A wicked man was ill-treating a poor wretch whose hands he had bound. Just as he was about to cut off his head, his wife gave a piece of bread to the patient sufferer. When the wicked man saw that piece of bread in his victim’s hand, he said to him, “Wretch, who gave you this bread?” “Your wife.” On hearing these plain words, the wicked man said, “I may no longer kill you. I could not raise the sabre against a man who has shared my bread. I can refuse nothing to one who has eaten my bread; how much less, then, should I wield the sword to shed his blood?”
O my Creator! since I entered Thy path, I have eaten Thy bread at Thy table. When anyone feeds on another’s bread, he is very grateful for it. Should I not, then, be grateful to Thee, who possessest thousands of oceans of goodness and hast abundantly nourished me with Thy bread?
O my Creator! since I entered Thy path, I have eaten Thy bread at Thy table. When anyone feeds on another’s bread, he is very grateful for it. Should I not, then, be grateful to Thee, who possessest thousands of oceans of goodness and hast abundantly nourished me with Thy bread?
O God of creatures! I am in despair. From the midst of the blood in which I am plunged, I take refuge upon a ship. Take me by the hand, be my refuge. Like the fly, I raise my hands above my head toward Thee. O Thou who forgivest my sins and acceptest my excuses! I have been consumed a hundred times; why wouldst Thou burn me yet again? It is by Thy impulse that my blood boils; permit me to give vent to my ardour. In proportion to the countless sins I have committed through culpable negligence, Thou hast bestowed upon me Thy abundant mercies. O my king! turn Thy gaze upon me, who am poor and destitute. Regard not my past sins, forgive me the sins of ignorance, show mercy, I beseech Thee, to my soul and my afflicted heart. Though my eye weeps not outwardly, inwardly I weep abundantly because of the love I feel for Thee. O my Creator! the good or evil I have done, I have done with my body. Forgive my weaknesses, erase my sins. I am driven by my inclinations and cast by Thyself into uncertainty; thus, the good or evil I do proceeds from Thee. Without Thee I am but a small part of the whole; but I shall become the whole, if Thou deignest to look upon me. Cast a glance, then, toward my blood-stained heart, and deliver me from all this. If Thou callest me for one instant to Thy side, I, wretched one, shall leave none to reach my dust. Who am I, that I should count for anything in Thy sight? It is enough for me to count for nothing there. Could I say that I am like the black spot upon Thy face? No, I am only the black spot upon the earth where the dog of Thy street stands. Thou hast placed a black spot in the midst of my soul. Thou hast marked me with a stain as black as an Abyssinian’s skin; but if I do not become Thy beauty spot, how can I be accepted by Thee? Therefore, to become such, I have turned my heart into a black Abyssinian slave. Do not sell this black spot from the garden of my heart; rather, place me, Thy slave, at Thine ear as an earring. O Thou whose goodness none despair of! I am that black spot become Thy everlasting earring. Be not gracious to him who does not enter willingly into Thy love, for he belongs not to Thee. Ah! grant me a little of Thy love, O Thou who art my refuge! for without Thy love my soul is dying.
Impiety belongs to the infidel, devotion to the believer; but Attar’s heart desires to share a little of Thy love. O Lord! Thou knowest that I invoke Thee and that Thou art present in my nights of mourning. Then my sorrow is changed into exquisite delight, and an enchanting light shines amid my darkness. Grant me recompense for this mourning; help me, for I have no one who can do so. Give me the joy of the light of Islam; annihilate within me my tyrannical lust. I am an atom lost in shadow; I have not the least capital of existence; I come to beg before this majesty comparable to the sun, in the hope of obtaining a little of its radiance. I am like a wandering atom; but, in the well into which I have fallen, I grasp the rope with my hand. I emerge through the opening of this well, and at last take possession of the shining world of existence. As long as my soul has not come upon my lips, I shall preserve my spirit in these sentiments. When my life leaves me, I have none but Thee. At my last breath, be the companion of my soul. How wretched I should be at the moment when I leave the world, if Thou wert not with me! I hope Thou wilt not abandon me. Thou canst, if it be Thy will.