In Search of a Glimpse

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm.

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Sūrah al-Fātiḥah 1:1

This short poem is often attributed to Mawlānā Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمّد رومی). Its provenance, however, remains uncertain.

Rūmī (September 30, 1207–December 17, 1273) was a 13th-century poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. He is widely known as Mevlānā (مولانا) and, in the West, as Rumi (رومی).

The Poem

نه من بیهوده گِردِ کوچه و بازار می‌گردم

Na man bīhūde gerd-e kūche o bāzār mī-gardam

I do not wander in vain through alley and bazaar—I roam.

مذاقِ عاشقی دارم پِیِ دیدار می‌گردم

Mazāq-e ʿāsheqī dāram, pey-e dīdār mī-gardam

I carry the taste of love; in search of a glimpse, I roam.

خدایا رَحم کن بر من پریشان‌وار می‌گردم

Khodāyā, rahm kon bar man—parīshān-vār mī-gardam

O God, have mercy on me—distraught and scattered, I roam.

خَطاکارم گناهکارم به حالِ زار می‌گردم

Khatākāram, gonāhkāram; be hāl-e zār mī-gardam

I am at fault, I am sinful; in this wretched state, I roam.

شرابِ شوق می‌نوشم به گِردِ یار می‌گردم

Sharāb-e showq mī-nūsham; be gerd-e yār mī-gardam

I drink the wine of longing; around the Friend, I roam.

سُخَن مستانه می‌گویم ولی هُوشیار می‌گردم

Sokhan mastāne mī-gūyam, valī hūshyār mī-gardam

I speak with drunken rapture, yet clear‑minded, I roam.

گهی خَندم گهی گِریَم گهی اُفتم گهی خیزم

Gahī khandam, gahī geryam; gahī oftam, gahī khīzam

At times I laugh, at times I weep; at times I fall, at times I rise.

مسیحا در دلم پیدا و من بیمار می‌گردم

Masīhā dar delam peydā, o man bīmār mī-gardam

The Messiah appears within my heart—and still, like the sick, I roam.

بیا جانا عِنایت کن تو مولانایِ رومی را

Biyā jānā, ʿenāyat kon to Mowlānā-ye Rūmī rā

Come, beloved—show your grace to Maulana Rumi.

غُلامِ شمسِ تبریزم قلندروار می‌گردم

Gholām-e Shams-e Tabrīzam; qalandar-vār mī-gardam

I am a servant of Shams of Tabriz; like a qalandar (a wandering dervish), I roam.

A Reflection on Ghurbat

In my view, the poem seems to echo a well-known description of taṣawwuf attributed to Junayd al-Baghdādī (may Allah be pleased with him). In this description, the path is summed up through prophetic qualities. Among them is the ghurbat—the condition of being a “stranger,” an exile—associated with Prophet Yaḥyā (peace and blessings be upon him).