https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILStmtFREEs Translation: Good news to you, my friends! News of nearness and drawing near! You are gathered in security As long as you are in the party of Allah. Good news to you, my masters! Good news to you, my lovers! Good news about what is coming —You are in the mercy of Allah. Your gathering is…
Qaṣīdah Luṭfiyyah by Aḥmad al-‘Alawī
This poem by the Algerian Shaykh Aḥmad al-‘Alāwī (d.1934) is commonly sung after recitations of the Qur’an in the Maghreb, France, and other areas to which his Tariqah has spread: Translation: Oh Lord, by your kindness, O my hope be kind to us, and grant us deliverance We ask You, O Lord, by the Qur’an…
Fragments of Love
Some famous and beautiful fragments (single verses) of Arabic Love poetry, often cited by Sufis. Translation: If not for You, we would not know Love, If not for Love, we would not know You. Original: لو لاكم ما عرفنا الهوى ولو لا الهوى ما عرفناكم Translation:…
Keats and the Sufis
these poems by John Keats pair nicely with the following poems by Ibn al-Farid and Hafez John Keats “Fill for me a brimming bowl” What wondrous beauty! From this moment I efface from my mind all women. Terrence, Eunuch, II.3.296 Fill for me a brimming bowl And in it let me drown my soul: But put therein…
Pass round love’s remembrance
One of my favorite poems by one of my favorite poets, Ibn al-Fāriḍ: Translation: Pass round the remembrance the one I love, even in reproach for tales about the beloved are my wine Let my hearing witness the one I love, though she be far through specters…
Hafez and Surah Qadr
There’s a close relationship between Hafez’s poetry and the Qur’an, and it’s seldom as explicit as in the poem below: Translation: This is the night of union and the tale of separation is at an end Therein is peace until the break of dawn. O heart, be steadfast in love For on this path, no work is without…
Hafez taught me: Three Great Ghazals
These three wonderful ghazals are right next to one another in Hafez’s Divan: Ghazal 344: Translation: With your black eyelashes, you poked thousands of holes in my faith Come, let me pick thousands of pains from your lovesick eyes. O companion of the heart who has forgotten your friends Let there be no…
Ghazal #1 of Hafez’s Divan
This first Ghazal of Hafiz’s Divan is as mysterious as it is beautiful and wise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo5YGfMeElg Translation: O Saqi, come pass the cup ’round and fill it up for love seemed easy at first, but then came difficulties Longing for the sweet scent the morning wind unlocks from her locks …
Hafez sung beautifully
This is one of the most beautiful recordings of Hafez’s ghazals that I’ve ever heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHMjOCOJ1oA Translation: As long as there is a name and sign on the tavern My head will be dust on the road of the Magian Pīr The ring of the Magian Pīr has been in my ear since…
The Lovers’ Anthem
This incredibly beautiful, and incredibly rich, ghazal of Hafez is my current favorite: Translation: When you hear the speech of the people of the heart, do not say that it is mistake the mistake is, my dear, not understanding this speech. My head bows neither to this world nor the next Praise God for…