لما بدا السرُّ في فؤادي

فنى وجودي وغاب نجمي

When the secret shone in my heart,

My existence vanished and my star waned.

وحال قلبي بسرِّ ربي

وغبتُ عن رسم حسِّ جسمي

My heart was immersed in the secret of my Lord,

And I was absent from the form of my senses.

وجئتُ منه به إليه

في مركب من سِنيّ عزمي

I came to Him through it from Him,

In a ship made of the aged wood of my resolve.

نشرتُ فيه قلاعَ فكري

في لُجةٍ من خفيِّ علمي

I spread in it the castles of my thoughts,

In an ocean of my hidden knowledge.

هَّبتْ عليه رياحُ شوقي

فمرّ في البحر مَرَّ سهم

The winds of my passion blew upon it,

So it passed in the sea like an arrow.

فجزتُ بحرَ الدنوِّ حتى

أبصرت جهراً من لا اسمي

I crossed the sea of nearness until

I saw an intimate vision of the Nameless.

وقلتُ يا من رآه قلبي

أضربُ في حبكم بسهم

And I said, "O You whom my heart saw,

I shoot my love for You with an arrow.

فأنت أُنسي ومهرجاني

وغايتي في الهوى وغُنمي

You are my intimate friend and festival,

My goal in love and my gain."