1. يا بريدَ النّيل إن جئتَ الشآما

    فاقضِ للأهلين عن مصرَ الذِّماما

    O messenger of the Nile, if you come to al-Sham,

    then fulfill Egypt's obligations of honor to the people there.

  2. إنّ في تلك المغانِي لَهَوىً

    صادِقَ العهدِ وأحباباً كِراما

    In those dwellings there is indeed a love

    faithful to its pledge, and noble loved ones.

  3. عَقَدَ الحُبُّ المُصفَّى بيننا

    عُروةً تأبى مَدى الدّهرِ انفصاما

    Pure love has forged between us

    a bond that refuses to break for all time.

  4. ما ترى الأُردُنَّ بالنّيلِ احتفَى

    وترى النّيلَ على الأُرْدُنِّ حاما

    Do you not see the Jordan rejoicing in the Nile,

    and see the Nile hovering over the Jordan?

  5. للشَّآمينَ منّا ولنا

    منهمُ العهدُ الذي يَبقَى لِزاما

    The people of al-Sham have from us, and we have

    from them, the covenant that remains binding.

  6. ضمّنا للدّهرِ ساقٍ حُوَّلٌ

    يَخدعُ الشَّرْبَ ويلهو بالنَّدامى

    Time's wily cupbearer brought us together,

    deceiving the drinkers and toying with the drinking companions.

  7. فَشربْنا الصَّفوَ من راوُوقهِ

    وتساقينا القَذَى جَاماً فجاما

    So we drank the clear wine from his strainer,

    and gave one another dregs to drink, goblet after goblet.

  8. نحن في القُطريْنِ إخوانُ الهَوى

    نَردُ النَّهرَيْنِ شَهداً وسِماما

    In the two lands, we are brothers in affection,

    drinking at both rivers, honey and poison alike.

  9. أَلْبَستْنا الضَّادُ في عَليائها

    من سَنَى الأنسابِ ما يجلو الظَّلاما

    The language of ḍād, in its lofty heights, has clothed us

    in the radiance of ancestry that dispels the darkness.

  10. فطلعنا في بني الدُّنيا هُدىً

    وسطعنا في نواحيها سلاما

    So we rose among the world's children as guidance,

    and shone throughout its regions as peace.

  11. أممُ المشرقِ لولا ما بِنا

    من حياةٍ أصبحت مَوْتَى رمِاما

    The nations of the East, but for what is in us

    of life, would have become dead, crumbling remains.

  12. والزّمانُ الضّخمُ لولا أنّنا

    من بنيهِ هَانَ قدراً ومَقاما

    And mighty Time, were it not that we

    are among its children, would be diminished in worth and stature.

  13. نحن سُسْنا الأمرَ سِلماً ووغىً

    وملكنا الدَّهرَ شيخاً وغُلاما

    We governed affairs in peace and battle,

    and ruled Time in its old age and its youth.

  14. أُمّةٌ للخلدِ تستعصي على

    عِزَّةِ الموتِ وتأبى أن تُضاما

    A nation destined for immortality, defying

    Death's might and refusing to be oppressed.

  15. طاولت فِرعونَ في سُلطانِه

    وابتنت في تاجهِ المُلكَ الجُساما

    It rivaled Pharaoh in his dominion,

    and built a mighty kingdom within his crown.

  16. ومضتْ تعلو فلمّا زُوحِمَتْ

    طاولت هارونَ عِزّاً وهِشاما

    And it continued to rise; when it was challenged,

    it rivaled Harun and Hisham in glory.

  17. راعتِ الأملاكَ في أجنادهم

    وَانْتحَتْ تغزو الخواقينَ العِظاما

    It struck terror into kings amid their armies,

    and set out to attack the mighty khagans.

  18. يا بني الآدابِ حَيُّوا عَلَماً

    تسكتُ الأعلامُ إن قال احتشاما

    O sons of letters, salute a luminary

    at whose speech the luminaries fall silent in reverence.

  19. إن ذكرتم دولةَ الضادِ فلا

    تَنْسَوُا التّاجَ ولا الشّيخَ الإِماما

    If you mention the realm of ḍād, do not

    forget the crown, nor the sheikh, the imam.

  20. إنّ جَبْراً والدَّعاوَى جمّةٌ

    لَفَتاها حين لا ترجو اعتصاما

    Indeed Jabr—though claims are many—

    is surely its champion when it hopes for no protection.

  21. عبقريُّ ذادَ عن أحسابِها

    فتجلّتْ عبقرياتٍ وِساما

    A genius, he defended its noble heritage,

    so it revealed itself in beautiful works of genius,

  22. تَبهرُ الأرضَ وتعلو صُعُداً

    فَتُضيءُ الشُّهبَ أو تَسقِي الغماما

    dazzling the earth and soaring upward,

    then lighting the meteors or watering the clouds.

  23. دولةٌ تعتزُّ منه في حِمَى

    مَلِكٍ يُلقي له الشَّعبُ الزِّعاما

    A realm draws strength from him, under the protection

    of a king to whom the people yield command.

  24. غُودِرَتْ في الشّرق فوضى فانبرى

    ينشرُ الدُّستورَ فيها والنّظاما

    It was left in chaos in the East; then he stepped forward

    to spread the constitution and order throughout it.

  25. بعث القُوّادَ في أقطارهِ

    يأخذون الموقعَ الأقصَى اقتحاما

    He sent commanders throughout its regions,

    to seize the farthest position by storm.

  26. رِيعَ جيشُ الجهلِ لمّا جَرَّدُوا

    من سَنَى عرفانِه الجيشَ اللُّهاما

    The army of ignorance was terrified when they mustered

    the mighty host from the radiance of his learning.

  27. مُرهَفُ الأقلامِ يأتي في الوغَى

    من جليل الفتحِ ما يُعيِي الحُساما

    With keen-edged pens, he achieves in battle

    great victories beyond the sword's power.

  28. أدبٌ ينسابُ من معسولهِ

    في رُبوع الشرقِ ما يَشفي السَّقاما

    From literature's honeyed sweetness flows

    through the lands of the East that which heals sickness.

  29. مثلُ عين الخِضرِ من يظفرْ بهِ

    لا يَذُقْ داءً ولا يُطعَمْ حمِاما

    Like al-Khidr's spring: whoever obtains it

    will taste no sickness, nor be fed death.

  30. إنّ للعلم لَسِرّاً جللاً

    نستفيدُ الخُلدَ منه والدّواما

    Knowledge indeed holds a momentous secret,

    from which we gain immortality and permanence.

  31. غاب عن عِلمِ الفراعين الأُلَى

    زَلزلوا الأقطار بأساً واعتزاما

    It eluded the knowledge of the pharaohs who

    shook the lands with might and resolve.

  32. فَتِّش الأجداثَ عن تيجانهم

    واسْألِ الأحجارَ والصّخرَ المُقاما

    Search the graves for their crowns,

    and question the stones and the standing rock.

  33. هل ترى عيناك إلا حُفَراً

    تلفظُ القومَ جُلوداً وعِظاما

    Do your eyes see anything but pits

    spewing out those people as skins and bones?

  34. عاث رَيْبُ الدّهرِ فيما جمعوا

    من كنوزٍ كُنَّ في التُّربِ رُكاما

    Time's vicissitudes ravaged what they amassed

    of treasures that lay in heaps in the dust.

  35. حَلَّ للمُغْتالِ في رَأدِ الضُّحَى

    من غَواليهنَّ ما كان حَراما

    In broad daylight, it became lawful for the plunderer

    to take what had once been forbidden of their precious things.

  36. رُبَّ جيشٍ بات يقظانَ القَنَا

    ساهِرَ الأسيافِ يخشَى أن تُراما

    Many an army spent the night with wakeful spears,

    its swords sleepless, fearing those treasures might be targeted.

  37. سُؤدُدٌ زُورٌ ومجدٌ باطلٌ

    وحياةٌ تُورِثُ الداءَ العُقاما

    False eminence and hollow glory,

    and a life that bequeaths incurable disease.

  38. إن وصفتَ المُلكَ يطويه البلَى

    فَصِفِ الأحلامَ تستهوي النِّياما

    If you describe dominion that decay folds away,

    then describe the dreams that beguile sleepers.