The world and everything therein
should not be overvalued;
whoever becomes God’s friend
is not concerned with other than Him.
The mullah heard the story of love
and called it mere fiction;
I told the same story of love to the mountain
and saw its heart grow restless with agitation.
A heart that does not love
is neither pure nor sincere.
How could one who has no beloved
know anything about fidelity and love?
Why trust the pledge
of worldly people?
A slave of caprice is not constant enough
to keep his word.
The intellect promised me
an earthly kingdom,
but it does not know that a runaway heart
places no hope in the world.
Ask the selfish, ignorant mullah,
why all these boastful airs?
The ways of arrogance and ostentation
are nothing to be proud of.
On the path of fate
Nurbakhsh fell into a trap
from which he is neither willing
nor able to escape.