11th-century-persian-poets

"I do repent of wine and talk of wine, Of idols fair with charms like silver fine: A lip-repentance and a lustful heart— O God, forgive this penitence of mine!"

"O happy, happy Wisa, who dost lie At Rāmin's feet, and with bewitched eye Gazest on him, as partridge doomed to die Its gaze upon the hawk doth concentrate! O happy, happy Wisa, who dost hold Clasped in thy hand the jewelled cup of gold, Filled to the brim with nectar rare and old, Which like thy beauty doth intoxicate! O happy Wisa, whose red lips confess With smiles their love, ere Rāmin's lips they press, Whom with desire's fulfilment Heaven doth bless, And Mubad's fruitless passion doth frustrate!"

"Blind conformity had taken the place of spiritual enthusiasm."

"God alone can help a man to do good deeds."

"The people are occupied with following their lusts and have turned their back on the path of spiritualism."

"In our time the science of Sufism is desolate."

"All humans action and inaction is the act and creation of God."

"The spiritual path is hard to travel except for those who were created for the purpose."

"Knowledge is immense and life is short: therefore it is not obligatory to learn all the sciences, such as Astronomy and Medicine, and Arithmetic, etc., but only so much of each as bears upon the religious law: enough astronomy to know the times (of prayer) in the night, enough medicine to abstain from what is injurious, enough arithmetic to understand the division of inheritances and to calculate the duration of the Iddat."

"The ostentatious man purposely acts in such a way as to win popularity, while the Malàmatí purposely acts in such a way that the people reject him. Both have their thoughts fixed on mankind and do not pass beyond that sphere."

"Every good and evil that happens to man is decreed by God."

"Implore God to deliver you from the wickedness of your soul."

"Whosoever refrains his soul from lust, verily Paradise shall be his abode."

"The universe is an abode of Divine mysteries, which are deposited in created things."

"چون تیشه مباش و جمله زی خود متراش چون رنده ز کار خویش بی بهره مباش تعلــیم ز اره گیر در امــر معاش چیزی سوی خود میکش و چیزی می پاش"

"Don't be like axe and don't offend anyone Don't be useless like a plane Just be like a saw in your life Do something for yourself and something for others"

"“As power and the strength of a lion was bestowed upon Ibrahim by the Almighty, he made over to him the well-populated country of Hindustan and gave him 40,000 valiant horsemen to take the country, in which there were more than 1000 rais… Its length extends from Lahore to the Euphrates, and its breadth from Kashmir to the borders of Sistan… The army of the king destroyed at one time a thousand temples of idols, which had each been built for more than a thousand years. How can I describe the victories of the king…”"

"Others are heedless,—do thou be wise, and on this path keep thy tongue silent. The condition laid on such a one is that he should receive all food and drink from the Causer, not from the causes. Go, suffer hardship, if thou wouldst be cherished; and if not, be content with the road to Hell. None ever attained his object without enduring hardship."

"He who knows not his own soul, how shall he know the soul of another? and he who only knows hand and foot, how shall he know the Godhead? The prophets are unequal to understanding this matter; why dost thou foolishly claim to do so? When thou hast brought forward a demonstration of this subject, then thou wilt know the pure essence of the faith; otherwise what have faith and thou in common? thou hadst best be silent, and speak not folly. The learned talk nonsense all; for true religion is not woven about the feet of everyone."

"While mankind remains mere baggage in the world It will be swept along, as in a boat, asleep. What can they see in sleep? What real merit or punishment can there be?"

"There is a Witness in the world, but we are idle; There is a draught left in the cup, but we remain sober. Arise! Let us set to rest, with the water from our faces, The wind blowing from this deceitful heap of earth. Let's sally forth on a raid and let's destroy The marketplace where this black-faced soul thrives!"

"In the gallery of God's Command no statues Of believers or unbelievers can be seen: Deep in the ocean of "Other than God" lives The snake 'No' who devours belief and unbelief."

"Get up and bring fur clothes as Autumn is here A cold wind is blowing from the Khawrazm yonder Look at that vine leaf hanging on the vine bough It looks like the shirt of dyers The farmer is biting his finger with wonder As in the lawn or garden is left no more rose or lavender"

"A scene like Paradise! 'Tis not Farkhar Yet all the splendour of Farkhar is there. Kisses of loyal kings imprint the earth, Faces of fair youths fill with light the air. Then look how gold and silver pleiades Bestud the rolling sky of scimitars, And how, like dagger's peral-encrusted haft, Each baldrick shows its blazonry of stars!"

"A dialogue occurred, I happen to know, Betwixt the white eagle and the crow. Birds we are, said the crow, in the main, Friends we are, and thus we shall remain. Birds we are, agreed the eagle, only in name, Our temperaments, alas, are not the same. My leftovers are a king's feast, Carrion you devour, to say the least. My perch's the king's arm, his palace my bed, You haunt the ruins, mingle with the dead. My color is heavenly, as everyone can tell, Your color inflicts pain, like news from hell. Kings tend to choose me rather than you, Good attracts good, that goes for evil too"

"Before my lay the riches Of lordly Samarkand, I looked o'er grove and garden, O'er vale and meadow-land. But since my purse was empty, My pocket bare as thread, The rug of joy I folded, From the hall of hope I fled. I had heard in every city Famed scholars oft declare, "Eight are the Paradises, And but one Kawthar there." Here bloom a thousand Edens, A thousand Kawthars foam, But ah me! what avail they, Since I go thirsty home? When hand a dirham lacketh Whilst eye sees all its wish, 'Tis like a head dissevered Within a golden dish."

"I am fallen person in a thousand sorrows In each breath my life's looking in end with no sin I am prisoner with no reason fallen in trouble stars have sworn to hurt me the sky has come to fight with me today in pains I'm higher than the yesterday this year my soul's lesser than last year I had many selected friends what has become no one's remain every night the sky's made sad with my painful sadness cryings I fell in jail, why? I don't know I just know: I'm not still nor wicked to much desires I had before oh alas! where is my lost desires"

"گردوں بہ رنج و درد مارا کشتہ بود اگر پیوند و عمر من نہ شدے نظم جان فضائے"

"“The narrative of thy battles eclipses the stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar. Thou didst bring an army in one night from Dhangan to Jalandhar… Thou didst direct but one assault and by that alone brought destruction upon the country. By the morning meal not one soldier, not one Brahman, remained unkilled or uncaptured. Their beads were severed by the carriers of swords. Their houses were levelled with the ground with flaming fire… Thou has secured victory to the country and to religion, for amongst the Hindus this achievement will be remembered till the day of resurrection.”"

"“Thou didst depart with a thousand joyful anticipations on a holy expedition, and didst return having achieved a thousand victories… On this journey the army destroyed a thousand idol-temples and thy elephants trampled over more than a hundred strongholds. Thou didst march thy arm to Ujjain; Malwa trembled and fled from thee… On the way to Kalinjar thy pomp obscured the light of day. The lip of infidelity became dry through fear of thee, the eye of plural-worship became blind…”"

"Twas in Religion that he gloried by whom till the Day of Judgement The Arabs excel the Persians in glory. He who lacks religion is ignoble and mean, Though Feridun be his maternal, and Jamshid his paternal uncle."

"Good deeds stand tall like a green pine, evil deeds bloom like flowers; The pine is not as brilliant as the flowers, it seems. When the frost comes, the pine will still stand tall, While the flowers, withered, can be seen no more"

"To whome the Pine, with longe Experience wise, And ofte had seene suche peacockes loose theire plumes, Thus aunswere made, thow owght'st not to despise, My stocke at all, oh foole, thow much presumes. In coulde and heate, here longe hath bene my happe, Yet am I sounde and full of livelie sappe. But, when the froste and coulde shall thee assaie, Thowghe nowe alofte, thow bragge, and freshlie bloome, Yet, then the roote shall rotte and fade awaie, And shortlie, none shall knowe where was thy roome: Thy fruicte and leaves, that nowe so highe aspire, The passers by shall treade within the mire."

"A gourd wrapped itself round a lofty palm and in a few weeks climbed to its very top. ‘And how old mayest thou be?’ asked the newcomer; ‘About a hundred years,’ was the answer. ‘A hundred years and no taller? Only look, I have grown as tall as you in fewer days than you can count years.’ ‘I know that well,’ replied the palm; 'every summer of my life a gourd has climbed up round me, as proud as thou art, and as short-lived as thou wilt be.’"

"Have you heard? A squash vine grew beneath a towering tree. In only twenty days it grew and spread and put forth fruit. Of the tree it asked: "How old are you? How many years?" Replied the tree: "Two hundred it would be, and surely more." The squash laughed and said: "Look, in twenty days, I've done More than you; tell me, why are you so slow?" The tree responded: "O little Squash, today is not the day of reckoning between the two of us. "Tomorrow, when winds of autumn howl down on you and me, then shall it be known for sure which one of us is the most resilient!""

"Great shame it is to deem of high degree Thyself, or over others rackon thee. Strive to be like the pupil of thine eye— To see all else, but not thyself to see."

"The heart enquired of the soul What is the beginning of this business? What its end, and what its fruit? The soul answered: The beginning of it is the annihilation of self, Its end faithfulness, And its fruit immortality."

"The heart in which love and compassion for all living beings resides, can have no room for seeking after personal pleasures. O friend, take care to do no harm to any living creature; to hurt his creation is to forget the Creator."