Ramadan came, but Bairam is with us.
The lock came, but the key is with us.

  Mouth is closed. Eyes are opened.
That brilliance that the eyes see is with us.

We have cleaned soul and heart with fasting.
The dirt which has been with us is cleansed now.

Some stress comes from fasting,
But the invisible treasure of heart is with us.

Ramadan came to the heart’s temple;
The one who created heart is with us.

Since Salahuddin* is among this crowd,
Mansur and Beyazid* are with us.

*Salahuddin: Rumi’s closest spiritual companion and disciple following
the final disappearance of Shams-e Tabriz, whom he put in charge of
the spiritual training of his disciples.

*Mansur and Beyazid: two famous Sufis of the past, Mansur al-Hallaj
and Beyazid Bestami.

– Ghazal No. 370 from the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi
Translated by Nevit Ergin
(from the Turkish translation of the original
Persian by Golpinarli)
“Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi: Divan-i Kebir,”
*******
Rumi’s Ramadan Poem

O moon-faced Beloved,
the month of Ramadan has arrived
Cover the table
and open the path of praise.

O fickle busybody,
it’s time to change your ways.
Can you see the one who’s selling the halvah
how long will it be the halvah you desire?

Just a glimpse of the halvah-maker
has made you so sweet even honey says,
“I’ll put myself beneath your feet, like soil;
I’ll worship at your shrine.”

Your chick frets within the egg
with all your eating and choking.
Break out of your shell that your wings may grow.
Let yourself fly.

The lips of the Master are parched
from calling the Beloved.
The sound of your call resounds
through the horn of your empty belly.

Let nothing be inside of you.
Be empty:  give your lips to the lips of the reed.
When like a reed you fill with His breath,
then you’ll taste sweetness.

Sweetness is hidden in the Breath
that fills the reed.
Be like Mary – by that sweet breath
a child grew within her.

– Rumi
*******

There’s a hidden sweetness

in the stomach’s emptiness.

We are all lutes, no more, no less. If the soundbox

is stuffed full of anything, no music.

If the brain and the belly are burning clean

with fasting, every moment a new song comes

out of the fire. The fog clears, and a new energy

makes you run up the steps in front of you.

Be emptier and cry like reed instruments cry.

Emptier, write secrets with the reed pen.

When you’re full of food and drink, Satan sits

where your spirit should, an ugly metal statue

in place of the Kaaba. When you fast,

good habits gather like friends who want to help.

Fasting is Soloman’s ring. Don’t give it

to some illusion and lose your power.

But even if you’ve lost all will and control,

they come back when you fast, like soldiers appearing

out of the ground, pennants flying above them.

A table descends to your tents,

Jesus’ table.

Expect to see it, when you fast, this table

spread with other food better

than the broth of cabbages.

Another translation of the first few lines:

“There is an unseen sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness. We are lutes. When the soundbox is filled, no music can come forth. When the brain and the belly burn from fasting, every moment a new song rises out of the fire. The mists clear, and a new vitality makes you spring up the steps before you . . .” — Rumi
*******
Celebrate! The month of fasting has come.
Pleasant journey to the one
Who is the company of the fasting.

I climbed the roof to see the Moon,
Because I really missed fasting
By heart and soul.

I lost my hat while looking at the Moon.
the Sultan of fasting made me drunk.

O Muslims, I have been drunk
since that day I lost my mind.
What a beautiful fortune fasting has.
What a wonderful glory.

There is another secret moon
Besides this one.
He is hiding in the tent of fasting
Like a Turk.

Anyone who comes
To the harvest of fasting in this month
Finds the way to this Moon.

Whoever makes his face
Resemble pale satin
Wears the silk clothes of fasting.

Prayers will be accepted in this month.
Sighs of the one fasting pierce the sky.

The person who sits patiently
At the bottom of fasting’s well
Owns the love of Egypt, like Joseph.

O the word which eats the Sahur* meal,
Be silent so that anyone
Who knows fasting will enjoy fasting.

Come, O Shems, the brave one
Of whom Tebriz is proud.
You are the commander of fasting’s soldiers.

*Sahur: Meal before dawn during Ramazan fast.

– Ghazal No. 2344 from the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi
Translated by Nevit Ergin
(from the Turkish translation of the original
Persian by Golpinarli)
“Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi: Divan-i Kebir,”
*******
i want to leave this town
but you’ve chained me down
stolen away my heart
leaving yourself behind

now i’ve lost my way
my soul restless and head twisted
all because of those secrets
you once whispered

i only must keep
fasting my heart
to set me free
from sleepless nights

since your only advice
when you saw me in flame
was to keep burning
with you or with your thoughts

words of wisdom
came to me at last
“the beloved you’ve lost
the one you’ve been seeking outside
can only be found inside”

– Ghazal 2582, from the Diwan-e Shams
Translation by Nader Khalili
*******
all the precious words
you and I have exchanged
have found their way
into the heart of the universe
one day they’ll pour on us
like whispering rain
helping us arise
from our roots again

– Quatrain 1112
Translation by Nader Khalili
Rumi, Dancing the Flame