بُلينا بِقَومٍ يَدَّعونَ رِئاسَةً

بُلينا بِقَومٍ يَدَّعونَ رِئاسَةً

لَها طُرُقٌ يَعيَى عَلَيهِم سُلوكُها

لَها طُرُقٌ يَعيَى عَلَيهِم سُلوكُها

We have been afflicted with people who claim leadership,

We are afflicted with people who claim leadership,

whose paths they are unable to tread.

Yet its ways are too difficult for them to follow.

فَتَبّاً لِدَهرٍ قَدَّمَتهُم صُروفُهُ

فَتَبّاً لِدَهرٍ قَدَّمَتهُم صُروفُهُ

وَما خَيرُ دُنيا هَؤلاءِ مُلوكُها

وَما خَيرُ دُنيا هَؤلاءِ مُلوكُها

So woe to an age whose turns of fortune have elevated them!

Curses upon a time that raised them up,

And what good is a world whose kings are these?

For they are not the best rulers for this world.