As the believer kisses the floor of the mosque

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by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Ainsi que le croyant le sol de la...

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

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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.

About the headline (FAQ)

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.

Text Authorship:

by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor, no title, appears in En Orient, in 1. Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, in 1. Les amours, in 1. L'Amour de la Femme, no. 25 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Grant Hicks) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-05-03
Line count: 4
Word count: 33

As the believer kisses the floor of the...

Language: English after the French (Français)

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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.

About the headline (FAQ)

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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Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor, no title, appears in En Orient, in 1. Les Quatrains d'Al-Ghazali, in 1. Les amours, in 1. L'Amour de la Femme, no. 25
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2025-05-14
Line count: 4
Word count: 31