O God, Where Am I?

1
Where am I and what has caused my isolation from the friends?
Where am I and what is the source of this pain of separation?

2
What have I to do with the city of Rayy, O Creator?
Where am I and why is the monastery in ruins?

3
Where am I, O God, and what has caused me to be standing
in the universe in the presence of one so mindless and shallow?

4
Where am I and why am I without veil or hijab,
my head downcast, bewildered about where all this is coming from,

5
(here) in the presence of one so sinister that his very essence is evil,
whose nature is “possesses no wisdom,” who lashes out so fanatically.

6
Where am I, O Eternal Creator?
Why am I subject to the verdict of Ibn-i-Sufyán?

7
Where am I, O Omnipotent, Living, Wondrous One?
Why have I been seized by the hands of the people of mischief?

8
Where am I, O Omnipotent, Living, Ancient One?
Where did this army of roaring lions come from?

9
From where do they now come to our aid,
proclaiming that this is the pure one and the purifying one,

10
proclaiming that this is the most beauteous one, the golden one
struck down among us in a daze to the earth? .

11
Where am I, O Cause of all honor and generosity?
What is the source of assistance for these iniquitous and mischievous ones?

12
Where am I, O Friend, and why am I so weary and mournful?
What is the cause of lamentation and anxiety in this desert of confusion?