Allah. There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
The greed of hunting makes one oblivious to being a prey:
the hunter tries to win hearts,
though he has lost his own.
Don't be inferior to a bird in your seeking:
for even a sparrow sees what is before and behind.*
When the bird approaches the bait,
at that moment it turns its head several times
to the rear and the front,
as if to say,
"Is there a hunter somewhere near?
Should I be careful?
Should I touch this food?"
Mathnawi V: 752-755
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
