Ar-Rafi’ – The Exalter
High above all orders of being is He, in almightiness enthroned.
By His Own will does He bestow inspiration
upon whomever He wills of His servants,
so as to warn all human beings of the coming of the day
when they shall meet Him –
the Day when they shall come forth from death,
with nothing of themselves hidden from God.
Ghafir 40:15-16, tr. Asad
You are a bird of the sea,
even though a chicken has sheltered you beneath her wing.
The desire in your heart is for the sea;
your soul has that nature from your mother.
Leave your land-bound nursemaid and move on.
Come into the sea of reality.
You are a waterfowl: you can live on land and sea.
You are of royal birth, for… We have ennobled the children of Adam:
you walk on both dry land and sea.
Rumi, Mathnawi II:3771-3772, tr. Helminski
