إني رأيت وجوداً لا يقيده

نعتٌ ولا هو محدود فينحصرُ

I saw an existence, not bounded by any description,

Nor is it limited to be confined and measured.

في الحدِّ وهو الذي في الحدِّ يعرفه

وما له في الذي يدري به خبرُ

It is the one who knows what's within the limit,

Yet nothing knows about the one who has no equal.

تنزهتْ ذاتُ من قد حار طالبها

سبحانه جل أنْ تحظى به الفكر

The essence is too pure for its seeker to comprehend,

Glory be to Him, exalted above what any mind can conceive.

أقامني مثلا مثلا ونزهني

عن كلِّ شيء فلم يظفر بيَ النظر

He made me an example and elevated me,

Above everything, so no sight could reach me.

هو الوجودُ الذي في كونه سندٌ

لخلقه وله سمع هو البصر

He is the existence, that in His being, is the pillar

Of His creation, and He is the hearing and seeing.

إني لعبد لمن كانت هويته

عيني وما أنا عينُ الحقِّ فاعتبروا

I'm a servant of the one whose identity,

Is my eyes, and I'm not the eye of the Truth, ponder over this.

لو كنته لم أكن بالعجز متَّصفاً

عن كونِ ما تظهر الأسباب والقدر

If I were Him, I wouldn't have been characterized by incapacity,

To bring into being what secondary causes and fate show.

ولم يكن حاكماً على تصرّفنا

سرٌّ يقال له في علمنا القدر

And the unseen called fate wouldn't have power,

Over our actions, this is a hidden secret I tell.

إني عُبيدٌ فقيرٌ في تقلبه

هذي نعوتي وأما اسمي هو البشر

I'm a poor, needy slave at His disposal,

These are my attributes, and my name is humankind.

ووالدي آدمُ والكلُّ متَّصِفٌ

بعجزه للذي إليه يفتقر

My father is Adam, and all are described,

By their incapacity, for the one they need.

فغايتي الفقر والتنزيه غايته

عن غايتي والغنى عني هو الوزر

My ultimate goal is poverty and transcendence, His goal,

Is beyond my goal, and He is independent of me, this is the load.

أعطيته الوصفَ من ذاتي فلي شرفٌ

به تنزلتِ الآياتِ والسور

I was given the attribute from His essence, so I have honor,

Through which the verses and chapters were revealed.

لولاي ما ظهرت في الصور نفخته

فالروحُ من نفس الرحمنِ فادّكروا

Without my allegiance, His spirit wouldn't have manifested,

In forms, so the soul is from the Most Merciful, take heed.

هذا الذي قلته ألوحي يعضدني

فيه فقد جاءكم ما فيه معتبر

This which I have said, divine inspiration supports me,

In it, for there has come to you what can be pondered over.

لو كنتُ ذا بصر لكنتُ معتبراً

كذا يقول الإله الحقُّ فافتكروا

If I had vision, I would have pondered,

Thus says the True God, so think and reflect.