إِذا ما أردنا أن ننال الرغائبا

فليس لنا غير العلوم مطالبا

If we wish to attain what we desire,

Then we have nothing to seek but the sciences.

بها بدد الغرب الضلال وجيشه

وقاد بها نحو الحياة النجائبا

Through them the West scattered error and its host,

And through them led noble mounts toward life.

بها ذلل الغرب السَّماءَ لعزمه

وعمر أرجاءَ البحارِ مراكبا

Through them the West bent the sky to its will,

And filled the expanses of the seas with ships.

وغاص بقلب الأرض يطلب سرها

وشاد بها ملكاً يشق السَّحائبا

And delved into the earth's heart, seeking its secret,

And through them built a dominion that cleaves the clouds.

وساد على الدُّنيا وسخر أهلها

عبيدا رأوا فيه عظيماً وغالباً

And ruled the world and subjugated its people

As slaves who saw it as mighty and victorious.

وما زال في ذا الكون يكشف مضمرا

به ظل في جوف الطبيعة حاجبا

And it still uncovers what is hidden in this universe,

Beneath a veiling shadow in nature's depths.

يهب له بالنفس والمال مسرعاً

ولو أنه كان الرَّدى والمعاطبا

It rushes toward it with life and wealth,

Even if it meant death and deadly perils.

هنيئاً لمن نالَ العلومَ بها اِهتَدى

وَتعساً لمن أَهوى بِهِ الجَهل راسِباً

Fortunate is whoever gained the sciences and found guidance through them,

And woe to whoever ignorance sent plunging downward.

جَهالَتنا يا قوم أَحنَت رُؤوسنا

وَأَهلكَت العقبى وَصبَّت مَصائِبا

Our ignorance, O people, has bowed our heads,

And ruined our ultimate fate and rained down calamities.

سكنا لعيش الغبن طول حَياتِنا

عَلى أَن سَنَلقى في المَماتِ الرَّغائِبا

We settled for a life of injustice all our lives,

Assuming that in death we would find what we desired.

وَعمدتنا في ذاكَ طبل وَقبة

نؤمل مِنها أَن تصد النَّوائِبا

And our mainstay in this is a drum and a dome,

Which we hope will ward off calamities.

وَنحيي بِها في كُلِّ عام مَواسِما

وَفي كُلِّ أُسبوع مِنَ الرَّقصِ أَضربا

And through it we celebrate festivals every year,

And every week, various kinds of dance.

وَنَرجو بُلوغَ المَجدِ من سعي غَيرِنا

كَأن بلوغ المَجدِ يُعطي مَواهِبا

And we hope to attain glory through others' efforts,

As though attaining glory bestowed gifts.

تَقدمت الأَقوامُ بِالعلم وَاِهتَدوا

لما فيهِ مِن بَأس يرد الكَتائِبا

The nations advanced through knowledge and were guided

To the might within it that repels battalions.

وَنَحنُ بِأَحكامِ القَضاءِ وَقهرِه

نُريدُ العُلا عَفوا وَنَأبى المَتاعِبا

Yet we, through fate's decrees and its compulsion,

Want greatness without effort and refuse hardships.

إِلى اللَّهِ من حال تَلازَمَ ظلنا

وَتلزمنا عارا يهد المَناكِبا

To God we cry over a plight that clings to our shadow,

And burdens us with shame that crushes shoulders.

شعرنا بِها مِن بَعد ما اِغتيلَ عزنا

وَأَنشَب باس الغَرب فينا المَخالِبا

We became aware of it after our glory was assassinated,

And the West's might sank its claws into us.

وَضاعَ تراث الأَولين وَأَصبحت

مَشارِقنا مِن بَعد صبح مَغارِبا

And the heritage of the ancients was lost, and transformed were

Our lands of sunrise, after dawn, into lands of sunset.

فَقُمنا عَلى جَهل نعالج أَمرنا

فَشَتت هذا الجَهل منا التَّقاربا

So we rose, in ignorance, to set our affairs right,

But this ignorance shattered the closeness among us.

وَحكم فينا الاختِلاف يزيدنا

مِنَ الكربِ هُو لا بادي الشر أحدبا

And discord ruled among us, increasing our share

Of anguish: it, not evil's instigator, left us bent-backed.

فهدّا مشاريعاً وحطم منية

وَأَخمَد روحاً كان لَولاهُ دائِبا

So projects were demolished and a hope was shattered,

And it quenched a spirit that, but for it, would have labored tirelessly.

وَأَجج حرباً في البِلادِ شَنيعَة

بِها اِزداد حكم الغالِبين تصلبا

And kindled a hideous war in the land,

Through which the conquerors' rule grew more entrenched.

هَنيئاً لَهُم قَد أَيد العِلم سَعيهم

وَخَيبنا جَهل حبانا المَثالِبا

Good fortune to them: knowledge has strengthened their efforts,

And ignorance thwarted us, bestowing flaws upon us.

فَهُم عمروا بِالعِلمِ كل مَفازَة

وَنَحنُ بِجَهل قد أَضَعنا المَكاسِبا

For through knowledge they made every wilderness flourish,

While through ignorance we have squandered our gains.

أَلا نَهضَة يا قوم لِلعِلمِ كلكم

بِبَذل وَأَعمال تزيل العَواقِبا

Will you not all rise, O people, for knowledge,

With sacrifice and deeds that undo the consequences?

نجانب فيها الاختلاف الَّذي غدا

لَنا خلقاً نزداد فيهِ تقلبا

In that rising, we shun the discord that has become

A habit of ours, in which we grow ever more fickle.

فَلَيسَ لَنا في العَيشِ حبة خردل

إِذا لم نذلل بِالثباتِ المَصاعِبا

For we have not even a mustard seed in life

If we do not overcome difficulties with steadfastness.

مَدارِس نبنيها وَنشء نعده

إِلى الغَربِ يَرتادُ العُلوم مَشاربا

We build schools and prepare a young generation

To travel to the West and seek the sciences' wellsprings.

فَفيها شفاء مِن جراح عَميقَة

وَفيهِ الهُدى نلقى وَنلقى المَآرِبا

For in them is healing for deep wounds,

And in it we find guidance and attain our aims.

تُريدون مالا أَو تُريدون قوة

وَمَجداً يُضاهي في السَّماء الكَواكِبا

You desire wealth, or you desire strength,

And glory that rivals the stars in the heavens;

فَلَيسَ لكُم غَير العُلوم تَقودكم

إِلَيها وَتَجتاح الأذى وَالمَصائِبا

Then nothing but the sciences can lead you

To them, and sweep away harm and calamities.

بِها مُستَحيل الأَمر يُصبح جائِزا

وَمن دونِها الاثبات يغدو سَوالِبا

Through them, the impossible becomes possible,

And without them, affirmations turn into negations.

وَنَحن إِذا كنا نُريد حَياتنا

فَلَيسَ لَنا غَير العُلوم مَطالِبا

And we, if it is our life we desire,

Then we have nothing to seek but the sciences.