Circle the Kaaba of the heart
if you possess a heart.
The heart is the true Kaaba,
the other is just a stone.
God enjoined the ritual
of circling the formal Kaaba
as a way for you to find a heart.
But if your feet walk
around the Kaaba a thousand times,
and yet you injure a heart,
do you expect to be accepted?
Give everything away, but gain a heart,
and its light will stay with you
even as far as the dark night of the grave.
Bring a thousand bags of gold coins to God,
and He will only tell you:
“Bring the heart if you come to Us.
“As silver and gold have no value Here,
it is the heart that We demand, if you desire Me.”
In the realms of the Throne, the Tablet, and the
Pen, that which seems worthless, the heart in ruins,
is the most precious thing.
Don’t debase it—even though distressed,
the heart is most precious in distress.
The ruined heart attracts God’s attention.
How happy is the soul that practices caring for it.
Comforting the wretched heart
in its time of need and pain
is more valuable to the Creator
than performing the outer pilgrimage.
The ruined hearts are God’s stores of treasure;
great treasures are buried in these ruins.
Tie the belt of service
and become a servant of hearts,
and the way to the Mystery may open up within you.
If you yearn for holy felicity,
shed your arrogance
and become a seeker of hearts.
When the goodwill of hearts is with you,
fountains of wisdom will begin to flow
from within your own being.
The water of life will cascade
from your speech like a river;
your Christlike breath
will become a remedy for disease.
For a single Heart all the worlds came into being;
listen to the lips that recite
the subtle point of Except for thee
I would not have created the worlds.
How else would the universe exist!
This universe of rust and dirt, of planets and stars.
Silence! A description of the heart
is impossible with words,
even if every cell of your body had a tongue.
