O thou whose attributes are (those of) the Sun of Divine knowledge, while the sun in heaven is confined to a single attribute,
ای صفاتت آفتاب معرفت ** و آفتاب چرخ بند یک صفت
Now thou becomest the Sun, and now the Sea; now the mountain of Qáf, and now the ‘Anqá.
گاه خورشید و گهی دریا شوی ** گاه کوه قاف و گه عنقا شوی
In thine essence thou art neither this nor that, O thou that art greater than (all) imaginations and more than (all) more!55
تو نه این باشی نه آن در ذات خویش ** ای فزون از وهمها و ز بیش بیش
The Spirit is associated (endued) with knowledge and reason: what has the Spirit to do with Arabic and Turkish?
روح با علم است و با عقل است یار ** روح را با تازی و ترکی چه کار
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.
از تو ای بینقش با چندین صور ** هم مشبه هم موحد خیرهسر
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 مشبه را موحد میکند ** گه موحد را صور ره میزند
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!”
گه ترا گوید ز مستی بو الحسن ** یا صغیر السن یا رطب البدن
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).60
گاه نقش خویش ویران میکند ** از پی تنزیه جانان میکند
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).
چشم حس را هست مذهب اعتزال ** دیدهی عقل است سنی در وصال
Those in thrall to sense-perception are Mu‘tazilites, (though) from misguidedness they represent themselves as Sunnites.
سخرهی حساند اهل اعتزال ** خویش را سنی نمایند از ضلال