1. رأيت الذي قد جاء من أرضِ بابلٍ

    بعلمٍ صحيحٍ للهوى غيرِ قابلِ

    I saw the one who had come from the land of Babylon,

    with sound knowledge that admits no passion.

  2. فقلتُ له أهلاً وسهلاً ومَرحباً

    فردَّ بتأهيلٍ على كلِّ آهلِ

    So I said to him, 'Welcome, be at ease, and be warmly received!'

    He replied with a welcome to everyone with a family.

  3. ألا إنَّ شرَّ الناسِ من كان أعزبا

    وإنْ كان بين الناسِ جمَّ الفضائلِ

    Behold, the worst of people is one who is unmarried,

    even if he abounds in virtues among people.

  4. وما في عبادِ الله من هو أعزب

    فيا جاهلاً لم تخل مني بطائل

    Yet among God's servants there is none unmarried.

    O ignorant one, you have come away from me with nothing worthwhile.

  5. تأملْ وجودَ الأصل إذ شاء كوننا

    فهل كنتَ إلا بين قولٍ وقائلِ

    Contemplate the existence of the Origin when He willed our being.

    Were you anything but between an utterance and a speaker?

  6. فقال لشيءٍ كُن فكان لحينه

    عن أمر إله بالطبيعةِ فاعل

    He said to a thing, 'Be!' and it came to be at once,

    by the command of a God who acts through nature.

  7. فأرضعني حولين جوداً ومنَّةً

    تماماً لكي أربى على كلِّ كاملِ

    Then He nursed me for two years, in generosity and favor,

    in full, so that I might surpass every perfected one.

  8. فثَّنى ولم يفردْ فعمَّ وجودُنا

    بحوليه جوداً كلَّ عالٍ وسافلِ

    He made a pair, not a single one; thus our existence embraced

    through His two years, in bounty, every high and low one.

  9. وفاطمتي ما كانت إلا طبيعتي

    لآخذَ عنه العلمَ من غيرِ حائلِ

    And she who weaned me was none but my nature,

    so that I might take knowledge from Him without a barrier.

  10. لقد فطمتني والهوى حاكمٌ لها

    عليَّ بحبٍ من ثابتِ زائلِ

    She did indeed wean me, while desire ruled on her behalf

    over me, through love from one abiding yet passing away.

  11. فما ثَمَّ إلا عاشقُ عينِ ذاته

    عموماً وتخصيصاً لدى كلِّ عاقل

    There is none there but a lover of his own very essence,

    in general and in particular, for every rational person.

  12. فلو لم يكن لي شاهدٌ غيرَ نشأتي

    على الصورةِ المثلى كفاني لسائلِ

    If I had no witness but my own formation

    in the finest form, it would suffice me for any questioner.

  13. بها أقبل الأسماء منه تحققاً

    ويقبل آسمائي حكومةَ عادل

    Through it I receive the Names from Him in true realization,

    and He accepts my names with a just one's judgment.

  14. إذا هو ناداني فتى فأجبتُه

    به عند فصلِ واصلٍ غيرَ فاصل

    When He called me 'young man,' I answered Him

    with it, at a separation that joins rather than divides.

  15. لقد قسم الرحمن بيني وبينه

    صلاةً على رغم الأنوفِ الأوائل

    The All-Merciful has indeed divided between me and Him

    a prayer, despite the proud noses of those of old.

  16. فقمت بها والعلم يشهد أنني

    بها بين مفضولٍ يقومُ وفاضل

    So I performed it, and knowledge testifies that I

    am, in it, between a lesser one who stands and a greater one.

  17. فقال وقلنا والخطوبُ كثيرةٌ

    فاسمني شرّ الخطوبِ النَّوازل

    He spoke and we spoke, while calamities were many;

    so name me the worst of the descending calamities.

  18. وما قسمَ الرحمنُ إلا كلامه

    فنحكي وما يُتلى بغير المقاتل

    And the All-Merciful divided nothing but His speech,

    so we recount it, and it is recited by none but the fighter.

  19. بذا جاء لفظُ العبدِ فيها لأنه

    غيورٌ فينفي عنه جدَّ المماثل

    Thus the word 'servant' appears in it, because He

    is jealous, and denies any genuine counterpart to Himself,

  20. كما جاء في الشورى وفيه تنبُّه

    لكلِّ لبيبٍ في المحاضر واصل

    as it appears in al-Shura; in this is a reminder

    for every discerning one who arrives in the gatherings.

  21. تمنيت منه أن أفوز بقربه

    فقال تمن حكمه غير حاصل

    I wished to win from Him nearness to Him.

    He said, 'A wish whose effect is unrealized.'

  22. ومنْ يقتربْ منه يجد غيرَ نفسه

    وليس أخو علم بأمرٍ كجاهل

    Whoever draws near to Him finds other than himself,

    and one who knows a matter is not like an ignorant person.

  23. ولو علمَ الرآؤون ماذا يرونه

    وفيما رأوه لم يفوزوا بنائل

    Had the seers known what they behold,

    and in what they beheld Him, they would have gained nothing.

  24. ولكنها الأوهام لم تخل فيهم

    بأحكامها ما بين بادٍ وآفل

    But these imaginings have not failed among them

    in their judgments, between what appears and what sets.

  25. فيعطيك زهداً بالأفولِ ورغبةً

    إذا هي تبدو ناجزاً غير آجل

    Thus it gives you detachment at setting, and longing

    when they appear—at once, not later.

  26. تحفظ فإنَّ الوهم مدَّ شِباكه

    وما يبتغي غيرَ النفوسِ الغوافل

    Be on your guard: imagination has spread its nets,

    and it seeks only heedless souls.

  27. فلا تطمعَنْ في الحبِّ فهو خديعة

    أراك لتمشي في حِبالةِ حابل

    So do not covet love, for it is a deception

    shown to you so you may walk into a trapper's snare.

  28. لذلك كان الزهد أشرفَ حليةٍ

    تحلَّى بها قلبُ الشجاعِ المناضل

    That is why detachment was the noblest adornment

    with which the heart of the brave combatant adorned itself.