Original content

English translation

That story is a lesson for you, O soul, So that you may be content in God's decree. So that you may be shrewd and of good faith, When you suddenly witness an evil event. Others turn pale with fear of it, While you, like a rose, smile in times of gain and loss. For if you pluck the rose petal by petal, It does not abandon its smile, does not bow. It says: Why should I fall into grief over a thorn? I myself have brought my smile forth from the thorn. Whatever is lost from you by divine decree, Know with certainty that it has purchased you from affliction. "What is Sufism?" He said: "Finding joy in the heart when sorrow arrives." Know that eagle's act as a chastisement — it Snatched that boot from that good-natured soul, So that it might save his foot from the serpent's wound. O blessed is the intellect that is without murk! He said: "Grieve not over what has escaped you, Even if the wolf has come upon those who water your flock." For that affliction was warding off greater afflictions, And that loss was preventing enormous losses.