Ishq Baazi Mein - Sufiana Kalaam by Abida Parveen

Ho, jee maula, maula, maula, maula, maula
Mera maula, maula

O my Master, O Master!
My Beloved Master, my Lord!

Mein hoon mashhoor ishq baazi mein
Khaasa dard-o-gham majaazi mein

Look how I'm all consumed in this divine love affair!
(For that love) sorrows and pain infinite have evanescent

Maula, maula…

My Master, O Master!

Woh meh dey dey, maula, jo pehlay Shibli aur Mansoor ko di thee
Toh baydam bhi, nisar-e-murshid-e-meh khana ho jaye

Give me that wine O my Master, that you've given to Shibli and Mansoor
So I (Bedam) may also become self-sacrificed in my Murshid

Mein hoon mashhoor ishq baazi mein

Look how I'm all consumed in this divine love affair!
 

Maqtab-e-ishq ka dastoor nirala dekha
Uss ko chutti na milli jis nay sabaq yaad kiya

The school of divine love is unique indeed!
He who has learnt it's lessons, has no leave of absence.

Mein hoon mashhoor ishq baazi mein

Look how I'm all consumed in this divine love affair!

Maqani hoon, Maqani hoon, kay azad-e-makaan hoon
Jahan mey hoon key khud saara jahan hoon

Free I'm, forever I'm in the station of liberation
Wherever I'm, there the whole universe is me!

Maula, Maula, meri murshid maula
Murshid maula, maula, maula
Mein hoon mashhoor ishq baazi mein

Master, O Master, my perfect Guide
my Murshid, my Lord
Look how I'm all consumed in this divine love affair!

Woh apni laa-maqani mein rahain mast
Mujhay itna bata dey mein kahan hoon

O You who abide blissfully in the place of placeless
Tell me only this, where is my place?

Arz-o-sama kahan teri wussat ko paa sakay
Mera hee dil hai jahan tu sama sakay

The heaven and earth can not fathom the boudlessness of Your being,
Only in my heart is Your abode.

Maula, maula, maula, meray maula, maula

O Master, master, master, my master, master

Mein hoon mashhoor ishq baazi mein
Khaasa dard-o-gham majaazi mein

Look how I'm all consumed in this divine love affair!
where all my sorrows and pain have evanescent

Yahan hona naa hona hai,
Jissay hona ho kuch khaati darri jaana ho jae

If you want to be here, be nothing
One who wants to be, let him become a pure speckle

Maula ali ali ali, maula ali, aali, aali,
Yaari yaari yaari, Yaari yaari yaari
Yaari yaari yaari

O Master Most High, Master, Majestic Master
O Intoxicating Beloved! my Friend!

- Original lyrics from Haji Bedam Warsi Ali Shah (1882-1956), a new rendition is done by Queen of Sufi Qawwali, Abida Parveen @ Coke Studio by the title, Ramooz-e-Ishq.

[>] You may listen, watch and download both audio and video from CokeStudio site.

Also the music video is available @ Vimeo and Youtube

Abida Parveen is well-known for her Sufi works and at Coke Studio she brings some never-before heard combination of Sufi kaafis and dohas. Unlike the rest of her repertoire, ‘Ramooz-e-Ishq’ is in Urdu (also popularly titled 'Mein Hun Mashhoor'), and dwells on the love man has for his Creator. The piece has beencomposed in such a way so that the emphasis remains on the Sufi message. So even as the entire Eastern-Western house band plays music – violin, bass, drums, keyboard et al – the sounds being produced are very subtle during her renditions. The focus is entirely on the singing and giving Parveen space to express herself. Abida Parveen is a very advanced seeker herself and what she sings, she sings from her heart.

In an short interview given for this song she spoke to Coke Studio:

Asal joh hei woh asal se juda hua hai, magar yeh hei ki usko doondhna hei, ki asal cheez hei kya. Talash to ussi ki hei sabhko, jahan sachai mil jaye bass usko chodna nahi chahie. Logon ko mast karna hei, ki sufi mausiqi se dargahi mausiqi se. Duniyavi cheezon se alag karna hei. Mausiqi eek hawa ka safar hei, bass meri tou lagan yehi hei, aur tou meri kohi duniya hei hi nahi. Eek mohabbat hi hei joh eek chamatkar taufa hei, yeh na dheko ki kaun hei, yeh dheko ki kya keh raha hei.

"Faqat nigah se hota hei faisla dil ka, na ho nigah mein shauqi tou dilbari hi kya hei"

The Reality is connected to the Real but one has to search for it and find out what is Reality. Everyone is seeking That (Reality / The One) only; and when one finds Truth one should not leave it / just hold on to it. Make people ecstatic through Sufi Mausiqi (Sufi Music), Dargahi Mausiqi (Holy Music). Take them away from worldly engrossment/ from materialism only. Mausiqi (Music) is the journey of divine breath, that is my only devotion, I have no other world than this. It is only Love which is a magical gift. Dont look for the identity or face or form, pay attention to what is conveyed.

The heart is judged by the glance of the Beloved (nigah-e-rahmat / glance, gaze of loving compassion),  If however, the eye does not carry passion/ yearning/longing then what remains the meaning of that Ishq / Love? If Beloved is not showering His glance of love upon us that means we don't have passion, thirst and longing worthy enough to love Him.

- My deep appreciation to Z. A., N. S.; N. Z and her friend for reworking with the translation

Among the Sufi Music that Abida Parveen sings, many of them are from Haji Bedam Warsi Ali Shah (1882-1956), may Allah bless his soul. Bedam Warsi is one of the most popular sufi lyricist whose songs are sung at sufi shrines and in households symbolizing devotion and love for God. In his spiritual life, Bedam Warsi was a great dervish poet & Murid of Haji Waris Sarkar.

+ Kalaam e Bedam
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+ Tere Ishq Nachayaan Kar Ke Thaiyya Thaiyya