The story of Bilqis sending a gift from the city of Sheba to Solomon, peace be upon him
Bilqis's gift was forty mules, each loaded with bricks of gold.
When they reached Solomon's desert, they saw the ground was paved with pure gold.
They traveled over the gold for forty stages until the gold seemed like mere dust.
Many times they said, "Let's take the gold back; why are we laboring in vain?"
In a land where the soil is gold, bringing gold as a gift is foolishness.
O you who have brought reason as a gift to God, there reason is less than the dust of the road.
When the worthlessness of the gift became apparent, their shame pulled them back.
Yet they said, "Whether worthless or worthy, what is it to us? We are servants, and we obey."
Whether gold or dust, if we are to carry it, the command of the commander must be fulfilled.
If they command us to take it back, we will return the gift by their order.
Solomon laughed when he saw that, saying, "When did I ask you for porridge?"
I do not say, "Give me a gift," but rather, "Become worthy of a gift."
For I have rare gifts from the unseen that no human can even desire.
You worship a star that turns gold; turn to Him who turns the stars.
You worship the sun of the sky, belittling the noble soul.
The sun is our cook by God's command; it is foolish to say it is God.
If your sun is eclipsed, what will you do? How will you remove the darkness from it?
Will you not bring your complaint to God's court to remove the darkness and return the light?
If they take the sun at midnight, where will you lament or seek refuge from it?
Most events occur at night, and at that time, your deity is absent.
If you bow sincerely to God, you will be freed from the stars and become intimate.
When you become intimate, I will open my lips to you so you can see the midnight sun.
Except for His pure soul, there is no east; in His rising, there is no difference between day and night.
The day is when He shines; night does not remain when He flashes.
When a particle appears before the sun, so is the sun in its essence.
A sun that becomes radiant makes the eye dazzled and bewildered.
Like a particle, you see it in the light of the throne, before the boundless, abundant light of the throne.
You see it humble and poor, restless, the eye strengthened by the Creator.
An alchemy that, from one effect, when it touches smoke, it becomes a star.
A rare elixir that, with half a glance, when it touches darkness, the sun revolves.
A wondrous alchemy that, with one action, binds so many properties to Saturn.
The rest of the stars and the jewels of the soul, know, O seeker, by this measure.
The sensory eye is humbled by the sun; seek and find the divine eye.
Until it is humbled before that vision, the sun's rays with sparks.