ألا عللاني بالتمدن تعليلا

فصبري من دون المؤانس قد عيلا

Come, you two, console me with civilization.

For without a companion, my patience is exhausted.

ولا تذكرا لي عافيا من ربوعهم

فجسمي اعفى منه رسما ومدلولا

And do not mention to me an effaced remnant of their dwellings,

for my body is more effaced still, in outline and substance.

وما شائق نفسي الخراب وانما

يشوقها ان تنظر القفر مأهولا

Ruin is not what entices my soul; rather,

it longs to see the wilderness inhabited,

وان فسيح البر يمرع ناضرا

وان صفيح البحر يحمل اسطولا

the wide land growing fertile and verdant,

and the sea's broad surface bearing a fleet;

وان تجرى الارتال كالبرق سرعة

وكالرعد جلجالا وكالغيث تنويلا

and trains running with lightning's speed,

with thunder's rumble and rain's bounty,

تقل صدورا يملأ الكون خيرها

فتسبقها في نائل البر تخويلا

carrying eminent people whose goodness fills the world,

yet outstripping them in bestowing the gifts of benevolence;

وحسن وجوه كالبدور وانها

لأجمل منها اذ اقلت اكاليلا

and beautiful faces like full moons—indeed, they

are lovelier than those moons when they bear crowns.

فان وقفت في موقف خلت اهله

ملوكا لهم تجبى النفائس تفضيلا

If they stop at a station, you would think its people

kings, for whom precious things are gathered as a distinction.

وان تشغل الناس العواجل مرة

وتحفل اخرى في الحوافل تعجيلا

And that swift conveyances engage people at one time,

and at another they crowd hurriedly into carriages,

على سرر مرفوعة قد تقابلوا

بها فوقوا حرا وبردا وزليلى

facing one another upon raised couches,

protected there from heat, cold, and slipping.

وان تجرى الانهار في الارض عذبة

ومن حولها الاشجار باسقة طولا

And that rivers flow sweetly through the land,

with trees towering tall around them;

وان ديار الساكنين رحيبة

تزار فتولى كل من زارها السولا

and the inhabitants' homes are spacious,

visited, and granting every visitor their desire;

وان رياضا حولها وحدائقا

يفوح لها عرف فينعش متبولا

and gardens and orchards around them

waft a fragrance that revives the lovesick;

وان ترتع الارآم ارام انسها

على بسط الزهر المنوع تشكيلا

and gazelles—the gazelles among its people—frolic

upon carpets of flowers varied in pattern.

هنالك انغام المعازف حولت

عن القلب ما يلقى من الهم تحويلا

There the melodies of instruments have turned

the sorrows it encounters utterly away from the heart.

هنالك دارت بالكؤوس سقاتها

كؤوس من المزر الذي لذ تحليلا

There their cupbearers circulate with cups,

cups of beer, delicious to enjoy lawfully.

لقد توجت هاماتها بحبابه

وما ان عهدنا لابنة الكرم تكليلا

Their heads are crowned with its foam,

yet we have never known the vine's daughter to wear a crown.

فمن يتأمل ساعة في جمالها

يعد وهو فيها اكثر الناس تأميلا

Whoever contemplates its beauty for an hour

is, while with it, counted the most hopeful of people.

فيا ويح من لم يألف الشمس طرفه

اذا ما اجتلى انوارها النظرة الأولى

Alas for one whose eye is unaccustomed to the sun,

when at the first glance he beholds its radiance;

ومن لم يجد للعشر زيدت لحكمة

على الشعر تعليلا صحيحا وتأويلا

and for one who cannot find, for the 'ten' wisely added

to 'poetry,' a sound explanation or interpretation.

لقد غضب الساقي على الشرب اذراي

بها طرفهم عن حسنه كان مشغولا

The cupbearer grew angry with the drinkers when he saw

their gaze occupied with it instead of his beauty.

وليس لهم هم على فرط علمهم

بمن باء منصوبا ومن بات معزولا

Despite their abundant knowledge, they have no concern

for who has gained appointment and who has been dismissed.

واجدر بمن قد حازها أن تشوقه

وقد لاح منها انجما وتهاويلا

And one who possesses it should all the more yearn for it,

when stars and wondrous sights gleam from it.

فتلك التي فيها اغالي لانها

حلال فلا تأثيم فيها ولا غولا

That is what I extol so highly, for it

is lawful, bringing neither sin nor intoxicating harm.

فمن لا منى فليسعفني بذكرها

وما ضرني كوني على الحق معذولا

So whoever blames me, let him help me by mentioning it;

being blamed while standing for truth has not harmed me.

لعمرك ليس العمر ما طال نحبه

ولكنه ما طاب بالانس تأجيلا

By your life, life is not merely a long allotted term,

but a span prolonged in the pleasure of companionship.

فحسبي منه ما خلا عن سآمة

وسائره كالحمل يثقل محمولا

Enough for me is the part of it free from boredom;

the rest is like a burden that weighs heavily when carried.

وان تفعم الافراح افئدة الورى

وكل لفعل الخير أهل تأهيلا

And that joys fill the hearts of humankind,

and everyone is made fully fit to do good,

ويعلم أن الله ينصر عبده

اذا ما تحرى للهداية تعويلا

and knows that God supports His servant

when he earnestly seeks to rely on guidance;

وان تهدى الأنوار في حالك الدجى

خطى من سعى فيه ليدرك مأمولا

and that lights, in the pitch-black night, guide

the steps of one who walks through it to attain a hope.

لعمرك ان الله نور ومن يزد

من النور يزدد منه زلفى وتوسيلا

By your life, God is light; whoever gains

more light gains from Him nearness and a means of approach.

ومن يتمحل للخلاف مكابرا

فسجل عليه انه كان ضليلا

Whoever stubbornly contrives pretexts for opposition,

record against him that he was deeply astray.

فهذا الذي اصبو اليه اصيبه

بمصر على ابهى الاساليب تكميلا

This, then, is what I long for, and I find it

in Egypt, perfected in the most splendid ways.

فهمة اسماعيل قد اوجدت بها

محاسن هذا العصر اصلا وتاصيلا

For Ismail's resolve has brought into being there

the beauties of this age, rooted and firmly established.

فمن كان في عيش التمدن راغبا

فان عليه ان يرى مصر والنيلا

Whoever desires the life of civilization

must therefore see Egypt and the Nile.

والا فلا يعتب على الدهر ساخطا

ولا يلقين من فيه قالا ولا قيلا

Otherwise, let him not angrily blame time,

nor let idle talk and hearsay fall from his mouth.

ومن يقض في مدح العزيز زمانه

فذاك الذي لم يأت قط الاباطيلا

Whoever spends his time praising the mighty ruler

is one who has never uttered falsehoods.

ولو جاز بعد الذكر تنزيل آية

لكانت قوافي مدحنا فيه تنزيلا

Were a verse allowed to be revealed after the Qur'an,

the rhymes of our praise of him would be revelation.

هو العادل البر الذي عم فضله

فلم يبق الا من به ظل مشمولا

He is the just, benevolent one whose bounty is universal,

so none remains who is not enfolded in it.

له ناصر من ربه ومؤازر

فمهما نوى من نية كان مفعولا

He has a helper and supporter from his Lord,

so whatever intention he forms is accomplished.

ولو لم يكن عون الاله مصاحبا

له لم يرم ما عز روما وتحصيلا

Had God's aid not accompanied

him, he would not have sought what was hard to pursue and obtain.

فدان له اقصى المطالب والمنى

فقرب ممطولا وابعد مملولا

The furthest aims and hopes have yielded to him;

he brought the long-deferred near and drove the wearisome away.

وسن من الافعال ما صار قدوة

وسنى من الآمال ما كان تخييلا

He instituted deeds that became models,

and made attainable hopes that had been mere imaginings.

واطلق بالجود الذي هو دأبه

وشيمته من كان بالعسر مغلولا

He freed, through generosity, which is his habit

and his nature, whoever was shackled by hardship.

وألف ما بين الزمان وأهله

فسواهما عدلى محاسن تعديلا

He reconciled the age with its people,

and balanced them as matching counterparts in excellence.

وألبس مصرا ثوب عز وغبطة

يدوم على مر الجديدين مسدولا

He clothed Egypt in a robe of glory and joy,

that stays draped through the passing of night and day.

متى ما يشد في الأرض مأثرة فله

أشاد لها أهل السماوات تهليلا

Whenever he builds a noble work on earth, for him

the dwellers of heaven acclaim it, proclaiming God's oneness.

حديث علاه لا يزال مكررا

صحيحا على أقوى الاسانيد منقولا

The account of his glory is continually repeated,

transmitted authentically through the strongest chains of narration.

أرى العدل عند الناس مثل حروفه

غدا مهملا لا يشغلون به جولا

I see justice among people, like its letters,

become 'undotted'—neglected; they give it no thought.

ولكنه عند العزيز شريعة

منزلة لن تقبل الدهر تبديلا

But for the mighty ruler it is a sacred law,

revealed, admitting no change for all time.

لقد جمل الدنيا به خالق الورى

وكمل أحكام السياسة تكميلا

The Creator of humankind has beautified the world through him,

and perfected the rules of governance completely.

فلست ترى في مصر غير محاسن

كما سبقت عنه الكناية تفصيلا

Thus you see nothing in Egypt but beauties,

as the earlier allusion to him set out in detail.

وللدين منه حرمة ورعاية

فكم في سبيل الله أجزل تسبيلا

Religion receives respect and care from him;

how lavishly he has given endowments in God's cause!

وأهل الزوايا والمساجد عززوا

بما أحرزوه من فواضله الطولى

The people of devotional lodges and mosques are strengthened

by the supreme bounties they have obtained from him.

وكل امرء ناداه معتصما به

فان له في ثوب جدواه تزميلا

And every person who calls on him, seeking his protection,

is enfolded in the robe of his beneficence.

سيذكر قوم بعد قوم صنيعه

وينبئ جيل عن صنائعه جيلا

One people after another will remember his kindness,

and one generation will tell another of his benefactions.

أدام اله العرش عز جنابه

وزاد علاه في البرية تأثيلا

May the God of the Throne preserve the honor of his person,

and root his eminence more firmly among humankind;

ومتعه بالنجل والاهل دائما

وصانهم طرا بطه وجبريلا

may He grant him lasting joy in his son and family,

and protect them all through Taha and Gabriel;

وهنأهم بالعيد في كل حجة

هناء بادراك المآرب موصولا

and gladden them with Eid in every year,

with joy joined to the fulfillment of their desires.

يحق علينا ان نعظم قدرهم

ونهديهم حمدا وشكرا وتبجيلا

It is our duty to exalt their worth,

and offer them praise, gratitude, and veneration.