(d. AD 922; AH 309)
Al-Husayn Ibn Mansur al-Hallaj was born around 858 in Shushtar (Khuzestan Province), Persia, to a cotton-carder (Hallaj is Arabic for ‘cotton-carder’). As a youth he memorized the Qur’an and would often retreat from worldly pursuits to join other mystics in study.
He is considered the foremost martyr of Islam, and has aroused debate and division about his status in Sufi and orthodox circles. He was not only a poet but is regarded as one of the greatest mystic-martyrs of Islam. Hallaj was put to death for his famous statement ‘An al Haq’ (‘I am the Truth’). He is regarded as a saint by many Muslims and non-Muslims.
As a young man Hallaj was the disciple of Suhail Tustari and then of Junayd Baghdadi, another famous Islamic mystic and teacher. He was also a close friend of Shibli Baghdadi. Apart from his Divan, his best-known written work is the Kitab al Tawasin.
I am at Your service, O my secret, my whispered name.
I am Your servant, O meaning of my life, my purpose.
I call You and You call me;
Did I say I am You
Or did You speak through me?
O essence of my being, my search, my limit;
O my speech, my sign, my significance.
O reality of my existence, my perception, my sense,
O my creation, my design, my physical life.
O essence of my existence, essence of all;
You are dressed in my meaning.
You to whom my soul connected and was lost,
Once again the object of my desires.
Wandering from place to place I weep and sigh
And my enemies help me on my way.
When I come near You, fear drives me away
But Love deep in my soul makes me reckless.
What can I do, O Lord, with this sickness?
Doctors shy away from me.
They say, ‘Cure him with the illness.’
Can you cure someone with the disease itself?
Love, my Lord, has exhausted me;
How can I complain to my Lord of this?
My eyes fell on Him, my heart knew the Truth;
I can only speak of it in riddles and signs.
Woe is my soul, the cause of my pain,
I am the cause of my illness!
O You who are the object of my perception
And the hidden desire of my heart!
O complete Being, the Whole
Whom I love with all my parts.
I turn to You in longing and sorrow;
You for whom my heart is caught in the talons
Of a flying bird.
Immersed in pain, lost, amazed and dazed
I move from wilderness to wilderness.
Travelling, blinded by Your mystery,
Lightning fast and restlessly moving
Like the suddenness of a vision
That disappears as one wakes.
Carried away by the stream of awareness
For the pleasure of the Absolute.
Stillness, then silence, then random speech,
Then knowledge, intoxication, annihilation;
Earth, then fire, then light.
Coldness, then shade, then sunlight.
Thorny road, then a path, then the wilderness.
River, then ocean, then the shore;
Contentment, desire, then Love.
Closeness, union, intimacy;
Closing, then opening, then obliteration,
Separation, togetherness, then longing;
Signs for those of real understanding
Who find this world of little value.
I lost myself in finding You
Till you annihilated me in You.
O blessing of my life and being
And salvation in my death!
None but You are my sustainer;
It’s You who are my fear and solace.
O Being in whose garden of meaning
All my qualities are flowering!
Kill me, O my trusted friends,
For in my death is my life.
To destroy all trace of my existence
Is the highest goal of my life.
And to dwell in my ego
Is an unrepented sin!
My Self has wrecked my life
And left me broken in desolation.
So kill me, friends, and burn
My wretched bones.
And when they walk by my remains
In desolate graveyards,
They will discover the secret of my Love
Among the living.
I guide my sight with the eye of knowledge
Unadulterated by doubt.
My conscience is lit up with a light
Beyond doubt and meaning.
I ride on the waves of thought
Like an arrow undeterred;
My heart flies with the wings of Desire
Carried by the wind of my intent,
Towards Him of whom I dare not speak
But hide in riddles without uttering His name.
Till I cross all limits
Of the deserts which I roam.
I look from afar
But never cross the boundary;
Then tied like a slave
I bow to His Will.
His Love brands my heart with Love.
What a branding it is!
My Self is lost to me in this nearness
Which makes me forget who I am!
Amazed at Thou and I
O object of my desire!
Thou allowed me nearness to Thee,
Though I called Thee me.
I lost myself in finding Thee
Till Thou annihilated me in Thee.
O blessing of my life
And my solace after death,
None cares for me save Thou;
Thou art in my fear and peace.
O you garden of meaning
That circumscribes all my talents,
If I desire anything
I desire Thee!
Which place on earth is devoid of Your presence
That they search for You in the skies?
You see them looking at You
But they are blind and cannot see!
My heart had disparate desires
But the eye of the Beloved made them one.
One I envied, envied me.
I became Lord of Humans when You became my Lord.
Neither friend nor foe accused me because of You
Except for when they forgot my great suffering.
I gave up their world and humanity for them
By being absorbed in Your Love, my world, my religion.
When the stallion of loneliness rides over you
And the scream of despair swallows Hope,
Take the armour of humility in your left hand
And sword of tears in your right hand
And be wary of your ego
And careful of the hidden revenge
And when you have to migrate in darkness
Take shelter under the torch of purity.
Tell the Beloved: You see my broken state,
Forgive me before our destined meeting.
O my Love, be not separate from me,
Do not abandon me before fruition.
I witnessed my Maker with my heart’s eye.
I asked, ‘Who are You?’ He answered, ‘You!’
For You one cannot ask, Where?
Because where is Where for You?
You do not pass through the imagination
Or else we’ll know where You are.
You are He who is everywhere
Yet You are nowhere. Where are You?
In my annihilation is my annihilation’s annihilation
And You are found in my annihilation.
You dwell in my heart and all Your mystery.
It welcomes You, whom I find in it.
In it there is no one else, no secret that I know.
Look carefully: is there anyone else?
The night of separation, whether long or short,
In it, my friend, only the longing for You.
If You desire my death I am ready.
O my Destroyer, that is my wish!
Hidden love is always in danger.
Greatest peace comes from approaching what one fears!
Hidden love which is spoken of
Is like the useless fire hidden in stone.
When friends and rain clouds gather
The storyteller defames me!
You went away but remained in me
And thus became my peace and happiness.
In separation, separation left me
And I witnessed the Unknown.
You were the hidden secret of my longing,
Hidden deep within my conscience, deeper than a dream.
You were my true friend in the day
And in darkness my companion.
O Sun, O Moon, O Day,
You are my heaven and hell.
To give up sin for You is sinful.
He who turns away from You is empty.
For You they give up all pleading
But what about he who has no excuse?
Four Letters1
Four letters that make my heart restless
And my desire and thought in grief.
Alif – that drives men’s actions.
L am – that leads towards guilt.
Then Lam – that increases my meaning.
Then Ha – that instigates me to Love and understand.
I swear by Allah that the Sun never rose nor set
Except that each breath of mine was infused with Your Love.
I never spoke to friends alone
And in every gathering You were the subject of my speech.
In happiness and sorrow I did not think of anything
But that which You had whispered to me.
Nor did I hope to drink in thirst
Until I saw Your reflection in the cup.
If it were in my nature
I would come to You on bended knees.
O brave of the tribe, if you want to sing
Then sing of the sorrow of your heart.
They who laugh at me have no worth in my eyes
They are lost on earth and I roam the skies.
You have your way and I have mine.
I swim in the sea of Love,
Tossed up and down by waves.
They lift me up at times,
At others in them I drown.
Till this Love brought me to
Where there was no shore in sight…
Made me whole, that being through Truth;
No other way for the searcher to reach his goal.
I am the truth and truth is true with Truth;
Once united with Him, no separation is possible.
The bright star shone forth
Like the waves of glimmering light!