تاج البلاد تحية وسلام — Ahmed Shawqi

تاجَ البِلادِ تَحِيَّةٌ وَسَلامُ

رَدَّتكَ مِصرُ وَصَحَّتِ الأَحلامُ

Crown of the land, greetings and peace!

Egypt has brought you back, and dreams have come true.

العِلمُ وَالمُلكُ الرَفيعُ كِلاهُما

لَكَ يا فُؤادُ جَلالَةٌ وَمَقامُ

Learning and exalted kingship alike

give you, O Fuad, majesty and rank.

فَكَأَنَّكَ المَأمونُ في سُلطانِهِ

في ظِلِّكَ الأَعلامُ وَالأَقلامُ

Thus you are like al-Ma'mun in his sovereignty;

under your shade are the luminaries and the pens.

أَهدى إِلَيكَ الغَربُ مِن أَلقابِهِ

في العِلمِ ما تَسمو لَهُ الأَعلامُ

The West has bestowed on you, from among its titles

in learning, honors for which banners soar.

مِن كُلِّ مَملَكَةٍ وَكُلِّ جَماعَةٍ

يَسعى لَكَ التَقديرُ وَالإِعظامُ

From every kingdom and every community,

esteem and reverence hasten to you.

ما هَذِهِ الغُرَفُ الزَواهِرُ كَالضُحى

الشامِخاتُ كَأَنَّها الأَعلامُ

What are these halls, radiant as forenoon,

towering as though they were mountains?

مِن كُلِّ مَرفوعِ العَمودِ مُنَوِّرٍ

كَالصُبحِ مُنصَدِعٌ بِهِ الإِظلامُ

Each lofty-pillared and light-giving,

like dawn, by which darkness is cleft apart.

تَتَحَطَّمُ الأُمِّيَةُ الكُبرى عَلى

عَرَصاتِهِ وَتُمَزَّقُ الأَوهامُ

Vast illiteracy is shattered upon

its courtyards, and delusions are torn apart.

هَذا البِناءُ الفاطِمِيُّ مَنارَةٌ

وَقَواعِدٌ لِحَضارَةٍ وَدِعامُ

This Fatimid edifice is a beacon,

and foundations and supports for a civilization.

مَهدٌ تَهَيَّأَ لِلوَليدِ وَأَيكَةٌ

سَيَرِنُّ فيها بُلبُلٌ وَحَمامُ

A cradle made ready for the newborn, and a grove

where a nightingale and doves will sing.

شُرُفاتُهُ نورُ السَبيلِ وَرُكنُهُ

لِلعَبقَرِيَّةِ مَنزِلٌ وَمُقامُ

Its balconies light the way, and its pillar

is a home and dwelling for genius.

وَمَلاعِبٌ تُجري الحُظوظُ مَعَ الصِبا

في ظِلِّهِنَّ وَتوهَبُ الأَقسامُ

And playing fields, where fortunes run with youth

in their shade, and allotted shares are bestowed.

يَمشي بِها الفِتيانُ هَذا مالَهُ

نَفسٌ تُسَوِّدُهُ وَذاكَ عِصامُ

Young men walk there: this one's wealth

is a soul that ennobles him, and that one is Isam.

أَلقى أَواسيهِ وَطالَ بِرُكنِهِ

نَفسٌ مِنَ الصَيدِ المُلوكِ كِرامُ

Its foundations were laid and its pillar raised high

by a noble soul from among the proud kings,

مِن آلِ إِسماعيلَ لا العَمّاتُ قَد

قَصَّرنَ عَن كَرَمٍ وَلا الأَعمامُ

of the house of Ismail: neither the aunts

have fallen short in generosity, nor the uncles.

لَم يُعطَ هِمَّتَهُم وَلا إِحسانَهُم

بانٍ عَلى وادي المُلوكِ هُمامُ

Neither their resolve nor their beneficence was ever granted

to any valiant builder in the Valley of Kings.

وَبَنى فُؤادُ حائِطَيهِ يُعينُهُ

شَعبٌ عَنِ الغاياتِ لَيسَ يَنامُ

And Fuad built its two walls, aided

by a people who never sleep heedless of their goals.

اُنظُر أَبا الفاروقِ غَرسَكَ هَلَ دَنَت

ثَمَراتُهُ وَبَدَت لَهُ أَعلامُ

Look, father of Faruq, at your planting: have they drawn near—

its fruits—and have its signs appeared?

وَهَل اِنثَنى الوادي وَفي فَمِهِ الجَنى

وَأَتى العِراقُ مُشاطِراً وَالشامُ

And has the valley returned, the harvest in its mouth,

and Iraq come to share, and Syria too?

في كُلِّ عاصِمَةٍ وَكُلِّ مَدينَةٍ

شُبّانُ مِصرَ عَلى المَناهِلِ حاموا

In every capital and every city,

Egypt's young men have hovered about the watering places.

كَم نَستَعيرُ الآخَرينَ وَنَجتَدي

هَيهاتَ ما لِلعارِياتِ دَوامُ

How often we borrow from others and beg!

How vain! Borrowed things do not last.

اليَومَ يَرعى في خَمائِلِ أَرضِهِم

نَشءٌ إِلى داعي الرَحيلِ قِيامُ

Today, grazing in the groves of their land,

is a young generation, standing ready for the call to depart.

حُبٌّ غَرَستَ بِراحَتَيكَ وَلَم يَزَل

يَسقيهِ مِن كِلتا يَدَيكَ غَمامُ

Love you planted with your two palms, and still

clouds from both your hands water it,

حَتّى أَنافَ عَلى قَوائِمِ سوقِهِ

ثَمَراً تَنوءُ وَراءَهُ الأَكمامُ

until it rose high upon its upright stems,

bearing fruit whose sheaths strain beneath its weight.

فَقَريبُهُ لِلحاضِرينَ وَليمَةٌ

وَبَعيدُهُ لِلغابِرينَ طَعامُ

So its near fruit is a feast for those present,

and its distant fruit is food for those to come.

عِظَةٌ لِفاروقٍ وَصالِحِ جيلِهِ

فيما يُنيلُ الصَبرُ وَالإِقدامُ

A lesson for Faruq and the worthy of his generation

in what patience and daring bestow,

وَنَموذَجٌ تَحذو عَلَيهِ وَلَم يَزَل

بِسَراتِهِم يَتَشَبَّهُ الأَقوامُ

and a model for you to follow; always

have peoples emulated their leaders.

شَيَّدتَ صَرحاً لِلذَخائِرِ عالِياً

يَأوي الجَمالُ إِلَيهِ وَالإِلهامُ

You built a lofty edifice for treasures,

where beauty and inspiration take refuge.

رَفٌّ عُيونُ الكُتبِ فيهِ طَوائِفٌ

وَجَلائِلُ الأَسفارِ فيهِ رُكامُ

A shelf where the finest books stand in groups,

and great volumes are heaped upon it.

إِسكَندَرِيَّةُ عادَ كَنزُكِ سالِماً

حَتّى كَأَن لَم يَلتَهِمهُ ضِرامُ

Alexandria, your treasure has returned intact,

as though no blaze had ever devoured it.

لَمَّتهُ مِن لَهَبِ الحَريقِ أَنامِلٌ

بَردٌ عَلى ما لامَسَت وَسَلامُ

Fingers gathered it from the flames of the fire,

bringing coolness and peace to all they touched.

وَآسَت جِراحَتَكَ القَديمَةُ راحَةٌ

جُرحُ الزَمانِ بِعُرفِها يَلتامُ

And a palm soothed your ancient wound;

by its kindness, the wound of time is healed.

تَهَبُ الطَريفَ مِنَ الفَخارِ وَرُبَّما

بَعَثَت تَليدَ المَجدِ وَهوَ رِمامُ

It bestows newly won renown, and sometimes

revives ancestral glory, though it lies in ruins.

أَرَأَيتَ رُكنَ العِلمِ كَيفَ يُقامُ

أَرَأَيتَ الاِستِقلالَ كَيفَ يُرامُ

Have you seen how learning's pillar is raised?

Have you seen how independence is sought?

العِلمُ في سُبُلِ الحَضارَةِ وَالعُلا

حادٍ لِكُلِّ جَماعَةٍ وَزِمامُ

Learning, on the paths of civilization and greatness,

is a guide and a rein for every community.

باني المَمالِكِ حينَ تَنشُدُ بانِياً

وَمَثابَةُ الأَوطانِ حينَ تُضامُ

The builder of kingdoms when you seek a builder,

and the refuge of homelands when they are wronged.

قامَت رُبوعُ العِلمِ في الوادي فَهَل

لِلعَبقَرِيَّةِ وَالنُبوغِ قِيامُ

Learning's precincts have risen in the valley; so have

genius and brilliance risen too?

فَهُما الحَياةُ وَكُلُّ دورِ ثَقافَةٍ

أَو دورِ تَعليمٍ هِيَ الأَجسامُ

For those two are life, and all houses of culture,

or houses of education, are the bodies.

ما العِلمُ ما لَم يَصنَعاهُ حَقيقَةً

لِلطالِبينَ وَلا البَيانُ كَلامُ

Learning is not learning unless those two make it real

for seekers; nor is eloquence speech.

يا مِهرَجانَ العِلمِ حَولَكَ فَرحَةٌ

وَعَلَيكَ مِن آمالِ مِصرَ زِحامُ

O festival of learning, joy surrounds you,

and a throng of Egypt's hopes presses upon you.

ما أَشبَهَتكَ مَواسِمُ الوادي وَلا

أَعيادُهُ في الدَهرِ وَهيَ عِظامُ

No festivals of the valley have resembled you, nor

its celebrations through time, great though they are,

إِلّا نَهاراً في بَشاشَةِ صُبحِهِ

قَعَدَ البُناةُ وَقامَتِ الأَهرامُ

except one day, in the gladness of whose morning

the builders sat down and the pyramids rose.

وَأَطالَ خوفو في مَواكِبِ عِزِّهِ

فَاِهتَزَّتِ الرَبَواتُ وَالآكامُ

And Khufu lingered amid the processions of his glory,

so the knolls and hills trembled.

يومي بِتاجٍ في الحَضارَةِ مُعرِقٍ

تَعنو الجِباهُ لِعِزِّهِ وَالهامُ

He gestures with a crown deep-rooted in civilization,

before whose majesty foreheads and heads bow.

تاجٌ تَنَقَّلَ في العُصورِ مُعَظَّماً

وَتَأَلَّفَت دُوَلٌ عَلَيهِ جِسامُ

A crown that passed through the ages, revered,

and mighty states formed around it.

لَمّا اِضطَلَعتَ بِهِ مَشى فيهِ الهُدى

وَمَراشِدُ الدُستورِ وَالإِسلامُ

When you took it up, guidance walked within it,

and the constitution's guiding principles, and Islam.

سَبَقَت مَواكِبُكَ الرَبيعَ وَحُسنَهُ

فَالنيلُ زَهوٌ وَالضِفافُ وِسامُ

Your processions outstripped spring and its beauty,

so the Nile is splendor, and its banks a medal.

الجيزَةُ الفَيحاءُ هَزَّت مَنكِباً

سُبِغَ النَوالُ عَلَيهِ وَالإِنعامُ

Spacious Giza shook a shoulder

upon which largesse and favors had been lavished.

لَبِسَت زَخارِفَها وَمَسَّت طيبَها

وَتَرَدَّدَت في أَيكِها الأَنغامُ

She donned her adornments and dabbed on her perfume,

and melodies resounded in her groves.

قَد زِدتَها هَرَماً يُحَجُّ فِناؤُهُ

وَيُشَدُّ لِلدُنيا إِلَيهِ حِزامُ

You have added to her a pyramid whose courtyard draws pilgrims,

and, for worldly ends, belts are tightened to journey there.

تَقِفُ القُرونُ غَداً عَلى دَرَجاتِهِ

تُملي الثَناءَ وَتَكتُبُ الأَيّامُ

Tomorrow the centuries will stand upon its steps,

dictating praise while the days write it down.

أَعوامُ جُهدٍ في الشَبابِ وَراءَها

مِن جُهدِ خَيرِ كُهولَةٍ أَعوامُ

Years of toil in youth, followed

by years of toil in the finest maturity.

بَلَغَ البِناءُ عَلى يَدَيكَ تَمامُهُ

وَلِكُلِّ ما تَبني يَداكَ تَمامُ

The building reached completion at your hands,

and all that your two hands build comes to completion.