1. وأعلم حقا أن بعدي عنكم

    لذنب جرى لكنني تبت من كبر

    And I truly know that my distance from you

    Is due to a sin that occurred—but I have repented of pride.

  2. تجلى لطور القلب فأندك هيبة

    وحق الحق حقا بناظر

    He revealed himself to the mountain of the heart, and it crumbled in awe.

    And the Real was truly established through a beholder.

  3. تجلى حبيبي للقلوب بعينه

    فهيمني غيبا بسطوة قاهر

    My beloved revealed himself to hearts in his very essence.

    So he enraptured me in the unseen with a subduer’s might.

  4. ومن ذا يطيق الصبر إن هي بدت

    على بسط التلوين طورا لظاهر

    And who can remain patient if she appears

    Upon the carpets of changing states, at times, to one outwardly manifest?

  5. تبدت لأكواني بعين جمالها

    فلبت وقرت ثم هامت كحائر

    She appeared to my worlds in the very essence of her beauty.

    So they answered and grew still, then wandered like one bewildered.

  6. وأبصرها لحظي وذلك لحظها

    فكنت بها منها سميعا لحاجر

    My gaze beheld her, and that was her gaze.

    So through her, from her, I became a listener to a restrainer.

  7. تقادمني حب وذلك حبها

    فثم أحاط الستر بين المنابر

    A love long preceded me, and that was her love.

    So there the veil closed round between the pulpits.

  8. وما ثم غير في الحقيقة ظاهر

    لمن دق أو قد ران بين الضمائر

    And no other is manifest there in reality,

    For one who has grown subtle, or has already prevailed among the inner selves.

  9. فما ثمّ إلا الوهم وهي حقيقة

    وكل وراء فهو شيء كسائر

    So there is nothing there but illusion, while she is reality.

    And everything beyond is a thing like the rest.