Interpretations of Desire by Keith Hill

Interpretations of Desire by Keith Hill

In 1201, Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi arrived in Mecca. Among the many people who impressed him one drew his attention above all others: Niz m, the daughter of a prominent religious teacher. As Beatrice did for Dante, Niz m soon inspired a sequence of love poems that are Ibn 'Arabi's poetic masterpiece, Tarjum n al-Asw q (The Interpreter of Desire).

Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi was known as Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Shaykh), a title given him due to his profound knowledge as a mystic, theologian, philosopher and legalist. Scholars are devoting much labour to translating and interpreting Ibn 'Arabi's voluminous prose writings, but his poetry remains little known by Western readers compared with that of his fellow Sufis, Rumi, Attar and Hafiz.

This collection reveals that with his intense feeling, vivid imagery, and the playful way he reworked the conventions of Bedouin desert poetry, Ibn 'Arabi wrote poems that deserve to be placed alongside the best of his illustrious Sufi compatriots. Keith Hill's engaging new English language versions will be welcomed not just by those attracted to Sufi literature, but by all who enjoy enchanting love poetry.

THE LOVER'S LAMENT

I wish I knew if they knew

whose heart they had captured.

I wish my heart could know

what mountain pass they travelled.

Is it through living or dying

that they have endured?

Perplexed, lovers lose the path;

lost in love, they die enraptured.

A LOVER'S PLEA

When they departed, my patience

and endurance departed,

yet that absent traveller still

lives inside my churning chest.

I asked my guides where riders

at noon make their rest.

They answered: Where desire

and absence spread their scent.

So I begged the East Wind:

Go and search through the estates,

find where in the groves they shelter,

shaded beneath their tents.

There give them greeting

from one whose life is one long lament

due to the age that, from his heart

companions, he has been absent.

Hill, Keith: - KEITH HILL is a New Zealand writer whose work explores the intersection of mysticism, history, science, religion and psychology. His books include The God Revolution, Striving To Be Human and Practical Spirituality, each of which won the Ashton Wylie Award, New Zealand's premiere prize for spiritual writing. Since 2008 Keith has been working with fellow channeller Peter Calvert to present a range of teachings and practices designed for today's spiritual seekers, which originate from spiritual identities who were themselves previously human, and now exist at a non-embodied level.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780995120426
ISBN 10	0995120420
Title	Interpretations of Desire
Author	Keith Hill
Series	Classics Of World Mysticism
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Attar Books
Year published	2020-02-01
Number of pages	158
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.