The Poem of the Way

by Ibn Al-Farid, A.J. Arberry (Translator)

The Poem of the Sufi Way, or Nazm al-suluk, is a poem by the Sufi mystic and scholar Shayk Umar ibn al-Farid. An exact date of the poem's writing is unknown as Umar ibn al-Farid (1181–1235 ad) is said to have written this text during the course of many years. Widely remarked as Umar ibn al-Farid's most famous work, the poem itself is one of the longest pieces of Sufi literature to date, and is still held in high regard by modern Sufi practitioners. It is 760 verses long. It is often referred to as al-Ta'iyya al-kubra (the Greater Poem Rhyming in T) to differentiate it from a shorter ode that also rhymes in t. The title can also be translated to “the Poem of Progress”.

Genres: Poetry

99 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1200

About the author

Ibn al-Farid or Ibn Farid; (Arabic: ابن الفارض) (22 March 1181 – 1234) was an Arab poet as well as a Sufi waliullah. His name is Arabic for "son of the obligator" (the one who divides the inheritance between the inheritors), as his father was well regarded for his work in the legal sphere. He was born in Cairo to parents from Hama in modern Syria, lived for some time in Mecca, and died in Cairo. His poetry is entirely Sufic and he was esteemed as the greatest mystic poet of the Arabs. Some of his poems are said to have been written in ecstasies.

Ibn al-Fāriḍ was arguably the most celebrated Sufi poet in the pre-modern Islamic world, with his poetry admired across both Arabic and Persian speaking regions of the Islamicate. The Persian poet Jami is known to have written a commentary on Ibn al-Fāriḍ's poems, and Sa'id al-Din Farghani also authored a Persian commentary on his work.

Reviews

[Hamaad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take a single time
For thy consideration —no long while―

وفي الزّمَنِ الفرْدِ اعتَبِرْ تلقَ كلّ ما
بدا لكَ لا في مُدّةِ مُسْتَطِيلَة

And thou shalt find all that appears to thee
And whatsoever thou dost contemplate

وكُلُّ الذي شاهدْتُهُ فِعْلُ واحِدٍ
بمُفْرَدِهِ لكن بحُجْبِ الأكِنّة

The act of one alone, but in the veils
Of occultation wrapt: when he removes
إذا ما أزال السِّترَ لم ترَ غيرَهُ
ولم يَبْقَ بالاشكالِ إشكالُ ريبة

The curtain, thou beholdest none but him,
And in the shapes confusion no more reigns.

وحَقّقتُ عند الكشف أنّ بنورهِ اهْ
تَدَيْتُ إلى أفعالِهِ بالدُّجُنّة