Ḥumāt ad-Diyār

Ḥumāt ad-Diyār
English: Guardians of the Homeland
حُمَاةَ الدَّيَّارِ
	National anthem of Syria
Lyrics	Khalil Mardam Bey, 1936
Music	Mohammed Flayfel, 1936
Adopted	1938
Readopted	1961
Relinquished	1958, 2024 (briefly, de facto)
Preceded by	Walla Zaman Ya Selahy and Suriyah Ya, Dat al-Majdi
Audio sample
	U.S. Navy Band instrumental version (one verse) file; help;

"Ḥumāt ad-Diyār" (Arabic: حُمَاةَ الدَّيَّارِ, lit. 'Guardians of the Homeland') was written as the national anthem of Syria,^[a] with lyrics written by Khalil Mardam Bey and the music by Mohammed Salim Flayfel, who also composed the national anthem of Iraq as well as many other Arab folk songs.^[1]^{[better source needed]}

History

It was adopted in 1938 after a national competition was held by Hashim al-Atassi's nationalist Syrian government to choose a state anthem for the new republic two years after the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence was signed which gave Syria limited autonomy and future independence. The anthem was initially set to lose the competition, but it later won the competition after it gained rapid popularity amongst the Syrian population which put pressure on the competition's committee to reconsider its decisions, and eventually the anthem won and was adopted by the government as Syria's national anthem.^[2]^[3]^[4]

It temporarily fell out of use when Syria joined the United Arab Republic with Egypt. On 22 February 1958, it was decided that the national anthem of the UAR would be a combination of the then Egyptian national anthem "Salam Affandina" and "Ḥumāt ad-Diyār". On 20 May 1960, it was replaced by Walla Zaman Ya Selahy , composed by Kamal Al Taweel , When Syria seceded from the union in 1961, it was fully restored and has since been used as Syria's official national anthem. The use of the anthem remains the only symbol used between the Socialist Arab Renaissance Party government and the Syrian opposition after the start of the civil war in 2011; In addition, another version of the anthem was played, but with partially altered lyrics to directly call for the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, which effectively occurred on 8 December 2024.

Salam Affandina and Humat ad-Diyar, performed together as the anthem of the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1960.

Arabic script^[5]	Romanization (EALL)	IPA transcription^[b]
١ حُـمَاةَ الـدِّيَارِ عَلَيْكُمْ سَـلَامْ أَبَتْ أَنْ تَـذِلَّ النُّفُـوسُ الْكِرَامْ عَـرِينُ الْعُرُوبَةِ بَيْتٌ حَـرَامْ وَعَرْشُ الشُّمُوسِ حِمَىً لَا يُضَامْ 𝄇 رُبُوعُ الشَّـآمِ بُـرُوجُ الْعَـلَا تُحَاكِي السَّـمَاءَ بِعَـالِي السَّـنَا 𝄆 فَأَرْضٌ زَهَتْ بِالشُّمُوسِ الْوِضَا سَـمَاءٌ لَعَمْـرُكَ أَوْ كَالسَّـمَا ٢ رَفِيـفُ الْأَمَانِي وَخَفْـقُ الْفُؤَادْ عَـلَىٰ عَـلَمٍ ضَمَّ شَـمْلَ الْبِلَادْ أَمَا فِيهِ مِنْ كُـلِّ عَـيْنٍ سَـوَادْ وَمِـنْ دَمِ كُـلِّ شَـهِيدٍ مِـدَادْ؟ 𝄇 نُفُـوسٌ أُبَـاةٌ وَمَـاضٍ مَجِيـدْ وَرُوحُ الْأَضَاحِي رَقِيبٌ عَـتِيدْ 𝄆 فَمِـنَّا الْوَلِيـدُ وَ مِـنَّا الرَّشِـيدْ فَلِـمْ لَا نَسُودُ وَلِمْ لَا نَشِيدْ؟	I Ḥumāt ad-diyāri ʿalaykum salām ʾAbat ʾan taḏilla n-nufūsu l-kirām ʿArīnu l-ʿurūbati baytun ḥarām Wa-ʿaršu š-šumūsi ḥiman lā yuḍām 𝄆 Rubūʿu š-šaʾāmi burūju l-ʿalā Tuḥākī s-samāʾa bi-ʿālī s-sanā 𝄇 Fa-ʾarḍun zahat bi-š-šumūsi l-wiḍā Samāʾun la-ʿamruka ʾaw ka-s-samā II Rafīfu l-ʾamānī wa-xafqu l-fuʾād ʿAla ʿalamin ḍamma šamla l-bilād ʾAmā fīhi min kulli ʿaynin sawād Wa-min dami kulli šahīdin midād? 𝄆 Nufūsun ʾubātun wa-māḍin majīd Wa-rūḥu l-ʾaḍāḥī raqībun ʿatīd 𝄇 Fa-minnā l-Walīdu wa-minnā r-Rashīd Fa-lim lā nasūdu wa-lim lā nashīd?	1 [ħʊ.mæːt æd.di.jæː.ri ʕɑ.læj.kʊm sæ.læːm] [ʔæ.bæt ʔæn tæ.ðɪl.læ‿n.nʊ.fuː.sʊ‿l.ki.rɑːm] [ʕɑ.riː.nʊ‿l.ʕʊ.ruː.bæ.ti bæj.tʊn ħɑ.rɑːm] [wɑ ʕɑr.ʃʊ‿ʃ.ʃʊ.muː.sɪ ħɪ.mæn læː jʊ.dˤɑːm] 𝄆 [rʊ.buː.ʕʊ‿ʃ.ʃæ.ʔæː.mi bʊ.ruː.ʒʊ.l‿ʕɑ.læː] [tʊ.ħæː.kiː‿s.sæ.mæː.ʔæ bɪ.ʕɑː.liː‿s.sæ.næː] 𝄇 [fɑ.ʔɑr.dˤʊn zæ.hæt bɪʃ.ʃʊ.muː.sɪ‿l.wɪ.dˤɑ] [sæ.mæː.ʔʊn læ.ʕɑm.ru.kæ ʔæw kæ‿s.sæ.mæː] 2 [rɑ.fiː.fʊ‿l.ʔæ.mæː.ni wɑ χɑf.qʊ‿l.fu.ʔæːd] [ʕɑ.læː ʕɑ.læ.mɪn dˤɑm.mæ ʃæm.læ‿l.bi.læːd] [ʔæ.mæː fiː.hi mɪn kʊl.lɪ ʕɑj.nɪn sæ.wæːd] [wæ mɪn dæ.mi kʊl.li ʃæ.hiː.dɪn mi.dæːd] 𝄆 [nʊ.fuː.sʊn ʔu.bæː.tʊn wɑ mɑː.dˤɪn mæ.ʒiːd] [wɑ ruː.hʊ‿l.ʔɑ.dˤɑː.ħɪ rɑ.qɪː.bʊn ʕɑ.tiːd] 𝄇 [fæ.mɪn.næː‿l.wæ.liː.du wæ mɪn.næː‿r.ræ.ʃiːd] [fæ.lɪm læː næ.suː.du wæ lɪm læː næ.ʃiːd]

Post-Assad regime

On 18 January 2025, the Syrian Football Association announced to FIFA that it would make a series of changes when appearing in football matches. Among these changes, this included a new anthem, "Fī Sabīli al-Majd" ('In Pursuit of Glory') by the poet Omar Abu Risha, serving as a temporary national anthem until a permanent resolution regarding the official anthem could be determined.^[6]

Notes

^ Syria has been governed by a transitional government since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, with no announcement thus far if this song will continue to be used as the national anthem. The Syrian opposition previously used a version with additional lyrics, calling for the overthrow of Assad.
^ See Help:IPA/Arabic and North Levantine Arabic.

References

^ "قائمة برامج التلفزيون العربي السوري" [List of Syrian Arab Television Programs]. General Organization of Radio and TV - Syria (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 11 March 2016.
^ "أناشيد وطنية عربية تعددت جنسيات صناعها" [Arab national anthems created by artists of different nationalities]. BBC Arabic (in Arabic). 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
^ "أغان وطنية" [National Songs]. Damascus Online (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
^ "عن الأغنيات وخارطة البلد: عندما تخونُ الأناشيد لحنها" [On Songs and the Map of the Country: When Anthems Betray Their Melody]. Diffah Thalitha (in Arabic). 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
^ "النشيد العربي السوري" [The Syrian Arab Anthem]. Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
^ "MENA Sports Wrap: History as Syria team debuts new anthem and flag in first match post-Assad". The New Arab. 18 January 2025. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.

External links

Lyrics, sheet music, and Audio

[1] Syria has been governed by a transitional government since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, with no announcement thus far if this song will continue to be used as the national anthem. The Syrian opposition previously used a version with additional lyrics, calling for the overthrow of Assad.

[7] See Help:IPA/Arabic and North Levantine Arabic.

[2] "قائمة برامج التلفزيون العربي السوري" [List of Syrian Arab Television Programs]. General Organization of Radio and TV - Syria (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 11 March 2016.

[3] "أناشيد وطنية عربية تعددت جنسيات صناعها" [Arab national anthems created by artists of different nationalities]. BBC Arabic (in Arabic). 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2022.

[4] "أغان وطنية" [National Songs]. Damascus Online (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2022.

[5] "عن الأغنيات وخارطة البلد: عندما تخونُ الأناشيد لحنها" [On Songs and the Map of the Country: When Anthems Betray Their Melody]. Diffah Thalitha (in Arabic). 31 December 2023. Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2025.

[6] "النشيد العربي السوري" [The Syrian Arab Anthem]. Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2022.

[8] "MENA Sports Wrap: History as Syria team debuts new anthem and flag in first match post-Assad". The New Arab. 18 January 2025. Archived from the original on 18 January 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.

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