1. Where are the leaders of Egypt, the notables?
They awakened Egypt to life, then slept.

2. They were hasty in their shrouds therein, so they departed,
Seeking after the noble ones among them, the nobles.

3. The notables had scarcely left
Before the notables were brought down.

4. Blow after blow into its bowels -
Oh! What the doves have reaped therein.

5. May Allah honor His Chosen One; and what is the world
To one whose stay therein is wholesome?

6. He succeeded therein in what a soul desires
Of loftiness, so it did not escape him sleeplessness.

7. And he was afflicted with all bitterness
That the great men tasted before him.

8. So he turned away from it and from the one it nurtured,
For that weaned one, weaning did no harm.

9. That guiding star was extinguished today,
So has it set, and the darkness intensified?

10. And with what were lofty goals treated
When burdens made them stooped and sick?

11. Fate appointed him as one to heal
So harm was lessened, and blame ceased.

12. He undertook reform to the extent he could
Tie the rope of hope while it was fraying.

13. He regards God in the weak, and no fear deters him
Nor obstacles impede him.

14. Seeing clearly the place of right, though
Obscurity and ambiguities beset it.

15. Advancing what the Sacred Law and ordinance mandated,
Though a portion be suspect and herein defects.

16. So he attained dismissal as reward, but
God was pleased with him, and Islam.

17. Yesterday overseer of endowments, today
He awoke divested while tilling and plowing.

18. He was diligent in the new position, no longer
Did the fine qualities of old linger.

19. And the harvest thrived as it thrived, and there came what
Had not been accounted in its calculations.

20. A man unconcerned with sowing, tilling,
Selling therein, and plowing.

21. His care that they live
In probity, and safety from crime.

22. So if they enjoy it, it is not marred
Whether perfected or minds enlightened.

23. Laughter shone in the villages, and after
Sorrow, the doves sang from the branches.

24. The water ran pure, and meteors
Shone for the darkness, and it retreated.

25. And alongside the factories were erected
Edifices of learning, and high pillars.

26. That was an age in which the nation heard
The word of one who said: Thus, the rulers!

27. And the view of one whose view was highest prevailed,
And his decree was the decree enforced.

28. So he called him to undertake a matter
That the seasoned, bold man fears.

29. Administration of endowments was odious, and
In endowments from stagnation the illness was severe.

30. The eye saw in its aspects only
Holes, as though they were words.

31. Whenever it was mentioned, people exceeded in blame,
Though not every speaker was blamable.

32. How could defects not be frequent
While the state was chaos, and rights trampled?

33. He championed the workers among them, a young man
Indicated by brilliance, while still a boy.

34. Dedicated to pursuing what the wakeful
Seeks by night, while pleasures slumber.

35. Grasping significance after the last, with
Crowding ahead and jostling first.

36. Whenever positions were expanded
He drew nearer, though assuming them was hard.

37. That was Mustafa who excelled in them
And good fortune was his wherever resolutions were binding.

38. Its haughtiness brought him down, so it favored with obedience
The just, decisive ruler.