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Digital Calligraphy inspired and adopted from Muqtar Ahmed's via Flickr |
In the darkness of my night,
Your'e the one and only Light.
In the doldrums of my day,
Your Light always leads the way.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
My deluge You are to me.
My refuge You are to me.
For You are my remedy,
to my every malady.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
You are - the Cause of my pain,
cause my loss to be my gain.
You are Nearer yet to me,
than myself could ever be.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
Your Love - is that which makes me be,
Your Light - is that which makes me see,
Your Calling - that which makes me hear,
You are - my now, You are my here.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
~ Muhammad Harun Riedinger (Abu Faydan Faridi) ~
Your'e the one and only Light.
In the doldrums of my day,
Your Light always leads the way.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
My deluge You are to me.
My refuge You are to me.
For You are my remedy,
to my every malady.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
You are - the Cause of my pain,
cause my loss to be my gain.
You are Nearer yet to me,
than myself could ever be.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
Your Love - is that which makes me be,
Your Light - is that which makes me see,
Your Calling - that which makes me hear,
You are - my now, You are my here.
You support me, You suffice
None but You is in my Life
Anta ‘awni, anta hasbi,
Laysa li siwak
~ Muhammad Harun Riedinger (Abu Faydan Faridi) ~
Qasida are sung in Sufi gathering and in chorus, but can also be read personally. If read collectively here is the instruction to follow: all the verses start on the down beat, the start of the beat, or the '1' of 1,2,3,4. The last verse, however, you have to start on the upbeat, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_%28music%29#Upbeat or the 4.5 of the last bar and double up the rhythm of the delivery of the words, but with a little practice it will fit nicely. I think this is befitting as it brings the song to a crescendo rhythmically and it meaning.
Sung to the tune of the famous Qasida of Abu Madyan 'The Adab of the Tariqa': http://youtu.be/0yNJ-QXfIP4. Contributed by Saleem Andrew McGroarty. First published and circulated at Zawiya Ebrahim Facebook Page on April 16, 2012.
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Hasbun Allah wa Ni'mal Wakil: The Divine is the Sole Sufficiency and the Best Guardian |
What is Qasida?
The Qasida is a form of laudatory lyric poetry that originated in Arabia. Qasida means "intention" and the genre found use as a petition to a patron. A qasida has a single presiding subject, logically developed and concluded.
The classic form of qasida maintains a single elaborate metre throughout the poem, and every line rhymes. It typically runs more than fifty lines, and some times more than a hundred. The first appearance of the qasida is contributed to the poet Imru’
al-Qays (died c. 500), as well as the general template and standards of
what comprises a qasida to this day. One of the most well known qasida include the Qasida Burda ("Poem of the Mantle") by Imam al-Busiri and Ibn Arabi's classic collection "The Interpreter of Desires". The qasida migrated to the Persian culture in the 10th century, where the rhyme scheme all but disappeared and the length of the poem multiplied exponentially.
Read more on Qasida via Wikipedia.
+ Qasidah al-Burdah (Poem of the Mantle) - the most-recited and celebrated single poem in human history
(+) Zawia Ebrahim Media can be accessed here.
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