The Vows of Silence in Rumi's Poetry خاموشی مولانا

Khamush, meaning silent, mute, or quite in Persian/Farsi, is a Sufi meditative contemplation that Rumi had often used in his poetry. In Rumi's Divan-e-Shams, hundreds of odes end with 'khamush'. Some scholars are of the opinion that Rumi had used the Nom de plume "Khamush" in his poetry, hence the numerous references to the word Khamush at the end of his odes. Others believe that in Sufism, the mystical silence of a Sufi always speaks louder than his words, hence Rumi's numerous allusions to the silence. I hope my following  translations can capture the beauty of Rumi's mystical references to the Sufi practices of silence.

خاموش که مشکلات جانرا

جز دست خدای بر ندارد

Be silent,
only the Hand of God
can remove
all the burdens from your heart.

خاموش باش که آنکس که بحر جانان دید
نشاید و نتواند گردجو گردد


Be silent,
the seeker who has seen
the Beloved's Ocean
can not and must not be roaming
around a tiny stream.





خاموش که بی گفت ازین می همگان را
بچشاند بچشاند بچشاند بچشاند


Be silent,
since the Silent One
will make everyone
taste, taste, taste, taste
His special Wine.

خموش کردم زبان بستم لیکن
منم گویا ی بی گفتار امشب


I took a vow of silence

and got my tongue tied up
Yet still,
I'm the speaker without a speech tonight.

خموش کن, ختم کن ای دل چو دیدی-
 که آن خوبی نمی گنجد در القاب

Be silent, just end it my heart.
You saw how no tittles
can contain that Beauty.





خموش کن همچو عالم باش خموش و مست و سرگردان
اگر او نیست مست مست چرا افتان و خیزان است

Be silent,
and be like the World:
Silent, drunk, and wandering.
If He's not drunk
then why all the drunkards
are falling and rising like Him?





در گوشم گفت عشق بس کن
خاموش کنم چو او چنان گفت

Love whispered in my ear:
Stop it!
I'll take a vow of silence
If He is putting it that way!

می نهد بر لب خود دست دل من که خموش
این چه وقت سخن است و چه گه فریاد است

My Heart is putting its hand
on its lips to say: Be silent,
this is not the time to speak
this is not the place for crying.

خاموش که اشارات زشه عشق چنین است
کز صبر گلوی دل وجان گیر و بفشار

 Be silent,
the signal from the
King of Love is this:
In patience,
grab the throat of heart and soul,
start squeezing.

مرا عقل صد بار پیغام داد
-خموش کن که فخرست آن ننگ نیست

My intellect has sent me a hundred messages
like this: Be silent,
silence is not a shame, it's an honor.