1. “غمدان “ ردّد أناشيد العلى عجبا

    فأنت أبلغ من غنّى ومن خطبا

    Ghumdan, echo the anthems of glory in wonder,

    for you are more eloquent than any singer or orator.

  2. يا أيها الشامخ العالي كأن له

    من المجرّة أماً والسماك أبا

    O towering, lofty one, as though you had

    a mother from the Milky Way and al-Simak for a father.

  3. مرّت بساحتك الأحداث مطرقةً

    كأن مرآك قد أوحى لها رهبا

    Events passed through your courtyard with bowed heads,

    as though the sight of you had inspired them with awe.

  4. بالأمس جاءت وفود العرب حاملةً

    لك الثناء الذي يرضيك والقربا

    Yesterday the Arab delegations came, bearing

    for you praise that pleases you, and bonds of kinship.

  5. أضاء فيه على فرق ابن ذي يزن

    تاجٌ يغير نجوم الأفق والشُهبا

    There, upon the crown of Ibn Dhi Yazan's head, shone

    a diadem that made the horizon's stars and shooting stars envious.

  6. فصاغ جدّ رسول الله خطبته

    وكل نبلٍ إلى أعراقه نسبا

    Then the grandfather of God's Messenger fashioned his oration,

    and ascribed every noble virtue to his ancestral roots.

  7. وأنشد الساحر ابن الصلت رائعةً

    عرائس الفن ماست عندها طربا

    And the enchanter Ibn al-Salt recited a masterpiece,

    at which the brides of art swayed in rapture.

  8. لايحتفل في بلاد الخالدين هنا

    من لم يُرِقْ ذائداً عنها الدم السربا

    None celebrates here, in the land of the immortals,

    who has not shed flowing blood in its defense.

  9. ولايردّد هتاف النصرمفتخراً

    إلا امرؤ سلّ سمر الهند والقضبا

    Nor does anyone proudly repeat the cry of victory

    except one who has drawn India's dark spears and swords.

  10. اليوم ياشعب نُحصي فيك من صنعوا

    لنا الحياة ومن صاغوا لنا الشجبا

    Today, O people, we count among you those who made

    life for us, and those who fashioned grief for us.

  11. ونذكر الظلم فيما أجرمت يدهُ

    لو أن ذكراه مما يبعث الطربا

    And we recall oppression in the crimes its hand committed—

    if only its memory could kindle delight.

  12. مضى الألى حسبوا الدنيا لهم خُلقت

    وأصبحوا عظة الآتي بمن ذهبا

    Gone are those who thought the world was created for them;

    and in their passing they became a warning to those yet to come.

  13. النفي والموت قتلاً بعض ما كسبوا

    وإنما يجتني الإنسان ما كسبا

    Exile and death by violence were some of what they earned;

    and a person reaps only what he has earned.

  14. حققت يا شعب نصراً لا يُنال بلا

    سعي يشقّ وجهد يوجبُا لنصبا

    You won, O people, a victory unattainable without

    arduous striving and toil that brings weariness,

  15. وعزم مستبسلٍ ثارت حميّته

    كأنه تغلبيٌ يفتدي حلبا

    and a fearless fighter's resolve, his zeal aroused,

    as though he were a Taghlibi sacrificing himself for Aleppo.

  16. طهّرت أرضك من رجسٍ ومن دنسٍ

    وخضت بحراً من الأهوال مصطخبا

    You cleansed your land of filth and defilement,

    and braved a roaring sea of terrors.

  17. آليت أن لا يعيش الحق مُضطهداً

    ولا ترى في ديارالعُربِ مغتصبا

    You swore that justice would not live oppressed,

    nor would you see a usurper in the Arabs' lands.

  18. في ذمة الله والتاريخ حرّ دمٍ

    على ثرى الحق والحرية انسكبا

    In the keeping of God and history is the noble blood

    spilled upon the soil of justice and freedom.

  19. تخالط الدم من مصر ومن يمنٍ

    تخالطاً حدّد التاريخ والنسبا

    Blood from Egypt and Yemen mingled,

    a mingling that defined history and lineage.

  20. تضافرت ضدك الأحداث واجتمعت

    أيدي الأعادي تثيرالويل والحربا

    Events conspired against you, and united were

    the hands of your enemies, stirring calamity and war.

  21. خيانة أطلعت في كل ناحية

    لئيم قلب على أهدافه انقلبا

    Treachery brought forth in every quarter

    a base-hearted man who turned against his own aims.

  22. وحكم فرد شرى الباب من جهلوا

    والجهل مازال يفدي المال والنشبا

    And one-man rule bought the minds of the ignorant,

    and ignorance still sacrifices itself for money and property.

  23. وكيد مستعمر أخلى كنانته

    من السهام فأضحى جدّه لعبا

    And the scheming of a colonizer who emptied his quiver

    of arrows, so his earnest striving became mere play.

  24. أرى أوربا تمادت في عمايتها

    رغم العلوم التي شادت لها طنبا

    I see Europe persisting in its blindness,

    despite the sciences that raised its tent-rope high.

  25. سنّت حقوق بني الأنسان مؤمنةً

    بالرأي حداً وحكم الشعب منتخبا

    It enacted the rights of humankind, believing

    in opinion as a limit and in elected rule by the people.

  26. وحينما أنست فيه النزوع إلى

    كرامة العيش صكّت وجهها غضبا

    yet when it sensed in him a yearning for

    dignity in living, it slapped its face in anger.

  27. الغرب مازال خصم الشرق يسعده

    أن لا يثور وأن يبقى له ذنبا

    The West remains the East's foe; it is pleased

    that the East should not revolt, and should remain its tail.

  28. سل عن فظائع بلجيكا وقسوتها

    مواطن الزنج والكونغو الذي نهبا

    Ask about Belgium's atrocities and its cruelty—

    ask the Black Africans' homelands and the plundered Congo.

  29. هم جدّدوا حكم الغاب وارتكبوا

    من المظالم ما لا يبلغ العجبا

    They revived the law of the jungle and committed

    injustices beyond the reach of astonishment.

  30. قصّوا المعاصم أو جزوا الرؤوس لكي

    يضاعفوا الماس أو يستكثروا الذهبا

    They severed wrists or lopped off heads, so that

    they might multiply diamonds or amass more gold.

  31. وسل حروب الصليبيين أن لها

    في مهجة الشرق جرحاً بعد ما ارتأبا

    And ask the wars of the Crusaders, for theirs is

    a wound in the East's heart that has not yet healed.

  32. هم هاجموا معقل الإسلام واحتشدوا

    في البروالبحر ليلاً غام أو سحبا

    They attacked Islam's stronghold and massed

    on land and sea, like a darkened night or clouds.

  33. لكنهم صُدموا بالشرق عاصفة

    تهزهم وسعيراً يقذف اللهبا

    But they were struck by the East—a storm

    that shook them, and an inferno spewing flames.

  34. “حطين” صبّت عليهم من جهنمها

    ناراً جحافلهم أمست لها حطبا

    Hattin poured upon them, from its hell,

    a fire for which their legions became firewood.

  35. كم ساق منهم “صلاح الدين” من ملك

    وكم سقى الموت علجاً جاوز الأدبا

    How many of their kings did Salah al-Din lead away,

    and how many a barbarian who overstepped decency did he make drink death!

  36. ياشعب نصرك قد جلّت مكاسبه

    فلا تضع في مهب العاصفات هبا

    O people, the gains of your victory are immense;

    so do not leave it as dust where storm-winds blow.

  37. دع الخمول فما غير الخمول يد

    تمحو الحضارات مهما صدرها رحبا

    Abandon indolence, for no hand but indolence

    erases civilizations, however broad their breast.

  38. ولا تصخ لدعاة التفرقات فمن

    أفنى المكارم أحيا العرق والنسبا

    Do not heed the advocates of division, for whoever

    destroys noble virtues revives race and lineage.

  39. واحرص على عامل الوقت الثمين فإن

    أمّلت ميزانه في كفك اضطربا

    And be mindful of the precious factor of time, for if

    you tilt its balance in your palm, it will waver.