Æabd-ur-Raḥmān: The Poems of Æabd-ur-Raḥmān

All things are occupied in offering thanksgiving unto Him, Whether mankind, or the genii, or the beasts of the field. The created things themselves have not held Him in such estimation, As the great love and regard they are held in by Him. No one hath discovered the extent of His omniscience— His knowledge and perception such a boundless ocean is. Neither doth any one bear likeness or similitude unto Him, Nor doth He bear likeness or similitude unto any one. With Him, there is neither deficiency, detriment, nor decline: He is, wholly, without defect, without decline, or deterioration. He hath neither simile, nor similitude, nor hath He place: He is without semblance, without comparison, without abode. From all form, structure, or configuration, He is exempt; Yet all figure, lineament, and formation, from Him proceed. p. 50 No one beholdeth Him with his eyes, nor can He be looked upon; And yet, ineffable and inscrutable, He is manifest to all. If any one should say, He cannot be seen, verily, He cannot: And should he so say, He is, in truth, apparent unto all. Without doubt and without distrust, consider Him immaculate In all things soever, of which people are hard of belief. No one hath lauded Him equal unto His just deserts; Neither hath any one-sufficiently resounded His praise. Out of the thousands of His excellencies and His perfections, Deem not, that one, by Raḥmān, hath been adequately expressed.

Deem not, that one, by Raḥmān, hath been adequately expressed. 11:* See Mīṛzā, Poem VI., second note. 12:* It is customary in the East to carry money in a purse or belt, fastened round the waist. 15:* "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r, And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, Await alike th’ inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 15:† The Reg-i-rawān, or "Moving sand," situated forty miles north of Kabūl, towards the mountains of Hindū Kush, and near the base of the mountains. It is a sheet of pure sand, in height about 400 feet, and 100 broad, and lies at an angle of 45°. This sand is constantly shifting, and they say that in the summer season a sound like that of drums may be heard issuing from it. See "Burnes's Cabool." 16:* That is to say, the signs and omens of the approach of the end of the world. 16:† The deposit or pledge for the observance of faith and obedience unto God. See Mīrzā, Poem VI., second note. 16:‡ The mode of salutation in Eastern countries is, by raising the right hand to the forehead, or by placing it to the breast. 18:* The Brāhmanical cord. Also a belt, or cord more particularly, worn round the middle by the Eastern Christians and Jews, and by the Persian Magi. It was introduced a.d. 839, by the Khalīfah Mutawakkil, to distinguish them from Muḥammadans. 19:* The play upon the words 'head' and 'head-man' here is almost lost in the translation.

19:* The play upon the words 'head' and 'head-man' here is almost lost in the translation. 20:* Names of Arabic coins. The darham is of silver, and the dīnār of gold. 21:* Referring to the custom, in the East, of washing the bodies of deceased persons before dressing them out in their grave-clothes. 22:* According to the Muḥammadan religion, the sun at the resurrection will be no further off than a mile, or (as some translate the word, the signification of which is ambiguous) than the length of a spear, or even of a bodkin. 22:† Zu-l-fiḳār, the name of the famous two-edged sword of Æali, the son-in-law of Muḥammad, and which the latter reported he had received from the angel Gabriel. 23:* In the fables and traditions of the East, it is supposed that wherever there is a hidden treasure,-there is a serpent, or serpents, to guard it. 24:* This ode is very popular as a song; but the singers are, probably, not aware of the depth of meaning beneath. 25:* Abā Sīnd, the "father of rivers," the name given by the Afghāns to the Indus. 26:* Al Manṣūr, the name of a Ṣūfi, who was put to death at Bāghdād, some centuries back, for making use of the words "I am God." 26:† The Arabic word here used in the original, and very commonly made use of by poets, is scarcely to be translated by an equivalent word in the English language. The Spanish word duenna gives the signification, but the Afghāns apply it to both sexes.

26:† The Arabic word here used in the original, and very commonly made use of by poets, is scarcely to be translated by an equivalent word in the English language. The Spanish word duenna gives the signification, but the Afghāns apply it to both sexes. 26:‡ Commonly "caravan," a company of travellers or merchants associated together for mutual defence and protection, and conveyance of merchandize, in the East. 27:* See Reg-i-rawān, note at p. 15. 28:* Desire itself, called also the "Parent of Desire." 29:* The loves of Majnūn and his mistress Laylā are the subject of one of the most celebrated mystic poems of the Persian poet Niz̤āmī, and famous throughout the East. 30:* Jam or Jamshed, the name of an ancient Persian king, concerning whom there are many fables. The cup of Jamshed, called jām-i-jam, is said to have been discovered, filled with the Elixir of Immortality, when digging for the foundations of Persepolis, and is more famous in the East than even Nestor's cup among the Greeks. It has furnished the poets with numerous allegories, and allusions to wine, the philosopher's stone, magic, enchantment, divination, and the like. 31:* The Persian Hercules. 31:† The steed of the sky—the firmament, the revolving heavens, fortune, destiny, fate, etc. 32:* The name of an Afghān poet, a cotemporary of Raḥmān's. His poems are not to be met with in the present day. 33:* The patriarch Joseph.

33:* The patriarch Joseph. 33:† The name of Afghān poets. 33:‡ Æalam-gīr—"The world-conquering"—the name assumed by Aurangzeb, Emperor of Hindūstān. 34:* Muḥammadans consider the land of Egypt the peculiar country of presumptuous and ambitious rulers, who, like Pharaoh, laid claim to divinity. 34:† The name of a village near Ḳandahār, on the Tarnak river, and, for centuries past, in ruins. It is proverbially used in reference to a place utterly desolate and deserted. 35:* Dārā, the Persian name of Darius; Shāh-i-Jahān, "the Emperor of the Universe," the title assumed by the fifth Mughal, sovereign of Hindūstān. 35:† Equivalent to the reply of "Thy sins be upon me" of Scripture, a common mode of reply in Afghānistān and Persia. 36:* See Raḥmān, Poem IX., second note. 37:* Khasrau, King of Persia (contemporary with Muḥammad), having been driven from his kingdom by his uncle, took refuge with the Greek Emperor Maurice, by whose assistance he defeated the usurper, and recovered his crown. Whilst at Maurice's court, Khasrau married his daughter Irene, who, under the name of Shīrīn, signifying 'sweet,' is highly celebrated in the East, on account of her singular beauty; and their loves are the subject of the celebrated Persian poem by Niz̤āmī. 39:* Black antimony, ground to powder, is commonly used in the East, as a collyrium for the eyes. 40:* "There are such wild inconsistencies in the thoughts of a man in love, that I have often reflected there can be no reason for allowing, him more liberty than others possessed with phrenzy, but that his distemper has no malevolence in it to any mortal. The devotion to his mistress kindles in his mind a general tenderness, which exerts itself towards every object as well as his fair one."—Steele, Spectator, No. 336.

41:* Plato. 43:* Cypræa moneta. 43:† Peshāwar, sometimes written as above. 43:‡ Maḥmūd, Sult̤ān of Ghaznī, who was much attached to his servant Ayāz. 45:* "There is a skeleton in every house." 45:† See note, page 29. 47:* The name of a tree, whose fruit and flowers are of a beautiful red colour—the Cercis Siliguastrum, of botanists, probably. 48:* According to the Muḥammadan belief, Solomon succeeded his father David when only twelve years old; at which age the Almighty placed under his command all mankind, the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the air, the elements, and the genii. The birds were his constant attendants, screening him from the inclemencies of the weather, whilst his magnificent throne was borne by the winds whithersoever he wished to go. 48:† The name of a prophet, who, according to Oriental tradition, was Wazīr, or Minister, and General of Kaykobād, an ancient King of Persia. They say that he discovered and drank of the fountain of life or immortality, and that, in consequence, he will not die until the sounding of the last trumpet, at the Judgment Day. 49:* As fire can be produced by striking stones together, the Muḥammadans suppose that fire is inherent in stone, and that water protects it.