يقولونَ صَوْتُ المُسْتَذِلِّين خافِتٌ

وسَمْعُ طُغاةِ الأَرضِ أَطْرَشُ أَصْخَمُ

They say the voice of the downtrodden is faint

They say the voice of the downtrodden is faint,

And the hearing of the earth’s tyrants is deaf and dumb

And that the ears of earth's tyrants are deaf and stone,

وفي صيحَةِ الشَّعْبِ المُسَخَّر زَعْزَعٌ

تَخُرُّ لها شُمُّ العُرُوسِ وتُهْدَمُ

Yet in the cry of the toiling people there is turmoil

Yet within the cry of the enslaved lies a storm,

That makes the bride’s breath stagger and brings walls crashing down

Before which towering citadels crumble and fall,

ولَعْلَعَةُ الحقّ الغَضوبِ لها صدًى

ودَمْدَمَةُ الحربِ الضَّروسِ لها فمُ

The clamor of angry truth has an echo

The thunderous roar of angry Truth holds an echo,

And the rumble of ferocious war has a mouth

And the savage growl of war finds a mouth to speak,

إِذا التفَّ حولَ الحقِّ قومٌ فإنَّهُ

يُصَرِّمُ أَحْداثَ الزَّمانِ ويُبْرِمُ

When people rally around the truth, it

If a people rally around the Right, then surely it

Shakes the times and makes them grim

Shall sever the threads of fate and weave them anew,

لكَ الوَيْلُ يا صَرْحَ المَظالمِ مِنْ غَدٍ

إِذا نَهَضَ المُسْتَضْعفُونَ وصَمَّموا

Woe to you, o bastion of oppression, tomorrow

Woe unto you, O citadel of injustice, from the morrow,

When the oppressed rise up with resolve

When the oppressed rise up with steely resolve,

إِذا حطَّمَ المُسْتَعبدونَ قيودَهُمْ

وصبُّوا حَميمَ السُّخْطِ أَيَّانَ تَعْلَمُ

When the enslaved break their chains

When the enslaved shatter their heavy chains,

And pour the heat of their rage, when will you understand?

And pour their scalding wrath where you well know,

أَغرَّكَ أنَّ الشَّعْبَ مُغْضٍ على قَذًى

وأنَّ الفضاءَ الرَّحْبَ وَسْنانُ مُظْلِمُ

Does it fool you that the people bear their misery patiently

Were you deluded because the people suffer silently on grit,

And that the vast space is darkened and gloomy?

And that the vast horizon sleeps in darkness?

أَلا إنَّ أَحلامَ البلادِ دَفينةٌ

تُجَمْجِمُ في أعماقِها مَا تُجَمْجِمُ

Know that the dreams of the nation lie buried

Nay, the dreams of the land lie buried deep,

Simmering deep down with what they simmer

Murmuring within the depths their hidden words,

ولكنْ سيأتي بعدَ لأيٍ نُشُورُها

ويَنْبَثِقُ اليومُ الَّذي يَتَرَنَّمُ

But after a while they will be resurrected

Yet after long delay, their resurrection shall surely come,

And the day will dawn when they are chanted

And the day of singing triumph shall burst forth,

هوَ الحقُّ يَغْفى ثمَّ يَنْهَضُ ساخِطاً

فيَهْدُمُ مَا شادَ الظَّلامُ ويَحْطِمُ

Truth slumbers then wakes raging

For Truth may slumber, but it rises in fury,

Destroying what darkness built and crushing it

To demolish and destroy what darkness has built,

غَدَا الرَّوْعُ إنْ هبَّ الضَّعيفُ ببأْسِهِ

سَتَعْلَمُ مَنْ مِنَّا سَيَجرُفُهُ الدَّمُ

Tomorrow, if the weak rouse themselves in fury

Terror awaits the morrow if the weak strike with their might,

We shall know who among us will be swept away in blood

You shall know which of us the torrent of blood will sweep away,

إلى حيثُ تَجْني كفُّهُ بَذْرَ أَمْسِهِ

ومُزْدَرعُ الأَوجاعَ لا بدَّ يَنْدَمُ

To where his hands reap what they sowed

To where his hand reaps the seeds of his yesterday,

And the sower of torment will surely regret

For he who sows agony must surely come to regret,

سَتَجْرَعُ أَوصابَ الحَيَاةِ وتَنْتَشي

فتُصْغي إلى الحقِّ الَّذي يَتَكَلَّمُ

You will drink the cups of life and find joy

You shall drain the bitter cup of life's maladies until you reel,

Listening to the truth being spoken

And hearken at last to the Truth that speaks,

إِذا مَا سَقاكَ الدَّهرُ من كأْسِهِ التي

قُرَارَتُها صابٌ مَريرٌ وعَلْقَمُ

When life makes you drink from its cup

When Fate pours you a drink from its cup,

Whose dregs are bitter and unpleasant

Whose dregs are bitter aloe and gall,

إِذا صُعِقَ الجبَّارُ تَحْتَ قُيُودِهِ

يُصيخُ لأوجاعِ الحَيَاةِ ويَفْهَمُ

When the tyrant is stunned beneath his chains

When the tyrant is struck down beneath his own chains,

Shrieking from life’s agonies and understanding

He finally hears life's agonies and understands.