“عشق” in the Masnavi

Her suffering was not caused by yellow or black bile; for the smell and nature of any firewood become evident from its smoke.

From her sore grief, he perceived that her sorrow lay in the heart; her body was well, but she was captive to a matter of the heart.

Being in love is evident from the lamentation of the heart; there is no illness like the illness of the heart.

The lover's ailment stands apart from all other ailments; love is the astrolabe by which the secrets of God are known.

Whether love be of this worldly side or from that heavenly side, in the end it leads us to that ultimate Destination.

Whatever explanation and exposition I say regarding Love, when I come upon Love itself, I am ashamed of all that I have said.

Although the commentary of the tongue makes things clear, tongueless love is far clearer.

While the pen was making haste in writing, as soon as it came upon Love, it split upon itself out of helplessness and shame.

Reason, in trying to explain love, sank like a donkey stuck in mud; in the end, it was love itself that told the story of love and loverhood.

The sun itself is proof of the existence of the sun; if proof is what you seek, do not turn your face away from it.

If the shadow gives but a slight sign of Him, the Sun bestows life-giving light at every moment.

The shadow brings sleep upon you like a bedtime tale, but when the Sun rises, the moon splits apart.

For love of the dead is not enduring, for the dead never return to us.

But love for the living, in both soul and sight, grows fresher with every passing moment than a newly blossoming bud.

Choose the love of that Living One who ever endures, who is the cupbearer of a wine that renews and enlivens the soul.

Choose the love of Him through whose love all the prophets attained power, glory, and noble status.