Saturday, March 29, 2014

Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi: "There Was a Time"



                     There was a time I would reject those
                     who were not of my faith.
                     But now, my heart has grown capable
                     of taking on all forms.
                     It is a pasture for gazelles,
                     An abbey for monks.
                     A table for the Torah,
                     Kaaba for the pilgrim.
                     My religion is love.
                     Whichever the route love’s caravan shall take,
                     That shall be the path of my faith.



"There Was a Time," by Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, from The Interpreter of Longings (Turjumdn al-Ashwdq). Published here as presented at this link. The source might have been an edition edited and translated from the Arabic by R. A. Nicholson. © Dar Sadar, 1348/1929.

Photography credit: "Camel Caravan Crossing Desert Dunes," by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

 

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