Distance from You is death and nearness to You is life; were You absent for a breath we would die.

Far from you we die and in nearness to You we live, and if good tidings of reunion reach us from You we revive.

We remain alive in remembrance of You when we do not see You, for only remembrance of the Beloved enlivens us.

Abū Madyar, The Qusīda in Nūn