Wherever we go,
whatever we do,
Love is about its work,
gently stealing hearts
and slowly dissolving
all that we thought
we were.

Whether we leap
into the sea,
or remain stubbornly
upon the shore,
slowly and subtly
our resistance is eroded
by the Tides of Love.

So, praise be to God!
The Heart of All Water
and the Ocean
within every drop.
Wherever we go
and whatever we do,
Love is about its work.

Abdur Rahman, 31st January 2012

Imam Musa al-Kazim (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Verily a seed grows in soft ground and does not grow on stone,
in the same way that wisdom thrives in the heart of the humble and does not thrive in the heart of the proud and haughty, because God has made humbleness the instrument of the intellect’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1719

The Messenger of God (alaihi al-salatu wa al-salam) is reported to have said:

‘A man will be with those he loves’
Recorded by Shah Wali Allah Dehlawi in his al-Arba`in, no. 21

Our expressions are diverse yet your beauty is one.
All, after all, point to beauty.
Isma`il Anqarawi

Imam Zayn al-Abidin (God sanctify his noble soul) is reported to have said:

‘Indeed, God loves every sorrowful heart and loves every grateful servant’
The Scale of Wisdom, 1329

The command came,
and so once more
around the Sun
we danced,
scattering pearls,
as we too
were scattered.

Dawn came
and found us
resting in His embrace,
languid eyes
gazing up
into the rising
Sun of Morning

Beloved,
my heart lives
wherever You are;
in the sacred space
between each breath,
moves joy
unbounded.

Abdur Rahman, 31st January 2012

My heart
imagine that all things
conform to your desire,
imagine you’ve become a millionaire
overnight,
with goods
piled from the Throne of Earth
to the Pleiades -
still – remember:
tomorrow too will pass,
as today has passed.
(Awhaduddin Kirmani, trans. P L Wilson)

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

It is reported that Imam Ali said:

‘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

Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq (Quddus Allahi sirruhu) said:

‘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