زَحزَحَت عَن صَدرِها الغَيمَ السَماء

وَأَطَلَّ النورُ مِن كَهفِ الشِتاء

The clouds have shifted from her chest, the sky

The sky has pushed the clouds away from its breast,

And light emerged from the cave of winter

And light has looked out from the cave of winter,

فَالرَوابي حِلَلٌ مِن سُندُسٍ

وَالسَواقي ثَرثَراتٌ وَغِناء

So the hills are gowns of satin

So the hills are robes made of silk brocade,

And the streams chatter and sing

And the streams are but chatter and song.

رَجَعَ الصَيفُ اِبتِساماً وَشَذىً

فَمَتى يَرجِعُ لِلدُنيا الصَفاء

Summer has returned, smiling and fragrant

Summer has returned with smiles and fragrance,

So when will clarity return to the world?

So when shall serenity return to the world?

فَأَرى الفِردَوسَ في كُلِّ حِمىً

وَأَرى الناسَ جَميعاً سُعَداء

I see paradise in every protected place

That I may see Paradise in every sanctuary,

And I see all people happy

And see all people living in happiness.

زالَتِ الحَربُ وَوَلَّت إِنَّما

لَيسَ لِلذُعرِ مِنَ الحَربِ اِنقِضاء

War has gone, receded indeed

The war has ceased and turned away, yet truly,

Yet dread of war has no end

The panic caused by war has no end.

إِن صَحَونا فَأَحاديثُ الوَغى

في الحِمى الآهِلِ وَالأَرضِ العَراء

If we wake, the talks of turmoil

If we wake, our talk is of battle,

In the populated sanctuary and bare land

In the populated sanctuary and the barren wild.

وَإِذا نِمنا تَراءَت في الكَرى

صُوَرُ الهَولِ وَأَشباحُ الفَناء

And if we sleep, images of horror

And if we sleep, there appear in our slumber,

And ghosts of annihilation appear

Images of terror and specters of annihilation.

فَهيَ في الأَوراقِ حِبرٌ هائِجٌ

وَعَلى الرَاديو فَحيحُ الكَهرُباء

So in the papers rages furious ink

In the newspapers, it is raging ink,

And on the radio crackles electricity

And on the radio, the hissing of electricity.

نَتَّقي في يَومِنا شَرَّ غَدٍ

وَإِذا الصُبحُ اِنطَوى خِفنا المَساء

We dread in our day the evil of tomorrow

Today we guard against the evil of tomorrow,

And when dawn folds we fear the evening

And when the morning folds away, we fear the evening.

عَجَباً وَالحَربُ بابٌ لِلرَدى

وَطَريقٌ لِدَمارٍ وَعَفاء

How strange that war is a gate for havoc

How strange! When war is a gateway to death,

And a path to ruin and disgrace

And a path to ruin and obliteration,

كَيفَ يَهواها بَنو الناسِ فَهَل

كَرِهوا في هَذِهِ الدُنيا البَقاء

Why do people desire it? Do they

How can the sons of men desire it? Have they

Hate longevity in this life?

Come to hate survival in this world?

إِن يَكُن عِلمُ الوَرى يَشفيهِمُ

يا إِلَهي رُدَّ لِلناسِ الغَباء

If the world's science heals them

If the science of mankind is meant to cure them,

My God return reason to people

O my God, return ignorance to the people.

وَليَجئ طوفانُ نوحٍ قَبلَما

تَغرَقُ الأَرضُ بِطوفانِ الدِماء

And let Noah's flood come before

And let Noah's flood come, before

The earth drowns in a flood of blood

The earth is drowned in a flood of blood.

وَاِعصِمِ الأَسرارَ وَاِحجُب كُنهَها

عَن ذَوي العِلمِ وَأَربابِ الذَكاء

And conceal the secrets and hide their essence

Safeguard the mysteries and veil their essence,

From the learned and the intelligent

From the men of science and the masters of intelligence.

فَلَقَد أَكثَرتَ أَسبابَ الأَذى

عِندَما أَكثَرتَ فينا العُلَماء

For you have multiplied means of harm

For You have multiplied the causes of harm,

When you increased scholars among us

When You multiplied the scholars among us.

كَم وَجَدنا آفَةً مُهلِكَةً

كُلَّما زَحزَحتَ عَن سِرٍّ غَطاء

How often we found a lethal affliction

How many a deadly blight have we found,

Whenever you lifted a veil off a secret

Whenever You shifted the cover from a secret.

قَد تَرقى الخَلقُ لَكِن لَم تَزَل

شَرعَةُ الغابَةِ شَرعَ الأَقوِياء

Creation may progress but the law

Mankind has advanced, yet there remains

Of the jungle remains the law of the mighty

The law of the jungle as the law of the strong.

حُرِّمَ القَتلُ وَلَكِن عِندَهُم

أَهوَنُ الأَشياءِ قَتلُ الضُعَفاء

Killing is forbidden but to them

Killing is forbidden, yet to them,

Killing the weak is the easiest thing

The easiest of things is the killing of the weak.

لا تَقُل لي هَكَذا اللَهُ قَضى

أَنتَ لا تَعرِفُ أَسرارَ القَضاء

Do not tell me that is God's decree

Do not tell me, 'This is what God decreed,'

You do not know the secrets of destiny

You do not know the secrets of Fate.

جاءَني بِالماءِ أَروي ظَمَأي

صاحِبٌ لي مِن صِحابي الأَوفِياء

With water to quench my thirst came

He brought me water to quench my thirst,

A loyal friend of my loyal brethren

A friend of mine, one of my loyal companions.

يا صَديقي جَنِّبِ الماءَ فَمي

عَطَشُ الأَرواحِ لا يُروى بِماء

My friend spare the water for my mouth

O my friend, keep the water from my lips,

The thirst of souls is not quenched with water

The thirst of souls is not quenched by water.

أَنا لا أَشتاقُ كاساتِ الطِلا

لا وَلا أَطلُبُ مَجداً أَو ثَراء

It is not cups of wine that I crave

I do not yearn for cups of wine,

Nor do I seek glory or wealth

Nor do I seek glory or riches.

إِنَّما شَوقي إِلى دُنيا رِضىً

وَإِلى عَصرِ سَلامٍ وَإِخاء

Rather my longing is for a world of contentment

My longing is but for a world of contentment,

And an era of peace and brotherhood

And for an era of peace and brotherhood.

لا تَعِدني بِالسَما يا صاحِبي

السَما عِندِيَ قُربُ الأَصدِقاء

Do not promise me the sky my friend

Do not promise me Heaven, my friend,

To me, the sky is being with true friends

Heaven, to me, is the nearness of friends.

وَأُراني الآنَ في أَكنافِهِم

فَأَنا الآنَ كَأَنّي في السَماء

Show me now in their bosom

And I see myself now within their embrace,

For I am now as if in the sky

So now, it is as if I am in Heaven.