1. صح قولي إن السماع دواءُ

    لجميع الأمراض فيه شفاءُ

    My saying is true: spiritual listening is a cure.

    In it lies healing for all illnesses.

  2. لكن النفع عند أصحاب ذوق

    وطباع سليمة لا جفاء

    But benefit comes to those with taste

    And sound dispositions, free of harshness.

  3. ينشط المرء من عقال إذا ما

    صرخ الناي حيث راق الغناء

    A person springs free of his fetters whenever

    The reed flute cries out where the singing is sweet.

  4. فاستمع يا نديم إن كنت مثلي

    مطلق الحال ليس فيه خفاء

    So listen, O boon companion, if you are like me,

    Unfettered in state, with nothing hidden in it.

  5. وتنصت للدف والعود لما

    يتوالى عليهما الإطراء

    And listen closely to the frame drum and the oud when

    Praise pours over them both in succession.

  6. والذي يلتهي بذلك غر

    ليس يدري ما ذلك الإيحاء

    And whoever treats this as diversion is naive;

    He does not know what that inspiration is.

  7. هو سر يبدو من الغيب جهر

    لقلوب الرجال فيه انتشاء

    It is a secret that appears openly from the unseen;

    In it, the hearts of men find rapture.

  8. يسكر العقل بالذي منه يبدو

    فتفيض العلوم والأنباء

    It intoxicates the mind with what appears from it,

    So knowledge and tidings overflow.

  9. إن علم الإله يملأ قلباً

    فارغاً عنه زالت الأشياء

    Indeed, knowledge of God fills a heart

    Empty, from which all things have vanished.

  10. وهو قلب للعارفين صحيح

    صقلته عنايةٌ واهتداء

    And it is a sound heart for the knowers of God;

    Care and guidance have polished it.

  11. ملأ الله منه كل البرايا

    والبرايا قد عمهن الفناء

    From it, God has filled all created beings,

    And annihilation has encompassed all created beings.

  12. عدم كله وربي وجود

    هم له العرش فوقه الإستواء

    All of it is nonbeing, while my Lord is Being;

    They are His Throne; above it is His enthronement.

  13. يتجلّى بنا ونحن شهود

    باطلٌ نحن كلنا وانمحاء

    He manifests Himself through us, and we are witnesses;

    We are all unreality and effacement.

  14. لكن القدرة القديمة أبدت

    لانتفاء لنا وفيها البقاء

    But eternal power has made us manifest

    Because of our nonbeing; within it lies permanence.

  15. منه لطف ورحمة شملتنا

    وعطاء ورأفة واعتناء

    From Him, kindness and mercy have encompassed us,

    And bounty, compassion, and care.

  16. دار كاس السماع منه علينا

    فيه للكشف والتجلي احتواء

    From Him, the cup of spiritual listening went round among us;

    It contains unveiling and self-manifestation.

  17. فإذا دندن الرباب أجابت

    نغمة الدف فاستقر العناء

    Then, when the rabab hums, there answers

    The frame drum's note, and suffering comes to rest.

  18. وصريخ النايات قد شاكلتها

    نقرات للطبل فيا الهناء

    And the reed flutes' cry has been matched by

    Beats upon the drum—oh, what bliss!

  19. قم تأمل وزد بربك علماً

    ما له في علومهم أكفاء

    Arise, contemplate, and grow in knowledge of your Lord;

    It has no equal among their sciences.

  20. كل علم مما سوى الله جهل

    فتنت في الورى به الجهلاء

    All knowledge of what is other than God is ignorance;

    By it, the ignorant among humankind are beguiled.

  21. غير علم الإله ما هو علم

    إنما الظن ذاك والإدعاء

    What is other than knowledge of God is not knowledge;

    That is only conjecture and pretension.

  22. ولهذا ترى التكبر فيمن

    علمه الكون وهو شيء هباء

    And so you see arrogance in those

    Whose knowledge concerns the cosmos, itself a thing of dust.

  23. والذي يعرف الإله تراه

    دام فيه تواضعٌ وانحناء

    And the one who knows God—you behold him:

    Humility and bowing abide within him.

  24. حاصل الأمر كله ليس غير ال

    علم بالله أهله العلماء

    The sum of the whole matter is nothing but the

    knowledge of God; its possessors are the learned.

  25. هكذا جاءنا الكتاب وجاءت

    سنة المصطفى وتم الوفاء

    Thus the Book came to us, and so came

    The Chosen One's tradition, and fulfillment was complete.