1. وَقَفَ الخَلقُ يَنظُرونَ جَميعاً

    كَيفَ أَبني قَواعِدَ المَجدِ وَحدي

    All creation stood watching together,

    how I build the foundations of glory alone.

  2. وَبُناةُ الأَهرامِ في سالِفِ الدَه

    رِ كَفَوني الكَلامَ عِندَ التَحَدّي

    And the pyramid-builders of bygone time

    spared me words when challenged.

  3. أَنا تاجُ العَلاءِ في مَفرِقِ الشَر

    قِ وَدُرّاتُهُ فَرائِدُ عِقدي

    I am glory's crown upon the East's head,

    and its pearls are the choice jewels of my necklace.

  4. أَيُّ شَيءٍ في الغَربِ قَد بَهَرَ النا

    سَ جَمالاً وَلَم يَكُن مِنهُ عِندي

    What in the West has dazzled people

    with beauty that I do not possess?

  5. فَتُرابي تِبرٌ وَنَهري فُراتٌ

    وَسَمائي مَصقولَةٌ كَالفِرِندِ

    For my soil is gold dust, and my river sweet water,

    and my sky is polished like a patterned sword-blade.

  6. أَينَما سِرتَ جَدوَلٌ عِندَ كَرمٍ

    عِندَ زَهرٍ مُدَنَّرٍ عِندَ رَندِ

    Wherever you go, a stream beside a vineyard,

    beside flowers golden as dinars, beside laurel.

  7. وَرِجالي لَو أَنصَفوهُم لَسادوا

    مِن كُهولٍ مِلءِ العُيونِ وَمُردِ

    And my men, had they been treated fairly, would have ruled—

    mature men who fill the eye, and beardless youths.

  8. لَو أَصابوا لَهُم مَجالاً لَأَبدَوا

    مُعجِزاتِ الذَكاءِ في كُلِّ قَصدِ

    Had they found a field in which to act, they would have shown

    miracles of intelligence in every endeavor.

  9. إِنَّهُم كَالظُبا أَلَحَّ عَلَيها

    صَدَأُ الدَهرِ مِن ثَواءِ وَغِمدِ

    They are like sword-edges beset

    by time's rust, from idleness and sheathing.

  10. فَإِذا صَيقَلُ القَضاءِ جَلاها

    كُنَّ كَالمَوتِ ما لَهُ مِن مَرَدِّ

    But when fate's polisher burnishes them,

    they become like death, which cannot be repelled.

  11. أَنا إِن قَدَّرَ الإِلَهُ مَماتي

    لا تَرى الشَرقَ يَرفَعُ الرَأسَ بَعدي

    As for me, if God should decree my death,

    you will not see the East lift its head after me.

  12. ما رَماني رامٍ وَراحَ سَليماً

    مِن قَديمٍ عِنايَةُ اللَهُ جُندي

    No archer has shot at me and gone away unscathed;

    since ancient times, God's care has been my army.

  13. كَم بَغَت دَولَةٌ عَلَيَّ وَجارَت

    ثُمَّ زالَت وَتِلكَ عُقبى التَعَدّي

    How many a state has oppressed me and dealt unjustly,

    then vanished: such is the end of aggression.

  14. إِنَّني حُرَّةٌ كَسَرتُ قُيودي

    رَغمَ رُقبى العِدا وَقَطَّعتُ قِدّي

    I am free; I have broken my fetters,

    despite the enemies' vigilance, and severed my rawhide bonds.

  15. وَتَماثَلتُ لِلشِفاءِ وَقَد دا

    نَيتُ حَيني وَهَيَّأَ القَومُ لَحدي

    And I began to recover, though I had drawn near

    my death, and the people had prepared my grave.

  16. قُل لِمَن أَنكَروا مَفاخِرَ قَومي

    مِثلَ ما أَنكَروا مَآثِرَ وُلدي

    Tell those who denied my people's glories,

    just as they denied my children's great deeds:

  17. هَل وَقَفتُم بِقِمَّةِ الهَرَمِ الأَك

    بَرِ يَوماً فَرَيتُمُ بَعضَ جُهدي

    Have you ever stood atop the Great Pyramid

    and seen a portion of my toil?

  18. هَل رَأَيتُم تِلكَ النُقوشَ اللَواتي

    أَعَجَزَت طَوقَ صَنعَةِ المُتَحَدّي

    Have you seen those inscriptions

    that surpassed the capacity of a challenger's craft?

  19. حالَ لَونُ النَهارِ مِن قِدَمِ العَه

    دِ وَما مَسَّ لَونَها طولُ عَهدِ

    Daylight's hue has changed with the long passage of time,

    yet no length of time has touched their hue.

  20. هَل فَهِمتُم أَسرارَ ما كانَ عِندي

    مِن عُلومٍ مَخبوءَةٍ طَيَّ بَردي

    Have you understood the secrets I possessed

    of sciences hidden in the folds of papyrus?

  21. ذاكَ فَنُّ التَحنيطِ قَد غَلَبَ الدَه

    رَ وَأَبلى البِلى وَأَعجَزَ نِدّي

    That art of embalming has conquered time,

    outworn decay, and confounded my rival.

  22. قَد عَقَدتُ العُهودَ مِن عَهدِ فِرعَو

    نَ فَفي مِصرَ كانَ أَوَّلُ عَقدِ

    I have made covenants since Pharaoh's days;

    for in Egypt the first covenant was made.

  23. إِنَّ مَجدي في الأولَياتِ عَريقٌ

    مَن لَهُ مِثلَ أولَياتي وَمَجدي

    My glory is deeply rooted in pioneering deeds;

    who has first achievements and glory like mine?

  24. أَنا أُمُّ التَشريعِ قَد أَخَذَ الرو

    مانُ عَنّي الأُصولَ في كُلِّ حَدِّ

    I am the mother of legislation; the Romans took

    from me the principles of every legal provision.

  25. وَرَصَدتُ النُجومَ مُنذُ أَضاءَت

    في سَماءِ الدُجى فَأَحكَمتُ رَصدي

    And I watched the stars from the moment they shone

    in the sky of darkness, perfecting my observation.

  26. وَشَدا بَنتَئورَ فَوقَ رُبوعي

    قَبلَ عَهدِ اليونانِ أَو عَهدِ نَجدِ

    And Pentaur sang across my lands

    before the age of Greece or the age of Najd.

  27. وَقَديماً بَنى الأَساطيلَ قَومي

    فَفَرَقنَ البِحارَ يَحمِلنَ بَندي

    Long ago my people built fleets,

    which cleaved the seas bearing my banner.

  28. قَبلَ أُسطولِ نِلسُنٍ كانَ أُسطو

    لي سَرِيّاً وَطالِعي غَيرَ نَكدِ

    Before Nelson's fleet, my fleet was

    splendid, and my fortune free of ill luck.

  29. فَسَلوا البَحرَ عَن بَلاءِ سَفيني

    وَسَلوا البَرَّ عَن مَواقِعِ جُردي

    So ask the sea about the valor of my ships,

    and ask the land about the battles of my sleek steeds.

  30. أَتُراني وَقَد طَوَيتُ حَياتي

    في مِراسٍ لَم أَبلُغِ اليَومَ رُشدي

    Do you think, after I have spent my life

    in struggle, that I have not yet come of age?

  31. أَيُّ شَعبٍ أَحَقُّ مِنّي بِعَيشٍ

    وارِفِ الظِلِّ أَخضَرِ اللَونِ رَغدِ

    What people have more right than I to a life

    of spreading shade, green hues, and plenty?

  32. أَمِنَ العَدلِ أَنَّهُم يَرِدونَ ال

    ماءَ صَفواً وَأَن يُكَدَّرَ وِردي

    Is it just that they should drink

    clear water, while my draught is muddied?

  33. أَمِنَ الحَقِّ أَنَّهُم يُطلِقونَ ال

    أُسدَ مِنهُم وَأَن تُقَيَّدَ أُسدي

    Is it right that they set loose

    their lions, while my lions are fettered?

  34. نِصفُ قَرنٍ إِلّا قَليلاً أُعاني

    ما يُعاني هَوانَهُ كُلُّ عَبدِ

    For nearly half a century I have suffered

    the humiliation that every slave suffers.

  35. نَظَرَ اللَهُ لي فَأَرشَدَ أَبنا

    ئي فَشَدّوا إِلى العُلا أَيَّ شَدِّ

    God looked kindly upon me and guided my sons,

    and they rushed toward greatness with all their might.

  36. إِنَّما الحَقُّ قُوَّةٌ مِن قُوى الدَي

    يانِ أَمضى مِن كُلِّ أَبيَضَ هِندي

    Justice is a force among the Divine Judge's forces,

    sharper than any gleaming Indian sword.

  37. قَد وَعَدتُ العُلا بِكُلِّ أَبِيٍّ

    مِن رِجالي فَأَنجِزوا اليَومَ وَعدي

    To greatness I have pledged every unbowed man

    of mine; fulfill my pledge today.

  38. أَمهِروها بِالروحِ فَهيَ عَروسٌ

    تَسنَأُ المَهرَ مِن عُروضٍ وَنَقدِ

    Give her your souls as dowry, for she is a bride

    who disdains a dowry of goods and coin.

  39. وَرِدوا بي مَناهِلَ العِزِّ حَتّى

    يَخطُبَ النَجمُ في المَجَرَّةِ وُدّي

    And lead me to the watering places of honor, until

    the star in the Milky Way courts my love.

  40. وَاِرفَعوا دَولَتي عَلى العِلمِ وَالأَخ

    لاقِ فَالعِلمُ وَحدَهُ لَيسَ يُجدي

    And raise my state upon knowledge and morals,

    for knowledge alone does not suffice.

  41. وَتَواصَوا بِالصَبرِ فَالصَبرُ إِن فا

    رَقَ قَوماً فَما لَهُ مِن مَسَدِّ

    And exhort one another to patience; if patience leaves

    a people, nothing can replace it.

  42. خُلُقُ الصَبرِ وَحدَهُ نَصَرَ القَو

    مَ وَأَغنى عَنِ اِختِراعٍ وَعَدِّ

    The virtue of patience alone gave the people victory

    and made inventions and numbers unnecessary.

  43. شَهِدوا حَومَةَ الوَغى بِنُفوسٍ

    صابِراتٍ وَأَوجُهٍ غَيرِ رُبدِ

    They entered the thick of battle with souls

    steadfast, and faces unclouded.

  44. فَمَحا الصَبرُ آيَةَ العِلمِ في الحَر

    بِ وَأَنحى عَلى القَوِيِّ الأَشَدِّ

    So patience effaced the marvel of science in war

    and struck at the strong, the mightiest.

  45. إِنَّ في الغَربِ أَعيُناً راصِداتٍ

    كَحَلَتها الأَطماعُ فيكُم بِسُهدِ

    In the West there are watching eyes;

    greed for you has rimmed them with sleeplessness.

  46. فَوقَها مِجهَرٌ يُريها خَفايا

    كَم وَيَطوي شُعاعُهُ كُلَّ بُعدِ

    Above them is a magnifying lens revealing your secrets,

    and its ray spans every distance.

  47. فَاِتَّقوها بِجُنَّةٍ مِن وِئامٍ

    غَيرِ رَثِّ العُرا وَسَعيٍ وَكَدِّ

    So guard against them with a shield of concord,

    with unfrayed bonds, and with striving and toil.

  48. وَاِصفَحوا عَن هَناتِ مَن كانَ مِنكُم

    رُبَّ هافٍ هَفا عَلى غَيرِ عَمدِ

    And pardon the lapses of those among you;

    many a faltering one has faltered without intent.

  49. نَحنُ نَجتازُ مَوقِفاً تَعثُرُ الآ

    راءُ فيهِ وَعَثرَةُ الرَأيِ تُردي

    We are crossing a juncture in which opinions stumble,

    and a stumble in judgment brings ruin.

  50. وَنُعيرُ الأَهواءَ حَرباً عَواناً

    مِن خِلافٍ وَالخُلفُ كَالسِلِّ يُعدي

    And we lend our passions a recurring war

    of discord; discord spreads like consumption.

  51. وَنُثيرُ الفَوضى عَلى جانِبَيهِ

    فَيُعيدُ الجَهولُ فيها وَيُبدي

    And we stir up chaos on either side of it,

    so the fool repeats and starts anew within it.

  52. وَيَظُنُّ الغَوِيُّ أَن لا نِظامٌ

    وَيَقولُ القَوِيُّ قَد جَدَّ جِدّي

    And the misguided man thinks there is no order,

    and the powerful says, 'Now I am in earnest.'

  53. فَقِفوا فيهِ وَقفَةَ الحَزمِ وَاِرموا

    جانِبَيهِ بِعَزمَةِ المُستَعِدِّ

    So take a resolute stand there, and assail

    both its flanks with the determination of one prepared.

  54. إِنَّنا عِندَ فَجرِ لَيلٍ طَويلٍ

    قَد قَطَعناهُ بَينَ سُهدٍ وَوَجدِ

    We are at daybreak after a long night

    we have passed through in sleeplessness and anguish.

  55. غَمَرَتنا سودُ الأَهاويلِ فيهِ

    وَالأَمانِيُّ بَينَ جَزرٍ وَمَدِّ

    Dark terrors engulfed us in it,

    while hopes ebbed and flowed.

  56. وَتَجَلّى ضِياؤُهُ بَعدَ لَأيٍ

    وَهوَ رَمزٌ لِعَهدِيَ المُستَرَدِّ

    And its light appeared after long hardship,

    a symbol of my restored age.

  57. فَاِستَبينوا قَصدَ السَبيلِ وَجِدّوا

    فَالمَعالي مَخطوبَةٌ لِلمُجِدِّ

    So discern the straight path and strive,

    for greatness is betrothed to the diligent.