Verses 1-9
In the name of the eloquent and mighty Speaker
O possessors of intellect and ears, the first call of the Friend is this:
1 O Spiritual Nightingale
Settle nowhere but in the rose garden of meanings, and O hoopoe of Solomon’s love, make no dwelling except in the breeze of the Beloved’s spirit. And O phoenix of eternity, accept no abode but in the peak of faithfulness. This is your station if, without a station, you soar with the soul and freely turn toward your own dwelling.
2 O Son of Spirit
Every bird looks toward its nest, and every nightingale seeks the beauty of the rose—save for the birds of the hearts of God’s servants, who are content with mortal dust and thus remain distant from the eternal nest. They have turned their attention to the mud of estrangement and been deprived of the roses of nearness. Alas for the wonder, sorrow, and regret, that with a drop from the waves of the exalted ocean, they have passed by the lofty horizon and remained far from the most resplendent expanse.
3 O Friend
Plant nothing in the garden of the heart except the flower of love, and never let go of the hem of the nightingale of affection and yearning. Cherish the company of the righteous and abandon entirely both the hand and heart of companionship with the wicked.
4 O Son of Justice
What lover settles in a place other than the abode of the Beloved, and what seeker seeks ease apart from their desired one? For the true lover, life is in union, and death is in separation. Their bosoms are devoid of patience, and their hearts sanctified from forbearance. They pass beyond a hundred thousand lives to hasten toward the abode of the Beloved.
5 O Son of Dust
Truly I say, the most heedless of servants is the one who disputes in words and seeks superiority over their brother. Say, O brothers, adorn yourselves with deeds, not with words.
6 O Sons of Earth
Truly know that a heart in which remains the trace of envy will never enter my eternal dominion, nor will it inhale the fragrances of my sanctified kingdom.
7 O Son of Love
Between you and the pavilion of nearness and the lote-tree of the exaltation of love is but a single step. Take the first step, then place the next upon the realm of the heart and enter the canopy of paradise. Then listen to what has descended from the Pen of Glory.
8 O Son of Glory
Hasten upon the path of sanctity and set foot upon the heavens of intimacy. Purify the heart with the polish of the spirit and direct yourself toward the precincts of “but for Thee.”
9 O Fading Shadow
Pass beyond the degrees of the abasement of delusion and enter the heights of the honor of certainty. Open the eye of truth to behold the manifest beauty and exclaim, “Blessed is God, the best of creators!”
Verses 10-18
10 O Son of Desire
Truly, listen: the mortal eye cannot recognize the everlasting beauty, and the lifeless heart busies itself only with withered flowers. For every companion seeks its kind and finds intimacy with its own essence.
11 O Son of Dust
Blind yourself, that you may behold my beauty; deafen yourself, that you may hear my melodious voice; become ignorant, that you may partake of my knowledge; and impoverish yourself, that you may gain an imperishable share of my eternal ocean of wealth. Blind yourself, meaning from the sight of anything but my beauty. Deafen yourself, meaning from hearing anything but my words. Become ignorant, meaning from anything but my knowledge. Thus, with pure eyes, a sanctified heart, and a refined ear, enter the sanctuary of my holiness.
12 O Possessor of Two Eyes
Close one eye and open the other. Close it, meaning to the world and its people; open it, meaning to the holy beauty of the Beloved.
13 My Sons
I fear that, without partaking of the melody of the mystic dove, you may return to the abode of annihilation, and without beholding the beauty of the rose, you may turn back to clay and dust.
14 O Friends
Do not exchange the eternal beauty for the fleeting, nor bind your hearts to the dust of the earth.
15 O Son of Spirit
A time will come when the mystic nightingale will be forbidden from revealing the mysteries of meanings, and all will be deprived of the heavenly melody and the divine call.
16 O Essence of Heedlessness
Alas, that a hundred thousand spiritual tongues are embodied in one speaking tongue, and a hundred thousand hidden meanings appear in one melody—yet there is no ear to hear, nor heart to grasp a single word.
17 O Companions
The gates of the placeless have been opened, and the abode of the Beloved has been adorned by the breaths of lovers. Yet all are deprived of this spiritual city, save a few. And among those few, only the most purified hearts and sanctified souls have attained it—and even among them, but the very fewest.
18 O Inhabitants of the Supreme Paradise
Announce to the people of certitude that within the holy expanse of the nearness of paradise, a new garden has appeared. All the dwellers of the heavenly realm and the forms of the exalted paradise circle around it. Strive, then, to enter this station and seek the truths of the mysteries of love from its blossoms, and discover all the sublime wisdoms of the One from its everlasting fruits. Blessed are the eyes of those who enter it with security.
Verses 19-27
19 O My Friends
Have you forgotten that radiant true morn, when beneath the shelter of the blessed Tree planted in the Most Great Paradise, you were all present in that holy and sanctified atmosphere before me? I spoke three pure words, and you heard them and were enraptured by them. These words were: O friends, do not prefer your will over mine, and never desire what I do not desire for you. Do not bring to me hearts that are lifeless and tainted with hopes and desires. If you purify your chests, you will recall that plain and that atmosphere, and my words will become clear to you. (Revealed in the eighth line of the sacred ranks, found in the fifth Tablet of Paradise.)
20 O Dead Ones Lying in the Beds of Heedlessness
Centuries have passed, and you have spent your precious lives to their end. Yet no pure breath has reached my holy sanctuary from you. You are immersed in the seas of polytheism while you utter the word of unity. You have taken what I abhor as your beloved and made my enemies your friends. You walk upon my earth in utmost joy and delight, unaware that my earth is weary of you and all things upon it flee from you. If you would open your eyes just a little, you would find a hundred thousand sorrows sweeter than this joy and deem annihilation nobler than this life.
21 O Moving Dust
I am near to you, yet you despair of me. The sword of disobedience has severed the tree of hope. In all states, I am close to you, while in all conditions, you are far from me. I have chosen everlasting glory for you, yet you have chosen endless abasement for yourself. Now, while time remains, turn back and seize this opportunity.
22 O Son of Desire
The people of knowledge and insight strove for years but never attained the presence of the All-Glorious. They ran for lifetimes but did not reach the meeting with the All-Beauteous. Yet you, without striving, arrived at the abode, and without seeking, you attained the goal. Despite all these ranks and stations, you have become so veiled by the curtain of your own self that your eyes do not behold the beauty of the Friend, nor does your hand grasp the hem of the Beloved. Marvel at this, O people of vision!
23 O People of the Realm of Love
The eternal lamp has been surrounded by the winds of mortality, and the beauty of the spiritual Youth is veiled by the dark dust of oppression. The Sovereign of the sovereigns of love is oppressed in the hands of the tyrants, and the sacred dove is trapped in the grasp of the owls. All the denizens of the canopy of the Most Glorious and the concourse on high lament and wail, while you dwell in utmost ease in the land of heedlessness, imagining yourselves to be among the pure friends. But vain are your suppositions.
24 O Ignorant Ones Masked as Learned
Why do you outwardly claim to be shepherds while inwardly becoming wolves to my sheep? Your likeness is as the star before dawn: bright and radiant in appearance, yet inwardly a cause of the misguidance and ruin of the caravans of my cities and realms.
25 O Outwardly Adorned but Inwardly Diminished
Your likeness is as pure, bitter water: outwardly of utmost clarity and purity, but when tested by the touchstone of the divine palate, not even a drop is accepted. Truly, the radiance of the sun is manifest both in dust and in mirrors, yet there is an infinite difference between them—a difference that cannot be bridged.
26 O Friend of My Tongue
Ponder for a moment. Have you ever heard that both the Friend and the stranger can dwell in one heart? Cast out the strangers so the Beloved may enter His home.
27 O Son of Dust
I ordained all that is in the heavens and on earth for you, except for the hearts, which I appointed as the seat of the revelation of my beauty and majesty. Yet you abandoned my dwelling place to others. Whenever the sanctity of my presence sought to enter its abode, it found it occupied by others and saw strangers within. Then, the placeless hastened to the sanctuary of the Beloved. Still, I concealed this and did not disclose the secret, for I would not disgrace you.
Verses 28-36
28 O Essence of Desire
How often at dawn have I come from the realm of the placeless to your dwelling, only to find you absorbed in others upon the couch of ease. Then, like a spiritual lightning, I returned to the cloud of sovereign majesty, concealing this matter within the sanctuaries of my nearness and sharing nothing of it with the hosts of holiness.
29 O Son of Generosity
You were in the wilderness of nonexistence when, through the dust of my command, I manifested you in the realm of dominion. I appointed all the atoms of possibility and the realities of creation to nurture you. Before your emergence from the womb, I ordained two luminous springs of milk for you and set eyes to watch over you. I instilled love for you in hearts and, through sheer generosity, raised you under the canopy of my mercy. From the essence of grace and compassion, I preserved you. The purpose of all these stages was that you might enter my eternal dominion and become a recipient of my hidden gifts. Yet you were heedless. When you bore fruit, you neglected all my bounties, immersing yourself in vain imaginings. You wholly forgot and abandoned the abode of the Friend, finding refuge instead in the court of the enemy.
30 O Servant of the World
At dawn, the breeze of my favor passed over you, finding you asleep on the bed of heedlessness. It wept over your condition and returned.
31 O Son of Earth
If you desire me, desire none but me. If you seek my beauty, turn your gaze away from all others. For my will and the will of another are as water and fire; they cannot dwell together in one heart.
32 O Stranger to the One True God
The flame of your heart is kindled by the hand of my power. Do not extinguish it with the contrary winds of self and desire. The remedy for all your ills is my remembrance; do not forget it. Make my love your treasure, and cherish it as your very sight and soul.
33 O My Brother
Hear from my sweet tongue my tender words, and drink from my briny lips the spiritual spring of holiness. Sow the seeds of my divine wisdom in the pure soil of your heart, and water it with the waters of certitude, so that the green shoots of my knowledge and wisdom may spring forth from the holy city of your being.
34 O People of My Paradise
The sapling of your love and friendship was planted in the sacred garden of paradise by the hand of kindness, and it was watered with the rains of mercy. Now it is near to bearing fruit. Strive that it may be preserved and not consumed by the fire of desire and passion.
35 O My Friends
Extinguish the lamp of misguidance and kindle the everlasting torches of guidance in your hearts. Soon, the appraisers of existence will, in the presence of the Worshipped One, accept nothing but pure piety and will acknowledge no deeds but those that are pure.
36 O Son of Dust
The wise among my servants are those who do not speak unless they hear, just as the cupbearer does not offer the cup unless a request is made, and the lover does not cry out until they attain the beauty of the Beloved. Therefore, sow the seeds of wisdom and knowledge in the pure soil of the heart, and keep them hidden, so that the shoots of divine wisdom may spring forth from the heart, not from the clay.
Verses 37-45
37 O My Servant
Do not relinquish the everlasting dominion for fleeting abasement, nor surrender the sovereignty of paradise for mere desire. This is the fountain of life flowing from the divine spring of the Pen of the Merciful. Blessed are those who drink from it.
38 O Son of Spirit
Break free from the cage, and like the bird of love, soar into the sacred atmosphere. Rise above the self and rest in the divine breeze of the holy Lord.
39 O Son of Ashes
Do not content yourself with the comfort of a single day, nor forsake the eternal and everlasting peace. Do not exchange the eternal garden of everlasting joy for the perishable, earthly ruin. Ascend from the prison to the delightful plains of the soul and step from the cage of limitation into the enchanting paradise of the placeless.
40 O My Servant
Free yourself from the chains of the material world and liberate yourself from the prison of self. Seize the moment, for you will not see this time again, nor find this opportunity once it passes.
41 O Child of My Maidservant
If you behold the everlasting sovereignty, you will surely, with utmost earnestness, forsake the fleeting realm. Yet, veils of wisdom conceal it, and its radiance is cloaked in mysteries. Only pure hearts can comprehend it.
42 O My Servant
Purify your heart from resentment and step with envy-free thoughts onto the holy carpet of divine unity.
43 O My Friends
Walk the path of the Beloved’s pleasure, for His good pleasure lies in His creatures’ well-being and always will. Meaning, the friend should not enter their companion’s home without their consent, nor interfere with their possessions, nor prefer their own will over that of the friend, nor consider themselves superior in any matter. Reflect upon this, O people of understanding.
44 O Heavenly Companion
Hear no evil, see no evil, and do not debase yourself by wailing. Meaning, do not speak ill so that you do not hear ill, and do not magnify the faults of others lest your own faults be magnified. Do not desire abasement for another lest your own abasement be unveiled. Thus, with a pure heart, a sanctified chest, and a serene mind, spend your brief days of life—days that are less than a fleeting moment—so that, free from this mortal frame, you may return to the paradise of meanings and find your abode in the everlasting kingdom.
45 Woe, Woe to You, Lovers of Carnal Desire
You have passed by the spiritual Beloved like lightning and have firmly set your hearts upon satanic imaginings. You worship illusions and call it truth, and gaze upon thorns and name them roses. Not a breath of purity has been released from you, nor has the breeze of detachment wafted from the gardens of your hearts. You have cast aside the loving counsels of the Beloved and erased them from the pages of your souls. Like cattle, you graze in the meadows of lust and vain hopes.
Verses 46-54
46 O Brothers on the Path
Why have you become heedless of the remembrance of the Beloved and distant from the proximity of the Friend? The pure Beauty is enthroned within the peerless pavilion, upon the throne of majesty, while you, following your desires, are engaged in disputes. The fragrances of sanctity are wafting, and the breezes of generosity are blowing, yet you remain afflicted with colds and deprived of all these bounties. Alas for you, and for those who tread your footsteps and follow in your wake!
47 O Sons of Desires
Cast off the garment of pride and remove the cloak of arrogance from your bodies.
(Recorded in the third line of the sacred ranks, inscribed by the Hidden Pen in the Ruby Tablet.)
48 O Brothers
Show forbearance toward one another and detach your hearts from the world. Do not boast in honor, and do not disdain humiliation. By my Beauty, I created all from dust, and assuredly to dust I shall return them.
49 O Sons of Dust
Inform the wealthy of the dawn lamentations of the poor, lest they, in their heedlessness, fall into ruin and remain deprived of the tree of prosperity. Generosity and magnanimity are among my attributes; blessed are those adorned with my attributes.
50 O Simpleton of Desire
Greed must be abandoned, and contentment embraced. For the greedy have ever remained deprived, while the contented are loved and accepted.
51 O Child of My Maidservant
In poverty, do not be distressed, and in wealth, do not find assurance. Every poverty is followed by wealth, and every wealth by decline. Yet, poverty in all save God is a great blessing—do not belittle it. For at its zenith, the wealth of nearness to God will be unveiled. In this station is hidden the truth of “You are the poor” and the blessed word “God is the rich” shines forth like the true dawn from the horizon of the lover’s heart, manifest and resplendent. There it takes its seat upon the throne of riches and finds its abode.
52 O Sons of Heedlessness and Desire
You have given entrance to my enemy within my house and cast my friend from yourselves, just as you have housed the love of another in your hearts. Listen to the utterance of the Friend and turn to His paradise. Outward friends love one another for their own benefit, but the spiritual Friend has loved and continues to love you for your own sake. Indeed, He has willingly borne countless trials for your guidance. Do not betray such a Friend; hasten toward His court. This is the Sun of the Word of Truth and Loyalty that has risen from the horizon of the Finger of the Lord of Names. Open your ears to hear the Word of God, the Mighty, the Sustainer!
53 O Proud Ones in Possession of Perishable Riches
Know that wealth is a mighty barrier between the seeker and the Sought, the lover and the Beloved. No rich man enters the seat of nearness or the city of contentment and submission except for a few. Blessed is the rich one whose wealth does not hinder them from the everlasting dominion or deprive them of eternal bounty. By the Greatest Name, the radiance of such a rich one illuminates the dwellers of heaven, just as the sun gives light to the people of earth.
54 O Rich Ones of the Earth
The poor are my trust among you; safeguard my trust, and do not devote yourselves wholly to the comforts of your own selves.
Verses 55-63
55 O Child of Desire
Cleanse yourself from the stain of wealth and step with utmost ease upon the heavens of poverty, that you may drink the wine of immortality from the fountain of annihilation.
56 O My Son
The company of the wicked increases sorrow, while the companionship of the righteous removes the rust of the heart. Whoso desires to be close to God, let them associate with His loved ones; and whoso desires to hear the words of God, let them listen to the words of His chosen ones.
57 Beware, O Son of Dust
Do not associate with the wicked, nor seek companionship with them, for the company of the wicked turns the light of the soul into the fire of reckoning.
58 O Child of My Maidservant
If you seek the grace of the Holy Spirit, consort with the free. For the righteous have drunk the eternal cup from the hand of the celestial cupbearer and bring life, radiance, and light to the dead hearts of others, as the true dawn.
59 O Heedless Ones
Do not imagine that the secrets of hearts are hidden; rather, be assured that they are inscribed in clear writing and are manifest in the presence of the Divine Court.
60 O Friends
Truly, I say, all that you have hidden in your hearts is as clear and evident before us as the day, yet our concealing it is due to our generosity and grace, not your merit.
61 O Son of Man
I offered a dewdrop from the vast ocean of my mercy to the world, yet I found no one receptive. For all have turned from the pure and everlasting wine of oneness to the polluted and transient drink of oblivion. They have been content with the cup of mortality instead of the chalice of eternal beauty. Wretched is that with which they are content.
62 O Son of Dust
Do not close your eyes to the peerless wine of the eternal Beloved and do not open them to the impure draught of mortality. Take the everlasting cup from the hand of the Unique Cupbearer, that you may become all-hearing and hear the spiritual call of the unseen. Say, O base-minded ones, why have you turned from the sacred, everlasting wine of my holiness to the perishable waters of oblivion?
63 Say, O People of the Earth
Know assuredly that a sudden calamity pursues you, and a great chastisement follows close behind. Do not imagine that what you have committed has been erased from sight. By my Beauty, all your deeds are inscribed by the clear Pen in the emerald Tablets.
Verses 64-72
64 O Oppressors of the Earth
Cease your hands from oppression, for I have sworn that I will not overlook the injustice of anyone. This is a covenant inscribed in the Preserved Tablet and sealed with the Seal of Might.
65 O Sinners
My forbearance has emboldened you, and my patience has led you into heedlessness. You recklessly ride the fiery steeds of your egos along dangerous and destructive paths, as if you consider me unaware or regard me as ignorant.
66 O Wayfarers
The tongue is meant for my remembrance; do not defile it with backbiting. And if the fiery self prevails, occupy yourselves with the mention of your own faults and not the faults of my servants. For each of you knows your own self better than you know the souls of my servants.
67 O Sons of Delusion
Know that when the radiant morn rises from the horizon of the divine sanctity, the secrets and satanic deeds committed in the dark night shall be made manifest and evident to all.
68 O Dust-born Plant
How is it that you would not touch sugar with soiled hands to avoid staining your garment, yet you seek my presence and access to my holy realms with a heart polluted by the filth of lust and desire? Far, far are you from what you seek!
69 O Sons of Adam
Pure words and sanctified, holy deeds ascend to the heaven of divine oneness. Strive to purify your actions from the dust of hypocrisy and the stains of self and desire, that they may enter the sanctuary of divine acceptance. For soon the appraisers of existence, in the presence of the Worshipped One, will accept nothing but pure piety and deeds of purity. This is the sun of wisdom and meaning that has shone forth from the horizon of the mouth of the divine Will. Blessed are the ones who turn toward it.
70 O Son of Delight
What a glorious realm is the realm of being, if you enter it! And what a noble carpet is the carpet of eternity, if you step beyond the transient world! Delightful is the intoxication of ecstasy, if you drink the cup of meanings from the hand of the divine Youth. If you attain these stations, you will be free from nonexistence, annihilation, sorrow, and error.
71 O My Friends
Recall the covenant you made with me on Mount Paran, in the sacred place of time. I took the Supreme Concourse and the inhabitants of the eternal city as witnesses to this covenant. Yet now, I see no one abiding by it. Pride and rebellion have erased it from hearts to the extent that no trace of it remains. Knowing this, I have been patient and have not revealed it.
72 O My Servant
Your likeness is as a priceless sword concealed in a dark sheath, such that its value is hidden from the appraisers. Therefore, come forth from the sheath of self and desire, that your essence may be made manifest and resplendent to the people of the world.
Verses 73-82
73 O My Friend
You are the sun of the heaven of my sanctity. Do not stain yourself with the eclipse of the world. Tear away the veil of heedlessness, that you may emerge from behind the clouds, unveiled and unhidden, and adorn all beings with the robe of existence.
74 O Sons of Pride
You have forsaken the everlasting dominion of my might for the fleeting sovereignty of a few days, adorning yourselves with gold and crimson, and boasting of this. By my Beauty, I will gather all into the tent of the oneness of dust and eliminate all these varied colors, save for those adorned with my hue, which is sanctity beyond all hues.
75 O Sons of Heedlessness
Do not set your hearts on fleeting sovereignty, nor rejoice in it. Your likeness is as a heedless bird singing on the branch of a garden in utmost assurance, only to be suddenly cast to the ground by the hunter of fate. No trace of its song, form, or color remains. Take heed, O servants of desire.
76 O Child of My Maidservant
Guidance has always been by words, but now it has become by deeds. This means that all divine actions must emanate from the human form. For all share in words, but pure and holy deeds are the special distinction of my friends. Strive with your souls to be distinguished by your deeds above all people. Thus have we counseled you in a radiant Tablet of sanctity.
77 O Son of Justice
In the night of beauty, the form of eternity descended from the emerald heights of faithfulness to the lote-tree of the ultimate boundary and wept—a weeping that caused all the Supreme Concourse and the cherubic hosts to lament. When asked the reason for this mourning, it responded: “According to command, I waited upon the heights of faithfulness but found no fragrance of loyalty from the dwellers of the earth. Thus, I turned to depart, only to behold the holy doves trapped in the hands of the earthly dogs.” At that moment, a celestial maiden emerged unveiled from her spiritual palace, asking for the names of these doves. All were recounted except one name. Insisting further, the first letter of the name was spoken, causing the dwellers of the heavenly chambers to rush forth. At the utterance of the second letter, all fell to the dust. A call then arose from the sanctuary of nearness: No more may be revealed. We were witnesses to what they did, and at that moment, they were committing it.
78 O Child of My Maidservant
Drink from the tongue of the Merciful the pure spring of meanings, and behold the radiance of the sun of explanation from the horizon of the utterance of the All-Glorious, unveiled and unconcealed. Sow the seeds of my divine wisdom in the pure soil of your heart and water it with the waters of certitude, that the green shoots of my knowledge and wisdom may spring forth from the blessed city of your being.
79 O Son of Desire
How long will you soar in the air of selfish desires? I have bestowed wings of favor upon you that you may fly in the sacred atmosphere of meanings, not in the imagined realm of satanic delusions. I have given you the comb of grace that you may smooth the tresses of my musk-laden hair, not to wound my throat.
80 O My Servants
You are the trees of my paradise; you must appear with wondrous and mighty fruits, that both you and others may benefit from you. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all to engage in crafts and professions. This is the means of wealth, O possessors of intellect, for all matters depend upon their means, and through the bounty of God, these means enrich you. Trees without fruit are fit only for the fire and shall remain so.
81 O My Servant
The lowest of people are those who appear on earth without yielding fruit. In truth, they are counted among the dead; indeed, the dead are preferable in the sight of God to such idle and neglectful souls.
82 O My Servant
The best of people are those who earn through their efforts and spend on themselves and their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.
Conclusion
The wondrous bride of meanings, which was veiled and hidden behind the curtains of utterance, has, through divine grace and the favor of the Lord, appeared and become manifest, like the radiant light of the Beloved’s beauty. Bear witness, O friends, that the bounty is complete, the proof perfect, the evidence manifest, and the argument established. Now, let your efforts reveal the degrees of detachment you can attain. Thus has the bounty been completed upon you and upon those in the heavens and the earths, and praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.