IX: If thou possessest the love and regard of…

If thou possessest the love and regard of the Almighty,
Thou wilt tear thyself away both from brother and from friend.

Like unto Majnun, thou wilt begin in wilds to wander:
Thou wilt never take account of the thorns and brambles by the way.

Until thou castest not off entirely all thy superfluous flesh,
O contender in the race! thou wilt never reach the goal.

Day and night thou pursuest this transient world,
And hast, O foolish one! turned from the immortal away.

At last, He will take away from thee, by force, for ever,
This borrowed garment, that is so very precious unto thee.

The beasts of the field, when grazing, eat not up every herb,
But thou turnest not away thy face from any one thing.

Until it shall be melted the saint-like teacher's crucible within,
Thou wilt not be able to separate this silver from its tin alloy.

Notwithstanding, before him, thou mayest the beloved praise;
Still, thou canst not manhood from the impotent hope.

I, Khwajah Muhammad, am immersed in the ocean of grief,
If thou, my master! wilt save me from this raging flood.