Original content

English translation

He said: "From this direction comes the fragrance of a friend, For into this village a sovereign is coming. After many years a king shall be born, Who will pitch his tent upon the heavens. His face will be rose-flushed from the rose-garden of the Real, And in station he will surpass me." "What is his name?" He said: "His name is Abū'l-Ḥasan." He described his features — from eyebrow to chin — His stature, his complexion, his form — One by one he described them, from his hair to his face. The qualities of his soul he also revealed — His attributes, his path, his station, and his being. The description of the body, like the body itself, is borrowed; Set not your heart upon it, for it lasts but an hour. The description of the natural soul is also perishable; Seek the description of that Soul which abides above the heavens. His body is like a lamp upon the earth, But his light is above the seventh vault. The sunbeam is within the chamber, But the sun's disk is in the fourth sky's fourfold arch. The image of the rose is in the nostril, as a trifle, But the fragrance of the rose fills the vault and portico of the brain. The sleeping man in Eden saw the parting; The reflection of that fell upon the body as sweat. The shirt was in Egypt, pledged to a covetous one, Yet Canaan was filled with the fragrance of that garment. They inscribed the date at that time, They adorned the skewer with kebab. When that time arrived and that recorded date proved exact, That king was born and played the game of sovereignty. After those years he came into the world: Abū'l-Ḥasan, after the death of Bāyazīd. All his traits, from the restraint of his being, Came exactly as that sage had foretold. The Preserved Tablet is his guide; From what is it preserved? Preserved from error. It is neither astrology, nor geomancy, nor dream-vision — It is the revelation of God; and God knows best what is right. To veil it from the common folk in discourse, The Sufis call it the revelation of the heart. Take it as the revelation of the heart, for it is his vantage point — How can there be error, when the heart itself is his witness? "The believer sees by the light of God" — you have become such — You are safe from error and lapse.