[99] Abraham refused to worship the sun, moon, and stars, saying, “I love not them that set” (Koran, ch. 6, v. 76). [100] See note 81 on l. 1040. [101] In the _Masnaví_ Love is called “the physician of our pride and self-conceit, our Plato and our Galen.” [102] The famous idol of Somnath was destroyed by Sultan Mahmúd of Ghazna. [103] The pilgrims are forbidden to kill game. [104] See note 90 on l. 1258. XVII _Time is a sword._ Green be the pure grave of Sháfi`í,[105] Whose vine hath cheered a whole world! His thought plucked a star from heaven: He named Time “a cutting sword.” How shall I say what is the secret of this sword? 1535 All its brilliance is derived from Life. Its owner is exalted above hope and fear, His hand is whiter than the hand of Moses. At one stroke thereof water gushes from the rock And the sea becomes land from dearth of moisture. 1540 Moses held this sword in his hand, Therefore he wrought more than man may contrive. He clove the Red Sea asunder And made its waters like dry earth. The arm of Ali, the conqueror of Khaibar, 1545 Drew its strength from this same sword. The revolution of the sky is visible, The change of day and night is perceived. Look, O thou enthralled by Yesterday and To-morrow, Behold another world in thine own heart! 1550 Thou hast sown the seed of darkness in thy clay, Thou hast imagined Time as a line: Thy thought measures length of Time With the measure of night and day. Thou mak’st this line a girdle on thine infidel waist; 1555 Thou art an advertiser of falsehood, like idols. Thou wert the Elixir, and thou hast become a peck of dust; Thou wert born the conscience of Truth, and thou hast become a lie! Art thou a Moslem? Then cast off this girdle! Be a candle to the feast of the religion of the free! 1560 Knowing not the origin of Time, Thou art ignorant of everlasting Life. How long wilt thou be a thrall of night and day? Learn the mystery of Time from the words “I have a time with God.”[106] Phenomena arise from the march of Time, 1565 Life is a part of the contents of Time’s consciousness. The cause of Time is not the revolution of the sun: Time is everlasting, but the sun does not last for ever. Time is joy and sorrow, festival and fast; Time is the secret of moonlight and sunlight. 1570 Thou hast extended Time, like Space, And distinguished Yesterday from To-morrow. Thou hast fled, like a scent, from thine own garden; Thou hast made thy prison with thine own hand. Our Time, which has neither beginning nor end, 1575 Blossoms from the flower-bed of our mind. To know its root quickens the living with new life: Its being is more splendid than the dawn. Life is of Time, and Time is of Life: