Ay, no matter how I complain and cry,
Love does with me as she pleases.
I wish to give her every day,
praise and honour.
Ay, Love, would that your eyes could see my commitment!
Speaking of this gives me courage,
since first there was at your high stage,
your attractive fragrance.
Ay Love, you have never lied,
in what you showed me in my youth.
That for which I yearn; what you are able to give.
Be medicine!
Ah yes, you Love, who are the guardian of all,
for love’s sake, give me what gladdens me most,
because you are the mother of all virtue,
lady and queen.
Hadewych, Lyrics 41
‘When a word comes from the heart, it falls onto the heart; but when it comes from the tongue, it will go no farther than the ears’ The Scale of Wisdom, 877
‘Among what God, the Exalted, revealed to Prophet Moses: ‘I have not created anything as dear to Me as My believing servant, so when I try him I do so for his own good, and I make him prosper for his own good, and I shield him for his own good. And I know best what improves My servant, so let him endure My trial and be thankful for My favours, and be content with My decree, and I will record him among the righteous’ The Scale of Wisdom, 911
Blind me, beautiful sun
Fill my eyes until I may see
nothing but light.
Burn me, beautiful sun
Make my flesh as nothing
Bow my head in the dust of myself.
By the great solar winds of your burning
Fling me into the arms of my Beloved.
He is the aim, the sought after, the begged and hoped for.
His name is the cure for the love-struck.
He is the soother of the anxious and the treasure of hope.
From Him the love-struck obtains what he yearns for.
Isma`il Anqarawi
God gives the things of this earth
a certain colour and variety and value,
causing childish folk to argue over it.
When a piece of dough is baked
in the shape of a camel or lion,
these children bite their fingers excitedly in their greed.
Both lion and camel turn to bread in the mouth,
but it’s futile to tell this to children
Masnavi 6.4717-4719
‘Whose place is in the breast?’ The guide made us understand
these words.
This very breath that comes and goes – there is nothing besides it.
They call this the Greatest Name; this is the divine mystery.
This is the living death, Bahu, this is the divine secret.
(Sultan Bahu, trans. Jamal Elias)
I recently came across an interesting article recently, courtesy of my facebook friend Ghoufran Warlow, in which NASA scientists share their discovery of an immense cloud of water vapour in space, some 12 billion light years away! This cloud contains enough water, it is said, to give each and every one of us the water supply of the entire world 20,000 times over! Ya Allah!
My mind finds it difficult to grasp the scale of such a cloud - cloud is such a small word to describe such vastness – let alone its distance from us. This universe is so vast. Its size alone exhausts the human intellect. Looking out into the night sky, I am reminded of the Quran’s words:
‘Blessed is He in whose hand is the dominion, and He has power over all things - who created death and life to test which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving - who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks? Then return [your] vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to you humbled while it is fatigued’ (67:1-4)
The universe is so very large, and we are so very small. Gazing out into the night sky this way is an important corrective. How can I remain arrogant in the face of such vastness? How can I puff myself up with pride in the face of God’s Absolute Majesty, Hu’s Absolute Reality? How can we continue to squander this precious gift of life, in so many acts of pointless selfishness? Carl Sagan expresses this sense well, in this profound and levelling video.
May all that you do this day be blessed. May you be blessed with healing love in all that you become and do.
Wa akhiru da`wana an il hamdu lillahi rabbil alameen.
We are the places where God hides
and sometimes shows Himself
in a glance
or a whisper,
a belly laugh
or a cry from the heart
which says
‘do not leave me too long out here
in case I lose You’
But you will never ever lose Him.
You are the fish in His sea,
the Sea of Him.
And when He wishes
He will pull you in.
