Here is a ghazal from the Diwaan-e-Mo’in (Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna): Maa be-fekrash az behesht o hur o ghelman faareghim Az na’im-e-har do ‘aalam be-har jaanaan faareghim Because of my contemplation on Him I’m free of paradise and heavenly pleasures. Because of my Beloved I’m free of the desires of both worlds. Qut az khaan-e-kobaita ‘enda rabbi khorda aim Aan ghezaa’ nawshida aim az aab o az naan faareghim I’ve eaten the sweetest food from the table of the Lord; After having digested that food I’m free of water and bread. Tefl-e-jaan raa daaya-e-lotf azal miparwarad Laajaram az mahd o shahd o shir o pestaan faareghim My infant soul has been nourished by a loving fostermother in pre-eternity….
A meeting near Vienna
You may know that in the Middle Ages the Turkish armies have stood in front of the gates of Vienna. A sardar of one of these armies happened to meet a European merchant just after concluding a certain battle. For some reason or other he did not kill this merchant. To his surprise it was possible for them to communicate, as the merchant was able to speak fluent Turkish. It so happened that the merchant had spent some years in Smyrna as a friend of Hodja Hasan, who was a Sufi shaykh as well as a successful merchant. This Hodja Hasan had introduced the European merchant to a dervish, Baba Tahir, who had been so kind to accept the European…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 21
Delaa chu mahram-e-aan delbar-e-yagaana to’i Qaza chu tir-e-balaa mi-zanad neshaana to’i O heart, fate has made you the target of the arrows of affliction, Because you’ve become a confidant of that unique Beloved: You! Degar foruzad kaanun-e-‘eshq aatesh-e-shawq Sharaara ke be-rizad az aan zabaana to’i A fire full of longing blazes forth from the fire-place of love. Spark are flying out because of that flame of You. Tan-am chu daa’era o noqta dar miyaana del-am Del-am chu daa’era o noqta dar miyaana to’i My body is like a circle and my heart is the core in its centre. My heart is like a circle and the core in its centre is You. Be-goftam az che bahaana to dar hejaabi goft…
Dervish ‘Abdullah meditating in a hammock
Dervish ‘Abdullah lay lazily in a hammock under a flowery ceiling of beautiful white wisteria above him. Enjoying the sun, he marveled at the beauty of the flowers. He was grateful for their beauty. Then he realized that maybe the flowers weren’t there just to be looked at and admired by him. This thought came into him, because he became aware of subtle movements above him. He shook his head and broke free from the pleasant hypnosis of the flowery beauty. He looked deeper, more attentively at the many flowers. Suddenly he saw a bee emerge from one flower and fly to another flower. And another bee, and another bee. The dervish saw many bees flying, buzzing, among the flowers….
Sufi Poetry: Spring
Spring 1 It is the 21st of March. Spring has started! The Kashf-al-Asrar or ‘Unveiling of Secrets’ is a Persian book attributed to Khwaja Mo’inuddin Chishti: The life of a human being knows four seasons, just like the world knows four seasons. The days of childhood are therefore the summer. The years of youth are the harvest of spring. The time that passes passively is autumn And the years of old age are the harvest of autumn. Spring 2 You can find his in the Masnavi: Behold the garden of the heart, green and moist and fresh, full of rosebuds and cypresses and jasmines; Boughs hidden by the multitude of leaves, vast plain and high palace hidden by the multitude…
The Secret of the Path
Some people some time ago left a book at our place. It is the book of someone unknown to me, but after some time I found out that both the writer as well as his book are well known in Moroccan Sufism. It concerns shaykh ad-Dabbâgh and his book is called Golden words (Kitâb al Ibrîz). The Shaykh lived at the end of the 17 th century and in the beginning of the 18 th century. I hope to translate some parts thereof as it may also interest you. It starts now: The esoterical science The esotertical science can be compared To 99 lines written in letters of gold And the exoterical science To the hundredth line written in ink….
Thou art the blessing
Yesterday, together with my youngest son, I made a trip to Leyden in order to visit a shop called WARP 9, which specialises in science fiction articles. After having bought a video I persuaded him to come with me to a second hand bookshop as possibly some books in the field of Star Trek could be found therein. We passed the Oriental Antiquarium wherein formerly the famous publisher Brill was settled. (Of course if it was up to me we would also have visited this place, but there are rather poorly equipped in the field of science fiction). In the second hand bookshop my son found nothing that interested him, but I found a real treasure. I found the critical…
Diwaan-e-Mo’in: Ghazal 7
Aateshi afrukht ‘eshq o jesm o jaan-e-man ba-sukht Goftam aahi bar kasham kaam o zabaan-e-man ba-sukht Love has set on fire my body and soul, they are burning! I’ve brought out a sigh: it has burnt up both my mouth and tongue. Aatesh-e-dozagh nadarad taabesh-e-suz-e-feraaq Aah az in aatesh ke paida o nehaan-e-man ba-sukht The fire of hell is not so intense as the heat of the fire of separation. This fire caused so much pain: it has burnt up both my body and soul. Naar-e-dozagh gar che suzad posthaaye ‘aasiyaan Aatesh-e-hejraanash maghz-e-ostokhwaan-e-man ba-sukht While the fire of hell may burn the skin of the sinners, The fire of separation from Him has burnt up the marrow of my bones….
Treasure of Sugar
Just suppose you are able to make an interview with shaykh Baba Fariduddin Mas’ud Ganj-e Shakar. What would you ask him? Perhaps some of your questions are similar to the ones as given below: Q: Can you tell us something about your youth? A: My grandfather Qazi Shuayb left Kabul and came to Qasur near Lahore. The qazi of Qasur informed the sultan of his arrival and recommended that suitable provision should be made for his maintenance. The sultan was greatly pleased to learn of my grandfather’s accomplishments and showed his willingness to help him in any possible way. To his offer my grandfather replied: “I don’t desire any worldly object, but for the simple reason that whatever is lost…
ANGELS
A traveller entered an aeroplane in order to make a short trip to Friedrichshafen in Germany. He took a seat next to a woman who was reading a book. There was nothing much to do during the flight. The woman next to him was not open to talking to the traveller as she was engrossed in her book. He wondered what she was reading, but couldn’t see the title. About a week later, the traveller left Friedrichshafen. To his surprise, the same woman was sitting next to him in the aeroplane. She was reading the same book. Shortly before arriving at his destination, the traveller was able to read the title of the book. The book was about angels. What…