She walks in beauty like the night…

Posted on August 26, 2018 by sulaymanibnqiddees

One of my favorite English poems of all time is reminiscent of Sufi poetry about Layla, whose name means “night,” and who symbolizes the beloved Divine Essence/Essence of the Self.

Lord Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

Rumi

Translation:

You look through my two eyes, you are closer to me than myself

Your light shines brighter than the moon

Come into the garden so that the glory of the rose garden is humbled

that it may be more beautiful and blooming than a hundred gardens and rosebeds

so that the cedar will hide its height in shame

that the tongue of the lily will declare you more lily than itself
When you are kind, you are the candle of the soul, soft and pliable as wax

When you are aloof, you are more iron than iron
Do no be wild because you will meet her face to face
her charm will make you as cool and pliant as the earth
Throw away your armor and bare your chest at the moment of battle
there is no better protection nor armor than her.
That’s why in every Sufi retreat, all the openings are are sealed shut
so that from your light the house becomes more illumined

Orignal:

در دو چشم من نشین ای آن که از من منتری

تا قمر را وانمایم کز قمر روشنتری

اندرآ در باغ تا ناموس گلشن بشکند

ز آنک از صد باغ و گلشن خوشتر و گلشنتری

تا که سرو از شرم قدت قد خود پنهان کند

تا زبان اندرکشد سوسن که تو سوسنتری

وقت لطف ای شمع جان مانند مومی نرم و رام

وقت ناز از آهن پولاد تو آهنتری

چون فلک سرکش مباش ای نازنین کز ناز او

نرم گردی چون زمین گر از فلک توسنتری

زان برون انداخت جوشن حمزه وقت کارزار

کز هزاران حصن و جوشن روح را جوشنتری

زان سبب هر خلوتی سوراخ روزن را ببست

کز برای روشنی تو خانه را روشنتری

Ibn al-Farid

Translation:

Every part of me kissed her veil

With every mouth whose touch held every kiss

If she dissolved my body, she would see in every atom

each and every heart filled with each and every love

Original:

ويلثم مني كلّ جزء لثامها

بكلّ فم فى لثمه كلّ قبلة

فلو بسطت جسمي رأت كلّ جوهر

به كلّ قلب فيه كلّ محبة

Translation:

If I sought consolation, who would be there to be my guide

when in love, every leader follows my lead?

In my every limb is every yearning for her

and every longing tugs at my reins

As she bends, I imagine every hip she moves

to be a branch in a sand dune topped by the full moon

Mine is every limb filled with every inner core

wherein, when she glances, is embedded every arrow

And if she dissolved my body she would find every atom

every heart inhabited by every human love

In union with her, a year to me is but an instant,

an hour’s separation like a year.

When we met at nightfall, as the twin straight paths

between her dwelling and my tents brought us together,

We moved away a little from the tribe,

avoiding spies and slanderers with their deceitful talk

I spread my cheek upon the ground for her to walk upon

and she said, “Good news, now you may kiss my veil.”

But this my soul did not permit me, jealously

shielding her from me, for higher is my purpose

We passed the night in hope as my wish decreed

and I saw the world my kingdom and time itself my slave.

Translation modified from Stefan Sperl’s in Stefan Sperl, C. Shackle, Qasida Poetry in Islamic Asia and Africa

Original:

بمنْ أهتَدي في الحبِّ لو رُمْتُ سَلوَةً
وبي يقتَدي ، في الحبِّ ، كلُّ إمامِ

وفي كلِّ عُضوٍ فيَّ كلُّ صبابَةٍ
إليها ، وشَوْقٍ جَاذِبٍ بِزِمَامي

تَثَنَّتْ ، فَخِلْنا كلَّ عِطْفٍ تهُزُّهُ
قَضيبَ نقاً ، يَعْلُوهُ بَدْرُ تَمامِ

ولي كلُّ عُضوٍ ، فيهِ كلُّ حشىً بها
إذا ما رَنَتْ ، وَقْعٌ لكلِّ سِهامِ

ولوْ بسطتْ جسْمي رأتْ كلَّ جوهرٍ
بهِ كلُّ قلبٍ ، فيهِ كلُّ غَرامِ

وفي وَصْلِها ، عامٌ لدَيَّ كَلَحْظَةٍ
وساعَةُ هِجْرَانٍ عَلَيَّ كَعَامِ

ولمَّا تَلاقَينا عِشاءً ، وضَمَّنا
سواءُ سبيلَيْ دَارِها وخِيامي

ومِلْنا كذا شيئاً عنِ الحيِّ ، حيثُ لا
رَقيبٌ ، ولا وَاشٍ بِزَوْرِ كَلامِ

فرَشْتُ لها خَدِّي ، وِطاءً ، على الثَّرَى
فقالتْ : لكَ البُشرَى بِلَثمِ لِثامي

فما سَمَحَتْ نَفسي بذلِكَ ، غَيْرَةً
على صَوْنِها مِنِّي لِعزِّ مرامي

وبِتْنا ، كما شاءَ اقتراحي ، على المُنى
أرَى المُلكَ مُلكي والزَّمانَ غُلامي

Shushtari

Translation:

You seek Layla, but she reveals herself within you

You think she’s other, but she’s not other than you

And that’s a madness that is apparent to the cult of lovers

So be careful, for otherness is the essence of being cut off

Don’t you see how her beauty envelops you?

She disappears only when you reject part of yourself

“Come close to me,” you say to she who is your All

And when she loves you, she leads you to yourself

Meeting her is bliss beyond description

and none reach her, save those who see meaning without forms

I was so in love with her that I would have vanished in her love

had she not sworn that I only obey her
I concealed her from people with fantasy

After having revealed her, truly, inside my cloak.
I hid her from myself, with the robe of my worlds,
And from my envy, out of the severity of my jealousy
O Dazzling beauty! Should the light of your face

Touch the eyes of a blind man, he would see every atom
She is adorned with each and every charm and grace of beauty
And wherever she appears, she is desired by those who love.

Original:

أَتَطلُبُ لَيلى وَهيَ فيكَ تَجَلَّت وَتَحسَبُها غَيراً وَغَيرُكَ لَيسَتِ

فَذابلُهُ في مِلَّةِ الحُبِّ ظاهِرٌ فَكُن فَطِناً فَالغيرُ عَينُ القَطيعَةِ

أَلَم تَرَها أَلقَت عَلَيكَ جَمالَها وَلَو لَم تَقُم بِالذاتِ مِنكَ اِضمَحَلَّتِ

تَقولُ لَها اُدنُ وَهيَ كُلَّك ثُمَّ إِن حَبَتكَ بِوَصلٍ أَوهَمَتكَ تَدَلَّتِ

عَزيزٌ لِقاها لا يَنالُ وِصالَها سِوى مَن يَرى مَعنىً بِغَيرِ هَوِيَّةِ

كَلِفت بِها حَتّى فَنِيتُ بِحُبِّها فَلَو أَقسَمَت أَنّيَ إِيّاها لَبَرَّتِ

وَغالَطتُ فيها الناسَ بِالوَهمِ بَعدَما تَبَيَّنتها حَقّاً بِداخِلِ بُردَتي

وَغَطَّيتُها عَنّي بِثَوبِ عَوالِمي وَعَن حاسِدي فيها لِشِدَّةِ غيرَتي

بَديعَة حُسنٍ أَو بَدا نورُ وَجهِها إِلى أَكمَهٍ أَضحى يَرى كُلَّ ذَرَّةِ

تحلّت بأنواع الجمال بأسرها فهام بها أهل الهوى حيثُ حلّت

Hafez—If you pass by my grave…

Posted on August 9, 2018 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Two of my favorite poems of Hafez; legend is that scholars decided to settle a debate over whether or not Hafez should receive a proper Muslim burial by performing divination with his poetry, the last couplet of the second poem emerged and Hafez was given a proper burial and his shrine has remained a site of pilgrimage ever since.

Translation:

It’s the fatwa of the Magian Pir and an ancient saying:

Wine is forbidden where the beloved is not the sommelier

I want to tear this cloak of hypocrisy

for unsuitable company is a painful torment for the spirit

Hoping for a sip of wine from the beloved’s lip

For years I have remained firm at the tavern door

Perhaps he has forgotten my old service

Morning breeze, remind him of our ancient pact

If you pass over my grave after a hundred years

My rotten bones will rise from the dust, dancing

The heart-ravisher took my heart with a hundred promises first

Apparently, his kind nature will not forget its pact

Tell the rosebud not to be sad about its knotted state

For it will find help from the breaths of the dawn wind and breeze

O heart, think about finding your remedy at another door

For the lover’s pain cannot be cured by the doctor’s medicines

Get the jewel of ma’rifat that you can take with you

The wealth of gold and silver belongs to others

This snare is hard, without the grace of God

Adam cannot prevail over the accursed Satan

Hafez, if you have no gold or silver, so what? Give thanks!

What better wealth than subtlety of speech and soundness of nature?

(translation modified from Reza Saberi’s Divan of Hafez, 426-7)

Original:

فتوی پیر مغان دارم و قولیست قدیم

که حرام است می آن جا که نه یار است ندیم

چاک خواهم زدن این دلق ریایی چه کنم

روح را صحبت ناجنس عذابیست الیم

تا مگر جرعه فشاند لب جانان بر من

سال‌ها شد که منم بر در میخانه مقیم

مگرش خدمت دیرین من از یاد برفت

ای نسیم سحری یاد دهش عهد قدیم

بعد صد سال اگر بر سر خاکم گذری

سر برآرد ز گلم رقص کنان عظم رمیم

دلبر از ما به صد امید ستد اول دل

ظاهرا عهد فرامش نکند خلق کریم

غنچه گو تنگ دل از کار فروبسته مباش

کز دم صبح مدد یابی و انفاس نسیم

فکر بهبود خود ای دل ز دری دیگر کن

درد عاشق نشود به به مداوای حکیم

گوهر معرفت آموز که با خود ببری

که نصیب دگران است نصاب زر و سیم

دام سخت است مگر یار شود لطف خدا

ور نه آدم نبرد صرفه ز شیطان رجیم

حافظ ار سیم و زرت نیست چه شد شاکر باش

چه به از دولت لطف سخن و طبع سلیم

Translation:

Now that the breeze of paradise blows from the garden

it’s just me and the joyful wine and a houri-natured beloved

Why should the beggar not brag of the sultanate today when

his pavilion is the shade of the cloud and his banquet is the field’s horizon?

The meadow tells the tale of the month of spring

He is not wise, who trades cash for credit of paradise

Do not seek loyalty from the enemy, there will be no light

If the monastery’s candle is lit by the synagogue’s lamp

Mend your soul with wine, for this ruinous world intends

to make bricks from our dust

Do not blame me, a drunk, for the blackness of my record

Who knows what fate has written on his head?

Do not keep your feet away from Hafez’s funeral

for, though immersed in sin, he’s on his way to paradise

translation modified from Reza Saberi’s Divan of Hafez)

Original:

کنون که می‌دمد از بوستان نسیم بهشت

من و شراب فرح بخش و یار حورسرشت

گدا چرا نزند لاف سلطنت امروز

که خیمه سایه ابر است و بزمگه لب کشت

چمن حکایت اردیبهشت می‌گوید

نه عاقل است که نسیه خرید و نقد بهشت

به می عمارت دل کن که این جهان خراب

بر آن سر است که از خاک ما بسازد خشت

وفا مجوی ز دشمن که پرتوی ندهد

چو شمع صومعه افروزی از چراغ کنشت

مکن به نامه سیاهی ملامت من مست

که آگه است که تقدیر بر سرش چه نوشت

قدم دریغ مدار از جنازه حافظ

که گر چه غرق گناه است می‌رود به بهشت

Khaqani on Love

Posted on May 3, 2018 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Khaqani

Translation:

The bird that sings the song of pain is love
The courier who knows the tongue of the Unseen is love
The existence that calls you to nonexistence is love
And that which redeems you from you is love

Original:

مرغی که نوای درد راند عشق است
پيکی که زبان غيب داند عشق است
هستی که به نيستيت خواند عشق است
وآنچ از تو ترا باز رهاند عشق است‎

Translation by Reza Saberi

Rumi

What then is love? The Ocean of Nonexistence.

It is there that the foot of the intellect is broken

Rumi, Mathnawi, ed. Nicholson, III: 4724.

Ibn ‘Arabi

Many mistakes may occur in love. The first of them is that people imagine that the object of love is an existent thing… In fact, love’s object remains forever nonexistent, but most lovers are not aware of this, unless they should be knowers of the realities. (II 337.17)

Camaron de la Isla

Translation:

I am like the sad bird

that flits from branch to branch

singing his suffering

because he doesn’t know how to cry

Original:

Soy cómo el pájaro triste,

ay que de rama en rama va,

cantando su sufrimiento, cantando su sufrimiento,

porque no sabe llorar.

Wherever you put your foot, we are the ground

Posted on April 30, 2018 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Rumi:

Translation:

Oh beloved we only see you through your love

Wherever you put your foot we are the ground for you

So how can it be that in this way of love

We see the world through you and yet we don’t see you?

Original:

ای دوست به دوستی قرینیم ترا

هرجا که قدم نهی زمینیم ترا

در مذهب عاشقی روا کی باشد

عالم تو ببینیم و نه بینیم ترا

Majnun (Niẓāmī) and John Donne

Posted on February 22, 2018 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Niẓami

Translation:

And who am I — so far from you, yet near?

A singing beggar! Layla, do you hear?

Freed from life’s drudgery, my loneliness ,

Sorrow and grief for me spell happiness.

And thirsty in the painstream of delight,

I drown. Child of the sun, I starve at night.
Though parted our two loving souls combine,

For mine is all your own and yours is mine.

Two riddles to the world we represent,

One answer each the other’s deep lament.

But if our parting severs us in two,

One radiant light envelops me and you,

As from another world — though blocked and barred

What there is one, down here is forced apart.

Yet if despairing bodies separate,

Souls freely wander and communicate.

I’ll live forever — Mortal Fear, Decay,

And Death himself have ceased to hold their sway.
Sharing your life in all eternity
I’ll live if only you remain with me.

(Niẓami’s Layla and Majnun, trans. R. Gelpke)

John Donne

As virtuous men pass mildly away,

And whisper to their souls to go,

Whilst some of their sad friends do say

The breath goes now, and some say, No:

So let us melt, and make no noise,

No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;

‘Twere profanation of our joys

To tell the laity our love.

Moving of th’ earth brings harms and fears,

Men reckon what it did, and meant;

But trepidation of the spheres,

Though greater far, is innocent.

Dull sublunary lovers’ love

(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit

Absence, because it doth remove

Those things which elemented it.

But we by a love so much refined,

That our selves know not what it is,

Inter-assured of the mind,

Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.

Our two souls therefore, which are one,

Though I must go, endure not yet

A breach, but an expansion,

Like gold to airy thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so

As stiff twin compasses are two;

Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show

To move, but doth, if the other do.

And though it in the center sit,

Yet when the other far doth roam,

It leans and hearkens after it,

And grows erect, as that comes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must,

Like th’ other foot, obliquely run;

Thy firmness makes my circle just,

And makes me end where I begun.

Niẓāmī

Fly in love as an arrow towards its target.

Love loosens the knots of being

Love is liberation form the vortex of egotism.

In love, every cup of sorrow which bites into the soul gives it new life

Many a draft bitter as poison has become in love delicious

with love for a saqi, what is there to fear from a bitter draft

However agonizing the experience, if it is for love, it is well.

(Niẓami’s Layla and Majnun, trans. R. Gelpke)

One Love

Posted on August 24, 2017 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Ibn al-Fāriḍ

Translation:

As for my way in love, I have no way

If I neglect my love for a day, then I have left my sect

And if the thought of other than you occurs to me

Inadvertantly, I would consider it as my apostasy

You govern my life as you will,

so do what you will with me, for I have ever only desired you….

Original:

عن مذهبي في الحب مالي مذهب وان ملت يوما عنه فارقت ملتي
وان خطرت لي في سواك ارادة علي خاطري سهوا , قضيت بردتي
لك الحكم في أمري فما شئت فأصنعي فلم تك الا فيك لا عنك رغبتي

Unknown Authors

Various positions have those who love from (mere) passion

But I have a unique place, in which I dwell alone.

Original:

مذاهب شتى للمحبّين في الهوى و لي مدهب فرد أعيش به وحدي

Our expressions our many,

and your beauty is one

And it is to your beauty

that all of them allude

Original:

عباراتنا شتّى و حسنك واحد و كلّ إلى ذاك الجمال يشير

Rumi

The sect of Love is different from all other religions

For lovers, their sect and religion is simply God

Original:

ملت عشق از همه دین‌ها جداست

عاشقان را ملت و مذهب خداست

Wisdom is bewildered by the religion of love

Although it knows all other religions

Original:

خرد نداند و حیران شود ز مذهب عشق

اگر چه واقف باشد ز جمله مذهب‌ها

Bob Marley

Lyrics:

One Love! One Heart!
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Hear the children cryin’ (One Love!);
Hear the children cryin’ (One Heart!),
Sayin’: give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right;
Sayin’: let’s get together and feel all right. Wo wo-wo wo-wo!Let them all pass all their dirty remarks (One Love!);
There is one question I’d really love to ask (One Heart!):
Is there a place for the hopeless sinner,
Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own beliefs?

One Love! What about the one heart? One Heart!
What about – ? Let’s get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning (One Love!);
So shall it be in the end (One Heart!),
All right!
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.
One more thing!

Let’s get together to fight this Holy Armagiddyon (One Love!),
So when the Man comes there will be no, no doom (One Song!).
Have pity on those whose chances grows t’inner;
There ain’t no hiding place from the Father of Creation.

Sayin’: One Love! What about the One Heart? (One Heart!)
What about the – ? Let’s get together and feel all right.
I’m pleadin’ to mankind! (One Love!);
Oh, Lord! (One Heart) Wo-ooh!

Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right;
Let’s get together and feel all right.

I looked and all I saw was you…

Posted on August 22, 2017 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Translation:

If the meaning of your speech is not for me, then I don’t know

For my heart will not be cured and my liver’s fire will not be quenched

I looked and I didn’t see any one but you whom I love

If not for you, love would not be sweet for those who love

So when thought unveils you in the retreat of satisfaction

and it disappears, the people say my passions have led me astray

By your life, the lover has not gone astray nor has he erred*

But when they generalized, they made the fatwa miss its mark

If they had seen the meaning of your beauty

just as I saw, with the eye of the heart, they wouldn’t deny the claim

I dropped all shame in your love and

whoever is shameless in love enjoys the pillow talk

I tore the robes of dignity to shreds, exposing myself to you

and so distress becomes sweet in your love

There is no complaint in love even if one’s insides are torn up

and shame on the lovers who complain of your love

*Paraphrase of Qur’an 53:2

Original:

إِذا لم يكنْ مَعْنى حديثك لي يُدْرَى فلا مُهْجْتيِ تُشْفىَ ولا كَبدي تُروَى
نَظرتُ فلم أنْظر سِواكَ أحبُّهُ ولَولاكَ ما طَاَب الهَوى لِلَّذي يَهوى
ولَّما اجْتلاَك الفكرُ في خَلوة الرّضا وغيّبت قال الناس ضَلت بي الاهْوا
لَعمرُك ما ضَلَّ المحبُّ وَما غَوى ولكَّنهمْ لمَّا عمُوا أخطئوا الفتوى
ولو شَهدوا معنى جمَالِكَ مثْلما شهدْتُ بعينِ القلبِ ما أنكروا الدَّعوى
خلعت عِذاري في هَواك وَمنْ يكنْ خليعَ عِذارِ في الهوى سَرَّهُ النجوى
وَمزقتُ أثواب الوقارِ تَهتكا عليكَ وطابت في محَبتكَ الْبلوَى
فما في الهْوى شكوىَ ولو مُزِّق الحَشَا وَعارٌ على العُشاق في حُبِّكَ الشَّكوى

Hafiz

The pupil of my eye sees naught but your face

My bewildered heart recalls none but you

مردم دیده ما جز به رخت ناظر نیست
دل سرگشته ما غیر تو را ذاکر نیست

In the gangster’s world there is no thought or opinion of self

In this religion, seeing or thinking of yourself is infidelity

فکر خود و رای خود در عالم رندی نیست

کفر است در این مذهب خودبینی و خودرایی

The Music of Hafez

Posted on May 14, 2017 by sulaymanibnqiddees

These are two of the most musical ghazals of the most musical of Persian poets, Hafez. The beauty of their melodies and rhythms are only surpassed by the sublimity of their meanings:

Translation:

Without the beloved’s beauty, the soul has no interest in the world

He who doesn’t have that, in truth has no soul

I have never seen a trace of that heart-stealer

So either I’m uninformed or she has no trace

Every dewdrop on this is path is a hundred burning seas

Alas, this mystery has no explanation nor description

We cannot miss the station of rest

Halt, O caravan-leader, for this road has no end.

No flavour has life without a good friend

and without a good friend, life has no flavour

The harp’s curved figure is calling you to pleasure

Listen! For the advice of the old has no harm

The tale of Korah’s treasure, which time threw to the wind

Tell it to the rosebud, so that it won’t hide its gold

No one has a slave like Hafez in the whole world

Because, in the whole world, no one has a king like you

Original:

جان بی جمال جانان میل جهان ندارد
هر کس که این ندارد حقا که آن ندارد
با هیچ کس نشانی زان دلستان ندیدم
یا من خبر ندارم یا او نشان ندارد
هر شبنمی در این ره صد بحر آتشین است
دردا که این معما شرح و بیان ندارد
سرمنزل فراغت نتوان ز دست دادن
ای ساروان فروکش کاین ره کران ندارد
چنگ خمیده قامت می‌خواندت به عشرت
بشنو که پند پیران هیچت زیان ندارد
ای دل طریق رندی از محتسب بیاموز
مست است و در حق او کس این گمان ندارد
احوال گنج قارون کایام داد بر باد
در گوش دل فروخوان تا زر نهان ندارد
گر خود رقیب شمع است اسرار از او بپوشان
کان شوخ سربریده بند زبان ندارد
کس در جهان ندارد یک بنده همچو حافظ
زیرا که چون تو شاهی کس در جهان ندارد

Translation:

The garden of eternity is in the retreat of the dervishes

the very essence of grandeur is the service of the dervishes

The treasury of glory that is sealed by the talisman of wonders

opens at the merciful glance of the dervishes

The castle of paradise for which Rezwan is the doorkeeper

is but a view from the lawn of the dervishes

That which by its radiance turns black hearts to gold

is the alchemy that is the company of the dervishes

That before which the sun lays down its crown of glory/pride

is the greatness that comes from the grandeur of the dervishes

The power/state (dawlat) whose decline need never be feared

without exaggeration, is the power/state of the dervishes

The kings are the qiblah to which we direct our needs

and this is because they are the slaves of the dervishes

That which kings seek to achieve in their prayers

is manifested in the mirror of the countenance of the dervishes

From shore to shore is the army of tyranny,

but from pre-eternity to post-eternity is the occasion of the dervishes

O rich man, don’t sell us so much vanity

for your health and wealth are in the hands of the will (himmat) of the dervishes

Korah’s treasure, which still is still sinking from heaven’s severity

is an effect of the wrath of the dervishes

Hafez, if you’re seeking the eternal water of life

its spring is the dust of the retreat of the dervishes

I am the slave of the Asaf of my time

because he has the looks of a nobleman and the character of the dervishes.

Original:

روضه خلد برین خلوت درویشان است

مایه محتشمی خدمت درویشان است

گنج عزت که طلسمات عجایب دارد

فتح آن در نظر رحمت درویشان است

قصر فردوس که رضوانش به دربانی رفت

منظری از چمن نزهت درویشان است

آن چه زر می‌شود از پرتو آن قلب سیاه

کیمیاییست که در صحبت درویشان است

آن که پیشش بنهد تاج تکبر خورشید

کبریاییست که در حشمت درویشان است

دولتی را که نباشد غم از آسیب زوال

بی تکلف بشنو دولت درویشان است

خسروان قبله حاجات جهانند ولی

سببش بندگی حضرت درویشان است

روی مقصود که شاهان به دعا می‌طلبند

مظهرش آینه طلعت درویشان است

از کران تا به کران لشکر ظلم است ولی

از ازل تا به ابد فرصت درویشان است

ای توانگر مفروش این همه نخوت که تو را

سر و زر در کنف همت درویشان است

گنج قارون که فرو می‌شود از قهر هنوز

خوانده باشی که هم از غیرت درویشان است

حافظ ار آب حیات ازلی می‌خواهی

منبعش خاک در خلوت درویشان است

من غلام نظر آصف عهدم کو را

صورت خواجگی و سیرت درویشان است

‘Iraqi and Shushtari—The Wealth of Poverty

Posted on May 7, 2017 by sulaymanibnqiddees

‘Iraqi

laylamajnunpersianmin

Translation:

I have seen that the lane of piety stretches out,

far, far into the distance;

My dearest friends, can you not show me then

the way of the madman?

Bring me a glass of Magian wine

that I may drink deep

for I have given up all thought

of ascetic piety;

or if the pure wine has all been downed

bring me the cloudy dregs

for thick residue lights up the heart

and illuminates the eyes.

Tuppence for the Sufi meeting house!

I flee the company of the righteous;

fill up a row of glasses with wine

and bring me the first.

I have no rules or regulations,

nor heart nor religion –

only I remain, and you, sitting in the corner

and the wealth of Poverty.

All fear of God, all self-denial I deny;

bring wine, nothing but wine

for in all sincerity I repent

my worship which is but hypocrisy.

Yes, bring me wine, for I have renounced all renunciation

and all my vaunted self-righteousness

seems to me but swagger and self-display.

Now for a time let my proof be wine

against the sorrow of Time

for only in drunkenness can one be free

of the hour’s grief.

Once I am thoroughly drunk, what difference

if I end up in a church or in Mecca?

Once I’ve abandoned myself, what matter

if I win Union – or separation?

I’ve been to the gambling house and seen

that the losers there are pure;

I’ve been to the monastery and have found

no one but hypocrites.

Now I’ve broken my repentance, at least

do not break our covenant:

at least welcome this broken heart and say

“How are you? Where have you been?”

I’ve been to Mecca, to circle the Kaaba

but they refused me entrance

saying “Off with you! What merit have you earned

outside, that we should admit you within?”

Then, last night, I knocked

at the tavern door;

from within came a voice: “‘Iraqi! Come in!

for you are one of the chosen!”

from the introduction to Divine Flashes

translation by William Chittick and Peter Wilson

Original:

پسرا، ره قلندر سزد ار به من نمایی

که دراز و دور دیدم ره زهد و پارسایی

پسرا، می مغانه دهی ار حریف مایی

که نماند بیش ما را سر زهد و پارسایی

قدحی می مغانه به من آر، تا بنوشم

که دگر نماند ما را سر توبهٔ ریایی

می صاف اگر نباشد، به من آر درد تیره

که ز درد تیره یابد دل و دیده روشنایی

کم خانقه گرفتم، سر مصلحی ندارم

قدح شراب پر کن، به من آر، چند پایی؟

نه ره و نه رسم دارم، نه دل و نه دین، نه دنیی

منم و حریف و کنجی و نوای بی‌نوایی

نیم اهل زهد و توبه به من آر ساغر می

که به صدق توبه کردم ز عبادت ریایی

تو مرا شراب در ده، که ز زهد تو به کردم

ز صلاح چون ندیدم جز لاف و خودنمایی

ز غم زمانه ما را برهان ز می زمانی

که نیافت جز به می کس ز غم زمان رهایی

چو ز باده مست گشتم، چه کلیسیا، چه کعبه؟

چو به ترک خود بگفتم، چه وصال و چه جدایی؟

به قمارخانه رفتم همه پاکباز دیدم

چو به صومعه رسیدم همه یافتم دغایی

چو شکست توبهٔ من، مشکن تو عهد، باری

به من شکسته دل گو که: چگونه‌ای؟ کجایی؟

به طواف کعبه رفتم به حرم رهم ندادند

که برون در چه کردی، که درون خانه آیی؟

در دیر می‌زدم من، ز درون صدا بر آمدکه: درآی،

ای عراقی، که تو خود حریف مایی

Iran's Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is an architectural masterpiece of Safavid architecture. Its construction started in 1603 and was finished in 1618. Photo taken on August 23, 2007 in Isfahan, Iran.

Shushtari

Translation:

We come to you in poverty, not riches, for you are the generous one.

You accustomed us to every grace, may your grace endure.

These poor disheveled souls of yours are drenched
in your love, because it is the utmost of desires.

There is no one in richness like you
and in poverty there are none like us.

We see you manifest in everything; nothing is ours.

I hid your name out of jealousy. Look at me, lost on a mountain trail and a slope.

Since you are always with me,
I have no need to carry provisions: I am rich.

For you, you are the truth, there is no other
and I – would that I knew – who am I?

From Alvarez, L.M. Abū al-Ḥasan al-Shushtarī: Songs of Love and Devotion, (New York, Paulist Press, 2009), p. 69

Original:

أتيناك بالفقر لا بالغنى وأنت الذي لم تزل محسنّا

وعوّدتنا كلّ فضل عسى يدوم الذي منك عوّدتنا

مسا كينك الشعث قد موهوا بحبك إذ هو أقصى المنى

فما في الغنى واحد مثلكم و في الفقر لا عصبة مثلنا

رأيناك في كلّ أمر بدا وليس من الأمر شيء لنا

سترت اسمكم غيرة ها أنا أموه بالشعب والمنحنى

إذا كنت في كلّ حال معي فعن حمل زادي أنا في غنى

فأنتم هم الحق لا غيركم فياليت شعري أنا من أنا

Shabistari on the pure drink

Posted on April 8, 2017 by sulaymanibnqiddees

Qur’an 76:21

Translation:

Upon them are robes of green silk and embroidery, and they are adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord pours for them them a pure wine.

Original:
عَالِيَهُمْ ثِيَابُ سُندُسٍ خُضْرٌ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٌ وَحُلُّوا أَسَاوِرَ مِن فِضَّةٍ وَسَقَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا

در دو چشم من نشین ای آن که از من منتری

تا قمر را وانمایم کز قمر روشنتری

اندرآ در باغ تا ناموس گلشن بشکند

ز آنک از صد باغ و گلشن خوشتر و گلشنتری

تا که سرو از شرم قدت قد خود پنهان کند

تا زبان اندرکشد سوسن که تو سوسنتری

وقت لطف ای شمع جان مانند مومی نرم و رام

وقت ناز از آهن پولاد تو آهنتری

چون فلک سرکش مباش ای نازنین کز ناز او

نرم گردی چون زمین گر از فلک توسنتری

زان برون انداخت جوشن حمزه وقت کارزار

کز هزاران حصن و جوشن روح را جوشنتری

زان سبب هر خلوتی سوراخ روزن را ببست

کز برای روشنی تو خانه را روشنتری

Ibn al-Farid

Every part of me kissed her veil

With every mouth whose touch held every kiss

If she dissolved my body, she would see in every atom

each and every heart filled with each and every love

ويلثم مني كلّ جزء لثامها

بكلّ فم فى لثمه كلّ قبلة

فلو بسطت جسمي رأت كلّ جوهر

به كلّ قلب فيه كلّ محبة

If I sought consolation, who would be there to be my guide

when in love, every leader follows my lead?

In my every limb is every yearning for her

and every longing tugs at my reins

As she bends, I imagine every hip she moves

to be a branch in a sand dune topped by the full moon

Mine is every limb filled with every inner core

wherein, when she glances, is embedded every arrow

And if she dissolved my body she would find every atom

every heart inhabited by every human love

In union with her, a year to me is but an instant,

an hour’s separation like a year.

When we met at nightfall, as the twin straight paths

between her dwelling and my tents brought us together,

We moved away a little from the tribe,

avoiding spies and slanderers with their deceitful talk

I spread my cheek upon the ground for her to walk upon

and she said, “Good news, now you may kiss my veil.”

But this my soul did not permit me, jealously

shielding her from me, for higher is my purpose

We passed the night in hope as my wish decreed

and I saw the world my kingdom and time itself my slave.

Translation modified from Stefan Sperl’s in Stefan Sperl, C. Shackle, Qasida Poetry in Islamic Asia and Africa

You seek Layla, but she reveals herself within you

You think she’s other, but she’s not other than you

And that’s a madness that is apparent to the cult of lovers

So be careful, for otherness is the essence of being cut off

Don’t you see how her beauty envelops you?

She disappears only when you reject part of yourself

“Come close to me,” you say to she who is your All

And when she loves you, she leads you to yourself

Meeting her is bliss beyond description

and none reach her, save those who see meaning without forms

I was so in love with her that I would have vanished in her love

had she not sworn that I only obey her I concealed her from people with fantasy

After having revealed her, truly, inside my cloak. I hid her from myself, with the robe of my worlds, And from my envy, out of the severity of my jealousy O Dazzling beauty! Should the light of your face

Touch the eyes of a blind man, he would see every atom She is adorned with each and every charm and grace of beauty And wherever she appears, she is desired by those who love.

It’s the fatwa of the Magian Pir and an ancient saying:

Wine is forbidden where the beloved is not the sommelier

I want to tear this cloak of hypocrisy

for unsuitable company is a painful torment for the spirit

Hoping for a sip of wine from the beloved’s lip

For years I have remained firm at the tavern door

Perhaps he has forgotten my old service

Morning breeze, remind him of our ancient pact

If you pass over my grave after a hundred years

My rotten bones will rise from the dust, dancing

The heart-ravisher took my heart with a hundred promises first

Apparently, his kind nature will not forget its pact

Tell the rosebud not to be sad about its knotted state

For it will find help from the breaths of the dawn wind and breeze

O heart, think about finding your remedy at another door

For the lover’s pain cannot be cured by the doctor’s medicines

Get the jewel of ma’rifat that you can take with you

The wealth of gold and silver belongs to others

This snare is hard, without the grace of God

Adam cannot prevail over the accursed Satan

had she not sworn that I only obey her
I concealed her from people with fantasy

After having revealed her, truly, inside my cloak.
I hid her from myself, with the robe of my worlds,
And from my envy, out of the severity of my jealousy
O Dazzling beauty! Should the light of your face

Touch the eyes of a blind man, he would see every atom
She is adorned with each and every charm and grace of beauty
And wherever she appears, she is desired by those who love.