خاصه خورشید کمالی کان سری ست ** روز و شب کردار او روشنگری ست
Especially the perfect Sun which is of yonder (world of Reality): day and night its action is (giving) illumination.
مطلع شمس آی گر اسکندری ** بعد از آن هر جا روی نیکوفری45
If thou art an Alexander, come to the Sun's rising-place: after that, wheresoever thou goest, thou art possessed of goodly splendour.
بعد از آن هر جا روی مشرق شود ** شرقها بر مغربت عاشق شود
After that, wheresoever thou goest, ’twill become the place of sunrise: (all) the places of sunrise will be in love with thy place of sunset.
حس خفاشت سوی مغرب دوان ** حس در پاشت سوی مشرق روان
Thy bat-like senses are running towards the sunset; thy pearl-scattering senses are faring towards the sunrise.
راه حس راه خران است ای سوار ** ای خران را تو مزاحم شرم دار
The way of (physical) sense-perception is the way of asses, O rider: have shame, O thou that art jostling (vying) with asses!
پنج حسی هست جز این پنج حس ** آن چو زر سرخ و این حسها چو مس
Besides these five (physical) senses there are five (spiritual) senses: those (latter) are like red gold, while these (physical) senses are like copper.
اندر آن بازار کایشان ماهرند ** حس مس را چون حس زر کی خرند50
In the bazaar where the people of the Last Congregation (on the Day of Judgment) are (purchasers), how should they buy the copper sense like (as though it were) the sense of gold?
حس ابدان قوت ظلمت میخورد ** حس جان از آفتابی میچرد
The bodily sense is eating the food of darkness; the spiritual sense is feeding from a Sun.
ای ببرده رخت حسها سوی غیب ** دست چون موسی برون آور ز جیب
O thou that hast borne the baggage of thy senses to the Unseen, put forth thy hand, like Moses, from thy bosom.
ای صفاتت آفتاب معرفت ** و آفتاب چرخ بند یک صفت
O thou whose attributes are (those of) the Sun of Divine knowledge, while the sun in heaven is confined to a single attribute,
گاه خورشید و گهی دریا شوی ** گاه کوه قاف و گه عنقا شوی
Now thou becomest the Sun, and now the Sea; now the mountain of Qáf, and now the ‘Anqá.
تو نه این باشی نه آن در ذات خویش ** ای فزون از وهمها و ز بیش بیش55
In thine essence thou art neither this nor that, O thou that art greater than (all) imaginations and more than (all) more!
روح با علم است و با عقل است یار ** روح را با تازی و ترکی چه کار
The Spirit is associated (endued) with knowledge and reason: what has the Spirit to do with Arabic and Turkish?
از تو ای بینقش با چندین صور ** هم مشبه هم موحد خیرهسر
Both the muwahhid (who asserts the transcendence of God) and the mushabbih (who asserts His immanence) are bewildered by thee, O thou who, being without image (external appearance), art (appearing) in so many forms.
گه مشبه را موحد میکند ** گه موحد را صور ره میزند
Sometimes He (God) makes the mushabbih (who regards Him as immanent in phenomena) a muwahhid (an asserter of His transcendence); sometimes (these) forms are waylaying the muwahhid (so that he cannot gain access to God who transcends all forms).
گه ترا گوید ز مستی بو الحسن ** یا صغیر السن یا رطب البدن
Sometimes Abu ’l-Hasan in drunkenness (ecstasy) says to thee, “O thou whose teeth are small (whose years are few), O thou whose body is tender!”
گاه نقش خویش ویران میکند ** از پی تنزیه جانان میکند60
Sometimes he is laying waste (ruining and defacing) his own image: he is doing that in order to assert the transcendence of the Beloved (God).
چشم حس را هست مذهب اعتزال ** دیدهی عقل است سنی در وصال
The doctrine held by the eye of sense is Mu‘tazilism, whereas the eye of Reason is Sunnite (orthodox) in respect of (its) union (vision of God).
سخرهی حساند اهل اعتزال ** خویش را سنی نمایند از ضلال
Those in thrall to sense-perception are Mu‘tazilites, (though) from misguidedness they represent themselves as Sunnites.
هر که در حس ماند او معتزلی ست ** گر چه گوید سنیم از جاهلی ست
Any one who remains in (bondage to) sense-perception is a Mu‘tazilite; though he may say he is a Sunnite, ’tis from ignorance.
هر که بیرون شد ز حس سنی وی است ** اهل بینش چشم عقل خوش پی است
Any one who has escaped from (the bondage of) sense-perception is a Sunnite: the man endowed with (spiritual) vision is the eye of sweet-paced (harmonious) Reason.
گر بدیدی حس حیوان شاه را ** پس بدیدی گاو و خر الله را65
If the animal sense could see the King (God), then the ox and the ass would behold Allah.
گر نبودی حس دیگر مر ترا ** جز حس حیوان ز بیرون هوا
If, besides the animal sense, thou hadst not another sense outside of (unconditioned by) the desire of the flesh,
پس بنی آدم مکرم کی بدی ** کی به حس مشترک محرم شدی
Then how should the sons of Adam have been honoured? How by means of the common sense should they have become privileged (to know these mysteries)?
نا مصور یا مصور گفتننت ** باطل آمد بی ز صورت رستنت
Your calling (God) “formless” (transcending forms) or “formed” (immanent in forms) is vain, without your departure from form (unless you yourself are freed from sense perception).