1. ذكرى تمر وعبرة تتكرر

    تطوى لحكمتها الحياة وتنشر

    A remembrance passes, and a lesson recurs.

    By its wisdom, life is folded and unfurled.

  2. ذكرى بها تنجاب كل مصيبة

    صفو الحياة بمثلها يتكدر

    A remembrance through which every calamity is dispelled,

    The like of which clouds life's serenity.

  3. ذكرى بها تحيا القلوب وينجلي

    عنها الصدى وقيودها تتكسر

    A remembrance through which hearts revive and are cleansed

    Of rust, while their chains are shattered.

  4. ذكرى الرسول وأي ذكرى هذه

    ماذا أقول حيالها وأحرر

    The remembrance of the Messenger—what a remembrance this is!

    What shall I say of it, and what shall I write?

  5. يا قوم ما أنا بالمبالغ ههنا

    أبدا ففضل محمد لا يحصر

    My people, I am not exaggerating here,

    Not at all: Muhammad's excellence cannot be encompassed.

  6. مثل يكل البال عن تعدادها

    ويضيق عن أن يحتويها الدفتر

    Ideals the mind grows weary of enumerating,

    And a notebook has too little room to contain them.

  7. وصفاته تنبيك عنه بأنه

    بحر ولكن غوره لا يسبر

    And his qualities tell you of him: he is

    An ocean, but its depth cannot be fathomed.

  8. وقف الأنام على شواطىء عامة

    فتعجبوا مما رأوا وتحيروا

    Humanity stood upon shores open to all,

    And marveled at what they saw, bewildered.

  9. عفوا رسول الله يا من جئتنا

    بشريعة كالصبح بل هي أنور

    Pardon me, Messenger of God, you who came to us

    With a law like dawn—indeed, it is brighter.

  10. يا من بعثت بأمة أمية

    كانت بأذيال العمى تتعثر

    O you who were sent among an unlettered nation,

    That stumbled over the hems of blindness;

  11. في أمة جهلاء بات كبيرها

    وصغيرها مما بها يتذمر

    Among an ignorant nation whose elders grew,

    Along with its young, discontented with its plight.

  12. رأووا الأمانة فيك يسطع نورها

    والصدق ينضح من هداك ويقطر

    They saw trustworthiness in you, its light shining,

    And truthfulness welling from your guidance, drop by drop.

  13. قد كنت ينبوع الفضيلة والهدى

    منك السماحة والندى يتفجر

    You were indeed the fountain of virtue and guidance;

    From you, graciousness and generosity spring forth.

  14. ولدت بمولدك الفضائل كلها

    فانهارت الفحشا وزال المنكر

    With your birth, all virtues were born;

    So indecency collapsed, and wrongdoing vanished.

  15. وتصدعت للظلم أكبر قلعة

    قد كان كسرى تحتها يتبختر

    And tyranny's greatest fortress cracked apart,

    Beneath which Kisra once strutted.

  16. فانكب مبهوتا يقلب طرفه

    وكأنما هو في خيال يعبر

    He fell face down, stunned, casting his gaze about,

    As though he were passing through a vision.

  17. وإذا بذياك الخيال حقيقة

    تتغير الدنيا ولا يتغير

    And behold, that vision is a reality:

    The world changes, but it does not change.

  18. رغم العصور السود ظلت آية

    كبرى لعاقبة الذين تجبروا

    Despite the dark ages, it remained a sign,

    A mighty sign of the fate of those who tyrannized.

  19. يا قوم إن الله ليس بغافل

    فالله مطلع رقيب ينظر

    My people, God is surely not heedless;

    For God is aware, watchful, observing.

  20. يجزي ذوي الايمان عن إيمانهم

    خيرا ويصلي ناره من يكفر

    He recompenses the faithful for their faith

    With good, and makes whoever disbelieves burn in His fire.

  21. يا قوم هل معنى التقدم أننا

    ندعوا لما يدعو إليه الفجر

    My people, does progress mean that we

    Call for what the wicked call for?

  22. يا قوم هل معنى التقدم أننا

    بالدين نهزأ بالشريعة نسخر

    My people, does progress mean that we

    Mock religion and scoff at divine law?

  23. أنزيغ عن هدي الرسول محمد

    عمدا ونلوي خدنا ونصعر

    Shall we stray from the guidance of the Messenger Muhammad,

    Deliberately, twisting our cheek and turning it away in pride?

  24. وتروح نطلب من فرنسا شرعه

    عمياء قد مرت عليها أعصر

    And go on seeking from France a law,

    Blind, over which ages have already passed?

  25. هبت على الدنيا عواصف ظلمها

    فكأنما هبت عليها صرصر

    The storms of its tyranny swept over the world,

    As though a howling, icy gale had blown over it.

  26. يا شرعه هي في الحقيقة لم تكن

    إلا كما يرضى ويهوى قيصر

    O law, in truth it was nothing

    But what Caesar approved and desired.

  27. أيعطل القرآن في أوطانه

    ويسود دستور الفرنج ونصبر

    Shall the Quran be set aside in its own lands,

    And the Franks' constitution prevail, while we endure it?