لعباسنا الثاني علا الفرمان
وَللملك أَفراح بِنَيل أَمان
For our Abbas the Second, the firman has risen high,
And kingship rejoices at gaining security;
وِللقطر إِيناس وَعز وَبَهجة
لما نالَهُ الوالي برفعة شان
The land has fellowship, might, and gladness
For the lofty rank its governor has attained.
لَهُ فرمان النَصر جاءَ مُؤيداً
لِدَولة إِعزاز وَحُسن تَداني
To him came the firman of victory, confirmed,
For a state of honor and gracious concord.
أَتاه مِن السُلطان وَالملك الَّذي
تَوَسم فيهِ ما بَدا لِعَيان
It came from the Sultan and King who
Discerned in him what was plain to every eye:
وَما هُوَ إِلا الحَزم وَالعَزم وَالنُهى
وَعَدل تَسامى في بَديع زَمان
Nothing but prudence, resolve, and wisdom,
And justice ascending in a wondrous age.
تَخيره مِن صَفوة المَجد وَالعُلا
لِتَحصين ملك مِن طرو تَفاني
He chose him from the choicest heights of glory
To fortify a realm against the onset of ruin;
وَما اِختارَهُ إِلا لِتَأييد مُلكه
وَإِن البَرايا دُونَهُ بُرهان
He chose him only to strengthen his dominion,
And all creation besides him is the proof.
لَقد وَضَع الأَشياء في خَير مَوضع
لِيَحفظ مُلكاً مِن هُجوم هَوان
He has set all things in their rightful place,
To preserve a kingdom from the assault of disgrace.
ولا غُرو في تِلك الإِرادة مُطلَقاً
فَما صادفت إِلّا أَعَز مَكان
No wonder, then, at that unfettered will:
It encountered only the noblest station.
فَإِن خديوي مَصر أَول ماجد
يُشار إِلَيهِ في العُلا بِبنان
For Egypt’s Khedive is foremost among the glorious,
A man to whom fingers point upon the heights;
وَأَول من في مَهدِهِ نال سُؤدداً
وَمال إِلى العَليا بِكُل جنان
The first who gained sovereignty while still in his cradle,
And inclined toward the highest glory with his whole heart.
لَقَد جَرَب الأَيّام وَهِيَ لَهُ صَفَت
بِآرائِهِ الغَرا وَحُسن بَيان
He tested the days, and they grew clear for him
Through his splendid counsels and eloquence.
وَجاري اللَيالي حَزمه بِتَدبر
بِهِ النَصر وَالتأَييد يَجتَمِعان
His prudence kept pace with the nights through careful thought;
In it, victory and confirmation are united.
وَشَبَ خَبيراً بِالسِياسة عالِماً
فَكُل بَعيد بِالتَدبر دان
He matured versed in statecraft and full of knowledge,
So every distant thing yielded to deliberation.
وَنال مِن العَلياء أَعلى مَكانة
وَفازَ بِما أَزرى بِعَقد جُمان
He attained the loftiest station of high glory
And won what put a necklace of pearls to shame.
غَدا ثانِياً لَكنَهُ هُوَ أَوَل
وَلَيسَ لَهُ بَينَ البَرية ثاني
He became the Second, yet he is the First,
And among all creation he has no second.
وَفي فِكرِهِ السامي خَفي كَظاهر
فَإِن كِلا الأَمرين يَستَويان
In his lofty thought, the hidden is like the manifest,
For both matters are equal there.
لَدَيهِ تَرى الأَمرين لا شَكَ واحِداً
فَفَكر عُلاه وَالسَنا إِخوان
With him you see the two, beyond all doubt, as one:
His exalted thought and radiance are brothers.
وَلَكن فيهِ الفكر أَكبَر مِن سَنا
وَفي الحُكم أَمضى مِن مَضاء يَماني
Yet in him thought is greater even than radiance,
And in judgment he is keener than a Yemeni blade.
وَما ذَمَ حَمل السَيف إِلّا لحلية
فَأَغناهُ فكر عَن سُيوف طعان
He faulted the bearing of a sword except as ornament,
For thought spared him the need of thrusting swords.
فَفي كُل علم عَقله يُدرك العُلا
وَفي الحُب أَبدى غاية الحَيوان
In every field of knowledge, his mind apprehends the heights,
And in love he displayed life’s utmost fullness.
فَكَم حَدَث العلم الشَريف بِفَضلِهِ
وَكَم فازَ مِن أَسرارِهِ بِمَعاني
How many a noble science arose through his bounty,
And how many meanings were won from its mysteries.
وَكُل مُلوك الأَرض تَشهد أَنَّهُ
جَدير وَلَيسَ إِثنان يَختَلِفان
All the kings of the earth bear witness that he
Is worthy—and no two disagree.
وَمِن مَجدِهِ نال العُلا فَرمانه
فَجاءَ بَعيد اليَمن في رَمَضان
Through his glory, his firman attained the heights,
Arriving rich in good omen in Ramadan.
لَذا زَينت مَصر وَأَشرَق نُورَها
لاتمام أنس في رُسوم تَهاني
Therefore Egypt was adorned, and her light shone forth,
Completing her delight in ceremonies of congratulation.
وَقَد بَدَت الرايات مِن كُل دَولة
لِتَظهَر إِجلالاً بِغَير تَواني
The banners of every state appeared
To display reverence without delay.
وَقَد سَكَنت جَواً لتؤذن بِالعُلا
فَكانَت كَطَير مُحسن الطَيران
They hung still in the air, proclaiming high glory,
Like birds consummate in flight,
يَروح وَيَغدو في المُلك كُلَها
وَلَكن لَهُ مَصر أَجل مَعاني
Coming and going throughout the whole dominion;
Yet Egypt holds for him the noblest meanings.
فَمَصر لَها البُشرى برفعة شَأنِها
وَفيها السَنا وَالأُنس يَقتَرِنان
So Egypt has glad tidings in her elevated standing;
Within her, radiance and fellowship are joined.
وَزينتها لا شَك أَعظَم زينة
وَفيها تَبدى كَوكَب اللَمَعان
Her adornment is, without doubt, the greatest adornment,
And in her the star of brilliance appeared.
وَفيها الثاني رَتلت لِجَنابَكُم
وَتَطرب مِن آلائكم بِمَثاني
Within her, congratulations were chanted before Your Excellency
And rejoiced in your blessings with repeated praises.
وَفي رَفع رايات إِلَيكَ إِشارة
بِأَنكَ تَرقي في مُنى وَأَمان
In the raising of banners toward you lies a sign
That you ascend amid fulfilled hopes and security.
وَدُمت خِديوي مَصر بِالملك في هَنا
وَلا زِلت مَشكوراً بِكُل لِسان
May you remain Khedive of Egypt, reigning in happiness,
And continue to be thanked by every tongue.
وَدامَ لَكَ الإِنصاف وَالعَدل خادِما
وَمَدحك يا عَباس لَيسَ بِفاني
May equity and justice remain your servants,
And may praise of you, Abbas, never perish.
وَعاش الرَعايا خاضِعين لِبابكم
وَداعين مَهما قَد بَدا الملوان
May the subjects live in submission at your gate,
Praying as long as the two alternators—day and night—appear.
وَكُلَهُم يَوم التَشَرف أَرخوا
لِعَباس عاشَ النَصر بِالفرمان
On the day of honor, all of them set down the date:
“For Abbas, victory lived through the firman.”
