Under Islam's Sky

Translations © by Grant Hicks

Song Cycle by Ernest Moret (1871 - 1949)

View original-language texts alone: Sous le ciel de l'Islam

1a. Prélude
— Tacet —

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1a.
 

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1b. Chant d'Amour 
J'ai fait de mon amour un monde hors du monde,
J’ai fait de mon amour un jardin enchanté,
Où dormira mon cœur en une paix profonde,
Où règnera la lune d’or de ta beauté.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 40.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor] 
La nuit, tu montes dans mon rêve,
Lune adorable qui se lève ;
Si pâle et douce, je te vois ;
Et la paix nocturne est ta voix.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 25.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
1b. 
I have made of my love a world beyond the world,
I have made of my love a garden of enchantment,
Where my heart will sleep in profound peace,
Where the golden moon of your beauty will reign.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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At night, you climb into my dream,
Winsome moon that rises;
So pale and gentle, I see you;
And the peace of the night is your voice.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks

 (The following is a multi-text setting.)

2. Dans la nuit, j'ai versé mon âme 
Je sens dans tout mon être un étrange tourment,
Je sens dans tout mon être une affreuse détresse,
Je souffre d'une soif immense de tendresse,
D'immenses désirs fous en mon cœur trop aimant.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 15.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Laura Stanfield Prichard [Guest Editor] 
La souffrance d’aimer même atroce a des charmes ; 
Les meilleurs des amours, ce sont les plus ardents, 
Ceux qui font mal, ceux qui nous font grincer des dents, 
Ceux qui nous font pleurer les plus âcres des larmes.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 15.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Offre tes seins, ta joue en flamme 
Aux souffles de la nuit d'été : 
Dans la nuit j’ai versé mon âme 
Pour la mêler à ta beauté.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 17.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
2. 
I feel in all my being a strange torment,
I feel in all my being a frightful distress,
I suffer from an overwhelming thirst for tenderness,
From overwhelming mad desires in my too-loving heart.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translations of titles:
"Nuit d'été" = "Summer Night"



Love's suffering, even when agonizing, has its charms;
The best loves are the most passionate, 
Those that cause pain, those that make us gnash our teeth, 
Those that make us cry the bitterest of tears.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Offer your breasts, your burning cheek
To the breezes of the summer night:
Into the night I have poured my soul
To mingle it with your beauty.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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3. Imploration d'amour 
Mes yeux t'ont récité les prières d’amour. 
Ta beauté, paradis d’où pour moi vient le jour, 
Quand sera-t-elle enfin ma sublime demeure ? 
Et, pour être un élu, faudra-t-il que je meure ?

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 17.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Je saigne, transpercé comme d'un fer de lance
Par ton amour qui fait mon mal et ma langueur ; 
Et je ne veux pourtant que, mon front sur ton cœur, 
T'adorer, et souffrir, et pleurer en silence.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 16.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
3. Plea of Love
My eyes have recited prayers of love to you.
When will your beauty, paradise whence for me
Comes the day, be at last my sublime abode?
And, to become one of the elect, must I die?

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translations of titles:
"Imploration d'amour" = "Plea of Love"



I bleed, pierced through, as though by a spearhead,
By your love that causes my pain and my languor;
And yet all I want, with my head on your heart,
Is to worship you, suffer, and silently weep.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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4. Le chant merveilleux de ta beauté 
Ta beauté, quand tu pars, me laisse comme un chant,
Dont la tendre douceur tout entier me pénètre ;
Et mon âme s'emplit de soupirs l'étouffant,
Et ce chant merveilleux fait trembler tout mon être.

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Confirmed with Jean Lahor, Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1896, page 30.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Les lignes de ton corps sont comme une musique,
Tout ton être, tes bras, tes seins délicieux
Créent des rythmes parfaits pour mon âme extatique ;
Et je les goûte avec des larmes dans les yeux.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 26.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
O mon doux jardin parfumé, 
Dont par les soirs mélancoliques 
Je bois l'âme en des fleurs mystiques, 
Les lys blancs de ton corps aimé !

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 28.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
4. 
Your beauty, when you depart, leaves me like a song
Whose tender sweetness penetrates me through;
And my soul is filled with suffocating sighs,
And that wonderful song makes my whole being tremble.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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The lines of your body are like music,
All your being, your arms, your delicious breasts,
Create perfect rhythms for my ecstatic soul;
And I taste them with tears in my eyes.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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O my sweet perfumed garden,
Whose soul on melancholy evenings
I drink in mystic flowers,
The white lilies of your beloved body!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks
5a. Interlude 1
— Tacet —

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5a.
 

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5b. Sur la terrasse, le soir 
La mélodie aimante et calme de la nuit 
S'écoule sur la ville apaisée ; et tout bruit
Auprès de nous s'éteint pour la laisser entendre ; 
-- Et le chant de tes yeux se fait aussi plus tendre.

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Confirmed with Jean Lahor, Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1896, page 12.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Oh ! mon amour, pourquoi, quand nous sommes ensemble,
Délicieusement, ai-je le cœur qui tremble ?...
 ...

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 25.

Note: in Moret's sung text, the lines are followed by "La mélodie aimante et calme de la nuit/ S'écoule sur la ville apaisée." These lines come from the quatrain that begins "La mélodie aimante et calme de la nuit".

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
5b. On the Terrace, in the Evening
The night's calm and loving melody 
Flows over the peaceful town; and all noise
Around us dies away so that it can be heard;
— And the song of your eyes also grows more tender.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translations of titles:
"Sur la terrasse, le soir" = "On the Terrace, in the Evening"



Oh! my love, why, when we are together, 
Delightfully, do I find my heart trembling? 
 ...

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks

 (The following is a multi-text setting.)

6. Près de ton âme 
Près de ton âme tout l'été,
Je me suis nourri de lumière,
J’ai bu, j’ai mangé ta beauté,
J’ai bu ta clarté printanière !

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 42.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor] 
La lune avec son pâle enchantement
Extasiait la terre et charmait toutes choses ;
Les rossignols pleuraient dans le harem des roses,
Et nos cœurs dans la nuit se fondaient en aimant.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 30.

Note for line 1: in Fairchild's setting, in the repetition, "avec son pâle enchantement" is omitted.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
6. 
Near to your heart all Summer,
I fed myself on light,
I drank, I ate your beauty,
I drank your vernal brightness!

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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The moon with its pale enchantment 
Enraptured the world and cast a spell over everything;
The nightingales wept in the harem of the roses,
And our loving hearts intermingled in the night.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks
7. Le nélumbo
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Au bord du lac, j’ai mis mon âme
Dans une fleur de nélumbo ;
Dans ce nid frais comme un tombeau,
De mes désirs j’endors la flamme,
Et le zéphyr berce mon âme,
Comme il berce le nélumbo.

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by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895)
7. The Lotus
Language: English 
On the shore of the lake, I put my soul
Into a lotus flower;
In this nest cool as a tomb
I lull to sleep the flame of my desires,
And the zephyr rocks my soul,
As it rocks the lotus.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-08-26
Line count: 6
Word count: 41

Translation © by Grant Hicks
8. Griserie de Roses
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Porte ma couche dans les roses, 
Dans le rêve emporte mon cœur, 
Puis confondons toutes ces choses,
Que mon rêve, ayant leur odeur,
Prête son aile aux fleurs écloses.

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by Armand Renaud (1836 - 1895)
8. Exaltation of Roses
Language: English 
Carry my bed into the roses,
Into the dream carry off my heart,
Then let us mingle all these things,
So that my dream, bearing their fragrance,
May lend its wing to the blossoming flowers.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-08-26
Line count: 5
Word count: 35

Translation © by Grant Hicks
9a. Interlude 2 "Rêverie nonchalante près d'un jet d'eau, dans le harem"
— Tacet —

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9a.
 

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9b. Sous la lune argentant les palmes 
Ô mon âme, écoute : c'est l'heure
Où la lune à travers les cieux
Soupire un chant délicieux,
Comme un chant de flûte qui pleure.

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Confirmed with Jean Lahor, Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1896, page 6.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor] 
Et dans l'extase des nuits calmes,
Dans leur chaleur et leur langueur,
Sous la lune argentant les palmes,
Un lotus entr'ouvrit son cœur.

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Confirmed with Jean Lahor, Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1896, page 7.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
9b. 
Listen, O my soul: it is the hour
When the moon across the skies
Sighs forth an exquisite song, 
Like the song of a weeping flute.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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And in the ecstasy of the still nights,
In their heat and their languor,
Under the moon that silvers the palm trees,
A lotus half-opens its heart.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks
10. Le paradis noir de tes yeux noirs
 (Sung text)
Language: French (Français) 
Tes yeux s'ouvrent pour moi comme un paradis noir,
Un lointain paradis où mon rêve, le soir, 
Va se perdant parmi des fleurs et des étoiles, 
Mais sans y pénétrer le secret que tu voiles.

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Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.

by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor
10. The Dark Paradise of Your Eyes
Language: English 
Your eyes open up for me like a dark paradise, 
A distant paradise where at night my dream
Loses itself among flowers and stars, 
But without penetrating the secret that you veil.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2026-05-03
Line count: 4
Word count: 32

Translation © by Grant Hicks

 (The following is a multi-text setting.)

11. Aimons-nous et rêvons 
Aimons-nous et rêvons, nous n'aurons pas toujours 
Ce ciel devant nos yeux, doux comme une soierie :
Les morts ne la voient pas, la belle nuit fleurie 
Qui nous caresse et fait plus tendres nos amours.

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Confirmed with Henri Cazalis, Œuvres de Jean Lahor: En Orient,  Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 22.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] 
Mets mon front sur ton sein, mets ta main sur mes yeux :
Ah ! cache-moi la mort, et cache-moi la vie ! 
Rien au monde que toi, rien ne faisant envie 
A mon cœur caressé par ton toucher soyeux.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 22.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] 
Ainsi que le croyant le sol de la mosquée, 
Agenouillé, tremblant, je baise avec transport, 
Temple aussi de ma foi, toute ta chair musquée, 
Perdu dans un amour qui ressemble à la mort.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 23.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Il n'est nulle douceur comme celle d’aimer, 
Ni fièvre dévorante égalant cette fièvre, 
Ni fruit délicieux qui sache alors calmer 
Ma lèvre, en s’y fondant, comme le fait ta lèvre.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor. En Orient, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, page 19.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
11. 
Let us love each other and dream, we will not always have 
This sky before our eyes, as soft as silk:
The dead do not see it, the beautiful blossoming night
That caresses us and makes our love more tender.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Place my brow on your breast, place your hand over my eyes:
Ah ! hide death from me, and hide life from me!
Nothing in the world but you, nothing to tempt
My heart caressed by your silken touch.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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As the believer kisses the floor of the mosque,
Kneeling, trembling, I kiss with rapture
All your musky flesh, temple likewise of my faith,
Lost in a love that resembles death.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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There is no sweetness like that of being in love,
Nor consuming fever to equal that fever,
Nor delicious fruit that then can soothe 
My lips, by melting into them, as your lips do.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks

 (The following is a multi-text setting.)

12. Astres, musiciens célestes 
Astres, musiciens célestes, votre chant,
Fait de vibrations qui semblent du silence,
S'unit à ma pensée, en rêves s'épanchant
Sur ces flots, où la lune émerge et se balance.

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Confirmed with Œuvres de Jean Lahor: En Orient, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1907, Page 34.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor] 
Fraternise, ô mon âme, avec les astres d'or,
Âmes aussi, brûlant par la nuit infinie, 
Brûle comme eux, palpite, aime et souffre, aime encor ; 
Avec l'aube et les soirs sublimes communie.

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Confirmed with Jean Lahor, Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1896, page 12.

Note: This is not a translation. Al-Ghazali left no known poetry; these quatrains were written by Jean Lahor (pseudonym of Henri Cazalis), who imagined himself into Al-Ghazali's life and thought, adopting the quatrain form because it was current in Omar Khayyam's era.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Author(s): Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909)
12. 
Stars, celestial musicians, your song,
Made of vibrations that seem like silence,
Joins with my thoughts, pouring forth in dreams 
On those tides where the moon emerges and floats.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Befriend, O my soul, the golden stars,
Souls themselves that burn in the endless night,
Burn as they do, throb, love and suffer, love once more;
Commune with the dawn and with evenings sublime.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2026 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Translation © by Grant Hicks