بورِكَ الصَمّامُ مِن حَكَمِ

بَينَ مَحكومٍ وَمُحتَكِمِ

The arbitrator was blessed with wisdom

Blessed be the cutting sword as a decisive judge,

Between the ruled and the ruler

Standing between the ruled and the ruler.

إِنَّني بُعتُ اليَراعَ بِهِ

لا أَبيعُ الصَيفَ بِالقَلَمِ

I was sold cheaply out of ignorance

Indeed, I have traded the reed pen for it;

I do not sell summer with my pen

I do not barter the sword for the quill.

صاحِ إِنَّ العِزَّ مُمتَنِعٌ

نَيلُهُ إِلّا عَلى الخَذمِ

Cry out! Glory is unobtainable

My friend, true glory is forbidden,

None can attain it but the steadfast

Its attainment is impossible save by the sharp blade.

إِنَّما الضِرغامُ سَوَّدَهُ

نابُهُ المَرهوبُ في البُهُمِ

The horse was darkened

The lion is only granted mastery,

By the terrified flash of its teeth in the night

By his dreaded fang among the beasts.

لَو يُسَمّى السَيفُ ثانِيَةً

باتَ يُدعى مِنقِذَ الأُمَمِ

If the sword were called savior again

If the sword were to be named anew,

It would come to be called rescuer of nations

It would be called the Savior of Nations.

فَلَهُ في الغَربِ مَأثِرَةٌ

مِثلَها في التُركِ وَالعَجَمِ

In the West it has glorious feats

For it possesses a glorious feat in the West,

The likes of which among the Turks and Persians

Matched by similar ones among the Turks and Persians.

ضَيفَ سالونيكَ ما لَكَ في

سِجنَها ضَيفٌ سِوى السَأَمِ

Guest of Salonika, what pains you

O guest of Salonika, you have within

In its prison but boredom, guest?

Its prison no companion but boredom.

ذاكَ ضَيفٌ غَيرُ مُحتَشِمٍ

إِن تُحاوِل طَردَهُ يَقُمِ

That guest has no shame

That is a guest who observes no modesty;

If you try to expel him, he resists

If you attempt to expel him, he insists on staying.

قَد خَلَت يَلديزُ مِنكَ وَما

ذِكرُها يُخليكَ مِن أَلَمِ

Yildiz has washed its hands of you

Yildiz Palace has become empty of you, yet

Yet its mention does not relieve your pain

Its memory does not leave you empty of pain.

زِلتَ عَنها وَهيَ باقَِةٌ

عِظَةً لِلخَلقِ كُلِّهِمِ

You slipped from it, and it remains

You have departed from it, but it remains

A lesson for all people

A lesson for all of creation.

إِن تَكُن تَبغي الرُجوعَ لَها

ذاكَ مَقضِيٌّ لَدى الحُلُمُ

If you wish to return to it

If you are wishing for a return to it,

That is destined, by fate

That is decreed only in the realm of dreams.

مَرتَعَ الغيدِ الأَوانِسِ بَل

مَربَعَ الواشينَ وَالتُهَمِ

Pasture of the beautiful gazelles

The playground of graceful beauties, nay,

Precinct of the guards and the trusted

The breeding ground of informers and accusations.

خَبِّرينا إِنَّ فيكِ لَنا

حِكمَةً تَعلو عَلى الحُكمِ

Tell us, is there in you

Tell us—for in you we find

Wisdom higher than rulership?

A wisdom that rises above the throne—

خَبِّرينا كَيفَ عاقِبَةُ

البَغيِ هَل كانَت سِوى نَدَمِ

Tell us, how did the aftermath

Tell us, what was the outcome

Of tyranny turn out but regret?

Of tyranny? Was it anything but regret?

جُرتَ يا عَبدَ الحَميدِ بِنا

غَيرَ أَنَّ الجَورَ لَم يَدُمِ

You dragged us, Abdülhamid

You were unjust to us, O Abdul Hamid,

Though oppression did not last

Except that injustice did not endure.

كُنتَ كَالأَيّامِ ما قَصَدَت

بِالرَزايا غَيرَ ذي شَمَمِ

You were like the days that intended

You were like the harsh days that intended

No harm but had no flair

Calamities only for those of noble pride.

ظَلَّت تُقري الحوتَ مِن جُثَثٍ

أَوشَكَت تَبليهِ بِالتُخَمِ

It kept feeding the whale with corpses

You kept feeding the whale with corpses,

Almost suffocating it with excess

Until they nearly wore it out with indigestion.

نِعَمٌ لِلبَحرِ تَطرَحُها

يا لَها في البَرِّ مِن نِقَمِ

Good riddance for the sea—

Blessings they were for the sea as it casts them,

What blame in the land!

Oh, what curses they were upon the land!

وَلَكَم حَلَّلتَ مِن حَرَمٍ

وَلَكَم أَفسَدتَ مِن ذِمَمِ

How many unlawful acts you legitimized

How many sanctities did you violate,

How many reputations you corrupted

And how many covenants did you corrupt?

لَم تُراعِ قَطُّ ذا صِلَةٍ

لا وَلَم تُشفِق عَلى رَحِمِ

You never cared for one bound

You never respected one of kinship,

By ties of kinship—no compassion

No, nor did you show mercy to a blood relative.

راعَكَ الدُستورُ مُنتَصِراً

فَأَثَرتَ الجُندَ بِالعَمَمِ

The constitution supported you as victor

The Constitution alarmed you when it triumphed,

Yet you incited the army to blindness

So you stirred up the soldiers with the rabble.

كادَ يَلقى مِنكَ مَصرَعُهُ

وَهُوَ لَم يَبلُغ إِلى الحُلُمِ

The nation almost met its death by you

It almost met its death at your hands,

While still innocent

Before it had even reached maturity.

رُبَّ لَيلٍ بِتَّ تَرقُبُهُ

رَقبَةَ السَرحانِ لِلغَنَمِ

Many a night you lay in ambush

Many a night you spent watching it,

For him, watching for the flock’s guardian

As the wolf watches the sheep.

وَنَهارٍ كِدتَ فيهِ لَهُ

غَيرَ خاشٍ كَيدَ مُنتَقِمِ

Many a day you all but plotted

And many a day you plotted against it,

Against him, though no vengeful plotter

Unafraid of the avenger's scheme.

أَحَسِبتَ القَومَ قَد غَفِلوا

وَنَسَوا ما كانَ في القِدَمِ

Did you reckon the people unaware

Did you think the people had become heedless,

And forgot what happened long ago?

And had forgotten what happened in the past?

أَم ظَنَنتَ الشَعبَ حَنَّ إِلى

إِمرَةِ الخِصيانِ وَالخَدَمِ

Or think the populace inclined

Or did you think the nation longed for

To serve eunuchs and servants?

The rule of eunuchs and servants?

أَم حَسِبتَ الجَيشَ مُبتَعِداً

وَهوَ أَدنى مِن يَدٍ لِفَمِ

Or imagine the army distant

Or did you reckon the army was far away,

While it is closer than a hand to a mouth?

When it was closer than a hand to a mouth?

لَم يَطُق صَبراً عَلى مَضَضٍ

فَأَتى يَسعى عَلى قَدَمِ

It could not patiently bear discomfort

It could not bear patience over the bitterness,

So came rushing on foot

So it came rushing forth on foot.

عَلَمٌ مِن خَلفِهِ عَلَمٌ

وَكَمِيُّ يَقتَفيهِ كَمي

Banner after banner

Banner following behind banner,

And regiment chasing regiment

And warrior following warrior.

حاطَ يَلديزا فَكانَ لَها

كَسِوارٍ غَيرِ مُنفَصِمِ

It surrounded Yildiz and became

It surrounded Yildiz until it became to it

An unbroken bracelet for it

Like a bracelet that cannot be broken.

وَرَأَت عَيناكَ غَضبَتُهُ

فَبَكَت خَوفَ الرَدى بِدَمِ

Your eyes saw its wrath

Your eyes saw its anger,

And wept, fearing harm, in blood

And wept blood in fear of death.

شَلَّ مِنكَ التاجَ مُهتَضِماً

مَن يُعادِ الشَعبَ يُهتَضَمِ

It tore the crown violently from you—

It stripped the crown from you, crushing you;

He who repels the people is torn down!

Whoever opposes the people is crushed.

بِتَّ لا جَيشَ وَلا عَلَمٌ

يا صَريعَ الجَيشِ وَالعَلَمِ

You remained with neither army nor banner

You ended up with neither army nor flag,

O felled by army and banner!

O victim of the army and the flag.

وَفَشى ما كُنتَ تَضمُرُهُ

فَعَرَفنا ناقِضَ القَسَمِ

What you harbored spread

And what you were concealing was exposed,

And we recognized oath-breaker

So we recognized the breaker of oaths.

كُنتَ مَسلوبَ الكَرى حَذِراً

وَلَقَد أَعطَيتَهُ فَنَمِ

You were deprived of will, cautious

You used to be sleepless and cautious;

Yet still you fell asleep

Now you have been given sleep, so sleep.

وَدَعِ الدُنيا وَبَهجَتَها

ما أَرى الحَسناءَ لِلهَرَمِ

Leave this world and its delights

And leave the world and its splendor;

I do not see it suiting old age

I see no beauty for the senile.

لَستَ مِن طِرسي وَلا قَلَمي

إِن كَبا في حَلبَةٍ قَلمي

You are not of my mettle or pen

You are not of my scroll nor my pen,

If my pen falters in battle

Even if my pen stumbles in the arena.

قُل لِمَن راموا مُساجَلَتي

لَيسَ غَيري تاجِرَ الكَلَمِ

Say to those who would debate me

Say to those who sought to compete with me:

None but me trades in words

There is no one but me who is the merchant of words.

يا رَشادَ المُلكِ تَهنِأَةً

بِالَّذي أوتيتَ مِن نِعَمِ

O Rashad, blessings

O Reshad of the Kingdom, congratulations

On the blessings you were granted

For the blessings you have been granted.

إِن تَكُن ذاكَ السَجينَ فَيا

رُبَّ عانِ غَيرِ مُجتَرِمِ

If that prisoner, what a

If you were that prisoner, then oh,

Blameless prisoner!

How many a captive is actually innocent!

أَنتَ كَالصَديقِ أَسكَنَهُ

فَضلُهُ في السِجنِ مِن قِدَمِ

You housed him like Joseph

You are like Joseph the Truthful, whom

His excellence in prison is longstanding

Virtue housed in prison in times of old.

كُن لِهاذا الشَعبِ يوسُفُهُ

يَنجُ مِن عَدَمٍ وَمِن عَدَمِ

Be for these people their Joseph

Be a Joseph to this people,

Saved from dearth and from dearth

Saving them from ruin and poverty.

لَستَ تَرضى أَن يُقالَ كَبا

دونَ شَعبٍ هامَ بِالصَنَمِ

You do not consent to hearing it said

You are not pleased that it be said "he stumbled,"

A people roamed confused without a guide

Before a people who wandered blindly after the idol.

أَنتَ لِلشورى نُعَوِّذُها

بِكَ مِن عاتٍ وَمِن نَهِمِ

You are the one we charge with its care

You belong to the Shura; we seek refuge for it

The Shura, from harm and anxiety

Through you, from every tyrant and glutton.

فَتَقَلَّد سَيفَ جَدِّكَ عُث

مانَ جَدَّ البيضِ وَالخَذَمِ

Take up the sword of your grandfather, Osman

So gird yourself with the sword of your ancestor Othman,

Grandsire of the whites and the browns

The ancestor of white blades and sharp swords.

وَتَوَلَّ المُلكَ مِن أُمَمٍ

وَبِحَبلِ اللَهِ فَاِعتَصِمِ

Assume leadership over the nations

And take charge of the Kingdom on behalf of nations,

And hold fast to God’s rope

And hold fast to the rope of God.

قَد شَفى مَرآكَ مُقلَتُهُ

مِن عَمىً وَالأُذنَ مِن صَمَمِ

Your sight has recovered from blindness

Your sight has healed the nation's eye

And your hearing from deafness

Of blindness, and the ear of deafness.

دُمتَ يا خَيرَ المُلوكِ لَهُ

غَيرَ ما هَمٍّ وَلا سَقَمِ

May you remain, best of kings

May you remain, O best of kings, for it,

Without worries or illness

Without any worry or sickness.