Sol 6.1

  1. My homeland, you are the enduring beloved;

    Yours is the noblest place in my heart.

  2. And my passionate love for you is inseparable from my nature;

    It delights me that I am endowed with it.

  3. For you I strive, tireless and diligent,

    With hope steadfast and strong.

  4. On my path I never mind

    Whether my night grows long or my vigil drags on.

  5. And if departure from you is decreed for me,

    I am compelled to it, against my will.

  6. And though my separation stretches on and lasts,

    It only increases my longing for you.

  7. The love verses I recite about you

    The listener takes to be about a coquettish woman,

  8. Revealing my burning love for you

    In my heart, which never complains of burning.

  9. And for your beauty I am wary

    Of a stubborn foe with a covetous gaze,

  10. Who seeks evil to fulfill a desire;

    Your army, with its fierce might, stands in his way.

  11. My homeland, I would give my life for you if

    Time afflicts you with unbearable harm.

  12. And I find delight in warding off harm

    From you with fire and slender white blades.

  13. In you I paid love its dues,

    Obeying what the intoxication of youth dictates,

  14. Unrestrained in desire, full of vigor,

    Taking my share of all that pleased and delighted,

  15. Among companions like lamps in the darkness,

    Or pearls of a crown, or flowers of the hills:

  16. Young men of generosity—one hopes for

    Their friendship; they know no anger.

  17. How often we swayed among branches, where sang

    The birds above them, with an enchanting tune.

  18. And we frolicked among sands, where shone

    Their radiance, dazzling like gold.

  19. And we tossed flowers at one another—how often they healed

    With their fragrance, a lovesick lover's heart!

  20. And we passed a cup among us, clear

    In color, like the days gone by.

  21. Which of your blessings upon me shall I recount?

    They are too great to be counted.

  22. If I spent my life giving thanks

    For their bounty, would I repay what is owed them?

  23. May you endure, O Nile, most beneficent of rivers

    To souls that have so often found you faithful.

  24. May you keep flowing, O likeness of al-Kawthar,

    Bestowing happiness and prosperity upon the valley.

  25. May you remain, O desert, an arena for armies

    Between your two regions, united,

  26. A display of valor by white and black soldiers,

    Assuring us victory and glory.

  27. O banner of glory, I adore

    Your radiant light, O form of the crescent!

  28. My heart, like you, has come to flutter

    Whenever a south or north wind blows.

  29. Egypt, O my birthplace, may you remain in

    The dominion of al-Abbas, your fortunate protector,

  30. The just prince, in accord

    With the esteemed imam, Abd al-Hamid.

  31. May the clouds rain generously upon your fragrant soil,

    And water your fertile, beautiful valley;

  32. And may refreshing wafts of the east wind pass through you,

    And forms of bliss flourish within you.

Sol 6.1