صدقت علاك الوعد والميعادا

هذا الحمى متفقداً مرتادا

Your Highness has kept the promise and the appointment,

visiting this domain, inspecting and exploring it.

وأجبت دعوة كلَّ موفٍ مخلصٍ

لترى بلاداً نضرة وعبادا

And you answered the invitation of every loyal, sincere person,

to see flourishing lands and their people.

حملتك أجياد الرجال وإنه

لجزاء ما قلَّدتَه الأجيادا

Men's necks bore you, and that

was surely recompense for what you hung about those necks.

متيمماً للنيل أطهر ساحل

تَلقى أباك وأهلك الأمجادا

Making for the purest shore of the Nile,

you meet your father and your illustrious kin.

وأبرُّ من ضحَّى وقرَّب وافتدى

وأعف من أثرى وشاد وسادا

And he is the most righteous of those who sacrificed, made offerings, and redeemed,

and the most upright of those who grew wealthy, built, and ruled.

قبَّلت راحته وقبَّل وجنةً

لك واستزدت رضاه عنك فزادا

You kissed his palm, and he kissed a cheek

of yours; you sought more of his approval of you, and it grew.

وأعاد صحته ورد شبابه

وجدانُهُ ما شاءه وأرادا

And his health was restored, his youth brought back,

by his finding what he wished for and desired.

يحنو عليك وإنما يحنو على

من شرَّف الآباء والأجدادا

He shows you tenderness, and shows it only to

one who has ennobled fathers and forefathers.

وأحبُّ ما ارتاحت إليه نفسه

ما أنت مدركه قوى وجهادا

And dearest of all that brought his soul contentment

is what you will attain through strength and striving.

ضمن الخلود بأنه لك والد

جمع المصائر فيه والآبادا

He secured immortality by being your father,

gathering destinies and endless ages within it.

أخذ الصعيد من العتاد نصيبه

وسعى سواه يريد منك عتادا

Upper Egypt received its share of resources,

and the rest came seeking resources from you.

لولا وقار أبيك بين وفوده

ماج المكان من السرور ومادا

But for your father's solemn bearing among his delegations,

the place would have surged and swayed with joy.

كانت زيارات مباركة له

فمضت مواسم وانتهت أعيادا

His visits were blessed,

passing as festive seasons and ending as feast days.

باشرت فيه عدل حكمك شاملاً

وشهدت عقبى ما منحت جوادا

There you exercised the all-embracing justice of your rule,

and witnessed the fruits of what you generously bestowed.

ورأيت في الصحراء كيف تبدلت

تلك الصخور الشائكات مهادا

And in the desert you saw the transformation

of those jagged rocks into a smooth bed.

شقت عليك وفاة رابع قادةٍ

كانوا حماةَ الدولة الأندادا

The death of a fourth among the leaders grieved you,

who had been the state's defenders, equals to one another.

هل حين تحتفل المدائن والقرى

بك يرجف الوادي عليه حداد

Is it while cities and villages celebrate

you that the valley trembles in mourning for him?

لولا لقاء القوم فيك معوَّضاً

عنه لطال أساهمُ وتمادى

Had the people not found compensation in you

for his loss, their grief would have lasted long and lingered on.

ما زلت بالجبار تملك بأسه

وترده لك طاعة وودادا

You kept the tyrant's might under your control,

turning it into obedience and affection for you,

حتى أتى أسطوله بسلامه

من بعد ما ساق الخطوب شدادا

until his fleet came bearing his greetings,

after he had brought on terrible calamities.

وأتى الأميران البلاد وأحكما

ميثاق قومهما لها وأجادا

And the two princes came to the country and firmly sealed

their peoples' covenant with it, and did so well.

يا راحم الحساد من مكروه ما

حملوا لعلك تبرئُ الحسادا

O you who pity the envious for the pain of what

they have borne—perhaps you will cure the envious.

ومنوِّلَ العاصي المعادي فرصةً

ليعود عوناً من عصاك وعادى

And you who grant the disobedient foe a chance,

so that whoever defied and opposed you may return as a helper.

لولا عقاب الصحف منك بطيها

يقضي عليها الدهر عنك كسادا

Were it not for your punishing the papers by shutting them down,

time would destroy them for you through poor sales.

ليس المصرُّ على النزاع لمأرب

مثل المصرِّ على الجحود عنادا

One who persists in dispute for a purpose is not

like one who persists in ingratitude out of obstinacy.

ومن العزيمة دفعك اليوم الأذى

ومن الحنان علاجك الأحقادا

And your warding off harm today shows resolve,

and your healing of hatreds shows compassion.

لك أن تعيد إلى سماحك كل من

يبغي إليك مثابة ومعادا

You may welcome back into your generosity all who

seek in you a refuge and a place of return.

أيعيب في مصر امرؤ لك خطةً

سرَّت دمشق وأعجبت بغدادا

Could anyone in Egypt fault a policy of yours

that delighted Damascus and won Baghdad's admiration?

ولأنت نعم المستبدُّ حكومةً

إن كان حزم المصلح استبدادا

And you are indeed a fine autocrat in government,

if a reformer's firmness is autocracy.

ولقد صدقت سريرة وعزيمة

وتأهباً للملك واستعدادا

And you have indeed proved true in heart and resolve,

and in readiness and preparation for kingship.

إن أبطأ الماضون عن آمادهم

فقد انفردت تعجل الآمادا

If those who went before were slow to reach their goals,

you alone hasten the attainment of distant goals.

ولئن أنلت المعوزين مرافقاً

فلقد وهبت الغافلين رشادا

And if you have granted the needy comforts,

you have indeed bestowed guidance on the heedless.

وأجل من فتحِ الممالكِ فتحُ من

ساق الشعوب إلى الكمال وقادا

And greater than conquering kingdoms is the triumph of one

who drove the peoples toward perfection and led them.

أتمم فقد أرضيتَ مصر وأهلها

إرضاءك الملكَ الكريمَ فؤادا

Complete your work, for you have pleased Egypt and its people,

just as you have pleased the noble King Fuad.