يوم الجزيرة أنت يوم الوادي

دار الزمان وعدت خير ميعادِ

Day of Gezira, you are the Valley's day.

Time has turned, and you return at the finest appointed hour.

وممثلاً أرض الحمى وسماءه

في ذات أطناب وذات عماد

And, embodying the homeland's earth and sky,

in a tented pavilion and a pillared hall.

فئة من الأسواق فيك عظيمة

أم فيك طائفة من الأعياد

Is there in you a great gathering of markets,

or is there a host of festivals?

حيتك ألوية السلام منيفة

وسقتك طهر روائح وغوادي

Lofty banners of peace saluted you,

and pure evening and morning rainclouds watered you.

وبدت عياناً فيك حجة أمة

مصدوقة الأعيان والإشهاد

And in you a nation's case appeared plainly,

confirmed by tangible evidence and testimony.

وأقر ماطلها الغريم بكل ما

شاءت من الحق الصحيح البادي

And her stalling debtor acknowledged all

she sought of her clear and rightful due.

ورأى لمصر الغربُ بعد تنازع

عهدَ الرفاق وواجب الأنداد

And, after contention, the West recognized Egypt's right

to fellowship's covenant and the duty owed to equals.

بلغت مدى استقلالها من بعد ما

خرجت من الأغلال والأصفاد

She reached the full extent of her independence after

emerging from shackles and fetters.

وتريد سلماً أن تنال من العلا

ما لا يُنال بقوة الأجناد

And peacefully she seeks to attain such heights

as cannot be attained by the strength of armies.

لطف القضاء وهان فيك فلم يكن

ذاك الضرام سوى المنار الهادي

Fate was kind and gentle toward you; thus

that blaze was only a guiding beacon.

وتجاوز الركب الطريق ولم يصب

خطبُ الحريق سوى رداء الحادي

The caravan traversed the road, and nothing was struck

by the fire's calamity but the camel-driver's cloak.

من نار نورك ذلك المقدور لا

من غيظ حسّادٍ وكيد أعادي

That fated event came from the fire of your light, not

from envious men's wrath or enemies' plotting.

عادت سلاماً فاطمأنت أنفسٌ

فزعت من الإبراق والإرعاد

It turned to peace, and souls were reassured

that had trembled at lightning and thunder.

إن راح بعضك للجميع فدىً فقد

رد الزمان إليك ذاك الفادي

If part of you was lost as ransom for the whole, then

time has restored that ransoming part to you.

ولئن بعدت ليالياً عشراً فقد

قرَّبتَ آلافاً من الآماد

And though you were absent for ten nights, you have

brought thousands of far-off reaches near.

وسعَ الذي استودعته ميل وما

تحويه ملء حواضر وبوادي

A mile held what was entrusted to you, yet what

you contain would fill cities and countryside.

لو قُدِّرت هذي النفائس لم تدع

جيلاً يضيق بأزمةٍ وكساد

Had these treasures been properly valued, they would not have left

a generation distressed by crisis and stagnation.

طافت بها زُمَرُ الوفود كأنما

جبريل فيها بالخلود ينادي

Delegations in throngs circled them, as though

Gabriel were proclaiming immortality among them.

وكأنما من كل فاكهة دنت

شِبع وما قطفت من الأعواد

And as though from every fruit brought near

came a full meal, though none was plucked from the branches.

وكأن كل مشاهد مما رأى

ظفرت يداه بمطلب ومراد

And as though every spectator, through what he saw,

had grasped in both hands his wish and desire.

وكأن نوحاً عاد فيك بفلكه

ضخمَ المراسي ثابتَ الأوتاد

And as though Noah had returned among you in his ark,

with mighty moorings and firmly planted stakes.

يا حبذا مرح السوائم وهي في

دعة الألوف وطاعة المنقاد

How delightful the grazing beasts' play, while they enjoy

the calm of tame creatures and the obedience of the docile.

لو لم يرضْ هذا النعيم طباعها

لغدت لقوَّتها من الآساد

Had this comfort not tamed their natures,

their strength would have ranked them among lions.

والطير بين الدوح بين ثماره

لترنُّم ولزينة ولزاد

And birds among the great trees, among their fruits,

are there for song, for adornment, and for food.

في نهضة الزراع والصناع ما

ضمن العلوَّ لأمتي وبلادي

In the rise of farmers and craftsmen lies what

assures eminence for my nation and my land:

القائمين بباهر الأعمال في

نور العقول وصحة الأجساد

those who carry out splendid works in

the light of intellect and the soundness of bodies.

أبقى وأفضل من أداة محاربٍ

في كل دهر آلةُ الحصَّاد

More lasting and better than a warrior's weapon,

in every age, is the harvester's tool.

وصناعة المحراث خير ممهدٍ

لصناعة الطرّاد والمنطاد

Making the plough is the best preparation

for making the cruiser and the airship.

وأحبُّ من مجرى السوابق جدول

ينساب بين متالع ووهاد

And dearer than the racecourse of thoroughbreds is a stream

that glides between heights and hollows.

أيدي البناة لهائل الأهرام أم

أيدي بناة المعرض الأمجاد

Are these the hands that built the mighty pyramids, or

the hands of the exhibition's glorious builders?

بلغوا به في كل فنٍّ غايةً

وكذا يكون مصير كل جهاد

Through it, in every art, they reached a pinnacle;

and such is the outcome of every endeavor.

وهم استغلوا كل نبتٍ في الثرى

واستخدموا في الأرض كل جماد

They put to use every plant in the soil,

and put every inanimate thing on earth to work.

من كل موجود مثالٌ شاهد

بتأهُّبٍ للشعب واستعداد

Of every existing thing, an example bears witness

to the people's preparedness and readiness.

يا بهجة الوادي وراحة أهله

بعد اطِّراد حوادث وعوادي

O delight of the Valley and comfort of its people,

after an unbroken succession of mishaps and calamities.

ما فيك شيء للغريب سوى الذي

للوافد المطري وللمرتاد

There is nothing in you for the foreigner except what

is due the visiting admirer and the sightseer.

فسرت تاريخ البلاد مقدساً

ضخم الرواية محكم الإسناد

You interpreted the country's history as sacred,

vast in its narrative, sound in its chain of transmission.

وشرحت للشعب الكريم فنونه

شرح النقيب الحاسب النقّاد

And you expounded to the noble people their arts,

as would an overseer, a reckoner, and a discerning critic.

إن لم تكن سبباً لرهبة معتد

كنت السبيل إلى رضى ووداد

If you were no cause of fear to an aggressor,

you were a path to goodwill and affection.

جمعية أم تلك مملكة علت

برعاية الملك الكريم فؤاد

Is that a society, or a kingdom raised high

under the patronage of the noble King Fuad?

قام الحسين بها لمصر فأصبحت

بيدي كمال الدين خير عتاد

Husayn founded it for Egypt, and it became

in Kamal al-Din's hands, the finest resource.

لا تطمئن إلى الزمان جماعة

إلا بفضل تعاون الأفراد

No community can put its trust in the times

except through the cooperation of its members.

الشعب يعمل والبقاع خصيبة

والنيل فيها فائض متمادي

The people work, and the lands are fertile,

and the Nile in them overflows without end.

يا معرض الوادي ومظهر عزه

وجهاده المتتابع المتمادي

O exhibition of the Valley, display of its might

and of its successive, unceasing striving.

صبّحت مصر لقاء مؤتمر بها

فخم فكنت طليعة الإمداد

You greeted Egypt on the morning of a congress held there,

a grand one; you were the vanguard of support.

جمع الصفوف لكل أمر بعد ما

حسم النزاع وماضيَ الأحقاد

It united the ranks for every undertaking, after

settling disputes and old resentments.

وغدا شفيع الدهر بعد وقائع

هوج على البلد الأمين شداد

And it became time's intercessor after calamities

raging and harsh upon the secure land.

وأتاح للشعب القضاء لنفسه

بالعدل بعد الوعد والإيعاد

And it enabled the people to judge their own affairs

with justice, after promises and threats.

وأتت من الأرض الجديدة نفحة

جلت مآثرها عن التعداد

And from the new land came a breath of bounty,

whose merits were too great to count.

هبة الكريم لمجد مصر قديمه

وحديثه ولطارف وتلاد

A generous man's gift to Egypt's glory, ancient

and modern, to her newly gained and inherited treasures.

حيّا بها آثار مصر مكرِّماً

فضل الجدود وعزة الأحفاد

With it he saluted Egypt's monuments, honoring

the ancestors' merit and the descendants' pride.

جاءت وفي الوادي شواغل جمة

برء القلوب وراحة الأكباد

It came when the Valley had countless cares,

a cure for hearts and solace for livers.

ذكرت فأَوَّلها الحسود وفصلت

فقضت على عنت له وعناد

It was mentioned, and the envious man misconstrued it; explained in full,

it ended his obstruction and obstinacy.

للذكر والتاريخ هذا المال لا

لتجارةٍ وهوىً ولا لنفاد

This money is for remembrance and history, not

for trade or whim, nor to be depleted.

دين لمصر على الشعوب قضاه من

دان الشعوب مرافقاً وأيادي

A debt Egypt was owed by the nations, repaid by one who

made the nations his debtors through services and benefactions.

لم يشترط في الجود غير قبوله

ورضا بلاد برة وعباد

In his generosity, he stipulated only its acceptance

and the approval of a virtuous land and people.

أغنى ملوك المال أعدَلُهُمْ يداً

في البذل بين قرابة وبعاد

The richest of wealth's kings is the most even-handed

in giving to kin and those far away.

دين المروءة عنده المرعيُّ لا

دين الغلاة ومذهب العبّاد

The creed of chivalry is what he upholds, not

the creed of zealots or the doctrine of devotees.

تبقى خزائن مصر وهي لأهلها

عجب الوجود وثروة الآباد

Egypt's treasuries endure, and for her people they are

the wonder of existence and the wealth of ages.

العلم ميدان الشعوب وإنما

للنافعين مكانة القواد

Knowledge is the arena of nations, and only

those who benefit others hold the rank of leaders.

والبغي بين الناس ليس طبيعة

لو كان في الإنسان بعض رشاد

Aggression among people would not be natural,

if humanity had a little sound judgment.

ليس القلوب بمستطاع ملكها

وإن استُطيعَ تملُّكُ الأجياد

Hearts are beyond the power of possession,

even though necks may be enslaved.

وطني المقدس عرضيَ الغالي وما

لتحكُّمٍ عرضي ولا استعباد

My sacred homeland is my precious honor, and never

shall my honor submit to domination or enslavement.

حريتي ولو اغتديت ودونها

ملقى صِفاحٍ واشتباكَ صعاد

My freedom—even if I set out and between me and it lie

the meeting of sword blades and the crossing of spears.

يا أمة الوادي تحية مخلص

بحياته للمخلصين جواد

O nation of the Valley, a greeting from a loyal man,

who gives his life freely for those who are loyal.

واسيتِ بالنعمى دمشق ونبَّهتْ

دعواتُكِ الكبرى بني بغداد

You comforted Damascus with bounty, and awakened,

through your mighty appeals, the sons of Baghdad.

كلُّ الأمور إلى حماك مصيرها

وأنا الكفيل بصادق الميعاد

All affairs have their final destination in your sanctuary,

and I guarantee the truth of this promise.