When I am cutting short (my discourse) concerning (the Way of) righteousness, he draws me on to speak by a hundred kinds (of contrivance).
چونک کوته می‌کنم من از رشد ** او به صد نوعم بگفتن می‌کشد
O Husámu’ddín, Radiance of the Almighty, inasmuch as thou art seeing, why dost thou seek speech (from me)?
ای حسام‌الدین ضیاء ذوالجلال ** چونک می‌بینی چه می‌جویی مقال
Perchance this demand (on thy part) may arise from (thy) love for the Desired One, (as the poet said), “Give me wine to drink and tell me that it is (wine).”
این مگر باشد ز حب مشتهی ** اسقنی خمرا و قل لی انها
At this moment His cup is at thy mouth, (but thy) ear says, “Where is the ear's portion?”
بر دهان تست این دم جام او ** گوش می‌گوید که قسم گوش کو
(O ear), thy portion is the heat (of love): lo, thou art heated and intoxicated. It replied, “My greed is greater than this.”2080
قسم تو گرمیست نک گرمی و مست ** گفت حرص من ازین افزون‌ترست
How Mustafá, on whom be peace, answered the objector.
جواب گفتن مصطفی علیه‌السلام اعتراض کننده را
When that Arab carried disputation beyond bounds in the presence of sweettempered Mustafá,
در حضور مصطفای قندخو ** چون ز حد برد آن عرب از گفت و گو
That king of Wa ’l-Najm and that sultan of ‘Abas bit his lip (in anger) and said to the silly prater, “Enough!”
آن شه والنجم و سلطان عبس ** لب گزید آن سرد دم را گفت بس
He was putting his hand on his (the objector's) mouth to prevent him, (as though to say), “How long wilt thou speak in the presence of one who knows the occult?”
دست می‌زند بهر منعش بر دهان ** چند گویی پیش دانای نهان
Thou hast brought dry ordure to one endowed with vision, saying, “Buy this instead of a musk-bag.”
پیش بینا برده‌ای سرگین خشک ** که بخر این را به جای ناف مشک
O thou of stinking brain and stinking marrow, thou placest camel's dung beneath thy nose and sayest, “Oh, delicious!”2085
بعر را ای گنده‌مغز گنده‌مخ ** زیر بینی بنهی و گویی که اخ
O squinting crazy fool, thou hast exclaimed in delight, “Oh, oh,” that thy bad wares may find a ready sale,
اخ اخی برداشتی ای گیج گاج ** تا که کالای بدت یابد رواج
And that thou mayst deceive that pure organ of (spiritual) smell, that which pastures in the celestial rose-garden.
تا فریبی آن مشام پاک را ** آن چریده‌ی گلشن افلاک را
Though his (the saint's) forbearance has feigned to be stupid, one must know one's self a little.
حلم او خود را اگر چه گول ساخت ** خویشتن را اندکی باید شناخت
If to-night the mouth of the cooking-pot is left open, yet the cat must have discretion.
دیگ را گر باز ماند امشب دهن ** گربه را هم شرم باید داشتن
If that glorious one (the saint) has feigned to be asleep, he is (really) very much awake: do not carry off his turban.2090
خویشتن گر خفته کرد آن خوب فر ** سخت بیدارست دستارش مبر
How long, O contumacious man devoid of (spiritual) excellence, wilt thou utter these Devil's enchantments in the presence of God's elect one?
چند گویی ای لجوج بی‌صفا ** این فسون دیو پیش مصطفی
This company (of the elect) have a hundred thousand forbearances, every one of which is (immovable) as a hundred mountains.
صد هزاران حلم دارند این گروه ** هر یکی حلمی از آنها صد چو کوه
Their forbearance makes a fool of the wary and causes the keen-witted man with a hundred eyes to lose his way.
حلمشان بیدار را ابله کند ** زیرک صد چشم را گمره کند
Their forbearance, like fine choice wine, mounts by nice degrees up to the brain.
Behold the man drunken with that marvellous (earthly) wine: the drunken man has begun to move crookedly like the queen (in chess).2095
مست را بین زان شراب پرشگفت ** هم‌چو فرزین مست کژ رفتن گرفت
From (the effect of) that quickly-catching wine the (vigorous) youth is falling in the middle of the road, like an aged man.
مرد برنا زان شراب زودگیر ** در میان راه می‌افتد چو پیر
Especially (consider the effect of) this (spiritual) wine which is from the jar of Balá—not the wine whereof the intoxication lasts (only) one night;
خاصه این باده که از خم بلی است ** نه میی که مستی او یکشبیست
(But) that (wine) from which, (by drinking it) at dessert and in migration (from place to place), the Men of the Cave (the Seven Sleepers) lost their reason for three hundred and nine years.
آنک آن اصحاب کهف از نقل و نقل ** سیصد و نه سال گم کردند عقل
The women of Egypt drank one cup of that (wine) and cut their hands to pieces.
زان زنان مصر جامی خورده‌اند ** دستها را شرحه شرحه کرده‌اند
The magicians (of Pharaoh) too had the intoxication of Moses: they deemed the gallows to be their beloved.2100
ساحران هم سکر موسی داشتند ** دار را دلدار می‌انگاشتند
Ja‘far-i Tayyár was drunken with that wine: therefore, being beside himself, he was pawning (sacrificing) his feet and hands (for God's sake).
جعفر طیار زان می بود مست ** زان گرو می‌کرد بی‌خود پا و دست
Story of Báyazíd's—may God sanctify his spirit—saying, "Glory to me! How grand is my estate!" and the objection raised by his disciples, and how he gave them an answer to this, not by the way of speech but by the way of vision (immediate experience).
قصه‌ی سبحانی ما اعظم شانی گفتن ابویزید قدس الله سره و اعتراض مریدان و جواب این مر ایشان را نه به طریق گفت زبان بلک از راه عیان
That venerable dervish, Báyazíd, came to his disciples, saying, “Lo, I am God.”
با مریدان آن فقیر محتشم ** بایزید آمد که نک یزدان منم
That master of the (mystic) sciences said plainly in drunken fashion, “Hark, there is no god but I, so worship me.”
گفت مستانه عیان آن ذوفنون ** لا اله الا انا ها فاعبدون
When that ecstasy had passed, they said to him at dawn, “Thou saidest such and such, and this is impiety.”
چون گذشت آن حال گفتندش صباح ** تو چنین گفتی و این نبود صلاح
He said, “This time, if I make a scandal, come on at once and dash knives into me.2105
گفت این بار ار کنم من مشغله ** کاردها بر من زنید آن دم هله
God transcends the body, and I am with the body: ye must kill me when I say a thing like this.”
حق منزه از تن و من با تنم ** چون چنین گویم بباید کشتنم
When that (spiritual) freeman gave the injunction, each disciple made ready a knife.
چون وصیت کرد آن آزادمرد ** هر مریدی کاردی آماده کرد
Again he (Báyazíd) became intoxicated by that potent flagon: those injunctions vanished from his mind.
مست گشت او باز از آن سغراق زفت ** آن وصیتهاش از خاطر برفت
The Dessert came: his reason became distraught. The Dawn came: his candle became helpless.
نقل آمد عقل او آواره شد ** صبح آمد شمع او بیچاره شد
Reason is like the prefect: when the sultan arrives, the helpless prefect creeps into a corner.2110
عقل چون شحنه‌ست چون سلطان رسید ** شحنه‌ی بیچاره در کنجی خزید
Reason is the shadow of God: God is the sun: what power hath the shadow to resist His sun?
عقل سایه‌ی حق بود حق آفتاب ** سایه را با آفتاب او چه تاب
When a genie prevails over (gains possession of) a man, the attributes of humanity disappear from the man.
چون پری غالب شود بر آدمی ** گم شود از مرد وصف مردمی
Whatsoever he says, that genie will (really) have said it: the one who belongs to this side will have spoken from (the control of) the one who belongs to yonder side.
هر چه گوید آن پری گفته بود ** زین سری زان آن سری گفته بود
Since a genie hath this influence and rule, how (much more powerful) indeed must be the Creator of that genie!
چون پری را این دم و قانون بود ** کردگار آن پری خود چون بود
His (the possessed man's) “he” (personality) is gone: he has in sooth become the genie: the Turk, without (receiving) Divine inspiration, has become a speaker of Arabic.2115
اوی او رفته پری خود او شده ** ترک بی‌الهام تازی‌گو شده
When he comes to himself, he does not know a word (of Arabic). Inasmuch as a genie hath this essence and quality,
چون به خود آید نداند یک لغت ** چون پری را هست این ذات و صفت
Then how, pray, should the Lord of genie and man have inferiority to the genie?
پس خداوند پری و آدمی ** از پری کی باشدش آخر کمی
If a pot-valiant fellow has drunk the blood of a fierce lion, you will say that the wine did it, not he;
شیرگیر ار خون نره شیر خورد ** تو بگویی او نکرد آن باده کرد
And if he fashion words of old (pure) gold, you will say that the wine has spoken those words.
ور سخن پردازد از زر کهن ** تو بگویی باده گفتست آن سخن
A wine hath this (power to excite) disturbance and commotion: hath not the Light of God that virtue and potency2120
باده‌ای را می‌بود این شر و شور ** نور حق را نیست آن فرهنگ و زور
To make you entirely empty of self, (so that) you should be laid low and He should make the Word lofty (within you)?
که ترا از تو به کل خالی کند ** تو شوی پست او سخن عالی کند
Though the Qur’án is (dictated) from the lips of the Prophet —if any one says God did not speak it, he is an infidel.
گر چه قرآن از لب پیغامبرست ** هر که گوید حق نگفت او کافرست
When the humá of selflessness took wing (and soared), Báyazíd began (to repeat) those words.
چون همای بی‌خودی پرواز کرد ** آن سخن را بایزید آغاز کرد
The flood of bewilderment swept away his reason: he spoke more strongly than he had spoken at first,
عقل را سیل تحیر در ربود ** زان قوی‌تر گفت که اول گفته بود
(Saying), “Within my mantle there is naught but God: how long wilt thou seek on the earth and in heaven?”2125
نیست اندر جبه‌ام الا خدا ** چند جویی بر زمین و بر سما