أشَاقَتكَ وُرقُ اللِّوى هُتَّفَا

وأَرَّقَكَ الطَّيفُ ثُمَّ اختفي

The leaves of the tamarisk pined for you,

And the phantom disturbed you, then vanished.

فَبِتَّ وعَينُكُ مَطرُوفَةٌ

وَحُقَّ لِعَينِكَ أن تُطرَفَا

So you spent the night with tearful eyes,

And it is the right of your eyes to be tearful.

ودَمعُكَ مُنهَمِلٌ وَاكِفٌ

يَسِحُّ عَلَى الخَدِّ إِن كُفكِفَا

Your tears are dripping and sufficient,

Sliding down the cheek if they are wiped.

يُثِيرُ صَبَاكَ نَسِيمُ الصَّبَا

وقَد كَانَ إِن هَبَّ مُستَلطَفَا

The morning breeze stirs up your passion,

Though it would have been gentler if it blew.

وبَرقٌ يَلُوحُ وروضٌ يَفُوحُ

وَوُرقٌ تَنُوحُ وحِبٌّ جَفَا

Lightning flashes and the meadow smells fragrant,

Foliage laments and love is unfaithful.

وعِيسٌ تَزُمُّ وَوَاشٍ يَنُمُّ

وطَيفٌ يُلِمُّ ورَبعٌ عَفَا

A nightingale sings and a bulbul sleeps,

A specter nods off and a courtyard is vacant.

ومَهمَا بَدَا شَادِنٌ أهيَفٌ

تَذَّكَّرتَ شَادِنَكَ الأهيَفَا

And whatever lively partridge there was,

You remembered your lively partridge.

وإِن ذُقتَ صَافِيَةً قَرقَفاً

تَذَكَّرتَ صَافِيَهُ القَرقَفَا

And if you tasted a cool draught,

You remembered that cool draught.

فَمَا أنتَ إِلاَّ حَلِيف الغَرَامِ

ومَالَك مِن دَائِهِ مُشنفي

So you are nothing but a confidante of love,

And you have no remedy for its pain.

كَأنَّكَ أحمَدُ في شَأنِهِ

أَأَنتَ قَفَوتَ الذي قَد قَفَا

As if you were Ahmad in his ordeal -

"Are you the leader who has led?"

فَقَالَ أَذَاكَ على شِرعَةٍ

تُعَدُّ مِن الشَّرعِ أو تُقتفي

So he said, "Is that by a way

That is considered proper conduct and followed?"

فَقُلتُ عَلَى السِّحر يَجني بهِ

مِنَ الإِثم مَا شَاءَ أن يَقطُفَا

I said, "By sorcery he reaps from sin

Whatever he wished to pluck.

وقد مزج السحرَ من بدعهَ

شَفا الغى داء بها واشتفي

And he has mixed sorcery with his heresy,

A cure which removed an illness and was sought."

وقد قيض الله حَبرَا لَهُ

يُدَافِع عن هَفوِه إِن هَفَا

And God has appointed scholars to defend

His confused utterances if they are confused.

تَصَرَّفَ بِالسَّحرِ في قَلبِهِ

فَأَمسَى بِهِ مُغرَماً مُدنَفَا

He manipulated their hearts with sorcery

Until they became enamored and submissive.

فَألَّفَ في شَأنِهِ دَفتَراً

وزَحرَفَ في نَعتِهِ زُخرُفَا

So he compiled a book about it

And decorated it with ornamentations.

إِلَى أن دَعَاهُ بِبَحرِ العُلُومِ

وكَانَ ولاَ يَعلَمُ الأحرُفَا

Until he called them to the sea of knowledge

While he did not even know the alphabet.

ولَم يَتَّبِعِ الحَقَّ تألِيفُهُ

فَقِيلَ ويُحكَى الذي أَلَّفَا

His compilation did not follow the truth,

So it was said, which compiled it?

وَيمدَحُهُ لِضَعَافِ العُقُولِ

فَأَتلَفَ بالمَينِ مَا أتلَفَا

And he praises it to the feeble-minded,

So he destroyed with disgrace what he destroyed.

ولَو صَدَقَ النَّاسَ في شَانِهِ

لَحَذَّرَهُم قَاعَهُ الصَّفصَفَا

And if he had been honest with the people about it,

Its bottomlessness would have warned them.

وإِنَّ عَلَيهِ حُقُوقَ الذين

دَعَاهُم لِذَا الأمرِ لَو أنصَفَا

And he owes a debt to those whom

He called to this matter, if he were fair.

فَقُلتُ دَعُوا الخَوضَ في دِينِهِ

فَقَد كُنتُ مِنكُم بِهِ أعرَفَا

So I said, “Leave off wading into his religion,

For I was more knowing of it than you.”

فَإني صَاحبتُهُ أزَمُناً

رَقِيباً عَلَيهِ ولَن يَعرِفَا

“For I accompanied him for a period,

A watcher over him, though he will not know.

وقَد كَانَ عِندِى مِن سِرِّهِ

مَنَاكِرُ جَرَّت لِقَلبي السَّفَا

And I had some of his secret with me,

Repugnant things that drew bitterness to my heart.

وإني قَد جِئتُهُ لَيلَةً

وَعايَنتُ مِن أمرِهِ مَا اختفي

And I came to him one night,

And witnessed of his matter what was hidden.

وَعايَنتُ أسَاسَ مِنهَاجِهِ

ومِنهَاجَ أتبَاعِهِ المُقتفي

And I witnessed the foundation of his approach,

And the approach of his emulating followers.

وُهوَّ الأبَاطِيلُ والتُّرُهَاتُ

وهَدمُ بِنَا شِرعَةِ المُصطفي

It is falsehoods and nonsense,

And destruction of the Law of the Chosen One.

وشَاهَدتُ مِنهُ عَلَى أنَّه

تَصَنَّعَ في الدِّينِ فِعلاً كفي

And I witnessed of him that he

Feigned religiosity, a sufficient act.

أتَاهُ امرُؤٌ مُستَضِيفاُ لَهُ

وحَيَّا وبَيَّاهُ وَاستَعطَفَا

A man came to him seeking hospitality,

Greeted and complimented him, and implored.

فَتًى حَافِظٌ قَد طَوَاهُ الطَّوَى

وقَوَّسَهُ السَّيرُ فَأحقَوقَفَا

A young man well-versed whom the course of time

Had bent, so he limped.

فََقَالَ لَه إذهَب وَلاَ تَلبِثَن

فَلَستَ لِبَابِ القِرَى مَصرِفَا

So he said to him, “Go, and do not stay,

For you are not suited for the door of towns.”

فليس القُرأنُ بِمُجدٍ هُنَا

فَنُورُ رِجَالِ العُلُومِ أنطَفَا

“For the Qur’an is not honorable here,

The light of the scholars has outshone it.”

فَطَرَّدَهُ وأنثنَى فَانزَوَى

وَباتَ يُعَالِج وَخزَ السفي

So he dismissed him, and the youth turned away,

And spent the night addressing and scratching the wall.

وقَالَ قَفَوتُ الطَّرِيقَ الذي

به أمَرَ اللهُ أهلَ الصَّفَا

And he said, “I will take the path

That God ordered the people of spiritual excellence.”

فَإِنَّ أُولِى العِلمِ في سَبِّهِم

مِنَ القُرُبِ لِلَّهِ مَا يُصطفي

“For the people of knowledge, in their disdain,

Are closest to God in what He chooses.”

وَبَاتَ مُصَلاَّهُ لَم يَأتِهِ

وَبَاتَ عَلَى نَفسِهِ مُسرِفَا

He spent the night without his prayer carpet,

Not performing the prayer, to his own detriment.

وقَد بَاتَ عَيراً لِجَارَاتِهِ

إِذَا مَا اَبتَغَى مَأثَماً أسجَفَا

And he had become a disgrace to his neighbors

When he sought disgraceful sins and overstepped.

يُجَرِّرُ مُمتَلِئًا قُصبَهُ

فَتَحسَبَه المُقرَمَ الأكلَفَا

Dragging his staff, appearing full,

So that you would think him the well-dressed dandy.

فَمَا كَانَ عَن رِيبَةٍ عَازِفاً

ومَا كُنَّ عَن رِيبَةٍ عُزَّفَا

He was not refraining from suspicion,

Nor were they refraining from suspicions about him.

فَلَمَّا تَمَكَّنَ وَقتُ الضُّحَى

وعَبَّ مِنَ الرِّسلِ حتى اكتفي

So when it was time for mid-morning,

And he was done with his messages to satiation,

ومَرَّ بِإِحدَى عَشِيقَاتِهِ

ودَأبُ عَشِيقَاتِهِ في الرِّفَا

And he passed by one of his lovers—

And his way with his lovers was familiarity—

وقَهقَهَ جَهراً مَدَى صَوتِهِ

إِلَى أن تَتَابَعَ نَحوَ القَفَا

He laughed raucously, his voice reaching

Until it resonated towards the caves.

أتَى فَدَعَا أن تُقَامَ الصَّلاةُ

وقَدَّمَ مَأبُونَه الأغلَفَا

He came and called for the prayer to be established,

And presented his prayer carpet, the most ornate.

وحَكَّ مِنَ الأرِض في وَجهِهِ

كَمَا حُكَّ لِلهَرشِ جَنبَ الصَّفَا

And he slapped the ground with his face,

As the cheek of the mountain is slapped.

وكَبَّرَ سِراًّ بِلاَ نِيَّةٍ

يَظُنُّ المَقَامَ مَقَامَ الخَفَا

And he exclaimed the Takbir secretly without intention,

Thinking the situation like that of concealment.

وقَد صَارَ عِندَ يَمِينِ الإِمَامِ

وذَلِكَ أمرٌ لَو استُخلِفَا

And he came to stand at the right of the imam,

Though that is a matter which, if witnessed, would be scandalous.

وقَلَّبَ عَينَيهِ نَحوَ الهَوَا

وقَالَ لَهُ خَفِّفَن خَفِّفَا

And he glanced with his eyes towards passion,

And said to it, “Lighten up, lighten up!”

فَأسرَع حتى تَظَنَّيتُهُ

بِكَفِّ وَلِيدٍ بِهِ خَذرَفَا

So he hurried until I thought him

To be, with his lightness, Waleed who was abandoned.

فَلَمَّا وَنَوا سَلَّمُوا وأنثَنَوا

وظَلَّوا بِحَافَاتِهِ عُكَّفَا

So when they turned for the greetings and turned away,

And remained clinging to its edges, bent over,

فَقَالَ عَلَيكُم بِقَفوِ الضَّلاَلِ

وحِرمَانِ عَافٍ إذَا مَا أعتفي

He said, upon you be straying misguidance

And deprivation of wellbeing, if fully realized.

ونَصرِ النَّمُومِ وطَيشِ الحُلُومِ

وجَهلِ العُلُومِ وعِلمِ الجَفَا

And help for slanderers and foolish minds,

And ignorance of knowledge and knowledge of betrayal.

وَمنعِ الصِّلاَتِ وَتركِ الصَّلاَةِ

وصَرمِ الزَّكَاةِ وهَجرِ الوَفَا

And prevention of prayers and abandonment of prayer,

And withholding of charity and neglect of loyalty.

فَقَالُوا وصَاتُكَ مَسمُوعَةٌ

وأَنتَ المُعَدُّ لِيَومِ الوَفَا

So they said, “Your bequest is heard,

And you are prepared for the Day of the Rendezvous.”