Bani Adam

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Muslih al-Dīn bin Abdallāh Shīrāzī better known as Saadi Shīrāzī (1210–1292),  in one of the poems from his collection the Rose Garden or Gulistan,  tried to remind us on what it means to be human. This particular section of the poem became rather popular recently and is known as Bani Adam:

بَنِی آدَم اَعْضَایِ یَک‌دِیگَرَنْد

کِه دَر آفَرِینِش زِ یَکْ گَوْهَرَنْد

چُو عُضْوِی بِه دَرْد آوَرَد رُوزْگَار

دِگَر عُضْوْهَا رَا نَمَانَد قَرَار

تُو کَز مِحْنَتِ دِیگَرَان بِی‌غَمِی

نَشَایَد کِه نَامَت نَهَنْد آدَمِی

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

بَنِی آدَم اَعْضَایِ یَک‌دِیگَرَنْد

کِه دَر آفَرِینِش زِ یَکْ گَوْهَرَنْد  

The children of Adam are limbs of one another,
for in creation they are of one essence.

چُو عُضْوِی بِه دَرْد آوَرَد رُوزْگَار

دِگَر عُضْوْهَا رَا نَمَانَد قَرَار

When time brings pain to one limb,
the other limbs cannot remain at rest.

تُو کَز مِحْنَتِ دِیگَرَان بِی‌غَمِی

نَشَایَد کِه نَامَت نَهَنْد آدَمِی

You who feel no grief at the suffering of others
are not fit to be called human.


You can here it's plain recitation here:

God is sufficient

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Al-Shafi‘i (767–820),  in one of his poems, gives us an apt reminder considering the state of panic outbreak:

يا صاحبَ الهمِّ إنَّ الهمَّ مُنْفَرِجٌ

أَبْشِرْ بخيرٍ فإنَّ الفارجَ اللهُ

اليأسُ يَقْطَعُ أحيانًا بصاحِبِهِ

لا تَيْائَسَانَّ فإنَّ الكافيَ اللهُ

اللهُ يُحْدِثُ بعدَ العُسرِ مَيْسَرَةً

لا تَجْزَعَنَّ فإنَّ الصانعَ اللهُ

فإذا بُلِيتَ فثِقْ باللهِ، وارْضَ بهِ

إنَّ الذي يَكْشِفُ البَلْوَى هو اللهُ

واللهِ مَا لَكَ غيرُ اللهِ مِن أحدٍ

فحَسْبُك اللهُ في كلٍّ لكَ اللهُ

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

يا صاحبَ الهمِّ إنَّ الهمَّ مُنْفَرِجٌ
أَبْشِرْ بخيرٍ فإنَّ الفارجَ اللهُ

O anxious one, relief is forthcoming
Give glad tidings of good,  For the Capable Reliever is God

اليأسُ يَقْطَعُ أحيانًا بصاحِبِهِ
لا تَيْائَسَانَّ فإنَّ الكافيَ اللهُ

Despair can sometimes make one forlorn
Do not despair as God is the Sufficient

اللهُ يُحْدِثُ بعدَ العُسرِ مَيْسَرَةً
لا تَجْزَعَنَّ فإنَّ الصانعَ اللهُ

God forges ease with every hardship
Do not be perturbed, as the Designer is God

فإذا بُلِيتَ فثِقْ باللهِ، وارْضَ بهِ
إنَّ الذي يَكْشِفُ البَلْوَى هو اللهُ

If you are tested then place your trust in God and depend on him wholeheartedly
Indeed the One who Removes the tribulations is God

واللهِ مَا لَكَ غيرُ اللهِ مِن أحدٍ
فحَسْبُك اللهُ في كلٍّ لكَ اللهُ

By God, there is no one for you save Him
Take God as Sufficient for you, He truly is on your side

There is an excellent recital here:

Who will be there for me?

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Mansour Al-Hallaj reportedly wrote this very moving ode to his Beloved

 

إِذا هَجَرتَ فَمَن لي

وَمَن يُجَمِّلُ كُلّي  

وَمَن لِروحي وَراحي

يا أَكثَري وَأَقَلّي

أَحَبَّكَ البَعضُ مِنّي
فقَد ذَهَبتَ بِكُلّي

يا كُلَّ كُلّي فَكُنْ لي

إِنْ لَم تَكُن لي فَمَن لي  

يا كُلَّ كُلّي وَأَهلي

عِندَ اِنقِطاعي وَذُلّي

ما لي سِوى الروحِ خُذها

وَالروحُ جُهدُ المُقِلِّ

If You renounce me, then who will be there for me
Who will embellish all of me
And who would be there for my soul and solace
 O (you who is) the most of me and the least of me
I loved You with only a part of me
And you left with all of my being
O all of the entirety of my being, be there for me
For if You won't be, then who else would be there for me
O all of the entirety of my being and my kin
At the time of my isolation and humiliation
I have nothing but my soul, so take it
As it is the best thing that a destitute possesses 

 

There are several compositions in audio, I have selected a couple of them here, this one without music:

And this one with singing and music:

On sin and the decay of nations

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak (726-797),  a famous scholar, noting the decline of morality in the Muslim societies  lamented:

رَأَيْت الذُّنُوبَ تُمِيتُ الْقُلُوبَ
وَقَدْ يُورِثُ الذُّلَّ إدْمَانُهَا

وَتَرْكُ الذُّنُوبِ حَيَاةُ الْقُلُوبِ
وَخَيْرٌ لِنَفْسِك عِصْيَانُهَا

وهل أفسد الدين إلا الملوكُ
وأحبارُ سوء ورهبانُها

وباعوا النفوس فلم يربحوا
ولم تغل في البيع أثمانها

لقد وقع القوم في جيفةٍ
يبين لذي اللب إنتانها

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

رَأَيْت الذُّنُوبَ تُمِيتُ الْقُلُوبَ
وَقَدْ يُورِثُ الذُّلَّ إدْمَانُهَا

I saw that sins do away with the hearts
And only disgrace is bequeathed by addiction to sin

وَتَرْكُ الذُّنُوبِ حَيَاةُ الْقُلُوبِ
وَخَيْرٌ لِنَفْسِك عِصْيَانُهَا

And abandoning sins is what brings the hearts to life
And it is better for your soul (نَفْسِ)  that you disobey it( do not give in to its desires )

وهل أفسد الدين إلا الملوكُ
وأحبارُ سوء ورهبانُها

And has religion been corrupted other than by the Kings
And evil scholars and its own monks?

وباعوا النفوس فلم يربحوا
ولم تغل في البيع أثمانها

They sold their souls, but gained no profit
The transaction fetched them but a measly sum

لقد وقع القوم في جيفةٍ
يبين لذي اللب إنتانها

People have fallen into rot and decay,
Its foul smell clear to one with discerning intellect.

You can listen to the recitation here:

Do not lose yourself

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Shahāb ad-Dīn" Yahya ibn Habash Suhrawardī  (1154-1191), the Shaikh al-Maqtul(Executed Master), warned us of the dangers of getting lost:

هان تا سر رشته خود گُم نکنی
خود را ز برای نیک و بد گم نکنی
رهرو تویی و راه تویی؛ منزل تو
هشدار که راه خود به خود گم نکنی

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

هان تا سر رشته خود گُم نکنی

Take care not to lose control of your self

خود را ز برای نیک و بد گم نکنی

Lest you lose yourself in the pursuit of "Good and Evil"

رهرو تویی و راه تویی؛ منزل تو

You are the traveler, and are also the road, and the destination is you as well

هشدار که راه خود به خود گم نکنی

Beware that you do not lose your way to yourself


There is also an alternate version for the first line:

هان تا سر رشته خِرَد گُم نکنی

Behold ! Never lose the "threads of wisdom"

Source of my honor

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Qadi ‘Iyad ibn Musa (1083–1149), a famous scholar is supposed to have said these verses, which should be the pride of every Muslim.

ومـما زادني شـرفـاً وتـيــهـاً
وكدت بأخمصي أطأ الـثريا
دخولي تحت قولك يا عبادي
وأن صـيَّرت أحمد لي نـبيـا

The translation with my limited abilities is as follows:

ومـما زادني شـرفـاً وتـيــهـاً

And among what increased my honor, pride and bewilderment

وكدت بأخمصي أطأ الـثريا

That my feet almost tread upon the stars

دخولي تحت قولك يا عبادي

Is my being embraced in your statement "O My slaves"

وأن صـيَّرت أحمد لي نـبيـا

And you chose Ahmad  (ﷺ)   as a prophet for me

Loving the Beloved

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Love of the Prophet (ﷺ) is an essential component of the faith of every Muslim, and there are innumerable anecdotes, poems and stories that essential revolve around it.

So much so that it is considered to be the foundation of faith itself, as stated in these verses from an anonymous poet, which connect to a well known hadith :

روح ایماں مغز قرآن اصل دین
ہست حب رحمة للعالمین

The spirit of faith, the essence of the Qur'an and the reality of religion is the love of the "Mercy to the Worlds" (ﷺ) 

مغزِ قرآں روح ایماں جان دیں
ہست حب رحمة اللعالمین

The essence of the Qur'an, the spirit of faith, and the life of religion is the love of the "Mercy to the Worlds" (ﷺ) 

I received these last verses via a messaging service, and were probably written by Abu Sulayman (عبدالله الخربوش):

كالغيثِ ذكرُكَ يا حبيبي لمْ يزلْ

 يسقي القلوبَ محبَّةً ونعيمَا

Remembering you o beloved (ﷺ) is like those rain showers that flood the heart with incessant love and joy 

 يا سيدَ الثقلينِ حُزتَ مكانةً
 ومقامَ عزٍّ في النفوسِ عظيمَا

O sayyid us thaqalayn (master of the two weighty things ﷺ), you possess the station of great glory amongst all souls

يا مَنْ سلكتُمْ نهجهُ وسبيلهُ
 "صلُّوا عليهِ وسلِّمُوا تسليمَا"

O you who travel his path and follow his way, send peace and blessings upon him ﷺ

How can one not love the beloved Prophet(ﷺ), when referring to a hadith, Allama Iqbal in this poem said even a dead piece of wood wept due to separation:

من چہ گوئم ازتولائش کہ چسیت
خشک چوبے در فراقِ او گریست

من چه گویم از تولایش که چیست
خشک چوبی در فراق او گریست

How shall I speak of the devotion he ﷺ inspires?
(Even) a dry block of wood wept on separation from himﷺ.

Numerous scholars wished they could reach Al-Medina just so they could die and be buried near the beloved.  This quatrain written supposedly by the nephew (Payami) of Shaykh Al Hind Mahmud ul Hasan :

گلستان میں جاکر ہر اک گل کو دیکھا
نہ تیری سی رنگت نہ تیری سی بو ہے
نکل جائے دم تیرے قدموں کے نیچے
یہی دل کی حسرت یہی آرزو ہے

I have looked at every flower in the rose-garden

None of them have your beauty or fragrance

I give up my life under your feet

Is the only desire of my heart, and my only wish

I would like to end here with a supplication, which in the books of hadith is known as the supplication of the Prophet Dawud :

اللَّهمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ حُبَّكَ، وَحُبَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّكَ، وَالعمَل الَّذِي يُبَلِّغُني حُبَّكَ

 اللَّهُمَّ اجْعل حُبَّكَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ مِن نَفسي، وأَهْلي، ومِن الماءِ البارِدِ

O Allah! I ask You for Your Love, the love of those who love You, and deeds which will cause me to attain Your Love. 
O Allah! Make Your Love dearer to me than myself, my family and cool water