Kashafa’l-Maḥbūb - The Beloved lifted the Veil #
Verses #
Kashafa’l-Maḥbūb - The Beloved lifted the Veil
Chorus 1 #
اللهُ دَائِمْ حَيْ
Allāhu dā’im ḥayy
Allah is Endless, Alive.
اللهُ دَائِمْ حَيْ بَاقِيْ حَيْ
Allāhu dā’im ḥayy bāqī ḥayy
Allah is Endless, Alive; Eternal, Alive.
اللهُ دَائِمْ حَيْ
Allāhu dā’im ḥayy
Allah is Endless, Alive.
Chorus 2 #
كَشَفَ الْمَحْبُوبُ عَنْ قَلْبِي الْغُطَيْ
kashafa al-maḥbūbu ʿan qalbī al-ghuṭay
The Beloved lifted the veil from my heart
وَتَجَلَّى جَهْرَةً مِنِّيْ إِلَيْ
wa-tajallā jahratan minnī ilay
And He manifested himself clearly from me to me.
1 #
لَمْ يُشَاهِدْ حُسْنَهُ غَيْرِي وَلَمْ
lam yushāhid ḥusnahu ghayrī wa-lam
No one other than me witnessed this beauty and no
يَبْقَ فِي الدَّيْرِ سِوَى الْمَشْهُوْدِ فَيْ
yabqa fī al-dayri siwā al-mashhūdi fay
Shade of any other being remained in the universe other than that which was witnessed (the manifestations of Allah (SWT)).
2 #
وَجَلاَ عَنِّيْ حِجَاباً كُنْتُهُ
wa-jalā ʻannī hijāban kuntuhu
And remove from me the veil, that was my self,
وَتَلاشَى الْكَوْنُ يَا صَاحِ لَدَيْ
watalashā al-kawnu yā ṣāḥ laday
And the entire universe faded away, my friend, around me.
3 #
أَيُّ حُسْنٍ مَا بَدَا إِلَّا لِمَنْ
ayyu ḥusnin mā badā illā liman
This beauty only appears to the one who
قَدْ طَوَى الْعَقْلَ مَعَ الْكَوْنَيْنِ طَيْ
qad ṭawā al-ʻaqla maʻa al-kawnayni ṭay
Has folded the intellect with the two universes,
4 #
وَرَأَى الْأَشْيَاءَ شَيْئاً وَاحِداً
warā al-ashyāa shay'an wāḥidan
And who sees everything as one thing (as the effect of Allah)
بَلْ رَأَى الْوَاحِدَ وِتْراً دُوْنَ شَيْ
bal raā al-wāḥida witran dūna shay
And then sees the One unique without seeing anything else.
5 #
لَا تَرَى فِيْ شَمْسِهَا ظِلَّ السِّوَى
lā tarā fī shamsihā ẓilla al-siwā
You do not see in this sunlight the shadow of anything else
فَهْيَ شَمْسٌ وَهْيَ ظِلُّ وَهْيَ فَيْ
fahiyā shamsun wahyā ẓillu wahyā fay
For it is a sun and it is a shade and it is a shadow.
6 #
هَٰذِهِ أَنْوَارُ لَيْلَى قَدْ بَدَتْ
hādhihi anwāru laylá qad badat
These are the lights of Layla (metaphor for Divine Beauty) that has appeared,
فَلِسَلْبِ الْعَقْلِ يَا صَاحِ تَهَيْ
falisalbi al-ʻaqli yā ṣāḥi tahay
So ready yourself, my friend, for the snatching away of your intellect.
7 #
فَالْفَتَى مَنْ سَلَبَتْهُ جُمْلَةً
falfatá man salabathu jumlatan
The real youth is one whom these lights take entirely,
لَا الَّذِي تَسْلُبُهُ شَيْئاً فَشَيْ
lālladhī taslubuhu shay'an fashay
Not the one whom they take bit by bit.
8 #
وَإِذَا الْحُسْنُ بَدَا فَاسْجُدْ لَهُ
wa-idhā al-ḥusnu badā fasjud lahu
And when this beauty appears to you, prostrate to it.
فَسُجُودُ الشُّكْرِ فَرْضٌ يَا أُخَيْ
fasujūdu al-shukri farḍun yā ukhay
The prostration of gratitude is an obligation, O my little brother.
About #
Author #
Sources #
- Arabic: https://www.aldiwan.net/cat-poet-abu-al-Hasan-al-shushtari
- English: Adapted from a brief commentary by (Mawlana) Yusuf Chaudhary, reviewed by James Wrathall