The words of the National Anthem of Mauritania are taken from a 19th-century poem by Baba Ould Cheikh; the melody was written by Tolia Nikiprowetzky

Tolia Nikiprowetzky

Tolia Nikiprowetzky was a French composer and musicologist of Russian birth. His compositions include four operas ; a symphony ; concertos for saxophone, piano, cello, and trumpet; a piece for wind quintet and string orchestra; two...

, and was adopted upon independence in 1960. The unusual and highly complex rhythm of the anthem makes it extremely difficult to sing. For this reason, the anthem is often (but erroneously) listed as wordless.

Lyrics

Mauritania's anthem is based on a late 18th century poem by Baba Ould Cheikh. Most of the time the anthem is sung without words, but has an official lyric.

Arabic

English translation

كن للاله ناصرا وأنكر المناكرا وكن مع الحق الذي يرضاك منك دائرا ولا تعد نافعا سواه أو ضائرا واسلك سبيل المصطفى ومت عليه سائرا وكن لقوم احدثوا في أمره مهاجرا قد موهوا بشبه واعتذروا معاذرا وزعموا مزاعما وسودوا دفاترا واحتنكوا أهل الفلا واحتنكوا الحواضرا وأورثت أكابر بدعتها أصاغرا وإن دعا مجادل في أمرهم إلى مرا فلا تمار فيهم إلا مراء ظاهرا

Be a helper for God, and censure what is forbidden, And turn with the law which, which He wants you to follow, Hold no one to be useful or harmful, except for Him, And walk the path of the chosen one, and die while you are on it! For what was sufficient for the first of us, is sufficient for the last one, too. And leave those people who do evil things with respect to God. They misrepresented him by making him similar, and made all kinds of excuses. They made bold claims, and blackened notebooks. They let the nomads and the sedentary people, both make bitter experiences, And the great sins of their [doctrinal] innovations bequeathed small. And just in case a disputant, calls you to dispute about their claims, Do not, then, dispute on them, except by way of an external dispute.

External links

• Anthem of Mauritania