Religious Leaders From Iran

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

"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!'"

"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.’"

"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!"

"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."

"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 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."

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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?"

"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."

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

"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.’"

"‘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 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."

"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 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."

"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."

"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 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.’"

"Cease to behave as wolves and dogs that you may experience the Shepherd’s love."

"As a stone which is changed into a pure ruby Is filled with the bright light of the sun, In that stone its own properties abide not It is filled with the sun’s properties altogether."

"You wish to have both God and the base world together, This is impossible, ridiculous and mad."

"God sent the prophets for this purpose Namely to sever infidelity from faith, Infidel and faithful, Mussalman and Jew, Before the prophets came, seemed all as one."

"All the four elements are seething in this cauldron (the world) None is at rest, neither earth nor fire nor water nor air Now earth takes the form of grass on account of desire Now water becomes air for the sake of this affinity, By way of unity water becomes fire Fire also becomes air in this expanse by reason of love."

"Both sorts of bee (i.e. bee and wasp) draw nourishment from one place but from this comes the sting and from that other the honey. Both sort of deer feed on the same grass and water; by this only dung is produced, by that pure musk. Both reeds (the common reed and the sugar-cane) are fed from one source; this one is hollow, while that one is full of sugar."

"He, the door of whose breast has been opened, sees the sun reflected in every atom."

"Impossibities are possible to Him, The stubbornest is docile when His will curbs whim, The blind from birth, the leper, e’en the dead arise Whole, sound, whene’er the Omnipotent ‘Come forth!’ but cries. His smallest daily toil, a work-like pleasure still, Is to send forth three armies, bound to work His will."

"Every moment the voice of Love is coming from left and right We are bound for heaven; who has a mind to sight-seeing?"

"Every form you see has its archetype in the placeless world, If the form perished, no matter, since its original is everlasting, Every fair shape you have seen, every deep saying you have heard, Be not cast down that it perished, for that is not so."

"Sensual desire is a bridle and men are as camels Do not suppose there is any bridle except that for the senseless camel."

"The noise of clapping of hands is never heard From one of thy hands unaided by the other hand The man athirst cries, ‘Where is delicious water?’ Water too cries ‘Where is the water-drinker?’ This thirst in my soul is the attraction of the water I am the water’s and the water is mine."

"Know you a name without a thing answering to it? Have you ever plucked a rose (Gul) from Gaf and Lam? You name His name; go seek the reality named by it. Look for the moon in heaven, not in the water. If you desire to rise above mere names and letters Make yourself free from self at one stroke."

"Ah! O crow, give up this life and live anew! In view of God’s changes cast away your life! Choose the new, give up the old, For each single present year is better than three past."

"Ah! make not thyself a eunuch, become not a monk, Because chastity is mortgaged to lust. Without lust, denial of lust is impossible, No man can display bravery against the dead."

"His argument is this; he says again and again ‘If there were aught beyond this life, we should see it.’ But if the child sees not the state of reason, Does the man of reason therefore forsake reason? And if the man of reason sees not the state of love Is the blessed moon of love thereby eclipsed?"

"Jesus, thy spirit, is present beside thee, Ask aid of Him for He is a sufficient helper."

"Jesus, son of Mary, went to heaven and his ass remained below, I remain on the earth but my spirit has flown to the sky."

"Love is that flame which, when it is kindled, Devours everything except the Beloved."

"This is Love; to fly heavenward To rend every instant a hundred veils."

"Love of God cuts short reasonings, O beloved, For it is a present refuge from perplexities. Through love bewilderment befalls the power of speech It no longer dares to utter what passes; Therefore it closes lips from saying good or bad So that its treasure may not escape it."

"Love and mistress are both veiled and hidden Impute it not as a fault if I call Him ‘Bride.’ I would have kept silence from fear of my Beloved If He had granted me but a moment’s respite. But He said, ‘Speak on, ’tis no fault, ’Tis naught but the necessary result of the hidden decree ’Tis a fault only to him who only sees faults How can the Pure Hidden Spirit notice faults.’"

"Union exists beyond all thought and speech Between great Allah and the soul of each."