1. Return to your past, O Baghdad,
When the Arabs in you were the prey and the masters,

2. And the land was yours to govern and to know,
And the water was the Tigris, civilization, and irrigation,

3. All the swords were broken on your gates,
And your glory eclipsed all glories,

4. And so the kings, their crowns fell,
For a turban that lowed its wrapping,

5. And their thrones carried the seat of the Caliphate,
Guarded by angels and soldiers,

6. O Zawra, city of the Abbasid Mansur,
O land of peace, greetings O Baghdad,

7. You are the holy one, for whose majesty
We bow our heads, all of us worshippers,

8. The fire has died down and my nation has slept,
And your memory is the awakening and the kindling,

9. It is as if it were the bugle whose resonance
Shatters the graves and displays the bodies,

10. And as if it were the fire from which came guidance
For the lost, all of them visitors,

11. Al-Rashid spread his shade over you
And at his gesture the world was guided,

12. And the awe of the Caliphate was upon him
That made the planets tremble and burn,

13. When he performed Hajj, the East followed behind,
And his path was brocade and carpet,

14. And when he waged war he led the regiments victoriously
And the Romans were the spoils of his army's shackles,

15. And Zubaydah the great Sultana in whose court
Lions crouched,

16. She irrigated Samarra, the goddess of Nineveh,
And the universe was beneath her flowing robes,

17. Umm Al-Amin, she had many talents
When decadence befell the righteous,

18. Her compassion encompassed her subjects but she had no mercy
On Al-Amin, so his mourning was prolonged,

19. She was a good example for every Arab queen
Whose lineage the war drums proclaimed,

20. In times past the Caliphs and their sons
Led armies and all were brave warriors,

21. How many campaigns did Al-Rashid wage with his army
To the Gulf, protected by the marshes,

22. So Armenia ransomed itself with gifts
And its lands and weapons of defense,

23. When Nicephorus rebelled, he humiliated him
And his army was scattered, not annihilated,

24. Hiraqla was conquered and destruction was its fate
It which the enemies took pride,

25. And in the conquest of Amorium the world was shaken
And the transgressors were set on fire within it,

26. O Baghdad, bereaved seat of the Caliphate, return
My wailing, for it shatters the livers,

27. Perhaps bringing back the wailing will restore
The raging winds and thunder behind them,

28. Will a Qurayshi Caliphate return in you
That was purity and its emblem was black?

29. Where are the spacious schools and archives
Where knowledge was pleasing and transmitted?

30. Where are the regiments, the councils, and the banners
That ruled, erected, while the commoners were commanded?

31. Your lofty institutions have been neglected since them
So your eras were watered by tears and regret,

32. Pearls are discarded after them like shells
And eggs are broken after the incubation,

33. Time has erased their palaces and their graves
And the honored with the honorable vanish,

34. Where are those who wielded their swords
Until the sword hilt complained of fatigue?

35. They are gone, and this cross-bred progeny of theirs
Brings no succor or reinforcement,

36. The cities and fortresses were demolished
To build your glory and the spears were the pillars,

37. Alas for a time that was all
Nobility and glory wherever the letter Dhal was uttered,

38. After their jihad and battles
The Arabs took to indolence so jihad was unbeneficial,

39. Their ancestors perished defending their inheritance
The most fragrant blood where life was beheading,

40. Call out to Abul-Dulf and say O brother
Come urgently to my aid, the adversities are severe,

41. You were the best warrior against the Romans
And your steed trampled their fortresses,

42. The walls of Constantinople witnessed you
Leaping, filling their eyes with torment,

43. You strove with your soul to protect my prestige
And souls were sacrificed for my majesty,

44. You threw the brats of Al-Ulaaj with an army
Whose stomping hooves made the solid shake,

45. And behind you the Arab marched as a warrior
With conquest or martyrdom before him,

46. They sent you ransom or tribute
While the enemy schemed and plotted,

47. How many blows did you rain on Caesar's armies
From which a crown fell and a heart took flight!

48. Whenever they are recounted in a gathering
The patriarch shrinks and the martyrs grieve,

49. Does Ibn Muzayad have any power in your lands
And is glory increasing under his banner?

50. He was the bravest commander, his sword
A critic of the swords of enemy warlords,

51. The seat of the Caliphate gained glory through him
Unlike what ‘Ad and Thamud attained,

52. And with the sword of Harthama ibn A’yan, all swords boast
For it is like the sword of Muqdad,

53. He drew it only to cleave a hero
Or destroy a fortress at its promised time,

54. And Abu Said for the frontiers and the enemies
His spears moan in their chests,

55. And his Arabian steed plunges into their sea
Eagerly trampling their thrones,

56. And the clan of Hamid whom you have praised for their affliction
All your gallant pillars,

57. Their horse hooves stirred the ground of Al-Ulaa
Who denied the truth, with skulls for firewood,

58. So it was marked by them and by their traces
The lowlands and towering peaks wonder,

59. Why do I recount the most ardent of men
And their memory echoes amongst mankind?

60. The earth and history are unable to recount
Their conquests and expeditions, there are too many!

61. Al-Rashid passed away and your integrity passed away with him
Today there is no integrity or guidance,

62. The train of your mighty realm became with his progeny
Dwarves who squandered their kingdom, O grandchildren!

63. The Abbasids were killed on their beds
Their corpses torn with sharp blades,

64. And their servants took control of a state
Along with its people; integrity and gentleness have departed,

65. The root of the affliction is from he whose guards
Are Turks, they have no loyalty or affection,

66. Baghdad was too narrow for them until its inhabitants
And homes were fed up with their tyranny,

67. When Mutasim passed away the bond of a realm
Guided by Al-Rashid was severed,

68. After the murder of Al-Mutawakkil the world shook
And the servants grew bold, the evildoers,

69. Divine protection did not save the Caliphs from them
A Qurayshi protection not matched by rivals,

70. And the ruler was the mamluk before a Caliph
To whom princes and worshippers prostrated,

71. Will the seat of the Caliphate return a Qurayshi one
Whose chanting in your fertile land would be sweet?

72. Where Abraham or Ishaaq sang
Melting hearts then turning them to stone,

73. The angels derived from them
A tune that gives speech to wooden posts,

74. And the beasts listened to their melodies
As if their strings were leaders,

75. If only Al-Hadi had rebuilt their houses
From lofty gypsum above the marshes,

76. Will Bashshar ibn Burd return as a singer
So the Tigris sways and Sada is elated?

77. And Abu Nuwas, an ingenious composer
Whose poems brought joy to ascetics and hedonists,

78. And Abu Al-Atahiya whose poetry
Captivated angels, ascetics, and devotees,

79. And when he smiles the Caliph's palace smiles at him
And his share is honor and reward,

80. And wine beams at him, excusing him
While his companion is the wine-bearer and hunter,

81. And for the beauty of his wine cup and passion
Gazelles swoon, and desire is captivity,

82. Those noble and ardent hearts
Were, filled with virtues and bounty,

83. The hearts of yesterday have faded after decomposing
While today's hearts are but embers,

84. Souls are led by their innate dispositions
And the soul is enamored with what it becomes accustomed to,

85. Will you restore the caliphate and supremacy
So verse and song will be sweet in you?

86. And on the pulpits scholars will sit
In a just kingdom, lions and pillars,

87. And on the gatherings orators emerge
Or between regiments, righteous leaders,

88. How great was Al-Ma’mun appearing in conquest
Until his rule became eternal,

89. And most majestic he was when debating
So ignorance and extinction would dissipate,

90. O Arab of Baghdad, you are an Arabic city
And maternity must not be prohibited for sons,

91. The English, their armies are cruel
And their soldiers assassinate and hunt,

92. Hatred of the white faces in you is natural
The Arabs are summit and the nomads are steeds,

93. Iraq is most authentic in Arabism
And its Arabism is firmly supported

94. Since the days of Hammur and Samira
The Arab pegs have been struck in it,

95. And the White Hira remembers their days
When the Mundhir family, the glorious, ruled,

96. And the heavens were named by Bani Ma as-Sama
And over it Kisra was resentfully plotting,

97. And with the death of Al-Nu’man at the hands of his enemy
The Khusrow faded, as did the walls,

98. Until his people avenged him
At Qadisiyya the fighting was cutthroat,

99. Then appeared on the banks Baghdad
Where the orbits of the Most High were observed,

100. Were it not for the non-Arabs no Arab state
Would have declined after reaching the height of glory,

101. What is the state of a king deposed by his own people
While hostile wolves continually encroach on him?

102. The cause of decline and downfall is the weakening
Of resolve, where vigor and vitality are depleted,

103. So they handed their rule over to foreigners
While the more deserving were marginalized,

104. No nation or country ever suffered
Humiliation under them as the jailer and executioner ruled,

105. The lute cannot be revived but by its plectrum
And the kingdom forcefully taken from its people,

106. No truth except for the one native to a rank
In a state whose outsiders are scoundrels,

107. Positions in the countries belong to their inhabitants
And of relatives there are the benevolent and generous,

108. And foreigners were prohibited to protect
And care for prosperity through sought farming,

109. O you proud Arabs, be warned
Of the mischief of outsiders whose work is corruption,

110. And prepare yourselves for virtues and prepare
Your white swords which are polished,

111. Sharpening and thinning them is through polishing
And their ignorance comes from sheathing,

112. There is no good among you while foreigners are among you
Ruling you, so hatreds judge,

113. If you cleanse without the hearts you purify
A homeland overrun by non-Arabs,

114. And gather together as trustees around an appointed leader
So obeying you will become easy,

115. A people’s worth is magnified by its individuals
For peoples are ruled by individuals,

116. And kingship is through individuals, and the group
No nation or country has ever been honored or disgraced,

117. Hardened and build an Arab state
Hopefully returning after annihilation,

118. And to preserve its prestige, its council
Will remain armed, preserving its arsenal,

119. And over it are leaders to repel a hateful one
Whose preparations have astonished all armies,

120. And its borders at the castles are like
A group from the days or single days,