1. ريبُ المنونِ وصرفُ الدهرِ أعياني

    والدمعُ قرّح يومَ البينِ أعياني

    Death's vicissitudes and time's reversals have wearied me.

    And tears made my eyes sore on the day of parting.

  2. إلامَ يا دهرُ لا تُبقي عليّ وكم

    تجني وما كنتُ يوماً قطّ بالجاني

    How long, O Time, will you show me no mercy—and how often

    do you wrong me, though I have never once been a wrongdoer?

  3. وكم أضعتَ عهوداً كنتُ أحفظها

    وخنت مَن لم يكن يوماً يخوّانِ

    And how many pledges you broke that I used to keep!

    And you betrayed one who had never once been treacherous.

  4. روَعت قلبي وكم فرّقت مجتهداً

    بيني وبين أخِلائي وأخداني

    You terrified my heart, and how often you zealously parted

    me from my intimate friends and companions.

  5. وكم بغيتَ ولكن كنتُ مصطبراً

    وكان يحتمل البلواءَ جثماني

    And how often you oppressed me, yet I endured patiently,

    and my body bore affliction.

  6. وكان عندي على هذا الأسى جلدٌ

    حتى تجاوزتَ في بغْيٍ وعدوانِ

    And I had fortitude to bear this grief,

    until you went too far in oppression and aggression,

  7. حتى فتكت بمن عزّت مصيبته

    على النفوس وساءت كلَّ إنسانِ

    until you slew one whose loss weighed heavily

    on souls and saddened every human being.

  8. ذاك الشريف الذي تنمي عناصرهُ

    إلى النبي إلى فهرٍ وعدنانِ

    That noble man whose ancestral roots trace back

    to the Prophet, to Fihr and Adnan.

  9. ذاك الذي طاب أصلاً طاهراً وزكت

    فروعهُ ذاك سامي المجد والشانِ

    That man was good and pure in origin, and flourishing were

    his branches—he of lofty glory and stature.

  10. ذاك الذي أحرز اسماً في الورى حسناً

    وحاز قدراً عليًّا بين أقرانِ

    He who won a fine name among humankind

    and attained high standing among his peers.

  11. شهمٌ له همةٌ في المجد عاليةٌ

    ورفعة قدرُها يزري بكيوانِ

    A noble-hearted man with lofty ambition for glory,

    and an eminence whose height put Saturn to shame.

  12. غيثٌ إذا يمم الطلابُ ساحتهُ

    غيثُ من الجودِ يروي كل ظمآنِ

    A life-giving rain whenever seekers made for his courtyard,

    a rain of bounty quenching every thirsty one.

  13. وهو ابنَ من عمّتِ الدنيا مناقبُهُ

    وامتاز بالسبق في فهمٍ وتبيانِ

    And he was the son of one whose virtues filled the world,

    and who stood foremost in understanding and exposition.

  14. وهو الذي جدّ في الأعمال مجتهداً

    حتى تفرّد في علمٍ وعرفانِ

    And he was one who worked earnestly and diligently,

    until he stood unrivaled in learning and insight.

  15. لا غرو فالشبلُ مثل الليث في صفة

    والدوحُ كالروضِ في زهرٍ وأفنانِ

    No wonder: the cub resembles the lion in character,

    and great trees resemble gardens in blossoms and branches.

  16. والوردُ ينتج ماءً مثلهُ أرِجا

    والبحرُ يسمح أحياناً بمرجانِ

    And the rose yields water as fragrant as itself,

    and the sea sometimes bestows coral.

  17. إن كان يزعم قومٌ أنهمُ وصلوا

    مقامهُ الفردَ فليأتوا ببرهانِ

    If some people claim they have attained

    his matchless station, let them bring proof.

  18. لله بدر جلالٍ كان منزلهُ

    منا القلوبَ فأضحى طيَّ أكفانِ

    By God, what a full moon of majesty! His dwelling was

    our hearts; now he lies enfolded in shrouds.

  19. قد سار والكونُ يبكيهِ ويندبهُ

    بمدمعٍ مثلَ فيضِ المزنِ هتّانِ

    He has departed, while the universe weeps for him and laments him

    with tears streaming like a flood from rain clouds.

  20. ويمم الجنةَ الفيحاءَ مغتبقاً

    كأسَ النعيمِ لدى حور وولدانِ

    And he made for spacious Paradise, taking his evening draught

    from the cup of bliss among houris and youths.

  21. يزهو لدى جدهِ في روضها فرحاً

    بما يلاقيه من رَوحِ وريحانِ

    He beams with joy beside his grandfather in its garden,

    at the repose and sweet basil he finds.

  22. ومال عن زينة الدنيا وزخرفها

    لما رأى كل مشغولٍ بها عاني

    And he turned from the world's adornment and its glitter,

    when he saw everyone engrossed in it held captive.

  23. دارُ الأسى ليس يخلو المرءُ من كدرٍ

    فيها وإن زاد بَشرِّهِ بنقصانِ

    An abode of grief: no one is free from distress

    there; even if he prospers, give him tidings of decline.

  24. يروَّع المرءُ فيها بين أربعةٍ

    هوىً ونفس وشهْواتٌ وشيطانِ

    There a person is terrorized among four:

    passion, the self, lusts, and Satan.

  25. لو أعِطى الحرّ فيها قدر قيمتهِ

    لما وقفنا مع الأعدا بميدانِ

    Had the free man been accorded his true worth there,

    we would not have faced enemies on a battlefield.

  26. أو كان فيها من الإنصاف خردلةٌ

    لما رمتنا لدى الهيجا بنيرانِ

    Or had there been a mustard seed of fairness in it,

    it would not have assailed us with fire in battle,

  27. وما تجرأت الأوغادَ تطلبنا

    لأن نسلّمَ في مالٍ وأوطانِ

    nor would scoundrels have dared pursue us

    so that we surrender wealth and homelands.

  28. أليس من خسة الدنيا تظاهرهم

    وجعلهم نفسَهم أقرانَ شجعانِ

    Is it not part of the world's baseness that they band together

    and count themselves equals of brave men?

  29. والحمد لله قد رُدّوا يغيظهمو

    فلم ينالوا وقد باءوا بخذلانِ

    And praise be to God: they were repulsed, which enrages them,

    so they gained nothing and returned in defeat.

  30. فيا أولى الأزهر ادعوا الله ينصرنا

    نصراً عزيزاً ويجزينا بإحسانِ

    So, O people of al-Azhar, pray to God to grant us victory,

    a mighty victory, and reward us with kindness,

  31. وأن يعافى مرضانا ويُهلكُ أع

    دانا ويشمل موتانا بغفرانِ

    and that He heal our sick and destroy our ene-

    mies, and encompass our dead with forgiveness.

  32. فبدّد الكفر يا مولاي واقضِ على

    أهليهِ واسكب عليهم سحْبَ خسرانِ

    So scatter unbelief, O my Lord, and put an end to

    its adherents, and pour clouds of ruin upon them.

  33. وانصر عساكرنا وأشدد عزائمهم

    وقوّ مصراً فمصرٌ دار إيمان

    And grant our armies victory, and strengthen their resolve,

    and strengthen Egypt, for Egypt is an abode of faith.