July 15, 2010: Wow

I just had an epiphany. This stanza by Rilke has been a part of my heart for so long; on an inexplicable level, it has resonated with me. Today, as I was reading Hamza Yusuf's blog, I was struck by the hadith below that conjured in my mind a similar profoundly moving image. I wonder if anyone else sees it?


Who has twisted us around like this, so that no matter what we do, we are in the posture of someone going away? Just as, upon the farthest hill, which shows him his whole valley one last time, he turns, stops, lingers--, so we live here, forever taking leave.
-Rainer Maria Rilke-

According to a beautiful hadith, the Prophet, God bless and grant him peace, said that on the Last Day, when the last two souls are brought forth before God, they are both condemned to hell. As the angels escort them to their final fiery abode, one of them wistfully looks back. Thereupon, God commands the angels to bring him back and asks the man why he turned back. The man replies, “I was expecting something else from you.” God responds, commanding the angels, “Take him to My Garden.”

Excerpt from Hamza Yusuf's blog