إلى الدرعية الغراء تسري — Muhammad Alshawkani

إلَى الدِّرْعِيَّةِ الْغَرَّاءِ تَسْري

فَتُخْبِرُها بِمَا فَعْلَ الْجُنُودُ

It journeys by night to radiant Dir'iyyah,

then tells her what the troops have done,

وتَصَرُخُ في رُبا نَجْدٍ جِهاراً

فَيَسْمَعُها إذا صَرَخَتْ سُعودُ

and cries aloud over the hills of Najd,

so Saud hears it when it cries out,

وأَبْنا مُقْرنٍ وهُمُ لُيوثٌ

إذَا الْحَرْبُ الْعَوانُ لَها وَقُودُ

as do the sons of Muqrin—lions they are—

when renewed war has fuel.

ويَسْأَلُ كُلُّ ذي فَهْمٍ وعِلْمٍ

سُؤَالاً عِنْدَ مُعْضِلَةٍ تَؤُودُ

Everyone of understanding and knowledge asks

a question when faced with a burdening difficulty.

فَفِي أَبْناءِ شَيْخِ الْفَضْلِ فَضْلٌ

إلى الإنصاف فضلهم يقود

For in the sons of the sheikh of virtue is virtue;

their virtue leads them to fairness.

كذاك بقية الأقوام طراً

وكُلُّ مُسَوَّدٍ مِنْهُمُ يَسُودُ

Likewise all the rest of the people,

and every chief among them holds sway.

أَلمّا تَعْلَموا أَنّا وأَنْتُمُ

عَلَى صَوْبِ الصَّوابِ لَنا قُعُودُ

Have you not yet learned that we and you

are settled on the side of what is right?

ونَهْجُ الْحَقِّ لا نَبْغي سِواهُ

إليْهِ جُلُّ مَقْصِدِنا يَعُودُ

The path of truth—we seek no other;

to it the greater part of our purpose returns.

وأَنّا نَجْعَلُ الْقُرآنَ جِسْراً

فَمَصْدَرُنا عَلَيْهِ والْوُرُودُ

And we make the Qur'an a bridge;

our going and coming are upon it.

نَرُدُّ إلى الْكِتابِ إذا اخْتَلَفْنا

مَقَالَتَنا ولَيْسَ لَنا جُحُودُ

When we differ, we refer to the Book

our statements; there is no denial on our part.

كَذاكَ إلى مَقال الطُّهْر طَهَ

نَرُدُّ وفِي الْكِتابِ لِذَا شُهُودُ

Likewise, to the words of the pure one, Ta-Ha,

we refer; and the Book bears witness to this.

وكُلُّ مُخَالِفٍ ما كانَ قِدْماً

عَلَيْهِ الأَمْرُ تَطْرُقُهُ الرُّدُودُ

And anyone opposing what, of old,

the practice rested upon is met with refutations.

وَمَا في قَالَ زَيْدٌ قال عَمْرٌو

مَفَادٌ إنْ تَزَاحَمَتِ الْوُفُودُ

And in ‘Zayd said; Amr said’ there is no

benefit, even if the delegations crowd together.

مَضَى خَيْرُ الْقُرونِ ومَنْ تَلاهُ

وَلاَ قِيلٌ ولا قَالٌ ولُودُ

The best of generations passed, and those who followed it,

with no proliferating ‘it was said’ or ‘he said.’

وَمَشْرَبُ دينِنَا عَذْبٌ فُراتٌ

وَوِرْدٌ لا يُكِّدرهُ الْوُرودُ

The drinking-place of our religion is sweet and fresh,

and a watering-place unclouded by those coming to drink.

لَهُمْ مِنْ حِلْيَةِ الإنْصافِ حَلْيٌ

وَمِنْ لُبْسِ الْهُدَى لَهُمُ بُرودُ

Theirs are ornaments from the adornment of fairness,

and mantles from the garb of guidance.

وعُودُ الْحَقِّ مُخْضَرٌّ بَهِيٌّ

سَوِيٌّ حَبَّذا هَذَاكَ عُودُ

The stem of truth is verdant and splendid,

upright—how excellent that stem is!

يَمُرّونَ الصَّفاةَ كما أَتَيْنا

ولا لَغَطٌ هُناكَ ولا جُحُودُ

They pass the smooth rock, as we came,

with neither clamor there nor denial.

وقَوْلُهُمُ وفِعْلُهُمُ بِنَصٍّ

صَحيحٍ لا تُعاوِرُهُ الردُودُ

Their speech and deeds rest upon a text,

authentic, which no refutations assail.

ولَمْ يَتَلاعَبِ الأَقْوامُ يَوْماً

بآراءٍ إِلى بِدَعٍ تَقُودُ

The people never toyed

with opinions that lead to innovations.

ورِيحُ الرَّأْي والتَّقْلِيدِ فيهمْ

بِذَاكَ الْعَصْرِ كانَ لَهَا رُكُودُ

The wind of opinion and uncritical imitation among them

lay still in that age.

ولَوْ هَبَّتْ لَهَبَّ لَها أُناسٌ

يَضِيقُ بها المنافِذُ والنُّجودُ

Had it blown, people would have risen to meet it,

with the passes and uplands growing cramped thereby.

وَمَا قَالُوا بِتَكْفِيرٍ لِقَوْمٍ

لَهُمْ بِدَعٌ عَلَى الإسْلامِ سُودُ

They did not declare a people unbelievers

whose innovations were black stains upon Islam,

كَما كانَ الْخَوارِجُ في ابْتِداعٍ

يَشِيبُ لَها مِنَ الإسْلامِ فَودُ

as the Kharijites practiced innovation

that would turn a temple-lock of Islam gray.

وَمَا قالُوا بأنَّ الرَّفَضَ كُفْرٌ

وبِدْعَتَهُ تُشَقُّ لَها الْجُلودُ

Nor did they say that Rafidism was unbelief,

though its innovation makes skins split.

فكَيْفَ يُقالُ قَدْ كَفَرَتْ أُناسٌ

يُرَى لِقُبُورِهِمْ حَجَرٌ وعُودُ

How, then, can it be said that people have become unbelievers

when stone and wood are seen at their graves?

فإنْ قَالُوا أَتَى أَمْرٌ صحيحٌ

بِتَسْوِيَةِ الْقُبُورِ فَلاَ جُحُودُ

If they say, ‘An authentic command has come

to level the graves,’ there is no denial.

ولكنْ ذاكَ ذَنْبٌ لَيْسَ كُفراً

ولا فسْقاً فَهَلْ في ذَا رُدودُ

But that is a sin, not unbelief,

nor wickedness; are there rebuttals to this?

وإلا كان من يَعصي بذنبٍ

كفوراً إنَّ ذا قول شرودُ

Otherwise, anyone who disobeys through a sin would be

an unbeliever—this is indeed an errant claim.

وقدْ ذَهَبَ الخوارِجُ نَحْوَ هَذا

وما مِثلُ الخوارِجِ من يَقُود

The Kharijites have indeed taken this course,

yet one who leads is not like the Kharijites.

وَقَدْ خَرَقُوا بِذَا الإجماعِ حَقّاً

وكُلُّ العالَمينَ بهِ شُهُودُ

By this they truly breached consensus,

and all the world bears witness to it.

فإنْ قُلْتُمْ قَدِ اعْتَقَدوا قُبُوراً

فلَيْسَ لِذا بأرْضِينا وُجودُ

If you say, ‘They have put their faith in graves,’

there is no such thing in our lands.

ومَنْ يأتي إلى عَبْد حَقيرٍ

فَيَزعُمُ أَنَّهُ الرَّبُّ الوَدُودُ

Whoever comes to a lowly servant

and claims him to be the All-Loving Lord—

فَهَذا الكُفْرُ لَيسَ بِهِ خَفَاءٌ

وَلاَ رَدٌّ لِذاكَ ولا جُحودُ

this is unbelief, with no obscurity about it,

and it admits neither rebuttal nor denial.

ولَسْتُ بِمُنْكِرٍ هَدْماً لِقَبْرٍ

إذَا لَعِبَتْ بِجَانِبِه القُرودُ

I do not object to demolishing a grave

if monkeys play beside it,

وقَالُوا إنَّ رَبَّ القَبْرِ يَقْضي

لَنَا حَاجاً فَتأتِيهِ الوُفودُ

and they say, ‘The lord of the grave fulfills

our needs,’ so delegations come to him.

كَذَبْتُمْ ذاكَ رَبُّ العَرْشِ حَقّاً

تَعالى أَنْ تَكُونَ لَهُ نُدودُ

You lie! It is the Lord of the Throne, truly,

exalted beyond having rivals.

وَمَنْ يَقْصِدْ إلى قَبْرٍ لأَمْرٍ

بِغَيْرِ تَوَسُّلٍ فَهُوَ الكَنُودُ

Whoever turns to a grave for some purpose,

without seeking mediation, is the ungrateful one.

ويَبْقَى الأَمْرُ فيمَنْ قَالَ جَهْلاً

مَقالاً مَالَهُ فيهِ قُصُودُ

The question remains about one who, ignorantly, utters

a statement with no deliberate intent behind it.

ولَوْ قُلْنَا لَهُ هَلْ ذاكَ رَبٌّ

تُنادِيه لَظَلَّ بِذَا يَمودُ

If we asked him, ‘Is that a lord

whom you call upon?’ he would keep wavering at this,

وقَالَ الرَّبُّ رَبُّ العَرْشِ فَرْدٌ

وهَذَا عِنْدَهُ عَبْدٌ وَدُودُ

and say, ‘The Lord is the Lord of the Throne, alone.’

And this one, in his view, is a loving servant,

ولَيْسَ لَهُ مِنَ الأَشْياءِ شَيْءٌ

فَقِيرٌ لا يُنيلُ ولا يَجُودُ

who possesses nothing whatsoever,

needy, neither granting nor giving generously.

ولكِنْ كانَ ذَا عَمَلٍ وعِلْمٍ

وما عِنْدِي لِذا أَبَداً وُجُودُ

‘But he was a man of deeds and knowledge,

and I have none of this at all;

فَرُمْتُ تَوَسُّلاً يَوْماً بعَبْدٍ

إلى رَبٍّ يَحِقُّ لَهُ السُّجُودُ

so one day I sought mediation through a servant

to a Lord to whom prostration is due.’

أَفِيدوُنا وَإِلاّ فاسْتَفِيدوا

وعُودُوا نَحْوَنا فِيمَنْ يَعُودُ

Teach us—or else learn from us,

and return to us among those who return.

وَلِي في ذَا كِتابٌ قُمْتُ فِيهِ

مَقاماً لَيْسَ يُنْكِرُهُ الحَسودُ

I have a book on this, in which I took

a stand the envious cannot deny.

إذَا وَرَدَتْهُ أَعْلامُ البَرايا

عَلَى ظَمَأٍ يَطيبُ لَها الوُرودُ

When the luminaries of humankind come to it

in thirst, their coming to drink is delightful.

وقَدْ سارَتْ بِهِ الرُّكْبانُ شَرْقاً

وَغَرْباً لم تَردْ فيه رُدودُ

Riders have journeyed with it eastward

and westward; no rebuttals to it have come.

وَأَنَّ الحَقَّ مَقْبولٌ لَدَيْنا

وَفينا ما لَنَا عَنْهُ رُدودُ

Truth is accepted among us

and within us; we have no turning away from it.

كِتابُ اللهِ قَدْوَتُنا وَمَا في

كَلامِ الْمُصْطَفَى وَهما العمُودُ

God's Book is our model, and what is in

the Chosen One's words; the two are the pillar.

وَهَدْيُ الصّحْبِ أَفْضَلُ كُلِّ هَدْيٍ

وَأَشْرَفُهُ وإنْ جَحَدَ الجَحُودُ

The Companions' guidance is the best of all guidance

and its noblest, even if the denier denies it.

فَهَلْ لكُمُ إلى هَذَا رُجُوعٌ

فإنْ عُدْتُمْ فَنَحْنُ كَذا نَعُودُ

Then will you return to this?

If you return, we too shall return likewise.

نُقَوِّمُ دِينَنا فَنَنالُ أجْراً

كما قَدْ نَالَهُ مِنّا جُدودُ

We shall set our religion right and earn reward,

as our forefathers earned it,

مَعَ المخْتار صَلَّى ذو الْمَعالي

عَلَيْهِ ما تَقَهْقَهَتِ الرّعودُ

with the Chosen One—may He of lofty glory bless

him as long as the thunders laugh aloud,

وجَادَتْ عِنْدَ مَبعَثِهِ سُيوفٌ

وفي التّحديدِ إن سُلّتْ تَجودُ

and swords gave generously when he was sent forth,

and, when drawn, give generously in their sharpness.

فَيا أَهْلَ الجَزيرَةِ مِنْ مَعَدٍّ

وقَحْطانٍ إلى الْمَعْهودِ عُودوا

O people of the Peninsula, of Ma'add

and Qahtan, return to the established way.

وَقَدْ آنَ الوِفاقُ فَلا تَكُونوا

عَلَى الإسْلامِ فاقِرَةً تَؤودُ

The time for concord has come, so do not be

a back-breaking calamity weighing upon Islam.

وذُودُوا مَنْ أتَى مِنْكُمْ بِنُكْرٍ

فَخَيْرُ الْمُسْلِمينَ فَتىً يَذُودُ

Repel whoever among you brings wrongdoing,

for the best of Muslims is a young man who defends.

وذَا نُصْحٌ صَحيحٌ منْ نَصيحٍ

فساعِدْني عَلَيْهِ يا سعودُ

This is sound counsel from a sincere adviser;

so help me in it, O Saud.