If I Adore You

If I Adore You
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.

-Rabia al Basri
From: Doorkeeper of the heart: versions of Rabia
[translated by Charles Upton]

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