Friday, February 28, 2025

No one reaches Him on their own

 
بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
 
 
 
Mulla Muhammad Shirin Maghribi Tabrizi, known as Shirin or Mulla Muhammad Shirin, and famously referred to as Shams Maghribi (749–809 AH), was a Persian Sufi and poet from the second half of the 8th century AH. The year and place of his death are recorded as either 809 or 810 AH in Surkhab, Tabriz. He was buried in the Hazira of Baba Farid.

Some attribute his title "Maghribi" to his journey to the Maghreb and receiving a Sufi cloak from one of the disciples of Ibn Arabi.

Maghribi followed the Sufi path under Isma'il Sisi, who was a companion of Nur al-Din Abd al-Rahman Isfarayini and an associate of Kamal al-Din Khujandi.

In addition to Persian poetry, some of his works have been found in Arabic and the Pahlavi-Azeri language.

Maghribi’s divan consists of 3,000 verses, including ghazals, tarji‘-bands, and rubaiyat, with most of his poetry focusing on mystical themes, particularly the concept of wahdat al-wujud (oneness of being), the importance of spiritual journeying (suluk), divine proximity, and the mystical states of the seeker.

Besides his Persian divan, he authored works in Arabic and Pahlavi-Azeri. His known writings include:

Asrar al-Fatiha
Risala-yi Jam-i Jahan-Numa (a commentary on Ibn Arabi’s views)
A selection from the commentary on Ibn al-Farid’s Ta’iyyah qasida
Durr al-Farid fi Ma‘rifat al-Tawhid (in Persian, on the unity of God, His attributes, and actions)
Nuzhat al-Sasaniyya
Nasihat Nama
Ira'at al-Daqa'iq fi Sharh Mir'at al-Haqa'iq
His Persian Divan has been compiled and made available with the efforts of several contributors at Ganjur.


هیچکسی به خویشتن ره نبرد به سوی او
بلکه به پای او رود هر که رود به کوی او

 

No one reaches Him on their own,
Rather, whoever goes to His abode does so by His guidance.


پرتو مهر روی او تا نشود دلیل جان
جان نکند عزیمت دیدن مهر روی او

 

Until the light of His radiant face becomes the guide for the soul,
The soul will not embark on the journey to witness the sun of His face.


دل کششی نمیکند هیچ مرا به سوی او
تا کششی نمی‌رود سوی دلم ز سوی او

 

My heart does not pull me toward Him at all,
Unless a pull comes from Him toward my heart.



تا که شنیده‌ام که او دارد آرزوی من
می‌نرود ز خاطرم یک نفس آرزوی او

 

Ever since I heard that He longs for me,
Not for a single breath has my longing for Him left my heart.



چون ز‌ زبان ماست او هر نفسی به گفتگو
پس همه گفتگوی ما باشد گفتگوی او
 

 

Since every breath of ours speaks through His tongue,
Then all our conversations are, in fact, His conversation.


هست همه‌ دل جهان در سر زلف او نهان
هر که دلی طلب کند گو بطلب ز موی
 

Until someone seeks Him by His own will,
No one ever truly becomes His seeker.
All of our seeking is, in reality, His seeking of us.

بس که نشسته روبرو با دل خوپذیر من
دل بگرفت جملگی عادت و خلق و خوی
 

The hearts of the whole world are hidden in the locks of His hair,
Whoever seeks a heart, let them search in His tresses.

بس که نشسته روبرو با دل خوپذیر من
دل بگرفت جملگی عادت و خلق و خوی او
 

Because He has sat face to face with my receptive heart for so long,
My heart has entirely taken on His habits and character.

قدر نبات یافت آب از اثر مصاحبت
گِل چو شود قرین گُل گیرد رنگ و بوی
 

 Water gains the value of nectar through its companionship with it,
Just as clay, when near a rose, takes on its color and fragrance.

مست و خراب او منم جام شراب او منم
نیست به غیر من کسی میکده و سبوی او
 

I am intoxicated and lost in Him, I am His cup of wine,
There is none but me in His tavern and goblet.



می ز سبوی او طلب آب ز جوی او طلب
بحر شود اگر کسی آب خورد ز جوی او
 

Seek wine from His goblet, seek water from His stream,
Whoever drinks from His stream will become an ocean.


مغربی از شراب او گشت چنانکه هر سحر
تا به فلک همی‌رسد نعره و های و هوی او
 

Maghrebi, from His wine, has become such that every dawn,
His cries and wails reach the heavens.