1. الا يا راكب الحرف

    الأمون الاجد الجسره

    Ho there, rider of the lean she-camel,

    the sure-footed, firm-built, sturdy one!

  2. مضت تطوي به الأ

    جواز طي التاجر الحبره

    She sped on, folding beneath him the

    desert expanses as a merchant folds striped cloth.

  3. فما أكرمه حرّاً

    على عيدية حرّه

    And how noble he is, a freeborn man

    upon a noble-bred ʿĪdī she-camel!

  4. إذا ما جئت دار الحر

    ب من جانبي البصره

    If ever you reach the abode of

    war, on both sides of Basra,

  5. فابلغ اسرة المجد

    وأكرم بهم اسره

    then bear word to the family of glory—

    and what a noble family they are!

  6. رجال في سبيل الله

    خاضوا رهج الغمره

    Men in the path of God,

    who plunged into the dust of battle.

  7. جزى الله المحامين

    الذين استبقوا الكرّه

    May God reward the defenders

    who vied to be first in the charge.

  8. اجابوا داعي الله

    وقاموا ساعة العسره

    They answered God's caller

    and rose in the hour of hardship.

  9. فان الخير مقرون

    من النفس بما تكره

    For goodness is bound

    to what the soul abhors.

  10. احبائي على القورنة

    والأهواز والبصره

    My beloved friends at Qurna,

    and Ahwaz and Basra,

  11. سقى عهدكم الغيث

    وان اشبهتم قطره

    may rain water the days we shared,

    though you resemble its drops.

  12. اقضي الليل بالتذكا

    ر واللوعة والحسرة

    I spend the night remembering,

    in anguish and regret.

  13. وفي القلب من الشو

    ق أوار يصطلى حره

    And in my heart, from longing,

    is a blaze whose heat scorches.

  14. فكم حن لكم قلبي

    بالآصال والبكره

    And how often my heart has yearned for you

    at evening and at dawn!

  15. وما ضمت ضلوعي الوجد

    لكن ضمت الجمره

    It was not longing that my ribs enclosed,

    but a glowing coal.

  16. نفرتم وتخلفنا

    فكانت لكم الأثره

    You marched forth, while we stayed behind,

    and so the distinction was yours.

  17. وما الرافل في الحلة

    كالرافل في النثره

    Nor is one who struts in fine robes

    like one who strides in mail.

  18. وما الناشق للعنبر

    كالناشق للغبره

    Nor is one who inhales ambergris

    like one who inhales dust.

  19. وناضلتم عن الثغر

    وقد أمكنت الثغره

    And you fought to defend the frontier

    when the breach lay open.

  20. وما زلتم اشدّاء

    على القلة والكثره

    And you never ceased to be formidable

    against the few and the many.

  21. فتحتم وعليكم انزل

    الله بها نصره

    You triumphed, and upon you

    God sent down His aid in battle.

  22. وحيا الله بالرضوان

    تلك الأوجه النضره

    And may God greet with His favor

    those radiant faces.

  23. جنيتم من ثمار الحرب

    حلواً وهي المره

    You gathered from the fruits of war

    sweetness, though war is bitter.

  24. صبوتم لوصال الحو

    ر لا الآرام من وجره

    You yearned for union with the houris,

    not the gazelles of Wajra.

  25. فمن نشوان من قانى

    دم الأعداء لا الخمره

    One among you is drunk on the crimson

    blood of enemies, not on wine;

  26. ومن ابلج وضاح

    المحيا مائس الوفره

    another, bright-browed and radiant

    of face, with swaying locks,

  27. طروب يلتقى والموت

    بالبهجة والبشرة

    exultant, meets death

    with joy and gladness.

  28. بلثم السيف يرتاح

    كلثم الخد ذي الطره

    He delights in kissing the sword

    as in kissing a cheek beneath a forelock.

  29. كأن البندقيات

    عليه تنثر الدره

    As though the rifles

    were scattering pearls upon him.

  30. هنيئاً لكم المجد

    الذي خلدتم ذكره

    May you enjoy the glory

    whose memory you have made everlasting.

  31. هنيئاًٍ لكم يوم

    ملكتم دوننا فخره

    May you rejoice in the day

    whose glory was yours, not ours.

  32. فقل للانكليزيين

    لا انعشت العثره

    Then say to the English:

    May your fall never be remedied!

  33. سفهتم حين عرّضتم

    ضواحي النحر للشفره

    You acted foolishly when you exposed

    your bare throats to the blade.

  34. وسارت علماء الدين

    للبصرة بالنصره

    The scholars of religion marched

    to Basra with succor.

  35. وقامت ساسة الشرع

    من الأشياخ والعتره

    And the stewards of sacred law rose up,

    from among the elders and the Prophet's kin.

  36. بأقلامهم أضحت

    على سمر القنا أمره

    Through their pens there came to be

    command over the tawny spears.

  37. فأضحت بهم الهيجاء

    دار العلم والهجره

    Thus, through them, the battlefield became

    an abode of learning and emigration.

  38. بها يدرس فن الحرب

    درساً عن أولي الخبره

    There the art of war is studied

    in lessons from those with experience.

  39. نداء السيف ترخيم

    لأهل الكيد والغدره

    The sword's summons is a truncation

    for men of guile and treachery.

  40. فما يعرب للخصم

    بغير الجزم والكسره

    It speaks to the foe

    only in severance and breaking,

  41. وما يرقم الا الضرب

    للهامة والغفره

    and inscribes nothing but blows

    upon the skull and the mail hood.