There Is No God but He
A devotional poem attributed to Rumi by Sufinama; historical authorship has not yet been established.
The Lord of All Dominion
I read the opening as a statement about God, giving مَالِكُ—māliku—the nominative ending. Mulk means dominion, sovereignty, or kingship; waḥdahu emphasizes His absolute uniqueness. The divine title occurs in Qurʾān 3:26, while the refrain appears in Qurʾān 2:255.
An Offering of Heart and Soul
جان و دل (jān va del) means “soul and heart,” expressing the whole inward self. نثار کردن (nesār kardan) evokes scattering precious gifts or making a generous offering. Here, the lovers offer themselves in devotion to the truth proclaimed by the refrain. “In homage to” conveys my reading of the figurative بر سرِ (bar sar-e).
The Robe of Honor
Muṣṭafā, “the Chosen One,” refers to the Prophet Muḥammad. A khilʿat is a robe bestowed as a mark of honor; here, it becomes a poetic image of divine favor and nearness. The linking vowel in خِلعتِ (khelʿat-e) makes the declaration itself the figurative robe. Dehkhodā’s entry for خلعت (khelʿat) records both its ceremonial and figurative senses.
The Eternal Gardener
I understand the singular Gardener as an image of God, who brings creation into being and sustains it. قدیم (qadīm) here means “without beginning”; لمیزلی (lam-yazalī) reinforces His everlasting existence. صفتش (sefatash) means “His attribute” or “His description.” Dehkhodā defines لمیزلی (lam-yazalī) as perpetual or everlasting.
The Tree and Its Fruit
جِنان—jinān, pronounced jenān in modern Persian—means “gardens,” understood here as the gardens of Paradise. The image presents the declaration of God’s oneness as something nourishing and delightful: a truth whose sweetness can be experienced.
Remembrance and Paradise
ذکرشان (zekreshān) means “their remembrance” or “their devotional invocation.” The couplet associates the longing for Paradise with remembering God through the declaration of His oneness. It describes their practice while also encouraging the listener.
The Believers’ Portion
I read روزی (rūzī) here as “allotted provision” or “one’s portion,” a meaning documented in Dehkhodā. نعیم (naʿīm) means bliss or delightful well-being, with Paradise suggested by the preceding couplets. The second line is compressed: برکتش (barakatash) literally means “its blessing,” most naturally referring back to that bliss.
Seeking God
The closing turns to direct address. خدا طلبی (Khodā talabī) means “you seek God,” and خوش بخوان (khosh bekhān) means “recite or sing beautifully.” In a traditional recitation, the closing is approximately:
A Variant Found in Munājāt Books in Kashmir
The following is a longer variant of this poem found in munājāt books in Kashmir—collections of devotional supplications and poems. The photographed page is headed مناجات and attributes the poem to Ḥaẓrat Mawlānā Shams al-Dīn Tabrīzī. This printed attribution is retained here as part of the variant’s transmission; it does not by itself establish historical authorship.
Its seventeen couplets preserve the refrain “There is no god but He,” with changes in wording and sequence and additional verses on creation, the four caliphs, and the Prophet’s knowledge of the declaration. The original text is followed by transliteration, translation, and a brief explanation, as in the version above.
Text: transcribed from the photographed munājāt page. Spelling, spacing, punctuation, and Arabic vowel marks have been normalized for reading. The small honorific marks beside Ṣiddīq and Fārūq are outside the metrical text; they convey the prayer “may God be pleased with him.” The readings and translations of couplets 9 and 14 require particular care and are discussed beside those verses.
The transliteration follows the convention used above. The fully vocalized Arabic ending is huwa; in a paused or sung refrain, it is often heard as Hū.
1. The Lord of All Dominion
The opening is Arabic. Waḥdahu means “He alone,” affirming that sovereignty belongs to God without any partner.
2. At the Threshold
This version reads bar dar-e, “at the door of” or “at the threshold of,” where the version above has bar sar-e. The declaration becomes a threshold at which lovers offer their whole selves.
3. The Robe of Honor
Muṣṭafā, “the Chosen One,” refers to the Prophet Muḥammad. The declaration is imagined as a robe of honor bestowed upon him. This is the poem’s devotional imagery.
4. Remembrance and Paradise
Zekreshān means “their remembrance” or “their devotional invocation.” The verse connects the longing for Paradise with the repeated remembrance of God’s oneness.
5. The Eternal Gardener
The Gardener is an image of God as the source and sustainer of life. Qadīm means “without beginning”; lam-yazalī expresses everlasting existence.
6. The Collar of the Curse
Ghayrat is a fierce protectiveness or jealous zeal. Here I read it as the uncompromising majesty of divine oneness, personified as casting the collar of the curse upon Iblīs. The photographed word is غیرتش, ghayratash.
7. The Believers’ Portion
Rūzī here means an allotted portion or provision. Naʿīm is bliss or delightful well-being. The compressed second line associates this gift with the blessing of the declaration.
8. The Tree and Its Fruit
Jenān means “gardens,” here understood as the gardens of Paradise. The declaration appears as a fruit whose sweetness nourishes the one who receives it.
9. Creation and the Divine Command
Textual note. The photograph appears to read بستی, bastī, which I provisionally understand as “You fashioned” or “You bound together.” The syntax is compressed, so this translation remains interpretive. I have retained the photographed reading rather than replacing it with هستی, hastī, “existence.” The second line reads از اثر, “through the effect or power of.” Kun fa-yakūn, “Be, and it is,” echoes the divine command in Qurʾān 36:82.
10. Heaven and Earth
The first image recalls the heavens raised without visible pillars in Qurʾān 13:2. “Earth suspended in air” preserves the poem’s imagery. Both images direct the listener’s attention to the divine power that sustains creation.
11. A Call to the Reciter
Qāriyā means “O reciter.” Honar can mean art, skill, virtue, or attainment. Here I understand it as learning to recite and inwardly realize the declaration. The printed address is قاریا, not قادرا (“O Powerful One”).
12. The Kohl of Ṣiddīq’s Eye
Ṣiddīq refers here to Abū Bakr. Mokaḥḥal kard means “applied kohl to” or “anointed with kohl.” I understand the eye as an image of inward sight, clarified by the recognition of divine oneness.
13. The Strength of Fārūq’s Justice
Fārūq refers here to ʿUmar. Hemmat suggests aspiration, resolve, and concentrated spiritual purpose. The poem personifies the declaration as a force supporting his justice.
14. The Forbearance of Dhū al-Nūrayn
Dhū al-Nūrayn, “the possessor of the two lights,” refers to ʿUthmān. Ḥilm means forbearance, patience, and self-restraint. Textual note: I read the photographed second line as او همین, ū hamīn, literally “he—this very [declaration].” “His word was this alone” supplies a link implied by the elliptical wording.
15. The Cry of the Lion of God
The Lion of God is ʿAlī. Dam be dam means “at every moment” or “with every breath”; naʿra is a powerful cry. This completes the sequence of verses honoring Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī.
16. The Meaning Known to the Messenger
The literal wording is emphatic. I understand it as praise of the Prophet’s unsurpassed realization of the declaration’s meaning; this explanation is an interpretation of the devotional verse.
17. Seeking God
This version has gar, the shortened form of agar, “if.” The closing addresses Shams of Tabriz directly. His name in the final verse, and the attribution in the printed heading, do not by themselves establish who composed the poem.
