1. سُبحانكَ اللهمَّ إِنكَ أَكْبرُ

    من أَنْ يُحيطَ بِكنهكَ المتفكرُ

    Glory be to You, O God; You are too great

    for the thinker to encompass Your inmost essence.

  2. حارَ اللَّبيبُ وزاغَ عنكَ المبصرُ

    ورمى فأَخطأ سهْمَهُ المتدبرُ

    The wise were bewildered, and the clear-sighted strayed from You.

    And the contemplative loosed his arrow, but missed.

  3. أَقصى مدة للعقلِ فيكَ تحيّرُ

    لو صحَّ في التمثيلِ أَنْ يِجدَ الورى

    The mind's furthest reach concerning You is bewilderment.

    If it were possible, in an imagined likeness, for mankind to find

  4. رَبّاً كَما يتصورونَكَ أَقدَرا

    وأَرادَ ذاكَ الربُّ أَن يتصورا

    a mightier lord such as they imagine You to be,

    and that lord wished to conceive

  5. مَنء أَنتَ عادَ عَنِ البلوغِ مقصِّرا

    بالْعجزِ عَنْ وعِي الحقيقةِ يجهرُ

    who You are, he would return, falling short of attainment,

    proclaiming his inability to grasp the truth.

  6. (موسى) عَلَى الطّورِ الشريفِ يناجي

    (وَابنُ الْبتولِ) دوينَ عرشكَ ساجِ

    Moses communes upon revered Mount al-Tur;

    and the Virgin's son rests just beneath Your throne;

  7. (ومحمدٌ) في ليلَةِ المعراجِ

    لم يقبسوا من نورِكَ الوهّاجِ

    and Muhammad, on the night of the Ascension—

    they drew from Your blazing light

  8. إِلاّ كَما قبس الضِّياء الأَجهرُ

    لو أنَّني بهُدى النبوَّةِ أَنظرُ

    only as a day-blind man draws radiance.

    If I were to see by the guidance of prophethood,

  9. ودلالة الرّوحِ الأَمين أُسيّرُ

    وبحكْمةِ المتفلسفينَ أُفكّرُ

    and were led by the Trustworthy Spirit's guidance,

    and thought with the wisdom of philosophers,

  10. وبذوقِ أَصحابِ الطريقةِ أَشعرُ

    ما ارتبتُ في أَنَّ الوصولَ معسَّرُ

    and felt with the spiritual taste of the followers of the Path,

    I would not doubt that attainment is difficult.

  11. مِنْ شأْنِك التصويرُ والإِنشاءُ

    لكَ من سمائِكَ صَفْحَةٌ زرقاءُ

    Fashioning and creating are Your province.

    From Your sky, a blue page is Yours;

  12. والْفجرُ حاشيةٌ بها حمراءُ

    والْبدرُ فوقَ جبينها طغْراءُ

    and dawn is its red margin;

    and the full moon is a royal monogram above its brow;

  13. والنيّراتُ عَلَى الصحيفةِ أَسطرُ

    خَرَّتْ لَكَ الشمسُ المنيرةُ تسجدُ

    and the luminaries are lines upon the page.

    The radiant sun fell before You in prostration;

  14. ومِنَ الخشوعِ جَبينُها مُتَوَرِّدُ

    والْبحرُ مسجورُ الجوانِبِ مزبدُ

    and from humility her brow is flushed.

    And the sea, seething along its shores, foams;

  15. والموجُ مصخطبٌ بهِ يتنهدُ

    أَمْسى يُقِيمُ لكَ الصَّلاةَ ويَذكْرُ

    and the waves, clamoring within it, sigh.

    At evening it offers You prayer and remembrance.

  16. (زحلٌ) بغلِّ الرقِّ عانٍ مقمحُ

    وَالرَّعدُ يجأَرُ بالدعا وَيسبِّحُ

    Saturn is captive in bondage's collar, its head forced upward;

    and thunder cries aloud in supplication and glorifies You;

  17. والبرقُ طرفٌ للدجنةِ يلمحُ

    ومن الْغمامِ له دموعٌ تسفحُ

    and lightning is an eye of the deep darkness, flashing;

    and from the clouds its tears pour forth;

  18. والرّيحُ من وجدٍ تثِنُّ وتزفرُ

    ديوانَ شعرِكَ مستفيضٌ بالْغررْ

    and the wind moans and sighs with longing.

    The collection of Your poetry abounds in masterpieces,

  19. جمُّ القلائد من فرائِدِ الْبشرْ

    الْجسمُ لفظٌ منْ نشيدٍ مستمرْ

    rich in necklaces of humankind's peerless gems.

    The body is a word in an unending song;

  20. وَالرّوحُ إِنَّ الرّوحَ معنىً مبتكَرْ

    ما زالَ يستهوي الْعقولَ ويبهرُ

    and the soul—indeed, the soul—is an original meaning

    that has always captivated minds and dazzled them.

  21. هَل روحنا ريحٌ تهبُّ وَتركدُ

    أَمْ جذوةٌ فينا تشبُّ وتخمدُ

    Is our soul a wind that blows and falls still,

    or an ember within us that flares and dies down,

  22. أَمْ زائرٌ بينَ الحمى يترددُ

    يدنو لأَخبيةِ الجسومِ وَيبعدُ

    or a visitor coming and going among the sanctuaries,

    drawing near the tents of bodies and moving away?

  23. جسمٌ يشادُ بهِ وآخرُ يقفرُ

    ما للحياةِ عَلَى اختلافِ الشكْلِ حدْ

    One body is built up through it, another lies deserted.

    Life has no limit despite its differing forms:

  24. حيٌّ يجودُ بها وَآخرُ يستمدْ

    وَالجسمُ يرفدُ بالْحياةِ ولو همدْ

    one living being bestows it, another draws it in;

    and the body provides life even when it lies inert,

  25. كَالماءِ لا ينفكُّ ماءً إِن جمدْ

    والأَرضُ بودقةٌ تصوغُ وتصهرُ

    like water, which never ceases to be water if it freezes;

    and the earth is a crucible that shapes and melts.

  26. الذوقُ والوجْدانُ والمعقولُ

    وَالحبُّ آياتٌ سمتْ وفصولُ

    Spiritual taste, inner feeling, and rational understanding,

    and love are exalted signs and chapters;

  27. أَما الْجمالُ فإِنهُ تمثيلُ

    يدنو بهِ التفسيرُ وَالتفضيلُ

    as for beauty, it is a representation

    through which interpretation and preference come within reach:

  28. عرضٌ صفا فأَضاءَ منهُ الْجوهرُ

    هل فاز بالإِيمانِ من لمْ يجحدِ

    an accidental quality made clear, through which the essence shines.

    Has one who never denied attained faith?

  29. فالعينُ لا تغفو إِذا لم تسهدِ

    لم يدر معنى الخفضِ من لمْ يجهدِ

    For the eye does not doze unless it has lain awake;

    one who has not toiled does not know the meaning of ease;

  30. والماءُ لا يلتذّه غيرُ الصدي

    والفجرُ من خللِ الدياجي يسفرُ

    and none but the thirsty relish water;

    and dawn shines through the gaps of the dark nights.

  31. أُوتينُ علماً دونَ ما أَتوسَّمُ

    وعييتُ بالإِفصاحِ عما أَعلمُ

    I have been given knowledge short of what I intuit,

    and I have been unable to express what I know;

  32. ولسوفَ يخطئُ قصديَ المترسمُ

    معنى إِذا أَعربتُ عنه أُعجم

    and whoever follows my traces will surely mistake my intent:

    a meaning that I obscure when I express it,

  33. بالذوقِ لا باللفظ عنه يعبر

    من عالمِ الذرِّ الخفيِّ إِلى الفلكْ

    expressed through inward taste, not through words.

    From the hidden realm of particles to the celestial sphere,

  34. ما عامَ أَو ما طارَ فيه أَو سلكْ

    ما كان من إِنسٍ وجنٍ أَو ملكْ

    whatever swam, or flew within it, or made its way,

    whatever there was of humans, jinn, or angels,

  35. إِلا وقد شهدوا بأَنَّ الملكَ لكْ

    كلٌ بأَمركِ صادعٌ ومسخَّرُ

    all have borne witness that sovereignty is Yours;

    each obeys Your command and is bound to serve.

  36. لو طارَ في هذا الفضا جبريلُ

    عمرَ الزمانِ لعاد وهو يقولُ

    If Gabriel flew through this expanse

    for the lifetime of time, he would return saying:

  37. ما للنهايةِ والخروجِ سبيلُ

    من ملكهِ إِنَّ المليك جليلُ

    There is no way to reach the end or escape

    His dominion; the Sovereign is majestic.

  38. هيهاتَ ليس الأَمرُ مما يسبرُ

    ما غابَ عنكَ من الخلائقِ سِرُّها

    Far beyond reach! This matter cannot be fathomed.

    No secret of the creatures is hidden from You.

  39. أَنشأْتها وإليكَ يرجِعُ أَسرُها

    تخييرُها هوَ في الحقيقةِ جبرُها

    You created them, and their bondage is traced back to You.

    Their free choice is, in truth, their compulsion;

  40. بيديكَ ناصيةُ الملوكِ وقسرُها

    أَمسى يذلُّ لعزِّكَ المتكبرُ

    in Your hands lie the kings' forelocks and the power to compel them.

    The proud have come to submit to Your might.

  41. أَسماؤك الحسنى أَجلُّ وأَرفعُ

    من أَن يعي مدلولَها المتتبعُ

    Your most beautiful names are too august and exalted

    for the diligent seeker to grasp their meaning.

  42. قد شاقني منها اللطيفُ المبدعُ

    والنفسُ تلهجُ بالرحيمِ وتطمعُ

    Among them, the Subtle Originator has stirred my longing;

    and the soul keeps invoking the Merciful and hoping,

  43. وتكاد من شوقٍ تسيلُ وتقطرُ

    and with longing it almost melts and drips.