Poems & Poets

‘The goal is You: Ka'ba and temples only pretext’

Sheikh Baha'i

About the poet: Sheikh Baha'i

This poem is authored by Bahāʾ al‐Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al‐ʿĀmilī (Persian: محمد بن عزالدين حسين‎; 18 February 1547 – 1 September 1621), also known as Sheikh Baha'i. Sheikh Baha'i was a 16/17th-century Islamic scholar, faqih, philosopher, architect, mathematician, astronomer, mystic and Persian poet from Esfahan, though born in Baalbek (Ottoman Syria). He was appointed as the Shaykh-ol-Islam of the Safavid Empire during the reign of Tahmasp I, and is recognised as a mojadded within the Twelver Shi'i tradition. Sheikh Baha'i also appears in the selseleh (authoritative spiritual lineage) of the Ne'matullahi Sufi order.

About the poem: Maqsūd to-ī ka’be-o botkhānah bahānah

This mokhammas (cinquain) is a love-poem dedicated to God, Glorified and Exalted is He. Sheikh Baha'i is yearning for the day when he will meet his Lord, expressing his anguish and longing. Baha'i ruminates about the reality that God is distant but close, far but near, hidden but present. He tells of his naïve journey to find God, going from 'house to house', from 'mosque to winehouse', to only realise that God is with him all along – that the 'house of idols' and the 'Ka'beh' are only excuses for realising this immediate connection.

Reference: Sheikh Baha'i – Divan-e-Ash'ar – Mokhammas

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Persian Text

Translation

How much longer can I plead to meet You, in re-union?With every eyelash my tears have become a gushing stream
Will this night of yearning ever end or not?Oh, the lover's heart is the target of the arrow of your anguish!
People's concern is You, though You are hidden within.
I went to the monastery of worshippers and the asceticsI saw that all are bowing and prostrating towards Your Face
In the wine-house I am a guide, and in the monastery a worshipperOne day I am the fire temple's hermit, and one day the mosque's inhabitant
This means that I am seeking You, from house to house
The day on which the enemies were busied with their businessThe ascetic trekked towards the mosque, and I became the wine-seller himself
I sought The Friend Himself, while he sought the Bridal ChamberThe pilgrim trekked to the Ka'ba, while I seek a meeting
He seeks The House, while I seek Its Owner
But, every door that I knock, its owner is YouBut, everywhere I go, the light of the abode is You
In both the wine-house and the fire temple the object of love is YouFrom both the Ka'ba and the idols' temple, my wish is You
The Goal is You: Ka'ba and temples only pretext
The nightingale found Your Rosy Face in every grass landThe moth entered the flame and witnessed the secret's of enlightenment
The mystic recognised Your Face in both young and oldThe reflections of the Friend's Face can be seen everywhere
I am the crazed one, seeking you from house to house
The wise one tracks Your Path through intellect's boundsThe crazed one seeks You outside of form and creed
Until the bourgeoning bud of this garden blossomsEveryone utters Your praise in their own tongue.
The nightingale through poetry, and the dove through melody
Hapless Baha'i, his heart is in anguish for YouHowever sinful he is, he remains from among Your servants
He remains in hope of Your Never-Ending Compassion It is the fault the mind occupied with Your Beneficence
Is there any better excuse for these misdeeds?

Transliteration

Tā key be tamannāy-e vesāl-e to yegānahAshkam shavad az har mojeh chon seyl ravānah
Khāhad be sar āyad, shab-e hejrān-e to yā-nah?Ey tīr-e ghamat ra del-e ‘osh-shāq neshānah
Jam’i be to mashghūl-o to ghāyeb ze miyānah
Raftam be dar-e sowme’e-ye ‘ābed-o zāhedDīdam hameh rā pīsh-e rokhat rāke’-o sājed
Dar meykadeh rahbānam-o dar sowme’e ‘ābedGah mo’takef-e deyram-o gah sāken-e masjed
Ya’ni ke to ra mi-talabam khānah be khānah
Rūzi ke beraftand harīfān pey-e har kārZāhed sūy-e masjed shod-o man jāneb-e khammār
Man yār talab kardam-o ū jelvehgah-e yårHājī be rah-e ka’be-o man tāleb-e dīdar
Ū khāneh hamī jūyad-o man sāheb-e khānah
Har dar ke zanam sāheb-e ān khānah to-ī-toHar jā ke ravam parto-ve kāshānah to-ī-to
Dar meykadeh-o deyr ke jānānah to-Ī-toMaqsūd-e man az ka’be-o botkhānah to-ī-to
Maqsūd to-ī ka’be-o botkhānah bahānah
Bolbol be chaman zān gol-e rokhsār neshān dīdParvāneh dar ātash shod-o asrār-e ayān dīd
‘Āref sefat-e rūy-e to dar pīr-o javān dīdYa’ni hameh jā ‘aks-e rokh-e yār tavān dīd
Dīvāneh manam man ke ravam khānah be khānah
‘Āqel be qavānīn-e kherad rāh-e to pūyadDīvāneh borūn az hameh ā’yīn to jūyad
Tā ghonche-ye beshkofte-ye īn bāgh ke būyadHar kas be zabāni sefat-e hamd-e to gūyad
Bolbol be ghazalkhāni-o ghomri be tarānah
Bīchāreh Bahā’ī ke delash zār-e gham-e tostHar chand keh ‘āsīst ze kheyl-e khadam-e tost
Omīd vey az ‘ātefat-e dam-be-dam-e tostTaqsīr-e khīyāli be omīd-e karam-e tost
Ya’ni ke gonah rā beh az īn nīst bahānah

Songs & Recitations

Example 1:

Iranian Classical Music

Title: Tamanaye VesalArtist: Abdolhosein MokhtabadAlbum: Tamanaye Vesal

Example 2:

Iranian Classical Music (with Arabic subtitles)

Title: منای وصالArtist: گروه صهبای کهنVocals: فرامرز پایور

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