كن أنت بعد أخيك خير هلال

Be you, after your brother, the finest new moon, and light for Egypt the path to independence.

Smile upon her after her frowning days, for perhaps your smile will restore a withered hope.

Be a harbinger of auspicious omens, sent to bless the Nile with happiness and prosperity.

Arise and ask Egypt about her wealth, and what has become of all these funds.

Will the hopes placed in you be verified, and will you gaze upon the Nile as a generous, faithful benefactor?

Dispelling some of Egypt's heavy griefs, for your departed brother left her deeply harmed.

He provoked hardships against her and showered her people with an unsparing downpour of misgivings.

Between one passing sigh and the next, a terrifying wave of horrors surrounds them.

An oppression that breaks human souls, a severe trial with bitter consequences and endless weariness.

What shall I recount to you of our suffering? Alas, can my words possibly contain all these complaints?

Indeed, voicing grievances in Egypt is a deadly crime, and open criticism invites severe punishment.

Whoever complains or raises their voice in protest is branded a reckless agitator and a fool.

They blocked the path of the newspapers and exhausted their writers with oppression and humiliation.

In their extremism, they even attacked the theater, though any tyrant's shadow is destined to fade.

They resented the theater simply for an actor voicing words about perfection and integrity.

Their fury was ignited, and they slammed its doors shut without a moment's hesitation.

Ask the Nile, if you seek news of our suffering, and you will hear the answer to every question.

Look around me; if you spot a group here, their sideways glances are thrown like poisoned arrows.

They search every single verse for a flaw, twisting my words to suit their own suspicions.

I conceal the truth from you out of caution, believing that silence in the face of harm is best for me.

For my poem could easily become a bridge between myself, a prison cell, and heavy iron chains.

Why not ask your brother why he turned away from us, and why his estrangement continues?

And why the East alone is singled out among its calamities for sweeping disasters and crushing burdens.

He left a notorious mark in Portugal, and met with the worst of fortunes in the lands of Persia.

He loosed the tyrant's hounds upon them, leaving them prey to deception and straying paths.

He continually ground his own people in the name of peace, crushing his country like grain beneath a millstone.

Until his miserable fate turned him into the talk of the town and a proverb of misfortune.

What have I to do with the full moon, asking for its return? Indeed, what have I to do with the celestial spheres?

Our misfortune and its cure both originate from within us, were it not for our conflicting opinions and biases.

True happiness is tethered to harmony; do not let the false glitter of division deceive you.

We long for progress, but how can a nation advance when it walks the path of straying and confusion?

It toyed with the rights of mothers and utterly neglected the sacred duty of motherhood.

It failed to educate them, turning them into a source of misery and an incurable disease for their sons.

Those who cared for the education of their women and raised them to high standing have achieved true mastery.

How can righteous generations emerge in a nation where the wealthy refuse to show generosity?

He collects gold with his right hand, only to lavishly bestow it upon vice with his left.

He passes his days and nights in absolute luxury while his compatriots never taste a drop of its bounty.

Ignorance roams widely, its horrors running rampant among us and striking like mythical ghouls.

With every passing sigh, it casts a wider net, catching the helpless victims of poverty and drought.

Between a destitute woman dividing her meager strength, a fractured spirit, and an empty pocket.

She yielded to shameful acts, making permissible for herself what was never lawful.

And families of starving orphans whose ignorance and lack of funds overwhelmed them.

They rushed toward fleeting distractions, galloping wildly away from their misery.

Cursed be wealth if it is not saved to build noble deeds and fine character.

Cursed be wealth if it is not saved for more than mere necklaces and anklets.

Cursed be wealth if it is not saved to attain the highest ranks of honor.

Of what use is our wealthy friend's medal when his hand has never reached out to perform a truly fine deed?

Would this wealthy student cheerfully part with a single dirham of his daily wealth without weariness?

While the rich are entirely devoted to entertainment, struck down by fleeting glances and deceitful passions.

I truly fear that if their stinginess continues, our affairs will deteriorate into the worst possible state.

Youth of Egypt, my greetings rush to you, and to your protective courage I direct my words.

Woe to Egypt from time and its turns, if you do not shoulder the ambitions of heroes.

Revive the sciences, for there is no life for a nation that surrenders its reins to the ignorant.

Elevate women, for there is no life for a nation that abandons women to neglect.

Be for Egypt all that she hopes you will be: the treasure of the ages and the splendor of wealth.

The flowers of her renaissance, the guiding stars of her fortune, and a beauty that puts all other beauty to shame.

You who raise the banner and glory of Egypt, and who humble her arrogant enemies.

Who stand firm for her—despite the opposition of foes—through noble deeds and virtuous actions.

Who rise to answer Egypt's call when she summons you, without hesitation or panic.

May your generation forever secure Egypt's splendor and a glory that outlasts the ages.