ألا فتحقق أن كل استقامة

ألا فتحقق أن كل استقامة

بغير اعوجاج ما عليها معوَّلُ

بغير اعوجاج ما عليها معوَّلُ

Take heed: know for certain that any straightness

Behold, every straightness

without curvature is not to be relied upon.

Without crookedness cannot be relied upon

فإن اعوجاج القوس عين استقامة

فإن اعوجاج القوس عين استقامة

له في يد الرامي فلا يتحول

له في يد الرامي فلا يتحول

For the bow's curvature is the very essence of straightness

For the crookedness of the bow is the very essence of its straightness

for it in the archer's hand, so it does not change.

In the archer's hand, so it does not change

ولما استقام السهم زال بسرعة

ولما استقام السهم زال بسرعة

عن القوس فافهم أيها المتطول

عن القوس فافهم أيها المتطول

And when the arrow straightened, it swiftly departed

And when the arrow went straight, it quickly

from the bow; so understand, you who boast of superiority.

Departed from the bow, so understand, O lengthy one

وقصدي بهذا الإعوجاج هو الذي

وقصدي بهذا الإعوجاج هو الذي

رأته نفوس جاهلون فجهّلوا

رأته نفوس جاهلون فجهّلوا

And what I mean by this curvature is that which

And my intention with this crookedness is that

ignorant souls perceived, and so they called others ignorant.

Which ignorant souls saw and thus erred

ولا يفرقون الحق من باطل السوى

ولا يفرقون الحق من باطل السوى

وشيطانهم يملي لهم ويسوِّل

وشيطانهم يملي لهم ويسوِّل

And they do not distinguish the Truth from the falsehood of all else,

And they do not distinguish truth from the crookedness of falsehood

and their devil gives them false hopes and entices them.

And their devil dictates to them and makes pleasing to them

وإلا فإن الإستقامة عين ما

وإلا فإن الإستقامة عين ما

هو الشرع يسمو من بها يتجمل

هو الشرع يسمو من بها يتجمل

Otherwise, uprightness is precisely that

Whereas straightness is the essence of

which is the sacred Law; whoever adorns himself with it rises high.

What is the Shariah, it rises with the one adorned by it

وما الشرع إلا والحقيقة عينه

وما الشرع إلا والحقيقة عينه

وبينهما لا فرق مفصل

وبينهما لا فرق مفصل

And the sacred Law is none other than Reality itself,

And the Shariah is none other than the truth itself

and no distinction separates the two.

Between the two there is no articulated distinction