1. The earth and man crouching upon it
Are but a drop in the universe, and the universe is immense

2. And others which try as I might, I do not know
And in the universe there is a secret longing to be revealed

3. Yet it has no mouth with which to speak
And I over the tiniest spot

4. How could I understand it and interpret it?
And I am nothing like what you comprehend

5. Nor are you anything like what I understand
Let us be content with the illusions of our souls

6. Imagination cannot suffice for true comprehension
I saw a faint distant glimmer, hazy and dim

7. I heard a muted whisper, vague and muted
'Tis fate, or one who hides behind it

8. Destroying what comes, building and demolishing
Decreeing in the dark before dawn

9. Annulling before dawn what it decreed
So it was called destiny and so it was called will

10. And all that was said was conjecture, guesswork
And in my heart are things I do not utter

11. Fearing ridicule would prevail upon me
But when a wise man’s command exceeds bounds

12. It is as if I were the guardian of the wise
And you see some fool in his deeds

13. And soon remorse grips him
As if he who regretted his deed

14. Appealed against himself to himself
Beware, for fate lies in wait for you

15. To attack suddenly in an unguarded moment
I saw the path of peace was not near

16. And the path of war was closer and firmer
And a people will never gain independence

17. If they do not have an army, armed and ready
And life is only sweet and bitter

18. And the earth is only paradise and hell
Wealth and poverty, power and subjugation

19. Victory and deprivation, wedding and bereavement
I see you haughty in your glory

20. Like a mother mourning her dead child
I implore you do not reopen my wounds with your hands

21. For if you touch them, it will hurt
They ask me of my doctrine and my faith

22. A group of sheikhs, to whom I do not belong
So I said to them, as for the question, it is cold

23. And as for my answer, it is that I am Muslim
But I was never an imitator

24. Who sees reason's rule in religion as a disaster
Neither is my heart inclined toward follies

25. Nor my head filled with superstitions
Never was I confidently correct

26. For I am in a dark night, guessing blindly
I renewed, but they did not heed

27. And there is nothing beyond innovation but ridicule
They are people with blinded vision

28. However clearly the truth is articulated, they are blind