1. What ails your eye, that it would not close and so did not sleep?

    What ails its tear duct, pouring like unbroken rain?

  2. Did a flash of lightning remind you of those you loved,

    gleaming in the darkness from the direction of their abode?

  3. Yes, I remembered my beloved ones, and the memory stirred me;

    my remembrance roused my sorrow, as did their long absence.

  4. So I spent my night drowned in tears poured forth

    by my eye, while the fire of passion blazed within my heart.

  5. Overwhelming is my yearning for a home where I left

    a heart that disobeys me: if I tell it, “Awake,” it wanders madly.

  6. They are fortresses that rival the stars—not

    a campsite in Najd, nor traces of one at Dhu Salam—

  7. guarded by noble souls with whom I am enamored;

    and nothing but generosity and magnanimity enamored me.

  8. Though I have left my family and my dwelling,

    I have found a new home in the blessings of their affection.

  9. And though illness has made my body unrecognizable,

    my love for them has become a beacon-fire.

  10. O critic who has reproached me for loving them,

    leave me—for obeying faultfinders is not my way.

  11. What can make you doubt me, after knowing

    that I stand innocent of loving anyone but them?

  12. I have stood firm: neither will my heart turn

    from them, nor will the bond of my devotion be severed.

  13. You have wearied yourself; have mercy on it by ceasing

    to blame me, and leave me to my longing and illness.

  14. Your concern over my plight is no greater than

    my own; yet I find my pain sweet.

  15. How vast the difference between a quest whose end

    is despair short of its goal, and one crowned by victory’s sweetness.

  16. Could I absolve myself of loving those

    whose very accusation of love has ennobled my worth?

  17. Indeed, how could I uproot that love, when it has grown

    since my first formation, mingled with my blood?

  18. May I gain nothing from the days of life if

    I do not spend them with my heart enamored of them;

  19. if I rest beneath any shade but theirs,

    or drink my fill from any cup but theirs.

  20. They are the House of Osman, holders of the caliphate,

    lords of certainty, wellsprings of all-embracing bounty.

  21. A people who are lions in might, full moons in radiance,

    and wine in gentleness—glorious men of lofty pride.

  22. They rose to sovereignty through a lord who restored the faith’s way,

    crowned with the majesty of religion and marked by it:

  23. pure of conscience, broad of heart and spotless,

    resolute in purpose, keen of trenchant sword.

  24. O best of those who governed their subjects’ affairs with

    benevolence and defended both kingdom and sanctuary;

  25. O ruler who enforces judgments justly,

    at his Creator’s command, among Arab and non-Arab;

  26. and O sage, we hold fast to your wisdom—

    the highest—after so often straying before it from sound judgment.

  27. All the kings of earth fear your mighty

    stroke, and every royal heart quakes at it.

  28. One calls for the spread of peace by laying

    down arms and forsaking horses and bridles;

  29. yet he sought only deception, fearing what

    you had prepared, and aimed at nothing but misleading you.

  30. You perceived his stratagem, so your efforts to

    strengthen your realm increased, like a lion’s among the thickets.

  31. Another seeks nearness to you, hoping for favor

    from you that he deems the finest prize he could gain.

  32. You do not forsake one who seeks your protection from

    a terror engulfing him on the day armies clash.

  33. O star that guides us whenever

    the many paths through darkness confuse beholders,

  34. what an army is yours, O sovereign of creation—what

    a vast sea, surging with waves of valor!

  35. It consists of men who safeguard the faith, each trustworthy,

    answering victory’s call and holding fast to God.

  36. How often it has repelled calamity and raised the homeland’s

    standing through the resolve and high aspirations it attained!

  37. It gives the enemy flames to drink on the day of battle, just as

    it gives its loyal friends sweet, cold, refreshing water.

  38. O you who restored to Islam its strength

    and fresh beauty after weakness and decrepitude,

  39. the days of your reign are blessed festivals;

    every day you behold has a smiling face.

  40. Now welcome the Feast of Sacrifice, beholding

    a light from which the fullest share will reach you.

  41. Offer sacrifice for a state that would ransom your life, O

    Abdul Hamid, with all the people of the earth.

  42. May God reward you, my lord, on behalf of nations

    whose crooked affairs would never have been set straight without you.

  43. How splendid are your radiant, noble achievements—

    a wondrous necklace arranged upon the neck of time.

  44. If they have adorned existence with light, then I

    have adorned the written pages with my pen in gratitude for them.

  45. How many champions of poetry raced beside me

    toward you, their maiden praises thronging together!

  46. Yet I did not reach the goal slowly on a day of racing,

    nor was I denied attainment amid the crowd.

  47. O House of Osman, how exalted is your station

    in my eyes, and how sweet your mention upon my lips!

  48. O nation that, through religion, followed the path of the Com—

    panions of the Messenger and thus became the finest nation,

  49. may you remain firm-pillared, your authority

    effective and victorious in every fierce struggle.

  50. The kings of the earth come hastening to you as delegations,

    advancing toward you upon their very eyes, not their feet.

Sol 6.1