Syrian National Anthem: English Translation, Original Lyrics And History

Sally Polly March 06, 2023 | 00:16

"Ḥumāt ad-Diyār" is the national anthem of the Syrian Arab Republic, with lyrics written by Khalil Mardam Bey and the music by Mohammed Flayfel. If you want to learn more about the anthem's original lyrics, history, and English translation.

What Is The Syrian National Anthem: English Translation, Original Lyrics And History. Photo: Wikipedia

"Ḥumāt ad-Diyār" (Arabic: حُمَاةَ الدِّيَارِ, lit. 'Guardians of the Homeland', Syriac: ܢܛܘܪ̈ܝ ܐܬ݂ܪܘ̈ܬ݂ܐ) is the national anthem of the Syrian Arab Republic, with lyrics written by Khalil Mardam Bey and the music by Mohammed Flayfel, who also composed the national anthem of the Iraq as well as many other Arab folk songs.

The national anthem of Syria was adopted in 1936; the composers of the music also composed many other Arab folk songs of the Middle East region. During the time that Syria was a member of the United Arab Republic (1958-1961), the UAR anthem was in use, which consisted of the then-Egyptian anthem followed by “Ħumāt ad-Diyār”. Once Syria left the union, the anthem was again performed on its own.

Here are Syrian national anthem’s history, original lyrics and English translation.

History of Syrian national anthem

Hashim al-nationalist Atassi's government, following the signing of the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence in 1936, which granted Syria limited autonomy and future independence, held a national competition to select a state anthem for the new republic in 1938, and the winning entry was adopted the following year. The anthem was predicted to come in last place in the competition; however, its meteoric rise in popularity among Syrian citizens forced the competition's organizing committee to rethink its decision, and the anthem ultimately triumphed and was adopted by the government as the official national anthem of Syria.

In 1958, Syria and Egypt merged to form the United Arab Republic (UAR), and the term fell out of use for a while. An arrangement of the then-Egyptian national song and "umt ad-Diyr" were settled on as the UAR's official anthem. Though the use of the song was disputed between the ruling Ba'ath government and the opposition before to the commencement of the civil war in 2011, it was reinstated in its entirety after Syria seceded from the union in 1961.

The Syrian national anthem is divided into four quatrain stanzas, each containing four lines. The rhyme scheme used is an Arabic form called "Ruba'i", where each stanza has the same final rhyme in its component lines, giving the following rhyme scheme in the anthem: AAAA, BBBB, CCCC, DDDD. All of the lines in the state anthem consist each of 11 syllables, all of which have the same system of scansion, which is as follows: / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / where is an intermediate stress, / is a strong stress, and ˘ is unstressed. Although for simplicity an alternative stress scheme is offered which does not recognize intermediate stresses, and that scheme is: / / ˘ / / ˘ / / ˘ / /. In either case there are 11 syllables per line, and the ruba'i rhyme scheme.

Lyrics of Syrian national anthem

Each of the four stanzas in the Syrian national anthem focuses on a separate and distinct facet of Syria from the others. The Syrian military is figuratively referenced in the anthem's title, "Guardians of the Homeland," however the topic is only addressed in the first stanza. This is a breakdown of the stanzas: The first verse discusses the Syrian army and its duty to protect the country and the honor and Arab identity of its population.

The second verse describes the landscape of Syria, from its plains to its mountains to its clear blue skies. The third verse is dedicated to the people of Syria and discusses their aspirations, martyrs, and national emblem. In the fourth stanza, we learn about Syria's past, present, and potential future.

Arabic lyrics (Arabic script) of The Syrian National Anthem

حـماةَ الـديارِ عليكمْ سـلامْ

أبَتْ أنْ تـذِلَّ النفـوسُ الكرامْ

عـرينُ العروبةِ بيتٌ حَـرام

وعرشُ الشّموسِ حِمَىً لا يُضَامْ

ربوعُ الشّـآمِ بـروجُ العَـلا

تُحاكي السّـماءَ بعـالي السَّـنا

فأرضٌ زهتْ بالشّموسِ الوِضَا

سَـماءٌ لَعَمـرُكَ أو كالسَّـما

رفيـفُ الأماني وخَفـقُ الفؤادْ

عـلى عَـلَمٍ ضَمَّ شَـمْلَ البلادْ

أما فيهِ منْ كُـلِّ عـينٍ سَـوادْ

ومِـن دمِ كـلِّ شَـهيدٍ مِـدادْ؟

نفـوسٌ أبـاةٌ ومـاضٍ مجيـدْ

وروحُ الأضاحي رقيبٌ عَـتيدْ

فمِـنّا الوليـدُ و مِـنّا الرّشـيدْ

فلـمْ لا نَسُـودُ ولِمْ لا نشـيد؟

Arabic lyrics (Romanization) of The Syrian National Anthem

1. Humāta d-diyāri alaykum salām

Abat an tazilla n-nufūsu l-kirām

Arīnu l-urūbati baytun harām

Wa-arshu sh-shumūsi himan lā yudām

Rubū’u sh-sha’āmi burūju l-‘ala

Tuhāki s-samā’a bi-āli s-sana

Fa-ardun zahat bi-sh-shumūsi l-wida

Samā’un la-‘amruka aw ka-s-sama

2. Rafīfu l-‘amāni wa-khafqu l-fu’ād

Alā alamin damma shamla l-bilād

Amā fī-hi min kulli aynin sawād

Wa min dami kulli shahīden midād

Nufūsun ubātun wa mādin majīd

Wa-rūhu l-adāhi rāqībun atīd

Fa-min-na l-walīdu wa-min-na r-rashīd

Fa-lim lā nasūdu wa-lim lā nashīd

The Syrian National Anthem in English translation

1. Defenders of the realm,

Peace on you;

Our proud spirits will

Not be subdued.

The abode of Arabism,

A hallowed sanctuary;

The seat of the stars,

An inviolable preserve.

2. Syria’s plains are

Towers in the heights,

Resembling the sky

Above the clouds.

A land resplendant

With brilliant suns,

Becoming another sky,

Or almost a sky.

Lyrics video of Syrian national anthem

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