Sarwar Kahun Ke Malik O Maula Kahun Tujhe

Translation by Sidi abu Hasan (PDF)

 

Should I hail you as the leigelord; or shall I say ‘my Lord and Master'?
Indeed, you are the most resplendent flower in Khalil’s* garden!

Wretched I am, hapless; thou art the treasure of hope
the life of hope and the wellspring of aspiration

The most vibrant flower from the blessed, hallowed garden
You are the comfort to the pain of the yearning nightingale

Should I favor the stranger night, upon the day in its homeland?
You are the benevolent master, he with bestowing forelocks.

By Allāh! the splendour, the radiance of your luminous body,
O the life of my life! thou art the life of light!

You are the spotless tulip, the unblemished moon
The rose without a thorn, the pride and glory of the garden

I am a sinner, and to make provisions for my salvation,
I hail thee as the Intercessor on Judgement day.

I give glad tidings of an eternal life to this lifeless heart -
I praise thee as the power and vigor, the life of the reviver (the messiah).

Your unending attributes are free from the blemish of ceasing,
Overwhelmed I am! My Master, what all shall I call thee?

The speechlessness of his admirer is eloquent and tells everything -
When he falls silent after saying: ‘What can I say?’

Yet, Raza ends his ode by saying thus:
The servant of the Creator, you are the liege-lord of the creation


---
* khalil: sayyiduna ibrahim alayhi's salatu wa's salam.

 

my favourite rendition: the late mushtaq qadri

http://sunniport.com/index.php?resources/sarwar-kahun-ke-malik-o-maula.89/download&version=89

 

Also a slightly different translation:

 

although the source is not quoted, i have found the dream as asif has quoted in the dar al-faqih version, printed by the habaib in tarim, hadramawt.

 

:s1:

Two sources: one is a copy of Dalail ul Khayrat I have which has also printed in it in the back Busiri's Burdah with Urdu translation and commentary in the margins. This is there and also I heard on the internet a long time ago a many-hour long recitation of the entire burdah with urdu translation and tafsir by a shaykh from south africa--mufti muhammad abbas (?)--and he explained it there.

Sadly both these sources are in england and i cannot access them [i had burnt a copy of the audio speech from the internet].

 

may i respectfully ask what is the source of this information?

--
secondly ba-la-gha in arabic means 'to reach', tabligh is 'to make it reach', and muballigh is the one who makes [the message] reach; mablagh is 'the reach' and [also, the sum]; baligh is the one who has reached [a certain age]; baleegh is eloquent.

mubalagah is from b-aa-la-ga, meaning 'exaggeration' or 'extreme'.

fa mablaghu'l `ilmi fihi annahu basharun
the [farthest] reach of their knowledge is that he is a man, [interestingly, the other meaning of 'sum' is also valid showing the verse is baleegh and the balaghah of its composer]

wa annahu khayru khalqi'llahi kullihimi
and verily, he is the best of the entire creation
[note that it is annahu, meaning 'HE'; not anni meaning 'I']

Allah ta'ala knows best.

 

kah legi sab kuch unke sana khwān ki khāmoshi
chup ho rahā huN kah ke maiN kya kya kahūN tujhe

another version:

The silence of his eulogist says it all!
I'll be quiet with these words: what shall I call thee?

Or:
The silence of his eulogist speaks volumes!
I'll be quiet with this: What can I call you?

A relatively simple verse, Ala Hazrat is saying, I have exhausted all
attempts (in the previous verses) to use metaphors to try and praise you deserved to be praised but I have given up and now my silence alone is evidence of your miraculous qualities. I don't know how to adequately sing your praises, can you please tell me how I shall address you? This is an echo of the case of Imam Sharaf al Din Busiri who whilst reciting the Burdah to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in a dream stopped when he came to the verse: The peak of our knowledge about him are his words, "I am a Man"[annahu basharun]/
The Prophet said: Wa annahu khayril khalqi kullihimi --And I am verily the Best of Creation! thus completing the Imam's verse.

 

a line was missed

mujrim huN apne áfw ka sāmāN karūN shaha
yánī shafīy roz e jazā kā kahūN tujhe

I am a sinner and I make provisions for my salvation,
That is, I hail thee as my intercessor on Judgement day.

 

actually, this beautiful poem deserves more than one footnote. and explanations and references. i thought of writing them later, inshaAllah.

however, Khalil refers to sayyiduna Ibrahim `alayhi's salam as is obvious.

 

terey to wasf áyb e tanāhī se haiN barī
hayrān huN mere shāh maiN kya kya kahūN tujhe

Your attributes are free from every flaw,
I am perplexed my Master! What shall I call thee?


absolutely amazing! what can i say about alaHazrat!

 

Beautiful translations by beautiful translators/poets. SubHanAllah!!

 

i have reformated my own translation to prevent my poor effort being confused with sidi AH's.