بخش 28 - باز گردانیدن صدیق رضی الله عنه واقعهٔ بلال را رضی الله عنه و ظلم جهودان را بر وی و احد احد گفتن او و افزون شدن کینهٔ جهودان و قصه کردن آن قضیه پیش مصطفی علیه‌السلام و مشورت در خریدن او

Afterwards the Siddíq related to Mustafá the plight of the faithful Bilál,

Saying, “That heaven-surveying nimble (spirit) of blessed wing is at this time in love (with thee) and in thy net.

The Sultan's falcon is tormented by those owls; that grand treasure is buried in filth.

The owls are doing violence to the falcon: they are tearing out his plumes and feathers though he is innocent.

His only crime is this, that he is a falcon: after all, what is Joseph's crime except (that he had) beauty?

The owl's origin and existence is (in) the wilderness; that is the cause of their Jewish (fanatical) anger against the falcon.

(They say), ‘Why art thou (always) making mention of yonder land, or of the palace and wrist of the Emperor?

Thou art behaving impudently in the owls’ village, thou art introducing dissension and disturbance (amongst us).

Our dwelling-place, which is the envy of the empyrean, thou callest a wilderness and givest it the name of “vile.”

Thou hast employed hypocrisy in order that our owls may make thee (their) king and leader.

Thou art instilling into them a vain imagination and a mad fancy: thou art giving the name “ruin” to this Paradise.

We will beat thy head so long, O (bird) of evil qualities, that thou wilt renounce this hypocrisy and nonsense.’

They (the Jews) are crucifying him (Bilál), his face to the East, and flogging his naked body with a thorny branch.

The blood is spurting from his body in a hundred places, (whilst) he is crying ‘One!’ and bowing his head (in resignation).

I admonished him often, saying, ‘Keep thy religion hidden, conceal thy secret from the accursed Jews.’

(But) he is a lover: to him the (spiritual) resurrection has come, so that the door of repentance has been shut on him.”

Loverhood and repentance or (even) the possibility of patience—this, O (dear) soul, is a very enormous absurdity.

Repentance is a worm, while Love is like a dragon: repentance is an attribute of Man, while that (other) is an attribute of God.

Love is (one) of the attributes of God who wants nothing: love for aught besides Him is unreal,

Because that (which is besides Him) is (but) a gilded beauty: its outside is (shining) light, (but) ’tis (like dark) smoke within.

When the light goes and the smoke becomes visible, at that moment the unreal love is frozen up.

That beauty returns to its source; the body is left—foul-smelling, shameful, and ugly.

The moonlight is returning to the moon: its reflexion goes off the black (dark) wall;

And then, (when) the water and clay (of the wall) are left without that ornament, the wall, (being) moonless, becomes (hideous) as a devil.

When the gold flies from the surface of the base coin, that gold returns to its (original) mine and settles (there);

Then the shamefully exposed copper is left (looking black) like smoke, and its lover is left looking blacker than it.

(But) the love of them that have (spiritual) insight is (fixed) on the gold-mine; necessarily it is (grows) greater every day,

Because the mine hath no partner in aureity. Hail, O Gold-mine (of Reality), Thou concerning whom there is no doubt!

If any one let a base coin become a sharer with the Mine (in his affection), the gold goes back to the Mine (which is) beyond locality,

(And then) the lover and his beloved are dead (left to die) in agony: the fish is left (writhing), the water is gone from the whirlpool.

The Divine Love is the Sun of perfection: the (Divine) Word is its light, the creatures are as shadows.

When Mustafá (Mohammed) expanded with joy on (hearing) this story, his (the Siddíq's) desire to speak (of Bilál) increased also.

Since he found a hearer like Mustafá, every hair of him became a separate tongue.

Mustafá said to him, “Now what is the remedy?” He (the Siddíq) replied, “This servant (of God) is going to buy him.

I will buy him at whatever price he (the Jew) may name: I will not regard the apparent loss (of money) and the extortion;

For he is God's captive on the earth, and he has become subjected to the anger of God's enemy.”