غير الوجود محالُ

غير الوجود محالُ

عليه أنت محالُ

عليه أنت محالُ

Whatever is other than Being is impossible;

Anything other than Being is impossible.

to Being you are referred.

To it you are referred.

فافطن له وتأمل

فافطن له وتأمل

فالعقل فيه عقال

فالعقل فيه عقال

So discern it, and contemplate:

So attend to it and contemplate,

for reason, within it, is a fetter.

for within it reason is a fetter.

هو الهدى للبرايا

هو الهدى للبرايا

وما سواه ضلال

وما سواه ضلال

It is guidance for all creation,

It is guidance for all creatures,

and whatever is other than it is error.

and whatever is other than it is error.

يا واحداً وكثيراً

يا واحداً وكثيراً

بما عليه يحال

بما عليه يحال

O One—and manifold

O One and many,

through what is predicated of You—

through what is referred to Him:

من كل تقدير شيء

من كل تقدير شيء

في العلم منه مثال

في العلم منه مثال

for every determination of a thing,

from every conception of a thing

in Knowledge there is an exemplar of it.

of which there is an image in knowledge.

قَدَّرتَنا من قديمٍ

قَدَّرتَنا من قديمٍ

فنحن شيءٌ محال

فنحن شيءٌ محال

You determined us from eternity,

You conceived us of old;

and so we are an impossible thing.

so we are an impossible thing.

فرضتنا فظهرنا

فرضتنا فظهرنا

بك العراض الطوال

بك العراض الطوال

You posited us, and we appeared

You posited us, so we appeared,

through You—broad and tall.

through You, broad and tall.

وأنت أنت وجود

وأنت أنت وجود

ونحن نحن خيال

ونحن نحن خيال

And You—you are Being itself,

And You—You are Being;

while we—we are imagination.

and we—we are illusion.

أستغفر الله إن ال

أستغفر الله إن ال

خيال شيء يخال

خيال شيء يخال

I ask God's forgiveness: indeed,

I ask God's forgiveness: indeed, the

imagination is a thing imagined.

illusion is a thing imagined.

بل نحن لا شيء لكن

بل نحن لا شيء لكن

هذا كلام يقال

هذا كلام يقال

No—we are nothing; but

Rather, we are nothing; but

this is a manner of speaking,

this is speech that is uttered

لأجل تقريب قوم

لأجل تقريب قوم

في العقل منه خبال

في العقل منه خبال

to bring near a people

for the sake of drawing a people near,

whose reason is deranged by it.

in whose reason it breeds confusion.

قد اعتنوا بالمعاني

قد اعتنوا بالمعاني

وهم سراب وآل

وهم سراب وآل

They have devoted themselves to meanings,

They have concerned themselves with meanings,

though they themselves are mirage and shimmering haze.

while they are a mirage and heat-haze.

فحاولوا الحق فيها

فحاولوا الحق فيها

وليس فيها ينال

وليس فيها ينال

So they sought the Real in those meanings,

So they sought the Real in them,

yet in them the Real cannot be attained.

yet He is not attained in them.