Chishti Ghazals of Hazrat Muinuddin Chishti

Ghazal #1
1a The beauty (jama:l) of the name of God has captivated (rubu:dam, mi: rba:m) my
soul (ja:n) and my heart (dil)
1 The majesty (jala:l) of the name of God has quenched (nakht???) My thirst???.
b (teshneh laba:n) ????

2a If you seek ‘union” (wis*a:l) with the real, sit together with others [absorbed] in the
[zikr of the] name of God
2 For the “union” with God lies in the “union” with the name of God
b

3a Between the name and the named, there is no difference

3 Perfection of the name of God is in the self-disclosure (tajalli:) of the names.
b

4a Know with certitude (yaqi:n) that when you sit with the real night and day
4 When the remembrance/ focus on (khiya:l) of the name of God is your companion
b on the journey

5a You have been made /capable of/ to deserve/ flying (sazad t*i:ra:n) in the infinite
space (fad*a:‛) of the holy world (‛ala:m-i quddus)
5 Drawing that ability (be shart*) from the fairy (parri:) from the wings of the name of
b God

6a When I hear His name, I become the possessor of a hundred lives

6 I become His sacrifice, for the exaltedness and majesty of the name of God
b

7a From reciting Your name, when will Muin become weary?

7 Because that weariness is from God, which is the weariness of the name of God
b

Ghazal #2
1a We are your seekers and you are the one who eludes from us
1 We are the one who are (be su:ya:t????) face-to-face with (muqa:bil) you and you are
b the one who turns away his face from us

2a Coming out of the six directions, (jih*a:t) we look for you in the hundred directions
2 For how long will you turn yourself away from us and instead keep yourself busy
b (mashghu:l) in every side/direction (t*arf)
3a Wherever you will be, you will be with us! O the one without news!
3 We don’t remain without you, unless (gar) you remain without us
b

4a When we are the sea and you are the cloud! -----
4 You will make the garden smiling if you shed some tears for us
b

5a I asked him, “how long do you want to hide behind the veil?”
5 That hour has come when no longer you would [be able to] cover your face from
b us.”

6a He answered, “i’m without a veil. If you do see a veil, its ‘you’.

6 Since you yourself are behind thousands of veils and concealed from me (ma:)”
b

7a When you are ??????????? Whatever is the name, this or that!

7 This existence is “accidental” (‛a:rad*i:) that has been fastened onto us (ke bustani:
b az ma:, the book says busta:ni:)

8a The chishti message is the mirror onto which Muin [as a reflection] has appeared
8 How will I say what happened from what? (kaz keh shad) when you yourself know it
b [better] than us

Ghazal #3
1a O heart! Come into the circle of those [sufis] who are drunk (randa:n1), into the
banquet of burning love (‛ishq)
1b We will give you a draught/gulp/sip/mouthful of the wine of subsistence (baqa:’)

2a Come! Put/place/ pour the two worlds into the urinal

Andar=into, in, within
Shi:sheh= cup, glass, urinal
Last few words are unintelligible
2b In this game of dice [qima:r], by one move [dav], whatever you have, ????

3a If you seek baqa then first you must have fana first
3b Until you wash yourself with fana, you’ll not find the way to baqa

4a You are the royal falcon and you’ve taken off [flown away] from the hands of the
king
4b

1
Rand has many meanings including drunkard, Sufi, traveler, one whose exierior is liable to censure but
who at heart is sound
5a When you’ll cross/overtake/pass/ surpass the darkness of humanness/ corporeality
[bashariyat] then you’ll “arrive” [rasi:dam, mi:rasam=arrive, reach, attain, ripen]
5b At the apogee that is aw adna:
, away from this crookedness and badness [that was your state before]

Azi:n= [away] from this

H*fd*=v.n. Throwing away, twisting, bending, crooking
H*afi:d*= one who crooks, bends
Dana:‛at=being bad, v.n. Of dana:‛
Auj= apogee, zenith, summit
Aw adna:

6a The winged horse [buraq] of burning love [‛ishq,] has traversed (t*i:) a hundred
steps for you
6b You! Come [a:] forward one step leaving [be-guza:r] oppression/distress
[mud*a:yaqat]

7a
7b

8a
8b

9a
9b

10a Take off your face-veil of being [niqa:b-i hasti:]

10
b

11a
11b Behold the beauty of the beloved [jama:l-i ja:na:neh, not ja:na:n] in the mirror of
the soul! [ja:n]

12a Try!
12 So that you can see face-to-face [or with your own eyes, mu‛a:‛ina] the
b manifestation [z*uhu:r] of the light of God

13a If you keep wanting (hami: kha:hi:) the self-disclosure of the [timelessly] eternal
(qidam) light
13 Muin! Remove the face-veil of “new arrival” (h*udu:th) from your own beauty
b [jama:l-i khod]

Ghazal #4
1a Whosoever extends/sets/puts out one step on our path every day
1 As a reward, he wins the way towards [suwi] the banquet/entertainment [bazm a] in
b our pleasure palace [‛asharat gah]

2a The sun [comes down] from the zenith of exaltedness and puts [niha:d, book is
wrong, also rukh niha:dan means travel to] it face [rukh] on the feet of [pa:-sh] of the
earth/ dust
2 Whosoever ----------- its face [ru:yash=his,her its face] is from our “court” [dargah]
b

3a He has run/ driven/ the horse of aspiration on top of the nine heavens
3 Where are all the mendicants? [sufis] they have traveled to the yard of our king
b Rukh niha:dan= to travel to, to turn the face towards

4a Give me a hint to the flowing path that is the path of love [‛ishq]
4 So that my gumrah heart may come on the path!
b

5a If you burn [su:zm] the curtain of existence [hasti:] by the fire of la: ilaha
5 At that time, you will see our light of illallah curtainless-ly
b

6a The heart wants to sacrifice the soul/ life [ja:n bar afsha:ndan] to God in his
remembrance/ invocation [ya:d]
6 Praise be to allah! Finally [‛a:qibat] the desire of our heart is fulfilled!
b
Khwa:h= desire, wish

7a How will the light of love (mihr) shine in a heedless [gha:fil] heart?
7 That light [from God] descends nowhere except to our/ a heart that is aware [a:ga:h]
b Mahbit= a place whrere one descends to; mah*t*i jibril=muhammad

8a I’m afraid that the wings of the angels will burn

8 If [gar, agar] a flame [shu‛la] from the ‘burning [pain]’ [su:z] of my “ah!”
b Goes to the heavens and ignite??????????
Tabad is not in steingass,

9a Muin! Don’t / do seek the light of his/his face [rokh-ash] in the prayer-niche
[shabista:n] of the body
Shabistan= royal bed-chamber, a closet where one says nightly prayers, the circuit of
the kabah as a place where prayes are said
9 See! The world of soul/self is illuminated by the light (furogh) of our moon
b
8 tarsi:dan, tarsam, tarsi:deh= to fear, to be afraid
Su:khtan, su:z= to burn
Ba:l=wing
Mihr= love, friendship, affection, kindness, mercy, pity

Ghazal #5
1a Remove/ take off/ unveil (bar-afgan, bar-afgandan=remove) the face-veil of demand
(da‛wa:= worldly claim or demand) that is before yourself [khwesh= self]
1 Behold the beauty (jama:l) of the meaning (ma‛na:) [clothed] in the apparel of form
b (s*u:rat)

2a Shatter the glass of fame [good name/ fame/ honor/dignity/law/ law-giver/

sadhuta ?????/ ja:jeh]
Striking by the stone of blame (sang-i mala:mat)
2 Pour the honor of Godwariness [taqwa] into the realm of ‛ishq
b

3a When the eight gardens of paradise are like a single ear/ husk of barley (khosheh-i:)
from the heap of our harvest (kharmin)
3 I won’t buy the grain-field/ tillage (kisht-i za:r) of this world (duniya:) for even half
b a grain of barley (jau) bengali differs

4a By your God! I won’t set my eyes on the two [worlds] of creation (ku:n-i:n)
4 Until I see the beauty (jama:l) of the mawla
b

5a I’m delighted at every leaf of the tree of existence??? Look! Bngali says im
delighted being a leaf in the tree of existence
5 Who told the that “burning bush” [lit. Tree]of moses on the mystery signs signals
b (rumu:z) of ‛ishq?

6a If I burn in the fire of ‛ishq, what’s so surprising about it?

6 When the Mount [Sinai] could not bear a single self-disclosure
b

7a Muin! The beauty (h*usn) of the Friend may not be seen/ appear through the eyes of
the intellect (khirad)
7 Behold the beauty (jama:l) of Laili how Majnun saw it!/ [through the eyes of
b majnun]