My cup, my poured spirit
and companion are three.
I am Rabi'a the fourth,
Fevered and longing
For the One I belong to
who waits on me.
Round the clock, round the room,
in the cupbearer's hands
Goes the gratifying cup
of grace and jubilee.
If I stare, none see me
except by Him.
If I'm there, none see the Me
as separate from our We.
O small men who rebuke me,
His beauty has swept me!
By God, I block my ears
to your abuse. I can see.
How many a soulburning
night of surfeiting
Fixation made my head
like a fountainhead weep!
The drops won't dry away,
nor my oneness with Him
Abide, nor my eyes
find ease of sleep.
~ Rābiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya aka Rābiʿah al-Baṣrī
Lover Of Lovers : Translated By A.Z.Foreman
Rabia was a sufi in a different league. She had the courage to go beyond what is otherwise 'unacceptable'. In her copy of 'Koran' she edited the words 'fight the devil' wherever they appeared. She saw HIM in everything and everybeing, so there was no 'other'. 'Devil' for her had no existence at all. Personalities like Rabia are the ones through which Allah gives His glimpses to ordinary mortals, only if we are intelligent enough to catch them.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful video accompanying nice music. Good post. Thanks.