قفا بي خليل ابك الطلولا

فصبري من لائع الشوق عيلا

Halt with me, friend; let me weep over the ruins.

For burning longing has exhausted my patience.

تذكرت ساعة سار الخليط

فهمت التياعا وحرت ذهولا

I recalled the hour the company departed;

I wandered in anguish and stood bewildered, dazed.

عجبت لجسمي كما صح غيم

فاني تصب عيوني سيولا

I marvel at my body, as a cloud grows clear [wording uncertain];

how, then, do my eyes pour torrents?

وكيف غرامي ينمو ويربو

وجسمي يشف ضنى ونحولا

And how does my passion grow and swell,

while my body grows thin with sickness and wasting?

بكا الرسم شيمة كل محب

يقاسى من البين ضرا ثقيلا

Weeping over the traces is every lover's habit

who suffers grievous harm from separation.

يرى في النحيب عزاء جميلا

فيندب دارس ربع محيلا

He finds in sobbing a fair consolation,

and mourns the faded traces of a desolate dwelling.

ورب بكا اراح المعنى

وداوى عليلا وروى غليلا

Many a bout of weeping has relieved the love-tormented,

healed the ailing and slaked the thirsting.

ولكن في مصر ملكا اعاد الطلول

صروحاً فطابت مقيلا

But in Egypt a king has turned the ruins

into palaces, delightful places of rest.

فلم تبق عين تريق دموعا

ولم تبق اذن تطبق عويلا

No eye remains shedding tears,

nor any ear overwhelmed by wailing.

فاصبح ذاك النواح غناء

وتلك المغاوز صارت حقولا

That lamentation has become song,

and those wildernesses have become fields.

وطلب الزمان اعتدالا وعدلا

واقسم ان لا يميل عدولا

Time has sought moderation and justice,

and sworn never to swerve aside.

فليس التلبث في السير حزما

بل الحزم ان تستحث البزولا

Lingering on the road is no prudence;

prudence is to urge the mature camels onward

الى باب من ينزل السفر طرا

باعتابه وهو احظى نزولا

to the gate of him where all travelers alight,

at his thresholds, most fortunate in their lodging.

كريم السجايا عميم العطايا

سليم الطوايا نبيلا جليلا

Noble in character, lavish in gifts,

pure in his inward thoughts, noble and august;

اعز العباد واحيى البلاد

واولى المراد قؤولا فعولا

he has honored the people and revived the land,

and granted desires, mighty in speech and deed.

غياث الارامل كهف اليتامى

بهم كان بعد الاله كفيلا

Succor to widows, a refuge for orphans,

he has been their guardian, after God.

هناك ترى الحق ما بين راج

وداع لما نال جيلا فجيلا

There you see justice among those who hope

and those praying for gifts received, generation after generation.

فدى اسمعيل نفوس تمنى

ولايته فيهم ان تطولا

May souls be Isma'il's ransom—souls that wish

his rule among them to endure.

تطول من الناس اعمارهم

اذا هو عمى فيهم طويلا

The people's lives grow longer

if he lives long among them [probable reading].

وترفع للدين اعلامه

ويعتز من كان قبل ذليلا

His banners are raised for the faith,

and whoever was once abased gains honor.

فلا غرو ان هم دعوا بكرة

له مخلصين الدعا واصيلا

No wonder, then, that they pray at dawn

for him, sincerely, and at evening.

ولا غرو ان كان كل الورى

يبالغ في مدحه ان يقولا

Nor is it strange that all humankind,

when speaking, lavishes praise upon him.

ومن ذا الذي لا يفوه بمدح

على من مكارمه لن تحولا

Who is there who would not utter praise

of one whose noble virtues will never change,

على من خلائقه كلها

قدى للخلائق جلت مثيلا

of one whose traits are all

models for creation, too exalted to be matched?

ومن لم يكن ذا بيان فاما

يبن عن معاليه عاد قؤولا

Even one without eloquence, if

he speaks of his lofty merits, becomes eloquent.

له معجزات من الفضل اوحت

الينا لقد جاءكم بي رسولا

His wondrous acts of generosity have revealed

to us: 'He has brought me to you as a messenger.'

هو الغيث يهمى على كل ارض

فيحيى الربى جوده والسهولا

He is the rain that pours on every land;

his bounty brings hills and plains to life.

يعم البعيد نوال يديه

ومنه القريب ينيل المنيلا

The bounty of his hands reaches those far away,

and from him those nearby obtain their gifts.

اذا استكثر الناس منه القليلا

فراحته تستقل الجزيلا

When people deem even his small gifts plentiful,

his palm regards great bounty as little.

وان لم يكن للسراة دليل

هدتهم شموس علاه السبيلا

If night travelers have no guide,

the suns of his eminence show them the way.

هنيئا لمصر فان عليها

اميرا له لم تشاهد عديلا

Blessed be Egypt, for over her rules

a prince whose equal she has never seen.

اعاد عليها فخارا وعزا

يدومان ما دام قول مقولا

He has restored her pride and glory,

to last as long as words are spoken.

وصيرها جنة لمقيم

فما عن حماها يطيق رحيلا

He has made her a paradise for whoever stays,

who cannot bear to leave her sheltered bounds.

ومن ينأ عنها يقل وهو صاد

تركت ورآى بها سلسبيلا

Whoever journeys far from her says in thirst:

'I left Salsabil behind me there,

وجنات ارتدت حلوجناها

فكانت قطوفا وظلا ظليلا

and gardens clothed in their fruit's sweetness,

offering fruit to pluck and deep, sheltering shade.'

لئن رزأ النيل منها فاصلا

ح نيل يديه لها طاب نيلا

Though the Nile has caused her loss, the restoration—

—through his hands' bounty has proved a welcome gift to her.

لعمرك ان ولاية مصر

لتقضى بجد وتأبى الغفولا

By your life, the governance of Egypt

requires diligence and admits no heedlessness.

فقدما جرى في الكتاب المجد

لها اسم مرارا وطابت وصولا

Long ago, in the glorious Book,

her name appeared repeatedly; she was a welcome destination.

وقد رحل الانبياء اليها

ومنها استفيدت فوائد طولى

Prophets journeyed to her,

and from her the greatest benefits were gained.

فدارت عليها حؤول احالت

لها حالة لم تكد ان تحيلا

Then passing years revolved about her, changing

her condition to one that scarcely seemed able to change,

الى ان اتاها بشير من اللَه

ان قصاراك في اسمعيلا

until a herald came to her from God:

'Your utmost hope lies in Isma'il.'

فباهت به كل ملك وملك

وتاهت فخارا تجر الذيولا

Through him she vaunted herself above every kingdom and king,

and strode in pride, trailing her robes.

اذ لهم قبل رعب الحسام

فاصبح يرعب منهم فليلا

Once the terror of the sword was theirs;

now, even blunted, it brings terror among them.

ومن يك بالعد قد ساس قوما

فلا يستعين الحسام الصقيلا

Whoever has governed a people with justice [probable reading]

has no need of the polished sword.

لو اسطاع مما به من حنو

لما ترك الورق تبكى هديلا

Were it in his power, such is his tenderness,

he would not let the gray doves weep their cooing.

على انه في الوغى ليث باس

يفل شبا الزجى منه رعيلا

Yet in battle he is a lion of valor,

blunting the spearpoints of troops before him.

وحاشاه ان يقبض السيف من عادة

القبض حتى يخال بخيلا

Far be it from him to grip the sword out of a habit

of tight-fistedness, and thus be thought a miser.

سمعنا الثنا عليه من الناس عربا

وعجما قبيلا قبيلا

We have heard his praises from people, Arabs

and non-Arabs, tribe after tribe;

فكانوا كأنهم لقنوه

فراق فصولا وشاق نقولا

it was as though they had all been taught them,

delightful in their passages, enchanting in their retelling.

ذممنا الزمان وقد كان خصما

فنحمده حيث صار خليلا

We blamed Time when it was our foe;

now we praise it, since it has become a friend.

تطأطأ ذلا لمن قام يوما

بباب الخديوي المثيل مثولا

It bowed abjectly before whoever stood one day

in attendance at the eminent Khedive's gate.

سرى في صدور الورى حبه

وكانت خلاء فعز دخولا

His love stole into the hearts of humankind;

they had been empty, and it entered in triumph.

فلم يبق فيها لحب السوى

مكان ولم تبغ منه بديلا

There remained within them, for love of another,

no place; nor did they seek a substitute for him.

كانا اذا ما ذكرنا حلاه

ومدح علاه نعاطى الشمولا

It is as though, whenever we recall his graces

and praise his eminence, we pass wine around.

ولكن هذي شمول حلال

ينافس فيها اليراع النصولا

But this is lawful wine,

for which the reed pen vies with sword-blades.

تكفر عن سيئات مسيئ

وتكسبه الدهر فخرا اثيلا

It atones for a wrongdoer's misdeeds

and wins him lasting, deep-rooted glory.

لو انا نظمنا الدرارئ مدحا

له سفلت عن ذراه سفولا

Had we strung the brilliant stars as praise

for him, they would have fallen far below his heights.

ولو ورق الدوح كان كتابا

لما وسع الشكر الا قليلا

And if the leaves of the great trees were a book,

it would hold only a little of our thanks.

نهنئ سيدنا ذا المعالي

بصوم وفطر ابرا قبولا

We congratulate our lord, possessor of high honors,

on fasting and fast-breaking, both graciously accepted.

به الدهر اجمع عيد سرور

لكل البسيطة عرضا وطولا

Through him all time is a festival of joy

for the whole earth, in breadth and length.

فلسنا سوى ان يدوم معافى

سليما نرجى من اللَه سولا

We seek only that he remain in health,

safe and sound—a boon we hope for from God.