Said Al Muzayin (1935 – 29 March 1991) (Arabic: سعيد المزين) was a prominent Palestinian poet who wrote the lyrics of
the Palestinian national anthem.
[Bishara, A. (2022). Crossing a Line: Laws, Violence, and Roadblocks to Palestinian Political Expression. United States: Stanford University Press.]
Early life and education
Al Muyazin was born in 1935 in
Ashdod
Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...
,
Mandatory Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
, where he was also educated.
In 1948, after the
Nakba
Clickable map of Mandatory Palestine with the depopulated locations during the 1947–1949 Palestine war.
The Nakba ( ar, النكبة, translit=an-Nakbah, lit=the "disaster", "catastrophe", or "cataclysm"), also known as the Palestinian Ca ...
, he migrated to the
Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...
.
Career
In Gaza, he operated a printing press, and was arrested by Israelis, before taking part in the early resistance movement in 1956.
He later worked as a history teacher, moving in 1957 to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
to teach there.
In 1959, he flew to Damascus to work in the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and sta ...
.
From 1973 to 1978, he was representative of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement in Saudi Arabia.
At an unknown date he wrote the lyrics of "", a song set to music by the composer
Ali Ismael that in 1996 was made the Palestinian National Anthem by the
PLO.
Selected literary works
* "I'm Steadfast", poem, c. 1970
* "Tubas", poem
* "Safar al-Saif", poem
* "فدائية" (Fedayeen), poem
* ''في خندق الأخلاق'' (''In the Trench of Ethics''), book
* ''Essays on the Revolution'', book, Cairo, 1986
* ''Safar al-Fath'', collection of poems
* ''A People Will Not Die'', play
* ''The House of Our Father'', play
* ''Al-Mawda'', play
* "وثيقة الدماء" ("The Document of Blood"), story
* "الدورية 96" ("The Patrol 96")
Death
Al Muzayin died in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
on 29 March 1991.
References
20th-century Palestinian poets
1935 births
1991 deaths
National anthem writers
Palestinian male poets
Date of birth missing
20th-century male writers
Deaths in Saudi Arabia
People from Ashdod
Palestinian political writers
External links
Flags, Symbols & Currency Of Palestine (including notes on and lyrics of the national anthem)
{{authority control
Palestinian poets