The Mystery of Reverse of Moon
راز پشت ماه
ووهبنا ما وهبنا
سر بدر الحبشي
We gave what we gave -
The mystery of Ethiopian moon.¹
Ibn 'Arabi
Shadows said, "Come in, and melt..."
At the mirror black I looked,
And saw murkiness unknown; Well
Of dreams... In it I saw no self, nor room...
I moved not, but thought appeared,
That all me in mirror be
Yet already; vision clear...
Though indeed I nothing see...
In the shreds of some reflections I
Dispelled and drowned
In the well of shadows like
A hollow sound...
I did shout... Answered echo, "Why
Do you fright the darkness? Hist..."
- Is it heart of night, reply..?
- It is abode of those - in pavilions hid...
Then a haze me did surround
As a swarm of sombre butterflies;
Made a bout, then a round,
And in pieces of the mirror rived...
Pieces fell as flakes of snow -
Each reflected vision strange -
Whether dreams, phantóms... I do not know,
Voice accosted me and said:
Those dreams ye seen in pieces
Of the haze bepainted with
A hand of night, - inbreathe it;
Weave then birds of it, release...
Then haze shrank some steps away,
Bared sands of Luna; Mag
Is before me standing vague,
As a trace on water dark...
Mag: To these strophes hark:
ما بال الفرصة لا تأتيني
حتى أسعى إليها،
ما بال الثمرة لا تنزل عليَّ
قبل أن أنزل عليها
Never chance will come until
I aspire to it,
Never grants alight to me until
I alight to it.²
Ibn 'Arabi
Ye sought the door to this demesne,
But didn't know that the door
Was also seeking you; but say,
I shall respond...
Me: But tell me who you be, who are
The dwellers of this valley far..?
Mag:
نحن سر الأزلي
بالوجود الأبدي
We are eternal mystery,
In everlasting being be.¹
Ibn 'Arabi
We are a maze of strayings, who
Did pass it through, and found
Its mystery? We are the moons
Who made a sphere, we reel in Now...
Me: Can you explain, expound..?
Mag:
بينك وبين المطلوب أيُّها السّر اللطيف
ثلاثة حجب من لطيف وكثيف.
الحجاب الأول: مكلل بالياقوت الأحمر،
وهو الأول عند أهل التحقيق.
Between thee and the goal,
O lofty Arcanum, there are
three veils of dense and subtle:
First veil: crowned with Ruby Red, -
and it is the first degree for the men
of realization.³
Ibn 'Arabi
A leaf of Autumn, burning, ah!
The cup is quaffed, the cup of rays
Of light and sunset love...
A tipsy leaf of red...
What can I add? You need
The definitions frozen, clear?
But here is abode of fog and mist...
In drops of rain - the meaning, hear?
والآخر: مكلل بالياقوت الأصفر،
وهو الثاني الذي عليه أهل التفريق.
Then next: crowned with Ruby of Gold, -
and it is the second degree for
the men of separation.³
Ibn 'Arabi
A vessel fell and broke, a sigh
From bosom torn I wreaked; maybé
Too rapidly I flied...
And lost the shores so far at sea..?
But who I be? The heart of light
God woven for me yet instead
Of broken; it doth shine
Like golden amber lamp...
That autumn leaf alone was thrown
By winds at sea, it is become of gold...
والثالث: مكلل بالياقوت الأكهب،
وهو الثالث الذي اعتمد عليه أهل
البرازخ في الطريق.
And the last: crowned with Ruby Dun, -
and it is the third - for the men
of Barzah.³
Ibn 'Arabi
A billow runs, and runs, and melt
In its reflection, then
Again a wave, as if responding to the call
Of wind, does speed and whelm...
But tell, how many waves can leaf
Absorb? A spinning orb in foggy waste...
Wave of discourses follows wave
Of secrets, melodies...
A misty sea filled vessel mine,
Yet tiny leaf divides
A sea in me, and ocean Yours,
But sea in me is also Yours...
But look at this
Leaf afloat - a boat with sail;
Its broken hold is full of sea, -
Its water black the sail dun made...
Yet finally, after the seas,
When you have reached and found
The Ocean yon, and made a sphere, -
Then amid us upon reverse of moon thou
Your tent shall pitch...
Me: But who are you in the pavilions hid?
Mag:
رتقه رتقاً لا يفتق،
وجعله خلقاً لا يخلق
Sewn in a way - never rip,
Made him creature uncreated He.⁴
Ibn 'Arabi
Me: Please, tell me of these seas...
Mag:
There are four, but know,
That source of them is Ocean caved -
The Ocean shoreless and unknown -
Beyond of the beyond - its name...
Four rivers stream from these
Four seas, but hark to revelation this:
أشّهدَني الحق الأنهار، وقال لي:
تأمّل وقوعها.
فرأيتها تقع في أربعة أبحر.
الواحد: يرمى في بحر الأرواح..
والثاني: يرمى في بحر الخطاب.
والنهر الثالث: يرمى في بحر الشكر.
والنهر الرابع: يرمى في بحر الحب.
The Lord revealed me rivers, spake
To me, "On it do meditate..."
I saw they flow from the four seas:
The first - flows from the sea of Spirits.
The second - flows from the sea of Words and Discourses.
The third - flows from the sea of Gratitude.
The fourth - flows from the sea of Love.³
Ibn 'Arabi
This mystery of moon - unveiled,
The way revealed...
Say, glory be to God, and praise!
The Master - One who leads...
January 2019
1 Ibn 'Arabi, The Abode of Stars
مواقع النُجوم ومطالع أهلة الأسرار والعلوم
2 Ibn 'Arabi, The Crown of Epistles
تاج الرسائل ومنهاج الوسائل
3 Ibn 'Arabi, The Book of Cleaving the Breast
with the Knowledge Arcane
كتاب شق الجيب بعلم الغيب
4 Ibn 'Arabi, The Book of Anqā of the West
كتاب عنقاء مغرب في ختم الأولياء وشمس المغرب
Translation from Arabic
by Denis Bezmelnitsin
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