انظر إليَّ ولا تنظر إلى حالي

واحذر من العذلِ لا تخطره بالبالِ

Look at me, and look not at my state,

And beware of passion, think it not in your mind,

وافرغ إلى طلبِ الفضلِ الذي صبنت

عنه ظنوني في ترتيب أحوالي

And pour yourself into seeking virtue, from which

My suppositions have distracted me in arranging my states,

لو أنَّ لي سيِّداً فتَّ الأنام جداً

ولم أعرِّج على جاهٍ ولا مال

If I had a master who was extremely generous to people,

And I did not incline to status or wealth,

المالُ مالُ الذي مالَ الوجودُ به

إليه من كرمٍ فلا تقل ما لي

Wealth is the wealth through which existence inclined

Toward Him through generosity, so say not, "What do I have?"

بل قل إذا جاء من يبغي نزالكمُ

ما لي من المالِ إلا حظ آمالي

Rather say, when one comes seeking to humble you,

"I have no wealth except my hopes."

وقد علمتُ بأنَّ الجودَ من خلقي

طبعاً جبلتُ عليه فيه إقبالي

And I knew that generosity is of my nature,

I was created having a propensity for it.

لا تفرحنَّ بشيءٍ لستَ مالكه

بل أنت مستخلفٌ فيه وكالوالي

Do not be joyous in anything you do not own,

But you are only a steward over it, like a governor.

مكانتي عند من أصبحتُ نائبه

في ملكه حاكماً بقدر أعمالي

My status with the one whom I became the deputy

Of his kingdom, a ruler according to my deeds.

فإنْ عدلتَ فإن العدلَ شيمتنا

لعلمنا أو تفضّلنا فلا ما لي

So if you act with justice, justice is our quality,

Either for our knowledge or nobility, not for "what I have."

الفضلُ فضلُ إلهي ما لنا قدمٌ

فيه لفقري وما أدريه من حالي

Virtue is a divine favor, we have no footing in it,

Due to my poverty and ignorance of my state.

فليس يفضل عني ما أجود به

ولا يليق بنا قصد لأمثالي

So nothing surpasses what I spend generously,

And it is unfit for us to aim for the likes of me.

فما لنا غيرُ من تُرجَّى عوارفه

وهو الغنيّ عن الحاجاتِ والعالي

For we have none but He whose favors are hoped for,

And He is free of needs and Most High.

لما رأى من رأى حكمي ومملكتي

وما درى أنني العاطلُ الحالي

When he who saw my decree and kingdom saw me,

He did not know that I am the helpless one.

وقد رأى من أنا فيهم خليفته

يقولُ تقرضني من عرض أموالي

And he saw that I am His deputy among them,

Saying, "Lend me from your wealth."

وما رأى أنه قد جال في خَلَدي

أقرضن بالفعلِ لا بالعقد والحالِ

But he did not see that he wandered in my imagination,

"Lend me" in action, not in contract and state.

لذاك نطقهم فيه بأنَّ له

فقراً إلينا وما ربي من أشكالي

Therefore, their words about Him are that

He has poverty toward us, though the Lord has no forms.

الفيت فيه الذي عليَّ يلبسه

بأنْ تشخص لي أفعال أفعى لي

So I have erred regarding what He clothes me in,

By making the acts of snakes seem like acts for me.

لا أعرف اللغو في قولٍ أفوه به

إنَّ السديد من الأقوالِ أقوالي

I do not know nonsense in words I utter,

The most truthful words are my words.

أَجلُّ وصفي أنّ الله أهَّلني

لحلِّ ما عند أشكالي من أشكالي

The greatest description of me is that Allah has made me worthy

To solve the forms among my forms.