My heart has become capable of every form;

   it is a pasture for gazelles and a cloister for

Christian monks,

And a temple for idols, and the pilgrim's

   Ka'ba, and the tables of the Torah and the

   book of the Qur'an.

I follow the religion of Love, whichever way

   his camels take. My religion and my faith

   is the true religion.

~ Ibn al-Arabi

Everyone, drunk or sober

seeks the Beloved

And every place, mosque or church

is the House of Love

~ Hafez

 

 

and no more:

One is the passing out of selfhood,

And one towards mystical Union with the Friend

~ Shabistari

 

 

The difference among men results from

the outward name;

When you reach the inner meaning you

reach peace.

Oh marrow of existence! It is because

of the perspective in question

That there is a difference between a Muslim,

a Zoroastrian and a Jew.

~ Jalal al-Din Rumi

 

I thought that I had arrived at the very

Throne of God and I said to it: "O Throne,

they tell us that God rests upon thee."

"O Bayazid," replied the Throne,

"we are told here that He dwells in a

humble heart."

~ Bayazid al-Bistami

 

From the One Name,

From which it comes forth

and to which it returns,

With praises unending.

~ Shabistari

 

 

Unto Him is the return of all of you;

It is a promise of Allah in truth.

Lo! He produceth creation,

Then He bringeth it back.

~ al-Qur'an X, 4

Deem of small account the lion

who breaks the ranks of the enemy;

The lion is he who breaks himself.

~ Jalal al-Din Rumi

And reading the Qur'an,

The heathen does not become a Muslim.

The man to whom true infidelity is revealed

Becomes disgusted with pretended faith.

~ Shabistari

 

I learned gnosis from a monk called

Father Simeon.

~ Ibrahim bin Adham

Every prophet and every saint hath a way,

but it leads to God;

all the ways are really one.

~ Jalal al-Din Rumi