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The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys
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Pages 29-31
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The Valley of Contentment
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1 |
In this Valley he feeleth the winds of divine
contentment blowing from the plane of the
spirit. He burneth away the veils of want, and
with inward and outward eye, perceiveth within
and without all things the day of: "God will
compensate each one out of His abundance."
[1]
From sorrow he turneth to bliss, from anguish
to joy. His grief and mourning yield to delight
and rapture.
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2 |
Although to outward view, the wayfarers in
this Valley may dwell upon the dust, yet inwardly
they are throned in the heights of mystic
meaning; they eat of the endless bounties of
inner significances, and drink of the delicate
wines of the spirit.
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3 |
The tongue faileth in describing these three
Valleys, and speech falleth short. The pen
steppeth not into this region, the ink leaveth
only a blot. In these planes, the nightingale of
the heart hath other songs and secrets, which
make the heart to stir and the soul to clamor,
but this mystery of inner meaning may be
whispered only from heart to heart, confided
only from breast to breast.
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4 |
Only heart to heart can speak the bliss of
mystic knowers;
No messenger can tell it and no missive bear
it.
[2]
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5 |
I am silent from weakness on many a matter,
For my words could not reckon them and my
speech would fall short.
[3]
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6 |
O friend, till thou enter the garden of such
mysteries, thou shalt never set lip to the undying
wine of this Valley. And shouldst thou
taste of it, thou wilt shield thine eyes from all
things else, and drink of the wine of contentment;
and thou wilt loose thyself from all
things else, and bind thyself to Him, and throw
thy life down in His path, and cast thy soul
away. However, there is no other in this region
that thou need forget: "There was God and
there was naught beside Him."
[4]
For on this
plane the traveler witnesseth the beauty of the
Friend in everything. Even in fire, he seeth the
face of the Beloved. He beholdeth in illusion the
secret of reality, and readeth from the attributes
the riddle of the Essence. For he hath
burnt away the veils with his sighing, and unwrapped
the shroudings with a single glance;
with piercing sight he gazeth on the new creation;
with lucid heart he graspeth subtle verities.
This is sufficiently attested by: "And we
have made thy sight sharp in this day."
[5]
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7 |
After journeying through the planes of pure
contentment, the traveler cometh to
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Notes
1. [Qur'án 4:129]
2. []
3. [Arabian poem.]
4. []
5. [From Qur'án 50:21]
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