هَل لِسانَ أَقوالِهِ الإِلهامَ
أَم بَيانَ آياتِهِ الأَحكامَ
Is the tongue of his utterances inspiration,
or are his signs expounded by decrees?
فَتَبارى الأَلفاظُ شَأوَ المَعاني
وَيوفي حَقَّ الثَناءِ الإِمامَ
Words race to match meanings in their farthest reach,
and a full grasp renders praise its due.
وَغَدَت لَهجَةَ الثَناءِ عَلَيهِ
مِثلَما دامَ لِلصَلاةِ إِقامَ
Praise of him has made his tongue its home,
enduring as the observance of prayer.
قَعَدَت نَهضَةَ البَلاغَةِ عِنهُ
وَدَنَت عَن خَيالِهِ الأَوهامَ
Eloquence’s rising effort falls short of him,
and fancies recoil from his imagination.
قَعَسَ في الصَفيحِ مِن أَطلَسِ ال
عِزِّ تَهاوَت مِن دونِهِ الأَفهامَ
He sits proudly upon the broad brocade of glory;
before him, understandings tumble down.
إِنَّما وَصَفَهَ عَلى فاتِحِ الأَفكا
رِ في الذَروَةِ الَّتي لا تُرامِ
To describe him surpasses even the conqueror of thought—
at the summit no one can attain.
كُلُّ طَرفٍ لِفِكرِ عِندَ كَليلٍ
كُلَّ طَرفٍ لِلجَريِ فيهِ كَهامِ
Every gaze of thought grows weary and dim;
every gaze lost in wonder at him is blunted.
قَصُرَ الوَصفُ دونَ مَن يَفضَحُ الوَص
فَ وَعِندَ الفِعالِ يَخفى الكَلامِ
Description falls short of one who puts description to shame;
before his deeds, speech hides away.
يَنبُذُ الشِعرَ وَالشُهودَ الرِياضِيّ
ياتِ عَدا وَالحَجَّةِ الأَرقامِ
Poetry and mathematical proofs stand aside—
except for number, where numbers are the proof.
إِن ما سالَ في ثَناهُ يَراعٌ
لا َما سَحَّ مِن يَدَيهِ غَمامِ
Whatever pen has flowed in praise of him
is nothing beside the rain cloud poured from his hands.
وَفِعالُ الضِرغامِ أَوقَعَ في النَف
سِ مِنَ القَولِ إِنَّهُ الضِرغامِ
The lion’s deeds strike deeper in the soul
than merely saying, “He is the lion.”
كُلُّ يَومٍ لَهُ صَنائِعٌ تَترى
في البَرايا لِباسُهُنَّ الدَوامِ
Each day his benefactions follow one another,
clothing all creation in permanence.
تَكفُلُ الناسَ مِثلَما يَكفُلُ الغَب
راءَ غَيثٌ لَهُ عَلَيها اِنسِجامِ
They sustain the people as the dust-brown earth is sustained
by his rain, streaming down upon it.
طَوقُ الخَلقِ جودُهُ وَنَداهُ
فَهيَ في مَدحِهِ لَعَمري حَمامِ
His generosity and bounty encircle creation;
by my life, they are doves cooing his praise.
وَجَديرٌ أَن تَنطِقَ الطَيرَ وَالوَح
شَ فَيَتلو الصَدّاحُ فيهِ البَغامِ
Well may bird and beast be made to speak—
the songbird warbling of him, the dumb beast lowing.
نَسَخَت عِندَهُ المُلوكُ وَأَمسى
خَبَراً مِن أَخبارٍ كانَ الكِرامِ
In his presence, kings are effaced and become
mere tales of noble men who once were.
ما رَأى مِثلَهُ الزَمانُ عَظيماً
صِبيَةً عِندَهُ الرِجالُ العِظامِ
Time has never seen his equal in greatness;
before him, mighty men are boys.
جاءَ مِن ضَئضَئِّ الخِلافَةِ فَرداً
هُوَ مِن مَعشَرِ المُلوكِ السَنامِ
From the pure stock of the Caliphate he came, unique;
among the company of kings, he is the crest.
فَرعُ عُثمانٍ وَكَفى المَجدُ وَالأَح
سابُ وَالمَكرُماتِ وَالأَحلامِ
Scion of Osman, peer of glory, noble lineage—
generous deeds and forbearance.
دَولَةٌ حَجَّةَ الزَمانِ عَلى الخَل
قِ بِها دونَ مُريَةٍ إِلزامِ
A state that is Time’s proof against creation—
binding, beyond all doubt.
لَيسَ لِلشَرقِ غَيرَها فَبَنو المَش
رِقَ طَراً بِدونِها أَيتامِ
The East has none but it; the children of the East,
all of them, are orphans without it.
قَد أَامَت سَرادِقَ العِزِّ يَعلي
هِ الوَشيجُ الرِماحُ وَالأَقلامِ
It has pitched the pavilion of glory, held aloft
by interwoven spears and pens.
فَوقَهُ رايَةَ الهِلالِ مُنيراً
يُدَبِّرُ الظُلمَ عِندَها وَالظَلامِ
Above it the crescent banner shines,
and oppression and darkness turn away.
يَنضَوي تَحتَها النُقّادُ مَعَ الأُس
دِ وَتَرعى الذِئابُ وَالآرامِ
Beneath it, fault-finders gather with lions,
while wolves and white antelopes graze.
مَجدُ عُثمانَ لَيسَ غَيرَكَ مَجدٌ
كُلَّ مَدحٍ مِندونَ مَدحِكَ ذامِ
Osman’s glory—there is no glory but yours;
every praise beneath your praise is blame.
لَم تَزَل شامِخاً بِأنفٍ عَزيزٍ
وَلَكُم أَعطُسُ المُلوكَ الرِغامِ
You have never ceased to tower, proud and unbent;
before you, kings’ noses are pressed into dust.
لا تَرى دَولَةٌ هُزالاً وَضَعفاً
حَولَها المُسلِمونَ وَالإِسلامِ
No frailty or wasting afflicts the state;
around it stand the Muslims and Islam.
وَعَلى رَأسِها خَليفَةُ عَصرٍ
دَهرُهُ تابِعٌ لَهُ وَغُلامِ
At its head is the caliph of an age
whose own age follows him like a page.
لَم يَزَل قائِماً لَدَيهِ بِأَبوا
بٍ عَلَيهِنَّ لِلجِباهِ اِزدِحامِ
He has never ceased to stand with doors before him—
doors thronged by bowing foreheads.
حَيثُما تَهطَعُ المُلوكُ وَتَعنو
تَحتَ تيجانِها الطَلى وَالهامِ
There kings crane their necks and submit;
beneath their crowns, necks and heads alike.
مَوقِفٌ تَخَشَّعَ النَواظِرَ فيهِ
وَتُسَوّى الرُؤوسُ وَالأَقدامِ
A station where every gaze is humbled,
where heads and feet are made equal.
قَد حَباهُ عُثمانَ أُسّاً مَتيناً
مِثلَ البَيتِ عِندَهُ وَالمقامِ
Osman endowed it with a foundation firm
as the Sacred House and the Station beside it.
شابَ قَرنُ الزَمانِ وَهوَ مَكينٌ
وَتَخَطَّت مِئاتِها الأَعوامِ
Time’s forelock has gone gray while it stands secure,
and centuries have passed over it.
وَغَدا آلفاً سِهامَ اللَيالي
فَلِذا لا تَنالُ مِنهُ السِهامِ
It has grown accustomed to the arrows of the nights;
therefore no arrow can strike it.
إيهٍ عَبد الحَميدِ إِنَّ زَماناً
أَنتَ فيهِ عَبّاسُهُ بَسّامِ
Onward, Abd al-Hamid! An age in which
you are its formidable lion, yet smiling.
أَوَّلُهُ نَصرُكَ العَزيزُ وَأَيدٌ
وارو مِصراً لَهُ إِلَيكَ أَرامِ
Its beginning is your mighty victory and power;
give Egypt its fill—toward you its hopes incline.
أَشخَصَت نَحوَكَ العُونُ حَيارى
أُمَمُ الخافِقينَ وَالأَقوامِ
The eyes of nations turn toward you, bewildered—
the nations of both horizons and all peoples.
وَتَصَبّى القُلوبَ مِنكَ خِلالَ
يُحرِمُ العِشقَ دونَها وَالهَيامِ
The qualities in you bewitch every heart;
before them, love and passion renounce all else.
أَقبَلَ العَصرَ يَرتجيكَ وَفي اليُم
نى كِتابٌ وَفي الشَمالِ حُسامِ
The age comes forward, setting its hope in you, with a book in its right hand
and a sword in its left.
حَبَّذا الدَولَةُ الَّتي صار فيها
تَوأَمَينِ العُلومِ وَالأَعلامِ
Blessed is the state in which
knowledge and standards have become twins.
هُوَ ذا الشَرقُ في حِماكَ لَكَ الأَم
رُ جَميعاً وَفي يَدَيكَ الزِمامِ
Here is the East beneath your protection: yours the command
entire, and in your hands the reins.
هَزَّهُ هَزَّةً تَثوبُ بِها الرو
حُ وَتَحيى الآمالُ وَهيَ رِمامِ
Shake it with such a shock that the spirit revives,
and hopes, though crumbled, rise.
أَرهَفَ الحَدَّ لِلخُطوبِ فَما يَن
فَعث مَعَ هَذِهِ اللَيالي اِحتِشامِ
Sharpen the blade against calamities; reserve is useless
in the face of nights like these.
لَم تَزَل أَرضَنا مَآسِدٌ بِاللَهِ
وَمَأَوى رِجالَنا الآجامِ
Our land remains, by God, a den of lions,
and the thickets are the refuge of our men.
إِنَّ لِلشَرقَ هِبَةً بَعدَ نَومٍ
أَزعَجَتهُ خِلالَهُ الأَحلامِ
The East has an uprising after sleep,
stirred during that sleep by dreams.
هِبَةً تَبعَثُ الحَمِيَّةً في النا
سِ كَما يَبعَثُ الخِمارُ المَدامِ
An uprising that kindles ardor among the people
as wine awakens intoxication.
يَسَألُ الغَربَ عِندَها الشَرقُ هَل جا
ءَكَ روحٌ تَحيا بِهِ الأَصنامِ
Then the East asks the West: Has there come to you
a spirit by which idols live?
تُرسِلُ الكَهرَباءَ فيها شُعاعاً
وَيَرى لِلبُخارِ فيها رِكامِ
Electricity sends its rays through it,
and steam is seen there massing like clouds.
وَتَشِبُّ النيرانُ في كُلِّ أَرضٍ
فَتَعودُ النيرانُ وَهيَ سَلامِ
Fires flare up in every land,
then the fires become peace.
إِنَّما تُثلِجُ الصُدورَ بِسِلمٍ
حَيثُما يوقِدُ الصُدورَ ضِرامِ
Hearts are cooled only by peace
wherever fury sets hearts ablaze.
يا إِمامَ الهُدى هَنيئاً وَأَولى
أَةن يَهنا بِالعيدِ عَنكَ الأَنامِ
O imam of guidance, joy to you—and it is fitting
that through you mankind rejoice in the feast.
إِن أُحاوِلُ عَلى عُلاكَ ثَناءً
فَهوَ مِمّا قَضى عَلَيَّ الذِمامِ
If I attempt praise worthy of your heights,
it is only what duty has decreed upon me.
أَو أُعارِضُ فَتى القَريضِ فَما عا
رَضَ وَردَ الحَدائِقِ القَلامِ
Or I rival the master of verse—for no pen has
rivaled the roses of gardens.
ذا مَجالٍ رَضيتُ فيهَ مِنَ السَب
قِ بِعَزمٍ لَهُ يُثنِهِ الأَحجامِ
This is a field where I accepted my place in the race,
with a resolve no timidity can turn back.
وَإِذا كانَ بَدعُ وَصفِكَ سَمطاً
جاءَ عَفواً مِنَ القَريضِ النِظامِ
If this novel praise of you is a necklace,
its ordered verse came freely from poetry.
إِنَّ يَوماً بِهِ الجُلوسُ تَجَلّى
هُوَ يَومٌ خِدامُهُ الأَيّامِ
A day on which the accession shone forth
is a day all other days must serve.
كَفَّرَ الدَهرُ فيهِ عَن كُلِّ ما جَرَّ
فَلَم يَتَّجِه عَلَيهِ مَلامِ
On it Time atoned for all it had wrought,
and no blame could then be laid upon it.
جاءَ خِتاماً لِطارِقاتِ اللَيالي
فَاِختِلافاتِها إِلَينا لِمامِ
It came as the ending of nighttime assaults,
so their changes visit us only in passing.
لَيسَ يَلحى عَلى أَواليهِ عَصرٌ
بِمَعاليكَ طابَ مِنهُ الخِتامِ
No age appears along its first horizons
whose ending your high deeds have made so fair.
