ركدت وهبت لوعة الحزن تدأب — Ahmad Muharram

ركَدتَ وَهبّتْ لوعةُ الحُزنِ تَدأبُ

وَنِمتَ وما نَامَ الحَريبُ المُعذَّبُ

You lay still, while grief's anguish rose and labored on.

You slept, but the bereft, tormented one did not sleep.

أمِن شِيمةِ الأبطالِ أن يبعثوا الوَغَى

فَإنْ أَوشكتْ أن تَبعثَ النَّصرَ نُكِّبوا

Is it the heroes' way to stir up battle,

then be struck down when it is about to bring forth victory?

بِعينكَ ما تَلْقَى مِن الضَّيمِ أُمَّةٌ

تَبيتُ بوادي النّيلِ حَيْرَى تَقَلَّبُ

Before your eyes is the oppression endured by a nation

that spends the night in the Nile valley, bewildered, tossing and turning.

أَخيذةُ أحداثٍ تَظلُّ غُزاتُها

مُظفَّرةً أَبْطالُها ما تُخيَّبُ

A captive of calamities, whose raiders remain

victorious, their champions never thwarted.

جَرَتْ بارحاتُ الطيرِ ترمي رَجاءَها

بأَسحمَ ما ينفكُّ حرّانَ يَنعبُ

The ill-omened birds sped past, striking at her hope

with a black bird, ever parched and cawing.

أَلاَ قَدَرٌ للهِ يجرِي سَنيحُه

بحاجاتها أو آيةٌ منه تُكتَبُ

Is there no decree of God's whose favorable omen moves

to meet her needs, or a sign from Him to be inscribed?

لَعمرُ الأُلَى هانتْ عليهم صُدوعُها

لقد غَالَها الصدَّعُ الذي ليس يُرأَبُ

By the lives of those who held her fractures cheap,

the rift that cannot be mended has surely laid her waste.

إذا هي جدََّتْ تطلبُ الحقَّ ردَّها

مُعنّىً بإدمانِ الأباطيلِ يلعبُ

Whenever she earnestly seeks her right, she is repulsed

by a man plagued by addiction to falsehoods, making sport.

تورّعَ يستهوِي الحُلومَ فأَقبلتْ

جَماهيرُها تستنُّ أَيّانَ يَذهبُ

He professed piety, beguiling minds, and forward came

her multitudes, racing on whenever he went.

فلمّا ارْتَمتْ ملءَ العِنانَيْنِ خَالَها

عَصافيرَ تُزْجَى أو قواريرَ تُجلَبُ

Then, when they surged ahead at full rein, he deemed them

sparrows to be driven along, or glass vessels to be carried.

وأعرضَ يَقضي حاجةَ النّفسِ لا يَرى

لها حاجةً مِن دُونِ ذلكَ تُطْلَبُ

And he turned away to satisfy his own desire, not seeing

any need of hers to pursue beyond that.

يُعلّمها أن تجعلَ الغَدْرَ مَركباً

إذا لم يكن مِن صالحِ البرِّ مَركبُ

He teaches her to make treachery a mount

when worthy righteousness offers no mount.

كذلكَ يُعدِي المرءُ أخلاقَ قَوْمِه

وَيهدِمُ مِنها مَا بَناهُ المُؤَدِّبُ

Thus a man infects his people's character,

and destroys in it what the moral teacher has built.

سَلُوا مِصرَ إذ أَوْدَى فَتاها المُحبَّبُ

أَمَا انْصرفَتْ آمالُها وهي نُحَّبُ

Ask Egypt when her beloved young man perished:

did not her hopes depart in tears?

وَحُوطوا حِمَى الإِسلامِ إنّي أخافُها

كتائبَ شتَّى حَوله تَتألَّبُ

And guard Islam's sanctuary: I fear those

diverse battalions gathering around it.

لقد كان مِلءَ المشرقَيْنِ كِلاءةً

إذا انبعَثتْ أو أمسكتْ تترقَّبُ

He had indeed filled the two Easts with protection,

whether they advanced or held back in watchful waiting.

تَجولُ المنايا حَولها كُلَّما ارْتَمتْ

قَذائفُ مِنه جُوَّلُ الهَوْلِ جُوَّبُ

Deaths roam around them whenever there are hurled

missiles from him, roaming and ranging through terror.

دَعَوْتُ الأمينَ الحرَّ دعوةَ مُشفْقٍ

يرى دولةَ الأحرارِ في مِصرَ تُنكَبُ

I called upon the trustworthy, free man with a concerned man's appeal,

seeing the state of the free in Egypt struck by calamity.

مَنايا غَلَبْنَ البأسَ يَعصِفُ بالقُوى

وأهواءُ دُنيا هُنَّ أقوى وأغلبُ

Deaths overcame the valor that swept mighty forces away,

and worldly passions—they are stronger and more victorious.

تَتابعَ أبطالُ الجهادِ وَغُودِرَتْ

بَقايا سُيوفٍ في يدِ اللهِ تَضرِبُ

The heroes of the struggle departed one by one, and there were left

remnants of swords, striking in the hand of God.

تَقَرُّ العَوادِي حين يَهتاجُ سِربُها

وتَرْضَى السّماواتُ العُلىَ حين تَغضبُ

The marauders grow still when the swords' flock is roused,

and the high heavens are pleased when they grow wrathful.

تَصونُ جَلالَ الدّينِ والدّينُ يُزْدَرَى

وتَحمِي لِواءَ الحقِّ والحقُّ يُسلَبُ

They preserve religion's majesty while religion is scorned,

and guard the banner of right while right is stolen.

أقَامَ الهُدَى أَعلامَهُ في ظِلالِها

فما فيهِ للغاوي المُضلِّل مَأربُ

Guidance has raised its banners in their shade,

so the erring misleader has no aim to pursue there.

دَوافعُ لِلجُلَّى سَواطعُ في الدُّجَى

طَوالعُ للسَّارينَ والشُّهبُ غُيَّبُ

Warders against great calamity, radiant in the darkness,

rising lights for night travelers, when the meteors are hidden.

مَنعنا بها عِرضَ الكِنانةِ إنّه

بِمَجْرَى السَّنا منها مُقيمٌ مُطنَّبُ

With them we defended Kinanah's honor; it indeed

abides, firmly pitched where their radiance flows.

يَضيقُ به الخَصمُ اللَّجوجُ فيرعوي

ويرتدُّ عنه الطامحُ المُتَوثِّبُ

The stubborn enemy chafes at it, then desists,

and the ambitious foe poised to spring recoils from it.

يَرى الدّهرُ أن يَبتزَّهُ وهو مُشفِقٌ

ويُغرِي به أحداثَه وَهْيَ هُيَّبُ

Time thinks to snatch it away, though apprehensive,

and urges its calamities against it, though they shrink in fear.

وإنّا لَنَأْبَى أن نرى مِصرَ عَوْرةً

نُسَبُّ بها في العَالَمينَ ونُثْلَبُ

And we surely refuse to see Egypt left exposed,

and be reviled and defamed for her among all peoples.

أَنترُكُها نَهْبَ المُغيرينَ إنّنا

لَتُنكِرُنا آباؤنا حِينَ نُنْسَبُ

Shall we leave her as plunder for raiders? Surely

our fathers would disown us when our descent is traced.

أَنحنُ بنو القومِ الأُلىَ زَلزلوا الدُّنَى

وثَلّوا العُروشَ الشُّمَّ أم نحن نكذبُ

Are we sons of the people who shook the worlds

and toppled the lofty thrones—or are we lying?

أرَى المرءَ يأبى أن يُقارِفَ خُطَّةً

تنكَّبَها مِن قبلِ أن يُولدَ الأبُ

I see a man refuse to undertake a course

his father shunned before he was born.

هَلُمّوا شَبابَ النّيلِ فالبِرُّ أوجَبُ

أَمِن حَقِّهِ أن تنعموا وهو مُتْعَبُ

Come, young men of the Nile, for devotion is the higher duty.

Is it his due that you enjoy ease while he is exhausted?

هَلُمّوا إلى البيضاءِ إن رَابَ مَذهبٌ

وأُمُّوا سَواءَ الأمرِ إن مَالَ أَنْكَبُ

Come to the white path if a course arouses doubt,

and seek the straight course if a crooked one swerves.

هَلُمّوا فَصُونوا للِكنانةِ مَجْدَها

وكونوا لها الجُندَ الذي ليس يَرهبُ

Come, and preserve Kinanah's glory for her,

and be for her the soldiery that knows no fear.

أَقيموا على الأخلاقِ بُنيانَ عِزِّها

فقد هَجَعَ الباني وهَبَّ المُخرِّبُ

Raise the edifice of her might upon good character,

for the builder has fallen asleep, and the destroyer has arisen.

بكيتُ على الماضينَ من شُهدائِكم

يُباعُ الدَّمُ المسفوكُ مِنهم وَيُوهَبُ

I wept for those of your martyrs who have passed,

whose spilled blood is sold and given away.

قَرابينُ رِيعَتْ في مَحاريبِ قُدْسِها

وما بينها جانٍ ولا ثَمَّ مُذنِبُ

Sacrificial offerings, terrified in their holy sanctuaries,

with no wrongdoer among them and no guilty one there.

تَنَاسَى حُماةُ النّيلِ أيّامَ قُرِّبَتْ

فضاعتْ غَواليها وضَاعَ المُقَرِّبُ

The Nile's protectors chose to forget the days they were sacrificed,

so their precious lives were lost, and so was the sacrificer.

بُهِتُّ فما أدري أَماءُ مِرَشَّةٍ

يُراقُ جُزافاً أم دَمٌ يَتصبَّبُ

I stood aghast, not knowing: is this water from a sprinkler

being poured out indiscriminately, or blood gushing forth?

رَثَى الأُسْرُبُ الجاني لِفرطِ هَوانِها

على القومِ واسْتَحيا السِّلاحُ المُخَضَّبُ

The guilty lead lamented how little they were valued

by the people, and the bloodstained weapon felt shame.

وَأصبحَ راميها تلوحُ شُخوصُها

فَيأْسَى وتشكو ما دهاها فَيحدَبُ

And their shooter now sees their figures loom,

and grieves; they lament what befell them, and he feels compassion.

لَئِنْ عَجِبَ الأقوامُ مِن سُوءِ صُنعهِ

لَصُنعُ الأُلىَ حَالوا عَنِ العهدِ أَعجبُ

If the peoples marveled at the evil of his deed,

the deed of those who forsook the pledge is surely stranger.

مَضوا هَدَراً مِثلَ الرّياحينِ غالَها

وَشيكُ الرَّدى أو هُم أبرُّ وأطيبُ

They passed in vain, like fragrant flowers struck down by

death's swift approach—or rather, they were more righteous and sweeter.

فَمِن لاعجٍ للوجدِ يُذكيه لاعجٌ

وَمِن صيِّبٍ للدّمعِ يُزجيهِ صَيِّبُ

So a blaze of grief is kindled by another blaze,

and a downpour of tears is driven onward by another downpour.

ضحَايا من الأبرارِ ضَجَّتْ قُبورُها

فَضَجَّ المُصلَّى واْقشعرَّ المُحصَّبُ

Victims from among the righteous—their graves cried out,

and the prayer ground cried out, and al-Muhassab shuddered.

هَلُمّوا شَبابَ النّيلِ لا تَتَهيَّبوا

فقد نَشطَ الدّاعي وجَدَّ المُثوِّبُ

Come, young men of the Nile, do not be daunted,

for the caller is eager, and the herald repeats his summons in earnest.

هو الحقُّ ما عن نَهجهِ مُتحوَّلٌ

لِمَنْ يبتغِي المُثلىَ ولا منه مَهربُ

It is the truth; there is no turning from its path

for anyone who seeks the highest ideal, nor any escape from it.

أجيبوا سِراعاً إنّها ساعةُ الوَغَى

وإنّا لَنخشَى أن يطولَ التأهُّبُ

Answer swiftly: it is the hour of battle,

and we surely fear that preparation may drag on.

إذا السّيفُ أمضَى في الكتائبِ حُكمَهُ

فماذا عَسَى يُغنِي الكميُّ المُجرِّبُ

When the sword has enforced its judgment among the battalions,

what use could the seasoned armored warrior then be?

إلينا شَبابَ النّيلِ لا تَعْدِلوا بنا

فلا القاعُ غَرّارٌ ولا البرقُ خُلَّبُ

Come to us, young men of the Nile; set none alongside us,

for the plain is not deceptive, nor the lightning a false promise.

إلى أُمَّةٍ تُلقِي إليكم رَجاءَها

إذا هَاجَها يومٌ مِن الشَّرِّ أشهبُ

To a nation that casts her hope upon you,

when a gray day of evil rouses her.

عَرفنا لها ما جَلَّ من حُرُماتِها

فَلا نَحنُ نُؤذيها ولا هِيَ تَعتِبُ

We have acknowledged her most sacred rights,

so we do not harm her, nor does she reproach us.

أُولئكَ أعلامُ الجهادِ فَكبِّروا

وَتلكَ أناشيدُ البلادِ فَأَوِّبوا

Those are the standards of the struggle: proclaim God's greatness,

and those are the country's anthems: sing them in refrain.