حَيّاكُمُ اللَهُ أَحيوا العِلمَ وَالأَدَبا

إِن تَنشُروا العِلمَ يَنشُر فيكُمُ العَرَبا

May God give you life, revive knowledge and literature,

If you spread knowledge, nobility will spread among you,

وَلا حَياةَ لَكُم إِلّا بِجامِعَةٍ

تَكونُ أُمّاً لِطُلّابِ العُلا وَأَبا

You have no life except through a university,

That would be a mother to students of excellence and dignity,

تَبني الرِجالَ وَتَبني كُلَّ شاهِقَةٍ

مِنَ المَعالي وَتَبني العِزَّ وَالغَلَبا

It builds men and builds every towering

Edifice of glories and builds might and conquest,

ضَعوا القُلوبَ أَساساً لا أَقولُ لَكُم

ضَعوا النُضارَ فَإِنّي أُصغِرُ الذَهَبا

Lay hearts as a foundation - I do not tell you -

Lay riches, for I belittle gold,

وَاِبنوا بِأَكبادِكُم سوراً لَها وَدَعوا

قيلَ العَدُوِّ فَإِنّي أَعرِفُ السَبَبا

And build with your livers a wall for it and leave

The enemy's talk, for I know the reason,

لا تَقنَطوا إِن قَرَأتُم ما يُزَوِّقُهُ

ذاكَ العَميدُ وَيَرميكُم بِهِ غَضَبا

Do not despair if you read what he makes palatable,

That dean throws at you in anger,

وَراقِبوا يَومَ لا تُغني حَصائِدُهُ

فَكُلُّ حَيٍّ سَيُجزى بِالَّذي اِكتَسَبا

And watch the day when its harvests will not avail,

For every living soul will be recompensed for what it earned,

بَنى عَلى الإِفكِ أَبراجاً مُشَيَّدَةً

فَاِبنوا عَلى الحَقِّ بُرجاً يَنطَحُ الشُهُبا

He built on falsehood lofty towers,

So build on truth a tower piercing the flames,

وَجاوِبوهُ بِفِعلٍ لا يُقَوِّضُهُ

قَولُ المُفَنِّدِ أَنّى قالَ أَو خَطَبا

And answer him with a deed that cannot be undermined

By the words of the nullifier wherever he spoke or orated.

لا تَهجَعوا إِنَّهُم لَن يَهجَعوا أَبَداً

وَطالِبوهُم وَلَكِن أَجمِلوا الطَلَبا

Do not sleep, for they will never sleep,

And seek them, but make seeking beautiful,

هَل جاءَكُم نَبَأُ القَومِ الأُلى دَرَجوا

وَخَلَّفوا لِلوَرى مِن ذِكرِهِم عَجَبا

Did the news of the wretched people come to you,

Who trod and left in the land from their mention wonders?

عَزَّت بِقُرطاجَةَ الأَمراسُ فَاِرتُهِنَت

فيها السَفينُ وَأَمسى حَبلُها اِضطِرَبا

In Carthage the building stones revelled, so the ships anchored

In it and their ropes swayed,

وَالحَربُ في لَهَبٍ وَالقَومُ في حَرَبٍ

قَد مَدَّ نَقعُ المَنايا فَوقَهُم طُنُبا

And war is blazing and the people are at war,

The drink of death has poured over them bushes,

وَدّوا بِها وَجَواريهِم مُعَطَّلَةٌ

لَو أَنَّ أَهدابَهُم كانَت لَها سَبَبا

They spilt it and their unveiled concubines,

If only their eyelids had been a cause for it,

هُنالِكَ الغيدُ جادَت بِالَّذي بَخِلَت

بِهِ دَلالاً فَقامَت بِالَّذي وَجَبا

There the braids dispensed with what they stinted

As allurement, so they did what was obligatory,

جَزَّت غَدائِرَ شِعرٍ سَرَّحَت سُفُناً

وَاِستَنقَذَت وَطَناً وَاِستَرجَعَت نَشَبا

They cut off locks of hair, launched ships

And salvaged a homeland and regained vigour,

رَأَت حُلاها عَلى الأَوطانِ فَاِبتَهَجَت

وَلَم تَحَسَّر عَلى الحَليِ الَّذي ذَهَبا

They saw their adornment upon the homelands and rejoiced

And did not grieve over the jewellery that was gone,

وَزادَها ذاكَ حُسناً وَهيَ عاطِلَةٌ

تُزهى عَلى مَن مَشى لِلحَربِ أَو رَكِبا

And that increased their beauty while they were chaste,

Adorned over those who went to war or rode.

وَبَرثَرانِ الَّذي حاكَ الإِباءُ لَهُ

ثَوباً مِنَ الفَخرِ أَبلى الدَهرَ وَالحِقَبا

And Barthran who the fathers spun for him

A garment of pride, time and eras wore out,

أَقامَ في الأَسرِ حيناً ثُمَّ قيلَ لَهُ

أَلَم يَئِن أَن تُفَدّي المَجدَ وَالحَسَبا

He stood captive for a while, then was told:

"Does it not pain you to ransom glory and merit?"

قُل وَاِحتَكُم أَنتَ مُختارٌ فَقالَ لَهُم

إِنّا رِجالٌ نُهينُ المالَ وَالنَشَبا

Say: You are free to choose, so he said to them:

"We are men who spurn money and youth."

خُذوا القَناطيرَ مِن تِبرٍ مُقَنطَرَةً

يَخورُ خازِنُكُم في عَدِّها تَعَبا

Take the quintals in sifted bran

That your treasurer will tire counting them.

قالوا حَكَمتَ بِما لا تَستَطيعُ لَهُ

حَملاً نَكادُ نَرى ما قُلتَهُ لَعِبا

They said: "You have judged with what you cannot

Carry, we almost see what you said as jest."

فَقالَ وَاللَهِ ما في الحَيِّ غازِلَةٌ

مِنَ الحِسانِ تَرى في فِديَتي نَصَبا

So he said: "By God, no living woman is

Flirtatious about seeing in my ransom difficulty."

لَو أَنَّهُم كَلَّفوها بَيعَ مِغزَلِها

لَآثَرَتني وَصَحَّت قوتَها رَغَبا

"If they tasked her with selling her spindle

She would prefer me, and her strength would grow keen."

هَذا هُوَ الأَثَرُ الباقي فَلا تَقِفوا

عِندَ الكَلامِ إِذا حاوَلتُمُ أَرَبا

This is the lasting trace, so do not stop

At words when you attempt a structure,

وَدونَكُم مَثَلاً أَوشَكتُ أَضرِبُهُ

فيكُم وَفي مِصرَ إِن صِدقاً وَإِن كَذِبا

And I almost strike for you in yourselves and in Egypt

An example, in truth or lies,

سَمِعتُ أَنَّ اِمرِأً قَد كانَ يَألَفُهُ

كَلبٌ فَعاشا عَلى الإِخلاصِ وَاِصطَحَبا

I heard that a man was befriended

By a dog, and they lived in loyalty and companionship,

فَمَرَّ يَوماً بِهِ وَالجوعُ يَنهَبُهُ

نَهباً فَلَم يُبقِ إِلّا الجِلدَ وَالعَصَبا

One day, while hunger was plundering him

Mercilessly, leaving only skin and nerves,

فَظَلَّ يَبكي عَلَيهِ حينَ أَبصَرَهُ

يَزولُ ضَعفاً وَيَقضي نَحبَهُ سَغَبا

He saw him wasting away in weakness and spending

His groaning in anguish,

يَبكي عَلَيهِ وَفي يُمناهُ أَرغِفَةٌ

لَو شامَها جائِعٌ مِن فَرسَخٍ وَثَبا

Crying over him while in his right hand were loaves

That if a hungry man from a mile away sensed he would leap,

فَقالَ قَومٌ وَقَد رَقّوا لِذي أَلَمٍ

يَبكي وَذي أَلَمٍ يَستَقبِلُ العَطَبا

Some people said, as they pitied the one in pain

Crying while the one in pain faces harm:

ما خَطبُ ذا الكَلبِ قالَ الجوعُ يَخطِفُهُ

مِنّي وَيُنشِبُ فيهِ النابَ مُغتَصِبا

"What is wrong with this dog?" Hunger snatches him

From me andsinks its fangs into him rapaciously."

قالوا وَقَد أَبصَروا الرُغفانَ زاهِيَةً

هَذا الدَواءُ فَهَل عالَجتَهُ فَأَبى

They said, as they saw the fresh loaves:

"This is the cure, have you treated him with it?" But he refused.

أَجابَهُم وَدَواعي الشُحِّ قَد ضَرَبَت

بَينَ الصَديقَينِ مِن فَرطِ القِلى حُجُبا

He answered them: "The motives of stinginess have struck

Between the two friends, from the excess sorrow, veils."

لِذَلِكَ الحَدِّ لَم تَبلُغ مَوَدَّتُنا

أَما كَفى أَن يَراني اليَومَ مُنتَحِبا

"For that reason our affection did not reach

The point that I give him food while I grieve today."

هَذي دُموعي عَلى الخَدَّينِ جارِيَةٍ

حُزناً وَهَذا فُؤادي يَرتَعي لَهَبا

"These are my tears on my cheeks flowing

In sorrow, and this is my heart aflame,

أَقسَمتُ بِاللَهِ إِن كانَت مَوَدَّتُنا

كَصاحِبِ الكَلبِ ساءَ الأَمرُ مُنقَلَبا

I swear by God, if our affection was like

The dog's companion - the matter would change."

أُعيذُكُم أَن تَكونوا مِثلَهُ فَنَرى

مِنكُم بُكاءً وَلا نُلفي لَكُم دَأَبا

"I seek refuge for you from being like him, so we see

From you crying and do not find for you a way."

إِن تُقرِضوا اللَهَ في أَوطانِكُم فَلَكُم

أَجرُ المُجاهِدِ طوبى لِلَّذي اِكتَتَبا

"If you lend God in your homelands, for you is

The reward of the struggler. Good tidings to whoever volunteered."