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If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,
Lock me out of Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.
From: Doorkeeper of the heart: versions of Rabia / [translated by] Charles Upton. Putney: Threshold Books, c1988
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(Rabia Poems) ( Sufi Poets ) ( Female Poets )