The Place of Refuge

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Arabi (q.s.) wrote, in his Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, a masterpiece of Arabic poetry translated in many languages, the following poem to the Ka’bah.  This is taken from the Futuhat al-Makiyyah as well. 

“In the place of refuge my heart sought refuge, shot with enmity’s arrows.

O Mercy of Allah for His slaves, Allah Placed His Trust in you among all inanimate forms.

O House of my Lord, O light of my heart, O coolness of my eyes, O my heart within,

O true secret of the heart of existence, my sacred trust, my purest love!

O direction from which I turn from every quarter and valley,

From subsistence in the Real, then from the height, from self-extinction, then from the depths!

O Ka’bah of Allah, O my life, O path of good fortune, O my guidance,

In you has Allah Placed every safety from the fear of disaster upon the Return.

In you does the noble Station flourish, in you are found the fortunes of Allah’s slaves.

In you is the Right Hand that my sin has draped in the robe of blackness.

Multazam is in you - he who clings to love for it, will be saved on the Day of Mutual Cries.

Souls passed away longing for Her, in the pain of longing and distant separation.

In sorrow at their news, she has put on the garment of mourning.

Allah Sheds His Light on her court, and something of His Light appears in the heart.

None sees it but the sorrowful, whose eyes are dark from lack of sleep.

He circumambulates seven times after seven, from the beginning of night until the call to prayer.

Hostage to endless sadness, he is never seen but bound to effort.

I heard him call upon Allah and say, beside the Black Stone, ‘O my heart!

Our night has quickly passed, but the goal of my love has not passed!’”