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I Asked

Amir Khusrow Dehlawi, Amir Khusrow Dehlawi poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry,  poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry,  poetry by Amir Khusrow Dehlawi
(1253 - 1325) Timeline

English version by
Mahmood Jalal

Original Language
Persian/Farsi

Muslim / Sufi
13th Century

I asked, 'What's bright as the Moon?'
'My beautiful face,' was the answer.
I said, 'What's sweet as sugar?'
'My speech,' was the answer.

'What is the way of Lovers?' I asked
'The way of loyalty,' was the answer.
I said, 'Don't be so cruel to me.'
'It's my job to behave thus,' was the answer.

'What is death for Lovers?'
'Separation from me,' was the answer.
'What is the cure for life's ills?'
'To gaze upon my face,' was the answer.

'What is spring, what autumn?'
'Only my changing beauty,' was the answer.
'Who is the envy of the gazelle?'
'My swift gait,' was the answer.

'Are you a fairy or a houri?'
'I am the Lord of Beauty,' was the answer.
'Khusrow is helpless,' I said.
'He is my devotee,' was the answer.

 

 

-- from Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, Translated by Mahmood Jamal

Amazon.com

 


/ Photo by Ryan Vaarsi /

Themes

  Death
  Honey
  Lover and Beloved
  Moon
  Separation


Recommended Books


Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, Translated by Mahmood Jamal

 

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

I said, 'Don't be so cruel to me.'
'It's my job to behave thus,' was the answer.


Ah, the trials of lovers...

'I am the Lord of Beauty,' was the answer.

--

I thought you might like to hear some of Amir Khusrow Dehlawi's songs performed, so I posted a couple of YouTube videos on the Poetry Chaikhana Blog: Amir Khusrow Dehlawi Qawwals. I hope you enjoy them!

 

 


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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
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