Original content

English translation

When the Prophet appointed a commander from Hudhayl For the host of the victorious army, A meddler, out of envy, could not bear it— He unfurled his objection and his lā naslam. Behold the people, how darkened they are, How they perish over perishable goods. All are in dispersion through arrogance, Dead to the soul, alive through hollow clamor. This is the wonder: the soul is in prison, And yet the key to that prison is in its hand. That youth, sunk in filth from foot to head, While a running stream beats against his hem. Ceaselessly turning side to side, without rest— Beside the resting-place and its support. Light is hidden, and the searching is its witness— That the heart does not seek refuge in vain. If there were no escape from the prison of this world, There would be no anguish, nor would the heart seek deliverance. Your anguish, like an appointed guard, draws you onward, Saying: "Seek, O lost one, the path of right guidance." The path exists, though hidden in concealment— Finding it is the pledge of earnest seeking. Those who seek dispersion are gathered in ambush— You, amid all this, seek the face of the Sought. The dead of the garden have sprung up from their roots— Comprehend the Giver of life. The eyes of these prisoners are always at the door— What would it be if there were no bearer of good news? A hundred thousand filth-covered ones seeking water— What would they be if there were no flowing stream? Your side finds no rest upon the ground— Know that inside the house there is a quilt and a bed. Without a resting-place there would be no restlessness— Without a hangover-cure this hangover would not exist.

He said: "No, no, O Messenger of God, do not do this— Let the commander of the army be rather an old elder. O Messenger of God, though the young man be lion-born, Let none but an old man be head of the army. You yourself have said it, and your word is witness— An elder is needed, an elder is needed as leader. O Messenger of God, look at this army— There are so many elders, and more senior than he."

"From this tree, do not look at its yellow leaves— Pick its ripened apples. His yellow leaves are not empty at all— These are signs of ripeness and perfection. The yellow leaf of his beard and those white hairs Bring glad tidings of a ripened intellect. The newly arrived green leaves Are a sign that the fruit is still unripe. The leaf of leaflessness is the sign of the ʿārif— The yellowness of gold is the ruddy face of the ṣarrāf. He whose cheek is a rose, if he has fresh down— He is still at school, the reporter of new script. The letters of his writing are still crooked— The intellect is seasoned even if the body runs. Though the elder's foot may lag behind in speed, His intellect has found two wings and soared to the heights. If you want a parable, look at Jaʿfar— God gave him wings in place of his hands and feet."

Pass beyond gold, for this has grown greatly veiled— Like quicksilver, this heart of mine has become agitated. From within me, a hundred silent, sweet-breathed ones Place their hands upon their lips, meaning: "Enough." Silence is the ocean, and speech is like the stream— The ocean seeks you; do not seek the stream. Do not turn away from the signs of the sea— Conclude, and wa-llāhu aʿlamu bi-l-ṣawāb.

Likewise, that ill-mannered one kept on speaking Before the Prophet with those cold lips. His speech kept lending him a helping hand, unknowing— For report is idle before direct vision. These reports are themselves deputies of vision— They are not for the one present, but for the absent. Whoever has been joined to direct vision— Before him, these reports are dismissed. When you have become the companion of the Beloved, Drive away the go-betweens from this point on. Whoever has passed beyond childhood and become a man, Letters and go-betweens have grown cold to him. He reads letters for the sake of instruction, He speaks words for the sake of making understood. To tell news before those who see is an error— For that is proof of our heedlessness and deficiency. Before the seer, silence is your benefit— For this purpose came the address: anṣitū. If commanded to speak, speak beautifully— But speak little, do not draw it out. And if commanded to draw it out at length, Still speak with modesty, in accord with the command.

Just as I now, in this beautiful enchantment, With Ḍiyāʾ al-Ḥaqq Ḥusām al-Dīn— When I shorten my speech from wisdom's course, He draws me to speaking in a hundred ways. O Ḥusām al-Dīn, Ḍiyāʾ of the Lord of Majesty— Since you see, why do you seek words? This must be from the love of longing: Asqinī khamran wa-qul lī innahā. This moment the cup is at your lips— The ear says: "Where is the ear's share?" Your share is warmth—here, warmth and intoxication! He said: "My greed for this is even greater."