بالشمل لا بالحديد اليوم والنار — Ahmed Al Kashef

بالشملِ لا بالحديد اليومَ والنارِ

يا فتيةَ الدار صنتم حوزة الدارِ

Through unity today, not through iron and fire,

O young men of the homeland, you have guarded the homeland's domain.

واعتزَّ كلُّ أخٍ مستوثقٍ بأخٍ

في كل مربأةٍ منها ومضمارِ

And every brother, trusting firmly in a brother, grew strong

At every lookout and racecourse within it.

وجاء بالصلحِ ميموناً غريمُكُمُ

مباركاً بين مختارٍ ومختار

Your adversary came auspiciously, bringing peace,

Blessed, between one willing party and another.

وعاهدت مصر من لا بد منه لها

ومن بقايا له فيها وآثار

And Egypt made a pact with one she could not avoid,

Nor could she avoid his remnants and traces within her.

وردَّ حقَّكُمُ أدرى الشعوب به

من بعد ما لج في مَطلٍ وإنكارِ

The nation that knew your right best has restored it,

After persisting in stalling and denial.

وحل ودُّكُمُ منه وألفتُهُ

منكم محلَّ الدمِ المطلول والثارِ

And his affection for you and his friendship

With you replaced unavenged bloodshed and vengeance.

وجاء بالخير في اليُمْنى يهنِّئكم

من بعد ما جاء في اليسرى بإنذارِ

He came with good in his right hand to congratulate you,

After he had come with a warning in his left.

خمسين عاماً قضاها وهو مجترحٌ

في الجهرِ حيناً وحيناً خلفَ أستارِ

Fifty years he spent committing wrongs,

Sometimes openly, sometimes behind veils.

وتلك عشرون أخرى لا يحيط بما

فيها من الحدثانِ المدلجُ الساري

And there are twenty more: what they contain

Of events no traveler by night can encompass.

كم راضكم بوعودٍ منه طائلة

وراعكم بوعيدٍ منه جبّارِ

How often he tamed you with lavish promises,

And terrified you with tyrannical threats.

وكان منكم عليكم بأسُه وله

بين السباع نصيب الضيغم الضاري

His might against you came from you; he had

Among beasts of prey the share of the ravening lion.

عهد الكرامة ما أبرمتموه له

والموثق الحرُّ بين الجار والجار

What you concluded with him is a pact of dignity,

A freely made covenant between neighbor and neighbor.

تحمونهُ وهو يحميكم وعزمُكمُ

وعزمه كالقضاء النافذ الجاري

You protect him, and he protects you; your resolve

And his are like fate, irresistible in its course.

وليس بالآخذ المعطي كما سلفت

تلك الليالي ولا بالبائع الشاري

The giver is no longer the taker, as in

Those bygone nights, nor is the buyer the seller.

لم يعرِض الشرط إلا وهو عندكمُ

ممهِّدٌ لمراميه بِأعذار

He proposed no condition without, in your presence,

Paving the way toward his aims with excuses.

كنا على بعدكم في أرضه معكم

نراكمُ قبل أنباء وأخبار

Though you were far away in his land, we were with you,

Seeing you before any tidings or reports.

دخلتموها عليه فاتحين وما

كنتم سوى نُزُلٍ فيها وزوار

You entered it as conquerors in his presence, though

You were only guests and visitors there.

لكم غداً لا له ما عاد يطلبه

من عدة وميادينٍ وأسوارِ

Tomorrow, what he seeks anew is yours, not his:

Armaments, training grounds, and ramparts.

تعيد أيديكمُ ما ضيعت يدُه

إذ كنتمُ في حماكم غيرَ أحرارِ

Your hands will restore what his hand squandered,

When you were not free within your own homeland.

وإن مضى بكتابٍ من سجلِّكُمُ

فإنَّه قيدُ أدوارٍ وأطوارِ

And if he departs with a document from your register,

It remains subject to periods and changing phases.

وإن أقام ففي أرضٍ إلى أجلٍ

لا في قلوب وآذانٍ وأبصار

And if he stays, it is on land until a fixed term,

Not in hearts and ears and eyes.

وما مواثيقكم إلا منافعكم

لا ما تعدون من كتبٍ وأسفار

Your covenants are nothing but your interests,

Not the books and volumes you count.

وما عليكم إذا اشتدت سواعدكم

عهدَ الوفيِّ نوى أو عهدَ غدَّار

What need you care, once your arms grow strong,

Whether he intends a faithful man's pledge or a traitor's?

هذا هو الأنفع الأولى لكم فسلوا

قبل المضيقين عنه وادي السار

This is the most beneficial, most fitting course for you; ask

The Saar Valley about it, before the two straits.

وربما سكن الثوارُ بينكمُ

وثار منكم رجالٌ غير ثوار

Sometimes the revolutionaries among you grew quiet,

While men among you who were no revolutionaries rose up.

وربَّ دعوى قضى فيها القويُّ له

بلا كتابٍ وأشهادٍ وحُضّارِ

Many a claim the strong man has settled in his own favor,

Without writ, witnesses, or assembled onlookers.

قضى النهارُ على ما كان من رِيَبٍ

ومن خبايا وألغاز وأسرار

Daylight has banished all the doubts,

And hidden things, riddles, and secrets.

وتلك أفواجكم سارت لغايتها

في أمنها بعد زلزال وإعصار

There are your throngs, marching toward their goal,

In safety after earthquake and hurricane.

ساوى المُحَيِّي بأزهارٍ وألوية

من كان يرمي بأشواكٍ وأحجارِ

Equal to those greeting with flowers and banners are

Those who once hurled thorns and stones.

وقد جُزيتم بما أحسنتموه إلى

بلادكم ولقيتم كل إكبارِ

You have been rewarded for the good you did for

Your country, and have met with every honor.

أجر الرجال على مقدار ما صنعوا

قسطاً بقسطٍ ومعياراً بمعيار

Men's reward is according to the measure of their deeds,

Share for share, and measure for measure.

لا فرق عندكمُ والدارُ واحدةٌ

من أهلها بين ديّار وديّار

For you, since the homeland is one, there is no distinction

Among its people, between one inhabitant and another.

وللحمَى وبنيه لا لأنفسِكم

تكاثرون بأشياعٍ وأنصار

For the homeland and its sons, not for yourselves,

You swell your ranks with followers and supporters.

وليس غير الذي ضحّى بمهجته

للشعب أولى بتمثال وتذكار

None but he who sacrificed his lifeblood

For the people is most worthy of a statue and memorial.

وما التعلة بالآمال خادعةً

إلا كتسليم مقهور لقهَّارِ

Seeking solace in deceptive hopes

Is only like a vanquished man's surrender to his oppressor.

أخْلى لكل حكيمٍ منكمُ دَرِبٍ

طريقَه كلُّ فرِّارٍ وكرّار

Every wise, experienced man among you has had

His path cleared by every man of flight and charge.

ولا تصح لإنسان عزائمُهُ

إلا بصحة آراءٍ وأفكار

No man's resolves are sound

Unless his views and thoughts are sound.

وهبتمُ كلَّ نفس للبلاد فدى

واليومَ تطلب منكم كل دينار

You offered every life as ransom for the country;

Today she asks you for every dinar.

وخصب أنفسكم لا خصب أرضكم

هو الكفيل بإثراء وإيسار

The fertility of your souls, not the fertility of your soil,

Is the guarantee of riches and prosperity.

ورب شعبٍ بنى في الدهر مملكةً

على السجايا وكان الأعزلَ العاري

Many a people has built a kingdom through the ages

Upon virtues, though it was unarmed and naked.

وما ملكتُ سوى نَفسي أقرِّبُها

زلفى إليكم وهذا بعض إيثاري

I own nothing but myself, which I offer

As an offering to you; this is part of my self-sacrifice.

ولو وجدتُ لشعري بينكم ثمناً

بنيتُ حصنين للوادي بأشعاري

Had I found a price for my poetry among you,

I would have built two fortresses for the valley with my poems.

وإخوة لكمُ لم يرضهم أمدٌ

أرضاكمُ ورأوه فضلة القاري

And brothers of yours were not content with a term

That satisfied you; they saw it as the host's leavings.

على الزمان غضابٌ للقضية همْ

عسى يردون تياراً بتيار

They rage at the times for the sake of the cause,

Hoping to repel one torrent with another.

أبعد إجماعكم يرتاب بعضكمُ

وما همُ أهل إحجام وإدبار

After your consensus, do some of you still doubt,

Though they are not men to shrink back or retreat?

وقد تناول ميثاق الحليف لكم

كلُّ الشعوبِ بتصديقٍ وإقرارِ

Already your ally's pact with you has been received

By all peoples with affirmation and approval.

لم يجهلوا فضلكم لكنهم ذهبوا

إلى مزيد من النعمى وإكثار

They did not fail to recognize your merit, but sought

Further blessings and still greater abundance.

برُّوا بمصرَ وإني لا أحب لكم

بمصرَ أن تحسبوهم غير أبرار

They have been true to Egypt, and I would not have you

Think them anything but true to Egypt.

يا قادة الشعب أوصيكم وبينكمُ

أهلي وصحبي وجيراني وأصهاري

O leaders of the people, I counsel you; among you are

My kin, my friends, my neighbors, and my in-laws.

أمضيتم بمداد الصدق ما كتبتْ

أيديكمُ بدمٍ طهرٍ وأنوار

With the ink of truth, you ratified what was written

By your hands in pure blood and light.

وقد رددتم به طيبَ الحياةِ إلى

قتلى لكم في سبيل الملك أطهار

And through it you restored life's sweetness to

Your pure dead, slain in the cause of sovereignty.

فأوّلوا كل ما فيه لجانبكم

من التواء وإبهام وإضمار

So construe in your favor all it contains

Of twists, ambiguity, and hidden intent.

ولا تخافوا على سلطانكم حرجاً

وفيكمُ كل نفّاع وضرّار

Fear no constraint upon your sovereignty,

While among you are all who can greatly help and harm.

وليس يشغلكم عما يراد بكم

ما نلتمُ من أمانيٍّ وأوطار

Nor are you distracted from what is intended for you

By the hopes and desires you have attained.

وليس أقصى منالٍ في جهادكمُ

هذا وآخرَ تجوالٍ وتسيار

This is not the utmost attainment of your struggle,

Nor the last of your journeys and travels.

أدَّى الأمانة حاديكم وصائحكم

وآن ميعاد غوَّاص وطيَّار

Your camel-driver and your herald have fulfilled their trust;

Now the time of diver and aviator has come.

تلك الطليعة بالعقبى مبشرةٌ

للجانبين وإن جاءت بمقدار

That vanguard heralds a happy outcome

For both sides, though it has come in limited measure.

وربما فزتمُ في ساعتين بما

تركتموه لآجال وأعمار

Perhaps in two hours you may win what

You had left for long periods and lifetimes.

والنيل تابعكم في كلِّ ناحيةٍ

منه تمدون أنهاراً بأنهار

The Nile is at your command in every region;

From it you supply rivers with rivers.

نُعمى السماءِ وأيديكم مُصرِّفةٌ

لما أتى فيضُ أنواء وأمطار

Heaven's bounty, with your hands in control

When the flood of storms and rain comes.

فابنوا قناطره ألفاً بناءكمُ

خزانَ أصوانِ أو خزانَ مكوار

So build a thousand of its barrages, as you built

The Aswan reservoir or the Makwar reservoir.

ما كان فرعون أقوى منكمُ عدداً

ولا أعزَ بزُرَّاع وتجار

Pharaoh was not stronger than you in numbers,

Nor mightier in farmers and merchants.

وأنتم المثل الأعلى وقدوةُ ما

في الأرض من أممٍ شتى وأقطار

You are the highest example, the model for all

The earth's diverse nations and lands.

أنا المصرُّ على رأيي ومعتقدي

وليس إلا على الإصلاح إصراري

I am steadfast in my opinion and my belief;

And my insistence is on reform alone.