The wickedness of (his) actions and the disastrousness of (his) denial (of the Truth) had barred the way of repentance to his heart.
زشتی اعمال و شومی جحود ** راه توبه بر دل او بسته بود
His heart became in hardness as the face of a rock: how should repentance cleave it for sowing?1645
دل به سختی همچو روی سنگ گشت ** چون شکافد توبه آن را بهر کشت
Where is one like Shu‘ayb, that by prayer he may make the mountain earth (fit) for sowing?
چون شعیبی کو که تا او را دعا ** بهر کشتن خاک سازد کوه را
Through the supplication and (firm) belief of that Friend (Abraham) the thing that was hard and impossible became possible.
از نیاز و اعتقاد آن خلیل ** گشت ممکن امر صعب و مستحیل
Or, (to give another example), through the Muqawqis' begging the Prophet a stony ground became a goodly cornfield.
یا به دریوزهی مقوقس از رسول ** سنگلاخی مزرعی شد با اصول
So, contrariwise, a man's disbelief turns gold into copper and peace into war.
همچنین بر عکس آن انکار مرد ** مس کند زر را و صلحی را نبرد
This falseness draws after it an evil transformation: it turns ground capable (of tillage) into stones and pebbles.1650
کهربای مسخ آمد این دغا ** خاک قابل را کند سنگ و حصا
Nor is it granted to every heart to fall down in prayer: the wages of (Divine) mercy are not the (allotted) portion of every hireling.
هر دلی را سجده هم دستور نیست ** مزد رحمت قسم هر مزدور نیست
Beware! Do not commit crime and sin in reliance on (the thought), “I will repent and come to (take) refuge (with God).”
هین بپشت آن مکن جرم و گناه ** که کنم توبه در آیم در پناه
For (true) repentance, there must needs be a glow (of inward feeling) and a flood (of tears): (such) lightning and clouds are the condition indispensable to repentance.
میبباید تاب و آبی توبه را ** شرط شد برق و سحابی توبه را