The Soul
The soul is a vast ocean filled with secrets and wonders, embodying various contradictions such as joy and sorrow simultaneously, fear and courage, and at times, truth and deceit. Understanding the soul can be challenging, yet exploring its depths offers great beauty. Here, we present a collection of profound thoughts about the soul.
Beautiful Expressions About the Soul
- Loneliness is the poverty of the soul, while solitude is its wealth.
- When they speak of the true struggle of the soul, remind them that the most genuine battle lies in keeping the heart pure and suitable for human life amidst all the surprises, setbacks, failures, and defeats.
- The worst form of deception is self-deception.
- Generosity is giving more than one can, while dignity is taking less than one needs.
- Excessive happiness, just like sadness, constricts the soul if not shared with others.
- Loss is the removal of a part of one’s soul.
- A wrongful soul seeks its own benefit at the expense of others.
- Oppose your desires, for they lead the soul toward blameworthy behavior.
- Genuine civilization sprouts only in the field of noble, refined souls and emerges from the very essence of the spirit.
- Misunderstandings are what cause pain to sensitive souls in this world.
- Neither poverty can humiliate strong souls, nor wealth can elevate lowly souls.
Poetic Verses About the Soul
Poem: I Preserved My Soul from Defilement
This poem, “I Preserved My Soul from Defilement,” is authored by the poet Al-Buhturi, whose full name is Al-Walid bin Ubaid bin Yahya Al-Tai. He was born and died in Manbij, located between Aleppo and the Euphrates, and is recognized as one of the greatest poets of the Abbasid era, alongside Al-Mutanabbi and Abu Tammam. His poetry is often referred to as “Golden Chains” due to its exquisite composition and eloquence.
I preserved my soul from anything that could sully it,
And I elevated myself above the base and lowly.
I held firm when the storm threatened me,
Seeking from it to crush me and bring me down.
Gathered were the hardships of life for me,
Which the days presented with scanty measuring.
And far was the distance between indulgence and a drink,
Where the taste is sweet, and the sips are scarce.
It appears that time has turned into a harbinger,
Leading the less worthy towards the most inferior.
And trading in Iraq was but a plan of loss,
After selling the Levant transactions of decline.
Do not assess me ineptly after this calamity,
Should you recognize my affliction and all my troubles.
And you used to know me with grace and candor,
Fond verses filled with daylight and sun’s embrace.
And indeed, I was taken aback by the news of my cousin,
This softness from him, pure and serene.
And whenever I faced rejection, I was surely
In no way less cheerful than before dusk.
My burdensome thoughts directed me towards
The white cities of my familiarity.
I distract myself from misfortunes, and I comfort
My place among the clan of Sasan, a lesson for me.
The recurring events remind me beautifully,
And those events remind and forget me in essence.
They live beneath a lofty vastness,
Where the eyes can find comfort and solace.
Its doors closed upon the mountain of fate,
To the places of secrecy and ambiguity.
The customs were not unlike the ruins of Sa’da
In the emptiness of breezes and rich processes.
Had it not been for my preference for them,
They would not have endured the site of Lament and Abbas.
Time has altered their reign from diligence,
Until they returned with anointed garments of grace.
As if the garment is a reflection of absence,
And degradation, unattainable once lost.
Could you see it, you would know that the nights
Have turned it into a mourning place after the feast.
It tells you about the wonders of the people,
Where their expressions cannot be confused with jumbled words.
And if you see the image of solitude,
You would recognize its distinction between Romans and Persians.
And deaths are just chances, with shades
That parallel life under the boldest countenance.
And the garments shine in visible expressions,
In a silken attire where beauty exhibits itself.
The manly achievements stand between their hands,
In quiet dignity and tranquil sounds.
From one who bends, weighed by the spear,
And a pleasing one who wields a calming shield.
The eyes depict that they are indeed alive,
Between them exists a silent symbolic indication.
My doubts rise amidst them until
My touch seeks to evaluate their essence.
He offered me, yet Abu Al-Ghawth did not grant
Both armies a refreshing sip in hidden embrace.
From a drink that seemed a radiant star,
Illuminating the night, or the sunshine’s glare.
And she appears when delighting the soul,
Releasing joy to the thirsty drinker.
It was poured into the glass from every heart,
She is beloved to every soul, truly.
And you imagined that Khusraw would provide
Relief, while the tides to the magician were blissful.
A dream enveloped by uncertainty in my sight,
Or hope that changes my perception and assumptions.
As if the awe of the stock is a wonder of creation,
The oddities beside a neglectful seat.
It suggests that the gloom would reveal to my sight,
Something enlightening or blinding as night approaches.
Disturbed by the parting from the bonds of close kin,
Elevated or burdened by the contract of separation.
Fortunes have turned under the fading moonlight,
And he is but a star, a cursed misfortune.
Poem: And I Ask Myself
“And I Ask Myself” is a poem by Egyptian poet Abdul Aziz Goweida, born in 1961. He studied at Alexandria University, earning a degree in agriculture. Currently, he serves as a member of the Egyptian Company for Food Industries and has published several poetry collections, including “I Wasted My Life in Departure,” “From the Nile to the Euphrates, O My Heart, Do Not Grieve,” and “You Are Not the Last of the Martyrs, O My Heart.”
And I ask myself:
Why do I love you despite my acknowledgment
That our love is impossible? .. Impossible!
And despite my acknowledgment that you are an illusion
And you are a dawn that quickly fades away?
And despite my acknowledgment that you are a ghost
And that in love, you are merely a figment?
And despite my acknowledgment that you are a dream
I chase after ..
And yet cannot reach it?
And I ask myself why I love you
If you are something unattainable?
Why do I love you in every circumstance?
Why do I love you, rivers of longing,
And oases of love
That have grown in my veins and become shadows?
And I ask myself often. Very often
When I answered,
I found the answer itself was the same question:
Why do I love you?!
Reflections on the Soul
Reflection One:
A soul preoccupied with seeking out the faults of others, collecting and surrounding them with those faults, is a sick soul; fire consumes itself when it lacks something to devour. It is a disservice to oneself to reduce others to limited shortcomings, for the human soul possesses depth, breadth, and diversity, revealing aspects of goodness that, if activated and utilized, would yield immense benefits.
Reflection Two:
The words of Fyodor Dostoevsky resonate: ‘I have a lowly soul and a degraded mind,’ but ask any degraded person, or rather, ask a lowly creature if they prefer dealing with a fellow scoundrel or someone who possesses the nobility of spirit and greatness of heart? Surely, they would respond that they prefer the latter, for virtue will always prevail.
Reflection Three:
When heavy depression overtakes a soul burdened by trials in the dark, memories arise to revive and energize the spirit, much like droplets of dew that grace the flowers in the evening, bringing life back to the despondent leaves that were nearly obliterated by the scorching sun.
Reflection Four:
A constricted existence is not merely a lack of money or limited resources; it is rather a restriction of the soul and spirit, a mental anxiety that leaves one feeling as though they are sleeping on thorns, the same individual who navigates shaky beliefs, chaotic thoughts, an empty spirit, and a dark heart, unaware of a clear purpose or a straight path.
Messages About the Soul
Message One:
When you maintain a clear and serene soul,
Your mind becomes serene,
You discover beautiful visions that transform
Your world into a magical, vibrant realm.
Message Two:
O you who manifest in my secret and cause me to tremble,
Take a look at me, for my soul may be in distress.
Be gentle with my spirit, for it may have withered away.
Message Three:
I might be mistaken,
But I believe it is possible to discern a person’s character from their laughter alone.
If their laughter is appealing,
Then be assured they are kind and generous at heart.
Message Four:
Exercise patience with yourself,
Expand your experiences and skills,
For there is no greater investment than investing in the self.
Message Five:
Nothing is harsher on the soul than feeling belittled,
Meaning to be insignificant to oneself and to others,
To become something trivial,
To shrink until you become nonexistent.