This Ghazal represents an epic of “poverty and affliction”; Where Kamal, with his mystical insight, weaves a picture of how the lover tosses and turns in the fires of estrangement, considering every feature of the beloved a new web of trial, until he finally concludes that the aesthetic truth loves itself in the mirror of witnessing.
English Translation
Because of your sorrow, the heart has become drowned in a sea of estrangement, and in your absence, it has become vulnerable to all manner of (one hundred) the endless forms of affliction
For whoever chooses to dwell in your protection (the threshold of your alley/neighborhood) has fallen into the clutches of the watcher (the critic/the envious one/the human soul); He is like a poor beggar, held captive by the ferocity of the house dog (the evil soul that dwells within us, keeping us from the abode of the Beloved).
My heart turned to pure blood in your hands, and became captivated by the radiance of your cheek and submissive to the dust of your feet.
What words can console me for such anguish? My soul is in perpetual affliction because of those forelocks that have captivated my entire being.
Shall I swallow the bitterness of longing for the features of your face (the newly grown hair), or the pang of sorrow from your black mole? Look, in this wounded heart, how many are the causes of my trials!
And your beauty has shone forth in the mirror of existence, so look! Even Your most sacred splendor was captivated by its own self-love, by the magnificence of Your beauty. (*The beloved’s pride here is not reprehensible, but rather indicative of the absolute greatness and perfect manifestation of beauty, which causes all who see it, even the possessor of beauty itself, to be astonished and captivated by it.)
And the days of separation have passed thanks to the humility and supplication of Kamal, as this afflicted soul found salvation only through the key of sincere supplication.
Contextual and Gnostic Footnotes
The Symbolism of the “Watchdog”: Kamal uses the scene of the “questioner and the dog” to depict the struggle. The watchdog here is the “commanding self” that prevents the gnostic from entering the sanctuary of vision (Beloved). The trial of the watchdog is a test of sincerity. The lover endures humiliation for the sake of the beloved.
The station of “self-love”: In the sixth verse, Kamal refers to the most subtle issues of the unity of existence, and divine beauty, when it manifested itself in the mirror of possibilities, was as if it were looking at itself, and the truly tested one is “the Truth” manifested in the forms of creation, and this is a profound meaning that indicates that love is an eternal attribute of beauty.
The Philosophy of “The Affliction of the Forelock and the Mole”: The forelock (hair) represents the multitude of appearances that constrict the heart, and the mole (beauty mark) represents the point of pure unity. The lover is afflicted between the “veil” (the forelock) and the “desired” (the mole), and both are causes of his annihilation.
The allegory of “perfection” and “desire”: The sheikh concludes the “Niyaz” (need) is what ended the estrangement, and this is consistent with Kamal’s biography; He believed that the pain of separation was the path to attaining perfect knowledge.
Summary of Ghazal
Sheikh Kamal believed that the lover’s destiny is “multiple trials,” and that there is no escape from separation through reason or force, but rather through steadfastness, submission to the divine, and sincere supplication. Love poetry is a journey of “dispersion” amidst worries. The mole and the line (between the multitude of appearances and solitude), to the “collection” in witnessing beauty that sees itself in everything.
Vocabulary
مُبْتَلَا: The one who is struck or tested
صَد گُونِه: A metaphor for abundance
چَنْگ: A claw or a fist
Raqib: The critic or the rival (and in mysticism: the veil of the soul)
Dil Khun: The bleeding heart (a symbol of the lover)
Kaf Pa: The sole of the foot
Zulf Du Ta: Curled or bent hair
Khat: The downy hair on the cheek/newly grown hair
Khal: A mole
Ayinah: A mirror
Husn: Beauty
Niyaz: Need and humility
Raha’i: Salvation or deliverance
Arabic Translation
يُمَثِّلُ هَذَا النَّصُّ مَلْحَمَةَ “الافْتِقَارِ وَالابْتِلَاءِ”؛ حَيْثُ يَنْسِجُ كَمَال بِبَصِيرَتِهِ العِرْفَانِيَّةِ كَيْفَ يَتَقَلَّبُ العَاشِقُ فِي نِيرَانِ الجَفَاءِ، مُعْتَبِرًا أَنَّ كُلَّ مَلْمَحٍ مِنَ المَحْبُوبِ هُوَ شَبَکَةُ ابْتِلَاءٍ جَدِيدَةٍ، حَتَّى يَنْتَهِيَ بِهِ المَطَافُ إِلَى أَنَّ الحَقِيقَةَ الجَمَالِيَّةَ تَعْشَقُ ذَاتَهَا فِي مِرْآةِ الشُّهُودِ
لَقَدْ أَضْحَى القَلْبُ بِسَبَبِ حُزنكَ، غَرِيقًا فِي بَحْرِ الجَفَاءِ، وَصَارَ فِي غَيْبَتِكَ، عُرْضَةً لِشتى (مِئة) ألَوْان البَلَاءِ الَّتِي لَا تَنتهي
فإِنَّ مَنْ آثَرَ السُّکْنَى فِي حِمَاكَ (عَتبة زقاقكَ/حِيكَ) قَدْ وَقَعَ فِي مَخَالِبِ الرَّقِيبِ (العَاذل/الحَاسد/النفس الإنسانية)؛ فَهُوَ کَسَائِلٍ فَقِيرٍ بَاتَ مُرْتَهَنًا لِشَرَاسَةِ کَلْبِ الدَّارِ (النفس الشريرة التي تسكن أجسادنا، وتُبعدنا عن دار المحبوبِ)
فأسْتَحَالَ القَلْبُ دَمًا (بسبب شِدة العِشقِ) عَبِيطًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ، وبَاتَ مَفْتُونًا بِسَنَاءِ وَجْنَتِكَ وَخَاضِعًا لِتُرَابِ قَدَمِيكَ
فأَيَّ حَدِيثٍ يُغني عَنْ تلك المَوَاجِعِ؟ فَالرُّوحُ فِي إبْتِلَاءٍ دَائِمٍ، بِسَبَبِ تِلْكَ الجدائل المَثَنِيَةِ، الَّتِي أَسَرَتْ کُلَّ كياني
أَأَتَجَرَّعُ مَرَارَةَ الشَّوْقِ لملامح وجهكَ (الشَعر حديث النمو) أَمْ غَصة الحُزنِ من شَامَتِكَ السَّوْدَاءِ؟ فأنْظُرْ، فِي هَذَا القَلْبِ الکَلِيمِ، کَيْفَ تَعَدَّدَتْ أَسْبَابُ المِحَنِ
وقَدْ رَنَا حُسنكَ في مِرْآةِ الوُجُودِ، فَأَنظر! حَتَّى بَهَاءَكَ الأَقْدَسَ فُْتنَ بِعِشْقِ ذَاتِهِ لروعة جَمالكَ (*لا يُعدّ غرور المَحبوب هنا أمرًا مُستهجنًا، بل يدل على عَظمة الحُسن المُطلق وتَجليّه الكامل، ما يَجعل كل من يراه، حتى صاحب الحُسن نفسه، يُذهل ويُفتن بنفسهِ)
وقَدِ أنْقَضَتْ أَيَّامُ الهِجْرَانِ بِفَضْلِ تَذَلُّلِ کَمَالٍ وَإبْتِهَالِهِ؛ فَمَا نَالَ هَذَا الـمُبْتَلَى خَلَاصَهُ إِلَّا بِمِفْتَاحِ الدُّعَاءِ الصَّادِقِ
الهَوَامِشُ السِّياقِيَّةُ وَالعِرْفَانِيَّةُ
رَمْزِيَّةُ “کَلْبِ الرَّقِيبِ”: يَسْتَخْدِمُ کَمَال مَشْهَدَ “السَّائِلِ وَالکَلْبِ” لِيُصَوِّرَ الـمُجَاهَدَةَ، و الرَّقِيبُ هُنَا هُوَ “النَّفْسُ الأَمَّارَةُ” الَّتِي تَمْنَعُ العَارِفَ مِنْ دُخُولِ حَرَمِ الـمُشَاهَدَةِ، والإبْتِلَاءُ بِالرَّقِيبِ هُوَ أخْتِبَارٌ لِصِدْقِ العَاشِقِ فِي تَحَمُّلِ المَذَلَّةِ فِي سَبِيلِ المَحْبُوبِ
مَقَامُ “عِشْقِ الذَّاتِ لِلذَّاتِ”: فِي البَيْتِ السَّادِسِ، يُشِيرُ کَمَال إِلَى أَدَقِّ مَسَائِلِ وَحْدَةِ الوُجُودِ، و الجَمَالُ الإِلَهِيُّ حِينَ تَجَلَّى فِي مِرْآةِ الـمُمْکِنَاتِ، کَانَ كَأَنَّهُ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ، و الـمُبْتَلَى الحَقِيقِيُّ هُوَ “الحَقُّ” الظَّاهِرُ فِي صُوَرِ الخَلْقِ، وَهُوَ مَعْنًى عَمِيقٌ يُفِيدُ بِأَنَّ العِشْقَ صِفَةٌ أَزَلِيَّةٌ لِلْجَمَالِ
فَلْسَفَةُ “بَلَاءِ الزُّلْفِ وَالخَالِ”: الزُّلْفُ (الشَّعْرُ) يُمَثِّلُ کَثْرَةَ المَظَاهِرِ الَّتِي تَقْبِضُ القَلْبَ، وَالخَالُ (الشَّامَةُ) يُمَثِّلُ نُقْطَةَ الوَحْدَةِ الصِّرْفَةِ، و العَاشِقُ مُبْتَلًى بَيْنَ “الحِجَابِ” (الزُّلْفِ) وَبَيْنَ “الـمَطْلَبِ” (الخَالِ)، وَکِلَاهُمَا سَبَبٌ فِي فَنَائِهِ
تَوْرِيَةُ “کَمَال” وَ نِّيَاز: يَخْتِمُ الشَّيْخُ بِأَنَّ “نِّيَاز” (الإفْتِقَارُ) هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْهَى الهِجْرَانَ، و هَذَا يَتَّسِقُ مَعَ سِيرَةِ کَمَال؛ حَيْثُ کَانَ يَرَى أَنَّ “دَّرْد” (الأَلَمَ) هُوَ السَّبِيلُ لِلْوُصُولِ إِلَى تَمَامِ (کَمَالِ) الـمَعْرِفَةِ
مُلَخَّصُ الغَزَلِ
يَرَى الشَّيْخُ کَمَال أَنَّ قَدَرَ العَاشِقِ هُوَ “الإبْتِلَاءُ الـمُتَعَدِّدُ”، و لَا نَجَاةَ مِنَ الهِجْرَانِ بِالعَقْلِ أَوْ القُوَّةِ، بَلْ بِلُزُومِ العَتَبَةِ وَالخُضُوعِ لِلرَّقِيبِ وَالإبْتِهَالِ الصَّادِقِ، والغَزَلُ هُوَ رِحْلَةٌ مِنَ “التَّفَرُّقِ” فِي هُمُومِ الشَّامَةِ وَالخَطِّ (بين كثرة المظاهر والوحدة)، إِلَى “الجَمْعِ” فِي شُهُودِ الجَمَالِ الَّذِي يَرَى نَفْسَهُ فِي کُلِّ شَيْءٍ
المُفْرَدَاتُ
مُبْتَلَا: الـمُصَابُ أَوْ الـمُمْتَحَنُ
صَد گُونِه: مِائَةُ نَوْعٍ (كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ الكَثْرَةِ)
چَنْگ: مِخْلَبٌ أَوْ قَبْضَةٌ
رَقِيب: العَاذِلُ أَوْ المُنَافِسُ (وَفِي العِرْفَانِ: حِجَابُ النَّفْسِ)
دِلِ خُون: القَلْبُ الدَّامِي (رَمْزُ العَاشِقِ)
كَفِ پَا: أَخْمَصُ القَدَمِ
زُلْفِ دُو تَا: الشَّعْرُ المُنْحَنِي أَوْ الـمُثَنَّى
خَط: زَغَبُ العِذَارِ/الشعر حديث النمو
خَال: الشَّامَة
آيِينِه: مِرْآةٌ
حُسْن: جَمَالٌ
نِيَاز: افْتِقَارٌ وَتَذَلُّلٌ
رَهَائِي: خَلَاصٌ أَوْ نَجَاةٌ
Persian Text
ز غمت دل به جفا مبتلا
بیتو به صد گونه بلا مبتلا
ساکن کوی تو به چنگ رقیب
چون به سگ خانه گدا مبتلا
همچو دل خون شده در دست تو
با رخ و با آن کف پا مبتلا
با تو چه گویم که چه ها میکشد
دایم از آن زلف دو تا مبتلا
غصه خط یا غم خالت خورم
بین که شد این دل به چه ها مبتلا
کرد در آیینه نظر حسن تو
دید به خود نیز ترا مبتلا
هجر بسر شد به نیاز کمال
یافت رهایی به دعا مبتلا
