1. يا طالبا للحجر المُكَرَّمِ

    وراغباً في اسم الإله الأعظمِ

    O seeker of the honored stone,

    And longing for the Greatest Name of God,

  2. وسائلا عن صنعة الإكسير كن

    محققاً لما أقول وافهمِ

    And asking about the making of the elixir, be

    Diligent in verifying what I say, and understand.

  3. فإنها ثلاثة مشهورة

    عند الورى مثل الطراز المُعْلَمِ

    For these are three well-known things

    Among humankind, like patterned embroidery.

  4. حارت عقول الناس في إدراكها

    كم عربي تائه وأعجمي

    People's minds were bewildered in grasping them;

    How many an Arab and non-Arab has wandered astray!

  5. وما اهتدوا منها إلى شيء ولا

    فاز بها سوى الشجاع الضيغم

    And they found their way to none of them, nor

    Did anyone attain them but the valiant lion.

  6. مشوا إليها في سوى طريقها

    وحاولوها بالخيال المظلم

    They approached them by a path other than theirs,

    And pursued them through dark imagination.

  7. يعرفها من نفسه كل امرئ

    بحسن تقواه بلا تفهم

    Each person knows them from his own self,

    Through the excellence of his piety, without deliberation.

  8. فالحجر المكرم الذي متى

    تجده تظفر بالمنى وتغنم

    As for the honored stone—whenever

    You find it, you attain your wishes and profit—

  9. أمر بسيط ما له تركُّبٌ

    جوهره صافٍ يُرى كالعندم

    It is a simple thing, without composition;

    Its substance is pure, appearing like red ʿandam dye.

  10. ينبت بالتدريج في ترابه

    شيئاً فشيئاً كنبات الكُرْكُمِ

    It grows gradually in its soil,

    Little by little, as turmeric grows.

  11. تُلقي على الأجزاء جزءاً منه إن

    أردت يقلبها إليه فاعلم

    You cast a portion of it upon the parts, if

    You wish; it turns them into itself, so know.

  12. ويستحيل الكل شمساً خالصاً

    أو قمراً به كماء أو دم

    And the whole is transformed into pure sun,

    Or moon, through it, like water or blood.

  13. بالشمس إن أوصلته لأصله

    بالغسل والتخليص والتنعم

    Through the sun, if you bring it back to its source,

    By washing, purification, and softening.

  14. وإن تركت لبه في قشره

    فالقمر الأبيض بسام الفم

    And if you leave its kernel in its husk,

    Then the white moon has a smiling mouth.

  15. وركِّبِ الإكسيرَ إن أردت من

    نون وميم مطلق وملجم

    And compound the elixir, if you wish, from

    Nūn and mīm, unbound and bridled.

  16. وامزجهما معاً بأيدٍ منهما

    ممدودة كدرجات السُّلَّمِ

    And blend them together with hands from them both,

    Outstretched like the rungs of a ladder.

  17. والإسم في الرسم من الغيب بدا

    مُسَلَّطاً عليك مثل الطلسمِ

    And the Name appeared in the written form from the unseen,

    Holding sway over you like a talisman.

  18. بالهاء والواو به هويَّةٌ

    في ملكوت واضح ومبهمِ

    Through hāʾ and wāw, it has an identity

    In a dominion both manifest and obscure.

  19. واعرف حروفه التي أنت بها

    مثلَّث الشكل إليها تنتمي

    And know its letters, through which you are

    Triangular in shape; to them you belong.

  20. حققه واحفظ لفظه وادع به

    وأنت في كعبته والحرم

    Realize it, memorize its wording, and invoke through it,

    While you are in His Kaaba and the sanctuary.

  21. تجده في الحال مجيباً بالذي

    تريد من نصيبك المنقسم

    You will find Him answering at once with what

    You desire of your apportioned share.

  22. واستعمل الصدق له وسيلة

    ولا تكن عنه بما رمت عمي

    And use truthfulness as a means to Him,

    And let not what you seek blind you to Him.