Poem of the Week – With My Beloved by Umar Ibn Al-Farid

Born in Cairo in 1181 to Syrian parents, Umar Ibn Al-Farid supposedly spent much of his youth in a state of religious meditation. After visiting the Islamic centre of the world, Mecca, he worked for a while as a government administrator before prematurely retiring to the seclusion of the Al-Azhar mosque. Considered the greatest mystical poet ever to write in Arabic, his works remain widely unknown in the West.

According to contemporary chroniclers, he composed many of his poems in a state of spiritual ecstasy and invariably impressed those he encountered with his zeal and individuality. In one apocryphal tale, he was suddenly overcome by divine inspiration in the middle of a market and began to dance.

His fellow shoppers recognised the religious reason behind his strange behaviour and started to join in. Soon the whole bazaar was joyously swirling and jigging. It apparently caused a famous commotion and resulted in large groups of eager emulators collapsing on the ground. He is buried in Cairo and is today revered as a saint.

This week’s selection is entitled “With My Beloved.” In it, Umar excitedly describes his adoration for his heavenly creator. Though overtly religious, the eloquent emphasis on the idea of divine beauty in this verse (a common theme in Islamic poetry), should enable secular readers who have experienced the exaltations of romantic love to appreciate the sentiments Umar expresses.

We hope you enjoy this week’s poem as much as we did.

With My Beloved by Umar Ibn-Al-Farid (translated by R.A. Nicholson).

With my Beloved I alone have been,
When secrets tenderer than evening airs
Passed, and the Vision blest
Was granted to my prayers,
That crowned me, else obscure, with endless fame,
The while amazed between
His Beauty and His Majesty
I stood in silent ecstasy,
Revealing that which o’er my spirit went and came.
Lo, in His face commingled
Is every charm and grace;
The whole of Beauty singled
Into a perfect face
Beholding Him would cry,
‘There is no God but He, and He is the most High.’