1. جَمعنَ المشَارِقَ في المُؤتمرْ

    فَقُلْ لِلمغاربِ أينَ المَفرْ

    They gathered the eastern lands at the congress;

    So tell the western lands: where is there escape?

  2. وقُمْنَ على الحَقِّ يَنْصُرْنَهُ

    وقَامتْ وَراءَ الدُّروعِ الأُزُرْ

    And stood up for justice, defending it;

    And behind the armor, the robes rose.

  3. هو الظُّلمُ هَيَّجَ كلّ القُوَى

    فما تستكنُّ وما تَسْتَقِرْ

    It is oppression that stirred all forces,

    So they neither grow still nor find rest.

  4. أَثارَ الكِرامَ فمن مُستطيرٍ

    يُوالي المغارَ ومن مُبْتَدِرْ

    It roused the noble men: some fly into action,

    Pressing raid upon raid, while others rush forward.

  5. وَراعَ الكرائِمَ فَاسْتَلَّها

    وأَطلقَها مِن وَراءِ السُّتُرْ

    And it alarmed the noble women, then drew them forth,

    And released them from behind the screens.

  6. تَوافَيْنَ شَتَّى يُجاهِدْنَهُ

    ويُطفِئْنَ مِن شَرِّهِ المُستَعِرْ

    They assembled from different quarters to fight it,

    And quench its raging evil.

  7. وَجِئْنَ يُغِرْنَ على عينهِ

    وَينفذنَ مِن نابِهِ والظُّفُرْ

    And they came, raiding its eye,

    And slipping past its fang and claw.

  8. فَيا لَكَ مِن نَمِرٍ فَاتكٍ

    ويا لِلّواتي يَصِدْنَ النُّمُرْ

    So, what a deadly tiger you are!

    And oh, the women who hunt tigers!

  9. أخذنَ السّهام فَسدَّدْنها

    بأيدٍ ترفّ رفيف الزَّهَرْ

    They took the arrows, then aimed them,

    With hands that flutter as blossoms flutter,

  10. لِطافِ الأنامِل بيض البنان

    تذيب الحديد وتفري الحجرْ

    Delicate of fingertip, white of finger,

    That melt iron and cleave stone.

  11. تميل زلازلها بالجبال

    وتمضي نوافذها في السُّرُرْ

    Their tremors make mountains sway,

    And their piercing arrows pass through thrones.

  12. فلسطينُ خطبُكِ غُول الخطوبِ

    وذُعر الزّمانِ ورعبُ القَدَرْ

    Palestine, your calamity is the ghoul of calamities,

    And the terror of time and the dread of destiny.

  13. تنام البراكينُ عن همَّها

    وما نام بركانُك المُسْتَعِرْ

    Volcanoes sleep, heedless of their cares,

    Yet your blazing volcano has not slept.

  14. مَعارِضُ لِلظُّلم قَامَتْ بِها

    أعاجيبُ مُختلفاتُ الصُّوَرْ

    Displays of oppression, in which have arisen

    Wonders of many differing forms.

  15. تَصُبُّ الحضارةُ أَهوالَها

    بأَيدِي الأُلىِ هُم هُداةُ البَشَرْ

    Civilization pours out its horrors

    Through the hands of those who are humanity’s guides.

  16. يقولون إنّا حُماةُ الضَّعيف

    أجل إنّهم لَحُماةُ الهَذَرْ

    They say, “We are protectors of the weak.”

    Yes, they are indeed protectors of idle talk!

  17. بَراءٌ من الجِدِّ لا ينطقون

    على الهزلِ إلا بسوءٍ وشَرّ

    Devoid of earnestness, they never speak

    In jest except with malice and evil.

  18. لهم قُدرةٌ يَا لها قُدرةً

    تُضِلُّ العُقولَ وتُعيِي الفِكَرْ

    They have a power—oh, what a power!

    That confounds minds and exhausts thought.

  19. فمن نمطٍ لِلأَذَى رَائِعٍ

    إلى نَمطٍ غيرِه مُبْتكَرْ

    So, from one astonishing form of harm

    To another, newly devised.

  20. إذا فَرِغُوا من فُنونٍ خَلَتْ

    أَتوا بعدها بِفُنونٍ أُخَرْ

    When they are done with bygone methods,

    They follow them with other methods.

  21. هُمُ القومُ ما مِثلهم أُمّةً

    تُرَجَّى على الدَّهَرِ أو تُنْتَظَرْ

    They are the people—no nation like them

    Can ever be hoped for or awaited.

  22. جبابرةٌ يأكلونَ الشُّعوبَ

    وَيُمسونَ مِن سَغبٍ في سُعُرْ

    Tyrants who devour peoples,

    And by evening hunger drives them to frenzy.

  23. لهم في الشَّرقِ أُنشُودَةٌ

    يُغَرُّ بباطلها مَن يُغَرّ

    They have a song in the East,

    Whoever is deceived is deceived by its falsehood.

  24. لئن أوجعتنا عَوادِي الخُطوب

    لقد عَلّمتْنا غَوالي العِبَرْ

    Though calamities’ assaults have wounded us,

    They have indeed taught us precious lessons.

  25. كَفانا مِن الدّهر ما ثَقَّفتْ

    تعاليمُ أحداثهِ والغِيَرْ

    Enough for us from time is what we have learned

    From the lessons of its events and reversals.

  26. ألا نجدةٌ تدرك الهالكين

    ألا نفحةٌ من حنانٍ وبرّ

    Is there no help to reach the perishing?

    Is there no breath of compassion and kindness?

  27. نسرُّ ونلهو ومن قومنا

    نُفوسٌ مُرزَّأةٌ مَا تُسَرّ

    We rejoice and amuse ourselves, while among our people

    Are bereaved souls that know no joy.

  28. كأنا نُقيمُ وراءَ الزمان

    فما من حديثٍ ولا من خبرْ

    As though we dwelt behind time itself,

    So there is no talk, nor any news.

  29. كأنّ الحياة كلامٌ يقال

    وأحدوثةٌ من فُضولِ السَّمَرْ

    As though life were mere words spoken,

    And a tale among the trifles of evening talk.

  30. كأنّ فلسطينَ لم تَنتَفِضْ

    لفرط البلاءِ ولم تَستَجِرْ

    As though Palestine had not risen up

    Under overwhelming affliction, nor sought protection.

  31. أَبيْنا فلم نَرْعَ عهد الجوار

    ولم نَقْضِ حقَّ الأباةِ الغُيُرْ

    We refused, and failed to honor the bond of neighborliness,

    And failed to give the proud and zealous their due.

  32. يُحامون عن عرضنا بالسُّيوف

    ونخذلهم تلك أُمُّ الكُبَرْ

    They defend our honor with swords,

    And we forsake them—that is the mother of all enormities.