Baghdad. Talk with the Cuneiform Sign
ولكن لي أساس يحتاج إلى بناء
But I have the foundation
which needs further construction.
Al-Jilani
To the park I went to ramble,
With myself I took the book,
And a waxen yellow candle
To unravel verses by Mansur.
In the nook I sat, wet beams
Glide beside upon the ground, -
Lunar beams, but moon - unseen;
No one is seen around...
In remoteness broken seal
Left, it seems, on evening gloom
Cuneiform and odd imprínt;
I began to read the book...
أدعوك بلْ أنت تدعوني إليك فهلْ
ناديتُ إيّاك أم ناجيتَ إيّائي
I call You, but You call me to You, whether I
Was crying to You, or You to me cried.
Al-Hallaj, Poem 1
"Comest hither, comest here!"
Word by word as semi-sounds...
"Comest hither, do you hear!?"
Words are rolling in a round...
Whether from the broken seal,
Or within the verse I hear...
I took candle, went to see
On the seal engraving blear.
Cuneiform sign: We are frozen magic rays,
Locks are here, give the keys:
ثم رفعت حجاب القدم
فلاح لي توحيد الكرم
Then I raised the veil of antiquity,
And appeared to me the union of nobility.
Ibn 'Arabi
Me: Vessel filled with Words antique
Does become antique.
Words - language, Names.
Cuneiform sign: From key the lock you've made,
But yet explain:
ثم رفعت حجاب الثناء
فلاح توحيد الفناء
Then the veil of praise lifted I,
And the union of Fanā did alight.
Ibn 'Arabi
Me: Name of God invoked within -
Melting, wind;
Name pronounced -
Melting, wave around.
Cuneiform sign: Time is running fast,
So the last:
ثم رفعت حجاب الاختبار،
فلاح لي توحيد الاختيار
Then the veil of experience I did lift,
And the union of preference appeared to me.
Ibn 'Arabi
Me: The more you've crossed -
The shorter riddle-verse.
لأن المريد يسير، والمراد يطير
Because the seeker walks,
but the master flies.¹
Al-Junayd
Cuneiform sign: Thou hast increased the mist,
Yes it is...
Then got silent giant seal,
Disapears in sleepy gauze;
But the echo whispers still,
"Yes it is..." Then all disperse...
Sheikh: You have opened door of verse,
Or the verse has opened this;
But the Caller - always first -
Through the window His.
من كملت معرفته لله عز وجل
صار دالا عليه يصير شبكة يصطاد
بها الخلق من بحر الدنيا
Who reached excellence in the knowledge of God,
majestic is He, becomes a sign of God,
a net to catch men from the sea of this world.
Al-Jilani
I remember, then had rung
The clock, and all got calm.
September 2022
Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Opening of Lordship
الفتح الرباني والفيض الرحماني
Mansur Al-Hallaj, Diwan
ديوان الحلاج
Ibn 'Arabi, The Book of Nocturnal Journey
كتاب الإسرا إلى مقام الأسرى
1 Abu Al-Qāsim Al-Qushayri, The Epistle on Sufism
الرسالة القشيرية
Translation from Arabic
by Denis Bezmelnitsin
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