Sol 6.1

  1. Today Egypt has become a new creation,

    for you, welcoming the happy union.

  2. The earth surged with crowds; were it not

    for you upon it, they would have feared its swaying.

  3. The cities shone there, strutting proudly,

    as songs set graceful maidens swaying.

  4. As though the people had come from resurrection,

    to meet eternity in bliss.

  5. They sent their hearts along the procession's paths;

    and these became its blossoms and roses.

  6. They voiced their confidences to your court,

    and these became their watchword and their anthem.

  7. They established the rites of love on the horizon,

    and these became their banners and standards.

  8. The peers around you grew so close

    that each became the other's loving friend.

  9. And sins were shunned by those who had not feared

    punishment, nor dreaded threats.

  10. Benevolence and gentleness spread through it, until

    we saw none in hardship or misfortune.

  11. It embraced both horizons, until we thought

    all eternity was its numbered month.

  12. So spend it blessedly in palaces; and if you wish,

    take it aloft, ascending to heaven.

  13. Houris came bearing the bride, repeating

    the songstresses' yearning strains and trills.

  14. Her character adorned her before pearls adorned

    her two wrists, her crown, and her neck.

  15. The Valley celebrates the meeting of the two luminaries,

    as a feast in heaven and on earth.

  16. Kings esteemed its grandeur, and there came

    their letters, outstripping lightning and the post.

  17. They offered you gifts; among what they offered

    to you were delegations, one following another.

  18. And it is as though I see the pharaohs among them,

    and the khagans, present as witnesses.

  19. I cannot tell: do I see the homeland's troops for the festival,

    or mustered for a campaign?

  20. It roamed through every quarter of it, until

    it roused the countryside and stirred Upper Egypt.

  21. The expanse grew too narrow for it; had you not contained it,

    it would have crossed its boundaries and the highlands.

  22. It climbed its fortress; had you not tamed it,

    it would have borne fire and roused iron.

  23. It calls out there in cheers; were it not

    devoted to peace, it would have turned to thunder.

  24. And it swore you its oath, which became

    solemn pledges and covenants from it to you.

  25. The world congratulated you on your splendid wedding,

    and the year arrived, awaiting the newborn—

  26. the noble child, beheld within the unseen realm,

    hoped for as a wise guide to those he will govern.

  27. With heroic sons, with young princes,

    you defend your bounded dominion.

  28. And it is a triumph that he should become an ally,

    your equal—he who was a stubborn adversary.

  29. You bound him to pledges for Egypt,

    and these became fetters upon him in her favor.

  30. His only assurance from her is that you

    ward off what he fears and defend him.

  31. What you bestowed upon your free nation

    was only groundwork for something beyond it.

  32. And when resolve within her is sound,

    the distant goal is no longer distant.

  33. O you who stride swiftly toward the furthest goal,

    noble, granted success, and praised!

  34. You are too strong, having taken the reins of time,

    to travel through it slowly.

  35. With glorious means and methods, you are accustomed

    to seek a glorious destiny.

  36. Indeed, noble traits can do what

    an army, commanders and soldiers, cannot.

  37. O replenisher of the two Niles, whose palms pour forth a flood

    that traverses the hills and revives the deserts.

  38. Generosity and piety are among your qualities,

    and how beautiful are piety and generosity!

  39. And he who possesses virtue in the world

    is most deserving of a life of ease within it.

  40. God gathered the righteous in your person,

    and all existence in your mighty kingdom.

  41. You bestowed life upon your people, until

    you nearly revived their fathers and forefathers.

  42. There came to be bright realities among them—

    through you, their hopes, which had once been promises.

  43. The communities became equal in your eyes in this matter,

    so you left neither masters nor slaves.

  44. You reconciled your yesterday and today,

    so the new in you equaled the time-honored.

  45. All souls gathered around you, so that

    each honored what you wished and wished it too.

  46. You respected consultation, and found in it

    nothing for you but loyalty and support.

  47. You persisted in testing until you shouldered

    the burden alone, relieving all its bearers.

  48. Dignified and steadfast are you, when

    fresh youth sways your supple form.

  49. Bowing, prostrating, you outstrip the illustrious,

    the blessed, in bowing and prostration.

  50. You had not left the prayer niche before entering

    the arenas as a dauntless horseman.

  51. The marvel of the age is that its people become eagles,

    and crocodiles and lions.

  52. And in the surging sea and the air, you see your fleet

    ready for war and peace.

  53. The good fruits of your diligence ripened among them,

    so at your hands they deserved still more.

  54. You are too exalted to encounter ignorance

    of what you accomplish, or ingratitude.

  55. And if a favor from you makes an unworthy man insolent,

    it rebounds upon him as severe reproach.

  56. Too great is the worth of one beloved by every soul

    for him to be opposed and envied.

  57. Those who come to drink, however varied their means

    and paths, do not forget your spacious pool.

  58. This is my soul, faithful to the nation;

    I have sent it to you as a poem.

  59. It shone throughout the world and became, for the necks

    of the nights, necklaces and jeweled strands.

  60. And with it, it is as though today I have kissed

    your brow, your palm, and your cheeks.

  61. It is enough for Farouk, between faith and worldly life,

    to be the promised caliph.

  62. A people you care for with justice and benevolence

    are, by their nature, most worthy to rule.

Sol 6.1