Umar Ibn al-Farid: from the Poem of the Sufi Way

Whispering, then listening close      from the vision of one           casting away his all, instantly,                out of an omnipotent hand. Thus I read the knowledge of the scholars      in a single word,           and I reveal all the worlds to me                with a simple glance. I hear the many voices      of those who pray in every tongue           in a space of time                shorter than a flash. And I bring before me      what before had been           too far away to bear,                in a blink of my eye. I inhale the bouquet of gardens      and the sweet scents clinging to the skirts           of the four winds,                in a simple breath. I survey the far horizons round me      in a momentary thought,           and cross the seven heavens                with a single step.