طريقتنا قطع العلائق والخطو

ة والرتب الدنيا ووجهة تقصد

Our path is severing attachments and the step,

and the lower ranks, and a destination to be sought.

طريقتنا الجهد الجهيد لوجهه

وإفراد وجهات وذو الحب أوحد

Our path is strenuous striving for His Face,

and singling out one's aims; the possessor of love is unique.

طريقتنا سير العوالم في شهو

د رب البرايا من لوجهه تقصد

Our path is the worlds' journey in witnessing

the Lord of creatures, whose Face you seek.

طريقتنا رقص الكوائن جمعة

ووصف لأقدام وإياه نعبد

Our path is the dance of beings in a gathering,

and a description of feet; Him alone we worship.

طريقتنا الكشف المحقق الغيو

ب عن بطون التنزيل والعود أحمد

Our path is sure unveiling of the unseen,

from the inner depths of Revelation; returning is more praiseworthy.

طريقتنا لا تستعين بغيره

وإن كان شرعا فالمسبب نشهد

Our path seeks no help from anyone but Him;

even if doing so is lawful, we behold the Causer.

طريقتنا صمت بسر وظاهر

وإشغاف كل القلب بالله مفرد

Our path is silence, inwardly and outwardly,

and engrossing the whole heart in God alone.

طريقتنا السكنى بأقصى حضائر

ولا نلتفت في السر إنه مبعد

Our path is dwelling in the furthest sanctuaries;

we do not turn aside inwardly, for that distances one.

طريقتنا حفظ المواقيت والرسو

م للشرع والأنفاس والوحي نسرد

Our path is keeping the appointed times and rites

of sacred law; we recount the breaths and revelation.

طريقتنا وقف الأمور إلى وجو

د نص يزيح الظن والجهل يطرد

Our path is suspending matters until there is

a text that dispels conjecture and drives out ignorance.

طريقتنا رعي المراتب جملة

ونعتبر الكبرى والأقوى نؤكد

Our path is observing the ranks as a whole;

we consider the greatest and affirm the strongest.

طريقتنا الخوض المؤيد في نعو

ت أحمد خلق الله نوره أفرد

Our path is aided immersion in the attributes

of Ahmad, the most praiseworthy of God's creation, whose light is unique.

فإنه نور الحق والبرزخ الذي

عليه مدار الكون في الكون مفرد

For he is the light of the Real and the isthmus

upon which the cosmos revolves, unique within the cosmos.

وكل نصوص أوهمت غير ما افتضا

ه منصبه الأسنى تؤوّل تسعد

And all texts that suggest other than what

his loftiest station requires are interpreted, and you prosper.

بكم موهمات ينبو عنها جلاله

ومن حجبته فهو أكثف أبعد

At how many misleading suggestions his majesty recoils!

Whoever is veiled by them is denser and more distant.

جلالته هي المحكم في النصو

ص عنها يرى التطبيق في الكل أسعد

His majesty is the decisive criterion in the texts;

on that basis, harmonizing them all is seen as more felicitous.

ومن رام هذا البحر شاهد أسرارا

من الحق في الأكوان أعلى وأرشد

Whoever seeks this sea witnesses secrets

of the Real within the worlds, loftier and more guiding.

وإلا توارى الفتح عنه وأظلمت

عوالمه والله لا غير أمجد

Otherwise, the opening withdraws from him, and darken

his worlds; God alone is most glorious.

لأن رسول الله أعظم نائب

عن الله وهو الباب والله أصعد

For God's Messenger is the greatest deputy

on God's behalf; he is the gate, and God is loftier.

وقد دلنا القرآن في كل موطن

على مركز الأنوار إذ هو أوحد

The Qur'an has guided us, in every setting,

to the center of lights, for he is unique.

وقلده أعباء كل مكون

وطوقه الأحمال رحماه نشهد

He entrusted him with the burdens of every created being,

and hung the loads around his neck; we witness His mercy.

فلا منزع إلا لطه ببابه

تناخ المطايا والرواحل تبرد

There is no recourse but to Ta-Ha; at his gate

the mounts are made to kneel, and the riding beasts cool down.

مددنا إليك الكف نضرع في الورى

فيا إلهي أمح الكوافر تعبد

We have stretched our hand toward You, supplicating amid creation;

O my God, efface the unbelieving ones, that You may be worshipped.

فهذا هو المعنى بأن طريقنا

محمدي حقي وهذا مجدد

This is what it means that our path

is Muhammadan, of the Real; this is renewed.

بهم نستضيء أرض القلوب من العل

وم اللدنيات في الكون نعهد

Through them we find light upon the earth of hearts, from the sciences

divinely bestowed, which we encounter in the cosmos.

سألتك بالقرآن والنور الذي

تفتقت الأشياء عنه محمد

I have asked You by the Qur'an and by the light

from which things burst forth—Muhammad.

أغثها وأسسها لدى كل أعصر

ولا تتركنها بالعراء يا أحمد

Come to its aid and establish it in every age,

and do not leave it in the open, O Ahmad.

واسبل عليها كل ستر مسرمد

وواصل عليها الروح منك يجدد

Let every everlasting veil descend over it,

and sustain upon it the spirit from you, renewing it.

طريقتنا حفظ لمنصب أصحاب

له إنهم آباؤنا وهو أنجد

Our path preserves the station of the Companions

who belong to him; they are our fathers, and he is more valiant.

فكانوا لهذا الدير قفص ما لهم

وساطية إلا هم هم أعمد

They were a cage for this cloister; they have no

mediating link but themselves; they are the pillars.

وكانوا شعار الدير أراس ملة

هم الناس والأسياد أرض وأعبد

They were the cloister's inner garment, heads of a faith;

they are the people and the masters, more pleasing [reading uncertain] and more devout.

مراصي اقلوب الخلق من جوهم سقوا

فمنتهم صارت على الخلق تمتد

Anchors of creatures' hearts [reading uncertain]; from their sky they were watered.

Thus their benefaction came to extend over creation.

كما أخصب الوحي السماوي قلوبهم

فأسلمهم للوهب للرب أفرد

As heavenly revelation made their hearts fertile,

it surrendered them to bestowal, to the Lord alone.

فكانوا مرايا للكمال المحمدي

ليوث الوغى أسد الشرى هم سجد

They were mirrors of Muhammadan perfection,

lions of battle, lions of al-Shara, prostrate in worship.

قد اشبهت فيهم نصوص وإنهم

هم المذهب الأصفى ومن منه صعد

Texts concerning them have become ambiguous [reading uncertain]; indeed, they

are the purest school, and through it one ascends.

أصاغرهم في المكرمات أكابر

وآخرهم في العاليات مخلد

The least of them are great in noble deeds;

their last is immortal amid the heights.

بداية وحشي نهاية أويس

القرني ومرء الذات ما بعده تعد

Wahshi's beginning is Uways's culmination—

al-Qarani's; the man of the Essence—none beyond him is reckoned.

لحيظاتهم أزمان غيرهم فهم

أكابر أهل الله في القرب قعد

Their fleeting moments are others' ages; they are

the greatest of God's people, seated in nearness.

وقد أساروا اللائي أتينا بعيدهم

بفضله أمداد لهم به نشهد

They sent forth those [wording uncertain]; we came shortly after them,

by His grace, as aid for them; through Him we witness.

ألا إنهم أقطاب كل حضائر

وأغواث أقوات العلوم وأشمد

Indeed, they are the poles of every sanctuary,

and helpers, sustenance for the sciences, and [an unclear epithet].

بنصر الله أيد الله عبده

وأعدادهم بخ بخاجل وأبرد

By God's help, God strengthened His servant;

and their numbers—bravo! [unclear expression]—and cooler.

ألا يا إله العرش أوصل حبائل

الطريق كما أوصلتهم تتجدد

O God of the Throne, connect the cords

of the path, as You connected them, that they may be renewed.

يا إله البيت واصل مراحما

لديها وأعلى شأنها ويلذذ

O God of the House, sustain mercies

within it, and exalt its station, bringing delight.

ألا يا إله الملك شعشع ميادينا

لديها واوسع رحبها يتعاهد

O God of dominion, illumine arenas

within it, and broaden its expanse, that it may be tended.

ألا يا غلهي لست إلاك أعتمد

فأوسع فضاها يا كبير وترصد

O my God, I rely on none but You;

so widen its space, O Great One, and watch over it.

وصل على اس الكمالات أحمد

وسلم عليه دائما فجاك يتجدد

And bless Ahmad, the foundation of all perfections,

and grant him peace always; your [unclear noun] is renewed.

وآله ينبوع المعارف كلها

وأصحابه أهل الهدى تتوقد

and his family, the wellspring of all knowledge,

and his Companions, the people of guidance that blazes,

وأتباعهم في المكرمات ومن غدا

لنهجهم يهفو غراما يردد

and their followers in noble deeds, and whoever comes

yearning for their way, chanting out of ardent love.

فيخلو لدى الإنشاد نظمها إنه

طويل له العليا وتدنو وتفرد

So its verse stands alone when chanted, for it is

long; the heights are its own, drawing near and standing apart.