Ode 11: In Praise of the Prophet Muhammad

When a traveler stands firm on the path of truth, everything but God becomes nothing in his eye of unity. Like a pen, he girds himself, head bowed, lips sealed, and at whatever word comes his way, he offers his crown, as a pen gives its point. Rare is the one who turns his face from the mallet of blame, for on God's road he becomes, head to foot, like a rolling ball. Only he who flattens his brow like a nail and bends like a horseshoe will glimpse, in this arena, the hoof of the king's swift steed. Do good or do ill today, my son, as you wish, for here whether the deed is bad or good, it is recorded against the doer. Do not think the harmless one is oppressed by a tyrant's cruelty for nothing; one day the oppressor too will be slain by the sword of injustice. In this endless whirlpool, do not load your belly's weight onto your heart, for on the day of storm a ship sinks under the burden of its hold. With effort, iron-heart, bear a burden for a while, for through effort iron becomes the world-showing mirror and the cup of Jamshid. How long will you rush toward the sanctuary? Drive the fancy from your nature, for if you become worthy, your own being becomes the shrine of truths. The great sins are a fearsome stone lying in people's road; such a stone can only be rolled away by the flood of remorse. Take on a grief that ends in boundless joy; do not, like fools, chase after a joy that turns to sorrow. Tell the lords of conquest and the crushers of their foes: as fortune turned upon them, so it will turn upon us as well. Sew shut the eyes of your heart until it becomes certain sight; take up wounds upon your body until it becomes the treasury of wisdom. Greed within you will not let you scatter gold on friends; keep your belly empty like the narcissus so your hand may hold coin. My Lord, if You increase the wisdom You have given me, it will grow for me without diminishing Your kingdom. A drop from the cloud of Your bounty fell into this body of dust; by Your grace, help this drop become an ocean. Yes, there is hope of mercy, especially for the one in whose mind the praise of the honored, sent Prophet lives. Muhammad, from praise of whose excellence, in whatever mind's soil a single drop falls, that mind at once becomes a sea of blessings. When I need good fortune, I speak the praise of Mustafa's essence, as a begging Sufi circles among the generous. Hold your tongue, Saadi, from describing his knowledge; what do you know of his knowledge? Wait until it is revealed tomorrow. If you would learn wisdom, turn to Muhammad's court, for Abu Jahl is the one who thinks himself the father of wisdom through his own learning. He escaped the pit of the eternal and became owner of the world's wealth, every devout, warm-hearted dervish who grows great through this door.