Sufis

"Love is a perfect muzzle of evil suggestions; Without love who ever succeeded in stopping them? Be a lover and seek that fair beauty, Haunt for that waterfowl in every Stream! How can you get water from that which cuts it off, How gain understanding from what destroys understanding, Apart from principles of reason are other principles Of light and great price to be gained by love of God, Besides this reason of yours God has other reasons Which will procure for you heavenly nourishment."

"Take the cotton of evil suggestions from the mind’s ear, That the heavenly voice from above may enter it, That you may understand that riddle of His, That you may be cognisant of that open secret."

"We are pieces of steel, and Thy love is the magnet, Thou art the source of all inspiration, in myself I have seen none."

"When words deceitful are employed as wraps for guile, They’re bubbles on the water, only last awhile, Such words are merely shell; the intent their kernel is, Or coloured portraiture of man; no life is his, A shell may often cover kernel of foul smell, A kernel sound can well afford to lose its shell."

"All elephants, wolves and lions of the forest, All dragons and snakes and even little ants, Yea, even air, water, earth and fire, Draw their sustenance from Him both winter and summer, Every moment the Heaven cries to Him, saying ‘O Lord, guilt not Thy hold of me for a moment! The pillar of my being is Thy aid and protection.’"

"Before they (the prophets) came, we were all alike, No one knew whether he was right or wrong, Genuine coin and base coin were current alike, The world was a night and we travellers in the dark, Till the sun of the prophets arose and cried ‘Begone, O slumber! welcome, O pure light!’ Now the eye sees how to distinguish colours, It sees the difference between rubies and pebbles."

"In presence of Joseph no coquetries use But humble thyself; soft entreaties infuse; From Jesus a breath then may blow upon thee, Transform thee to what he was, what thou mayest be: A stone will not blossom because it is spring, As earth make thyself; flowers around thee may cling."

"As soul became pregnant by the Soul of souls, So by the former soul did the world become pregnant; Then the world brought forth another world, And of this last are brought forth other worlds."

"The mind’s ear becomes the sensorium of inspiration, For what is this Divine voice but the inward voice? The spirit’s eye and ear possess this sense, The eye and ear of reason and sense lack it. The word ‘compulsion’ makes me impatient for love’s sake, ’Tis he who loves not, who is fettered by compulsion, This is close communion with God, not compulsion, The shining of the sun, and not a dark cloud."

"In outward form thou art the microcosm But in reality the macrocosm, Seemingly the bough is the cause of the fruit, But really the bough exists because of the fruit."

"Where should the ignoble lament and pray, If Thou didst only accept the good, O merciful One? Go, do not commit sin, for even our good deeds Appear as sin in the sight of our Beloved."

"What rays of wisdom poured on water and on land Ere earth could nourish seed, yield corn to our demand! The earth, a faithful trustee, gives back what we sow, No fraud, embezzlement, in its trust do we know."

"Woman is a ray of God, not a mere mistress, The Creator’s self as it were, not a mere creature!"

"This soul is a measure; how should the measure know That it is receiving of spirit and conveying to dust? Its task is to measure in restless love, Taking from heaven above, scattering o’er earth below."

"Thy light is at once joined with all things and apart from all."

"I am the sunlight falling from above, Yet never severed from the sun I love."

"Defects are the mirrors of the attributes of beauty The base is the mirror of the High and Glorious One, Because one contrary shows forth its contrary As honey’s sweetness is shown by vinegar’s sourness, Who recognises and confesses his own defects Is hastening in the way that leads to perfection."

"Thou hadst not seen a single blind man seated on the moat-edge, Had they sought God instead of morsel and pittance."

"Mere fancy’s pictures ever objects mar, Things non-existent often frenzy paints, We see mankind deluded over feints; Their peace, their war not seldom for a sham, Their pride, their shame some sorry epigram."

"Become nought, nought from self-hood, because There is no crime worse than thy being."

"The strange thing is, not that winged fowl Fall into the deadly snare without seeing it, But that they see the snare and the limed twig, And yet fall into it, whether they will or no."

"None but God hath contemplated the beauty of God."

"Thou takest on thyself the shame of hemp and wine, In order that thou mayest for one moment escape from thyself."

"The blast of the last trump will be God’s command To every atom to lift its head from the earth, The souls also of each will return to their bodies, Even as sense returns to bodies awaking from sleep, On that morn each soul will recognise its own body And return to its own ruin like hidden treasure."

"Good news! Good news! Lo! the spring is at hand, If the blossoms did not shine as bright helmets, How could the fruits display their globes? When the blossoms are shed, the fruits come to a head, When the body is destroyed, the soul lifts up its head."

"O Moses! the lovers of fair rites are one class, They whose hearts and souls burn with love are another, If they speak amiss, call them not sinners, If a martyr be stained with blood, wash it not away, Blood is better than water for martyrs, This fault is better than a thousand correct forms."

"Seek ye a purchaser who will pay you gold, Where will you find one more liberal than God? He buys the worthless rubbish which is your wealth, He pays you the light that illumines your heart, He accepts these frozen and lifeless bodies of yours And gives you a kingdom beyond what you dream of, He takes a few drops of your tears And gives you the divine fount sweeter than sugar."

"He is only scented with musk, he is not himself musk, He smells of musk, but is really naught but dung, For his dung to become musk, O disciple, He must graze year after year in the divine pasture."

"A bird flies with its wings towards its nest, The wings of a man are his aspiration and aim. If a lover be befouled with good and evil Yet regard not these; regard rather his aspiration, Though a falcon be all white and unmatched in form, If he hunts mice, he is contemptible and worthless, And if an owl fixes his affection on the king, He is a falcon in reality; regard not his outward form."

"T am a bird of the heavenly garden; I belong not to the earthly sphere, They have made for two or three days a cage of my body."

"Victory falls to the believers at last, The hypocrites have death in the next world. Although both parties are engaged in one game, Yet, as regards one another, they are inhabitants of Merv and Rai (i.e., far asunder), Each goes to his own place, Each fares according to his name."

"The generous die but their kindness remains, O happy he who drove this chariot (of kindness), The unjust die and their injustice remains, Alas for the soul that commits deceit and fraud."

"A pauper may amused be with counterfeited coin, But take this to the mint; defaced ’twill be in fine; Then be not thou misled with gilded counterfeit, Delusion will thee plunge headlong into hell’s pit."

"The ant of lust becomes by habit like a snake, Slay first of all the snake of your lust, Else this snake of yours will become a dragon; But every one regards his own snake as an ant, Go inquire of your true state from a man of heart."

"An ant who saw a pen writing on paper Delivered himself to another ant in this way: ‘That pen is making very wonderful figures Like hyacinths and lillies and roses,’ The other said ‘The finger is the real worker, The pen is only the instrument of its working;’ A third ant said, ‘No! the action proceeds from the arm, The weak finger writes with the arm’s might;’ So it went on upwards, till at last A prince of the ants who had some wit Said, ‘Ye regard only the outward form of this marvel, It is only from reason and mind that these figures proceed."

"The lover shineth among his fellows as in heaven The brilliant moon among the host of stars."

"Has not the copper of your existence been changed, like Moses, to gold by his alchemy? What matter though you have no gold in a sack, like Qarun? Within you is an Egypt, and you are its garden of sugar-canes; What matter though you have no supply of sugar from without?"

"Every night spirits are released from this cage (the body) And set free, neither lording it nor lorded over, At night prisoners are unaware of their prison, At night kings are unaware of their majesty, Then there is no thought or care for loss or gain, No regard to such an one or such an one, The state of the ‘knower’ is such as this even when awake God says ‘Thou would’st deem him awake though asleep,’ Sleeping to the affairs of the world day and night Like a pen in the directing hand of the writer."

"The sect of lovers is distinct from all others, Lovers have a religion and a faith of their own."

"Then love the saints; their love plant deeply in thy heart, The pure of mind alone deserve a pure love’s part, Court not despair; hope ever springs in human breast, Seek not the dark; the sun of light shines full confest."

"The billow of largesse hath appeared, the thunder of the sea hath arrived, The morn of blessedness hath dawned. Morn? No, ’tis the light of God."

"Those drunk with God though they be thousands, yet are one, Those drunk with lust, though it be a single one, he is a double."

"If death be a human being say to him ‘Draw near That I may closely fold him in a fond embrace, From him I extort by force eternal life, Whilst he but snatches from me the dervish’s party-coloured dress.’"

"Death of the body is a benefaction to the spiritual, What damage has pure gold to dread from the shears."

"Thou and I individuals no more shall be mingled in ecstasy, Joyful and secure from foolish babble, thou and I. All the bright plumed birds of heaven will devour their hearts with envy In the place where we shall laugh in such a fashion thou and I."

"I am ever in concord with this father of ours, And earth ever appears to me as a Paradise; Each moment a fresh form, a new beauty, So that weariness vanishes at these ever-fresh sights; I see the world filled with blessings, Fresh waters ever welling up from new fountains."

"Repentance lights on him who tests one tested already."

"I’ll be the very slave of him who at each stage Will not suppose the goal ’tis of his pilgrimage; Before the traveller reach the home he bears in mind How many stages are there must be left behind!"

"I am thy lute, on every vein (chord) of mine Thou strikest the quill, and I vibrate."

"I extracted the marrow of the Koran, and threw the bone to the dogs."