Baghdad. Qushla Clock Tower
بغداد. برج ساعة القشلة
'Round the tower a turn I made,
Every step became a sound
In the silence stamped; The shapes
Intermingled into round...
Circle rolled in dusky dark;
Pointed clock, "Do not forget!"
I took ink Chinese and brush,
And had painted that...
Ten o'clock dispersed in ten
Sombre tones of doze;
"All these tints I can, I shall
Transmit..." The ink in whisper spoke...
Then eleven arrow shewed,
The eleven veils of shade
The clock tower consumed;
Night began...
"Thou, clad'st in black attire,
What is thy desire?"
Asked me gust of wind...
- No mine, but His...
Sheikh: You answered well:
من شرط المحبة ترك المشيئة والإرادة...
ما في هذه الطريق أنا ولا نحن
إلا أنت أنت
The condition of love: leaving the will,
and desire...
There are no in this way "I", neither "We",
but Thou, Thou.
Al-Jilani
Another answer makest then:
Precious and cheap...
Me: The vessel filled,
And vessel empty...
Sheikh: Thy reply is right:
قال: لم بيع [يوسف] بثمن بخس،
قلت: ليعلم أن الإنسان من حيث هو
صاحب نقص، فإن غلا ثمنه وعلى،
فلصفة زائدة على ذاته حضرتها الملأ الأعلى
He said: Why was Joseph sold
at a low price?
I replied: To denote the value of
man of decrease; The value high
is from the attributes of his entity,
which the lofty angels frequent.¹
Ibn 'Arabi
And the third: The fallen, broke...
Me: Sunk in earth...
Sheikh: Well you said, accepted answer thine:
قال: فلم رد إلى أسفل سافلين،
قلت: إشارة إلى الطين
He said: Why does appertain
to the lowest of the low?
I replied: A sign pointing at clay.¹
Ibn 'Arabi
Then he pulled a hood, and hid...
The clock rang the twelve: the six
Sounds fell on left, and six
Fell on right; The night has said,
"Unravel that..."
Me: In stream of opposites
The sail attains midnight...
The bliss and flame - two hands of God,
With both the potter forms a pot.
Sheikh: We accept your words:
زآن که ضِد را ضِد کُند پیدا یَقین
زآن که با سِرکه پَدید است اَنگبین
Opposite by opposite is revealed,
Like with vinegar the honey is seen.
Rumi, Masnavi 1:3216
One hour rang, and sang, "I am
The rippled water of reflections,
Behind... I hide myself..."
Me: Reality fragile, the state
Of vision...
Sheikh: Figures, shapes emerge in fog;
Left on sand the tracks of birds...
It is so...
ما تقول في الأفق المبين،
فقلت: محل كشف المقربين
About the horizon visible what do you say?
I responded: The place
Of unveiling of those standing near.¹
Ibn 'Arabi
Then the arrow split the beam,
Twice the bird in shelter yell'd,
"I am that amid, between..."
Arrow said, 'tis two a.m.
Me: Barzah - the gate...
Sheikh: Between Seen, Unseen - the bridge;
Right is it...
ولهذا سمي عالم التمثل والتبدل
برزخاً لكونه وسطاً بين خقائق
جسمانية وحقائق غير جسمانية
The world of likeness and transformation
is called "Barzáh", for his being is
intermediary between the corporeal
realities, and incorporeal.²
Ibn 'Arabi
But look, the tower is yet asleep,
Nocturnal flow is here too deep
To wade it through, we need
Respite, good night...
July 2020
Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Opening of Lordship
الفتح الرباني والفيض الرحماني
1 Ibn 'Arabi, The Book of Nocturnal Journey
كتاب الإسرا إلى مقام الأسرى
2 Ibn 'Arabi, The Book of Questions
كتاب المسائل
Translations from Arabic and Farsi
by Denis Bezmelnitsin
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