Sleepless Nights of Rumi








The rich and glorious Persian Literature has it that Rumi, in grief and agony over losing his mystical lover, Shams of Tabriz, renounces his Sufi teachings at the Sufi-Convent in the Turkish town of Konya, and embarks on a non-stop whirling and out loud poetry reciting around the streets and town at nights. The following verses that I've translated are but few of thousands of spontaneous verses which Rumi had uttered while roaming around the streets all night, searching for his lost lover. Staying up all night, Rumi not only poetically ponders on his life of solitude after Sham's departure, but he also uses the quietness of the night to engage in a Sufi's most sought after and cherished dialogue of all dialogues: Conversations with God.







بحمد اله که خلقان جمله خفتند---و من بر خالقم برکار امشب
زهی کرو فر و اقبال بیدار---که حق بیدار و من بیدار امشب
اگر چشمم بخسپد تا سحرگر---زچشم خود شوم بیزار امشب



Praise be to Lord,
everyone else is already asleep
and I'm all alone
with my Creator tonight.
Thank heavens
for this grace and fortune,
Lord is wide awake
so am I tonight.
I'd rather give up my eyes
If they were to close tonight.





امشب شب من بسی ضعیف و زار است---امشب شب پرداختی اسرار است


Tonight,
I'm having a very sad and miserable night.
Tonight is the night
to finally decipher t
he mysteries.




شب گردم گرد شهر چون باد چون آب---از گشتن گرد شهر کس ناید خواب


Like water and wind,
I'm roaming around the town at nights.
No one can possibly fall asleep
with all that circling around.



گر آب حیات خوشگواری ایخواب---امشب برما کار نداری ایخواب


O sleep,
though you're like the finest water of life,
you have nothing to do

with me tonight.




صد شب خفتی حاصل آن دیدی---از بهر خدا امشب تا روز مخسب



You've slept a hundred nights before
and seen its outcomes.
For God's sake,
stay awake all night tonight.






با یار بچرخم و بدل میگویم---یارب که کلید صبح گم بادا امشب



I whirl with my lover
while talking to my Heart.
O Lord,
may the key to the dawn
be lost tonight.




Share this:





©2009 - 2017
Thank you for visiting Maulana Rumi Online, a blog dedicated entirely to the life, works and teachings of Maulana Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi better known simply as Rumi here in our beloved America. Just as a memory refresher, all articles, e-books, images, links and reading materials listed in this Blog are solely for Educational purposes. This Blog is designed and maintained by yours truly, your comments, critiques or suggestions are quite welcome and greatly appreciated. As for my own Rumi Translations, you are welcome to copy and use them as long as it's not for commercial purposes. For best viewing, please try this Blog on Google Chrome Browser. This is a very long Blog though, so please make sure to use the Scroll To Top or Bottom Buttons at the left side, or Back To Top Button at the bottom right corner of your screen for smooth navigation. If you have any question, comment, critique or suggestion, please contact me by clicking the Contact Box embedded at the right middle corner. As Rumi would say, "Come, come, whoever you are, come back again.."!








To link to this blog, simply copy and paste the code below into your blog or website