“I left the house of Rasheed Nu’man like a prisoner freed from his prison, leaving behind me jewelry, clothing, servants, and carriages. I came to my beloved’s house, a place empty of ornaments but full of spirit. I know that I have done nothing that was not right and obligatory, for heaven did not will that I should cut off my wings with my own hand and throw myself into the ashes, hiding my head in my arms, pouring out the last of my life with my tears, while saying, ‘This is my lot in life.’ Heaven does not wish me to spend my life crying out in pain in the nights, saying, ‘When will the dawn come?’ Yet when the dawn came, I would say, ‘When will this day end?’ Heaven did not wish man to be unhappy, for it has placed in the depths of his being a longing for happiness—for through man’s happiness God is glorified.

“This is my story, O man. This is my justification before heaven and earth. I repeat it, I sing it out, but men block their ears and do not hear, for they fear revolution in their spirits, they fear that the pillars of their society will be shaken and it will fall upon their heads.

“This is the difficult path that I travel to reach the summit of my happiness. If death should come now and snatch me away, my spirit will stand before the high throne without fear or dread—indeed, with joy and hope. My conscience will be unwrapped before the Most Great Judge and it will be seen to be pure as snow, for I have done nothing that was not willed by a soul that God split off from His own Self. I have followed only the call of the heart and the echo of the angels’ song.

“This is my story, a story that the people of Beirut consider to be a curse in the mouth of life, a disease in the body of society. They will find regret when the days finally awaken the love of love in their dark hearts as the sun brings forth flowers from the midst of the earth, though the earth is filled with the remains of the dead. Then the passerby will stand by my tomb and greet it saying, ‛Here lies Rose al-Hani, who freed her affections from servitude to corrupt human laws to live by the law of a noble love. She turned her face so as not to see her shadow among the skulls and thorns.’ ”