1. أعد يا فتى الوادي مطافك في القرى

    فيومك فيه بعد أمسك عيدُ

    Renew, O youth of the valley, your rounds through the villages;

    for your day there, after your yesterday, is a festival.

  2. ولاق من الترحاب في كل جانب

    وناحية ما تشتهي وتريد

    And meet with such welcome on every side

    and in every quarter as you long for and desire.

  3. وللشهداء الذكريات تعيدهم

    فهم حضَّرٌ فيمن جمعت شهود

    And remembrances bring the martyrs back;

    so they are present, witnesses among those you have gathered.

  4. لقد عرف الغلاب ما أنت نائل

    وما زال يقوى حوله ويزيد

    The conqueror has indeed learned what you will attain,

    and his might keeps growing stronger and greater.

  5. وأدرك ما تخفي وما أنت معلن

    فما هز وعدٌ عطفَهُ ووعيد

    And he has grasped what you conceal and what you proclaim;

    so neither promise nor threat has swayed him.

  6. وهل من له هذي القلوب تحبه

    كمثل الذي نار له وحديد

    And is one who has these hearts to love him

    like one who has fire and iron?

  7. وهل تدفع الفتاكَ وهو مدججٌ

    معاقلُ عُزْلٌ دونه وجنود

    And can the ruthless killer, fully armed, be repelled

    by unarmed strongholds and troops in his path?

  8. وهل تدفع الصيحات في غير مشفق

    ولو أنها في مسمعيه رعود

    And can cries sway one who is unafraid,

    even if they are thunderclaps in his ears?

  9. وهل تخرج المحتلَّ مصرُ وحولها

    مغيرٌ قريب يحتذيه بعيد

    And can Egypt expel the occupier, while around her

    is a nearby raider whose example a distant one follows?

  10. وهل بعد تمهيد الحماة لفاتح

    ترد تخومٌ فاتحاً وحدود

    And after the defenders have paved the way for a conqueror,

    can frontiers and borders turn a conqueror back?

  11. ولا شمل بين العاملين مؤلف

    ولا رأي بين القائلين سديد

    And no unity binds those who act,

    nor is there sound judgment among those who speak.

  12. أمن أزمات المال أرثي لأمة

    وبي من تعاديها مآزم سود

    Is it for financial crises that I pity a nation,

    while its internal feuding leaves me in dark straits?

  13. وإنيَ لا أدري أفي مصر سادة

    بنو مصر أم هم للنزيل عبيد

    And truly I do not know: are they masters in Egypt,

    the sons of Egypt—or are they the lodger's slaves?

  14. وفي كل يوم للغريب تقلبٌ

    فهل في انقلاب اليوم منه جديد

    And every day the foreigner changes course;

    so is there anything new from him in today's turnabout?

  15. وهل غيرّ المندوب ما خط قبله

    من السيرة النكراء أمس عميد

    And has the commissioner changed what, before him,

    a chief charted yesterday—that hateful course?

  16. فإن فك قيداً عن غضاب يروضهم

    فما برحت في الملك منه قيود

    Even if he removes a shackle from angry men to tame them,

    his fetters still remain upon the realm.

  17. نعالجه بالعتب حيناً وبالرضا

    عسى أحد الأمرين فيه يفيد

    We deal with him now through reproach, now through approval,

    hoping one of the two may have an effect on him.

  18. وما هو إلا راصد بشباكه

    يخادع أو صعب المراس شديد

    Yet he is only one lying in wait with his nets,

    deceiving, or else fierce and hard to handle.

  19. فهل عجزت في مصر كل زعامة

    وما أعوزتها عدة وعديد

    So has all leadership in Egypt proved powerless,

    though it has lacked neither resources nor manpower?

  20. وليس يبالي المستعد لحقه

    بحجته أن الغريم عنيد

    And one prepared to claim his right cares not,

    armed with his proof, that his adversary is obstinate.

  21. ومن قاد جمعاً ليس يدري مصيره

    فقد سار فيمن قاد وهو وحيد

    And whoever leads a throng that does not know its destination

    has marched among those he led, yet all alone.

  22. إذا فرط الأبناء لم يغن عزهم

    بما مد آباء وشاد جدود

    If sons are remiss, their glory will not avail them,

    for all that fathers extended and grandfathers built.

  23. وهل بعد تمهيد الحماة لفاتح

    ترد تخومٌ فاتحاً وحدود

    And after the defenders have paved the way for a conqueror,

    can frontiers and borders turn a conqueror back?