Fate and I, along with an old man from Faryab,

Reached the western soil, where the water lies.

I had a single dirham, which they took from me,

And placed me on the ship with the beggar.

The black men drove the ship like smoke,

For the captain was fearful and not a true captain.

I was moved to tears by the distress of my companion,

But he laughed heartily at my weeping and said.

Do not worry for me, O wise one,

He who steers the ship will bring me safely.

He spread a prayer rug on the water’s surface,

I thought it was a dream, or I was asleep.

In my dizziness, I did not sleep that night,

At dawn, he looked at me and said.

You arrived with a limp on a piece of wood, I with my feet,

The ship brought you, and God brought us.

Why do the people of meaning not understand this,

That the saints travel through water and fire?

Is it not a child who is unaware of fire,

But the loving mother keeps him safe?

So those who are immersed in ecstasy,

Night and day, they preserve the truth in their hearts.

He is protected from the heat of the fire of Khalil,

Just as Moses’ coffin was saved from the flood of the Nile.

Just as a child reaches the floating hand,

He does not fear, even though the Tigris is vast.

When you walk on the sea,

Are you like the men who walk on dry land with firm steps?