1. قد هدينا بالخاطر المستقيمِ

    لحديث عن الحبيب قديمِ

    We have indeed been guided by an upright thought

    To an ancient account of the Beloved.

  2. ووجدنا معارفاً وعلوماً

    كان فيها المزاج من تسنيمِ

    And we found spiritual insights and sciences

    Whose admixture was from Tasnīm.

  3. فشممنا بها روائح غيب

    وسكرنا بطيب ذاك الشميم

    So through them we smelled fragrances of the unseen,

    And grew drunk on the sweetness of that scent.

  4. كرياض زهورها فائحات

    لذوي الشم معْ هبوب النسيم

    Like gardens whose blossoms breathe fragrance

    For those who can smell, as the breeze blows.

  5. ذات حق أرواحنا أخبرتنا

    عن معاني أسمائه في الرقيم

    Our spirits, the Essence of the Real, told us

    Of the meanings of His names in the inscribed record,

  6. محسنات بأمره يقذف الخل

    ق كقذف المدادِ صورةَ ميم

    Bestowing good by His command; He casts creation

    As ink casts the form of a mīm.

  7. وهو أمر محقق وهو خلقٌ

    باطل متقن بصنع الحكيم

    And it is an established fact, and it is a creation,

    Unreal, yet perfected by the Wise One's handiwork.

  8. ووجود صرف إذا ما تجلى

    صبغ الكل بالوجود العظيم

    And pure Being, whenever it manifests itself,

    Dyes all things with mighty Being.

  9. ومراداته هي الكل جاءت

    في تراتيبها كعقد نظيم

    And His objects of will are all things; they came

    In their ordered ranks, like a well-strung necklace.

  10. صبغة لم تكن وبالوهم كانت

    ما وجود يكون وصف العديم

    A hue that never was, yet existed in illusion;

    Existence cannot be an attribute of the nonexistent.

  11. حاش لله والبصائر زاغت

    قبل زيغ الأبصار في التقديم

    Far be it from God! Yet inward eyes have strayed,

    Taking precedence over the straying of outward sight.

  12. والذي يشهد الحقيقة غيباً

    بشهود عنها لها مستقيم

    And whoever witnesses Reality in the unseen,

    Through an upright witnessing from it and for it,

  13. لا بشوبٍ من الحلول ولا مع

    نى انحلالٍ فيها ولا تجسيم

    Without a taint of indwelling, nor any notion

    Of dissolution within it, nor embodiment,

  14. ويرى الكل فانياً مضمحلاً

    فهو عبد فانٍ لحق مقيم

    And sees all things vanishing and fading away,

    Is an effaced servant of the abiding Real.

  15. أيها النفس ها هو النور باد

    فاكشفي عنه منك ثم استقيمي

    O soul, behold, the Light is manifest!

    So unveil it by withdrawing yourself, then be upright.

  16. ودعي عنك ما سواه فمنه

    ما سواه السراب للتوهيم

    And cast aside all but Him; for from Him comes

    All that is other than Him—a mirage that breeds illusion.

  17. ثم ناجيه فوق طور التداني

    بتدليه إرث موسى الكليم

    Then commune with Him above the mount of nearness,

    Through His descent—the legacy of Moses, His interlocutor.

  18. واعلميه بعلمه لا بعلم

    تدعيه يكون بالتعليم

    And know Him through His knowledge, not through knowledge

    You claim as yours, acquired through instruction,

  19. في مقام محمديٍّ شريف

    شارع للتحليل والتحريم

    In a noble Muhammadan station,

    Legislating what is lawful and what is forbidden.

  20. فعليه السلام ما راق مَعْنَىً

    لِمُعَنَّىً فجاد بالتسليم

    So peace be upon him as long as a meaning delights

    A tormented one, who then lavishes salutations.