أنا التَعَيُّنُ والرب المهين ما

أنا التَعَيُّنُ والرب المهين ما

به التعين طوبى للذي فهما

به التعين طوبى للذي فهما

I am individuation; but the all-sovereign Lord has no

I am individuation, and the abasing Lord is that

individuation in Him. Blessed is the one who understands.

through which individuation exists; blessed is he who understands.

هو الوجود القديم المحض جل ولم

هو الوجود القديم المحض جل ولم

أزل مُقَدَّرَهُ والحادثَ العدما

أزل مُقَدَّرَهُ والحادثَ العدما

He is pure, beginningless Existence—exalted!—and I have never

He is pure, eternal Being—exalted is He—and I have never

ceased to be what He determines; the originated is nothingness.

ceased to be what He has decreed, the originated nonbeing.

فرَّقتُ بيني بتحقيق الوجودِ له

فرَّقتُ بيني بتحقيق الوجودِ له

وبينه بعد درْكِ الجمع بينهما

وبينه بعد درْكِ الجمع بينهما

I distinguished my own side, affirming existence as His,

I distinguished between myself—by affirming Being as His—

from His side, after apprehending the union of the two.

and Him, after grasping the union between the two.

والجاهل الغر لا يدري مقالتنا

والجاهل الغر لا يدري مقالتنا

فيه وإن كان محسوباً من العُلَما

فيه وإن كان محسوباً من العُلَما

The vain, ignorant man does not understand what we say

And the naive ignoramus does not understand our statement

of Him, though he may be counted among the learned.

about Him, even if counted among the learned.

ومن عجائب أمري أنني عدم

ومن عجائب أمري أنني عدم

ولي وجود به قد صرت متَّهَما

ولي وجود به قد صرت متَّهَما

Among the wonders of my state is that I am nonbeing,

And among the wonders of my state is that I am nonbeing,

yet I possess an existence through which I have become suspect.

yet I have an existence for which I have come to stand accused.

وهو الذي قبضتني هكذا يده

وهو الذي قبضتني هكذا يده

لها وقد بسطتني صنعة الحُكَما

لها وقد بسطتني صنعة الحُكَما

He is the One whose hand contracted me thus,

And He is the One whose hand has thus drawn me in

and by it the craft of the sages has unfolded me.

to itself, though the sages' craft has expanded me.

فحرت فيه وفي أمري فأرشدني

فحرت فيه وفي أمري فأرشدني

إليه يثبت لي في علمه قَدَما

إليه يثبت لي في علمه قَدَما

I was bewildered by Him and by my own affair; then He guided me

So I was bewildered about Him and my state; then He guided me

toward Him, establishing for me a firm footing in knowledge of Him.

to Himself, securing me a foothold in knowledge of Him.

فها أنا اليوم مشغوفٌ برؤيته

فها أنا اليوم مشغوفٌ برؤيته

محققاً ظاهراً في الكون منبهما

محققاً ظاهراً في الكون منبهما

Here I am today, enamored of the sight of Him—

So here I am today, enraptured by the sight of Him,

truly manifest within the cosmos, yet inscrutable.

truly realized, manifest in the cosmos, yet obscure.

هل من فتى يا بني قومي أُفَهِّمُهُ

هل من فتى يا بني قومي أُفَهِّمُهُ

فيكشف الله عنه هذه الغُمَما

فيكشف الله عنه هذه الغُمَما

Is there some valiant youth, O sons of my people, whom I might teach,

Is there a youth, O sons of my people, whom I may teach,

so that God may lift these clouds away from him?

so that God may lift these clouds from him,

ويصبح القطب في سامي دوائره

ويصبح القطب في سامي دوائره

وفي الحقائق يمسي المفرد العلما

وفي الحقائق يمسي المفرد العلما

By morning he becomes the Pole amid his lofty spheres,

and he may become the Pole in the loftiest of his circles by morning,

and among realities, by evening, the peerless banner.

and among the realities be the peerless, eminent one by evening?

ما قلت ذلك من نفسي ولا جهلت

ما قلت ذلك من نفسي ولا جهلت

حقيقتي فادعت ما قلته شمما

حقيقتي فادعت ما قلته شمما

I did not say this from myself, nor was I ignorant of

I did not say this from myself; nor, in ignorance, did

my reality, so that it proudly claimed what I had said.

my true nature claim what I said out of pride.

وإنما الغيب لي لاحت إشارته

وإنما الغيب لي لاحت إشارته

لتُسمعَ اللوحَ ما قالته والقلما

لتُسمعَ اللوحَ ما قالته والقلما

Rather, a sign from the Unseen flashed before me,

Rather, only the Unseen's intimation shone forth to me,

to make the Tablet and the Pen hear what it declared.

to make the Tablet and the Pen hear what it said.

لوحُ الوجود المسمى روح نفخته

لوحُ الوجود المسمى روح نفخته

وعقلُهُ قلمٌ كلَّ الورى رقما

وعقلُهُ قلمٌ كلَّ الورى رقما

The Tablet of existence, called Spirit, is His outbreathing;

The Tablet of Being is called the spirit of His breath,

its Intellect is a Pen that inscribed all creatures.

and its intellect is a Pen that inscribed all creation.

مراتب هن للحق الوجود بدت

مراتب هن للحق الوجود بدت

فيهن كان قديماً واسمهنَّ عَمَا

فيهن كان قديماً واسمهنَّ عَمَا

Ranks appeared in which the existence of the Real was disclosed;

They are degrees of the Real—Being—that have appeared;

within them He was beginningless, and their name was “ʿumamā.”

in them He was eternal, and their name is ʿAmā—the Cloud.