bāb 3
· Kitāb al-Qamar
The Night That Speaks Before the Dawn
سُورَةُ اللَّيْلِ الَّذِي يَتَكَلَّمُ قَبْلَ الفَجْر
Sūrat al-Layl alladhī Yatakallam Qabl al-Fajr
pastoral
scattered
cassiel
1
Before morning awakens,
something quieter than reason moves.
قَبْلَ أَنْ يَسْتَيْقِظَ الصُّبْحُ،
يَتَحَرَّكُ فِي الدَّاخِلِ هَمْسٌ أَرَقُّ مِنَ العَقْلِ.
qabla an yastayqiẓa al-ṣubḥ,
yataḥarraku fī al-dākhil hams araqq min al-ʿaql.
2
It is not born of age or learning,
but from listening too early to the silence.
لَا يُولَدُ مِنْ عِلْمٍ،
بَلْ مِنَ الإِنْصَاتِ الْمُبَكِّرِ لِلصَّمْتِ.
lā yūladu min ʿilm,
bal min al-inṣāt al-mubakkir li-l-ṣamt.
3
Intuition is spatial and magnetic—
like a compass finding north.
فِطْنَةٌ مَجَالِيَّةٌ مِغْنَاطِيسِيَّةٌ—
كَبُوصْلَةٍ تَجِدُ الشَّمَالَ.
fiṭnah majāliyyah mighnaṭīsiyyah—
ka-būṣlah tajidu al-shamāl.
4
A path felt in the breath,
known before named.
طَرِيقٌ يُعْرَفُ بِالنَّفَسِ،
قَبْلَ أَنْ يُسَمَّى بِاللِّسَانِ.
ṭarīq yuʿrafu bi-l-nafas,
qabla an yusammā bi-l-lisān.
5
The body remembers
truths the mind has forgotten.
يَتَذَكَّرُ الجَسَدُ
مَا نَسِيَهُ الفِكْرُ.
yatadhakkaru al-jasad
mā nasiyahu al-fikr.
6
The soul shines beneath thought,
in an unnamed chamber.
وَتَتَأَلَّقُ النَّفْسُ تَحْتَ الفِكْرِ،
فِي حُجْرَةٍ لَمْ تُسَمَّ بَعْدُ.
wa-tataʾallaqu al-nafs taḥta al-fikr,
fī ḥujrah lam tusamm baʿd.
7
That stranger who feels like home—
this is recognition without memory.
وَذٰلِكَ الغَرِيبُ الَّذِي يَبْدُو بَيْتًا—
هُوَ تَعْرِيفٌ بِلَا ذِكْرَى.
wa-dhālika al-gharīb alladhī yabdū baytan—
huwa taʿrīf bi-lā dhikrā.
8
Trust the guidance before proof.
It is older than your voice.
فَثِقْ بِالْهَدْيِ قَبْلَ البُرْهَانِ—
فَهُوَ أَقْدَمُ مِنْ صَوْتِكَ.
fa-thiq bi-l-hady qabla al-burhān—
fa-huwa aqdam min ṣawtik.
9
In the stillness before morning,
the heart becomes a compass.
فِي سُكُونِ مَا قَبْلَ الفَجْرِ
يُصْبِحُ القَلْبُ بُوصْلَةً.
fī sukūn mā qabla al-fajr
yuṣbiḥu al-qalb būṣlah.
10
It does not think. It leans—
pulled from the core.
لَا يُفَكِّرُ—بَلْ يَمِيلُ،
مَجْذُوبًا مِنَ الجَذْرِ.
lā yufakkir—bal yamīl,
majdhūban min al-jadhr.
11
Let the night's knowing move you.
دَعِ عِلْمَ اللَّيْلِ يَحْمِلُكَ.
daʿi ʿilm al-layl yaḥmiluk.
12
Move like the moon:
guided, unseen.
سِرْ كَالْقَمَرِ:
مَهْدِيًّا غَيْرَ مُدْرَكٍ.
sir ka-l-qamar:
mahdiyyan ghayr mudrak.
13
Let your mystery remain yours.
وَلْيَبْقَ سِرُّكَ لَكَ.
wa-l-yabqa sirruka lak.
14
The soul speaks in a hidden language.
فَلِلنَّفْسِ لُغَةٌ خَفِيَّةٌ
لَا يَنْطِقُهَا العَقْلُ.
fa-li-l-nafs lughah khafiyyah
lā yanṭiquhā al-ʿaql.
15
Even when you wake,
the night remains inside you.
وَإِذَا اسْتَيْقَظْتَ،
بَقِيَ لَيْلُكَ فِيكَ.
wa-idhā stayqaẓta,
baqiya layluka fīk.