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English translation

Alexander the Roman arrived at a place, Seeking an acquaintance there, So that he might learn something of wisdom, And take a master through apprenticeship. Your path is knowledge; even if you are king of the world, You will become Dhu'l-Qarnayn if you know. They told him, 'There is a man here, Who has no rival in religion. A group of people call him a madman, Another group considers him perfect and manly. Sometimes he makes his home at the city gate, He is famous in the world for his seclusion.' Alexander sent someone and summoned him, But the one who went there was driven away by him. The king's messenger said to him, 'Arise, The king summons you; do not sit and resist. Comply, even if it is a burden to you, For Dhu'l-Qarnayn is the sultan of the world.' That unique man opened his tongue, Saying, 'I am free from the king of the age. For the one whose slave your king is, I am his master; how could I hold him dear? Your king is a slave among our slaves, It is not right for me to go before him.' The messenger returned and delivered the man's message, The renowned king became angry with him. Then he said, 'Either he is a madman, Or out of ignorance he is speaking out of turn. Since I am both a servant of the Truth and a friend, Who can say that God Almighty is his slave? Neither king nor dervish would dare to call me A slave of his own slaves.' He went to him and then greeted him, And the man gave an answer fitting his station. The king said, 'Why, if you are knowledgeable, Do you call me a slave of your slaves?' The man answered him and said, 'O king, You have trodden the path of a whole world underfoot, So that you might lay hands on the Water of Life, That you might not die and find continuous life. Now they call this hope, O king, It has cast you on the road like slaves. You have gathered a hundred divisions of army, So that you might become the owner of the seven climes. Now this is greed, if you only knew, To which you are a servant with a tied waist. Since you have cast your body into greed and hope, Your master has become my slave. Since you are ravenous from greed and hope, You are a slave before my slave. When hope sprouted branches, it sought eternal safety, It sought the Water of Life from you for that reason. But your greed sought the world from you, It sought so many armies from you for that reason. Whoever is a seeker of life and the world, If he lacks life and the world, it is because of that. When you tremble for your own life and world, Then you are worth nothing to life and the world. The world and life are eternal enough for you, Since you are not the man for this life and world.' Blood flowed from the two eyes of Alexander, His heart said, 'From this sorrow, one could turn to blood.' Alexander said, 'He is not a madman, For there is no wise man more intelligent than him. Much comfort has come to my soul from him, This one victory is enough for me from my journey.' Out of fear of death, Alexander sought The Water of Life, yet he died in his youth. Why do you ask the story of Alexander's barrier? You yourself are your own barrier; pass beyond yourself. Your existence is a barrier before you, You have constantly remained within that barrier in yourself. You are Gog and Magog within your own barrier, For the collar on your neck is a barrier like Og. If you remove this veil from before you, Like Og, son of Anak, the collar of the neck; If you freed your own neck, You would escape from all this sorrow of yours. Otherwise, you will see a hundred thousand veils, Within the veil, you will see a dead soul. And if you want to pass through the fire, You must not look at the fire-temple of the world. If you have committed a hair's breadth of treachery, You will be veiled in a mountain of fire. Since passing over the fire is the very path, Why do you ask if Siyavash is innocent? If the Truth did not show you grace, It would not demand an accounting for a single breath. The downfall of people is from favoritism, If there were no favoritism, the crooked would become straight. You have so many afflictions ahead of you in the end, What do you want, say, from yourself in the end? You have gathered a world of enemies, Fear death, for in the end you are dead.