1. Ask Yildiz Palace, with its palaces,
Has news of the Bedouins reached her?

2. If only you could answer,
You would weep copious tears for me.

3. I grieve for her as I do
For Al Khoronak and Al Sadeer.

4. Ismail Pasha conquered the peninsula after her
And the great king.

5. They have all gone, neither the palaces
Can be seen, nor the people of the palaces.

6. Its good fortune and misfortune revolve
In the hands of the Manager.

7. Where are the houris in her towers
Of angels and maidens?

8. The playful ones, the cheerful ones,
The stumbling ones, the swaggering ones,

9. The commanding ones, the modest ones
The gentle ones like flowers in fragrance,

10. The heedless ones in the pleasures of a plentiful life,
The prominent ones who moved between kingdoms and seas,

11. Each like a Balkis in the glory of her throne,
More influential than Zubaydah in her emirate and prince,

12. Among the finery, luxuries, embroideries and silk,
The garden the size of a world, the sea the size of an ocean,

13. The pearls and perfumed musk,
In a dwelling above the sky and above the raids of plunderers,

14. Between citadels, canals, horses and a great army,
They named it Yildiz, the apex of the bright star,

15. Destinies turned against them in the deceitful chambers,
They spent the night in captivity and awoke in tribal bondage,

16. Endless in their prayers and vows,
Seeking the aid of their Lord while their Lord has no helper.

17. Black dye stained their temples, it was the dye of sorrows,
If I cannot, then in my cloak is more eloquence than Jarir*

18. The sermon of the Imam is excellent in explanation and clarity,
A lesson for kings, a moral for days in the final era,

19. Elder of kings, though you have grown frail in heart and conscience,
I ask pardon of the Master for him, and God pardons abundantly,

20. We see him in his affliction, more deserving than any other of weeping or excuse,
We defend him from gloating and reproach,

21. Abdul Hamid, your account is like that, in the hands of the Forgiving King,
You have completed thirty long years of rule, not a brief reign,

22. You command and instruct in great and small matters, consulting none,
With the stars as your councilors at the height of power,

23. How they glorified you at daybreak, praising you in the mornings!
And you saw them bow down before you, bowing like Moses in the divine presence,

24. They lowered their heads and bent their backs in humility,
What knowledge did you gain from this? You were the ignorant of affairs!

25. Had you been shaken and alarmed, in confusion or distress,
Where is wisdom and experience of the wise elder?

26. When fate aims its foundations to crumble,
They entered upon your throne, judging the Lord of the Throne,

27. A snarling lion pounced with claws on another snarling lion,
They said “Withdraw” you said “I withdraw” and judgment is to God the Almighty,

28. They were patient for your long reign while you endured but months,
You were troubled by their constitution and lenient toward difficult rule,

29. You were angry like al-Mansour or Haroun in the empty eras,
They were stingy with their rights while you were stingy with the vain world,

30. Why did you not preserve it with a welcoming, joyful, tranquil preservation?
It is the adornment of the righteous king and protection of the guarded king,

31. Through it blessings are bestowed on the realms and kings for ages,
O army who is neither supplicant nor boastful,

32. Whose raids scoured the land bare,
Like a lion indulging in prey but not in roaring,

33. Addressing the noble with souls of incalculable value,
The Overseer knows what your pure blood has suffered for truth,

34. Time recites a parchment adorned with lines
In praise of your intrepidity and your dauntless courage,

35. O might of Islam indeed! O opener of the difficult land!
And son of the generous from the family of the generous Omar the herald,

36. Who grasped the weapons as their grandfather did, and the clanging of swords,
Was your grandfather with you on the day you marched with clamor?

37. You hunted the hunter of lions, and foiled the sniper of eagles,
You seized Yildiz by force and conquered the peak of mountain passes,

38. The faithful in Egypt convey greetings of peace to the Prince,
And pledge allegiance to you, O Muhammad, in their hearts and breasts,

39. They have hoped for the crescent banner in the campaign,
So take it to the peak of perfection by the power of God the Helper,

40. You are the elder, they vest you with the sword of the great Othman,
Elder of invaders, conquerors, his sword is elder of men,

41. He advances and sheathes it in guidance, as if it were the sword of the warner,
Good tidings O Imam Muhammad of the caliphate of God the Almighty,

42. Good tidings of the caliphate with the just, upright, worthy Imam,
Who revives the constitution in Islam from the pits of graves,

43. Muawiyah interred it, and you revived it before the Resurrection.
Upon the caliphate from you two, a light shines above a light.