1. يا خَلِيلَيّ خَلِّيانِي ومَا بي

    أَوْ أعِيدَا إِلَيَّ عَهْدَ الشَّبابِ

    My two friends, leave me to what ails me,

    Or give me back the days of youth.

  2. حُلمٌ قد مَضَى وَأَيّامُ أُنْسٍ

    ذَهبتْ غيرَ مُزْمِعاتِ الإِيَابِ

    A dream gone by, and days of joyful company

    Departed, never intending to return.

  3. وَأَزَاهِيرُ كُنَّ تَاجَ عَرُوسٍ

    عُفِّرَتْ بَعدَ لَيْلةٍ في التُّرابِ

    And blossoms that were a bride's crown

    Were soiled, after one night, in the dust.

  4. وبِساطٌ للشَّاربينَ يُصَلِّي

    فيه إِبْريقُهم بلا مِحْراب

    And a carpet for the drinkers, on which prays

    Their wine jug, without a prayer niche.

  5. في حَدِيثٍ أَحْلَى من الأَمَلِ الْحُلْوِ

    وَأَصْفَى دِيباجَةً مِنْ شَرابِ

    Amid talk sweeter than sweet hope,

    And purer in its silken texture than wine.

  6. كلُّ فَصْلٍ كأَنه صَفْحَةُ الرَّوْ

    ضِ وَعِنْد العُقَارِ فَصْلُ الْخِطابِ

    Each passage is like a page of a garden;

    And wine has the final word.

  7. ومُجُون يَحُوطُه الأَدَبُ الْجَمُّ

    فما رَاعَه اللّسانُ بِعَاب

    And revelry guarded by abundant refinement,

    Which no tongue disturbed with anything shameful.

  8. يَتَغَنَّوْنَ بالنُّواسِيِّ حِيناً

    وَبِشِعْر الفَتَى أَبي الْخَطَّابِ

    At times they sing al-Nuwasi's verses,

    And the verse of the young Abu al-Khattab.

  9. كُلَّما هَزَّتِ المُدَامُ يَدَيْهِمْ

    قَهْقَهَتْ ثُلَّةٌ مِنَ الأكْوَاب

    Whenever wine shook their hands,

    A band of goblets burst out laughing.

  10. صاحَ فيهم دِيكُ الصَّباحِ فَطارُوا

    كلُّ جَمْعٍ لفُرْقَةٍ واغْتِرابِ

    Morning's cock crowed among them, and they flew away:

    Every gathering is destined for parting and estrangement.

  11. يا شَباباً أَقام أَقْصَرَ مِنْ حَسْوَةِ

    طَيْرٍ عَلَى وَحىً وَارْتِيابِ

    O youth, who stayed more briefly than a sip

    Taken by a bird in haste and fear.

  12. لَكَ عُمْرُ النَّدَى يَطِيرُ مَعَ الشَّمْسِ

    وَعُمْرُ الْبُرُوقِ بَيْنَ السَّحابِ

    Yours is the lifespan of dew, flying away with the sun,

    And the lifespan of lightning among the clouds.

  13. كُنْتَ فِينا كما لَمَحْنَا حَباباً

    فَنَظَرْنَا فَلمْ نَجِدْ مِن حَبَاب

    You were among us like bubbles we glimpsed;

    Then we looked, and found not a bubble.

  14. وَعَرَفْناكَ مُذْ ذَهَبْتَ كما يُعْرَفُ

    فَضْلث النُّبُوغِ بعدَ الذَّهَابِ

    We knew you once you had gone, as one knows

    The merit of genius after its passing.

  15. مُذْ خَلَعْنا ثِيابَكَ القُشْبَ لم نَنْعَمْ

    بِشَيءٍ مِنْ مُنْفِساتِ الثّيابِ

    Since we cast off your fresh garments, we have enjoyed

    None of the costliest clothes.

  16. وَرَأَيْنا في لَوْنِك الفَاحِمِ اللمّا

    حِ هُزْواً بلَوْنِ كلِّ خِضَاب

    In your gleaming jet-black hue we saw

    A mockery of every dye's color.

  17. أَيْنَ لَوْنُ الْحَيَاةِ والقَهْرِ والقُوَّةِ

    مِنْ لَوْنِ ناصِل الأعْشاب

    How far the color of life, mastery, and strength

    Is from the color of faded grass!

  18. يا سَوَادَ العُيُونِ يا حَبَّةَ القَلْبِ

    ويا خَالَ كُلِّ خَوْدٍ كَعَابِ

    O black of the eyes, O core of the heart,

    O beauty spot of every tender, full-bosomed maiden!

  19. سَرَقَ اللَّيْلُ مِنْك لَوْناً فأمْسَى

    مَسْرَحَ اللَّهْوِ مَوْطِنَ الإِطْرَابِ

    Night stole a color from you, and became

    A playground of pleasure, a home of delight.

  20. وَرَأَى فيك أَحْمَدٌ لَوْنَ كافُو

    رٍ فَغَنَّى خَوالِدَ الآدَابِ

    And Ahmad saw in you the color of Kafur,

    And sang the deathless works of literature.

  21. بَسْمَةٌ للزَّمَانِ أَنْتَ ثلَتْها

    كَشْرَةٌ للزَّمَانِ عَنْ أَنْياب

    You are a smile of Time, followed

    By Time's grimace, baring its fangs.

  22. كُلَّما رُمْتُ خَدْعَ نَفْسِي بنفْسِي

    كَشَفَتْ لي المِرْآةُ وَجْهَ الصَّوَابِ

    Whenever I myself try to deceive myself,

    The mirror shows me the face of truth.

  23. رُبَّ صِدْقٍ تَوَدُّ لو كَانَ كِذْباً

    وكِذَابٍ لو كانَ غَيْرَ كِذَاب

    Many a truth you wish were a lie,

    And many a lie you wish were no lie.

  24. لَيْتَ لي لَمْحَةً أُعِيدُ بها مِنْكَ

    بَقَايا تِلكَ الأَمَانِي العِذَابِ

    Would that I had a moment to recover from you

    The remnants of those sweet hopes,

  25. حَيْثُ أَخْتَال ناضِرَ العُودِ بَسَّا

    ماً كَثيرَ الهَوَى قَلِيلَ العِتَابِ

    When I swaggered, fresh of stem,

    Ever-smiling, full of love, sparing of reproach,

  26. في صِحَابٍ مِثْلِ الدَّنانِيرِ لا تبْلَى

    مَودّاتُهم بطُولِ الصِّحَابِ

    Among friends like gold dinars, whose love never fades

    Through long companionship,

  27. بوُجُوهٍ غُرٍّ تَرَاها فَتَتْلُو

    في أَسَارِيرِها سُطُورَ كِتَاب

    With radiant faces: you see them, and read

    Lines of a book in their features.

  28. نَسْبِق الْخطْوَ للسُّرُور وِثاباً

    لا تُنَال المُنَى بغَيْر الوِثَاب

    We outstrip walking, leaping toward joy;

    Hopes are not won without a leap.

  29. وَنَجُرُّ الذُّيولَ في غَيْرِ نُكْرٍ

    طَاهِرِي النَّفْسِ طاهِري الْجِلْبابِ

    And we trail our robes without wrongdoing,

    Pure in soul, pure in garment.

  30. إِنْ دَعَانا الهَوَى لغَيْرِ سَدِيدٍ

    سَدَّدَتْنا كَرَائمُ الأَحْسَاب

    If passion calls us toward what is unsound,

    Our noble lineages set us straight.

  31. زَيْنَبٌ أَيْنَ مِنْك زَيْنَبُ والشَّملُ

    جَميعٌ والعَيْشُ خِصْبُ الْجَنَاب

    Zaynab! How far from you is Zaynab, when our company

    Was whole, and life was rich on every side!

  32. وَبنَاتُ الثُّغُورِ يَلْعَبْن بالأَلْبابِ

    لِعْبَ الشَّمُولِ بالأَلْبابِ

    And the maidens of the ports played with minds

    As wine plays with minds.

  33. يَتَظَاهَرْن بالْحِجَأب وَهَلْ أَذ

    كَى الجَوَى غَيْرُ لُؤْمِ ذاك الحِجابِ

    They made a show of veiling; but what kindled

    Love's anguish but the cruelty of that veil?

  34. كَم وُجوهٍ تَنَقَّبَتْ بسُفُورٍ

    ووُجُوهٍ قد أَسْفَرت بِنقَاب

    How many faces were veiled by being unveiled,

    And faces were revealed beneath a veil!

  35. أَيْنَ تِلْك الأَيّام بَانَتْ وبنّا

    وَتَوَلَّتْ بَشَاشَةُ الأَحْباب

    Where are those days? They parted, and so did we,

    And the loved ones' radiance passed away.

  36. لَيْتَ شِعْري أَيَرْجعُ الأَمسُ عَهْداً

    غَصَبتْه الأيَّامُ أيَّ اغْتِصابِ

    Would that I knew: will yesterday return, that time

    The days wrested away so violently?

  37. عَهْدَ دارِ العُلومِ أَنْتَ يَدَ الدَّهْر

    جَمَالُ الدُّهُورِ والأَحْقَاب

    O days of Dar al-Ulum, you are for all time

    The beauty of ages and eras.

  38. إنْ ذَكَرْناكَ هَزَّنا الشَّوْق للشَّوْ

    قِ وَلَهْوِ اللِّدّاتِ وَالأَترَاب

    When we remember you, yearning stirs us for yearning

    And the merriment of age-mates and peers.

  39. أَنْتَ خِدْنُ الشَّبابِ بَيْنكما في الْوَهمِ

    قُرْبَى وَشِيجةُ الأَنْسابِ

    You are youth's companion; between you, in fancy,

    Lies kinship, with closely woven ties.

  40. فكأنِّي أَرَى الزَّمَانَ وَقَدْ دَا

    رَ وَعادَ الصِّبا نَضِيرَ الإِهَاب

    It is as though I see Time come full circle,

    And youth return, fresh of skin.

  41. وَأرَى الْجَارِمَ الفَتِيَّ يَقُودُ الْحَشْدَ

    في جَحْفَلٍ مِنَ الطُّلاَّب

    And I see the young al-Jarim leading the throng

    Amid a host of students,

  42. وَاثِباً لاهِياً لَعُوباً ضَحوكاً

    غيْرَ مَا وَاجلٍ وَلا هَيَّابِ

    Leaping, carefree, playful, full of laughter,

    Neither apprehensive nor afraid,

  43. وَاثقاً بالإِله لَيْسَ يَرَى الصَّعْبَ

    سِوَى أَن تَهابَ خَوْضَ الصِّعَاب

    Trusting in God, seeing no difficulty

    Except in fearing to plunge into difficulties.

  44. فَهْوَ كالطَّائرِ الطَّلِيقِ فَحِيناً

    في وِهَاد وَمَرَّةً في هِضَاب

    He is like a bird set free: sometimes

    In valleys, and sometimes on hills,

  45. عابِثٌ بالغُصُونِ في ظِلِّ رَوْضٍ

    حَاكَ أَفْوافَه مُلِثُّ الرَّبَاب

    Playing with branches in a garden's shade,

    Whose patterned robes the lingering raincloud wove.

  46. يَحْمِل الكُتْبَ في الصَّبَاحِ وَلِلآ

    مالِ في صَدْرِه نَئِيجُ العُبَاب

    He carries books in the morning; his hopes

    Have the surge's roar within his breast.

  47. رَأْسُه رَأْسُ مالِه وامتِلاءُ الرَّأْ

    س خَيْرٌ من امْتِلاء الوِطَاب

    His head is his capital; filling the head

    Is better than filling milk-skins.

  48. كُلُّ يَوْمٍ في الامْتِحاناتِ هَيْنٌ

    خَطْبُهُ غَيْرَ خَطْبِ يَوْمِ الْحِسَاب

    Every examination day is easy

    In its ordeal, unlike the Day of Reckoning.

  49. إِيهِ دارَ العُلُوم كُنْتِ بِمصْرٍ

    في ظَلامِ الدُّجَى ضِيَاءَ الشِّهَاب

    Ah, Dar al-Ulum, in Egypt you were

    A meteor's radiance in deepest darkness,

  50. في زَمانٍ مَنْ كَانَ يُمْسكُ فِيه

    قَلَماً عُدَّ أَكْتَب الكُتَّاب

    In an age when anyone who held

    A pen was deemed the best of writers.

  51. أَنْتِ أُمُّ الأَشْبالِ إنْ غَابَ لَيْثٌ

    صالَ لِلْحَقِّ بَعْدَه لَيْثُ غَابِ

    You are the mother of lion cubs: if one lion is gone,

    A forest lion charges for truth after him.

  52. تَلدين البَنِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ماضٍ

    شَمَّرِيٍ مُزَاحِمٍ وَثَّاب

    You bear sons, each resolute,

    Energetic, striving, ever ready to leap;

  53. شاعِرٍ يُنْصِتُ الوُجُودُ إذا قَا

    لَ وَيَهْتَزُّ هِزَّةَ الإِعْجَاب

    A poet to whom all existence listens when he

    Speaks, and thrills in admiration.

  54. شِعْره زَفْرَةُ الغرَامِ تَعالَتْ

    عن قُيُود الأَوْتَأدِ والأَسْبَاب

    His verse is love's sigh, risen

    Above the constraints of metrical pegs and cords.

  55. تَتَغَنّى به العَذَارَى فَيْبعَثْن

    الهَوَى بعد صَحْوةٍ وَمَتَاب

    Maidens sing it, and awaken

    Passion after sobriety and repentance.

  56. تَخِذَتْ فيكِ بِنْتُ عَدْنَانَ داراً

    ذَكَّرَتْها بَدَاوَةَ الأَعْرَاب

    Adnan's daughter made her dwelling in you,

    Which recalled to her the Bedouins' desert life.

  57. عَادَها الْحُسْنُ في ذَرَاكِ ورَوَّا

    هَا عَلَى غُلَّةٍ نَمِيرُ الشَّبَابِ

    Beauty returned to her in your shelter, and she was refreshed

    In her thirst by youth's sweet water.

  58. وَغَدَتْ في عُطَاظَ بَيْنَ شُيُوخٍ

    فَتَنَتْهم بسِحْرِها الْخلاَّب

    And she moved among elders at Ukaz,

    Whom she enchanted with her beguiling magic.

  59. خَلَعُوا في طِلابِها جِدَّة العُمْرِ

    وقَدْرُ المَطْلوبِ قَدْرُ الطّلاَب

    They shed the freshness of life in seeking her;

    And the prize's worth is the measure of the quest.

  60. وَدَنَوْا من خِبَائها فَأَرَتْهم

    ثَمَراتِ النُّهَى وَسِرَّ الكِتَاب

    They approached her tent, and she showed them

    The fruits of reason and the Book's secret.

  61. لَكِ دَارَ العُلومِ في كُلِّ نَفْسٍ

    أَثَرُ القَيْنِ في صِقَال الْحِرَابِ

    Your mark, Dar al-Ulum, in every soul

    Is the smith's mark in the polishing of spears.

  62. حَسْبُ مُطْرِيك أَنَّ كلَّ نَجيبٍ

    نَفْحَةٌ مِنْ رِجَالِكِ الأَنْجَاب

    Enough for your eulogist that every gifted man

    Is a fragrant breath from your distinguished men.

  63. أنْتِ كالنِّيلِ كُلَّما مَسَّ جَدْباً

    هَزَّهُ بالنَّمَاءِ والإِخْصَاب

    You are like the Nile: whenever it touches barren land,

    It stirs it with growth and fertility.

  64. كِيمِياءُ العُقُولِ أنتِ تصوغِينَ

    نضاراً من النُحاسِ المُذَابِ

    You are the alchemy of minds, fashioning

    Pure gold from molten copper.

  65. إنَّ خَمسِينَ حِجَّةً قد كَفَتْ مِنْكِ

    لِمَلْءِ الدُنْيا بكلِّ عُجاب

    Fifty years of you have been enough

    To fill the world with every wonder.

  66. نَهَضَتْ مِصْرُ نَهْضَةَ النَسْرِ فيها

    واسْتَوَتْ فوْقَ مُسْتَقرِّ العُقاب

    In them Egypt rose like the vulture,

    And mounted above the eagle's eyrie.

  67. كُلُّ عامٍ كأنَّهُ خُطْوَةُ الْجَبارِ

    أو وَثْبَةُ الأُسُودِ الغِضاب

    Each year is like a giant's stride,

    Or a leap of angry lions.

  68. كُلُّ عام كأنَّه عَلَمُ النَصْرِ

    بِكَفِّ المُظَفَّرِ الغَلاَّب

    Each year is like the banner of victory

    In the hand of the triumphant conqueror.

  69. كُلُّ عَامٍ كَطَالِعِ السَعِدْ شِمْنَا

    هُ عَلَآ طُولِ غَيْبةٍ وَاْحِتجاب

    Each year is like a rising star of good fortune we have sighted

    After long absence and concealment.

  70. كُلُّ عامٍ كالفَجْرِ يَهْزِمُ لَيْلا

    نَابِغِيَّ الهُمُومِ والأَوْصاب

    Each year is like dawn defeating a night

    Nabigha-like in its sorrows and pains.

  71. كُلُّ عامٍ كأنَّهُ الأَمَلُ الضَا

    حِكُ وافاكَ بعدَ طُولِ ارْتقابِ

    Each year is like smiling hope

    Coming to you after long waiting.

  72. كُلُّ عامٍ كَوَافِدِ الْغَيْثِ تَلْقَا

    هُ وُجُوهُ الرِّياضِ بالترْحابِ

    Each year is like a rain-bearing visitor, greeted

    With welcome by the faces of gardens.

  73. لا تَهابِي دارَ العُلُومِ مُلِمّاً

    آفةُ المجدِ والعُلاَ أَنْ تَهابي

    Fear no calamity, Dar al-Ulum;

    To fear is the bane of glory and eminence.

  74. إنّ ف مِصْرَ لو عَلِمْتِ قُلُوباً

    وَاجِفَاتٍ لقَلْبِكِ الوَجَّاب

    In Egypt, if you only knew, are hearts

    Beating anxiously for your throbbing heart.

  75. سَتَنَالِينَ بالمَليكِ فؤادٍ

    كلَّ ما تَرْتَجينَ مِنْ آرَاب

    Through King Fuad you shall attain

    All the aims you hope for.

  76. لا تُرَاعِي وفي الكِنَانةِ سَعْدٌ

    بَيْنَ أشْبَالِهِ الشِدَادِ الصِلاب

    Have no fear, while Saad is in the Quiver,

    Among his strong, unyielding lion cubs.

  77. واطلبي الْخَيْرَ والمُنَى مِنْ فُؤادٍ

    ناشرِ الفَضْلِ ناصِرِ الآداب

    And seek goodness and your hopes from Fuad,

    Who spreads bounty and champions letters.

  78. لا خَلَتْ مِصْرُ مِنْ نَدَاهُ فَقَدْ صا

    رَ عِنَانَ القُلوبِ طَوْقَ الرِقاب

    May Egypt never lack his bounty, for he has become

    The bridle of hearts, the collar of necks.