Yunus Emre: Let Them Have Paradise
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Complex palace scene, 1539–1543, Mir Sayyid Ali.
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My eyes exist to see You.
My hands exist to reach You.
Today I set my life on your Path --
Tomorrow I will find You.
Today I set my life on your Path,
so tomorrow you may know my worth;
Don't give me Paradise as reward for my faith --
I have no desire to go.
The place you call Paradise
for which every good believer strives
is but a house of beautiful women to the wise --
I have no desire to embrace them.
You gave me a son and a daughter
who've brought me every pleasure;
even for them I have no more desire --
All my desire is for You.
Give all that to the orthodox believers --
They are the ones who want Your favors.
I have no desire for home or possessions either --
I have no desire but for You.
Yunus misses You terribly.
Show him that You miss him too.
If Your way is not to torture,
show some mercy so he can reach You.
(Yunus Emre)
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Recommended Reading:
'Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey'
By Jennifer Ferraro (Author), Latif Bolat (Contributor)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
This collection presents, for the first time in English, a compilation of seven centuries of the mystic hymns of Turkey’s rebellious Sufi poets — the popular folk counterparts to Rumi whose poems are characterized by a passionate and unorthodox commitment to Truth. At the time Rumi was writing in ancient Anatolia, many other great mystics in the region were also composing wild, ecstatic, and controversial poems that were circulated among the people as spiritual songs and are still played and sung today in sacred dervish ceremonies and gatherings. The poems present a spiritual tradition from the Islamic world that bravely challenged orthodox religion and emphasized universal mystic love and tolerance.
Jennifer Ferraro is a poet, artist and performer and teacher, with a BA and MA from the New School for Social Research and UNM. Author of Divine Nostalgia (2002), she has toured widely with the Latif Bolat Ensemble, playing frame drum, and reciting poetry with devotional dance.
Latif Bolat, a distinguished Turkish musician, giving numerous concerts, lectures, and workshops throughout the world including North America.
'Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey'
By Jennifer Ferraro (Author), Latif Bolat (Contributor)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
This collection presents, for the first time in English, a compilation of seven centuries of the mystic hymns of Turkey’s rebellious Sufi poets — the popular folk counterparts to Rumi whose poems are characterized by a passionate and unorthodox commitment to Truth. At the time Rumi was writing in ancient Anatolia, many other great mystics in the region were also composing wild, ecstatic, and controversial poems that were circulated among the people as spiritual songs and are still played and sung today in sacred dervish ceremonies and gatherings. The poems present a spiritual tradition from the Islamic world that bravely challenged orthodox religion and emphasized universal mystic love and tolerance.
Jennifer Ferraro is a poet, artist and performer and teacher, with a BA and MA from the New School for Social Research and UNM. Author of Divine Nostalgia (2002), she has toured widely with the Latif Bolat Ensemble, playing frame drum, and reciting poetry with devotional dance.
Latif Bolat, a distinguished Turkish musician, giving numerous concerts, lectures, and workshops throughout the world including North America.
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