persian-language-poets

"Despite my age, I can almost say that I have never put pen to paper without worrying about censorship. The nightmare of censorship has always cast a shadow over my thoughts. Both under the previous state and under the Islamic state, I have said again and again that, when there is an apparatus for censorship that filters all writing, an apparatus comes into being in every writer’s mind that says: “Don’t write this, they won’t allow it to be published.” But the true writer must ignore these murmurings. The true writer must write. In the end, it will be published one day, on the condition that the writer writes the truth and does not dissemble. Of course, whenever censorship is stringent, most writers resort to metaphor and figurative and symbolic language. And this can help stimulate the imagination. But taking comfort from this fact doesn’t lessen the writer’s dream of attaining freedom."

"The Shāhnāmeh is the greatest epic in history. It is a treasure trove of ideas, wisdom, advice, help, guidance, and rites. With this immense work, Ferdowsi revived the spirit of serenity, magnanimity, and pride in the Iranian nation, which had lost itself under the weight of the Arab conquest of Iran. It empowered divided Iranian peoples to unite. Most of our poets, even those who worked as tyrannical kings’ eulogists, have used their poems to remind rulers of the right way to run the state, practice justice, and uphold the welfare of the people…In any age, writers have produced works which were in keeping with their society’s needs and which helped and guided the nation."

"Being iconoclastic is only acceptable and desirable if the public—or at least a specific segment of society—is open to it. A literature that the public cannot relate to in any form will not endure. I have been iconoclastic, but I’ve never broken my ties with Iran’s past literature. No one can create a noteworthy work without knowing the tenets of their own language and literature. Language is renewed but it never changes its essence, because the contracts that have come about over time for communication cannot be rescinded so easily. It takes a thousand years before a word, among the thousands of words, dies away in a language or changes its meaning. Literature rests on language. It is a linguistic art. So it cannot sever its relationship with the past. But it can create new methods and styles that differ in structure, form, and content from the past."

"the more sincere and intimate the relationship between a work and its reader, the better. So the countries that don’t have walls don’t need windows either, because the entire world is their field of vision and they can establish an unmediated relationship with their readers. I, in turn, envy them their free world."

"Take off your scarf, the sun is going to set Take off your scarf, will make the air all right Take off your scarf, make the hair re… re… released"

"Take your head out from under the yoke of slavery And sing the hymn of life Break the longing you have Tell with the whole world Let go, let go, Don't miss your dreams"

"Sing until the city becomes a women's song Until this homeland, becomes a home land."

"Im the last martyr of this tribe The tribe that has no bread, no water The tribe that a lot of its matyrs dont have any grave"

"Observance of the Holy Prophet's (Muhammad) Shariah and of his personal example (Sunnah) has precedence over everything else."

"Every breath of life is a priceless treasure; it should be devoted to the rememberance of the Lord."

"The Dervish should devote himself to the rememberane of Allah, rather than hanker after money or rather worldly gain."

"There is no honor in doing things and performng rites and ceremonies (e.g., extravagance on occasions of marriage etc.) Which are not permitted by the Shariah."

"Being a Dervish is a state of mind, and does not necessarily depend on the type of dress that one wears. Dawood, Sulaiman and Yusuf were kings and apostles of God at the same time, while many eminent Sufis are known to have dressed richly and lived comfortably. Ideally, of course, it is preferable to follow the example of the Holy Prophet (Muhammad) who prided in simplicity and frugality."

"A Dervish is one who opposes whatever his baser self impels him to do."

"True faith can only be sustained through the love of Allah."

"Single-minded rememberance of Allah is the supreme source of felicity and happiness."

"No one can become a true and accomplished Sufi without first gaining mastery of the Shariah sciences; indeed venturing on the Sufi path without Shariah knowledge involves many pitfalls."

"The love of Allah and His Prophet (Muhammad) is infinitely superior to the love of mortal human beings and of other worldly things."

"If I tell a lie, something is left out; If I speak out the truth, there is a blaze. My mind fears both the alternatives, But haltingly my tongue speaks out. Words that come to my tongue cannot be held back. If I were to unravel the mysteries, All would forget to discuss and debate. They would then kill our friend Bullah, For only the hidden truth befits here."

"Accursed be prayers, to hell with fasts, and let confession of faith be damned. O Bullah, I have found the Lord within, and the world wanders in delusion!"

"True love has be-guided me, O friend! Reveal to me the land of my Beloved. At my parents' I was an innocent maid. With love to me He has robbed me of my heart. Logic, semantics and a store of knowledge— Such pedantry has left me devoid of Him. Of what use are fasts and prayers to them, Who have drunk deep from the front of love? Sitting in the company of the Spouse, Bullah is free from all rituals, O friend!"

"In shrines dwell robbers, in idol-houses, thugs. In mosques live vagabonds, the lovers of God remaind aloof."

"By going to Mecca the mystery is not obtained, so long as the ego is not annihilated. By going to the Ganga the mystery is not solved, though you may take a hundred dips in it. By going to Gaya the mystery is not solved, though you may offer many rice-cakes at funerals. O Bullah, salvation will be obtained only when the 'I' is completely eliminated."

"All this is strolling of the sea, neither any shore nor dinghy Into the waters of oneness, flying away this very entity Cease the moment forget all else, all that bygone history The future and past abandon, Sachal ask for frenzy."

"The fragrant rose blossoms in the garden; It seems to me, this is the face of my Fairest. The tulip in the green meadow appears to the eye As the face of the Beloved sitting beside me. From afar, the intoxicated narcissus Is my Sweetheart's eye looking out for me. When I see the violets, I say to myself: 'These are his locks, or else my emaculated body.'"

"Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light Neither a talker, nor a seeker, nor am I argumentite Light makes me restuve sweet Lord, restive am I for light Neither earthy, nor the wind, neither water nor as fire ignite Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light Neither from jinns, nor from humans, neither mother nor father recondite Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light Neither Sunni, nor Shia, neither sinner nor recompensite Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light Neither law-abider nor abstemious, nor given to physical delight Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light Neither a scholar nor a judge, nor rowdy drink's acolyte Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light Which substance of School do you look for? he's with you and in flight Light makes me restive sweet Lord, restive am I for light."

"Who are you, who am I, I'm manifest in the same On our heads we secured, a chaplet in a frame."

"My thoughts are not to eminence inclined, nor I ask to be the master Neither then prelates, elders we became, nor then my name's Astrologer Neither Indian, Sindhi, Arab, nor to being a Negro or Turk aver Sachal nowhere is anyone present, within nothingness we occur."

"Like as my ancestors, so did my father Yusuf, son of Zaki Muwajjad, early depart hence. Yet what boots it to quarrel with destiny? Fate spoke, and complaints must be hushed. Yet whose father died not? When I saw him depart to his fathers, I tore his image out of my heart. Whatever has happened to me, bitter or sweet, all I have done is to resign myself."

"I went to the Tavern last night, but I was not admitted I was bellowing yet nobody was listening to me Either none of the wine-sellers were awake Or I was a nobody, and no one opened the door for a Nobody When more or less half of the night had passed A shrewd, perfect man (rind) raised his head from a booth and showed his face I asked him: “to open the door”, he told me: “go away, do not talk nonsense! At this hour, nobody opens door for anybody This is not a mosque where its doors are open any moment Where you can come late and move quickly to the first row This is the Tavern of Magians and rinds dwell here There are Beauties, candle, wine, sugar, reed flute and songs Whatever wonders that exists, is present here (in this tavern there are) Muslims, Armenians, Zoroastrian, Nestorians, and Jews If you are seeking company of all that is found here You must become a dust upon the feet of everyone in order to reach your (spiritual perfection) goal” O Nezami! if you knock the ring on this door day and night You won't find except smoke from this burning fire"

"Alas, the wasted labour of my youth! Alas, the hope which vain hath proved in truth! I tunnelled mountain walls: behold my prize! My labour's wasted: here the hardship lies! The world is void of sun and moon for me: My garden lacks its box and willow tree. For the last time my beacon-light hath shone; Not Shirin, but the sun from me is gone! Beyond Death's portals, Shirin shall I greet, So with one leap, I hasten Death to meet! Thus to the world the mournful tale he cried, For Shirin kissed the ground and kissing died."

"Take not apart the good pearl from the string; from him who is of evil nature flee. An evil nature acts consistently: have you not heard that Nature does not err? The evil-natured man keeps faith with none; the erring nature does not fail to err. The scorpion since it is by nature bad—to let it live's a fault, to kill it, good. Seek knowledge, for through knowledge you effect that doors to you be opened and not closed. He who shames not at learning can draw forth pearls from the water, rubies from the rock. Whilst he to whom no knowledge is assigned—that person (you will find) ashamed to learn. How many, keen of mind, in effort slack, sell pottery from lack of pearls (to sell)! How many a dullard, through his being taught, becomes the chief judge of the Seven Climes!"

"O God, you are the only confident of my days You are inside, outside, you are settled in my pores You the warp, the weft, my each and everything is you Say Hussain, the worthless fakir, I am nothing, You are all."

"O Mother ! To whom can I tell, this state of separation-pain Fires of Faqeer smoulder, wherever I rummage ruby-red gain, Thorns pierces, make me mad, separation my mind's refrain O Mother ! To whom can I tell, this state of separation-pain."

"When you oppose the shaykh, it's like the slave who kills himself over a quarrel with his master. Hey, why are you killing yourself over a quarrel? He says, So my master will suffer loss."

"He said The Sufi is the son of the moment."

"Being the companion of the folk of this world is fire. There must be an Abraham if the fire is not going to burn [you]."

"Nothing kills the soul that commands to evil (Nafs al Ammarra) like seeing the beauty of the heart."

"Whoever lives as he sees fit will not die as he sees fit."

"Alms in secret extinguish the wrath of the Lord means you are so immersed in sincerity and in preserving that sincerity that you have no pleasure in giving alms."

"Intellect takes you to the door, but it doesn't take you into the house."

"There may be one fault in a man that conceals a thousand qualities, or one excellence that conceals a thousand faults. The little indicates much."

"The salat can be made up for, but there is no making up for false show or outward worship without presence."

"You have to live with the people in hypocrisy for them to stay happy with you."

"O brothers, Mecca is in front, and robbers in the rear. By proceeding, we escape; and, if we sleep, we die."

"A return of good for good is a slight reciprocity; but the true recompense is to confer benefits on him who has injured thee."

"Whatever makes an impression on the heart seems lovely in the eye."

"From earth arise bright colors, scent, and food, To please the eye, the brain, and hunger’s mood. Bees honey give, sweet dew the heavens shed, The dates from palms, and trees from seeds are bred. Gnawing his hand, each gardener shows despair: For who but He can make the world so fair? The sun, the moon, the Pleiades on high,— Thy chandeliers; thy palace roof, the sky! The rose from thorns, and musk from bags He brings; Gold from the mines, a leaf from dry wood springs. His own hand drew thine eye and brow so fair; A friend one cannot leave to other’s care. That mighty One, who hath so cherished thee With blessings varied as the colored sea,— In praising him, our lives we ought to spend: Our tongues can’t count his virtues without end. O God! my heart is blood, sore wounds mine eyes: For, lo! I see thy praise beyond me lies. I say not beasts and ants and flies thee praise, But angel hosts, amazed, their hands upraise! Although by all the world thy praise is rung, Ten thousand thousands yet remain unsung. Saadi, depart! thy pen and paper quit; Take not that road which has no end to it!"

"To pious minds, each verdant leaf displays A volume teeming with the Almighty’s praise."

"Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."