Jami, was a 14th century Persian scholar, mystic, and poet who is often regarded as the last great mystical poet of Iran. Here’s a selected passage from his works Yusuf-u-Zulaykhd which illustrate the Sufi’s conception of the Beloved and His significance and relationship to His world of lovers.
Passage
The spirits who explore the depths
Of boundless seas, wherein the heavens swim
Like some small boat, cried with one mighty voice,
“Praise to the Lord of all the universe!”
His beauty everywhere doth show itself,
And through the forms of earthly beauties shines
Obscured as through a veil. . . .
Wherever thou seest a veil,
Beneath that veil He hides. Whatever heart
Doth yield to love, He charms it. In His love
The heart hath life. Longing for Him, the soul
Hath victory.
F. Hadland Davis. The Persian Mystics. John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1912.
