| Marghadin and those
lofty edifices— |
1925 |
| what can I say of that
noble city? |
| Its inhabitants sweet
of speech as honey, |
| comely their faces,
gentle their manners, simple their apparel, |
| their thoughts innocent
of the burning fever of gain, |
| they were intimate with
the secrets of the sun’s alchemy; |
1930 |
| who so of them desires
silver or gold gathers it from light, |
| even as we gather salt
from the briny sea. |
| The aim of science and
art there is service, |
| no one weighs work done
against gold; |
| no one is even
acquainted with dinars and dirhams, |
1935 |
| these idols may not
enter the sanctuary. |
| The demon of the
machine has no power over nature, |
| the skies are not
blackened by smoke; |
| the lamp of the
hard-toiling farmer is always bright, |
| he is secure from the
plundering of the landlords, |
1940 |
| his tillage is not a
struggle for water, |
| his harvest is his own,
no other shares in it. |
|
| In that world there are
no armies, no squadrons, |
| none gains his
livelihood by killing and murder; |
| In Marghadin no pen
wins lustre |
1945 |
| from inscribing and
disseminating lies; |
| in the market-places
there is no clamour of the workless, |
| no whining of beggars
afflicts the car. |
| If your heart bleeds on
account of one destiny, |
1955 |
| petition God to decree
another destiny; |
| if you pray for a new
destiny, that is lawful, |
| seeing that God’s
destinies are infinite. |
| Earthlings have gambled
away the coin of selfhood, |
| not comprehending the
subtle meaning of destiny; |
1960 |
| its subtlety is
contained in a single phrase— |
| ‘If you transform
yourself, it too will be transformed.’ |
| Be dust, and fate will
give you the winds; |
| be a stone, and it will
hurl you against glass. |
| Are you a dew-drop?
Your destiny is to perish; |
1965 |
| are you an ocean? Your
destiny is to endure. |
|
|
| Every moment you are
fashioning new Lats and Manats; |
| inconstant one, do you
look for constancy from idols? |
| So long as your faith
is to accord not with your self |
| the world of your
thoughts is your prison; |
1670 |
| toil without
treasure-such is destiny; |
| treasure without
toil-such is destiny! |
| If this is the
foundation of faith, ignorant fellow, |
| then the needy will
become still more in need. |
| Woe to that religion
which lulls you to sleep |
1975 |
| and still holds you in
sleep profound! |
| Is this religion, or
magic and enchantment? |
| Is this religion, or a
grain of opium? |
|
|
| Do you know whence
comes the penetrating nature, |
| whence came this houri
into your tenement of clay? |
1980 |
| Do you know whence
comes the sages’ power of thought, |
| whence the potency of
prayer in God’s interlocutors? |
| Do you know whence came
this heart, and its visitations, |
| whence these arts,
these miracles? |
| Do you have fire of
speech? That comes not from you; |
1985 |
| do you have flame of
action? That comes not from you. |
| All this is an overflow
of the springtime of nature, |
| nature which derives
from nature’s Creator. |
| What is life? A mine of
gems; |
| you are the trustee,
its owner is Another. |
1990 |
| A radiant nature
glorifies the man of God, |
| to serve all God’s
creatures, that is his aim— |
| Service belongs to the
wont and way of prophethood; |
| to seek a reward for
service is mere commerce. |
|
|
| Even so this wind,
earth, cloud, field, |
1995 |
| orchard, meadow,
palace, street, stones, bricks— |
| you who say, ‘Our
property is of ourselves’, |
| ignorant one, all this
belongs to God. |
| If you regard
God’s earth as your own, |
| then what means the
verse, Work not corruption? |
2000 |
| Adam’s sons have
given their hearts to Iblis, |
| and from Iblis I have
seen only corruption. |
| None should convert a
trust to his own use; |
| blessed is he who
renders God’s property up to God. |
| You have carried off
what does not belong to you; |
2005 |
| my soul sorrows for so
unworthy a deed. |
| If you own a thing,
that is meet and right, |
| but if you do not, say
yourself, how is that proper? |
| Return to God the
property of God |
| so that you may loose
the knot of your involvement; |
2010 |
| for why is there
poverty and want under heaven’s arch? |
| Because you say what is
the Lord’s belongs to you. |
| The man who has not
leaped forth from water and clay |
| has shattered his own
glass with his own stone. |
| You who cannot tell
goal from path, |
2015 |
| the value of every
thing is measured by the regard. |
| So long as the pearl is
your property, it is a pearl, |
| otherwise it is a
pebble, worth less than a farthing. |
| View the world
otherwise, and it will become other, |
| this earth and heaven
will be transformed. |
2020 |