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The Musical Composition Called "Newhawand" [Nehâwand âyîn-é Sharîf]

[Mevlevi Composer: MuSâHib AHmad âghâ, d. 1792]


FIRST SALâM (Birinci selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

Last night I pounded the royal drum upon the Gate of Grandeur; I
set up a tent on the upper part of the house of the Divine Kingdom.

Upon the throne of aspiration, from the hand of the beloved of
(my) heart, I served the wine of Unity¹ from the goblet of a
glorious soul!

dôsh bar dargâh-é `izzat kôs-é sulTânî zad-am
khaym-é bar bâlâ-yé dâru 'l-mulk-é rabbânî zad-am

bar ferâz-é `arsh-é himmat az kaf-é ma`shûq-é del
bâda-yé waHdat ze riTl-é jân-é subHânî zad-am


from a Persian ghazal:

O Lamp of the Heavens of God's Mercy on earth! (Either) listen to
my lament or look at the longing pain of my state.

Either grant my wish, or free me from (this) desire. (Either)
abandon your promise of "tomorrow" or do such as this or that!

ay cherâgh-é âsmân-é raHmat-é Haqq bar zamîn
nâla-yé man gôsh dâr-o dard-é Hâl-é man be-bîn

yâ murâd-é man be-deh yâ fârigh-am kon az murâd
wa`da-yé fardâ rahâ kon yâ chonân kon yâ chonîn


from a Persian ghazal:

One time I was a diver on the shore of the ocean of Love; I saw a
hundred thousand pearls and gems from the ocean of Love.

Suddenly, by the power of God, I glanced once at him; I saw an
amazed world, remaining by the ocean of Love!

yak damê ghawwâS bûd-am bar lab-é daryâ-yé `ishq
sad hazâr-ân durr-o gawhar dîd-am az daryâ-yé `ishq

nâgehân az qudrat-é Haqq yak naZar dard-am dar ô
`âlam-é sar-gashta dîd-am mânda-yé daryâ-yé `ishq


SECOND SALâM (Ikinci selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

You are my sultan,² you are my sultan. And in my heart and
soul, you are my faith.

(When) you breathe into me, I become alive. What is (the worth of
just) one soul? --(since) you are a hundred times³ my soul.

sulTân-é man-î, sulTân-é man-î
w-andar del-o jân, îmân-é man-î

dar man be-dam-î, man zenda shaw-am
yak jân che bow-ad, sad jân-é man-î

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, ghazal 3137, lines
33573-74]


from a Persian ghazal:

O lovers, O lovers: Master Rumi is coming!
O knowers, O knowers: Master Rumi is coming!

ay `âshiq-ân ay `âshiq-ân Mollâ-yé Rûmî mê-ras-ad
ay `ârif-ân ay `ârif-ân Mollâ-yé Rûmî mê-ras-ad


THIRD SALâM (Üçüncü selâm)


from a Persian ghazal:

For lovers, the sight of (that) "Qibla"⁴ has come, although, on the
road, many qiblas have existed.

For lovers, there are no thoughts of need, (since) a lover without
poverty or shame has come.

All of your words (are about) Shams-i Tabriz; truly, the Royal
Pearl has come!

`âshiq-ân-râ qibla-dîdâr âmad-ast
garche dar râh qibla besyâr âmad-ast

`âshiq-ân-râ nêst fikr-é ârzû
`âshiqê bê-faqr-o bê-`âr âmad-ast

Shams-é Tabrîzî hama goftâr-é tô
dar Haqîqât durr-é shahwâr âmad-ast


from a Turkish ghazal:

Oh, a thousand praises for a sultan as this! (For) those who are his
slaves become kings and emperors.

Today, whoever trustingly humbles himself before Walad⁵ will,
if a poor man, become a prince (and) if a prince, will become a
sultan.⁶

ey ki hezar âferin bu nice sultan olur
kulu olan kiSiler hüsrevü hâkan olur

her ki bugün Velede inanuben yüz süre
yoksul ise bay olur bay ise sultan olur

[by Shamsuddîn AHmad Aflâkî, d. 1353]⁷


a Persian rubâ`î:

Listen to the reed (flute):⁸ what things is it saying?

It is telling hidden secrets about (Divine) Grandeur.

May the soul be pale inside, empty, and head-sacrificed!

Without speech or tongue, God-- God is speaking!

be-sh'naw tô ze nay che-hâ che-hâ mê-gôy-ad
asrâr-é nehoft-é kibriyâ mê-gôy-ad
ruH zard-é darûn, tahî wo sar-dâd be-bâd
bê-nuTq-o zabân khodâ khodâ mê-gôy-ad


a Persian rubâ`î:

I am like this with you, O idol of Turkestan,⁹

Because I am in error: for I am you, or you are me!

(Yet) I am not me and you are not you (and) you are not me!

I am also me and you are also you (and) you are also me!

man bâ tô chonân-am ay negar-é khotanî
k-andar ghalaT-am ke man tô-am yâ tô man-î
nay man man-am-o nay tô toy-î nay tô man-î
ham man man-am-o ham tô toy-î ham tô man-i


from a Persian ghazal:

Do you know what the mystical concert¹⁰ is? Listening (to) the
sound of affliction, (and) severing from self together with "union"
and "arrival."

Do you know what the mystical concert is? Going from existence
without self, (and) tasting the flavor of permanence in absolute
non-existence!

dân-î samâ` che bow-ad? Sawt-é balâ shenîdan
az khwêshtan borîdan bâ-waSlat-o rasîdan

dân-î samâ` che bow-ad? bê-khwod shodan ze hastî
andar fanâ-yé muTlaq Zawq-é baqâ chashîdan

from a Persian ghazal:

I am drunk from the goblet of Love,¹¹ together with the cup and
drinking glass! I asked, "What do you want from me?" He said,
"Burning and groaning!"

I do not know this or that: I am drunk from Shams-i Din! (O)
musicians, play a tune! (O) cupbearer, give (me) a glass!

sar-mast-é jam-é `ishq-am bâ sâghar-o payâla
goft-am ze-man che khwâh-î goftâ ke sôz-o nâla

man în-o ân na-dân-am sar-mast-é Shams-é Dîn-am
muTrib be-zan nawâyê sâqî be-deh payâla

FOURTH SALâM (Dördüncü selâm)

from a Persian ghazal:

You are my sultan,¹² you are my sultan. And in my heart and
soul, you are my faith.

(When) you breathe into me, I become alive. What is (the worth of
just) one soul? --(since) you are a hundred times¹³ my soul.

sulTân-é man-î, sulTân-é man-î
w-andar del-o jân, îmân-é man-î

dar man be-dam-î, man zenda shaw-am
yak jân che bow-ad, sad jân-é man-î

[by Jalâluddîn Rûmî, Dîwân-é Kabîr, ghazal 3137, lines 33573-74]



--translated from Persian, Arabic, and Turkish by Ibrahim
Gamard

©Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration), 12/99
and 9/04



Translation words and transliterations are based on the best edition
of Rumi's Divan (by Foruzanfar) based on the earliest manuscripts,
so there may be minor differences in wording with what has been
published or musically recorded in Turkey.



NOTES
¹the wine of Unity: References to wine, wine cups and jugs, etc.
in sufi poetry are metaphors for spiritual blessing and ecstatic
states. Although alcoholic beverages are strictly forbidden in
Islam, "wine" is mentioned in the Qur'an as one of the delights of
Paradise, and is itself symbolic of a lofty state of consciousness:
"rivers of wine delightful to those who drink it" (Qur'an 47.15),
"wherein is no headache, nor are they made drunk thereby" (Qur'an
:47).

²you are my sultan: See footnote no. 12.

³a hundred times: See footnote no. 13.

⁴(that) Qibla: lit., "prayer-direction," usually meaning toward
Mecca. It is also used as a symbol of the beloved (who also
symbolizes God, the Only Beloved) toward whom the lover's
thoughts are alsways turning.

⁵Walad: a word play on the name of Rumi's son and successor,
Sultan Walad, or Veled. The literal sense of this line is: "whoever
trustingly rubs his head (on the ground in surrendered obeisance)
to Walad."

⁶will become a sultan: means a "spiritual king."

⁷Aflaki: the first and last lines from a ghazal by Shamsuddîn
AHmad Aflâkî. The entire poem occurs at the end of Golpinarli's
book, "Mevlânâ'dan sonra Mevlevilik" in a section called "Samples
of Mevlevi (Turkish) Poetry," where he includes four poems by
Aflaki.

⁸the reed (flute) [nay]: symbolizes the soul of the mystic lover of
God who yearns to return to the origin and source in nearness to
God, the Only Beloved.

⁹idol of Turkestan: refers to a city in Central Asia where the
inhabitants were famous for their attractiveness. It became a
symbol for the beautiful beloved in Persian poetry.

¹⁰mystical concert [samâ`, or sema]: literally, "audition," and
refers to a sufi gathering in which mystical poetry and music
induce ecstatic feelings and movements.

¹¹the goblet of Love: see the above note on the "wine of Unity.":

¹You are my sultan: means both Shams-é Tabrîzî, and on a
higher level, God alone, the Only Beloved. It is a characteristic of
Persian sufi poetry to be ambiguous in such a way as to refer both
to the human beloved and the Divine Beloved. "When you breathe
into me" is a reference to when God breathed into Adam of His
spirit (Qur'an 15:29).

¹³a hundred times: an idiom meaning a great many.