Bismillahi’r Rahmani’r Rahim mádūm na thā sāyah e shāh e saqalayn is nūr ki jalwah-gah thi zāt e ĥasanayn tamsīl ney is sāyah ke do hissey kiye ādhey sey ĥasan baney haiN ādhey sey ĥusayn Shadow of the King of Worlds is not entirely absent this light shone on the being of ĥasan and ĥusayn in allegory, this shadow [lightsome] is split and two parts present half from which ĥasan is made and the other half, ĥusayn. -- the first thing that needs to be noted in this poem, is that it is allegorical. that should be obvious. which means literal interpretations will lead to unintended conclusions. one of the miracles of RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam according to ahl as-sunnah is that he did not have a shadow. imam ahmed rida says it in a poet’s manner: he had a shadow, but that shadow was made of light. the receptacles [jalwah-gah] in which that light was collected were the two grandsons: ĥasan and ĥusayn. tamsil, here is used as 'similitude'; if allegory was an entity, it would then split this shadow [which is lightsome as explained above] in two – ĥasan would be made from one half and ĥusayn from the other half. notice that the split we are talking about is that of the shadow, not of the object being RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam himself. in other words: if we imagine that RasūlAllāh şallAllāhu álayhi wa sallam had a shadow, then it would be lightsome and that light would be received in ĥasan and ĥusayn; that is, as if this shadow (which is radiant and lightsome remember) is split in two halves – being the two grandsons. notice the 'baney haiN', which is according to the narration of 'tamsil'. if tamsil could speak, it would probably say thus. Allah ta'ala knows best. mádum: being non-existent, absent sāyah: shadow saqalayn: the two groups of jinn and men [arabic: thaqalayn] shāh e saqalayn: the King of the two groups of jinn and men nūr: light jalwah-gah: place on which it is manifest (or where light has shined upon) zāt: self, being [arabic: dhāt] ĥasanayn: the two ĥasans; arabic idiom to mean ĥasan and ĥusayn. [like úmarayn means abu-bakr and úmar] tamsīl: to employ allegory, comparison, similitude. [arabic: tamthīl] hissa/hissey: parts ādha/ādhey: half
