Observations placeholder

Ibn El-Arabi - The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson, [1911]

Halt at the abodes and weep over the ruins and ask the decayed habitations a question.
'Where are the loved ones? Where are their camels gone?'
'Behold them traversing the vapour in the desert.
Thou seest them in the mirage like gardens: the vapour makes large in the eyes the figure.'
They went, desiring al-‘Udhayb, that they might drink there a cool life-giving fountain.
I followed, asking the zephyr about them, whether they have pitched tents or have sought the shade of the ḍál tree.
The zephyr said, 'I left their tents at Zarúd, and the camels were complaining of fatigue from their night-journey.
They had let down over the tents coverings to protect their beauty from the heat of noon.
Rise, then, and go towards them, seeking their traces, and drive thy camels speedily in their direction.
And when thou wilt stop at the landmarks of Ḥájir and cross dales and hills there,
Their abodes will be near and their fire will be clearly seen—a fire which has caused the flame of love to blaze.
Make the camels kneel! Let not its lions affright thee, for longing love will present them to thine eyes in the form of cubs.'