Ismaili Web Poetry Page 1

An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry Here is a sampling of devotional poetry by Ismaili Muslims wherein love and devotion for God, Prophet Muhammad and his family are expressed. The selection here spans a millenium of Muslim History from the Fatimid Caliphate to present day Ismaili poets from North Africa, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and Pakistan and were originally composed in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. Popular Ismaili poetry has also been composed in Gujerati, Sindhi and Khojki popularly known as Ginans and enjoyed by a wide population of Shia Ismaili Muslims just as Qasidas, Munajaats and Munqabaats are enjoyed by the Middle Eastern, and Persian Ismailis.

By Al Mu'ayyad fi'l din Al Shirazi   The Evil of Desire   The Light of Intellect   The Pure Progeny	By Ibn Hani Al-Andalusi   The Proof of God   Heaven on Earth
The Evil of Desire  By Al Mu'ayyad fi'l din Al Shirazi   Alas, my intellect  has become oppressed   and defeated by   the evil of desire.   Woe to me because   I have wronged myself.   I am beyond neither   blame nor reproach.   O why did I waste   my life when the path   of guidance was open   and spacious to me?   And why did I lose   the light by which   I am related to   the close and noble ones?   Why do I debase   the precious pearl   and honor the mean   and insignificant oyster?	The Proof of God  By Ibn Hani Al-Andalusi  You run with the light of God  among His servants so that you  may illumine their hearts  and shine therein as His proof.  Our eyes have observed your  brilliance, but in fact  opinion has never understood  the essence of your reality.  I fear you with a reverence,  lest the sun forgets its rising,  just as your remembrance made  the angels forget their praise.  You are the Spirit because   your image is shaped from   the spiritual world of your Lord  and supported by knowledge.  I swear that if the world did  not call you a caliph,  they would certainly have  called you a second Messiah.
The Light of Intellect  By Al Mu'ayyad fi'l din Al Shirazi  How many observers are there  with eyes that cannot see?  How many seers are there  with hearts that cannot reflect?  For the human eye to see,  there are certain conditions;  he who disregards them  loses his way in the darkness.  The eye is of no avail  if it does not receive light  from the sun or the moon,  or from the burning torch.  Similarly the intellect,  during reflection by itself,  remains in the throes of  doubt and bewilderment.  Except when it is helped   by a light from outside;  then it ascends the ladder  of enlightened contemplation. The Pure Progeny  By Al Mu'ayyad fi'l din Al Shirazi  Peace be upon the pure progeny,  and welcome to their resplendent lights.  I begin with peace upon Adam from whom  came all mankind, whether nomadic or sedentary.  Peace be upon the one whose flood made  the reprobates suffer from great misfortune.  Peace be upon the one to whom came  the peace at dawn when he was engulfed by fire.  Peace be upon the one who with his staff  overpowered the unbelievers of the tyrant Pharaoh.  Peace be upon Jesus, the Holy Spirit,  who by his coming, bestowed honor on Nazareth.  Peace be upon Muhammad, the chose,  the one who intercedes in the hereafter.  Peace be upon Ali, the beloved,  and those descended from him, the radiant stars.  Peace be upon you, O Sovreign Lord  of Cairo, and all their gain abides with you.  I sacrifice my soul to Mustansir,  who is supported by the legions of heaven.  I bear witness that it is your blessed face  which illumines the faces of your followers.  You are the custodian of the fountain of life,  and may the fountain of your enemies perish!	Heaven on Earth  By Ibn Hani Al-Andalusi  Rouse yourself from the sleep   of negligence so that what  shines out in the morning  is not hidden from your eyes!  The heaven you see above   is not the heaven of God,  but it is the earth below   which encompasses that heaven.  The stars submit to him,  but conceal their prostration,  and the sun shields its eyelids  from the brilliance of his light.  He is the intercessor for  the community which follows him,  just as his forefathers  were for their forefathers.  He is the trusted of God  among His servants on earth,  if at all the trusted can  be counted in His country.  This is the beloved one   of the city of Mecca,  and of its mountain paths,  its black stone and the plain.  There is a sign on him  left by the Prophet's marking,  and a splendor about him  which comes from the light of God.

Source: Shimmering Light - IIS Publication
  Translation by Faquir M. Hunzai

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