Shah Abdul Latif (1689 – 1752 CE) was a highly respected Sufi poet who lived in Sindh, in present day Pakistan. These verses are taken from his revered classic, the ‘Risalo.’ In the first verse below, the ‘lesson of the beginning’ refers to the primal covenant with Allah on the first day of Creation: Allah spoke to the assembled souls of humanity, saying ‘Am I not your Lord?” and the souls replied, ‘We affirm that You are!’ The ‘letter Alif’ is the first letter of the alphabet, a straight line from which all can be derived.

When I studied the lesson of the beginning for myself, I discovered my own abode, the place where the souls are daily engaged in gnosis. The page was turned, and the breach in my union with the divine was healed.

The learned keep reading but do not suffer in their hearts. The faster they turn the pages, the higher their sins mount up.

Read the letter alif, forget all the other pages. Light up your inner self; how many pages will you read?

As you turn pages, the more sins you see. What use is talking about him if the beloved is not present?

Translation Christopher Shackle