بِأَبِي وَإِنْ عَظُمَ الفِداءُ فَتىً

بِأَبِي وَإِنْ عَظُمَ الفِداءُ فَتىً

لِلْهَمّ في جَنْبَيْهِ مُعْتَرَكُ

لِلْهَمّ في جَنْبَيْهِ مُعْتَرَكُ

I would ransom a youth with my father, great though the ransom is,

By my father, though great is the sacrifice, a young man

in whose breast care has a battleground.

Whose flanks are gripped by anxiety,

نَبَّهْتُهُ وَاللَّيْلُ مُعْتَكِرٌ

نَبَّهْتُهُ وَاللَّيْلُ مُعْتَكِرٌ

وَنُجومُهُ في الأُفْقِ تَشْتَبِكُ

وَنُجومُهُ في الأُفْقِ تَشْتَبِكُ

I roused him while the night was thick with darkness,

I awoke him while the night was fraught

and its stars interlaced along the horizon.

And its stars in the horizon intertwined,

وَمَشى على كَسَلٍ فَقُلتُ لَهُ

وَمَشى على كَسَلٍ فَقُلتُ لَهُ

عَثَرَتْ بِكَ الوَخَّادَةُ الرُّتُكُ

عَثَرَتْ بِكَ الوَخَّادَةُ الرُّتُكُ

And he walked sluggishly, so I said to him:

He walked wearily so I said to him

May the swift, quick-stepping camels stumble with you!

"Your drowsiness has caused you to stumble."

أَرَضِيتَ أَمْراً لا يَزالُّ بِهِ

أَرَضِيتَ أَمْراً لا يَزالُّ بِهِ

في الذُّلِ عِرْضُ أَخِيكَ يُنْتَهَكُ

في الذُّلِ عِرْضُ أَخِيكَ يُنْتَهَكُ

Have you accepted a state in which, unceasingly,

You have settled for a state where

your brother's honor is violated in humiliation?

Your brother's honor remains violated.

وَالدَّهْرُ يَرْمُزُ بِالخُطُوبِ وفي

وَالدَّهْرُ يَرْمُزُ بِالخُطُوبِ وفي

غُلَوائِها الأَيَّامُ تَنْهَمِكُ

غُلَوائِها الأَيَّامُ تَنْهَمِكُ

And Time gestures with calamities, and into

Time hints at hardships and in its

their fury the days plunge headlong.

Turbulence, days become tangled.

ما نحْنُ مِنْ سُوَقٍ فَنُشْبِهَهُمْ

ما نحْنُ مِنْ سُوَقٍ فَنُشْبِهَهُمْ

لَمْ يَنْمِنا إِلّا أَبٌ مَلِكُ

لَمْ يَنْمِنا إِلّا أَبٌ مَلِكُ

We are not commoners, that we should resemble them;

We are not of common stock, only a noble father.

none but a kingly father gave us our lineage.

Look to the ancestors, see how they strove

فَانْظُرْ إِلى الأَجْدادِ كَيْفَ سَعَوْا

فَانْظُرْ إِلى الأَجْدادِ كَيْفَ سَعَوْا

لِلْمَكرُماتِ وأَيَّةً سَلَكُوا

لِلْمَكرُماتِ وأَيَّةً سَلَكُوا

So look at the ancestors, how they strove

For glory, and what path did they take.

for noble deeds, and which path they trod.

Why not take their guidance, for they

هَلَّا أَخَذْتَ بِهَدْيِهمْ فَهُمُ

هَلَّا أَخَذْتَ بِهَدْيِهمْ فَهُمُ

تَرَكُوا العُلا لَكَ فَارْعَ ما تَرَكُوا

تَرَكُوا العُلا لَكَ فَارْعَ ما تَرَكُوا

Why not follow their example? For they

Left you their legacy, so tend what they left.

left you lofty glory; so guard what they left.

Seek their extent, they were men

وَاطْلُبْ مَداهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ نَفَرٌ

وَاطْلُبْ مَداهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ نَفَرٌ

عَاشُوا بِذِكْرِهِمُ وَقَدْ هَلَكُوا

عَاشُوا بِذِكْرِهِمُ وَقَدْ هَلَكُوا

And strive to match their reach; they are a band of men

Who lived by their repute and now are gone.

who lived on through their renown, though they had perished.

And if you fall short and cannot attain it,

وَإِذا عَجَزْتَ وَلَمْ تُلِمَّ بِهِ

وَإِذا عَجَزْتَ وَلَمْ تُلِمَّ بِهِ

فَالعَجْزُ بَعْدَ طِلابِهِ دَرَكُ

فَالعَجْزُ بَعْدَ طِلابِهِ دَرَكُ

And if you fail and do not come near it,

Then frustration comes after seeking.

then failure after striving for it is attainment.