“I am but as the spark that gleams for a moment,
His burning candle consumed me - the moth;
His wine overwhelmed my goblet,
The master of Rum* transmuted my earth to gold
And set my ashes aflame.”
—Iqbal, Asrar i Khudi (transl. by Nicholson)
- Master of Rum = Jalaluddin Rumi (quds sirruhu)
I will try to find and post the original Farsi too…insha Allah!
BTW the WHOLE of the book Asrar i Khudi (Secrets of the Self) can be read in brilliant translation online at http://www.allamaiqbal.com/
Go to Poet-Philosopher section, then Prose Works, then Asrar i Khudi.
It is a masterpiece of not only Iqbal but of world literature.
