1. If visiting ministers were virtuous,
Parting would bring reward,

2. And slaying souls would become
Provisions for the Day of Return.

3. If you were learned, tell me -
I have no knowledge of disputes -

4. And my sheikh long warned me
Against following my passions.

5. People are puzzled by my eyes and heart;
Both afflicted equally.

6. One of the two does lasting harm,
Continuous with time's advance.

7. My eyes reveal sadness and cause grief,
Like a sword that cuts and leaves a mark.

8. On his cheek moons rose
Whose crescents shone below.

9. So I said, “What is this?” And he replied,
“Mercy is drawn over beauty,”

10. And excuses are made in my rapture,
Though with rapture, excuses are betrayal.

11. I seek God’s forgiveness, then love Him -
How can the stubborn seek forgiveness?

12. My trials have long confounded me;
Each pulls to itself.

13. When I say, “This one is noble” -
I complain to him - “that one is free.”

14. It angers him that I blame my time,
As though that noble one were Time itself.

15. This one acts as though he is my time,
And his people are many.

16. That unjust one rules over it,
Though he has no authority.

17. The lion of glorious nights
Is white, and their brightness, red.

18. The son of Ali defends them
From all predators roused against him.

19. He whose name denotes victory -
His strength in fright a baring of fangs and power.

20. Noble natures like stars shining,
Their traces like springtime greenery,

21. While nights are blackness
And the faces of their deeds, dust.

22. It is clear to me that I am deficient,
Yet I stand firm in religion, which is gratitude.

23. So return to what you knew and lend me money -
For the deficient, lending is provision.

24. Before we met I loved
What I did not yet know.

25. Thus the morning star appears
Among stars that set.