The Tarjum N Al Ashw Q

A masterpiece of Arabic love poetry in a new and complete English translation The Translator of Desires, a collection of sixty-one love poems, is the lyric masterwork of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (1165–1240 CE), one of the most influential writers of classical Arabic and Islamic civilization. In this authoritative volume, Michael Sells presents the first complete English translation of this work in more than a century, complete with an introduction, commentary, and a new facing-page critical text of the original Arabic. While grounded in an expert command of the Arabic, this verse translation renders the poems into a natural, contemporary English that captures the stunning beauty and power of Ibn ‘Arabi’s poems in such lines as “A veiled gazelle’s / an amazing sight, / her henna hinting, / eyelids signalling // A pasture between / breastbone and spine / Marvel, a garden / among the flames!” The introduction puts the poems in the context of the Arabic love poetry tradition, Ibn ‘Arabi’s life and times, his mystical thought, and his “romance” with Niẓām, the young woman whom he presents as the inspiration for the volume—a relationship that has long fascinated readers. Other features, following the main text, include detailed notes and commentaries on each poem, translations of Ibn ‘Arabi’s important prefaces to the poems, a discussion of the sources used for the Arabic text, and a glossary. Bringing The Translator of Desires to life for contemporary English readers as never before, this promises to be the definitive volume of these fascinating and compelling poems for years to come.

Tarjuman al-Ashwaq is a collection of 61 self-standing nasibs by the Andalusian Sufi mystic Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-'Arabi.

Whatever view may be taken of the respective merits of Arabic and Persian poetry, I think it will generally be allowed by those familiar with the mystical literature of both nations that the Arabs excel in prose rather than in verse, while the Persian prose-writers on this subject cannot be compared with the poets. Faridu'ddin 'Attar, Jalalu'ddin Rumi, Hafiz, and Jami - to mention only a few of the great Persian poets whose works, translated into various languages, have introduced the religious philosophy of Sufism to a rapidly widening circle of European culture - are as much superior to their Arab rivals, including even the admirable Ibn al-Farid, as the Futuhat al-Makkiyya and the Fusus al-Hikam are superior to similar treatises in Persian. The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq is no exception to this rule. The obscurity of its style and the strangeness of its imagery will satisfy those austere spirits for whom literature provides a refined and arduous form of intellectual exercise, but the sphere in which the author moves is too abstract and remote from common experience to give pleasure to others who do not share his visionary temper or have not themselves drawn inspiration from the same order of ideas. Nevertheless, the work of such a bold and subtle genius deserves, at any rate, to be studied, and students will find, as a reward for their labour, many noble and striking thoughts and some passages of real beauty. The following lines are often quoted. They express the Sufi doctrine that all ways lead to the One God. 'My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks, and a temple for idols and the pilgrim's Ka'ba and the tables of the Tora and the book of the Koran. I follow the religion of Love: whatever way Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith.' The present edition was designed in the first instance for the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, and is now published in its original shape. I will not repeat or expand what I have said in my brief introduction concerning the date of composition, the different recensions of the text, the method of interpretation, and the general character of these remarkable odes, but it may be useful to indicate in a few words some of the principal theories which are shadowed forth symbolically in the text and revealed more explicitly in the author's commentary. Although the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq affords material for an essay on Ibn al-'Arabi's theosophy, I feel, speaking for myself, that further study of his works is necessary before such a task can be attempted with advantage. Much valuable information is contained in a treatise on Monism by Ali b. Sultan Muhammad al-Qari al-Harawi - a polemic directed against Ibn al-'Arabi and his followers who held that all Being is essentially one with God, notwithstanding its apparent diversity. This pamphlet was written in answer to a champion of Ibn al-'Arabi, who had collected under twenty-four heads various passages in the Futuhat and the Fusus to which objection was taken by orthodox theologians, and had endeavoured to justify the author against his critics. 'Ali al-Qari regards Ibn al-'Arabi as a dangerous infidel and gives him no quarter. Of course the offending passages admit of more than one interpretation, and the author would doubtless have repudiated the construction put upon them by theologians. Their pantheistic import, however, cannot be explained away. I have classified the following examples for the sake of convenience and have added a few references to the commentary on the Tarjuman. - This is a new edition of the first old edition published in 1911, and traslated by Reynold A. Nicholson (1868-1945).

One of the most prolific of the medieval Sufi writers, al-Arabi wrote over 150 books. Unfortunately, very little of this output was translated, up to the early 20th century. This is Reynold Nicholson's translation of the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, or the 'Interpreter of Desires,' the first edition of which was completed in 611 A.H. (1215 A.D.). This text is of great interest, aside from its literary merits as delightful (but highly encoded) Sufi love poetry, because the author supplied extensive commentary for each poem. Note: The original book contains the original Arabic text following the introduction. That part of the book has been omitted for technical reasons. Short passages in Arabic in the body of the have been substituted with ###.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Poetry. Translation. One of the great mystics of all time, Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi was a prolific author who wrote on every aspect of medieval Islamic thought. Michael Sell's STATIONS OF DESIRE contains the first translations of Ibn 'Arabi's TURJUMAN into modern poetic English. Sells, one of the most distinguished contemporary translators of classical Arabic poetry, carries into his translations the supple, resonant quality of the original Arabic. The book also includes a selection of Sell's original poems, which are modeled on the Turjuman and serve as a further commentary on the medieval odes and their extension into the present climate of poetry.