Khawaja and the Hindi Parrot
We must seek God’s willingness before commencing any action. He helps whom He will, and He is exalted in might, most merciful. (30:5)
Me hath said it all but getting to the bottom core
Without His benevolence, we are the lowliest of low
Without Allah’s and His blessed persons’ blessings
Even an Angel hath its path but darkening (1)
Oh Allah! The Almighty, The Master of quantity & quality (2)
Thou have constructed a marvelous castle facing eternity
O Allah! Thou art fully cognizant of invisible and visible
Thou art no less no more: above all descriptive measures (3)
Oh Allah! Essentially required is but Thy benevolence
To remember someone other than Thee is impertinence .
Thou have blessed us Divine Guidance to such degree (4)
All our imperfection have become but a veiled mystery ;
The first drop of knowledge that Thee had showered
With Thy supreme Divine oceans hath us connected (5)
I, too am blessed with that Divine drop in heart (6)
Help me purify that desire and lust may depart; (7)
Erst it may be indulged in pettiness shallow (8)
Erst the strong winds may shrivel it is a hallow (9)
Thou art Omnipotent: Thy Will may retrieve
Before shriveled to nothingness, Thou heave: (10)
The drop, being carried away by wind or water
Can’t but escape from wonders of Thy Empire.
Allah may calleth forth the obscurest of non-being
To His call, all are ready to surrender their “Being”(11)
Millions of opposites busy in pulling each other apart
Thy Mercy blessing them; relieving them is Thy Art. (12)
Oh God! Each moment from non-being to being
Hundreds, and millions of Caravans are ready to leave (13)
Particularly as each night doth all thoughts, all care
Vanish and sink deep into oceans of sleep unaware
Then again in the morning as true worshippers do
Raise heads like fish from seas pronouncing, ‘Allah Hu’! (14)
In autumn millions of branches and leaves depart
Defeated at its hands, to river of death sail their ark
The crows are dressed in black `cause of mourning
Crying and wailing on garden grass morn till evening
Till the Lord of worlds hath hailed His due command:
Non-being may return to earth what it had swallowed! (15)
O black death! Return what thee hath taken,
Roses, leaves all along green grass of garden.
A window to Mathnavi Maulvi Ma’nvi
Translation and Commentary Seema Arif
Further Links for Rumi
O, black death! Return what thee hath taken,
Roses leaves all along the green grass of the garden.
O Brother! Be conscious for a while, will you?
They, too, enjoy both spring and autumn in you!
O Brother! Leave aside for a while thy “self” bright (16)
Be revived in your spirit, drowning in mystic light
Witness the garden of thy heart green and blossoming
All are covered with buds, roses, cypress and jasmine
Branches with a bounty of green leaves are festooned
Abundance of flowers hath jungle, mansions adorned
The message commending from Divine Intelligence
The cypress and Sunbal forests’ doth bear fragrance
Flower hath not been there, but thee smelt its scent
They realized intoxication where no wine was spent (17)
The scent is the guide on the way, thy mentor
It shall lead you to Paradise: Cistern of Kauthar (18)
The scent may cure the vision enlightened (19)
Blinded eyes of Jacob it had thus opened
The stink robs the eye of light, hath it darkened
The scent of Joseph may lead to Beloved one
If thou art not Joseph, Jacob thee may become
Stay busy in crying; wailing is thy due ransom
When thou art not Shirin, be Farhad the lover
Not being Laila, being Mujnun is thy leisure. (20)
( Copyright 2024 ) Dr. Seema Arif All rights reserved.
All material on this page is Seema Arif’s original writing. Using it in any form of publication and print media without prior permission will be considered a violation of rights. When quoting research papers, proper referencing should be used.