سلام عظيم من عظيم تفردا

من الله رب العالمين الذي هدى

A mighty greeting from the Mighty One, who stands alone,

from God, Lord of the worlds, who gave guidance,

إلى الشيخ ذاك المرعشيِّ حبيبنا

ومن نال فضلاً حين سُمِّي محمدا

to that Sheikh, al-Mar‘ashi, our beloved,

and who gained distinction when he was named Muhammad.

إليه تحياتي على البعد لم تزل

تصافح محراباً لديه ومسجدا

To him my greetings, despite the distance, never cease

to shake hands with his prayer niche and mosque,

وتسبح في بحر من العلم سبحة

له لا غدير حيث كان مؤيدا

and swim their course in a sea of knowledge

belonging to him, no mere pool, since he was upheld.

وقد جمع الإنسان في ضمن خلقه

جميع تناويع الوجود الذي بدا

The human being has gathered within his created form

all the varieties of existence that has appeared,

إلى أبد الآباد من غير غاية

وإن كان في خلق جديد لقد غدا

unto eternity, without a limit,

though he has indeed come to be in a new creation.

وما الموت إلا نقلة وفناؤه

ملابسُ قربٍ لم يزل متجددا

Death is only a transition, and his annihilation

is the raiment of nearness, forever renewed.

له في ذرى العلم القديم حقيقة

أتى خبراً عنها هنا وهي مبتدا

He has a reality upon the heights of eternal knowledge;

he came here as its predicate, while it is the subject.

وأنزله قد قال ربي بعلمه

وردّاه في كل الملابس فارتدى

And He sent him down—as my Lord has said—with His knowledge,

and robed him in every garment, so he put them on,

محباً له إذ كان كنزاً قد اختفى

فأذكره منه وأدنى وأبعدا

loving Him, for He was a treasure that had lain hidden.

So He gave him remembrance from Himself, and drew him near and sent him far.

وما هو إلا أمره سر خلقه

يبين ويخفي مطلقاً ومقيدا

And he is only His command, the secret of His creation,

revealing and concealing, unbounded and bounded.

ونحن التقادير التي هو عالم

بها وهو عنا في الغيوب توحدا

And we are the decreed measures that He has knowledge

of, while He stands alone, apart from us, in the unseen realms.

فلم ندر منه غير ما نحن فيه من

معانٍ ومحسوس وما خلقُنا سدى

So we know of Him only what we dwell within:

meanings and things perceived; our creation is not in vain.

هو الله لا عقل له مدرك ولا

يحيط به علماً سواه مؤبدا

He is God: no intellect can apprehend Him, nor

can any but Him ever encompass Him in knowledge.

ولكننا بالغيب نؤمن لا بما

لدينا من المعنى الذي طاب موردا

But we believe in the unseen, not in what

we have of meaning, whose fount is sweet.

تبارك رحماناً على عرشه استوى

كما هو يدري والذي قد درى اعتدى

Blessed is He, the All-Merciful, who established Himself upon His Throne,

as He Himself knows; whoever presumes to know has overstepped.

ونحن له الأفعال يفعلنا متى

أراد فندري فعله اليوم لا غدا

And we are His acts: He enacts us whenever

He wills, so we know His act today, not tomorrow.

ونسلم إخلاصاً إليه نفوسنا

مطيعين إما للنجاة أو الردى

And we surrender our souls to Him in sincerity,

obedient, whether unto salvation or perdition.

ولا حكم فينا للعقول ولا لما

تحدِّده كل العقول تحددا

No authority over us belongs to intellects, nor to what

all intellects define within fixed bounds.

وإيماننا بالمرسلين جميعهم

وبالأنبيا طراً أولي الفضل والندى

And our faith is in all the messengers,

and in all the prophets, possessors of excellence and generosity,

وبالخاتم الماحي الذي ثبتت له

مراتب فضل أرغمت سائر العدا

and in the Seal, the Effacer, for whom were established

ranks of excellence that humbled all enemies:

محمدٍ الداعي إلى الحق والذي

أتانا بأنوار الشريعة مرشدا

Muhammad, who calls to the Truth, and who

came to us with the lights of the sacred Law as a guide.

له ولهم صلى الإله مسلماً

مع الآل والأصحاب ما طائر شدا

May God bless him and them, granting peace,

along with the family and companions, as long as a bird sings.

وبعد فمن عبد الغني رسالة

إليك أتت تتلو سلاماً مرددا

And now: a letter from Abd al-Ghani

has come to you, reciting a greeting again and again,

وتكشف عن سر الغدير لأهله

وعن سبْح أهل الله فيه توددا

revealing to its people the secret of the pool,

and the swimming of God's people within it, in loving friendship,

وعن كونه بحراً بلا ساحل له

ومن وجد الزاد الكثير تزودا

and how it is a sea with no shore;

and whoever finds abundant provisions lays in his stores.

فثق بودادي يا ابن ودي فإنني

أحب الإمام المستقيم الموحدا

Trust my affection, O son of my friendship, for I

love the upright Imam who affirms God's oneness.

ألا إنها الأكوان أجمعها بدت

بخير وشر طبق ما العلم حددا

Behold, the realms of being have all appeared,

with good and evil, exactly as knowledge determined.

وذاك قديم كله وهو حادث

لدينا وعلم الله لن يترددا

All that is eternal, yet it comes into being

for us; God's knowledge will never waver.

فإن سلم الإنسان يسلم ولم يجد

على القدر المحتوم منه تنكدا

If a person submits, he is safe and finds no

resentment within himself toward the inevitable decree.

وإن يعترض كان اعتراضاً على الذي

له الخلق والأمر اللذان تأكدا

And if he objects, his objection is against the One

to whom belong creation and command, both firmly established.

وكن حاكياً للأمر والنهي مخلصاً

لربك وارفع عن تحكمك اليدا

Be a relayer of command and prohibition, sincere

to your Lord, and withdraw your hand from imposing your own rule.

ولا تتعرض للتقادير إنها

مراد الذي أشقى قديماً وأسعدا

Do not meddle with the decrees; they are

the will of Him who, of old, made wretched and made happy.

على مقتضى أسمائه وصفاته

يضل ويهدي من يشاء على المدى

According to what His names and attributes require,

He leads astray and guides whom He wills, throughout all time.

وما الأمر بالمعروف إلا حكاية

عن الله لا عن نفس من سمع الندا

Enjoining what is right is only a relaying

from God, not from the self of one who hears the call.

كذلك إنكار المناكر كلها

حكاية عبد عن شريعة أحمدا

Likewise, denouncing all wrongs

is a servant's relaying of Ahmad's sacred Law.

وليس عليه الإمتثال وإنما

على كل عبد فيه أن يتعبدا

Compliance does not rest with him; rather,

every servant must worship through it.

غديرك يا هذا كمثل غديرنا

به حشرات ليس تحصى تعددا

Your pool, O you, is like our pool:

in it are insects beyond counting.

نرى جوهراً فيه وطوراً نرى حصاً

وطوراً نرى ماءً وروثاً وجلمدا

We see a jewel in it, and at times we see pebbles,

and at times we see water, dung, and a boulder.

ولكنها الأقدار أمر محتم

نعيم جنان أو جحيم توقدا

But these are the decrees, an inevitable matter:

the bliss of gardens, or a blazing Hell.

وما قدر مثلي أن يكون معارضاً

لذلك يبغي غيره متعمدا

What standing has one like me to be an objector

to that, deliberately seeking something else?

هم الناس إما صالحاً عند ربه

تقدر قدما أو تقدر مفسدا

People are either righteous in their Lord's sight,

decreed so of old, or decreed to be corrupt.

فكن آمراً بالخير لا تقصدِ أمرَأً

وفي النهي عن شر فدع عنك مقصدا

Enjoin goodness, then, without targeting any person,

and in forbidding evil, put aside any personal aim,

كما فعل القرآن والسنة التي

أتت في عموم الناس نرويه مسندا

as did the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which

came for people at large; we transmit it with a chain of transmission.

وحرر عليك الأمر والنهي تاركاً

لغيرك يستوفي وعيداً وموعدا

Make command and prohibition binding upon yourself, leaving

others to receive the threat and promise in full.

وكن رجلاً يبغي خويصة نفسه

عسى أن توافي في الجنان مخلدا

And be a man who attends to his own particular affairs,

that you may arrive in the gardens to dwell forever.

ولا تشتغل بالناس عمن يراك إن

غفلت بأمر عنه لم تر منجدا

Do not let people distract you from Him who sees you; if

some matter makes you heedless of Him, you will find no helper.

وكن ذاكراً بالفعل ربك دائماً

تراقبه في فعله لك سرمدا

Be ever mindful of your Lord in deed,

ever watching Him in what He does for you.

ومني صلاة الله ثم سلامه

على المصطفى المختار من جاء بالهدى

And from me, God's blessing, then His peace,

upon the Chosen, the Elect, who came bearing guidance,

وآلٍ وصحبٍ ما بدا الفجر مشرقاً

وما طائر فوق الأراكة غرّدا

and upon his family and companions, as long as dawn shines forth,

and as long as a bird trills atop the arak tree.