| The lover is jealous of the attentions his rivals bestow on his beloved. When the lover tells the story of love to his companions of love they all begin to weep with him. The lover kisses the ground where the beloved walks. He envies the privilege of the beloved's shoes. The lover spreads his carpet at the gate of the beloved. The eyebrows of the beloved are the Mehrab, the archway in the mosque. The patch on the cheeks of the beloved is the magic spot that reveals to him the secrets of heaven and earth. The dust under the feet of the beloved is to him as the sacred earth of Ka'ba. The face of the beloved is the open Qur'an, and he reads Alif, the first and symbolical letter of Allah's name, in the straight features of the beloved. The lover drinks Kouthar, wine, out of the eyes of the beloved; her overflowing glance intoxicates him. The sound of the beloved's anklets makes him alive. The lover is satisfied to see the beloved even in the dream, if not in the waking state.When the lover speaks of dying the beloved disbelieves him. The lover is so wasted that even Munkir and Nakir, the recording angels cannot trace him in his grave. Fear of the lover's approach makes the beloved gather up the train of her garment and lift it when walking past his grave, lest the lover's hand may reach it.With the deep sigh of the lover heaven and earth shake. His tears in the thought of the fair one turn into flowers as they touch the ground. Pain is his comrade in the heart of night, and death is his companion through the journey of life. He plans and imagines a thousand things to tell to the beloved, of his longing, his pain, praise, and love; but when he sees the beloved he is spellbound, his tongue motionless and his lips sealed, his eyes engaged in the vision of the desired one. |
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