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I was, ere a name had been named upon earth,
Ere one trace yet existed of aught that has birth:
When the locks of the Loved One streamed forth for a sign,
And Being was none save the Presence Divine!
Named and name were alike emanations from Me,
Ere aught that was ‘I’ yet existed, or ‘We’;
Ere the veil of the flesh for Messiah was wrought,
To the Godhead I bowed in prostration of thought.

— Rumi Attributed A Dictionary of Oriental Quotations (1911)

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More quotes by Rumi

Come, seek, for search is the foundation of fortune:
Every success depends upon focusing the heart.

The lion who breaks the enemy's ranks is a minor hero compared to the lion who overcomes himself.

The branch might seem like the fruit's origin:
In fact, the branch exists because of the fruit.

If you wish to shine like day, burn up the night of self-existence. Dissolve in the Being who is everything.

God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Rumi (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.