Sol 6.1

  1. Approval and allegiance, Ibrahim,

    are yours, as are congratulations and honor.

  2. You are the finest representative in Egypt, the deputy,

    the elder, and the great nobleman.

  3. It is enough for her that you are the perfect man

    in what you desire and seek.

  4. In her war you are her foremost vanguard,

    and in her peace, the wise and merciful one.

  5. You are the one who, on the night of revolt, plunged into the fortress

    amid blood, and into the siege, which was hell.

  6. The day the enemy drove forth furious troops,

    you subdued him while holding your anger in.

  7. You have no need to have your favors repaid

    with words—you are Moses, who spoke with God.

  8. And among the light and treasures in the history

    of your homelands is your inscribed name.

  9. On the night of honors, there gathered at your club

    the cities, villages, and borderlands for the occasion.

  10. And it is a festival of struggle, whose memory was faithfully honored

    for you by companions and generous Time.

  11. And in it souls found rest from idle

    talk and all that barren argument stirred up.

  12. Every era has its share from the nation,

    apportioned in displeasure and approval.

  13. And it is misery for the erring wrongdoer;

    and bliss for the doer of good who acts rightly.

  14. If men acted rightly, the ruler would agree

    with the ruled in what is good.

  15. And mortals cannot turn back a decree

    once its inevitable command has taken effect.

  16. This is the rule of politics in Egypt:

    thus there is neither oppressor nor oppressed.

  17. And when the people contend as aggressors,

    the victor and the vanquished are equal.

  18. And the coward who grudges his life and wealth

    to the people is sinful and held guilty.

  19. And seeking power is not like the way

    a destitute beggar seeks sustenance.

  20. And facing enemies is easier than that;

    in parting from companions lie grief and cares.

  21. O young man of the family that adorned the earth,

    as the stars adorned the sky.

  22. And the new age praises in that family

    what the old age likewise praises.

  23. Your rightly guided party is none other than the party of

    truth, inspired by trustworthy, noble leaders.

  24. And the fates commended it to one another, until

    the leader won from them what he desired.

  25. Every party, and every party leader,

    is your intimate friend within the nation.

  26. Can one with your qualities have an adversary,

    or one with your eminence have a rival?

  27. You did good in your private sphere, and it spread,

    and what was particular became universal.

  28. You are the one who united souls in righteousness,

    and whose counsel and arbitration pleased them.

  29. And part of resolve is to see the people around

    you, with strife among them cut off.

  30. You have a nature in which the afflicted find riches,

    and the sick find healing in it.

  31. From you I have kindness and tender courtesy;

    and from me, for you, wise eloquence.

  32. No procession brought my verse to you,

    so the breeze recited it to you from me.

  33. And my companions exchanged it as a gift with gladness,

    and the handsome orator recited it on my behalf.

  34. Sharqiyya is yours, and Gharbiyya [apparently intended] mine;

    and we both dwell in every heart.

  35. Your sound judgment met with mine,

    and so one province met the other.

  36. It is enough for my soul and yours that I

    am intimately and fully acquainted with your hopes.

  37. And what I seek to increase for you is good

    for the people, as is what I seek to sustain.

  38. What ails those sick with self-interest, seeking with their tongues

    a cure, while poisons lie in their bellies?

  39. They never cease dreaming of what has passed,

    as the fever-stricken man lay dreaming through the night.

Sol 6.1