The Sultan of the Friends of Allah, Ahmet er-Rıfa’i The follower of the way of the prophets, Ahmet er-Rıfa’i

I Watched and Got Burned by Your Beauty

28E

What’s with this heart of mine?

With pain and suffering, is filled this heart of mine

Burn up this heart of mine

In burning is the cure for this heart of mine
Burn up this heart of mine

Within this burning is resolution

Just like the turning moth

Love of the burning flame has burned this heart of mine

The pride of poverty

He lived and he was the Pride of all the worlds

Remember poverty

Through annihilation I found this heart of mine

Bayram this holiday (1x)

I am the holiday (1x)

With my Beloved I share the holiday

Praise to the Highest One

Holiday with the Friend has had this heart of mine

The line, “The Pride of Poverty” is based on a hadith in which the Prophet said, “Poverty is my pride and honor.” The word bayram means holiday or festival. Haji Bayram Veli received this name because he had achieved an inner station of bayram.

What’s with This Heart of Mine?

29E

I am praising Allah with the praise of Allah

My mind is taken by fikrullah (thoughts of Allah)

On my tongue, always the names of Allah

Remembrance of Allah has given me spiritual unity
What is wanted from this oneness?

It is to arrive at personal maturity

The one that is seen is your own being

Don’t think that it is anyone else but Allah

I am like the moth and have arrived

I have fallen into the fire of ashk and have been burned

With this burning, it is as if I have turned to ash

Divine love of Allah has annihilated me

The mirror of your gönűl, sofi,

If you can keep it clean and clear,

Is a door open for everyone,

And the beauty of Allah will be revealed

Shemsi Tebriz knows this

The one is no more; annihilation was found

This world will totally disappear

All alone will remain Allah

The prayers of Allah

The peace of Allah

Upon you, Oh Messenger of Allah

I Am Praising Allah with the Praise of Allah

26E

refrain
I don’t know what state has happened to me.

Am I you or are you me?
I have fallen in love with the Truth Allah has created

Eternally I am bedazzled

People should adorn the beauty that Allah has created

I have become a nightingale inside of my essential body

Again I have come from that Beauty

And the road goes through the Truth of Allah

I am Mejnun of ashk

One who is not fooled by the palace of this world

I am the prince of this crazy ashk
My blasphemy has become my faith

This heart of mine has gone inside of humanity

The being of my old ignorance has become lost in me

My body has become the body of the Beloved

I’ve found my own being in the bodies of all beings

I have left all of my own being and gone into the body of Allah

I came with and looked at my body and saw my body had become one with Allah, and bowed down in Divine acceptance
Become in love with humanity

There you’ll see the love of Allah

The road to Allah

Is the road down into our hearts

I am not giving value to empty things

Don’t stray for even an instant from this One

All of the Holy Houses have disappeared from my eyes

Everywhere Allah has become visible

And the one who brought this was Ziya

I have now become the binoculars of the eyes of Allah

I Have Fallen in Love with the Truth

30E

refrain
Come and see what ashk has done to me

I walk burning, burning

Ashk has painted me red

I am neither intelligent nor crazy

Come and see what ashk has done to me

At times I blow like the wind

At times I raise dust like the roads

At times I flow like the floods

Come and see what ashk has done to me

One who sits in sincerity on the road of ashk

I have ashk wounds from head to toe

I am an empty-headed wandered

In the land of the Friend

Come and see what ashk has done to me

I Walk Burning, Burning

31E

Before life (jan) flies out of the cage

Make your ruh Sultan and see

Move on through, before you go, come

Make your Nur burhan (proof)
They did not achieve this goal of Hakikat,

Those that impose duality

Secret yourself inside yourself

And seek Hak always

Those that get enlightenment from their Murshid

Know their essence

Find the mature one and come without division

Observe Truth everywhere and see

Şah Hulusi, the saints

Are followers of the Prophet

Before you see the bridge of accounting

Do this accounting here (do all your testing here)

Tevsir (inner meaning)
Before this life ends

Make valuable your essential being

Come before you die and get caught in daily events

Let the divine light of Allah be evidence for you.

Those who carry duality in their thoughts

Cannot attain this reality.

So hold your beliefs for yourself inside,

Then you will be with Truth in every moment.

Those who get their enlightenment from their spiritual guide

Will then understand their own essence.

Find the mature master and follow him well.

Watch that beautiful master within yourself

Oh Hulusi, the mature

People follow the prophets

Before you die and go to the Day of Reckoning

Do your reckoning here.

Before Life Flies out of the Cage, Come

32E

This crazy heart of mine

Gone from love to love again

From the beauty of your grace

Shaken up and dropped in the water

refrain
What am I to do? What am I to do?

Wounds are deep, where can I go?

Who do I state my feelings to?

Some people live in shanty-towns

Some are dervish, some are sultans

Some are friends of the Beloved

My shaykh has sent me away
One day Felek will take your life

Taking us from one to the other

Some wear robes of silk and satin

Shukur, we wear simple garments

Kul Yusuf’s the one who said these words

From his eyes, tears are ever-flowing

All problems that I have

Are gifts from the Beloved

Shaykh: spiritual teacher

Felek: the angel of death

Shukur: thankfulness

This Crazy Heart of Mine

36E

refrain
La ilahe illa ‘llahu

La ilahe illa ‘llahu

Let there be peace

We are of those leaving the world

Let there be peace for those we leave behind

For those who say prayers of blessing for us

Let there be peace
Death will break our backs

Will not allow our tongues to speak

To those who ask of our state when we are sick

Let there be peace

Yunus says these words

Both his eyes are filled with tears

For those who cannot know us

For those who know

Let there be peace

We Are of Those Leaving the World

37E

refrain
Sallallahu ala Muhammed

Sallallahu aleyke Ahmed

Don’t know what to do, Allah, Allah

In the hands of Love, Hay, Hay

Quench my thirst and then I go from the hands of Love

Mountains are my home, Allah, Allah

My tears ever flow, Hay, Hay

Endless tears of blood, from the hands of Love
Give up all I own, Allah, Allah

Fill my destiny, Hay, Hay

Whirling all around, from the hands of Love
Yunus said these words, Allah, Allah,

His embers every glow, Hay, Hay

Crying tears of blood from the hands of Love

Don’t Know What to Do

38E

With the mountains and the rocks

I call you, my Lord

With the birds in the morning

I call you, my Lord
In the skies with Jesus

On the mountains with Moses

With the staff in his hand,

I call you, my Lord

With Job of the many sufferings

With Jacob with eyes full of tears

With Muhammed the beloved

I call you, my Lord

Yunus recites with his heart

With huri nightingales

With the servants who love Hak (Truth)

I call you, my Lord

Huri: Maidens of Paradise described in the Quran, 55: 56-78

With the Mountains and the Rocks

39E

You are burning, burning us

In the fire of your love

You are witnessed East and West

Light on light enlightened Self
In our mention of your name

May your form arise as flame

May your image exist as

Light a-lighting light essence

All the worlds assume your hue

Balanced are all things in you

Now Hilkati suffers too

In the fire of your love

Hilkati has suffered much

In the fire of your love

You Are Burning Us

41E

refrain
You are the Great Messenger, you are Muhammed Mustafa

The peace of Allah is with you, and our submission is to Him

You are the beloved of Allah

You have the standard (flag) of praise

You are the reason all prayers are accepted

You are the greatest of the two worlds
You are the mine of the prophets

You are the beloved of all the saints

You are the fame of the pure ones

You are the life-force of the universes

You are the most precious crown of the prophets

You are the brilliance of the saints

You are the ascension of the believers

You are the mirror of all

You are the head of Humanity (the first and last)

You are the pride of existence

You are the script of all beauty

You are the pardon of God-given talents

(It is only through your Nur that Hilkat can get his pardon)

You Are the Great Messenger

42E

We enter into this school of gnosis

We read the signs of the Quran

We understand the knowledge of inner mystery

We read the writing of the Human Being
We don’t speak of it to those who don’t understand

In this way its worth is protected

As long as we know our nefs

We will read the points of mystery

Inside of love we are

We have painted ourselves in the color of the Creator

In the war against that which is bad

We use the weapon of love

Those who don’t love each other

And those who do not know their own beauty

To those who have no respect for humanity

We give the name sheytan

Oh, Vehbi, we are intoxicated with beauty

And love all that is created

It is there we have seen the light of Allah

And this creation we call the Beloved

The school of gnosis is this life and its experiences, lived consciously.

We Enter into this School of Gnosis

43E

Come sweet lovers, come on now

Hu Mevlam Hu

It might seem so far to go

Hu Mevlam Hu

Took one look at this world here

Hu Mevlam Hu

It looks like a trap that is set to go

Hu Mevlam Hu

Cry on, Dervish Yunus, cry on

Hu Mevlam Hu

Tie your essence to the Truth

Hu Mevlam Hu

If you cry, cry for yourself

Hu Mevlam Hu

Help from others is like nothing

Hu Mevlam Hu

Come Sweet Lovers

44

Poetry: Ümműl Hureyre

Music: Traditional

refrain
I will arise and go to Erenler

They will embrace me in their arms

In the arms of my Beloved

Oh, there are ten thousand charms

Come you hungry, frightened wanderers

To the Teacher send your call

By whatever name you call him,

None are greater, none are small
Come, all dervishes, come and lie down

In the road of Hakikat

All the feet that walk across you

Cannot take away your heart

Come, Beloved, recognize me

At Your door I have arrived,

Where the mysteries and the sorrows,

All the joys of love reside

Ümmű'l Hureyre says estağfhirullah!

For the day’s mistakes she prays

All forgiveness, all compassion

Guide us safely on the Way

I Will Arise

45

“O Prophet! Truly We have sent thee...as a lamp spreading light”

Surah Ahzab (33: 45-46)

In the light on the path we walk inside his footsteps

In the niche of his heart we read by divine light

With the pen that he holds we are formed by his letters

On the path that he opens you’re our guide in the night

May his tower of light be a beacon before us

May his shower of love cause the meeting between us

May his hour of sohbet resoundingly chorus

May his shower of Rahma give greening and sweetness
The cup of this love fills with waters of yearning

In the joy of our sharing our essence is turning

In the dark of the night a fire is burning

To the green fields of life our hearts are returning

To the skies up above our souls are adjourning

With an emerald wisdom our minds are discerning

This one is deeply in love, we are learning

This one is deeply in love, we are learning
His soul is a treasure I’m learning to praise

His spirit shines brighter than all the sun’s rays

His heart is a lamp, its light always stays

On the path that we know by the glow of his face

In the heart of Muhammed, the light of Allah,

Through merging our hearts, makes us no longer far

We are two bows away from the heart of the heart

We are green like fresh wood from which fire will start

Though it looked like you threw, when you threw you didn’t throw

We saw sand in the wind; you saw pure spirit blow

When you stood in that light, your eyes held fast to that sight

That light stayed in your eyes, now your eyes are our guide

As you rose in the night, you went beyond seven skies

And you crossed the Far Tree into Paradise

You came back with a way and a path for the wise

And an opening prayer so our hearts can arise

Light of Muhammed

46E

Oh my Shah who gives life

To the heart, come quickly

I am dry with thirst

With your sweet lips quench me, my Shah
I am a moth willing to throw my life

Into the radiance of your beautiful face

Light the fire in my heart

Oh, full moon of my spirit, come quickly

Your ashk is my true path,

Don’t separate my path from “M” (Muhammed) forever

Whoever wants to come close to the essence,

Do not bring obstacles to the road, come quickly

In reality, many mistakes have I have

In service to my Sultan

Forgive me, I have known my mistakes

So my estağfirullah, come quickly

Do you not know, Irshad?

Don’t you know I have become mad with your ashk?

Oh Leyla who lives in my heart

Hear my sigh of suffering, and come quickly

Oh My Shah Who Gives Life

47E

My beloved’s body is a rose

What do I need a rose garden for?

The desert of ashk is a tomb for me

What do I need other tombs for?

Like Mejnun, to journey from mountain to mountain

Is not necessary for an ashık

In my heart I found my Beloved

For what do I need the broken road?

The days pass with longing

But the night is a holiday for the ashık

Every hour is now an act of union

What do I need of day or night?

With your ashk I have constructed

In the village of Dost, my building

It is surrounded with the Esma-ul Husna

What do I need stone walls for?

Nightingale, why did you give your heart

To a bud that fades?

My rosebud never fades.

What do I need a finite spring for?

A one room house is the heart

A thousand and one desires will not fit in

To one Beloved I’ve given my heart

What do I need other lovers for?

I am burned to your manifest fire

Like Moses, I am in bewilderment

My mountain of Sinai (the body) is divided in pieces

What do I need intoxicants for?

I have migrated to a far-away place

I won’t come back to Sheyran

I have crossed the desert of Ezel

What do I need to stay in this place (the place before miraj) for?

My Beloved’s Body Is A Rose

48E

Those who are in love with Hak (Truth)

Would they run away from the remembrance of God?

Would the one who is in ashk

Throw away jewels in empty places?
Let the one who receives Marifet come

There are no lies in my words

The one who is servant to emmareye

Can they choose between good and evil?

These are real words to pure friends

The ones who see do not say; I see.

Those who achieve keramete,

Would they open the hidden secrets?

You are a hollow cedar,

Standing just like this.

You are a wingless duckling—

Can a bird fly without wings?

Üftade burns and smokes.

Like a nightingale, he sings.

Those who throw rocks at ashıks,

Can they migrate with iman?

Those Who Are in Ashk with Hak

54E

From my heart I have accepted that all is finite in the end

You have made me lose my mind in the end
Your ashk’s chain has whipped me into action

You have intoxicated my mind into bankruptcy in the end

From one seed has come a field

One seed you turned into a thousand in the end

Oh Fakirullah, you have connected this Hakkı

You have made me reach the Beloved in the end

From My Heart I Have Accepted

59E

I was searching for an answer to my problem

My problem was my solution

I was searching for evidence of my essence

My essence was the proof
I would look to the left and right trying to find

The face of the Friend

I was looking everywhere outside

And saw it was my life-force

I used to think I was apart

If the Friend is separate then I am separate

I knew that the one who saw and looked from me

Was the Beloved

With fasting, praying and pilgrimage

I don’t think you will attain this business

What is necessary to become Insani Kamil,

Is Irfan (gnostic knowledge)

Listen to the words of Niyazi:

There is nothing that covers the face of Hak

But to the ones whose eyes are not open

It is not apparent

I Was Searching for an Answer to My Problem

66E

Oh you who are sleeping so deeply, won’t you wake up?

The caravan has moved on and we have been left on the skirts of the mountain.

The crier is calling; don’t you believe him?

The caravan has moved on and we have been left on the skirts of the mountain.
Turn into a nightingale and sing in the orchard of Dost.

See to it that you take on as your load your good deed.

Be good enough for the caravan of our Master.

The caravan has moved on and we have been left on the skirts of the

mountain.
Yunus, why did you come into this world?

May you do the zikr of Hak every day and night.

If your path does not take you to the Prophets

The caravan has moved on and we have been left on the skirts of the

Mountain.

Crier: the people who are inviting you on the path of Hak; the murshids

Oh You Who Are Sleeping So Deeply

71E

You are the Guide, You are the Truth

The world is transitory; Allah is Subsisting and Eternal

There is no god but the One

I would want God. I found God, what then?

I would cry day and night. If I laughed, what then?

In the gathering of the saints, I was a bouquet of roses

I blossomed, I matured. If I wilted, what then?

Listen to Yunus. Listen how he became crazy again

If I plunged into the realities of the saints, what then?