الله أعظم أن يدري فيعتقدا

الله أعظم أن يدري فيعتقدا

مقيداً وهو بالإطلاقِ معروفُ

مقيداً وهو بالإطلاقِ معروفُ

God is too great to be known and thus conceived

It is too great for God to be known and imagined

as bounded, though He is known as unbounded.

Bound, yet known for absoluteness

وهو الذي تدرك الأبصار في صور

وهو الذي تدرك الأبصار في صور

مشهودة فهو للأبصار مكشوفُ

مشهودة فهو للأبصار مكشوفُ

And He is the One whom eyes perceive in forms

It is He whom sights perceive in forms

witnessed; thus He is unveiled to the eyes.

Witnessed, so He is revealed to sights

فهو المقَّيد والمحدودُ من صورٍ

فهو المقَّيد والمحدودُ من صورٍ

وهو الذي هو بالتنزيه موصوف

وهو الذي هو بالتنزيه موصوف

So He is bounded and delimited by forms,

So He is the bound and limited in forms

and He is the One who is described as transcendent.

Yet described with transcendence

لذاك نعلمه لذاك نجهله

لذاك نعلمه لذاك نجهله

فالعجزُ في علمه عليه موقوف

فالعجزُ في علمه عليه موقوف

For that reason we know Him; for that reason we do not know Him.

Thus we know Him, thus we are ignorant of Him

Thus inability to know Him depends upon Him.

For incapacity to know Him rests with Him

إن قلت ذا قال حكمُ العقلِ ليس كذا

إن قلت ذا قال حكمُ العقلِ ليس كذا

فلا تقل ليس إن الأمر مصروف

فلا تقل ليس إن الأمر مصروف

If you say this, reason’s judgment says, ‘It is not so.’

If you say this, the intellect’s judgement is not so

So do not say ‘is not’; indeed, the matter is turned about.

Say not ‘it is not’ for the matter turns

وقل بليس فإنَّ الله قال بها

وقل بليس فإنَّ الله قال بها

في آية وهو قول فيه تعريف

في آية وهو قول فيه تعريف

And say ‘is not,’ for God has said it

Rather, say “But indeed” for God has said it

in a verse—and it is a saying that makes Him known.

In a verse, a statement of definition

وقل بليس ولكن في أماكنها

وقل بليس ولكن في أماكنها

على الذي قاله ما فيه تحريف

على الذي قاله ما فيه تحريف

And say ‘is not,’ but in its proper places,

Say “But indeed” but in its proper places

according to what He said, with no distortion in it.

Upon what He said, no distortion

في عين تنزيهه عين مسبهةٌ

في عين تنزيهه عين مسبهةٌ

والكل حقٌّ فإن الأمر تصريف

والكل حقٌّ فإن الأمر تصريف

In the very essence of His transcendence is an essence bearing likeness.

In the essence of transcendence, an essence of anthropomorphism

And all is true, for the matter is variation.

All is truth, for the matter is to turn

ما الحق خلق فيدريه خليقته

ما الحق خلق فيدريه خليقته

ولا الخلائق حقٌ فيه تكييف

ولا الخلائق حقٌ فيه تكييف

The Real is not creation, such that His creatures could know Him;

The Real has not created, so creation knows Him

nor are creatures the Real, with a modality assigned to Him.

Nor are creations real, so He is confined

إني وزنت ُ لكم أعلامَ خالقكم

إني وزنت ُ لكم أعلامَ خالقكم

وزناً وما فيه خسرانٌ وتطفيفُ

وزناً وما فيه خسرانٌ وتطفيفُ

Indeed, I have weighed for you the signs of your Creator,

I have weighed for you the signs of your Creator

a weighing with neither loss nor short measure in it.

A weighing, in which is no loss or skimping

إني نظمته لكم ما قال خالقكم

إني نظمته لكم ما قال خالقكم

والنظم تدريه موزون ومرصوف

والنظم تدريه موزون ومرصوف

Indeed, I have put into verse for you what your Creator said,

I have composed it for you, what your Creator has said

and the verse, as you know, is metered and arranged.

And composing it, measured and turned