Hither Come, O Seeker After Truth

Hither come, O seeker after Truth! if joy thou wouldest share,
Enter on the Mystic Pathway, follow it, then joy thou'lt share.

Hearken now what God (exalted high His name!) from nought hath formed.
Eden's bower He hath created; Light, its lamp, he did prepare;

Loftiest its sites, and best and fairest are its blest abodes;
'Midst of each a hall of pearls — not ivory nor teak-wood rare.

Each pavilion He from seventy ruddy rubies raised aloft, —
Dwellings these in which the dwellers sit secure from fear or care.

Round within each courtyard seventy splendid houses He hath ranged.
Formed of emeralds green — houses these no fault of form that bear.

There, within each house, are seventy pearl and gem-encrusted thrones;
He upon each throne hath stretched out seventy couches broidered fair;

Sits on every couch a maiden of the bourne of loveliness:
Moons their foreheads, days their faces, each a jewelled crown doth wear;

Wine their rubies, soft their eyes, their eyebrows troublous, causing woe:
All-enchanting, Paradise pays tribute to their witching air.

Sudden did they see the faces of those damsels dark of eye,
Blinded sun and moon were, and Life's Stream grew bitter then and there.

Thou wouldst deem that each was formed of rubies, corals, and of pearls;
Question there is none, for God thus in the Qur'an doth declare.

Tables seventy, fraught with bounties, He in every house hath placed,
And on every tray hath spread out seventy sorts of varied fare.

* * *

All these glories, all these honours, all these blessings of delight,
All these wondrous mercies surely for his sake He did prepare:

Through His love unto Muhammed, He the universe hath framed;
Happy, for his sake, the naked and the hungry enter there.

O Thou Perfectness of Potence! O Thou God of Awful Might!
O Thou Majesty of Glory! O Thou King of Perfect Right!

Since He Eden's Heaven created, all is there complete and whole,
So that nought is lacking; nothing He created needs repair.

Yonder, for His righteous servants, things so fair hath He devised,
That no eye hath e'er beheld them; ope thy soul's eye, on them stare.

Never have His servants heard them, neither can their hearts conceive;
Reach unto their comprehension shall this understanding ne'er.

There that God a station lofty, of the loftiest, hath reared,
That unclouded station He the name Vesila caused to bear,

That to His Beloved yonder station a dear home may be,
Thence ordained is Heaven's order free from every grief and care.

In its courtyard's riven centre, planted He the Tuba-Tree;
That a tree which hangeth downwards, high aloft its roots are there:

Thus its radiance all the Heavens lighteth up from end to end,
Flooding every tent and palace, every lane and every square.

Such a tree the Tuba, that that Gracious One hath in its sap
Hidden whatso'er there be of gifts and presents good and fair;

Forth therefrom crowns, thrones, and jewels, yea, and steeds and coursers come,
Golden leaves and clearest crystals, wines most pure beyond compare.

For his sake there into being hath He called the Tuba-Tree,
That from Ebû-Qâsim's hand might every one receive his share.