Religions are not the destination;
they are veils of mercy,
paths drawn across the world,
not the Face.
The Qur’an, the Gospel, the Torah,
the Avesta, the manifestos of justice,
letters written in time,
vessels shaped by history,
forms inclining toward meaning.
But if one night
the Beloved were to draw near
and whisper in your ears,
and you—absorbed in your creed,
lost in the beauty of sacred words,
did not recognize the voice,
then the veil has remained a veil,
and the path has not yet arrived.
For what is divine
is not what bears His name,
nor what is crowned holy,
but what awakens hearing
and returns you
to His presence.
Only that which ends in God
has truly begun.
Only that which leads you back
to the Listener of all listeners
has reached Him.
