إِنَّ الزُّجَاجَةَ عِبْرَةٌ لِلرَّائِي

إِنَّ الزُّجَاجَةَ عِبْرَةٌ لِلرَّائِيفَانْظُرْ بِهَا بِالبَاءِ بَعْدَ الرَّاءِ

Inna az-zujājata ʿibratun lilrrāʾī, Fanẓur bihā bi-al-bāʾi baʿda ar-rāʾi

Glass is a lesson for the one who sees, so look through it, with the ba' after the ra'.

وَتَأَمَّلِ الأَكْوَانَ حَيْثُ تَنَوَّعَتْلَكَ تَنْجَلِي فِي بَهْجَةٍ وَبَهَاءِ

Wataʾammali al-ʾakwāna ḥaythu tanawwaʿat, Laka tanjalī fī bahjatin wabahāʾi

Contemplate created things in all their variety, revealing themselves to you in joy and splendour,

فِي حُمْرَةٍ فِي صُفْرَةٍ فِي خُضْرَةٍبِخِلَافِ مَا هِيَ سَائِرُ الأَشْيَاءِ

Fī ḥumratin fī ṣufratin fī khuḍratin, Bikhilāfi mā hiya sāʾiru al-ʾashyāʾi

In red, in yellow, in green, though in themselves things are otherwise.

وَكَذَلِكَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا فِيهَا فَلَايَغْتَرُّ رَاءٍ بِالَّذِي هُوَ رَائِي

Wakadhalika ad-dunyā wamā fīhā falā, Yaghtarru rāʾin billadhī huwa rāʾī

So too the world and all that is in it: let no beholder be deceived by what he beholds.

سِرُّ التَّلَوُّنِ فِي الزُّجَاجَةِ فَاعْتَبِرْهَذَا بِنَفْسٍ دَاخِلَ الأَحْشَاءِ

Sirru at-talawwuni fī az-zujājati faʿtabir, Hadhā binafsin dākhila al-ʾaḥshāʾi

The secret of the colours in the glass: take it as a lesson for the soul that lies within the breast.

إِنَّ النُّفُوسَ هِيَ الزُّجَاجَاتُ الَّتِيطُبِعَتْ عَلَى سَعْدٍ لَهَا وَشَقَاءِ

Inna an-nufūsa hiya az-zujājātu al-latī, Ṭubiʿat ʿalā saʿdin lahā washaqāʾi

Souls are the glasses that were stamped with their happiness or misery.

وَبِهَا يَرَى الرَّائِي فَيَكْشِفُ مُقْتَضَىمَا عِنْدَهَا بِتَأَمُّلٍ وَتَرَاءِ

Wabihā yarā ar-rāʾī fayakshifu muqtaḍā, Mā ʿindahā bitaʾammulin watarāʾi

Through them the beholder sees, and so uncovers what they hold, through contemplation and looking.

وَالحُكْمُ مِنْهُ عَلَى الَّذِي هُوَ ظَاهِرٌحُكْمٌ عَلَيْهِ بِلُبْسَةٍ وَخَفَاءِ

Wa-al-ḥukmu minhu ʿalā al-ladhī huwa ẓāhirun, Ḥukmun ʿalayhi bilubsatin wakhafāʾi

His judgment on what appears outwardly is a judgment clouded by confusion and concealment.

فَإِذَا تَحَقَّقَ كَانَ أَنْصَفَ حَاكِمٍفِيمَا رَأَى وَاخْتُصَّ بِالنَّعْمَاءِ

Faʾidhā taḥaqqaqa kāna anṣafa ḥākimin, Fīmā raʾā wakhtuṣṣa bi-an-naʿmāʾi

But once he has realised the truth, he is the fairest of judges in what he sees, and is singled out for blessings.

وَالقَلْبُ أَذْعَنَ مِنْهُ فِي إِيمَانِهِبِالغَيْبِ عَنْ قَطْعٍ بِغَيْرِ مِرَاءِ

Wa-al-qalbu adhʿana minhu fī īmānihi, Bi-al-ghaybi ʿan qaṭʿin bighayri mirāʾi

And the heart submits, through him, in its faith in the Unseen, with certainty and beyond dispute.