Number 5 - Solitary Verses

Beauty's decree is the delight of lovers, and by the beloved's charm the whole horizon glows. You, most perfect manifestation of the everlasting Face; you, the channel of grace flowing from the Creator. In you the appearances of all things reach their seal; through you the noblest virtues are made complete. Take knowledge from the mouths of true men with your heart, not with a mind chained by reason. Turn toward them with soul and heart; a self full of arrogance will never be received. Whoever seeks union in love without letting his own self perish, that is impossible. If you resemble the beloved you reach union with him; leave your self on the road, step forward, come. We grew weary of descending and moving on, worn out by settling and setting off again. We were shown a cave to rest in, set upon one of the edges of the mountains. We dug a pit and fell into it, the way rain falls truly into the shells that form pearls. The one Essence appeared clothed in particular forms; from it the shapes of all creation came forth. Its appearance reached perfection only in the being that gathers all things together: the human being. You are the origin and what arose from creation; you are the return, the one who goes back to the Merciful. Through you the Truth looks upon all beings; for this reason He named you the human being. You, the seal upon the text of the Quran's wisdom; you, the tablet holding the verses of the chapter of Discernment. Through you the signs of divine oneness shine; through you the tongues speak the words of the Merciful. In the wilderness of love for the beloved, a people cry out, calling with their call: my God, it is You. What is the wilderness, what the people, what the wanderers? The wilderness is they, and they are nothing but Him.