Original content

English translation

O Divine, I have begun the book, In Your name, I have opened the door of the book. I have given way to eloquence in my tongue, I have opened my mouth in rhetoric. Relying on God, and admitting my own shortcomings, I have placed this ultimate book before me. I entrusted a present heart to its writing, If I have spoken well, I have won the ball. I opened the door to the treasure of expression, I named this the Elahi Nameh. O Divine, it is Your name and Your book, Indeed, the pen of destiny has dried in Your pen. At its beginning, You have given it the ultimate end, Bring this to a sufficient conclusion at its end. Make grace and success the companions of my mind, Do not cast my mind into worry and delay. So that I may complete this tale to the end, And show the intimacy of the soul to mankind and jinn. You are the eternal guide of creation, You know all that is hidden and manifest. Bring the beginning of my secret to a conclusion, So that I may stand tall and hold my head high. O Divine, make Your grace our companion, Out of mercy, cast a glance upon our affairs. So that the desire of my soul may be attained, Perhaps my words will be accepted by a single heart. If but one heart is pleased by this poem, The soul's purpose and the heart's desire will swiftly be fulfilled. Speech is upon me, guidance is upon the Lord, O Lord, join our separation. I entrust this to Your grace, Protect it, O God, from futility. Make this discourse pleasing to Yourself, Accept me and increase my yearning. Prepare the soul's desire before me, Bestow Your gifts upon me. Grant me a translator for describing Unity, Show my mind the sign of its Lord. Show a sign, O Signless One, so that I may enter, And open my tongue to the heart's desire. I will bring the parrot of the soul into melody, And grant sugar to expression through my poetry. I will become occupied with the task of Your spirit, And be discharged from the shame of sea and mine. I will become entirely soul and leave the body behind, I will liberate the spirit from heart and soul. From head to toe, I will become entirely light, If I am musk, perhaps I will become camphor. O God, bring truth and rightness to my tongue, Answer the prayer of Your servant. Purify my heart, which is full of pain, Among us, turn my boasting into gratitude (?). Keep me successful in Your presence, Keep my tongue safe from speaking crookedly. Grant me success so that I may recite Your praise, And utter the attributes of Your essence. This is my only wish from Your court, O Lord, that You bring me to this goal. The speech is finished, I will begin the declaration of Unity, With praise, glorification, and exaltation. I will lament like a nightingale in springtime, I will rain down showers from the cloud of my eyes. I will shake the chains of the soul and heart, I will make water and clay into spirit and soul. I will raise the hands of supplication in prayer, And say with lamentation, O Fulfiller of Needs. Make me a master of the age in praising You, Make my tongue as fluent as my poetry. Make my affairs flow in success, Give my tongue the draft of translation. O God, I am tired of stories, I roll up the carpet of expansiveness. I open my mouth in describing Your essence, I begin the description of Your attributes. O Lord, Your gifts are universal, Your universal favors are enduring. You created us from a handful of dust, You chose my totality over the entire universe. By the saying 'the best of nations', we hold our heads high, Hence, we are an embroidery upon the garment of obedience to You. With this honor and robe, we are kings, By 'We have honored', we are great and successful. O Lord, You are the Knowing and the Judge, 'God is the Greatest' is the attribute of Your essence. Free from wife, kin, and child, Exempt from partner, peer, and likeness. Eternal without offspring, Sustainer without kin, The wealthy one's reliance, the dervish's pride. From smoke You created the sky, From dust You created the whole of mankind. You gave the sky a foundation without pillars, You placed dust upon a mirage. From a breath You made Jesus, son of Mary, From a fire You made the enemy of Adam. With 'Be' You created the universe, You gave the world and soul to mankind and jinn. Paths of intellect and intoxication are from You, Realms of existence possess their dominion from You. All creatures are intoxicated from Your cup, All are subjects to the command of 'Am I not your Lord?' In truth, kingship befits You, For You bring forth the moon from the fish. You are the Provider for all that is manifest and hidden, You are the Creator of every wise and ignorant one. 'And there is no moving creature' is Your royal decree, 'Do you not know' is the infinity of Your kingship. You were, and there were no heavens and hells, You were, and there was no Saturn and palace. You were, and there were no spheres and the two worlds, You were, and there was no 'distance of two bow-lengths'. You are the Enduring, and all that exist are passing away, By Your decree, they are not high, but rather low. You are the Creator of every high and low, You are the manifest and hidden of all that exists. You are the Taker of life, and we are the dying ones, You are the Sultan, and we are but a handful of beggars. We are sinners, but we are destitute, We are Muslims; therefore, we are bound to the city. The world is the prison house of the believers, But the wealth and property of the believer is That. If Your grace becomes the companion of my state, All my rank and wealth will be ruined. What is a servant coupled with repentance? He performs obedience, and He answers the prayer. If He were to exercise pure justice and equity with the servant, What would a hundred years of worship be worth? O Lord, You are the Protector and the Present, Watching over the condition of Your servants. Draw a line of grace around this error, Draw a pen through the book of our deeds. If You forgive us, You are the Generous, And if You honor us, You are the Great. If a slip comes from us, it is from ourselves, Our forgetfulness is our own argument against us. If Eve and Adam made an error, They did not engage in play and amusement. They fell into forgetfulness, You pardoned them, O King. If You overlook the faults of us helpless ones, Who have committed sins, it would be true kingship. We are the companions of the dust of this court, We are the familiars of sighs and lamentations. Placing the trust upon the palm of our hand, We keep our tongues continuously in remembrance. We chant the praise of Your pure essence, We chant with our mouths in the explanation of Your remembrance. With a hundred cries, lamentations, and weeping, We seek the path of salvation. We have sought recourse in 'Call upon Me', We recite the traditions concerning the command 'I will respond'. O Divine, we desire no one but You, Therefore, we take refuge in Your shelter. Answer our prayer, O Divine, Make our companion Your leadership, O Divine. Make the heart of Attar a sacred house, Honor it with the ennoblement of His presence. Hear this renowned verse by way of quotation, If remembrance gives this a completion: 'Step into our hut of sorrows, And thereafter place a blessing upon our soul.' The heart of Attar is ruined from Your pain, Passing by ruins is the right thing to do. O Lord, cast a glance upon our soul, Pass by our hut of sorrows. Keep us afflicted with love for You, Keep the intellect as the master of the path of contentment.