1. Praise be to Allah, the Exalted, the All-Powerful
The source of hidden and manifest bounty

2. And blessings as numerous as the rain drops
Upon the chosen Prophet, the beloved

3. And after that, composition is a profound mystery
A deep sea never fathomed by one who plunged

4. It is that which left people confused
And reasoning went astray from its path

5. The people conspired to conceal it
And struck from books any explanation of it

6. I considered ten complete arguments
About its secret but gained nothing

7. Until despair overtook me
And drowsiness flew from my eyelids

8. I panicked regarding it and resorted to supplication
Which is the best outcome for one granted success

9. I vowed to keep it hidden
A secret sealed by its Lord

10. I fast speaking of it, I do not break fast
Even if I know my soul protests

11. Except by an obscure mystery
Which hints to the wise but not the ignorant

12. So do as I said and do not go against it
For it is among the highest forms of knowledge

13. Refine scorched copper, for it is a body
Darkness and malice have left it

14. Then mix the oil with sea water
For this is the soap of the matter

15. After that, extract antimony
From the element of soap

16. Two parts gathered in the process
Precisely measured with the fairest estimation

17. They became one color then doubled
With washing and grinding they intermixed

18. It’s cooked in our concealed apparatus
For its known, appointed duration

19. Until they become saffron extract
And before that, quicksilver was bound

20. Combine them, then in equal weight
They solidify like congealed oil

21. Sift them when grinding blindly
For it reflects drops of water

22. Quicksilver binds the fleeting fugitive
Restraining it, for it is among secrets

23. Return to the bodies of minerals
Washed and whitened, strong

24. Then unleash their torment in the fire
Cast into the burning embers

25. Until they become thirsty earth
Precious in its barrenness, watered

26. Like a whale nothing can quench
It wakes thirsty though its mouth was in the sea

27. Add to it the whitened soul
A soul made golden and refined

28. Grind them with our filtered water
Give them their right in full

29. Take from the first aged oil
Its weight equally measured

30. Cook them in the concealed apparatus
For it grants perfection of form

31. Resurrection of souls in bodies
For four hundred years until union

32. Gently, gently with the fire
For it is among the greatest aids

33. Unless you tame it gently
And succeed through managing it properly

34. It is God’s gift to the righteous
Saving them from poverty in this life

35. So God, if you have succeeded in concealing it
Then kingship is not equal to what you have gained

36. For your future, it is enough
Sustenance for the world from what you were given