1. إنما الدين كله تقليدُ

    وهو أمر تقلدته العبيدُ

    All religion is but adherence to authority;

    and it is a charge the servants have taken upon themselves.

  2. وهو معنى التكليف محض اعتقاد

    حاد عنه الشقي وفاز السعيد

    And this is the meaning of religious obligation: pure belief.

    The wretched strayed from it, and the blessed succeeded.

  3. ثم إيمان من يقلد حقٌّ

    منه تبدو الأعمال والتوحيد

    Furthermore, the faith of one who follows authority is true;

    from it emerge deeds and the affirmation of God's oneness.

  4. قاده الشرع كالبهيمة ينقا

    د بإيمانه فيدنو البعيد

    The sacred law led him; like a beast, he submits

    through his faith, and the distant one draws near.

  5. واتباعٌ دين الهدى لا ابتداعٌ

    بعقول أفكارهنَّ صديد

    And the religion of guidance is following, not innovation

    through intellects whose thoughts are pus.

  6. طاعة الله والرسول وأهل ال

    أمر منكم إشارة لا تبيد

    Obedience to God, the Messenger, and those in

    authority among you is a sign that never perishes.

  7. هكذا قال ربنا فاستقموا

    يا أولي العلم ما هنا ترديد

    Thus spoke our Lord, so stand firm,

    O possessors of knowledge; there is no wavering here.

  8. ديننا اليسر كله وهو سهل

    ليس فيه التحريج والتشديد

    Our religion is entirely ease, and it is simple;

    it contains neither imposed hardship nor severity.

  9. فاتقوا الله مخلصين له الدي

    ن يعلمكم الهدى ويفيد

    So be mindful of God, sincerely devoting to Him your

    religion; He teaches you guidance and brings benefit.

  10. وتصيرون عارفين به لا

    بعقول جميعها تنكيد

    And you become knowers of Him, not

    through intellects that are all vexation.

  11. واتركوا العقل للذين به ضل

    لوا وعما قد حاولوه يحيد

    And leave reason to those who were led astray by it,

    and it veers away from what they have sought.

  12. وخذوا الفتح إنما هو بالنو

    ر من الله يقتفيه المريد

    And receive the spiritual opening; it comes only through light

    from God, which the seeker follows.

  13. كلما آمن المكلف بالغي

    ب ترقى وجاءه الإقليد

    Whenever the accountable person believes in the unseen,

    he ascends, and the key comes to him.

  14. ثم علم الكلام ردَّ على من

    حاولوا أن يكون دين جديد

    Then dialectical theology replied to those

    who tried to bring a new religion into being.

  15. فاستفزت أئمة الحق للحق

    ق وقاموا مرادهم تأييد

    So the leaders of truth were roused for the truth,

    and they rose, intent on upholding it.

  16. وأبانوا دلائلاً بعقول

    قصدهم رد ما يقول العنيد

    And they set forth proofs through reason,

    aiming to refute what the obstinate one says.

  17. لا اعتقاد له ولكن كلام

    كسلاح يسطو به الصنديد

    It is not a creed, but discourse,

    like a weapon with which a valiant warrior strikes.

  18. دونوه لما رأوا الدين شتى

    كل حزب للإفتراق يريد

    They recorded it when they saw religion divided,

    each faction seeking separation.

  19. وذووا الإعتزال قاموا جهاراً

    فيهم الخلف مبدئٌ ومعيد

    And the adherents of Muʿtazilism rose openly;

    among them, discord begins and returns.

  20. وهدى الله ظاهرٌ ليس يخفى

    عند من آمنوا به يا رشيد

    And God's guidance is manifest, not hidden,

    to those who have believed in Him, O rightly guided one.

  21. آمنوا تأمنوا وللغيب عنكم

    أسلموا تسلموا يكون المزيد

    Believe and be safe; to what is hidden from you

    submit and be unharmed, and increase will follow.

  22. إنما الدين سنة تبعتها

    عصبة التابعين قول سديد

    Religion is but a tradition followed

    by the company of the Successors—a sound saying.

  23. نقلوها عمن مضى من صحاب

    تبعوا المصطفى أب ووليد

    They transmitted it from the Companions who had gone before,

    who followed the Chosen One, father and child.

  24. سلف صالحون صلوا وصاموا

    باتباع جميعه تقليد

    Righteous forebears prayed and fasted,

    in a following wholly based on authority.

  25. وعلى ملة المفضل طه

    عيشهم كان ههنا وأبيدوا

    And in the faith of the favored one, Taha,

    they lived here, and they perished.

  26. قط ما استشكلوا ولا سألوا عن

    معضل فيه للهدى تعقيد

    Never did they find difficulty, nor ask about

    a difficult question that makes guidance convoluted.

  27. لا يميلون للعقول ولا ما

    أنتجته العقول فيما تجيد

    They do not incline toward intellects, nor toward what

    intellects produce in what they do well.

  28. ولهم قال ربنا الحق فاعلم

    أنه لا إله إلا الفريد

    And to them our Lord, the Truth, said: 'So know

    that there is no god but the Unique One.'

  29. لم يقل فاستدل أو فتعلق

    بدليل لأنه تحديد

    He did not say, 'So seek proof,' or, 'So cling

    to a proof,' for that imposes limits.

  30. إن علم الكلام يزجر عنه

    كل من رامه به يستفيد

    Indeed, dialectical theology is warned against

    by all who have sought it and benefit through it.

  31. هو للرد لا لأجل اعتقاد

    وعلى من يرد إذ لا رديد

    It is for refutation, not for belief,

    and against whoever objects, for there is no rejoinder.

  32. إن هذا لهو الصواب وأما

    غير هذا فإنه تبديد

    Indeed, this is certainly what is right; as for

    anything else, it is indeed dissipation.

  33. صدق الله من له الله يهدي

    فهو المهتدي وجل المجيد

    God spoke truly: whoever God guides to Him,

    is the rightly guided one; exalted is the Glorious One.