Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Muslim / Sufi

11th Century

Turkmenistan
(Middle East)

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

Timeline (967 - 1049)

Poems by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir
Books - Links

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Shaikh Abu-Said Abil-Kheir was one of the earlier Sufi poets. He lived more than two centuries before Rumi yet, like Rumi, much of his mysticism follows a similar path of annihilation in divine Love.

Abu Said's poetry ranges from the ecstatic and celestial, to struggles with abandonment. His poetry has an immediacy and even a sort of devoutly wry petulance that can draw comparisons with the great Bengali poet, Ramprasad.

Abu Said referred to himself as “Nobody, Son of Nobody,” to convey the mystic's sense of having completely merged or disappeared into the Divine, leaving no trace of the ego behind.

He lived in Mayhana in what is modern day Turkmenistan, just north of Iran and Afghanistan in Central Asia.

Poems by Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

	In my heart Thou dwellest--else with blood I'll drench it;
	Love came
	On Unity's Way:
	[3] Though burning has become an old habit for this heart,
	[6] If You order me to spend my life at the gates of monasteries,
	[7] Mansoor, that whale of the Oceans of Love,
	[14] My Beloved, don't be heartless with me.
	[15] Sorrow looted this heart,
	[17] Nothing but burning sobs and tears tonight.
	[21] The day Love was illumined,
	[30] One moment, You are all I know, Friend.
	[31] All my vows, You laughed at, on day one,
	[33] Lovers are sacrifices to the Beloved,
	[36] Piousness and the path of love
	[37] It is Him manifest in us,
	[38] A pious one with a hundred beads on your rosary,
	[43] Detached You are, even from your being,
	[49] The sum total of our life is a breath
	[49] Whatever road we take to You, Joy.
	[55] Life here is a gamble in which when you win, you lose!
	[58] "This is My Face," said the Beloved,
	[59] Those who seek annihilation in the Beloved and poverty in life
	[61] My Beloved, this torture and pain
	[65] Love came and emptied me of self,
	[142] Rise early at dawn, when our storytelling begins.
	[210] When the desire for the Friend became real,
	[316] If you do not give up the crowds
	[321] If you keep seeking the jewel of understanding,
	[324] Beg for Love.

Recommended Books

	The Drunken Universe: An Anthology of Persian Sufi Poetry, Translated by Peter Lamborn Wilson / Translated by Nasrollah Pourjavady Amazon.com
	Love's Alchemy: Poems from the Sufi Tradition, Translated by David Fideler / Translated by Sabrineh Fideler Amazon.com
	The Mystics of Islam, by Reynold A. Nicholson Amazon.com
	Nobody, Son of Nobody: Poems of Shaikh Abu-Saeed Abil-Kheir, Translated by Vraje Abramian Amazon.com
	Under the Sufi's Cloak: Stories of Abu Said and His Mystical Teaching, by Mohammad Ali Jamnia / Mojdeh Bayat Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Abu Said Abil Khair and His Rubaiyat http://www.zahuri.org/review2.html A book review that includes several anecdotes from the life of Abu Said and also some poetry selections.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Abu-Said Abil-Kheir

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Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World