1. أَتسألُ مِصرُ ما حَملَ العميدُ

    وهل عند الرُماةِ لها جديدُ

    Does Egypt ask what the chief has brought,

    and have the archers anything new for her?

  2. هو السَّهمُ الذي عَرَفَتهُ قِدماً

    وجَرَّبَ وَقعَهُ الشَّعبُ الوئيدُ

    It is the arrow she knew of old,

    and the slow-moving people have felt its impact.

  3. تَمرَّدَ مُبدِئٌ وطغى مُعيدُ

    ولم تَزلِ الرَّميَّةُ تَستزيدُ

    The first rebelled, and the next grew tyrannical;

    and the target has never ceased asking for more.

  4. مسيحَ الهندِ إنّ بمصرَ شعباً

    يَشُقُّ عليكَ إن خَضَعَ الهنودُ

    O Messiah of India, in Egypt there is a people

    who will give you trouble, even if the Indians submit.

  5. فأنْصِفْ مصر وَاعْصِ القومَ فيها

    إذا اطّردَ الحديثُ وهم شُهودُ

    So do justice to Egypt, and defy those men concerning her,

    when the discussion flows on, with them as witnesses.

  6. فما نظرَ المُسالمُ أين تبغي

    ولا عرفَ المُساوِمُ ما تُريدُ

    For the conciliator did not see where you were aiming,

    nor did the bargainer know what you wanted.

  7. دعِ الزُّعماءَ إنّ لهم لَديناً

    يَدينُ بغيره الشَّعبُ الرشيدُ

    Leave the leaders: they have their own creed,

    other than the one the discerning people profess.

  8. إذا ذكروا الزَّعامةَ فهي دعوى

    يكيدُ بها الكنانةَ مَن يكيدُ

    When they mention leadership, it is a claim

    by which schemers plot against Egypt, the Quiver.

  9. وما تبقى البلادُ إذا أُصِيبَتْ

    بِمَنْ يبغي الزعامةَ يَستفيدُ

    No country survives when afflicted

    with one who seeks leadership for his own gain.

  10. غُزاةُ الشَّعبِ والشّعبُ المواضي

    وأسرابُ الصوافنِ والجنودُ

    The people's invaders—the people being keen blades,

    and squadrons of poised steeds and troops—

  11. رَمُوه به فنال السَّهمُ منه

    بقيّةَ ما رمى الخَصمُ العنيدُ

    shot them with themselves; the arrow took from them

    what the stubborn foe's shots had left.

  12. تأمّلْ هل ترى إلا شُعاعاً

    تَفرّقَ في الجِواءِ فما يعودُ

    Look closely: do you see anything but scattered fragments,

    dispersed through the open valley, never to return?

  13. تطيرُ الذّارياتُ به سِراعاً

    دوائبَ ما لعاصِفها رُكودُ

    The scattering winds carry them swiftly away,

    unceasingly; their storm wind knows no rest.

  14. كأنّ القومَ حين جَرَى عليهم

    قضاءُ اللهِ عادٌ أو ثَمودُ

    As though the people, when there passed over them

    God's decree, were ʿAd or Thamud.

  15. لِمَنْ تتألَّبُ الأحزابُ شتّى

    وما هذي الصَّواعقُ والرُّعودُ

    For whom do the divided parties band together,

    and what are these thunderbolts and thunderclaps?

  16. تَداعَوا للوغَى فَهَوى صريعاً

    على أَيديهمُ الوطنُ الشّهيدُ

    They summoned one another to battle, and there fell, slain,

    at their hands, the martyred homeland.

  17. مَضَتْ أسلابُه تُزجَى إليهم

    فمأتمُه لدى الأقوامِ عيدُ

    Its spoils were carried onward to them,

    so its funeral is a festival among the peoples.

  18. تَضِجُّ جُموعُهم فَرحاً إذا ما

    دعا بِمُصابهِ النَّاعي المُشيدُ

    Their throngs clamor with joy whenever

    the loud-voiced death-herald announces its calamity.

  19. بَرِئتُ إلى الكنانةِ من أُناسٍ

    أضاعوها فليس لها وجودُ

    Before Egypt, the Quiver, I disown people

    who ruined her, so she no longer exists.

  20. قَضَيْنا الدّهرَ ننشدها فضاقت

    مذاهبُنا وأخفقتِ الجُهودُ

    We spent a lifetime seeking her; narrowed were

    our paths, and our efforts failed.

  21. لَعُمركَ إنَّ ما تَعِدُ الأماني

    لَحسْبُ النّفسِ لو وَفَتِ الوعودُ

    By your life, what hopes promise

    would surely suffice the soul, if promises were fulfilled.

  22. عميدَ الغاصبين نزلتَ أرضاً

    يَبيدُ الغاصبون ولا تَبيدُ

    O chief of the usurpers, you have entered a land

    where usurpers perish, but she does not.

  23. يَذودُ الواحدُ القهّارُ عنها

    إذا قَهرتْ جُنودُك مَن يذودُ

    The One, the All-Subduing, defends her

    when your troops overpower those who defend her.

  24. أَتذكرُ إذ لِقَومكَ ما أرادوا

    وإذ لكرومَرَ البطشُ الشّديدُ

    Do you remember when your people had whatever they wanted,

    and Cromer wielded fierce violence?

  25. تطوفُ جُنودُه فَتصيدُ منّا

    ومن سِربِ الحمائم ما تصيدُ

    His troops roam, hunting some of us,

    and whatever they hunt from the flock of pigeons.

  26. أتذكرُ دُنشوايَ وكيف كادت

    جوانبُها بأهليها تَميدُ

    Do you remember Denshawai, and how nearly

    its quarters reeled with their inhabitants?

  27. تضِجُّ من العذابِ ولا سبيلٌ

    إلى غير العذابِ ولا مَحيدُ

    It cries out in torment, with no path

    to anything but torment, and no escape.

  28. أقامت لا يُتاحُ لها هُبوطٌ

    يزولُ بها ولا يُقضَى صُعودُ

    It remained, granted no descent

    to carry it away, nor was ascent ordained.

  29. ولو ظَفِرَتْ بأجنحةٍ لأَمْسَتْ

    لها بين النُّسور مَدىً بعيدُ

    Had it gained wings, it would have had

    a far reach among the vultures.

  30. يُديرُ بها على القومِ المنايا

    قضاءٌ تَستبدُّ به الحقودُ

    Death is dealt to the people there

    by a judgment the spiteful one alone controls.

  31. أقاموها على الضُّعفاءِ حرباً

    من العُدوانِ ليس لها خُمودُ

    They made it a war upon the weak,

    of aggression that never dies down.

  32. فما تعيا المشانقُ بالضّحايا

    ولا تَفْنَى السِّياطُ ولا الجلودُ

    So the gallows never tire of victims,

    nor are the whips exhausted, nor the skins.

  33. لئن فَزِعَ الفَتى والشّيخُ منها

    فما أمِنَ الجنينُ ولا الوليدُ

    If the youth and the old man take fright at it,

    neither the fetus nor the newborn is safe.

  34. يُعاقبُنا الجنُاةُ ولا كتابٌ

    يُقامُ به القَضاءُ ولا حُدودُ

    The criminals punish us, with no lawbook

    by which justice is administered, and no legal bounds.

  35. سُيوفُ الجُندِ مَظهرُ كلِّ حقِّ

    ورأيُ كُرومَرَ الرأيُ السَّديدُ

    The soldiers' swords embody every right,

    and Cromer's opinion is the sound one.

  36. أتذكرُ إذ نُعاتِبُه فيطغى

    ويَهدِرُ في مقالتِه الوعيدُ

    Do you remember when we reproached him and he grew tyrannical,

    and threats roared in his speech?

  37. أَخذناهُ بقارعةٍ ألحَّتْ

    عليه فزالَ واشْتَفتِ الكُبودُ

    We struck him with a crushing blow that pressed

    upon him; he was gone, and hearts found healing.

  38. صَدعنا ركنَهُ فانقضَّ يهوِي

    وذابَ الصَّخرُ أجمعُ والحديدُ

    We cracked his pillar; it collapsed, plunging,

    and all the rock and iron melted.

  39. هَوَى جَبَلٌ من العُدوانِ عالٍ

    وزُلزِلَ للأَذَى صَرحٌ مَشيدُ

    A lofty mountain of aggression fell,

    and a towering edifice raised for harm was shaken.

  40. ونحن القائمون بحقِّ مِصرٍ

    إذا ما اسْتسلمَ القومُ القُعودُ

    We are the ones who uphold Egypt's right,

    when the idle people surrender.

  41. نَضِنُّ بِمصرَ إن عَدَتِ العوادي

    ولكنّا بأنفسنا نجودُ

    We jealously guard Egypt if assailants attack,

    but freely give our own lives.

  42. هي الذّممُ المصونةُ والعُهودُ

    فما يبغي كرومرُ أو لُويدُ

    These are the inviolate pledges and covenants;

    so what does Cromer or Lloyd seek?

  43. أخا السّكسون هل نُبِّئتَ أنّا

    جلاوزةٌ لِقومكَ أو عبيدُ

    O brother of the Saxons, have you been told that we

    are your people's henchmen, or slaves?

  44. لقد كذبوا عليكَ فليس فينا

    لمن يبغي الهضميةَ مُستَقيدُ

    They have lied to you: none among us

    will submit to one who seeks to oppress us.

  45. إذا سَعَتِ الوفودُ إليكَ فاحْذَرْ

    عواقِبَ ما تقولُ لكَ الوُفودُ

    When delegations hurry to you, beware

    the consequences of what the delegations tell you.

  46. فما أحدٌ بمالكِ أمرِ مِصرٍ

    وما بالشّعبِ جُبْنٌ أو جُمودُ

    For no one is master of Egypt's affairs,

    and there is no cowardice or inertia in the people.

  47. مَضَتْ دُنيا القُيودِ وتلك دُنيا

    تُذَمُّ بها وتُحتقرُ القُيودُ

    The world of chains has passed; this is a world

    where chains are condemned and despised.

  48. أتلك ديارُنا أم نحن مَوْتَى

    تُقامُ لنا المقابرُ واللُّحودُ

    Are those our homes, or are we dead,

    with cemeteries and burial niches built for us?

  49. حمينا ما حمى الآباءُ قِدماً

    وصانَ لنا وللنّيلِ الجُدودُ

    We defended what our fathers defended of old,

    and our forefathers safeguarded for us and for the Nile:

  50. بلادٌ ما تُباعُ وباقياتٌ

    من الآثارِ مَعدِنُها الخُلودُ

    a land that is not for sale, and enduring

    monuments whose essence is immortality.

  51. أَيسمعُ صَيْحَتِي في مِصرَ قومٌ

    هُمُ اللَّهبُ المؤجَّجُ والوقودُ

    Do people in Egypt hear my cry—

    they who are the blazing flame and the fuel?

  52. أبرُّ الناسِ عندهمُ المُداجِي

    وشرُّ القومِ ذو النُّصْحِ الوَدودُ

    The most upright of men, to them, is the dissembler,

    and the worst is the loving, sincere adviser.

  53. رَأَوْا بُرهانَ شاعرِهم فزاغوا

    وللأحداثِ شاعِرُها المُجيدُ

    They saw their poet's proof, then swerved away,

    and events have their accomplished poet.

  54. رماهم بالزّواخرِ لا ارتيابٌ

    إذا رَمَتِ الوجوهَ ولا جُحودُ

    He hurled surging waves at them—no room for doubt

    when they strike faces, nor for denial.

  55. تَموجُ مع الدياجرِ في يَدَيْهِ

    صحائفُ من خطوب الدّهرِ سُودُ

    With the darkness, in his hands surge

    black pages from the calamities of time.

  56. له في كلّ آونةٍ جديدٌ

    من البلْوَى يُقالُ له نشيدُ

    At every moment he has something new

    of affliction, which is called a song.

  57. لنا منه النحوسُ تُصيبُ منّا

    مواطنها وللقوم السُّعودُ

    From him we have ill fortunes, which find among us

    their homes; the others have good fortune.

  58. أما والنّاهضين لغير مصرٍ

    لقد عثرت بنا وبها الجدودُ

    Indeed, by those who rise for something other than Egypt,

    fortune has surely tripped up both us and her.

  59. إذا سادَ التخاذلُ في أُناسٍ

    فأَعوزُ ما ترى شعبٌ يسودُ

    When mutual desertion prevails among a people,

    the rarest thing you see is a sovereign people.