أنت دنيا ما أنت لوح خيال

ما على العلم غاية بمحال

You are a world; you are not merely a screen of shadows,

In the realm of science, no goal is deemed impossible.

أنت دنيا عريضة من بلاد

وعباد وأبحر وجبال

You are a vast world comprised of many lands,

Of peoples, of oceans, and of mountains;

بين حالي سعادة وشقاء

وزماني وداعة وقتال

Oscillating between states of felicity and misery,

And times of tranquility and combat.

في ملاهيك جد للعين والأذ

ن ضروب من الرؤى والأمالي

In your amusements, there is novelty for the eye and the ear,

Manifold forms of visions and aspirations.

آن للذوق منك والشم واللـ

ـمس نوال فجد لها بالنوال

The time has come for taste, smell, and touch

To receive a bounty from you, so grant them that bounty.

ليس بدعا أن يحدث العلم فيها

بك إلمامة وبعض اتصال

It is no heresy if science brings about within it

An encounter and a measure of connection.

جمع الجيل فيك والجيل حتى

صرت يا لوح مجمع الأجيال

Generation upon generation has gathered within you, until

You became, O screen, the meeting place of ages.

صور من ممالك قائمات

وتقاليد من هدى وضلال

Images of kingdoms still standing,

And traditions of guidance and error alike.

فكأني أرى القيامة قامت

وأرى الخلق مهطعين حيالي

It is as though I see the Resurrection taking place,

And I behold all creation hastening before me.

فكأني أرى شريطك عرضا

فيه فضت صحائف الأعمال

It is as though I view your reel displayed,

Wherein the scrolls of deeds are broken open.

عظ به يا جماد من كان حيا

فمقال الجماد فصل المقال

Admonish, O inanimate object, those who live;

For the speech of the inanimate is the decisive word.

هون الموت عالم لك فيه

كل حي مخلد بمثال

Death is made light in a world where you hold

Every living being, immortalized in an image.

والتقى حاضر الزمان بماضيه

كأن لم يكن به من زوال

The present of time has met with its past,

As if it had never suffered any demise.

ووعى الناس ألسنا مند شتى

في مغاز علمية ذات بال

People have understood diverse tongues,

Through scientific pursuits of high import.

وتجلت فصحى اللغات كشمس

فخبا كل كوكب متلالي

And the most eloquent of languages shone forth like a sun,

Causing every glittering star to fade away.

زانك الضاد من لسان بديع

أيها الفيلم البديع الجمال

The letter "Dad" adorned you with a marvelous tongue,

O Film of wondrous beauty.

فهو وحي إلى شهودك يوحى

من سماء الحجى وعرش الجلال

It is a revelation inspired unto your beholders,

From the heaven of wisdom and the throne of majesty.

وبدا الشرق فيك للغرب مرعى

للحضارات مخصبا بالرجال

Through you, the East appeared to the West as a fertile pasture

For civilizations, teeming with great men.

حي قوما أبوا سوى الكشف عما

أودع الشرق من عظات غوالي

Salute a people who refused all but to reveal

The precious lessons deposited within the East.

ناولونا من الكنانة سهما

ومعينا من نيلها السيال

They handed us an arrow from the Quiver of Egypt,

And a pure spring from its flowing Nile.

تلد مصر مثوى الفراعين في الما

ضي ومأوى بنيهم في الحال

Egypt brings forth the resting place of Pharaohs in the past,

And the sanctuary of their sons in the present.

ضل «أنشودة الفؤاد» فؤاد

لم يصلها بعطفه المتوالي

A heart has gone astray that "The Song of the Heart"

Has not reached with its unceasing affection.

نسم من جوانب النيل أفشى

نغم النيل تحت جنح الليالي

A breeze from the banks of the Nile has spread,

Diffusing the melody of the Nile beneath the wing of night.

نم عن مائه النمير وعما

حوله من ماثر وخلال

It revealed the secrets of its sweet waters, and of that

Which surrounds it of glories and noble traits.

عرف الشرق مشرقا من قديم

وجديد على الفلا والتلال

The East has been known as radiant from ancient times,

As well as modern, over the deserts and the hills.

وكأني به أطل على الغر

ب مع الشمس ضاحكا عن لآلي

It is as though I see it overlooking the West,

Alongside the sun, smiling to reveal pearls of light.

وكأني بالغرب أذعن للشر

ق اعترافا بما له من كمال

And it is as though I see the West yielding to the East,

In acknowledgement of the perfection it possesses.