عَلِمَ الإِمامُ وَلا أَقولُ بِظَنِّهِ

إِنَّ الدُعاةَ بِسَعيِها تَتَكَسَّبُ

The leader knew, and I do not say this in conjecture

That the candidates with their efforts gain these ambitions

هَذا الهَواءُ يَلوحُ فيهِ لِناظِرٍ

صُوَرٌ وَلَكِن عَن قَريبٍ تَرسُبُ

This mirage shows shapes to the onlooker

But close by they will dissipate and be exhausted

وَالناسُ جِنسٌ ما تَمَيَّزَ واحِدٌ

كُلُّ الجُسومِ إِلى التُرابِ تَنَسَّبُ

And mankind is a type that no one individual embodies

All bodies are descended from dust through their ancestry

وَالأَريُ باطِنَهُ مَتى ماذُقتَهُ

شَريٌ فَماذا لا أَبا لَكَ تَلسَبُ

And all that glistens with its hidden inside

If tasted, is savory, so what other than bitter sustenance do you gain?

وَسَيُقفَرُ المَصرُ الحَريجُ بِأَهلِهِ

وَيَغُصُّ بِالإِنسِ الفَضاءُ السَبسَبُ

And Egypt, teeming with people, will become empty

And space, once accommodating, will be too crowded to inhabit