِدى أَن تَستَبيحَ بِلادَنا

مُنىً دُونَها ذُو لبدتين غشمشمُ

The enemies wished to overrun our land—

wishes barred by a fierce lion with twin manes,

شتيمٌ تَحامى الضارِياتُ عَرينَهُ

يُكشِّرُ عَن أَنيابِهِ وَيُصلقِمُ

grim-faced, whose lair the beasts of prey avoid,

baring his fangs and gnashing his teeth.

مُنىً دُونَها غَيثُ البِلادِ وَغوثُها

مَليكُ الوَرى عَبدُ الحَميدِ المعظَّمُ

Wishes barred by the land's life-giving rain and succor,

the sovereign of mankind, exalted Abd al-Hamid.

أَجلُّ المُلوكِ الصيدِ في الفَضلِ رُتبَةً

وَأَقوم رَأياً في الخطوب وَأَحزَمُ

Highest in merit among proud kings,

soundest in judgment amid crises, and most resolute.

لَهُ عَزَماتٌ ماضياتٌ متى تَرُمْ

مَراماً تَحاماها القَضاءُ المحتَّمُ

His resolves press onward; whenever they seek

an aim, even inevitable fate shuns them.

يَبِيتُ الدُجى يَرعى الرَعايا بفكرةٍ

حَكَت مِنهُ طَرفاً كالئاً ما يُهوِّمُ

He spends the dark night tending his subjects with thought

that mirrors his own watchful eye, which never dozes.

هوَ المُرتَجى لِلمُلكِ يَحمِي ذِمارَهُ

وَيَدحرُ عَنهُ المُعتَدين وَيَدحَمُ

He is the kingdom's hope, guarding its sacred trusts,

driving off and repelling its aggressors.

وَرَأيٍ لَهُ أَمضى غِراراً وَمضرباً

مِن السَيفِ لا يَنبو وَلا هوَ يَكهَمُ

And his judgment has a sharper edge and stroke

than a sword; it neither glances off nor grows blunt.

تُغَضُّ بِهِ هامُ الأَعادي إِذا عتت

وَتُجذَمُ أَسبابُ العَوادي وَتُخذَمُ

By it the enemies' heads are bowed when they rebel,

and the cords of calamity are severed and cut through.

أَمَولاي رُحماك الَّتي أَنتَ أَهلُها

فَحتّى مَتى نُبدي الشَكايا وَنكتمُ

My lord, grant the mercy of which you are worthy!

How long must we voice our complaints and conceal them?

يُصرّحُ بِالشَكوى لِعُلياك معشرٌ

وَيَخشى الأَعادي معشرٌ فَيُجَمجِمُ

Some people declare their grievances to Your Highness,

while others fear the enemies and speak in muffled words.

أَمضّت جراحاتُ الخُطوبِ قُلوبَنا

وَلَيسَ لَها في غَير كَفَّيكَ مَرهَمُ

The wounds of calamity have tormented our hearts,

and no balm for them lies outside your hands.

أما للشياطين الَّتي قَد تَمرَّدت

بِأَرضك شُهبٌ مِن سَمائِكَ رُجَّمُ

Are there, for the devils that have rebelled

in your land, no meteors from your sky to stone them?

غِياثَكَ يا رَبَّ البِلادِ لأمةٍ

يُهدَّمُ عالي مجدِها وَيُهضَّمُ

Your aid, lord of the land, for a nation

whose lofty glory is demolished and diminished!

غِياثَكَ إِنّا قَد سئمنا حَياتَنا

وَمِثلُ حَياةِ الحُرِّ في مِصرَ تُسأَمُ

Your aid! We have grown weary of our lives,

and such a life as the free man's in Egypt is wearisome.

غِياثَكَ قَد ضاقَ الخِناقُ وَحَشرَجَت

نُفوسٌ إِذا استبقيتها تتلوَّمُ

Your aid! The noose has tightened, and death rattles rise

from souls that may yet linger, if you keep them alive.

بَقيتَ لِهَذا الملكِ تَدفَعُ دُونه

وَتَمنعُ أَمرَ المُسلمين وَتعصمُ

May you endure for this kingdom, defending it,

protecting and safeguarding the Muslims' cause.

وَلا زلت يا رُوحَ الخِلافَةِ سالِماً

فَأَمنيَّةُ الإِسلامِ أَنّك تسلمُ

May you ever remain safe, soul of the caliphate,

for Islam's wish is that you remain safe.

وَلا بَرحَ البَيتُ الَّذي أَنتَ شائِدٌ

مِن المَجدِ فينا وَهوَ بَيتٌ مُحرَّمُ

And may the house you are building

of glory among us ever remain a sacred house.