UAE’s PM pens poem, urges Qatar to ‘return to GCC fold’

Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum says it is ‘time to get united’ in poem on Instagram addressed to Qatar.

Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, right, urges Qatar to 'return to the GCC fold' in a poem on Instagram [Instagram]

The UAE’s prime minister and ruler of Dubai has urged Qatar to “return to the GCC fold” in a poem he published on his Instagram account.

“Now it is time to get united and be one heart and protect each other without grudges or hatred,” Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum wrote in the poem in Arabic.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain have been at the forefront of a blockade against Qatar, accusing Doha of “supporting terrorism”.

Qatar has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Al Maktoum, who is known to write poems, struck a more conciliatory tone than the UAE’s state minister of foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, who has warned that the blockade against Qatar could “last years” if Doha does not change its policies.

View this post on Instagram

الدَّربْ واضحْ —- —- ولــكــلْ شَــــيٍّ لــــوُ تــفـكِّـرْ أوانـــي والـجِـدْ يــا أهــلْ الـجِـدْ هــذا أوانِــهْ وآحِـــسْ أنِّ الــوقـتْ يـكـفـي وحـــانِ والــشَّـرْ نـسـعـىَ كـلِّـنـا فــي دفـانـهْ ونـرجـعْ إلــىَ وحــدَةْ قـلـوبْ ومـعاني نـحـمي بـعـضنا دونْ حـقدْ وضـغانهْ مـــــنْ الـسـعـوديـهْ لــديــرةْ عــمـانـي مـــعْ دولـتـي لــي هـيـهْ لـلـعقدْ دانــهْ وبـحـريـنـنا ويَّــــا قــطـرْ وآل ثــانـي خـلـيـجْ واحـــدْ يـصـلحْ الــرَّبْ شـانـهْ وقــالـوا عَـرَبـنـا مـــنْ قـديـمْ الـزِّمـانِ قــبــلْ الــرِّمـايـهْ يــتـرسـونْ الـكـنـانهْ وتــأبَـىَ الــرِّمـاحْ الـعـالـياتْ الــلِّـدانِ أنْ تـنـكـسرْ مـتـجـمِّعهْ بــذاتْ خـانـهْ وإذا إتِّــفَـرَّقْ تـنـكـسرْ فـــي ثـوانـي ولا يــنـفَـعْ الــرِّمـحْ الـمِـكَـسَّرْ سـنـانـهْ لـــــوُ تــتــركـونْ الـمـرجـفـينْ بــمـكـانِ ونـحـنْ لـكُمْ أقـرَبْ مـنْ أهـلْ الـرِّطانهْ ومــا فـي الـمزايَدْ خـيرْ يـرجيهْ عـاني وكــلْ وقــت تـدري لـهْ صـلاتهْ وأذانِـهْ ومــاهــيــهْ بــالــقــوَّهْ ولا بــالأمــانـي ومـهـما إخـتـلفنا جـارنـا فــي أمـانـهْ نــاخـذْ ونـعـطـي وبـالـتِّـحاورْ يـبـاني الــحــقْ ظــاهـرْ مـايـبـا لـــهْ فـطـانـهْ والـــدَّربْ واضـــحْ مـنـهجهْ بـالـعياني والــبــابْ مــفـتـوحٍ ومــحــدَّدْ مـكـانـهْ ودربٍ إلــىَ الـرحـمنْ خـيـرْ وجـنـاني أحسَنْ منْ الشِّيطانْ وأهلْ الشِّطانِهْ وإنْ مـابـغـيـتـوا دربــنــا بـإمـتـنـاني فــكــلْ واحـــدْ لـــهْ طـريـجـهْ وشــانـهْ

A post shared by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on

The poem, which was published on Tuesday, stresses that the UAE is its neighbours’ champion as they come “from one tribe, one flesh, one land and religion”. 

Al Maktoum used a famous Arabic proverb, urging citizens to put their neighbour’s interests before their own. “We helped them as they helped us,” the poem reads. 

The prime minister also wrote: “We will keep advising Qatar openly in line with the instructions of Prophet Muhammad, who said: A wolf only eats sheep that leave the flock.”

Source: Al Jazeera