Jalal and Goethe

In paradise that perceptive German happened upon the Master of the East.

Where is a poet of such stature! Though not a prophet, he is possessed of scripture!

To the one who knew divine secrets he read about the pact of Iblis and the doctor.

Rumi said, ‘You who bring words to life, and hunt angels and God;

Your thought has made its home in the inner recesses of the heart, and created this old world anew.

At one and the same time in the body’s frame, you have seen the tranquility and the restlessness of the soul; you have been a witness to the birth of the pearl in the shell.

Not everyone knows the secret of love; or is fit to reach these portals.

‘He who is blest, and a confidant, knows that cunning comes from Iblis and love from Adam.’