Al-Hallaj (1)

Translated by Stephen Watts and Marga Burgui-Artajo

Al-Hallaj took me
To the highest hill in Baghdad
And showed me all its
Minarets and temples,
Churches and bells
Then he beckoned me :
‘Look' he said ‘count' -
How many prayers daily rise up
From our breaths, yet no-one
Ever tries to ascend
From His meaning to His vision
So as to warn Him of
The ravages of all the tyrants
The deviations of the jurists
& what the guards have done

Beirut 10th August 1996

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1 - A legendary Sufi master who lived in between 858 - 922 AD. He inspired many subsequent Sufi mystics, including Rumi. He was tortured and publicly executed by the Abbasid rulers for what they deemed "theological error" threatening the security of the state.