You have possessed what you desired
and known what you worshipped.
Layla is not, nor is Lubna,
anything other than what you have known.
If you have insight in loving Him,
you witness Him from yourself, you yourself.
The lover has loved no other
than himself: all is you, you yourself.
How wondrous the Qur’an is in relating the Names to states! “He is the All-Forgiving, the Loving, Possessor of the Throne, the Glorious, Doer of whatever He wills” [al-Buruj 85:14–16]. He is the lover, and He does whatever He wills: He is therefore the beloved, for the beloved does whatever he wills with his beloved. The lover hears and obeys, prepared for whatever his beloved wills to do with him, because he is the loving lover: steadfast in love’s requirements and conditions. The entity is one, for the Loving here is the Doer of whatever He wills.
Consider how wondrous this divine reminder is! “Say: My Lord, increase me in knowledge” [Ta Ha 20:114]. God speaks the truth, and He guides the way [al-Ahzab 33:4].
“Glory:
Notlar
Translator’s note: The pronoun in “than himself” may instead refer to God: “than Him.” The poem brings the lover, the beloved, and the one addressed into a single field of reference.
