Sol 6.1

  1. Renew for Egypt her longed-for youth.

    And restore to her the joys of Ismail.

  2. And soothe, with the festival's blessing and good fortune,

    A heart preoccupied with every weighty affair.

  3. And gratefully receive from the seat of the caliphate

    A delegation saluting your throne, borne aloft.

  4. Welcoming, from each of its provinces,

    A messenger bearing precious congratulations.

  5. A favor in which the people find contentment, and a festival

    Lofty, preceded by a bounteous spring.

  6. The princely wedding is the wedding of Egypt and her people,

    And of the Nile, as your generosity rivaled the Nile.

  7. The sovereign's joy in his daughter, unveiled as a bride,

    Is joined to the nation's joy in its prosperity.

  8. God adorned the noble daughters you begot

    With virtues, thus enhancing their beauty.

  9. Noble in bearing and in character,

    And pure in their roots and ancestry.

  10. The finest daughters in paternal and maternal lineage,

    The finest women in offspring and husbands.

  11. The prince bestowed on Furuq a noblewoman

    From his family, and the Grand Vizier bestowed on Egypt a nobleman.

  12. In the forenoon they wed this blessing to the man who won her;

    And in late afternoon she came to him with her procession.

  13. They escorted harmony to fidelity; in truth,

    They escorted a virgin bride to the noble king.

  14. The people sent their nobles in allegiance,

    And God sent Gabriel in approval.

  15. Upon the radiant Alawi lady he scatters sweet

    Basil, and offers the crown and wreath.

  16. All sorts of townsfolk streamed forth, proclaiming God's greatness,

    In throngs, racing like torrents toward bliss.

  17. O daughter of the finest father—his justice is enough for you,

    Among us, as proof of Egypt's independence.

  18. O sister of the finest brother; surely Egypt has, in

    His future, a guarantor of deliverance, a surety.

  19. Your father's army saluted you, fully armed,

    As though it were poised to charge.

  20. Its banners sang to you upon its parade ground,

    With their fluttering, and the swords sang to you with their ringing.

  21. If this procession traveled from palace to

    Palace, it has surely taken hearts as its path.

  22. The processions will pass through the cities graciously,

    Radiant, and cross the surging sea, subdued.

  23. And make for the caliphate's capital, radiant,

    And the free fortress and the gleaming gulf.

  24. They will welcome your majesty as those

    Who honor their binding pledge to your grandfather.

  25. They remember his struggles and his conquests,

    And his benefactions, and the good things of old.

  26. Foreseeing—with the blossom of your garden among them—

    An age and a generation such as the land hopes for.

  27. You left no towering palace here

    Save to possess a lion's thicket there,

  28. And renew blessings that keep pace with the blessings

    Of your father in those lands, so far-reaching.

  29. The nights kept faith with the land; it was only that

    The debtor repaid his creditor, so long kept waiting.

  30. And manifest victory rescued hearts

    That nearly erupted in rancor and burning resentment.

  31. And its advocates awaited joyous peace,

    And reconciliation acceptable to those who had refused it.

  32. You have pleased, O Abbas, every monotheist,

    And aided this forsaken East.

  33. You awakened it and revived its life within it,

    And lifted a heavy burden from its sons.

  34. Had its princes possessed what you have of

    Resolve, it would swiftly have surpassed its brother's reach.

  35. Enough for the caliph, among your gifts, is to see

    A daughter and a son of yours under his protection:

  36. A hero who restores the caliphate's glory

    And commands the realm's army and the fleet.

  37. You proclaimed to the people the hopes

    In which their souls found happy consolation.

  38. And their faith is too sound for them to see

    In Egypt anyone but you as receiver and bestower.

  39. Indeed, the man who came to the country you count

    A guest and a sojourner, however far his hopes extend.

  40. The subjects read upon your brow a verse

    Plainly explained, admitting no reinterpretation.

  41. They did not know your private counsel until they became

    The purest of peoples in character and intellect.

  42. If they have become the best of tribes through their ruler,

    You are surely the best of rulers through your tribe.

  43. They are safe from calamities, which so often shook them

    As a wounded man shakes his notched sword.

  44. I have brought my congratulations near; enough for me to see

    An arbiter before you and two upright witnesses,

  45. Who rescue the naturally gifted poet from

    His shackles, and the man whose loyalty is inborn.

Sol 6.1