The Musical Composition Called "Ajamashiran"[`Ajam-`ashîr-ân âyîn-é Sharîf]
[Mevlevi Composer: Husayn Fakhruddîn Dede, 1854-1911]
FIRST SALâM (Birinci selâm)
from a Persian ghazal:
Every day (it is) the morning of "May the peace (of God) be upon
you both!"--1 there where the (spiritual) king sits and (it is) the
chosen time.
As long as (his) Messiah(-like) hand of love2 is giving from that
allotment, he is good-fortune for the dead and medicine for the
sick!
har rôz bâmdâd-é salâm-un `alay-kumâ
ân-jâ ke shah neshîn-ad w-ân waqt-é murtaZâ
tâ z-ân naSîb bakhsh-ad dast-é MasîH-é `ishq
mar morda-râ sa`âdat-o bêmâr-râ dawâ
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 202, lines
2232, 2236]
a Persian rubâ`î:
O star, give (some) news (about) our beloved,
So that the heart may find our blood-thirsty (one)!
Give (some) news (about) that physician for the lovers,
So that he may give a (medicinal) drink for our sickness!
khabar kon ay setâra, yâr-é mâ-râ
ke dar yâb-ad del khûn-khwâr-é mâ-râ
khabar kon ân Tabîb-é `âshiq-ân-râ
ke tâ sharbat deh-ad bêmâr-é mâ-râ
from a Persian ghazal:
The pain (of longing) for Shamsuddin is our healing collyrium.
Being without ends or means, love for him is our means!
That (wonderful) mental image, that is soul-increasing (and a)
peerless maker of good-fortune is both the leader of the gathering
and our circulating cupbearer!
dard-é Shamsu 'd-Dîn bow-ad sormâya-yé darmân-é mâ
bê-sar-o sâmânî `ishq-ash bow-ad sâmân-é mâ
ân khayâl-é jan-fazâ-yé bakht-sâz-é bê-naZîr
ham amîr-é majlis-o ham sâqî-yé gardân-é mâ
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 150, lines 1696-97]
a Persian rubâ`î:
O my dearest and nearest, [this] worldly life isn't lasting.
There isn't any beloved or cupbearer except primordial Love!
The lover has a (ritual) circumambulation at the Kaaba of Non-
Existence,
(And since) he is from (that spiritual) Kaaba, there isn't (any)
horizon or limit [for him].
ay jân-o jahân jân-o jahân bâqî nêst
joz `ishq-é qadîm shâhid-o sâqî nêst
bar ka`ba-yé nêstî Tawâfê dâr-ad
`âshiq cho ze ka`ba-ast âfâqî nêst
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Rubâ`î 388]
SECOND SALâM (Ikinci selâm)
from a Persian ghazal:
I've been heart-deprived for the sake of your heart, (and) I've been
dwelling in your lodging place.
(My) soul draws (back its) neck, like a camel, so that from being
your sacrifice, I may become alive!
bê-del shoda-am bahr-é del-é tô
sâkin shoda-am dar manzil-é tô
gardân be-kash-ad jân ham-chô shotor
tâ zenda shaw-am az bismil-é tô
THIRD SALâM (Üchuncü selâm)
from a Persian mathnawî:
Whether love is from this side or that side, eventually, it is our
guide to that [Divine] side.
The illness of the lover is different from (all other) illnesses. Love
is the astrolabe (for studying) the secrets of God!
`âshiqî gar z-în sar-o gar z-ân sar-ast
`âqibat mâ-râ bad-ân sar rahbar-ast
`illat-é `âshiq ze `illat-hâ jodâ-st
`îshq aSTurlâb-é asrâr-é khodâ-st
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî, Book I, lines 110,
109]
from a Turkish ghazal:
Oh, a thousand praises for a sultan as this! (For) those who are his
slaves become kings and emperors.
Today, whoever trustingly humbles himself before Walad3 will,
if a poor man, become a prince (and) if a prince, will become a
sultan.4
ey ki hezar âferin bu nice sultan olur
kulu olan kiSiler hüsrevü hâkan olur
her ki bugün Velede inanuben yüz süre
yoksul ise bay olur bay ise sultan olur
[by Shamsuddîn AHmad Aflâkî, d. 1353]5
from a Persian ghazal:
Since we're agitated and "drunk"6 from today's beginning, we are
talking restlessly because we've become disturbed!
One moment we're experiencing misfortune on the road of
primprdial Love; another moment we're praying "Yes!" to (the
Divine question) "Am I not (your Lord?)"!7
az awwal emrôz chô âshofta-wo mast-êm
âshofta be-gôy-êm ke âshofta shod-ast-êm
yak laHZa balâ-nôsh rah-é `ishq-é qadîm-êm
yak laHZa balâ-gôy munâjât-é alast-êm
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 1477, lines 15570,
15576]
from a Persian ghazal:
We came back drunk from the (spiritual) wine-tavern,8 (and) we
escaped from high and low.
All the drunk ones were cheerful and dancing. Clap (your) hands,
O idols! Clap, clap!
bâz rasîd-êm ze may-khâna mast
bâz rahîd-êm ze bâlâ wo past
jumla-yé mast-ân khwash-o raqSân shod-and
dast zan-îd ay Sanam-ân dast dast
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 516, lines 5503-04
from a Persian ghazal:
What does that pleasant-faced gentleman have, (and) what value
does my market have?
Due to the compassion of Shamsuddin Tabriz, what separations do
any hearts have?
ân khwâja-yé khwash-liqâ che dâr-ad
bâzâr-é ma-râ bahâ che dâr-ad
az raHmat-é Shams-é Dîn-é Tabrîz
har sîna jodâ jodâ che dâr-ad
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 701, lines 7301,
7311]
from a Persian ghazal:
O Lord, I am ashamed of my own ugly sins, (and) I am embarassed
by my bad speech and actions.
Pour some grace upon my heart from the World of Purity, so that
false ideas may be erased from my heart!
yâ Rabb ze gonâh-é zesht-é khwod munfa`il-am
az qawl-é bad-o fi`l-é bad-é khwod khajil-am
fayZê del-am ze `âlam-é quds be-rêz
tâ maHw shaw-ad khayâl-é bâTil ze del-am
FOURTH SALâM (Dördüncü selâm)
from a Persian ghazal:
You are my sultan,9 you are my sultan. And in my heart and
soul, you are my faith.
(When) you breathe into me, I become alive. What is (the worth of
just) one soul? --(since) you are a hundred times10 my soul.
sulTân-é man-î, sulTân-é man-î
w-andar del-o jân, îmân-é man-î
dar man be-dam-î, man zenda shaw-am
yak jân che bow-ad, sad jân-é man-î
[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 3137, lines 33573-74]
--translated from Persian, Arabic, and Turkish by Ibrahim
Gamard
©Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration), 12/99
and 9/04
Translation words and transliterations are based on the best edition
of Rumi's Divan (by Foruzanfar) based on the earliest manuscripts,
so there may be minor differences in wording with what has been
published or musically recorded in Turkey.
NOTES
1May the peace (of God) be upon you both [salâm-un `alay-kumâ]:
a variation on the standard greeting between Muslims: "May the
peace (of God) be upon you" [salâm-un `alaykum].
2Messiah(-like) hand of love: refers to the Prophet Jesus, who is
mentioned in the Qur'an as one who revived the dead and healed
the sick by the power of God given to him (Qur'an 3:49, 5:113),
and who is also called the "Messiah" (Qur'an 3:45).
3Walad: a word play on the name of Rumi's son and successor,
Sultan Walad, or Veled. The literal sense of this line is: "whoever
trustingly rubs his head (on the ground in surrendered obeisance)
to Walad."
4will become a sultan: means a "spiritual king."
5Aflaki: the first and last lines from a ghazal by Shamsuddîn
AHmad Aflâkî. The entire poem occurs at the end of Golpinarli's
book, "Mevlânâ'dan sonra Mevlevilik" in a section called "Samples
of Mevlevi (Turkish) Poetry," where he includes four poems by
Aflaki.
6drunk: References to wine, wine cups and jugs, etc. in sufi poetry
are metaphors for spiritual blessing and ecstatic states. Although
alcoholic beverages are strictly forbidden in Islam, "wine" is
mentioned in the Qur'an as one of the delights of Paradise, and is
itself symbolic of a lofty state of consciousness: "rivers of wine
delightful to those who drink it" (Qur'an 47.15), "wherein is no
headache, nor are they made drunk thereby" (Qur'an :47).
7Am I not (your Lord): Refers to the primordial covenant made
between God and the souls of all mankind, mentioned in Qur'an
7:172: "And when your Lord drew forth from the children of
Adam, from their loins, their seed, and made them testify
concerning themselves, 'Am I not your Lord [a-lastu bi-Rabbi-
kum]?' They said, 'But of course [balà]! We do testify!'" In
Islamic mysticism this event is called the "Day of Alast." A major
goal of Muslim mystics has been to "remember" within the soul
the awareness of, and the total commitment to, God that has been
forgotten by nearly all of humanity since the Day of Alast. The
love of God has always existed within the souls of mankind.
8wine tavaern: see note above on "drunk."
9You are my sultan: means both Shams-é Tabrîzî, and on a
higher level, God alone, the Only Beloved. It is a characteristic of
Persian sufi poetry to be ambiguous in such a way as to refer both
to the human beloved and the Divine Beloved. "When you breathe
into me" is a reference to when God breathed into Adam of His
spirit (Qur'an 15:29).
10a hundred times: an idiom meaning a great many.
