The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, by Ibn al-Arabi, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson, [1911], at sacred-texts.com
XLV
1. The loved ones of my heart—where are they? Say, by God, where are they?
2. As thou sawest their apparition, wilt thou show to me their reality?
3. How long, how long was I seeking them! and how often did I beg to be united with them,
4. Until I had no fear of being parted from them, and yet I feared to be amongst them.
5. Perchance my happy star will hinder their going afar from me,
6. That mine eye may be blest with them, and that I may not ask, 'Where are they?'
COMMENTARY
1. 'The loved ones,' i.e. the sublime spirits.
2. 'Their apparition,' i.e. their manifestation in the world of similitude.
4: 'I feared to be amongst them,' i.e. lest their radiance should consume me.
5. 'My happy star,' i.e. the Divine favour predestined to me.
