Mansur Al-Hallaj - Oh Thou, Wholeness of My Wholeness…

A leaf from an illustrated manuscript on poetry, Kashmir, 19th century. 

The scene depicts the burning and crucification of Mansur al-Hallaj.

   Lo and behold, here I am, here I am, oh my secret, oh my confidence!

    Lo and behold, here I am, here I am, oh Thou my aspiration, oh Thou my consequence!

    I call upon Thee… No, Thou art the one who calls me towards Thee!

    How could I have talked to Thee, if Thou would not have talked to me?

    Oh Thou, essence of the essence of my existence, oh Thou, end result of my design,

    Thou who makest me talk, oh Thou, my enunciations, Thou my blinks!

    Oh Thou, wholeness of my wholeness, oh my ear, oh my sight!

    Oh my totality, my constitution, and my parts!

    Oh Thou, wholeness of my wholeness, wholeness of everything, equivocal enigma,

    I darken the wholeness of thy wholeness when wanting to express thy being!

    Oh Thou, from whom my spirit was suspended before now when dying of ecstasy,

    Ah… thy pledge continues being my misfortune!...

    Oh supreme objective that I request and wait, oh my guest,

    Oh nourishment of my Spirit! Oh my life in this world and in the other!

    Let my heart be thy ransom! Oh my ear, oh my sight!

    Why so much delay in my seclusion, so distant?

    Ah, albeit, thy presence, before my eyes, is hidden within the invisible,

    My heart by now contemplates Thee, from my remoteness, yes, from my exile!