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O ancient temple, there hath risen for you a light that gleams in our hearts. I complain to thee of the deserts which I crossed, where I let my tears flow unchecked, Taking no joy in rest at dawn or dusk, continuing from morn to morn and passing from eve to eve. Truly, the camels, even if they suffer from footsoreness, journey by night and make haste in their journey. These beasts of burden carried us to you with eager desire, though they did not hope to attain thereby. They traversed wildernesses and wellnigh rainless lands, impelled by passion, but they did not therefore complain of fatigue. They did not complain of the anguish of love, and 'tis I who complain of fatigue. Indeed, I have claimed something absurd.
Source Tarjumân al-Ashwâq, Poem 27 · 📖 Read the full passage
✨ To meditate on today
According to Ibn Arabi, who comments on this poem himself, the “ancient temple” is the heart of the one who knows God, where a light rises, and the camels that keep going despite fatigue are our aspirations; the poet smiles at himself, for he complains while love itself does not. Today, when tiredness comes over you, think of what keeps you moving forward and give thanks for that impulse instead of complaining.
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