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Jul

23

Thoughts on Orange Blossoms

Filed Under books, islam, lil things, poetry, quotes, small happinesses, spiritual practice

The White Blossoms of the Orange Tree I was looking at the García Lorca poem, “Weathervanes,” again this morning. That word for orange blossoms, azahares, kept sticking in my mind. It was so familiar. I looked the word up in my HarperCollins Spanish-English dictionary, and there it was in singular form: azahar. And then it dawned on me … that word didn’t look Spanish - it looked Arabic!

I googled [azahar arabic] and confirmed that yes, the Arabic word for “white flower” is al zahr, from which the Spanish word came.

I don’t know what happened to my Arabic/English dictionary; all I have in that regard is a concordance of the Qur’an. I had turned first to that. Zahrah was defined as “a flower,” and the word appears only once in the Qur’an.

From the 20th chapter, Ta Ha, verses 130-131:

… be patient with what they say, and sing the praises of your Lord before the rising and setting of the sun, and honor Him in the watches of the night and then at the two ends of day, that you may find spiritual joy. And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendor of the life in this world, through which We test them. But the provision of your Lord is better and more lasting.

And again I find myself here, lying on the floor … three different translations of the Qur’an sprawled out in front of me, the HarperCollins, the concordance, the laptop. As I turn the pages of the concordance, I’m struck with the memories of hearing these words. So many words … words that I loved … that I never hear anymore.

But back to the present - the verses from Ta Ha are a good reminder. In a few days I’ll be at a business conference where the general mood is going to be that of a pep rally. It will be an environment in which seeking the splendor of the life in this world will be a focal point.

Here, belly satisfied, loved ones close by, spending a cloudy summer weekday in the reading room, all I can do is wonder.