1. Greetings, honored professors,
With the aroma of musk and basil.

2. An innocent maiden whose origin is immaculate,
Sweeter and more delicious than the bride of melodies.

3. Softer than the warbling of nightingales when
They greet the dawn with tunes.

4. Lighter than the breezes of April when
They gently caress the branches of acacia.

5. Hotter than the heart of a lover when
The caller of separation and burning anguish calls.

6. So I present her to you, sharing her with
The noble people and elite youth.

7. My heart claps excessively from sheer joy
And my soul dances the dance of bliss.

8. Everyone is delighted on the day of your return,
Joyful, ecstatic and enthralled.

9. If only we could receive both Eids amid
Their joys, both Eids would rejoice.

10. The schools have become adorned and their students
Have gathered to exchange congratulations on your arrival.

11. No wonder, for the students have fallen in love with you,
With true loyalty and purity of conscience.

12. And with kindness, innocent affection—no
Strangeness—for the teacher is a selfless father.

13. Their souls have yearned, so those souls have tasted
The sweetness of faith.

14. Before the lantern of culture the darkness of
Ideas and minds has vanished.

15. And you have planted in the gardens of souls
Every wholesome thing—the soul is like an orchard.

16. For man, despite his enlightened mind, if he lives in
Darkness, what is the difference between him and an animal?

17. When a youth’s morals thrive
And the soul is cleansed of filth,

18. He is, in the country—no doubt—like spirits in bodies.
He is its throbbing heart and sturdy pillar,

19. Its defending wall against aggression.
By Allah, O messengers of culture, tell us

20. How is our sister Palestine and how are
Her protector and the rest of her people

21. After the struggle, after the Jews have sowed
Their evils there everywhere?

22. I have heard her call and the wailing of victims
From the sons of Aden,

23. And the roar of the Arabian lions from the sons of
Ghassan—do not despair, O sons of Ghassan!

24. She says, “O lions of nobility,
The Jews have come and violated my sanctity.

25. Woe to the traitors! They have promised the Jews
To divide the countries.”

26. Her children have become like strangers in their own land.
Is this not the epitome of tyranny?

27. There she stopped, overflowing with tears.
I responded with anguish and affection:

28. “O sanctuary of ancient revelation, resting place
Of the honored messengers, fountain of religions,

29. Do not grieve. It is not a profitable deal,
My sister, but a losing deal.

30. What Balfour promised is but a vain desire,
His call sheer raving madness.

31. The sons of Aden, Ghassan and those I have called
Are none but the valiant and brave—

32. The steadfast, when the ranks are joined,
The smiling, when tongues and snakes are sharpened,

33. The vociferous, when blood flows
From the blood of heroes in the battlefield.

34. When the swords and spears on the day of battle
Shed tears of blood for the martyrs.

35. The time has come—beware the cunning of the enemies
Lying in ambush like vipers.

36. Rebel and foil their scheme, striking them in the throat
And tails—no coward shall live!

37. It was unimaginable that they would grant
Our country to the Jews—it was unimaginable!

38. Show that the souls are unbreakable
And send them back in humiliation and disgrace.

39. O youth, is there any renaissance with which we could
Revive the eternal glory like Japan's renaissance?

40. O youth, is there any leap with which we could
Heal this anguish like Italy's leap?

41. O youth, is there any outcry that would leave the enemies
Thunderstruck like the Germans' outcry?

42. O youth, the turbans have hindered our course
And religion has become a ladder for the wicked.

43. Woe to a religion that has become
A plaything for the debauched chatterbox.

44. The scholars' crimes—and they are many—
Grow in the shade of pardon and forgiveness.

45. How to rise when the nation is foolish,
Ever clinging to idols?

46. Alas! We build what our ancestors built
And attain our hopes in this life.

47. The Guide's law has become—what a pity!—
In a world of neglect and forgetfulness.

48. We seek happiness in life but have not implemented
The Quran's commandments in life.

49. With religion the generous attained
Glory and became the delight of the times.

50. They opened conquests and paved the paths of ascension
And the far and near submitted to them.

51. They drove out Heraclius who went lamenting his kingdom,
And finished off Chosroes Anushirwan.

52. Delegations of kings bowed to the Caliph Umar
In awe of the Sultan's might.

53. Qutaibah’s army penetrated the heart of the East
And Ibn Ziyad delved deep into Spain.

54. Mu'awiyah built his throne in Damascus
Illuminating the orient's sky with his crown.

55. Kings bowed their heads to his awe
And those who followed from the Marwanids.

56. Al-Rashid and his son Al-Ma'mun established
The edifice of knowledge in Baghdad—

57. The gatherings of scholars, nobles, literati,
Poets and boon companions!

58. Where today is the civilization of the Arabs
Whose lights shone upon the cosmos?

59. Where is the edifice of glory that vied
With the highest of heavens in ascendance and enlightenment?

60. The winds of corruption have ravaged it and toppled
Its pillars, despite the pillars' sturdiness.

61. My country! Time has made us the lowest,
To live in our countries like slaves.

62. We disobey the command of every reformer
While religion forbids disobedience.

63. Frivolity and buffoonery have destroyed us
And greed leads us like the blind.

64. Each one has a field for fantasies and passions
Where he unleashes his feelings without restraint.

65. The wealthy—we forgive his sins and revere him
Forever, receiving him with utmost prestige.

66. As for the poor, do not ask about his state
A condition that stirs the deepest sorrows.

67. The freeman—we satiate him with harm and agony
Without respite, continuously suffering.

68. And we lavish reverence on every hypocrite
Who sold his conscience for the cheapest prices.

69. We are not in a homeland when its zealot calls out for it
And sees a group of cohorts.

70. We are not in a homeland when a patriot invokes it
And his call is unanswered, O peers!

71. A homeland wherein the free imbibe anguish,
Afflicted with misery and deprivation.

72. Woe to it! The wings of eagles are broken
And the eagle cannot fly.

73. I see the vast space has become a theater
Woe to the owls and crows!

74. The lion has become shackled in his lair
And dogs graze on the meat of lambs.

75. Whenever a drum beats in the country
The gang of devils claps.

76. Or whenever the raven croaks, stuffing
Its craw, the second raven croaks!

77. Why then the evasion, when Arabism is our mother?
Why the discord when we are from Aden?

78. Why the boasting of banquets, clothes, furniture
And lofty walls?

79. Why the bigotry over doctrines, O children of the
Homelands, which is the basis of all humiliation?

80. Our hearts belong to God, our bodies to dust
And our souls to the homelands.

81. So cooperate, join forces, unite
And stand together like buildings.

82. Conspire to righteousness and piety, not to
Sin and aggression.

83. The ship sails in a vast ocean
While our eyes yearn for the captain.

84. What is the way to safety when the ships of pirates
Still ply the rough seas?

85. O Lord, man oppresses his fellow—look
At what man does to man!