Poet's Corner Section Fourteen Miscellaneous verses by Jamiluddin Morris Zahuri |
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Love, when you turned me, again, in poetry,
We became one in one, me in you in me;
You round me round you, dancing effortlessly,
Till the stars beneath laughed in glee.
The moon smiled so appreciatively,
The sun agreed, patient in its supremacy;
The spheres’ renowned musical sound,
To the heart’s ear, joy in sorrow had found.
In Love lust served a much deeper end,
In Love shame became just another friend;
In Love greed found fulfilled its every need,
In Love the persistent rebel Shahada did read.
In Love time ended its total tyranny of old,
In Love dirt threw off its coat, revealing gold;
In Love vanity from being a jailer did cease,
In Love, the pearl was pierced by peace.
In Love sensuality reached its goal, and expired,
In Love the mind became in clarity attired.
In Love poetry and music reached an accord,
In Love Truth held aloft its great sword.
In Love wise Abraham from the fire was secured,
In Love mighty Muhammed men to paradise led;
In Love brave Ali became a lion, and roared,
In Love great Ghaus Pak a starving man fed.
In Love the poor a patron found, from Sanjar,
In Love Bilqis to Wisdom came from Sheba;
In Love Majnun his beloved would not betray,
In Love Hafiz and Mevlana showed the Way.
In Love death found it could with life intertwine,
In Love life felt it had reason, rhythm, and rhyme;
In Love religion found its perfect purity,
In Love the intellect found more than curiosity.
In Love even Gabriel one can (almost) see,
In Love, strangely, even a cat can an Abdal be;
In Love the axis turns and sets the room straight,
In Love it appears even patient Pirs cannot wait.
In Love the Word and Spirit unite essentially,
In Love is revealed Majesty’s sacred epiphany;
In Love lies a treasure desiring to be known,
In Love’s polished mirror the hidden was shown.
In Love the holy fold enfolded are, in humility,
In Love the august Assembly joy does decree;
In Love the Beautiful Names look on enviously,
In Love the true guides talk together excitedly.
O Love, not only of the heights can you speak,
When you, in me, in you, have touched the peak,
From the great deep a solemn sound says – ‘Be’,
And what will be, rises up with inevitability.
Then like a babe fresh from the womb,
Or like words from a holy saint’s tomb;
This thought as your gift appears in me
‘In Love you have found your humanity’
Humanism
Dressed in various styles and different modes,
The human frame to just one basic form holds:
And despite many varied manifestations,
And often conflicting views and explanations,
The characteristics of the human condition,
Do not transgress some form of recognition.
The soul of each with all shares more than this,
Each one of the same divine substance is.
Baqa
‘Pardon me sir whose funeral is this I see?‘,
(The deceased looks very much like me!)
Everyone with attention at his body does peer,
I wonder they see me not standing here.
Ah now this mystery at last I see,
Fana appears but Baqa hidden must be.
In sufi terminology fana - is to extinguish one's own qualities in the Divine qualities -
extinction of the self. Baqa is that essence which emerges from Fana once one's qualities
have become one with the divine qualities. Thus it could be called the life that follows the
death of self.
Many Desires
Many desires lead to a muddled mind and unhappy days,
Many wandering wayward thoughts lead to wandering ways,
O gather them in to a single concentrated point,
And upon the Beloved alone cast your desire and gaze.
This is the discipline of the one who to One God prays;
The longing of one whom, to its service, Love did appoint.
The Pure Pearl
Paradise; of the Pure Pearl, it is but a reflection!
The pure pearl of the heart's perfect recollection!
A sample deposited by the soul’s soul on the shore,
Before into the ocean of Love it did withdraw.
If by grace and prayer you happen to find it there,
Encase it in silver or gold and like a pendant wear,
So that soul, finding near your heart it's missing treasure,
Will fill heart, and all of you, with Love’s holy pleasure.
.
The Friend
When from my selfhood I disappear,
Oneness in oneness then does appear,
The voices of a myriad souls I hear,
Engaged in the Friend’s work all appear.
This multitude can only be expressed,
By one voice containing all the rest.
The voice of the Friend on all is impressed,
And all know His words are the very best.
The transient, the Friend’s words make enduring,
The way a brick becomes, when laid in a building.
Firm physical evidence in a form convincing ;-
The conclusion many impulses are finally reaching.
A tome such words may become - who knows!
To which, like to a tomb, the devotee goes,
Eternally living words such as Hafiz is singing,
To generations of lovers, Love’s news bringing,
Contradictions
Inside many a demure and modest maiden,
A fire burns that is not openly expressed,
And in many to wild and restless ways given,
A meek and modest soul we find suppressed.
And often many a modest, mild-mannered fella,
Hides a super hero - so modern myth tells us!
Whilst many a one with a burly Rustam like figure,
Conceals a quiet and contented eater of lettuce.
Adjustment to A New Place
Different head wear, different faces,
Different manners, different graces!
Into life’s fabric difference is threaded,
And expectations must surely be shredded.
So tell me how is a stranger to survive,
To make here a life and still to thrive?
Into the soul’s very life one must dive,
To the place where one can feel alive.
That is the essence of living anywhere,
You can don any garb once living there,
Rough coat, baseball cap, finest silk apparel,
Whatever it is, if it fits - no need to quarrel.
Passing Days
The days come and go – just so,
This we all do well know – no?
Young bodies mature and grow,
And older ones become slow,
The sum total of this we know,
Is that our life passes - just so!
But this secret you should know,
If the seed of love you sow,
And daily nurture it - just so,
It will continue to steadily grow,
And its effect will surely show,
Then real life you will truly know.
Parted for a While?
Does the condition you find yourself in,
To separation seem closely akin?
The concentrated gaze seems unclear,
Diffuse the vision, the Beloved not near?
The cure for this transient state of mind,
Is to be patient and to everyone kind.
Know that the screen of thought you are in,
Is short-lived and not some eternal sin.
So silently say - ‘Well, come whatever may!
He is Oft-returning - like the break of day!’
When He appears embrace Him afresh,
And words of appreciation to Him address.
The Masters of the Way
Supreme indifference to the ways of the world,
Supreme reverence for the ways of the Word!
Daily, the Masters of the Unseen, devotion did display,
And the manners of the ignorant did not them dismay.
They showed, in what they did and what they had to say.
Consciousness of the Reality behind this shadow play,
Enclosed in Love’s great but hidden, power ,
Glistening raindrops on the petal of a flower.
Echoes and phantoms within they passed right by,
Above the siren calls of the psyche they did fly,
To reach finally up to the Real within the Real,
And thus gain, from the Essence, the final seal.
Though deeply Love-drunk in each and every faculty,
Sober and sound in all respects they were seen to be.
Thus, though seemingly as ordinary as anyone can be,
In them the manifestation of Pure Love one could see.
Feel-good Days
O Jamil take the path of gratitude, you should,
To find your way out of the dark oppressive wood,
This is the simplest way, to what is fair and good,
It leads to where happy hearts work and play,
Where early morning dew shines in the sun each day.
Where book and brook and loving look bid you stay.
Where sorrows melt like that warming ice-cream cone
And joyful children laugh at a silent mobile phone’
Where love human and divine merges - you not alone.
And if you want to linger and not go elsewhere,
Then make heartfelt gratitude your daily prayer,
They will welcome you the kind and good folk there.
But understand this too, that place is not somewhere,
It is in your heart, so its here and there and everywhere!
It is when ‘better living’ has become your daily prayer.
In Sufism the 'dance' is an ecstatic inspired turning of the body in
harmony with spiritual dance occurs when the veil of selfhood is lifted.
The music of the spheres - sound is fundamental in the structure of the
universe - sometimes understood to refer to the vibrations of the planets
but it goes much deeper and refers to the emanation from the spiritual
spheres of which the planets are an earthly manifestation.
Illustration to the first two lines in art pages
The persistent rebel - Shaitan (Satan).The holy Prophet said 'my
Shaitan accepted Islam at my hands'.
the pearl - the soul's essence, the divine spark in everyone.
Peace - as salaam - Islam.
Prophet Abraham who was put into a fire by his enemies but Allah made
the fire cool for him.
The holy Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)
Ghaus Pak - Hazrat Abdul Qadir Al Jillani - who one day met a starving
man and fed him so he became fat and healthy - and it was later
revealed this was Islam which had become thin and weak but was revived
by the saint.
Hazrat Ali Murtaza (son in law of the holy Prophet pbuh) who was
declared to be the Lion of God for his bravery.
Majnun - the name of an unrequited archetypal lover whose love for a
woman called Laila drove him to a kind of 'insanity' which found
expression in the most sublime poetry.
Patron from Sanjar - Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti known as
Gharib Nawaz - patron of the poor.
Bilqis - the Queen of Sheba who came to Prophet Solomon and
accepted to abandon idolatry at his hands see Qur'an..
Hafiz - superlative Persian poet and saint of the Way of Love.
Mevlana - Hazrat Maulana Mohammed Jalaluddin Rumi (see website).
Gabriel - the archangel who dictated the Qur'an to holy Prophet
Muhammed. He only appears to Prophets.
Abdal - one of the hidden souls who govern mankind at the command of
God.
The axis - the Qutub or 'pole' of the age. A high spiritual station.
The Pirs - the pure souls who existed before Allah created time and
space and the cosmos.
The Word - the manifestation of Allah that governs the intellect, thought,
reason and speech and has its counterpart in the faculties of man.
The Spirit - the manifestation of Allah that enlivens.
The Essence - the manifestation of Allah that unites the Word and the
Spirit
Epiphany - Tajalli - The manifestation of (the Majesty of) Allah.
Hidden treasure - Hadith - Allah said ' I am a hidden treasure and I
desired to be known'.
The mirror - the eye of the heart or the eye of the intellect.
The Beautiful Names or Qualities of Allah, one of which 'colours' or
rules each day. They are both distinct and integral to each other.
The holy fold. In the unseen a group of pure souls from whom flows
humility.
The august Assembly - there are I believe more than one such
assembly - where the souls of the saints meet in a kind of parliament.
There are Qur'anic references - see the sura called 'Ranged in Ranks'.
Be - 'Kun fayakun' in Arabic. It is translated as 'Be and it becomes' - the
creative Word that brings from non existence into existence - initially into
the similitudinary dimension.
Signposts
To pursue the goal of spirituality
You must go beyond this poetry.
It is just an indicator of the Way,
Read it well, but in it do not stay
If on returning from the destination,
You want a little gentle relaxation,
Then stay a while and smile with me,
So obvious it will then appear to be.
Far Seeking
I am you father and your mother,
I am your sister and your brother,
I am your spouse and your lover,
I am your beloved and every other,
I am your friend, and your pet, moreover.
I am in, above, below, and around you,
I am love, seeking me far, why are you?
People Watching
Look, at people passing, sometimes,
Everything about them rhymes,
I mean really look, and you’ll see
How it all fits together perfectly!
Their clothes may be ill chosen
Or very smart; their gait uneven
Or feline; or it may be their face
Is a caricature, or full of grace!
They may be pale, or black, or brown
Eyebrows knitted or with a frown,
Or laughing and full of great glee,
Young, old or middle aged maybe!
Their posture might be upright
Or bent, or their manner uptight,
Or really laid back and slow,
Or blooming with a healthy glow!
They may look vacant, or pensive,
With clothes, cheap or expensive;
Fierce, or self satisfied and gloating;
Rock solid or willowy; bold or retiring!
Whatever the style of personality
See in it if you can, a certain unity.
The expression of a Divine quality,
Appearing to be just like you or me!
Farewells
Future hopes in places far away,
Draw us towards this final day:
But as it draws near a fine tremor of fear,
At giving up all that we found living here,
Gives the heart cause to flutter,
As fond farewells we sadly utter.
The One
Oh the one who wonders at the One,
In his wonder wanders not from the One,
In oneness with the One, each breath is praise,
Oneness manifest in all he does or says.
But the wonder is the discrimination He displays,
Between the Ones many and varied ways.
Repentance Accepted
The time of repentance is passed,
The time for sweet wine is here at last!
Whatever was done was done by one,
Who is but a reflection of the only One.
The sin now would be not to rejoice,
Or not to give praise with heart and voice!
The King says ‘Sit not far away any longer,
Do not, in the corner, crestfallen, still linger!’
‘But come into the light of my smile,
And sit in a place of honour for a while,
Near the throne of Love for all to see;
And for certainty, receive a gift from me.
Contradictions
Inside many a demure and modest maiden,
A fire burns that is not openly expressed,
And in many to wild and restless ways given,
A meek and modest soul we find suppressed.
And often many a modest, mild-mannered fella,
Hides a super hero - so modern myth tells us!
Whilst many a one with a burly Rustam like figure,
Conceals a quiet and contented eater of lettuce.
Rebel
A rebel without a cause is a pain in the arse,
His rebellion is nothing but a foolish farce.
Against the ruthless dictator ‘self’, be the rebel:
Take up arms and storm him in his citadel!
Then from that throne establish the peace,
And keep him bound and chained tightly please!
It is an irony of course but when rebellion succeeds,
It becomes a cause and a rebel no more needs.
Wake up!
Wake up, wake up with a prayer,
To thank Love for being there.
Wakefulness is to not neglect,
The body, the heart or intellect.
When to each you give proper weight,
Not only will you start to feel great,
Love will stir deep inside of you,
And affect all you say or do;
And its impact does not stop there,
Love will start to spread everywhere.
Your former life will seem like sleep,
Wasted time over which to weep.
The question remains how to train,
Should you start exercising the brain?
Well such things may well have a place,
But before such things you embrace,
Seek for someone who is awake.
Someone who will give you a shake.
A sleeper cannot wake another.
Even if he is his close brother.
Above all try to do one thing,
To bring to mind the remembrance,
Of an Ever-wakeful Presence.
Deep in man’s nature it is hidden,
In sleep you may have forgotten!
Seek it in all you think or do,
It is there, and a sure guide too.
To You
O beloved! I look into your eyes, love's Kaaba, and cease to exist,
As if I have dived into the blackness of those pupils and lost my self
In the sea of certainty, till I reach the very core where subsist
The irreducible essences of uniqueness within unicity itself.
And emerging from that 'reality within a seeming dream',
I begin to catch the hidden signs and messages of your face,
At times gentle glances belie harsh words - the lips stern theme;
Or, if by some careless motion on my part, I betray your grace,
The raised eyebrow or slightest creasing of your perfect brow,
Augers a return of the dread veil, and an army releases, to drag me,
Screaming, from your dear presence - confining me to what I know now,
To be the prison, whose walls it appears others can or will not see.
Then when it seems there is no choice, except to endure the
unendurable,
By what effortless generosity, beloved, you gently sweep aside
concealment,
and, rightly chastised, draw me in again, to the charms memorable,
Of your favouring look, perfectly knowing, so guileless and so innocent.
harmony with spiritual dance occurs when the veil of selfhood is lifted.
The music of the spheres - sound is fundamental in the structure of the
universe - sometimes understood to refer to the vibrations of the planets
but it goes much deeper and refers to the emanation from the spiritual
spheres of which the planets are an earthly manifestation.
Illustration to the first two lines in art pages
The persistent rebel - Shaitan (Satan).The holy Prophet said 'my
Shaitan accepted Islam at my hands'.
the pearl - the soul's essence, the divine spark in everyone.
Peace - as salaam - Islam.
Prophet Abraham who was put into a fire by his enemies but Allah made
the fire cool for him.
The holy Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)
Ghaus Pak - Hazrat Abdul Qadir Al Jillani - who one day met a starving
man and fed him so he became fat and healthy - and it was later
revealed this was Islam which had become thin and weak but was revived
by the saint.
Hazrat Ali Murtaza (son in law of the holy Prophet pbuh) who was
declared to be the Lion of God for his bravery.
Majnun - the name of an unrequited archetypal lover whose love for a
woman called Laila drove him to a kind of 'insanity' which found
expression in the most sublime poetry.
Patron from Sanjar - Khawaja Muinuddin Hasan Chishti known as
Gharib Nawaz - patron of the poor.
Bilqis - the Queen of Sheba who came to Prophet Solomon and
accepted to abandon idolatry at his hands see Qur'an..
Hafiz - superlative Persian poet and saint of the Way of Love.
Mevlana - Hazrat Maulana Mohammed Jalaluddin Rumi (see website).
Gabriel - the archangel who dictated the Qur'an to holy Prophet
Muhammed. He only appears to Prophets.
Abdal - one of the hidden souls who govern mankind at the command of
God.
The axis - the Qutub or 'pole' of the age. A high spiritual station.
The Pirs - the pure souls who existed before Allah created time and
space and the cosmos.
The Word - the manifestation of Allah that governs the intellect, thought,
reason and speech and has its counterpart in the faculties of man.
The Spirit - the manifestation of Allah that enlivens.
The Essence - the manifestation of Allah that unites the Word and the
Spirit
Epiphany - Tajalli - The manifestation of (the Majesty of) Allah.
Hidden treasure - Hadith - Allah said ' I am a hidden treasure and I
desired to be known'.
The mirror - the eye of the heart or the eye of the intellect.
The Beautiful Names or Qualities of Allah, one of which 'colours' or
rules each day. They are both distinct and integral to each other.
The holy fold. In the unseen a group of pure souls from whom flows
humility.
The august Assembly - there are I believe more than one such
assembly - where the souls of the saints meet in a kind of parliament.
There are Qur'anic references - see the sura called 'Ranged in Ranks'.
Be - 'Kun fayakun' in Arabic. It is translated as 'Be and it becomes' - the
creative Word that brings from non existence into existence - initially into
the similitudinary dimension.
Signposts
To pursue the goal of spirituality
You must go beyond this poetry.
It is just an indicator of the Way,
Read it well, but in it do not stay
If on returning from the destination,
You want a little gentle relaxation,
Then stay a while and smile with me,
So obvious it will then appear to be.
Far Seeking
I am you father and your mother,
I am your sister and your brother,
I am your spouse and your lover,
I am your beloved and every other,
I am your friend, and your pet, moreover.
I am in, above, below, and around you,
I am love, seeking me far, why are you?
People Watching
Look, at people passing, sometimes,
Everything about them rhymes,
I mean really look, and you’ll see
How it all fits together perfectly!
Their clothes may be ill chosen
Or very smart; their gait uneven
Or feline; or it may be their face
Is a caricature, or full of grace!
They may be pale, or black, or brown
Eyebrows knitted or with a frown,
Or laughing and full of great glee,
Young, old or middle aged maybe!
Their posture might be upright
Or bent, or their manner uptight,
Or really laid back and slow,
Or blooming with a healthy glow!
They may look vacant, or pensive,
With clothes, cheap or expensive;
Fierce, or self satisfied and gloating;
Rock solid or willowy; bold or retiring!
Whatever the style of personality
See in it if you can, a certain unity.
The expression of a Divine quality,
Appearing to be just like you or me!
Farewells
Future hopes in places far away,
Draw us towards this final day:
But as it draws near a fine tremor of fear,
At giving up all that we found living here,
Gives the heart cause to flutter,
As fond farewells we sadly utter.
The One
Oh the one who wonders at the One,
In his wonder wanders not from the One,
In oneness with the One, each breath is praise,
Oneness manifest in all he does or says.
But the wonder is the discrimination He displays,
Between the Ones many and varied ways.
Repentance Accepted
The time of repentance is passed,
The time for sweet wine is here at last!
Whatever was done was done by one,
Who is but a reflection of the only One.
The sin now would be not to rejoice,
Or not to give praise with heart and voice!
The King says ‘Sit not far away any longer,
Do not, in the corner, crestfallen, still linger!’
‘But come into the light of my smile,
And sit in a place of honour for a while,
Near the throne of Love for all to see;
And for certainty, receive a gift from me.
Contradictions
Inside many a demure and modest maiden,
A fire burns that is not openly expressed,
And in many to wild and restless ways given,
A meek and modest soul we find suppressed.
And often many a modest, mild-mannered fella,
Hides a super hero - so modern myth tells us!
Whilst many a one with a burly Rustam like figure,
Conceals a quiet and contented eater of lettuce.
Rebel
A rebel without a cause is a pain in the arse,
His rebellion is nothing but a foolish farce.
Against the ruthless dictator ‘self’, be the rebel:
Take up arms and storm him in his citadel!
Then from that throne establish the peace,
And keep him bound and chained tightly please!
It is an irony of course but when rebellion succeeds,
It becomes a cause and a rebel no more needs.
Wake up!
Wake up, wake up with a prayer,
To thank Love for being there.
Wakefulness is to not neglect,
The body, the heart or intellect.
When to each you give proper weight,
Not only will you start to feel great,
Love will stir deep inside of you,
And affect all you say or do;
And its impact does not stop there,
Love will start to spread everywhere.
Your former life will seem like sleep,
Wasted time over which to weep.
The question remains how to train,
Should you start exercising the brain?
Well such things may well have a place,
But before such things you embrace,
Seek for someone who is awake.
Someone who will give you a shake.
A sleeper cannot wake another.
Even if he is his close brother.
Above all try to do one thing,
To bring to mind the remembrance,
Of an Ever-wakeful Presence.
Deep in man’s nature it is hidden,
In sleep you may have forgotten!
Seek it in all you think or do,
It is there, and a sure guide too.
To You
O beloved! I look into your eyes, love's Kaaba, and cease to exist,
As if I have dived into the blackness of those pupils and lost my self
In the sea of certainty, till I reach the very core where subsist
The irreducible essences of uniqueness within unicity itself.
And emerging from that 'reality within a seeming dream',
I begin to catch the hidden signs and messages of your face,
At times gentle glances belie harsh words - the lips stern theme;
Or, if by some careless motion on my part, I betray your grace,
The raised eyebrow or slightest creasing of your perfect brow,
Augers a return of the dread veil, and an army releases, to drag me,
Screaming, from your dear presence - confining me to what I know now,
To be the prison, whose walls it appears others can or will not see.
Then when it seems there is no choice, except to endure the
unendurable,
By what effortless generosity, beloved, you gently sweep aside
concealment,
and, rightly chastised, draw me in again, to the charms memorable,
Of your favouring look, perfectly knowing, so guileless and so innocent.