أقول وعندي انني لست قائلاً

أقول وعندي انني لست قائلاً

بنفسي ولكني أقول كما قالا

بنفسي ولكني أقول كما قالا

I speak, though I hold that I am not speaking

I say, and I know that I am not a speaker

Of myself; yet I speak as He spoke,

By myself, but I speak as they have spoken

بأني ذو قول لما هو قائل

بأني ذو قول لما هو قائل

بنا ولساني عينه فيّ ما زالا

بنا ولساني عينه فيّ ما زالا

That I possess speech for what He utters

That I have an utterance for what has been uttered

Through us; my tongue has ever been His very self within me.

About us, and my tongue in me has not ceased

وما أنا ظرفٌ كالمكان ولا أنا

وما أنا ظرفٌ كالمكان ولا أنا

محلٌ له والميل ميلي إذا مالا

محلٌ له والميل ميلي إذا مالا

And I am no receptacle like a place, nor am I

And I am not a vessel like a place, nor am I

A locus for Him; the inclination is mine when He inclines.

A location for it, and the inclination is my inclination if they incline

فلا تيأسي يا نفس مما نريده

فلا تيأسي يا نفس مما نريده

فلا بدّ لي منه وإنْ طالَ ما طالا

فلا بدّ لي منه وإنْ طالَ ما طالا

So do not despair, O soul, of what we desire;

So do not despair, O my soul, of what we want

For I cannot do without it, however long it takes.

For I must have it, though long it has been prolonged

تكشف عن عيني غطاء عمايتي

تكشف عن عيني غطاء عمايتي

فأدركتُ ما خلفَ الحجابِ وما شالا

فأدركتُ ما خلفَ الحجابِ وما شالا

The covering of my blindness fell away from my eye,

It uncovers from my eyes the cover of my blindness

So I perceived what lay behind the veil, though it had not lifted.

So I realized what was behind the veil and what leaned

وأصبحتُ في يومٍ هداة أيمة

وأصبحتُ في يومٍ هداة أيمة

وغادرتُ أقواماً عن الحقِّ ضلالا

وغادرتُ أقواماً عن الحقِّ ضلالا

And in a day I became guides—imams,

And I became one day guided, insightful

And I left behind peoples astray from the Truth.

And left people in misguidance and error

إذا جاءهم حق أتوا ينكرونه

إذا جاءهم حق أتوا ينكرونه

فلا تضربوا لله بالفكرِ أمثالا

فلا تضربوا لله بالفكرِ أمثالا

When a truth comes to them, they come forth denying it;

When the truth came to them, they came to deny it

So do not set forth likenesses for God through thought.

So do not make for Allah examples in thought

وإنْ كان حقاً ذلك المثلُ الذي

وإنْ كان حقاً ذلك المثلُ الذي

أتاهم به لم يعرفوا فيه أشكالا

أتاهم به لم يعرفوا فيه أشكالا

And even if that likeness was true—the one

And if that example which came to them

He brought them—they recognized no forms in it.

Was true, they did not recognize its forms

وما كنتُ في رَيبٍ من أمر شهدتُه

وما كنتُ في رَيبٍ من أمر شهدتُه

وما كنتُ في زهدي وفخري مختالا

وما كنتُ في زهدي وفخري مختالا

And I was not in doubt about a matter I had witnessed,

And I was not in doubt about a matter I witnessed

Nor was I arrogant in my asceticism and my pride.

Nor was I pretentious in my asceticism and pride

أجرِّرُ أذيالي كما قال عقبة

أجرِّرُ أذيالي كما قال عقبة

وما كل مختالٍ يجرِّر أذيالا

وما كل مختالٍ يجرِّر أذيالا

I trail my hems, as ʿUqbah said,

I drag my train, as Uqbah said

And not every arrogant person trails hems.

And not every pretentious person drags trains

ألمتدرِ أني في الجهادِ مُقدَّم

ألمتدرِ أني في الجهادِ مُقدَّم

أصيِّر وإنْ جدئناه لم ندر إهلالا

أصيِّر وإنْ جدئناه لم ندر إهلالا

Do you not know that I am foremost in the struggle?

Do you not know that I in jihad am advancing

I transform [something]; even if [word unclear], we knew no loud invocation.

I counsel, and even if we are diminished, we do not know defeat

وهل تُرفع الأصوات إلا لغائبٍ

وهل تُرفع الأصوات إلا لغائبٍ

بعيدٍ وذو التقريب يهمس إجلالا

بعيدٍ وذو التقريب يهمس إجلالا

And are voices raised except for one absent,

And are voices raised except for an absent one

Far away? And one brought near whispers out of reverence.

Far away, and one who is near whispers in awe