1. فِي حَيِّكُمْ لِيَ قَلْبٌ جِدُّ مُرْتَهَنِ

    يُحِبُّكُمْ وَبِغَيْرِ الْحُبِّ لَمْ يَدِنِ

    In your quarter I have a heart wholly held in pledge;

    it loves you and has professed no creed but love.

  2. أَلنَّفْلُ فِي شَرْعِهِ كَالْفَرْضُ يَلْزَمُنِي

    وَالوَعْدُ فِي حُكْمِهِ كَالعَهْدِ يُلْزِمُنِي

    In its law, voluntary observance binds me like a prescribed duty;

    and in its judgment, a promise binds me like a covenant.

  3. قَلْبِي وَمَضْرِبُهُ جَنْبِي وَأَحْسَبُهُ

    عَلَى نَوَى سَكَنِي أَدْنَى إِلَى سَكَنِي

    My heart—its camp is in my side—yet I deem it

    despite my home's remoteness, nearer to my beloved.

  4. كَيْفَ التَّخَلُّفُ عنْ أُنْسٍ بِرُؤْيَتِكُمْ

    وطَالَمَا الْتَمَسْتَهَا الْعَيْنُ فِي الْوَسَنِ

    How could I stay away from the delight of seeing you,

    when the eye has so long sought that sight in slumber?

  5. أَخٌ دَعَانِي فَإِكْرَاماً وَتَلْبِيَةً

    قَدْ سَرَّ قَلْبِي ذَاكَ الصَّوْتُ فِي أُذُنِي

    A brother invited me, so I honored him and answered;

    that voice in my ear has gladdened my heart.

  6. مَنْ قَالَ لِلْمَطْلَبِ الْبَادِي تَعَذُّرُهُ

    عِنْدَ اجْتِمَاعِ الْهَوَى وَالرَّأْيِ كُنْ يَكُنِ

    If one says to a goal that seems unattainable,

    when desire and judgment unite, 'Be,' it comes to be.

  7. أَمْرُ المَوَدَّةِ مَسْمُوعٌ فَكَيْفَ بِهِ

    عَلَى الطَّهَارَةِ مِنْ رِجْسٍ وَمِنْ دَرَنِ

    Affection's command is heeded; how much more

    when it calls for purity from defilement and grime?

  8. مَنْ لا يُجِيبُ وَأَسْنَى مَا يُكَلِّفُهُ

    تَشْجِيعُ سَارِينَ فِي هَادٍ مِنَ السَّنَنِ

    Who would not answer, when the noblest thing it asks of him

    is encouragement for night-travelers along a guiding path?

  9. يَا آخِذِينَ الصِّغَارِ لَقَدْ

    صُنْتُمْ مَرَابِعَكُمْ مِنْ أَكْبَرِ المِحَنِ

    O you who take charge of the young, you have indeed

    protected your homes from the greatest ordeals.

  10. مَسَاوِيءُ الْجَهْلِ فِي الأَطْفَالِ شَامِلَةٌ

    لِقَوْمِهِمْ كُلِّهِمْ فِي مُقْبِلِ الزَّمَنِ

    The evils of ignorance among children extend

    to all their people in the time to come.

  11. كَمْ عَزَّ مِنْ ضَعَةٍ شَعْبٌ بِفِتْيَتَهِ

    وَكَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ فِي أَوْضَعِ المِهَنِ

    How often a people has risen from lowliness through its youth,

    while their fathers pursued the lowliest trades.

  12. هُوَ ابْتِناءٌ لِمَا تَرْجُونَ مِنْ عِظَمٍ

    وَهْوَ اتِّقَاءٌ لِمَا تَخْشَونَ مِنْ فِتَنِ

    It is the building of the greatness you hope for,

    and protection from the strife you fear.

  13. فَأَنْفَعُ النَّاسِ هُمْ أَهْلُ السَّمَاحِ بِمَا

    يُنْمِي نُفُوساً عَلَى الأَخْلاقِ وَالفِطَنِ

    Thus the most helpful people are those who generously give what

    nurtures souls in good character and discernment.

  14. رِعَايَةٌ سَنَّهَا حَقُّ الْبِلادِ عَلَى

    كِرَامِهَا فَرَأَوْهَا أَوْجَبَ السُّنَنِ

    A care that the country's rightful claim has enjoined upon

    its noble people, who deemed it the most binding of observances.

  15. هَذَا هُوَ الْبِرُّ أَشْقَى مَا يَكُونُ نَدىً

    وَتِلْكَ فِي مَعْنىً خِدْمَةُ الْوَطَنِ

    This is benevolence—generosity at its most arduous;

    and that, in essence, is service to the homeland.

  16. يَا مَنْ بَنَتْ بِيَدٍ فِي اللهِ أَيِّدَةٍ

    صَرْحاً عَلَى أُسُسِ الْفَضْلِ المَتِينِ بُنِي

    O you who built, with a hand mighty in God,

    an edifice built upon the foundations of firm virtue.

  17. أُثْنِي عَلَيْكِ وَأَثْنِي عَنْ مُؤَاخَذَةٍ

    يَرَاعَتِي لِفَريقٍ بِالْعُلَى قَمِنِ

    I praise you, and refrain from censuring

    with my reed-pen a company worthy of high honor.

  18. لَكِنَّ قَوْمِي إِذَا ضَنُّوا تَدَارَكَهُمْ

    سَخَاءُ مُعْتَذِرٍ عَنْ أَلْفِ مُخْتَزِنِ

    But my people, when they withhold, are redeemed

    by the generosity of one making amends for a thousand hoarders.

  19. حَقِيقَةٌ إِنْ جَرَى هَذَا اللِّسَانُ بِهَا

    فَعَنْ أَسىً لِلأُُولَى عَاتَبْتُ لا ضَغَنِ

    A truth: if this tongue has voiced it,

    my reproach arose from sorrow for those people, not rancor.

  20. فَلْيَشْهَدُوا الْيَوْمَ وَالإِجْلالُ يُخْطِئُهُمْ

    إِلَيْكَ مَا لِصَحِيحِ المَجْدِ مِنْ ثَمَنِ

    So let them witness today, as honor passes them by

    and turns to you, what genuine glory costs.

  21. وَلْيَنْظُرُوا بُطْلَ مَا تُغْرِي الْقُلُوبِ بِهِ

    شُمُّ المَنَازِلِ وَالْخَضْرَاءُ فِي الدِّمَنِ

    And let them see the vanity of what lures hearts:

    lofty mansions and green growth on dungheaps.

  22. إِنَّا لَنَسْتَقْبِلُ الْحُسْنَى وَقَدْ بَرَزَتْ

    لَنَا مُصَوَّرَةً فِي وَجْهِكَ الْحَسَنِ

    We surely welcome the fairest good, now that it has appeared

    to us, embodied in your beautiful face.

  23. أَبْقَيْتَ فِينَا وَفِي الأَجْيَالِ تُعْقِبُنَا

    ذِكْرَى نُقَدِّسُهَا فِي السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَنِ

    You have left among us, and among the generations following us,

    a remembrance we hold sacred in private and in public.

  24. ذِكْرَى هِيَ الكَنْزُ لا يَفْنَى إِذَا عَبِثَتْ

    أَيْدِي الزَّمَانِ بِكَنْزٍ غَيْرِهِ فَفَنِي

    A remembrance—the treasure that never perishes, even when

    time's hands toy with another treasure and it perishes.

  25. غَنَّتْكِ مَيُّ وَ مَيٌّ أَيًّ سَاجِعَةٍ

    بَيْنَ الشَّجَى فِي نَشِيدِ الخُلْدِ وَالشَّجَنِ

    May sang of you—and May, what a songbird,

    between heartache and melancholy in a song of immortality!

  26. أَلفِكْرُ فِي جَنَّةٍ مِنْ عَبْقَرِيتَّهَا

    يَطِيرُ مِنْ فَنَنٍ زَاكٍ إِلَى فَنَنِ

    Thought, in a garden of her genius,

    flies from a flourishing bough to another.

  27. تَثْقِيفُ أَبْنَائِكُمْ فِيهِ النَّجَاهِ لَكُمْ

    مِنَ المَذَلاَّتِ وَالعِلاَّتِ وَالإِحَنِ

    In educating your children lies your deliverance

    from humiliations, ailments, and grudges.

  28. هَانَتْ نُفُوسُ أُنَاسٍ دُونَ مَا جَمَعَتْ

    وَأَيُّ عِزٍّ لَهَا بِالمَالِ إِنْ تَهُنِ

    Some people's souls have sunk beneath what they amassed;

    and what honor does wealth give them if they are debased?

  29. وَصَاغَ هِكْتُورُ مِنْ أَغْلَى فَرَائِدِهِ

    عِقْداً يُنَافِسُ مَا أَغْلَيْتِ مِنْ مِنَنِ

    And Hector fashioned from his most precious gems

    a necklace rivaling the benefactions you made so precious.

  30. وَسَالَ فِي مَدْحِكِ الشُّؤْبُوبُ مُنْسَكِباً

    جُمَانُهُ كَانْسِكَابِ العَارِضِ الْهَتِنِ

    And al-Shu'bub flowed in your praise, spilling

    his pearls like the downpour of a rain-laden cloud.

  31. وَفَاضَ كَالنَّبْعِ فَيَّاضٌ فَطَهَّرَ مِنْ

    أَوْضَارِهِ كُلَّ حَوْضٍ رَاكِدٍ أَسِنِ

    And Fayyad overflowed like a spring, cleansing

    every stagnant, fetid pool of its grime.

  32. بِمِقْوَلٍ لا يُجَارَى فِي فَصَاحَتِهِ

    نَاهِيكَ بِالْوَحْيِ مِنْ عَلاَّمَةٍ لَسِنِ

    With a tongue unrivaled in its eloquence,

    enough for you is inspiration from an eloquent master scholar!

  33. بُورِكْتِ مُثْرِيَةً سَنَّتْ بِقُدْوَتِهَا

    لِكُلِّ غَانِيَةً نَهْجاً وَكُلِّ غَنِي

    Blessed are you, a wealthy woman whose example laid down

    a path for every beautiful woman and every wealthy man.

  34. وَبُورِكَتْ فِي بُيُوتِ العِلْمِ مَدْرَسَةٌ

    زَادَتْ مَدِينَتَهُ تِيهاً عَلَى الْمُدُنِ

    And blessed among the houses of learning is a school

    that has added to its city's pride over other cities.

  35. مَنَارَةٌ بَيْنَ كُثْرٍ مِنْ مَنَائِرِهَا

    فِيهَا الْهِدَايَاتُ لِلأَلْعَابِ وَالسُّفُنِ

    A beacon among its many beacons,

    within it is guidance for games and ships.

  36. تُدِيرُهَا مُسْعِدَاتٌ بَاهِرَاتٌ حِلىً

    مِنْ كُلِّ طَالِعَةٍ شَمْساً عَلَى غُصُنِ

    Women who bring happiness direct it, dazzling in adornment,

    each rising as a sun upon a bough.

  37. وَمُسْعِفُونَ لَهُمْ فِي كُلِّ مَحْمَدَةٍ

    أَنْدَى الأَيَادِي وَأَصْفَاهُنَّ مِنَ المِنَنِ

    And helpers who, in every praiseworthy deed, have

    the most generous hands, the freest from reminders of favors.

  38. هَيْهَاتَ تَنْظَمُ فِي شُكْرٍ مَنَاقِبُهُمْ

    إِنْ صِيغَ مُتَّزِناً أَوْ غَيْرَ مُتَّزِنِ

    Their virtues defy being strung into thanksgiving,

    whether cast in meter or without meter.