| 1 | O you who believe! Let it be said: Al-Badi; |
| 2 | The Incomparable, the Unattainable; |
| 3 | And the twenty-eighth name of Allah, the One, the Absolute, the Almighty. |
| 4 | The finest painter of words; |
| 5 | The wisest architect of meaning; |
| 6 | The most frugal and skilled of phrase; |
| 7 | Allah is the greatest of all poets; |
| 8 | There is no doubt. |
| 9 | And if you do not believe, then create a Sura greater than these. |
| 10 | Verily, some poetry is dressed in knowledge and art; |
| 11 | Yet contains neither wisdom not beauty; |
| 12 | But bitterness and hate. |
| 13 | This be the sign of the Persians and merchants, who craft words like paint over rust. |
| 14 | Sweetly and innocently they sing to those who refuse to use the gifts given to them such as discernment; |
| 15 | That they accept hate as love; |
| 16 | That they rejoice as poetry words of destruction as creation. |
| 17 | Thus the words, choose the ear as much as the master the pen. |
| 18 | Verily, some poetry contains much wisdom; |
| 19 | Yet may appear stiff and unappealing. |
| 20 | Such is truth, that it is not what the ear may wish to hear. |
| 21 | Yet Allah has such treasures the keys whereof be the words of poets. |
| 22 | Thus, the noblest of arts is the poet faithful to the truth of the Divine Creator; |
| 23 | Who seeks not to embellish nor impress; |
| 24 | But to refine his devotion to the wisdom of Allah. |
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Sufa 30 - The Poets (Ash-Shu`ara)