Sol 5.6

  1. O heir to glory, glorious deeds, and grandeur,

    You are the appointed arbiter between Arabs and non-Arabs.

  2. You—you are the one whose civilizing influence, had it not been,

    Would have let savagery bar the gate of wisdom and the wise.

  3. With justice you erased hypocrisy’s creed from an age

    Of tyranny, and turned the creed of avarice into generosity.

  4. Thus goodness became free, possessed by none

    But you; and evil became a slave, cast wherever you wished.

  5. Fate is more obedient than my shadow is to its master:

    If you rise, it rises; if you hold back, it does not rise.

  6. The sea bears no mountain-mass of your warships

    If it disobeys you; and no valiant warrior fears any but you.

  7. No banner ever waved upon a height

    Except at your command—or else was cast down from that height.

  8. Your battalions spread everywhere, their banner victorious,

    Across the face of the land and of the swelling, turbulent sea.

  9. The East shone; the West flourished and exulted

    On land and sea, in the glory of sword and pen.

  10. The capitals of Syria attained their aspirations

    Through one visit from you, which freed them from need of ceaseless rains.

  11. You came to them, and their pebbles turned to pearls;

    Their dust became perfume for whoever seized the blessing.

  12. Rule, exult, take pride, live secure, be mighty, and thrive;

    Strive, seize, triumph, grow great, win, and endure.

  13. May the times, through your radiant presence, remain resplendent

    With spring’s splendor, with rain pouring and streaming.

  14. And may the great tree endure, upheld—

    Mother of proud kings, masters of nations.

  15. May your army endure victorious, and may there never cease

    Its hours, through you, to be a garden fragrant with breezes.

Sol 5.6