1. من كان في المجد المُؤثَّل راغباً

    فَلْيَطَّلبْه بهمّة البارودي

    Whoever aspires to firmly rooted glory,

    let him seek it with al-Barudi's resolve—

  2. فخري الذي ابتكر المفاخر وأغتدى

    منهنّ مفتخراً بكلّ جديد

    Fakhri, who pioneered glorious deeds and set out early,

    proud of every new one among them.

  3. وأبى سوى غُرِّ المَساعي إذ سعى

    مُتشبِّثاً منها بكل مُفيد

    And he accepted only the noblest endeavors when he strove,

    holding fast to all that was useful among them.

  4. وبنى له بدمشق مجداً طارفاً

    من بعد مجد في دمشق تَليد

    And in Damascus he built himself a newly won glory,

    following an ancestral glory in Damascus.

  5. أن كان محمود الفِعال فإنه

    ورِث المكارم عن أب محمود

    If his deeds are praiseworthy, it is because he

    inherited noble virtues from his father, Mahmud.

  6. نفع البلاد بماله وبسَعْيِه

    وبحسن رأيٍ في الأمور سديد

    He benefited the land with his wealth and his efforts,

    and with fine judgment, sound in its affairs.

  7. ورأى الشَتات بها فقام مُوَحِّداً

    فيها المساعيَ أيّما توحيد

    He saw disunity there and rose to unite

    its endeavors in the fullest unity.

  8. ودعا الرجال بها فألَّف شِركةً

    ترمي إلى غرض أغرَّ حميد

    He summoned its men and formed a company

    aimed at a noble, praiseworthy goal.

  9. تغني البلاد بسعيها عن غيرها

    وتُعيد عهد ثرائها المفقود

    Through its efforts it makes the land independent of others

    and restores the age of its lost prosperity.

  10. وتقوم بالعمل المفيد لأهلها

    من نسج أردِيَة لهم وبُرود

    It undertakes work beneficial to its people,

    weaving robes and striped cloaks for them,

  11. حتى تكون عن الأجانب في غِنىً

    وتعيش غير أسيرة التقليد

    so that it might have no need of foreigners

    and live without being captive to imitation.

  12. أو ما ترى أهل البلاد تقيّدوا

    للغرب من حاجاتهم بقُيود

    Or do you not see the people of the land bound

    to the West by the chains of their needs?

  13. الغرب يكسوهم ملابس هم بها

    يَعرَوْن من مال لهم ونُقود

    The West clothes them in garments through which they

    are stripped of their wealth and cash.

  14. وتراه يَسْلَخهم بمصنوعاته

    سلخ الشياه فهم بغير جلود

    And you see it flaying them with its manufactures,

    as sheep are flayed, leaving them without skins.

  15. هذي سفائنهم تروح وتغتدي

    ببضائع لم تُحص بالتعديد

    These ships of theirs go out at evening and at dawn,

    with merchandise beyond all counting.

  16. فكأنما هي لامتصاص دمائنا

    بعض المحاجم أو كبعض الدود

    So it is as though, to suck our blood, they were

    so many bloodletting cups, or like so many worms.

  17. حتى متى نَشْقى ليَسْعَد غيرنا

    ونُذلِّل القُربى لعِزّ بعيد

    How long must we suffer so that others may prosper,

    and abase our kin to exalt someone far away,

  18. ونُجانب الوطنيّ من أشيائنا

    ولو أنّه من أحسن الموجود

    and shun the home-produced among our goods,

    even when it is among the best available?

  19. أن البلاد لتشتكي من أهلها

    وتقول قول الرازح المجهود

    Indeed, the land complains of its people,

    speaking like one weighed down and exhausted:

  20. يا سادة الأوطان لستم سادةً

    ما عِشتم من فقركم كعبيد

    O masters of your homelands, you are not masters

    so long as, through poverty, you live like slaves.

  21. أفسيّد من عاش وهو لغيره

    في حاجة بل ذاك عيش مَسود

    Is he a master who lives dependent on another

    for his needs? No, that is a subject's life.

  22. أن السيادة تستدير مع الغنى

    في حالتَيْ عدم له ووجود

    Indeed, sovereignty turns with wealth,

    whether wealth is absent or present.

  23. لا يستقلّ بسيفه الشعب الذي

    لا يستقلّ بنقده المنقود

    A people cannot be independent through its sword

    if it is not independent in the money it pays out.

  24. من كان مَحلول العُرا في ماله

    وجب انحلال لوائه المعقود

    He whose wealth has its binding ties loosened

    must see his firmly bound banner come undone.

  25. يا قومنا أنتم كغارس كرمة

    وسواه منها قاطف العُنقود

    O our people, you are like one who plants a vine,

    while another plucks its cluster of grapes.

  26. كم تزرعون بأرضكم ولغيركم

    مما زرعتم حَبّ كل حَصيد

    How much you sow in your land, yet others receive

    the grain of every harvest from what you have sown!

  27. فتبصّروا يا قوم في أحوالكم

    وتنبَّهوا من غفلة ورقود

    So look closely, my people, at your circumstances,

    and awaken from heedlessness and slumber.

  28. من شاء منكم أن يُعزَّ بلاده

    فَلْيَسْعَ سعيَ مُعزّها البارودي

    Whoever among you wishes to exalt his country,

    let him strive like al-Barudi, who exalts it.