Divani Shamsi Tabriz

THE DIVANI SHAMSI TABRIZ, by R. A. NICHOLSON

Mystical Poems

My heart, site only with those

The love of such one

A thief in the Night

˜

My heart, sit only with those
who know and understand you.
Sit only under a tree
that is full of blossoms.
In the bazaar of herbs and potions
don't wander aimlessly
find the shop with a potion that is sweet
If you don't have a measure
people will rob you in no time.
You will take counterfeit coins
thinking they are real.
Don't fill your bowl with food from
every boiling pot you see.
Not every joke is humorous, so don't search
for meaning where there isn't one.
Not every eye can see,
not every sea is full of pearls.
My hart, sing the song of longing
like nightingale.
The sound of your voice casts a spell
on every stone, on every thorn.
First, lay down your head
then one by one
let go of all distractions.
Embrace the light and let it guide you
beyond the winds of desire.
There you will find a spring and nourished by its see waters
like a tree you will bear fruit forever.

VI.

O thou who art my soul's comfort in the season of sorrow,
O thou who art my spirit's treasure³⁰ "my spirit's treasure" "according to the Burhani Qati' this is the name of Qarun's treasure: it is said to be in perpetual motion under the ground.' Qarun (Korah) points to Mohammedans the moral of riches that grow in hell' and pride that goes before destruction. See Koran XXVIII. 76-81, with Sale's notes." in the bitterness³¹ "Bitterness" "like bala'ye nafye' in Gulshani Raz,' 402, the mortification of all desires, whether sensual or intellectual. True spirituality (to quote Juan de la Cruz) seeks in God the bitter more than the agreeable, prefers suffering to solace, would rather lack all good for God's sake than possess it, is better pleased with dryness and affliction than with sweet communications: knowing that in this it follows Christ and denies self, instead of peradventure seeking self in God, which is against Love. of dearth!³² "dearth" "Mohammed said: Poverty is my pride, and again, Poverty is blackness of face (dishonor) in both worlds (see his own explanation of the inconsistency in Malcolm's History of Persia,' Vol. II. P. 268, note). The Sufis have given these sayings a mystical turn. "Dearth" becomes poverty of self', i.e., self-annihilation, and by sava'd'ol vajhe' they mean the darkness which is nothing but excess of light betokening the proximity of Being (cf. Golshani Raz,' 123 seq.). I tell you by the eternal Truth, that ye are not rightly poor while ye have a will to perform the will of God, or any desire of God and eternity; for the poor man is he who wills, knows, and desires nothing' (Eckhart, Deutsche Mystiker,' Vol. II. P. 281)."
That which the imagination has not conceived³³ "which the imagination has not conceived"-- "cf. 1 Corinthians, ch. Ii. 9: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.", that
which the understanding has not seen.³⁴ "That which the imagination has not conceived, that which the understanding has not seen" "What eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, are quoted from an hadis, which is a mere translation of the passage in I. Corinthians.",
Visiteth my soul from thee, hence in worship I turn toward thee³⁵ "hence in worship I turn toward thee" "the Moslem turns his face in prayer towards the Ka'ba, the mystic directly to God."
By thy grace I keep fixed on eternity my amorous gaze,
Except, O king, the pomps that perish lead me astray.
The favour³⁶ "the favour"-- " in the next line suggests the emendation nemat' (sweet voice, melody). Nemat,' however, does not seem to occur, and the change from naghmeh', as the word is commonly written in Persian, to nemat' is less easy. of that one, who brings glad tidings of thee,
Even without thy summons, is sweeter in mine ear that songs.
In the prostrations of prayer³⁸ "in the prostrations of prayer" "cf. T. 231. 9a seq. Unless I have the face of my heart towards thee, I deem prayer unworthy to be reckoned as prayer. If I turned my face to the qibla,' twas for love of thine; Otherwise, I am weary both of prayer and qibla'. thought of thee, O lord,
Is necessary and binding on me as the seven verses.³⁹ "the seven verses" " there are various interpretations of these words: the most probable is that which makes them refer to the seven verses of the opening Sura of the Kor'an."
To thee belongs mercy and intercession for the sin of infidels:
As regards me, thou art chief and principal of the stony-hearted.
If a never-ceasing bounty should offer kingdoms,
If a hidden treasure should set before me all that is⁴⁰ "If a never-ceasing bounty should offer kingdoms, If a hidden treasure should set before me all that is" "Perhaps it is better to regard this couplet as complete in itself, and translate: If a never-ceasing bounty should offer kingdoms And lay the universe before me, thou art still my hidden treasure.,
I would bend down with my soul, I would lay my face in the dust,
I would say, Of all these the love of such a one⁴¹ "Love of such a one" "the love of God." for me!'
Eternal life, me thinks, is the time of union,
Because time, for me, hath no place there.
Life is the vessels⁴² "Life is the vessels" "cf. T. 252.2).Our celestial spirit is free to eternity, Tho' for a short while we have the shape and figure of man. Know that phenomenal forms are pitchers: with draughts of the Ideal, Like a pitcher, we all are being filled and emptied continually. The draught is not derived from the pitcher, it comes from another source; Like the pitcher we are ignorant of the springs which replenish it.", union the clear draught in them;
Without thee what does the pain of the vessels⁴³ "pain of the vessels" "The tribulation which the soul suffers in the world." cf. (T. 203. 13). Prize not at all life that has passed without love; Love is the Water of Life: receive it in thy heart and soul." avail me?
I had twenty thousand desires ere this;
In passion for him not even (care of) my safety remained⁴⁴ "not even (care of) my safety remained" "literally: not even an aman' (cry for quarter) remained to me, i.e. for love's sake I was prepared to sacrifice all. Prof. Bevan suggests that amini' here may be a plural of amniyat', object of desire. . ." .
By the help⁴⁵ "help" "this term is employed by Jalalu'ddin to denote the perpetual replenishment of the phenomenal world by a succession of emanations from the Absolute." of his grace I am become safe, because
The unseen king saith to me, Thou art the soul of the world⁴⁶ "the soul of the world" "as God is all, and all is God, he who is absorbed in the divine essence becomes identical with it. Hence Anal Haq', I am God, of Mansur Hallaj and the sobhayanei', Praise be to me!, of Bayazid. And this is what our poet means when he says, e.g.: I am the theft of rogues, I am the pain of the sick, I am both cloud and rain, I have rained in the gardens. (T. 258. 4).".'
The essence of the meaning of "He"⁴⁷ "The essence of the meaning of He" "at first sight these words seem to defy the rules of grammar. Obviously the sense is: My soul and my heart are filled with the treasure of His meaning', and this can be obtained from the text only by treating the treasure of his meaning' as a compound adjective. In such formations "filled" is usually prefixed, but cf. Attar, Mantiqu'ttair, 525. . ." has filled my heart and soul;
"Au" cries the street-dog⁴⁸ "Au" cries the street-dog" "a play on oo', He (God), and oo' or au', the sound of a dog's bark.", and neither have I third⁴⁹ "third" "alluding to the doctrine of the Trinity (see Kor'an IV. 169, with Sale's note, v. 77)." or second"⁵⁰ "second" "as in the Magian religion.".
The body, at the time of union with him, paid no regard to the spirit⁵¹ "paid no regard to the spirit" "during this life the body is conscious of the soul's superiority, but not in the divine presence, for then it is non-existent.";
Tho' incorporeal, he became visible unto me.
I aged with his affliction, but when Tabriz⁵² "Tabriz" "The poet puns on the double meaning of Tabriz: (1) the city of that name, and (2) manifestation (from Arabic baraza'), with a reference to gasht aya'ni'."
You name, all my youth comes back to me.

-"Selected Poems from the Divani Shamsi Tabriz"
Edited and translated by Reynold A. Nicholson

˜

A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

Suddenly
           (yet somehow unexpected)
he arrived
           the guest...
the heart trembling
           "Who's there?"
           and soul responding
                      "The Moon..."

came into the house
           and we lunatics
ran into the street
           stared up
                      looking
                                 for the moon.

Then-inside the house-
           he cried out
"Here I am!"
           and we
beyond earshot
           running around
                      calling him...
crying for him
           for the drunken nightingale
locked lamenting
           in our garden
while we
           mourning ring doves
                      murmured "Where
                                 where?"

As if at midnight
           the sleepers bolt upright
in their beds
           hearing a thief
break into the house
           in the darkness
they stumble about
           crying "Help!
                      A thief! A thief!"
but the burglar himself
           mingles in the confusion
echoing their cries:
           "...a thief!"
                      till one cry
                      melts with the others.

And He is with you²⁷

Qur'an 4:57

           with you
in your search
           when you seek Him
look for Him
           in your looking
closer to you
           than yourself
                      to yourself:
Why run outside?
           Melt like snow.
wash yourself
           with yourself:
urged by Love
           tongues sprout
from the soul
           like stamens
                      from the lily...

But learn
           this custom
from the flower:
           silence
                      your tongue.

Diwan-e Shams, v.V.ED. FURUZANFAR, P., 2172
(translated by Peter Lamborn Wilson)
The Rumi Collection, edited by Kabir Helminski

˜

O Friend! we are near you in friendship,
Wherever you set foot, we prostrate ourselves like earth.
How is it permissible, in the religion of love,
That we should see your Creation and neglect to see You?

That Friend brought me up with great care and attention;
He sewed me a garment from skin and veins.
The body is like a cloak and my heart in it like a mystic,
The world is like a monastery and He is my Guide.

Seek knowledge which unravels mysteries
Before your life comes to close
Give up that non-existence which looks like existence,
Seek that Existence which looks like non-existence!

There is a world outside Islam and Disbelief,
We are enamoured of the atmosphere therein.
The mystic lays down his head when he reaches there.
There is neither Islam nor Disbelief in this place.

Whenever I prostrate my head He is the one to whom I bow;
In six directions or outside the six, he is the one I worship.
The garden, the rose, the nightingale, music and the beauteous maiden
Are a mere excuse and He alone is the real object.

From Divani Shams, "Life and Work of Muhammad Jalal-ud Din Rumi"
by Afzal Iqbal