سرائر سرٍّ لا تصان ولا تفشى

سرائر سرٍّ لا تصان ولا تفشى

وأبكارها لا تُستباح ولا تغشى

وأبكارها لا تُستباح ولا تغشى

A secret's inner mysteries are neither guarded nor divulged.

Secrets of mysteries that are neither guarded nor divulged,

And their virgins are neither violated nor bedded.

And their virgins neither violated nor assaulted.

فمطعمها للحسِّ شهدٌ لذائق

فمطعمها للحسِّ شهدٌ لذائق

وملمسها للعقلِ كالحية الرقشا

وملمسها للعقلِ كالحية الرقشا

So their savor, to the senses, is honey for the taster.

Their taste is honey for the senses,

And their touch, to the intellect, is like the speckled serpent.

And their touch is smooth as silk to the mind.

تولد للأفكار في كلِّ ساعةٍ

تولد للأفكار في كلِّ ساعةٍ

من اليومِ والليلِ البهيمِ إذا يغشى

من اليومِ والليلِ البهيمِ إذا يغشى

They beget for thought, at every hour

They give birth to ideas for the thoughts every hour,

Of day and pitch-dark night, when it enshrouds,

Of night and day when it overwhelms.

إناثاً وذكرانا لمعنى بصورةٍ

إناثاً وذكرانا لمعنى بصورةٍ

بها قيدته مثل ما قيد الأعشى

بها قيدته مثل ما قيد الأعشى

Females and males, for a meaning in a form

Females and males of meaning in a form,

With which they confined it, as al-Aʿshā confined it.

In which he constrained it as Al-A'sha constrained.

فقال بأنَّ الضوءَ ممتزجٌ وما

فقال بأنَّ الضوءَ ممتزجٌ وما

نوى بالذي قد قال سءاً ولا غشا

نوى بالذي قد قال سءاً ولا غشا

So he said that light is mingled, and did not

He said that light is intermingled and not

Intend evil or deceit by what he had said.

What he intended by what he said anything wrong or deceived.

وقال الذي لم يعرف الحكم إنه

وقال الذي لم يعرف الحكم إنه

نوى بالذي قد قاله للورى غشا

نوى بالذي قد قاله للورى غشا

And one who did not know the judgment said that he

And the one who did not know the truth said that he

Intended, by what he had said, deceit for humankind.

Intended by what he said to people wrong or deceived.

فلو يدري أنَّ النور يستر ليله

فلو يدري أنَّ النور يستر ليله

وأنَّ وجودَ السلخِ صيَّره نشا

وأنَّ وجودَ السلخِ صيَّره نشا

So if he knew that light conceals its night,

If only he knew that the light hides its night,

And that the act of stripping turned it into starch [unclear here],

And that making the peeled visible made it radiant.

لقال بأنَّ الأمر نورٌ وظلمتُه

لقال بأنَّ الأمر نورٌ وظلمتُه

وذلك حقٌّ ما به بان أن يغشى

وذلك حقٌّ ما به بان أن يغشى

He would say that the matter is light and its darkness.

He would have said that the matter is light and its darkness,

And that is true; no veiling is thereby apparent.

And that is the truth by which it appears without being deceived.

فمن سبر الأمر الذي قد سبرته

فمن سبر الأمر الذي قد سبرته

يكون إماما لا يخافُ ولا يخشى

يكون إماما لا يخافُ ولا يخشى

So whoever fathoms the matter that I have fathomed

So whoever fathomed the matter I have fathomed,

Will be an imam who neither fears nor dreads.

Becomes an imam who neither fears nor is deceived.