لك تاج مصر وعرشها ولواؤها — أحمد الكاشف

Yours are Egypt’s crown, her throne, and her banner;

Her earth and sky bow to your command.

In your name her Nile flows sweetly, even as

Her fertility and prosperity spread throughout her.

You inherited the sovereignty of forefathers, then enhanced it

Among a nation whose burdens are securely borne.

Go east or west—the country is secure;

Her common folk obey, as do her enduring multitudes.

And when your blessings extend equally through all her regions,

All her regions are equally united in obedience.

Were it not for you, the inhabitants would not have rendered the land

Their full love, nor would hope have filled their hearts.

You visited Sallum, and it is indeed a trust placed in your care,

A sacred charge whose fulfillment is your duty.

It is among noble deeds that it should be a gift

From a father, its continuance secured in your two hands.

The Caliph entrusted it to you, thereby guarding against

Its perils, while its enemies stand in fear of it.

Its mountains stretched their necks toward you,

Seeking your touch, while its desert folded itself away.

Its lions and gazelles came welcoming you, seeking

The honor of your protection.

And on the open plain of Cyrenaica you beheld a people

Whose blood lay unavenged around the homeland they defended.

They took heart at your caravan after their means of contact

Had been severed and news of them had ceased to come.

The heroes among its Arabs answered your call,

And the princes among its Turks summoned you.

You celebrated your feast among them—and what

Eloquent orators those swords and lances proved!

You preferred their barren waste to fruit laid out in rows,

Its boughs laden and its shadows stretching wide.

They are Egypt’s neighbors, and her people are their brethren;

Beyond the frontiers, their loyalty answers hers.

The Mother of the Believers extends a hand to shelter them—

White with beneficence, while her green canopy shades them.

Nobly she descended among the proud, unyielding chiefs;

Like one among angels were her progress and reception.

The rocks of Kairouan softened beneath her pale camels,

And its pebbles became fragrant around her tents.

She spared them the need for that aid

Whose routes hostile sentries had blocked.

Thus her gracious breaths reached the wounded of battle,

And her martyrs took her mercies as their provision.

O protector of Islam and son of its protectors,

In an empire whose adversaries never cease—

Every nation has a score to settle with it, and how often

Have their debtors suffered under acts of vengeance!

You have the greatest right to support its defenders

And grant it refuge if its trustees betray it.

Your great chivalry led the way, so those near at hand followed

Your example, and those far away found guidance.

The Muslims praised it, yet its acceptance and reward

Rest with God alone.

Blessings upon days radiant with glory for your grandfather,

Praised by their morning and their evening.

He directs Egypt’s affairs in the very manner

Egypt hopes for and her sons desire.

Her emirate freely calls upon the Caliphate,

And its supporters among her army answer the call.

She accommodates arriving guests; and if they

Approach her public facilities, they become her hired servants.

She campaigns and conquers kingdoms by force,

With victors in the van and her merciful ones behind.

You are the one restoring to her those glories

Whose celebration by her poets stirred all humankind.