An Arab creation legend

In his book El Libro del Fantasma, Alejandro Dolina associates the story of sand to one of the creation legends of the Arab people.
He writes that, as soon as they had finished building the world, one of the angels pointed out to the Almighty that they had forgotten to put sand on Earth; a serious mistake, considering that humans would be forever deprived of walking alongside the seas, massaging their tired feet and enjoying the feel of the ground.
Apart from that, the river beds would always be jagged and rocky, and architects could not use this vital material, the footsteps of lovers would be invisible; in order to remedy the situation, God sent the Archangel Gabriel with a great bag, in order to pour sand in all the places necessary.
Gabriel made the beaches, the river beds, and when he returned to heaven carrying what was left over, the Enemy - always alert, always ready to ruin the work of the Almighty - managed to bore a hole in the bag, which split, spilling its entire contents. This happened in the place we now call Arabia, and almost the entire region became a vast desert.
Gabriel was distressed and went to apologize to the Lord, for having allowed the Enemy to come near him unnoticed. And God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to compensate the Arab people for His messenger’s involuntary error.
He made them a sky filled with stars, like no other in the whole world, so that they should always look up.
He created the turban, which - under the desert sun - is worth more than a crown.
He created the tent, allowing people to move from one place to another, and continually be surrounded by new landscapes, and without the annoying obligations of maintaining palaces.
He taught the people to forge the best steel for making swords. He made the camel. He formed the finest race of horses.
And he gave them something even more precious than all the other things together: the word, the true gold of all Arabs. While other peoples shaped metal and stone, the people of Arabia learned to shape the word.
There, the poet became the high priest, the judge, doctor, chief of the Bedouins. His verses are powerful: they can bring joy, sadness, health. They can unfurl acts of revenge and war, unite lovers and reproduce the songs of birds.
Alejandro Dolina concludes:
“The errors of God, like those of great artists, or of true lovers, bring forth so many joyful rewards, that at times it is worth wishing for them.”

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Arab Wisdom (collected by A. Mesquita)

If you cannot be a star in the sky, then be a lamp in your own house
Anonymous
After death, the wise man lives on, although his body is reduced to ashes. But the fool, even in life, is already dead.
Ibn as-Sid
Love is an illness no one seeks to avoid contracting. Those afflicted do not try to cure themselves, and those suffering have no longing for relief.
Ibn Hazmal-Andaluzi
Just as wives are jealous of their husbands’ lovers, many lovers are jealous of the wives.
Proverb of Tunis
If you see two dragons fighting, keep your distance and do not try to pacify them; they may make peace and end up attacking you.
Anonymous

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Jewish Wisdom (collected by A. Niskier)

TEETH: if you cannot bite, then you had better not show your teeth.
LEARNING: I learned a great deal from my master, more from my companions, and more still from my pupils.
EAGLE: an eagle does not hunt flies.
BLESSINGS: blessings are blessings for the one who blesses, and curses are curses for the one cursing.
CONTENTS: do not look at the jar, but at its contents. There are new jars holding delicious old wine, and old jars which do not even contain young wine.
PRAISE: when you live long enough, you are accused of things you never did, and praised for virtues you never had.
GENERATION: blessed be the generation in which the great learns alongside the small.
HONOR: it is not the place which honors the man, but the man which honors the place.
SLANDER: the slanderous tongue kills three people at the same time: he who utters the slander, he who listens, and the person he speaks about.

Rabbi Jacob used to say:
“A single moment of understanding in this world, is worth more than all eternity in the world to come.
“A single moment of inner peace in this world, is worth more than an eternity of peace.
“Why? A simple moment of understanding in this world, brings with it its own eternity. And the peace which we will find in the world to come, is present in a single minute’s peace in this life.”

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“Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication.”