Shaykh Ahmad Al Alawi: Layla

Layla: Translation by Martin Lings _________________________________ Full near I came unto where dwelleth Layla, when I heard her call. That voice, would I might ever hear it! She favored me, and drew me to her, Took me in, into her precinct, With discourse intimate addressed me. She sat me by her, then came closer, Raised the cloak that hid her from me, Made me marvel to distraction, Bewildered me with all her beauty. She took me and amazed me, And hid me in her inmost self, Until I thought that she was I, And my life she took as ransom. She changed me and transfigured me, And marked me with her special sign, Pressed me to her, put me from her, Named me as she is named. Having slain and crumbled me, She steeped the fragments in her blood. Then, after my death, she raised me: My star shines in her firmament. Where is my life, and where my body, Where my willful soul? From her The truth of these shone out to me Secrets that had been hidden from me. Mine eyes have never seen but her: To naught else can they testify. All meanings in her are comprised. Glory be to her Creator! Thou that beauty wouldst describe, Here is something of her brightness Take it from me. It is my art. Think it not idle vanity. My Heart lied not when it divulged The secret of my meeting her. If nearness unto her effaceth, I still subsist in her substance. ********************************** ليلى: للشيخ احمد مصطفى العلاوي المستغانمي _________________________________ دنوت من حي ليلى لما سمعت نداها يا له من صوت يحلو أود لا يتناهى رضت عني جذبتني أدخلتني لحماها أنستني خاطبتني أجلستني بحذاها قربت ذاتها مني رفعت عني رداها أدهشتني تيهتني حيرتني في بهاها أخذت قوسي ووزني لكي نتبع غناها فإذا ما كان مني غير أني سجدت لها أخذتني ملكتني غيبتني في معناها حتى ظننتها أني و كانت روحي فداها بدلتني طورتني و سمتني بسماها جمعتني فردتني لقبتني بكناها قتلتني مزقتني خضبتني بدماها بعد قتلي بعثتني ضاء نجمي في سماها أين روحي أين بدني أين نفسي و هواها قد بدا منها لجفني ما قد مضى من خفاها تالله ما رأت عيني و لا شهدت سواها جمعت فيها المعاني سبحان الذي أنشأها يا واصف الحسن عني هاك شيئا من سناها خذا مني هذا فني لا تنظر فيه سفاها ما كذب القلب عني إذا باح بلقاها إذا كان القرب يفني أنا الباقي سقاه ********************************** Recommended Reading: 'A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi' By Martin Lings (Author) Purchase Book: Amazon.com: https://goo.gl/rWURiH Amazon.co.uk: https://goo.gl/W9WsvX Description: Almost a prerequisite for any serious study of Sufism in European languages': this was the verdict of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his review of the first edition of the book. According to the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, it is 'one of the most thorough and intimately engaging books on Sufism to be produced by a Western scholar' Certainly there is nothing second-hand about it. The author lets Sufis speak for themselves and, in a series of unusual and absorbing texts mainly translated from Arabic, he gives a vivid picture of life in a North African Sufi order. Against this background stands the unforgettable figure of the Algerian Shaikh who was head of the order from 1909 until his death in 1934. The last few chapters are mainly devoted to his writings, which include some penetrating aphorisms, and which end with a small anthology of his remarkable mystic poems. "A masterly study of a man whose sanctity recalled the golden age of medieval mystics." -- A. J. Arberry "What Martin Lings adds...may serve as a key to a deeper understanding of Islam as a whole." -- Titus Burckhardt ********************************** Visit Rumi's Garden Online Islamic Shop: www.RumisGarden.co.uk We specialise in contemporary and reclaimed vintage heritage crafts and sacred art from the Muslim world. Rumi's Garden sells authentic and certified Ka'aba kiswahs, kiswahs from Holy Chamber of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in Masjid al-Nabawi (Medina), qadeels which are the golden embroidered calligraphy on the Ka'aba, replicas of the footprint of our Beloved Prophet ﷺ, high grade pure bakhoor, incense burners, Muslim prayer beads, Persian marquetry boxes, old manuscripts, henna, posters and much more!