Divan-e Shams› Ghazal 1393 ← previous · next →
Divan-e Shams · G1393 · 21 beyts
غزل شمارهٔ ۱۳۹۳
This ghazal narrates a soul's radical transformation through love. Initially rejected by the Beloved for being too sane, sober, and self-possessed, the speaker undergoes a series of annihilations—becoming mad, drunk, and slain—to become worthy. The poem then shifts from this dialogue of becoming to a song of gratitude, where the transformed self, now a mirror of the Beloved's light, gives thanks for its new, radiant existence.
This poem is a powerful depiction of spiritual transformation, structured as a dialogue between the lover and the Beloved. The first nine couplets (beyts 1-9) chronicle the Beloved's challenges and the lover's subsequent self-negation to meet them. The Beloved declares the speaker is not 'mad,' 'drunk,' or 'slain' enough for the 'house' of love, and with each rejection, the speaker sheds another layer of his conventional self, becoming exactly what is demanded. This process of annihilation is not a loss but a prerequisite for union. A turning point occurs in beyts 10-11, where 'new fortune' and 'ancient love' command the speaker to cease striving and simply be in this new state. The remainder of the ghazal is an ecstatic celebration of this new identity. The speaker, once a 'gloomy patch of earth' (beyt 16) or a 'tattered robe' (beyt 13), is now a 'shining star' (beyt 18) and a 'laughing garden' (beyt 20), reflecting the creative power of the Beloved. The poem concludes with the paradox of the chessboard (beyt 21): the speaker is simultaneously silent and articulate, moved entirely by the will of the 'King of the world,' finding ultimate fortune in this state of surrendered play.
Open any couplet for its own page — rendering, commentary, hard words.
- G1393:1 مُرده بُدم زنده شدم، گریه بُدم خنده شدمدولت عشق آمد و من دولت پاینده شدم I was dead, I became alive; I was weeping, I became laughter.The fortune of Love arrived, and I became an everlasting fortune.The poem opens with a declaration of profound transformation: love has turned death into life and sorrow into joy, granting me a permanent, divine state.
- G1393:2 دیدهٔ سیر است مرا، جان دلیر است مرازَهرهٔ شیر است مرا، زُهرهٔ تابنده شدم I have a satiated eye, I have a daring soul.I have the lion's courage, I became the shining Venus.My spiritual perception is full, my soul is fearless, and I possess the bravery of a lion; I have been transformed into a radiant, celestial being.
- G1393:3 گفت که: «دیوانه نهای، لایق این خانه نهای»رفتم دیوانه شدم سلسله بندنده شدم He said: 'You are not mad, you are not worthy of this house.'I went and became mad, I became one who binds the chains.The Beloved rejected me for being too sane, so I embraced madness completely, becoming not just chained by it, but a master of its ways.
- G1393:4 گفت که: «سرمست نهای، رو که از این دست نهای»رفتم و سرمست شدم وز طرب آکنده شدم He said: 'You are not drunk, go, you are not of this kind.'I went and became drunk, and I became filled with ecstasy.The Beloved told me I wasn't spiritually intoxicated enough, so I went and became utterly drunk with divine love, filled to the brim with joy.
- G1393:5 گفت که: «تو کشته نهای، در طرب آغشته نهای»پیش رخ زندهکُنش کشته و افکنده شدم He said: 'You are not slain, not steeped in ecstasy.'Before His life-slaying face, I became slain and cast down.The Beloved said I hadn't experienced the ecstatic death of the ego. So, in the presence of His deadly and life-giving beauty, I let myself be killed and thrown to the ground.
- G1393:6 گفت که: «تو زیرککی، مست خیالی و شکی»گول شدم، هول شدم، وز همه برکنده شدم He said: 'You are a clever little one, drunk on fantasy and doubt.'I became a fool, I became undone, and I became severed from everything.The Beloved accused me of being attached to my own intellect and skepticism. In response, I abandoned reason, embraced bewilderment, and cut myself off from all worldly attachments.
- G1393:7 گفت که: «تو شمع شدی، قبلهٔ این جمع شدی»جمع نیَم، شمع نیَم، دودِ پراکنده شدم He said: 'You have become a candle, the qibla of this gathering.'I am not the gathering, I am not the candle, I became scattered smoke.The Beloved suggested I had become a spiritual guide, a focal point for others. I rejected this status, dissolving my identity entirely until I was nothing but formless, scattered smoke.
- G1393:8 گفت که: «شیخی و سَری، پیشرو و راهبری»شیخ نیَم، پیش نیَم، امرِ تو را بنده شدم He said: 'You are a sheikh and a head, a forerunner and a guide.'I am not a sheikh, I am not a forerunner, I became a slave to Your command.The Beloved identified me as a leader and a master. I renounced all claims to authority and leadership, choosing instead to be nothing more than a humble servant of Your will.
- G1393:9 گفت که: «با بال و پری، من پر و بالت ندهم»در هوسِ بال و پرش، بیپر و پرکنده شدم He said: 'You have wings and feathers, but I will not give you my wing and feather.'In longing for His wing and feather, I became wingless and plucked.The Beloved acknowledged my own spiritual abilities but withheld His divine support. In my intense desire for His power alone, I surrendered my own, becoming utterly helpless and dependent.
- G1393:10 گفت مرا دولت نو: «راه مرو رنجه مشوزانک من از لطف و کرم سوی تو آینده شدم» The new fortune told me: 'Do not walk the path, do not weary yourself,for I, out of grace and generosity, have become the one coming toward you.'At this point of surrender, a new spiritual state told me to stop striving, because divine grace itself was now actively coming to me.
- G1393:11 گفت مرا عشقِ کهن: «از برِ ما نقل مکن»گفتم: «آری، نکنم، ساکن و باشنده شدم» The ancient love told me: 'Do not move from our side.'I said: 'Yes, I will not,' and I became settled and a resident.The timeless, original love commanded me to stay present in its company. I agreed, ceasing all movement and becoming permanently established in this state of union.
- G1393:12 چشمهٔ خورشید تویی، سایهگه بید منمچونک زدی بر سر من، پست و گُدازنده شدم You are the sun's spring, I am the willow's shade.Since you struck my head, I became low and melting.You are the ultimate source of light, while I am merely a fleeting shadow. When your radiance touched me, my solid self dissolved and I became humble and fluid.
- G1393:13 تابش جان یافت دلم، وا شد و بشکافت دلماطلس نو بافت دلم، دشمن این ژنده شدم My heart found the soul's radiance, my heart opened and split apart.My heart wove a new satin, I became the enemy of this tattered robe.When my heart received spiritual light, it broke open from its confines. It wove a new, beautiful identity for itself and I came to despise my old, worn-out self.
- G1393:14 صورت جان، وقت سحر، لاف همیزد ز بطربنده و خربنده بُدم، شاه و خداونده شدم The form of the soul, at dawn, was boasting out of delight:'I was a slave and a donkey-driver, I became a king and a lord.'In the moment of spiritual illumination, my soul's true form joyfully declared its transformation from the lowest, most servile state to the highest rank of sovereignty.
- G1393:15 شُکر کند کاغذ تو از شَکر بیحدِ توکآمد او در بر من، با وی ماننده شدم Your paper gives thanks for Your limitless sugar,for it came into my presence, and I became like it.Even the paper You write on is grateful for Your infinite sweetness. Since that sweetness came to me, I have become identical with it.
- G1393:16 شکر کند خاک دُژم، از فلک و چرخ به خمکز نظر و گردش او، نور پذیرنده شدم The gloomy earth gives thanks to the sphere and the turning heavens,for by its glance and its turning, I became a receiver of light.My own dark, earthly existence is grateful to the celestial spheres, because their divine influence and gaze have transformed me into something that can accept and hold light.
- G1393:17 شکر کند چرخِ فلک، از مَلِک و مُلک و مَلَککز کرم و بخشش او روشن بخشنده شدم The celestial sphere gives thanks to the King, the Kingdom, and the Angel,'By His generosity and gift, I became a bestower of light.'In turn, the heavens themselves are grateful to God, His dominion, and His angels, saying, 'Through Divine grace, I who only received light have now become a source of light for others.'
- G1393:18 شکر کند عارف حق کز همه بردیم سبقبر زبر هفت طبق، اختر رخشنده شدم The knower of Truth gives thanks: 'I have surpassed all others;above the seven firmaments, I became a glittering star.'The gnostic, who truly knows God, expresses gratitude for having spiritually outstripped everyone, ascending beyond the seven heavens to become a radiant star.
- G1393:19 زُهره بدم ماه شدم، چرخ دو صد تاه شدمیوسف بودم ز کنون یوسف زاینده شدم I was Venus, I became the Moon; I became a sphere of two hundred folds.I was Joseph, and from now on I became a Joseph who gives birth.My spiritual station has been elevated from a bright star to the moon itself, and my being has expanded infinitely. I was once like Joseph, an object of beauty, but now I have become a source of beauty, able to create other Josephs.
- G1393:20 از توام ای شهره قمر، در من و در خود بنگرکز اثر خندهٔ تو، گلشنِ خندنده شدم From You I am, O famous Moon! Look at me and look at Yourself,for from the effect of Your laughter, I became a laughing garden.My entire being comes from You, my glorious Beloved. See how I reflect You: Your joy has transformed me into a garden that is itself the embodiment of laughter.
- G1393:21 باش چو شطرنج روان، خامش و خود جمله زبانکز رخِ آن شاهِ جهان، فرّخ و فرخُنده شدم Be like a moving chess piece, silent and yet all language,for from the face of that King of the world, I became fortunate and blessed.Exist like a piece in a game of chess: outwardly silent and moved by a higher will, yet inwardly expressive of that will's entire plan. It is by submitting to the will of the cosmic King that I have found my ultimate good fortune.
ganjoor: sh1393 · public domain