خلوا التواني ففجر المجد قد لاحا

واستيقظوا فزمان النوم قد راحا

Abandon slackness: the dawn of glory has appeared.

And awaken, for the time of sleep has passed.

واستعملوا الحزم في تحرير موطنكم

واسترخصوا في خلاص القطر أرواحا

And employ firmness in liberating your homeland,

And hold lives cheap for the country's deliverance.

فمصر تدعو بنيها وهي واجمة

أن صيروا الغارة الشعواء ملحاحا

For Egypt calls her sons, grief-stricken,

To make the fierce onslaught unrelenting.

وطهروا الأرض من باغ ومغتصب

وأمطروهم عذاب الهون سحاحا

And cleanse the land of aggressor and usurper,

And rain upon them torrents of humiliating torment.

الفرد بائنين لا ترضوا بترضية

وإن هم أوقروا خمسين سرداحا

The individual, those standing apart [unclear wording]—do not accept appeasement,

Even if they load fifty spacious tents.

واستنصروا الله إن النصر في يده

على العدو فمسك التصر قد فاحا

And seek victory from God, for victory is in His hand,

Against the enemy, for victory's musk has spread its fragrance.

وأجمعوا الأمر في توحيد مطلبهم

وأصلحوا ذات بين القطر إصلاحا

And resolve together to unify their demand,

And thoroughly mend the country's internal relations.

ومكنوا عقدة الإخلاص بينكم

وسطروا منه فوق الهام ألواحا

And strengthen the knot of loyalty among you,

And inscribe tablets of it above the heads.

وحكموا العقل قبل الفعل واتخذوا

آراء أهل النهى والفضل مصباحا

And make reason your judge before action, and take

The opinions of people of wisdom and virtue as a lamp.

فقد أرتنا الليالي وهيَ صادقة

أن التروى غدا للتجح مفتاحا

For the nights have shown us, and they speak truly,

That deliberation has become the key to success.

ومنه يشرق نور الحق مكتملا

كطلعة البدر وضاء ووضاحا

And from it the light of truth shines in its fullness,

Like the rising full moon, radiant and brilliant.

ونزّهوا عن جليس السوء مجلسكم

ولا تظنوهم للرشد نصاحا

And keep your gathering free of evil company,

And do not deem them sincere advisers toward right guidance.

كل يداجى وسيف الغدر في يده

فإن رأى ما تمنى صال أو صاحا

Each dissembles, with treachery's sword in his hand;

So if he sees what he desired, he attacks or cries out.

يداهن القوم في تحييذ ما فعلوا

وإن تولى بما قد أضمروا باحا

He flatters the people by approving what they have done,

And if he turns away, he divulges what they had concealed.

فهؤلاء لئام لا خلاق لهم

لا يبتغون سوى الأموال أرباحا

For these are base men, with no share of goodness;

They seek nothing but money as their profit.

منهم خذوا وحذرتكم في كل مجتمع

ومكنوا في صدور الكل أرماحا

Take heed of them—and I have warned you—in every gathering [unclear wording].

And plant spears firmly in the breasts of them all.

ثم انهضوا نهضة الاساد واتزروا

بالعزم والحزم فلاحا وملاحا

Then rise as lions rise, and gird yourselves

With resolve and prudence, farmer and sailor alike.

ومزقوا شمل أعدا كم ولا تهنوا

فكم بكى القطر من غدر وكم ناحا

And tear apart your enemies' ranks, and do not falter,

For how often has the country wept at betrayal, and how often wailed!

وكم وكم بيد العدوان قد سلبوا

قوتا ومالا وأرواحا وأشباحا

And how often, how often, with aggression's hand they have plundered

Food and wealth, lives and bodies;

وفرقوا بين مولود ووالده

وأكثروا السلب إلحافا وإلحاحا

And separated a child from his father,

And plundered ever more, insistently and relentlessly.

وقطعوا الأمر فيما بيننا شيعا

وأوضحوا سبل التفريق إيضاحا

And splintered our common cause into factions,

And made the paths of division unmistakably clear.

حتى غدا القطر في ضيق وفي ضعة

وأصبح الكل بكاء ونوّاحا

Until the country fell into distress and abasement,

And all became weepers and wailers.

وألجموا اللسن عن شكوى ظلامتهم

فما استطاعوا حيال الظلم إفصاحا

And bridled tongues from voicing their grievances,

So they could not speak openly in the face of oppression.

وصيروا العلم والتعليم في درك

بعد الرقي فلبّ العلم قد طاحا

And brought learning and education down into the depths,

After advancement, for learning's very core has fallen.

أين الفطاحل من كانت معارفهم

تسقى العقول سلاف العلم أقداحا

Where are the great masters, whose knowledge

Gave minds cups of learning's choicest wine?

أين الألى بلغوا الجوزاء منزلة

وفكرهم كان للإصلاح مصباحا

Where are those who reached al-Jawza in rank,

And whose thought was a lamp for reform?

أتى على الكل أمر لا مرد له

فاجتث بالبغى روض العلم واجتاحا

A calamity none could repel overtook them all,

So through tyranny it uprooted learning's garden and laid it waste.

قوموا ولا ترهبوا من كان ينبحكم

فالكلب من خوفه تلقاه نباحا

Rise, and do not fear whoever barks at you,

For you find the dog barking out of fear.

ردوا إلى مصر ما بالظلم قد سلبوا

فصوت مصر غدا بالنصر صداخا

Restore to Egypt what they have unjustly stolen,

For Egypt's voice has come to ring with victory.

واستاصلوا بثبات الجاش شأفتهم

ظهرا وعصرا وإمساء وإصباحا

And with steadfast courage tear out their roots,

At noon and afternoon, at evening and morning.

فمتن مصر به الأرزاء فادحة

منهم فكونوا لمتن القطر شراحا

For Egypt's text contains grievous calamities

From them; so be commentators upon the country's text.

إن تثقفوهم يولوكم ظهورهم

ويرجعون إلى التاميز سياحا

If you catch them, they will turn their backs to you,

And return to the Thames as wanderers.

يا غارة الله لا تبقى ولا تذرى

منهم على الأرض طماعا وطماحا

O onslaught of God, do not spare or leave

Among them on earth any greedy man or overreacher.

فغلظة الطبع والأكباد ديدنهم

أما ترى الكل سفاكا وسفاحا

For harshness of nature and of heart is their constant way;

Do you not see them all as blood-shedders and slaughterers?

خانوا المسيح وما خافوا شريعته

وما تلوا قط للإنجيل إصحاحا

They betrayed the Messiah and did not fear his law,

And never once recited a chapter of the Gospel.

فيا بنى النيل هبوا من سباتكم

نهر الدماء بهم في القطر ضحضاحا

So, O sons of the Nile, rise from your slumber,

A river of blood, through their doing, shallow across the land.

هتك وفتك وسفك للدما فجرى

نهر الدماء بهم في القطر ضحضاحا

Ravaging, killing, and bloodshed—so there flowed

A river of blood, through their doing, shallow across the land.

ومصر للثأر تدعوكم وتوقظكم

فلا تنوا فزمان الثأر قد تاحا

And Egypt calls you to vengeance and awakens you.

So do not flag: the time for vengeance is now at hand.

فقد عرفتم بصدق القصد من قدم

والكل صار بعز العلم جحجاحا

For you have long been known for sincerity of purpose,

And all, through learning's glory, have become noble leaders.

وهيثوا بعد ليل القصد أنفسكم

للحم واستبدلوا الأتراح أفراحا

And prepare yourselves after the night of resolve [unclear wording],

For flesh [unclear wording]; exchange sorrows for joys.

فقد كفى مصر ما شدوا وما حملوا

فما علمنا ضميرا قط مرتاحا

For Egypt has had enough of the bonds and burdens they imposed,

For we have never known a conscience at ease.

فلا سلامة للأعداء إن رحلوا

ولا لجيش غدا بالبغي أوراحا

So no safety for the enemies if they depart,

Nor for an army that has become, through oppression, [unclear final word].

فإن تولّوا فقولوا عند فرقتهم

الحمد لله زال الظلم وانزاحا

So if they turn away, say at their parting:

Praise be to God: oppression has ceased and gone away.