Harfus Swaad · حَرْفُ الصَّاد

صَفَا لِيَ وَقْتِي وَهْوَ قَدْ طَابَ لِي أُنْسِي
بِذِكْرِ الْمُقَفَّى مَرْهَمِ الْقَلْـــــبِ وَالنَّفْــسِ

Ṣafā liya waqtī wa huwa qad ṭāba lī unsī
bi-dhikri-l muqaffā marhami-l qalbi wa-n nafsi

My time has become pure and my intimacy has become pleasant through the remembrance of the Final Prophet, the ointment of the heart and the soul.

رَسُولٌ سَمَا فَــوْقَ السَّمَــــاءِ وَإِنَّــهُ
دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى وَهْوَ فِي حَضْرَةِ الْقُـــدْسِ

Rasūlun samā fawqa-s samā’i wa innahu
danā fa-tadallā wa huwa fī ḥaḍrati-l qudsi

A Messenger who rose above the heavens, and indeed he drew near and descended while in the Holy Presence.

عَلَى حِينَ لاَ عَبْدٌ وَلاَ شَـيْءَ غَيْـــرُهُ
فَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ مَعْنًى وَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ حِسِّ

ʿAlā ḥīna lā ʿabdun walā shay’a ghayruhu
fa-lam yabqa min maʿnan wa lam yabqa min ḥissi

At a time when there was no servant nor anything else, so no meaning remained and no physical sense remained.

وَذَلِــكَ أَنَّ الْحَــــقَّ وَهْـــوَ إِلَـهُـنَــــا
هُوَ الْحَقُّ لاَ تُلْفِي سِوَاهُ إِلَى الرَّمْــسِ

Wa dhālika anna-l ḥaqqa wa huwa ilāhunā
huwa-l ḥaqqu lā tulfī siwāhu ila-r ramsi

That is because the Truth, and He is our God, is the Truth; you shall find none besides Him until the grave.

سِوَى الْجَهْلِ وَالْوَهْمِ الْكَذُوبِ فَخَلِّصَنْ
فُؤَادًا مِنَ الْأَغْيَارِ وَالْوَهْمِ وَالْحَــــدْسِ

Siwā-l jahli wa-l wahmi-l kadhūbi fa-khalliṣan
fu’ādan mina-l aghyāri wa-l wahmi wa-l ḥadsi

Everything else is ignorance and lying illusion, so purify the heart from others, from illusion, and from conjecture.

وَأَيْنَ سِوَى الْقُــــــدُّوسِ أَيْنَ سِــوَاؤُهُ
دَعِ الْأَيْنَ وَابْنِ الْعِلْمَ مِــنْ ذَلِــكَ الْأُسِّ

Wa ayna siwā-l quddūsi ayna siwā’uhu
daʿi-l ayna wa-bni-l ʿilma min dhālika-l ussi

Where is there besides the All-Holy? Where is His other? Leave the "where" and build your knowledge upon that foundation.

وَلَيْسَ يُرَى الْقُــدُّوسُ بِالْعَيْـــــنِ إِنَّمَـــا
بِعَيْنِ الْعَمَى وَالسَّحْقِ وَالْمَحْقِ وَالطَّمْسِ

Wa laysa yurā-l quddūsu bi-l ʿayni innamā
bi-ʿayni-l ʿamā wa-s saḥqi wa-l maḥqi wa-ṭ ṭamsi

The All-Holy is not seen with the physical eye, but rather with the eye of blindness (to the self), crushing, annihilation, and effacement.

فَتَسْكَــــرُ مَهْمَا قَـــدْ هَمَمْـــتَ وَلَمْ تَــذُقْ
مُدَامًا وَلاَ صَوْتًا سِوَى الرِّكْزِ وَالْـهَـمْسِ

Fa-taskaru mahmā qad hamamta wa lam tadhuq
mudāman walā ṣawtan siwā-r rikzi wa-l hamsi

So you become intoxicated whenever you have intended, even if you have not tasted any wine, nor heard any sound except a low murmur and a whisper.

وَإِنْ رَقَصَ السَّكْرَانُ أَوْ طَارَ مُنْشِــدًا
فَذَلِـكَ مِـــنْ وَجْدٍ تَقَدَّسَ عَـــــنْ لَبْــسِ

Wa in raqaṣa-s sakrānu aw ṭāra munshidan
fa-dhālika min wajdin taqaddasa ʿan labsi

And if the intoxicated one dances or flies while chanting, that is from an ecstasy that is sanctified above any confusion.

وَمَهْمَـــا تَحَدَّثْنَــا لِسُكْـــرٍ فَعِنْدَنَــا
عُلُومٌ تَعَالَتْ أَنْ تُقَيَّدَ فِــي طِــرْسِ

Wa mahmā taḥaddathnā li-sukrin fa-ʿindanā
ʿulūmun taʿālat an tuqayyada fī ṭirsi

And however much we speak due to intoxication, we possess sciences that are too exalted to be restricted to a scroll.

لِكُـــلِّ مَقَـــامٍ إِنْ دَرَيْـــــتَ مَقَالَــةٌ
فَلَيْسَا سَــوَاءً عَاقِــلٌ وَأَخُو مَــسِّ

Li-kulli maqāmin in darayta maqālatun
falaysā sawā’an ʿāqilun wa akhū massi

For every spiritual station, if you but knew, there is a fitting discourse; a sane man and one possessed by spiritual attraction are not the same.

ضَـــلاَلٌ بِـــذَاتِ اللّٰهِ عَيْنُ هِدَايَــــةٍ
فَإِيَّاكَ وَالنَّقْدَ الْمُــــؤَدِّي إِلَى الْبَــأْسِ

Ḍalālun bi-dhāti-llāhi ʿaynu hidāyatin
fa-iyyāka wa-n naqda-l mu’addī ila-l ba’si

Becoming "lost" in the Essence of Allah is the very essence of guidance, so beware of the criticism that leads to misery.

فَيُنْصِفُ ذُو عِلْــمٍ وَمَنْ هُــوَ جَاهِــلٌ
فَيُنْكِرُ شَيْئًا وَهْوَ أَوْضَحُ مِنْ شَمْـــسِ

Fa-yunṣifu dhū ʿilmin wa man huwa jāhilun
fa-yunkiru shay’an wa huwa awḍaḥu min shamsi

The possessor of knowledge acts with fairness, while he who is ignorant denies something that is clearer than the sun.

عَلَيْــــهِ صَـــلاَةُ اللّٰهِ ثُــــمَّ سَلاَمُـــــــهُ
وَآلٍ وَصَحْبٍ فِي الْحَقِيقَةِ هُمْ أُنْسِي

ʿAlayhi ṣalātu-llāhi thumma salāmuhu
wa ālin wa ṣaḥbin fī-l ḥaqīqati hum unsī

Upon him be the blessings of Allah and then His peace, and upon the Family and Companions; in reality, they are my intimacy.