1. What more could I seek from the exalted ones,
When you, O nation of Arabs, have attained your wishes!

2. Your master Isma’il revived you, so rejoice
And offer him words of gratitude abundantly.

3. Congratulations, O people of Egypt! For you will have
Under his rule, an age of gold.

4. A master with a father’s heart who cares for you,
Whose religion you have willingly obeyed for the good.

5. He raised the country to the height of glory,
Reviving his subjects with unlimited, unstinting favor.

6. Thus your lands float in seas of prosperity,
Rising to the highest of ranks.

7. No injustice, deceit, or subjugation touches you,
No deviance, recklessness, or falling short of right.

8. Say to the highest pyramid and all that Cheops
Assembled of awe-inspiring traces and wonders,

9. Say to Luxor’s inscriptions and columns
And to Thebes with its formidable, complex monuments,

10. On your stones your forebears carved
The names of their masters in false glory.

11. But the deeds of our beloved master
Are engraved on our hearts, not books.

12. Your tribes once groped in ignorance,
Enduring woe and sorrow under oppressive rule.

13. But we are like princes today in an age
That strives to achieve all we desire.

14. Do not be stunned by the works your ancestors made,
For we see them only as a kind of game.

15. But the secrets of our works are deeply rooted,
And their full meaning eludes the coveter’s grasp.

16. Their wisdom was scattered in our master’s time
When knowledge and literature overflowed.

17. He revealed to us the miracles of the age, serving us
With their secrets through tireless, undefeated effort.

18. Thus, in his shade, our arms flourished
In the raiment of fertility beyond all measure.

19. He rebuilt Egypt through understanding and wisdom,
Not ignorance and rage.

20. He restored the Ptolemies in knowledge and deed
With security and peace, not war and strife.

21. And in it arose a Saladin, standing firm
With gentleness and kindness, not violence and force.

22. O exalted lord, whose attributes
Gleam on the brow of the age like gray hair,

23. You have clothed me above my worth in a splendid garment,
To the joy of every eye, despite my weakness.

24. I will leave your lofty abode,
Bearing happiness and pride, excelling my companions.

25. I will board the ship girdled by its sail,
A sea of your sweet generosity poured out upon me.

26. And I have a tongue, broadcasting, like its clamor,
Songs of gratitude for you, far and wide.

27. Your sheltering shade stretches over me
Wherever I go, protecting me from mishap.