Ibn Arabi's Tarjuman al-Ashwaq
Tarjuman al-Ashwaq LXI
(translated by R. Nicholson, published 1911)
1. O ban tree of the valley, on the bank of the river of
Baghdad !
2. A mournful dove that cooed on a swaying bough filled
me with grief for thee.
3. His plaintive song reminds me of the plaintive song of
the lady of the chamber.
4. Whenever she tunes her triple chords, thou must forget
the brother of al-Hadi
5. And if she lavishes her melody, who is Anjasha the camel driver?
6. I swear by Dhu al-Khadimat and then by Sindad
7. That I am passionately in love with Salma who dwells
at Ajyad.
8. No ; I am mistaken : she dwells in the black clot of blood
in the membrane of my liver.
9. Beauty is confounded by her, and odours of musk and
saffron are scattered abroad.
COMMENTARY:
1. ' O ban tree/ etc., i.e. the tree of light in the station of
the Qutb.
2. ' A mournful dove/ i.e. an exalted spirit.
' On a swaying bough/ i.e. the human organism in the
station of self-subsistence
3. ' The lady of the chamber/ i.e. every reality that exercises
dominion in its own world.
4. 'Her triple chords/ i.e. the body, with its three
dimensions, viz. length, breadth, and depth.
Triple chords
may also refer to the grades of the three Names, which are
the abode of the two Imams and the Qutb. Al-Hadi/ the Abbasid Caliph. His brother was a fine
musician.
5. Anjasha/ a camel-driver contemporary with the Prophet.
He used to chant so sweetly that the camels died. (See
Nawawi, ed. by Wustenfeld, 164.)
7. Salma (a woman's name), i.e. a Solomonic station.
'Ajyad' (plural of neck), a place at Mecca. Here
it refers to the throat through which the breath passes.