In his first book on Sufism, written many years ago, Martin Lings wrote, with reference to the Quranic descriptions of the celestial Gardens: ‘To speak of the Gardens and Fountains of Paradise, as also of its Rivers, Fruits and Consorts, is to speak the Truth, whereas to speak of such blessings in this world is only a manner of speaking, for the Realities are in Heaven and what we see here-below are only the remote shadows of Reality.’ He adds: ‘The shadow returns to the Substance and, for those with eyes to see, the best things of this world—and that is the criterion of their excellence—are already as it were winged for return to their celestial Source. It is the function of art, in portraying earthly objects, to portray mysteriously at the same time something of their “wings”.’ We take this as the author’s avowal of an intention which lies behind his poems, three of which are published here for the first time. 

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"The secret of great literature is excellence in form and content. When we read great works, we feel humbled and enhanced at the same time. All great and imaginative literature is poetry in essence but metered language has a special power over our souls as thousands of years of verse in countless tongues prove. In his Collected Poems, Martin Lings humbles us with his form but more importantly he enhances us with his content. His poems are not for the dilettante but demand careful reading and rereading before they begin to reveal something of their majesty and power. As far as I can tell, "The Meeting Place" is as good as poetry gets. Stunning is the only word for it. That it is not anthologized in books of modern poetry is a crime against the craft and an affront to the poet.

Since discovering it, I have read it on many occasions alone and to friends in my home and over the phone always with the same result, profound silence. Perhaps the reason it is not found in any anthologies is that only a Donne or Milton could produce such a piece in English and no one would believe a man born in the twentieth century could have written it. Lesser poems would pale at its side and it would embarrass what passes for poetry these days. But what about "The Muse" and "The Stars" and "Requiem"; they are all worth our time. Martin Lings has indeed made "for men some deep enduring utterance."

-Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

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