Every one is naturally attached to some veil and judges that it is in sooth the identity (‘ayn) of Him.
هر یکی در پرده‌ای موصول خوست ** وهم او آنست که آن خود عین هوست
Therefore the Prophet banished this (false) judgement from him (the thinker), lest he should be conceiving in error a vain imagination.
پس پیمبر دفع کرد این وهم از او ** تا نباشد در غلط سوداپز او
And (as for) him in whose judgement (conception of God) there is irreverence, the Lord hath doomed the irreverent to fall headlong.3705
وانکه اندر وهم او ترک ادب ** بی‌ادب را سرنگونی داد رب
To fall headlong is that he goes downward and thinks that he is superior,
سرنگونی آن بود کو سوی زیر ** می‌رود پندارد او کو هست چیر
Because such is the case of the drunken man who does not know heaven from earth.
زانک حد مست باشد این چنین ** کو نداند آسمان را از زمین
Go ye and think upon His wonders, become lost (to yourselves) from the majesty and awe (of Him).
در عجبهااش به فکر اندر روید ** از عظیمی وز مهابت گم شوید
When he (who beholds the wonders of God) loses beard and moustache (abandons pride and egoism) from (contemplating) His work, he will know his (proper) station and will be silent concerning the Worker (Maker).
چون ز صنعش ریش و سبلت گم کند ** حد خود داند ز صانع تن زند
He will only say from his soul, “I cannot (praise Thee duly),” because the declaration thereof is beyond reckoning and bound.3710
جز که لا احصی نگوید او ز جان ** کز شمار و حد برونست آن بیان
How Dhu ’l-Qarnayn went to Mount Qáf and made petition, saying, "O Mount Qáf, tell me of the majesty of the Attributes of God"; and how Mount Qáf said that the description of His majesty is ineffable, since (all) perceptions vanish before it; and how Dhu ’l-Qarnayn made humble supplication, saying, "Tell of His works that thou hast in mind and of which it is more easy for thee to speak."
رفتن ذوالقرنین به کوه قاف و درخواست کردن کی ای کوه قاف از عظمت صفت حق ما را بگو و گفتن کوه قاف کی صفت عظمت او در گفت نیاید کی پیش آنها ادراکها فدا شود و لابه کردن ذوالقرنین کی از صنایعش کی در خاطر داری و بر تو گفتن آن آسان‌تر بود بگوی
Dhu ’l-Qarnayn went towards Mount Qáf: he saw that it was (made) of pure emerald,
رفت ذوالقرنین سوی کوه قاف ** دید او را کز زمرد بود صاف
And that it had become a ring surrounding the (whole) world. He was amazed at that immense creation (work of God).
گرد عالم حلقه گشته او محیط ** ماند حیران اندر آن خلق بسیط
He said, “Thou art the mountain (indeed): what are the others? for beside thy magnitude they are (but) playthings.”
گفت تو کوهی دگرها چیستند ** که به پیش عظم تو بازیستند
It replied, “Those (other) mountains are my veins: they are not like unto me in beauty and glory.
گفت رگهای من‌اند آن کوهها ** مثل من نبوند در حسن و بها
I have a hidden vein in every land: (all) the regions of the world are fastened to my veins.3715
من به هر شهری رگی دارم نهان ** بر عروقم بسته اطراف جهان
When God wills an earthquake in any land, He bids me and I cause the vein to throb.
حق چو خواهد زلزله‌ی شهری مرا ** گوید او من بر جهانم عرق را
Then I make to move mightily the vein with which the (particular) land is connected.
پس بجنبانم من آن رگ را بقهر ** که بدان رگ متصل گشتست شهر
When He says ‘Enough!’ my vein rests. I am (apparently) at rest, but actually I am in rapid motion”—
چون بگوید بس شود ساکن رگم ** ساکنم وز روی فعل اندر تگم
At rest, like the (medicinal) ointment, and very active (efficacious); at rest, like the intellect, while the speech (impelled) by it is moving.
هم‌چو مرهم ساکن و بس کارکن ** چون خرد ساکن وزو جنبان سخن
In the opinion of him whose intelligence does not perceive this, earthquakes are caused by terrestrial vapours.3720
نزد آنکس که نداند عقلش این ** زلزله هست از بخارات زمین
An ant, walking on a piece of paper, saw the pen writing and began to praise the pen. Another ant, which was more keen-sighted, said, "Praise the fingers, for I deem this accomplishment to proceed from them." Another ant, more clear-sighted than either, said, "I praise the arm, for the fingers are a branch of the arm," et cetera.
موری بر کاغذ می‌رفت نبشتن قلم دید قلم را ستودن گرفت موری دیگر کی چشم تیزتر بود گفت ستایش انگشتان را کن کی آن هنر ازیشان می‌بینم موری دگر کی از هر دو چشم روشن‌تر بود گفت من بازو را ستایم کی انگشتان فرع بازواند الی آخره
A little ant saw a pen (writing) on a paper, and told this mystery to another ant,
مورکی بر کاغذی دید او قلم ** گفت با مور دگر این راز هم
Saying, “That pen made wonderful pictures like sweet basil and beds of lilies and roses.”
که عجایب نقشها آن کلک کرد ** هم‌چو ریحان و چو سوسن‌زار و ورد
The other ant said, “That artist is the finger, and this pen is actually (no more than) the derivative (instrument) and the sign.”
گفت آن مور اصبعست آن پیشه‌ور ** وین قلم در فعل فرعست و اثر
A third ant said, “It is the work of the arm, by whose strength the slender finger depicted it.”
گفت آن مور سوم کز بازوست ** که اصبع لاغر ز زورش نقش بست
In this fashion it (the argument) was carried upward till a chief of the ants, (who) was a little bit sagacious,3725
هم‌چنین می‌رفت بالا تا یکی ** مهتر موران فطن بود اندکی
Said, “Do not regard this accomplishment as proceeding from the (material) form, which becomes unconscious in sleep and death.
گفت کز صورت مبینید این هنر ** که به خواب و مرگ گردد بی‌خبر
Form is like a garment or a staff: (bodily) figures do not move except by means of intellect and spirit.”
صورت آمد چون لباس و چون عصا ** جز به عقل و جان نجنبد نقشها