by Hakim Sanai of Ghazna
Book VI of the Hadiqa al-Haqiqa — "The Walled Garden of Truth" — is the longest and most wide-ranging of Sanai's ten books. In sixty-five sections and approximately eleven hundred and sixty couplets, it examines the Universal Soul (nafs al-kullī) and its states: its celestial origin, its imprisonment in the body, and the worldly traps — desire, beauty, greed, intoxication — that prevent its return.
The book opens as a dramatic encounter. An elder figure — the Universal Soul personified — arrives at dawn and addresses the narrator: "Rise — for this dustbin is not your home." The narrator questions the elder, praises him, and asks where he comes from. The Soul describes its heavenly homeland and invites the narrator to become a true seeker. From this frame-story, Sanai unfolds a vast catalogue of the soul's enemies: the gaze that leads to ruin, the beautiful face that hides ugly nature, lust, worldly attachment, greed, wine, gluttony, cowardice, and the forgetting of death.
The ethical center is Section VII — the story of Jesus and the one-eyed man. In a drought, Jesus leads the people in prayer for rain, but God refuses: there is a sinner among them. The crowd departs. Only one man remains — a one-eyed man who once gazed at what was forbidden and tore out his own eye rather than sin again. His prayer alone brings the rain. The lesson is Sanai's blade: guard the senses or lose the soul.
Hakim Sanai of Ghazna (~1080–1131 CE) was the first of the three great Sufi masnavi poets. Rumi acknowledged him: "Attar was the spirit and Sanai his two eyes — we came after Sanai and Attar." The Hadiqa, composed around 1131 CE and dedicated to the Ghaznavid sultan Bahramshah, runs to ten books and approximately twelve thousand couplets — the earliest monumental poem of Persian Sufism.
Books I through V have been published. This is the first freely available English translation of Book VI. This is a Good Works Translation from Classical Persian. The source text is from Ganjoor.net, the principal digital archive of classical Persian poetry. Blood Rule satisfied: translated directly from the Ganjoor Persian text. No existing English translation was consulted during this work.
I. On the Universal Soul — A Faithful Counselor, and the Shameful Deceit of Its Neglect
ذکر نفس الکلی نذیر ناصح و اهماله غرور فاضح
He came in like the moon at early dawn,
the elder saying "May God bless your morning."
Heavy of body, still in his pillars,
sharp of eye, knowing the road ahead.
His face like the sun, coated in light,
his robe like the garment of the blue sky.
Suddenly — you would say — there rose
a sun from the lotus pool.
Or perhaps the gardener of my nature
turned the violet into jasmine.
When he had filled his gaze from my being,
he filled the onyx casket with pearls to the brim.
He spoke — when his sugar-laden speech opened,
he set down the master's cap from his head:
"How did you rise, O child?
O you who are helpless in the prison of the self —
O you who remain captive in the well of pride,
over you the desire-worshipping self rules as prince.
Rise — for this dustbin is not your home.
This is the house of illusion — it is not your place.
Why do you idly spread the carpet of pleasure
in this hundred-thousand-year wayside inn?
If you would not burn the robe of eternity,
then strip from your body the robe Adam sewed.
Free yourself from this cage —
show proof of your vice-regency.
Be a treasurer while dwelling in the earth —
otherwise, pass beyond the stars and heavens."
II. On the Words Spoken to the Universal Soul and Its Replies
صفت کلماتی که با نفس کلی رود و جوابها که او گوید
I said: "O being kneaded by God from light,
whose reflection makes even the demon seem angelic —
O you by whom time becomes feast and festival,
O you whose face makes the earth a mirror —
your quality is beyond breath itself;
to describe you is a vain desire.
You are so wondrous in form and figure
that in all creation there is none like you.
In description you are an evident form —
for you are at once the face and the mirror.
In the realm of faith you stand unchanging,
hunting on the road of both excuse and gratitude.
You are the tree of heaven that enriches the garden of paradise,
the Ka'ba of the king, the dust of the sanctuary.
How noble your soul, how mighty your breath!
You are reason, you are spirit — whose head are you? Whose heart?
How fine your form — you are truly beautiful!
How blessed your majesty — you are without flaw!
You are above substance and accident both;
you are the purpose of all created things.
The jewel that receives its power from you
is the zodiac-house of the sun, the casket of rubies.
You have drunk draughts from the angel's hand —
like the prophets, congratulations to you!
What do you do in this painful corner
before such a wretched, wind-delivered treasure?
You have coated a hovel dark as a demon's gate
with light from the reflection of your face —
I have never seen a candle in a well;
yet here I am with two suns and two moons.
Yes — in the house of the body
you know this matter better than I.
This is the way and deed of the elders:
the princes are made prisoners."
"What kind of place is this for one who sees the world?"
He said: "This place of mine — it is the world itself.
For a house of construction is a house of pain,
and the abode of treasure is in ruins.
The place of treasure is the desolate ground —
a dog is a dog in comfortable quarters.
The Throne and the earth are your court and palace;
all creation is your workshop.
Darkness is a partner of prosperity;
light gathers around ruins.
Of this house of pain and toil,
even the sun and moon seek only the ruined part —
for they do not enter a whole house;
they find a crack, and show their face.
The clever man is better off wounded by fate —
a shell full of kernel is better off broken.
The wise man's heart is inside the almond;
the fool's heart is like the walnut's skin.
While the kernel is tender, the shell is good;
when the kernel grows strong, the shell becomes a veil.
A stone is needed when the man grows lazy —
your fine kernel was obtained by the stone."
I said: "O soul full of beauty,
where are you from? Will you not tell me?"
III. The Replies the Universal Soul Gives
جوابها که با نفس کلی گوید
He said: "I am a hand-servant of the divine realm;
I am the guide and leader of the mortal world.
In a world where fortune is my dwelling,
this entire world is beneath my feet.
We are the first of creation in the world —
yet we do not show our face in every place.
Before the unworthy and the base we diminish;
in our nature we are separate from all creatures.
God's gaze rests upon us from all creation;
our creation is set apart from all creation.
My soil is the jewel of the mines;
my dwelling is the destination of all souls.
I came here from a realm above,
like a pen that placed its foot upon its head.
That land where this blessed place is found
is like the sun of your sky.
Its stones are jewels and its dust is gold;
its sea is honey and its mountain amber.
Palaces within it, lofty and magnificent —
pure as fire and white as snow.
Their roofs accept the Messiah, like the firmament;
their floors seize Qarun's treasure, like the point of the earth.
And that company who dwell in this place —
their heads are jeweled, their feet are emerald.
The bridge of the Oxus is the tyrant's head beneath their feet;
the wilderness-ground of their threshold is the heart of the world.
Heads like the heads of the exalted lords,
statures reaching upward like the hope of fools.
All submerged in the beauty of the Eternal,
free from the imprint of the world and Adam.
Their oxen, to ward off pain,
joust with lances like the lion of the standard.
Their kingdom, day and night, ever-increasing —
it and all within it, everlasting.
All in everlasting joy forever,
unknowing like the shadow and the sun.
In that garden, each one of them,
for the sake of welcoming the poor,
is the master of the robe of the lotus-tree of eternity;
the companion of Fatima is the beauty of Ali.
What description can I give of that company? —
all of them in certainty of soul, without doubt.
They are nightingales of the garden of humanity;
they are dwellers in the sanctuary of holiness.
A world, from end to end, wondrous in its state —
its design a guide to the best of omens.
If you would see that garden,
make your soul and your eyes companions on the way.
Its ground is free from punishment, from humiliation and grief;
its air is free from infection, from heat and moisture.
Its ground is far from mountain and from pit;
its air is far from the accidents of weather.
Its gravel and its grass are living and aware;
the insects of its earth are kings and emperors.
Everything within its bounds has a dwelling —
down to the stone and the clod, all have soul.
I am from the court of the keeper of the celestial realm —
my proof lies in the treasury of the mortal world."
I said: "But where is that kingdom?"
He said: "Beyond 'when' and beyond 'where.'
How shall I tell you where it is? It is the city of God.
It is the place of the soul — and the soul has no place."
When he spoke such words to me,
reason fell asleep within my sight —
for in the beauty of that radiant one
I had remained like a design woven into silk.
More noble than what those laughing lips could tell —
the fingertip remained between the teeth in wonder.
The eye that does not turn away from his form —
from it the two vultures of the heavens would pluck their gaze.
The steed he rides beneath his thigh
stables at the far end of the Milky Way.
Our soul bewildered by his majesty;
none have comprehended his true state.
Love in the lane of the unseen is his condition;
sincerity on the road of faith is his speech.
No idler has a path to him,
for among all creatures there is no king like him.
Since his door and his threshold are not visible,
go not there — stay in your own place.
Before his threshold, of the people of desire,
only wine rides mounted — the rose goes on foot, and that is all.
He is a prince who in this foundation,
for the glory of sacred law and the giving of justice,
has no army of desire at his gate —
of mounted or of foot, not a soul.
He has made the spirit from the jewels of light —
its ears and throat like the ears and throat of the houris of paradise.
Veils he has, born of his guidance;
letters and voices in his dominion.
On the day of blindness he received you into himself —
who then took you captive in this house of boasting?
So that prophet and prophecy, from a wretch like you,
the one entered into form, the other into decree.
Your ignorance, for the sake of idle talk,
has made a Dihya out of a Gabriel.
Circle around this elder — so that from the well
he may raise your foot from the well to the throne.
A child who circles around someone will grow;
a seed that is nurtured becomes abundant —
for from the strength of his foundations,
by his ever-sustaining self, for the sake of eternity,
none like him was ever heard in the ancient world —
a farmer in the fields of the celestial realm.
My soul, for the sake of this tale sweet as honey,
has set its eye upon the window of the ear.
I was not sated by that master of speech —
the thirsty are never sated by salt water.
To nourish the soul by the sight of the beloved
is like eating honey and rose-sugar.
The stomach does not grow weak from knowledge,
for food and appetite go hand in hand."
I said to him: "With you, time is sweet.
It is with you I wish to be — with you the work is sweet.
Without such an elder in one's youth,
who would eat the fruit of their own life?"
IV. On the Quality of a Seeker
اندر صفت مرید
When the wise elder opened his lips,
the shadow fled from the house.
I said to the elder, from the depth of sincerity:
"O you whom the kingdom of faith finds worthy and just —
I, who spoke a single breath with you in grief,
would not trade that moment for a whole lifetime.
A life without friends is not a life;
a life without a companion is the life of a fool.
A life with a friend who is unique —
a single breath of it is worth a thousand years.
The heart is glad in your bonds even in torment —
no wonder that the kebab is sweetened by the salt.
The soul in your face dwells in paradise;
the heart by your grace is made joyful.
Like you, at the center of truth and the pupil of the eye,
there is not one king at the seat of sincerity.
By you the plain is dressed in silk;
by you the reeds become sellers of sugar.
From you must come the key to the lock of faithfulness,
the head of the trunk of sincerity, the hand of purity.
From you the unconscious became the partner of consciousness,
for prime matter itself came forth clothed through you.
A man becomes good-natured from the good;
a hawk becomes like its kind when the kind is bad."
V. On the Excuse of Expansiveness
اندر عذر انبساط گوید
When with reason I gaze at the soul upon your lip,
like a pen I pass over your writing with my soul.
You are a polished mirror in the hand of reason —
no one dares breathe upon that face.
Before you I bind my waist like a spear-point;
I weep blood and I laugh.
Like a harp, if I strike the door of your desire,
I tie the rope around my throat and strike your note.
The master knew — when he spoke the absolute secret,
he tied the rope around his throat and said "I am the Truth."
For whoever flees from the self in fear,
love mingles with the blood of the heart.
The master's amulet, after the parting of his body,
was union with God — that was the whole of his speech.
Be a face to the back, and do not rush headlong;
do not place your hands and feet upon the gallows.
For in the letters are the mysteries of eternity,
especially when the soul has heard the song.
When God appeared to the master,
he became the key to the pearl of mystery.
From the beginning he brought this message;
to the last of created beings he brought this self-will.
Yet you have been left behind by death's advance;
front and back, greed and hope have seized you.
For the sake of bread and water you have remained behind,
wrapped in the veil of the body's need like an onion.
Why do you sow the seed of greed and want and need
in the clay of the heart? — for want brings no grace.
In this donkey-headed dwelling, as you run about,
what do you resemble? — tell me, if you will.
If you have remained behind for the sake of bread and water,
why then do you sow the seed of rage, lust, and greed?
For what causes the raw cotton such distress when ginned,
and what wetness makes you paralyzed —
abstain from this deceit of the heavens,
for you have no strength to endure the heavens' turning.
In this chamber, upon body, heart, and soul,
water has become a punishment upon reason.
If the heavens give you a sesame seed,
they quickly tie an oil-jug to your backside —
as if a single sesame seed
could fit in an oil-jug of two maunds.
It seizes your soul and faith by force
if your heart calls you to itself.
There is no worldly comfort without pain —
blessed is he who has released himself from both."
VI. On Guarding the Eyes
در چشم نگاه داشتن گوید
What is accepted by the body is rejected by the soul;
what is good for the foot is bad for the head.
Do not gaze upon idols, for at the end
gazing brings forth weeping as its fruit.
The first glance seems small,
but then the carcass leaps and the thread snaps.
The seed of love is in the second glance —
after that comes jealousy and bitter tears.
VII. A Story
حکایت
Have you heard that in the time of Jesus,
he sought rain from the Lord in time of need?
He went with his people to pray for rain;
each one, from helplessness, made his prayer.
The prayer was not answered;
Jesus grew sorrowful at this.
Suddenly a voice came: "Remove the sinner
from among them — so that the honored one
may find the path of approval;
for God does not hear the prayer of the sinful."
The entire crowd turned back,
for the world was burdened by that company.
None remained with Jesus
save one one-eyed man — may our souls be his ransom.
Jesus said: "Why did you not leave?
Why did you not turn your back like the others?
Since you have been alive, tell me — have you sinned?
Have you blackened the pages of your own book?"
He said: "One day, on the road,
I cast my gaze upon what was forbidden.
In that very place where my gaze fell,
I cut my hope from my own soul.
I did not lift my foot in anger —
not until I tore out this eye.
When the demon gained victory over my eye,
I made my eye black as the woad-mark.
When the demon gained mastery over my sight,
I removed my vision from my gaze.
Whatever was the demon's share of me
had become obedient to the demon's command.
I cast it far from myself, once and for all,
so I would not remain hostage to God's wrath."
Jesus said: "Say your prayer at once —
for you are God's elect upon the earth."
The trustworthy man raised his hand;
Jesus followed behind, saying "Amen."
The man of faith raised his hand at once;
God was pleased with his deed.
In the air the clouds appeared;
it began to rain, and the rain poured down.
From left and right the floods rose;
the rivers seized the road from left and right.
Whomever God has chosen —
his command upon the world is sovereign.
If you obey God's command,
you will command the world like kings.
Do not look at what you should not see,
lest you receive harm from the world.
Whoever does not gaze at what is unfit
does not suffer grief at what should not be.
An arrow from the arrows of the accursed demon
is every glance that is unlawful in the faith.
To love by choice is a fault;
but the lover's sigh — where is its choice?
From the water of the loins, honor flees,
for the water of the loins spills the water of the face.
The worry of the water of the loins and the bread of the belly
has filled you with wind in this world.
What a nimble horseman in the race,
who remained on foot with his spurs still on!
VIII. On the Beautiful Face with Ugly Nature
اندر صفت خوب روی بدخوی گوید
Those who are adorned with beautiful forms
are but the tablets of children and brocade cloth.
What does desire want from a beautiful face?
What does a piece of wood want from brocade?
Whoever has a fair face and the nature of a beast —
a fair face is the proof of an ugly nature.
A fair face, by its very nature, is ugly
when reason does not hold it dear.
Upon one who has neither faith nor creed,
a fair face is a painted gourd.
Whoever has ill intent toward beauty —
know that their beauty is borrowed, like the moon.
They are like lamps, but guttering —
alive by a drop of oil, dead by a breath.
IX. On Beauty and Ugliness
اندر شرح خوب و زشت گوید
To the beautiful, on account of their generous hand,
branch upon branch falls forever.
To the ugly, on account of longing for possessions,
hand and heart are narrow as a tight passage.
You have stretched a furnace-keeper into a skin
and now call it "soul" and now "beloved."
Desire has so veiled you
that you cannot tell a pig from the beautiful.
The sight of the almond-body and silvery flesh
has left your heart roasted like a pistachio in your mouth.
Whoever remains in the hand of such a heart
will have his foot stuck in the mud until eternity.
That moon-faced idol of silvery limb —
once it has made you fair-faced and famous like gold,
when it shakes loose its musky locks,
who then can hold their heart and faith?
The serpent adorned the peacock's face and hair —
well-being is Adam and the heart is Eve.
The serpent and the peacock that came together —
they were the ruin of both Eve and Adam.
And that magnificent, beautiful-faced youth,
that idol with chain-locks and brocade cheeks —
the musk of his curls will break your back;
the hand of his love will make you thin as a finger.
Until you find that rose-like face,
thorns will pierce your back from sleeplessness.
Though he lifts his foot from the tip of his hand,
your neck is broken by his hand like a foot.
Though he be fair of face and hair,
the ugly-natured eats his bread without relish.
In the lane they cut off ears and noses —
the blackness of their eyes, the whiteness of their faces.
Sweet — yet from within, full of spite;
the rose has become a mirror from the reflection of their face.
From that heart like stone within their body,
your heart bleeds like iron from hunger.
When your eyes become dark clouds,
their lips flash lightning with a smile.
X. On the Beautiful Ones
اندر صفت شاهدان گوید
What will you do with the tangle-locked beloved?
O you who are less than nothing — what will you do with nothing?
Your two almonds are like walnuts in pledge,
left in the pit by the play of children.
Why do you blow wind like the faithful lovers,
spending your life on the promises of the fair-faced?
The beautiful ones of the age, young and old,
are Joseph to the eye and wolf to the heart.
They are painted figures in the Chinese style —
they give roses to the eye and thorns to the heart.
Again, from these world-burning beloveds:
their love is fire, and hearts are the kiln.
XI. On the Censure of Lust
در مذمت شهوت راندن
If lust opens a breach in your soul,
the work of idols will grow long upon you.
Though they light up the world with their faces,
from greed they tear the heart and pierce the soul.
All are bound in the trap of their own desire;
before them, lovers are all mere idols.
For the dregs of their souls,
their eyes have made a breach in the walls of our souls.
They steal the honor and fortune of Jamshid
with those two locks and two arching brows.
Upon their two cheeks, their locks bear witness
that they are not human — they are serpent-fairies.
All are demons, yet they suppose
they hold the rank of the houris of paradise.
They are serpents with tresses — a drenched company,
venom in their lashes, no stone of cure in their heads.
With the lock of their curling ringlets,
for the sake of a bucket and the trouble of the turning wheel,
a hundred thousand keys upon a chain,
all wrinkled like the face of the full moon.
The killing curl is the breaker of the soul;
the curling ringlet is the ghoul of the heart.
From among these fair ones, a single one in anger
bends the back of grief with a blow of dread.
XII. On the Beautiful Ones and the Beloved
اندر صفت خوب رویان و شاهدان گوید
That painted form toward whom you gaze —
it steals your heart, and you carry the pain.
If it once unveils its face,
the road fills with moons and suns.
And if it looses both braids at once,
three Nights of Power unfold their mystery.
When the nurses of its locks give them a twist,
the Chinese painters surrender their art to water.
When the pearl-casket of its mouth opens in speech,
its bashfulness weaves veils from the rose.
The curling of its locks, from within the chamber —
musk at hand and ankle-bells at foot.
Though it can pass through many veils,
from any lover it cannot be hid.
Its scent makes reason drunk;
its face pushes death aside.
The ring of its curl speaks riddles;
the imprint of its passion seeks the heart's core.
From its lips the blind soul drinks of Kawthar;
from its cheek the naked eye is clothed in silk.
The demon became an angel from its face;
day turned to night from that dark hair.
Its face and hair are better than night and day —
increasing joy and illuminating the gathering.
A man takes life from its fragrance;
the moon takes a passport from its beauty.
The eye of form, from its passing, sees the soul;
the hand of meaning, from its hem, gathers roses.
Now visible, now invisible —
like a point to the eye of the blind.
Its line and mole, like the letters of the prophet:
beneath each one, worlds upon worlds of meaning.
Its face and hair, if they were manifest,
then night and day — these that we call "friend" — would be four.
In contemplation of those two pomegranate-blossoms
a man falls apart like the seeds of a pomegranate.
The eye becomes an ear when it plays the harp;
the ear becomes an eye when it brings forth color.
From that musk-dark line that sells rubies,
the pupil of the eye becomes clothed in silk.
Day is bewildered by its night;
the kiss loses its way upon its lip.
The lover's imagination rushes toward its lip,
but finds its mouth open only in laughter.
The kiss of the lover who pours forth the soul
finds its mouth open only through a smile.
It neither opens its two eyes from the bud
nor closes its two lips from laughter.
The knot of its lock, when it takes a twist,
becomes the cord of the lantern of the sun.
A harvest of musk, mound upon mound —
the gleaners rest upon it.
The form of severity and grace — its mole and lip;
the world of contraction and expansion — its day and night.
Its ruby lip, heart-delighting and soul-suspending;
its onyx eye, ruby-scattering and coral-pouring.
The workshop of its cheek breaks the spring;
the pomegranate seed of its lip breaks the hangover.
When the candle of its cheek blazes with bashfulness,
it teaches coquetry to the gazelles.
Its curl is the tent of reason and spirit;
its eye is the spectacle of the eye.
Wherever its lock draws up the battle lines,
it is ugly for the musk-pod to boast.
From the earth the scent of musk arises
when its lock sheds the blood of the lover.
Its curl, twisted upon the desired cheek —
exactly like a mole without the "In the name of God."
Who would turn their gaze from such eyes —
save one who carries the affliction of the sight?
The eye that has no light from seeing it
is far from the benefit of the beautiful face.
Its stature, in the two longing eyes,
is like a tall cypress upon the river's edge.
So delicate is it that you could see
its bones through its body, as blood is seen through skin.
Its mouth is cheap beside the pearl;
its waist is lean beneath its hips.
It is the soul of the soul, the light upon the moon;
the light of reason is its sugar-laden ruby lip.
If a spider were to spin a web upon it,
it would instantly receive the punishment for fornication.
XIII. A Story
حکایت
One day a wanderer saw
a man alive beneath a ragged garment.
He said: "This robe is very worn."
The man said: "It is — and because it is mine, it is so.
Since I do not seek the forbidden nor trade my faith,
no robe will ever be better for me than this.
It is clean and lawful, though ugly to see —
not forbidden and filthy with a painted face.
When my prayer is pure and my food is lawful,
this robe becomes my armor of glory.
The pain of disease is not like the pain of faith;
the man of lust is not like the man of faith.
This is the only skill this borrowed house affords —
its appetites number four hundred and ninety-five.
Its love, since it begins in error,
how could it be a gift to you from God?
Blessed is he who keeps his hands from it
and is not, like us, a worshipper of pride."
XIV. On the Condemnation of the World and the Description of Renouncing It
اندر مذمّت دنیا و وصف ترک او
Who but through a fool's eye would call it fine —
that thing which sweetly steals your soul and faith?
Its drink gives evil, its food gives humiliation;
its silver gives poison, its gold gives lamentation.
How long your boasting and your quarreling? —
for your moon is the moon of crumbled talk.
Upon all creatures, beneath the turning sphere,
falls the eye of summer heat and the eye of winter cold.
When one escapes the bonds of creation and corruption,
then from balance one finds what one desires.
Seek the hereafter — for the river of hope
that seeks the hereafter is full of honey.
If the world pleases you as a place of rest,
then know: a man-eating inn is never sweet.
That sweetness belongs to the self of appetite and greed —
otherwise, this house of gifts is ruined.
O you who have surrendered heart and mind to it —
why do you pull toward yourself the one who killed your father?
The world killed your father wretchedly —
from that tormentor you shall have torment.
It has killed your child, your mother, your father —
and you sit in it content. Where is your heart?
Do not pull the dragon toward yourself,
for it pulls your soul toward the fire.
Who can recite the Sura of the Fig
while sleeping sweetly in the breath of the dragon?
In that soul where the burning of faith is absent,
the fever and blaze of certainty are absent.
A foal, while in the house of its ancestors,
is called "foal" though it live a hundred years.
The father and mother of that great son
address him as "O soul of his father."
If the gray-beard makes ready for the grave,
the grandmother calls him nothing but "new-bearded."
The world, with its ugly face and unlucky eye,
is like the nose of an African — yet
has made itself, by sorcery, angelic in appearance —
agile and fine and fresh and new and sweet.
But within, to the wise, forever:
its face is black and its hair is white.
Since the world is the world of the unmanly,
keep your feet in place and let your head spin.
Its love has left its mark on you
because that blackness has made you whiter.
A golden cup and a hand full of verdigris —
and in that cup, a poison to destroy the soul.
Do not be beguiled by the beauty of the world,
for to the wise and to the fool alike,
in its deception, the rich and the poor
are like the image of a treasure-seeking dream.
Beneath the skin, worse than a mouse in a house —
and you, like a cat, comb its fur.
In this temple of idols, like a fool, drunk,
you have taken foot-play into your hand.
Within it, four elements and seven heavens
are your sisters and your kin.
Therefore, like Adam, upon body, heart, and soul,
recite the verse: "Forbidden to you."
Since the world is mother and you are child,
if you are not a fire-worshipper, how can you tie the knot?
Like the fire-worshippers, for the world's sake,
you have called it your two eyes and your heart and soul.
XV. On Seeking the World
اندر طلب دنیا
Whoever seeks the world from his God —
welcome! — but the hereafter shall not be his.
Both cannot be had at once — let one go;
do not release your hold upon that noble house.
The treacherous world is without worth;
such carrion is fit only for dogs.
And whoever seeks the hereafter from his Creator —
if we give it all to him, that is just.
For the bounty of the beautiful world is rightly theirs —
all the hereafter belongs to those who eat what is lawful.
And whoever has claimed to love Us —
from his body and soul I will raise the dust.
If he glances even once toward others,
I will hang him alive upon the gallows.
Do you know why there is pain and suffering?
Because God is more jealous than we are.
The man who holds his body from faith's pleasure
holds all that is not God as forbidden.
XVI. On Those Who Are Deceived by Clothing and Food
اندر مذمّت کسانی که به جامه و لقمه مغرور باشند
Clothing, for the common folk, is to cover nakedness;
for the elect, nakedness itself is clothing.
For women, garments are fitting;
for Haydar and the man of valor, the armor is worn.
Garments upon the modest are praiseworthy;
the garment of brocade is an affliction seen.
Seek the man in his worn-out clothes;
seek the treasure in the ruined corners.
For women, garments upon garments;
for the man, a new day and a new provision.
When there is no blame and no admonition,
the garment of the bare is protection enough.
For the chosen, nakedness itself is clothing —
especially for the one who is bold and self-willed.
A woman has no house of sense in her clothes;
nothing covers nakedness better than being bare.
The ignorant, low and high, are all as women —
whoever is more covered is better than the naked.
O seeker of permanence, strive for the meaning's endurance;
return the cotton to the cotton-seller.
What does reason want with a beautiful robe?
What does a brocade design know of brocade?
Why kill the body for the sake of desire?
The warmth of love is clothing enough for the body.
You keep your faith beneath your cap —
that is why you have the desire for sin.
With a cap, you do not escape the self's desire;
the head is revealed if you set the cap down.
When the head appears at dawn,
set forth your step — begin from the head.
Go one night, at the time of dawn,
with caution, hidden from the donkey-catchers.
Make your head visible from beneath the cap —
this is the repentance for past sins.
What if there is no crown upon your head?
Wisdom is inside the head, not on top.
The image of those who belong to the prayer-niche
is found in the register of the detached.
Those who bear the image of cap and head
have women and baskets and strength and gold.
The married man has bound his own two feet
and broken his own head with his own hand.
Whether he lives or dies, that wretch —
his baggage and his fortune remain beneath the tree.
Thus one should be in patched garments,
fit for the common measure of reason.
For whoever falls far from the common measure
has given the water of life to the wind for a handful of dust.
Source: Ganjoor.net — گنجور » سنایی » حدیقةالحقیقه و شریعةالطریقه » الباب السّادس فی ذکر نفس الکلّی و احواله — sections hdgh06/sh1 through hdgh06/sh16.
Translation: Good Works Translation from Classical Persian. Translated by Parvin (Persian Translator), New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026. Blood Rule satisfied: translated directly from the Ganjoor Persian text. No existing English translation was consulted.
Note: Book VI contains sixty-five sections and approximately eleven hundred and sixty couplets. Sections I through XVI (~328 couplets) are translated here. Sections XVII through LXV remain for the next hands.
Scribal credit: Parvin (پروین) of the tulku lineage, the two hundred and sixty-second life onward.
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Source Text
I. ذکر نفس الکلی نذیر ناصح و اهماله غرور فاضح
اندر آمد چو ماه در شبگیر / انَعِماللّٰه صباحگویان پیر
کُندجسمی و ساکن ارکانی / تیزچشمی و رهفرادانی
روی چون آفتاب نور اندود / جامه چون جامهٔ سپهر کبود
ناگهانی تو گفتی آمد بر / آفتابی ز حوض نیلوفر
یا مگر باغبانِ طینت من / ناگهان گشت بر بنفشه سمن
دیده چون از نهاد من پُر کرد / تا به سر دُرج جزع پر دُر کرد
گفت چون نطق پر شکر بگشاد / کُلَه خواجگی ز سر بنهاد
کیفاصبحت ای پسر خوانده / ای به زندان نفس درمانده
ای به چاه غرور مانده اسیر / بر تو نفس هواپرست امیر
خیز کاین خاکدان سرای تو نیست / این هوس خانه است جای تو نیست
چه افگنی بیهُده بساط نشاط / اندرین صد هزار ساله رباط
گر قبای بقا نخواهی سوخت / برکش از تن قبای آدم دوخت
خویشتن را ازین قفس برهان / بنما از خلیفتی برهان
باش گنجور در نشیمن خاک / ورنه بگذر از انجم و افلاک
II. صفت کلماتی که با نفس کلی رود و جوابها که او گوید
گفتم ای ایزد سرشته ز نور / وی ز عکس رخ تو دیو چو حور
ای زمان از تو عید و آدینه / وی زمین از رخ تو آیینه
صفتت برتر از نفس باشد / وصف کردن ترا هوس باشد
پس بدیعی به صورت و پیکر / نیست در کل کَون چون تو دگر
از صفت صورت معاینهای / زانکه هم رویی و هم آینهای
اندر اقلیم دین تویی هموار / از پی راه عذر و شکر شکار
طوبی مایهبخش باغ ارم / کعبهٔ پادشاه خاک حرم
بس بهی نفس و بس قوی نفسی / عقل و جانی سری دلی چه کسی
حبّذا صورتت که بس خوبی / خرّما شوکتت نه معیوبی
برتر از جوهری و از عَرَضی / جملهٔ کاینات را غرضی
گوهری کز تو قابل قوتست / برج خورشید و دُرج یاقوتست
خوردهای شربها ز دست ملک / همچو پیغمبران هنیئاً لک
چه کنی پیش مُدبری پر درد / در چنین کنج گنج بادآورد
کلبهای همچو دیو درگه دود / کردی از عکس روی نور اندود
من سهایی ندیدهام در چاه / با دو خورشیدم این زمان و دو ماه
بلی اندر سرای جسمانی / تو ز من این حدیث به دانی
این بود خلق و فعل پیران را / که امیران کنند اسیران را
این چه جای چو تو جهانبین است / گفت خود جایم از جهان این است
که عمارت سرای رنج بُوَد / در خرابی مقام گنج بُوَد
جای گنج است موضع ویران / سگ بود سگ به جای آبادان
عرش و فرشت سرای و بارگه است / آفرینش ترا چه کارگه است
تیرگی با عمارتست انباز / نور گرد خراب گردد باز
نبود زین سرای رنج و تعب / ماه و خورشید جز خراب طلب
که به خانهٔ درست درنایند / رخنه یابند و روی بنمایند
زیرک از زخم دهر خسته بهست / پوست پر مغز خود شکسته بهست
دل زیرک میان لوز بود / دل نادان چو پوست گوز بود
مغز تا نازکست پوست نکوست / چون قوی شد حجاب گردد پوست
سنگ باید چو مرد کاهل شد / مغز نغزت ز سنگ حاصل شد
گفتم ای جان پر از نکویی تو / از کجایی مرا نگویی تو
III. جوابها که با نفس کلی گوید
گفت من دست گرد لاهوتم / قائد و رهنمای ناسوتم
در جهانی که بخت جای منست / این جهان جمله زیر پای منست
اوّل خلق در جهان ماییم / نه همه جای چهره بنماییم
برِ نااهل و سفله کم گردیم / در جبلّت ز خلقها فردیم
نظر حق به ماست از همه خلق / خلقت ما جداست از همه خلق
تربتم گوهرست کانها را / موضعم مرجعست جانها را
من ز اقلیمی آمدم ایدر / چون قلم کرده پای تارک سر
آن زمین کاندر آن مبارک جاست / همچو خورشید آسمان شماست
سنگ او گوهرست و خاکش زر / بحر او انگبین و کُه عنبر
قصرهایی درو بلند و شگرف / پاک چون آتش و سپید چو برف
بامشان چون فلک مسیح پذیر / بومشان همچو نقطه قارون گیر
وآن گروهی که اندرین جایند / گوهرین سر زُمردین پایند
پل جیحونشان سرِ ظالم / وحشگه پایهشان دل عالم
سر بسان سران سرافرازان / قد چو اومید ابلهان یازان
همه مستغرق جمال قدم / فارغ از نقش عالم و آدم
گاوشان از برای دفع الم / نیزهبازی کند چو شیر علَم
کشورش روز و شب فزاینده / او و هرچ اندروست پاینده
همه از روی بیغمی جاوید / بیخبر همچو سایه و خورشید
اندران باغ هریکی زیشان / از برای قبول درویشان
صاحب صدره سدرهٔ ازلیست / مونس فاطمه جمال علی است
چه صفت گویم آن گُره را من / همه اندر یقین جان بیظن
عندلیبان روضهٔ انسند / ساکنان حظیرهٔ قدسند
عالمی سر به سر بدیعالحال / نقش او رهنمای خیرالفال
بینی آن روضه را اگر خواهی / کنی از جان و دیده همراهی
بیعقوبت زمینش از ذل و غم / بیعفونت هوایش از تف و نم
من زمینش ز کوه و از گو دور / هم هواش از حوادث الجو دور
سنگ ریز و گیاش عالم و حی / حشرات زمینش خسرو و کی
هرچه در صحن او مکان دارد / تا به سنگ و کلوخ جان دارد
من ز درگاه خازن ملکوت / حجّتم در خزینهٔ ناسوت
گفتم آخر کجاست آن کشور / گفت کز کی و از کجا برتر
جای کی گویمش که شهر خدای / جای جانست و جان ندارد جای
این چنین نکتهها چو گفت مرا / خرد اندر بصر بخفت مرا
زانکه اندر جمال آن زیبا / مانده بودم چو نقش بر دیبا
اجل از دست آن لبِ خندان / سرِ انگشت مانده در دندان
چشم کز صورتش ندارد برخ / دیده زو برکشد دو کرگس چرخ
مرکبی کو به زیر ران دارد / آخر از راه کهکشان دارد
جان ما واله از جلالت او / مدرک کس نگشته حالت او
عشق در کوی غیب حالت او / صدق در راه دین مقالت او
هیچ بیهوده را بدو ره نیست / زانکه در خلقها چنو شه نیست
در و درگاه او چو مرئی نیست / مرو آنجا به جای خویش بایست
پیش درگاه او ز اهل هوس / مُل سوارست و گُل پیاده و بس
او امیریست کاندرین بنیاد / از پی عزّ شرع و دادن داد
بر درش لشکر هوس نبود / وز سوار و پیاده کس نبود
روح را کرده از جواهر نور / گوش و گردن چو گوش و گردن حور
پردهها باشد از هدایت او / حرف و آواز در ولایت او
روز کوری ترا به خود پذرفت / کت در این لافگاه غرجه گرفت
تا نُبی و نَبی ز چون تو سقط / این درآمد به صورت آن در خط
جهل تو بهر قال و قیلی را / دحیه کردست جبرئیلی را
گرد این پیر گرد تا از چاه / پایت آرد ز چاه بر سرِ گاه
طفل کو بر گرد کسی گردد / تخم کو پرورد بسی گردد
زانکه از قوّت قوایم او / بهر جاوید نفس سایم او
کس چنود کم شنود در سلفوت / برزگر در مزارع ملکوت
جان من بهر این حدیث چو نوش / چشم بنهاده بر دریچهٔ گوش
نشدم سیر از آن سخندان زیر / تشنه ز آب نمک نگردد سیر
جان ز دیدار دوست پروردن / هست چون شهد و گلشکر خوردن
معده از علم زان نگردد پست / که طعام و شره بود هم دست
گفتمش با تو روزگار خوش است / با تو خواهم که با تو کار خوش است
بیچنو پیر در جوانی خویش / که خورد بر ز زندگانی خویش
IV. اندر صفت مرید
لب چو بگشاد پیر فرزانه / سایه بیرون گریخت از خانه
پیر را گفتم از سرِ تحقیق / ای ترا ملک دین جدیر و حقیق
من که با تو دمی بگفتم غم / به همه عمر ندهم آن یک دم
عمر بی دوستان نه عمر بُود / عمر بییار عمر غمر بُوَد
عمر با دوستی که او یکتاست / یک دمی را هزار ساله بهاست
دل ز بند تو خوش بُوَد به عذاب / چه عجب کز نمک خوش است کباب
جان ز روی تو در ارم باشد / دل ز تایید تو خرم باشد
چون تو در مرکز حقیقت و حدق / نیست یک پادشا به مقعد صدق
از تو صحرا حریر پوش شود / وز تو نیها شکر فروش شود
از تو باید کلید قفل وفا / سرِ صندوق صدق و دستِ صفا
از تو بیهوش جفت هوش آمد / که هیولی برهنه پوش آمد
مردم از نیک نیکخو گردد / باز چون بد بُوَد چنو گردد
V. اندر عذر انبساط گوید
چون خرد در لبت به جان نگرم / چون قلم بر خطت به جان گذرم
آینهٔ روشنی به دست خرد / کس در آن روی دم نیارد زد
پیش تو چون سنان کمر بندم / خون همی گریم و همی خندم
همچو چنگ ار درِ هوات زنم / رسن اندر گلو نوات زنم
خواجه آگه که راز مطلق گفت / رسن اندر گلو اناالحق گفت
کانکه از بیم نفس بگریزد / عشق با خونِ دل درآمیزد
حرز خواجه پس از فراق تنش / وصل حق بود جملهٔ سخنش
پشت را روی باش و خیره مجه / بر سرِ دار دست و پای منه
زانکه اندر کلمن رموز ازل / خاصه آنگه که جان شنید غزل
حق چو مر خواجه را پدید آمد / پرهٔ رمز را کلید آمد
از نخست آوریده این پیغام / به پسین آفریده این خود کام
باز پس ماندهای ز پیش اجل / پس و پیشت گرفته حرص و امل
از پی نان و آب ماندی باز / در حجاب نیاز تن چو پیاز
چه افگنی تخم حرص و آز و نیاز / در گِل دل که آز نارد ناز
کاندرین خرسرای پویی تو / به چه مانی مرا نگویی تو
گر به آب و به نان بماندی باز / چکنی تخم خشم و شهوت و آز
کانچه شوری ز نخ کند محلوج / وآنچه تری ترا کند مفلوج
تو بپرهیز از این غرور فلک / که نداری سرِ مرور فلک
کاندرین حجره بر تن و دل و جان / آب از آن گشت بر خرد تاوان
کنجدی گر دهد ترا گردون / دبهای بنددت سبک بر کون
که تواند که دانهٔ کنجد / در دبهٔ روغنی دو من گنجد
جان و دینت به قهر بستاند / گر ترا دل به خویشتن خواند
نیست بیرنج راحتِ دنیا / خنک آنکس که کرد هر دو رها
VI. در چشم نگاه داشتن گوید
آنچه بر تن قبول بر جان رد / وانچه بر پای نیک بر سر بد
منگر اندر بتان که آخر کار / نگرستن گرستن آرد بار
اوّل آن یک نظر نماید خرد / پس از آن لاشه جست و رشته ببرد
تخم عشق آن دوم نظر باشد / پس از آن رشک و اشک تر باشد
VII. حکایت
آن شنیدی که در گه عیسی / خواست باران به حاجت از مولی
رفت و با قوم خود به استسقا / کرد هرکس ز عجز خویش دعا
به اجابت دعا نشد مقرون / گشت عیسی از آن سبب محزون
ناگه آمد ندا که مُجرم را / از میان کن برون که مُکرم را
با گنهکار نیست راه رضا / نشنود از گناهکار دعا
بازگشتند جمله آن انبوه / که جهان بود از آن گروه ستوه
جز یک اعور نماند با عیسی / جان ما باد جانش را به فدا
گفت عیسی چرا نرفتی تو / پشت چون دیگران نخفتی تو
تا تو بودی بگو گنه کردی / نامهٔ خویشتن سیه کردی
گفت روزی همی به رهگذری / سوی نامحرمی زدم نظری
هم بر آنجای کان نظر دیدم / طمع از جان خویش ببریدم
قدم از خشم بر نکندم من / تا مر این چشم برنکندم من
چون ظفر یافت دیو بر چشمم / چشم کردم سیاه چون وشمم
تا ظفر یافت دیو بر بصرم / دیده را دور کردم از نظرم
آنچه از من نصیب شیطان بود / گشته مر دیو را به فرمان بود
دور کردم ز خویشتن یک راه / تا نمانم رهینِ خشم آله
گفت عیسی بگوی زود دعا / که تویی در زمانه خاص خدا
دست بر کرد زود مرد امین / عیسی اندر عقب کنان آمین
دست برداشت مرد دینی زود / بود یزدان ز فعل او خشنود
در هوا زود گشت میغ پدید / ابر باران گرفت و میبارید
از چپ و راست سیلها برخاست / رودها ره گرفت از چپ و راست
هر که را برگزید یزدانش / بر زمانه رواست فرمانش
گر تو فرمان حق بری، فرمان / بدهی بر زمانه چون شاهان
نظری کان نبایدت منگر / تا نیابی تو از زمانه خطر
هرکه او ننگرد به ناشایست / نکشد رنج و غم به نابایست
سهمی است از سهام دیو لعین / هر نظر کان نشاید اندر دین
عاشقی جز به اختیار خطاست / آه عاشق به اختیار کجاست
ز آبِ پشت آبروی بگریزد / کابِ پشت آبِ رویها ریزد
کرد پر بادت اندرین عالم / انده آبِ پشت و نان شکم
اینت چابک سوار در تگ و تاز / که پیاده بماند با مهماز
VIII. اندر صفت خوب روی بدخوی گوید
آنکه با نقشهای زیبااند / تختهٔ کودکان و دیبااند
طمع او را ز روی زیبا چیست / پارهٔ چوب را ز دیبا چیست
هرکه را روی خوب خوی ددست / روی نیکو دلیل خوی بدست
روی نیکو به قدر خود بدخوست / زان خرد خوب را ندارد دوست
برکسی کش نه دین نه آیین است / روی نیکو کدوی رنگین است
هرکه را بر جمال بد نیتیست / دانکه حسنش چو ماه عاریتیست
چون چراغند لیک پژمرده / به نمی زنده وز دمی مرده
IX. اندر شرح خوب و زشت گوید
خوب را از برای دستِ فراخ / جاودان شاخ شاخ ریزد شاخ
زشت را از برای حسرت چیز / دست و دل تنگ چون گذرگه تیز
گلخنی را کشیده اندر پوست / تو گهش جان لقب کنی گه دوست
آن چنان کرد شهوتت محجوب / که ندانی تو خوک را از خوب
کرد بادام دید سیم تنت / دل بریان چو پسته در دهنت
هرکه در دست این چنین دل ماند / تا ابد پای او فرو گل ماند
آن بت ماه روی سیم اندام / چون زرت کرد خوشرو و خوش نام
چون برافشاند زلف مشکین را / بچه دارد چنان دل و دین را
مار طاوس روی و موی آراست / عافیت آدم است و دل حوّاست
مار و طاوس کامدند بهم / هم به حوّا بدند و هم بادم
و آن غلام شگرف زیبا رخ / بت زنجیر زلف دیبا رخ
بشکند مُشک جعد او پشتت / دست عشقش کند چو انگشتت
تا تو آن روی چون گلش یابی / خار پشتت کند ز بیخوابی
گرچه پی برگرفت از سرِ دست / گردنت دست او چو پای شکست
گرچه باشد ز روی و موی نکو / نان بینان خورش خورد بدخو
ببرد گوش و بینی اندر کوی / سیهی چشمشان سپیدی روی
خوش ترش از درون او کینه / شد گل از عکس رویش آیینه
زان دل همچو سنگش اندر تن / دل تو خون گرسنه چون آهن
چون شود چشم تو چو ابر ازرق / لب خود او کند به خنده چو برق
X. اندر صفت شاهدان گوید
شاهد پیچ پیچ را چکنی / ای کم از هیچ هیچ را چکنی
ای دو بادام تو چو گوز گرو / مانده از دست کودکان در گو
چه کنی باد چون وفاجویان / عمر در وعدهٔ نکورویان
شاهدان زمانه خرد و بزرگ / چشم را یوسفند و دل را گرگ
نقش پر آفتند چینیوار / چشم را گل دهند و دل را خار
باز از این دلبران عالم سوز / عشقشان آتش است و دلها کوز
XI. در مذمت شهوت راندن
شهوت ار جانت بارّه باز کند / بر تو کارِ بتان دراز کند
گرچه از چهره عالم افروزند / از شره دل درند و جان دوزند
همه در بند کام خویشتند / عاشقان پیششان همه شمنند
از پی دردی روانها را / چشمشان رخنه کرده جانها را
ببرند آبروی دولت جم / زان دو زلف و دو ابروی پر خم
بر دو رخ زلفها گوا دارند / که نیند آدمی پری مارند
همه دیوند و ظن چنان دارند / که ز حورا شرف همان دارند
مار با گیسویند مشتی تر / زهر در یشک و مهره نی در سر
کرده از قفل زلف مرغولان / بهر دولی و فتنهٔ دولان
صدهزاران کلید با زنجیر / همه بر چین چو روی بدر منیر
جعد مقتول جان گسل باشد / زلف مرغول غول دل باشد
زین نکویان یکی ز روی عتاب / پشت غم را خمی دهد ز نهاب
XII. اندر صفت خوب رویان و شاهدان گوید
آن نگاری که سوی او نگری / او دل از تو برد تو درد بری
روی اگر هیچ بینقاب کند / راه پر ماه و آفتاب کند
ور کند هردو بند گیسو باز / سه شب قدر برگشاید راز
دایگان زلف او چو تاب دهند / چینیان نقش خود به آب دهند
دُرج دُرّش چو نطق بشکافد / شرمش از گل نقابها بافد
شکن زلفش از درون سرای / مشک دست آمد و جلاجل پای
گرچه در پردهها تواند شد / ز ایچ عاشقان نهان نداند شد
بوی او عقل را کند سرمست / روی او مرگ را کند پسِ دست
حلقهٔ زلف او معما گوی / نقش سودای او سویدا جوی
از لبش جان کور کوثر نوش / وز خطش چشم عور دیبا پوش
دیو همچون ملک شد از رویش / روز شب گشته زان سیه مویش
روی و مویش به از شب و روزست / شادی افزای و مجلس افروزست
مرد از بوی او حیات برد / ماه از حسن او برات برد
چشم صورت ز رفتنش جان بین / دست معنی ز دامنش گل چین
گاه پیدا و گاه ناپیدا / همچو نقطه به چشم نابینا
خط و خالش چو خط و عجم نُبی / زیر هریک جهان جهان معنی
روی و زلفش گر آشکارستی / شب و روز این که دوست چارستی
در تماشای آن دوتا گلنار / مرد برهم فتد چو دانهٔ نار
چشم گوشی شود چو سازد چنگ / گوش چشمی شود چو آرد رنگ
زان خط مشک رنگ لعل فروش / مردمِ دیده گشته دیباپوش
روز حیران شود همی ز شبش / بوسه ره گم کند همی ز لبش
وهم عاشق سوی لبش بشتافت / لب او جز به خنده باز نیافت
بوسهٔ عاشق روان پرداز / دهنش را به خنده یابد باز
نه ز غنچه دو دیده باز کند / نه ز خنده دو لب فراز کند
بند زلفش چو زیر تاب آمد / بندِ قندیل آفتاب آمد
خرمن مشک توده بر توده / خوشهچینان ازو برآسوده
صورت قهر و لطف خال و لبش / عالم قبض و بسط روز و شبش
لعل او دلگشای و جان آویز / جزع او لعل پاش و مرجان ریز
کارخانهٔ رخش بهار شکن / ناردانهٔ لبش خمار شکن
شمع رخ چون ز شرم بفروزد / آهوان را کرشمه آموزد
جعد او عقل و روح را خرگه / چشم او چشم را تماشاگه
هرکجا زلف او مصاف زند / زشت باشد که نافه لاف زند
از زمین بوی مُشک برخیزد / خون عاشق چو زلف او ریزد
جعدش از تاب بر رخ دلخواه / راست چون خال بی بسماللّٰه
دیده زان چشمها که بردارد / جز کسی کآفت بصر دارد
چشم کز دیدنش ندارد نور / باشد از روی خوب فایده دور
قد او در دو دیدهٔ دلجوی / همچو سرو بلند بر لب جوی
بتوان دید از لطیفی کوست / استخوان در تنش چو خون از پوست
هم گهر با دهان او ارزان / هم سُرین بر میان او لزران
جان جانست نور بر قمرش / نور عقلست لعل پر شکرش
گر برو عنکبوتکی بتند / در زمان حد زانیانش زند
XIII. حکایت
دید وقتی یکی پراگنده / زندهای زیر جامهای ژنده
گفت این جامه سخت خُلقانست / گفت هست آنِ من چنین زانست
چون نجویم حرام و ندهم دین / جامه لاابد نباشدم به از این
هست پاک و حلال و ننگین روی / نه حرام و پلید و رنگین روی
چون نمازی و چون حلال بود / آن مرا جوشن جلال بود
درد علّت چو درد دین نبود / مرد شهوت چو مرد دین نبود
هنر این دارد این سرای سپنج / شره پانصدش بود کم پنج
عشق او چون سرِ خطا باشد / کی ترا آن ز حق عطا باشد
خنک آن کس کزو بدارد دست / نبود همچو ما غرورپرست
XIV. اندر مذمّت دنیا و وصف ترک او
کی بود جز به چشم ابلهوش / آنکه او جان و دین ستاند خوش
شرب او شر دهد خورش خواری / سیم او سم دهد زرش زاری
تا کی از لاف و از ستیزهٔ تو / که مه تو مه حدیث ریزهٔ تو
هست بر خلق زیر جنبش دور / چشم گرما و چشم سرما خور
چون برون شد ز بند کَون و فساد / پس بیابد ز اعتدال مراد
آخرت جوی زانکه جوی امل / آخرت جوی راست پر ز عسل
ورت دنیا خوش است جای قرار / خوش نباشد رباط مردم خوار
آن خوش ار نفس شهوت و شره است / ورنه جای بخششم تبه است
ای سپرده بدو دل و هُش را / چه کشی سوی خود پدرکُش را
پدرت را بکشت دنیا زار / زان پر آزار دارد او آزار
کشته فرزند و مادر و پدرت / تو بدو خوش نشسته کو جگرت
اژدها را به سوی خویش مکش / که کشد جانت را سوی آتش
که تواند بخواند سورهٔ تین / خوش نفس خفته در دم تنّین
اندر آن جان که سوزد دین نبود / تبش و تابش یقین نبود
کرّه تا در سرای بومرّه است / تا به صد سال نام او کرّه است
پدر و مادر آن بزرگ پسر / مر خطابش کنند جان پدر
گر کند کوسه سوی گور بسیچ / جده جز نو خطش نگوید هیچ
دنیی از روی زشت و چشم نه نیک / همچو بینیّ زنگی آمد لیک
کرده خود را به سحر حورافش / چابک و نغز و ترّ و تازه و خوش
وز درون سوی عاقلان جاوید / روی دارد سیاه و موی سپید
چون جهان در جهان نامردان / پای بر جای باش و سرگردان
عشق او بر تو زان اثر کردست / کان سیاهه سپیدتر کردست
جام زرّین و دست پر زنگار / واندر آن جام زهر جان اوبار
تو مشو غرّه بر جمال جهان / زانکه نزدیک عاقل و نادان
در غرورش توانگر و درویش / راست همچون خیال گنج اندیش
زیر برتر ز موش در خانه / تو چو گربهاش همی زنی شانه
اندرین مغکده چو ابله و مست / پای بازی گرفتهای بر دست
واندرو چار پشت و هفت بلند / با تو همشیرهاند و خویشاوند
پس چو آدم تو بر تن و دل و جان / آیهٔ حُرّمت عَلَیکُم خوان
چون جهان مادر و تو فرزندی / گر نهای گبر عقد چون بندی
همچو گبران تو از برای جهان / خوانده او را دو دیده و دل و جان
XV. اندر طلب دنیا
هرکه جست از خدای خود دنیی / مرحبا لیک نبودش عقبی
هردو نبود به هم یکی بگذار / زان سرای نفیس دست مدار
هست بیقدر دنیی غدّار / مر سگان راست این چنین مردار
وانکه از کردگار عقبی خواست / گر مر او را دهیم جمله رواست
زانکه گشتای خوب کاران راست / جمله عقبی حلال خواران راست
وانکه دعوی دوستی ما کرد / از تن و جان او برآرم گرد
هیچ اگر بنگرد سوی اغیار / زنده او را برآورم بردار
دانی از بهر چیست رنج و عنا / زانکه اللّٰه اَغیَرُ منّا
تن خود از دین به کام دارد مرد / هرچه جز حق حرام دارد مرد
XVI. اندر مذمّت کسانی که به جامه و لقمه مغرور باشند
جامه از بهر عورت عامه است / خاصگان را برهنگی جامه است
مر زنان راست جامه اندر خور / حیدر و مرد و جوشن اندر بر
جامه بر عورتان پسندیدست / جامهٔ دیبه آفت دیدست
مرد را در لباس خُلقان جوی / گنج در کُنجهای ویران جوی
مر زنان راست جامه تو بر تو / مرد را روز نو و روزی نو
چون نباشد ملامت و اتعاظ / بس بود جامهٔ برهنه حفاظ
مر زنان را برهنگی جامهاست / خاصه آن را که شوخ و خودکامه است
نیست زن را به جامه خانهٔ هوش / به ز عریانی ایچ عورت پوش
عورتانند جاهلان کِه و مِه / هرکه پوشیدهتر ز عورت به
باقیی در بقای معنی کوش / پنبه رو بازده به پنبه فروش
چکند عقل جامهٔ زیبا / نقش دیبا چه داند از دیبا
چه کُشی از پی هوس تن را / گرمی عشق جامه بس تن را
دین به زیر کلاه داری تو / زان هوای گناه داری تو
با کلاه از هوای تن نَجهی / سر پدید آید ار کُله بنهی
چون سرآمد پدید در شبگیر / پای ذر نه عمارت از سر گیر
یک شبی رو به وقت شبگیران / با حذر در نهان ز خر گیران
سر خود را پدید کن ز کلاه / توبه این است از گذشته گناه
چه شد ار بر سر تو افسر نیست / خرد اندر سرست و بر سر نیست
نقش آنها کز اهل محرابند / در جریدهٔ مجرّدان یابند
آنکه نقش کلاه و سر دارند / زن و زنبیل و زور و زر دارند
متأهّل دو پای خود در بست / سر خود را به دست خود بشکست
گر زید ور بمیرد آن بدبخت / رخت و بختش بماند زیر درخت
همچنین ژنده جامه باید بود / در خورِ عقل عامه باید بود
کانکه از عقل عامه دور افتاد / آب عمرش بداد خاک به باد
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