1. إِنَّ الذين تجافى عنهم الشرفُ

    الشام تبرأُ من عارِ الذي اقترفوا

    Indeed, those whom honor has shunned—

    Syria disowns the shame of what they have committed.

  2. كادوا لها قبل أن كادوا (المصر) فلا

    تؤاخذوها بذنبٍ منه تنتصف

    They plotted against her before plotting against Egypt; so do not

    hold her accountable for a wrong for which she seeks redress.

  3. وَكيف يؤخذ موتورٌ بواترِه

    هذا هو الجوْرُ في الأحكامِ والجَنَفُ

    And how can one wronged be held accountable for his wrongdoer?

    This is injustice and partiality in judgment.

  4. سبّةُ الدهرِ فالأَسلافُ تلعنهم

    وَسوفَ يخزى بما جاؤا به الخلف

    A disgrace for all time—their forebears curse them,

    and posterity will be shamed by what they have done.

  5. شبّوا وَشابوا عَلَى بيعِ الضمائرِ بل

    تقاسموا الذلّ موروثاً وَهم نُطف

    They grew up and grew gray selling consciences—nay,

    they shared humiliation as an inheritance while still drops of seed.

  6. هيهات لم يرتفعْ بالعز مارِنهم

    لكنَّهم بدماءِ الذلِّ قد رعِفوا

    Far from it! The tips of their noses never rose in honor,

    but their noses have bled the blood of humiliation.

  7. والله ما وردوا وِردَ الإِباءِ وَهمْ

    من منهلِ الهونِ قبلَ اليومِ قد رشفوا

    By God, they never came to the waters of self-respect, though they

    had already sipped from the spring of humiliation before today.

  8. عَدَتْ بهم لحياضِ العارِ بطنتُهمْ

    كالحْرِ تعدو إذا أُدني لها العلف

    Their gluttony drove them running to the pools of shame,

    like donkeys (reading uncertain), running when fodder is brought near them.

  9. القاعدون عَلَى الخسفِ المعافِ وَقَدْ

    سارَتْ بسبّهمُ الأسفارُ والصحف

    They sit in loathsome abasement, while

    books and newspapers have circulated denunciations of them.

  10. عاثوا فساداً (بمصرٍ) (والشآم) فهمْ

    مقنَّعون بلعْنٍ أينما ثقفوا

    They wrought corruption in Egypt and Syria; so they are

    veiled in curses wherever they are found.

  11. لا بدّ من ساعةٍ فيها سيدركهم

    عَلَى الذي كسبتْ أيديهم أسف

    An hour must come when they will be overtaken

    by remorse for what their hands have earned.

  12. "استغفرُ الله؛ لو أعطيتُ خَلقَهمُ"

    لكان يصرفني عن خلقهِم أنَفُ

    I ask God's forgiveness: were I entrusted with creating them,

    pride would keep me from creating them.

  13. إخوانَنا! ولنا في الصالحاتِ يدٌ

    لكنّنا لكمُ بالسبْقِ نعترف

    Our brothers! We too have a hand in good deeds,

    but we acknowledge your precedence.

  14. تأْبى الأَواصرُ من قربى وَمن لغةٍ

    إلاّ الوفاقَ فكيفَ اليوم نختلف

    The bonds of kinship and language demand

    concord alone; how can we differ today?

  15. إنَّ المصائِبَ والأحزانَ تجمعنا

    والسعي والأمل الفينان والهدف

    Misfortunes and sorrows unite us,

    and striving, luxuriant hope, and the goal.

  16. واللهِ لم نأل جهداً في قضيَّتنا

    وَإِنما الدهرُ فيها بات يعتسف

    By God, we have spared no effort in our cause,

    yet fate has come to deal unjustly with it.

  17. في الصدرِ ضيقٌ وَما بين اللهاةِ شجى

    وَفي اللسانِ وَفي تبيانه لفف

    There is tightness in the breast, and a choking lump in the throat,

    and a faltering in the tongue and its expression.

  18. ما حطَّ من قدرِنا ظلمُ الزمانِ لنا

    هلْ عيبتِ الشمسُ أنَّ الشَّمسَ تنكسف

    Time's injustice toward us has not diminished our worth;

    is the sun faulted because it is eclipsed?

  19. وَليس لليأْسِ أن يذوى لنا أَملاً

    دمُ الشبابِ عليه عارضٌ يكف

    Nor may despair wither any hope of ours:

    the blood of youth is a rain-cloud dripping upon it.

  20. فينا وَإِنْ بلغ الواشون مأربَهم

    من همْ بغيرِ هوى الأوطانِ ما كلفوا

    Among us—even if slanderers have attained their aim—

    are those enamored of nothing but love for their homelands.

  21. مِنْ عادةِ الصبِّ تذرافُ الدموعِ وَهمْ

    دماءَهم بهوى أوطانِهم ذرفوا

    Lovers are wont to shed abundant tears; but they

    have shed their blood for love of their homelands.

  22. كم من فتى كانتِ النعماءُ تألفُه

    في كلِّ حالٍ وَخفض العيش والترف

    How many a youth whom prosperity befriended,

    in every circumstance, with ease of life and luxury,

  23. لاقى الألاقي لأجل الشام حيث رَمَتْ

    به عن الأهل مضطراً نوى قذُفُ

    has met dire hardships for Syria, when hurled

    unwillingly far from his family by distant exile.

  24. لفحُ الهواجرِ بالتلويح برقعُه

    وَقد بَكَتْ لنواه الروضةُ الأُنُفُ

    Scorching midday heat, darkening his skin, is his veil,

    and the untouched meadow has wept for his absence.

  25. لا الضرّ يثنيه عن حبِ الشآم ولا

    ذل الغريبِ وَلا البأساءِ والشظف

    Neither hardship turns him from love of Syria, nor

    a stranger's humiliation, nor adversity and privation.

  26. وَحيث كان فشطرُ الشام قبلتُه

    إِذْ كان يلفته التهيامُ والشغف

    And wherever he is, Syria is his qibla,

    for yearning and passion turn him toward her.

  27. حلفتُ بالدمِ قرباناً لنا وَلكمْ

    وَهل وَراءَ دمٍ جُدْنا به حلف

    I swore by blood, a sacrificial offering for us and for you,

    and is there any oath beyond the blood we freely gave?

  28. إِنّا عَلَى العهد نصفيكم مودَّتَنا

    ما في مودتِنا مَنٌّ وَلا سرف

    Indeed, we keep the pledge, offering you our pure affection;

    our affection holds no boasting of favors, nor excess.

  29. عواطفُ الحبِّ والودِّ الصريح لكم

    بكل قلبٍ لوادي النيلِ تنعطف

    Feelings of love and unalloyed affection for you

    turn in every heart toward the Nile Valley.

  30. لنشركنكمُ بالضرِّ فهو إذا

    أُميط عنكم فعنّا الضر منكشف

    We shall surely share your suffering, for when it

    is lifted from you, our suffering is lifted too.

  31. أما الأُولى نثروا الأزهارَ عندكمُ

    فقد هَوَتْ فوقهم من مقتِنا كسف

    As for those who scattered flowers in your midst,

    fragments of our loathing have fallen upon them.

  32. للمجدِ نبرأُ مما قَدَّمَتْ يَدُهمْ

    والشاهدانِ الضميرُ الحيُّ والشرف

    For glory's sake, we disown what their hand has done,

    and the two witnesses are living conscience and honor.