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The Musical Composition Called "Panjgâh"

[Mevlevi Composer: unknown. this ayîn is called an "Ancient Composition"-- "Basta-yé Qadîm"]

FIRST SALâM (Birinci Selâm)

a Persian rubâ`î(in 14/8 time):

The mystical concert¹ is the royal falcon² at the side of the Lord of
Glory.³

(And) the mystical concert is the carpet-spreader for the hearts of
the people of ecstasy.⁴

The mystical concert is forbidden to the sect of the deniers,

(But) the mystical concert is permitted to the sect of the lovers!⁵


shah-bâz-é janâb-é Zu 'l-jalâl-ast samâ`
farrâsh-é qulûb-é ahl-é Hâl-ast samâ`
dar maZhab-é munkir-ân Harâm-ast samâ`
dar maZhab-é `âshiq-ân Halâl-ast samâ`


from a Persian ghazal (containing a Turkish word):

O my escaping idol!⁶ He said,) "I'm coming." Did you see (him)?
He never came.

(That) Moon⁷ is my sun of wisdom. (He said,) "I'm coming." Did
you see (him)? He never came.


Sanam-é gorêz-pây-am
"geleyim." dîd-î? nay-âmad

mah âftâb-é rây-am
"geleyim." dîd-î? nay-âmad


from a Persian rubâ`î:

No fire is ignited in our hearts except (by) Him,⁸
(And) no stage of ours is shortened except (by) Him.
Even if the people of the world could all be doctors,
Our problems will not be solved except (by) Him!

âtesh na-zan-ad dar del-é mâ 'illâ hû
kôtah na-kon-ad manzil-é mâ 'illâ hû
gar `âlamiy-ân jumla Tabîb-ân bâsh-ad
Hall na-kon-ad mushkil-é mâ 'illâ hû


SECOND SALâM (Ikinci Selâm (in 9/4 time)

from a Persian ghazal (second line in Arabic):

O silvery chined one, O stoney hearted one¹⁰ O tulip-clothed one! Be pleased with a glance (at) my heart nourished by (longing) sorrow!

Even if this worn-down body is far from your lane, the heart
is at your gate day and night!¹¹


sîmîn zaqân-â sang-del-â lâla-izâr-â
khwosh kon, ba-negâhé del-é gham-parwar-é mâ-râ

în qâlib-é farsûda gar az kôy-é tô dûr-ast
al-qalbu `alà bâbi-ka layl-an wa nahâr-â


THIRD SALâM (Üçuncü Selâm)

from a Persian mathnawî (in 28/8 time):

Listen to the reed (flute),¹² how it is complaining! It is telling about
separations,

Saying, "Ever since I was severed from the reed-bed, men and
women have lamented in (the presence of) my shrill cries.

(But) I want a heart (which is) torn, torn, from separation, so that I
may explain the pain of yearning!"

be-sh'naw în nay chûn shikâyat mê-kon-ad
az jodâ'î-hâ Hikâyat mê-kon-ad

k-az nayestân tâ ma-râ bo-b'rîda-and
dar nafîr-am mard-o zan nâlîda-and

sîna khwâh-am sharHa sharHa az firâq
tâ be-gôy-am shar-é dard-é ishtiyâq

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî, Book I, lines 1-3]

from a Turkish ghazal (in 6/8 time):

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 Walad¹³ will,
if a poor man, become a prince (and) if a prince, will become a
sultan.¹⁴

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]¹⁵

from a Persian ghazal:

O people (who have) gone to the Pilgrimage,¹⁶ where are you? The
Beloved is in this very place-- come! Come!

ay qawm ba-Hajj rafta, ko-jây-îd ko-jây-îd
ma`shûq hamîn-jâ-st, bey-ây-îd bey-ây-îd

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî: Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 648, line 6762]

from a Persian rubâ`î:

What can a lover do but show humility?
What can he do but come (in the) nights to your lane?
Don't be upset if he gives your curls a kiss,
(For) what can a crazy person do but bite at chains?¹⁷

`âshiq ke tawaZu` na-nomây-ad che kon-ad
shab-hâ ke ba-kôy-é tô nay-ây-ad che kon-ad
gar bôsa deh-ad zolf-é to-râ Tîra ma-shaw
dêwâna ke zanjîr na-khay-ad che kon-ad

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî: Dîwân-é Kabîr, rubâ`î 713]

from a Turkish rubâ`î:

Oh, due to Love's beauty and states,
Love scorched (my) heart by (means of) its passions.
I swear (that) I do not love (anything) besides [your] beauty--
(I swear) by God and by the signs of God!

ah güzelin aSkIna hâlatIna
yandI yürek aSk hararatIna
andIçerIm Gayri güzel sevmeyim
TanrIya vü TanrInIn âyatIna

from an Arabic rubâ`î:

Oh, due to Love and its states,¹⁸
My heart was burnt up in its passions!
There is no glance of (my) eye toward (anyone) other than you--
I swear by Allah and His signs!

âhi mina 'l-`ishq wa Hâlâti-hi
aHraqa qalb-î bi-Harârâti-hi
mâ naZaru 'l-`ayni ilà ghayri-kum
uqsimu bi-llâhi wa âyâti-hi

from a Persian ghazal:

Love drew me into the tavern district,¹⁹ (and) that beloved roving
knight saw me and signaled.

I left, following that dear roving knight,²⁰ (but at) that moment, he
hid his face from me.

He was the confidant of secrets with (the Prophet,) the Sultan of
(the saying,) "How little we know God,"²¹ so that the secret of the
revelation of Eternity was fully explained.

dar kôy-é kharâbât ma-râ `ishq kashân kard
ân del-bar-é `ayyâr ma-râ dîd-o neshân kard

man dar pay-é ân del-bar-é `ayyâr be-raft-am
ô rôy-é khwad ân laHZa ze man bâz nehân kard

sulTân-é "`araf-nâk" bod-ash maHram-é asrâr
ta sirr-é tajallî-yé azal jumla bayân kard

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî: Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 643, linea 6709, 6710,
676]


FOURTH SALâM (Dördüncü Selâm)

from a Persian ghazal (in 9/4 time):

You are my sultan,²² 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 times²³ 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

¹the mystical concert [samâ`]: literally, "audition." Means ecstatic,
listening, chanting, singing, moving, whirling, and dance-like
movements to spiritual poetry and music.

²royal falcon: Rumi often uses the image of the trained falcon that
faithfully returns to the king: the falcon symbolizes the soul of the
lover of God and the king symbolizes God.

³the Lord of Glory [Zu 'l-jalâl]: a shortened form of one of the
"Ninety-Nine Names of God," Qur'an 55: 27, 78.

⁴the people of ecstasy [ahl-é Hâl]: means the dervishes who
experience spiritual states of love for God.

⁵the sect of the lovers [maZhab-é `âshiq-ân]: means the lovers of
God, who have their own "creed and doctrine" [maZhab] centered
on love of God as the essence of worship. When Rumi used this
term in his authentic poetry, he did not intend it to mean a religion
or sect separate from Islam, but the pure essence of the worship of
God, of a different quality than the externals of Islamic worship.

⁶idol [Sanam]: a metaphor for the beautiful beloved.

⁷(that) Moon: symbolizes the illuminated spiritual master, Shams-é
Tabrîzî.

⁸except (by) Him ['illâ hû]: a common Arabic phrase used by sufis
in prayer-chanting which frequently occurs in the Qur'an, "There is
no divinity except Him" [lâ 'illâha 'illâ hû].

⁹silvery (beloved) [sîmîn]: refers to the (moon-like) silvery skin of
the beautiful beloved.

¹⁰hard-hearted [sang-del]: literally, "stony-hearted." The expected
role of the beloved was to be harsh toward the longing lover.

¹¹day and night [layl-an wa nahâr]: these Arabic words occur
frequently in the Qur'an.

¹²the reed-flute [nay]: symbolizes the soul of the mystic lover of
God, who yearns to return to original nearness to God prior to birth
in the material world.

¹³Walad: 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."

¹⁴will become a sultan: means a "spiritual king."

¹⁵Aflaki: the first and last lines are 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.

¹⁶the Pilgrimmage [Hajj]: means the pilgrimmage to Mecca, which
has limited value if there is no devotional love felt toward God
during the rituals.

¹⁷bite at chains: crazy people used to be tied to chains during
perioids of madness to protect them from themselves and others.

¹⁸its states [Hâlati-hi]: means ecstatic states of love of God. This
Arabic verse may have been the original from which the preceding
Turkish verses may be a translation.

¹⁹tavern district: means sufi gathering places where ecstatic love of
God is cultivated.

²⁰roving knight: a metaphor for the beloved.

²¹"How little we know God" [`araf-nâk]: refers to a prayer of the
Prophet Muhammad--"We do not know You as You deserve to be
known." ²²You 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).

²³a hundred times: an idiom meaning a great many.