1. تكلم أيها البطل السعيدُ

    وفصِّل ما أردت وما تريدُ

    Speak, O fortunate hero,

    and detail what you intended and what you intend.

  2. وصف ما أنت بالغه المرجَّى

    وصف ما أنت صانعه المجيد

    Describe the hoped-for goal you will reach,

    and describe the glorious work you will do,

  3. وما أفضت به الأفواج تترى

    إليك وما تمنته الوفود

    and what the crowds, arriving in succession, confided

    to you, and what the delegations wished for.

  4. فتحت الخط يخترق الفيافي

    فيعمرها ويقترب البعيد

    You opened the railway line that cuts through the wastes,

    so it develops them, and far-off places draw near.

  5. وسار الخير خلفك في طريق

    تسير النار فيه والحديد

    Prosperity followed behind you along a road

    where fire and iron travel.

  6. وقد وقف العباد بجانبيه

    كما احتشدت لقائدها الجنود

    The people stood on either side of it,

    as troops mustered for their commander.

  7. وقمت لهم خطيباً في منوف

    فماج الريف واهتز الصعيد

    You rose to address them in Menouf,

    and the countryside surged, and Upper Egypt shook.

  8. وضج الجوُّ بالأنباء شتى

    فأين البرق منه والبريد

    The air rang with tidings of every kind:

    how could the telegraph and the post compare?

  9. وأسمعت الأقاصي ما أراهم

    كأنهمُ حضورك والشهود

    You made the far-off hear what made them seem

    as though they were your audience and witnesses.

  10. ملأت الأرض عمراناً وخصباً

    وسيرك في السماء غداً مديد

    You filled the land with thriving settlements and abundance,

    and tomorrow your course through the sky will stretch far.

  11. تطير بسلمك المأمول فيها

    قشاعمك الأمينة والأسود

    Through it, bearing your hoped-for peace, will fly

    your trusty eagles and lions.

  12. ومصر هي المجاز لكل ماض

    تراه وملتقى الأمم العتيد

    Egypt is the passage for every traveler

    you see, and the nations' ready meeting place.

  13. فماذا فات ذاك الضيف منها

    وقد حيَّى سواحلها يرود

    So what did that guest miss of her,

    when he greeted her shores as he toured?

  14. رددت سلامه بأبر منه

    وسوغ صنعك الرأي السديد

    You returned his greeting with one more gracious,

    and sound judgment justified your deed.

  15. وحل مكانه من كل نفس

    وإن أقصاه ذو الحذر الحسود

    He found his place in every heart,

    though the wary, envious man had kept him away.

  16. وما تغني حدود الملك إن لم

    تكن من هيبة الملك الحدود

    What use are the kingdom's borders, unless

    those borders are founded on awe of the king?

  17. وزير الشعب والتاج المفدى

    لقاؤك موسم ورضاك عيد

    Minister of the people and the cherished crown,

    meeting you is a festival, and your favor a feast.

  18. تناولت السرائر صافيات

    وأيد حكمك العدل الوجود

    You received their pure inner feelings,

    and all existence upheld your just rule.

  19. أيخرج من حماك عليك رهط

    وقد وثقت بدولتك الهنود

    Would a band rise against you from your protected domain,

    when the Indians have trusted your government?

  20. أعيبك أن تقوم مهيمنات

    على النيل القناطر والسدود

    Is it your fault that there stand, keeping watch,

    over the Nile, barrages and dams,

  21. فلا يطغى على المعمور فيض

    ولا تشكو الغليل إليك بيد

    so no flood overwhelms inhabited land,

    and no deserts complain to you of burning thirst;

  22. وأن يتجنب الفوضى نظام

    وأن يتألف الشمل البديد

    and that order shuns chaos,

    and scattered ranks are reunited;

  23. وأن يسعى لك الجبار طوعاً

    وكم لاقيت منه ما يؤود

    and that the mighty one serves you willingly

    (and how often you endured his crushing burdens!),

  24. وأن يجدوا تجنِّيه عليهم

    إباءً وهو صاحبك الودود

    and that they find his unjust treatment of them

    a rebuff, though he is your devoted friend?

  25. وما دفعوا قواه وهم قيام

    ولا ملكوا هواه وهم قعود

    They did not repel his might while standing,

    nor master his whims while seated.

  26. حملت خطوبهم في الأرض عنهم

    وقد كادت بما حملت تميد

    You shouldered their troubles on earth for them,

    when it had almost reeled beneath all it bore.

  27. وأظلم من جفاك ومن تعدّى

    على واديه هادم ما تشيد

    And most unjust is he who spurns you, and he who attacks

    his own valley, tearing down what you build.

  28. وما آذى كرامتك افتراءٌ

    وإن آذى مروءتك الجحود

    No slander has harmed your dignity,

    though ingratitude has wounded your noble spirit.

  29. أللحرية العليا دعاة

    همُ وهمُ لدنياهم عبيد

    Are they champions of the highest freedom,

    when they are slaves to their worldly life?

  30. ولو عقلوا استراحوا من عناء

    بسلطان إليهم لا يعود

    Had they shown sense, they would have spared themselves trouble

    over power that will never return to them.

  31. تجاوزهم خطابك فاستهانوا

    فحق عليهم اللوم الشديد

    Your speech passed them by, so they scoffed;

    and stern reproach was rightly their due.

  32. ومن يشفع أمامك في مريب

    فليس بشافع فيمن يكيد

    Whoever intercedes before you for a suspect

    is no intercessor for one who schemes.

  33. لئن غضبوا عليك فأنت راض

    بصنعك تستتم وتستزيد

    Even if they are angry with you, you are content

    with your work, seeking to complete it and do more.

  34. ولست بمنزل بهمُ هواناً

    وإن ثقلت شروطك والقيود

    You are not one to inflict humiliation on them,

    though your conditions and restraints weigh heavily.

  35. ولم تترك رعايتهم ولكن

    أصر على عداوته العنيد

    You have not abandoned their care; yet

    the obstinate one has persisted in his hostility.

  36. ولم تجهل لبغيهمُ علاجاً

    ولكن ربما نفع الوعيد

    Nor were you ignorant of a remedy for their aggression,

    but sometimes a threat proves useful.

  37. همُ طلبوا مكان العيب مني

    فأعياهم فقالوا مستفيد

    They searched for a flaw in me,

    but it eluded them, so they said, 'He benefits!'

  38. وأي معاهد لك لم تفده

    غنى الدهرِ المواثق والعهود

    And what ally of yours has not been given

    lasting wealth through covenants and pledges?

  39. أمحظور على من تصطفيه

    لهذي الأمة العيش الرغيد

    Is it forbidden for one you choose

    for this nation to live a life of ease?

  40. وهل في عهدك الذهبي يشقى

    كما ودّوا ليَ الحرُّ الرشيد

    And in your golden age, can he suffer—

    the free, discerning man—as they wished for me?

  41. أبوا لقبي القديم وأنكروه

    إلى أن جاءهم لقبي الجديد

    They rejected my old title and denied it,

    until my new title came to them.

  42. قصائد إن تشأ فهي الأغاني

    تسر وإن تشأ فهي الرعود

    Poems—if you wish, they are songs

    that delight; and if you wish, they are thunderclaps.

  43. وإن أصبحت عندهم ذميماً

    فإني عندك البر الحميد

    Though I have become blameworthy in their eyes,

    in yours I am upright and praiseworthy.

  44. وما كلفتني حرباً عليهم

    فحسبهمُ جفائي والصدود

    You have not charged me with war against them;

    so my coldness and avoidance suffice for them.

  45. وإني عونك الأوفى قمين

    لك النجوى وللشعر الخلود

    And I am fit to be your most faithful helper:

    to you, confidential counsel; to poetry, immortality.