غَفَا الْلَّيْل فَلْيَبْرُز مِن الْخِدْر طَالِع

وَمَن وَكُرَه فَلْيَغْد غَاو وَضَالِع

The night has subsided, so let the rising star emerge from its lair,

The night has slumbered, so let the stalker rise from his lair,

And let whoever dislikes it become hostile and vicious.

And from his den, let the deviant and the crooked beast go forth.

وَفِي غَفْلَة مِّن هَجْعَة الْخَلْق فِي الْكَرِى

تَنَمَّر وَحْش الْغَاب وَاجْتَال ضَالِع

And in the negligence of people sleeping in their beds,

In a moment of heedlessness, while all creation sleeps,

The beasts of the jungle prowled and bared their teeth.

The forest beast turns fierce, and the predator prowls free.

وَمَا الْغَاب إلا مَرْتَع الْذِّئْب جَائلا

لِيَقْنُص حُمْلان الْحَمِى أَو يُخْادِع

For the jungle is but a dwelling for the lurking wolf,

For the forest is but a pasture for the wandering wolf,

To hunt the lambs of the protected or to deceive.

To hunt the sanctuary's lambs or weave his deceit.

فَيَا وَطَنِا عنه اسْتَنامَت حَمَاتَه

لَك الْلَّه فِيْمَا خَصْمِك الْفَظ صَانِع

So oh my country, its protectors have become lax,

O homeland whose guardians have slumbered at their post,

May God support you against your brutal adversary.

God be with you against the deeds of your brutal foe.

لَك الَلَه فِي هَذَا الَّذِي قَد لَقِيْتُه

مِن الْهَوْل أذِ رَاعِك فِي الْلَّيْل خَانِع

May God be with you in this horror that I have experienced

God be with you in the horrors you have met,

With your terrified arms in the night pleading.

From the terror when a craven traitor struck in the night.

وَيَا أُمَّة أَوْطَانِهِا قَد تَمَزَّقَت

وَأُمْسِى بِهَا الْحِقْد الْشِّقَاق يُشَايَع

And oh nation whose homelands have been torn apart

O nation whose lands are torn and rent asunder,

While enmity and division spread among them at night.

Where hatred and discord are championed and spread.

رَأْى لَيْثَها قَد نَام فِي خِدْر أُمّه

فَعَاث بِهَا غَاو وَغَدُور وَطَامِع

Its lion has slept in its den

He saw its lion sleeping in the mother’s den,

So the treacherous beasts plundered it.

So the deviant, the traitor, and the greedy wreaked havoc there.

فَأَنَّى لَه أَن يُمْسِك الْأَمْر فِي يَد

وَقَد دَهِمَتْه فِي الْظَّلام الْفَظَائِع؟

How can he maintain control

How then can he hold command within his hand,

When terrors have overwhelmed him in the darkness?

When atrocities have stormed him in the dark?

رَأْى قَصَرَه الْمُنْهَار تَحْت رُكَامُه

وَفَانِّي حُطَام دَمَّرَتْه الْمُدَافِع

He saw his crumbling palace beneath the rubble

He saw his palace collapsed beneath its rubble,

And its fleeting wreckage demolished by the cannons.

And perishable ruins destroyed by cannon fire.

وَمَن حُوْلَه صِرْعَى وَجُرْحِى جُنُوْدُه

وَمَن تَحْتِهِم تِلْك الْدِّيَار الْبَلَاقِع

Around him are his slain and wounded soldiers

Around him lie the slain and wounded of his troops,

And beneath them are those devastated homes.

And beneath them lie the desolate and barren lands.

وَجُنِّد غَزَاة يَقْطَعُوْن سَبِيِلِه

وَتَنْزُو عَلَى الأعْرَاض مِنْهُم نَوَازِع

And enemy invaders cutting off his route

Invading troops cut off his every path,

While tempting motives descend upon them.

While base desires leap to violate our honor.

وَكُل لَه فِي هَجْعَة الْلَّيْل إرْبِه

تُحَرَّكَه لِلْفَتْك وَالْغَاب هَاجِع

And each of them has a goal in the night’s slumber

Each harbors a plot in the quiet of the night,

That drives him to betrayal and wickedness.

Stirring him to slaughter while the forest sleeps.

تَنَمَّر فِيَه حَامِل الْنَّاب وَالْمُدْى

بِهَا شَحَذَت أَيْد بِهَا الْسُّم نَاقِع

The one carrying fangs and claws prowling

The bearer of fangs and knives has turned ferocious there,

With which the venomous hands have sharpened.

Whetted by hands where soaking poison flows.

عَجِيْب لَهَا أُمَّتِي فِي وَثَوْبُهُا

عَلَى وَطَن فِيَه الْقُلُوْب فَوَاجِع

Wondrous are my people in their rags

How strange is my nation in its sudden plight,

Over a homeland with grieving hearts.

Upon a homeland where hearts are struck with tragedy.

أَحَاطَت بِه قُوَّات غَدَر أَثِيمُه

بِهَا الْمَسْجِد الْأَقْصَى دَهَتْه الْمَوَاجِع

The forces of a treacherous enemy have surrounded it

Sinful forces of treachery have encircled it,

With which the Aqsa Mosque they have violated.

Where Al-Aqsa Mosque is overwhelmed by grief.

وَمَا فِيَه مِن حَام سِوَى الْعُزَّل فِي الْوَغَى

يُرَوِّعَهُم فِي مُهْجَة الْلَّيْل خَادِع

And it contains no defenders against the chaos

With no defender but the unarmed in the fray,

Which terrorizes the helpless in the dark of night.

Terrified in the depth of night by a deceiver.

أُتِى يَحْمِل الْمَوْت الْزُّؤَام بِالّة

مُصَوِّبُة الَأنْيَاب مِنْهَا الْأَضَالِع

They came bearing vile death with weapons

He came bringing instant death with his machine,

Aiming their claws, shedding blood.

Its fangs taking aim from every deadly flank.

وَفِي جُفُوَنُّهَا الْنِّيْرَان وَالْبُغْض وَالْأَسِى

لِمَن دَاهمَّتّه بِالْمَنُون تَوَاقَع

In their eyes are fire, hatred, and sorrow

In its eyes are fire, hatred, and despair,

For those they suddenly attacked with calamity.

For those it raided, bringing death to fall upon them.

بِجُنْد مِن الْشُّذَّاذ مِن كُل مَلَّة

لُصُوْصِيَّة مِنْهَا أَثِيْم وجَاشِع

With an army of riffraff from every faith

With an army of outcasts from every sect,

Wicked thieves among them plundering and ransacking.

A thieving horde, sinful and consumed by greed.

مَوَاقِعَهُم فِيْهَا تُحَدِّد جُرْمِهِم

فَمَن ذَا الَّذِي عَن قُدْسِه لَا يُدَافِع؟

Their positions there define their crime

Their positions there define their very crime—

So who will defend its holiness, not objecting?

For who is he that would not defend his holy sanctuary?

دَعَانِي الْأُسِّى وَاسَتَدَّمّع الْعَيْن حَسْرَه

وَشَدَت الَي قَلْبِي الْنُيُوب الْنَّوَازِع

Anguish has called me and tears of sorrow have flowed

Grief called to me, and my eyes wept tears of regret,

And adversities have pulled at my heart.

And tearing fangs pulled tight against my heart.

خُطُوْب وَأَهْوَال وَأَسْرِى و أَدْمُع

وَقَتْلِى وِصْرِعِى جَنْدلْتِهُم مَصَارِع

Ordeals, terrors, captives, tears

Calamities, horrors, captives, and flowing tears,

And my murder and the death of its soldiers.

And the slain and broken, felled on fields of death.

فَمَن لِي مِن هَذَا الدَمارُ وَمَا جِرى

لِأَهْلِي وَبَيْتِي وَالْقُلُوْب صَوَادِع؟

So who will save me from this destruction and what has happened

Who is there for me in this ruin and what has passed,

To my family, home, and hearts with anguish?

For my family, my home, and hearts that split in two?

وَمَن يَدْفَع الْخَصْم الْعُتُل بِقُوَّة

وَيَرْدَع مَسْعَاه وَبَالغَاب جَازِع؟

And who will drive back the shameless enemy with strength

And who will drive back the brutal foe with might,

And deter his goal and make the forest cower?

And deter his quest, while the forest shakes with fear?

نُفُوْس عُرَاهَا الْبُؤْس وَالْهَم وَالْضَّنّى

وَأَفْزَعَهَا مِن هَوْلِه ما يُضَاجِع

Souls stripped bare by misery, anxiety, and discontent

Souls stripped by misery, worry, and wasting pain,

And horrified by its terror, unable to find rest.

Terrified by the horror that sleeps beside them.

أيَحْمّي بُيُوْتَا أَو يَصُوْن مَسَاجِدا

نَئُوْم عَن الُجْلَّي خَنُوع وَهَالِع؟

Will they protect homes or defend mosques

Can he protect a home or guard a mosque—

While we sleep, resigned and destroyed?

The submissive, panic-stricken sleeper in the crisis?

أَم الْمُمْسِك الْكُرْسِي فِيَه تَشَبُّثا

يَنَام عَلَى هُون وَبالصَّمّت قَانِع؟

Or will the one grasping the throne obstinately

Or he who clings tightly to the throne,

Sleep in disgrace and satisfied with silence?

Sleeping on humiliation, content with silence?

وُلَاة شُعُوْب مَزَّقَتْهُم ضَغَائِن

وَمَا ضَمَّهُم فِي سَاحَة الْحَرْب جَامِع

Rulers of nations torn apart by grudges

Rulers of peoples torn apart by grudges,

With nothing to unite them on the battlefield.

United by nothing on the field of war.

وَقَد شَغَلَتْهُم أَنْفُس عَن شُعُوْبِهُم

وَبَات مَع الْشَّحْنَاء حِقْد يُصَارِع

They have been distracted from their people

Their own selves distracted them from their peoples,

While struggling with hatred through the night.

And hatred spent the night wrestling with rancor.