Sol 6.1

  1. My good fortune and my ill fortune were predetermined by the decrees of fate.

    What came afterward cannot annul what was already ordained.

  2. For prior knowledge came from the Possessor of knowledge in the past,

    even though error and piety are bound up in it.

  3. Yet striving is my duty, and I must not squander it,

    whether I attain the good fortune of my striving or meet misery.

  4. If God has ordained good fortune for me in a prior decree,

    whenever my striving is accepted and I am granted success, the two coincide.

  5. I am content with God as Lord and the Prophet as guidance,

    and my faith is the faith of Islam: it is protection.

  6. O You who alone possess divinity and dominion—

    vast dominion—with no offspring, far be it, and no depth.

  7. He sees but is not seen; He is the All-Hearing, without

    a faculty of hearing; All-Seeing, with no eye that gazes.

  8. Glory be to Him! He existed without inhabiting space, nor

    was space empty of Him, nor did He climb from below to above.

  9. Above 'shall,' 'until,' 'when,' and 'perhaps,'

    He remains exalted, beyond 'then,' 'where,' and 'how.'

  10. He sees and hears the stir of ants crawling over

    the earth's hidden recesses, when pitch-dark night has fallen.

  11. The Provider for the chick lying in its little nest,

    and the Nourisher of what clings within the wombs.

  12. From one living soul He created another, giving it form,

    from a drop of seed—a morsel of flesh that had been a clinging clot.

  13. By His will He created all creatures; He does not

    weary, nor does preserving what He created burden Him.

  14. And in their changing states His will

    decrees; He endures, and no endurance rivals His.

  15. He built the heavens in layers by His power,

    and spread the earth opposite the sky [and purified it?].

  16. He made the firmly rooted mountains still, anchored upon it,

    so it might [not?] drift; they stood anchored after towering high.

  17. He sent the winds coursing and set above their surging roar

    those sailing vessels, which traveled over them deftly.

  18. And the origin of that was the smoke of a pearl,

    and from its surroundings, when it darkened, He made divisions.

  19. The sea came from foam, and the earth from sediment;

    and from smoke the heavens curved into layers.

  20. The bull carries this earth, while standing on

    a rock upon the great fish [reading uncertain], above the water, unsunk.

  21. And the water rests upon clouds, which are above the air—

    the fashioning of Him who created all things and provided sustenance.

  22. He fashioned the Tablet so that He might bring forth clouds through it,

    after the blowing of the winds and their intermingling.

  23. And Mikal was there, overseeing the water,

    watering wherever the Merciful Lord willed.

  24. The north wind, sent forth, stirs the sea,

    where the east wind has lusted for the south wind.

  25. Thunder is the rebuke of the rainclouds' king, chanting rhythmically,

    and lightning is the light of a staff flashing in his hand.

  26. He sent the messengers with glad tidings and warnings,

    and they conveyed the truth of their Lord, who spoke truly.

  27. I bear witness that there is never any god but Him,

    and Ahmad is a prophet who spoke with guidance.

  28. What he brought us from his Creator

    is truth from God, truly, without contradiction.

  29. Death, resurrection [reading uncertain], the threatened punishment, and what

    came in the promise, and what has been inscribed in the text—

  30. I submit to God through what religion obliges me

    to perform, then what did not exist or linger [sense unclear].

  31. I have bound my soul, on my part, to inquire about

    what calls for inquiry, whether a circumstance has arisen or came before.

  32. My faith and my speech are God's religion—exalted is He—and what

    the Messenger spoke; his words are mine, since he was pure in character.

  33. And my opinion is that of the Muslims, even if,

    may He guide you, you see the two diverge concerning this.

  34. I have repented to God of speech and deed,

    and of intentions and beliefs that stumbled and slipped,

  35. and of rulings I issued in peace,

    and on a day of war, and what I recorded foolishly.

  36. I ask God for right guidance and forgiveness,

    and health, and bounty that dispels poverty.

  37. O You who are kind to a wrongdoer who comes apologizing,

    O Master of the servant: the servant has returned after fleeing.

  38. I am overwhelmed, confined like a prisoner, by a crim-

    e that, if even part were pictured, would fill the horizon.

  39. Perhaps kindness [reading uncertain], right guidance, and fulfillment of wishes will come,

    O You in whom is the firmest handhold for whoever trusts.

  40. I have stood at the door of hope; and this

    hand of mine I have stretched out for a gift from You, seeking sustenance.

  41. Far be it from You to turn away one who hopes in You with no gift,

    no pardon, and no release from his sin.

  42. Would that I knew what lies folded within my prior decree!

    The judgment of all arbiters is only what was decreed beforehand.

  43. You know better than I my love for You, O

    You besides whom I have no beloved—nor is this flattery.

  44. If I have fallen short in fulfilling Your due, how often

    has a servant slipped, while the servant's Master did not grow angry.

  45. You are the Self-Sufficient, and I am in need of You.

    Upon the weak one, through generosity, a command of piety [sense unclear].

  46. I know that, when You bring me joy,

    You guide me to Yourself; then there is neither fear nor dismay.

  47. To You, O Lord, I seek intercession through the Chosen One.

    Far be it from You, far be it, that I should meet the foes face to face.

Sol 6.1