"To God we belong and to Him we shall return", a Poem by Rumi

"To God We Belong and to Him We Shall Return"

By Rumi

This is one of my favorites poems of Rumi. In this short but deeply spiritual and meaningful poem, Rumi cleverly explains the core belief of Sufism and Islamic teaching that this material life we're living in is nothing but a transitory experience to the Everlasting life, and simply a bridge to reaching eternal union with The Real in the Hereafter. He also teaches us that God is the Giver and Taker of life, therefore, Rumi beautifully uses the Quranic passage of "To God we belong and to Him we shall return." -[ Quran 2:156]- as the foundation base of his following poem. I hope my translation can capture Rumi's intended Sufi mystical messages and teachings.

ما ز بالاییم و بالا می رویم
       ما ز دریاییم و دریا می رویم
ما از آن جا و از این جا نیستیم
ما ز بی‌جاییم و بی‌جا می رویم
 خوانده‌ای انا الیه راجعون
تا بدانی که کجاها می رویم
 کشتی نوحیم در طوفان روح
 لاجرم بی‌دست و بی‌پا می رویم
همچو موج از خود برآوردیم سر
       باز هم در خود تماشا می رویم
اختر ما نیست در دور قمر
لاجرم فوق ثریا میرویم
 ای سخن خاموش کن با ما میا
بین که ما از رشک بی‌ما می رویم

The upper realm is where we belong
So we're heading upward.
The sea is where we belong
So we're heading to the sea.
Here or there we're not from
Nowhereness is where we belong
So we're heading to nowhere!
You've already read:
"To God we belong and to Him we shall return."
So you should already know
where we're actually heading to.
We're the Ark of Noah
riding the storm of the soul
inevitably,
without any anguish or worries we sail.
We're like a tidal wave
holding on to our heads
Yet again,
we simply watch ourselves watching.
Our star doesn't circle around the moon
Inevitably,
above the Pleiades is where we roam.
Be silent and don't join us
watch that out of self jealousy
We're leaving without our selves!
Rumi