Those Who Walk in Sleep

يَمْضُونَ فِي الدُّنْيَا كَظِلَالٍ عَلَى الْمَاءِ،
وَمَا أَبْصَرُوا نَهْرَ الحَقِيقَةِ تَحْتَ أَقْدَامِهِمْ.

yamḍūna fī al-dunyā ka-ẓilālin ʿalā al-māʾ,
wa-mā abṣarū nahr al-ḥaqīqah taḥta aqdāmihim.

They move through life like shadows on water,
never seeing the river beneath their feet.

تَعْمَلُ أَجْسَادُهُمْ، وَيَنَامُ قَلْبُهُمْ،
وَتَبْقَى نُفُوسُهُمْ مَحْجُوبَةً عَنْهُمْ.

taʿmalu ajsāduhum, wa-yanāmu qalbuhum,
wa-tabqā nufūsuhum maḥjūbatan ʿanhum.

Their hearts sleep though their bodies work,
and their souls are veiled even from themselves.

وَإِذَا أَحَبُّوا، فَهُوَ نُسْخَةٌ مِنْ صُورَةٍ أُخْرَى؛
وَإِذَا حَزِنُوا، فَصَدَى اسْمِهِمْ هُوَ الَّذِي يَبْكِي.

wa-idhā aḥabbū, fa-huwa nuskhah min ṣūrah ukhrā;
wa-idhā ḥazinū, fa-ṣadā ismihim huwa alladhī yabkī.

And when they love, it is a copy of another's form,
and when they mourn, it is the echo of their name.

فَلَا تُوقِظْهُمْ بِصَرْخَةٍ وَلَا بِفَضِيحَةٍ؛
فَإِنَّ جَفْوَةَ الإِيقَاظِ خَطَأٌ فِي الرَّحْمَةِ.

fa-lā tūqiẓhum bi-ṣarkhah wa-lā bi-faḍīḥah;
fa-inna jafwat al-īqāẓ khaṭaʾ fī al-raḥmah.

You must not awaken them with shock or shame,
for to stir sleepers roughly is a sin of compassion.

أَمَّا أَنْتَ إِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ نَائِمًا،
فَلْيَكُنْ خُطَاكَ لَيِّنَةً عِنْدَ بَابِ النَّائِمِ.

ammā anta in lam takun nāʾiman,
fa-l-yakun khuṭāka layyinatan ʿinda bāb al-nāʾim.

You who are not in slumber:
let your footsteps be soft before the sleeper's gate.

فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَسْتَيْقِظُ لِنَغْمَةٍ،
وَمِنْهُمْ لِنُورِ قَمَرٍ،
وَمِنْهُمْ لِصَمْتٍ يَطُولُ حَتَّى يَصِيرَ كَلَامًا.

fa-minhum man yastayqiẓu li-naghmah,
wa-minhum li-nūr qamar,
wa-minhum li-ṣamt yaṭūlu ḥattā yaṣīra kalāman.

For some will wake to music,
some to moonlight—
and some to silence that lasts so long it starts to speak.

وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يُفْتَحُونَ بِالنَّارِ،
بَلْ بِمِرْآةٍ تُرْفَعُ لَهُمْ بِرِفْقٍ.

wa-aktharuhum lā yuftaḥūna bi-l-nār,
bal bi-mirʾāh turfaʿu lahum bi-rifq.

But most need to be met not with fire,
but with a mirror held in kindness.

فَلَا تَجُرَّهُم مِنْ حُلْمِهِمْ جَرًّا؛
فَإِنَّ الْعُنْفَ يَزِيدُ النَّوْمَ سُمُوكًا.

fa-lā tajurrahum min ḥulmihim jarran;
fa-inna al-ʿunf yazīdu al-nawm sumūkan.

So let the dreamer not be pulled awake
by force that would only make their sleep more thick.

وَكُنْ أَمَامَهُمْ كَلَيْلَةِ السَّحَرِ،
سَاكِنًا، رَقِيقًا، مُنِيرًا؛
فَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدُوا فِيكَ لُطْفًا،
أَغْلَقَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى.

wa-kun amāmahum ka-laylat al-saḥar,
sākinan, raqīqan, munīran;
fa-in lam yajidū fīka luṭfan,
aghlaqat aʿyunuhum marratan ukhrā.

Be still before them,
like the night sky before sunrise—
for if you do not shine with gentleness,
their eyes will seal shut once more.