The Musical Composition Called "Hijaz" [Hijâz âyîn-é Sharîf]

[Mevlevi Composer: MuSâHib AHmad âghâ, d. 1792]


FIRST SALâM (Birinci selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

I am the King's falcon1 of purity, arrived from the Placeless, (and)
resting in bodily form for the sake of hunting some "prey!"

I am Mt. Qaf's bird2 of nearness, escaped from breath and existence.
I am the peacock of the Garden of Heaven, flown from the nest!

man shâh-bâz-é qudS-am az lâ makân rasîda
bahra-yê shekâr-é Saydê dar qâlib âramîda

Sîmorgh-é Qâf-é qurb-am az dam-o kawn jasta
Tâ'wûs-é bâgh-é `arsh-am az âshyân parîda


a Persian rubâ`î:

No fire is ignited in our hearts except (by) Him,3

(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


from a Persian mathnawî:

Listen to the reed (flute),4 how it is complaining! It is telling about
separations.

The reed is telling the story of the path of blood; it is telling stories
of Manjoon's (crazed) love.

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

nay HadîS-é râh-e por khûn mê-kon-ad
qaSSa-hâ-yé `ishq-é Majnûn mê-kon-ad

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî, Book I, lines 1, 13]


SECOND SALâM (Ikinci selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

I came to the shore of the sea; I found "He!" and "O the one who is
He!" I am lingering (there where) every moment all (is) "O He!"5
and "O the one who is He!"

You heard Shams-i Tabriz (say) "Come!" at the top of the market
place. You saw the moon of his beautiful face. All (is) "O He!" and
"O the one who is He!"

rasîd-am bar lab-é daryâ, be-dîd-am "hû" wo "yâ man hû"
ta`allul mê-kon-am har dam hama "yâ hû" wo "yâ man
hû"

shenîd-î shams-é tabrîzî, "bey-ây-îd" bar sar-é bâzâr
be-dîd-î mah-é mah-rôy-ash hama "yâ hû" wo "yâ man
hû"


THIRD SALâM (Üçüncü selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

At the beginning, lovers are stamping (their) feet on this world and
the next. After that, they are talking about Love in Love's district.

Since our name comes from being destitute in the beloved's lane,
they are beating the drum of our sultan in both worlds.

The dwellers on the threshold of love for Master Jalâl6
Are pounding feet and (drum) skins at leisure in the
kingdom of Union!

`âshiq ân awwal qadam bar har dô `âlam mê-zan-and
ba`d az-ân dar kôy-é `ishq az `ishq dam mê-zan-and

tâ bar ây-ad az gadâ'î nâm-é mâ dar kôy-é dôst
kôs-é sulTân-é mâ dar har dô `âlam mê-zan-and

sâkin-ân-é âsetân-é `ishq-é Mollâ-yé Jalâl
az farâghat pôst-o pâ dar mulkat-é jam` mê-zan-and


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 Walad7 will,
if a poor man, become a prince (and) if a prince, will become a
sultan.8

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]9


a Persian rubâ`î:

Any ear which is open for God in every place,

Does not hear any words except to God.

And any eye which receives light from Him,

For it, every atom is a mirror revealing the Beloved!

gôshê ke ba-Haqq bâz bow-ad dar hama jây
ô hêch sokhan na-sh'naw-ad illâ ba-khodây
w-ân dîda k-az-ô nûr paZîr-ad ô-râ
har Zarra bow-ad âyena-yé dôst-nomây


a Persian rubâ`î:

O God, I act without need of the two (realms of) existence!

And my head is elevated (from wearing) the crown of (spiritual)
poverty!10

I am the confidant of secrets in Your sanctuary.

(And) I turn back (from) the road which is not toward You!

yâ Rabb ze dô kawn bê-neyâz-am kardan
w-az afsar-é faqr sar-ferâz-am kardan
andar Haram-at maHram-é râz-am kardan
ân râh ke na sôy-é tô-st bâz-am kardan


a Persian rubâ`î:

You hear every sigh11 which (is) from the longing of my heart.

You made me a rose from (each) sigh of my heart (which) You
hear.

If you open an ear to the state of my heart,

You will hear continually from my heart, my heart, my heart!

har ah ke az dard-é del-am mê-shenaw-î
az ah-é del-am kard-î gol-am mê-shenaw-î
gar gôshê ba-Hâl-é del-é man bâz kon-î
dâ'im ze del-am del-am del-am mê-shenaw-î


from an Arabic ghazal:

Truly, the splendor of the world is from the light of our protector.
(That Full-Moon of the early morning is our
cupbearer12 and the moistener of our cups.

(He is) the love of my Faith and the solitude of my garden, the
wooded grove of my companion and the rose of our cheeks.

qad ashraqati 'd-dunyâ min nûri Humayyâ-nâ
al-badru ghadâ sâqî wa 'l-kâ'su thurayyâ-nâ

al-Sabwatu îmân-î wa 'l-khalwatu bustân-îy
wa 'l-mashjaru nadmân-î wa 'l-wardu muHayyânâ

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, Ghazal 267, lines
3011-12]


FOURTH SALâM (Dördüncü selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

You are my sultan,13 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 times14 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
1royal 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.

2Mt. Qaf's bird: a legendary bird with miraculous powers, said to
live in Mt. Qaf which was conceived as surrounding most of the
world.

3except (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].

4the reed flute [nay}: symbolizes the soul of the mystic lover of
God who yearns to return to the origin and source in nearness to
God, the Only Beloved.

5O He [yâ hû]: a common sufi prayer-chant referring to God.

6master Jalâl [Mollâ-yé Jalâl] refers to Mawlânâ Jalâluddîn Rûmî.

7Walad: 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."

8will become a sultan: means a "spiritual king."

9Aflaki: 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.

10spiritual poverty [faqr]: means being "poor" of concerns for
what is "other than God" (and therefore "rich" with thoughts and
yearning love for God alone).

11You hear every sigh: an example of a sufi poem called "intimate
prayer" [munâjat]. Sometimes the poem may appear to be
addressed to a human beloved, but the real meaning is prayer to
God.

12cupbearer [sâqî]: means a server of "wine."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).

13You 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).

14a hundred times: an idiom meaning a great many.