هو الكون ثوب والسداءُ هو الأمرُ

هو الكون ثوب والسداءُ هو الأمرُ

ولحمته الخلق اقتضى نهيه الأمرُ

ولحمته الخلق اقتضى نهيه الأمرُ

The cosmos is a robe, and the warp is the command.

He is the universe, a garment, and the cloak, He is the command,

Its weft is creation; the command entailed its prohibition.

And its warp is the creation, His prohibition necessitated the command,

وحائكه الأسماء أسماء ربنا

وحائكه الأسماء أسماء ربنا

تعالى بمكّوك الوجود به الضفر

تعالى بمكّوك الوجود به الضفر

Its weaver is the Names—the Names of our Lord,

And its weaver is the Names, the Names of our Lord,

exalted is He—with the shuttle of existence, by which the interlacing is done.

Exalted is He by the interlacing of existence woven by Him.

وما غزله إلا من العدم الذي

وما غزله إلا من العدم الذي

تقدر في العلم القديم له القدر

تقدر في العلم القديم له القدر

Its yarn comes only from the nonbeing whose

And it was spun from nothingness only,

measure was determined in eternal knowledge.

Which He predetermined in the eternal knowledge, for it the decree.

ملونة أطرافه في حباكها

ملونة أطرافه في حباكها

فبيض وسود تلك والخضر والحمر

فبيض وسود تلك والخضر والحمر

Its ends are colored in their weaving:

Its edges are colored in its weaving,

they are white and black, and green and red.

So white and black those are, and the green and red,

ولا بس ذاك الثوب حائكه على

ولا بس ذاك الثوب حائكه على

نهاية تنزيه وهذا هو الستر

نهاية تنزيه وهذا هو الستر

And the wearer of that robe is its weaver, with

And the weaver of that garment did not weave upon,

the utmost transcendence; and this is the veiling.

The end of transcendence, and this is the veil,

فيخلعه طوراً ويلبس تارة

فيخلعه طوراً ويلبس تارة

كلمعة برقٍ ما له أبداً حصر

كلمعة برقٍ ما له أبداً حصر

So He takes it off at one time and dons it at another,

So He takes it off for a while and wears it at times,

like a flash of lightning, forever without limit.

Like the flashing of lightning, it has no limit.

تنزُّلُ حقٍّ في غيابة ذاته

تنزُّلُ حقٍّ في غيابة ذاته

إلى فعله بالعلم سرٌّ هو الجهر

إلى فعله بالعلم سرٌّ هو الجهر

The Real's descent within the hidden depth of His Essence

A truth descends in the absence of His essence,

to His action, through knowledge, is a secret that is manifest.

To His action by knowledge, a secret it is, the manifest.

ألا هكذا الآفاق فانظر جميعها

ألا هكذا الآفاق فانظر جميعها

ونفسك لا يغررك زيد ولا عمرو

ونفسك لا يغررك زيد ولا عمرو

Behold, the horizons are thus; look at them all,

Behold, thus are the horizons, so look upon them all,

and at yourself; let neither Zayd nor Amr deceive you.

And your own self, let not Zayd or 'Amr delude you,

وحقق وجود الحق في الكون وحده

وحقق وجود الحق في الكون وحده

ولا كون لا شفع هناك ولا وتر

ولا كون لا شفع هناك ولا وتر

And realize the existence of the Real alone in the cosmos;

And realize the existence of Truth in the universe alone,

and no cosmos exists: there is neither even nor odd.

And no existence, no intercession, no strings there,

ولكنها الأقدار منه تقدرت

ولكنها الأقدار منه تقدرت

فلا تلغها واعرف فإلغاؤها كفر

فلا تلغها واعرف فإلغاؤها كفر

Yet these are the decrees, ordained by Him;

But they are the predetermined decrees from Him,

so do not annul them; understand, for their annulment is unbelief.

So do not negate them, and to negate is disbelief.

ودع عنك أقواما عليها تزندقوا

ودع عنك أقواما عليها تزندقوا

يقولون بالتوحيد توحيدهم نكر

يقولون بالتوحيد توحيدهم نكر

And leave aside people who fell into heresy over them;

And leave alone the people who blaspheme against them,

they profess divine oneness, but their oneness is an abomination.

They speak of oneness, their oneness is denounced.

فينفون لا بالحس والذوق كل ما

فينفون لا بالحس والذوق كل ما

يرون من الأكوان عندهم المكر

يرون من الأكوان عندهم المكر

So they deny—not through sense-perception or spiritual tasting—all that

They negate all that they see of the universes,

they see among created things; they harbor deceit.

With senses and taste, deceit is their wont.

يقولون غير الله ما في قلوبنا

يقولون غير الله ما في قلوبنا

بزور وبهتان وكذب هو الوزر

بزور وبهتان وكذب هو الوزر

They say, 'Nothing but God is in our hearts,'

They say, "Apart from God, there is nothing in our hearts,"

with falsehood, fabrication, and lying—that is the burden of sin.

With falsehood, calumny and lies, a burden it is.

يريدون إسقاط التكاليف بالفنا

يريدون إسقاط التكاليف بالفنا

فنا الوهم والدعوى وما عندهم خبر

فنا الوهم والدعوى وما عندهم خبر

They seek to abolish religious obligations through annihilation:

They want to drop obligations through annihilation,

an imagined, merely claimed annihilation; they have no knowledge.

Annihilation of illusion and claim, they have no news.

ولو صدقوا ماتوا وزالت نفوسهم

ولو صدقوا ماتوا وزالت نفوسهم

ولم يبق فيهم قائل وله فكر

ولم يبق فيهم قائل وله فكر

Had they been truthful, they would have died and their selves vanished,

Had they been sincere, they would have died and their souls departed,

and no speaker possessing thought would have remained among them.

And no speaker would have remained, nor one with thought.

بلى يدَّعون الموت والحال كاذب

بلى يدَّعون الموت والحال كاذب

وما الصحو عند الناس يخفى ولا السكر

وما الصحو عند الناس يخفى ولا السكر

Yes, they claim death, but their state belies the claim;

Nay! They claim death while their state is lying,

and neither sobriety nor intoxication is hidden from people.

And neither wakefulness nor intoxication is hidden from people.

وهيهات أين الفتح والكشف والهدى

وهيهات أين الفتح والكشف والهدى

وأين علوم الله يقذفها البحر

وأين علوم الله يقذفها البحر

Far from it! Where are spiritual opening, unveiling, and guidance?

Far-fetched! Where is opening, unveiling and guidance?

And where are God's sciences, which the sea casts forth?

And where is the knowledge of God cast forth by the sea?

وهم يزعمون اللب ما اعتقدوه من

وهم يزعمون اللب ما اعتقدوه من

ضلالاتهم والناس عندهم القشر

ضلالاتهم والناس عندهم القشر

And they claim the kernel is what they have believed of

And they claim the kernel is what they believed of

their errors; people, in their eyes, are the husk.

Their misguidance, and people are to them the peel.

وأقوال محيي الدين بالجهل غيروا

وأقوال محيي الدين بالجهل غيروا

وقد ألحدوا فيها وهم كلهم غُمْر

وقد ألحدوا فيها وهم كلهم غُمْر

And in ignorance they altered Muhyi al-Din's sayings,

And the words of Muhyiddin, they distorted with ignorance,

and fell into heresy over them, all of them inexperienced.

And rebelled against them, while they are all stupid.

وأقوالنا أيضاً يظنون أنها

وأقوالنا أيضاً يظنون أنها

يوافقهم من لفظها النظم والنثر

يوافقهم من لفظها النظم والنثر

And they think that our sayings, too,

And our words also, they think,

agree with them in their wording, both verse and prose.

Suit them in their prose and verse from the phrasing.

ومنهم بريءٌ إنني وإن انتموا

ومنهم بريءٌ إنني وإن انتموا

إلي على كره لدي ولي زجر

إلي على كره لدي ولي زجر

Yet I disavow them, even if they affiliate themselves

I am innocent of them even if they cling to me,

with me against my will; I rebuke them.

Against my will and I have rebuke.

عوامٌّ ولا علم لديهم يردُّهم

عوامٌّ ولا علم لديهم يردُّهم

ولا عقل ينهاهم وليس لهم عذر

ولا عقل ينهاهم وليس لهم عذر

They are common folk, with no knowledge to restrain them,

They are commoners, no knowledge deters them,

nor reason to deter them; they have no excuse.

Nor intellect forbids them, they have no excuse.