Sol 6.1

  1. أسير بدار الظلم أعياه آسره

    أما من فتى من الناس حرٍّ يناصره

    A captive in the abode of oppression, worn out by his captor.

    Is there no free young man among the people to champion him?

  2. أفي الناس أحراراً وفيهم أحبة

    فما لأخيهم لا يرى من يؤازره

    Are there free men among the people, and friends among them?

    Then why does their brother find no one to support him?

  3. عفاء على الزوراء بعد جميلها

    إذا ربعه المعمور أخلق دائره

    Desolation upon al-Zawra after her Jamil,

    When the precinct of his once-thriving home has fallen into decay.

  4. ألمّ به خطب من الجور فادح

    كما انقضّ باز أقتم الريش كاسره

    A grievous calamity of injustice befell him,

    Like a dusky-feathered hawk swooping down to crush him.

  5. تنادوا به والضغن ملء قلوبهم

    وقالوا وحيدٌ ما لنا لا نكاثره

    They called to one another about him, their hearts full of rancor,

    And said, “He is alone—why not overwhelm him with numbers?

  6. فإن نكفه نُكف الشديد مراسه

    وما بعده فينا عدو نحاذره

    For if we curb him, we shall be spared his fierce resistance,

    And after him, no enemy remains among us to be feared.”

  7. فطافوا به من خلفه وأمامه

    كما طاف بعد المحل بالربع زائره

    So they circled him, behind him and before him,

    As a visitor circles a homestead after drought.

  8. أحين هوى عبد الحميد بعرشه

    وغبّره بالذمّ في الناس غابره

    Is it now, when Abd al-Hamid has fallen with his throne,

    And his past has covered him in the dust of censure among the people,

  9. يقوم رجال يستعيدون عهده

    وفينا نيازي قائم وعساكره

    That men rise up seeking to restore his reign,

    While Niyazi and his soldiers stand among us?

  10. ألا قد بغت هذي العمائم بغيها

    فدارت على القوم الكرام دوائره

    Behold, these turbans have wrought their tyranny,

    So its cycles of misfortune turned upon the noble people.

  11. ألا هل نرجي العدل والعدل دوننا

    موارده محمية ومصادره

    Say, can we hope for justice, when justice is beyond our reach,

    Its approaches and exits guarded?

  12. تجلى زماناً ثم لم تبتسم لنا

    أوائله حتى استسرّت أواخره

    It shone forth for a time; then scarcely had they smiled upon us—

    Its first days—before its last days slipped from sight.

  13. بأيّ كتاب أم بأية سنة

    يجازى على قول الصواب معاشره

    By what scripture, or by what tradition,

    Is truth's companion punished for speaking rightly?

  14. بأي كتاب أم بأية سنة

    يريدون طي الحق إن قام ناشره

    By what scripture, or by what tradition,

    Do they seek to fold away the truth if its proclaimer rises?

  15. سلام على الأوطان من بعد مأمل

    ذوي وأرق الإقبال منه وثامره

    Farewell to the homelands, after a hope

    Whose shoots and fruits of good fortune have withered.

  16. سلام علىالدنيا سلام على الورى

    سلام على العهد الذي قلّ شاكره

    Farewell to the world, farewell to humankind,

    Farewell to the age for which few are thankful.

  17. سنبكي على العيش الذي كان غرّنا

    وقد ساء ماضيه وما سر حاضره

    We shall weep over the life that once deceived us,

    And its past was wretched, while its present brought no joy.

  18. سقى الله أجداثاً علت شهداءها

    بكل مُلث الودق نهمي مواطره

    May God water the graves that rose over their martyrs,

    With every ceaseless rainstorm, its clouds pouring rain.

  19. قضوا نحت أسوار الحصار حمّية

    ولم تغن عن عبد الحميد دساكره

    They died beneath the siege walls, out of zeal,

    And his palaces were of no use to Abd al-Hamid.

  20. فإن يك بالدرويش قد زل جدّه

    فهذا عبيد الله حلّق طائره

    For if al-Darwish's fortune has stumbled,

    Then here is Ubayd Allah, whose bird has soared.

  21. أقام على الأطلال كالبوم ناعياً

    يبشر بالتخريب ساءت بشائره

    He dwelt among the ruins, like an owl announcing death,

    He brings glad tidings of destruction—how evil his tidings!

  22. فأما قضى فيكم جميل بحسرة

    ستبقى عليكم شاهدات مآثره

    And if Jamil dies among you in anguish,

    His noble deeds will remain witnesses against you.

  23. وإن تحجبوا من فضله كلّ باهر

    فليس ضياء الشمس يحجب باهره

    And if you veil all that is radiant in his virtue,

    For the sun's dazzling radiance cannot be veiled.

  24. أخي وفجاج الأرض بيني وبينه

    أعيذك من هم تبيت تساوره

    My brother—with the earth's broad paths between me and him—

    I seek protection for you from the worry you wrestle with all night.

  25. أعيذك م وجد يضيفك نازلاً

    وأهوال ليل مظلم أنت ساهره

    I seek protection for you from grief that comes to stay as your guest,

    And the terrors of a dark night you keep vigil through.

  26. توقف في ظلمائه غير متجلٍ

    كواكبه تسطو عليها دياجره

    It stands still in its darkness, not brightening,

    Its stars are assailed by its deep darkness.

  27. تشوّفك البيت الذي كنت بدره

    لقد أظلمت حزناً عليك مقاصره

    The house whose full moon you were has longed for you;

    Indeed, its chambers have darkened in sorrow for you.

  28. واصبح زاهي الروض بعدك ذاوياً

    وناح على دوحاته لك طائره

    And the once-bright garden has withered in your absence,

    And its bird lamented for you upon its spreading trees.

  29. فإن تظلموا فيكم جميلاً لغاية

    فإن جميلاً ليس بغفل ثائره

    So if you wrong Jamil among you for some end,

    Then Jamil's avenger is no insignificant man.

  30. وإن فريق الظلم إن طال ظلمه

    سنمشي إليه بالسيوف نبادره

    And as for the faction of oppression, if its oppression lasts,

    We shall march against it with swords, hastening to strike it.