1. يا ناشِرَ العِلمِ بِهَذي البِلاد

    وُفِّقتَ نَشرُ العِلمِ مِثلُ الجِهاد

    O spreader of knowledge in this land,

    May you succeed; spreading knowledge is like jihad.

  2. بانِيَ صَرحِ المَجدِ أَنتَ الَّذي

    تَبني بُيوتَ العِلمِ في كُلِّ ناد

    O builder of glory's edifice, you are the one

    Who builds houses of learning in every gathering-place.

  3. بِالعِلمِ سادَ الناسُ في عَصرِهِم

    وَاِختَرَقوا السَبعَ الطِباقَ الشِداد

    Through knowledge, people achieved mastery in their age,

    And pierced the seven mighty, tiered heavens.

  4. أَيَطلُبُ المَجدَ وَيَبغي العُلا

    قَومٌ لِسوقِ العِلمِ فيهِم كَساد

    Can glory be sought, and eminence pursued,

    By a people among whom the market for learning languishes?

  5. نَقّادُ أَعمالِكَ مُغلٍ لَها

    إِذا غَلا الدُرُّ غَلا الاِنتِقاد

    The critic of your deeds raises their worth;

    When pearls grow dear, criticism grows dear.

  6. ما أَصعَبَ الفِعلَ لِمَن رامَهُ

    وَأَسهَلَ القَولَ عَلى مَن أَراد

    How hard the deed for one who seeks it,

    And how easy speech for one who wishes!

  7. سَمعاً لِشَكوايَ فَإِن لَم تَجِد

    مِنكَ قُبولاً فَالشَكاوى تُعاد

    Hear my complaint; if it finds no

    Acceptance from you, complaints are repeated.

  8. عَدلاً عَلى ما كانَ مِن فَضلِكُم

    فَالفَضلُ إِن وُزِّع بِالعَدلِ زاد

    Justice, in addition to the bounty you have shown;

    For bounty, if distributed justly, increases.

  9. أَسمَعُ أَحياناً وَحيناً أَرى

    مَدرَسَةً في كُلِّ حَيٍّ تُشاد

    Sometimes I hear, and sometimes I see

    A school being raised in every neighborhood.

  10. قَدَّمتَ قَبلي مُدُناً أَو قُرى

    كُنتُ أَنا السَيفَ وَكُنَّ النِجاد

    You gave cities or villages precedence over me;

    I was the sword, and they the sword-belt.

  11. أَنا الَّتي كُنتُ سَريراً لِمَن

    سادَ كَإِدوَردَ زَماناً وَشاد

    I am she who was a throne for one

    Who ruled, like Edward, for a time, and built.

  12. قَد وَحَّدَ الخالِقَ في هَيكَلٍ

    مِن قَبلِ سُقراطَ وَمِن قَبلِ عاد

    He had affirmed the Creator's oneness in a temple,

    Before Socrates and before Ad.

  13. وَهَذَّبَ الهِندُ دِياناتِهِم

    بِكُلِّ خافٍ مِن رُموزي وَباد

    And the Indians refined their religions

    Through every hidden and manifest symbol of mine.

  14. وَمِن تَلاميذي موسى الَّذي

    أوحِيَ مِن بَعدُ إِلَيهِ فَهاد

    And among my pupils was Moses, who

    Later received revelation and became a guide.

  15. وَأُرضِعَ الحِكمَةَ عيسى الهُدى

    أَيّامَ تُربي مَهدُهُ وَالوِساد

    And Jesus, the guide, was suckled on wisdom

    In the days when my soil was his cradle and pillow.

  16. مَدرَسَتي كانَت حِياضَ النُهى

    قَرارَةَ العِرفانِ دارَ الرَشاد

    My school was the pools of reason,

    The abode of knowledge, the home of right guidance.

  17. مَشايِخُ اليونانِ يَأتونَها

    يُلقونَ في العِلمِ إِلَيها القِياد

    The sages of Greece would come to it,

    Yielding to it the reins of learning.

  18. كُنّا نُسَمّيهِم بِصِبيانِهِ

    وَصِبيَتي بِالشَيبِ أَهلُ السَداد

    We used to call them its schoolboys,

    While my gray-haired boys were men of sound judgment.

  19. ذَلِكَ أَمسي ما بِهِ ريبَةٌ

    وَيَومِيَ القُبَّةُ ذاتُ العِماد

    That is my yesterday—there is no doubt of it;

    And my today is al-Qubba, with its pillars.

  20. أَصبَحتُ كَالفِردَوسِ في ظِلِّها

    مِن مِصرَ لِلخَنكا لِظِلّي اِمتِداد

    I have become like paradise in its shade;

    From Cairo to al-Khanka, my shade extends.

  21. لَولا جُلّى زَيتونِيَ النَضرِ ما

    أَقسَمَ بِالزَيتونِ رَبُّ العِباد

    Were it not for the glory of my verdant olive trees,

    The Lord of His servants would not have sworn by the olive.

  22. الواحَةُ الزَهراءُ ذاتُ الغِنى

    تُربي الَّتي ما مِثلِها في البِلاد

    The radiant oasis, rich in abundance,

    Is my soil, unmatched in this land.

  23. تُريكَ بِالصُبحِ وَجُنحِ الدُجى

    بُدورَ حُسنٍ وَشُموسَ اِتِّقاد

    It shows you, at morning and in the darkness of night,

    Full moons of beauty and suns of blazing radiance.

  24. بَنِيَّ يا سَعدُ كَزُغبِ القَطا

    لا نَقَّصَ اللَهُ لَهُم مِن عِداد

    My sons, O Saad, are like downy sandgrouse chicks—

    May God never diminish their number.

  25. إِن فاتَكَ النَسلُ فَأَكرِم بِهِم

    وَرُبَّ نَسلٍ بِالنَدى يُستَفاد

    If offspring have eluded you, how fine they are!

    And many an offspring is gained through generosity.

  26. أَخشى عَلَيهِم مِن أَذىً رائِحٍ

    يَجمَعُهُم في الفَجرِ وَالعَصرِ غاد

    I fear for them the harm of one returning at evening,

    Who sets out at morning, gathering them at dawn and afternoon.

  27. صَفيرُهُ يَسلُبُني راحَتي

    وَيَمنَعُ الجَفنَ لَذيذَ الرُقاد

    Its whistle robs me of my peace

    And denies my eyelid sweet slumber.

  28. يَعقوبُ مِن ذِئبٍ بَكى مُشفِقاً

    فَكَيفَ أَنيابُ الحَديدِ الحِداد

    Jacob wept in dread of a wolf;

    What, then, of the sharp fangs of iron?

  29. فَاِنظُر رَعاكَ اللَهُ في حاجِهِم

    فَنَظرَةٌ مِنكَ تُنيلُ المُراد

    So consider, may God protect you, their needs;

    For a glance from you grants what is desired.

  30. قَد بَسَطوا الكَفَّ عَلى أَنَّهُم

    في كَرَمِ الراحِ كَصَوبِ العِهاد

    They have held out a hand, though they,

    In the generosity of their palms, are like showers of recurring rain.

  31. إِن طُلِبَ القِسطُ فَما مِنهُمُ

    إِلّا جَوادٌ عَن أَبيهِ الجَواد

    If a fair share is asked for, none among them

    Is anything but a generous son of a generous father.