When the Sun of Your Face Appeared

When the sun of your face rose into view, the atoms of both worlds became visible. When the sunlight of your face cast its shadow, from that shadow all things came into being. Every atom, from the sunlight of your face, took on the nature of the sun and shone clear. The atom exists because of the sun, and the sun reveals itself through the atom. The sea of being began to surge, and flung a single wave toward the open plain. That wave sank down and rose again, wearing a lovely garment and enchanting form. The violets of meaning sprang up, like the graceful, elegant script of a beautiful hand. The poppies of truth burst into bloom, and a thousand tall cypresses stood revealed. All of this was nothing but that wave itself, and what was the wave but the sea itself? Every part is identical to the whole, so the whole, from end to end, is its parts. And what are the parts but manifestations of the whole, what are the things but shadows of the divine names? And what are the names but the sun's appearing, and the sun is the beauty of the exalted Essence. And what is the plain but the ground of possibility, which is the very book of God Most High? Maghrebi, let this discourse rest; do not lay bare the secret of the two worlds.