Muslims From Iran

"The Prophet said that God has declared, ‘I am not contained in aught above or below, I am not contained in earth or sky or even In highest heaven, know this for a surety, O beloved, Yet am I contained in the believer’s heart, If ye seek Me, search in such hearts.’"

"The Prophet said to Ali ‘O Ali Thou art the Lion of God, a hero most valiant; Yet confide not in thy lion-like valour But seek refuge under the palm-trees of the truth Come under the shadow of the Man of Reason, Thou canst not find it in the road of the traditionists. His shadow on earth is as that of Mount Qaf, His spirit is as a Simurgh soaring on high. Were I to tell his praises till the last day My words would not be too many nor admit of curtailment; That sun is hidden in the form of a man Understand me. Allah knows the truth."

"The khalifa said to Laila ‘Art thou really she For whom Majnun lost his head and went distracted? Thou art not fairer than many other fair ones.’ She replied, ‘Be silent; thou art not Majnun! If thou hadst Majnun’s eyes, The two world’s would be within thy view."

"He said ‘O friends, God has given me inspiration Oftentimes strong counsel is suggested to the weak. The wit taught by God to the bee Is withheld from the lion and the wild ass. It fills its cells with liquid sweets, For God opens the door of this knowledge to it. The skill taught by God to the silkworm Is a learning beyond the reach of the elephant."

"He speaks to the rose’s ear and causes it to bloom, (He speaks to the stone and it becomes a jewel of the mine), He speaks a spell to body and it becomes soul, He speaks to the sun and it becomes a fount of light Again in its ear He whispers a word of power And its face is darkened as by a hundred eclipses."

"He saith ‘These saints are My children Though remote and alone and away from their Lord. For their trial they are orphans and wretched Yet in love I am ever holding communion with them. Thou art backed by all My protection, My children are as it were parts of Me."

"‘Qh heart,’ said I, ‘may it bless thee To have entered the circle of lovers, To look beyond the range of the eye To penetrate the windings of the bosom.’"

"He said ‘Who is at the door?’ Said I ‘Thy humble servant.’ He said ‘What business have you?’ Said I ‘Lord, to greet thee.’ He said ‘How long will you push?’ Said I ‘Till thou call.’ He said ‘How long will you glow?’ Said I ‘Till resurrection.’"

"They say ‘What is love?’ Say ‘renunciation of will’ Whoso has not escaped from will, no will has he."

"O man of double vision, hearken with attention, Seek a cure for your defective sight by listening Many are the holy words that find no entrance Into blind hearts but they enter hearts full of light. But the deceits of Satan enter crooked hearts Even as crooked shoes fit crooked feet."

"You say 'Although the fear of loss is before me, Yet I feel greater fear in remaining idle. I have a better hope through exerting myself My fear is increased by remaining idle.' Why then, O faint-hearted one in the matter of religion, Are you paralysed by the fear of loss? See you not how the traders in this market of ours Make large profits, both apostles and saints?"

"Weep that at length thou may’st be of a smiling countenance, For this lamentation hath great value with God; And the value which sorrow hath there, where else has it such? Happy the eye that thus weeps, Noble the heart that thus burns, In the end all our weeping shall be turned to smiles, The man who considers the end is a blessed servant."

"Why should setting be injurious to the sun and moon? To thee it seems a setting, but ’tis a rising; Tho’ the vault seems a prison, ’tis the release of the soul."

"Human reason is drowned like the high mountains In the flood of illusion and vain imaginations. The very mountains are overwhelmed by this flood, Where is safety to be found save in Noah's ark? By illusions that plunder the road of faith The faithful have been split into seventy-two sects; But the man of conviction escapes illusion, He does not mistake his eye-brow for the new moon."

"The soul of the prophet cares for nought but God, It has nothing to do with approving or disapproving His works."

"Though thy nurse may frighten thee away from water Do thou fear not, but haste on into the ocean; Thou art a duck, and flourishest on land and water, And dost not like a domestic fowl dig up the house."

"If you desire that God may be pleasing to you, Then look at Him with the eyes of those that love Him. Look not at that Beauty with your own eyes, Look at that Object of desire with His votaries’ eyes."

"If there were no bitter things, And no opposition of fair and foul, stone and pearl, And no lust or Satan or concupiscence, And no wounds or war or fraud, Pray, O destroyer of virtue, by what name and title Could the King of kings address his slaves? How could He say ‘O temperate’ or ‘O meek one,’ Or ‘O courageous one’ or ‘O wise one.’"

"If wheat were not valued as sweet and good for food, The cheat who shows wheat and sells barley would make no profit. Say not then that all these creeds are false The false ones ensnare hearts by the scent of truth. Say not that they are all erroneous fancies There is no fancy in the universe without some truth. In the crowd of rag-wearers there is one faqir, Search well and find out that true one."

"In man’s esteem the world is vast without an end With Power Infinite compared, a grain of sand The world’s around the soul a dismal prison den Arise! Escape! Regain the fields at large! Be men!"

"The ice that remains in the shade is frozen It saw not the brilliance of my glowing sun. All ice that has seen the smile of the sun’s face Grows itself again, and says ‘I am the water of life.’"

"The angel grew with knowledge, the beast with ignorance, Man remained in dispute between them. Sometimes knowledge draws him to the seventh heaven, Sometimes ignorance drags him down, so that (he says) 'Come what will!'"

"Thought is an arrow shot by God into the air How can it stay in the air? It returns to God."

"Alas for this life so light, beware of this slumber so heavy, O soul seek the Beloved, O friend seek the Friend O watchman be wakeful; it behoves not a watchman to sleep."

"The philosopher denies the existence of the Devil At the same time he is the Devil’s laughing-stock. If thou hast not seen the Devil, look at thyself, Without demon’s aid how came that blue turban on thy brow."

"Thee to thy goal wit-sharpening will not bring, Only the broken-hearted find the favour of the king."

"O chosen cup-bearer, O apple of mine eyes, the like of thee, Ne’er appeared in Persia, nor in Arabia have I found it; Pour out wine till I become a wanderer from myself, For in self-hood and existence I have felt only fatigue."

"O Thou, Who art exempt from ‘us’ and ‘we’ Who pervadest the spirits of all men and women; When man and woman become one, thou art that one. When their union is dissolved, lo Thou abidest. Thou hast made these ‘us’ and ‘we’ for that purpose To wit, to play chess with them by thyself."

"O Thou, who art my soul’s comfort in the season of sorrow, O Thou, who art my spirit’s treasure in the bitterness of dearth, That which the imagination has not conceived, that which the understanding has not seen, Visiteth my soul from thee; hence in worship I turn towards Thee."

"Lo! a besotted fool like thee to scorn, The votaries of love! God’s wine has drowned Thy wits and bidden thee wrestle with thy Lord, As when a bird his airy flight resumes Exultingly, nor dreads the distant lure, Fate to his bosom speeds the shaft of woe."

"How blessed are the eyes that smart with sorrow’s brine, How blessed is the heart inflamed with love divine! Contrition’s tears are ever hallowed by heaven’s smile, The latter end of all things man should scan awhile."

"Whence did this breath come to thee, O my soul; Whence this throbbing, O my heart? O bird, speak the language of birds I can understand thy hidden meaning. The soul answered ‘I was in the divine factory While the house of water-and-clay was a-baking I was flying away from the material workshop While the workshop was being created When I could resist no more, they dragged me To mould me into shape like a ball.’"

"O indestructible Love! O divine minstrel Thou art both stay and refuge; a name equal to thee I have not found."

"Thou who dost blame injustice in mankind 'Tis but the image of thine own dark mind; In them reflected all thy nature is With all its angles and obliquities; Around thyself thyself the noose hast thrown And dost a self-inflicted wound bemoan; ‘Back to each other we reflections throw’ So spoke the holy Prophet long ago: And he who gazes through a glass that’s dim What wonder if the world look dark to him?"

"Ah! many are the conditions which at first are hard, But are afterwards relieved and lose their harshness Oftentimes hope succeeds to hopelessness Many times does sunlight succeed to darkness."

"O Brother, you are essentially thought, All the rest of you is bone and sinew, If your thoughts are rose-like, you are a rose-garden If they are thorn-like, you are fuel for the furnace."

"O the many pure heads scattered beneath the clay, That thou mayest know the head depends on that other head; That original head hidden, and this derived head manifest, Forasmuch as behind this world lies the infinite universe."

"O lovers, O lovers, it is time to abandon the world, The drum of departure reaches my spiritual ear from heaven Behold, the driver has risen and made ready the files of camels And begged us to acquit him of blame; why, O travellers are you asleep? These sounds before and behind are the din of departure and of the camel-bells; With each moment a soul and a spirit is setting off into the void."

"Makers of base coin hate the daylight Coins of pure gold love the daylight, Because daylight is the mirror that reflects them So that they see their own perfect beauty. God has named the resurrection ‘that day,’ Day shows off the beauty of red and yellow."

"This world which is only a dream Seems to the sleeper as a thing enduring for ever But when the morn of the last day shall dawn, The sleeper will escape from the cloud of illusion."

"It behoves not, son, to beat a drum under a quilt, Plant like brave men, thy banner in the midst of the desert."

"Yesterday the Master with a lantern was roaming about the city, Crying ‘I am tired of devil and beast, I desire a man.’"

"The spirit ever leads to haunts of holy men, The flesh would cast thee in the pit of sin again. Beware! Feed thou thy soul with love from holy ground; Make haste! seek means of grace from one who grace hath found."

"O heart, why art thou a captive in the earth that is passing away? Fly forth from this enclosure, since thou art a bird of the spiritual world; Thou art a darling bosom-friend, thou art always behind the secret veil; Why dost thou make thy dwelling-place in this perishable abode?"

"Let others grow pale from fear of misfortune, Do thou smile like the rose at loss and gain. For the rose, though its petals be torn asunder Still smiles on, and it is never cast down. It says ‘Why should I fall into grief in disgrace? I gather beauty even from the thorn of disgrace.’ What is Sufism? ’Tis to find joy in the heart Whensoever distress and care assail it."

"One must have king-recognising eyes To recognise the king in each disguise."

"David said ‘O Lord, since Thou hast no need of us, Say then, what wisdom was there in creating the two worlds?’ God said to him ‘O temporal man, I was a hidden treasure; I sought that that treasure of loving kindness and bounty should be revealed.’"

"There is a tradition ‘The heart is like a feather In the desert, which is borne captive by the winds; The wind drives it everywhere at random, Now to right and now to left in opposite directions.’"

"Pass over names and look to qualities So that qualities may lead thee to essence; The differences of sects arise from His names When they pierce to His essence, they find His peace."

"The seed of the spirit sown beneath this water and clay (the body) Becomes not a tree until it reach Thy spring."