فريدة حسن وجهها البدر طالع — Abd Al Ghani Al Nabulsi

فريدةُ حسنٍ وجهُها البدرُ طالعُ

أشاهد معنى لطفِها وأطالعُ

A peerless pearl of beauty, her face the rising full moon.

I behold the meaning of her subtle grace and contemplate it.

تجلّت وكل الحادثات مغاربٌ

فجلَّت وكل الحادثات مطالع

She revealed herself, while all created things were setting horizons.

She shone majestically, while all created things were rising horizons.

ولاحت لعيني وهي نور فأَعدَمت

ظلامَ سواها واستنارت مرابع

She appeared to my eye as light, and annihilated

the darkness of otherness; the dwelling places grew radiant.

وكانت ولا شيءٌ كما هي لم تزل

كذلك والأشياء منها وقائع

She was when nothing was, just as she has ever been.

So she remains, while things are happenings proceeding from her.

نفتني بأنوار التجلي وأثبتت

فكلي لها منها إليها ودائع

She negated me with the lights of revelation and affirmed me.

Thus my whole being is hers, from her, entrusted to her.

وعندي لها أنواع عشق تفصلت

على قدر ما تبديه منها البراقع

Within me are kinds of love for her, differentiated

according to what her veils disclose of her.

تثنت فقالوا لاح ثان وثالث

على الزور والبهتان منهم ورابع

She swayed; they said, 'A second and a third appeared,'

falsely and slanderously—and, among them, a fourth.

ولو وحَّدوها طبق ما زعموا لما

رأوا غيرها في كل ما هو واقع

Had they affirmed her oneness as they claimed, they would not

have seen anything else in all that occurs.

فهل من فتىً يا غافلون أدلُّه

عليها فيحظى بالذي هو طامع

Is there a youth, heedless ones, whom I may guide

to her, that he may attain what he desires?

وتنفتح الأبوابُ بعد انغلاقها

ويدخل بيت العز من هو قارع

The doors will open after their closing,

and whoever knocks will enter the house of glory.

نعم هو هذا لو ثبتم على التقى

كما أنا أدري واستقلت مطالع

Yes, this is it, if you remain steadfast in piety,

as I know, and rising horizons stand forth;

وسلمتم الأحوال لله كلها

وفيه استقمتم ما ثناكم منازع

if you entrust all your states to God,

and stand upright in Him, with no opponent turning you aside.

تريدون لكن بالأماني وصالها

فيدفعكم وهمُ السوى ويمانع

You seek union with her, but through wishful thinking;

the illusion of otherness repels and obstructs you.

ولا صدق إلا في مراد نفوسكم

لكم وأعاقتكم دعاوى قواطع

You are sincere only in what your own souls desire

for yourselves; obstructing claims have hindered you.

وأين اقتحام الحرب من ذاكر لها

ولا يشبه الشبعان من هو جائع

How far is plunging into battle from merely mentioning it!

The well-fed do not resemble the hungry.

ومن يخطب الحسناء يسنح بمهرها

وطالب شهد لم تخفه اللواسع

Whoever courts the beautiful woman offers her dowry;

the seeker of honey is not frightened by stinging creatures.

رويدك مهلاً إن للحق عصبة

وما منهمو إلا وبالحق صادع

Gently now, take your time: the Truth has a company,

and none of them fails to proclaim the Truth.

أقاموا على محض اليقين بناءهم

وجامدهم من هيبة الأمر مائع

They built their structure upon pure certainty;

their solid substance melts before the awe of the Command.

وداموا على صدق الإرادة والرجا

وهم كل قرم للخطوب يقارع

They persevered in sincere resolve and hope,

each a champion grappling with calamities.

وقد عمروا أوقاتهم بحضوره

وعندهم الدنيا ديارٌ بلاقع

They filled their hours with His presence;

to them, the world is a tract of desolate dwellings.

وأعلى العلى من دون دون نعالهم

يعز بهم متبوعهم والمتابع

The highest heights lie below even the underside of their sandals;

through them, their leader and follower gain honor.

هي الشمس أبدت ما سواها أشعة

إذا غربت نحن النجوم الطوالع

She is the sun, revealing all else as rays;

when she sets, we are the rising stars.

أشارت بجفن العين فافتتن الورى

ولا قلب إلا وهو حيران والع

She signaled with her eyelid, and creation was enthralled;

no heart remained but bewildered and enamored.

وأبصرها طرفي وذلك طرفها

فكان لها منها بصير وسامع

My gaze beheld her, and that gaze was hers;

thus, from her, she had one who sees and hears.

وأحببتها بل تلك كانت هي التي

قديما أحبتني فزال التقاطع

I loved her—rather, she was the one

who loved me long ago, and estrangement ceased.

وقد ملأت عيني بأنوار قدسها

ومنها لغزلان الجمال مراتع

She filled my eye with the lights of her holiness;

from her come pastures for the gazelles of beauty.

وما الكل إلا صورة مستحيلة

كماء له موجٌ وفيه فواقع

The whole is nothing but a changing form,

like water bearing waves and bubbles.

وما الماء إلا الروح والموج أنفس

فواقعها الأجسام وهي الجوامع

The water is the spirit, and the waves are souls;

their bubbles are bodies, the containing vessels.

وتلك تقادير بها الأمر ظاهر

ومن خلف هذا كله الذات واسع

These are determinations through which the matter becomes manifest;

beyond all this, the Essence is boundless.

صدقتك جاء الحق والباطل انتفى

وزالت تماثيل الخيال الخوادع

I spoke truth to you: Truth came, and falsehood vanished;

the deceptive images of imagination disappeared.

ومخطوبة الأرواح ألقت لثامها

عن الوجه منها وهو بالنور ساطع

The beloved sought by spirits cast aside her veil

from her face, radiant with light.

فأفنت جميع الكائنات وهيمت

رجالاً وهت منهم عليها الأضالع

She annihilated all existing things and drove to distraction

men whose ribs weakened in longing for her.

وكم فتنت في عشقها من متيم

إذا ذكرت منه تفيض المدامع

How many a lovesick lover she enthralled with love of her!

When she is mentioned, his tear ducts overflow.

صلت بالمصلَّى مهجتي بفراقها

ونلتُ مُنىً إذ لي مِنىً هو جامع

My heart burned at the prayer-place through separation from her;

I attained wishes, for Mina gathers them for me.

وجادت على كل الذوات بذاتها

فلا ذات إلا ذاتها يا مدافع

She bestowed her Essence upon every essence;

there is no essence but hers, you who dispute.

وكل صفات الكون فهي صفاتها

وتنزيهها في الكون بالكون شائع

All the cosmos's attributes are her attributes;

her transcendence is manifest in the cosmos through the cosmos.

ولا قائم إلا بها في وجوده

ولا صانع إلا بها هو صانع

Nothing subsists in existence except through her;

no maker makes except through her.

ألفت قديماً حبَّها وهو حب ما

أحب فكانت ما أنا فيه والع

Long ago I grew familiar with loving her—the love of what

I love; thus she became what I am enamored of.

وقرت بها عيني غداة عرفتها

فمن عينها تجري لعيني منابع

My eye found comfort in her when I recognized her;

from her eye, springs flow to my eye.

وبانت وما بانت فلا شيء غيرها

سوى أننا عنها بروق لوامع

She appeared, yet did not part: nothing exists besides her,

except that we are flashes of lightning from her.

إذا أسفرت عن وجهها برقعَ السوى

هدت كلَّ ضال في الورى هو ضائع

When she removes otherness's veil from her face,

she guides every wanderer lost among creation.

وإن سترت بالغير وجه جمالها

أضلت عقولاً تعتلي فتقارع

If she conceals her beautiful face with the other,

she leads astray minds that rise and contend.

ولولا دفاع الناس بعضاً ببعضهم

لهدت كما قال الإلهُ صوامع

Were it not for people's being repelled by one another,

monasteries would be demolished, as God said.

ونحن أولاء المؤمنين بحسنها

عداوتنا سم حذارك ناقع

We are those who believe in her beauty;

hostility toward us is deadly poison—beware!

ومن رامنا بالسوء فالله دائماً

كما جاء في القرآن عنا يدافع

Whoever intends harm against us, God always,

as the Qur'an declares, defends us.

ألمت بنا والكون كالليل مظلم

فلم تشعر الواشون إذ هم هواجع

She visited us while the cosmos was dark as night;

the talebearers did not perceive it, for they slept.

وزارت على رغم الأعادي فانكروا

زيارتها قالوا خيال يرافع

She visited despite the enemies, and they denied

her visit, saying, 'An apparition is pleading its case.'

وما ذاك إلا أنني كنت فارساً

ببيدائها والغير في السير ظالع

That was only because I was a horseman

in her wilderness, while others limped along the way.

محجبة إلا على كل محرم

لها قرَّبتْهُ فهو للوتر شافع

She is veiled except to each intimate

whom she draws near, making him a companion to the One.

ومقبلة لكن على كل تارك

سواها بها عنها إليها يسارع

She approaches, but only one who abandons

all besides her, hastening through her, from her, to her.

أعارت معاني الكون ثوب صفاتها

وكل معار للمعيرة راجع

She lent the meanings of the cosmos the garment of her attributes;

everything lent returns to the woman who lent it.

وأودعت الأشياء سر وجودها

ولا بد يوما أن ترد الودائع

She entrusted things with the secret of her existence;

one day the deposits must be returned.

ظهرنا بها لا بل بنا ظهرت وقد

تساوت دوانٍ ههنا وشواسع

We appeared through her—no, she appeared through us—and

near things and distant things became equal here.

ولا دين إلا حبها عند أهلها

فكم نحوها من ساجد وهو راكع

For her people, no religion exists but love of her;

how many bow and prostrate themselves toward her!

إليها صلاة القوم أين توجهوا

وقبلتهم وجه لها يتلامع

The people's prayer is directed to her wherever they turn;

their prayer-direction is a face of hers that gleams.

وبالماء ماء الروح من أمرها لهم

وضوء وغسل دائم متتابع

With water—the spirit's water, from her command—they have

ablution and bathing, constant and successive.

وإن خالطوا الأغيار كانت جنابة

لهم رفعها فرض على القوم قاطع

If they mingle with others, it becomes ritual impurity

for them; removing it is a binding duty upon the people.

وإن لم يكن ماء هناك تيمموا

صعيداً له طيب من الجسم ضائع

If there is no water there, they perform dry ablution with

earth whose sweet scent wafts from the body.

هو الحق لاقوا من سواه نجاسة

فمنها قد استنجوا وزالت فظائع

He is the Truth; from anything besides Him they encountered impurity.

They cleansed themselves of it, and abominations disappeared.

وعن غيره لم ينطقوا فتمضمضوا

وشموه باستنشاقهم فهو ذائع

They did not speak of anything besides Him, and rinsed their mouths;

they smelled Him through their inhalation, for He is diffused.

وعمّا سواه كان غسل وجوههم

لكي يقبلوا عنه له ويسارعوا

Their faces were washed of everything besides Him,

so that, from Him, they might turn to Him and hasten.

وغسل يديهم من جميع أمورهم

بتغويضهم فيه تنال المطامع

Their hands were washed of all their affairs;

through their immersion in Him, aspirations are attained.

وتثليث هذا الغسل شكل مثلث

به ظهرت ممن براه صنائع

Repeating this washing three times forms a triangle,

through which works appeared from its Maker.

وقد مسحوا فيه رؤوس رياسة

فما الذل إلا وصفهم والتواضع

In Him they wiped the heads of leadership;

their only attributes are lowliness and humility.

وقد غسلوا أقدامهم في قيامهم

بخدمته عن كل ما هو مانع

They washed their feet, while undertaking

His service, of everything that obstructs.

وقد كبروه عن مدى وصفهم له

برفع يديهم ظاهراً وهو رافع

They proclaimed Him greater than the reach of their description,

outwardly raising their hands, while He is the One who raises.

وأثنوا عليه بالذي هو أهله

ومنه استعاذوا فهو ضار ونافع

They praised Him with what befits Him;

from Him they sought refuge, for He harms and benefits.

وهم باسمه قاموا ليتلوا كلامه

فما منهمو إلا به هو خاشع

In His name they stood to recite His speech;

none of them is other than humble through Him.

وإن ركعوا مالوا إليه بكلهم

وصاروا لديه والقلوب خواضع

When they bowed, they inclined toward Him with their whole being;

they came before Him with hearts submissive.

وإن سجدوا يفنوا ويبقوا به له

إذا سجدوا الأخرى وتبدو بدائع

When they prostrated, they vanished and subsisted through Him, for Him,

when they made the second prostration, and wonders appeared.

وفيهم سكونٌ من قعود تشهُّدٍ

له وانقضى تحريكهم والتنازع

They have stillness from sitting to bear witness

to Him; their movement and contention ended.

وقد سلموا طوعاً إليه وأسلموا

ومنهم له التسليم للسوء دافع

They willingly surrendered to Him and submitted;

their surrender to Him repels evil.

ولا مال عند القوم إلا نفوسهم

تجارتهم فيها غلت والبضائع

The people possess no wealth except their souls;

their trade in them, and their merchandise, grew dear.

وقد أنفقوها حين آتوا زكاتهم

على الحق لم يقطع به عنه قاطع

They spent them when they paid their alms,

for the Truth; no severing force thereby cut them off from Him.

وأدوا إليه فطرة فطروا بها

وما غيروها والقلوب طوائع

They rendered to Him the innate nature with which they were formed;

they did not alter it, and their hearts were obedient.

وصاموا عن الأغيار فيه وأفطروا

على وجهه مذ غاب للكون طالع

They fasted in Him from others, and broke their fast

upon His face, once what rose for the cosmos had set.

وفي الحج كانوا بيت عزته فهم

بنشأتهم طافوا فست وسابع

In pilgrimage they were the house of His glory; thus

they circled with their own constitution—six circuits and a seventh.

وقد رملوا في ذا الطواف تدللاً

عليه وفخر عندهم فيه بارع

They walked briskly in this circumambulation, showing affection

toward Him; their pride in Him was splendid.

ولما بدا من قلبهم حجر الهدى

له استلموا إذ منه بانت أصابع

When the stone of guidance appeared from their heart,

they touched it for Him, as fingers appeared from it.

وفي عرفات الوصل حازوا تقرباً

بوقفتهم فيها فزالت موانع

At the Arafat of union they attained nearness

through their standing there, and obstacles disappeared.

ونالوا مُناهم في مِنى وبها رموا

جمارَ همومٍ كلهنَّ مصارع

They attained their wishes in Mina, and there cast

pebbles of cares, all of them sites of downfall.

وقد ودعوا البيت العتيق وأقبلوا

على أصلهم في العلم وهو مواضع

They bade farewell to the Ancient House and turned

toward their origin in knowledge, with its stations.

وفي عيد نحر الهجر فازوا بذبحهم

ضحايا طباع هن فيهم لواسع

At the feast of slaughtering estrangement, they triumphed by sacrificing

natural dispositions that stung within them.

ذبيحة نفس قطعُ عرقِ فسادِها

إلى أن يفي منها خؤونٌ مخادع

Sacrificing a soul means cutting the vein of its corruption,

until its treacherous deceiver becomes faithful.

وأخذ لقيط القلب في مسجد الحجى

مهم له تسعى الكرام المصاقع

Taking in the heart's foundling in the mosque of intellect

is an important charge, pursued by noble, eloquent men.

ومن يلتقط سراً بتعريفه له

يرد على الروح الإلهي ضائع

Whoever finds a secret, by identifying it to Him,

returns something lost to the divine spirit.

وغيبة مفقود عن الكون حكمها

كموت له في كل أمر يضارع

The absence of one missing from the cosmos has a ruling

resembling his death in every matter.

وحب معاني الحق إخراج عشرها

خراجٌ لأرباب الجهالة قاطع

The grain of the Truth's meanings—paying its tithe

is a levy that cuts off the lords of ignorance.

وجزية كفار النفوس يكون عن

يدٍ وصغارٍ حيث قرر واضع

The tribute of the souls' unbelievers is paid with

a hand and abasement, as the lawgiver ordained.

ومن نال صيد الغيب كلبُ هواه أو

أعيقت ببازي القلب طير سواجع

Whoever's hound of passion takes prey from the unseen, or

cooing birds are caught by the heart's falcon,

فقد فاز بالقصد الذي هو راكب

إليه على خيل وهن الطبائع

has attained the goal toward which he rides

on horses that are the natural dispositions.

وواهب ذات الخال ظلمة كونه

تعوضه نوراً به هو لامع

Whoever gives the mole-marked beauty the darkness of his being—

she recompenses him with light through which he shines.

وقد آجر الأقوام إمكانهم له

فأجرتهم إنعامه المتسارع

The people leased their possibility to Him;

their hire is His swiftly arriving bounty.

وباعوا نفوساً في هواه نفيسةً

له فاشتراها حين أوجب بائع

They sold precious souls in love of Him

to Him; He purchased them when a seller made the offer.

فقال لهم فاستبشروا إذ ببيعكم

توليتكم فالكلُّ عندي مطاوع

He said to them, 'Rejoice, for through your sale

I have taken charge of you; all obeys Me.'

وإن جهاد القلب للنفس واجب

عليهم لفتح الروح فهو المصارع

The heart's struggle against the self is obligatory

upon them, to open the spirit; it is the wrestler.

وقد دخلوا بالملك في قلعة الأنا

فليس لهم عما يرومون دافع

They entered with the King into the fortress of 'I';

nothing keeps them from what they seek.

وقادوا أسارى كلَّ خُلْقٍ مُذمَّمٍ

وفاز شجاع بالغنائم دارع

They led every blameworthy trait away as a captive;

an armored champion won the spoils.

وقد شاركوه في الوجود فثامن

لفسخ اشتراك كان منهم وتاسع

They had shared existence with Him: an eighth,

to dissolve their partnership, and a ninth.

وقد كفل الرحمن أرزاقهم لهم

وطالب بالأعمال وهي منافع

The All-Merciful guaranteed their provisions to them,

and demanded deeds, which are benefits.

فإن الدعاوى ألزمتهم كفالة

بأعمالهم والكل منه نوابع

Their claims imposed a guarantee upon them

through their deeds, while all proceeds from Him.

وتوكيلهم للحق أنتج قربهم

إليه وهذا للكمال ذرائع

Their appointing the Truth as agent produced their nearness

to Him; these are means to perfection.

أحال بهم يوما عليهم فأفلسوا

وقد أصبحوا بعضٌ لبعض يتابع

One day He referred them back to themselves, and they went bankrupt;

they came to pursue one another.

ولما إليه بالحوالة ردَّهم

لهم بالفنا كانت لديه يتابع

When, by transferring the debt, He referred them back to Himself,

the transfer was theirs through annihilation; with Him, He pursues it.

ونحن له وقفٌ لأجل صفاته

وقد عمرت منا لهنَّ المزارع

We are His endowment for the sake of His attributes;

from us, fields have been cultivated for them.

وقاض قضى بالحق والروح شاهد

فكان لحق النفس منها مقامع

A judge judged by the Truth, with the spirit as witness;

from it came scourges against the self's claim.

ودعوى الغنى تعطي الخصومة في الهوى

وقد جمعت للعاشقين مجامع

A claim to independence gives rise to contention in love;

assemblies have been gathered for the lovers.

وجاءت بأنواع الشهادات أمة

على الحق زكتها صفات بوارع

A community brought various testimonies

concerning the Truth, vindicated by splendid attributes.

وهذا نكاح الأمر عقد محقق

ومن كل شيء خَلْقُ زوجين بادع

This is the marriage of the Command, a verified contract;

creating a pair of everything is wondrous.

شهدنا على إيجابنا وقبولنا

وكانت لنا بالحضرتين وقائع

We witnessed our offer and our acceptance;

we had encounters in the two presences.

وزفت عروس القرب ليلة قدرنا

وفي ذَكَرِ الذكر استلذَّ المجامع

The bride of nearness was brought on our Night of Decree;

in remembrance's phallus, the one coupling found pleasure.

وإنزالُهُ القرآن قد حملت به

فروج قلوب بالعلوم تدافع

His sending down the Qur'an was conceived by

the generative openings of hearts, surging with knowledge.

وبت طلاق الصبر زوج فتى الهوى

ثلاثاً على سلمى فكيف يراجع

Patience's divorce, the spouse of passion's youth, became final,

threefold concerning Salma—how could he take her back?

ولو دفعت كل الذي هو ملكها

على طلقة ما كان قلبي يخالع

Even if she offered everything she owned

for one divorce, my heart would not grant a release.

وبُرَّتْ يمينٌ واليمين ثلاثة

غموسٌ بحكم الغير للغير رائع

An oath was fulfilled, and oaths are of three kinds:

an engulfing false oath, ruling through the other, frightening the other;

ولغو على أهل المجاهدة احتوى

ولا إثم فيه لكن القلب جازع

an inadvertent oath encompassing the people of spiritual striving,

with no sin in it, though the heart is anxious;

ومنعقد وهو الذي بين قومنا

تلذ به عند اللقاء المسامع

and a binding oath, which among our people

delights the ears at the encounter.

كلام على حكم العيان مفصل

به الغيث من سحب الحقائق هامع

Speech, detailed according to direct vision,

through which rain pours from the clouds of realities.

وتكفيره في حنثه ستر كل ما

بدا فثمار الحظ منه أيانع

Its expiation when broken is concealing everything that

appeared; the fruits of one's portion ripen from it.

ومن يأخذ الدنيا بشفعة داره

من الحق لما باعها فهو باخع

Whoever takes the world by his house's right of preemption

from the Truth when He sells it destroys himself.

ومن رد عبداً آبقاً كان أجره

عظيماً على مولاه فهو الموادع

Whoever returns a runaway slave has a reward

great with his master, for he brings peace.

وإحيا موات النفس بالذكر واجبٌ

ليسعد فيها بالحراثة زارع

Reviving the soul's dead land through remembrance is obligatory,

so that a sower may prosper there through cultivation.

وقتلك معنى الروح بالروح يقتضي

قصاصاً بسيف الحق إذ هو شارع

Your killing the meaning of the spirit with the spirit requires

retaliation by the Truth's sword, for He is the lawgiver.

وإن أخذت من وصفها ديةً له

فذلك حكم للقصاص يضارع

If you take blood-money for it from its attribute,

that is a ruling resembling retaliation.

وهيأت الأقوام أرض نفوسهم

فكان المساقي شيخهم والمزارع

The people prepared the soil of their souls;

their master was the irrigator and cultivator.

وإقرارهم بالحق حجتهم على

سواه وكلٌّ لابسُ الأمر خالع

Their acknowledgment of the Truth is their proof against

anything else; each puts on the affair and casts it off.

وإعطاء رأس المال وهو وجودهم

إليه اقتضى ربحاً وضل المخادع

Giving the capital—their existence—

to Him yielded profit, and the deceiver went astray.

مضاربة منه قديماً مع الذي

له كل ما في الكائنات توابع

A profit-sharing partnership from Him, from of old, with the one

to whom everything within existing things is subordinate.

وإن غصبوا أوصافهم من ذواتها

أغارت عليهم منه خيل طلائع

If they usurp their attributes from their essences,

advance cavalry from Him raids them.

وفي الصلح عن دعوى المغايرة اختفوا

فهم منه في الدنيا غيوث هوامع

In reconciliation they vanished from the claim of otherness;

from Him they are pouring rains in the world.

وقد رهنوه بالديون قلوبهم

وماض وحال لا يفي ومضارع

They pledged their hearts to Him against debts;

past, present, and future cannot discharge them.

حدود الهوى قامت عليهم بربهم

فلم يعتدوها والحدود روادع

Love's prescribed limits stood over them through their Lord;

they did not transgress them, for the limits are restraints.

ومن يدعي ملكاً فذلك سارق

يمد يداً فالحق لليد قاطع

Whoever claims ownership is a thief

extending a hand; the Truth cuts off the hand.

وعينيك فاسمع لا تَمُدَنَّ قال في

إمامٍ فكيف المقتدي وهو تابع

Concerning your eyes—listen—He said, 'Do not stretch them,' to

an imam; how then may one who follows him?

وخمر السوى منه إذا شرب امرؤٌ

عليه بأنواع الخطوب مقارع

If someone drinks the wine of otherness from Him,

scourges of various calamities fall upon him.

وزانيةٌ لم تحصن الفرج عن سوىً

لها الرجم بالحرمان حد يمانع

An adulteress who did not guard her private parts against another

is stoned with deprivation, a restraining penalty.

وقذف أولي التشبيه يوجب حدهم

سياطَ بعادٍ عن حماه قوارع

The slander of those who liken Him entails their punishment:

lashes of distance from His sanctuary, striking hard.

وقد كان بالتقوى وصيته لنا

غداة بدت سبلٌ ولاحت مشارع

His injunction to us was piety

when paths appeared and approaches became visible.

به منه تقوانا فلا ندعي لنا

وجوداً ونرضى حكمه ونطاوع

Through Him, from Him, comes our piety; we claim no

existence for ourselves, accept His judgment, and obey.

وميراثه منا بميراثنا له

فرائض كانت منه فينا بواضع

His inheritance from us, through our inheritance of Him,

is apportioned shares He established within us.

فَثَمِّنْ وثلث إرث أم كتابنا

على حكمها في قسمتي لا أنازع

Allot an eighth and a third of our Book's Mother's inheritance;

according to her ruling in my allotment, I do not dispute.

ولا يرث المحجوب منهم بحاجب

على العين حكمٌ قررته الشرائع

No one barred among them inherits with a barrier

over the eye: a ruling established by the sacred laws.

وبالعول إن زادت سهام أولي الحجى

خيالاً تراءته العيون الهواجع

Through proportional reduction, if the wise ones' shares increase

as an illusion beheld by sleeping eyes,

أعد نظراً ما زاد شيءٌ على الذي

عملت ولكن لجة وزعازع

look again: nothing has increased beyond what

you did, but there is a deep sea and violent gusts.

وقام وصي الحق يحفظ بالهدى ال

يتيم الإلهيْ والجميع مراضع

The Truth's guardian arose, preserving through guidance the

divine orphan, while all are wet nurses.

وفقه الهوى فرض على القوم درسه

وكم ناله شيخ وكهل ويافع

Studying love's jurisprudence is obligatory upon the people;

how many elders, mature men, and youths have attained it!

ومن كان مقداماً يَلِجْ كل لجة

إليه وإن ضجت عليه الضفادع

Whoever is bold enters every deep sea

toward Him, even if the frogs clamor against him.

وأهل طريق الله قد ألفوا السرى

وطال بطاحٌ دونهم وأجارع

The people of God's path have grown accustomed to night travel;

broad plains and sandy tracts stretch far before them.

وغابوا عن الأكوان في الغيب حيث لم

يكن ههنا إلا الشخوص الخوادع

They vanished from the worlds into the unseen, where there

remained nothing here but deceptive figures.

ومدت لهم منه يد أقدسية

تبايعهم فيها رأوا فتبايعوا

A most holy hand was extended to them from Him

to pledge allegiance; they saw within it and pledged allegiance.

هم القوم لا يشقى الجليس بهم إذا

لهم كان في سر وجهر يطاوع

They are the people whose companion is not wretched, if

he obeys them in secret and openly.

وقد زهدوا في الزهد عما سواه إذ

رأوا الزهد معنىً للعقول يخادع

They renounced renunciation of everything besides Him, since

they saw renunciation as a meaning deceiving minds.

وعن توبة تابوا وهذا مقامهم

لهم هو من فوق المقامات رافع

They repented of repentance; this station of theirs

raises them above the stations.

وتقواهم التقوى على كل حالة

لديهم عن التقوى وتلك بدائع

Their piety is vigilance, in every condition,

against piety itself among them—these are wonders.

وما ورع إلا عن الورع اقتفوا

وما منهمو إلا عن القنع قانع

The scrupulousness they pursued was only shunning scrupulousness;

none of them is content except to forgo contentment.

وفاتوا مقامات السلوك لأنها

على أوجه الأسرار منهم مقانع

They surpassed the stations of spiritual wayfaring, for these

are veils upon the faces of their mysteries.

وقاموا بوصف الذات في غيب غيبه

له فيه ختم مثل ما كان طابع

They stood in the attribute of the Essence, in His unseen's unseen;

for Him therein is a seal, as there was an imprinting stamp.

وتمت معانيهم على كلماته

وماء الهدى من عينهم هو نابع

Their meanings were completed upon His words;

the water of guidance springs from their eye.

وزال الذي كانوا يظنون أنه

سواهم له عز عن الكل شاسع

What they had imagined disappeared: that

something other than themselves possessed glory remote from all.

وقد كان وهماً ذاك عند عقولهم

كمثل رقوم أظهرتها المدامع

That had been an illusion within their minds,

like markings brought forth by tears.

وقد بدلت أرض لهم غير أرضها

كذاك سموات وزالت طوالع

Their earth was changed into an earth other than its own;

likewise the heavens, and rising appearances disappeared.

وقد برزوا للواحد الأحد الذي

بهم هو فيه عالم ثم صانع

They came forth before the One, the Unique, who

through them, within Himself, knows and then creates.

وكانوا كما كانوا على الحالة التي

بها أزلاً كانوا كلم يك واضع

They were as they had been, in the state

in which they were eternally, as though no establisher had been.

كما أنه باق بما هو فيه من

قديم وهذا الأمر للوهم قامع

Just as He endures in the state that is His from

eternity; this reality quells illusion.

بدايتهم كانت نهايتهم به

ومهيعهم آلت إليه المهايع

Their beginning was their end through Him;

all open paths came ultimately to their open path.

وفي العلم كل هكذا مترتب

حضور له ما قد مضى والمضارع

In knowledge everything is thus ordered:

what has passed and what is present are present to Him.

فمن يعلم العلم القديم يرى الذي

أقول وتُرمى عن حمير براذع

Whoever knows eternal knowledge sees what

I say, and saddlecloths are thrown off donkeys.

وتخفى علوم للعقول حوادث

عناكبها تبني البيوت خوادع

Created sciences belonging to minds become hidden;

their spiders build deceptive houses.

ولم يك ذا إلا بتعليمه ولا

يعلم إلا من لديه يوادع

This was only through His teaching; none

knows except one at peace in His presence.

وما كان فيه فهو يبدو له به

وما لم يكن فيه فما هو واقع

What was within Him appears to Him through Him;

what was not within Him does not occur.

هيولا شهدنا أنها نور نوره

لها صور شتى به تتدافع

We witnessed prime matter as the light of His light;

it has diverse forms pressing against one another through Him.

وألوانها ذات الفنون فأزرق

سماويُّ لونٍ ثم أبيض ناصع

Its colors are manifold: blue,

of a sky-like hue, then brilliant white;

وأسود غربيبٌ وأخضر ناضرٌ

وأحمر قاني ثم أصفر فاقع

raven-black and verdant green;

deep crimson, then vivid yellow.

ظواهر منه فيه عنه له به

بواطن أفناها من الذات لامع

Outward forms: from Him, in Him, proceeding from Him, for Him, through Him;

inward forms annihilated by a radiance from the Essence.

وبالحق أنزلنا وبالحق نازل

لقد حققته العارفون المصافع

With the Truth We sent it down; with the Truth it descends.

The gnostics, those who strike faces, have indeed verified it.

وما الحق إلا واحد فهو عالم

وعلم ومعلوم ثلاث قوارع

The Truth is only one: He is knower,

knowledge, and known—three striking realities.

ومن ههنا ألهى التكاثرُ أمة

محققها من كوثر هو جارع

From here, rivalry in abundance distracted a community;

its realized knower drinks from Kawthar.

وذلك نهر الجنة العذب ماؤه

وفي الحوض أنبوبان منه شوارع

That is Paradise's river, whose water is sweet;

two pipes from it flow into the pool.

هو الحوض منه كل من نال شربة

فلا ظمأ يلقى ولا هو جازع

It is the pool: whoever obtains a drink from it

encounters no thirst and feels no anxiety.

ويطرد عنه كل من تبع الهوى

وتمزيقه ديناً بدنياه راقع

Everyone who follows passion is driven away from it,

patching the tears in his religion with his worldly life.

أباريقه قوم به امتلأوا وهم

نجوم بآفاق العلوم سواطع

Its pitchers are people filled with Him, and they are

stars shining in the horizons of knowledge.

يضيء بهم ليل السراة إلى الحمى

ومنهم رجوم للطغاة قوامع

Through them the night of travelers toward the sanctuary is illuminated;

from them come missiles that subdue tyrants.

حنانيك عش إن فزت منهم بواحد

سعيداً قرير العين غصنُك يانع

Have mercy! If you gain one of them, live

happily, with comforted eyes and a flourishing branch.

وكن عبده لا عبد حظ وشهوة

فما أنت ناويه على القلب طابع

Be His servant, not the servant of gain and desire;

what you intend stamps the heart.

وهذا مقام حف بالبؤس والأسى

وما ناله إلا الشجاع المقارع

This station is surrounded by misery and sorrow;

none attains it but the brave contender.

ودم طالباً منه التحقق فيه لا

سواه تجده عنك فيك يسارع

Keep seeking from Him realization in Him, not

in anything else; you will find Him hastening from you within you.

وإن زدت صدقاً في محبته له

به زدت قرباً واهتدى منك ضائع

If you increase in sincerity in loving Him for Him,

through Him you grow nearer, and what is lost within you finds guidance.

وزالت معاني الغير في العين وانطوت

مسافة نفس بالمحال تخادع

The meanings of otherness disappear in direct vision, and folded away is

the distance of a self that deceives through impossibilities.

وكنت كما قد كنت من قبل لم تكن

وكان كما قد كان وهو الموادع

You are as you were before, when you were not;

He is as He was, at peace.

عليم بذات منه تجلى عليه في

معاني صفات كلهن بوادع

Knowing an Essence from Himself, He manifested to it in

the meanings of attributes, all wondrous.

وفيه زمان والمكان تداخلا

وكيفٍ وكمٍّ وهو للكل جامع

Within Him time and space interpenetrate,

as do quality and quantity, while He encompasses all.

له الكل وهو الكل وهو منزه

عن الكل فاعرف واعتبر يا منازع

All belongs to Him; He is all, yet transcends

all: know and take heed, you who dispute.

تصاويره فيه تماثيله له

تقاديره منه فروض بوارع

His representations are within Him; His images belong to Him;

His determinations proceed from Him, splendid allotments.

من العدم امتدت إلى العدم انتهت

خيلات عقل واحد يتلامع

From nonexistence they extended, to nonexistence they ended:

the imaginings of a single, gleaming intellect.

وما هو إلا النور نور محمد

تبدى من النور الذي هو طالع

It is only light—the light of Muhammad—

manifested from the light that rises.

فنور على نور كذا قال ربنا

وذلك مشفوع لديه وشافع

Light upon light: thus our Lord said;

that light is paired before Him and intercedes.

وأعلاهما النور الإلهيُّ شأنه ال

تكبر والأدنى هو المتواضع

The higher of the two is the divine light, whose nature is the

supreme greatness; the lower is the humble one.

وذلك لا يفنى وذا كل لمحة

بأيدي الفنا ثم البقا يتتابع

That does not perish, while this, every instant,

passes successively through the hands of annihilation and subsistence.

تجليه يبقيه به واستتاره

فناء له في الفكر والحس قالع

His manifestation sustains it through Him; His concealment

is its annihilation, uprooting it from thought and sensation.

هو العقل عقل الكل فرد جوهر

يلوح ويخفى عن ضيا وهو شارع

It is the Intellect, the universal Intellect, a single substance;

it appears and vanishes through radiance, spreading forth.

هو الروح روح الكل والقلم الذي

به الكل مكتوب له اللوح واضع

It is the Spirit, the universal Spirit, and the Pen

through which all is written; for it He lays down the Tablet.

وعرش وكرسي تجسم فيهما

له صورة تحويهما وأضالع

A Throne and a Footstool: it takes bodily form in both;

it has a form containing both, and ribs.

وفي كل شيء سر أمر ملبس

بخلق جديد للخفاء مسارع

In everything is a secret of a command clothed

in a new creation, hastening into concealment.

كبرق عن الذات النزيهة لامع

فيا لك برق من حمى الحب لامع

Like lightning flashing from the transcendent Essence—

what a flash you are, shining from love's sanctuary!

سرت نسمات الروح من روضة الحمى

فعطرني طيب من الحب ضائع

The spirit's breezes traveled from the sanctuary's garden;

a wafting fragrance of love perfumed me.

وعطرت الأنفاس مني بنفحها

جميع الورى حتى استطيبت مصانع

My breaths, with their fragrant exhalation, perfumed

all creation, until even the reservoirs grew fragrant.

وقامت دعاة الحق بالحق عن يدي

تعاهد أرباب التقى وتبايع

The heralds of Truth arose through the Truth under my hand,

covenanting with the people of piety and pledging allegiance.

فَحَيَّهَلا يا قوم نحو حقيقتي

فإن طيوري بالجمال سواجع

Come, my people, toward my reality!

My birds sing sweetly of beauty.

وحوضي ملآنٌ ومائي مروَّقٌ

وروضي بأنواع المحاسن يانع

My pool is full, and my water clarified;

my garden flourishes with every kind of beauty.

وباعي طويل والزمان مساعد

لنا وعيون الدهر عنا هواجع

My reach is long, and time is favorable

to us, while the eyes of fate sleep, unaware of us.

وكاسات أفراحي براحي وراحتي

دهاق وأيامي المواضي رواجع

The cups of my joys, my wine, and my repose

are brimming, and my bygone days return.

علي سلامي في الورى يوم مولدي

وموتي وبعثي ماهمى الدهر هامع

My peace be upon me among creation on the day of my birth,

my death, and my resurrection, as long as rain pours through time.