Faith
When the Lord created the world,
Translated from Uzbek · Original text
When the Lord created the world,He made the human heart its axis.That is, the earth was spread, the heavens raised on high,And only for the heart’s sake did this fruit come forth.The sky has seven layers, the earth has seven strata,And high above the heavens paradise shimmers.Begging for mercy from the wrath of God,Hell burns, it seems, beneath the earth.As many as there are humans, perhaps even more,The jinn are living out their lives upon the earth.In every layer of heaven, thronging in multitudes,The angels never cease their worship for a moment.In the midst of the Throne there is the Bayt al-Ma‘mur,Hosts of angels hurry to circle round it.The Footstool, the Tablet and the Pen are higher still,Magnificent, and worthy of God’s command.If earth and heaven were a single ring,And you were to throw it out into a desert —Would it even be seen? Think it through with care,The Throne is that great, without a doubt, beyond all question.The entire universe, paradise and hell,The Footstool and the Throne, the Tablet and the Pen —Gather them all together, O joyful heart,And let not one speck slip out of your mind!Remember the countless angels,Recall the world of the jinn — how vast it is.And bring to mind, this moment, all mankind,Some are glad, and some are in dire straits.The Messengers and Prophets — more than a hundred thousand,And what of the sultans and kings who shook the world?!And the saints who burned with yearning for the Truth, building on sincerity,And all the sighs that they have heaved?Look, what a vast and mighty realm,How perfect is this divine dominion!However much you ponder it, you will forever be,If you feel no delight in it, a corpse, a dead man!Such boundless art, this knowledge and this wisdom,It springs forth from the attributes of God.Listen, O wakeful heart, O one of high resolve,The aim and purpose of it all is this —That is, the heart is the very core of the world,The heart is the spirit of the Truth’s art.But one must grasp the secret of the heart,Keep far away from heartless people, shun them.If it knows the Truth, if it is filled with faith,If it writhes forever in the yearning of love —If it weeps “O Truth,” or dies saying “O Truth,”Only that heart deserves the name of heart!That heart is the center of the world,All the heavens circle round it like moths.Its every breath is only with the Truth,The whole world is a stranger to it.That heart knows that before the Truth HimselfAll creatures are but captives, like specks of dust.Before the Truth, thousands upon thousandsOf thrones and universes are worthless and lowly.Now, if such a heart is suddenly deceived —That is, a heart unripe and raw, not yet burned —Unable to become aware of the world’s secret,It gives itself wholly over to a human being.That is, if it burns entirely in the fire,And sighs and suffers in yearning for its beloved,Then the Truth, to turn it back toward Himself,Will send it anguish from that beloved’s hand.That is, forgetting its True Beloved,If it is enthralled by the beauty of the fair,The seas of temptation strike in surging waves,And from the beloveds comes unequaled calamity.The heart, unable to withstand this disaster,Flies off in all directions like a wounded bird.In the end, finding no strength to go on flying,It falls upon the stage of Divine Wisdom.Bowing its head, weeping long as if insane,It drags itself into the presence of the Truth.Ashamed for having lived in heedlessness,Wailing in blood, it repents before the Truth.O heart! O sorrowful, O grieving creature,Why do you never see your heedlessness at all?!If you remember anyone, remember God alone,Renounce the world’s glitter and its darkness!Why surrender yourself to the faithless,Why suffer cruelty at the hands of tyrants?!Never turn your face toward the shameless,Do you not, after all, feel shame before God?!O heart! Do not betray the path,Do not be charmed by the people of the world.If you desire a grace beyond what the mind can believe,Never bind yourself to anyone but God!Akrom MALIK
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