The following is a qasīda (poem) from the forthcoming publication: The Diwan of Shaykh al-Karkari: Songs in the Presence of God, titled 'Listen to Me, O Wayfarer.'

In English with Arabic transliterations:

Isma'nī yā sālik khudhi l-ma’nā 'ayān

Listen to me, O wayfarer, grasp the meaning by witnessing

Iltafit liḥālik waṣgha lidhā l-bayān

Focus on your state, and heed this articulate message

'Alayka bi-t-tawbah min kulli mā qad kān

I advise you to repent from all that has passed

Wazhad fī dhī s-siwā takun 'abda r-raḥmān

And to renounce other-than-Him, only then will you be a servant of the All-Merciful

Washammir bi-l-jiddi dhikran fī kulli ān

Prepare with zeal, continuously invoking

Tafuz biḥubbi llāh takun 'aẓīma sh-sha'n

You will attain Allāh’s love, and become of great rank

Wafna ‘ani l-a‘māl waru'yati l-akwān

Annihilate yourself from deeds[1] and the vision of the cosmos

Wa-qif bibābi llāh mina s-siwā 'uryān

And stand at Allāh’s door, stripped of all else

Wa-qul rabbī innī gharīqun fi n-nuqṣān

And say: “My Lord, I am drowning in imperfection

Lā lī walā 'indī bi-dh-dhunūbi mal'ān

I have no right and possess nothing; I am full of sins"

Wabki dam'a mushtāq liḥaḍrati r-raḥmān

Weep the tears of he who yearns for the presence of the Most Merciful

Wastaḥqiri n-nafsa fi s-sirri wa-l-i'lān

And lower yourself, in public and in private

Wafna fī dhāti sh-shaykh sirruka yā insān

Annihilate yourself in the essence of the Shaykh—O human, that is your innermost secret

Burāqun li-l-adhwāqi sidratun li-l-iḥsān

It will then be like a celestial steed to spiritual taste, a Lote Tree to Ihsān

Wakun 'inda l-amri minhu laka yaqẓān

Be vigilant as to any of his commands

Iyyāka wa-t-ta'khīr mīzānuhu mīzān

Beware of delay, for his scale is true

Huwa bābu l-ḥaḍrah huwa bābu l-'ayān

He is the door to the Divine Presence, the door to witnessing

Huwa lawḥu l-wujūd ḥibru bā'i l-qur'ān

He is the Tablet of Existence, the ink of the Bā'[2] of the Qur'ān

Sirrun li'ilmi l-hā' wadhātun li-lāmāni

A secret to the knowledge of Hā', and an essence for the two lāms[3]

Alifun li-l-a'rāfi wanuqṭatu t-tadān

An Alif for the heights[4], and a Dot of nearness

Dhātuhu dhātu insān binafasi r-raḥmān

His form is man with the inblowing of the All-Merciful

Sirru 'ilmi l-jam'i wa-l-farqu bi-l-alwān

The Secret of the knowledge of Union and Separation is in colors

Wa'uṣīka bi-l-fuqarā' li-d-dīni hum a'wān

I enjoin upon you the disciples, your helpers in faith

Khalli ḥaẓẓak wanẓur ḥuqūqa dhi l-khillān

Abandon your right and observe those of your companions

Ta'addab fi l-ḥuḍūr waḥfaẓ sirra l-ikhwān

Have adab in the Divine Presence and guard the secret of the brethren

Walā tarā 'ayban illā fīka nuqṣān

See no others’ fault but as a deficiency in your own self

Wa'aẓẓim bi-l-jiddi kulla khalqi r-raḥmān

Exalt immensely every creation of the Most Merciful

Fa-s-sirru qad sarā bi-l-wāḥid fi l-ithnān

For the secret has flowed from one into two

Wasiḥ fī mulki llāh bi-dh-dhikri wa-l-īqān

Wander in Allāh's dominion with remembrance and certainty

Wafāriqi l-aghyār min insin wamin jān

And separate from others, be they mankind or jinn

Wadhkur jahran allāha fi l-aswāqi nashwān

Remember Allāh aloud in the marketplaces, intoxicated

Warquṣ biḥubbi llāh walhānun waḥayrān

Dance with love for Allāh, impassioned and bewildered

Ta'ammal fī dhātik wa'aghmiḍi l-ajfān

Contemplate your own essence and close your eyelids

Yalūḥu laka l-wujūd min mishkāti l-īmān

Existence will shine forth for you from the niche of faith

Waṭwi l-kawna ṭurran wafni hādhi l-awṭān

Fold up the universe altogether and annihilate these lands

Waghuṣ fī baḥri dh-dhāt tadrī kāfa l-iḥsān

Dive into the Ocean of the Essence, you will grasp the Kāf of Ihsān

Tajid anna wāḥid farīdun mā lahu thān

You will find He is One —Unique, without partner

'Aẓīmun munfarid bi-l-wujūb wa-l-imkān

Magnificent, necessarily and in all possibility, Singular

Fakun anta l-qalam wa-l-lawḥatu akwān

So be the Pen, let the cosmos be the Tablet

Farsum isma l-jalālah bi'anwāri l-'adnān

Inscribe the Name of Majesty with the Lights of Adnan g

Takun 'abdan lillāh lā 'abdan li-l-jinān

You will then become a servant of Allāh, not of the Gardens

Fānin fī ḥubbi dh-dhāt ar-rūḥ wa-r-rayḥān

Annihilated in love of the Essence, the Spirit, and bounty

Walā tansa annaka lam takun waqad kān

Do not forget that you were not, and He was[5]

I'rifi l-qadra minka lā taḥsib annaka sha'n

Know your measure, do not think you are of consequence

Wa yā rabbī ṣallī 'alan-nabīyyi l-'adnān

O my Lord, send blessings upon the Prophet, Adnan g

Wal-āl waṣ-ṣaḥbi wa rijāli d-dīwān

And the family and the companions and the men of the Highest Gathering

[1] From attaching great importance to your deeds (no matter how great they are)

[2] The second letter of the Arabic alphabet and the first letter of the Basmala, it holds, with its dot, great importance and symbolism in Sufism.

[3] The letters hā’ and the two lām are found in the Divine Name Allāh. Each letter of the Divine Name carries secrets and Divine Knowledge. The Divine Name is a foundation of the Karkariya and frames the spiritual progression of the disciples. 

[4] A reference to the 7th chapter in the Qur’an, Surah al-A’rāf, meaning the Heights. From the Study Qur’an, “Some Sufi commentators identify those upon the Heights as the people of gnosis, or spiritual knowledge (Ka, ST), who have transcended both Paradise and Hell, because they have left the trap­pings of the soul and its pleasures behind and are occupied only with the. contemplation of God Himself." 

[5] There was Allah and there was nothing with Him (Hadith) Later Sufis add, “And He is now as He was”

In the original Arabic:

اسْمَعْنِي يَا سَالِك
اِسْمَعْنِي يَا سَالِك خُذِ الْمَعْنَى عَيَان

اِلْتَفِتْ لِحَالِك وَاصْغَ لِذَا الْبَيَان

عَلَيْكَ بِالتَّوْبَة مِنْ كُلِّ مَا قَدْ كَان

وَازْهَد فِي ذِي السِّوَى تَكُنْ عَبْدَ الرحمن

وَشَمِّر بِالْجِدِّ ذِكْراً فِي كُلِّ آن

تَفُزْ بِحُبِّ الله تَكُنْ عَظِيمَ الشَّان

وَافْنَ عَنِ الأعْمَال وَرُؤْيَةِ الأكْوَان

وَقِفْ بِبَابِ الله مِنَ السِّوَى عُرْيَان

وَقُلْ رَبِّي إِنِّي غَرِيقٌ فِي النُّقْصَان

لاَ لِي وَلاَ عِنْدِي بِالذُّنُوبِ مَلْآن

وَابْكِ دَمْعَ مُشْتَاق لِحَضْرَةِ الرَّحْمَن

وَاسْتَحْقِرِ النَّفْسَ فِي السِّرِّ وَالإعْلاَن

وَافْنَ فِي ذَاتِ الشَّيْخ سِرُّكَ يَا إنْسَان

بُرَاقٌ لِلْأَذْوَاقِ سِدْرَةٌ لِلْإحْسَان

وَكُنْ عِنْدَ الأَمْرِ مِنْهُ لَكَ يَقْظَان

إيَّاكَ والتَّأْخِير مِيزَانُهُ مِيزَان

هُو بَابُ الحَضْرَة هُوَ بَابُ الْعَيَان

هُوَ لَوْحُ الْوُجُود حِبْرُ بَاءِ القُرْآن

سِرٌّ لِعِلْمِ الْهَاء وَذَاتٌ لِلاَّمَان

أَلِفٌ لِلْأَعْرَافِ وَنُقْطَةُ التَّدَان

ذَاتُه ذَاتُ إنْسَان بِنَفَسِ الرَّحْمَن

سِرٌّ عِلْمِ الْجَمْعِ وَالْفَرْقُ بِالأَلْوَان

وَأُوصِيكَ بِالْفُقراَ لِلدِّينِ هُم أَعْوَان

خَلِّ حَظَّك وَانْظُر حُقُوقَ ذِي الْخِلاَّن

تَأَدَّب فِي الْحُضُور وَاحْفَظْ سِــــــرَّ الإِخْوَان

وَلاَ تَرَى عَيْباً إِلاَّ فِيكَ نُقْصَان

وَعَظِّم بِالْجِدِّ كُلَّ خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَن

فَالسِّرُّ قَدْ سَرَى بِالْوَاحِدْ فِي الاثْنَان

وَسِحْ فِي مُلْكِ الله بِالذِّكْرِ وَالإيقَان

وَفَارِقِ الأغْيَارِ مِنْ إِنْسٍ وَمِنْ جَان

وَاذْكُرْ جَهْرًا الله فِي الأسْوَاقِ نَشْوَان

وارْقُصْ بِحُبِّ الله وَلْهَانٌ وَحَيْرَان

تَأَمَّل فِي ذَاتِك وَأغْمِضِ الأْجْفَان

يَلُوح لَكَ الْوُجُود مِنْ مِشْكَاةِ الإِيمَان

وَاطْوِ الْكَوْنَ طُرًّا وَافْنِ هَذِ الأوْطَان

وَغُصْ فِي بَحْرِ الذَّات تَدْرِي كَافَ الإِحْسَان

تَجِدْ أنُّ وَاحِدْ فَرِيدٌ مَا لَهُ ثَان

عَظِيمٌ مُنْفَرِدْ بِالوُجُوبْ وَالإِمْكَان

فَكُنْ أَنْتَ الْقَلَمْ وَاللَّوْحَةُ أكْوَان

فارْسُمْ اِسْمَ الْجَلاَلَة بِأَنْوَارِ الْعَدْنَان

تَكُنْ عَبْداً لله لاَ عَبْداً لِلْجِنَان

فَانِي فِي حُبِّ الذَّات الرَّوْحُ وَالرَّيْحَان

وَلاَ تَنْسَ أنَّكْ لَمْ تَكُنْ وَقَدْ كَان

اعْرِفِ الْقَدْرَ[1] مِنْكَ لاَ تَحْسِبْ أَنَّك شَان

وَيَا رَبِّي صَلِّ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ الْعَدْنَانِ

وَالآلِ وَالصَّحْبِ وَرِجَالِ الدِّيوَانِ