العلمُ بالله لا ينالُ

العلمُ بالله لا ينالُ

لكن بتوحيدِه يُنالُ

لكن بتوحيدِه يُنالُ

Knowledge of God cannot be attained,

Knowledge of God cannot be attained

but through affirming His oneness it is attained.

Except through professing His Oneness

فما ترى فيه من كلامٍ

فما ترى فيه من كلامٍ

مبرهنٍ كلُّه مقالُ

مبرهنٍ كلُّه مقالُ

So whatever speech you see concerning Him,

So whatever you see of this talk

supported by proof, is all mere discourse.

Proving Him is simply prattle

فليس للعقلِ يا خليلي

فليس للعقلِ يا خليلي

بالفكر في ذاته مجال

بالفكر في ذاته مجال

For reason, O my friend, cannot

So my friend, the intellect has no

find scope for reflection upon His essence.

Means of contemplating His Essence

لأنه واحدٌ تعالى

لأنه واحدٌ تعالى

ليس له في النهى مثال

ليس له في النهى مثال

For He is One—exalted is He—

For He is One, Most High

He has no likeness in the intellect.

With no likeness, nothing similar

قد حرم الفكر فيه شرعا

قد حرم الفكر فيه شرعا

فالفكر في ذاته محال

فالفكر في ذاته محال

Reflection upon Him has indeed been forbidden by sacred law;

Religiously, thinking of Him is prohibited

thus reflection upon His essence is impossible.

So contemplating His Essence is impossible

غايته العجز إن تناهى

غايته العجز إن تناهى

فعجزه ذلك الكمال

فعجزه ذلك الكمال

Its ultimate end is incapacity, if it reaches its limit;

Trying to fully grasp Him leads only

thus that incapacity of its is perfection.

To recognizing one's incapacity

فما ترى فيه من جدال

فما ترى فيه من جدال

فإنه كله ضلال

فإنه كله ضلال

So whatever disputation you see concerning Him

So whatever debates you see

is therefore all error.

Are nothing but misguidance