مَعالي العَهدِ قُمتَ بِها فَطيما
وَكانَ إِلَيكَ مَرجِعُها قَديما
The heights of glory you have risen to so young,
And to you it had long been destined to belong,
تَنَقَّل مِن يَدٍ لِيَدٍ كَريماً
كَروحِ اللَهِ إِذ خَلَفَ الكَليما
Passing from noble hand to generous hand
Like the Spirit of God after Moses the Kalim.
تَنحّى لِاِبنِ مَريَمَ حينَ جاءَ
وَخَلّى النَجمُ لِلقَمَرِ الفَضاءَ
It made way for the Son of Mary when he came,
And the star gave way to the radiant moon.
ضِياءٌ لِلعُيونِ تَلا ضِياءً
يَفيضُ مَيامِناً وَهُدىً عَميما
A light succeeding a light - flowing bounties stream,
Guiding all and sundry with its cheerful beam.
كَذا أَنتُم بَني البَيتِ الكَريمِ
وَهَل مُتَجَزِّئٌ ضَوءُ النُجومِ
Thus you are, O noble scions of the holy line,
Can the light of the stars be parceled or confined?
وَأَينَ الشُهبُ مِن شَرَفٍ صَميمِ
تَأَلَّقَ عِقدُهُ بِكُمو نَظيما
Where are the meteors set beside the sun’s clear shine
That sheds its lustre on the thread of life’s design?
أَرى مُستَقبَلاً يَبدو عُجابا
وَعُنواناً يُكِنُّ لَنا كِتابا
I see a future loom out wondrously anew,
With a heading for us events will register true,
وَكانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَمَلاً شِهابا
وَكانَ اليَأسُ شَيطاناً رَجيما
Muhammad was hope meteoric and bright,
While despair was an outcast shunned outright.
وَأَشرَقَتِ الهَياكِلُ وَالمَباني
كَما كانَت وَأَزيَنَ في الزَمانِ
The houses of prayer and the buildings again
Shone as they did of yore in their charm and élan,
وَأَصبَحَ ما تُكِنُّ مِنَ المَعاني
عَلى الآفاقِ مَسطوراً رَقيما
And all that was writ by the mind and the heart
Appeared on the horizons all nimble and smart.
سَأَلتُ فَقيلَ لي وَضَعَتهُ طِفلاً
وَهَذا عيدُهُ في مِصرَ يُجلى
I asked and was told a babe they would bear,
Whose feast-day in Egypt they would declare,
فَقُلتُ كَذَلِكُم آنَستُ قَبلا
وَكانَ اللَهُ بِالنَجوى عَليما
At once I recalled that before it took place,
And God hears our converse whenever we pace.
بِمُنتَزَهِ الإِمارَةِ هَلَّ فَجرا
هِلالاً في مَنازِلِهِ أَغَرّا
At the park of the Emirate the new moon of May
Rose and in its stations continued its stay,
فَباتَت مِصرُ حَولَ المَهدِ ثَغرا
وَباتَ الثَغرُ لِلدُنيا نَديما
All Egypt encompassed the crib and kept guard,
While the crib was a friend the whole world regarded.
لِجيلِكَ في غَدٍ جيلِ المَعالي
وَشَعبِ المَجدِ وَالهِمَمِ العَوالي
To your generation, when it comes of age -
The people of glory and lofty courage -
أَزُفُ نَوابِغَ الكَلِمِ الغَوالي
وَأَهدي حِكمَتي الشَعبَ الحَكيما
I give the wise maxims the eloquent sages,
And offer my wisdom to the prudent of ages.
إِذا أَقبَلتَ يا زَمَن البَنينا
وَشَبّوا فيكَ وَاِجتازوا السِنينا
When you come, O era of luster and sheen,
And years flit away while youth grows between,
فَدُر مِن بَعدِنا لَهُمو يَمينا
وَكُن لِوُرودِكَ الماءَ الحَميما
Go gently with them showing benign lenience,
And be to your roses a comforting presence.
وَيا جيلَ الأَميرِ إِذا نَشَأنا
وَشاءَ الجَدُّ أَن تُعطى وَشِئتا
O scions of the Emir when you come indeed,
And your grandsire allows what your hearts may need,
فَخُذ سُبُلاً إِلى العَلياءِ شَتّى
وَخَلِّ دَليلَكَ الدينَ القَويما
Take paths upwards - manifold ways and more -
And let your guide be religion strict and pure.
وَضِنَّ بِهِ فَإِنَّ الخَيرَ فيهِ
وَخُذهُ مِنَ الكِتابِ وَما يَليهِ
Cherish it, for all good lies in its care,
Seek it in the Book and the volumes that share
وَلا تَأخُذهُ مِن شَفَتَي فَقيهِ
وَلا تَهجُر مَعَ الدينِ العُلوما
Its light. Not the law that the jurists prepare,
Nor forsake along with religion the secular arts.
وَثِق بِالنَفسِ في كُلِّ الشُؤونِ
وَكُن مِمّا اِعتَقدتَ عَلى يَقينِ
Have faith in yourself in all of your affairs,
And be sure of what you believe, dispel your fears,
كَأَنَّكَ مِن ضَميرِكَ عِندَ دينٍ
فَمِن شَرَفِ المَبادِئِ أَن تُقيما
As if your faith were a debt or pledge revered;
For principle’s splendor is constancy versed.
وَإِن تَرُمِ المَظاهِرَ في الحَياةِ
فَرُمها بِاِجتِهادِكَ وَالثَباتِ
And if you seek glories in the life of men,
Seek them with hard toil and a will to attain.
وَخُذها بِالمَساعي باهِراتِ
تُنافِسُ في جَلالَتِها النُجوما
Take them with labors spirited and vibrant,
That rival the heavens in their majesty and grace.
وَإِن تَخرُج لِحَربٍ أَو سَلامِ
فَأَقدِم قَبلَ إِقدامِ الأَنامِ
If to war or to peace you are summoned to fare,
March before other men even would dare,
وَكُن كَاللَيثِ يَأتي مِن أَمامِ
فَيَملَأُ كُلَّ ناطِقَةٍ وُجوما
And be as the lion who comes from the fore,
Filling every vale with his echoing roar.
وَكُن شَعبَ الخَصائِصِ وَالمَزايا
وَلا تَكُ ضائِعاً بَينَ البَرايا
Be the people of mettle, of virtues endowed,
Do not wander forlorn, dispersed among the crowd.
وَكُن كَالنَحلِ وَالدُنيا الخَلايا
يَمُرُّ بِها وَلا يَمضي عَقيما
Be as the bees, and let life be your flowers
That you roam gathering nectar in fruitful hours.
وَلا تَطمَح إِلى طَلَبِ المُحالِ
وَلا تَقنَع إِلى هَجرِ المَعالي
Do not covet the impossible glooms in wait,
Or lapse to neglect of the noble and great.
فَإِن أَبطَأنَ فَاِصبِر غَيرَ سالِ
كَصَبرِ الأَنبِياءِ لَها قَديما
If they are slow coming have patience and faith,
As the prophets of old persevered and awaited.
وَلا تَقبَل لِغَيرِ اللَهِ حُكماً
وَلا تَحمِل لِغَيرِ الدَهرِ ظُلما
Do not bow save to God and His supreme law,
Or suffer injustice, believing in fate.
وَلا تَرضَ القَليلَ الدونَ قِسما
إِذا لَم تَقدِرِ الأَمرَ المَروما
Do not rest content with the least of the small,
When you cannot attain all that you hope for and more.
وَلا تَيأَس وَلا تَكُ بِالضَجورِ
وَلا تَثِقَنَّ مِن مَجرى الأُمورِ
Neither despair, nor trust to chance in its course,
Assuming the future is governed by force.
فَلَيسَ مَعَ الحَوادِثِ مِن قَديرِ
وَلا أَحَدٌ بِما تَأتي عَليما
With events there is only the Lord to decree,
And none who can know what the morrow will be.
وَفي الجُهّالِ لا تَضَعِ الرَجاءَ
كَوَضعِ الشَمسِ في الوَحَلِ الضِياءَ
Do not place hope in fools, though they spread and prevail,
Like sunlight sunk in the sodden dirt trail.
يَضيعُ شُعاعُها فيهِ هَباءَ
وَكانَ الجَهلُ مَمقوتاً ذَميما
There its brilliance is wasted and comes to nothing,
For ignorance causes of goodness a dimming.
وَبالِغ في التَدَبُّرِ وَالتَحَرّي
وَلا تَعجَل وَثِق مِن كُلِّ أَمرِ
Pursue deliberation, reflect and appraise,
Do not rush matters, verify facts of each case.
وَكُن كَالأُسدِ عِندَ الماءِ تَجري
وَلَيسَت وُرَّداً حَتّى تَحوما
Be like the lion attending the river to drink,
Not hasty to leave ere his thirst he can slake.
وَما الدُنيا بِمَثوىً لِلعِبادِ
فَكُن ضَيفَ الرِعايَةِ وَالوِدادِ
Know that this world is unfit for man's rest,
Be a guest, accepting what comes as your best.
وَلا تَستَكثِرَنَّ مِنَ الأَعادي
فَشَرُّ الناسِ أَكثَرُهُم خُصوما
Do not take pride in amassing your foes -
For most hostile people the most evil shows.
وَلا تَجعَل تَوَدُّدُكَ اِبتِذالاً
وَلا تَسمَح بِحِلمِكَ أَن يُذالا
Let not your affection be cheapened or tampered,
Or your mildness permit you to suffer or be hampered.
وَكُن ما بَينَ ذاكَ وَذاكَ حالا
فَلَن تُرضي العَدُوَّ وَلا الحَميما
Maintain balance, each extreme eschew,
You will satisfy neither familiar nor foe.
وَصَلِّ صَلاةَ مَن يَرجو وَيَخشى
وَقَبلَ الصَومِ صُم عَن كُلِّ فَحشا
Pray with devotion, petition and fear,
Before fasting, abstain from sin during the year.
وَلا تَحسَب بِأَنَّ اللَهَ يُرشى
وَأَنَّ مُزَكّياً أَمِنَ الجَحيما
Do not think that God can be swayed to the bad,
Or that a hypocrite can elude what is sad.
لِكُلِّ جَنىً زَكاةً في الحَياةِ
وَمَعنى البِرِّ في لَفظِ الزَكاةِ
Each harvest has its tax that is due,
The meaning of charity lies in alms that are true.
وَما لِلَّهُ فينا مِن جُباةِ
وَلا هُوَ لِاِمرِئٍ زَكّى غَريما
God does not need what we can accrue,
Nor takes from a soul beyond what is its due.
فَإِن تَكُ عالِماً فَاِعمَل وَفَطِّن
وَإِن تَكُ حاكِماً فَاِعدِل وَأَحسِن
If you’re learned, act and apply what you know,
If you reign, govern justly, be upright and show
وَإِن تَكُ صانِعاً شَيئاً فَأَتقِن
وَكُن لِلفَرضِ بَعدَئِذٍ مُقيما
The way. If you’re an artisan, master your art,
Thereafter keep to your duties, fulfilled in each part.
وَصُن لُغَةً يَحُقُّ لَها الصِيانُ
فَخَيرُ مَظاهِرِ الأُمِّ البَيانُ
Protect a language deserving our care,
The best signs of nationhood flourish in fair
وَكانَ الشَعبُ لَيسَ لَهُ لِسانُ
غَريباً في مَواطِنِهِ مَضيما
Expression. A people not speaking its tongue,
Finds itself in its country resented and stung.
أَلَم تَرَها تُنالُ بِكُلِّ ضَيرٍ
وَكانَ الخَيرُ إِذ كانَت بِخَيرِ
Have you not seen it take slight after slight,
Though when it was well, every bird would alight,
أَيَنطِقُ في المَشارِقِ كُلُّ طَيرِ
وَيَبقى أَهلُها رَخَماً وَبوما
Singing over the East - while its folk day and night,
Stay silent, oppressed and consigned out of sight.
فَعَلِّمها صَغيرَكَ قَبلَ كُلِّ
وَدَع دَعوى تَمَدُّنِهِم وَخَلِّ
Teach it first to your children before all,
Leave aside empty claims to be modern and tall.
فَما بِالعِيِّ في الدُنيا التَحَلّي
وَلا خَرَسُ الفَتى فَضلاً عَظيما
What good is affectation in life's carnival?
A mute youth has no merit that is not small.
وَخُذ لُغَةَ المُعاصِرِ فَهيَ دُنيا
وَلا تَجعَل لِسانَ الأَصلِ نَسيا
Learn the parlance your contemporaries speak,
Let not your mother tongue languish antique.
كَما نَقَلَ الغُرابُ فَضَلَّ مَشياً
وَما بَلَغَ الجَديدَ وَلا القَديما
Like the crow walking - his fill left behind -
Reached not the fresh or the late of its kind.
لِجيلِكَ يَومَ نَشأَتِهِ مَقالي
فَأَمّا أَنتَ يا نَجلَ المَعالي
To your generation, when it is brand new
My son, from your father instruction is due.
فَتَنظُرُ مِن أَبيكَ إِلى مِثالٍ
يُحَيِّرُ في الكَمالاتِ الفُهوما
But you have a model in him to pursue,
That leaves all minds baffled, none grasping its clue.
نَصائِحُ ما أَرَدتُ بِها لِأَهدي
وَلا أَبغي بِها جَدواكَ بَعدي
My advice that I offer is meant for your good,
I seek not through it your path be withheld
وَلَكِنّي أُحِبُّ النَفعَ جَهدي
وَكانَ النَفعُ في الدُنيا لُزوما
Rather, 'tis my utmost endeavor I would,
Usefully serve, and service is kindness that’s stood.
فَإِن أُقرِئتَ يا مَولايَ شِعري
فَإِنَّ أَباكَ يَعرِفُهُ وَيَدري
If taught my verse, my dear boy, learn it by heart,
Your father divines it, and knows every part.
وَجَدُّكَ كانَ شَأوي حينَ أَجري
فَأَصرَعُ في سَوابِقِها تَميما
Your grandsire was present when flowing my art,
I raced the ancients and led from the start.
بَنونا أَنتَ صُبحُهُمُ الأَجَلُّ
وَعَهدُكَ عِصمَةٌ لَهُمو وَظِلُّ
You are our sons - the most glorious sight,
Your reign is their shelter, their shade, their light.
فَلِم لا نَرتَجيكَ لَهُم وَكُلٌّ
يَعيشُ بِأَن تَعيشَ وَأَن تَدوما
Why should we not hope that you'll make it right,
Each living because you live, standing upright?
