أَبا الهَولِ طالَ عَلَيكَ العُصُر
وَبُلِّغتَ في الأَرضِ أَقصى العُمُر
O Abu Al-Hol, time has been long upon you,
And you have reached the farthest limit of age upon earth,
فَيالِدَةَ الدَهرِ لا الدَهرُ شَبَّ
وَلا أَنتَ جاوَزتَ حَدَّ الصِغَر
Yet neither has time become youthful nor have you transcended the bounds of youth,
With your riding the stretches of sand,
إِلامَ رُكوبُكَ مَتنَ الرِمالِ
لِطَيِّ الأَصيلِ وَجَوبِ السَحَر
At the galloping of the noble steed and the rushing of dawn,
Traveling through the generations,
تُسافِرُ مُنتَقِلاً في القُرونِ
فَأَيّانَ تُلقي غُبارَ السَفَر
When will you shake off the dust of travel?
Between you and mountains, O pyramids, is an appointed time,
أَبَينَكَ عَهدٌ وَبَينَ الجِبالِ
تَزولانِ في المَوعِدِ المُنتَظَر
When you will both pass away.
O Sphinx what is there after existence
أَبا الهَولِ ماذا وَراءَ البَقاءِ
إِذا ما تَطاوَلَ غَيرُ الضَجَر
If perseverance itself grows weary?
I wonder at Luqman in his greed
عَجِبتُ لِلُقمانَ في حِرصِهِ
عَلى لُبَدٍ وَالنُسورِ الأُخَر
For rags and vultures and the like,
And Labid's complaining of longevity
وَشَكوى لَبيدٍ لِطولِ الحَياةِ
وَلَو لَم تَطُل لَتَشَكّى القِصَر
When, had it not been long, brevity itself would have been cause for complaint.
O you, offspring of granite peaks,
وَلَو وُجِدَت فيكَ يا بنَ الصَفاةِ
لَحَقتَ بِصانِعِكَ المُقتَدِر
Had you possessed the means you would have joined your Maker on high.
For life makes iron rust
فَإِنَّ الحَياةَ تَفُلُّ الحَديدَ
إِذا لَبِسَتهُ وَتُبلى الحَجَر
When exposed thereto, and wears down rock.
O Sphinx, in perplexities you are lost,
أَبا الهَولِ ما أَنتَ في المُعضِلاتِ
لَقَد ضَلَّتِ السُبلَ فيكَ الفِكَر
Thought in you has lost its way.
The nomads wondered what you might be
تَحَيَّرَتِ البَدوُ ماذا تَكونُ
وَضَلَّت بِوادي الظُنونِ الحَضَر
And city folk strayed in the vales of guesswork.
To them you were the form of defiance,
فَكُنتَ لَهُم صورَةَ العُنفُوانُ
وَكُنتَ مِثالَ الحِجى وَالبَصَر
You were the exemplar of sagacity and sight.
Your secret in its veils whenever
وَسِرُّكَ في حُجبِهِ كُلَّما
أَطَلَّت عَلَيهِ الظُنونُ اِستَتَر
Conjectures peered upon it withdrew.
Save for the head of a man
وَما راعَهُم غَيرُ رَأسِ الرِجالِ
عَلى هَيكَلٍ مِن ذَواتِ الظُفُر
On the torso of beasts they pictured naught.
Had they fashioned you in diverse aspects
وَلَو صُوِّروا مِن نَواحي الطِباعِ
تَوالَوا عَلَيكَ سِباغَ الصُوَر
They would have draped on you all imagery.
O Lord of a face pure as polished metal,
فَيا رُبَّ وَجهٍ كَصافي النَميرِ
تَشابَهَ حامِلُهُ وَالنَمِر
Where face and bearer are as one!
O strange and wondrous Sphinx, with time
أَبا الهَولِ وَيحَكَ لا يُستَقَلُّ
مَعَ الدَهرِ شَيءٌ وَلا يُحتَقَر
Naught is trivial nor to be disdained.
You mocked time turning night to day
تَهَزَّأتَ دَهراً بِديكِ الصَباحِ
فَنَقَّرَ عَينَيكَ فيما نَقَر
So its cock picked out your eyes that it might take revenge,
It asked away your whiteness and stole your blackness
أَسالَ البَياضَ وَسَلَّ السَوادَ
وَأَوغَلَ مِنقارُهُ في الحُفَر
And its beak penetrated into your hollows.
So you became like one whose gaze was veiled,
فَعُدتَ كَأَنَّكَ ذو المَحبِسَينِ
قَطيعَ القِيامِ سَليبَ البَصَر
A throng whose looking was despoiled.
As though the sands enshroud your sides
كَأَنَّ الرِمالَ عَلى جانِبَيكَ
وَبَينَ يَدَيكَ ذُنوبُ البَشَر
And sins of men lie before you,
As though amidst them you're a banner of space
كَأَنَّكَ فيها لِواءُ الفَضاءِ
عَلى الأَرضِ أَو دَيدَبانُ القَدَر
Raised on earth, or the well-trod fateful path,
As though you were the sands' companion seeing
كَأَنَّكَ صاحِبُ رَملٍ يَرى
خَبايا الغُيوبِ خِلالَ السَطَر
Through the lines secrets and hidden things.
O Sphinx, you are time's boon companion,
أَبا الهَولِ أَنتَ نَديمُ الزَمانِ
نَجِيُّ الأَوانِ سَميرُ العُصُر
Its intimate, the comrade of the age.
You stretched out your arms from Adam on,
بَسَطتَ ذِراعَيكَ مِن آدَمٍ
وَوَلَّيتَ وَجهَكَ شَطرَ الزُمَر
And turned your face towards the throngs.
You look out on a world that comes to be
تُطِلُّ عَلى عالَمٍ يَستَهِلُّ
وَتوفي عَلى عالَمٍ يُحتَضَر
And watch o’er a world fading unto death,
So one eye is unto him who appears in life
فَعَينٌ إِلى مَن بَدا لِلوُجودِ
وَأُخرى مُشَيِّعَةٌ مِن غَبَر
While the other speeds what turns to dust.
Then speak! For speech may offer guidance
فَحَدِّث فَقَد يُهتَدى بِالحَديثِ
وَخَبِّر فَقَد يُؤتَسى بِالخَبَر
And tell! For stories may give comfort.
Did you not see Pharaoh in his glory
أَلَم تَبلُ فِرعَونَ في عِزِّهِ
إِلى الشَمسِ مُعتَزِياً وَالقَمَر
Aspiring to the sun and moon?
He was the shade of civilization in early days,
ظَليلَ الحَضارَةِ في الأَوَّلينَ
رَفيعَ البِناءِ جَليلَ الأَثَر
Lofty of building, great of renown,
Establishing in earth lasting works for those to come
يُؤَسِّسُ في الأَرضِ لِلغابِرينَ
وَيَغرِسُ لِلآخَرينَ الثَمَر
And planting for later ages fruits to reap.
Yet how the hoofs of his prancing horses
وَراعَكَ ما راعَ مِن خَيلِ قَمبي
زَ تَرمي سَنابِكَها بِالشَرَر
Struck fire out of the stones in their galloping,
Ships of war reducing lands to ashes
جَوارِفُ بِالنارِ تَغزو البِلادَ
وَآوِنَةً بِالقَنا المُشتَجِر
As the torrent sweeps along the heaviest rain!
And you saw Alexander in his prime
وَأَبصَرتَ إِسكَندَراً في المَلا
قَشيبَ العُلا في الشَبابِ النَضِر
Though stealing on him was the withering of youth.
In Egypt the garland of his kingdom withered;
تَبَلَّجَ في مِصرَ إِكليلُهُ
فَلَم يَعدُ في المُلكِ عُمرَ الزَهَر
No more for him lingered the springtime of rule.
And you witnessed Caesar, how he tyrannized,
وَشاهَدتَ قَيصَرَ كَيفَ اِستَبَدَّ
وَكَيفَ أَذَلَّ بِمِصرَ القَصَر
And humbled in Egypt palace and throne,
How oppressive his henchmen were,
وَكَيفَ تَجَبَّرَ أَعوانُهُ
وَساقوا الخَلائِقَ سَوقَ الحُمُر
Driving the nations like asses with a prod,
And how a meager brave company of warriors
وَكَيفَ اِبتُلوا بِقَليلِ العَديدِ
مِنَ الفاتِحينَ كَريمِ النَفَر
Overcame his teeming hordes at the final hour;
How Caesar's crown was cast like fragile glass
رَمى تاجَ قَيصَرَ رَميَ الزُجاجِ
وَفَلَّ الجُموعَ وَثَلَّ السُرَر
And the hosts were put to headlong rout, his feasts dashed to the ground.
So let each tyrant be, for Time will mete out justice,
فَدَع كُلَّ طاغِيَةٍ لِلزَمانِ
فَإِنَّ الزَمانَ يُقيمُ الصَعَر
Time sets aright the balance and brings low the lofty height.
You have seen religions in their teachings
رَأَيتَ الدِياناتِ في نَظمِها
وَحينَ وَهى سِلكُها وَاِنتَثَر
And when their authority disintegrated and decayed.
Mansions were erected to them like citadels
تُشادُ البُيوتُ لَها كَالبُروجِ
إِذا أَخَذَ الطَرفُ فيها اِنحَسَر
When attention to them diminished and waned.
Creeds were founded, and - like mountains' trunks -
تَلاقى أَساساً وَشُمَّ الجِبالِ
كَما تَتَلاقى أُصولُ الشَجَر
Set firm and stable.
Behind their temples Isis held sway
وَإيزيسُ خَلفَ مَقاصيرِها
تَخَطّى المُلوكُ إِلَيها السُتُر
While kings bared themselves to her and put aside their veils.
She illuminated heaven's expanses
تُضيءُ عَلى صَفَحاتِ السَماءِ
وَتُشرِقُ في الأَرضِ مِنها الحُجَر
And in the lands her idols shone like stars.
Learned and ignorant thronged to worship Osiris;
وَآبيسُ في نيرِهِ العالِمونَ
وَبَعضُ العَقائِدِ نيرٌ عَسِر
To some minds crooked creeds prove hard to follow.
By them life's riddles are interpreted,
تُساسُ بِهِ مُعضِلاتُ الأُمورِ
وَيُرجى النَعيمُ وَتُخشى سَقَر
The blissful Garden is promised and Hell-fire is feared.
Men feel this alone, unmindful of aught else,
وَلا يَشعُرِ القَومُ إِلّا بِهِ
وَلَو أَخَذَتهُ المُدى ما شَعَر
Even should eons pass and go unnoted.
Abu Musk's slave outweighs Abd
يَقِلُّ أَبو المِسكِ عَبداً لَهُ
وَإِن صاغَ أَحمَدُ فيهِ الدُرَر
Even though Ahmad therein molded peerless pearls.
You saw Moses and his ark,
وَآنَستَ موسى وَتابوتَهُ
وَنورَ العَصا وَالوَصايا الغُرَر
The gleaming staff and tablets twain.
And Jesus drawing on the cloak of modesty
وَعيسى يَلُمُّ رِداءَ الحَياءِ
وَمَريَمُ تَجمَعُ ذَيلَ الخَفَر
While Mary gathers up her trailing gown.
And Amr leading the Companions into Egypt
وَعَمرو يَسوقُ بِمِصرَ الصِحابَ
وَيُزجي الكِتابَ وَيَحدو السُوَر
To chant the Holy Book and sing its verses.
How then did you view true guidance and error,
فَكَيفَ رَأَيتَ الهُدى وَالضَلالَ
وَدُنيا المُلوكِ وَأُخرى عُمَر
One life that passes and the next that bides forever?
When Muqawqis renounced his debauched behavior
وَنَبذَ المُقَوقِسِ عَهدَ الفُجورِ
وَأَخذَ المُقَوقِسِ عَهدَ الفَجِر
And Muqawqis embraced the morn of guidance.
How the darknesses of error he transformed
وَتَبديلَهُ ظُلُماتِ الضَلالِ
بِصُبحِ الهِدايَةِ لَمّا سَفَر
Into daybreak through wise governance.
How he reconciled the Copts and Muslims
وَتَأليفَهُ القِبطَ وَالمُسلِمين
كَما أُلِّفَت بِالوَلاءِ الأُسَر
As kinsmen bind themselves in a firm relationship.
O Sphinx, had you not been a sign
أَبا الهَولِ لَو لَم تَكُن آيَةً
لَكانَ وَفاؤُكَ إِحدى العِبَر
You would have been for steadfast loyalty a lesson.
Upon the paired pyramids you gazed and gazed
أَطَلتَ عَلى الهَرَمَينِ الوُقوفَ
كَثاكِلَةٍ لا تَريمُ الحُفَر
Like a fond mother who cannot forget.
You hoped their builder would return
تُرَجّي لِبانيهِما عَودَةً
وَكَيفَ يَعودُ الرَميمُ النَخِر
When the ravaged cannot come again.
With one eye you surveyed the empty homes
تَجوسُ بِعَينٍ خِلالَ الدِيارِ
وَتَرمي بِأُخرى فَضاءَ النَهَر
And cast the other o'er the open river.
You eyed Manuf's Lake with its swimming ducks
تَرومُ بِمَنفيسَ بيضَ الظُبا
وَسُمرَ القَنا وَالخَميسَ الدُثَر
And the crops of Giza and the shrouded moon.
Where once the lofty station of knowledge stood -
وَمَهدَ العُلومِ الخَطيرَ الجَلالِ
وَعَهدِ الفُنونِ الجَليلَ الخَطَر
When arts flourished of weighty import and sublime danger -
You discerned only a village
فَلا تَستَبينُ سِوى قَريَةٍ
أَجَدَّ مَحاسِنَها ما اِندَثَر
Whose charms are lost in utter stagnation,
Which, as the globe revolved around it, seemed
تَكادُ لِإِغراقِها في الجُمودِ
إِذا الأَرضُ دارَت بِها لَم تَدُر
As though it knew not motion or did care.
Is there one to convey for us the principles
فَهَل مَن يُبَلِّغُ عَنّا الأُصولَ
بِأَنَّ الفُروعَ اِقتَدَت بِالسِيَر
By which the branches too were guided,
That we sought glory's lofty star
وَأَنّا خَطَبنا حِسانَ العُلا
وَسُقنا لَها الغالِيَ المُدَّخَر
And offered for it our soul's blood and tears,
That we embarked upon affairs' billowing sea,
وَأَنّا رَكِبنا غِمارَ الأُمورِ
وَأَنّا نَزَلنا إِلى المُؤتَمَر
And we arrived for the conference prepared
With every frank negotiate and wise counselor
بِكُلِّ مُبينٍ شَديدِ اللِدادِ
وَكُلِّ أَريبٍ بَعيدِ النَظَر
Of expansive views and penetrating thought,
Demanding rights for a folk whose blood
تُطالِبُ بِالحَقِّ في أُمَّةٍ
جَرى دَمُها دونَهُ وَاِنتَشَر
Flowed out before these rights were realized,
Who prided themselves on their laws, not their fleets,
وَلَم تَفتَخِر بِأَساطيلِها
وَلَكِن بِدُستورِها تَفتَخِر
So naught remained for you to preserve but tell the tale!
Move, O Sphinx! For everything now moves,
فَلَم يَبقَ غَيرُكَ مَن لَم يَحِف
وَلَم يَبقَ غَيرُكَ مَن لَم يَطِر
Even solid rock cannot resist Time's power!
Speak, O skilled Sphinx! For the hour has struck,
تَحَرَّك أَبا الهَولِ هَذا الزَمانُ
تَحَرَّكَ ما فيهِ حَتّى الحَجَر
And destiny awaits you. Rouse and rise!
I have kept hidden a treasure your people will cherish:
نَجِيَّ أَبي الهَولِ آنَ الأَوانُ
وَدانَ الزَمانُ وَلانَ القَدَر
Not even granite equals it in hardness.
I possess the sovereigns themselves, not empty forms,
خَبَأتُ لِقَومِكَ ما يَستَقونَ
وَلا يَخبَأُ العَذبَ مِثلُ الحَجَر
I preserve their deeds, not the ruins and mere traces.
Let the darkness of despair retreat before the rising dawn of hope!
فَعِندي المُلوكُ بِأَعيانِها
وَعِندَ التَوابيتِ مِنها الأَثَر
This is the awaited moment of destiny.
Today we cultivate our valley anew,
مَحا ظُلمَةَ اليَأسِ صُبحُ الرَجاءِ
وَهَذا هُوَ الفَلَقُ المُنتَظَر
Revive the glories of days gone by.
By our own hands triumph is built,
اليَومُ نَسودُ بِوادينا
وَنُعيدُ مَحاسِنَ ماضينا
A homeland we ransom and that will ransom us.
A homeland rightly guided that we support
وَيُشيدُ العِزُّ بَأَيدينا
وَطَنٌ نَفديهِ وَيَفدينا
And in God's eyes guide aright.
That we improve and beautify
وَطَنٌ بِالحَقِّ نُؤَيِّدُهُ
وَبِعَينِ اللَهِ نُشَيِّدُهُ
Through our achievements and strivings,
Making Egypt the world in splendor,
وَنُحَسِّنُهُ وَنُزَيِّنُهُ
بِمَآثِرِنا وَمَساعينا
Egypt the cosmos in its grandeur!
History's mystery and core,
سِرُّ التاريخِ وَعُنصُرُهُ
وَسَريرُ الدَهرِ وَمِنبَرُهُ
Epoch's throne and tribune,
Gardens of immortality and its Kauthar,
وَجِنانُ الخُلدِ وَكَوثَرُهُ
وَكَفى الآباءُ رَياحينا
Sires suffice us as exemplars.
We'll make the sun our crown,
نَتَّخِذُ الشَمسَ لَهُ تاجاً
وَضُحاها عَرشاً وَهّاجا
Its dawn our seat, a burning throne.
The sky's glittering host our citadels,
وَسَماءَ السُؤدَدِ أَبراجاً
وَكَذلِكَ كانَ أَوالينا
As our forebears built and fashioned.
The age beholds you, and the nations,
العَصرُ يَراكُم وَالأُمَمُ
وَالكَرنَكُ يَلحَظُ وَالهَرَمُ
The pyramids peering, and the Sphinx rapt in reflection:
O lads of Egypt! Rouse your spirits!
أَبني الأَوطانَ أَلا هِمَمُ
كَبِناءِ الأَوَّلِ يَبنينا
Rebuild, as did the ancients raise their monuments!
Striving unceasingly, ever striving
سَعياً أَبَداً سَعياً سَعياً
لِأَثيلِ المَجدِ وَلِلعَليا
For glory's summit and highest place,
Making Egypt our entire world,
وَلنَجعَل مِصرَ هِيَ الدُنيا
وَلنَجعَل مِصرَ هِيَ الدُنيا
Making Egypt our entire world!
