Original content

English translation

Yesterday someone was saying: "The world is originated (ḥādith), This celestial sphere is perishable, and the Truth (Ḥaqq) is its inheritor."

A philosopher said: "How do you know about origination (ḥudūth)? You are originated — how can a cloud know the downpour?"

"You yourself are not even an atom amid the revolution (of time), What do you know of the origination of the sun?"

"A little worm buried in dung — When would it know the end and beginning of the earth?"

"You have heard this by imitation (taqlīd) from your father, You are tangled in this out of stupidity."

"What is the proof (burhān) of origination? Tell me this, Or else be silent — do not seek to say more."

He said: "I saw, in this deep dispute, Two parties arguing one day."

"In disputation, contention, and exhaustion, A crowd gathered around those two people."

"I went toward the assembled crowd And learned the state of their affairs."

"One of them was saying: 'The heavens are perishable; Beyond doubt, this structure has a builder.'"

"And the other said: 'This is eternal (qadīm) and without a "how" — It has no builder, or it itself is its own builder.'"

He said: "You have denied the Creator (Khallāq), The One who brings day and night, the Sustainer (Razzāq)."

He said: "Without proof (burhān) I will not hear What a fool has chosen through imitation."

"Come, bring argument (ḥujjat) and proof — for I Will not hear this without argument in our time."

He said: "The proof (ḥujjat) is within my soul, Hidden within my soul is my evidence (burhān)."

"You cannot see the crescent moon because of the weakness of your eyes; I see it — do not be angry with me."

The discussion grew much and the people were bewildered About the beginning and end of this intricate sphere.

He said: "O friend, within me is a proof (ḥujjat); For me there is a sign (āyat) of the origination of the heavens."

"I am certain — its sign would be this: That the one who knows with certainty would walk into fire."

"Know that this proof cannot come into words, Like the state of the secret of the lovers' love."

"The secret of my speech is not apparent Except in the pallor and gauntness of my face."

"Tears and blood flow down the face — The beauty and loveliness of it become the proof."

He said: "I do not accept these as proof — What would be a sign (āyat) before the common people?"

He said: "When counterfeit and genuine coin both speak, Saying: 'You are counterfeit, I am fine and precious,'"

"Fire is the ultimate test — That these two companions fall into the fire."

"Common and elite will learn from their state, They will go from doubt and suspicion toward certainty (īqān)."

"Water and fire, O soul, are the test For the genuine and the counterfeit that lie hidden."

"So that both you and I go into the fire — We will become proof remaining for the astonished ones."

"So that both you and I fall into the sea — For you and I are a sign (āyat) for this sphere."

So they did, and both entered the fire; Both threw themselves onto the blaze of the fire.

The man who spoke of God, the true claimant, was saved, And that impostor (da'ī) burned in the fire.

Hear this proclamation from the muezzin (mu'adhdhin), The blindness of those who rush ahead, the raw ones.

For this name has not been burned by the decree of death, Whose bearer (musammā) has been foremost and most exalted.

Hundreds of thousands of such proofs in the Qur'ān Have torn apart the veils of the deniers.

When they made the wager, right (ṣawāb) was victorious In permanence, in miracles, and in response.

I understood that the one who spoke of precedence And of the origination of the sphere is victorious and right (ḥaqq).

The proof of the denier is always pale-faced — Where is one sign of the truthfulness of that denial?

One minaret in praise of the deniers — Where is it in this world to serve as a sign?

Where is a pulpit upon which a preacher Would recall the age of denial?

The face of dinars and dirhams bears their names, Giving this sign of Truth until the Day of Resurrection.

The seal (sikka) of kings keeps changing — See the seal of Aḥmad: how it endures.

On the face of silver or the surface of gold, Show us a denier's name upon a seal.

Do not even take this miracle — as bright as the sun: In a hundred tongues, see his name: Umm al-Kitāb.

No one has the courage to steal even one letter of it Or to add to its expression.

Be a companion of the victorious so that you may be victorious; Do not be a companion of the vanquished — beware, O misguided one!

The proof of the denier amounts only to this: "I See no home beyond this manifest world."

He never reflects that wherever there is a manifest thing, It is a messenger of hidden wisdoms.

The benefit of every manifest thing is itself the hidden (bāṭin), Just as the benefit in medicines lies latent.