Seeker After Truth

Al-Ghazzali died on December 1111, and under his bed a paper was found containing the following stanzas:

Say to my friends, when they look upon me, dead
Weeping for me and mourning me in sorrow
Do not believe that this corpse you see is myself
In the name of God, I tell you, it is not I,
I am a spirit, and this is naught but flesh
It was my abode and my garment for a time.

I am a treasure, by a talisman kept hid,
Fashioned of dust, which served me as a shrine,
I am a pearl, which has left its shell deserted,
I am a bird, and this body was my cage
Whence I have now flown forth
and it is left as a
token

Praise to God, who hath now set me free
And prepared for me my place in the highest of the heaven,
Until today I was dead, though alive in your midst.
Now I live in truth, with the grave – clothes discarded.

Let my house fall in ruins, lay my cage in the ground,
Cast away the talisman, it is a token, no more
Lay aside my cloak, it was but my outer garment.
Place them all in the grave, let them be forgotten,
I have passed on my way and you are left behind
Your place of abode was no dwelling place for me.

Think not that death is death, nay, it is life,
A life that surpasses all we could dream of here,
While in this world, here we are granted sleep,
Death is but sleep, sleep that shall be prolonged
Be not frightened when death draweth night,
It is but the departure back to
our blessed home

Think of the mercy and love of your Lord,
Give thanks for His Grace and come without fear.

What I am now, even so shall you be
For I know that you are even as I am

The souls of all men come forth from God
The bodies of all are compounded alike
Good and evil, alike it was ours

I give you now a message of good cheer
May God’s peace and joy for evermore be yours.

~ Al Ghazali ~