ببسم إله العرش أهتف داخلا

منيع حماه لابساً درع عزتي

In the name of the God of the Throne I cry, entering

His impregnable sanctuary, wearing the armor of my might.

تحصنت بالأسما من الدهر لائذا

بأنوار كرس ثم عرش المشيئتي

I fortified myself with the Names against time, taking refuge

in the lights of the Footstool, then the Throne of will.

تدرعت إذ تبدو النوائب باس

مه العظيم الكبير الوتر عرش الإرادتي

I donned armor when calamities appeared, invoking His name—

the Mighty, the Great, the Unique—the throne of volition.

وأحمده الحمد الذي هو أهله

بأسمائه الحسنى العوالي القديمتي

I praise Him with the praise He deserves,

through His beautiful, exalted, eternal Names,

بكل ثناء داخل الكون عنعنت

هُ ألسنة الأكوان من عين منتي

with every praise within creation, transmitted

by the tongues of the worlds from the wellspring of bounty,

وألسنه الآملاك والرسل والعالمي

نَ والعرش والكرسي ولوح الأحاطتي

and the tongues of angels, messengers, and all beings,

and the Throne, the Footstool, and the encompassing Tablet.

وأشكره شكر المزيد وأتلون

كما لاته في كل محراب وصلتي

I thank Him with thanksgiving that brings increase, and contemplate

His perfections in every prayer niche of union.

علمنا مراد الحق منا ببعثه

لنا الرحمة المهداة أكمل نشأتي

He taught us what the Real desires of us by sending

the bestowed Mercy to us, the most perfect creation.

وكمله إذ كان قلبا لملكه ال

عظيم ومغناطيس كل رقيقتي

He perfected him, for he was the heart of His

great dominion, and the magnet of every subtle connection.

وأسكنه فضلا حظائر قدسه

فكان حجاباً عنه في الفردية

By grace He lodged him in the precincts of His holiness;

he became a veil concealing Him in singularity.

وأخرج منه للوجود أشعة

تجسم منها هيكل البشريتي

From him He brought forth rays into existence;

from these the human frame took bodily shape.

فقام بأمر الله هاد عقولنا

وناصر دين الله بالحجة التي

By God's command he arose, guiding our minds,

and defending God's religion with the proof that—

وأسس دين الله بالحكمة التي

لها سجدت أفكار أهل البسيطتي

and establishing God's religion with the wisdom before which

the thoughts of the earth's people prostrated.

ودانت له بالفتح والنصر خضرا

ءُ السماء وغبر الأرض والجاهليتي

With conquest and victory there submitted to him the green

heaven, the dusty earth, and the age of ignorance.

لقد كنت نور النور بالغيب لامعا

ببحبوحة التقديس في عمائيتي

You were indeed the light of light, shining in the unseen,

amid the spaciousness of sanctification, in the primordial cloud.

وقد كنت نورا سادجا عند مطلق

وكوشفت بالإطراق في غير مادتي

You were an unadorned light beside the Absolute,

and revelation came to you in bowed contemplation, beyond matter.

وقوبلت بالأسما فخضت بحارها

ليست كساها سابحا كل لجتي

You were brought before the Names and plunged into their seas.

You donned their robes, swimming through every depth.

ليست كساها حيث كنت مبايعا

لربك بالتوحيد قبل الخليقتي

You donned their robes when you pledged allegiance

to your Lord in oneness, before creation.

فبايعته من حيث لا حيث والوجو

د منعدم بالذات في أزليتي

You pledged to Him where there is no where, while existence

was essentially nonexistent, in eternity.

وشاهدته صرفا وكنت له أه

لا وما شاركتك الكائنات ببيعتي

You witnessed Him unmingled, and were worthy

of Him; no beings shared your pledge.

وكنت بأمر الله أول قادم

على الحق والأكوان في عدميتي

By God's command you were the first to approach

the Real, while the worlds remained in nonexistence.

ولم يك لوح لا ولا قلم ولا

رقائق جبريل ولا نوع كثرتي

There was no Tablet, no Pen, nor

Gabriel's subtle connections, nor any kind of multiplicity.

وجدتك حرفا عاليا فيك مقتضى ال

حروف وما ناسبت حرفا بشكلتي

I found you an exalted letter containing the import of

all letters, yet resembling no letter in form.

لأن شكلك الكلي أول صادر من

من عرش الذات عرش الإرادتي

For your universal form was the first emanation from—

from the Throne of the Essence, the throne of volition.

تجلى لك الرب العظيم بما له

من العظموت في سوابق وجهتي

The mighty Lord manifested Himself to you with His

majesty, in the primordial beginnings of orientation.

لذا أعظمتك الكائنات فكنت لا

تشاكلها في كل نعت ووجهتي

Thus beings magnified you, while you did not

resemble them in any attribute or aspect.

وأعجزت كل العالمين ببعض ما

أوليت من الإكبار من دون غايتي

You surpassed all worlds through merely some of

the exaltation bestowed upon you, short of its ultimate limit.

وكوشفت من سر المقادير ما به

رعفت على الأكوان حين الشبيبتي

The mystery of decrees was unveiled to you, through which

you preceded the worlds in your youth.

رأيت ارتباط الكونيات بأمواج الت

تقادير في مجرى انفعال المشيئتي

You saw created things linked to the waves of

decrees, in the course of responding to divine will.

وما ظهر التكوين حتى عرفت أص

ل منشئه المكتوم في طي حكمتي

Creation had not appeared before you knew the hidden

root of its originator, folded within wisdom.

فأوتيت مفتاح الكنوز وما بدت

كوائن هذا الكون بين البريتي

You received the key to treasures before there appeared

the beings of this universe among creation.

فعلمت في درس الإله ولم يكن

هنالك غير في اقتناص الحقيقتي

You learned in God's lesson, while there was

no other there to apprehend reality.

وأدخلت محراب العلوم وما بها

سواك سفير في جلاء السفارتي

You entered the prayer niche of knowledge, with

no ambassador there but you, in manifest ambassadorship.

فعلمت منه من لدنه لا من حرو

فِ أشكال رسم الكون لوح صحيفتي

You learned from Him, directly from His presence, not from the letters

of the forms of creation's inscription, the tablet of a page.

ألا من قواميس البحار كرعت يو

م لا يوم من قبل احتكام الطبيعتي

Indeed, from the oceans' depths you drank on a day

that was no day, before nature became established.

وأفردت عن كل الوجود بما حبا

ك ربك من أسراره يوم خلوتي

You were singled out from all existence through what

your Lord granted you of His secrets on the day of seclusion.

خلوت به في حضرة لم يكن بها

كليم ولا روح ولا سر خلتي

You withdrew with Him into a presence containing neither

the one addressed by God, nor the Spirit, nor intimate friendship's mystery.

ولم يكن جبريل هناك ولا أخو

ه ميكائل يبدو ولا سر ضمتي

Gabriel was not there, nor his brother

Michael appearing, nor the mystery of an embrace.

فأقرأه الرحمن في غيب غيبه

إليه به منه على حين قربتي

The All-Merciful taught him to recite in His unseen's unseen,

to Him, through Him, from Him, at the moment of nearness.

وما جاءت الأكوان حتى تغلغلت

حقائقك القصوى ببحر الحقيقتي

The worlds had not arrived before there penetrated

your ultimate realities into the sea of reality.

لأنك دولاب الأوائل تستفي

ض من أسك العالي أواخر ملتي

For you are the wheel of beginnings; there flow

from your lofty foundation the later generations of the faith.

فإنك فوق الكل بالله يا ياسي

نُ من فوقك الله العظيم بحرمتي

Through God you stand above all, O Ya-Sin;

above you is mighty God, in sanctity.

وإنك نور الله في الكون يستضي

ء منك الوجود مقتضى المدنيتي

You are God's light in creation; existence takes light

from you, according to the requirements of civilization.

وما تم غواص سواك على الفيو

ض اللدنيات من قاب عزتي

No diver but you was there amid the outpourings

of immediate divine knowledge, from the proximity of might.

وإنك مشكاة الحقائق تستفا

ض عن بحرك الطامي علوم الخليقتي

You are the niche of realities; there are drawn

from your overflowing sea the sciences of creation.

لأنك قد خصصت بالله والورى

وراءك خضعانا لعزة نعمتي

For you were specially chosen by God, while humanity

stands behind you, bowed before the might of blessing.

ولما اجتليت الحق في خلوة البها

تداعت لك الأسرار في أصل نشأتي

When you beheld the Real in beauty's seclusion,

the mysteries gathered for you at creation's origin.

وعلمت مرمى الحق منك فلم تفت

ك مسألة إذ كنت برزخ قدوتي

You knew the Real's purpose for you; no question escaped

you, for you were the intermediary of exemplarity.

ورقيت مرقى أول النشء فانجلت

لديك علوم فطرة دون مادتي

You ascended the height of creation's first beginning; there became clear

to you the knowledge of innate nature, without matter.

وألبست أثواب النبوة فاتحا

مغالق سر الله للآدميتي

You were clothed in prophecy's garments, opening

the locks of God's secret for humanity.

على فطرة الرحمن فوجئت باقتضا

النبوات لم تعرف ذواق الجهالتي

Upon the All-Merciful's innate nature, you encountered the demands

of prophecies, never knowing the taste of ignorance.

قد انصبغت منك الحقائق بالذي

اقتضته عنايات السما بالرسالتي

Through you realities were imbued with what

heavenly providence required through the message.

وما ذقت طعما للجهالات أول ال

بدايات فضلا عن مواقيت بعثتي

You never tasted ignorance at the earliest

beginnings, much less at the times of your mission.

لأنك أقرئت العلوم بمكتب ال

إله غيوبا ما دفعت لضنتي

For you were taught the sciences in the school of

God—unseen knowledge withheld from no stinginess.

وما انبعث العلم المقيد بالظنو

نِ حتى علمت العلم علم حقيقتي

Knowledge constrained by conjectures had not arisen

before you knew knowledge, the knowledge of reality.

وهذا وأشتات الكوائن لم تزل

على بسط الأعدام في عدميتي

This, while scattered beings still remained

upon the carpets of nonexistence, in nothingness.

وهذا وأصل الآدميين لم يزل

ببينونة من دون تخليص جملتي

This, while humanity's origin still remained

in separation, before the whole was distinguished.

ولا أرأس الأملاك جبريل ميكال

ولا لوح محفوظ الشؤون العليتي

Nor were the foremost angels, Gabriel and Michael,

nor the Preserved Tablet of exalted affairs,

ولا فلك الأدوار مما به قضى

إله السما والأرض سنة حكمتي

nor the sphere of cycles through which decreed

the God of heaven and earth the ordinance of wisdom,

ولا قلم العلم الذي عنه أصدرت

شؤون البرايا في قضاء المشيئتي

nor the Pen of knowledge, from which were issued

the affairs of creatures under the decree of will.

ولم يك إلا الله جل جلاله

له العزة الأحمى ونعت الإحاطتي

There was none but God—majestic is His majesty—

to Him belong inviolable might and all-encompassing knowledge.

تفرد في ديمومة القدس واحدا

قديما علام الغيب في أزليتي

He stood alone in holiness's perpetuity, One,

eternal, Knower of the unseen, in beginninglessness.

له وحدة ذاتا صفاتا وأفعالا

شؤونا وأحكاما وأمواج قدرتي

His is oneness in essence, attributes, and acts,

in affairs, judgments, and the waves of power.

وقد كان كنزاً في عما ليس فوقه

هواء ولا تحت ولا ظل كثرتي

He was a treasure in a cloud, above which was no

air, nor beneath it, nor any shadow of multiplicity,

إلى أن قضت أسماؤه بظهور ما

اقتضته من التكوين لا عن عليتي

until His Names decreed the appearance of what

they required of creation, not through causation.

فحجت إلى الاسم الذي هو جامع

تراوده عما اقتضته المحبتي

They made pilgrimage to the all-embracing Name,

petitioning it concerning what love required.

فحاولت الأسما بروز كوائن ال

عوالم الاستعبادها بالشريعتي

The Names sought the emergence of the beings of

the worlds, to bind them in servanthood through sacred law.

فصادفت التعريف حان وقد

بدت طواعية الأسما لإبراز حكمتي

They found the time for making Himself known had arrived, and

the Names' willing obedience appeared to manifest wisdom.

فألحمت الأقدار حب تعرف

بمنفعل التكوين إصدار كثرتي

The decrees joined the love of self-disclosure

to creation's responsiveness, bringing forth multiplicity.

عدا أن تقدير المقادير قد قضى

بإصدار مجلى الحق في كل وجهتي

Yet the ordering of decrees had determined

the emergence of the Real's manifestation in every aspect.

له وجهتا الإطلاق والقيد عاكفا

بمحراب ذات ملقيا للخليقتي

He has the two aspects of absoluteness and limitation, dwelling

in the Essence's prayer niche, conveying to creation.

ولا يحتجب بالممكنات عن الذي

يكونها بل شاهد سر وحدتي

Possibilities do not veil him from the One

who creates them; rather, he witnesses unity's mystery.

وأوتي من علم المفاتحي ما اقتضت

خلافته في الكائنات المريعتي

He received such knowledge of the keys as required

his vicegerency among the wondrous beings.

ولم تتوفر مقتضى هذه الشرو

ط إلا لسر الله عرش السعادتي

The requirements of these conditions were fulfilled

only in God's secret, the throne of felicity:

أبو القاسم الفرد الذي قد توحدت

محاسنه ما إن له من شريكتي

Abu al-Qasim, the unique one whose

virtues are singular, without any partner;

أحمد يس حامد ومحمد

رؤوف رحيم شافع يوم حسرتي

Ahmad, Ya-Sin, Hamid, and Muhammad,

kind, merciful, interceding on the day of regret.

فحمل أعباء الخلافة حيث لا

شريك له فيها وقام بقدرتي

He bore the burdens of vicegerency, with no

partner in it, and arose through power.

وفتق رتق الكون إذ كان فاتحا

لأبواب توحيد بنعت العبودتي

He opened creation's closed fabric, opening

the doors of oneness through the attribute of servanthood.

فلو وزنته الكائنات تضاءلت

وضعضع منها الركن من سر منعتي

Were beings weighed against him, they would dwindle,

and their foundations would crumble before the mystery of inviolability.

لأنه في قوى الوجود وما الوجو

د في قواه العظمى لوسع الحقيقتي

For he is within existence's powers, while existence is not

within his supreme powers, so vast is reality.

وكان إماما يوم لا يوم قبله

وكان رسولا في معالم جلوتي

He was an imam on a day before which was no day;

he was a messenger amid the signs of unveiling.

وكان نبي الأنبياء بتقدم

عليهم وكانوا آخذين بحجزتي

He was the prophet of prophets, preceding

them, while they held fast to his girdle.

وأول روح كلم الله في مدا ال

مضامر إذ كان البدي ببيعتي

The first spirit to speak with God in the expanse of

the hidden courses, he was foremost in pledging allegiance.

فقال بلى قبل الجواهر مطلقا

وقفت على آثاره كل ذرتي

He answered, 'Yes,' before substances existed at all;

every particle stood upon his tracks.

فقد أخذ الميثاق من كل جوهر الن

نبيئين والأرسال في شأن نصرتي

The covenant was taken from every essence of

prophets and messengers concerning his support.

وبعد استيفاء البيعة الألى بالت

توحيد شفعها المولى بقرن الرسالتي

After completing the first pledge in

oneness, the Master followed it by joining the message.

فقررهم واستنطق الكل معلنا

برتبة هذا المستفيض الممدتي

He secured their acknowledgment and made all speak, proclaiming

the rank of this receiver and giver of outpouring.

وعنونت الأحوال أنه مرسل

بعالم أرواح لكل الخليقتي

The states signified that he was a messenger

in the world of spirits to all creation.

وأفهمت الأنبياء أنه مطلق الن

نبوة فرد في كمال الخلافتي

The prophets were made to understand that his prophethood was absolute,

unique in the perfection of vicegerency.

تفوق مذ كانت حقائقه لها الت

تقدم في الأزمان باد بنشأتي

He excelled, for his realities possessed

precedence in time, apparent at creation's beginning.

بعثت لهم في عالم الذر فاستجا

بوا حين ظهرت فوق عرش لبيعتي

You were sent to them in the world of particles; they responded

when you appeared above a throne for allegiance.

فمنك استمد المرسلون ببعثة

بعالم ذر في الفلات الفسيحتي

From you the messengers drew sustenance through a mission

in the world of particles, in the spacious wilderness.

فبويعت في بدء الزمان ولم يكن

هناك دليل إلا أنوار رتبتي

Allegiance was pledged to you at time's beginning, when there was

no guide there except the lights of rank.

فطافت ولبت نحو روحك أروا

ح الملائك والأرسال دون روية

Toward your spirit there circled and answered the spirits

of angels and messengers, without deliberation.

كذلك أرواح العوالم عششت

بروحك مذ كانت بباب منيختي

Likewise, the spirits of the worlds nested

in your spirit, from their beginning at the threshold of alighting.

فجندك يا روح الوجود ملائك

ورسل وأقطاب لصون يتيمتي

Your army, O spirit of existence, consists of angels,

messengers, and spiritual poles, guarding the peerless pearl.

وأنت لملك الله قلب لذاك قد

أطافت بك الأكوان دون سعاية

You are the heart of God's dominion; therefore

the worlds circled you without exertion.

وإنك جند الله وحدك والورى

جنودك في نصر الشرائع عمدتي

You alone are God's army, and humanity

your soldiers in defending sacred laws, my support.

وإنك بيت الله لا تظهر الورى

بمشهده القدسي في عين وحدتي

You are God's House; humanity does not appear

in its holy witnessing, in the very essence of unity.

فيا بخت قلبا كنت ساكنه ووج

ه ذاتك محرابا لشمس الهدايتي

Blessed the heart in which you dwell, and the face

of your essence, a prayer niche for guidance's sun.

فوجهك محرابي وروحك مشهدي

وعقلك مرآتي وسرك قبلتي

Your face is my prayer niche; your spirit, my place of witnessing.

Your intellect is my mirror; your secret, my prayer-direction.

ونفسك طب القلب من علل به

تداعت إلى إخلاده أرض شهوتي

Your soul heals the heart of ailments within it,

toward whose earthly attachment the ground of desire beckoned.

وإنك بيت الله والخلق مظهر

لأسرارك العظمى وأوجه منتي

You are God's House, and creation manifests

your greatest secrets and the aspects of bounty.

وإنك كرسي الوجود وواعظ ال

مماليك والممنوح مطلق بعثتي

You are existence's Footstool, admonisher of

the servants, granted an unrestricted mission.

وأنت لسان الحق بالحق نائبا

عن الله في إصلاح حال الخليقتي

You are the Real's tongue, through the Real deputizing

for God in reforming creation's condition.

وألبست من ثوب الجلالة ما إذا

رئيت رئي الله في مرآتيتي

You were clothed in such a robe of majesty that, when

you are seen, God is seen in your mirror.

فإنك قد أجلست في الكون مر

آة يشاهد فيها الله في برزخيتي

You were set within creation as a mirror

in which God is witnessed through your intermediacy.

وإنك عرش الله مستوى أمره

هنالك ما انشقت أفانين كلمتي

You are God's Throne, the resting place of His command;

there the varieties of the word had not yet divided.

وفي حضرة الكرسي تنوع أمره

إلى خمسة الأحكام عن كرميتي

In the presence of the Footstool His command branched

into the five rulings, through generosity.

فوطأ للعبدان ترتيب حالهم

وأسس للأكوان أحكام شرعتي

He prepared for servants the ordering of their condition,

and established for the worlds the rulings of sacred law.

شهدتك قبل القبل أنك آدم

لآدم والنور العظيم ومادتي

I witnessed you before the before: you are an Adam

to Adam, the mighty light, and the originating substance.

شهدتك نورا عند ربك قائما

تشاهد ما عنه العوالم ضلتي

I witnessed you as a light standing beside your Lord,

beholding that from which the worlds strayed.

وقد كنت عند الله خاتم رسله

وآدم ممزوج بطين المئيتي

With God you were already the seal of His messengers,

while Adam was blended with watery clay.

تبنى لك التخصيص أبناء عا

لم فكنت أبا الأكوان أصلا لكثرتي

Special election adopted for you the children of a world;

you became father of the worlds, the root of multiplicity.

شهدتك بعد البعد أنك خاتم

بفاتحة الإمداد باب رسالتي

I witnessed you after the after: you are a seal,

with the opening of spiritual supply, the door of the message.

وفاتح مغلاق المغاليق للذي

كذو ساقة الجيش المحمدي دولتي

And the opener of the lock of locks for him

who is like the rearguard of the Muhammadan army's realm.

شهدتك بين البين أنك دولاب ال

إفاضات شيخ المرسلين بمادتي

I witnessed you between the between: you are the wheel of

outpourings, the elder of messengers in originating substance.

شهدتك في كل الكوائن ساريا

ممدا لها في كل آن وطرفتي

I witnessed you flowing through every being,

sustaining them in every instant and blink.

فيحشر رسل الله تحت لواك يا

إماما له الآملاك تعنو بوطأتي

God's messengers will be gathered beneath your banner, O

imam before whose tread the angels bow.

ويغبط سكان السماوات جِبري

لا لأن كان مفتاحا لقفل الشريعتي

Heaven's inhabitants envy Gabriel

because he was the key to sacred law's lock.

فلما رأوا هذا التقدم أيقنوا

بنسخته العظمى وقدر مكانة

When they saw this precedence, they became certain

of his supreme archetype and the measure of his standing,

وأنه باب الله قاسم أمداد ال

خزائن للمألوه عام الهدايتي

and that he is God's door, distributing the supplies of

the treasuries to God's servants, universal in guidance,

مفيض على الأرسال والأشياء وال

ملائك والأكوان عام الحكومتي

pouring upon messengers, things, and

angels and worlds, universal in governance.

به ارتبطوا في العلم إذ كان برزخ ال

قواميس والخلجان مظهر كلمتي

Through him they were linked in knowledge, for he was the intermediary between

ocean depths and inlets, the manifestation of the word.

له خلوة بالحق ليست لغيره

قبيل وجود الكائنات اللطيفتي

He has a seclusion with the Real belonging to no other,

before the existence of subtle beings.

فمن نوره كان الوجود أصالة

على أن منه الكائنات استمدتي

From his light existence arose originally;

from him beings drew their sustenance.

على أنك المفتاح للمخلوقات في

ميادين أبطال الوجود الضريتي

You are indeed the key for creatures in

the arenas of existence's fierce champions.

وكل الذي كان النبيئون قد جلو

ه في مضمر التخصيص من محض سؤرة

Everything the prophets had unveiled

within the hidden reserve of election came from a pure remnant.

ودونت الدنيا علومك ثم لم

تزل تكتب الكتاب في كل جملتي

The world recorded your sciences, then continued

writing the book in every entirety.

وما عالم إلا وأنت إمامه

يمد على مقداره وغريزتي

There is no world whose imam you are not,

sustaining it according to its measure and innate disposition.

وقد ضاق عمران الخليقة في اكتشا

فِ أسرار علم الله فيك وحكمتي

Creation's inhabited expanse proved too narrow to discover

the secrets of God's knowledge in you, and wisdom.

وقد سبحت كل العقول بأبحر ال

معارف تستجدي هوادي حكمتي

Every intellect swam in the seas of

knowledge, begging for the guides of wisdom.

وما وصلت أفكارها لمقاصد

لديك ريت في التربيات لملتي

Their thoughts never reached the purposes

with you, seen in the nurturings of the faith.

لأنك تلقي العلم بالله راعيا

قوابل كل الخلق في حال دعوتي

For you impart knowledge through God, considering

the receptivities of all creatures during your summons.

وتشهد فعل الله في كل حادث

فلا تنحجب بالأمر عن أصل نشأة

You witness God's act in every occurrence;

the affair does not veil you from its originating source.

وأجزم أن العلم لم يعثرن على

المعاني التي أبلغتها بالحقيقتي

I affirm that learned knowledge has not discovered

the meanings you conveyed through reality.

عن الله تنطق تدعون تشرحن

أصول مقصد سر الشرع لا عن مظنتي

From God you speak, summon, and explain

the foundations of sacred law's secret purpose, not from conjecture.

عن الله تأخذ علم ما تدعوه له

وتلقيه في أثواب طرز البلاغتي

From God you receive knowledge of what you summon to Him,

and convey it in garments embroidered with eloquence.

لعمرك ما تدعو بتقليد جبريل

ولا ميكال بل عن مراصد عزتي

By your life, you do not summon by imitating Gabriel

or Michael, but from the watchtowers of might.

فإنك أعلى منه علما وحيطة

وأدرى بشأن الله في غيب قدرتي

You surpass him in knowledge and comprehensiveness,

and know God's affair better in power's unseen.

فقد كنت نورا عند ربك والوجو

دُ ما انشق عن كون ولا عن مكانتي

You were a light beside your Lord, while existence

had not unfolded into a universe or a place.

ولم يبد جبريل ولا زمان ولا

معالمه لا ولا لوح دولتي

Gabriel had not appeared, nor time, nor

its landmarks, nor the tablet of dominion.

وعلمك الرحمن من علمه هنا

ك دون وساطات ولا برزخيتي

The All-Merciful taught you from His knowledge there,

without mediations or an intermediary.

وكنت نبيا دون كل عوالم

وكنت رسولا في مشارع منتي

You were a prophet before all worlds;

you were a messenger at bounty's watering places.

ولم تبرز الأكوان حتى علمت

ما علمت وكنت البحر في أزليتي

The worlds had not emerged before you knew

what you knew, and were the sea in eternity.

ولم تزل الأشياء تقتنص العلو

م مما أتى من عندكم بالروايتي

Things have continually gathered the sciences

from what came from you through transmission.

ولم تبلغ المعشار من عشر لها

وتاهت على متن البحور الطميتي

They have not reached a tenth of a tenth thereof,

and wandered upon the surfaces of overflowing seas.

ولم يقع الإحصا لعلمك في الوجو

د علوا وسفلا بل ولا في القيامتي

Your knowledge has never been enumerated in existence,

above or below, nor even at the Resurrection.

فمن صاعد فيها لأقصى مدارك ال

مفاهيم إذ تبدو على متن لجتي

Some ascend within it to the furthest apprehensions of

concepts appearing upon the surface of the deep,

ويأخذ منها ما يشاء لما يشا

لوسع مجال الوحي في كل آيتي

taking from it what they wish for whatever they wish,

so vast is revelation's scope in every verse.

ومن نازل فيها إلى حضيض الر

رسوم ما له أيد في البحار العميقتي

Others descend within it to the lowliness of

outward forms, without strength in the deep seas.

وينأى عن المقصود من حيث إنه

يظن الدنو الحالي من حرميتي

They move away from the intended goal, while

supposing themselves presently near the sanctuary.

يظنون حصر الوحي في فهوم لهم

ولا تحصر الأكوان مقدور قدرتي

They suppose revelation confined to their understandings,

yet the worlds cannot contain power's possibilities.

تشعبهم فيما أتى الوحي قد أضر

ملتنا المثلى وأودى بضيعتي

Their divisions over what revelation brought have harmed

our exemplary faith and ruined its estate.

لقد أبعدوا في السير نجعتهم ولم

يحوموا حمى المقصود روح القضيتي

They carried their search far afield in their journey, yet did not

circle the sanctuary of the intended goal, the matter's spirit.

وسعت رسول الله علما أحا

ط بالكوائن والأشيا وأخفى خفيتي

Your knowledge, Messenger of God, encompassed

beings, things, and the most hidden secret.

وسعت علوم الله غيبا شهادة

فقهت مسمى كل شيء بحيطتي

You encompassed God's sciences, unseen and manifest,

understanding everything's designation comprehensively.

ولما اجتباك الحق في خلوة الرضى

تزويت من علم الإحاطات فطرتي

When the Real chose you in contentment's seclusion,

your innate nature was gathered from encompassing knowledge.

وما زال شأن القرب يهدى هوا

دي التصرف ما لا يكتنه برياضتي

The affair of nearness continually bestows the guides

of sovereign action, unfathomable through spiritual exercises.

وكنت لعلم الله أم كتابه

وكنت لوحي الله لوح إحاطتي

For God's knowledge you were its Mother Book;

for God's revelation you were its encompassing Tablet.

وكانت مواد الازدلاف لها مدى الت

تَسلسل في أخذ العلوم القديمتي

The supplies of approach possessed the extent of

continuous succession in receiving eternal sciences.

وعلمت قبل الكون ما قصر ال

وجود عن حمله بعد انتشار لكثرتي

Before creation you knew what existence could not

bear after multiplicity spread.

لأنك نور الله منه به نشا

ت عن أمره دون الوسائط جملتي

For you are God's light; from Him, through Him, you arose

by His command, without intermediaries altogether.

وبعد انتشار الكائنات ترحشت

معالم علم العلم في لوح قدوتي

After beings spread, there trickled

the traces of knowledge's knowledge onto the tablet of exemplarity.

ونودي بالأكوان هيا ليرتسم

بألواحكم لوح المقادير جمتي

The worlds were called: 'Come, let there be inscribed

upon your tablets the abundant tablet of decrees.'

وقابل دور الكون مرآتك الأولى

ولم يختلس منها سوى كل شرعتي

Creation's cycle faced your first mirror,

and drew from it only each sacred ordinance.

فما استثبتت منه به انتظم ال

وجود مع أنه بحر العظائم جلتي

What it established from him ordered existence,

although he is the sea of mighty, majestic things.

وما استوعبت من علمه بعض علمه

وقد عجزت أن تجتذت كل صورتي

It did not encompass even part of his knowledge,

and could not gather every form.

لأنه مرآة به صور الكما

لِ مخشوشة في ذاته دون مريتي

For he is a mirror in which the forms of perfection

are concealed within his essence, without doubt.

فيا جبل الرحمن ربيت بالتجل

لى في عالم التسطير بالواحديتي

O mountain of the All-Merciful, nurtured through manifestation

in the world of inscription, through oneness.

ظهرت بأجبال وكنت لها السفي

ر في عصرها الجزئي بألواح شرعتي

You appeared through generations, and were their ambassador

in their partial age, bearing the tablets of sacred law.

يقلبك الرحمن من ساجد إلى

حنيف إلى داع بحكم الصحابتي

The All-Merciful moves you from a prostrating one to

an upright monotheist, then a summoner through companionship's ordinance.

ولم يمض عصر إلا تقفوه أعصر

مشعشعة بالنور منك وبعثتي

No age passed without ages following it,

radiant with light from you and the mission.

فلم يخل عصر من أشعة بعثة

لكم لعقول المرسلين العليتي

No age was empty of rays from a mission

of yours to the exalted intellects of messengers.

وقد مد أمر الله منك سرادقا

لدى العرش ثم الفرش محكم صنعتي

God's command extended from you a pavilion

by the Throne, then the earth, firmly fashioned.

وأودعه العلم الكفيل بتدبير ال

مماليك والأكوان والرساليتي

He deposited in it the knowledge ensuring governance of

servants, worlds, and messengership.

وأعلن في الأكوان أن محمدا

هو المرآة الكبرى وبرزخ رحمتي

He proclaimed throughout the worlds that Muhammad

is the greatest mirror and the intermediary of mercy,

وأنه مبعوث بعالم أرواح

ممدا مفيض العلم عن رحمانيتي

and that he is sent in the world of spirits,

sustaining, pouring forth knowledge from all-mercifulness.

فعنه استفيضوا واستمدوا وسل

سلوا مسلسله في كل عصر ودولتي

Receive outpouring and sustenance from him, and continue

his continuous chain in every age and realm.

فهو حجاب الذات رحمته

الذي له سبحات الوجه أهدت وأهدتي

He is the veil of the Essence, its mercy,

to whom the splendors of the Face gave gifts upon gifts.

فهو الذي أبداه في الكون نائبا

ففيه اشهدوا سر الجلايا الذاتيني

He is the one He manifested in creation as deputy;

in him witness the secret of essential unveilings.

فأحكم منك الشرع أول دولة

الوجود ولم ينسخ بأدوار بعثتي

Through you sacred law was perfected in existence's first era,

and was not abrogated by the cycles of missions.

فكان له في الكون منك ابتعا

ثات بأطوار أحكام الظروف الشريفتي

Within creation there were from you missions

in the stages of the ordinances of noble circumstances.

فلم يتجلى النسخ إلا بأشكا

ل الدفاتر والألواح والقابليتي

Abrogation appeared only in the forms

of registers, tablets, and receptivity.

ففي كل عصر تبدو فيه طوا

ئف من الحكم والتشريعيات الجليلتي

In every age there appear within it portions

of wisdom and august legislations.

إليه وإلا لا تشد الرحائل

وعنه وإلا فالحديث مضلتي

Toward him—or let no saddles be secured for travel.

From him—or speech is misguidance.

لواه وإلا لا قرار يطيب لي

عليه وإلا لا تفيض عبرتي

His banner—or no resting place pleases me.

For him—or my tear does not overflow.

رضاه وإلا فالغرام مضيع

سناه وإلا الحالكات المضلتي

His approval—or passionate love is wasted.

His radiance—or bewildering darkness.

حماه وإلا الدهر عاث بحكمه

غناه وإلا لا دواء لفاقتي

His sanctuary—or time ravages by its decree.

His sufficiency—or no remedy for my poverty.

أراه وإلا ليس في الكون لذة

ثراه وإلا لا جلاء لعلتي

I see him—or creation contains no pleasure.

His earth—or no clearing away of my illness.

ليعلم أهل العلم أن خزائن ال

محامد لم يفضض سواه بكارتي

Let the learned know that the treasuries of

praises had their virginity opened by none but him.

جميع كمالات النبي محمد

تعالت عن التشريك في كل خطوتي

All the perfections of the Prophet Muhammad

transcend partnership at every step.

أكل له التشريف ي مضمر الغيو

ب حتى بدا في صورة خاتميتي

All honor was his within the hidden unseen,

until he appeared in the form of finality.

ولم يفضض الارسال ما ادخرت

له المقادير في أحكامها الأوليتي

The messengers did not open what the decrees stored

for him in their primordial ordinances.

ولم تظهرن في بعثة الرسل ما اقتضى

التحدي سوى ظل الكمالات خلعتي

In the messengers' missions there appeared, in miraculous challenge,

only the shadow of perfections, a bestowed robe,

إلى أن قضت أحكامه باستدارة الز

زمان فطم الوادي في كل غبرتي

until His ordinances decreed time's full turning,

and the valley flooded through every dusty place.

وجاء بأمواج الحقائق تيار الت

تعاليم كشاف الآيات المبينتي

With reality's waves came the current of

teachings, unveiling the manifest signs.

يموج بحر الحق عند ظهوره

فأظهر من أسراره كل خبأتي

The sea of the Real surges at his appearance;

he disclosed every hidden store of its secrets.

فنفس عن روح المعارف أزمة

وكان لها الكشاف من بعد حجبتي

He relieved the spirit of knowledge of its distress,

and became its unveiler after concealment.

فأقرغها في قالب الشرع وانجلى

عن الحق ذاك الغين غين الطبيعتي

He poured it into sacred law's mold, and departed

from the Real that cloudiness, the cloudiness of nature.

وكان له التفريد في كل موقف

ولم يشترك في كسوة مع إخوتي

Singular distinction was his at every station;

he shared no garment with his brethren.

بل انفردت عنهم حقائقة بما اق

تضاه اعتدال النشأة البشريتي

Rather, his realities stood apart from theirs through what

the balance of human creation required.

وليس امتيازات كامتيازات الن

نبيئين إذ ما مثله في الخليقتي

His distinctions are not like the distinctions of

the prophets, for none in creation resembles him.

لذا لم تشابه معجزات له آيا

ت إعجاز رسل الله حين تحديتي

Thus his miracles did not resemble the signs

of God's messengers' inimitability when challenged.

لقد خص من بين النبيئين إذ

كانت نهاياته مدموجة في البدايتي

He was singled out among the prophets, for

his endings were enfolded in his beginnings.

تبدى له التخصيص إذ كان أو

ول الكوائن عن نقش المبادي العليتي

Election appeared for him, for he was the first

of beings from the inscription of exalted beginnings.

وكان له السبق المديد فشرفت

حقيقته بالخلوة الأوليتي

Long precedence was his, ennobling

his reality through the first seclusion.

وكان له في كل رسم مراتع

بها أهلت أتباعه للسفارتي

In every outward form he had pastures

through which his followers were prepared for ambassadorship.

وأول عبد بايع الله في مدى

مضامر توحيد العهود القديمتي

The first servant to pledge allegiance to God within

the hidden courses of oneness's ancient covenants.

وبث هناك الحب ما قصر الوجو

د عن شرحه باللسن من كل ملتي

There he spread a love which existence could not

explain with the tongues of every faith.

ولم تزل الأقلام تكتب ما جرى

هنالك من سر بكل كتابتي

The pens have continually written what transpired

there of mystery in every inscription.

ولا تزل الأعصار تكتب ما اه

تدت إليه وما أخفاه عنها تولتي

The ages continually write what they were guided

toward, and what protective care concealed from them.

وأول من لبى ألست بربكم

فقال بلى أنت المربي لفرطتي

The first to answer, 'Am I not your Lord?'

He said, 'Yes; You are the nurturer of my precedence.'

وقف على آثاره كل جوهر

عبودية مستحليا أمر دعوتي

Every essence of servanthood stood upon his tracks,

delighting in the command of the summons.

فكان جميع الكون في صحف له

بتسنينه توحيد فطرة سنة

All creation was in scrolls belonging to him,

through his instituting innate oneness as a way.

فلولاه ما كان الوجود ولا ابتنت

دعائمه إذ هو روح العنايتي

Without him existence would not have been, nor its pillars

built, for he is providence's spirit.

وأنه أصل الكائنات فآدم

فمن دونه منه انتشا بأدلتي

He is the origin of beings: Adam

and those below him arose from him, as proofs show.

فيا عجبا ابن أبوه ابنه له

عليه ولادات وحكم رعيتي

How wondrous: a son whose father is his son, having

over him births and the ordinance of subjects.

وقد حاز تشريفا بأن كان أول ال

مصادر عن تمويج أطوار رحمتي

He gained honor by being the first of

the emanations from the waves of mercy's stages.

لتشريف خير الرسل صورت الورى

على شكله العالي على كل صورتي

To honor the best of messengers, humanity was fashioned

in his exalted form, above every form.

ومن أجل هذا رحمة الحق تسبق ان

تقاما له من أجل روح النبوتي

For this reason the Real's mercy precedes His retaliation,

because of prophecy's spirit.

لقد قرن الجبار اسمه باسمه

على عرشه دون النبيئين جملتي

The Compeller coupled his name with His Name

upon His Throne, apart from all prophets.

ولم يزل التخصيص يبدي شواهدا

على أنه المقصود من آدميتي

Election has continually displayed witnesses

that he is the purpose of humanity.

فضم إله العرش اسمه لاسمه

وقارن إرسالا له بالألوهتي

The God of the Throne joined his name to His Name,

and associated his messengership with divinity.

كتابته بالعرش مؤذنة بفض

ل مزج على صرف لسر السكينتي

Its inscription upon the Throne announces the superiority

of mingling over unmixedness, through tranquility's mystery.

قد اضطرب العرش العظيم إذ اس

توى عليه ولم يسكن بحكم الحرارتي

The mighty Throne trembled when He established Himself

upon it, and did not become still under heat's ordinance.

تجلى عليه بالصرافة أولا

فلم تحتكم منه قوائم عزتي

He manifested Himself upon it first in unmixedness;

its pillars of might did not become firm.

بوادي التجلي الصرفي أضعفت ال

علا وفزع منهم عن قلوب عليتي

The first appearances of unmixed manifestation weakened

the heights, and terror was removed from exalted hearts.

ولم تزل الأكوان راهبة من ال

عواقب واستدراجها بالأعنتي

The worlds continually feared the consequences

and their being led onward by reins.

وما قر منها الجأش من عظم الت

تجلي والرهبوت العام من حجُبيتي

Their hearts did not settle, from the magnitude of

manifestation and universal dread from concealment,

إلى أن تبدى للوجود محمد

فصار به في جنة أبديتي

until Muhammad appeared to existence;

through him it entered an everlasting paradise.

تطامن منه الجأش وارتاح روعه

ولم يخش هول العاقبات الوخيمتي

Its heart grew quiet and its fear found relief;

it no longer feared the horror of dire consequences.

وأمن عرش الله باسمه لما أن

عراه اندهاش من تجلي الألوهتي

God's Throne became secure through his name after

astonishment overtook it from divinity's manifestation.

لذاك يقول الأحمدي بأفضل ال

مزاج على صرف مخافة خيفتي

Thus the Muhammadan affirms the superiority of

mingling over unmixedness, fearing dread.

مزاج التجلي أن تشاهد ذاته

وأسماءه بالمقلة الأحمديتي

The mingling of manifestation is to witness His Essence

and His Names through the Muhammadan eye.

شهود التجلي المزجي أن لا تغي

ب عن مشاهدة الأمداد من برزخيتي

Witnessing mingled manifestation is not to disappear

from witnessing the supplies through intermediacy.

هو المرآة الكبرى هو البرزخ ال

بسيط من وجهه يبدو جمال الحقيقتي

He is the greatest mirror; he is the expansive intermediary;

from his face appears reality's beauty.

على أن حكم الصرف ممتنع فما

ترى الذات إلا في جلا مظهريتي

The condition of unmixedness is impossible; you do not

see the Essence except in a manifestation's disclosure.

وذاك هو المعنى بالمزج عندنا

فكنه وفارق حالة مستحيلتي

That is what we mean by mingling;

be it, and abandon an impossible condition.

أدرها لنا مزجا ودع عنا صرفها

لنشهد بالعينين محراب كعبتي

Pass it to us mingled; leave its unmixed form aside,

that with both eyes we may witness the prayer niche of my Kaaba.

وأيضا فإن المزج مزج شرائع

بأسرارها الحقانيات البديعتي

Mingling is also the mingling of sacred laws

with their wondrous, divine secrets.

فلولا مراعاة الحقائق كانت الش

شرائع وصفا للرسوم البسيطتي

Without considering realities, sacred laws would be

a description of mere outward forms.

ولكن علوم الشرع حاطت بما يكو

نُ أو كان في سرِّ الغيوب العميقتي

Yet sacred law's sciences encompass what will be

or has been within the secret of deep unseen realms.

عليك بها مزجا لنشهد مشهدي

ن للحضرتين بالدروع الحصينتي

Take it mingled, that we may witness two witnessing-places

of the two presences, clothed in impregnable armor.

أدرها لنا مزجا لنشهد مشهدي

ن للحضرتين بالدروع الحصينتي

Pass it to us mingled, that we may witness two witnessing-places

of the two presences, clothed in impregnable armor.

وزج بنا في مقعد الصدق واحمنا

من اللبس والتلبيس في قاب سدرتي

Thrust us into the seat of truth, and protect us

from confusion and deception near the Lote Tree.

فتوحيد هذا الدين شطران والرسو

ل شرط لذاك الشطر روح الدلالتي

The oneness of this religion has two halves; the Messenger

is a condition of that half, the spirit of indication.

فلولاه لم تعرف مسالك توحي

دٍ ولا عرف المقصود بالألوهية

Without him the paths of oneness would not be known,

nor what is intended by divinity.

فهو دليل الخلق للحق حيث كا

نَ في الغيب والإشهاد محراب قبلتي

He is creation's guide to the Real, being

in the unseen and manifestation the prayer niche of orientation.

فأرشد للتوحيد إذ طمت الآفا

ق بالجهل والإشراك مرمى الشقاوتي

He guided to oneness when the horizons overflowed

with ignorance and association, the target of misery.

وقام خطيبا في الوغى لابسا درو

ع حصن زورد الواقيات المنيعتي

He arose as an orator amid battle, wearing armor

of an impregnable fortress, protective chain mail.

وأعلن بالإرشاد للجن والأملا

ك والإنس والأكوان من بعد بيعتي

He proclaimed guidance to jinn and angels,

humans and worlds, after the pledge

له أول التكوين إذ أخذت له

مواثيق رسل الله عقد الإمامتي

to him at creation's beginning, when there were taken for him

the covenants of God's messengers, the bond of leadership.

دعاهم دعاء مطلقا إذ له النفو

د في الكون عن سر لحمل الأمانتي

He summoned them unrestrictedly, for his authority

in creation came from the secret of bearing the trust.

ولم يثنه أن لم يكن كفو له

ولا ناصر من جنسه في الرسالتي

He was not deterred by having no equal

or supporter of his own kind in messengership.

أقام على عرش الرسالة معلنا

بدعوته أهل السما والبسيطتي

He stood upon messengership's throne, proclaiming

his summons to the people of heaven and earth.

أطاعه جن الأرض والإنس والش

شياطين والأملاك بالألمعيتي

Earth's jinn, humans, and devils obeyed him,

as did the angels, through penetrating discernment.

تقاسيم هذا الكون تعطي بأنه

على صورة الجيش الخميس بهيئتي

The divisions of this universe indicate that it is

shaped like a five-part army in its arrangement.

وقد جعل الرحمن أرؤس ملكه

مقدم هذا الجيش جيش نبوتي

The All-Merciful appointed the heads of His dominion

as this army's vanguard, prophecy's army.

فآدم منه اوالخليل وموسى همو

وعيسهم قاموا له بالنيابتي

Adam, Abraham the Friend, and Moses are from him;

their Jesus too acted for him as deputy.

فمن دورنهم كانوا المبشرين أنهم

طوالع قلب الجيش طه اليتيمتي

Those beneath them were heralds, announcing that they were

the advance signs of the army's heart, Ta-Ha, the peerless one.

وكان جناحاه الملائك تحمين

مسالك سبل الحق من كل شبهتي

Its two wings were the angels, guarding

the paths of the Real's ways from every doubt.

وساقه في التعضيد أصحابه الكرا

م ثم إلى المهدي خاتم ملتي

Its supporting rearguard was his noble companions,

then onward to the Mahdi, the seal of the faith.

وقد أخذت منهم مواثيق أنهم

رعاياه في تعضيد حكم الشريعتي

Covenants were taken from them that they were

his subjects in supporting sacred law's rule.

وكان لهذا الجيش قلبا وسلطانا

مدير إدارات الوجود بنعمتي

He was this army's heart and sovereign,

directing existence's administrations through blessing.

ولا زال أمر الكون بالله دائرا

بأحكامه في الغيب أو في الشهادتي

Creation's affair continues turning through God

according to His ordinances, unseen or manifest.

فما قائم بالكون عن أمره سوى

محمد المبعوث للخلق قدوتي

None stands in creation by His command except

Muhammad, sent to creatures, my exemplar.

فمذ أخذ الله العهود وإع

لان البشائر يدني وقته بالبشارتي

Since God took the covenants, the proclamation

of glad tidings brings his time nearer through announcement,

لتأخذ أعصار الرسالات حظها

من الطرب الممدود من عين منتي

so the ages of missions might take their share

of joy extended from bounty's wellspring.

ولم تزل الأنباء تعلن كلما

تجددت الأجيال بالخاتميتي

The tidings continually proclaimed, whenever

generations renewed, the final prophethood.

ولم يمض جيل إلا بشر قومه

بك الأنبيا والمرسلون وأبقت

No generation passed without its people receiving glad tidings

of you from prophets and messengers; they preserved them.

ولم تزل الأشباح تنتظر اللحو

ق بالبعثة الأخرى لتشريف صحبتي

Bodily forms continually awaited joining

the later mission, for the honor of companionship,

إلى أن تمنى المرسلون لأن يكو

نوا أمتك المختارة المصطفيتي

until the messengers wished that they might become

your chosen, specially selected community.

وفي ذلك سر ليس يعلمه سوى

محمدي مستبحر في الحقيقتي

Within that is a secret known only to

a Muhammadan deeply immersed in reality,

وكوشف بالعلم الأخير وكنهه

وبالعلوم الأولى وأسرار نشأتي

to whom the final knowledge and its essence were unveiled,

and the earliest sciences and mysteries of creation.

فيعلم حظ المرسلين من العلو

م والكشف واستنتاجها للزادتي

He knows the messengers' share of knowledge

and unveiling, and their deductions for further provision.

ويعلم أسرار الوجود حقيقة

ويعلم حق العلم عن كل وجهة

He truly knows existence's secrets,

and knows knowledge's truth from every direction.

إذا اتسع الجاه العريض تطاولت

بأعناقها الأشيا لنيل المزيتي

When expansive standing grows broad, things stretch

their necks to attain distinction.

إذا كان نور الحق أودع سرّه

بمظهره العرشي أجمع دورتي

When the Real's light deposited His secret

in its thronelike manifestation throughout the entire cycle,

وكان مدا الغايات أول نشأة

وكان شعاعا في ذرى أزليتي

the extent of final ends was the first creation,

and it was a ray on eternity's heights.

وكانت رسوم الكون أصداف جو

هر له اكتنفته في مخادع غيرتي

Creation's forms were shells of a jewel

belonging to him, enfolding it in chambers of protective jealousy.

فلا تعلم الأكوان ما نال أصداف الت

رائب والأصلاب من حمل رحمتي

The worlds do not know what the shells of breasts

and loins gained from bearing mercy.

ولم يكتنه كنه لتقديسهم ولا

لتنزيههم في الخالدات القصيتي

No essence was fathomed of their sanctification or

their transcendence in remote eternal realms.

تود عروش الله تحمله كذا

ك رسيه لا بل معاني الحقيقتي

God's thrones desire to bear him; likewise

His Footstool—rather, reality's meanings themselves.

كذلك لا سما والصفات وسا

حات الوقار وأفياح الحضائر لحظتي

Likewise the Names, attributes, and expanses

of dignity, and the spacious holy precincts, desire his regard.

ومذ كان مجلى الحق والحق عا

صم لجوهره حشو البطون المريعتي

Since he was the Real's manifestation, the Real protected

his essence within awe-inspiring wombs.

وقد كان نورا عند ربه وهو في الص

صيانات مرفوع الجناب وقيمتي

He was a light beside his Lord, within

safeguards, exalted in presence and worth.

ينقل من عرش لعرش ويمتطي الت

تنزه عن حصر بساحات عرصتي

He is transferred from throne to throne, ascending

beyond confinement within the bounds of any arena.

ولكن بأمر الله صار له النفوذ

في العالم الأسنى وروض العنايتي

Yet by God's command authority became his

in the loftiest world and providence's garden.

يفيض سجالا من رغائب آما

ل الكوائن في بعث المبادي العليتي

He pours abundant streams of beings' desired hopes

in bringing forth exalted beginnings.

فيا ليت شعري من هو القصد

والذي عليه مدار الكائنات الذريعتي

Would that I knew who is the intended goal,

around whom revolve the swiftly moving beings.

ومن سعد الدهر العريض بمقدم

له ببساط الكون يجبر خلتي

Who gladdened the expansive ages by an arrival

upon creation's carpet, repairing my need?

ومن أتى للأزمان يجبر صدعها

فأثنت عيه ألسن الملكيتي

Who came to the ages, repairing their fracture,

so the tongues of sovereignty praised him?

فما الحال ممن هم حوامل نوره

مظاهر سر الله عرش النبتي

What, then, of those who bear his light,

manifestations of God's secret, the throne of growth?

فما زايلتهم لحظة الحق من لدن

مجاورة استطعامهم باب عزتي

The Real's regard never left them, from the time

of their dwelling at might's door, seeking sustenance.

قد ارتضعوا ثدي المحامد أول الت

تدابير في تجنيد جند الخليقتي

They suckled the breast of praises at the first

arrangements for mustering creation's army.

ولم يزل التخصيص يحملهم على

كواهل تعريب بعين رعايتي

Election continually carries them upon

the shoulders of expression, under the eye of care.

وما زالت الأسماء تطمح نحوهم

بأبصارها إذ هم محال الأمانتي

The Names continually gaze eagerly toward them,

for they are the places where the trust resides.

ولم يزل الإعلان بالأرض والسما

بأن استدارات الزمان بداءتي

Proclamation continually sounded through earth and heaven

that time's revolutions are the beginning

لإبراز قلب الجيش جيش جنودنا

لقد ظلكم إبرازه بالمشيئتي

of revealing the army's heart, the army of our troops.

Its emergence through divine will has overshadowed you.

فكيف لواء العز يمتد نحوه

بآلاف حول ثم آلاف دورتي

How could glory's banner extend toward him

through thousands of years, then thousands of cycles,

ولا يكتسب منه حوال نوره

حظايا وقسطا بل حظوظا منيعتي

without the bearers of his light gaining from him

privileges and a share—rather, impregnable portions?

فكل الذي منه عليه ولادة

ترقى بأمر الله عن كل حظوتي

Everyone through whom he has a birth

rose, by God's command, beyond every favored station.

فما القطب ما الأغواث ما الجرس عندهم

وما الفرد ما العالون عقهم توختي

What are the Pole, the Helpers, the Bell to them?

What are the Unique One and the Exalted Ones? [Text unclear.]

وقد كانت الأسما قديما تدرعت

بجوهره حتى جلا كل صبغتي

The Names had long ago armored themselves

with his essence, until every hue appeared.

ولما اجتلاه الكون منها تدرعت

بجوهره أصلاب قدس وسنتي

When creation beheld him through them, there armored themselves

with his essence the holy loins and the established way.

فهم في جنود الله في رتب الأسما

وفي رتب الحامين من فوق سدرتي

They are among God's armies, in the ranks of the Names,

and in the ranks of protectors above the Lote Tree.

بهم وبهم ربي وركني وملجئي

تول أموري لا تكلني لقوتي

Through them, through them, my Lord, my support and refuge,

take charge of my affairs; do not entrust me to my strength.

بهم وبهم سلسل علينا غوادقا

من الجود تغنيني عن الكون جملتي

Through them, through them, send down upon us abundant streams

of generosity, making me independent of all creation.

بهم وبهم عجل بكبت عدونا

وإخماده بالواقعات الشنيعتي

Through them, through them, hasten our enemy's abasement

and extinguishing through terrible calamities.

بهم أحتمي يا غارة الله إنني

كظيم شجي فانتصر بمعونتي

Through them I seek protection, O God's rescue-force; I am

choked with sorrow, grieving; triumph by aiding me.

بسلسلة الأنوار والشرف المدي

د والذهب الأصفى بخير أرومتي

By the chain of lights and extended nobility,

and the purest gold, through the finest lineage,

أتح يا سعادات تحيط بأفلاك

العنايات والألطاف من دون غصتي

grant, O felicities encompassing the spheres

of providence and kindness, deliverance from my anguish,

وتمنحني الجاه العريض بحضرة ال

حضائر عند الله يوم الندامتي

and grant me expansive standing in the presence of

the holy precincts beside God on regret's day.

ونكفى بهم هم الهموم ومادة الش

شرور وأوحال الحياة الكريهتي

Through them may we be spared worries' burden and the source of

evils, and the mire of hateful life.

وتشملنا الألطاف أنى توجهت

ركائبنا ي كل ربع وربوتي

May kindness encompass us wherever turn

our mounts, in every dwelling and hill.

بأجداده الروحانيين كراسي

النبوة عينا بل عروش الرسالتي

By his spiritual forefathers, the very seats

of prophethood—rather, the thrones of messengership—

أنلنا مفاتيح الغيوب وسدرة ال

علوم وأرياح الوجود العزيزتي

grant us the keys of unseen realms, the Lote Tree of

knowledge, and existence's precious breezes.

بآبائه الرحمانيين ضراغم الت

تقدم في صف الصدور السريتي

By his all-merciful forefathers, the lions of

precedence among the ranks of noble leaders,

أنلني غنى الدارين في كل موقف

زمانا مكانا حالة أبديتي

grant me the riches of both abodes in every station,

in time, place, and everlasting condition.

ويا مجيب الشكوى ويا سبع الندا

ويا رافع البلوى بحسن رعايتي

O Answerer of complaint, O lion of generosity,

O Remover of affliction through beautiful care,

أغثنا أغثنا يا مغيث بما أغث

ت خلاصك الفانين عن كل شهوتي

rescue us, rescue us, O Rescuer, as You rescued

Your chosen ones, effaced from every desire.

وكنت لهم قبل البروز وبعده

ولم يسلموا للحادثات وخيفتي

You were theirs before emergence and afterward;

they were not surrendered to calamities and fear.

أقم دينك العالي على الدين كله

وحطه فقد حاطت به كل أزمتي

Set Your exalted religion above every religion,

and guard it, for every crisis has surrounded it.

وقد عبثت أيدي العدا بمعالم

له ووهت أعلامه بمكيدتي

Enemy hands have tampered with its landmarks,

and weakened its banners through intrigue.

وقد نصبت ظلما فخوخ مصايد الد

دواهي وقد خانت وأعمت وأوهتي

They unjustly set the snares of calamity's traps,

betraying, blinding, and weakening.

وقد حفرت للمسلمين أخاديد ال

مكايد بل دست لها سم ساعتي

They dug for Muslims the trenches of

plots, indeed slipping into them deadly poison.

ولم تقتنع بالمكر والكيد بل تري

د أن تبتلع آثار وحي وسنتي

They were not content with deceit and scheming, but desire

to swallow the traces of revelation and the Sunna.

تدارك منار الدين وانصر لواءه

وكن حصنه الواقي المنيع بروعتي

Save religion's beacon and defend its banner;

be its protective, impregnable fortress amid terror.

تدارك تدارك روح دينك واحمين

مواقعه الحقانيات دليلتي

Save, save Your religion's spirit, and protect

its divine positions, my guide.

حنانيك يا رباه دافع غوائلا

تداعت لها الأهوال كل كتيبتي

Mercy, my Lord! Repel the perils

for which terrors assembled every battalion.

حنانيك عجل بالفتوح ونفسن

عن الحق ما أوهى قوى يد قوتي

Mercy! Hasten openings, and relieve

the Real of what weakened the powers of strength's hand.

وسلم فروع الشرع أن تعبثن بها

يد العاديات الفاتكات ببطشتي

Preserve sacred law's branches from being tampered with

by the hands of devastating aggressors in their violence.

وصن بيضة الإسلام كثر سواده

أدم نوره في الخافقين بصولتي

Protect Islam's heart; multiply its people.

Perpetuate its light in east and west through might.

فليس لنا ملجا لغير إلهنا

وغير رسول الله أوثق عروتي

We have no refuge other than our God

and God's Messenger, my firmest bond.

مقرين بالذنب العظيم الحقير في

جناب عظيم غافر شؤم حوبتي

Confessing a mighty sin, insignificant in

the presence of the Mighty, forgiver of my guilt's evil,

عفو صفوح يغفر الذنب إن يشا

كريم شكور مانح حكم حثيتي

pardoning, forgiving, forgiving sin if He wills,

generous, appreciative, granting the ordinance of bounty.

لعمرك ما ذنب الخلائق جرأة

عليك ولكن سابقات الإرادتي

By Your life, creation's sin is no audacity

against You; rather, prior determinations of will

تسوق جميع الخلق كلا لما أرد

ت منا فما عصيانهم بالكراهتي

drive all creatures, each toward what You desired

of us; their disobedience is not against Your will.

ولا أذنبوا من غير علمك منهمو

فهم تحت حكم القهر قهر المشيئتي

They did not sin without Your knowing them;

they are under compulsion's rule, the compulsion of will.

يذادون بالأسواط أن يتسارعوا

إلى ما قضاه الحق قبل جريرتي

They are driven with whips to hasten

toward what the Real decreed before the offense.

فهم بين ذم حكمة وأمادح

شريعة جزء الكسب وهو عقيدتي

They stand between wisdom's blame and the praises

of sacred law: the portion of acquisition, my belief.

وإلا فحكم الله لا شيء غيره

له النفوذ الإطلاق في كل ذرتي

Otherwise, God's decree alone exists, nothing else;

its authority is absolute in every particle.

جميعهمو تحت النفوذ مسير

بحكم الشؤون الفاعلات الوحيدتي

All are beneath authority, directed

by the ordinance of the uniquely active affairs.

فهم بين أمواج القضاء تريدهم

كما شاء حكم الله أحكام موجتي

They are amid decree's waves, which turn them

as God's decree wills, the ordinances of waves.

إذا طلعت شمس المعاني تناسخت

ظلال أباطيل بقوى أشعتي

When the sun of meanings rises, there vanish

the shadows of falsehood through its powerful rays.

إذا طلعت شمس الوجود تلألأ الظ

ظلام وصار الغرب شرق حظيرتي

When existence's sun rises, darkness shines,

and the west becomes the east of the precinct.

تنفس صبح الحق واعتضدت قوا

ه واحتكمت أركانه بالأدلتي

The dawn of the Real breathed; its powers were strengthened,

and its pillars secured through proofs.

قد اعصوصبت منه الدعائم وابتنت

رحاه على أفلاك قطب العنايتي

Its supports gathered tightly, and its mill was built

upon the spheres of providence's pole.

أقيم عمود الدين في عصره الجدي

د بالحق من روح جديد تولتي

Religion's pillar was raised in its new age,

through the Real, from a new spirit of protective governance.

تولت على كل النفوس فأخضعت

عقول الورى طوعا لحكم الشريعتي

It took charge of every soul and subjected

humanity's minds willingly to sacred law's rule.

وغير نظم الكون واستتر الظلا

م وانقشعت حجب بإشراق وجهتي

He changed creation's order, and darkness withdrew;

veils dispersed through the radiance of his face.

ورتق فتق الجهل وانجاب حكمه

وسلسلت الأنوار فوق البسيطتي

He closed ignorance's breach, and its rule withdrew;

lights streamed in succession over the earth.

وزلزل عرش الملك من طرب به

ورجرج كرسي الفخار بليلتي

The throne of dominion shook with joy in him;

the seat of pride trembled that night.

وحالت مياه البحر واختلفت وحو

ش شرق وغرب بالبشارات أبدتي

The sea's waters changed, and the wild beasts

of east and west stirred with everlasting glad tidings.

وهز لواء العز وازدهت العلا

وأمن جند الحق من كل خيفتي

He shook glory's banner, and the heights rejoiced;

the Real's army became safe from every fear.

ونكست الأصنام من سريانه

بروح جديد ناسخا كل نحلتي

The idols were overturned by his permeation

with a new spirit, abrogating every creed.

وفاض تيار الحق من أفق الهدى

وطم به الوادي على كل ملتي

The Real's current overflowed from guidance's horizon;

through it the valley flooded over every faith.

وطوفان علم البعث عم ممالك ال

كيان وأرواحا فعنه تربتي

The flood of the mission's knowledge covered the realms of

being and spirits; from him came nurture.

تحمل أقوات العوالم وانتهت

إليه وكان الكنز بدءا وعودتي

He bore the worlds' sustenance, and they returned

to him; he was the treasure, in beginning and return.

جلى ظلم الأجيال بعد احتكامها

وأسس شرعا قائما للقيامتي

He dispelled the generations' darkness after its establishment,

and founded a law enduring to the Resurrection.

فليس صلاح الكون إلا بشرعه

أصولا فروعا عاديات صحيحة

Creation's well-being is only through his law,

in foundations, branches, and sound customary affairs.

وأشرق نور الله في الكون وانجلت

جهالات آراء وأحكام بدعتي

God's light shone in creation, and vanished

the ignorance of opinions and rulings of innovation.

وأخبر جهرا عبد مطلب رأى

ثلاثة أيام سجودا لكعبة

Abd al-Muttalib openly reported that he saw

three days of prostration to a Kaaba.

فقد لاح للعينين كيفية النفود في

العالم الأسنى وأرض الطبيعتي

The manner of authority became apparent to both eyes in

the loftiest world and nature's earth.

فمن غيرة الرحمن جل جلاله

على حبه أن لم يكله لشدتي

The All-Merciful's protective jealousy—majestic is His majesty—

over His beloved meant He did not entrust him to hardship.

فكان مصونا بالوقار ولم يزل

مصونا بأنوار التدلي العزيزتي

He was preserved with dignity, and remained

preserved by the precious lights of divine descent.

تطهّر في ماء الغيوب قبيل قب

ل وجود النشأة الآدميتي

He purified himself in unseen waters before the before

of humanity's creation and existence.

فأرواه من علم الشهود ولم يكن

مكان ولا أزمان نور وظلمتي

He quenched him with witnessing's knowledge, when there was no

place or times, light or darkness.

وكونه قبل الزمان ليعرف ال

معارف دون الكون والعنصريتي

He formed him before time, that he might know

the sciences without creation or elemental nature.

وكونه قبل الزمان وأولاه العلو

م وعلاه بأحكام قدرتي

He formed him before time and bestowed the sciences,

exalting him through the ordinances of power.

على الصبغة الأولى انتشا ثم لم تزل

به صبغة الجبار دون شائبتي

He arose upon the first coloring; there remained

upon him the Compeller's coloring, without blemish.

وعلمه التوحيد منه فلم يكن

بحكم تقاييد العقول الظميتي

He taught him oneness from Himself, not

under the constraints of thirsty intellects.

فنزه منه العقل عن قذر ولو

ث لوث شكوك قائمات مريبتي

He purified his intellect of filth and contamination,

the contamination of persistent, troubling doubts.

وإذ كان من نور الإله فلم يشب

به بالكونيات الغيريات الكليلتي

Since he came from God's light, there was no admixture

with wearied created otherness.

فأبقاه صفوا من صفاء ولم يكن

لجثمانه ظل رعاية حرمتي

He kept him pure from purity; there was no

shadow to his body, in protection of sanctity.

هو الفاتح الفتاح أقفال توحيد

بأول نشأة وأول دولتي

He is the opener, opening the locks of oneness,

at the first creation and the first era.

فكان هو المفتاح للقفل ثم من

قفوه تلوه في مفاتيح دعوتي

He was the key to the lock; then those

following him succeeded him as keys of the summons.

فلا عجب أن كان أول ناطق

بمدلول توحيد بعالم حكمتي

No wonder he was the first to utter

the meaning of oneness in wisdom's world.

فمذ سجدت قواه في الغيب لم تزل

مصاحبة للحالة الأوليتي

Since his powers prostrated in the unseen, they remained

accompanying the first condition.

فإن علوم العالم الثاني نسخة

من العالم المعقول في كل حالتي

The sciences of the second world are a copy

of the intelligible world in every state.

ومن علم التطبيق علم حكمة ال

حكيم وكان كيمياء السعادتي

Whoever knows correspondence knows the wisdom of

the Wise, and becomes the alchemy of felicity.

فما لاح في الكون الأخير سوى الذي

تلبس بالتصوير في لبس نشأتي

Nothing appeared in the later universe except what

took on form in creation's clothing.

أبانت رسوم العلم أن حقائق الن

نبوات أربت عن قوى البشريتي

Knowledge's forms disclosed that the realities of

prophecies exceed human powers.

وإن شاكلتها ظاهرا باينتها في ال

حقايق والتقديس من عين منتي

Though outwardly resembling them, they differ in

realities and sanctification, from bounty's wellspring.

وإني لأقضي بالتفاوت في ذات الن

نبوة إذ قامت عليه أدلتي

I affirm differences in the essence of

prophethood, since proofs support this.

وما شاع في كتب العقائد أنها

مماثلة جهل بحكم النبوتي

The claim widespread in books of doctrine that it is

identical is ignorance of prophecy's ordinance.

وكيف وأحكام الشرائع لم تزل

مجددة في كل دور رسالتي

How could it be, while sacred laws' ordinances remain

renewed in every cycle of messengership,

على حسب الأعصار والنشا والمزا

ج والقابل الوقتي وحكم الغريزتي

according to ages, creation, temperament,

temporal receptivity, and innate disposition's rule?

وذلك عنوان التفاوت في الأنبا

ء والوحي والتشريع والقابليتي

That signifies difference in tidings,

revelation, legislation, and receptivity.

وهذا عموم في النبيئين خصصوا

بإفرادهم بالحق في سر جلوتي

This applies generally to prophets, singled out

through their uniqueness with the Real in unveiling's mystery.

لهم وجهة للحق والخلق عاينوا

مقادير حكم الله في كل صورت

They have an orientation toward the Real and creation; they witnessed

the measures of God's decree in every form.

يولا سيما زين النبيئين فخرهم

ممدهم في الغيب بل والشهادتي

Especially the adornment of prophets, their pride,

their sustainer in the unseen, and indeed the manifest.

نهاية علم المرسلين بداية

له في ميادين الشهادة قرتي

The limit of the messengers' knowledge is a beginning

for him in the arenas of witnessing, my delight.

ولم يطلع كون على بدء أمره

بعالم أرواح وأول برزتي

No created world perceived his affair's beginning

in the world of spirits and his first emergence.

نهاية أمر الأولياء بداية الص

صحابة في كشف العلوم الجليلتي

The limit of the saints' affair is the beginning of

the companions in unveiling august sciences.

نهاية أمر الصحب بالقرب مبدأ الص

صديقية الكبرى طريق الخلافني

The companions' limit in nearness is the beginning of

the greatest truthfulness, the path of vicegerency.

نهايته بدء النبوة في مدى

معالم أعلام الكشوف الحقيقتي

Its limit is prophecy's beginning amid

the landmarks and banners of reality's unveilings.

نهايتهم بدء الرسالة غابت ال

حقائق في درك علوم الرسالتي

Their limit is messengership's beginning; realities disappear

in apprehending the sciences of messengership.

نهايتهم مبدا أولي العزم في العرو

ج للمنزه الأجلى قضاء معيتي

Their limit is the beginning of the resolute messengers in ascending

to the utterly transcendent, the clearest, the decree of togetherness.

وإذ كان شأن المصطفى هكذا له ال

مكان العلى فوق كل مكانتي

Since the Chosen One's affair is thus, his

exalted station is above every station.

فلم تشهد الكائنات ولم تحم

حمى ذروة العرفان منه ولجتي

Beings did not witness, nor circle

the sanctuary of his summit of gnosis and depth.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه آية

من الله أبداها بإعجاز آيت

They knew nothing of him except that he is a sign

from God, manifested through a sign's inimitability.

يولم تدر منه غير أنه معجز

أبان رسوم الجهل عن كل عادتي

They knew nothing of him except that he is miraculous,

removing ignorance's forms from every habitual condition.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه كرسي الش

ريعة هاد الخلق حتى تزكتي

They knew nothing of him except that he is the seat of sacred

law, guiding creatures until they were purified.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه مرشد ال

وجود عموما بانتشار الديانتي

They knew nothing of him except that he guides

existence universally through religion's spreading.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه قدوة

لكل فريق في مجال الإمامتي

They knew nothing of him except that he is an exemplar

for every group within leadership's field.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه فائض

من الله فياض على كل ذرتي

They knew nothing of him except that he flows

from God, pouring abundantly upon every particle.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه ناسخ

بمعلومه علم القرون المضايتي

They knew nothing of him except that he supersedes,

through his knowledge, the knowledge of former centuries.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه فت

تاح بإرشاده أقفال كل خفيتي

They knew nothing of him except that he opens

through guidance the locks of every hidden thing.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه خاتم

غني بدا كنا به خير أمتي

They knew nothing of him except that he is a seal,

self-sufficient, appearing; through him we became the best community.

ولم تدر منه غير أحكام رسمه

ومن ثم تاهت في مسالك علتي

They knew nothing of him except his outward ordinances;

thus they wandered in the paths of deficiency.

ولم تدر أسرارا تضمنها صري

ح ألفاظه المثلى بتلوين دعوتي

They did not know secrets contained in the explicit

wording of his finest expressions, through the summons' variations.

ولم تدر أسرارا التفاوت في علا

دلالاته الغرا طباق البلاغتي

They did not know the secrets of variation in the heights

of his radiant indications, the layers of eloquence.

ولم تدر أن الإذن يتبع شاكل ال

قوابل في استنهاضها للعبودتي

They did not know that permission follows the form of

receptivities in rousing them to servanthood.

ولم تدر أنواع التخاطب في القرا

ن مرسى إشارات وأنواع طرفتي

They did not know the varieties of address in the Quran,

the anchorage of indications and kinds of marvels.

ولم تدر منه غير أنه معصوم

من الخاطر الشيطان في كل رحلتي

They knew nothing of him except that he is protected

from satanic prompting throughout every journey.

فمن أين للعرفان يفقه أسرار الت

تخاطب في إرشاده بالحقيقتي

How, then, could gnosis understand the secrets of

address in his true guidance?

وليس له غير الرسوم تعيره

أشعتها دون الوصول لصهوتي

It has only outward forms lending it

their rays, without reaching the summit.

لذا احتاجت الألفاظ في فهمها إلى

بحوث أصول الفقه سر الشريعتي

Thus understanding the words required

investigations into jurisprudence's foundations, sacred law's secret.

فبين أوضاع النصوص وما اقتضت

ه أنفاس وقع الشرع في كل حالتي

Distinguish the arrangements of texts and what was required

by the breaths of sacred law's effect in every state.

ومن أين للمقصوص أجنحة بها

يطير لأوج العلويات اللطيفتي

Whence has the clipped-winged one wings with which

to fly to the summit of subtle higher realms?

ومن أين للعرجى الوصول إلى ال

واد المقدس عن أغيار وجه الكثافتي

Whence can the lame reach the

valley sanctified from the otherness of grossness?

ومن أين للهيام في واد شهوة

وثوب لكوات المعاني الدقيقتي

Whence can one wandering in desire's valley

leap to the apertures of subtle meanings?

ومن أين للمحجوب أن يعثرن على

موارد تنزيل وفقه الرسالتي

Whence can the veiled discover

the sources of revelation and understanding of messengership?

ومن أين للمعثار في ذيل جهله

وصول لذاك الحي بل أو وليجتي

Whence can one stumbling in ignorance's train

reach that quarter, or even its entrance?

فمن أين يدري سر شق لصدره

وتعداد تربيع لإخراج مضغتي

How could he know the secret of his breast's opening,

and the fourfold repetition of removing a morsel?

لقد حار فكر العلم واعتاص دركه

لمعضلة الشق الجدير بحيرتي

Learned thought was bewildered, and its understanding faltered

before the problem of the opening, worthy of perplexity.

وكل مقال لم يراع بكنهه

جلال رسول الله يرفض بالتي

Every statement that fails in its essence to honor

God's Messenger's majesty is rejected accordingly.

وكل مقام تقتضيه جلاله الر

رسالة يرعى فيه حق الرسالتي

Every station required by messengership's majesty

must preserve therein the right of messengership.

ومن لم يراع حقه وجلاله

وما يقتضيه الحق في كل قصتي

Whoever does not preserve his right and majesty,

and what the Real requires in every account,

فيعمل أقوالا له وإشارا

ت ونومن بالنص الكريم بحكمة

then considers his sayings and indications;

we believe the noble text with wisdom.

لأن مقام الرسل دق عن الإدرا

ك ليس لكل الخلق ذوق الرسالتي

For the messengers' station is too subtle for apprehension;

not all creatures taste messengership.

وكل علوم العلم من وراء الورى

وأسرار رسل الله فوق الحقيقتي

All sciences of knowledge lie beyond humanity,

and God's messengers' secrets stand above reality.

وكل علوم الرسل من وراء الورى

قدرا وعلم رسول الله فوق الخليقتي

All the messengers' sciences transcend humanity

in measure; God's Messenger's knowledge transcends creation.

تطاول ربي جل شأنه إذ هدى

بإبراز نور النور منه لنعمتي

My Lord is exalted—majestic His affair—when He guided

by bringing forth from Him the light of light as blessing.

فأرشد كل العلمين ووطدن

دعائم هذا الكون منه بنظرتي

He guided all worlds and firmly established

this universe's pillars through His regard.

وعرف ربي كل خلقه شانه

وأبرزه في صورة بشريتي

My Lord made all His creatures know his affair,

and manifested him in human form.

وأوصل للأكوان عنوانه وما

تحمله للخلق من قسم رحمتي

He conveyed to the worlds his distinguishing sign, and what

he bore for creatures of mercy's allotted portion.

ولم يكل الرحمن ترجمة له

لإفصاح أقلام ولا لعريضتي

The All-Merciful did not entrust his description

to the expression of pens or a lengthy exposition.

ولكن تولى جل أمره وصفه

بنفسه في الذكر الحكيم أديرتي

Rather, He Himself—majestic His affair—undertook his description

in the wise Remembrance, directing it.

فنزههم في ذاته ومعاني

ه وأوصافه القدسية العظيميتي

He declared them transcendent in his essence, meanings,

and his mighty, holy attributes.

وجلاه ربي جل سلطانه خلا

ل محكمه في الذكر في كل سورة

My Lord—majestic His sovereignty—disclosed him through

His decisive revelation, in the Remembrance, in every surah.

يشاهد في كل العصور بذاته

وأطواره فارقبه في كل قطعتي

He is witnessed in all ages through his essence

and stages; watch him in every passage.

يشاهده الأملاك عند تلاوة ال

آيات وتنزيل بأسباب وقعتي

The angels witness him during the recitation of

verses and revelation through its occasions.

فإن كتاب الله أول سامع

له حضرة الأملاك من لوح حرمتي

For God's Book had as its first hearer

the presence of angels, from the sacred Tablet.

فهم أول الأكوان شاهد ذاته

وأوصافه في الدورة الأوليتي

They were the first beings to witness his essence

and attributes in the first cycle.

فمجموع قرآن محمدنا الذي

علينا تلى آياته كل ساعتي

The whole Quran of our Muhammad, whose

verses are recited to us at every hour—

فمن عاين القرآن أبصر أحمدا

جليا بدا في صورة عنصريتي

whoever beholds the Quran sees Ahmad

plainly appearing in elemental form.

تجلى بأشكال الملابس والنعو

ت في الملأ الأعلى وفي أرض حكمة

He manifested through the forms of garments and attributes

in the Highest Assembly and upon wisdom's earth.

إذا ارتحلت نفس عن الكون واعتلت

تجد خلفا بالله أول رحلتي

When a soul departs creation and rises,

it finds recompense through God at its first journey,

وتعلم علم الروح ليس به من الش

شوائب إلا الشوب بالصمديتي

and knows the spirit's knowledge, containing no impurities

except mingling with eternal self-sufficiency.

وتنشق أرواح النسائم من لدن

محاضرة الأسماء فيكل طرفتي

It inhales the spirits of breezes from

the company of the Names at every blink.

وتكرع في عين الحياة وتجتلي

معاني الصفات السبع أشرف لذتي

It drinks from life's spring and beholds

the meanings of the seven attributes, the noblest delight.

هناك تنيخ الركب تستطعم العلا

لذاذات أنس واجتلاء معيتي

There the caravan kneels, seeking from the heights

the pleasures of intimacy and beholding togetherness.

فتسكن بحبوح الشهود على بسا

ط نور وتنزيه وتقريب سجدتي

It dwells in witnessing's spacious center upon a carpet

of light, transcendence, and the nearness of prostration.

أحاديث من ذكرها تغني عن اللذي

ذ والزاد والمشروب بل خير حجتي

Conversations whose remembrance dispenses with delicious

food, provisions, and drink—indeed, the finest pilgrimage.

بصحبة أرواح مع الحق عادلت

به كل حج في الوجود وعمرتي

Through companionship with spirits beside the Real, I equaled

every pilgrimage and lesser pilgrimage in existence.

وموقفي الذاتي به كل ليلة الد

هور ليالي القدر أو كل وقفة

In my essential standing there, every night of

the ages is a Night of Decree, or every standing.

وأي مكان جر هذب جلاله

عليه فسمت الكعبة الحقيقيتي

Whatever place receives the flow of his refined majesty

rises to be the true Kaaba.

وأي بلاد حلها حرم كذا

ك كل مكان ضمه دار طيبتي

Whatever land he inhabits is sacred; likewise

every place embracing him is the abode of Tayba.

وما استوطنته فهو بيت مقدس

وما جنها المأوى به بيت عزتي

Whatever I inhabit is a holy house;

whatever shelters its refuge becomes the house of might.

وإن عزت اللذات في الكون وجهها

لذاذا تر المقصود وردي وجنتي

If pleasures grow scarce in creation, direct them

toward delight: see the intended goal, my watering place and paradise.

وإن ضاقت الدنيا على الغير إنني

غني بعين الذات عن كل لذتي

If the world constricts others, I am

enriched by the Essence itself beyond every pleasure.

بجنات عشاق هي الوصل لو بدا

بنار جحيم عاد سدرة قربتي

In lovers' gardens, union—even if it appeared

in hellfire—would become the Lote Tree of nearness.

وحيث بدا منه الخيال فإنني

بمسجدها الأقصى غدوا وروحتي

Wherever his image appears, I am

in its furthest mosque, morning and evening.

وإشراقها للكون صير تربة ال

راضي لنا طيبا وطهر جنايتي

Its shining upon creation made the earth's soil

pleasant for us, and purified my offense,

لموقع نور المصطفى وإحاط

له بمفاتيح العلوم الكريمتي

through the placement of the Chosen One's light and his encompassing

the keys of noble sciences.

أحاط بأنواع الظلام فلم يدع

لها منفدا في الكنو إلا بقيتي

He encompassed the kinds of darkness, leaving

no outlet for them in creation except a remnant.

وقوّم معوجّ البسيطة بالنفو

د في العالم السفلي مركز ظلمتي

He straightened the earth's crookedness through authority

in the lower world, darkness's center,

إلى أن بدا منه النفود بأفياح الس

سموات والأفلاك روم حراستي

until his authority appeared in the expanses of

heavens and spheres, seeking protection.

أحاط بأصقاع الوجود سرادق

من النور منه حافظ للشريعتي

The regions of existence were encompassed by a pavilion

of light from him, safeguarding sacred law.

فقد عم منك المن يا أكرم الورى

لحفظك حصن الملة الحنيفيتي

Your bounty became universal, O noblest of humanity,

through your preserving the fortress of the upright faith.

ولم يزل التبشير بالختم واقعا

إلى أن بدا في صورة البشريتي

Glad tidings of the Seal continually occurred

until he appeared in human form.

وقد أصبح الماحي يعشقه الوجو

د كرها وطوعا باختلاج ملاحتي

Existence came to love the Effacer,

unwillingly and willingly, stirred by beauty,

إلى أن تمنى الكون يخدمه على ات

تساع له علوا وسفلا لحرمتي

until all creation wished to serve him throughout

its breadth, above and below, honoring sanctity.

ولم يزل التشريف يترى ربوعه

إلى أن دعي للحضرة الصمديتي

Honor continually followed through his dwellings

until he was invited into eternal self-sufficiency's presence.

تمتع بنا واسمع شهي خطابنا

وعاين وشاهد حضرة أحديتي

'Delight in Us and hear Our delectable address;

behold and witness the presence of oneness.'

وجاء براق مسرجا ملجما له

مواطئ أقدار وموطئ حكمتي

Buraq came to him saddled and bridled,

matching decrees and preparing wisdom's way.

وخالجه فخر بحمله جوهر ال

وجود وقد أربي على كل دابتي

Pride stirred within it at carrying existence's jewel;

it excelled every beast.

وهذا وطبل المجد يعلن في العلا

ألا إنه آن انشقاق الخبيئتي

Meanwhile glory's drum proclaimed in the heights:

'Behold, the time has come for the hidden treasure to open!'

تحمل روح الحق سر عوالم

وكان لها الكنز الحقيق بترتبي

It carried the spirit of the Real, the secret of worlds,

their treasure, worthy of ordered rank.

يقول لسان الحال إن حقائق ال

وجود تجلت نحوه مشرئبتي

The tongue of circumstance says that existence's realities

manifested toward him, stretching their necks,

لتأخذ منه حصة المدد الذي

أعدت لها في العلم من قابليتي

to receive from him the portion of spiritual supply

prepared for them in knowledge according to receptivity.

فما مر في الإسرا على حصة لها

مراتب للرحمن إلا استمدتي

In the Night Journey he passed no portion possessing

ranks of the All-Merciful without its drawing sustenance.

وما لسان في الكون إلا يقول إن

نَ إسراءه من أجل أجل دلالتي

No tongue in creation fails to say that

his Night Journey was for the loftiest indication.

وقد أودعت منه الحقائق عندما

تمر بروح قسطه من دعايتي

Realities were entrusted by him, when

passing a spirit, with its portion of the summons.

وفصل للأرسال ما كان مجملا

من الفتح واقتادوا كشوف معيتي

He detailed for the messengers what had been summarized

of opening, and they received unveilings of togetherness.

وما خرق الأفلاك إلا لتلتئم

جواهر ما فيه بأمداد نعمتي

He pierced the spheres only so that there might unite

the essences within them through supplies of blessing.

وما وطىء الأفلاك إلا لتستفض

بأرواحها روح الترقي المديدتي

He trod the spheres only so that there might overflow

within their spirits the spirit of extended ascent.

وكل رسول مذ رآه رقى به

لأوج معاني الذات عن تبعيتي

Every messenger, upon seeing him, rose through him

to the summit of the Essence's meanings through following.

وذلك من أجزاء بعثته لهم

فخاضوا به حتى البحار العميقتي

That was part of his mission to them;

through him they plunged even into the deep seas.

وصلى بهم لما دعوا لوصاله

فأمهم واستأخروا بالوصية

He prayed with them when they were called to his union;

he led them, and they stood behind by instruction.

وصاروا على إثر له وبه اقتدوا

وسابقهم بالرتبة الصمديتي

They followed his tracks and took him as their exemplar;

he preceded them in the rank of eternal self-sufficiency.

وشارك أرواح العوالي بقدسه

وطاولهم بالنشأة الجامعيتي

He shared with the spirits of higher realms his holiness,

and surpassed them through his all-embracing creation.

وفارق أرواح الكثائف عندما

تخلى بأوطان عن العنصريتي

He departed from the spirits of dense things when

he withdrew from elemental nature into its own abodes.

هنالك أرواح الملائك تطمحن

لعزته بالحكمة العملية

There the angels' spirits aspire

to his might through practical wisdom.

فقد أخذت أوفار حظها بالتأ

ديب ليلة إسراء مجالي جلوتي

They received their abundant share through instruction

on the Night Journey, the fields of unveiling.

فشاهدت الأملاك آدابه العظي

م مع ربه إذ لم يزغ عند سدرتي

The angels witnessed his mighty courtesy

with his Lord, as he did not swerve beside the Lote Tree.

وكيف يزغ والحال أنه فارق ال

عناصر في أوطانها إلى عودتي

How could he swerve, having left the

elements in their abodes until his return?

وفوق مرماه إلى الذات ناعيا

ملاحظة الأغيار عن أحديتي

He directed his aim toward the Essence, rejecting

the regard of otherness from oneness.

مشيرا لما أبداه جل جلاله

من السبحات المفنيات البقيتي

Pointing toward what He—majestic His majesty—manifested

of splendors annihilating whatever remains.

ومذ جاز بالأسما وزج صفوفها

تجلت عليه سانحات الأشعتي

Since he passed through the Names and penetrated their ranks,

the passing rays manifested upon him.

فما مر باسم إلا تنعكس المعا

ني من عليه بانطباع رقيقتي

He passed no Name without its meanings reflecting

upon him through the imprint of a subtle connection.

وذلك من أسرار إسرائه به

لتنطبع الأحكام فيه بصورتي

That is among the secrets of his Night Journey through Him,

so the ordinances might be imprinted in him as forms.

وما قابل اسما إلا كان للطفه

له مرآة أجلى وكعبة قبلتي

He faced no Name without, through his subtlety, becoming

its clearest mirror and Kaaba of orientation.

ولما سرت فيه الحقائق وانبرت

له سبحات الوجه أبقت وأفتنتي

When realities flowed within him, and there appeared

to him the splendors of the Face, preserving and consuming,

فناء بقاء يشبهان كماله

وأطواره في كل يسر وشدة

annihilation and subsistence resembled his perfection

and his stages in every ease and hardship.

وبدل منه الحال بالحال والصفا

ت بالوصف والأفعال بالفعل جالت

His state was exchanged for state, and attributes

for attribute, while acts moved through act.

ومن تم كان النور أغلب وصفه

لتمكينه في اللجة السبحانيتي

Thus light became his predominant attribute,

through his establishment in the depth of transcendence.

وقد عاين الأشياء من حيث إنها

أصول لما في الكون من كل قطعتي

He beheld things insofar as they are

origins of every part within creation.

فكان بعيد العود للكون أسس ال

مباني على أصل الأصول العليتي

Shortly after returning to creation, he founded

the structures upon the origin of exalted origins.

لذلك كان الكون ليس له اتصلا

ح الا بترتيب له في الشريعتي

Thus creation has no rectification

except through his ordering within sacred law.

لما أنه قد أسس الكون طبق ما

رأى أصول الأشيا بعالم قدرتي

For he founded creation according to what

he saw of things' origins in power's world.

فحقق علم العلم واتسعت له ال

مدارك وانضافت لما عند فطرتي

He realized knowledge's knowledge; his perceptions expanded

and were added to what his innate nature possessed.

وهذا له من حكم سبق لآدم

بجنات سبق قبل عالم حكمتي

This followed an ordinance previously granted Adam

in gardens of precedence before wisdom's world.

رأى آدم فيها الأصول وشاهد ال

معاني وفض الطلسمات المنيعتي

There Adam saw the origins, witnessed

the meanings, and opened the impregnable talismans.

ولما تروى من علوم حقائق

بدت حكمة الإخراج بالشجربتي

When he drank deeply of the sciences of realities,

the wisdom of expulsion through the tree became apparent.

فلما جلى هذا الوجود وأسندت

له إمرة التدبير أول دولتي

When he disclosed this existence and was entrusted

with governance's command at his first era,

بنى أسس التأسيس بالحكمة التي

رأى أصلها بالجنة النظريتي

he built the foundations of establishment through the wisdom whose

origin he saw in the contemplative garden.

فأسس جرم الكون عن أصل عالم الت

تقادير لم يخطئ مواقع حكمتي

He founded creation's body from the origin of decrees' world,

without mistaking wisdom's appointed places.

وإن شئت قل إن المحمد صدرت

فتوح مباديه بعالم حكمتي

If you wish, say that the Muhammadan one's

primordial openings issued in wisdom's world,

ليعلم فرق الفرق بين محمد

وآدم فافهم حكمة نظريتي

so the distinction between Muhammad

and Adam may be known; understand contemplative wisdom.

وكوشف بالأشياء قبل عروجه

وإسرائه للبقعة الضيائية

Things were unveiled to him before his ascent

and his Night Journey to the luminous precinct.

وذاك دليل أن فتحه مطلق

وغير منوط بالرسوم العليلتي

That proves his opening is unrestricted,

not dependent upon deficient outward forms.

محمد جال الكون كشفا فعاين ال

حقائق والتدبير عصر الشبيبتي

Muhammad traversed creation in unveiling, beholding

realities and governance during youth.

وصدر في الأكوان عن إمرة الحكي

م تتبعه الأشيا بأحكام فطرتي

He proceeded among worlds by command of the Wise;

things followed him through innate nature's ordinances.

وأسس شرع الله في الأرض وانزوت

لديه عقول ماردات أبيتي

He established God's law on earth, and withdrew

before him the minds of rebellious, defiant ones.

فأصدر أمرا لم تجد قوة ال

وجود عنه مناصا أو محيدا بحيلتي

He issued a command from which existence's power found

no escape or turning aside through stratagem.

وأصلح حال الخلق إذ كشفت لهم

مواقع سر الشرع في كل قولتي

He reformed creation's condition when there were disclosed to them

the places of sacred law's secret in every utterance.

فعنه نفود الكون وانشقا

ق عصر جديد تابع إثر همة

From him came creation's authority and the unfolding

of a new age, following aspiration's tracks.

وعنه انتشار الدين في العصر وانجما

ع حكم دواعي الخلق للطواعيتي

From him came religion's spreading in the age and the gathering

of the ordinance of creation's motives toward obedience.

وعنه فتوح الحصن من سورة النفو

س وانخناس الأفكار من سر قوتي

From him came the fortress's opening against souls' vehemence,

and the withdrawal of thoughts through strength's mystery.

وعنه جنوح النفس للحق واعتنا

ق أحكام دين الله في كل بقعتي

From him came the soul's inclination to the Real and embracing

the ordinances of God's religion in every place.

وعنه إشارات العقول وإشراق

لها وطموح من حضيض عمايتي

From him came intellects' indications and illumination,

and their aspiration from blindness's depths.

وعنه وثوب العقل بالقدس وانتشا

ر عقد تآخي النفس مع كل شهوتي

From him came intellect's leap into holiness and the dispersal

of the bond of the soul's fellowship with every desire.

وعنه صلاح الحال والكشف عن نجو

م أسرار وقع الشرع أبلغ حجتي

From him came well-being and the unveiling of the stars

of sacred law's effects, the most compelling proof.

وعند رجوع النفس للوطن العلا

بهتذيب تأديب وحكمة عزلتي

When the soul returned to its lofty homeland,

through refined instruction and seclusion's wisdom,

إلى أن دروا منه الحقائق بالكشو

ف فاندفعوا في الخافقين بدعوتي

until they learned from him realities through unveiling,

they rushed through east and west with the summons.

فحاموا حماه واستباحوا دماءهم

لحرمته واستنهضوا كل وجهتي

They defended his sanctuary and offered their blood

for its sanctity, rousing every direction.

فلما استبان الحق والتاح رشده

وعمم في الدعوى وخص عشيرتي

When the Real became clear and its guidance appeared,

and he made the summons universal while singling out his clan,

دعاه لإسراء وطاف به السما

وأشهده أسرار عالم قدرتي

He summoned him to a Night Journey, took him through heaven,

and showed him the secrets of power's world.

فكوشف بالأشياء قبل عروجه

وإسرائه للبقعة الضيائية

Things were unveiled to him before his ascent

and his Night Journey to the luminous precinct.

وذاك دليل أن فتحه مطلق

وغير مناط بالرسوم العليلتي

That proves his opening is unrestricted,

not tied to deficient outward forms.

فواجهه بالعلم منه وكشفه

وتفريعات لاشيا بسمع ورؤيتي

He confronted him with knowledge from Himself and its unveiling,

and the ramifications of things through hearing and sight.

فكان له في الحس ما لم يكن لآ

دم في جنان كاشفات مبينتي

Thus he possessed in sensation what Adam did not

in the gardens of manifest unveilings.

فسبحان سبحان العظيم الذي أس

رى بعبده للأقصى ومنه لعزتي

Glory, glory to the Mighty who conveyed

His servant by night to al-Aqsa, and thence to might.

تجافى عن الأشيا بقرب علاقة

مع الحضرة القدسية العظيمتي

He withdrew from things through a close connection

with the mighty, holy Presence.

لذا أخذته الجاذبات فأسكنت

لطائف قواه فضاء فسيحتي

Thus attractions seized him and lodged

the subtleties of his powers in a spacious expanse.

وعلمه العلم المحيط بتدبير الممالي

ك والأشيا وفقه الهدايتي

He taught him knowledge encompassing the governance of dominions,

things, and the understanding of guidance.

وعلمه علم الكمون وأسرار الظ

ظهور وأحكام القضا والمشيئتي

He taught him latent existence's science and the secrets of

appearance, and the ordinances of decree and will.

وفقهه معنى النفود وجملة ال

قلوب ومعنى الأصبعين وحمتي

He taught him authority's meaning, the entirety of

hearts, and the meaning of the two fingers. [Ending unclear.]

وعلَّمه القرآن إذ لم يكن هنا

ك جبريل سرا سفير روايتي

He taught him the Quran when there was not there

Gabriel as the secret envoy of transmission.

وقد كان جبريل يذكره به

بقالب تفصيل لمجمل خلوتي

Gabriel would remind him of it,

in a mold detailing the summary of seclusion.

وعلمه آداب ملك ومالك

وآداب تشريع وآداب رتبتي

He taught him the courtesies of dominion and master,

and the courtesies of legislation and rank.

رآه بعيني راسه رؤيه الكفا

ح في عالم التجريد عن وهم كثرتي

He saw Him with his head's two eyes, face-to-face,

in the world stripped of multiplicity's illusion.

رآه به لما تجلى بذاته

عليه وأفنى ذاته والبقيتي

He saw Him through Him when He manifested His Essence

upon him, annihilating his essence and all that remained.

هناك تجلى الحق من غيب غيبه

وأشهده ذاك الجمال بقوتي

There the Real manifested from His unseen's unseen,

and showed him that beauty through strength.

وحمله من قربه ما تضاءلت

له كائنات الله أول نظرتي

He laid upon him such nearness that dwindled

before it God's beings at the first glance.

وصار له مأوى به جنه المأوى

وعلمه الرحمن تصريف قدرتي

He became his refuge, through which was the Garden of Refuge,

and the All-Merciful taught him the exercise of power.

وأشهده ما لا يطاق شهوده

وأسكنه بحبوح علم الإرداتي

He showed him what cannot bear being witnessed,

and lodged him in the spaciousness of volition's knowledge.

فمذ أعين القدوس جل ثناؤه

بإسرائه ثاقت لأمر الزيارتي

When the eyes of the Holy One—exalted His praise—

through his Night Journey longed for the visitation,

وقد واجرت رباه واستأذنته في

مشاهدة المسرى به أي رؤية

they approached their Lord and sought His permission

to behold the one carried by night—what a vision!

فأوفدهم عند المرور لرؤية ال

جمال وقد أبوا بأشرف خلعتي

He sent them at his passing to behold the

beauty; they returned with the noblest robes.

فغشاهم من نوره ما غشيهم

كما أنهم غشوا شوامخ سدرتي

His light covered them with what covered them,

as they covered the Lote Tree's lofty heights.

قد اكتسبوا منه الترقي وما رأوا

من الأدب السامي مع الحق جلتي

They gained from him ascent and what they saw

of lofty courtesy with the majestic Real.

ولا غرو أن الأنبيا اكتسبوا به

موارد كشف في معارج جولتي

No wonder the prophets gained through him

sources of unveiling in the ascents of the journey.

وكان من الإسراء إسراؤه به

لتجتمع الأجسام فوق المحرتي

Among the Night Journey's purposes was conveying him through Him,

so bodies might gather above the precinct. [Word uncertain.]

خصوصا كليم الله جوزي ها هنا

عن الطور في استجلائه غيب رؤيتي

Especially God's interlocutor was rewarded here

for Sinai, in his beholding the unseen vision.

فمتع بالترداد إذ كان بينه

وبين جلال الله يطفئ لوعتي

He was delighted through repeated going and returning, between himself

and God's majesty, quenching yearning.

لقد من ربي بالنبي على الوجو

د إذ حاز منه الكل أوفر قسمتي

My Lord bestowed the Prophet upon existence;

through him all gained their most abundant portion.

فيا رب أوف الكيل للعبد خادما

جنابك طول العمر يا لها خدمتي

O Lord, fill the measure for the servant serving

Your presence throughout life—what service!—

وللوالدين والأهالي وإخوتي

وإخواننا في الله رفقة صحبتي

and for parents, families, and my siblings,

and our brethren in God, companions of fellowship.

وكم من مقام في هواك قطعته

وما قطعتني عنك أهوال محنتي

How many stations in Your love I traversed;

the terrors of my trial did not cut me off from You.

فأوف لنا المكيال يا رب واحملن

على كاهل الألطاف كل تباعتي

Fill our measure, Lord, and carry

upon kindness's shoulders all my liabilities.

مبادىء هذا الفاتح الخاتم اختفت

فلم يدرها منا الخليل بخلتي

The beginnings of this opener and seal were hidden;

even Abraham the Friend did not know them through friendship.

فكيف بأملاك الملائك ما لهم

مطالعة للكشف عن كنه عزتي

How, then, the angels of angels? They have no

access to unveil the essence of might.

ألا إن روح العالمين له على ال

عوالم سبق السبق في كل رتبتي

The spirit of the worlds indeed possesses over the

worlds the precedence of precedence in every rank.

تمتعت يا جبريل شرفت يا جبري

ل عاينت يا جبريل سر الوساطتي

You delighted, Gabriel; you were honored, Gabriel;

you beheld, Gabriel, mediation's secret.

تهنئك الأكوان إذ كنت مفتاحا ل

لأقفال تشريع وشاووس حضرتي

The worlds congratulate you, for you were a key

to legislation's locks, and a herald of the Presence.

وقد جئت لما كان في الغار عالما

وفاجأه الحق المجدد كعبتي

You came when he was in the cave, knowing,

and the renewing Real suddenly confronted him, my Kaaba.

فقلت له اقرأ قال ما أنا قارئ

لأني قرأت في مكاتب قدرتي

You said, 'Read'; he said, 'I am not a reader,'

'for I read in the schools of power.

قبيل وجود الكون أقرأني العلا

تلقيته منه على حين يقظتي

Before creation existed, the heights taught me to recite;

I received it from Him while awake.

ولكن وعته الروح مني فأودعت

ه في مضمر الكتمان حشو لطيفتي

But my spirit retained it, and I deposited

it in secrecy's hidden recess, within my subtle being.'

ولم يزل القرآن مكتتما به

إلى أن دنا إخراج تلك الخبيئتي

The Quran remained concealed within him

until the bringing forth of that hidden treasure drew near.

فجئت لنشر العلم في كل أصقاع

الممالك في استدعاء عود القراءتي

You came to spread knowledge through every region

of dominions, calling for the resumption of recitation.

وإذ كان سر الذات ليست تطي

قه العوالم لم يقرأ لمنح ضمتي

Since the worlds cannot bear the Essence's secret,

he did not recite, to grant an embrace.

فغططته بالضم حتى جهدته

لتستدر الأمداد من جهد ضغطتي

You pressed him in an embrace until you exhausted him,

to draw supplies from the strain of pressure.

فدرت لك الأمداد من ذاته التي

غدت رحمة للعلمين وسدرتي

The supplies flowed to you from his essence, which

became mercy for the worlds and a Lote Tree.

فعاودته الإقراء حتى تضمه

وتمتص أنوار العلوم الخفيتي

You repeated the instruction to recite, so you might embrace him

and absorb the lights of hidden sciences.

ولم تنتنع بالضمتين لما شربت من

بحره الطامي وتشريف صحبتي

You were not content with two embraces, having drunk from

his overflowing sea and the honor of companionship.

وقال أيضاً:

هي الدرة البيضا وعين الحقيقة

He also said:

She is the white pearl and reality itself,

وعين وجود الكل في طي شرعة

وجوهرة التحقيق منهل فيضها

and the very existence of all, enfolded in sacred law.

The jewel of realization: the spring of her outpouring

يمد جميع الكائنات بسرعة

فمن نورها كان الوجود وقد بدا

quickly sustains all beings.

From her light existence arose, appearing

بتكوينها عن محض حكم المشيئة

ومنها استفاض السقي بدءا وعودة

through her formation by the sheer decree of will.

From her watering flowed abundantly, in beginning and return

عليها ومنها الكائنات استمدّت

سقته ولكن للأواني بحسنها

to her; from her beings drew sustenance.

She watered it, yet the vessels according to their beauty,

وسقي المعاني من جمال الحقيقة

وقد وقع التفريق لما تشكلت

and the meanings' watering came from reality's beauty.

Distinction occurred when there took shape

كؤوس الأواني من معاني الأدلة

ففي كل مرئي ترى آية غدت

the cups of vessels from the meanings of proofs.

In everything visible you see a sign that came

تشير لها إذ فيه معنى تجلت

فمركزها القطب المحيط وبحره

to point toward her, for a meaning of her manifested therein.

Her center is the encompassing Pole, whose sea

مفيض على الأعيان كل رقيقة

ففي نفس أو دونه لو تعطلت

pours every subtle connection upon individual entities.

Within a breath, or less, were there withheld

عن السقي ذرات الوجود لهدّت

فمن طال بالعرفان أو طال بالوعد

watering from existence's particles, they would collapse.

Whoever excelled through gnosis or through promise,

ومن ويت له الأراضي بخطوة

ومعمور أفلاك ومن طار في الهوا

and whoever had the earth folded for him in one step,

and the inhabitant of spheres, and whoever flew in the air,

وماش على المياه مشي الهوينة

فليسوا سواها حين كانت مفيضة

and one walking gently upon water—

they are none other than her, when she poured

عليهم بما أبدت لهم خرق عادة

وسائر رسل الله من آدم إلى

upon them what she showed of extraordinary acts.

All God's messengers, from Adam to

نبي الهدى عيسى ومهدي الخبيئة

فمنها تلقوا كل ما أنبئوا به

the prophet of guidance, Jesus, and the Mahdi of the hidden treasure,

received from her everything of which they were informed;

وعنه استنأبوا دورة بعد دورة

فأسرارها جاءت بها كل أمة

from him they acted as deputies, cycle after cycle.

Her secrets were brought by every community,

ومن ذاتها الشقت كشمس الظهيرة

وذات العلوم من سناها لذاته

and from her essence broke forth like the noonday sun.

The essence of knowledge, from her radiance to his essence,

على الآنبياء قد تجلت بكثرة

ومعرفة الأسماء ثم ذواتها

manifested abundantly upon the prophets,

and knowledge of the Names, then their essences,

وباطن علم ثم ظاهر شرعة

وذا الخضر الصديق أبدا حقيقة

and inward knowledge, then outward sacred law.

This Khidr, the truthful one, manifested a reality;

ولكنها شريعة في الحقيقة

وما كان في حق النبيين معجزا

yet in reality it is sacred law.

What is miraculous in the prophets' case

فللأوليا يعجى بوجه الكرامة

وجاء باسرار الجميع نبينا

appears for saints in the form of a saintly wonder.

Our Prophet brought everyone's secrets;

وسر الفعال الكل من فيض رحمة

شريعته منها الشرائع قد بدت

the secret of all acts comes from mercy's outpouring.

His law: from it the sacred laws appeared,

ولكنها بالنسخ للكل عمت

وسوف يرى عيسى المسيح خليقة

yet through abrogation it encompassed all.

Jesus the Messiah will see a creation,

فيقضي بها في الناس في كل وجهة

وكنت نبيا جا بأسنى رواية

and judge among people by it in every direction.

'I was a prophet,' came in the loftiest transmission,

وآدم عين الروح معنى وجنة

وقد وقع التصريف معنى يمدها

while Adam was spirit itself, a meaning, and a garden.

Sovereign action occurred as a meaning sustaining her

بنور بهاء الطلعة الأحمدية

فمنها ترى ما قد جلوت أشارع

with the light of the Muhammadan countenance's splendor.

From her you see the laws I have disclosed,

وليس على التفصيل لكن بجملة

وأمسكت عن أعيانها لظنينة

not in detail, but in summary.

I refrained from their particular entities out of reserve,

وأسمائها ومن كل نسيمة

وما هبت الرياح عند مجيئها

and their names, and every breeze.

Whatever winds blew at her arrival,

وما صافحت اشجار آس وأيكة

وما غنت الأطيار شوقا بروضها

and whatever touched myrtle trees and a thicket,

and whatever birds sang longingly in her garden,

مناغات ذي شجو وعشق ولوعة

وما نفحت عند الصباح أقاحها

the warbling of one grieving, loving, and yearning,

and whatever daisies breathed fragrance at morning,

وأبكارها افتضّت بروض أجنة

وما غرد القمري من حر لوعة

their virginal blossoms opening in a sheltered garden,

and whatever turtledove sang from yearning's heat,

وناح حمام من هواها بلهجة

وما رقصت أشباحهم عند ذكرها

and pigeon lamented her love in its voice,

and whatever bodily forms danced at her mention,

وحنوا إلى الأوطان مأوى الحقيقة

وما قبل الأشياخ عند تناسل

and yearned for homelands, reality's refuge,

and whatever elders received at begetting,

بجنسية داعت لحكم الأبوة

وما ذاك إلا من شذاها تضوعت

through kinship calling for fatherhood's ordinance—

all that came only from her fragrance, spreading

بمسك العبير للجميع وعمت

وخاصية الجذاب معدن جامد

with musk and perfume to everyone, embracing all.

The magnet's property, though a solid mineral,

فمنها غدا منبسط وهو لطينة

ومفتون ليلى هام من فرط حبها

came from her, spread within its earthy substance.

Layla's bewitched lover wandered from excessive love of her,

فظن سواها وهي فيها تجلت

وقيس بلبنى أو جميل بثينة

thinking her another, while she manifested within Layla.

Qays with Lubna, or Jamil with Buthayna;

ولا تنس ما قاس كثير عزّة

فكلهم يصبو لمعنى جمالها

do not forget what Kuthayyir endured for Azza.

All of them yearn for the meaning of her beauty,

ككل محب عاشق في البرية

تجلت لهم لما تملوا بحبها

like every loving lover in creation.

She manifested to them when they were filled with her love;

فهاموا بها وجدا برؤية صورة

وفي الملإ الأعلى تبدت بنورها

they wandered in ecstasy through seeing a form.

In the Highest Assembly she appeared through her light,

كذاك على الأملاك لما تبدت

وعرش وكرسي كذا قلم جرا

likewise to the angels when she appeared,

and Throne and Footstool, likewise the flowing Pen,

ولوح وما أحصاه من كل وقعة

وإنس وأملاك وجن بمفخر

and the Tablet and every occurrence it recorded,

and humans, angels, and jinn in glory,

ودور بأفلاك وكل خليقة

فمنها استمد الكل آدمي أصله

and cycles in spheres, and every creature.

From her all drew sustenance, humanity's origin,

بما يقتضي حكم الشؤون القديمة

ولولاك ما خلقت خلقا ذليله

according to the ordinance of eternal affairs.

'Without you I would not have created a humble creature'—

ففي الكل شائع لتنويه رتبة

وفي قبضة قبضت فاعجب لنورها

it pervades all, proclaiming rank.

Within a grasp she was grasped: marvel at her light,

وما فيه من اسرار معنى الإضافة

وقد جاءكم نور بعيد صحيحه

and its secrets concerning attribution's meaning.

A light has come to you, whose soundness is remote;

وفي الكشف قد دقت على النقل أربه

وأفضل خلق الله طرا محمد

in unveiling, its purport is subtler than transmission.

The best of all God's creatures is Muhammad,

بصرح على الإطلاق من غير وقفة

وبعده الأنبياء ثم يلونهم

explicitly, absolutely, without reservation.

After him are the prophets; then follow them

ملائكة في الفضل أولو المكانة

وقوم حكوا تفضيل مومن أمة

the angels in excellence, possessors of standing.

Some reported a community's believer preferred

على صنف أملاك بنص الشريعة

وقد وقع التصريح في الخفاء من

over a class of angels, by sacred law's text.

An explicit declaration occurred secretly from

شفيع الورى بها لتبليغ أمة

وقوم من الكمال قد صرحوا بها

creation's intercessor concerning it, to convey to a community.

Some perfected ones have openly declared it;

وذلك فضل الله أسنى عطية

وإني لمستحلي أذكارهم كذا

that is God's grace, the loftiest gift.

I indeed savor their remembrances; likewise,

بتصريفهم يسلو ضمير سريرة

وقوم حكوا تأويلها بمزية

through their direction the secret heart finds solace.

Some reported interpreting it through a distinction

بما لم يرد نص وقوم بوقفة

وتنويعها بالذات والفرع قد أتى

not supported by a text; others suspended judgment.

Its varieties concern essence and branch,

ووصف ونص قد بدت ووصية

كتفضيل أرزاق وخلق وخلقة

and attribute and text, and an instruction appeared,

such as distinctions in provisions, character, and bodily form,

وحلم وذا يدعى بسيد فرقة

وتفضيل أزمان وأشهر حرمة

and forbearance; one is called a group's master.

And distinctions among times and sacred months,

كذاك قرون ثم أعظم ليلة

وموسم أعياد وذي نسك وذي

likewise generations, then the greatest night,

and festival seasons, and those possessing devotion and

علوم وآل البيت أهل العبادة

وختم النهى وتر وإرث ختامه

knowledge, and the Prophet's Household, people of worship.

And the seal of understanding, unique, and its sealing's inheritance;

وتفضيله ينهى بحكم الخلافة

ولما تقدمت حقيقة من له

his superiority culminates through vicegerency's ordinance.

When there preceded the reality of him who possesses

بأرض وبالسماء حكم الخلافة

على نشأة الأكوان قبل ظهورها

on earth and in heaven the ordinance of vicegerency,

before the worlds' creation and their appearance,

ولم تبرزن والحال تدعى بظلمة

قضى الحق أن يكون عند وجودها

before they emerged, while the state was called darkness,

the Real decreed that, when they existed, there would be

هناك خليفة بأرض بسيطة

وأوددعه نور الحقيقة عندما

a vicegerent upon the spread-out earth.

He deposited reality's light within him; when

رآه درى علوم الأسما بسرعة

وأعجز أملاكا وقد سجدوا إلى

he saw it, he quickly knew the sciences of the Names.

He surpassed angels, who prostrated toward

الحقيقة عند الأمر لما تجلت

وكان أبا الأشباح يدعى بسره

reality at the command, when it manifested.

He was called father of bodily forms through his secret;

وذاك أبا الأرواح من قبل طينة

وكان له الأمين وهو أمينه

that other was father of spirits before clay.

The trustworthy one belonged to him, and was his trustee;

وأوصى عليه بعد كل نبوة

وجاء بمشروع الخلافة نائبا

he gave instructions concerning him after every prophecy.

He brought the ordinance of vicegerency as deputy

لمشروعه الذي بدا بالأصالة

وكل نبي جا بسرّه يهتدي

to the ordinance that had appeared originally.

Every prophet came guided by his secret,

ويحفظه حتى بدا خير أمة

به ختم الله النبوة إذ غدا

preserving it until the best community appeared.

Through him God sealed prophethood, for he became

ختاما لها وذات كل نبوة

وقد فتحت باب الخلافة بعده

its seal and the essence of every prophecy.

The door of vicegerency was opened after him;

بكم ظهرت اسرارها بالوصية

ولا غرو أن تعجب لقطب مخيطها

through you its secrets appeared by instruction.

No wonder you marvel at the pole of its axis,

ومن كان مبدأ وختم النهاية

به دارت الأفلاك منذ تكونّت

and at him who was the beginning and seal of the end.

Through him the spheres revolved since their formation,

وأقطابها والختم من كل دورة

فباطنه يمد كل ولاية

and their poles, and the seal of every cycle.

His inward aspect sustains every sainthood;

وظاهره خلافة كالنبوة

وهمته مجلى الشؤون جميعها

his outward aspect is vicegerency like prophethood.

His aspiration manifests all divine affairs;

وكل همام الخلق منها استمدت

وذات العلوم من سماها تنزلت

every lofty aspiration of creation drew sustenance from it.

Knowledge's essence descended from its heaven;

وكل علوم الخلق عنها تلقت

فكان اكتساب العلم منا تصورا

all creatures' sciences received from it.

Our acquisition of knowledge was conceptualization;

وإدراكه من نورها قد أفاضت

وتعريفهم للعلم نور هنا أتى

its apprehension flowed from her light.

Their definition of knowledge as light appears here;

ومن يقتبس من نوره ذو بصيرة

وللجهل رتبة اللوزم لعجزه

whoever borrows from his light possesses insight.

Ignorance has a necessary rank because of incapacity;

كذا لانتهاء العلم عجز بخيرة

ولو بلغ القوصى عليم بعلمه

likewise, knowledge's culmination is a chosen incapacity.

Even if a knower reached the furthest through knowledge,

فلا بد من تقليد صاحب حجة

وكل علوم العالمين حديثه

he must follow one possessing proof.

All the worlds' sciences are originated,

وجاءت بتقييد وكسب وعلة

وفوق لواء النقل علم محجب

coming with limitation, acquisition, and cause.

Above transmission's banner lies veiled knowledge,

يفاض على الأعيان أهل العناية

وجز حضرات عللت بقياسها

poured upon individual beings, people of providence.

Pass beyond presences explained through their analogy,

مناظرة منها بحكم الأدلة

وأبدى لك البرهان منها قضية

reasoning from them by proofs' ordinance.

Demonstration disclosed to you a proposition from them,

شجيتها صحت بأرجح حجة

إلى حضرات القدس والملكوت مل

its difficulty resolved through the strongest proof.

Incline toward the presences of holiness and the spiritual kingdom,

كذا حضرات الملك ميلا بجملة

فمن حضرات القدس الأسما تنزلت

likewise toward the presences of dominion, altogether.

From holiness's presences the Names descended

إلى عالم الصفات فيه قسمت

ومنه تنزلت بإبداعها إلى

to the world of attributes, where they were divided.

From it, through their origination, they descended to

عوالم غيب بالكشوف السنية

وبالحسن والإحسان أيضا تنزلت

unseen worlds through radiant unveilings.

With beauty and beneficence they also descended

إلى عالم الملك المملا بزينة

فمنه اهتدت للسالكين معارج

to the world of dominion, filled with adornment.

From it ascents were made known to travelers

بآيات إحكام وأبدع صنعة

فجدوا بسيف العزم ما كان قاطعا

through signs of perfect ordering and wondrous workmanship.

They strove with resolve's sword against what obstructed

لمقصودهم وأهملوا كل مهلة

وحنوا لما يبدو لهم بإنابة

their intended goal, abandoning every delay.

They yearned for what appears to them through turning back,

كفطم النفوس عن دواعي الشهية

فحملت الأسقام حتى تلطفت

such as weaning souls from appetite's motives.

They bore illnesses until becoming subtle,

وأخملت الدعوى بتلوين تهمة

وأبدت على التحقيق ما كان خافيا

and subdued pretension through changing accusations.

They truly disclosed what had been hidden

بتهذيب أخلاق النفوس الزكية

إلى أن فنت لما رأت كل ما سوى

through refining the morals of pure souls,

until they vanished, seeing everything other than

الإله على التحقيق عين القطيعة

هناك تجلى ما بغيب حقيقة

God as, in truth, separation itself.

There manifested what lay in reality's unseen

عليه بأنوار الكشوف السنية

وسر سنا الأسماء يبدي عجائبا

upon him through the lights of radiant unveilings.

The secret of the Names' radiance displays wonders

لأهل الكمال عن شهود الأدلة

فأعطت على العيان معنى جمالها

to people of perfection through witnessing proofs.

She gave visibly the meaning of her beauty

لأرواحهم بسر كل لطيفة

فلم يثبتوا والنزع أهدى مطية

to their spirits through the secret of every subtle faculty.

They could not remain firm; withdrawal offered a mount

لمعراج أرواح الهمام العلية

وما برحت تسمو إلى العالم الذي

for the ascent of lofty, high-aspiring spirits.

She continually rises toward the world in which

تنزلت الأسماء فيه بحكمة

فمنه استفاضت عن وجود شهوده

the Names descended with wisdom.

From it she received outpouring through the existence of its witnessing,

بما تقتضي غر المعاني البديعة

وليست ترى وصفا سواها بمدها

according to radiant, wondrous meanings.

She sees no attribute other than herself through her supply

بأنواع ما أعطت لها كل حضرة

وليس مقام فوق ما قد جلوته

of the varieties granted her by every presence.

No station stands above what I have disclosed

سوى عالم اللهوت منه تجلت

وحكم رجال ما حكوة بأنهم

except the world of divinity, from which she manifested.

Some men judged what they reported, accepting

رضوه فبالأرواح كانت دعية

ولم يعرجن بالذات غير نبيا

it: it was a summons through spirits.

None ascended bodily to it except a prophet,

إليه ونال منه كل فضيلة

على مستوى البراق أحمد فردني

who gained from it every excellence.

Upon Buraq's level, Ahmad was singled out

إليه بأوصاف الكمال العلية

وكم آية كبرى تلقى بسمعه

for Him through exalted attributes of perfection.

How many great signs he received through hearing,

وتصريف أقلام على كل صيغة

وقد سمع النداء منه كما رأى

and the movement of pens in every form.

He heard the call from Him, just as he saw

الإله بعين راسه وبيقظة

وحق به التمكين عند سماعها

God with his head's eye, while awake.

Firm establishment became his upon hearing it,

وتعظيم إجلال الوقار وخشية

وتوج بالأخلاق والأدب الذي

and magnification, reverence, dignity, and fear.

He was crowned with morals and the courtesy he

تلقى من الإله أعظم نعمة

وذا الخلق العظيم أعظى تمكنا

received from God, the greatest blessing.

This mighty character granted the greatest firmness;

فما بصرقد زاغ منه بفلتة

وتأخير جبرائيل عنه دليل ما

his sight did not swerve through any slip.

Gabriel's remaining behind him proves what

ذكرت لصدمة الجلال العظيمة

ومن ذا يطيق ذاك غير نبيا

I mentioned of mighty majesty's impact.

Who could bear that except a prophet?

لأنه نور جاء في طي قبضة

ولما جرى ذكر الإنابة سابقا

For he is light that came enfolded in a grasp.

Since turning back was mentioned earlier,

وما قد بدا من سير أهل الطريقة

وما تقتضيه من أوامر شرعة

and what appeared of the travelers' course upon the path,

and what it requires of sacred law's commands,

فهذاك قبضا روح حكم الحقيقة

مقام اجتباء لا بكسب طريقة

that is contraction, the spirit of reality's ordinance:

a station of election, not acquired through a path,

ابتداء وعكس ما الإنابة أعطت

فصاحبها المجذوب يكشف فجأة

at the outset, opposite to what turning back gives.

Its possessor, the divinely attracted, receives sudden unveiling,

فيعلم مستور الخبايا بسرعة

محب ومحبوب ومجذوب سالك

quickly knowing concealed mysteries.

A lover, a beloved, an attracted traveler,

وسالك مجذوب بسير الطريقة

فذا في التدلي والمناب بعكسه

and a traveler attracted through traversing the path.

This one descends, while the returning one does the reverse,

تحمل أثقالا وذا بسهولة

وفي الأصل فالكل اجتباء بفضل من

bearing burdens, while this proceeds easily.

Originally all is election through the grace of Him

له الخلق والايجاد من غير علة

ووساطة الأمداد في كل ما بدا

to whom belong creation and origination without cause.

The mediation of supplies in everything appearing

حقيقة أحمد بحكم الخلافة

هي النعمة العظمى وقعره جودها

is Ahmad's reality, through vicegerency's ordinance.

She is the greatest blessing; her generosity's depth

الفياض على الوجود سابر نعمة

فتقتبس الأرواح منه جمالها

overflows upon existence, fathoming blessing.

Spirits borrow from him their beauty,

كذاك القلوب كالنفوس الزكية

ومجلاهما الحضور بعد تقدم

likewise hearts, like pure souls.

Their manifestation is presence after the preceding

التحاضر من بعد التناظر عدت

وما بين تصديق بدا وتصور

mutual presence, counted after mutual contemplation.

Between revealed assent and conceptualization

مناظرة صحت ببرهان حجة

وما عن تواتر مناظرة حكوا

lies reasoning established through demonstration of proof.

What they reported from repeated reasoning—

وصعها بكشف إن رقت عن أدلة

وأولها نعت لنفس وطالع

its placing through unveiling, if it rose beyond proofs.

Its first is an attribute for a soul and a rising light

لقلب وشاهد لروح سمية

فصدق بنفس الأمر واقنع بظاهر

for a heart, and a witness for a lofty spirit.

Affirm the reality of the matter and be content with the outward;

فللصدق أسرار أتت بالمعية

به سادت الأرواح يوم خطابها

truthfulness has secrets that came with togetherness.

Through it spirits excelled on the day of their address;

على روفق ما كان الجواب استمدت

وسم فرقة منها أجابت بظاهر

according to their answer, they drew sustenance.

A group answering outwardly was marked

بخسرانها سعيا ونيل الشقاوة

فلم تسق من بحر الحقيقة روحها

by wasted effort and attainment of misery.

Its spirit was not watered from reality's sea,

سوى قلبه والقلب لف بظلمة

هنالك توجيه الخطاب الذي بدا

except its heart, the heart wrapped in darkness.

There the direction of the address that appeared

تجلى على الأرواح من قبل نشأة

وأمره بالمعدوم معنى تعلق

manifested upon spirits before creation.

His command's relation to the nonexistent is a meaning,

وللرسلبالوحي المبين لشرعة

وبالوارد الرباني والعلم قد حكم

and to messengers through revelation clarifying sacred law.

Through the lordly incoming inspiration and knowledge He judged;

كذا وارد الإلهام جاء ببشرة

ونفث وروع ثم روح وكشفهم

likewise an incoming inspiration came with glad tidings.

Breathing, inward consciousness, then spirit, and their unveiling

ضروب لذاك من معاني جلت

ومعنى كلام الله حقا خطابه

are forms of this, from meanings disclosed.

The meaning of God's speech is truly His address,

المنزل للإعجاز المقتد بآية

على أحمد الهادي تنزل مجملا

sent down for inimitability, marked by a verse.

Upon Ahmad the guide it descended in summary

هناك وبالتفصيل عود الشريعة

فذا مظهر التشريع يبدو بسيره

there, then in detail at sacred law's return.

This manifests legislation through its course;

ومجلى البطون ذاك سر الحقيقة

فمنها شؤون العالمين توقتت

that manifests inwardness, reality's secret.

From her the worlds' affairs received their times;

وميزتها الأقدار لما تجلت

وكل الجهات نحوها قد توجهت

decrees distinguished them when she manifested.

Every direction turned toward her;

مقادرها تبدي الشؤون العجيبة

ومعنى القضا حكم الإله بعلمه

their measures display wondrous affairs.

Decree means God's judgment through His knowledge

عليها وأحوال الغيوب الخفية

وأمهل عبيدا ما العبارة تقتضي

concerning them and the conditions of hidden unseen things.

Give a servant respite: expression does not convey

مرادا ولكن في الإشارة فسحة

بذاك أشار للرفيق حبيبه

the intended meaning, but indication has spaciousness.

Through that His beloved pointed toward the Companion;

ولا يوم قد جاء الحديث بجملة

وكم عمر النجم المنير بمعمر

and no day—the account came in summary.

How long the shining star lived through one long-lived;

فكنت أجبريل أنا في الحقيقة

وكنت الخليل والمناجي بمسمع

'I was, O Gabriel, in truth,

the Friend and the intimate conversant within hearing,

وكنت الكليم بالفراد معية

وكل كلام جاء قبلي عرفته

and the interlocutor in singular togetherness.

Every speech that came before me I knew,

وبعدي فإبداع اللغات الكثيرة

وما ثم شيء في البرية قد يرى

and after me, the origination of many languages.

There is nothing in creation that is seen

ويسمع إلا عن سماعي وريتي

وكل كتاب جا حكته حقيقتي

or heard except through my hearing and sight.

Every book that came, my reality expressed;

وأسراره مني وعني استقلت

وقد بلغت روحي بأحكام ما مضى

its secrets are from me, and from me became independent.

My spirit conveyed the ordinances of what preceded

لقبلي عن أيدي جميع النبوة

وأتممت ذا التبليغ مني ببعثتي

my coming, through the hands of all prophethood.

I completed that conveyance from myself through my mission

لأمتي التي علت كل أمّة

وباطن أسرار الكتوب جميعها

to my community, which surpassed every community.

The inward secrets of all scriptures

حقيقتي المكتوم عن بشريّة

ولا يعرفن إياي من كان محدثا

are my reality, concealed from humanity.

No originated being can know me

سوى خالقي والخلق أضعف خلقني

وها خلقي القرآن قول مؤيد

except my Creator; creation is weaker than what He created in me.

Behold, my character is the Quran, a confirmed saying;

به كنت للتشريع داعي أمتي

وأنذرت عن نهي وأمر بطاعة

through it I summoned my community to sacred law.

I warned through prohibition and commanded obedience,

وحذرت من خوف الوعيد بقصة

فما كان عن بشرى يرجى لرغبة

and cautioned against the feared threat through an account.'

What comes from glad tidings is hoped for through desire;

وما كان من خوف تجلى برهبة

ويعرف معنى القبض والبسط فجأة

what comes from fear manifests through awe.

The meaning of contraction and expansion is known suddenly

لنيل مراد أو لفوت مودة

وحالهما في الوقت ينزل بالتفى

through attaining a desire or losing affection.

Their state descends in the moment through meeting,

وربما لم يورى ولو دون علة

ولكنما الأسباب تبدي مكامنا

and perhaps appears without any cause.

Yet causes reveal hidden recesses

لذاك على غيب الخفا في القضية

ويزداد كل منهما بتفاوت

of that upon the hidden unseen of the matter.

Each increases differently

على رتبة الأشخاص وقف المظنة

وأعلاهما الحزن الملم بصاحب

according to people's rank, within conjecture's limits.

Their loftiest forms are sorrow overtaking someone

وأنس كذاك والمواهب جمة

فداعي سؤال الأنس معنى البساطة

and intimacy likewise, with abundant gifts.

The motive for intimacy's asking is openness's meaning;

وداعي سؤال الحزن تنفيس كربة

لذاك اضطرار المرء كان بجمعه

the motive for sorrow's asking is relief of distress.

Thus a person's helplessness, in collectedness,

يؤمل ما يهوى بتعريض حيرتي

وليس على التصريح بل بكناية

hopes for what he desires through an indirect expression of bewilderment,

not through explicit statement, but through allusion,

وتفويضه المراد طي الإرادة

كتعريض أيوب وعيسى المسيح إذ

entrusting the desired thing within volition's fold.

Like the allusion of Job and Jesus the Messiah, when

عليه تقولت دواعي الألوهة

يمسني الضر المرجي لرحمة

claims of divinity were falsely attributed to him:

'Affliction touches me,' hoping for mercy;

وإن كنت قلته علمت سريرتي

وقول الخليل مخبرا عن سؤاله

'If I said it, You knew my inner secret.'

And the Friend's saying, reporting his petition,

بمنجنف ويونس ذي السكينة

فغلب جناب القبض واقبض زمامه

through one inclining away, and Jonah, possessed of tranquility.

Favor contraction's side and grasp its rein;

وجانب جناب البسط مأوى الشهية

ولم أسال بانبساطي لغنيمة

avoid expansion's side, appetite's refuge.

I did not ask in my expansion for gain,

ولم أنقبض خوف الفوات لخلة

ولكنني أسلو بوجدان خالقي

nor contract for fear of losing friendship.

Rather, I find solace in finding my Creator;

ووجدان قلبي ذاك فقدي وغفلتي

فوافق لقولي واسمعن لوصيتي

finding my heart is my loss and heedlessness.

Agree with my saying, and listen to my counsel;

ودونك نصحي إن قبلت وصيتي

فسر انجذاب الأذن مجلي تصرف

take my advice, if you accept my instruction.

The secret of the ear's attraction manifests direction

بخاصية المأذون جاء بسطوتي

وصاحبه وجدان فيضه سره

through the authorized one's special property, coming with force.

Its possessor is the experience of his outpouring; its secret

دواء القلوب بالمعاني السنية

وتعبيره أغنى المسامع كلها

heals hearts through radiant meanings.

His expression enriched all hearing,

وأغنى القلوب بالعلوم الطرية

وقد سخرت له العوالم كلها

and enriched hearts with fresh sciences.

All worlds were subjected to him;

فنالوا به المراد وفق المحية

فمظهرة للخلق مجلى هداية

through him they attained the desired thing according to love.

His manifestation to creatures is a manifestation of guidance,

وظل سحاب للورى ووقاية

وغيث يعم الأرض طرا بأهلها

a cloud's shade and protection for humanity,

and rain encompassing all earth and its inhabitants;

ولكنة يسقي الجميع بنظرة

ومن كان خارج الديار فلا يرى

yet he waters everyone through a glance.

One outside the dwellings does not see

له ساكن الديار من أجل حجة

بذاك علا الإنكار من كان جاهلا

their inhabitant, because of an impediment.

Thus denial rose from one ignorant;

وعلله الإنكار وفق المظنة

ولا حصر للأسباب وهي كثيرة

denial's explanations follow conjecture.

Causes cannot be counted, and are many;

وأوصافها تنوعت للمظنة

وعقبى الذي يرضاه ليست حميدة

their descriptions vary according to conjecture.

The outcome of one approving it is not praiseworthy,

سوى وجهة جاءت لسد الذريعة

بها وارع أفتى بعلم وحاله

except an approach intended to block harmful means,

through which a scrupulous one ruled with knowledge, his condition

يحوله عن كل قصد وعلة

فذاك الذي يثاب عنه وعكسه

diverting him from every intention and cause.

That is what earns reward; its opposite

يساق له الخسران من كل وجهة

وسر لدى التلقين قد جاء تابعا

draws loss from every direction.

A secret at instruction came following

لأسرارها بالإذن يدعو الخليفة

ومن سره في سر تلميذه بدا

her secrets; with permission the vicegerent summons.

Whatever of his secret appeared within his student's secret

فذاك الذي أهوى لتلقين حجة

ولا أبقت الأسرار سر امتثال من

is what I desire for instruction in proof.

The secrets left no secret of compliance in one

يكن وصفه دوما بسلب الإرادة

وعن علمه فان وقول ببابه

whose constant attribute is relinquishing volition.

He vanishes from his knowledge, with speech at his door;

ولم يبق منه غير وصف الكمية

وذا ناشي عن صدق تصديق مهجه

nothing remains of him except quantity's attribute.

This arises from his soul's true assent,

وزيد مع الأعمال في كل طاعة

بذاك ترقت مهجة لمعارف

increased through deeds in every obedience.

Through it a soul rose to sciences

وأخلاق أوصاف الهمام العلية

وحق بها التمكين عند شهودها

and the morals and attributes of the exalted noble one.

Firm establishment became hers upon witnessing them;

على سمة الحضور كانت مجيبة

وليست ترى وصفا سوى ما ذكرته

bearing presence's mark, she was responsive.

She sees no attribute except what I mentioned,

ودون اعتقاد النطق عند ترفة

وقد يصدق الكذوب عن ظل شحنة

without belief in utterance at a passing moment.

A habitual liar may speak truth from a shadow of fervor,

وبالعكس عن صدق كسفر القطيعة

وأنباء مدع من الإذن خاليا

and conversely, from truth, like a journey of separation.

The reports of a claimant devoid of permission

تخلت عن الأسماع من أجل خلة

ويعقبها النكران حالا وسمعا

departed from hearing because of a defect.

Denial follows them in state and hearing;

وصاحبها ألقى ليوم الفضيحة

ومن كان يوصف بالتبر وماله

their possessor is cast toward exposure's day.

One described as gold, possessing nothing

سوى مقلة تبكي بشوق ولوعة

موشك أن يحظى بظل جنابهم

but an eye weeping with longing and yearning,

is near attaining the shade of their presence;

وأحرى محب عاشق للحقيقة

بذاك سلوت عن قلبي مواجدي

more deserving still, a lover enamored of reality.

Through that I consoled my heart's ecstasies,

وورد لواردي وجمع وفرقة

وكل الذي أمليت عنك بمسمع

and a watering place for my incoming inspiration, union and separation.

Everything I dictated about you within hearing

فمن بحر فيضها اقتطفت مودتي

ومنه اهتدت لي المواجد حيثما

I gathered, in affection, from the sea of her outpouring.

From it ecstasies were guided to me wherever

أقاول وجدها الملم بحيرة

ولو مد لي اللسان سعيا لمدحها

I speak of her experience, overtaken by bewilderment.

Were my tongue extended in striving to praise her,

لزاحمت حسانا وفقت مقالة

ولن قام بي البكاء اسلو بوكفه

I would rival Hassan and surpass his utterance.

Were weeping to arise within me, consoling me through its flow,

لكنت أنا الخنساء في كل وقفة

أهيج مشتاقا وأرثو لجامد

I would be al-Khansa at every standing.

I stir the longing one, pity the unfeeling,

وأيقظ وسنانا وأنجد عبرة

وكل الذي يغلو بمدح حبيبه

awaken the drowsy, and summon a tear.

Whatever one exaggerates in praising his beloved,

فمن ذكرها روحي تملت بغلوتي

أواري بوجدي والقليب تبرما

through her remembrance my spirit was filled with ardor.

I conceal through my ecstasy, while the heart frets;

وهو الذي تغنّى بباطن مهجتي

أحن لمقلتي تراها بديهة

he is the one singing within my soul.

I yearn for my eye to see her directly,

لأحظى بها قبل الممات بلحظة

وأزداد شوقا واشتياقا وغيبة

to gain one moment with her before death.

I grow in longing, yearning, and absence

بطلعة ذياك العهود البديعة

ويبدو لي الجمال من نور وجهها

through the appearance of those wondrous covenants.

Beauty appears to me from her face's light;

فأفنى بها حسا ومعنى بسكرتي

وأشرب بالكأسين عند شهودها

I vanish through her, in sense and meaning, in intoxication.

I drink from both cups while witnessing her,

بمربع سقي من شماله قهوتي

عليها سلامي مع صلاتي على المدى

at a fourfold watering, my wine from its left hand.

Upon her my peace and blessings forever,

كذا الصحب والآل وأهل المحبّة

وختم انتهاء القول بدايتي

likewise the companions, the Household, and the people of love.

The seal of speech's ending is my beginning:

هي الدرة البيض وعين الحقيقة

she is the white pearl and reality itself.