Abiat-e-Bahoo

Murshid haadee sabaq parhhaaiaa,
Parhhion bina parhheeve hoo.

Unglaan wich kannaan de ditteeaan,
Sunion bina suneeve hoo.

Nain nainaan wal tur tur takde,
Dithion binaa diseeve hoo.

Har khaane wich jaanee Baahoo,
Kin sir oh rakheeve hoo.

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My Master has taught me a lesson:
It repeats itself-without me repeating it.

When I plug my ears with my fingers,
Without learning, I hear its melodies.

My eyes are longing for a glimpse of him:
Without seeing, I see his radiant face.

In every heart abides the Beloved, O Bahu,
In countless forms he reveals himself to me.

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Mootoo waalee maut na milsi,
Jain wich maut hayaatee hoo.

Maut wisaal theeose hik jad,
Ism parhheeve zaatee hoo.

Aain de andar aain theeose,
Door hove qurbaatee hoo.

Hoo daa zikr sarhendaa Baahoo,
Deehaan sukh na raatee hoo.

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If you die by practising God’s real Name,
Death will become synonymous with merging in him.

There is no other way you can die the death
That promises dying while living.

When the soul merges in the Lord,
Nearness changes into oneness with him.

I am restless, O Bahu, in my longing to merge in Hu!
Day and night my heart burns in his remembrance.

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Main shaahbaz karaan parvaazaan,
Wich aflaak karam de hoo.

Zabaan taan meree kun braabar,
Morhaan kam qalam de hoo.

Aflaatoon, Arastoo varge,
Main agge kis kam de hoo.

Haatim varge lakh karorhaan Dar,
Baahoo de mangde hoo.

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I am a bird of paradise that flies high
In the heavens of God’s blessing.

In my word is hidden the Command of God;
In my will lies the power to reverse destiny.

Trivial before me is the wisdom of Plato and Aristotle;

Millions like Hatim, unmatched in their generosity,*
Are but beggars at Bahu’s door.
*
(Hatim Tai: a legendary philanthropist of Yemen)

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Main kojhee meraa dilbar sohnaa,
Kion kar usnoon bhaanwaan hoo.

Wehrhe saade varhdaa naaheen,
Lakkh vaseele paavaan hoo.

Na sohnee na daulat palle,
Kion kar yaar manaavaan hoo.

Dukh hamesh eh raihsee Baahoo,
Rondee hee mar jaavaan hoo.

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Impeccable is my Beloved. Awkward and ungainly am I-
How can I ever win his heart?

Despite the countless pleas I make to him,
He does not enter the courtyard of my heart.

I have neither beauty nor wealth-
How am I to please my Beloved, O friend!

Am I destined to live with this torment, Bahu?
Or perhaps I will die of crying in pain!

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Ghaus qutb han ure urere,
Aashiq jaan agere hoo.

Jehrhee manzil aashiq pahunchan,
Ghaus na paavan phere hoo.

Aashiq wich visaal de raihnde,
Laamakaanee dere hoo.

Main qurbaan tinhaan ton,
jinhaan Zaato zaat basere hoo.

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The ghaus and qutb trail behind;
The goal of lovers is far ahead.

The leaders of religion can never reach the stage
To which the lovers of God have easy access.

Lovers are always united with the Beloved;
They abide in realms beyond time and space,

I shall sacrifice myself to anyone, O Bahu,
Whose spirit rests in its own Essence.

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Fajreen wele uth savele,
Aan karan mazdooree hoo.

Kaanvaan illaan hiksee gallaan,
Treejee ralee chandooree hoo.

Maaran cheekhaan karan mushaqqat,
Put put kadh angooree hoo.

Saaree umar pitendiaan guzree,
Kadee na paeeaa pooree hoo.

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They rise early; they get to their work fast:

Like crows and vultures they create a racket-
Reading their sermons like the mimicking chandoor.*

They spend their lives like this-
Talking gibberish, shooting prayers into the air

And distorting the message of the scriptures-
Because their hearts are never moved by God’s love.
*
(Chandoor or chandol is a mimicking bird. It imitates sounds, including spoken words – obviously without knowing their meaning, in much the same manner as priests recite and quote the words of Saints without realizing their underlying message)

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Qalb na hilliaa taan keeh hoiaa,
Hoiaa zikr zabaanee hoo.

Qalbee, roohee, makhfee, sirree,
Sabhe raah hairaanee hoo.

Shaah rag ton nazdeek ho raihndaa,
Yaar na miliaa jaanee hoo.

Naam faqeer tinhaan da,
jehrhe Wasde laamakaanee hoo.

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If only done with your tongue and not your heart,
The repetition of God’s Name is in vain.

Using the various kings of zikr*-with the heart, the soul,
And other secret methods-only leads to confusion.

These methods give no clue of the Beloved
Who is nearby and only to be found through the Royal Vein.

Only the one whose spirit abides in realms beyond space
Deserves to be called faqir, O Bahu.
*
(At the highest level, Sufi mystics used the term zikr for the inner remembrance or simran. The term was also used for many kinds of repetition practices pertaining to the lower centers of the body and lower spiritual regions)
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Kaamil murshid aisaa howe,
Jo dhobee vaangoon chhatte hoo.

Naal nigaah de paak kare,
Na sajjee saaban ghatte hoo.

Maile noon kar dendaa chittaa,
Zarraa mail na rakkhe hoo.

Aisaa murshid hove,
jehrhaa Loon loon de wich vasse hoo.

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A perfect Master scrubs his disciples
As a washer-man rubs and beats dirt out of clothes.

But unlike the washerman who needs soap,
The Master purifies with his glance,

Removing all traces of dirt from the disciple’s soul.

Let the one who can permeate every pore of my being Be my Master, O Bahu!

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Kalme dee kal tad piose,
Jad kal kalme vanj kholee hoo.

Kalmaa aashik parhhde,
jithe Noor nabee dee holee hoo.

Chaudaan tabq kalme de andar,
Keeh jaane khalqat bholee hoo.

Kalmaa saanoon peer parhhaaiaa,
Jind ose ton gholee hoo.

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You will only know the marvel of Kalma
When it has opened the window of your heart.

Lovers practise Kalma within their hearts,
Lit by the Master’s radiance.

All fourteen realms are within the Kalma-
How can the uninitiated comprehend this secret?

As for me, my Master initiated me into the Kalma.
Since then I have dedicated my soul only to him.

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Kalme dee kal tadaan paee,
Jad murshid kalmaa dassiaa hoo.

Saaree umar kufr wich jaalee,
Bin murshid de dassiaan hoo.

Shah Alee Sher-Allaah waangan,
Vaddh kufr noon suttiaa hoo.

Dil saafee taan hove je kar,
Kalmaa loon loon rasiaa hoo.

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Only when my Master initiated me into the Kalma
Did I truly understand its meaning.

Only then did it dawn on me.
That I had wasted my earlier life as a non-believer.

But now, in the manner of Hazrat Ali, the lion of God,
Kalma has slain the demon of my non-belief.

Only when the Kalma has saturated every pore of your being
Will your heart be purified, O Bahu.

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Kalme lakkh karorhan taare,
Walee keete sai raaheen hoo.

Kalme naal bujhaae dozakh,
Jith agg bale azgaaheen hoo.

Kalme naal bahishteen jaanaa,
Jith niaamat sanjh subaaheen hoo.

Kalme jehee na niaamat Baahoo,
Andar doheen saraaeen hoo.

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The Kalma has ferried millions across the ocean.
In countless ways has it transformed Ordinary mortals into Saints.

Through Kalma is pacified the raging fire of hell;

Through Kalma is attained heaven,
The realm of everlasting bliss.

There is no treasure like Kalma, O Bahu,
In this world and the next.

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Kalme naal main nhaatee dhotee,
Kalme naal viaahee hoo.

Kalmaa meraa parhe janaazaa,
Kalme gor suhaaee hoo.

Kalme naal bahishteen jaanaa,
Kalmaa kare safaaee hoo.

Murhan muhaal tinhaan noo jinhaan,
Saahib aap bulaaee hoo.

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In the nectar of Kalma I bathed and purified myself;
To the Kalma I was joined in marriage.

It was Kalma that, in the end, performed my last rites.
It was Kalma that adorned my grave.

With the Kalma I will go to heaven;
Through the Kalma I will be cleansed of my sins.

Those who are called by the Lord himself
Find it hard to turn their backs on Kalma.

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Kund zulmaat andher ghubaaraan,
Raah nen khauf khatar de hoo.

Aab hayaat munawwar chashme,
Saaye zulf ambar de hoo.

Mukh mahboob daa khaanaa kaabaa,
Aashiq sajdaa karde hoo.

Misal Sikandar dhoondan aashiq,
Palak aaraam na karde hoo.

Khizr naseeb jinhaan de Baahoo,
Ghutt othe jaa bharde hoo.

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Utter dark and fearsome is the path,
Leading to the shining pool of the water of life-

Like the Beloved’s radiant face,
Hidden under his locks, dark and fragrant.

The Master’s face is the holy Ka’ba,
To which lovers prostrate themselves in obeisance.

As Alexander sought the water of life in the world,
So lovers relentlessly search for this nectar within.

But only fortunate souls
Blessed with a Master’s guidance Drink from that pool of nectar.