يا قاتل الله معشراَ ظلموا ال

يا قاتل الله معشراَ ظلموا ال

حكمة فينا واغمضوا الكتبا

حكمة فينا واغمضوا الكتبا

Ah, may God smite a people who wronged

O killers of wisdom, a group that wronged

wisdom among us and made the books obscure.

The wisdom within us and closed the books

في السحر والكون والعزائم وال

في السحر والكون والعزائم وال

طلسم قد رتبوا لها رتبا

طلسم قد رتبوا لها رتبا

In magic, the cosmos, incantations, and

On magic, the universe, incantations and

talismans, they have assigned it ranks.

Spells they arranged according to their schemes

والكيمياء العويص قد لقي ال

والكيمياء العويص قد لقي ال

ناس بتدبير أمره نصبا

ناس بتدبير أمره نصبا

And abstruse alchemy has brought the

And obscure chemistry has met

people toil in managing its workings.

People with the management of its affair, weary

في المعدنيات والنبات ولم

في المعدنيات والنبات ولم

يغادروا معدناً ولا عشبا

يغادروا معدناً ولا عشبا

In minerals and plants, and they did not

In metals, plants and they did not

leave out any mineral or herb.

Leave a single metal or plant

حقائق تشبه المجاز وأمثال

حقائق تشبه المجاز وأمثال

يحاكي صدقها الكذبا

يحاكي صدقها الكذبا

Truths that resemble metaphor, and parables

Truths that resemble metaphors and proverbs

whose truth mimics falsehood.

Whose honesty is imitated by lies

حتى إذا ما الحكيم أبصرها

حتى إذا ما الحكيم أبصرها

والجاهل الغرّ أمعنا هربا

والجاهل الغرّ أمعنا هربا

So that, when the sage beholds them,

Until when the wise man saw them

he and the naive ignoramus flee headlong.

And the deceived ignorant fled in escape

قالوا ولم يكذبوا ولا صدقوا

قالوا ولم يكذبوا ولا صدقوا

قولاً خفيَّ الرموز مضطربا

قولاً خفيَّ الرموز مضطربا

They spoke, neither lying nor telling the truth,

They spoke without lying or truth

in confused words with obscure symbols:

A saying with hidden, troubled symbols

إنَّ بني الحكمة الشريفة قد

إنَّ بني الحكمة الشريفة قد

أتاهم الله قدرة عجبا

أتاهم الله قدرة عجبا

Indeed, the sons of noble wisdom have

That the noble men of wisdom

been granted wondrous power by God.

Have been brought by Allah a wondrous ability

سخّر أفلاكهم لأمرهمُ

سخّر أفلاكهم لأمرهمُ

نجومَها السائراتِ والشهبا

نجومَها السائراتِ والشهبا

He subjected their celestial spheres to their command,

He subjugated their orbits to their command

their wandering stars and meteors;

The stars roaming and falling for them

وسخر الاربع الطبائع لا

وسخر الاربع الطبائع لا

قائم من أمرهم بما وجبا

قائم من أمرهم بما وجبا

and subjected the four natures—none

And subjugated the four natures with

attends to their affairs as duty requires—

No disobedience of their command as deserved

والمعدنيات والنبات وما

والمعدنيات والنبات وما

فيه حياة مما نما وحبا

فيه حياة مما نما وحبا

and minerals, plants, and whatever

And the metals, plants and what

has life among all that grows and crawls.

Contains life of what grew and loved

في قولهم تكوين ما طلبوا

في قولهم تكوين ما طلبوا

إن قلبوا كل شيء انقلبا

إن قلبوا كل شيء انقلبا

By their account, whatever they seek comes into being;

In their words, the creation of what they sought

if they transmute anything, it is transmuted.

If they turned everything, it would turn

قالوا ولا غرو أنهم علموا

قالوا ولا غرو أنهم علموا

إذ عرفوا الأصل فيه والسببا

إذ عرفوا الأصل فيه والسببا

They said—and no wonder—that they had knowledge,

They spoke and it is no wonder they knew

since they knew its underlying principle and its cause.

When they recognized its origin and cause

وأيسرُ الأمر عندهم عملُ ال

وأيسرُ الأمر عندهم عملُ ال

فضة إذ يقلبونها ذهبا

فضة إذ يقلبونها ذهبا

And the easiest task for them is working

And the easiest matter for them is making

silver, as they turn it into gold.

Silver when they turn it into gold

وحيّروا الناس في كلامهم ال

وحيّروا الناس في كلامهم ال

غامض حتى تفرقوا شعبا

غامض حتى تفرقوا شعبا

And they bewildered people with their

And confused people in their obscure

obscure speech, until they split into factions.

Speech until they separated into groups

لكن أتانا الذين هُمُ

لكن أتانا الذين هُمُ

من خشية الله جانبوا الريبا

من خشية الله جانبوا الريبا

But there came to us those who

But there came to us those who

out of fear of God, shunned dubious things.

Out of fear of Allah shunned doubts

قالوا اجعلوا كل ماله جسد

قالوا اجعلوا كل ماله جسد

لا جسداً واريحوا به التعبا

لا جسداً واريحوا به التعبا

They said: Make everything that has a body

They said, make everything that has a body

bodiless, and thereby ease the toil.

Without a body and relieve fatigue with it

وجسّدوا الشيء ما له جسد

وجسّدوا الشيء ما له جسد

وقد وصلتم وحزتم الأربا

وقد وصلتم وحزتم الأربا

And give body to the thing that has no body,

And embody what has no body

and you will have arrived and attained your aim.

And you have connected and gained profits

وقرّبوا الأمر فيه وهو إذا

وقرّبوا الأمر فيه وهو إذا

سَهَّلَه الله ربنا قربا

سَهَّلَه الله ربنا قربا

And they made the matter accessible therein; when

And bring the matter closer in it, and when

God, our Lord, makes it easy, it comes within reach.

Allah our Lord facilitates it, it becomes closer

يرزقه الله من يشاء ولم

يرزقه الله من يشاء ولم

يلاقِ فيه بؤساً ولا نصبا

يلاقِ فيه بؤساً ولا نصبا

God grants it to whomever He wills, and they have not

Allah provides whom He wills and they did not

met with misery or toil in it.

Encounter misery or fatigue in it