إذا تجليت لي أنثى أهيم بها

إذا تجليت لي أنثى أهيم بها

ولو تجليت لي في أقبح الصورِ

ولو تجليت لي في أقبح الصورِ

When You manifest Yourself to me as a woman, I am enraptured by her.

If a beautiful woman appears before me

And even if You manifest Yourself to me in the ugliest of forms,

Even if she appears in the ugliest of forms

لعاد قبح الذي جعلت مظهركم

لعاد قبح الذي جعلت مظهركم

عندي وفي نظري من أحسن الصورِ

عندي وفي نظري من أحسن الصورِ

The ugliness of what You made Your place of manifestation would become

The ugliness that made your appearance

To me and in my eyes, one of the fairest forms.

Seems to me among the most beautiful of forms

تبارك الله في مجلاه نعرفه

تبارك الله في مجلاه نعرفه

ولو جهلناه كنا منه في ضررِ

ولو جهلناه كنا منه في ضررِ

Blessed is God: in His manifestation we know Him.

Blessed is Allah in His revelation we know Him

And if we did not know Him, we would suffer harm from Him.

And if we were ignorant of Him we would be harmed

هو المشاهد في ذاتِ وفي صفة

هو المشاهد في ذاتِ وفي صفة

في عالم الأمر والأفلاك والبشر

في عالم الأمر والأفلاك والبشر

He is the One beheld in essence and in attribute,

He is the One seen in His Essence and in His Attributes

In the realm of command, the celestial spheres, and humankind.

In the world of command, the heavens, and mankind

به أراه وأصغي عند دعوته

به أراه وأصغي عند دعوته

لأنه عين سمع الأذن والبصر

لأنه عين سمع الأذن والبصر

Through Him I see Him, and I listen attentively at His call,

Through Him I see and listen when He calls me

For He is the very essence of the ear’s hearing and of sight.

For He is the eye's sight and the ear's hearing

وعالمُ الرسم لا يدري مقالتنا

وعالمُ الرسم لا يدري مقالتنا

ولو يقول بها لكانَ في غرر

ولو يقول بها لكانَ في غرر

And the scholar of outward forms does not understand our discourse;

The scholar of theology does not know our words

And even if he professed it, he would be in peril.

If he spoke them he would be in danger

وكلّ صاحبِ عقدٍ في الذي علمت

وكلّ صاحبِ عقدٍ في الذي علمت

ألبابنا إنه فيه على خطر

ألبابنا إنه فيه على خطر

And every holder of a fixed belief concerning what is known

And every advocate of a doctrine of what we know

To our intellects is indeed in peril concerning it.

Our minds, he is in it in danger

تراه يسبح في بحرٍ وليس له

تراه يسبح في بحرٍ وليس له

سيف يؤمله إن كان ذا حذر

سيف يؤمله إن كان ذا حذر

You see him swimming in a sea, and he has no

You see Him swimming in a sea yet He has no

Shore to hope for, if he is wary.

Sword to save Him if He had caution

فاثبت على ما يقول الشرع فيه ولا

فاثبت على ما يقول الشرع فيه ولا

تعدل عن النظرِ العقليِّ والخبر

تعدل عن النظرِ العقليِّ والخبر

So hold fast to what sacred law says of Him, and do not

So adhere to what the Law says about Him and do not

Depart from rational inquiry and transmitted report.

Deviate from the intellectual and transmitted view

ولتنفرد بالذي أشهدته فإذا

ولتنفرد بالذي أشهدته فإذا

مشيت في الناس لا تعدلْ عن الأثر

مشيت في الناس لا تعدلْ عن الأثر

And remain alone with what you were made to witness; then, when

And take exclusively that to which you bear witness then when

You walk among people, do not stray from the transmitted tradition.

You walk among people do not deviate from the trace