#qasida

The Persian and Arabic poetic traditions meet at various, fruitful intersections. Though separate languages with distinct linguistic trajectories, among their most prominent commonalities may be the classical qasideh form. Sa'di, otherwise known as Abū Muhammad Musleh-od-Dīn Ibn Abdallāh Shīrāzī ( ابومحمد مصلح‌الدین بن عبدالله شیرازی‎), occupies a particularly curious position in the qasideh’s development in Persian. He is, apparently, known for his vacillation between lettered genres: at once, he was a poet and an author of prose; one known to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad, and simultaneously, speak to the merits of wine consumption; and a writer uniquely capable of shifting between laudatory, humorous, and satirical tones. This weekend, I read Sa’di’s thirteenth century poem, Bedahad būse bar na’āl-e Mohammad, in hopes of understanding his contributions to the Persian language’s development and his relationship with Islam. Further, I hoped to understand the extent to which his qasideh appeared familiar, as I currently study the Arabic rendition thereof.

In Arabic poetics, the coming of the Prophet Muhammad seemed to all but cease previously celebrated written production. It was said that, if Arabia’s famous writers now had access to the Qu’ran, there was no need to write poetry, for it could not compare in its beauty to scripture. The story goes that the venerated Kaaba once sat adorned with the Mu’allaqat (in Arabic, the hanging odes); after the arrival of Islam, it became a monotheistic religious structure. I was thus interested in understanding how Persian poets wrote after the pre-Islamic age: I figured such an exploration might extend my understanding of our shared literary histories and linguistic customs. Somewhat to my surprise, Sa’di’s poetry appeared meaningfully different. His poem in translation seemed to shift the qasideh’s quintessentially celebratory tone toward praise for the Prophet. 

Sa’di opens his poem, “The vastness and perfection of the skies are incomparable / next to the perfected vastness of Mohammad.” This line struck me, as it quite openly disavows previous qasideh aesthetics. Sa’di appears to agree with the Arabic language’s development in this regard: we no longer must (exclusively) praise the natural landscapes around us, he says — rather, the arrival of Islam via its messenger discounts that which we once thought uniquely beautiful. He recognizes, still, that the skies are “vast” and “perfect”. Nonetheless, they do not stand in comparison to the Prophet. Curiously, Sa’di also invokes the names of previous prophets: “Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus / Appear together within the shade of Mohammad”. 

Although Arabic poetry tended away from praising the Prophet at all, and instead focused more strongly on the veneration of God, it would have been particularly uncommon to reference other prophets after Mohammad’s revelations. Sa’di seems intentional in his connection between Islam and the figures that predated its consolidation. The poet, then, figures his own, Persian customs in brief departure from the qasideh's manifestations in Arabic. Sa’di goes further, referencing my namesake, Bilal: “Out of the abundance of beauties found within the Garden of Paradise / Chosen from the all is Bilal of Muhammad”. Bilal, to Sa’di, belongs to Muhammad, and thus is worth mentioning. Such a subordination of other figures and forms to Muhammad's guise — whether previous poetic praise, earlier prophets, or the Prophet’s companion — appears natural and welcomed from Sa’di’s perspective. He closes the poem, “Sa’di, if you are seeking love and youth / Love of Muhammad and his family shall suffice you”, likewise placing himself within the shadow of the Prophet’s inevitable blessings. Particularly notable is his direct invocation of his name in the poem, a feature unfamiliar to early Arabic poetry.

Sa’di’s poetry greatly interested me for its intersections and contradictions with the Arabic usage of the qasideh form. His words echo the development of Arabic poetry, in that he shifts his focus of praise to the Prophet and Islam rather than nature per se. Simultaneously, he grows somewhat distant from the Arabic tradition. This exploration contributed to my Arabic literary studies, while also enhancing my grasp on Islam's role in its various cultural and written manifestations. Although only an initial delve, I feel increasingly familiarized with one of Persian poetry's approaches to the qasideh and religion. In the future, I hope to better understand how poetry can reveal the commonalities and differences between the Arabic and Persian languages. One departure point might be a close, comparative reading of pre- and “post-” Islamic Arabic and Persian poems. Nonetheless, I am delighted by the opportunity to engage Persian poetry in its own rite, allowing it to rightfully exist on its own accord, too. I have attached a manifestation of this poem in Iranian music, as I found it helpful to hear the words read and adapted as well.

Sacred Persian Verse - Sa’di - The Sandals of Muhammad, n.d. https://www.sacredpersianverse.com/poems-poets/sadi-the-sandals-of-muhammad.

~Bilal

---

Persian text:

ماه فروماند از جمال محمد

سرو نباشد به اعتدال محمد

قدر فلک را کمال و منزلتی نیست

در نظر قدر با کمال محمد

وعدهٔ دیدار هر کسی به قیامت

لیلهٔ اسری شب وصال محمد

آدم و نوح و خلیل و موسی و عیسی

آمده مجموع در ظلال محمد

عرصهٔ گیتی مجال همت او نیست

روز قیامت نگر مجال محمد

وآنهمه پیرایه بسته جنت فردوس

بو که قبولش کند بلال محمد

همچو زمین خواهد آسمان که بیفتد

تا بدهد بوسه بر نعال محمد

شمس و قمر در زمین حشر نتابد

نور نتابد مگر جمال محمد

شاید اگر آفتاب و ماه نتابند

پیش دو ابروی چون هلال محمد

چشم مرا تا به خواب دید جمالش

خواب نمی‌گیرد از خیال محمد

سعدی اگر عاشقی کنی و جوانی

عشق محمد بس است و آل محمد

English translation:

The moon remained hidden from the beauty of Mohammad / No cypress exists with the modesty of Mohammad The vastness and perfection of the skies are incomparable / Next to the perfected vastness of Mohammad A promised meeting for all on the Last Day / Laylat-ul-'israa, the Night of Union for Mohammad Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus / Appear together within the shade of Mohammad It is not the courtyard of this world in which he intends to parade / On the Last Day, watch and see his procession Out of the abundance of beauties found within the Garden of Paradise / Chosen from the all is Bilal of Muhammad Like the ground, the sky desires to fall / In order for it to kiss the sandals of Muhammad The Sun and the Moon do not shine disparately on earth / No light shines except the beauty of Muhammad Perhaps if the sun and the moon seize their light / With the two brows of Muhammad you'll find a shining crescent My eyes have seen his beauty in a dream / No sleep shall overtake these eyes now upon a vision of Muhammad Sa'di, if you are seeking love and youth / Love of Muhammad and his family shall suffice you.

Look! Don’t you see what could have been alive here?

           Have you no pain to force your heart to turn and hearten?

On these sands there is no passerby who will not weep

           Time is passing and O’ Passerby make your circulation

The Ka’ba of our history beckons to be circulated

           These sand grains mourn their master, let’s hear their description:

We are lowered by the weight of tragedy and spilt blood

           Don’t feel empathy for us, we are to blame for this crimson

The women make their pledges to their Lord and master

           They knew the story would be weaker if we were the spokesperson

They have fulfilled their pledges to be the storyteller

           Who are we! We couldn’t cover Hussain when he had no kaffen

Yet we tell the history of Karbala and the women there

           We couldn’t create a sandstorm to blind and stop these men

But we can’t contain ourselves from what we’ve felt and heard

           That the son of Ali must accept men, women, and children

For nothing less than sacrifice and suffering, soon you shall see

           This is why we still speak even if the women have spoken

Al-Hussain’s caravan was the era’s ship of salvation

           Kufa’s letters were the winds that gave direction, we, his ocean

You must know there is Divine Wisdom only he ascertains

           Because little Fatima is left in Madinah with no one

Her youth and illness keep her from understanding why

           She begs Al-Hussain not to leave her side or she’ll worsen

Al-Hussain’s tears have silently fallen and pattered us

           His quiet tears always burned us more than desert sun

Father and daughter are separated while Hussain still lives

           The only struggle of its kind so acknowledge its distinction

When Hussain sets to travel, so ensue the first goodbyes

           Fatima and Hussain and Ummul Baneen and her brave children

Mother to four sons is ready to set them free for martyrdom

           It is Ummul Baneen who readies her sons for action

Since their birth, she has instilled the affection for al-Hussain

           And in their farewell she tells them “die before him as loyal men”

She turns to Abbas who will soon carry the flag for all to see

           “When you are by that river, remember your brethren”

A mother born from strength marries Ali and serves his Hussain

           Brought up her sons to serve even if they would be the exception

We can’t know the pain of this mother but we’ve heard her cry

           When her sons were no longer we felt her chest tighten

With the fall of each son, she fell to her knees and quivered

           A mother of martyrs falls but we must be left unshaken

If the earth shakes and falls, there is nothing to hold us

           It is only by God’s Patience, we withstood this affliction

We were tested most on Karbala’s planes with the weight of martyrs

           The suffering continued after each death with these women

Layla and Ali al-Akbar, Zaynab and Aoun and Muhammad  

           Their wails shatter us into a thousand more grains in devotion

Layla readies herself and her son to fight and fall soon

           We hear goodbyes and know the weight of Layla’s knees when stricken

Who can bear to watch The Prophet die by sword in battle?

           Ali was a reminder as they killed The Prophet’s reflection

Ali Akbar is a trotting mirror of Muhammad’s face

           Too many afraid to approach him, as if pulled was the curtain

Who were they seeing? Their resurrected outcome faces them

           Ahmad is from Hussain and this Ali is proof of relation

Layla, his mother is watching and her tears quench our thirst

           What is she watching? Must she watch the death of her son?

Know this: goodbyes here are unlike any other goodbye

           And the mothers and women here are unlike other women

There is a child later who will give the last farewell

           Resembling a union when her father’s head to her is given

Ruqaya is a martyr who has not died in Karbala

           Her grief and distance from al-Hussain beg for reason

A child who endures two losses: her father and Imam  

           We felt her body’s excitement when ended this separation

Her last exhale of breath blew us and disturbed our stillness

           Winds move us but we‘d stay with her if we chose our direction

Know our prayers for free will began with Hussain’s caravan

           Ruqaya resists thirst only to be gifted Hussain broken

Why are the skies not falling? Why are we not crumbling?

           It’s not possible to leave Hussain’s daughters forsaken!

We didn’t forsake these young thirsty tongues, we are sand

           We obeyed destiny as these martyrs die for their guardian

We will watch and feel these tragedies a thousand times

           If it means we know and comfort Hussain with compassion

But when Hussain is at rest, who is the shadow that speaks?

           Who is this guardian that lectures Yazid in court? Listen!

“Ya Yazid! You have blocked all paths for us and made us captives

           Moving places, do you think Allah from us blessings has taken?

Do you think killing those who God loves makes you great and proper

           And God looks at you with special grace?” This is Zainab’s precision

It is as if Ali has descended with his eloquence

           The adornment of her father, Zainab, drew his inspiration

It is her words that struck them silent so they can realize  

           Ali’s daughter speaks to them, will they not awaken?

What is this! If we were human we‘d wish to be dust for support

           But here we are, wishing to be human to support these women

What madness this tragedy has struck into our depths

           To the hearts of believers, this tragedy is an affliction

When the battle is fought and we settle on these planes

           Zainab is on that hill watching her brother downtrodden  

His death is a thousand losses and still there were others

           She has lost brothers and guardians, a son and another son

Tell us! Is the story capturing the storyteller?

           Does she deserve to be hurt and taken captive in dessert sun?

How many goodbyes we’ve heard her give and still she remains

           She doesn’t crumble in face of this trepidation

Zainab is comforted by al-Hussain with his presence but

           Where is he about to go? Who will witness with toleration?

Remember that a goodbye here is no ordinary goodbye

           Every farewell and goodbye ended in death, a separation

When Zainab is on that hill watching her Hussain slain

           We heard her heart shift and grief take it captive, a suffocation

When Zainab stands upon us, we know we must hold firm

           If she hasn’t crumbled or shaken, how could we quaken?

If she has withstood the sun’s heat and refuses Yazid

           How can we complain of this sun and the battle undertaken?

This is the Zainab we venerate in our stories

           A model for everything and everyone, from dust to human

The adornment to the peak of eloquence and the one

           Who shakes a courtroom and echoes in its chambers now woken

Yazid will fall because Zainab has stood, and we know this

           We won’t comfort the one who topples over unforgiven

Don’t you see what could have been alive here and what isn’t?

           This Hussain and his storytellers and supporters would have been

We blame ourselves and we’re proud of ourselves, we did what we could

           But we didn’t do what we wanted: to stop this privation

This is the description we share because who has told it?

           The women had spoke of their Imam, brothers, and children

Where is the story of the women, where? We suffice as witness

           Their hurt is multiplied by the weight of grief and they sicken

Their days will continue, and our planes can’t handle anymore

           May God provide and let us comfort them, our salvation

These sand grains have seen, felt, heard, and understood all that

Imam Reza (as), call me to your shrine again.

—

I opened my eyes to light,

Your hair draped wildly,

Beautifully,

A hand clasped to mine,

And hearts beat on.

Soft murmurs filled the air,

Tender touch held close,

Closer,

Eyes of deepest skies,

And ever kinder.

I blink awake,

The mirage passing,

Slowly,

A colder world ripples,

And I am alone.

Isolation dwells here,

Stalking onward,

In spite,

For love’s sweet voice,

New Video: Qasida: Alif Laam Ra | ALRA TV | By His Holiness @younusalgohar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjoDL0rjpFs

Check out this performance of an original Qasida for His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi by Hafiz Nadeem Siddiqui: Alif Laam Ra. This was performed on the auspicious occasion of Jashan-e-Riaz 2018 (25 November) after an incredible speech by Sayyidi Younus AlGohar disclosing the secrets of Alif Laam Ra.

-----------

Have a question for HH Younus AlGohar? Text your questions to us on WhatsApp: +447380315726  or Facebook messenger: http://m.me/alratv

Watch the live recordings of these lectures every day at 22:00 GMT at: http://www.younusalgohar.com

Can't access this video? Watch it on Daily Motion: http://www.dailymotion.com/mehdifound...

Listen to this speech on the go with SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/younusalgohar/

--- New monthly publications!

The True Mehdi Magazine: http://www.thetruemehdi.com/

Messiah Herald Magazine: http://messiahherald.com/

--- Read more about HH Younus AlGohar's work against terrorism: www.younusalgohar.org.

Instagram: http://instagram.com/mehdifoundation

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlRa_TV https://twitter.com/mehdifoundation https://twitter.com/MessiahFdn https://twitter.com/younusalgohar

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alratv/ https://www.facebook.com/HHYounusAlGo...

Websites: http://www.goharshahi.us/ http://www.theawaitedone.com/ http://thereligionofgod.com http://www.younusalgohar.org/

Salam use ke agar baadshah kahein usko

To phir kahein ke kucch usse siwa kahein usko

Na baadshah na sultan yeh kya satayish hai

Kaho ke khamis e aal e aba kahein us ko

Khuda ki raah mein shahi o khusrawi kaisi

Kaho ke rehbar e raah e khuda kahein us ko?

Khuda ka banda khuda wandagaar bandon ka

Agar kahein na khudawand kya kahein usko?

Farogh e jauhar iimaan Hussain Ibn e Ali

Keh shama e anjuman e kibriya kahein us ko

Kafeel bakhshish e ummat se ban nahin padti

Agar na shafa e roz e jaza kahein usko

Maseeha jis se kare akhz e faiz e jaan bakshi

Sitam hai kushta e tegh e jafa kahein usko

Udu ki sam’e reza mein jagah na paaye woh baat

Keh jinn o ins o malak sab baja kahein us ko

Bahot se paaye a gard e rah e Hussain buland

Ba qadr e fahm se gar keemiya kahein usko

Nazara soz se yaan tak bas ek zarra e khaak

Ke log jauhar e tegh e jafa kahien us ko

Hamare dard ki yaa Rab kahin dawa na mile

Agar na dard ki apne dawa kahein usko

Hamara munh hai ke dein uske husn e sabr ki daad

Magar Nabi o Ali marhaba kahien usko

"Yeh ijtehad ajab hai ke ek dushman e deen

Ali se aa ke lade, aur khata kahein usko"

"Yazeed ko to na tha ijtehad ka paaya

Bura na maaniye gar hum bura kahein usko"

Ali ke baad Hasan aur Hasan ke baad Hussain

Kare jo un se burayi, bhala kahein us ko?

Nabi ka na ho jise aeteqaad kafir hai

Rakhe Imam se jo bughz kya kahein us ko?

Bhara hai ‘’Ghalib’’ e dil khasta ke kalam mein dard

Ghalat nahin hai ke khoon e nawa kahein us ko

The third most well-known qaṣīda of Imām al-Busīrī (d. 1294) is the Hamziyya. A Hamziyya is a panegyric poem (madḥ) all of whose verses rhyme in the Arabic letter hamza. Imām al-Busīrī wrote this 400+ verse poem which contains the biography and history of our Beloved Liege, the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. It is well known that Ḥassān bin Thābit, a companion of Prophet ﷺ (may Allāh ﷻ be well-pleased with him), wrote a Hamziyya in his honour, as well. This particular one was a favourite of my shaykh, Sīdī Aḥmad at-Tijānī al-Ḥasanī.

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1SGdV7SwCo)