Baghdad. Tomb of Al-Jilani
بغداد. الحضرة القادرية
ضَرَبَتْ طُبُولُ العِزِّ فِى سَاحَاتِنَا
وَعَلى السُّهَى شَرَفاً نَصَبْنَ خِيَامَنَا
وَجَلِيسُنَا لَمْ يَشْقَ يَوْماً فِى الوَرَى
وَمُرِيدُنا مَازَال فِى إِكْرَامِنَا
The glory is drumming in our street,
On the star most far-off the pavilions we pitched.
But today amongst men we certainly sit,
And the votaries visit us still.¹
Al-Jilani
Ray unsteady, flimsy, 'mid
The midnight you the foot-prints left
Grey or green, or aught between...
On the clock 'tis far past twelve.
Tell me, tell me, straying beam,
Who has sent you in my cell?
- The four doors in chamber his...
Whispered ray, and then did melt.
I left hostel, on the street
I began with shadows flowing
To flow forth into the deep,
"Hither, hither..." Voice is calling.
Word by word emerge and vanish,
Through the gate I calmly passed;
Moon above without blemish -
Grey as vapoury glass...
I advanced across the court of holy
Mosque unheeded, the lit space
I entered; Letters fór me
Have appeared in array:
أنا باب الكعبة تعالى
I am the door to exalted Kaaba.²
Al-Jilani
Then into tints of desert have
Dispersed the letters. Fell into
The ochres rhyme, and said,
"Hey, take a look:"
وَشَاءُوسُ مُلْكى سَارَ شَرْقاً وَمَغْرِباً
فَصِرْتُ لأَهْلِ الْكَرْبِ غَوْثاً وَرَحْمَة
To the West and the East my kingdom spread rays,
For the men of dolour I become a mercy and rain.¹
Al-Jilani
Receded visions then, at door
I see the Sheikh with staff, "Among
The shadows I tonight unlock
The signs, join us!"
As the letters black on paper -
Pilgrims in the inner room;
It is four o'clock, or later,
Yet my place I took...
Sheikh: So let's commence the rite!
One of them: "Sufism" - the word what signifies?
Sheikh:
التصوف مشتق من الصفاء، يا من لبس
الصوف الصوفي الصادق في تصوفه
يصفو قلبه عما سوى مولاه عز وجل
The word "Sufism" is derived from the word
"Purity". O you, who's attired in the garment Sufi,
true to its way, who his heart purifies from
everything save the Lord, majestic is He.²
Al-Jilani
"You seek Uniqueness thine,
But 'tis in Me," the Lord replied.
One of them: The Hand is tracing way...
Sheikh:
〈عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ〉 أي: جادة المعرفة والتوحيد
"Upon the way" - the way of knowledge and unification.³
Al-Jilani
The way is where -
The Guide is there.
Me:
Seek Paradise.
Chaldean Oracle
Sheikh:
〈إِذَا السَّمَاءُ〉 المعبَّر بها عن العلويات
المتأثرات عن الأسماء والصفات الإلهية
"When the heaven" - the expression of exaltedness
affected by divine Names and qualities.³
Al-Jilani
For the garden each -
Its own keeper and the speech...
One of them:
Wie sich in sieben milden Strahlen
Der weiße Schimmer lieblich bricht,
Wie sieben Regenbogenstrahlen
Zerrinnen in das weiße Licht.
As into seven tender rays
Does break itself the fair light,
As do the seven rainbow rays -
Away they vanish in the white.
Friedrich Schiller
Sheikh:
〈سَبْعَ سَمَوَاتٍ〉 علويات مطبقات على عدد
الأوصاف السبعة الذاتية الإلهية، وجعلها
مسكناً للمجردات من الملائكة والأرواح
"The seven heavens" - the levels of exaltedness
in number of seven qualities of divine
entity. He made them the dwelling for diverse
angels and spirits.³
Al-Jilani
If you deserved the lodge in it -
Its dwellers shall appear, greeting, "Peace!"
This greeting do not lose...
One of them: Those stolen by the wave,
Calling, "Lonely leaf at main..."
Sheikh:
وقال ابن عطاء: فإنك بأعيننا أي: مغمور
في حفظنا، وغريق في فضلنا، ومستور
بحفظنا، ومن اختصَّ بالله كان في حفظه
Ibn Ata said: "Thou art before Our eyes" -
submerged in Our protection, sunken in Our
grace, covered by Our protection; Who is
with God - is under His protection.³
Al-Jilani
The Lord doth say,
"With Me don't be afraid!"
One of them:
Behold the birds of the heaven, that
they sow not, neither do they reap, nor
gather into barns; and your
heavenly Father feedeth them.
Matthew 6:26
Sheikh:
〈خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ〉 يرزقكم من حيث لا
تحتسبون إن توكلتم عليه مخلصين،
وفوضتم أموركم إليه سبحانه
"[God is] the Best of sustainers" - provides you
wherefrom you don't expect, if you trust in Him
sincerely, and entrust all your affairs to Him,
majestic is He.³
Al-Jilani
Nocturnal hours the power lose,
Into the words half-heard discharge;
In mirrors images abstruse,
"We are the nightly echoes..." But
The sacral vessel - almost full,
We are approaching marge...
One of them: The leaves I pick:
Sometimes red, or pleasant green.
Sheikh:
هو أعرف منك بمصلحتك
وهو يعلم وأنت لا تعلم
[God] knows better than you
what is good for you,
He knows, but you do not.²
Al-Jilani
Proceed until 'twill become all gold.
And so upon this night we put
The seal. It is the root
Of knowledge:
كل من يرى الضر والنفع من غير
الله عز وجل فليس بعبد له، هو
عبد من رأى ذلك منه
Every one who sees the loss or profit from
other than God, great and majestic is He,
is not His servant, but the servant of one
from whom he sees it.²
Al-Jilani
March 2023
1 Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, Diwan
ديوان الجيلاني
2 Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Opening of Lordship
الفتح الرباني والفيض الرحماني
3 Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani, The Commentary on Qur'an:
Suras: "The Jinn", "The Cleaving Asunder",
"The Divorce", "The Mount", "Friday"
تفسير الجيلاني: سور: الجن، الانفطار، الطلاق،
الطور، الجمعة
Friedrich Schiller, Die Künstler
Translations from Arabic and German
by Denis Bezmelnitsin
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