Monday, January 3, 2011

Just Listen


Quiet!...   Damn, now I’ve lost it.
You have to listen close to hear the whisper of the Beloved.
Can you hear it? No? Have you tried?

To hear this Voice, you do not have to go to any special schools.
No degrees or diplomas will help you here.
If anyone tells you he is an expert, take my advice and run away.

Who knows what voice such a person is listening to,
and whether or not it is from Allah?
Only you can discern that, and you must be silent to do it.

So leave the schools behind you
and tell the teachers to stop their jabbering.
Tell the experts to find other fools
   from whom they can swindle their bread.

Enter the cave of your heart and sit in silence
until the Beloved approaches you from behind
wraps His arms around you,
   and pulls you in to lay against His breast.

Then listen, and listen well.
Remember the words He speaks in those intimate moments
and share them with the world when you have gone out again.

Does it seem strange to share such whispered intimacies with strangers?
Is there anything about Allah that is not strange?
Is there anything about this dance of the soul that does not confound you?

Najat is no expert in anything. Just ask my wife if you don’t believe me.
She will tell you. She is not shy.
Najat has just practiced the art of sinking back into the Divine embrace
   and listening.

Don’t try to make sense of it.
You can’t. Just do it.
You can.

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