قل للذي اعتبر الوجودَ مِثالاً

هل نال منه العرفون مَنالا

Tell the one who considered existence an example

Did the gnostics attain any attainment from it?

لا و الذي خضع الوجودُ لعزِّه

ما زادهم إلا عمىّ وضلالا

No, by He who subjected existence to His might

It only increased them in blindness and misguidance

فإذا عجزتَ عن المنال علمتَه

بالعجز ليس بما اعتبرتَ مثالا

So if you are incapable of attainment, you realize it

Is through incapacity, not what you considered an example

قد حاز من جعل المثالَ دليلَه

للعلمِ بالله العظيمِ خبالا

He who made the example his evidence

To know Allah the Almighty attained deluded imaginings

فيراه تاجاً في الرؤوس مكللاً

ويراه في رجلِ الرجالِ نعالا

So he sees it a crown on heads adorned

And he sees it in the feet of men a sandal

ورأيته عند اللجينِ مخلصاً

للناظرين وفي النضار ذُبالا

And you saw it in the soft spoken being sincere

To viewers, and in the bright as a reflection

لا تقطعن بما ترى من صورة

فالشمسُ وقتاً قد تكون هلالا

Do not judge by what you see of a form

For the sun at times can be a crescent

ما سمى البدرُ المنير هلاله

إلا كبرته إهلالا

The shining moon was not named crescent

Except by its disappearance and decline

حلاك تعظيمُ التشهُّد ذاته

من خلقِه سبحانه وتعالى

Making much of the act of declaring His transcendence

From His creation, glory be to Him and transcendent is He

وتحوزُ منه مكانةً علويةً

بعلومها ومراتباً وكمالا

And attaining through it a sublime station

With its sciences, ranks and perfection

دارت رحى الألباب في طلبِ الذي

ما زال في أرحى العقول ثفالا

The mills of intellects revolved in seeking the One

Who did not cease to be in the mills of minds like bran

فيرى مطيهمُ لذاك من الوجى

تشكو عياءً عنده وكَلالا

So he sees their mounts towards that complain

To him of fatigue and exhaustion