Dubai: The flag of the UAE represents peace, honesty, hardiness, bravery, power, courage, hope, joy, love, optimism as well as the defeat of enemies and determination.
Dr Khalifa Rashid Al Sha'ali, a lawyer, said the flag of the UAE was adopted on December 2, 1971.
The flag consists of the Pan-Arab colours red, green, white and black, which symbolise Arabian unity.
"The UAE flag consists of three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and black with a wider vertical red band on the hoist side," he said.
He said that according to traditions much symbolism is associated with colours.
The colours on the United Arab Emirates flag represent the following: white for peace and honesty, red for hardiness, bravery, strength and courage, green for hope, joy, love and optimism and black for the defeat of enemies or strength of mind
"The UAE flag like any other flag of any nation must be respected and treated with honour," he said. Al Sha'ali said each of the seven emirates has its own flag in addition to the national flag. Talking about the national anthem of the UAE, popularly known as ‘Eishy Bilady (Long Live my Nation), Al Sha'ali said it talks about the love of the land and about the federation.
"The national anthem was officially endorsed as the UAE national anthem after the formation of the federation in 1971. The anthem was composed by Sa'ad Abdul Wahab, who also composed the national anthem of Libya. The lyrics, officially adopted in 1996, were written by Arif Al Shaikh Abdullah Al Hassan."
Lyrics of the UAE national anthem:
Live my country, the unity of our Emirates lives
You have lived for a nation
Whose religion is Islam and guide is the Quran
I made you stronger in God's name oh homeland
My country, My country, My country, My country
God has protected you from the evils of the time
We have sworn to build and work
Work sincerely, work sincerely
As long as we live, we'll be sincere sincere
The safety has lasted and the flag has lived oh our Emirates
The symbol of Arabism
We all sacrifice for you, we supply you with our blood
We sacrifice for you with our souls oh homeland
