1. أطلّت على سحبِ الظلامِ ذُكاءُ

    وفُجِّرَ من صخرِ التنُوفةِ مَاءُ

    Dhuka, the sun, rose over the clouds of darkness,

    and water was made to gush from the rock of the wilderness.

  2. وخُبّرت الأوثانُ أنَّ زمانَها

    تولّى وراحَ الجهلُ والجهلاءُ

    And the idols were told that their age

    had passed, and ignorance and the ignorant had departed.

  3. فما سجدت الا لذى العرش جبهة

    ولم يرتفع الا إليه دعاء

    No forehead bowed except to the Lord of the Throne,

    and no prayer rose except to Him.

  4. تبسّم ثغرُ الصبحِ عن مولدِ الهُدى

    فللأرضِ إشراقٌ به وزُهَاءُ

    The mouth of dawn smiled, revealing the birth of guidance,

    and through him the earth gained radiance and splendor.

  5. وعادت به الصحراءُ وهي جديبة

    عليها من الدينِ الجديد رُوَاءُ

    And through him the desert, barren though it was, revived,

    with the new religion's fresh beauty upon it.

  6. ونافست الأرضُ السماءَ بكوكبٍ

    وضيءِ المحيّا ما حَوَتْه سماءُ

    And the earth rivaled heaven with a star,

    radiant of face, whom no heaven had held.

  7. له الحق والإيمانُ باللّه هالة

    وفي كلِّ أجواءِ العقولِ فَضاءُ

    Truth and faith in God form his halo,

    and the skies of every mind are his expanse.

  8. تألّق في الدنيا يُزيح ظلامَها

    فزال عمىً من حولِه وعَماءُ

    He shone in the world, driving away its darkness,

    so blindness and obscurity vanished from around him.

  9. كلامٌ هو السحرُ المُبين وإن يكن

    له ألف مثل الكلام وَبَاءُ

    Speech that is manifest enchantment, even though

    it has an alif and a ba, like other speech.

  10. عجيبٌ من الأميِّ علم وحكمة

    تضاءَل عن مرماهِمَا العُلماءُ

    Wondrous are knowledge and wisdom from the unlettered one,

    before whose reach the learned dwindle.

  11. ومن يَصطَفِ الرحمن فالكون عبده

    ودُهم الليالي أينَ سارَ إِماءُ

    Whomever the Merciful chooses, the universe is his servant,

    and dark nights are his handmaids wherever he goes.

  12. نبي الهدى قد حرَّق الأنفسَ الصدَى

    ونحن لفيضٍ من يديك ظِمَاءُ

    O Prophet of guidance, thirst has scorched the souls,

    and we thirst for an outpouring from your hands.

  13. أفِضْها علينا نفحَةً هاشميةً

    يُلَمُّ بها جُرحٌ ويبرأُ دَاءُ

    Pour it upon us, a Hashimite breath of grace,

    by which a wound is closed and an ailment healed.

  14. فليس لنا إلاّ رِضَاكَ وسيلةٌ

    وليس لنا إلإّ حِمَاكَ رَجاءُ

    For we have no means but your favor,

    and we have no hope but your protection.

  15. حننا إلى مجدِ العروبةِ يُزهى بقومه

    وما طالَه في العالمين لِواءُ

    We longed for Arab glory, proud of its people,

    and no banner in all the worlds matched it.

  16. زمان لواء العُربِ يُزهى بقومه

    وما طالَه في العالمين لِواءُ

    An age when the Arabs' banner took pride in its people,

    and no banner in all the worlds matched it.

  17. زمان لنا فوق الممالكِ دولة

    وفي الدهر حكمٌ نافِذٌ وقَضاءُ

    An age when we had a state above the kingdoms,

    and through the ages our rule and judgment held sway.

  18. يُنادى جريءَ الأصغريْن بدعوةٍ

    أكبَّ لها الأصنامُ والزُعماءُ

    One bold of heart and tongue called out a summons,

    before which the idols and leaders fell prostrate.

  19. دعاهم لربٍ واحدٍ جلَّ شأنه

    له الأمرُ يولي الأمرَ كيف يَشاءُ

    He called them to one Lord, exalted in majesty,

    whose is command, who grants authority as He wills.

  20. دعاهم إلى دينٍ من النورِ والهُدىَ

    سماحٌ ورفقٌ شاملٌ ووفَاءُ

    He called them to a faith of light and guidance:

    magnanimity, all-embracing gentleness, and fidelity.

  21. دعاهم إلى نبذِ الفخارِ وأنهم

    أمامَ إله العالمينَ سَواءُ

    He called them to renounce boasting, declaring them

    equal before the God of all worlds.

  22. دعاهم إلى أن ينهضوا بِعُفاتهم

    كِراماً فطاحَ الفقرُ والفقراءُ

    He called them to lift up those seeking their help,

    nobly, so poverty and the poor vanished.

  23. دعاهم إلى أن يفتحوا القلبَ كي ترى

    بصيرتُه ما يبصر البُصراءُ

    He called them to open the heart, so that

    its inner sight might see what the clear-sighted see.

  24. دعاهم إلى القرآنِ نوراً وحكمةً

    وفيه لأدواءِ الصدورِ شِفاءُ

    He called them to the Qur'an, as light and wisdom,

    and in it is healing for the ailments of hearts.

  25. دعاهم إلى أن يهزموا الشركَ طاغياً

    تسيلُ نفوسٌ حوله ودِماءُ

    He called them to defeat tyrannical polytheism,

    around which lives and blood are spilled.

  26. دعاهم إلى أن يبتَنُوا الملكَ راسخاً

    له العدلُ أس والطموحُ بناءُ

    He called them to build a firmly rooted dominion,

    with justice as its foundation and ambition its structure.

  27. دعاهم إلى أن الفتىَ صنع نفسهِ

    وليس له من قومِه شُفعاءُ

    He called them to recognize that a young man is self-made,

    and has no intercessors among his people.

  28. دعاهم إلى أن يملكوا الأرضَ عنوةً

    مساميحَ لا كِبرٌ ولا خُيلاءُ

    He called them to possess the earth by force,

    magnanimous, with neither arrogance nor conceit.

  29. فلبّاه من عُليَا مَعدٍ غضافِرٌ

    كماةٌ إذا اشْتدَّ الوغَى شُهداءُ

    Then lions from the noblest of Ma'add answered him,

    armored champions, martyrs when battle grew fierce.

  30. أشداء ما باهى الجهادُ بمثلهم

    وهم بينهم في أمرهِم رُحماءُ

    Mighty men—never had jihad boasted of their like,

    yet among themselves, in their affairs, they were merciful.

  31. أساءوا إلى الأسيافِ حتى تحطّمت

    وما مَرّةً للمستجيرِ أساءوا

    They mistreated their swords until they shattered,

    but never once wronged one who sought refuge.

  32. وقد حملوا أرواحَهُمْ في أكفهم

    وليس لهم إلاّ الخلود جَزاءُ

    They carried their souls in their palms,

    and had no reward but immortality.

  33. إذا حكموا في أمَّةٍ لان حكمُهم

    فما هي أنعام ولا هي شَاءُ

    When they ruled a nation, their rule was gentle,

    for it was neither livestock nor sheep.

  34. فهل تعلم الصحراءُ أنَّ رعاءَها

    حماةٌ بآفاقِ البلاد رِعاءُ

    Does the desert know that its shepherds

    are protectors, shepherds at the far reaches of the lands?

  35. وأنهمُ إن زاولوا الحكمَ سَاسةٌ

    وإن أرسلوا أحكَامهم فُقهاءُ

    And that, when they practiced rule, they were statesmen,

    and when they issued judgments, they were jurists?

  36. وردّ إلى العُرْب الحَياة وقد مضى

    عليهم زمانٌ والأمامُ وَراءُ

    He restored life to the Arabs, after there had passed

    over them an age when forward meant backward.

  37. حجابٌ طوى الأحدَاثَ والناس دونهم

    فأظهر ما تجلو العيون خَفاءُ

    A veil had folded events and people away from them,

    so the clearest thing the eyes disclosed was obscurity.

  38. بنت أممٌ صرحَ الحضارةِ حولهم

    وأقْنعهم إبلٌ لهم وحُداءُ

    Nations built the edifice of civilization around them,

    while camels of their own and camel-songs contented them.

  39. عقولٌ من الأحجارِ هامت بمثلها

    وكل بكيمٍ لليكيمِ كِفاءُ

    Minds of stone were enamored of their like,

    and every mute was a match for the mute.

  40. فكم كان للرومان والفرسِ صولةً

    وهم في بوادي أرضهم سُجناءُ

    How often the Romans and Persians exercised their might,

    while they were prisoners in the deserts of their land.

  41. عِرَاكٌ وأحقادٌ يشبّ أوَارها

    جحيماً وكِبرٌ أجْوَفٌ وغَباءُ

    Strife and hatreds, their blaze flaring

    into hellfire, and hollow arrogance and folly.

  42. عجبتُ لأمرِ القومِ يحمونَ ناقةً

    وساداتهم من أجْلِها قُتلاءُ

    I marveled at the people, defending a she-camel,

    while their chieftains lay slain on her account.

  43. بدا في دُجى الصحراءِ نورُ محمدٍ

    وجلجلَ في الصحراءِ منهُ نِداءُ

    Muhammad's light appeared in the desert's darkness,

    and from him a call resounded through the desert.

  44. نبيٌ به ازدانت أباطحُ مكةٍ

    وعزَّ به ثَوْرٌ وتاه حِرَاءُ

    A prophet through whom Mecca's gravelly valleys were adorned,

    and through whom Thawr gained honor and Hira grew proud.

  45. لقد شربوا من منهل الدين نغبةً

    مطهّرةً فالظامئون رِوَاءُ

    They drank a draught from the spring of faith,

    a purifying draught, so the thirsty were quenched.

  46. وقد لمحوا من نورِ طه شُعاعةً

    فكل ظلامٍ في الوجود ضِياءُ

    And they glimpsed a ray from the light of Taha,

    so every darkness in existence became radiance.

  47. نبيٌّ من الطهرِ المصفّى نجاره

    سماحة نفسٍ حُرّةٍ وصَفاءُ

    A prophet whose stock is of refined purity,

    the magnanimity of a free soul, and serenity,

  48. وصبرٌ على اللأواءِ ما لانَ عُودهُ

    ولا مَسّهُ في المعضلاتِ عَناءُ

    and patience in adversity—his stem never weakened,

    nor did weariness touch him amid difficult problems.

  49. وزهدٌ له الدنيا جناح بعوضة

    وكل الذي تحت الهباءِ هَباءُ

    And renunciation: to him the world was a gnat's wing,

    and everything beneath the dust was dust.

  50. تراه لدى المحراب نُسكاً وخشيةً

    وتلقاهُ في الميدانِ وهو مَضَاءُ

    You see him at the prayer niche in devotion and awe,

    and meet him on the battlefield, all resolve.

  51. إذا صالَ لم يترك مَصالاً لصائلٍ

    وإن قَال ألقت سمعَها البُلغَاءُ

    When he charged, he left no room for an attacker to charge,

    and when he spoke, the eloquent lent him their ears.

  52. كلامٌ من اللّه المهيمن روحه

    ومن حلل الفُصحى عليه رداءُ

    Speech whose spirit comes from God, the Guardian,

    and it wears a cloak from eloquent Arabic's robes.

  53. كلامٌ أرادته المقاويلُ فالتوى

    عليها وضلَّت طرقَه الحُكَماءُ

    Speech that the fluent speakers sought, but it grew elusive

    to them, and the wise strayed from its paths.

  54. فيا رب هيىء للرشادِ سبيلَنَا

    إذا جَار خَطْبٌ أو ألمّ بَلاءُ

    O Lord, prepare our path for right guidance,

    when a calamity grows cruel or affliction befalls us.

  55. ونصراً وهدياً إن طغى السيلُ جارفاً

    وفاضَ بما يحوي الإناء إنَاءُ

    And grant victory and guidance if the torrent rages, sweeping all away,

    and a vessel overflows with what the vessel holds.

  56. نناجيكَ هذي راية العُربِ فاحمها

    فمن حولها أجنادُكَ البُسَلاءُ

    We whisper to You: this is the Arabs' banner; protect it,

    for around it stand Your valiant soldiers.

  57. رميْنا بكفٍّ أنت سدّدت رميها

    فما طاشَ سهمٌ أو أخلّ رَمَاءُ

    We shot with a hand whose aim You guided,

    so no arrow strayed, nor did a shot fail.

  58. أعِرْنَا بحق المصطفَى منك قوةً

    فليس لغيرِ الأقوياء بَقاءُ

    For the Chosen One's sake, lend us strength from You,

    for none but the strong endure.

  59. وأسبِغْ علينا درعَ لطْفِك إنّها

    لنا في قتامِ الحادثاتِ وِقاءُ

    And bestow upon us the full armor of Your kindness, for it

    is our protection amid the dust of calamities.

  60. إليك أبا الزهراء سارت مواكبي

    مواكبُ شعر ساقهن حَياءُ

    To you, father of al-Zahra, my processions have journeyed,

    processions of verse driven onward by modesty.

  61. وأَنَّى لمثلي أنْ يُصوّر لمحةً

    كَبَا دُوِّن أدنى وصفها الشُعراءُ

    And how could one like me portray a glimpse

    before whose least description the poets stumbled?

  62. ولكنها جهدُ المحبِ فهل لها

    بقُدسِك من حظ القبولِ لِقاءُ

    But they are a lover's effort; will they

    meet with a share of acceptance in your sacred presence?

  63. ولي نسبٌ يُنمى لبيتِكَ صانني

    وصانتهُ منِّي عِزّة وإبَاءُ

    And I have a lineage traced to your house: it guarded me,

    and my dignity and self-respect have guarded it.

  64. عليكَ سلامُ اللّهِ مَا ذَرّ شارِقٌ

    وما عطّر الدنيا عليكَ ثَنَاءُ

    God's peace be upon you as long as a sun rises,

    and as long as praise of you perfumes the world.