Pictures of Salma as I Knew Her...

When I first knew her she was a fragrant flower, perfuming the air in which she lived, so that one breathed her refreshing scent; and in it the souls straining to know the unknown delighted in the beauty of spirit she poured out upon it.

She was in the prime of youth; the sparkle of her beauty and the charm of her elegance mingled with the radiance of her intelligence, and this wrapped her in a halo of lights.

And I remember how we used to wait for her lessons with eagerness and spent patience, and how we strained our ears to hear what she told us in her sweet, melodious voice.

She was fresh youth itself, with all its enthusiasm, energy, pride, and coquetry. Her enthusiasm was for the renaissance and for reform; her energy was for dispelling the darkness of ignorance from the vision of the growing generation; her pride was a disdain of lowness and a loftiness above submission; and her coquetry was a just esteem of the vast spiritual wealth she possessed.

She was not unaware of the blessings and gifts God had bestowed upon her! And had happiness been measured by gifts, Salma would have lived in splendid robes made of its gilded wings.

But happiness at times turns away from those who possess the rare merits.

I met her after a long absence spent in Palestine. I saw Salma with her beauty withered; but her vitality and the charm of her intelligence were still as I had known them — the days had not been able to touch them at all.

And suddenly the luminous ember went out, though I had known it glittering with light. Salma passed from this life, leaving behind memories beautiful and immortal — and happy is he who can leave behind a beautiful, immortal remembrance!