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Sacred Poetry from Around the World

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Muslim / Sufi

11th Century

Turkmenistan
(Middle East)

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

Timeline (967 - 1049)

Poems by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
Books - Links

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Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Kheir was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi yet, like Rumi, much of his mysticism follows a similar path of annihilation in divine Love.

Abu-Said's poetry ranges from the ecstatic and celestial, to struggles with abandonment. His poetry has an immediacy and even a sort of devoutly wry petulance that can draw comparisons with the great Bengali poet, Ramprasad.

Abu Said referred to himself as “Nobody, Son of Nobody,” to convey the mystic's sense of having completely merged or disappeared into the Divine, leaving no trace of the ego behind.

He lived in Mayhana in what is modern day Turkmenistan, just north of Iran and Afghanistan in Central Asia.

Poems by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

	A pious one with a hundred beads on your rosary
	Beg for Love
	Detached You are, even from your being
	If you do not give up the crowds
	If you keep seeking the jewel of understanding
	If You order me to spend my life at the gates of monasteries
	In my heart Thou dwellest--else with blood I'll drench it;
	In the school of mind you
	It is Him manifest in us
	Love came
	Love came and emptied me of self
	Mansoor, that whale of the Oceans of Love
	My Beloved, don't be heartless with me
	My Beloved, this torture and pain
	Nothing but burning sobs and tears tonight
	On Unity's Way:
	Piousness and the path of love
	Rise early at dawn, when our storytelling begins
	Sorrow looted this heart
	The day Love was illumined
	The sum total of our life is a breath
	"This is My Face," said the Beloved
	Those who seek annihilation in the Beloved and poverty in life
	Though burning has become an old habit for this heart
	Whatever road we take to You, Joy
	When the desire for the Friend became real

Recommended Books

	The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, Translated by Peter Lamborn Wilson / Translated by Nasrollah Pourjavady Amazon.com
	Love's Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition, Translated by David Fideler / Translated by Sabrineh Fideler Amazon.com
	The Mystics of Islam, by Reynold A. Nicholson Amazon.com
	Nobody, Son of Nobody: Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Translated by Vraje Abramian Amazon.com
	Under the Sufi's Cloak: Stories of Abu Said and His Mystical Teaching, by Mohammad Ali Jamnia / Mojdeh Bayat Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Abu Said Abil Khair and His Rubaiyat http://www.zahuri.org/review2.html A book review that includes several anecdotes from the life of Abu Said and also some poetry selections.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

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Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Support
the Poetry Chaikhana