Consuming fire for thee, O Lord! Is a gift I will not barter; I will not change my vassal’s rank with that of a master of men.

Neither this world nor the next is fit for the freedom-loving; they are forced to die in this, and forced to live in the other.

Thy tantalizing reticence inflames my passion more; concealment is an elixir for those who are lost in love.

The austere eagle lives in peace on hills and in wildernesses: It never doth demean its pride by building an abode for itself.

Who taught to young Isma’il (A.S.) the ways of filial obedience? Was it the blessing of a glance, or the miracle of tutelage?

My grave is like a shrine for men of thought and courage, for I have revealed truths sublime to mere specks of dust.

The beauty of meaning need riot be adorned by my craft, for nature does herself incarnadine the rose.