سَل يَلدِزاً ذاتَ القُصورِ
هَل جاءَها نَبَأُ البُدور
Ask Yildiz Palace, with its palaces,
Has news of the Bedouins reached her?
لَو تَستَطيعُ إِجابَةً
لَبَكَتكَ بِالدَمعِ الغَزير
If only you could answer,
You would weep copious tears for me.
أَخنى عَلَيها ما أَنا
خَ عَلى الخَوَرنَقِ وَالسَدير
I grieve for her as I do
For Al Khoronak and Al Sadeer.
وَدَها الجَزيرَةَ بَعدَ إِس
ماعيلَ وَالمَلِكِ الكَبير
Ismail Pasha conquered the peninsula after her
And the great king.
ذَهَبَ الجَميعُ فَلا القُصو
رُ تُرى وَلا أَهلُ القُصور
They have all gone, neither the palaces
Can be seen, nor the people of the palaces.
فَلَكٌ يَدورُ سُعودُهُ
وَنُحوسُهُ بِيَدِ المُدير
Its good fortune and misfortune revolve
In the hands of the Manager.
أَينَ الأَوانِسُ في ذُرا
ها مِن مَلائِكَةٍ وَحور
Where are the houris in her towers
Of angels and maidens?
المُترَعاتُ مِنَ النَعي
مِ الراوِياتُ مِنَ السُرور
The playful ones, the cheerful ones,
The stumbling ones, the swaggering ones,
العاثِراتُ مِنَ الدَلا
لِ الناهِضاتُ مِنَ الغُرور
The commanding ones, the modest ones
The gentle ones like flowers in fragrance,
الآمِراتُ عَلى الوُلا
ةِ الناهِياتُ عَلى الصُدور
The heedless ones in the pleasures of a plentiful life,
The prominent ones who moved between kingdoms and seas,
الناعِماتُ الطَيِّبا
تُ العَرفِ أَمثالُ الزُهور
Each like a Balkis in the glory of her throne,
More influential than Zubaydah in her emirate and prince,
الذاهِلاتُ عَنِ الزَما
نِ بِنَشوَةِ العَيشِ النَضير
Among the finery, luxuries, embroideries and silk,
The garden the size of a world, the sea the size of an ocean,
المُشرِفاتُ وَما اِنتَقَل
نَ عَلى المَمالِكِ وَالبُحور
The pearls and perfumed musk,
In a dwelling above the sky and above the raids of plunderers,
مِن كُلِّ بَلقيسٍ عَلى
كُرسِيِّ عِزَّتِها الوَثير
Between citadels, canals, horses and a great army,
They named it Yildiz, the apex of the bright star,
أَمضى نُفوذاً مِن زُبَي
دَةَ في الإِمارَةِ وَالأَمير
Destinies turned against them in the deceitful chambers,
They spent the night in captivity and awoke in tribal bondage,
بَينَ الرَفارِفِ وَالمَشا
رِفِ وَالزَخارِفِ وَالحَرير
Endless in their prayers and vows,
Seeking the aid of their Lord while their Lord has no helper.
وَالرَوضُ في حَجمِ الدُنا
وَالبَحرِ في حَجمِ الغَدير
Black dye stained their temples, it was the dye of sorrows,
If I cannot, then in my cloak is more eloquence than Jarir*
وَالدُرِّ مُؤتَلِقِ السَنا
وَالمِسكِ فَيّاحِ العَبير
The sermon of the Imam is excellent in explanation and clarity,
A lesson for kings, a moral for days in the final era,
في مَسكَنٍ فَوقَ السِما
كِ وَفَوقَ غاراتِ المُغير
Elder of kings, though you have grown frail in heart and conscience,
I ask pardon of the Master for him, and God pardons abundantly,
بَينَ المَعاقِلِ وَالقَنا
وَالخَيلِ وَالجَمِّ الغَفير
We see him in his affliction, more deserving than any other of weeping or excuse,
We defend him from gloating and reproach,
سَمَّوهُ يَلدِزَ وَالأُفو
لُ نِهايَةُ النَجمِ المُغير
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,
دارَت عَلَيهِنَّ الدَوا
ئِرُ في المَخادِعِ وَالخُدور
You command and instruct in great and small matters, consulting none,
With the stars as your councilors at the height of power,
أَمسَينَ في رِقِّ العَبي
لِ وَبِتنَ في أَسرِ العَشير
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,
ما يَنتَهينَ مِنَ الصَلا
ةِ ضَراعَةً وَمِنَ النُذور
They lowered their heads and bent their backs in humility,
What knowledge did you gain from this? You were the ignorant of affairs!
يَطلُبنَ نُصرَةَ رَبِّهِنَّ
وَرَبُّهُنَّ بِلا نَصير
Had you been shaken and alarmed, in confusion or distress,
Where is wisdom and experience of the wise elder?
صَبَغَ السَوادُ حَبيرَهُنَّ
وَكانَ مِن يَقَقِ الحُبور
When fate aims its foundations to crumble,
They entered upon your throne, judging the Lord of the Throne,
أَنا إِن عَجِزتُ فَإِنَّ في
بُردَيَّ أَشعَرَ مِن جَرير
A snarling lion pounced with claws on another snarling lion,
They said “Withdraw” you said “I withdraw” and judgment is to God the Almighty,
خَطبُ الإِمامِ عَلى النَظي
مِ يَعُزُّ شَرحاً وَالنَشير
They were patient for your long reign while you endured but months,
You were troubled by their constitution and lenient toward difficult rule,
عِظَةُ المُلوكِ وَعِبرَةُ ال
أَيّامِ في الزَمَنِ الأَخير
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,
شَيخُ المُلوكِ وَإِن تَضَع
ضَعَ في الفُؤادِ وَفي الضَمير
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,
تَستَغفِرُ المَولى لَهُ
وَاللَهُ يَعفو عَن كَثير
Through it blessings are bestowed on the realms and kings for ages,
O army who is neither supplicant nor boastful,
وَنَراهُ عِندَ مُصابِهِ
أَولى بِباكٍ أَو عَذير
Whose raids scoured the land bare,
Like a lion indulging in prey but not in roaring,
وَنَصونُهُ وَنُجِلُّهُ
بَينَ الشَماتَةِ وَالنَكير
Addressing the noble with souls of incalculable value,
The Overseer knows what your pure blood has suffered for truth,
عَبدَ الحَميدِ حِسابُ مِث
لِكَ في يَدِ المَلِكِ الغَفور
Time recites a parchment adorned with lines
In praise of your intrepidity and your dauntless courage,
سُدتَ الثَلاثينَ الطِوا
لَ وَلَسنَ بِالحُكمِ القَصير
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,
تَنهى وَتَأمُرُ ما بَدا
لَكَ في الكَبيرِ وَفي الصَغير
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?
لا تَستَشيرُ وَفي الحِمى
عَدَدُ الكَواكِبِ مِن مُشير
You hunted the hunter of lions, and foiled the sniper of eagles,
You seized Yildiz by force and conquered the peak of mountain passes,
كَم سَبَّحوا لَكَ في الرَوا
حِ وَأَلَّهوكَ لَدى البُكور
The faithful in Egypt convey greetings of peace to the Prince,
And pledge allegiance to you, O Muhammad, in their hearts and breasts,
وَرَأَيتَهُم لَكَ سُجَّداً
كَسُجودِ موسى في الحُضور
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,
خَفَضوا الرُؤوسَ وَوَتَّروا
بِالذُلِّ أَقواسَ الظُهور
You are the elder, they vest you with the sword of the great Othman,
Elder of invaders, conquerors, his sword is elder of men,
ماذا دَهاكَ مِنَ الأُمو
رِ وَكُنتَ داهِيَةَ الأُمور
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,
ما كُنتَ إِن حَدَثَت وَجَلَّت
بِالجُزوعِ وَلا العَثور
Good tidings of the caliphate with the just, upright, worthy Imam,
Who revives the constitution in Islam from the pits of graves,
أَينَ الرَوِيَّةُ وَالأَنا
ةُ وَحِكمَةُ الشَيخِ الخَبير
Muawiyah interred it, and you revived it before the Resurrection.
Upon the caliphate from you two, a light shines above a light.
إِنَّ القَضاءَ إِذا رَمى
دَكَّ القَواعِدِ مِن ثَبير
دَخَلوا السَريرَ عَلَيكَ يَح
تَكِمونَ في رَبِّ السَرير
أَعظِم بِهِم مِن آسِري
نَ وَبِالخَليفَةِ مِن أَسير
أَسَدٌ هَصورٌ أَنشَبَ ال
أَظفارَ في أَسَدٍ هَصور
قالوا اِعتَزِل قُلتَ اِعتَزَل
تُ وَالحُكمُ لِلَّهِ القَدير
صَبَروا لِدَولَتِكَ السِني
نَ وَما صَبَرتَ سِوى شُهور
أوذيتَ مِن دُستورِهِم
وَحَنَنتَ لِلحُكمِ العَسير
وَغَضِبتَ كَالمَنصورِ أَو
هارونَ في خالي العُصور
ضَنّوا بِضائِعِ حَقِّهِم
وَضَنَنتَ بِالدُنيا الغَرور
هَلّا اِحتَفَظتَ بِهِ اِحتِفا
ظَ مُرَحِّبٍ فَرِحٍ قَرير
هُوَ حِليَةُ المَلِكِ الرَشي
دِ وَعِصمَةُ المَلِكِ الغَرير
وَبِهِ يُبارِكُ في المَما
لِكِ وَالمُلوكِ عَلى الدُهور
يا أَيُّها الجَيشُ الَّذي
لا بِالدَعِيِّ وَلا الفَخور
يَخفي فَإِن ريعَ الحِمى
لَفَتَ البَرِيَّةَ بِالظُهور
كَاللَيثِ يُسرِفُ في الفِعا
لِ وَلَيسَ يُسرِفُ في الزَئير
الخاطِبُ العَلياءِ بِال
أَرواحِ غالِيَةِ المُهور
عِندَ المُهَيمِنِ ما جَرى
في الحَقِّ مِن دَمِكَ الطَهور
يَتلو الزَمانُ صَحيفَةً
غَرّا مُذَهَّبَةَ السُطور
في مَدحِ أَنوَرِكَ الجَري
ءِ وَفي نِيازيكَ الجَسور
يا شَوكَتَ الإِسلامِ بَل
يا فاتِحَ البَلَدِ العَسير
وَاِبنَ الأَكارِمِ مِن بَني
عُمَرَ الكَريمِ عَلى البَشير
القابِضينَ عَلى الصَلي
لِ كَجَدِّهِم وَعَلى الصَرير
هَل كانَ جَدُّكَ في رِدا
ئِكَ يَومَ زَحفِكَ وَالكُرور
فَقَنَصَت صَيّادَ الأُسو
دِ وَصِدتَ قَنّاصَ النُسور
وَأَخَذتَ يَلدِزَ عَنوَةً
وَمَلَكتَ عَنقاءَ الثُغور
المُؤمِنونَ بِمِصرَ يُه
دونَ السَلامَ إِلى الأَمير
وَيُبايِعونَكَ يا مُحَم
مَدُ في الضَمائِرِ وَالصُدور
قَد أَمَّلوا لِهِلالِهِم
حَظَّ الأَهِلَّةِ في المَسير
فَاِبلُغ بِهِ أَوجَ الكَما
لِ بِقُوَّةِ اللَهِ النَصير
أَنتَ الكَبيرُ يُقَلِّدو
نَكَ سَيفَ عُثمانَ الكَبير
شَيخُ الغُزاةِ الفاتِحي
نَ حُسامُهُ شَيخُ الذُكور
يَمضي وَيُغمِدُ بِالهُدى
فَكَأَنَّهُ سَيفُ النَذير
بُشرى الإِمامُ مُحَمَّدٌ
بِخِلافَةِ اللَهِ القَدير
بُشرى الخِلافَةِ بِالإِما
مِ العادِلِ النَزِهِ الجَدير
الباعِثِ الدُستورَ في ال
إِسلامِ مِن حُفَرِ القُبور
أَودى مُعاوِيَةٌ بِهِ
وَبَعَثتَهُ قَبلَ النُشور
فَعَلى الخِلافَةِ مِنكُما
نورٌ تَلَألَأَ فَوقَ نور
