This world is a bridge, pass over quickly and build no house upon it.
~ Shaykh Isa (Jesus)
[Inscription on a bridge in Lahore dating back to Mogul times]
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"Twenty-one years ago, as a backpacker on my first trip to India, I climbed the great flight of steps leading to the Friday Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri. At the top, over the mosque's great arched gateway, I saw a calligraphic panel in Arabic that read: "Jesus, son of Mary (on whom be peace) said the world is a bridge; pass over it, but build no houses upon it. He who hopes for a day may hope for eternity; but the world endures but an hour. Spend it in prayer, for the rest is unseen." The inscription was totally unfamiliar. It certainly sounded like the sort of thing Jesus might have said, but did he really say the world is like a bridge? And why would a Muslim ruler want to place an apparently Christian quotation over the entrance to the main mosque in his capital city?"
ReplyDeleteWilliam Dalrymple in TimeAsiaThis is such a wonderful quote when read in its entirety.
Regards,
Thanks for that. I had only heard the excerpt I posted from Michael Wood's Story of India series. It struck a chord. Interesting though that Mr Dalrymple seems to be unaware that there are stories of Jesus originating from the Islamic tradition.
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