When that which must come to pass at last comes to pass,
there will be nought that could give the lie
to its having come to pass, abasing some, exalting others.
Al-Waqi’ah 56:103, tr. Asad
God has made reputation heavy as a thousand pounds of iron.
So many are bound in that unseen chain!
Pride and lack of faith block the doorway of repentance
so that the one in separation can’t even utter a sigh.
God said, “We have put chains around their necks chin high,
and forced them to lift up their heads.”
Those chains aren’t put on us from outside.
Mathnawi I:3240-3242, tr. Helminski