أهلا وسهلا بحاميها وفاديها

أهلا وسهلا بحاميها وفاديها

ومرحبا وسلاما يا عرابيها

ومرحبا وسلاما يا عرابيها

Welcome, welcome to her protector and her redeemer!

Welcome to her defender and savior,

And welcome and peace, O her Urabi!

And greetings and peace to her protector.

وبالكرامة يامن راح يفضحها

وبالكرامة يامن راح يفضحها

ومقدم الخير يا من جاء يخزيها

ومقدم الخير يا من جاء يخزيها

And honor to you, O you who set about disgracing her,

And with dignity, O one who went to expose her,

and a blessed arrival, O you who came to shame her!

And initiator of good, O one who came to shame her.

وعد لها حين لا تغنى مدافعها

وعد لها حين لا تغنى مدافعها

عن الزعيم ولا تجدى طوابيها

عن الزعيم ولا تجدى طوابيها

And return to her when her cannons are of no avail

And promise her when her cannons are of no avail,

to the leader, nor are her forts of any use.

To protect the leader, nor are her fortresses useful.

وارجع إليها فيا لله فاتحها

وارجع إليها فيا لله فاتحها

يوم الإياب ويا لله غازيها

يوم الإياب ويا لله غازيها

And return to her—by God, what a conqueror of hers,

And return to it - by God open its gates -

on the day of homecoming! By God, what an invader of hers!

On the day of return, and by God conquer it.

وانزل على الطائر الميمون ساحتها

وانزل على الطائر الميمون ساحتها

واجلس على تلّها وانعق بواديها

واجلس على تلّها وانعق بواديها

And alight in her square under the auspicious bird's omen,

And descend on the auspicious plane in its field,

and sit on her hill and caw in her valley.

And sit on its hill and coo in its valleys.

وبِض لها بيضة للنصر كافلة

وبِض لها بيضة للنصر كافلة

إن الدجاج عقيم في نواحيها

إن الدجاج عقيم في نواحيها

And lay for her an egg that guarantees victory;

And lay for it the egg of victory which will hatch,

for the hens are barren in her regions.

Since the chicken is sterile in its environs.

واظلم صحيح البخارى كل أونة

واظلم صحيح البخارى كل أونة

ونم عن الحرب واقرأ في لياليها

ونم عن الحرب واقرأ في لياليها

And do injustice to Sahih al-Bukhari at every turn,

And oppress Al-Bukhari's Sahih every so often,

and sleep through war, and read throughout its nights.

And sleep away from war, and read during its nights.

وأخرج القوم من مصر بخارقة

وأخرج القوم من مصر بخارقة

تفوق فاشودة فيها وتنسيها

تفوق فاشودة فيها وتنسيها

And drive those people from Egypt by a miracle

And bring the people out of Egypt with a miracle,

in which you outdo Fashoda and consign it to oblivion.

Exceeding the Fashoda in it and forgetting it.

من العجائب صاروا من أحبتها

من العجائب صاروا من أحبتها

فيما زعمت وكانوا من أعاديها

فيما زعمت وكانوا من أعاديها

A wonder indeed: they have become her loved ones,

From wonders, they became those who loved her,

so you claim, though they were her enemies.

As you claimed, yet were among her enemies.

كأن ما كان من حرب ومن حَرَب

كأن ما كان من حرب ومن حَرَب

عتب المودة لا يودى بصافيها

عتب المودة لا يودى بصافيها

As though the war and the plunder that occurred

As if past wars and battles,

were a loving reproach that does not mar affection's purity.

Were but friendliness' reproach which does not destroy its purity.

وضع عمامتك الخضراء من شرف

وضع عمامتك الخضراء من شرف

يعرفك كل جهول من أهاليها

يعرفك كل جهول من أهاليها

And set your green turban on high;

Put on your green turban with honor,

every ignoramus among her people will recognize you.

So every ignoramus of its people recognizes you.

وقصّ رؤياك مكذوبا بمضحكها

وقصّ رؤياك مكذوبا بمضحكها

على النبيين مكذوبا بمبكيها

على النبيين مكذوبا بمبكيها

And recount your dream, falsely ascribing its laughable parts

And falsely recount your laughable vision,

to the prophets, falsely ascribing its tearful parts as well.

Falsely mourning the prophets with its weeping.

فلست تعدم عميا من أكابرها

فلست تعدم عميا من أكابرها

ولست تعدم بكما من أعاليها

ولست تعدم بكما من أعاليها

For you will not lack blind men among her grandees,

For you do not lack a blind one from its dignitaries,

and you will not lack mute men among her high-ranking ones;

Nor a mute one from its nobility.

ولست تعدم وغدا من أسافلها

ولست تعدم وغدا من أسافلها

يزف للأمة البشرى ويهديها

يزف للأمة البشرى ويهديها

and you will not lack a scoundrel among her lowliest,

Nor tomorrow one from its riffraff,

who brings the nation glad tidings and offers them to it.

Who announces good tidings to the nation and guides it.

ولست تعدم في الأجواد ذا سفه

ولست تعدم في الأجواد ذا سفه

يحصى الديون التي تشكو ويقضيها

يحصى الديون التي تشكو ويقضيها

And you will not lack among the generous a foolish man

Nor do you lack among the generous one so foolish,

who tallies the debts you complain of and settles them.

Who counts the debts which it complains of and settles them.

قل للمَّلك أدورد أصبت غنى

قل للمَّلك أدورد أصبت غنى

عن الهنود وإرلندا وما فيها

عن الهنود وإرلندا وما فيها

Tell King Edward: you have found enough to do without

Say to King Edward you have become needless,

the Indians, Ireland, and all it holds.

Of India, Ireland and what is in it.

هذا عرابي تمنى أن تقابله

هذا عرابي تمنى أن تقابله

وأن ينال يداً جلت أياديها

وأن ينال يداً جلت أياديها

This is Urabi, who wished that you would meet him

And to obtain a hand that made hands shrink.

and that he might clasp a hand whose favors are exalted.

So pass through England, wreaking havoc on its armies,

فمر بانكلترا تزجى فيالقها

فمر بانكلترا تزجى فيالقها

وبالأساطيل تدوى في موانيها

وبالأساطيل تدوى في موانيها

So command England to send forth her legions,

And with the fleets thunder in its harbors.

and the fleets to thunder in her harbors;

And pass through London, appearing with its adornments,

ومر بلندرة تبدو بزينتها

ومر بلندرة تبدو بزينتها

وتنجلى للبرايا في مجاليها

وتنجلى للبرايا في مجاليها

and command London to appear in her finery

And shining brightly in its squares.

and reveal herself to all creation in her displays of splendor.

So where is Roberts compared to him when he attacks her

فأين روبرس منه إذ ييمها

فأين روبرس منه إذ ييمها

وأين سيمور منه إذ يوافيها

وأين سيمور منه إذ يوافيها

Where, then, is Roberts beside him when he heads for her?

And where is Seymour compared to him when he confronts her?

And where is Seymour beside him when he comes to her?

This one whom the Franks know his might,

هذا الذي يعرف الافرنج صولته

هذا الذي يعرف الافرنج صولته

والبر يعلمها والبحر يدريها

والبر يعلمها والبحر يدريها

This is the man whose onslaught the Franks know;

And the land knows it and the sea is aware of it.

the land knows it, and the sea knows it too.

And ask him by God if you shake his hand,

وسله بالله إن صافحت راحته

وسله بالله إن صافحت راحته

ما نفسه ما مناها ما مساعيها

ما نفسه ما مناها ما مساعيها

And ask him, by God, if you clasp his palm:

What his soul desires, what his aspirations are.

What is his soul, what are its hopes, what are its endeavors?

And where are his faiths which he extolled,

وأين أيمانه اللاتي أشاد بها

وأين أيمانه اللاتي أشاد بها

أن لا يحكم فيها غير أهليها

أن لا يحكم فيها غير أهليها

And where are the oaths he proclaimed

That none should rule it but its inhabitants?

that none but her own people should rule in her?

And where does he die honoured, not accepting less than it,

وأين يموت عزيزا دون أربعها

وأين يموت عزيزا دون أربعها

ولا يعيش ذليلا في مغانيها

ولا يعيش ذليلا في مغانيها

And where is his vow to die honorably defending her dwellings,

And not live disgraced enjoying its pleasures?

and not live in abasement amid her abodes?

And tell him in the Nile's tongue that pains him,

وقل له بلسان النيل توجعه

وقل له بلسان النيل توجعه

والنفس إن صغرت لا شئ يؤذيها

والنفس إن صغرت لا شئ يؤذيها

And tell him, in the Nile's tongue, what will pain him;

If the soul is small, nothing can harm it.

yet if a soul is petty, nothing can hurt it.

Those bones without a grave or shroud,

تلك العظام بلا قبر ولا كفن

تلك العظام بلا قبر ولا كفن

لولاك لم يبل في العشرين باليها

لولاك لم يبل في العشرين باليها

Those bones, without a grave or shroud—

If not for you, would not have rotted away in its ruins.

but for you, their decayed remains would not have decayed in twenty years.

So bestow peace upon it when it mourns them,

فاقَر السلام عليها حين تندبها

فاقَر السلام عليها حين تندبها

وأمّل العفو منها حين تبكيها

وأمّل العفو منها حين تبكيها

So send them greetings when you lament them,

And hope for forgiveness from it when it weeps for them.

and hope for their forgiveness when you weep for them.

And speak to it once in a lifetime,

وناجِها مرة في العمر واحدة

وناجِها مرة في العمر واحدة

لو كان سهلا عليها أن تناجيها

لو كان سهلا عليها أن تناجيها

And commune with them once in your lifetime,

If it were easy for it to speak to you.

if only it were easy for them to hear your whispered words.

Death has brought it no honor,

أوردتها الموت لم تبلغ بها شرفا

أوردتها الموت لم تبلغ بها شرفا

ولا توخيت بالأوطان تنويها

ولا توخيت بالأوطان تنويها

You led them to death, but gained no honor through them,

Nor have you sought glory in the homelands by supporting it.

nor did you seek renown for the homelands.

It has not seen for you a sword to illuminate it,

وما رأت لك سيفا تستضىء به

وما رأت لك سيفا تستضىء به

يوم القتال ولا وجها يحييها

يوم القتال ولا وجها يحييها

And they saw no sword of yours to draw light from

On the day of battle, nor a face to enliven it.

on the day of battle, nor a face to revive them.

It spent the night seeing death overtaking it,

باتت يرى الموت فيها كيف يدركها

باتت يرى الموت فيها كيف يدركها

وبت تنظر مصرا كيف تأتيها

وبت تنظر مصرا كيف تأتيها

They spent the night with Death among them, watching how to catch them,

And spent the night looking at Egypt coming to it.

while you spent the night considering how to reach Egypt.

So it woke up like sheep which wolves preyed upon,

فأصبحت غنما مر الذئاب بها

فأصبحت غنما مر الذئاب بها

ونام عنها غداة الروع راعيها

ونام عنها غداة الروع راعيها

So they became sheep, with wolves passing among them,

And its shepherd slept the next morning.

and their shepherd slept heedless of them on the morning of terror.

O son of Hussein, Hussein died of thirst,

يا ابن الحسين حسين مات من ظمأ

يا ابن الحسين حسين مات من ظمأ

وأنت محتفل بالنفس ترويها

وأنت محتفل بالنفس ترويها

O son of al-Husayn, Husayn died of thirst,

While you revel in the soul quenching it.

while you lavish care on your own self, quenching its thirst.

That fatherhood - how strange are its features -

تلك الأبوة ما هذى شمائلها

تلك الأبوة ما هذى شمائلها

للعارفينَ ولا هذى معانيها

للعارفينَ ولا هذى معانيها

That ancestry—these are not its traits

To the knowledgeable, nor how strange are its meanings!

to those who know, nor are these its meanings.

You are too young to be granted its glories,

وأنت أصغر أن تعطى مفاخرها

وأنت أصغر أن تعطى مفاخرها

وأنت أسمج أن تكسى معاليها

وأنت أسمج أن تكسى معاليها

And you are too small to be granted its glories,

And too foolish to be clothed in its sublimities.

and too grotesque to be clothed in its lofty honors.

God did not support His companion with dreams,

لم ينصر الله بالأحلام صاحبها

لم ينصر الله بالأحلام صاحبها

لكن بكل عوان كان يذكيها

لكن بكل عوان كان يذكيها

God did not grant its bearer victory through dreams,

But with every helper who would ignite it.

but through every renewed battle he kindled,

And the battlefields overwhelm it with affliction,

والمواقف يغشاها مؤلّبة

والمواقف يغشاها مؤلّبة

والحوض يمنعه والخيل يحميها

والحوض يمنعه والخيل يحميها

and the battlefields he entered, with forces massed,

And the pool prevents it and the horses protect it.

and the pool he defended, and the horses he protected.

The Messenger's fatherhood still wears it,

أبوّة المصطفى ما زال يلبسها

أبوّة المصطفى ما زال يلبسها

حر قشيب شباب الفخر ضافيها

حر قشيب شباب الفخر ضافيها

Descent from the Chosen One has always been worn

The free white-haired elder adorning it with youth.

by a noble man, fresh in youthful glory, amply draped in it,

Until his daughter disputed it in Egypt,

حتى تنازعها في مصر صبيتها

حتى تنازعها في مصر صبيتها

دعوى وحتى تردّتها غوانيها

دعوى وحتى تردّتها غوانيها

until, in Egypt, her boys contended for it

With a claim, and until its alleys refuted her.

by claim, and until her beauties wore it as a cloak.

So it became a target for the cowardly of the people,

وأصبحت لجبان القوم منقبة

وأصبحت لجبان القوم منقبة

وزينة لجهول القوم يبديها

وزينة لجهول القوم يبديها

And it became a mark of honor for the people's coward,

And an adornment which the ignorant of the people display.

and an ornament for the people's ignoramus to display.

Why did you not precede the next day of the hill announcing her death,

هلا سبقت غداة التل ناعيها

هلا سبقت غداة التل ناعيها

على المنية مسرورا تلاقيها

على المنية مسرورا تلاقيها

Why did you not, on the morning of the hill, outstrip her death-announcer,

Happily meeting it?

toward death, meeting it joyfully?

Why were you not shrouded at Al Hejaz with its banner,

هلا تكفنت في الهيجا برايتها

هلا تكفنت في الهيجا برايتها

مثل الدراويش خانتها عواليها

مثل الدراويش خانتها عواليها

Why did you not shroud yourself in her banner amid battle,

When its supreme heights betrayed it?

like the dervishes, when its spearpoints betrayed it?

Their group in war continues to unfold it,

ما زال جمعهم في الحرب ينشرها

ما زال جمعهم في الحرب ينشرها

حتى أتاها فناء الجمع يطويها

حتى أتاها فناء الجمع يطويها

Their host kept unfurling it in battle

Until the perishing of the group folded it.

until the host's destruction came upon it, folding it away.

Why did you not refuse to forgive those who pardoned,

هلا أبيت على العافين عفوهم

هلا أبيت على العافين عفوهم

لكي يقال أبىّ النفس عاليها

لكي يقال أبىّ النفس عاليها

Why did you not reject the pardon of those who pardoned you,

So it can be said he refused lofty nobility?

so that you might be called proud-souled and lofty in spirit?

You claimed you were more deserving than those who honored it,

زعمت أنك أولى من أعزتها

زعمت أنك أولى من أعزتها

بها وأحنى عليها من مواليها

بها وأحنى عليها من مواليها

You claimed you had more right than her mighty ones

Of it, and kinder to it than its loyalists.

to her, and were more tender toward her than her guardians.

You would be elated when its praises were recited,

وكنت تطرب إذ تتلى مدائحها

وكنت تطرب إذ تتلى مدائحها

فأين دمعك إذ تتلى مراثيها

فأين دمعك إذ تتلى مراثيها

And you used to rejoice when her praises were recited;

So where are your tears when its tragedies are recited?

where, then, are your tears when her elegies are recited?