1. Begone, o self, o corrupt in nature
You who come between me and my beloved

2. You are like a cloud that veils the sun's light
From the eyes of witnesses and keeps me apart

3. Would that I had never disguised myself in you
In a black attire, evenly striped

4. You it is who weighed me down and prevented me
From attaining any share of the Most High

5. Though you are lightning that flashes from fever
Your stillness is a dictionary of Arabic

6. While I am the thick, the one I passionately love
Is the subtle, he is my beloved

7. A body I have wasted, darkened and bleak
By the decree of a temper that stokes the flames

8. A soul nurtured in complete ignorance
Devoid of education and discipline

9. As though it and as though he when together
Spurned maturity, a monastery's monk without his cross

10. Were it not for Providence, ever thus
Dispensing blame and prompting rebuke

11. But God lit the lamp of guidance within it
By disclosing mysteries from nearby

12. And made it a sun, radiating its light
After stillness with the speed of transformation

13. And the soul by God's command is like a planet
Whereupon the light crept without creeping

14. A noble soul whose wisdom within us
Is harmonious, refining us in diverse ways

15. It is the soul that relates to us the tale of fever
And redolent of it, a fragrant breeze wafts through us

16. So I who appear as a flash of lightning
On God's command from beyond the veil

17. Am I who has become a manifest spirit
In every asking temple and responding soul

18. I yearn forevermore for the truth of my Maker
With a heart inclined to perfection and humility

19. The command is God's alone, none other's
Of that, those drawn near bear witness