The National anthem of Mauritania (Arabic: النشيد الوطني الموريتاني), also known by its incipit, "Bilāda l-ʾubāti l-hudāti l-kirām" (English: "Land of the Proud, Guided Noblemen"), was officially adopted on 28 November 2017 and was composed by Egyptian composer Rageh Daoud.[3][4]
The anthem currently has six verses, with a chorus repeated after each verse. The fifth verse (in brackets) is sung in an extended version of the anthem. It was first sung on the 57th Independence Day of Mauritania, on 28 November 2017.[7]
I
The country of the honourable, generous fathers
And the fortress of the Book that cannot be violated.
O Mauritania, spring of harmony
And the pillar of tolerance, the breach of peace.
Chorus:
We will protect your honour and we are your servants
And cover your soil with the colour of hope.
And at your call, we will answer ‘yes’.
II
The constellations of your skies have not been veiled
and the sun of your forehead has not set.
The glorious Arabs have raised you up.
For Africa, the freshest source
Chorus
III
We suckled the milk of praise and pride
Of our nature, which bores a good harvest
and fertile pasture, even if it was barren.
We rose to Heaven, and we were pleased.
(V, only sung on 57th independence day)
We followed the prophet along the path of the heavens
to the tree of glory above the sky
occupying the Pleiades as our stairway
drawing there our boundary.
Chorus
VI
We took you as a vow and carried you as a promise
and we happily give you up to the future generations
Final chorus:
We will protect your honour and we are your servants
And cover your soil with the colour of hope.
We will protect your honour and we are your servants
And at your call, we will answer ‘yes’!
On official occasions requiring brevity, a short version is sung, comprising verse one (which is repeated), the chorus (which is split before line three), verse two and verse six.[11][12][13][14]
I
The country of the honourable, generous fathers
And the fortress of the Book that cannot be violated.
O Mauritania, spring of harmony
And the pillar of tolerance, the breach of peace.
Chorus:
We will protect your honour and we are your servants
And cover your soil with the colour of hope.
II
The constellations of your skies have not been veiled
and the sun of your forehead has not set.
The glorious Arabs have raised you up.
For Africa, the freshest source
VI
We took you as a vow and carried you as a promise
and we happily give you up to the future generations
I
The country of the honourable, generous fathers
And the fortress of the Book that cannot be violated.
O Mauritania, spring of harmony
And the pillar of tolerance, the breach of peace.
