The Lover and the Beloved
I am nearer to you than yourself to yourself. R ÛMÎ
A caliph had a cousin whom he loved dearly. One day they were both sitting beside a well. The caliph’s ring fell into the well. The girl took her own off and threw it into the well. The caliph asked the girl, “Why did you do a thing like that?” The girl replied, “I have known parting. Since a state of union and intimacy exists between us, I didn’t want your ring to know the anxieties of separation. I gave my ring to be its companion.” A BÛ SA ‘ ÎD
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IBN
ABÎ - L -K HAYR