[Sunlight] Reading from the page of his heart

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When Adam became the theater of Divine inspiration and love,
his rational soul revealed to him the knowledge of the Names.*
His tongue, reading from the page of his heart,
recited the name of everything that is.
Through his inward vision his tongue divulged the qualities of each;
for each it bestowed an appropriate name.
Nine hundred Noah walked in the straight way,
and everyday he preached a new sermon.
His ruby lip drew its eloquence from the precious jewel
that is within the hearts of prophets:
he had not read Qushayrî's Risâlah or the Qût al-Qulûb of Abû Tâlib.
He had not learned to preach from pouring over commentaries;
no, he learned from the fountain of revelations and the spirit--
from the wine that is so potent that when it is quaffed
the water of speech gushes from the mouth of the dumb,
and the new-born child becomes an eloquent divine
and, like the Messiah, recites words of ripened wisdom.

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Chon shod dam maz'har-e vahy o vedâd
nâteqeh-ye u `allama al-asmâ'* goshâd
Nâm-e har chizi chonânkeh hast ân
az sahifeh-ye del ruy gashtesh zabân
Fâsh mi gofti zabân az ro'yatesh
jomleh-râ khâsiyat o mâhiyatesh
nchonân nâmi keh ashyâ-râ sazad
nah chonânkeh chiz-râ khvânad asad
Nuh nohsad sâl dar râh-e savi
bud har ruzish tazkir-e navi
La`l-e u guyâ ze yâqut al-qolub
nah Risâlah khvândeh nah Qût al-Qulûb
Va`z-râ na-âmukhteh hich az shoruh
balkeh yanbu`-e koshuf o sharh-e ruh
Z-ân mayi k-ân may cho nushideh shavad
âb-e notq az gong jushideh shavad
Tefl-e nawzâdeh shavad habr-e fasih
hekmat-e bâlegh be-khvânad chon Masih

-- Mathnawi VI:2648-2656
Version by Camille and Kabir Helminski
"Rumi: Jewels of Remembrance"
Threshold Books, 1996
Persian transliteration courtesy of Yahyá Monastra

*al-Baqarah, 29

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[Sunlight] Reading from the page of his heart