The Commentary of Al-Qasidah — Page 94
94 The commentary of al-Qa si dah from their minds. They were free souls with plenty of time on their hands and were therefore preoccupied in indulging themselves. In this couplet, beautiful women have been called ghazl a n , because the Arabian people used to compare them to the grace and beauty of the white deer. The poet Akh t al writes about his church in the following couplet: ;G * !. Z " E / d =S a /P4 u& [ If you go in my church someday you will really enjoy it, seeing some young and beautiful deer [meaning women]. ( Mughnil-Lab i b , vol. 1, p. 34, D a ru I h y a ’it-Tur a thil- ‘Arabiyy, 2001 edition) O my beloved prophet, the people of H ij a z who were absorbed in the love of beautiful women fell in love with God because of their association with you. Their thoughts, mental patterns, feelings, actions, their sitting, standing, eating, drinking, their words, their intentions and desires all became subservient to the Will of God. These same people handed themselves over to God as if they had died and attained a new life.