bāb 3
· Kitāb al-Qamar
Those Who Walk in Sleep
البَابُ الثَّالِث — فِي مَنْ يَسِيرُونَ فِي النَّوْم
Bāb al-Thālith: Sūrat al-Nāʾimīn
pastoral
scattered
cassiel
1
They move through life like shadows on water,
never seeing the river beneath their feet.
There are people who move through the world without perceiving it—
their lives skim the surface of reality
without ever touching its depth.
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.
2
Their hearts sleep though their bodies work,
and their souls are veiled even from themselves.
Their bodies continue through habit,
but their hearts remain asleep.
Even their own souls are veiled from their awareness.
تَعْمَلُ أَجْسَادُهُمْ، وَيَنَامُ قَلْبُهُمْ،
وَتَبْقَى نُفُوسُهُمْ مَحْجُوبَةً عَنْهُمْ.
taʿmalu ajsāduhum, wa-yanāmu qalbuhum,
wa-tabqā nufūsuhum maḥjūbatan ʿanhum.
3
And when they love, it is a copy of another's form,
and when they mourn, it is the echo of their name.
Their loves are imitations;
their griefs are borrowed echoes.
They feel what others have taught them to feel.
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.
4
You must not awaken them with shock or shame,
for to stir sleepers roughly is a sin of compassion.
Do not awaken them with shame or violence.
To startle a sleeping soul is a betrayal of compassion.
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.
5
You who are not in slumber:
let your footsteps be soft before the sleeper's gate.
If you are awake,
let your approach be gentle.
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.
6
For some will wake to music,
some to moonlight—
and some to silence that lasts so long it starts to speak.
Not all wake by the same call:
some rise to music,
some to moonlight,
some to a silence that becomes its own teacher.
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.
7
But most need to be met not with fire,
but with a mirror held in kindness.
Most people do not change through fire;
they transform when a mirror is held with kindness.
وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يُفْتَحُونَ بِالنَّارِ،
بَلْ بِمِرْآةٍ تُرْفَعُ لَهُمْ بِرِفْقٍ.
wa-aktharuhum lā yuftaḥūna bi-l-nār,
bal bi-mirʾāh turfaʿu lahum bi-rifq.
8
So let the dreamer not be pulled awake
by force that would only make their sleep more thick.
Do not force awakening.
Harshness only thickens the dream.
فَلَا تَجُرَّهُم مِنْ حُلْمِهِمْ جَرًّا؛
فَإِنَّ الْعُنْفَ يَزِيدُ النَّوْمَ سُمُوكًا.
fa-lā tajurrahum min ḥulmihim jarran;
fa-inna al-ʿunf yazīdu al-nawm sumūkan.
9
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.
Be still before them,
like the predawn sky holding its breath.
Gentleness is the only light
their unopened eyes can bear.
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.