Venice masks

Sunday 2 April 2023

To the Caliph Haroun al Rashid - Ibrahim ibn Adham

Religion's gems can ne'er adorn
The flimsy robe by pleasure worn;
Its feeble texture soon would tear,
And give those jewels to the air.

Thrice happy they who seek th' abode
Of peace and pleasure, in their God!
Who spurn the world, its joys despise,
And grasp at bliss beyond the skies.

Ibrahim ibn Adham [Ibrahim Balkhi] (c.718 - 782) Iraq
Translated by Epiphanius Wilson
Source: The Sacred Books and Early Literature  of the East Vol. VI, Chrales F. Horne, ed., Parke, Austin and Lispcomb, 1917

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