1. أُممٌ تَجِدُّ ونَلعبُ

    ويُعذَّبون ونَطرَبُ

    Nations strive in earnest, while we play;

    they are tormented, while we rejoice.

  2. المَشرِقُ الواعي يَخُط

    مَصيرهُ والمَغرب

    The conscious East charts

    its destiny—and the West does too.

  3. فهُنا دمٌ يَتعهَّد الجيلَ

    الجديدَ فَيُسكب

    Here blood nurtures the generation

    newly born, and so is shed.

  4. وهنا كِفاحٌ – في سبيلِ

    تحرُّرٍ – وتوثّب

    And here is struggle in the cause of

    liberation, and a springing into action.

  5. وهنا جماهيرٌ يخُبُّ

    بها زعيمٌ أغلَب

    And here are masses, led at a trot

    by a mighty leader.

  6. ونعيشُ نحنُ كما يعيشُ

    على الضفافِ الطُحْلُب

    And we live just as

    algae live along the banks,

  7. مُتطفِّلينَ على الوجودِ

    نعومُ فيه ونَرْسُب

    as parasites upon existence,

    floating in it and sinking.

  8. مُتذبذِبينَ وشرُّ ما

    قتلَ الطُموحَ تَذبذب

    Vacillating—and the worst thing that

    killed ambition is vacillation.

  9. نُوحي التطَيرَ كالغُرابِ

    إلى النفوس وَتْعَب

    Like the crow, we inspire superstitious dread

    in souls, and weariness.

  10. ونبُثُّ رُعباً في الصفوفِ

    بما ندُسُّ ونكذِب

    And we spread terror through the ranks

    with our insinuations and our lies.

  11. نَدعو إلى المستعمرينَ

    لسوِطهم نَتَحبَّب

    We call people toward the colonizers,

    courting their whip.

  12. نَهوى تَقَربَهم وفيه

    حتفُنا يتقرّب

    We crave their closeness, and through it

    our doom draws near.

  13. متخاذلينَ كما يشاءُ

    تعنّتٌ وتعصّب

    Letting one another down, as

    obstinacy and fanaticism wish.

  14. إنَّ العراقَ بما نُحَشِّدُ

    ضِدَّه ونؤلَّب

    Indeed, Iraq, through what we muster

    against it, and through our being incited,

  15. بيتٌ على يدِ أهلهِ

    مِمَّا جَنَوا يَتخرَّب

    is a house that, at its own people's hands,

    is ruined by what they have wrought.

  16. إنَّ الحياةَ طريقُها

    وعرٌ بعيدٌ مُجدِب

    Indeed, life's road

    is rugged, long, and barren.

  17. عرَقُ الجبينِ على

    الدماء فويَقها يتصببَّ

    The sweat of the brow, upon

    the blood, streams down just above it.

  18. ومِنَ الجماجم ما يَعيقُ

    الواهنينَ ويُرْهِب

    And among the skulls are those that hinder

    the feeble and terrify them.

  19. يَمشي عليها الآبِنُ

    يُنجِزُ ما تَرَسَّمهُ الأب

    The son walks over them,

    fulfilling what the father mapped out.

  20. ولكَم تخلَّفَ مَعشرٌ

    عنها وشُرِّدَ مَوكب

    How often a company has lagged

    behind it, and a procession been scattered!

  21. ووراءها الواحاتُ طابَ

    مراحُها والمَشرَب

    Beyond it lie the oases; pleasant are

    their resting grounds and drinking places.

  22. ونُريدُ نحنُ لها طَريقاً

    منهجاً لا يُنْصِب

    And we want for life a road,

    a clear course that does not weary us.

  23. الجَاهُ ينْعَمُ تحتَ

    ظِلِّ جِهادِنا والمنَصِب

    Prestige prospers beneath

    the shade of our struggle, and high office too.

  24. قُلْ للشبابِ تحفَّزوا

    وتيقَّظوا وتألَّبوا

    Tell the young: rouse yourselves,

    stay alert, and rally together;

  25. وتأهِّبوا للطارئاتِ

    فانَّها تَتأهَّب

    prepare yourselves for sudden events,

    for they are preparing themselves.

  26. سيَجِدُّ ما سيطولُ

    إعجابٌ به وتعجّب

    Things will arise that will long inspire

    admiration and astonishment.

  27. سيزولُ ما كنَّا

    نقولُ مُشرِّقٌ ومُغرِّب

    What we used to say will vanish:

    "one turning east, another turning west."

  28. ستكونُ رابطةَ الشعوبِ

    مبغَّضٌ ومُحَبَّب

    Peoples will be bound together by

    what they hate and what they love.

  29. سِيروا ولا تستوحشوا

    ورِدُوا ، ولا تَتَهيَّّبوا

    Go forward, and do not feel estranged;

    come to the water, and do not shrink back.

  30. لا تَظمأوا إن الحياةَ

    مَعينُها لا يَنْضُب

    Do not thirst, for life's

    flowing spring never runs dry.

  31. سِيروا خِفافاً ، نَفْسُكمْ

    وصَفاؤها ، والمذهب

    Travel light—with your soul,

    its purity, and your creed.

  32. لا تُثقلوها بالعويصِ

    وبالغريبِ فتتعَبوا

    Do not burden it with knotty matters

    and strange ones, lest you grow weary.

  33. وتَلَمَّسوا أُفقاً تلبَّدَ

    غَيَمُهُ ، وترقَّبوا

    Seek out a horizon whose

    clouds have thickened, and keep watch.

  34. يَنْهّضْ لكُمْ شَبحٌ

    بمسفوحِ الدماءِ مُخَضَّب

    A specter will rise before you,

    stained with spilled blood,

  35. غضِرُ الصِبا وكأنَّه

    مِمَّا تغبَّرَ أشيب

    fresh in youth, yet seemingly,

    from the dust upon him, gray-haired.

  36. ذو عارضتَينِ فمؤنسٌ

    جَذِلٌ . وآخر مُرعِب

    He has two aspects: one companionable,

    joyous, and the other terrifying.

  37. يَرنو إلى أمسٍ فيعبِسُ

    عندهَ ... ويُقطِّب

    He gazes toward yesterday, frowning

    at it, and knitting his brow;

  38. ويلوحُ فجرُ غدٍ فيركُض

    نحوه ويُرحَّب

    tomorrow's dawn appears, and he races

    toward it, and is welcomed.

  39. يأوي إليهِ مُعمَّر

    ويخافُ منه مُخرّب

    A builder takes refuge with him,

    while a destroyer fears him.

  40. مخضَ الحياةَ فلم يُفُتْهُ

    مُصرَّحٌ ومُرَوَّب

    He has churned life, and nothing escaped him:

    neither its clear milk nor its curdled milk.

  41. وانزاحَ عنْ عينيهِ ما

    يُطوى عليه مُغَيَّب

    And from his eyes fell the covering

    in which the unseen lies concealed.

  42. فاستلهِموهُ فخيرُ من

    رَسَمَ الطريقَ مُجرِّب

    So seek inspiration from him; the best one to

    map the road is one who has tried it.

  43. لا تجمُدوا إنّ الطبيعةَ

    حُرَّةٌ تتقلَّب

    Do not become rigid, for nature

    is free, ever changing.

  44. كونوا كرقراقٍ بِمَدرجةِ

    الحَصى يتسَرَّب

    Be like rippling water along a path

    of pebbles, seeping through.

  45. نأتي الصخورُ طريقَه

    فيجوزُهنَّ ويَذهب

    Rocks come into its path,

    yet it passes them and goes on.

  46. وخُذوا وُجوهَ السانحاتِ

    منَ الظروفِ فقلِّبوا

    Take the facets of opportunities

    offered by circumstances, and turn them over.

  47. فاذا استوَتْ فتَقحََّّموا

    وإذا التوَتْ فتَنكبَّوا

    If they lie straight, plunge in;

    if they twist, turn aside.

  48. وإذا وجدتُم جذوةً

    فضعوا الفتيلَ وألهِبوا

    And if you find an ember,

    lay down the wick and set it ablaze.

  49. مُدُّوا بأيديِكم إلى

    هذا الخليطِ فشذِّبوا

    Reach out with your hands toward

    this mingled mass, and prune it.

  50. وتناولوا جَمراتِكم

    آناً وآناً فاحصِبوا

    And take up your embers

    now and again, and fling them like stones.

  51. لا تَحذَروا أن تُغْضِبوا

    مَن سرَّهُ أنْ تُغضَبوا

    Do not be wary of angering

    those who delight in your being angered.

  52. كُونوا كعاصفةٍ تُطَّوحُ

    بالرمالِ وتَلعب

    Be like a storm that tosses

    the sands about and plays with them.

  53. وتطلَّبوا بالحتفِ مَن

    لحتُوفِكُمْ يتَطلَّب

    Seek to bring death to whoever

    seeks to bring death to you.

  54. لا يُؤيسَنَّكُمُ مُقلُّ

    عَديدكم أنْ تَغْلِبوا

    Let not the scantness

    of your numbers make you despair of victory.

  55. إنْ لم يكنْ سببٌ يَمُدُّ

    خُطاكُمُ فتسبَّبوا

    If there is no means to extend

    your strides, then create one.

  56. لا تَنْفروا إن الحياةَ

    إليكمُ تتقرَّب

    Do not recoil, for life

    draws close to you.

  57. لكمُ الغدُ الداني القُطوفِ

    وصَفْوُهُ المُستَعْذَب

    Yours is tomorrow, its fruits within reach,

    and its sweet, pure essence.

  58. إنّ النضالَ مُهِمَّةٌ

    يَعيا بها المُتَرهِّب

    Struggle is a task

    that exhausts the ascetic.

  59. سَيرى الذينَ تدَّثروا

    وتزمَّلوا وتَجَلْببوا

    Those who wrapped themselves up will see—

    who swathed themselves and donned cloaks,

  60. وتحدثَّوا نَزْراً كمِعْزاةٍ

    بجدب تُحلب

    and spoke sparingly, like a goat

    milked in a drought,

  61. وتَنادَروا هَمْساً كما

    ناغَى " جنيدبَ " جُنْدُب

    and traded whispered witticisms, as

    Jundub ('grasshopper') cooed to 'Junaydib' ('little grasshopper');

  62. خطواتُهمْ وشِفاهُهم

    ورْوسُهم تَترتَّب

    their steps, their lips,

    and their heads all falling

  63. نَسَقاً كما الآجُرُّ صَفَّفَهُ

    صَناعُ مُدَرَّب

    into line, like bricks laid out

    by a skilled, trained craftsman—

  64. إنّ الحياةَ سريعة

    وجريئة لا تُغْلَب

    that life is swift

    and bold, unconquerable.

  65. تَرمي بأثقالِ السنينَ

    وراءها وتُعَقِّب

    It casts the burdens of the years

    behind it, and presses onward;

  66. وتدوسُ مَن لا يستطيعُ

    لَحاقها وتؤدِّب

    and tramples those unable

    to catch up with it, and chastens them.