Homeland
THE CODE OF TIMUR IN VERSE
Translated from Uzbek · Original text
1Praise of AllahYou alone are the King of the world, O Allah,The absolute Ruler on the Day of Resurrection.In You we always seek refuge,Whom else do we have besides You?!The Truth is Your judgment, the dominion is Yours,Kings and beggars alike surrender to You.The fate of whoever turns his neck away is this:Humiliation, and terror, and oh, the wailing.To whom You willed, You gave sovereignty,And when You willed, You took it from anyone’s hands.If a man demands a crown, a throne and a state,You cast him into the steppe of vain toil.The crown, the throne and the state, in Your sight,Are not a person’s honor and dignity.You decreed obedience and piety to be great,Without them no one is ever respected.Those who fear You and those who love YouAre higher than the kings of the world.Those who come weeping, bowing at Your feet,Drank from the cup of love in pre-eternity.I swear by Your Essence, O King, O Holy One,The sovereignty of the world is worth nothing.Every eye that sheds its tears in love for YouIs truly dear in both worlds.In truth, the sultans of the face of the earthAre those who hold the banner of justice.They are the fortresses of mercy,Those who answer the sighs of the wronged.You gave the kings judgment and decree —So that they might make the house of justice flourish.Lighting up the whole world with the light of mercy,So that they might grant salvation to the people.Whoever fulfills these duties,To him You gave times full of blessings.As long as he is a king who is a beggar before Your decree,You gave him nearness along with power.As long as mankind has lived upon the earth,It has seen kings great in strength and might.But at the end of each of them, alas,It has seen sighs that were full of regret.Granting a crown to a helpless servant,It is You who raised him to throne and power.And in the end, making him helpless, abject, a beggar,It is You who made Your boundless sovereignty known.My God, we have not asked You for crown and throne,Do not afflict us with the passion for sovereignty.We have vowed to be Your servants,Give us Your love, give us faithfulness to the vow.Make us surrender to You, make us victorious over the ego,Grant us victory in the struggle with Satan.One day, when the spirit leaves this cage,Make our road to the Hereafter safe!Fill our graves with light,Keep all torments far away from us.You know our state well —On the Day of Resurrection, make our faces white!..Akrom MALIK
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.