1. في الكون للحق أمثالٌ بها نطقا

    مضروبة منه للعبد الذي صدقا

    In the universe the Real has parables through which He spoke,

    set forth by Him for the servant who was sincere.

  2. فقال تلك هي الأمثال نضربها

    للناس يعقلها من في الكمال رقى

    So He said: “Those are the parables We set forth

    for people; whoever has risen in perfection understands them.”

  3. وأغفل الله عنها من يشاهدهم

    أهل السعادة في الدنيا وأهل شقا

    And God has made heedless of them those He beholds—

    the blessed in this world and the wretched.

  4. فمؤمن هو ناج دون معرفة

    إيمانه النور كالبرق الذي برقا

    A believer, then, is saved without knowledge;

    his faith is light, like the lightning that flashes.

  5. وجاهل ليس يدري ما يقال له

    تكذيبه رزقه ذاك الذي رزقا

    And an ignorant person does not know what is said to him;

    his denial is his allotted portion, that which he was allotted.

  6. كن مسلماً مؤمناً بالحق تعرفه

    أو لست تعرفه واتبع لأهل تقى

    Be a Muslim, believing in the Real, knowing Him

    or not knowing Him; and follow the people of piety.

  7. وإن ترد تعرف الله الذي ظهرت

    آياته فاتبع الأصحاب والرُفقا

    And if you wish to know God—manifest are

    His signs—then follow the companions and fellow travelers.

  8. وهم أولوا العلم علم الله سادتنا

    وكن بهم مؤمناً تلحق بمن سبقا

    They are the possessors of knowledge, knowledge of God, our masters.

    And believe in them: you will join those who went before.

  9. وانظر إلى الوقت وقت الفجر ليس له

    علامة غير نور يملأ الأفقا

    And look at time, the time of dawn: it has no

    sign other than a light that fills the horizon.

  10. ونوره غيره والوقت يحضر إن

    أبدى له الله ذاك النور والشفقا

    And its light is other than it; time is present if

    God displays for it that light and the twilight glow.

  11. والوقت طلق بلا قيد يقيده

    في نفسه فاعتبره واشهد الفلقا

    And time is unbound, without a fetter to bind it

    in itself; so contemplate it, and witness daybreak.

  12. واشهد علامته تشهده حيث بدا

    والله غيب ومشهود بمن خلقا

    And witness its sign: you will witness it wherever it appears.

    And God is unseen, and witnessed through those He created.

  13. والوقت في كل أرض حاضر فخذوا

    منه اعتبار الوجود الحق منطلقا

    And time is present in every land, so take

    from it an analogy for true Being, unbound.

  14. ونزهوه وقولوا عنه خالقنا

    ما إن له غيبة فاليوم يوم لقا

    And proclaim His transcendence, and say of Him: ‘Our Creator.’

    He is never absent; so today is the day of meeting.

  15. والله عنه جميع الكون منتشر

    كالضوء يبدو عن الضوء الذي انفتقا

    And God—from Him the whole universe spreads forth,

    like light appearing from the light that burst forth.

  16. تبارك الله لا شيء يشابهه

    فالحس والعقل في تنزيهه اتفقا

    Blessed is God: nothing resembles Him.

    Thus sense-perception and reason agree in declaring Him transcendent.

  17. والله قد ضرب الأكوان أمثلة

    بالفعل لا نحن فاترك عنك ذا السلقا

    And God has made the worlds into parables

    in deed, not we; so put aside this harsh speech.

  18. ونحن نعقلها لا نحن نضربها

    فنودع الطرس ما ندريه والورقا

    And we understand them; it is not we who set them forth.

    So we commit what we know to parchment and paper.

  19. وإن ترد أوضح الأمثال أجمعها

    فانظر إلى صفحة المرآة مستبقا

    And if you want the clearest and most comprehensive of parables,

    then hasten to look at the surface of a mirror,

  20. من الزجاج أو الفولاذ ليس بها

    شيء وفيها يلوح الشيء متسقا

    of glass or steel: in it there is no

    thing, yet in it the thing appears in harmonious order.

  21. ولا ترى جرم مرآة بك استترت

    وبالجميع فلا تتعب به الحدقا

    And you do not see the body of a mirror concealed by you

    and by all things; so do not weary your eyes with it.

  22. كما تلوح لك الأكوان تظهر في

    مرآة عين الوجود المنتمي لبقا

    Likewise, the worlds that appear to you are revealed in

    the mirror of Being itself, which is everlasting.

  23. وليس فيه سواه دائماً أبداً

    والكل فانٍ به فيه قد انسحقا

    And there is nothing in it but Him, always, forever;

    and all passes away through Him, crushed to nothing within Him.

  24. وهو القريب ولكن لست تدركه

    لأنه بك مستور وأنت وِقا

    And He is near, but you do not perceive Him,

    because He is veiled by you, and you are a covering.

  25. بحر الوجود الحقيقيْ لا تزال به

    ترى الظهور هنا الأكوان والفرقا

    The sea of true Being—in it you never cease to

    see manifestation here: the worlds and differentiation.

  26. والكل فانٍ وهذا واحد أحد

    لا غيره معه للغير قد محقا

    And all is passing away, while this is One, Unique,

    with no other beside Him; He has obliterated the other.

  27. فاسلك على أثري وانظر إلى نظري

    وثق بما قلته يا فوز من وثقا

    So follow in my footsteps, and consider my vision,

    and trust what I have said—oh, the triumph of one who has trusted!

  28. واشتم رائحتي من مسك نافجتي

    فإنني لك عطر في الورى عبقا

    And inhale my scent from the musk of my musk-pod,

    for I am a perfume for you, fragrant among humankind.