لك قد رمت وجوداً فأبى

لك قد رمت وجوداً فأبى

وحوى رسمك أما وأبا

وحوى رسمك أما وأبا

For you I sought an existence, but it refused;

For you I sought existence, but it refused.

and your form embraced both mother and father.

And your form contained a mother and a father.

أنت رسم مستحيل عدم

أنت رسم مستحيل عدم

ووجود الله عنك احتجبا

ووجود الله عنك احتجبا

You are a form whose nonexistence is impossible,

You are a form—an impossibility, nothingness.

while God’s Being withdrew behind a veil from you

And God's existence was veiled from you

بدعاويك له حيث دنا

بدعاويك له حيث دنا

منك يا تقديره واقتربا

منك يا تقديره واقتربا

through your pretensions concerning Him, when He drew near

Through your claims to it, as it drew near

to you—O you who are His determination—and approached.

To you, O His decree, and came close.

واجب ما زال ربي واجباً

واجب ما زال ربي واجباً

مستحيل أن يرى منقلبا

مستحيل أن يرى منقلبا

Necessary—my Lord has ever remained Necessary;

Necessary in being—my Lord has always remained necessary in being.

it is impossible that He should be seen transformed.

It is impossible for Him to be seen transformed.

وكذا الممكن في إمكانه

وكذا الممكن في إمكانه

لم يزل والعلم فيه غلبا

لم يزل والعلم فيه غلبا

And likewise, the possible, within its possibility,

And likewise the contingent, in its contingency,

has never ceased to be so; knowledge concerning it prevails.

Has ever remained so, and knowledge concerning it has prevailed.

علم ربي غالب في كل ما

علم ربي غالب في كل ما

هو فيه فاسمعوا هذا النبا

هو فيه فاسمعوا هذا النبا

My Lord’s knowledge prevails in everything

My Lord's knowledge prevails in all that

wherein He is—so heed these tidings.

Is within it—so hear these tidings.

هن أنواع ثلاث جنسها

هن أنواع ثلاث جنسها

مدرك بالعقل والغير صبا

مدرك بالعقل والغير صبا

They are three kinds; their common genus

They are three kinds, whose genus

is grasped by reason; all else is childish folly.

Is grasped by reason; otherness is childishness.

فاحذر الواجب أن تخلطه

فاحذر الواجب أن تخلطه

بالذي أمكن فالخلط هبا

بالذي أمكن فالخلط هبا

So beware lest you confuse the Necessary

So beware of mixing the necessarily existent

with what is possible, for such confusion is mere dust.

With what is possible, for that mixing is dust.

يا بني الأيام هذا أبداً

يا بني الأيام هذا أبداً

دائم والكل يبغي الطلبا

دائم والكل يبغي الطلبا

O children of the days, this is forever

O sons of the days, this is forever

enduring, while all desire the quest.

Enduring, and all pursue the quest.

ما هنا كل ولكن وهم

ما هنا كل ولكن وهم

غلب العقل أزال الأدبا

غلب العقل أزال الأدبا

There is no totality here, only a delusion

There is no totality here, but an illusion

that overpowered reason and swept spiritual courtesy away.

That overpowered reason and stripped away propriety.

إن هذا هو علم خارج

إن هذا هو علم خارج

عن معاني العقل علم الغربا

عن معاني العقل علم الغربا

Indeed, this is knowledge lying beyond

Indeed, this is knowledge that lies beyond

the concepts of reason—the knowledge of the Strangers.

The concepts of reason—the knowledge of strangers.