This beautiful poem by the Damascene Sufi scholar ‘abd al-Ghani al-Nābulusi (d. 1143/1731), is a favorite among singers. But as he writes in his dīwān, it is based on two verses from an earlier poem, which his friends showed him and asked him to expand.
These verses are found in some versions of 1001 Nights, and have been attributed to the Yemeni Sufi poet ‘abd al-Raḥīm al-Bur’aī, but they are also found in a poem at the end of the Dīwān of the great Algerian student of Ibn al-‘Arabī and al-Qūnawī, ‘Afīf al-dīn al-Tilimsānī (d. 690/1291), a great poet in his own right. Below are performances and translations of both poems:
al-Nābulusī
Translation:
My eyes only see your beauty
and my mind only ever thinks of you
All my thoughts are about you, forget everyone else,
I die and am resurrected loving you
O lords of my heart, I am attached to you
for ever, and I can’t even wait an hour for you
If I sleep, you are with me in my dreams
and in waking, I always see you
There’s no difference between me and your phantom/imagination (khayāl)
If it’s absent, so am I, and if you’re present, I am too
Two we are, but in reality, one
But I’m the lesser, and the greater is you
Perhaps your grace will reach me for I
am ill-mannered and disgraceful
Glory be to you, O God, the king of all mankind
By your dignity among creation, I seek help
You made my connection to you a master
You sent him with with the Truth to manifest your religion
He is the prophet Muhammad, praised above all mankind
upon him be boundless prayers from You
Original:
عيني لغير جمالكم لا تنظر *** وسواكمو في خاطري لا يخطر
وجميع فكري فيكمو دون الورى *** وعلى محبتكم أموت وأحشر
يا سادة قلبي بهم متعلق *** أبداً وعنكم ساعة لا أصبر
إن نمت كنتم في المنام معي وإن *** في يقظتي قد كنت فيكم أبصر
لا فرق ما بيني وبين خيالكم *** إن غاب غبت وإن حضرتم أحضر
إثنان نحن وفي الحقيقة واحد *** لكن أنا الأدنى وأنت الأكبر
ولعل لطفك أن يداركني فقد *** أقللت من أدبي وإني الأحقر
سبحانك اللهم يا ملك الورى *** إني بجاهك في الورى أستنصر
ولقد جعلت وسيلتي لك سيداً *** أرسلته بالحق دينك يظهر
وهو النبي محمد دون الورى *** منك الصلاة عليه ليست تحصر
al-Tilimsānī
Translation:
My eyes do not look at other than your beauty
In my mind, there is no thought but you
And if I speak, I’m talking about your beauty
and if I’m silent, then I’m thinking of you
If I catch a whiff of your fragrance
then in this whiff, all of existence drips
Time runs out before my love for you does
and I will die and be resurrected loving you
You disappeared and so did rest from my sight
along with the sweetness of life in this troubling separation
My love for you is natural, without any affectation
and nature does not change in people
I asked my heart about you and it replied:
I can’t wait, I can’t wait, how could I wait?
They said that tomorrow is the little ‘Eid, I said that
if the beloveds arrive, then it is the greater ‘Eid.
Original:
عيني لغير جمالكم لا تنظر *** وسواكمو في خاطري لا يخطر
وإذا نطقتُ ففي حديث جمالكم *** وإذا سكتُّ ففيكم أتفكّر
وإذا شممتُ لنفحةٍ من ريحكم *** فَبِنَفْحِها كلّ الوجود يقطر
يفنى الزمان وليس يفنى حبّكم *** وعلى محبّتكم أموت وأحشر
غبتم فغاب تهجّعي عن ناظري *** ولذيذ عيشي بالفراق يكدّر
حبّي لكم طبعٌ بغير تكلّفٍ *** والطبع في الإنسان لا يتغيّر
شاورتُ قلبي بعدكم فأجابني. *** لا صبر لي لا صبر لي كيف أصبِر
قالو غدى عيدٌ صغيرٌ قلتُ إنْ *** ورد الأحِبَّة فهو عيدٌ أكبر
There are several alternate versions of this poem floating around combining verses of both and others with some beautiful additions not found in either, such as this verse:
Translation:
Protect and be gentle with hearts, for they are like glass
once broken, there’s no mending them
Original:
حاموا على جبر القلوب فإنها *** مثل الزجاجة كسرها لا يجبر
Also:
The lovely opening line of these poems is reminiscent of these verses by the Mamluk poet Bulbul al-Gharam al-Ḥājirī (The Nightingale of Love):
Translation:
When you took up residence in my heart, there was no part of my body
that didn’t wish it were a heart
When they open, my eyes are generous with tears
Just as when the lightning flashes, the clouds pour rain
When did my eyes stay up except for your beauty?
The flow of my tears for you still hasn’t ceased