Aik Alif (only Alif) -
Poet:Baba Bulleh Shah (1680-1757)
Performer Saeen Zahoor & Noori
Parh parh ilm te faazil hoya
You, who after reading and reading became educated
Te kaday apnay aap nu parhya na ee
Did you ever bother to read your own Self
Bhaj bhaj warna ay mandir maseeti
You wandered from Temples to Mosques
Te kaday mann apnay wich warya na ee
but did you ever even try to enter your inner Self
Larna ay roz shaitaan de naal
Everyday you engage in fighting Satan
Te kadi nafs apnay naal larya na ee
But did you ever fight your own Ego ("I'am"-ness)
Bulleh Shah asmaani ud'deya pharonda ay
Bulleh Shah meditates on what's in the Universe
Te jera ghar betha uloom pharya na ee
he did not get his "knowledge"(ilm, jnana) simply staying home
Bas kareen o yaar
Enough already O'friend
Ilm-oun bas kareen o yaar
Stop seeking all this outward knowledge O' friend
Ik Alif teray darkaar
All you need is Alif (alpha)
Al'Lah Sayyaan Al'Lah Sayyaan
God is Beloved, God is Friend
Bas kareen o yaar
Enough already O' friend
Ilm-oun bas kareen o yaar
Do not rely on the outward knowledge
Al'Lah Sayyaan Al'Lah Sayyaan
God is Beloved, God is Friend
As a young boy Baba Bulleh Shah (1680-1757) was sent to school with boys of his age. The first day teacher taught him Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet. While the other boys in his class finished the whole alphabet lesson he got stuck on the same letter. After few weeks when the teacher saw that the child did not progress any further than the first letter Alif, he thought that he must be dull and sent him home to his parents.
The parents did all they could, placing him under the tutelage of various teachers, but he made no progress. They got really frustrated and eventually the boy ran away from home. After wandering for some time he finally settled in the nearby jungle and there one night he saw the manifestation of Alif which had taken the form in the jungle as the grass, the leaf, the tree, branch, fruit, and flower; and the same Alif was manifested as the mountain and the hill, the stones and the rocks; and he witnessed the same as a germ, insect, bird and beast, and the same Alif in himself and others. He thought of One, saw One, felt One, realized One, and none else besides.
Symbology of Alif
In Arabic alphabets or Abjad, the Alif represents the number one and belongs to the element of fire, therefore illumination.
It symbolizes the Essence of God as well as His Unity(tawheed, advaita). The Arabic letter Alif is equivalent to the letter 'A' in the English alphabet or Alpha in Greek/Latin and is represented by the sound of 'aah' as in another deva lingua, Sanskrit. It is the first letter in the Arabic character set. The letter also takes on the archetypal value of the whole alphabet, which it begins and is thus also identified with Adam, the archetypal man or father of humankind.
Alif is the first letter in the Name Al'Lah.
Transliteration courtesy of
Mystic Saint Blog
| Sufi Music
Sufi Music with English subtitles- Poet: Hazrat Sultan Ba'Hu (1628 - 1691)-
Performer: Arif Lohar
Alif Al'Lah chambay di booti, tay meray murshid maan vich lai hoo
Alif Al'Lah...My Master (guru) has planted the fragrant seed of love in my heart
Ho nafi-asbaat da paani dey kay
by giving me the drink of negation-affirmation (La'ilaha,illal'La'Hu)
Har raggay harjai Hu
I am detached from everything
Ho joog joog jeevay mera Murshid sohna
May my loving Master (guru) be there for ever and ever
Hathhay jissay booti lai ho
who blew life into me
Pir meraya jugni
I have the spirit of my Pir (guru)
As way Al'Lah waliyan di jugni ji
The spirit of all the lovers of Al'Lah
Ae way Nabi Pak di jugni ji
The spirit of the Holy Prophet (Muhammad)
Ae way Maula Ali wali jugni ji
The spirit of Maula Ali
Ae way merry pir di jugni ji
The spirit of my Pir (guru)
Ae way saaray sabaz di jugni ji
The spirit of all His words
Dum gutkoon, dum gutkoon, dum gutkoon
Every time I think of you my God, my heart races
Karay Saaeein pardhay tay kalima nabi da parthay saaein
Fakir recites the kalima that was brought on by Prophet Muhammad (La'ilaha,illal'LaHu
Jugni taat khaeein vich thaal
O'people, share what ever you have
Chhadh duniya dey janjaal
discard worldly affairs
Kuch nai nibna bandiya naal
There is nothing you can take to the grave
Rakhi saabat sidq ammal
Except for your pure and righteous actions
Jugni dig payee vich roi
So perplexed was the creation that she stumbled
(poet is referring to the Covenant of Alast, mentioned in the Qu'ran))
Otthay ro ro kamli hoi
There she wailed profusely
Oddi vaath naye lainda koi
But there was no one who could notice
Tay kalmay binna nai mildi toi
Remember, there is no salvation without kalima
Ho wanga charha lo kuriyon
Put on your bangles, girls
Mere daata dey darbar diyan
At the court of my Daata (Ali Hijviri)
Ho naa kar Dheeya khair piyari
Daughter, don't be proud of your youth
Maan daindiya gailryaan
your mother scruffs and scolds you
Din din talhi juwani jaandi
With each passing day, your youth slips by
Joon sohna puthia lariyaan
Even gold when put in furnace moulds itself
Aurat marad, shahzaday sohney
Women, men are so beautiful
O moti, O laa lariyaan
Like pearls, like the gems
Sir da sarfa kar naa kairey
Those who are not self-absorbed
Peer prem pyar lariyan
They are the ones who know unconditional Love
O daata day darbaar jaw ke ache
Whenever you visit the court (shrine) of Daata Sahib
Pawan khair sawa lariyan
Grace and Blessing descend on you
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