يا أيها السائل عن سرنا

وفيه ترتيل وتأويلُ

O you who ask about our secret,

And in it are measured recitation and interpretation.

فتش عن الباطن من كتبنا

فظاهر الكتب أضاليل

Search for the inner meaning of our books,

For the books' outward meanings are delusions.

إن الزواييق وتركيبها

مع الكباريت أباطيلُ

Indeed, quicksilvers and their compounding

With sulfurs are falsehoods.

والمعدنيات وأجسادها

رمز لدى القوم وتمثيلُ

And mineral substances and their bodies

Are symbols and representations among the people.

حر وبرد بعده منهما

يبس ولين فيه تحليلُ

Heat and, after it, cold; from the two,

Dryness and softness—in this lies dissolution.

تركب الأركان منها وللا

أجناس بالأركان تحصيل

The elements are compounded from them; and for the

kinds, there is production through the elements.

وودار أعلاها على سفلها

فتمّ تمزيج وتعديلُ

And their uppermost part revolved over their lowest,

So blending and balancing were completed.

وامتزج الظلمة بالنور وال

أدوار فيهن الأفاعيلُ

And darkness mingled with light, and the

cycles—within them are the workings.

طبائع من واحد أربع

قد طال فيها القال والقيلُ

Four natures from one,

Talk and chatter about them have long continued.

فهذه من سرّنا جملة

لها شروح وتفاصيلُ

So this is a summary of our secret,

It has explanations and details.