With many a snare Thou dost beset my way,
And threatenest, if I fall therein, to slay;
Thy rule resistless sways the world, yet Thou
Imputest sin, when I do but obey!
432. B. N. Allah is the Fa'il i hakiki, the only real agent, according to the Sufi view, Hukmi tu Kuni, «Thou givest thy order.»
To Thee, whose essence baffles human thought,
Our sins and righteous deeds alike seem naught,
May Thy grace sober me, though drunk with sins,
And pardon all the ill that I have wrought!
If this life were indeed an empty play,
Each day would be an 'lid of festal day,
And men might conquer all their hearts' desire,
Fearless of after penalties to pay!
434. N. N takes taklid in the sense of «authority,» but I think it alludes to Koran, xxix. 64. See Gulshan i Raz, p. 50.