ظهرت محاسن ذا الزمان فقابلت

بالبشر والاقبال والخير المزيد

The beauties of this age appeared, and I welcomed them

With gladness, good fortune, and ever-increasing good.

اذعاد تشيد المدارس قربة

في ظل سلطان الورى عبدالحميد

As building schools once more became an act of devotion

In the shade of humankind’s sultan, Abd al-Hamid,

ابن المليك المرتضى والمجتبي

واميرنا فيما مضى عبد المجيد

Son of the sovereign, the favored and chosen one,

And our former ruler, Abd al-Majid.

جاد الزمان على الانام به فمذ

نشر العدالة زلزل الركن العنيد

Time generously bestowed him upon humankind; and since

He spread justice, he has shaken the defiant pillar.

دامت له الرايات قاهرة العدا

فاحرسه بالظفر المؤبد يا مجيد

May his banners endure, vanquishing the foe;

So protect him with everlasting victory, O Glorious One.

أسد الملوك به المشارق أشرقت

وبه المغعارب حفها الرعب الشديد

The lion of kings: through him the eastern lands shone,

And through him the western lands were enveloped in intense terror.

ملك تربع في أريكة ملكه

ما بين سيطرة وتدبير سديد

A king who sat enthroned upon the couch of his dominion,

Between mastery and sound governance.

ساد الانام برى السهام حمى الحمى

أهدى السلام فنال منا ما يريد

He ruled humankind, shaped arrows, and guarded the sanctuary;

He offered peace, and gained from us what he desired.

نشر المعارف والعلوم وبثها

بمدارس عليا بها الدنيا تميد

He spread knowledge and the sciences, and disseminated them

In lofty schools that make the world sway.

خرق الجبال بنى القلاع وشادها

ملأ البحار بآلة الحرب الجديد

He pierced the mountains, built fortresses, and raised them high;

He filled the seas with the new machinery of war.

مد الخيوط وقى الشطوط موجهاً

نحو الحجاز مراكب الخط الحديد

He stretched the wires and guarded the shores, directing

The iron railway’s carriages toward the Hijaz.

قل داعيا آمين يا هذا فما

عز الخلافة في سوى عبد الحميد

Say 'Amen' in prayer, O you, for there is no

Glory for the caliphate in anyone but Abd al-Hamid.

كل الانام على اختلاف شعوبها

خضعت لدولته ودانت من بعيد

All humankind, despite the diversity of its peoples,

Submitted to his state and obeyed from afar.

فهو الرفيع اذا رايت مكانه

وبكهرباء الفكر أقرب من وريد

For he is exalted when you behold his station,

And through the electricity of thought, nearer than a jugular vein.

خطبت مودته الملوك تقربا

وتوقيا من حد صيقله المبيد

Kings wooed his friendship, seeking closeness,

And to guard against the edge of his polished, annihilating sword.

لله من ملك عظيم زانه

ملك جليل قاهر أسد فريد

What a mighty realm, by God, adorned by

A majestic, conquering king, a peerless lion!

في عصره فلك السعادة والثنا

جد المسير ودار في دور جديد

In his age, the sphere of happiness and praise

Hastened on its course and revolved in a new cycle.

فيه استقام لنا بشامل عدله

تجديد مدرسة لها عمر مديد

In it, through his all-embracing justice, we secured

The restoration of a school many years old.

خدمتك مدرسة البروني اذ غدت

تشدو بنصرك في مصادمة العنيد

Al-Baruni’s school served you when it came

To sing of your victory in confronting the defiant foe.

ولسان حال دروسها وربوعها

ما عمرت يرجو لك النصر الاكيد

And the silent voice of its lessons and its precincts,

As long as it flourishes, wishes you certain victory.

في عصرك المعمور ذي الفخر الذي

بهر العقول وحير الفكر الرشيد

In your flourishing age, full of pride, which

Dazzled minds and bewildered discerning thought,

شبت وعاد لها الصبا فترنحت

طربا وقالت في الورى عبد الحميد

It grew young, and youth returned to it; then it swayed

With delight, and said among humankind: 'Abd al-Hamid!'

لولاه ما حفظت لطيبة روضة

كلا ولا كانت حضارتكم تزيد

Were it not for him, no garden would have been preserved for Tayba,

No indeed—nor would your civilization have grown.

لولاه ما عمرت مدارس طالما

هجرت فنور ليلها للمستفيد

Without him, schools would not have been restored that had long

Been abandoned; so he lit their night for the learner.

يا أيها الحبر السياسي اطنبن

في وصف واسطة من العقد النضيد

O political sage, speak at length

In describing the central jewel of the well-strung necklace.

باللَه قل واصدع بحق لا تهب

لوم العذول وجد باتقان النشيد

By God, speak and proclaim the truth; do not fear

The reproacher’s blame, and strive to perfect the song.

هل في الدنا ملك يقاس بملكه

هيهات الا ان يؤسس من جديد

Is there a realm in the world comparable to his?

Far from it—unless one were founded anew.

كم نعمة أسدى وكم أهدى الورى

مننا وكم من مجزم أضحى طريد

How many blessings he bestowed, and how often he gave humankind

Favors—and how many a criminal became an outcast!

عمت عنايته جبال الغرب اذ

صدرت ارادته لذي الحكم السديد

His care encompassed the mountains of the West, when

His decree was issued to the man of sound judgment.

أعني محمد عزت المحمود من

بالعدل لا زالت محبته تزيبد

I mean Muhammad Izzat, the praised one, for whom

Love, through justice, may never cease to grow.

سادت بنيره الجبال وأشرقت

وتشرفت وتزينت وغدت تميد

The mountains rose to eminence through his radiance, and shone,

And gained honor and adornment, and began to sway.

لا زال محمود الخصال مكرما

متنعما بمكارم الملك الفريد

May he, praised for his virtues, ever remain honored,

Enjoying the bounty of the peerless king,

سلطاننا وولي نعمة حزبنا

وخليفة المختار نبراس الشهيد

Our sultan and the benefactor of our community,

And successor of the Chosen One, the witness’s beacon.

صلى عليه الله ما بدر بدا

وصفا السما وعلا الهدى وهمي الجليد

May God bless him as long as a full moon appears,

And the sky clears, guidance rises, and ice rains down;

وعلى صحابته الأجلة ما غدا

علم الهدى متصديا للمستفيد

And upon his noble Companions, as long as

A luminary of guidance devotes himself to the learner;

أو ما البروني تاه في الترصيع مذ

نال الرضا والعفو من عبد الحميد

Or as long as al-Baruni glories in ornate verse, since

He received approval and pardon from Abd al-Hamid.

والآل ما ختم البنا واستفتحت

للعلم مدرسة بذا العصر السعيد

And upon his family, whenever construction is completed and

A school is opened for learning in this happy age.