رآني بمِرْطِ الإنْكِسارِ أَخو الهَوَى

فأَهمَلَني من طمسِ طابِعِ طَبْعِهِ

I saw him in the garb of melancholy, a kindred spirit,

Yet he ignored me, obliterating all trace of his nature,

وقاطَعَني كِبْراً برِقِّ ثِيابِهِ

وما ذاكَ إِلاَّ من عَلامَةِ قَطْعِهِ

And haughtily cut me off with the flash of his raiment,

Though that was but a sign of his disconnection.

فيا عَجَباً من جهلِهِ ظنَّ أنَّه

كمالُ الفَتى في حسنِ مَطْوِيِّ دِرْعِهِ

Strange is his ignorance! He thought

The height of glory was the trim of his coat of mail,

ولو كانَ ذا ذوْقٍ له أُذُنٌ وَعَتْ

لرَقْرَقَ شيئاً من كَلامي بسَمْعِهِ

Had he but a little taste and an ear to hear

He might have murmured some of my words in his hearing;

ولكنَّه ما فرَّقَ الحظُّ عندَهُ

بمَعناهُ بينَ الضُّرِّ منه ونَفْعِهِ

But fortune never distinguished for him therein

Between harm and benefit in their meaning;

وأنِّي امرؤٌ في حضرَةِ القُدْسِ قلبُهُ

وقد رَشَّقَ البُرْدَ المُعَلَّى بدمْعِهِ

Yet I am a man whose heart in the holy presence

Is split, and the sublimely lofty is drenched by his tears,

له بحرُ قلبٍ هاشِمِيٍّ نِجارُهُ

تَسيلُ بُحورُ الكَوْنِ من أَصلِ نبْعِهِ

He has an oceanic heart, a Hashimite carpenter shaped it,

The oceans of existence flow from the source of its spring,

إِمامٌ لأصْحابِ القُلُوبِ عَظيمُهُمْ

وفي فَرقِهِ شيخُ الجَميعِ وجمْعِهِ

A leader for the folk of hearts, greatest among them,

In his party the Shaykh of all and their multitude,

تَسامَى مَقاماً بُحْبوحَةِ العُلى

رِفاعِيُّ أَهلِ اللهِ قامَ برَفْعِهِ

He rose loftily in station through the amplitude of the Most High,

Highest of God's folk, he rose by his ascendance,

أَفاضَ عليه نورَهُ المُصْطَفى وقدْ

أَسالَ له من بُرجِهِ لَمْعِهِ

Upon him the Chosen One shed his light when

He let shine for him the gleam from his tower,

تجَلَّى الضُّحى في بُرجِ ناسوتِ قلبِهِ

فأَعرَضَ عن جَذْوِ الجَهولِ وشَمْعِهِ

Daybreak was revealed in the tower of his heart’s humanity

So he turned from the foolish and their flambeaux;

وأَعْطاهُ مولاهُ المُرَجَّى وفَوقَهُ

فمالَ عن المُعْطى الفَقيرِ ومَنْعِهِ

And his Master, the Desired One, gave him that which was above him

So he inclined from the poor gift and its withholding,

وأَزهَرَ من كلِّ النَّواحي رَبيعُهُ

وفاضَتْ عُيونُ الخارِقاتِ برَبْعِهِ

And his spring bloomed on every side,

The fountains of wonders overflowed through his turf,

كما اتَّصلَتْ كلُّ المَعالي بأَصلِهِ

قد التَحَقَتْ تلكَ المَعاني بفَرْعِهِ

Just as all the high virtues connected to his origin—

Those meanings attached themselves to his branch—

تَواتَرَ بُرهانُ التَّدلِّي بوِتْرِهِ

وشُوفِعَ سُلطانُ التَّجلِّي بشَفْعِهِ

The proof of induction flowed in rhythmic beat,

The authority of revelation pleaded through his intercession—

بأَجْرَعِهِ من لَعْلَعِ الحَيِّ لوعَةٌ

أَقامَتْ على الكاساتِ قائِمَ جَرْعِهِ

By his deep draft of the living wine such anguish

Established itself over the goblets, erect by his draught,

عَريقٌ بحُبِّ الحِبِّ ضَعضَعَهُ النَّوى

فذاقَ حَليبَ القُرْبِ من عينِ ضَرْعِهِ

Long rooted in yearning love—the bending of the boughs intoxicated him—

So he tasted the milk of intimacy from the spring of its udder,

أَقامَتْهُ في رَكْبِ المُحِبِّينَ طينَةٌ

نعم كلُّ جُزءٍ مالُهُ حالُ نَوْعِهِ

The clay of which he was constituted set him among the ranks of lovers—

Behold, each part conforms to the state of its kind—

فلازِمْ حِمى هذا المُحِبِّ وقفْ به

على البابِ واسْتَجْلِ الشُؤُنَ بقَرْعِهِ

So frequent the sanctuary of this lover, stand by his door,

Implore the thresholds by your knocking,

وخلِّ حَسوداً ضاعَ بالغَيِّ عُمْرُهُ

وأُفرِغَ نحسٌ مستَمِرٌ برَوْعِهِ

And leave the envious one whose life strayed into error,

From whom misfortune flows in ceaseless torrent;

إذا الخِرْقُ أَعطتْهُ يدُ القطعِ خِرقَةً

فلا تحتَفِلْ بين الأَنامِ برَقْعِهِ

When a patch gave the rent a patch

Do not busy yourself before all with its mending;

فرُبَّ جَريحٍ مسَّهُ النَّبْلُ ما دَرَى

تسلُّطَهُ فيه لخفَّةِ وَقْعِهِ

Many a wounded man unaware was struck by the arrow

Overpowered by its light blow against him;

وفي حوْمَةِ الهَيْجاءِ يا رُبَّ فارِسٍ

قد اغْتيلَ لو يوقِنْ بنكْبَةِ صرْعِهِ

And in the furious fray—oh how many a horseman

Would be assassinated, did he but know the shock of his fall;

وكم من لَديغٍ مسَّهُ السَّمُّ طَيِّباً

فطابَ له جهلاً بمُحْرِقِ لَسْعِهِ

And how often the poisonously bitten one thought it sweet,

So in his ignorance it was pleasant to burn from its sting!

فغِبْ عن سِوى اللهِ الكَريمِ وثقْ به

وناجيهِ واستوثِقْ بفَعَّالِ سَمْعِهِ

Turn away from all but God the Generous, trust in Him,

Confide in Him, rely on the effectiveness of His hearing,