Farid al-Din Attar (عطار)

“He who would know the secret of both worlds will find that the secret of them both is Love.”

“I'd rather die deceived by dreams than giveMy heart to home and trade and never live.”

“Who trusts the sea? Lawlessness is her law;You will be drowned if you cannot decideTo turn away from her inconstant tide.She seethes with love herself - that turbulenceOf tumbling waves, that yearning violence,Are for her Lord, and since she cannot rest,What peace could you discover in her breast?She lives for Him - yet you are satisfiedTo her His invitation and to hide.”

“The ocean can be yours; why should you stopBeguiled by dreams of evanescent dew?The secrets of the sun are yours, but youContent yourself with motes trapped in beams.”

“Since love has spoken in your soul, rejectThe Self, that whirlpool where our lives are wrecked;As Jesus rode his donkey, ride on it;Your stubborn Self must bear you and submit - Then burn this Self and purify your soul;Let Jesus' spotless spirit be your goal.”

“...Rise up and playThose liquid notes that steal men's hearts away.”

“We are busy with the luxury of things.Their number and multiple faces bringTo us confusion we call knowledge. Say:God created the world, pinned night to day,Made mountains to weigh it down, seasTo wash its face, living creatures with pleas(The ancestors of prayers) seeking a placeIn this mystery that floats in endless space.God set the earth on the back of a bull,The bull on a fish dancing on a spoolOf silver light so fine it is like air;That in turn rests on nothing thereBut nothing that nothing can share.All things are but masks at God's beck and call,They are symbols that instruct us that God is all.”

“Mystics are not themselves. They do not existin selves. They move as they are moved,talk as words come, see with sightthat enters their eyes. I met a womanonce and asked her where love had led her.Fool, there's no destination to arrive at.Loved one and lover and love are infinite.”

“I have no news of my coming or passing away--the whole thing happened quicker than a breath;ask no questions of the moth.”