1. هِيَ العُليا وَخاطبُها سَعيدُ

    وَطالعُ أنسِ حضرتِه سعيدُ

    She is lofty glory, and Sa‘id is her suitor,

    and the ascendant of His Excellency’s joy is auspicious,

  2. بِمَوسم مولد في كُل عام

    بِمصر يؤمّه لِلناس عيد

    at a birthday celebration every year

    in Egypt, attended by a feast day for the people;

  3. بِمَوسم مَولد لا زالَ يَحلو

    مكرّره عَلى قدم جَديد

    at a birthday celebration—may it ever delight,

    its recurrence upon a new footing;

  4. بِمَوسم مَولدٍ سامٍ جَليلٍ

    لَهُ الأحرار تَسعى وَالعَبيد

    at a lofty, august birthday celebration,

    to which the free and the enslaved hasten.

  5. فَتَحظى مِن جَنابك في التَهاني

    بِتَشريفٍ وَتَبلغ ما تُريد

    So they receive from Your Excellency, amid congratulations,

    honor, and attain what they desire.

  6. وَتَنظُر في رِكابك كُل شَهم

    سواريٍّ لَهُ بَأسٌ شَديد

    And in your retinue you see every gallant man,

    a cavalryman of formidable might.

  7. وَتَلقى كُل طوبجيٍّ هصورٍ

    يَذل الرَعدَ مدفعُه العَتيد

    And you encounter every fierce gunner,

    whose ready cannon humbles thunder.

  8. وَفي وَسط الحُصون تَرى صُفوفاً

    هَيَ البيّادةُ الشمُّ الأُسود

    And amid the forts you see ranks:

    they are the proud infantry, the lions.

  9. عَلى قَدماتها تَعلو سَريعاً

    وَللأعدا بَنادقُها تَذود

    With their advancing steps they swiftly climb,

    and their rifles drive off the enemies.

  10. وَسَطح الدروة الأَعلى عَلَيهِ

    ليوث الأَوجيان بِهِ تَصيد

    And upon the parapet’s uppermost surface,

    the lions of the sharpshooters hunt there.

  11. وَمَيدان القِلاع بِهِ رِجال

    مِن السُودان خَصمُهمُ طَريد

    And in the field of the forts are men

    from Sudan, their enemy put to flight.

  12. وَماء النيل بِالتَقدير يَجري

    وَعَن باب الخَنادق لا يَحيد

    And the Nile’s water flows by measured design,

    and never turns aside from the trenches’ gate.

  13. وَمِنها شوّ صحرا قَد تَراه

    بِهِ فَيضانها أَبَداً يَزيد

    And among them you may see “Shu Sahra,”

    through which their flooding ever grows.

  14. فَهَل ملك سِواك سَما بعلم

    لَهُ المَأمون أَذعنَ وَالرَشيد

    So has any king but you risen through learning

    to which al-Ma’mun and al-Rashid bowed,

  15. وَربَّى في الحِمى أَبطالَ حَربٍ

    بِعَزم زانَهُ رَأيٌ سَديد

    and trained heroes of war within the protected realm,

    with resolve adorned by sound judgment,

  16. وَحَزم لِلمهندس مِنهُ رَشد

    بِهِ يَنجو إِذا خيف الوَعيد

    and prudence from which the engineer gains guidance,

    through which he survives when the threat is feared,

  17. وَتَدبير بِهِ صار الكبورجي

    لَهُ شُغلٌ بِفائدةٍ يَعود

    and planning through which the bridge-builder came

    to have work that yields benefit?

  18. وَهَل في مصر قَبلك قَد تَحلَّى

    مَليكٌ بِالمَعارف يا فَريد

    And in Egypt, before you, has there ever been

    a king adorned with learning, O peerless one?

  19. وَهَل ملك سِواك لَهُ لُغاتٌ

    مُهذبة بِها يَسمو العَميد

    And has any king but you possessed languages,

    refined, through which the leader rises?

  20. أَما أَنت الَّذي كَأبيك أَحيا

    رُسوم الفَضل يا نعم العَميد

    Are you not the one who, like your father, revived

    the traditions of excellence, O excellent leader?

  21. أَما بِكَ مصرك الغَراء سادَت

    عَلى الأَمصار وَاِنخَذَل الحَسود

    Has not your radiant Egypt, through you, reigned supreme

    over the cities, while the envious one was defeated?

  22. أَما إِن الجُنود مَع الرَعايا

    بِمَولدك السَعيد لَهُم سُعود

    Surely, the soldiers together with the subjects

    enjoy good fortune on your happy birthday.

  23. وَكَيفَ وَإِنَّهُ بِاليُمن يَأتي

    وَفيهِ يَنال بُغيته المريد

    And how could it be otherwise, when it comes with blessings,

    and in it the seeker attains his wish,

  24. وَيطرب مِن بَديع صِفات مَدحٍ

    حَواها طَبعُ حَضرتِك الحَميد

    and thrills to wondrous qualities of praise,

    which Your Excellency’s praiseworthy nature embodies?

  25. تَكرّرها المويسقَّى بِلَحنٍ

    يصحح لَفظَه شادٍ مُجيد

    The band repeats them to a melody,

    whose words a skilled singer renders correctly.

  26. وَيَضربها الترنْبَتْجيْ ضروباً

    ينوعها الدودكْجيْ إِذ يُعيد

    And the drummer beats them out in varied patterns;

    the piper varies them as he repeats them.

  27. وَللفطن البروجي باحتشام

    غناءٌ في مَعانيها تَليد

    And the discerning bugler, with decorum,

    has a time-honored song expressing their meanings.

  28. فَتأخذها رواة الفَن عَنهُم

    وَيَحفظها المقرَّب وَالبَعيد

    So the transmitters of the art take them from those men,

    and the favored and the distant commit them to memory.

  29. فَعش في مصر فَوق بِساط ملك

    عَظيم فيهِ تَخدمك الجُنود

    So live in Egypt upon the carpet of a kingdom,

    mighty, in which the troops serve you.

  30. وَخلد للعلا بِالعَدل ذكراً

    جَميلاً حصنُ بَهجته مشيد

    And for glory, through justice, immortalize a remembrance,

    beautiful, with the fortress of its splendor raised high.

  31. وَكُن مُتَمَتِّعاً بِبَقاء شبلٍ

    نَجيب مِن عُلومك يَستَفيد

    And enjoy the enduring life of a lion cub,

    noble, who benefits from your learning.

  32. وَجدد للولادة في جَمادى

    رسوماً لِلسُرور بِها عُهود

    And renew for the birthday, in Jumada,

    rites in which joy has its covenants.

  33. وَللعلماء وَالأمراء فيها

    كَما تَهوى لكعبتها الوُفود

    And there, for the scholars and the princes,

    are delegations to its Kaaba, as you wish.

  34. فَطب نَفساً وَزد عزاً وَجاهاً

    فَحسن ثَناك حالفه الخُلود

    So be glad at heart, and grow in might and prestige,

    for eternity has allied itself with your fair renown.

  35. وَمَجدك في المَسَرة قال أَرّخ

    أَتى بُشراك مَوسمُك السَعيد

    And your glory said in joy, “Record the date:

    Your happy season has come—glad tidings to you!”