If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.
The author of these words may not have known that the name of the fountain is Kawthar,
or the significance of Kawthar as Zahra (`a), the spring from which flows the imamate.
Tonight will be the first night of qadr, the night of great worth. We will attend this night with empty cups,
seeking to fill them with blessings.
There are many poems, stories, historical events, and personal memories that seem to have no objective connection to the path to Allah,
yet they become meaningful when understood as signs on the way.
One of my favorites is Heinrich Heine's Lorelei. The poet tells of his sadness and how an old story runs through his mind
of a girl on the top of a cliff, singing and combing her golden hair, and the young man who crashes his boat on the rocks below the cliff
because of distraction. Heine might not have known that the beauty is a symbol for divinity, the Beloved,
and that the lover must drown in order to be united with the Beloved,
as the self must be annihilated in divinity to be perfected.
The night of qadr, laylat ul-qadr, is usually translated as "the night of power",
but I don't think this has the right connotations. Qadr means measure and worth, too.
This night is one of such great worth, one who's measure is so great, that in it the Qur'an could be revealed in a moment.
We come to this night with our empty cups with hands reaching out and crying for our cups to be filled.
O Saki!
Hey, here Winebringer, circulate, offer the cup this way;
For love at first seemed easy, now problems come to stay.
Finally breeze sent muskpod's scent from that forehead:
Its twist Of musky hair makes blood clot our hearts today.
Can wayfarers stay happy and secure in Beloved's house,
When suddenly the bell clangs to: "Lift your load! Away!"
With wine dye your prayer-mat if the Master commands;
This experienced traveller has understanding of the way.
The dark night and terrifying wave and fierce whirlpool:
Do those light of burden on shore know where we stay?
By acting upon my own desires I ruined my reputation:
Can the secret stay that way when crowds tell it all day?
Hafiz, if you desire the Divine Presence, do not be absent:
When you visit your Beloved: "Farewell" to the world say.
Translator:
Smith, P. (1986). Divan of Hafiz. Melbourne: New Humanity Books.
For translations of Hafiz by Paul Smith contact the author.
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