Who Forever | Sufi Love Poem

The deceptively simple poem by Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, begins with a mournful nasib ( nostalgic love lyrics ) in pre-Islamic style. The poet gestures towards the atlal (ruins), then points to his tears shed in memory of his beloved and all those associated with the remembered or imagined time of intimacy and belonging. But the firestriker should take it easy, the poet says, for here in the heart is the fire of passion. As a lover, he brings his fire, from which others might borrow. Translation by Michael Sells. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240AD) was a Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher born in Murcia, Spain on the 17th of Ramaḍān. He was one of the great mystics of all time. Through the richness of his personal experience and the constructive power of his intellect, he made a unique contribution to Shi'ite Sufism. Photo by Marcela Laskoski.