Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within me and I was in the external world and saught you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrent, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.
(St. Augustine, Confessions)
Born in 354, St. Augustine was before Islam and here utters words that speak well to us as Muslims. It is rare that I quote a non-Muslim figure on this blog, but Allah indeed puts beauty on the lips of whomsoever He wills.
Alhamdulillah, an excellent quote from St. Augustine :) It is said that Islam, surrender to God, and the Sufi path have always existed in the hearts of humans, no matter their religion, and this may be one point in favor of that wisdom.
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Subhan Allah, this is moving. Whatever beguiled modernists to abandon this heritage?
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