Sol 6.1

  1. Thus let the Imam uphold the faith,

    And let peace fill the earth in his name,

  2. And let the blaze among its people die out,

    Which strife and contention kindle.

  3. Thus let the fierce lion emerge

    From the thickets, rushing forth in fury,

  4. And let governance and affairs awaken him,

    Vigorous after sleep had lasted so long.

  5. Thus let the enemy peoples return

    To the paths of guidance and rectitude,

  6. And to the certain knowledge that you are, for mankind,

    A light when darkness deepens.

  7. You lay quiet, O sons of Osman, for an age,

    Secretly preparing battalions throughout it.

  8. So your foes thought ill of the kingdom,

    And said, 'Death has overtaken the Turks.'

  9. Your stillness tempted them, and they charged,

    And ranged about, ran rampant, and grew overbearing.

  10. And they developed a passion and preoccupation

    With war against you; the homeland was thronged.

  11. They had sought strength through their alliance,

    But no sooner did they meet you than they submitted,

  12. And were humbled, bowing to you and yielding,

    And defeat and rout befell them.

  13. So they left your protected domain defeated,

    Biting their fingertips in remorse,

  14. Parched—nay, bewildered and abased,

    Though they were a people of mighty tyrants.

  15. And again they filled the earth with terror,

    And spread harm east and west,

  16. To dominate mankind, non-Arabs and Arabs.

    So people feared, trembled, and wandered distraught.

  17. Some submitted, vanquished and broken,

    While others resisted this raider,

  18. And kindled a blaze to defend their homeland,

    So the clash between them shook the earth.

  19. The foes feared only a battlefield

    In the land of China, flaring into flame,

  20. Fearsomely, barring the way to what they sought.

    So they knew not the way, nor kept a straight course.

  21. And they met an army from among the sons of Islam,

    That became a fortress and barrier defending the domain,

  22. Crushing mighty mountains with its resolve,

    Fiercely protective, its fury unbearable.

  23. How many intractable difficulties they endured

    There, and perplexing occurrences,

  24. And mighty, overwhelming terrors,

    Which discord and division made possible.

  25. So they found no path to deliverance

    From harsh calamities forewarning

  26. Of what they feared in the past and the future,

    Except you, for you are the valiant king.

  27. You came to the aid of the land and those upon it,

    With a decree that will fill both its sides

  28. With guidance and restore its flourishing beauty,

    As is your custom, O sovereign Imam.

  29. And you bestowed kindness as you wished

    On a people who so often wronged us.

  30. Were it not for your heart's gentleness and noble pride,

    They would have become food for their foe.

  31. Commander of the Faithful, our prayer is for you,

    We repeat it as fidelity requires,

  32. As do steadfast obedience to you and allegiance,

    And your stature, the covenants, and bonds of honor.

  33. At your noble mission, glad tidings were proclaimed

    By an age in which the faith won victory

  34. Over its enemies on land and sea,

    And Osman's realm was knit together.

  35. Its far-reaching aim is to spread the faith,

    And in God's name is its praiseworthy endeavor,

  36. And with welcome comes its auspicious beginning,

    And its passage there, and its stay.

  37. The people will show affection and celebration

    At its arrival, and gratitude and compliance,

  38. And cast away spearheads and blades,

    And fellowship and harmony will begin.

  39. For the righteous are the verses of the Book,

    And the bestowal of kindness and reward;

  40. For the wicked, punishment made harsher,

    And cannon fire and the keen sword.

  41. A deed among mankind, lofty and resplendent,

    Mighty in achieving what we hope for,

  42. By it the Guardian and the Prophet were gladdened,

    And the faith and the Sacred City were exalted.

  43. May God watch over you, O Abd al-Hamid,

    And preserve you among your subjects, the bondsmen;

  44. May your lofty, sound judgment ever retain

    Sway and authority among mankind.

  45. Oh, how I long for a noble day

    That restores the proud deeds of bygone glory,

  46. And shows me the earth fresh with bliss,

    Where peace and order reign.

  47. A call draws its two western reaches together,

    Which the open air echoes when it rings out,

  48. And a banner unites its two eastern reaches,

    Of a sultan who assails but cannot be assailed.

  49. By your life, I have a mighty hope

    That, apart from other thoughts, has become my confidant;

  50. I shall attain it so long as you live,

    Your command obeyed, the pledge of protection in your hand.

  51. Sons of Osman, you are the light of my eye,

    And my paths between my hopes and me;

  52. My praise of you is my honor and adornment,

    And the pleasures of youth and wine.

  53. Are you not the finest who plunged into wars,

    And met their terror joyfully, exultant,

  54. And drove calamities from their homelands,

    So they lived in safety, never wronged?

  55. Yours is a homeland that the nights fear,

    And a throne for the caliph of majesty,

  56. Encircled by virtues and lofty honors,

    And glory throughout the lands, forever enduring.

  57. Ask the Bosphorus, with its awe-inspiring depths,

    And the manifestation of that fearsome might,

  58. And the gateway to the cities of the vast realm:

    Did mankind bow to it before you?

  59. May the All-Merciful water your land and quench its thirst,

    And fortify and strengthen your resolves;

  60. And may you remain the noblest of peoples in pardoning

    The offender when vengeance is warranted.

Sol 6.1