Rahman Baba: My Lord
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Meher Ali Shah was born on 1 Ramadan 1275 A.H., i.e., 14 April 1859 in Golra Sharif. He was a Sufi scholar from Pakistan belonging to the Chishti order.
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Look! My Lord is such a great doer of things,
That my Lord commands full authority.
Of great and virtuous people that one can name,
My Lord is beyond them all.
He is not dependent upon others for his needs.
My Lord owes nothing to anyone.
He created life from nothingness.
My Lord is this kind of creator.
He has fashioned all created things.
My Lord hears all speech.
Of which there is no similarity of likeness,
My Lord is the maker of such scents.
Of every structure in this world or the one to come,
My Lord is mason of them all.
He is the reader of unwritten scriptures,
My Lord is the knower of all secrets.
The overt, the covert and the part-known,
My Lord knows them all.
What is created, what is concealed, what is between,
My Lord is aware of them all.
He does not have any associate in his kingdom,
My Lord is a king without a partner.
His oneness is not due to weakness,
For my Lord is infinite in one body.
He needs friendship from no one,
Whose friend is my Lord?
I don't need to look elsewhere,
For my Lord is with me in my home.
He is not transformed or changed O Rahman!
My Lord is always constant.
(Rahman Baba)
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Recommended Reading:
'Rahman Baba: Selected Poems'
by Rahman Baba (Author), Paul Smith (Translator)
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Description:
RAHMAN BABA: SELECTED POEMS is a translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Rahman Baba (1652 to 1711) who is considered to be the greatest Sufi Pashtun poet to compose poems, mainly ghazals, in the Pashtu language. Born in Mohmand region of Afghanistan near Peshawar he was called ‘The Nightingale of Peshawar’. This was a time of struggle and hardship and in the midst of the turmoil he was an excellent student with a natural gift for poetry. He eventually questioned the value of such pursuits and withdrew from the world, dedicating himself to prayer and devotion. In solitary worship he began to write again and his poetry spread. Religious figures used it to inspire the devout, political leaders to inspire the independence movement. His Divan is 343 poems… ghazals and a few qasidas and mukhammas. Introduction is on his Life & Times & Poetry and the Forms in which he wrote and on Sufism & Poetry. The correct rhyme-structure is kept as well as the meaning of these beautiful, enlightened poems.
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