1. هذه الأثواب والخلع

    تُكتَسى طوراً وتُختَلَعُ

    These garments and robes of honor

    are worn at times and stripped away.

  2. فاستقم يا من على خطرٍ

    يرتقي حيناً ويتضع

    So be steadfast, O you who, in peril,

    rise at times and sink low.

  3. والذي تفهمه فتن

    والذي تعلمه خدع

    And what you understand is temptation,

    and what you know is deception.

  4. والمنى كل المنى أبداً

    فوق فوق الفوق مرتفع

    And the object of longing—all longing—is forever

    exalted above what is above the above.

  5. ما له فينا مناسبة

    مع شيء ليس يجتمع

    He has no affinity with us;

    He is not united with anything.

  6. بل له فينا المعية من

    قبل تكوينٍ لنا يقع

    Rather, His presence is with us, from

    before our creation comes to pass.

  7. وجميع الكون مشغلة

    للذي في قلبه طمع

    And the whole universe is a distraction

    for anyone with greed in his heart.

  8. فتيقظ إن ربك لا

    يترك البلوى ولا يدع

    So awaken, for your Lord does not

    leave off testing, nor desist.

  9. والذي في عمله سنن

    والذي في علمنا بدع

    And what is in His work is established custom;

    and what is in our knowledge is innovation.

  10. سائق الأظعان نحو حمى

    منيتي والنور يلتمع

    O driver of the camel-borne litters toward the sanctuary

    of my desire, while the light gleams,

  11. عج على الوادي المقدس بي

    وتأدب ههنا سبع

    turn aside with me to the sacred valley,

    and show reverence here, O wild beast.

  12. ثم عرِّج نحو كاظمة

    حيث تلك الساح والبقع

    Then turn aside toward Kāẓimah,

    where those open grounds and places lie.

  13. واسأل الركب المقيل على

    يمنة الوادي وما صنعوا

    And inquire about the caravan resting at noon on

    the valley's right side, and what they have done.

  14. إن لي في خدرهم قمراً

    كل أيامي به جُمَعُ

    Indeed, I have a moon in their curtained chamber,

    through whom all my days are Fridays.

  15. خاله المسكيُّ حين بدا

    منه في ليل الورى شمع

    His musky beauty spot, when it appeared,

    was candlelight from him in the night of humankind.

  16. عصبة التشبيه لا تقفوا

    سيركم في الحق منقطع

    O band of anthropomorphists, do not stop;

    your journey in the Real is cut off.

  17. حدثوني في العقيدة ما

    هذه الصلبان والبيع

    Tell me about the creed: what

    are these crosses and churches?

  18. وتنحوا عن طريقتنا

    عقلكم للحق لا يسع

    And withdraw from our path;

    your intellect has no room for the Real.

  19. كل مغرور له صنم

    بافتكار فهو مبتدع

    Every deluded person has an idol

    conceived in thought; thus he is an innovator.

  20. أين أنتم من عقيدتنا

    إذ بها للحق نتبع

    Where are you in relation to our creed,

    since through it we follow the Real?

  21. وعلى التسليم نحن وما

    حالنا في الله مصطنع

    And we hold to surrender, and never

    is our state in God contrived.

  22. وانجلت عين الوجود لنا

    وسحاب الجهل منقشع

    And the essence of being has been unveiled to us,

    and the cloud of ignorance has cleared away.

  23. واقتربنا حيث لا أحد

    لا ولا مرئي ومستمع

    And we drew near where there was no one—

    no, nor anything seen or heard.

  24. ثم عدنا بعد ذاك وذا

    ما لنا رِيٌّ ولا شبع

    Then we returned after that and this;

    there is neither quenching nor satiety for us.

  25. والجوى والشوق لازمنا

    كل حين عندنا وجع

    And love's anguish and longing have clung to us;

    at every moment, pain is with us.

  26. كيف أنتم والقلوب قست

    ليس بالتذكير تنتفع

    How fare you, when hearts have hardened

    and gain nothing from admonition?

  27. واطمأنت بالمحال وقد

    أصبحت باللهو تقتنع

    And they have found comfort in absurdity, and have

    come to be content with idle amusement.

  28. أسمعتهم من وساوسكم

    ورضيتم أنكم تبع

    They made them hear some of your whisperings,

    and you were content to be followers.

  29. لا أقر الله عين فتى

    عن هوى المحبوب يندفع

    May God never gladden the eye of a youth

    who turns away from love of the beloved.

  30. إنني مضنى محبَّتِه

    لا رأوا قومي ولا سمعوا

    Indeed, I am worn out by love of him;

    my people have neither seen nor heard.

  31. صاد قلبي لحظ غانية

    عن خطور الوهم تمتنع

    The glance of a beautiful woman captured my heart—

    one who stays beyond the reach of imagination.

  32. إن بدت صلى الأنام لها

    وإذا ما أومأت ركعوا

    If she appears, all creatures pray to her;

    and whenever she gestures, they bow.

  33. لي فؤاد حشوه شجن

    بل على الأشواق منطبع

    I have a heart filled with sorrow;

    rather, it is imprinted with yearnings.

  34. والجوى والوجد مبتذل

    دائماً والصبر ممتنع

    And love's anguish and ecstasy are freely lavished

    always, while patience is unattainable.