اِتَّخَذتِ السَماءَ يا دارُ رُكنا

وَأَوَيتِ الكَواكِبَ الزُهرَ سَكنا

O home, you have made the sky your pillar

And made the stars your beautiful dwellers

وَجَمَعتِ السَعادَتَينِ فَباتَت

فيكِ دُنيا الصَلاحِ لِلدينِ خِدنا

You have gathered good fortune, so goodness

Became in you, the home of religion and worldliness

نادَما الدَهرَ في ذَراكِ وَفَضّا

مِن سُلافِ الوِدادِ دَنّاً فَدَنّا

Time lingered in your precincts sending

From early affection, more and more affection

وَإِذا الخُلقُ كانَ عِقدَ وِدادٍ

لَم يَنَل مِنهُ مَن وَشى وَتَجَنّى

And if people are bound in affection

None who envied or hated could get any of it

وَأَرى العِلمَ كَالعِبادَةِ في أَب

عَدِ غاياتِهِ إِلى اللَهِ أَدنى

And I see knowledge like worship, in its

Highest aims, coming closest to God

واسِعَ الساحِ يُرسِلِ الفِكرَ فيها

كُلُّ مَن شَكَّ ساعَةً أَو تَظَنّى

With a vast plain, it sends the mind therein

Everyone who doubted for an hour or harbored misgivings

هَل سَأَلنا أَبا العَلاءِ وَإِن قَلَّ

بَ عَيناً في عالَمِ الكَونِ وَسنى

Shall we ask Abu Al-Ala, though he closed

An eye in the world of existence and forgot

كَيفَ يَهزا بِخالِقِ الطَيرِ مَن لَم

يَعلَمِ الطَيرَ هَل بَكى أَو تَغَنّى

How can the Creator of birds be ridiculed by one

Who knows not a bird, whether it wept or sang?

أَنتِ كَالشَمسِ رَفرَفاً وَالسِماكَي

نِ رِواقاً وَكَالمَجَرَّةِ صَحنا

You are like the sun fluttering, and the Milky Way

A porch, and like the galaxy a platter

لَو تَسَتَّرتِ كُنتِ كَالكَعبَةِ الغَر

راءِ ذَيلاً مِنَ الجَلالِ وَرُدنا

If you were veiled, you would be like the Hidden Kaaba

A train of glory and felicity

إِن تَكُن لِلثَوابِ وَالبِرِّ دارٌ

أَنتِ لِلحَقِّ وَالمَراشِدِ مَغنى

If there is a home for reward and righteousness

You are for truth and guidance, a place of yearning

قَد بَلَغتِ الكَمالَ في نِصفِ قَرنٍ

كَيفَ إِن تَمَّتِ المَلاوَةُ قَرنا

You have reached perfection in half a century

How if completeness of beauty lasted a century?

لا تَعُدّي السِنينَ إِن ذُكِرَ العِل

مُ فَما تَعلَمينَ لِلعَلمِ سِنّا

Count not the years if knowledge is mentioned

For you know no old age for knowledge

سَوفَ تَفنى في ساحَتَيكِ اللَيالي

وَهوَ باقٍ عَلى المَدى لَيسَ يَفنى

Nights will perish in your precincts

While it remains through the ages, not perishing

يا عُكاظاً حَوى الشَبابَ فِصاحاً

قُرَشِيّينَ في المَجامِعِ لُسنا

O Ukaz, harboring youths, eloquent

Qurashis in assemblies, our tongues

بَثَّهُم في كِنانَةِ اللَهِ نوراً

مِن ظَلامٍ عَلى البَصائِرِ أَخنى

They spread them as light from God's bounty

From darkness, over inner eyes that squinted

عَلَّموا بِالبَيانِ لا غُرَباءً

فيهِ يَوماً وَلا أَعاجِمَ لُكنا

They taught rhetorically, neither strangers

Among them one day, nor foreigners our convention

فِتيَةٌ مُحسِنونَ لَم يُخلِفو العِل

مَ رَجاءً وَلا المُعَلِّمَ ظَنّا

Virtuous youth who disappointed neither

Hope of reward, nor teacher, of his supposition

صَدَعوا ظُلمَةً عَلى الريفِ حَلَّت

وَأَضاؤوا الصَعيدَ سَهلاً وَحَزنا

They clove darkness over the countryside that descended

And illuminated the plain, desert and settled

مَن قَضى مِنهُمُ تَفَرَّقَ فِكراً

في نُهى النَشءِ أَو تَقَسَّمَ ذِهنا

When one passed away, his ideas dispersed

In the minds of youth, or divided minds

نادِ دارَ العُلومِ إِن شِئتَ ياعا

ئِشُ أَو شِئتَ نادِها يا سُكَينا

Call the House of Knowledge, O Aisha

If you wish, or call it O Sakina

قُل لَها يا اِبنَةَ المُبارَكِ إيهٍ

قَد جَرَت كَاِسمِهِ أُمورُكِ يُمنا

Tell it: O daughter of the Blessed, blessings

Have flowed through you, as befits its name

هُوَ في المِهرَجانِ حَيٌّ شَهيدٌ

يَجتَلي عُرسَ فَضلِهِ كَيفَ أَجنى

He is, at the festival, alive, a martyr

Witnessing his excellence’s wedding, how excellent!

وَهوَ في العُرسِ إِن تَحَجَّبَ أَو لَم

يَحتَجِب والِدُ العَروسِ المُهَنّا

At the wedding, whether he appears or doesn’t

The bride’s father is exalted and fêted

ما جَرى ذِكرُهُ بِناديكَ حَتّى

وَقَفَ الدَمعُ في الشُؤونِ فَأَثنى

The mention of him in your club stopped

Tears in their flow, and turned them

رُبَّ خَيرٍ مُلِئتُ مِنهُ سُروراً

ذَكَّرَ الخَيِّرينَ فَاِهتَجتُ حُزنا

Many a goodness I was filled with gladness

When the good were remembered, and I was saddened

أَدَرى إِذ بَناكِ أَن كانَ يَبني

فَوقَ أَنفِ العَدُوِّ لِلضادِ حِصنا

I know, when it was built, it was built

Above the enemy’s nose, as a fortress

حائِطُ المُلكِ بِالمَدارِسِ إِن شِئ

تَ وَإِن شِئتَ بِالمَعاقِلِ يُبنى

The state’s wall, if you wish, is built with schools

Or, if you wish, with fortresses built

اُنظُرِ الناسَ هَل تَرى لِحَياةٍ

عُطِّلَت مِن نَباهَةِ الذِكرِ مَعنى

See the people! Do you see any meaning

To a life whose radiance is neglected?

لا الغِنى في الرِجالِ نابَ عَنِ الفَض

لِ وَسُلطانِهِ وَلا الجاهُ أَغنى

Neither wealth in men averted excelling

And its rule, nor status made them needless

رُبَّ عاثٍ في الأَرضِ لَم تَجعَلِ الأَر

ضُ لَهُ إِن أَقامَ أَو سارَ وَزنا

Many a wretch in the land, the land did not

Make for him, whether he stayed or traveled, any weight

عاشَ لَم تَرمِهِ بِعَينٍ وَأَودى

هَمَلاً لَم تُهِب لِناعيهِ أُذنا

He lived, you did not pelt him with a glance

And he perished, you lent no ear to his obit man

نَظَمَ اللَهُ مُلكَهُ بِعِبادٍ

عَبقَرِيّينَ أَورَثوا المُلكَ حُسنا

God composed His dominion with servants

Intellectuals who inherited grace seemly

شَغَلَتهُم عَنِ الحَسودِ المَعالي

إِنَّما يُحسَدُ العَظيمُ وَيُشنا

Glories distracted them from enviers

For only the great are envied and protected

مِن ذَكِيِّ الفُؤادِ يورِثُ عِلماً

أَو بَديعِ الخَيالِ يَخلُقُ فَنّا

The perspicacious bequeath knowledge

Or the ingenious create art

كَم قَديمٍ كَرُقعَةِ الفَنِّ حُرٍّ

لَم يُقَلِّل لَهُ الجَديدانِ شَأنا

Many an antique, like a rare artifact

Was not diminished by the new, its value

وَجَديدٍ عَلَيهِ يَختَلِفُ الدَه

رُ وَيَفنى الزَمانُ قَرناً فَقَرنا

And new, over which time differs

And ages pass, century after century

فَاِحتَفِظ بِالذَخيرَتَينِ جَميعاً

عادَةُ الفَطنِ بِالذَخائِرِ يُعنى

So preserve both treasures

The prudent are concerned with treasures

يا شَباباً سَقَونِيَ الوُدَّ مَحضاً

وَسَقَوا شانِئي عَلى الغِلِّ أَجنا

O youths who gave me pure affection

And gave my detractor over malice, protection

كُلَّما صارَ لِلكُهولَةِ شِعري

أَنشَدوهُ فَعادَ أَمرَدَ لَدنا

Whenever my hair grew white with age

They recited it, and it grew lush again

أُسرَةُ الشاعِرِ الرُواةُ وَما عَن

نَوهُ وَالمَرءُ بِالقَريبِ مُعَنّى

The poet’s family, the reciters—and he

Is not indifferent—man is bound to the near

هُم يَضُنّونَ في الحَياةِ بِما قا

لَ وَيُلفَونَ في المَماتِ أَضَنّا

They are stingy with life in what I said

And twist in death more miserly

وَإِذا ما اِنقَضى وَأَهلوهُ لَم يَع

دَم شَقيقاً مِنَ الرُواةِ أَوِ اِبنا

When they are done with him and ready him

No brother of reciters or a son remained

النُبوغَ النُبوغَ حَتّى تَنُصّوا

رايَةَ العِلمِ كَالهِلالِ وَأَسنى

Rise to excellence! Rise! Until you raise

The banner of knowledge like the crescent high

نَحنُ في صورَةِ المَمالِكِ ما لَم

يُصبِحِ العِلمُ وَالمُعَلِّمُ مِنّا

We are in semblance of kingdoms unless

Knowledge and teacher become one of us

لا تُنادوا الحُصونَ وَالسُفنَ وَاِدعوا ال

عِلمَ يُنشِئ لَكُم حُصوناً وَسُفنا

Call not the citadels and ships, but call

Knowledge, to build citadels and ships for you

إِنَّ رَكبَ الحَضارَةِ اِختَرَقَ الأَر

ضَ وَشَقَّ السَماءَ ريحاً وَمُزنا

The caravan of civilization has penetrated

The land and cloven the sky, wind and havens

وَصَحِبناهُ كَالغُبارِ فَلا رَج

لاً شَدَدنا وَلا رِكاباً زَمَمنا

And we followed it like dust, no men

Held its reins, nor riders controlled its stampede

دانَ آباؤُنا الزَمانَ مَلِيّاً

وَمَلِيّاً لِحادِثِ الدَهرِ دِنّا

Our forefathers tamed time, obsequious

And obsequious to the events of fate, obedient

كَم نُباهي بِلَحدِ مَيتٍ وَكَم نَح

مِلُ مِن هادِمٍ وَلَم يَبنِ مَنّا

How we boast of a dead man’s tomb, how we carry

From a destroyer, and none of us builds

قَد أَنى أَن نَقولَ نَحنُ وَلا نَس

مَعُ أَبناءَنا يَقولونَ كُنّا

The time has come to say, we, and not to hear

Our children say: we were