Abu-Said Abil-Kheir - When the desire for the Friend became real
Ivan M. Granger March 27th, 2009
When the desire for the Friend became real,
by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
English version by Vraje Abramian
When the desire for the Friend became real,
all existence fell behind.
The Beloved wasn’t interested in my reasoning,
I threw it away and became silent.
The sanity I had been taught became a bore,
it had to be ushered off.
Insane, silent and in bliss,
I spend my days with my head
at the feet of My Beloved.
— from Nobody, Son of Nobody: Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Translated by Vraje Abramian
/ Photo by Hamed Saber /
We had blizzard yesterday, here in Colorado. Gusts of wind filled the world with white. Today the sun is out again, and the white world glistens.
What does that have to do with today’s poem? Nothing I suppose.
When the desire for the Friend became real,
all existence fell behind.
I keep returning to the poetry of Abu-Said Abil-Kheir, and each time I do I find myself muttering some variation of, “Mm. Wow.”
But what do I have to say about this poem?
The Beloved wasn’t interested in my reasoning,
I threw it away and became silent.
Nothing, I suppose.
But each line insists on repeating itself in my mind.
The sanity I had been taught became a bore,
it had to be ushered off.
The sun is out, a day to yield and melt…
Insane, silent and in bliss,
I spend my days with my head
at the feet of My Beloved.
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Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
Turkmenistan (967 - 1049) Timeline |
Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Kheir was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before 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.
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I loved your post today, the poetry , the photograph ,walking on the sand, and the little capsule ( I call it Vitamin B complex)
Beautiful.!
“Insane, silent and in bliss,
I spend my days with my head
at the feet of My Beloved.”
Bless You Ivan!!!!!!!
(I too, mutter a hundred variations of “Wow” everytime i sit down for tea. It’s pure bliss!!)
Thank you a hundred times!
I love this poem…especially ‘Insane, silent and in bliss’ after letting go ‘this sanity’. Surely this is about relinquishing ‘reason’ and surrendering completely. Wow from me too
I’m not sure what I’d do without you Ivan.