Humat al-Hima

The lyrics come from a poem written in the 1930s by Lebanese-born Egyptian poet Mostafa Saadeq Al-Rafe'ie. Although some say the melody was composed by Mohammed Abdel Wahab,[1] Tunisian musicologist Salah El Mahdi claims the melody was composed by the poet Ahmed Kheireddine while the original music for the poem was composed by Zakariyya Ahmad.[2][3]

The last verses of the lyrics were written by Aboul-Qacem Echebbi.[4] According to El Mahdi, these verses were appended to the lyrics in June 1955 by nationalist Mongi Slim.

Known as the "Hymn of the Revolution", it was sung during the meetings of the ruling party, the Neo Destour which later changed its name to Socialist Destourian Party. "Humat al-Hima" was temporarily used as a national anthem between the end of the monarchy on 25 July 1957 and the adoption of "Ala Khallidi" as the official national anthem on 20 March 1958, when it replaced the Salam al-Bey. "Humat al-Hima" was later replaced by "Ala Khallidi" but brought back again following the coup d'état which brought president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to power on 7 November 1987.

• Tunisia: Humat al-Hima – Audio of the national anthem of Tunisia, with information and lyrics