Sol 6.1

  1. The anniversary of your accession is the homelands' show of splendor;

    so receive on it the repentance of time's vicissitudes,

  2. and great, abundant blessings, and the freshness of

    lofty aspirations, and a sign of submission;

  3. and cities like unveiled brides,

    strutting proudly in beauty and youthful freshness.

  4. You reached them, and they became, as you had accustomed them,

    all smiles on your sun-bright day.

  5. Indeed, the people, as you have known them, remain steadfast in

    loyalty, support, and faith,

  6. except for rebels, of whom no

    age in any nation is ever free.

  7. They asked you to reject my love, when really

    they asked you to deny me my heart.

  8. They said, "Fanaticism!" I said, "Have they heard anything but

    the outpouring of sorrow and the lamentation of grief?"

  9. The worst of mankind is he who hates the Qur'an for the

    Gospel's sake, and the Gospel for the Qur'an's.

  10. Do victors prevail through their religion,

    or through steadfastness and sound minds?

  11. Had they imitated Jesus as he instructed them,

    they would have been among the priests and monks.

  12. And had we followed Muhammad in our affairs,

    the two Easts and the two Wests would have lain open to us.

  13. The narrators fell silent, silenced by nothing

    but my honorable deeds and the truth of my speech.

  14. Have I said anything but what they said, or

    is a willing, unpaid defender a criminal?

  15. And for what offense did my people turn away from me

    on the day of reckoning, and my brothers betray me?

  16. I did not know whom I had angered and roused—

    my people, or the adversary who wore me out?

  17. Where is he whose clamor filled the land,

    to ward off the slanderous charge against me?

  18. Have I roused heroes and led battalions,

    and charged with swords and fire?

  19. He has gone astray who seeks freedom

    in this place with a keen sword and a spearhead.

  20. I have been given only clear Nile water;

    I refuse it in the hue of crimson blood.

  21. Or whenever they hear a caller in Egypt,

    do they say, "A hireling of the Turks and Germans"?

  22. Two peoples, united today against

    their two foes, yet tomorrow they will quarrel.

  23. If they both agree—impossible though their agreement is—to

    drive out the resident power, who will give us a guarantee?

  24. Shall we exchange one overlord for another,

    and flee from a glutton to one ravenous with hunger?

  25. What would the Turks gain from Egypt if

    she were freed, and a second raider assailed her?

  26. Shall we say, "Your claim about us is untrue,"

    even if it grates upon the ears?

  27. And would one who drinks from your watering place say, "Fie!"

    even if he drank scalding water at its hottest?

  28. Or shall we complain of you to your enviers?

    The wounded do not complain to eagles.

  29. He whom we thought was on our side has turned against us,

    and threatened those who complain with abandonment.

  30. And God knows the ultimate fate of Marrakesh,

    and God knows the ultimate fate of the Balkans.

  31. Do not declare war against us; consider

    which men have the greater strength of argument.

  32. You have come to think ill of us, yet

    you find nothing but affection and safety.

  33. And you tested us with troops; did they see

    from us anything but welcome and gratitude?

  34. It is a disgrace for us to wrong you

    and repay kindness with ingratitude.

  35. And yours are noble achievements no conqueror wrought

    in Egypt except the Persians and the Greeks.

  36. You leave us as factions and parties—yet are there

    factions and parties amid sorrows?

  37. None among us would sacrifice the homeland

    and count his people among the herds.

  38. You have imitated the Romans in their colonization;

    why have you not recalled the Romans' end?

  39. If the archer goes too far, he becomes a target;

    the reckless, self-consuming man does not escape unharmed.

  40. Today supremacy is yours; tomorrow it is ours.

    How often has the laggard caught up with the overreacher!

  41. Have mercy on us, so we may remember you when

    time turns and our two fortunes change.

  42. We truly look to our sons for strength,

    not to the strength of neighbors and guests.

  43. Can a people be sovereign if its shepherds are not from its ranks?

    For the two are opposites, however much time passes.

  44. It refuses, and fears, to have its affairs directed

    and itself governed by two differing arbiters.

  45. The fruits most pleasing to people's souls are those

    their hands have plucked from the boughs.

  46. What do you fear, when these

    souls of ours have bodies held in bondage?

Sol 6.1