English Translation
This text represents an epic in “the love of absolute beauty”; Where Kamal Khujandi, with his mystical insight, weaves the ecstasy of the lover immersed in the attributes of the Beloved, transforming injustice and estrangement into a experiential perfection that dazzles the mind and soul.
He whose heart is captivated by the longing to meet the Beloved finds no sleep, remaining like a fleeting phantom. How can one sleep when the vision of union with the Beloved is his compass and his ultimate goal?
What harm could there be for the heart if it sought a glance from those enchanting eyes? For they are the source of all gazes and the object of contemplation, and within them lies for every discerning soul an unending question and bewilderment.
How wondrous it is that the beauty mark on his lips could quench the thirst of the hearts of those with keen insight, their blood boiling with love for him, while the pure water of life springs forth from those very lips?
And my ailing heart remains a dwelling place for the letters “Alif” and “Dal”; for his slender figure, like the Alif of monotheism, has etched itself in my soul, and the strands of his hair have bowed to form the Dal of submission and longing.
And his sorrow has taken hold of my soul after bitter suffering and beautiful patience. So tell this beloved: Drink from the blood of lovers as you please, for sacrificing one’s life for your sake is the highest form of permissible devotion.
And the sun, in its overwhelming desire to rival his splendor, stands bewildered in the heart of the sky, trembling with fear at the prospect of its light fading before the radiance of his countenance.
For his tyranny, his cruelty, and his harshness have reached the pinnacle of perfection and completeness. All that you (listener/reader) have heard of these attributes (injustice, cruelty, and harshness) are attributes of perfection belonging to Him alone.
Contextual and Gnostic Footnotes
The Symbolism of “Alif and Dal”: Kamal Khujandi uses letters as geometric tools for the soul. The letter Alif symbolizes the self-subsistent Divine Self (upright posture), while the letter Dal symbolizes the human being bowed in prostration or submission (the bowing of the temples).
The concept of “the permissibility of the lover’s blood”: This meaning recurs in the Sufi tradition of “the school of love.” The Divine Beloved (the Truth) demands the annihilation of the human aspect within the seeker. Drinking blood here is not violence, but rather the consuming of the lower self so that only truth remains within.
The allegory of “perfection”: Sheikh Kamal Khujandi excels at concluding his poems with his own name, conveying two meanings: the first is a reference to himself as a poet, and the second is the attribute of completeness and perfection. In this verse, he affirms that even the beloved’s coldness has reached its peak, but the ultimate goal of the Divine beauty.
The Beloved and the Sun: In the gnosis of Kamal, the Beloved is the origin of light, and the physical sun is but a shadow of Him. The sun’s fear of setting is a cosmic acknowledgment that true beauty eclipses all who claim equality with it.
A Summary of the Ghazal
Sheikh Kamal believes that the path to union is fraught with sleeplessness and annihilation. Beauty is not merely features (a mole and stature), but rather it is a “manifestation” that seeps into the heart and afflicts it with a noble illness. Reaching the “perfection” of knowledge necessitates accepting the “injustice” of the beloved, for this injustice is itself a manifestation of divine perfection.
Vocabulary for Learning
هوس: Intense yearning or compelling desire
خيال: Here symbolizes restless sleep and the dominance of the beloved’s thought
جَاىِ سُؤَال: A point of inquiry or confusion (a figure of speech) Between seeking a glance and its being a riddle
صَاحِبِ نَظَرَان: the knowledgeable ones, those well-versed in the secrets of beauty
زلال: pure water (a metaphor for saliva or knowledge)
Qad: stature
Zulf: a lock of hair or the temple
Dal and Alif: two metaphors for the beloved’s physical form
Alif: the beloved’s slender stature
Dal: the beloved’s wavy and curly hair
Hamsar: a peer or equal
Zawaal: absence or annihilation
Arabic Translation
يُمَثِّلُ هَذَا النَّصُّ مَلْحَمَةً فِي “عِشْقِ الجَمَالِ المُطْلَقِ”؛ حَيْثُ يَنْسِجُ كَمَال خجندي بَبَصِيرَتِهِ العِرْفَانِيَّةِ وَجْدَ العَاشِقِ الذَّائِبِ فِي صِفَاتِ المَحْبُوبِ، مُحَوِّلًا الجَوْرَ وَالجَفَاءَ إِلَى كَمَالٍ شُهُودِيٍّ يُبْهِرُ العَقْلَ وَالرُّوحَ
إِنَّ مَنْ أَسَرَتِ الرَّغْبَةُ فِي لِقَاءِ الحَبِيبِ مَجَامِعَ قَلْبِهِ، لا يَطْرُقُ النَّوْمُ بَابَ جَفْنِهِ، فيَكُونَ كطَيْفًا زَائِلًا، فَكَيْفَ يَنَامُ مَنْ بَاتَ خَيَالُ الوِصَالِ للمحبوبِ قِبْلَتَهُ وَمُبْتَغَاهُ؟
ومَا الضَيْرَ للقَلْبِ، إِنْ طَلَبَ نَظْرَةً مِنْ تِلْكَ العُيُونِ السَّاحِرَةِ؟ فَهِيَ مَنْبَعُ الأَنْظَارِ وَمَوْضِعُ التَّأَمُّلِ، وَفِيهَا لِكُلِّ عِارِفٍ مَسْأَلَةٌ وَحَيْرَةٌ لا تَنْقَضِي
فيَا لَلْعَجَبِ، كَيْفَ لِشَامَةِ شَفَتَيْهِ أَنْ تَظْمَأَ قُلُوبِ أَرْبَابِ البَصَائِرِ العَطشى ودماءهم التي تَغلي بحبهِ، وَمَاءُ الحَيَاةِ الزُّلَالُ يَنْبَعُ مِنْ تِلْكَ الثَّنَايَا؟
ومَا زَالَ قَلْبِي العَلِيلُ مَسْكَنًا لِحَرْفَيِ “الأَلِفِ” وَ”الدَّالِ”؛ فَقَدْ رَسَمَتْ قَامَتُهُ المَمْشُوقَةُ كالألِفَ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي رُوحِي، وَأنْحَنَتْ خُصُلاتُ شَعْرِهِ لِتُشَكِّلَ (دَالَ) الخُضُوعِ وَالوَلَهِ
ولَقَدْ تَمَكَّنَ حُزنه مِنَ الرُّوحِ بَعْدَ مُعَانَاةٍ مَرِيرَةٍ وَصَبْرٍ جَمِيلٍ؛ فَقُلْ لِهَذَا المَحْبُوبِ: أنْهَلْ مِنْ دِمَاءِ العُشَّاقِ مَا شِئْتَ، فَبَذْلُ النَّفْسِ فِي سَبِيلِكَ هُوَ أَسْمَى أيات الحَلالِ
وإِنَّ الشَّمْسَ لِفَرْطِ صَبْوَتِهَا فِي أَنْ تُضَاهِيَه بَهَاءً، تَقِفُ حَائِرَةً فِي كَبِدِ السَّمَاءِ، وَهِيَ تَرْتَجِفُ فَرَقًا مِنْ زَوَالِ نُورِهَا أَمَامَ سَنَاءِ طَلْعَتِهِ
فجَوْرُهُ، وجفاءهُ و قَسْوَتُهُ بَالِغَيْنِ ذُرْوَةَ الإِتْقَانِ وَالكَمالِ؛ فَكُلُّ مَا سَمِعْتَهُ (ايها السامع/ايها القاريء) مِنْ هذه الصِفَاتِ (الجور، القسوة، والجفاء) إِنَّمَا هِيَ صِفات الكمالٍ له وَحده
الهَوَامِشُ السِّياقِيَّةُ وَالعِرْفَانِيَّةُ
رَمْزِيَّةُ “الأَلِفِ وَالدَّالِ”: يَسْتَخْدِمُ كَمَال خُجَنْدِي الحُرُوفَ كَأَدَوَاتٍ هَنْدَسِيَّةٍ لِلرُّوحِ. الأَلِفُ تُرْمِزُ لِلذَّاتِ الإِلَهِيَّةِ القَائِمَةِ بِذَاتِهَا (اسْتِقَامَةُ القَامَةِ)، بَيْنَمَا تُرْمِزُ الدَّالُ لِلإِنْسَانِ المُنْحَنِي سُجُودًا أَوْ خُضُوعًا (انْحِنَاءُ الصُّدْغِ)
مَفْهُومُ “حَلالِيَّةِ دَمِ العَاشِقِ”: يَتَكَرَّرُ هَذَا المَعْنَى عِنْدَ صُوفِيَّةِ “مَذْهَبِ العِشْقِ”. المَحْبُوبُ الإِلَهِيُّ (الحَقُّ) يَطْلُبُ فَنَاءَ جِهَةِ البَشَرِيَّةِ فِي المُرِيدِ. شُرْبُ الدَّمِ هُنَا لَيْسَ عُنْفًا، بَلْ هُوَ اسْتِهْلاكُ النَّفْسِ الأَمَّارَةِ لِيَبْقَى الحَقُّ وَحْدَهُ في داخلهِ
تَوْرِيَةُ “الكَمَالِ”: يَبْرَعُ الشَّيْخُ كَمَال خجندي فِي خَتْمِ قَصَائِدِهِ بِاسْمِهِ بِمَا يُفِيدُ مَعْنَيَيْنِ: الأَوَّلُ هُوَ الإِشَارَةُ لِنَفْسِهِ كَشَاعِرٍ، وَالثَّانِي هُوَ صِفَةُ التَّمَامِ والكمالِ، فِي هَذَا البَيْتِ، يُؤَكِّدُ أَنَّ حَتَّى جَفَاءَ المَحْبُوبِ هُوَ قد بَلَغَ أَقْصَى غَايَاتِ الجَمَالِ الألهي
المَحْبُوبُ وَالشَّمْسُ: فِي عِرْفَانِ كَمَال، المَحْبُوبُ هُوَ أَصْلُ النُّورِ، وَالشَّمْسُ المَادِيَّةُ لَيْسَتْ إِلَّا ظِلًّا لَهُ. خَوْفُ الشَّمْسِ مِنَ الزَّوَالِ هُوَ اعْتِرَافٌ كَوْنِيٌّ بِأَنَّ الجَمَالِ الحَقِيقِيَّ يَمْحُو كُلَّ مَنْ يَدَّعِي المُسَاوَاةَ مَعَهُ
مُلَخَّصُ الغَزَلِ
يَرَى الشَّيْخُ كَمَال أَنَّ طَرِيقَ الوِصَالِ مَحْفُوفٌ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالفَنَاءِ. لَيْسَ الجَمَالُ مُجَرَّدَ مَلامِحَ (شَامَةٍ وَقَامَةٍ)، بَلْ هُوَ “تَجَلٍّ” يَتَسَلَّلُ إِلَى القَلْبِ فَيُصِيبُهُ بِسَقَمٍ شَرِيفٍ. الوُصُولُ إِلَى “كَمَالِ” المَعْرِفَةِ يَقْتَضِي قَبُولَ “جَوْرِ” المَحْبُوبِ، لِأَنَّ هَذَا الجَوْرَ هُوَ نَفْسُهُ صُورَةٌ مِنْ صُوَرِ الكَمَالِ الإِلَهِيِّ
المفردات للتعلم
هَوَس: الصَّبْوَةُ الشَّدِيدَةُ أَوْ الرَّغْبَةُ المُلِحَّةُ
خَيَال: تُرْمِزُ هُنَا إِلَى عَدَمِ اسْتِقْرَارِ النَّوْمِ وَهَيْمَنَةِ فِكْرَةِ المَحْبُوبِ
جَاىِ سُؤَال: مَوْضِعُ الاسْتِفْهَامِ أَوْ الحَيْرَةِ (تَوْرِيَةٌ بَيْنَ طَلَبِ النَّظْرَةِ وَبَيْنَ كَوْنِهَا لُغْزًا)
صَاحِبِ نَظَرَان: العَارِفُونَ المُلِمُّونَ بِأَسْرَارِ الجَمَالِ
زُلَال: المَاءُ الصَّافِي (كِنَايَةٌ عَنِ الرِّيقِ أَوْ المَعْرِفَةِ)
قَد: قَامَةٌ
زُلْف: خُصْلَةُ الشَّعْرِ أَوْ الصُّدْغُ
دال والف: استعارتان لهيئة جسد الحبيب
الف: قامة الحبيب الممشوقة
دال: شعر الحبيب المموج والمجعد
هَمْسَر: النَّدُّ أَوِ المَثِيلُ
زَوَال: الغِيَابُ أَوْ الفَنَاءُ
Persian Text
آنکه دل در هوس روز وصال است او را
خواب شب در سر اگر هست خیال است او را
دل ز چشمش چه شد ار کرد سوال نظری
چون نظرهاست در آن جای سوال است او را
خال لبهاش به خون دل صاحب نظران
تشنه از چیست چو در پیش زلال است او را
دل بیمار من از دال و الف خالی نیست
تا قد چون الف و زلف چو دال است او را
به جگر خوردن بسیار به کف کرد غمش
خون عشاق بخور گو که حلال است او را
آفتاب از هوس آنکه شود همسر او
ایستد راست و زان بیم زوال است او را
به کمال است و بس این جور و جفا و ستمش
این صفتها که شنیدی به کمال است او را
