XIV: The folks of the world give us their…

The folks of the world give us their admonitions most unjustly;
For every man pleaseth himself according to his own mind.

What have others to do with us, forsooth, that they restrain us,
If, for the sake of the beloved, we sacrifice life and goods?

When love, like a mighty river, hath overflowed the heart,
Doth any one attempt a dam to raise on the face of the flood?

By the severance of all worldly concerns, sanctity is acquired;
But not by saddling oneself with worldly obligations and ties.

Involuntarily, and impulsively, the heart is given to the fair:
This matter is not brought about by counsel, or such like things.

The brutes chew the cud upon their food; but it behoveth man
To ruminate upon every word that issueth from his mouth.

As long, O Aeabd-ul-Kadir! as thy strains may be repeated,
From them flow so many varying, and delightful sweets.