The Walled Garden of Truth

Hope and fear drive fortune from your door;
lose yourself, and they will be no more.

At his door, what is the difference
between Muslim and Christian,
virtuous or guilty?
At his door all are seekers
and he the sought.

God is without cause;
why are you looking for causes?
The sun of truth rises unbidden,
and with it sets the moon of learning.

In this halt of but a week,
to be is not to be,
and to come is to go.

And does the sun exist
for the cock to crow at?
What is it to him
whether you are there or not?
Many have come, just like you,
to his door.

You won't find your way
in this street; if there is a way,
it is on your road of sighs.
All of you are far
from the road of devotion:
you are like donkeys,
straying for months and years,
deluded by vain hopes;
sometimes you are virtuous,
sometimes you are wicked:
so you hope for yourselves, fear for yourselves;
but when your mask of wisdom and folly
at last turns white, you will see
that hope and fear are one.

~ Hakim Sanai, 1130 AD