ولما رأيت الكونَ يعلو ويسفلُ

وبينهما الأمر الإلهي ينزلُ

When I saw the universe rising and falling,

And between them the divine command descending,

علمتُ بأنَّ الحقَّ سورٌ وإنه

لما ضمن الكونين فيه مفصلُ

I knew that truth is a fortress in which

He articulated the two worlds perfectly.

يدّبر أمراً من سماءٍ وأرضها

وآياتُها للعالمين يفصلُ

He manages an order from the sky and the earth,

And their signs to the two worlds He distinguishes clearly.

ويعرجُ ذاك الأمر للفصل طالباً

فيعدلُ فيهم ما يشاءُ ويفصل

That order ascends seeking judgment,

So He judges among them as He wills and separates distinctly.

ولو قامَ فيهم عدلُه عشر ساعة

لأهلكهم سيفٌ من الله فَيصل

Had His justice stood among them for ten hours,

A sword from Allah would have destroyed them sharply.

ولكنه روحُ التجاوز حاكمٌ

فيحكم فيهم حُكم مَن هو يغفل

But He is the spirit of forgiveness, the Ruler,

So He judges them with the judgment of One who is oblivious.

فإهماله إمهاله عن مُصابه

ولو حقق التفتيش عنهم لزلزلوا

His neglect of them is His patience over their offenses,

And were He to investigate them closely, they would tremble and quake.

وعلة هذا الأمرِ أنْ ليس فاعلٌ

سواه وأنَّ الحقَّ بالحقِّ يفعل

The reason for this matter is that there is no doer

Other than Him, and that the Truth acts with the Truth.

فما كان من حمدٍ فحقُّ محقق

وما كان من ذمٍّ فحقٌ معللُ

So whatever was of praise, the Truth is realized,

And whatever was of blame, the Truth is justified.

وما ثَم إلاَّ الحقُّ ما ثَم غيره

ولكنهم قالوا محققٌ ومُبطلُ

And there is none but the Truth, there is nothing other than it,

Yet they said, one who realizes and one who nullifies.

يقولُ رسولُ الله يا رب فاحكمن

بذلكم الحق الذي كنتَ ترسل

The Messenger of Allah says: "O Lord, so judge between them

With that Truth which You used to send down."

وعلة هذا أنهم جحدوا الذي

أتتهم به أرساله وتعللوا

And the reason for this is that they rejected what

His messages brought them, and argued fallaciously.

فزادهم وهماً وغماً وحسرةً

خلالَ الذي ظنوه ذاك التعلل

So it increased them in delusion, sorrow, and regret,

Through that which they wrongly thought was an argument.

فلو أنهم لم يكذبوهم وصدَّقوا

مقالتهم فيهم لكانوا به أوَّلوا

For had they not denied them and believed their words about them,

They would have been first to attain salvation.

نجاةٍ فإن الاعترافَ مقامه

إلى جانب العفو الكريم يهرولُ

For confessing has its position right next

To the side of the generous pardon that rushes forth.

لقد حكمتَ في حالهم غفلاتهم

فلولا وجودُ العفو لم تك تهمل

You have judged regarding their state - their heedlessness -

For were it not for the existence of pardon, You would not neglect.

فيا رب عفواً فالرجاء محققٌ

وهذا الذي ما زلتَ مني تسأل

So O Lord, pardon! For hope is certain,

And this is what I have not ceased to ask of You.