1. رَكَزوا رُفاتَكَ في الرِمالِ لِواءَ

    يَستَنهِضُ الوادي صَباحَ مَساءَ

    They planted your remains in the sands as a banner,

    Rousing the valley morning and evening.

  2. يا وَيحَهُم نَصَبوا مَناراً مِن دَمٍ

    توحي إِلى جيلِ الغَدِ البَغضاءَ

    Alas for them! They raised a beacon of blood,

    Inspiring hatred in tomorrow's generation.

  3. ما ضَرَّ لَو جَعَلوا العَلاقَةَ في غَدٍ

    بَينَ الشُعوبِ مَوَدَّةً وَإِخاءَ

    What harm would there be if, tomorrow, they made the bond

    Between peoples one of affection and brotherhood?

  4. جُرحٌ يَصيحُ عَلى المَدى وَضَحِيَّةٌ

    تَتَلَمَّسُ الحُرِّيَةَ الحَمراءَ

    A wound cries out through the ages, and a victim

    Gropes for crimson freedom.

  5. يا أَيُّها السَيفُ المُجَرَّدُ بِالفَلا

    يَكسو السُيوفَ عَلى الزَمانِ مَضاءَ

    O sword, unsheathed in the wilderness,

    Clothing swords through the ages in sharpness.

  6. تِلكَ الصَحاري غِمدُ كُلِّ مُهَنَّدٍ

    أَبلى فَأَحسَنَ في العَدُوِّ بَلاءَ

    Those deserts are the sheath of every Indian-steel sword

    That fought the enemy and acquitted itself nobly.

  7. وَقُبورُ مَوتى مِن شَبابِ أُمَيَّةٍ

    وَكُهولِهِم لَم يَبرَحوا أَحياءَ

    And graves of the dead among Umayya's young men

    And their elders, who have never ceased to live.

  8. لَو لاذَ بِالجَوزاءِ مِنهُم مَعقِلٌ

    دَخَلوا عَلى أَبراجِها الجَوزاءَ

    Had a stronghold sought refuge from them in the constellation al-Jawza,

    They would have stormed al-Jawza in its towers.

  9. فَتَحوا الشَمالَ سُهولَهُ وَجِبالَهُ

    وَتَوَغَّلوا فَاِستَعمَروا الخَضراءَ

    They conquered the north, its plains and its mountains,

    And pushed deeper, then settled al-Khadra, the Green Land.

  10. وَبَنَوا حَضارَتَهُم فَطاوَلَ رُكنُها

    دارَ السَلامِ وَجِلَّقَ الشَمّاءَ

    And built their civilization, its pillar rising to rival

    Dar al-Salam and lofty Jilliq.

  11. خُيِّرتَ فَاِختَرتَ المَبيتَ عَلى الطَوى

    لَم تَبنِ جاهاً أَو تَلُمَّ ثَراءَ

    Offered a choice, you chose to spend the night hungry;

    You built no status, nor amassed wealth.

  12. إِنَّ البُطولَةَ أَن تَموتَ مِن الظَما

    لَيسَ البُطولَةُ أَن تَعُبَّ الماءَ

    Indeed, heroism is to die of thirst;

    Heroism is not to gulp down water.

  13. إِفريقيا مَهدُ الأُسودِ وَلَحدُها

    ضَجَّت عَلَيكَ أَراجِلاً وَنِساءَ

    Africa, the cradle of lions and their grave,

    Cried out in grief for you, men and women alike.

  14. وَالمُسلِمونَ عَلى اِختِلافِ دِيارِهِم

    لا يَملُكونَ مَعَ المُصابِ عَزاءَ

    And Muslims, despite the diversity of their lands,

    Have no consolation amid this calamity.

  15. وَالجاهِلِيَّةُ مِن وَراءِ قُبورِهِم

    يَبكونَ زيدَ الخَيلِ وَالفَلحاءَ

    And the men of the pre-Islamic age, from beyond their graves,

    Weep for Zayd al-Khayl and al-Falha'.

  16. في ذِمَّةِ اللَهِ الكَريمِ وَحِفظِهِ

    جَسَدٌ بِبُرقَةَ وُسِّدَ الصَحراءَ

    In the care and keeping of God, the Generous,

    Lies a body in Barqa, pillowed on the desert.

  17. لَم تُبقِ مِنهُ رَحى الوَقائِعِ أَعظُماً

    تَبلى وَلَم تُبقِ الرِماحُ دِماءَ

    The millstone of battles left him no bones

    To decay; nor did the spears leave any blood.

  18. كَرُفاتِ نَسرٍ أَو بَقِيَّةِ ضَيغَمٍ

    باتا وَراءَ السافِياتِ هَباءَ

    Like a vulture's remains or the remnants of a lion,

    Both turned to dust behind the sand-sweeping winds.

  19. بَطَلُ البَداوَةِ لَم يَكُن يَغزو عَلى

    تَنَكٍ وَلَم يَكُ يَركَبُ الأَجواءَ

    The Bedouin hero did not go to war aboard

    A tank, nor did he ride the skies.

  20. لَكِن أَخو خَيلٍ حَمى صَهَواتِها

    وَأَدارَ مِن أَعرافِها الهَيجاءَ

    But a companion of horses, he defended their backs,

    And waged battle from their manes.

  21. لَبّى قَضاءَ الأَرضِ أَمسِ بِمُهجَةٍ

    لَم تَخشَ إِلّا لِلسَماءِ قَضاءَ

    Yesterday he answered the judgment of earth with a soul

    That feared no judgment but heaven's.

  22. وافاهُ مَرفوعَ الجَبينِ كَأَنَّهُ

    سُقراطُ جَرَّ إِلى القُضاةِ رِداءَ

    He met it with his brow held high, as though he were

    Socrates, dragging his robe before the judges.

  23. شَيخٌ تَمالَكَ سِنَّهُ لَم يَنفَجِر

    كَالطِفلِ مِن خَوفِ العِقابِ بُكاءَ

    An old man, master of his years, he did not burst

    Into tears like a child for fear of punishment.

  24. وَأَخو أُمورٍ عاشَ في سَرّائِها

    فَتَغَيَّرَت فَتَوَقَّعَ الضَرّاءَ

    And a man seasoned in affairs, he had lived through their prosperity;

    Then they changed, so he expected adversity.

  25. الأُسدُ تَزأَرُ في الحَديدِ وَلَن تَرى

    في السِجنِ ضِرغاماً بَكى اِستِخذاءَ

    Lions roar in irons, and you will never see

    A lion in prison weeping in abasement.

  26. وَأَتى الأَسيرُ يَجُرُّ ثِقلَ حَديدِهِ

    أَسَدٌ يُجَرِّرُ حَيَّةً رَقطاءَ

    And the captive came, dragging the weight of his irons—

    A lion dragging a speckled serpent.

  27. عَضَّت بِساقَيهِ القُيودُ فَلَم يَنُؤ

    وَمَشَت بِهَيكَلِهِ السُنونَ فَناءَ

    The fetters bit into both his legs, yet he did not buckle,

    And the years had carried his frame toward decay.

  28. تِسعونَ لَو رَكِبَت مَناكِبَ شاهِقٍ

    لَتَرَجَّلَت هَضَباتُهُ إِعياءَ

    Ninety years—had they mounted the shoulders of a towering peak,

    Its heights would have stepped down in exhaustion.

  29. خَفِيَت عَنِ القاضي وَفاتَ نَصيبُها

    مِن رِفقِ جُندٍ قادَةً نُبَلاءَ

    They escaped the judge's notice and lost their due share

    Of kindness from soldiers—noble commanders.

  30. وَالسُنُّ تَعصِفُ كُلَّ قَلبِ مُهَذَّبٍ

    عَرَفَ الجُدودَ وَأَدرَكَ الآباءَ

    And old age shakes every well-bred heart

    That has known grandfathers and encountered fathers.

  31. دَفَعوا إِلى الجَلّادِ أَغلَبَ ماجِداً

    يَأسو الجِراحَ وَيُعَتِقُ الأُسَراءَ

    They handed the executioner a mighty, noble lion,

    Who tended wounds and set captives free,

  32. وَيُشاطِرُ الأَقرانَ ذُخرَ سِلاحِهِ

    وَيَصُفُّ حَولَ خِوانِهِ الأَعداءَ

    And shared his store of arms with his equals,

    And arrayed enemies around his dining table.

  33. وَتَخَيَّروا الحَبلَ المَهينَ مَنِيَّةً

    لِلَّيثِ يَلفِظُ حَولَهُ الحَوباءَ

    And they chose the degrading rope as a death

    For the lion, breathing out his soul beside it.

  34. حَرَموا المَماتَ عَلى الصَوارِمِ وَالقَنا

    مَن كانَ يُعطي الطَعنَةَ النَجلاءَ

    They denied death by keen swords and spears

    To him who dealt the thrust that left a gaping wound.

  35. إِنّي رَأَيتُ يَدَ الحَضارَةِ أولِعَت

    بِالحَقِّ هَدماً تارَةً وَبِناءَ

    Indeed, I have seen civilization's hand obsessed

    With justice—now tearing it down, now building it up.

  36. شَرَعَت حُقوقَ الناسِ في أَوطانِهِم

    إِلّا أُباةَ الضَيمِ وَالضُعَفاءَ

    It legislated the rights of people in their homelands,

    Except those who reject oppression, and the weak.

  37. يا أَيُّها الشَعبُ القَريبُ أَسامِعٌ

    فَأَصوغُ في عُمَرَ الشَهيدِ رِثاءَ

    O neighboring people, are you listening,

    That I may compose an elegy for Umar the martyr?

  38. أَم أَلجَمَت فاكَ الخُطوبُ وَحَرَّمَت

    أُذنَيكَ حينَ تُخاطَبُ الإِصغاءَ

    Or have calamities bridled your mouth and forbidden

    Your ears to listen when you are addressed?

  39. ذَهَبَ الزَعيمُ وَأَنتَ باقٍ خالِدٌ

    فَاِنقُد رِجالَكَ وَاِختَرِ الزُعَماءَ

    The leader is gone, but you remain, immortal;

    So assess your men and choose your leaders.

  40. وَأَرِح شُيوخَكَ مِن تَكاليفِ الوَغى

    وَاِحمِل عَلى فِتيانِكَ الأَعباءَ

    And relieve your elders of the burdens of war,

    And lay the burdens upon your young men.