Doosh, Vaghte Sahar | Last Night, at the Break of Dawn…

Dīwān-e-Ḥāfeẓ

Ghazal 183

دوش وقتِ سَحَر از غُصّه نجاتم دادند
واندر آن ظلمتِ شب آبِ حیاتم دادند

dūsh vaght-e saḥar az ghosseh nejātam dādand
v-andar ān ẓolmat-e shab āb-e ḥayātam dādand

SYNONYMS

dūsh last night; vaght-e at the time of; saḥar dawn; az from; ghosseh sorrow, suffering; nejātam they rescued me; dādand they gave; v-andar and in; ān that; ẓolmat-e darkness of; shab night; āb-e ḥayāt water of life, knowledge of eternity; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

Last night, at the break of dawn, I was delivered from sorrow. And in that dark night of the soul, I was given the water of eternal life.

بیخود از شَعْشَعِهٔ پرتوِ ذاتم کردند
باده از جامِ تَجَلّیِّ صفاتم دادند

bīkhod az sha'sha'eh-ye partow-e ẕātam kardand
bādeh az jām-e tajallī-ye ṣefātam dādand

SYNONYMS

bīkhod beyond oneself, selfless, ecstatic; az from; sha'sha'eh-ye radiance, ray of light; partow-e beam of; ẕātam my essence, the Divine Essence; kardand they made me; bādeh wine; az from; jām-e cup of; tajallī-ye manifestation of; ṣefātam divine qualities and attributes; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

The radiance of divine knowledge drew me beyond myself, lifting my soul past this body of earth. And from the cup of surrender, Your sacred attributes were revealed to me.

چه مبارک‌سَحَری بود و چه فرخنده‌شبی
آن شبِ قدر که این تازه‌براتم دادند

cheh mobārak saḥarī būd o cheh farkhondeh shabī
ān shab-e qadr keh īn tāzeh barātam dādand

SYNONYMS

cheh what; mobārak blessed, celebrated; saḥarī dawn; būd it was; o and; cheh what; farkhondeh auspicious; shabī night; ān that; shab-e qadr the Night of Power, the most sacred night; keh when; īn this; tāzeh new, fresh; barātam decree, destiny, treasure; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

What a blessed dawn it was, and what an auspicious night! That Night of Power, when a new destiny was placed in my hands.

بعد از این رویِ من و آینهٔ وصفِ جمال
که در آن‌جا خبر از جلوهٔ ذاتم دادند

ba'd az īn rūy-e man-o āyeneh-ye vaṣf-e jamāl
keh dar ānjā khabar az jelveh-ye ẕātam dādand

SYNONYMS

ba'd az after; īn this; rūy-e face of; man-o me and; āyeneh-ye mirror of; vaṣf-e description, praise of; jamāl beauty; keh that; dar in; ānjā that place; khabar news, revelation; az of; jelveh-ye manifestation of; ẕātam my essence, the Divine Essence; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

From this moment forward, my face reflects the mirror of divine beauty, revealing the radiance of Your essence within me.

من اگر کامروا گشتم و خوشدل چه عجب؟
مستحق بودم و این‌ها به زکاتم دادند

man agar kāmravā gashtam o khoshdel, cheh ajab?
mostaḥaqq būdam o īnhā beh zakātam dādand

SYNONYMS

man I; agar if; kāmravā fulfilled, tasting sweetness; gashtam I became, I searched; o and; khoshdel happy-hearted; cheh ajab what wonder, why be surprised; mostaḥaqq deserving, one who seeks their rightful share; būdam I was; o and; īnhā these things; beh as; zakātam alms, charity given to me; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

Do you wonder that I searched and now taste such sweetness? I came as a beggar seeking the alms of Your Mercy, and this is the gift You placed in my hands.

هاتف آن روز به من مژدهٔ این دولت داد
که بِدان جور و جفا صبر و ثباتم دادند

hātef ān rūz beh man mozhdeh-ye īn dolat dād
keh bedān jor o jafā ṣabr o s̱abātam dādand

SYNONYMS

hātef the celestial voice, angels bearing transcendental messages; ān that; rūz day; beh to; man me; mozhdeh-ye glad tidings of; īn this; dolat state, spiritual wealth, divine association; dād gave; keh that; bedān through that, to know; jor o jafā struggle and misery; ṣabr patience; o and; s̱abātam stability, steadfastness; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

On that day, the angels brought me tidings of this sacred state: that through all my struggle and misery, patience and steadfastness were being forged within me.

این همه شهد و شِکر کز سخنم می‌ریزد
اجرِ صبریست کز آن شاخِ نباتم دادند

īn hameh shahd o shekar k-az sokhanam mīrīzad
ajr-e ṣabrīst k-az ān shākh-e nabātam dādand

SYNONYMS

īn hameh all this; shahd o shekar honey and sugar, nectar and sweetness; k-az that from; sokhanam my words; mīrīzad drips, pours; ajr-e reward of; ṣabrīst patience it is; k-az ān from that; shākh-e nabātam branch of sugar candy, the sweet branch; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

All this honey and sweetness now pouring from my words is the reward of patient endurance, harvested from the sugar branch I was offered long ago.

همّتِ حافظ و انفاسِ سحرخیزان بود
که ز بندِ غمِ ایّام نجاتم دادند

hemmat-e Ḥāfeẓ o anfās-e saḥarkhīzān būd
keh zeh band-e gham-e ayyām nejātam dādand

SYNONYMS

hemmat-e devotion, aspiration, spiritual effort of; Ḥāfeẓ the poet himself; o and; anfās-e breaths, prayers of; saḥarkhīzān those who rise before dawn; būd it was; keh that; zeh from; band-e bondage of, shackles of; gham-e sorrow of; ayyām days, temporal existence; nejātam rescued me; dādand they gave.

TRANSLATION

It was the devotion of Ḥāfeẓ, and the sacred breath of those who rise before dawn, that broke the shackles of temporal sorrow and set the soul free, beyond the grasp of time.

Ghazal 183 from the Dīwān of Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (c. 1315–1390)

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Letter of Secrets by Attar of Nishapur

Select Verses from “The Letter of Secrets” 

دلا یک دم رها کن آب و گل را

صلای عشق درده اهل دل را

Dela yek dam raha kon abo gel ra
Salaye eshgh darde ahle del ra

Dela-heart; yek-one; dam-breath; raha-surrender; kon-do; ab-water; o-and; gel-mud; ra-of; Salaye-prayer; eshgh-love; darde-pain; ahle-original; del-soul or heart; ra-of.

Oh heart, for just one breath, surrender this life of water and mud (let go of thinking you’re the body).
Respond to the call of love and soothe the primal pain of your soul. 

ز نور عشق شمع جان برافروز

زبور عشق از جانان درآموز

Ze noore eshgh sham-e jaan barafrooz
Zaboore eshgh az jaanan daramooz

Ze-from; noor-light; e-of; eshgh-love; sham-candle; e-of; jaan-soul; barafrooz-burning  brilliant; Zaboor-Psalms of David; eshgh-love; az-from; jaanan-the lovers; dar-internal or essence; amooz-discover or learn.

The book of love is directly coming from God - like the Psalms were given to David. Come learn the book of love directly from the lovers. Surrender to discover the essence. 

Love has a quality: pay attention…
Lovers have a brilliant light beaming from within.
Love can’t be explained. Only experienced.
How can you know honey - unless you’ve tasted it? 

حدیث عشق ورد عاشقان ساز

دل و جان در هوای عاشقان باز

Hadis-e eshgh verde asheghan saz
Del-o-jan dar havaye asheghan baz

Hadis-sayings; e-of; eshgh-love; verde-blossom; asheghan-the Lovers; saz-instrument;
Del-heart, o-and; jan-soul; dar-inside; havaye-the skies; asheghan-the Lovers; baz-lose.

The mantra from the mouth of Lovers is only, “Love! Love! Bring me my Lover!”
Body and soul - surrender it, give it all to the Lovers [or those who reached great heights]!
(love can’t be explained through logic - only through feeling / experience). 

Follow these Truth knowers - they are the Lovers, Dervishes, and the most Sincere. 

چوعشق آمد خرد را میل درکش

بداغ عشق خود را نیل درکش

Cho eshgh amad kheradra meyl darkesh
Be dagh-e eshgh khodra nil darkesh

Cho-rumor; eshgh-love; amad-came; kherad-reason/logic; meyle-desire; darkesh-understanding. Be-of, dagh-hot; e-of; eshgh-love; khod-Self; ra-to; nil-the River Nile; darkesh-understand or pull towards.

Once you surrender [to Love] lose your mind. Stop questioning, calculating. Dive into love. Go into the heat of love fully …Fall in love like someone who drops themselves in the Nile river: drown yourself! There is so much depth to this love… Become intoxicated! Forget yourself!

خرد آبست و عشق آتش بصورت

نسازد آب با آتش ضرورت

Kherad ab asto eshgh atash be soorat
Nasazad ab ba atash zaroorat

Kherad-wisdom, knowledge; ab-water; ast-is; eshgh-love; atash-fire; be-in; soorat-face or form; Na-not; sazad-play together; ab-water; ba-with; atash-fire; zaroorat-necessity.

Knowledge appears like water, Love appears like fire;
In form, these instruments don’t play well together.

Often we have no patience for real love. We get sick of each other, and don’t want to deal with the fire of love. The mind tells us to let go (like water on fire). If you follow the mind, you will certainly lose love. Know as long as you are following your mind, you abandon Love.

****************************
Translated from Farsi by Leila Musavi and into English by Parastou Marashi
Parastou’s Note:

The mind is often so busy thinking: let me do this! Let me call this person, get this done, go here, go there. We can get lost in a mad chase, following the whims of our minds! But what if instead we take a moment to pause and get truly present to what we are doing RIGHT NOW, to breathe more fully, to listen more attentively, to speak with intention, to dive deeply in our divine relationship, and to be with what is right in front of us… 

Context:

I was asked if I could help producer Holmes Ives find an English translation of a section from the Persian Sufi poet Attar’s poem, Letter of Secrets, Part Five.  The poem was brought to Ives by a Persian vocalist for an album project to be released on Six Degrees Records (label of the Persian fusion group, Niyaz). 

For the select translated verses, I provide the source in Farsi, a transliteration, and a translation that provides the essential meaning of the poem, from the perspective of Islamic spirituality and mysticism. For translations, I opted to use the essential translations as defined by Leila.

About Attar:

Abū Ḥamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm, better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn and ʿAṭṭār (Attar means apothecary) was a Persian poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer from Nishapur who had an immense and lasting influence on Persian poetry and sufism.The Conference of the Birds] and The Book of Divine are among his most famous works.

The Poet, Attar, is a True Knower, a Hakim (one who knows mysticism). 

He is a Lover of God, Fully Surrendered. 

Note: all the greatest Persian poets of the past were true hakims, and they explained deep spiritual subjects in their poetry.

Summary of Letter of Secrets | Part Five 

In Islamic philosophy, Love has the highest position, and is the very root and source of all existence. Love is higher than the mind, logic, or any knowledge that exists. Everything that exists in this universe comes from the mind—and mind was created as a servant of Love. In many mystical traditions (sufism, kabbalah, bhakti yoga) it is clearly defined that if a person wants to walk toward Truth, they must surrender their mind to the Path of Love.

The purpose of knowledge is to get us to the experience of love, to understand what love is capable of… but ultimately, we must surrender to the process and experience it firsthand. 

Our minds can get us to a certain point - but we have to offer our minds to the process of connection with the divine. 

In Letter of Secrets, Attar wants to speak about the highest stages of love. Not only the love of your lover, another person, your child—though these are all important and essential loving relationships—he wants us to learn about the existence of the universe as a result of divine love.