Don’t ignore my sorry state

Posted on March 17, 2015 by sulaymanibnqiddees

One of the most popular of Amir Khusrau’s ghazal’s this poem features lines of alternating Persian and Hindavi:

Translation:

Do not ignore my sorry state

She rolls her eyes and makes excuses

For I cannot bear this separation

Why won’t she take me in her arms?

Long like curls are the nights of separation,

short like life are the days of our union;

My dear, how will I get through this dark night

without seeing your face?

Suddenly, using a thousand tricks,

two enchanting eyes robbed me of my peace of mind;

Who cares for me enough to tell my love of my plight?

Trembling and bewildered, like a flickering candle,

I roam about in the fire of love;

Sleepless eyes, restless body,

neither comes she, nor any message.

O Khusrau, for the sake of the day when you meet your beloved

who has ever tricked us

keep your love concealed in your heart,

in the hopes of reaching her home

Transliteration:

Zeehaal-e miskeen makun taghaful,
duraye naina banaye batiyan;
ki taab-e hijran nadaram ay jaan,
na leho kaahe lagaye chhatiyan.Shaban-e hijran daraz chun zulf
wa roz-e waslat cho umr kotah;
Sakhi piya ko jo main na dekhun
to kaise kaatun andheri ratiyan.Yakayak az dil do chashm-e jadoo
basad farebam baburd taskin;
Kise pari hai jo jaa sunaave
piyare pi ko hamaari batiyan.Cho shama sozan cho zarra hairan
hamesha giryan be ishq aan meh;
Na neend naina na ang chaina
na aap aaven na bhejen patiyan

bahaq-e-roze wisale dilbar ki dad mara garib Khusrau;

sapit man ke waraye rakhun jo jaye paon piya ke khatiyan

Original:

ز حال مسكين مكن تغافل دورايي نينان بتايي بتيان
كه تاب هجران ندارم اي جان نه ليهو كاهي لگايي چهتيان
شبان هجران دراز چون زلف و روز وصلت چو عمر كوتاه
سكهي پيا كو جو مي نه ديكهون تو كيسي كاتون اندهيري رتيان
يكايك از دل دو چشم جادو به صد فريبن ببرد تسكين
كسي پري هي جو جا سناوي پياري پي سي هماري بتيان
چو شمع سوزان چو ذره حيران هميشه گريان به عشق آن مه
نه نيند نينان نه انگ چينان نه آپ آوين نه بهيجين پتيان
به حق روز وصال دلبر كه داد ما را فريب خسرو
سپيت من كي ورايي راكهون جو جايي پاون پياكي كهتيان

It is love, so surrender

Posted on March 15, 2015 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Ibn al-Fāriḍ

Translation:

It is love, so surrender your body—passion is not easy

One stricken by it would not choose it, had he reason

So live without it, for love’s ease is hard

it’s beginning is sickness, and its end is death

But for me, dying in love longingly

for the one I love, is life revived abundantly

I have warned you, knowing love and my transgressions

so choose for yourself what is sweet

But if you want to live happily,

then die in love a martyr—if not, then Love has its people

For whoever does not die in love has not lived it

without facing the bees, you can never gather honey

Say unto the love-slain: “you have fulfilled its right”

and to the pretender: “how different are the black-eyed beauties and those who use eyeliner!”

Original:

هو الحُبّ فاسلم بالحشا ما الهَوى سهلَ
فـما اخـتارَهُ مُـضْنى بـه وله عقْلُ

وعِـشْ خـالياً فـالحُبّ راحتُهُ عَناً
وأَوّلُــهُ سُـقْـمٌ وآخـرُهُ قَـتْلُ

ولـكنْ لـديّ الـموتُ فـيه صَبابةً
حـياةٌ لـمَن أهـوى عليّ بها الفضل

نـصحْتُك عِـلماً بالهَوَى والذي أرى
مـخالَفَتي فـاختر لـنفسكَ مـا يحلو

فـإن شـئتَ أن تحيا سعيداً فمُتْ بِهِ
شـهـيداً وإلاّ فـالغرامُ لـهُ أهْـل

فـمن لـم يـمُتْ فـي حُبّه لم يَعِشْ به
ودون اجـتناءِ النّحل ما جنتِ النّحل

وقُـلْ لـقتيلِ الـحبّ وَفّـيتَ حقّه
ولـلمدعي هيهاتِ ما الكَحَلُ الكَحْل

Amīr Khusro

Translation:

You took my heart from my body, but you’ve stayed in my soul

You given me so much pain, and yet you remain the cure

You split my chest wide open, but in it, you’ve stayed hidden

With flirtation’s sword, you laid waste the kingdom of the heart

And yet, there you remain, a sultan amidst the ruins

The two worlds is what you’ve set as your price

Raise the price, for this is still too cheap

Like salt, I dissolved from shedding many tears

While, from your smile, you remain so sugar-sweet

My soul was freed from its body’s bonds

While my heart remains a prisoner in your curling locks

Old age and beauties’ worship seem to go along so well

Khusro, how long will you remain troubled by this turmoil?

Original:

دل ز تن بردی و در جانی هنوز

دردها دادی و درمانی هنوز

آشکارا سینه‌ام بشکافتی

همچنان در سینه پنهانی هنوز

ملک دل کردی خراب از تیغ ناز

واندرین ویرانه سلطانی هنوز

هر دو عالم، قیمت خود گفته‌ای

نرخ بالا کن که ارزانی هنوز

ما ز گریه چون نمک بگداختیم

تو ز خنده شکرستانی هنوز

جان ز بند کالبد آزاد گشت

دل به گیسوی تو زندانی هنوز

پیری و شاهدپرستی هم خوشست

خسروا تا کی پریشانی هنوز؟

Tonight I learned that you would come

Posted on March 7, 2015 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Another poem of Amir Khusrow:

Translation:

Tonight I heard that you, oh beloved, would come –
Be my head sacrificed to the road along which you will come riding!
All the gazelles of the desert have put their heads on their hands
In the hope that one day you will come to hunt them….
The attraction of love won’t leave you unmoved;
Should you not come to my funeral,
You’ll definitely come to my grave.
My soul has risen to my lips (I am on the verge of death);
Come so that I may remain alive –
After I am no longer – for what purpose will you come?

Original:

Khabaram raseed imshab ki nigaar khuahi aamad;
Sar-e man fidaa-e raah-e ki sawaar khuahi aamad.
Ham-e aahwan-e sehra sar-e khud nihada bar kaf;
Ba-umeed aanki rozi bashikaar khuahi aamad.
Kashishi ki ishq daarad naguzaradat badinsaa;
Ba-janazah gar nayai ba-mazaar khuahi aamad.
Balabam raseed jaanam fabiya ki zindah maanam;
Pas azan ki man na-maanam bacha kar khuahi aaamad.

compare with this ghazal of Hafez:

Translation:

Last night, the wind told me of my friend who’s gone away

I will give my heart to the wind, come what may

It’s gotten to the point where my only friends are

the evening’s flashing lightning, the breeze at break of day

In the curl of your tress, my defenseless heart

never longed for the place where it once lay

Today I see the worth of the words they used to say

O Lord, bless those who warned me about this day

Recalling you, my heart would bleed whenever the wind

would undo the rosebud’s robe in flirting play

By dawn, my feeble existence had all but slipped away

When with hope of union with you, the wind brought a new day

Hafez, your beautiful nature will fulfill your desire

May good souls be sacrificed in beauty’s way

Original:

دوش آگهی ز یار سفرکرده داد باد من نیز دل به باد دهم هر چه باد باد

کارم بدان رسید که همراز خود کنم هر شام برق لامع و هر بامداد باد

در چین طره تو دل بی حفاظ من هرگز نگفت مسکن مالوف یاد باد

امروز قدر پند عزیزان شناختم یا رب روان ناصح ما از تو شاد باد

خون شد دلم به یاد تو هر گه که در چمن بند قبای غنچه گل می‌گشاد باد

از دست رفته بود وجود ضعیف من صبحم به بوی وصل تو جان بازداد باد

حافظ نهاد نیک تو کامت برآورد

جان‌ها فدای مردم نیکونهاد باد

The River of Love

Posted on March 7, 2015 by sulaymanibnqiddees

One of the most popular and beautiful verses of the wonderful Amir Khusrau…

Khusrau darya prem ka, ulti wa ki dhaar,
Jo utra so doob gaya, jo dooba so paar.

Oh Khusrau, the river of love
Runs in strange ways.
One who enters it drowns,
And one who drowns, gets across.

hiroshige-whirpool

Sohni_&_Mahinwal_fullriver

it is popularly performed alongside the equally famous poem Chaap Tilak, as in the videos below:

Translation:

You’ve taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine from the distillery of love
You’ve intoxicated me by just a glance;
My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,
Have been bound by you by just a glance.
I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,
You’ve dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nizam,
You’ve made me your bride, by just a glance.

Transliteration:

Chhāp tilak sab chīnī re mose nainā milāike

Bāt atham keh dīnī re mose nainā milāike
Prem bhaṭī kā madvā pilāike
Matvālī kar līnhī re mose nainā milāike
Gorī gorī baīyān, harī harī chuṛiyān
baīyān pakaṛ dhar līnhī re mose nainā milāike
Bal bal jāūn main tore rang rajvā
Apnī sī kar līnhī re mose nainā milāike
Khusro Nijām ke bal bal jaiye
Mohe suhāgan kīnhī re mose nainā milāike
Bāt atham keh dīnī re mose nainā milāike

loversinsidemusicoutside

The first verse is a part of the following family of couplets:

Bae gaye baalam, bae gaye nadia kinaar,
Aapay paar utar gaye, hum to rahay ehi paar.

He has crossed, the beloved has crossed,
Has reached the other side, on his own.
With me, left here alone.

Khusrau darya prem ka, ulti wa ki dhaar,
Jo utra so doob gaya, jo dooba so paar.

Oh Khusrau, the river of love
Runs in strange directions.
One who jumps into it drowns,
And one who drowns, gets across.

Bhai ray malla jo hum kon paar utaar,

Haath ka devongi mandra, gal ka devun haar.

Oh, brother oarsman, if you let me cross the river,
I have for you my gold bangle, my necklace.

from: http://www.angelfire.com/sd/urdumedia/doha.html

Where was I Last Night?

Posted on March 6, 2015 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Translation:

I don’t know what place it was, where I was last night,
The dance of death whirled all around me, where I was last night
A nymph-like beauty with tulip cheeks and a cypress body
was wreaking havoc in the hearts, where I was last night
God himself was the master of ceremonies, in that placeless place, oh Khusrow
Muhammad was the candle of that party, where I was last night.

Original:

Nami danam chi manzil bood shab jaay ki man boodam;
Baharsu raqs-e bismil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
Pari paikar nigaar-e sarw qadde laala rukhsare;
Sarapa aafat-e dil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.
Khuda khud meer-e majlis bood andar laamakan Khusrau;
Muhammad shamm-e mehfil bood shab jaay ki man boodam.

I have found my love

Posted on March 6, 2015 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Another gem from Amīr Khusrow, about his Shaykh Niẓamuddīn Awliyā’:

Translation:

What a glow I see everywhere , Oh mother, what a glow;
I’ve found the beloved, yes I found him,
In my courtyard;
I have found my pīr Nizamuddin Aulia.
I roamed around the whole world,
looking for the perfect beloved;
And finally this face has enchanted my heart.
The whole world has been opened for me,
I’ve never seen a glow like this before.
Whenever I see now, he is with me,
Oh beloved, please dye me in yourself;
Dye me in the colour of the spring, beloved;
What a glow, Oh, what a glow.

Original:

Aaj rung hai hey maan rung hai ri
Moray mehboob kay ghar rang hai ri
Sajan milaavra, sajan milaavra,
Sajan milaavra moray aangan ko
Aaj rung hai……..
Mohay pir paayo Nijamudin aulia
Nijamudin aulia mohay pir payoo
Des bades mein dhoondh phiree hoon
Toraa rung man bhayo ri……,
Jag ujiyaaro, jagat ujiyaaro,
Main to aiso rang aur nahin dekhi ray
Main to jab dekhun moray sung hai,
Aaj rung hai hey maan rung hai ri.

From: http://allpoetry.com/Aaj-Rung-Hai-#sthash.uw93K4hy.dpuf

Love’s Martyr: Qutb ad-Din Bakhtiar Kaki

Posted on August 27, 2013 by sulaymanibnqiddees

The great Indian Sufi shaykh, disciple of Mu’in ad-Din Chisti and master to Baba Farid, is said to have heard the following verses during a qawwali performance:

كشتگان خنجر تسليم را

هر زمان از غيب جان ديگر است

For the victims of the dagger of surrender

There is new life at every moment from the unseen

and fell into a trance for three days. On the fourth day he died, and became known as the “Martyr of Love.” These verses are now considered taboo in qawwali performances-you don’t want to kill the best members of your audience!

Before he died, Shaykh Kaki wrote some beautiful poetry of his own that is still peformed

by qawwals today:

Translation and original (courtesy of Fuad Naeem):

1. Dil pareeshan deeda hairan kardah ee . . . Jan-e mun too kardah ee haan kardah ee

دل پریشان دیدہ حیراں کردہ ای ۔ ۔ ۔ جانِ من تو کردہ ای ہاں کردہ ای

You took away the peace of my heart, and dazzled my eyes . . . O! My life ! you have done that, have done that!

2. Deedah giryaan, seena biryab kardah ee . . . ( 2nd part of the couplet is unintelligible ).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – دیدہ گریاں سینہ بریاں کردہ ای ۔ ۔ ۔

You make my eye shed tears, and my heart to burn . . .

3. Shokhee o baibaki o naaz o adaa . . . Behr-e yak-dil een cheh samaan kardah ee

شوخی و بیباکی و نا زو ادا ۔ ۔ ۔ بہرِ یکدل ایں چہ ساماں کردہ ای

Your playfulness, openness, vanity and captivating demeanor . . . All this to enchant the one (poor) heart of mine!

4. Az kuja mee aayee aey toofaan-e husn . . . Aalmay ra khana weeran kardah ee

از کجا می آئی اے طوفانِ حسن ۔ ۔ ۔ عالمے را خانہ ویراں کردہ ای

Your beauty is like a tsunami . . . from where has it come to come to crash and lay bare the entire world?

5. Jan hum shukrana ast aey dard-e ishq . . . Murdan-e dushwar az aasaan kardah ee

جان ہم شکرانہ است اے دردِ عشق ۔ ۔ ۔ مردنِ دئشوار از آسان کردہ ای

My life is an humble offering at the alter of my (painful) love for you . . . You have made my dying harder from easier ( i.e., I cherish your love so much and hence my life all the more, my life is of more value to me now as I cannot love you unless I am alive).

6. Murgh-e sahra dar qafas afgandah ee . . . Bay-gunahay ra ba-zindaan kardah ee

مرغِ صحراء در قفس افگندہ ای ۔ ۔ ۔ بیگئاہے را بزنداں کردہ ای

You have (captured and ) put in the cage the free bird of the wild ( i, e , my carefree heart). . . O! you have imprisoned an innocent one!

7. Mun cheh goyam hust too Khawja Mueen . . . Abd-e khud ra qutb-e dowraan kardah ee

من چہ گویم ہست تو خواجہ معین ۔ ۔ ۔ عبدِ خود را قطبِ دوراں کردہ ای

O Khawaja Mueen! mine are only the (vain) words, but you embody the reality . . . (As) you have elevated your slave to the Axial Saint (Qutb) of this age.

Sung lyrics:

Dil pareshan dida hairan kar gayi

Zanemangi kar dayi aaa kar dayi kar dayi

Dil pareshan

Sukhiyo baiba kiyo naazo ada

Behre ek dil eeche saama kar gayi

Man che goyam basbe to khwaja moinuddin

Ab de khudra khud pe daura kar gayi

Dil pareshan dida hairan

Kar gayi kar gayi

The following verse, which perfeclty expresses the connection between love, spirituality, and music, is also attributed to Qutb ad-Din Bakhtiar Kaki:

What is music and why there is so much of the enchantment of love in it?

Music is the secret of Love and Love is the secret of God

Transliteration:

Sarod cheest ke chandeen fasoon-e-ishq daroast?

Sarod mehram-e-ishq ast-o-ishq mehram-e-oast

Original:

سرود چيست كه چندين فسون عشق داراوست

سرود محرم عشق است و عشق محرم اوست

Aziz Mian-It doesn’t get much better than this…

Posted on August 15, 2012 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Mein Kya Janu Raam

“Oh God how can I figure out Your unfathomable ways?”

Probably my favorite qawwal. The imagery, the rhythm, the sincere intensity, the pure poetry of the performance is almost overwhelming

It is love, so surrender your body—passion is not easy

One stricken by it would not choose it, had he reason

So live without it, for love’s ease is hard

it’s beginning is sickness, and its end is death

But for me, dying in love longingly

for the one I love, is life revived abundantly

I have warned you, knowing love and my transgressions

so choose for yourself what is sweet

But if you want to live happily,

then die in love a martyr—if not, then Love has its people

For whoever does not die in love has not lived it

without facing the bees, you can never gather honey

Say unto the love-slain: “you have fulfilled its right”

and to the pretender: “how different are the black-eyed beauties and those who use eyeliner!”

You took my heart from my body, but you’ve stayed in my soul

You given me so much pain, and yet you remain the cure

You split my chest wide open, but in it, you’ve stayed hidden

With flirtation’s sword, you laid waste the kingdom of the heart

And yet, there you remain, a sultan amidst the ruins

The two worlds is what you’ve set as your price

Raise the price, for this is still too cheap

Like salt, I dissolved from shedding many tears

While, from your smile, you remain so sugar-sweet

My soul was freed from its body’s bonds

While my heart remains a prisoner in your curling locks

Old age and beauties’ worship seem to go along so well

Khusro, how long will you remain troubled by this turmoil?

دل ز تن بردی و در جانی هنوز

دردها دادی و درمانی هنوز

آشکارا سینه‌ام بشکافتی

همچنان در سینه پنهانی هنوز

ملک دل کردی خراب از تیغ ناز

واندرین ویرانه سلطانی هنوز

هر دو عالم، قیمت خود گفته‌ای

نرخ بالا کن که ارزانی هنوز

ما ز گریه چون نمک بگداختیم

تو ز خنده شکرستانی هنوز

جان ز بند کالبد آزاد گشت

دل به گیسوی تو زندانی هنوز

پیری و شاهدپرستی هم خوشست

خسروا تا کی پریشانی هنوز؟

Another poem of Amir Khusrow:

Original:

Last night, the wind told me of my friend who’s gone away

I will give my heart to the wind, come what may

It’s gotten to the point where my only friends are

the evening’s flashing lightning, the breeze at break of day

In the curl of your tress, my defenseless heart

never longed for the place where it once lay

Today I see the worth of the words they used to say

O Lord, bless those who warned me about this day

Recalling you, my heart would bleed whenever the wind

would undo the rosebud’s robe in flirting play

By dawn, my feeble existence had all but slipped away

When with hope of union with you, the wind brought a new day

Hafez, your beautiful nature will fulfill your desire

May good souls be sacrificed in beauty’s way

دوش آگهی ز یار سفرکرده داد باد من نیز دل به باد دهم هر چه باد باد

کارم بدان رسید که همراز خود کنم هر شام برق لامع و هر بامداد باد

در چین طره تو دل بی حفاظ من هرگز نگفت مسکن مالوف یاد باد

امروز قدر پند عزیزان شناختم یا رب روان ناصح ما از تو شاد باد

خون شد دلم به یاد تو هر گه که در چمن بند قبای غنچه گل می‌گشاد باد

از دست رفته بود وجود ضعیف من صبحم به بوی وصل تو جان بازداد باد

حافظ نهاد نیک تو کامت برآورد

جان‌ها فدای مردم نیکونهاد باد

Bhai ray malla jo hum kon paar utaar,

Haath ka devongi mandra, gal ka devun haar.

Oh, brother oarsman, if you let me cross the river, I have for you my gold bangle, my necklace.

Translation:

and fell into a trance for three days. On the fourth day he died, and became known as the “Martyr of Love.” These verses are now considered taboo in qawwali performances-you don’t want to kill the best members of your audience!

Before he died, Shaykh Kaki wrote some beautiful poetry of his own that is still peformed

by qawwals today:

Dil pareshan dida hairan kar gayi

Dil pareshan dida hairan kar gayi

Zanemangi kar dayi aaa kar dayi kar dayi

Dil pareshan

Sukhiyo baiba kiyo naazo ada

Behre ek dil eeche saama kar gayi

Man che goyam basbe to khwaja moinuddin

Ab de khudra khud pe daura kar gayi

Oh, brother oarsman, if you let me cross the river,
I have for you my gold bangle, my necklace.