لك الولاء الذي لم يخفه أحد — أحمد الكاشف

لك الولاء الذي لم يخفه أحدُ

ولا خلت أمة منه ولا بلدُ

To you belongs the loyalty that no one has concealed,

and no nation has lacked it, nor any land.

قد قمت بالحكم عدلاً لا يميل بك ال

هوى ولا يتخطى رأيَك الرشد

You have governed justly, unswayed by

passion; nor does sound judgment ever bypass your counsel.

وسرتَ بالملك مأمون المذاهب مي

مون المساعي على القرآن تعتمد

And you have led the kingdom on safe paths, auspicious

in your endeavors, relying on the Quran.

وبت تدفع عنه الحادثات كما

يبيت يقظانَ يحمي غيلَهُ الأسد

You spent the night warding calamities away from it, as

the lion stays wakeful at night, guarding his thicket.

حتى رفعت له فوق النجوم حمى

الحزم أسبابه والحكمة العمد

Until you raised for it a sanctuary above the stars,

resolve its supporting cords, wisdom its pillars.

فبات ممتنعَ الأركان تحرسه

عين الأله إذا حراسه رقدوا

It thus became impregnable in its foundations, watched over

by God's eye whenever its guards slept.

والناس قسمان عانٍ موثقٌ ضجرٌ

في قبضتيك وراجٍ عيشه رغد

The people are of two kinds: a captive, bound and fretful,

in your two hands, and a hopeful man whose life is easy.

فللمعادين أدوار بهن شقوا

وللموالين أدوار بها سعدوا

For adversaries, there are turns of fortune that bring them misery,

and for loyal supporters, turns that bring them happiness.

إن شئت أعطيت هذي الأرض نضرتَها

وإن تشأ أصبحتْ بالشر تتقد

If you wish, you give this earth its fresh bloom,

and if you wish, it becomes ablaze with evil.

وما غضبت لغير اللّه منتقماً

وما قهرت سوى القوم الألى حقدوا

You have never raged in vengeance for any but God,

nor subdued any but those who bore hatred.

وما فتحت لغير الدين مملكة

رأيتها عن سبيل الخير تبتعد

Nor have you conquered, for anything but religion, a kingdom

that you saw straying from the path of goodness.

أنهضته مسترداً فيه قوته

فقام يمتد في الدنيا ويَطَّرد

You revived the faith, restoring its strength,

and it rose, spreading through the world and advancing steadily.

لك الجيوش التي كم فرجت كرباً

كأنها قسطل في الجو منعقد

Yours are the armies that have so often relieved distress,

like a cloud of battle-dust gathered in the sky.

يسدد اللّه مرماها يؤيدها

من الملائك في غاراتها مدد

God guides their aim; they are supported

by reinforcements of angels in their raids.

لها على الموثق الدينيِّ متَّكلٌ

يوم الكفاح ومن إيمانها عدد

They rely on the covenant of faith

on the day of combat, and their belief supplies their arms.

لك اللواء الذي نال الهلال فلا

تنال رفْعتَه للعاديات يد

Yours is the banner that reached the crescent moon; no

hand of adversity can attain its height.

في خفقه طرب للمستظل به

وللعدى رهب في طيِّه كمد

Its fluttering brings joy to those sheltered beneath it,

and terror to enemies; within its folds is anguish.

لك الأساطيل كالأطواد شامخة

تجري فيحدث رعداً حولها الزبد

Yours are the fleets, towering like mountains,

sailing as the foam makes thunder around them.

لولا أمانك ثار البحر مشتعلاً

بنارهنَّ وسال البر والجمد

But for your pledge of safety, the sea would rage ablaze

with their fire, and land and solid rock would melt and flow.

لك القباب التي تعلو محلقة

في الجو والجند حراس بها رصد

Yours are the domes that rise soaring

into the air, with soldiers there as guards on watch.

وفي محيّاك نور للخلافة قد

أضحى لدى الناس برهاناً لما اعتقدوا

In your countenance is a light of the caliphate that has

become, among the people, proof of what they believe.

لو تستطيع النجوم النيرات هوت

شوقاً وصارت مكان التاج تنتضد

If the radiant stars could, they would descend

in longing, arraying themselves in place of your crown.

مولاي عيدك وافى في ميامنه

يهدي البرية أفراحاً كما عهدوا

My lord, your festival has arrived with its blessings,

offering mankind joys, as they have known before.

بدا له الكون في أبهى مظاهره

واستجمعت حسنها الأيام والأبد

For it, the universe appeared in its fairest forms,

and the days and eternity gathered all their beauty.

فالأرض باهرة الأنوار ناضرة

ريا الشباب كساها الوشي والبرد

The earth is radiant with lights, fresh in bloom,

lush with youth, clothed in brocade and striped mantles.

تختال ضاحكة للعالمين كما

تختال ذات دلال زانها الغيَد

It struts, smiling upon all mankind, as

a coquettish woman struts, adorned with supple grace.

وللوفود ازدحام تحت عرشك لم

يضق به بابك العالي ومحتشد

Delegations crowd beneath your throne; neither

your lofty gate nor your gathering place is too narrow for them.

تشفي القلوب من الشوق الشديد بما

لاقوا من الطلعة الكبرى وما شهدوا

You heal hearts of their intense longing through what

they have encountered of your majestic presence and what they have witnessed.

كأنهم شربوا راحاً بها طربوا

وغير منهلك الخلديِّ ما وردوا

As though they had drunk wine that brought them joy,

yet they drank from no source but your everlasting spring.

يا صاحب الباقيات الصالحات ويا

رب الأيادي التي لم يحصها عدد

O possessor of enduring righteous deeds, and O

master of benefactions beyond all counting,

تحية ودعاء نبتغي بهما

شرح المسرة والحب الذي نجد

a greeting and a prayer, with which we seek

to express the joy and love we feel.

أقبلت والقوم في أهوائهم فرق

شتى طرائقُهم من غيهم قِدَد

You came while the people were split by their desires into factions,

of many kinds, their paths fragmented by their waywardness.

فاستسلموا لك لما قمت ترشدهم

واستمسكوا بعرى الميثاق واتحدوا

Then they submitted to you when you rose to guide them,

and held fast to the bonds of the covenant, and united.

وذدت عنهم جماهير العدى فنجوا

وأنت في حومة الميدان منفرد

You drove masses of enemies away from them, and they escaped,

while you stood alone in the thick of the battlefield.

وصلت فيهم فخانتهم عزائمهم

عند اللقاء وطار الصبر والجلد

You charged among them, and their resolve betrayed them

at the encounter; patience and fortitude fled.

واستصرخوا فأتاهم جحفل لجب

من دولة الوهم فيه اليأس والنكد

They cried for help, and a clamorous host came to them

from the realm of illusion, filled with despair and misery.

غلبت مكرهمُ واغتلت غدرهمُ

ودست كيداً لهم في دسه اجتهدوا

You overcame their cunning and slew their treachery,

and trampled their plot, which they had striven to conceal.

ماذا عليك من القوم الذين غووا

واستكبروا ولما أوليتهم جحدوا

What harm can come to you from those who went astray,

grew arrogant and, when you favored them, proved ungrateful?

فهل يضرُّ أبٌ أبناءه امتلأوا

حباً له وعصاه منهمُ ولد

Would a father harm his children, who are filled

with love for him, though one son among them disobeyed him?

لا ييأس المذنب المحروم منك إذا

نهاه عن أن يعود الأسر والصفد

Let no deprived sinner despair of you, if

captivity and fetters have deterred him from relapsing.

يا آل عثمان رفقاً بالعداة ولا

تجردوا فيهمُ سيفاً فقد قعدوا

O House of Osman, be gentle with enemies, and do not

draw a sword against them, for they have desisted.

على السعادة باتوا يحسدونكمُ

فلم يضر سواهم ذلك الحسد

They have spent the night envying you your happiness,

but that envy has harmed none but themselves.

ففي قلوبهمُ من بغضكم مرضٌ

وفي عيونهمُ من نوركم رمد

In their hearts, hatred of you is a sickness,

and in their eyes, your light has brought soreness.

فلا يزالون في هذا الشقاء إلى

أن ييأسوا فتراهم كلهم خمدوا

So they remain in this misery until

they despair, and you see them all fallen quiet.

مهلاً بني الترك في فتح البلاد أما

لحبكم في الأمانيِّ العلى أمد

Slowly, sons of the Turks, in conquering lands! Is there no

limit to your longing for lofty aspirations?

لولاكمُ ما بدت للدين حجته

ولا استقام لباقي عزه أود

Without you, religion's proof would not have appeared,

nor would the crookedness of its remaining glory have been set right.

عبد الحميد لك الإخلاص فاستمع ال

حمد الذي يتوالى واجز من حمدوا

Abd al-Hamid, yours is sincere devotion; hear the

praise that comes unceasingly, and reward those who praised you.

وإن ملكَك في إشراق زينتِه

لجنة أنا فيها الطائر الغرد

And your kingdom, in the radiance of its adornment,

is truly a paradise, where I am the warbling bird.

سينجز اللّه في الدنيا التي ابتسمت

للمسلمين على أيديك ما وُعدوا

God will fulfill, in the world that has smiled

on Muslims through your hands, what they were promised.

فاستبشروا يا بني الإسلام وانتظروا

غداً فقد ضمن النصرَ المبين غد

So rejoice, sons of Islam, and await

tomorrow, for tomorrow has guaranteed manifest victory.