The Oasis - Nimah Ismail Nawwab ~ Lote Tree Press

Skip to content

Home
Poems
Bookshop
About
Course
Poetry Prize

Search this website

Home
Poems
Bookshop
About
Course
Poetry Prize

You are currently viewing The Oasis – Nimah Ismail Nawwab

The Oasis – Nimah Ismail Nawwab

Read more articles

Previous PostJean – Hanan Issa

Next PostFor “S” – Cherif Abou El Fadl

You Might Also Like

Read more about the article Wishes for Friends – Yasmine Ahmed-Lea

Wishes for Friends – Yasmine Ahmed-Lea

August 17, 2019

Read more about the article I Saw a Saint Today – Wajiha Khalil

I Saw a Saint Today – Wajiha Khalil

September 6, 2019

Read more about the article Hilal by Ray Lacina

Hilal by Ray Lacina

March 25, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comment

Enter your name or username to comment

Enter your email address to comment

Enter your website URL (optional)

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Δ

Search

Search this website

Art by Light Seed Prints

Greetings CardsOpens in a new tab
https://lightseeds.co.uk/collections/frontpageOpens in a new tab

lotetreepress

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

Prostrate by Arifa Afzal in our newest publication

Prostrate by Arifa Afzal in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

The second couplet from the opening lines of Rumi’

The second couplet from the opening lines of Rumi’s celebrated six volume Masnavi, and part of an eighteen-line prologue poem known as the Neyname or The Song of the Reed, in which Rumi likens the haunting sound of the reed, in its emptiness and pain at being separated from the reed-bed, to the expression of the soul’s longing to be reunited with the Divine. This couplet comes directly after the often quoted opening lines:

Listen to the reed as it tells a tale
Complaining of separations
بشنو از نى چون حكايت مى كند
از جدائی ها شكايت مي كند

The Martyr’s Body by Muna Nassir in our newest pub

The Martyr’s Body by Muna Nassir in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

from the poem Abiding Forever by Zinnira in our ne

from the poem Abiding Forever by Zinnira in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

On Writing a Poem by Sumaiyah Mohamed in our newes

On Writing a Poem by Sumaiyah Mohamed in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

The often quoted opening lines of Rumi’s celebrate

The often quoted opening lines of Rumi’s celebrated six volume Masnavi, and part of an eighteen-line prologue poem known as the Neyname or The Song of the Reed, in which Rumi likens the haunting sound of the reed, in its emptiness and pain at being separated from the reed-bed, to the expression of the soul’s longing to be reunited with the Divine.

A.H. Fitzwilliam-Hall’s poem Witness in our newest

A.H. Fitzwilliam-Hall’s poem Witness in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

Follow on Instagram

lotetreesufipoetry

Instagram post 18084089137721012

Instagram post 18084089137721012

For the sown fields of the soul whose kernels are

For the sown fields of the soul
whose kernels are concealed
the cloud of mercy
is full of the water of Kawthar

زرع جان را كش جواهر مضمر است
ابر رحمت پر ز آب كوثر است

zar’-e jān rā kesh javāher muzmar ast
abr-e rahmat pur ze āb-e kawsar ast

sown fields of . zar’-e . زرع
the soul . jān . جان
‎را . rā . for
whose . kesh . كش
kernels/ essences . javāher . جواهر
concealed . muzmar . مضمر
are . ast. است
the cloud of . abr-e . ابر
mercy . rahmat . رحمت
full . pur . پر
of . ze . ز
water of . āb-e . آب
Kawthar . kawsar . كوثر
is. ast . است

Wash your hands Because the table and divine banqu

Wash your hands
Because the table and divine banquet from the heavens has arrived
Wash your hands and mouth
Do not eat or speak
Find those words and mouthfuls
which have arrived for the silent

‎دست بشو کز فلک مایده و خوان رسید
‎دست و دهان را بشو نه بخور و نه بگو
‎آن سخن و لقمه جو کان به خموشان رسید

dast beshu kaz falak māyede va khān rasīd
dast u dahān rā beshū nah bekhūr u nah begū
ān sukhan u lugma jū kān beh khamūshān rasīd

hand . dast . دست
wash . beshu . بشو
because . kaz . کز
the heavens . falak . فلک
heavenly banquet . māyede . مایده
and . va . و
table . khān . خوان
arrived . rasīd . رسید
hand . dast . دست
mouth . dahān . دهان
[direct object marker] rā . را
do not . nah . نه
eat . bekhūr . بخور
speak . begū . بگو
that . ān . آن
word/speech . sukhan . سخن
mouthful . lugma . لقمه
find/seek jū . جو
has . kān . کان
for . beh . به
the silent ones. khamūshān . خموشان
arrived . rasīd . رسید

When the self is in need the soul ascends on a jou

When the self is in need
the soul ascends on a journey to heaven
When the gate of the prison is broken
the soul reaches the land of the Beloved

‎نفس چو محتاج شد روح به معراج شد
‎چون در زندان شکست جان بر جانان رسید

nafs chu mohtāj shod rūh beh mi’rāj shod
chun dar-e zendān shekast jān bar-e jānān rasīd

the ego/self . nafs . نفس
when . chu . چو
in need . mohtāj . محتاج
is . shod . شد
soul/ spirit . rūh . روح
on . beh . به
ascension/ journey to heaven . mi’rāj . معراج
goes. shod . شد
when . chun . چون
the gate of . dar-e . در
the prison . zendān . زندان
is broken . shekast . شکست
the soul . jān . جان
the land of . bar-e . بر
the Beloved . jānān . جانان
arrives at/ reaches . rasīd . رسید

Patience is like a gentle cloud, wisdom raining d

Patience is like a gentle cloud,
wisdom raining down from it
Thus it was in such a month of patience
that the Qur’an came down

‎صبر چو ابریست خوش حکمت بارد از او
‎زانک چنین ماه صبر بود که قرآن رسید

sabr chu abrīst khosh hikmat bārad az u
zānke chonīn māh-e sabr būd ke qurān rasīd

patience . sabr . صبر
like . chu . چو
is a cloud . abrīst . ابریست
good/gentle . khosh . خوش
wisdom . hikmat . حکمت
rains . bārad . بارد
from . az . از
it . u . او
thus . zānke . زانک
such . chonīn . چنین
a month of . māh-e . ماه
patience . sabr . صبر
it was . būd . بود
that . keh . که
the Quran . qurān . قرآن
came/arrived . rasīd . رسید

Don’t strike the drum for sahur too much, that is

Don’t strike the drum for sahur too much, that is to say, speak little and fall silent
They will come to understand fasting
from fasting itself

سحوری کم زن ای نطق و خمش کن
ز روزه خود شوند آگاه روزه

‏sahūrī kam zan ay nutq u khamush kon ze rūze khod shavand āgāh-e rūze  
سحوری . sahūrī .
‏sahur drum (to wake people up)
کم . little . kam
زن . strike . zan
ای . meaning / that is . ay
نطق . speaking . nutq
و . and . u
خمش کن . be silent . khamush kon
ز . from . ze
روزه . fasting . rūze
خود . itself . khod
شوند . they will become . shavand
آگاه . aware of . āgāh-e
روزه . fasting . rūze

Like Yusuf, the one who endures patiently in the

Like Yusuf,
the one who endures patiently
in the well of fasting
attains the kingdom of the Egypt of love

‎چو یوسف ملک مصر عشق گیرد
‎کسی کو صبر کرد در چاه روزه
 chū yūsuf mulk-e misr-e`ishq gīrad  kasī kū sabr kard dar chāh-e rūze

like . chū . چو
Joseph . yūsuf . یوسف
kingdom of . mulk-e . ملک
Egypt of . misr-e . مصر
‘ishq . love . عشق
attains . gīrad . گیرد
the one . kasī . کسی
who . kū . کو
patience . sabr . صبر
practices . kard . کرد
in . dar . در
the well of . chāh-e . چاه
fasting . rūze - روزه

Gazing up (to see the moon) my hat fell from my he

Gazing up (to see the moon) my hat fell from my head
Intoxicated as my head was by the Sovereign of fasting

‎نظر کردم کلاه از سر بیفتاد
‎سرم را مست کرد آن شاه روزه  nazar kardam, kolāh az sar beyoftād saram ra mast kard ān shāh-e rūze 
I gazed . nazar kardam . نظر کردم
hat . kolāh . کلاه
from . az . از
head . sar . سر
fell . beyoftād . بیفتاد
my head . saram . سرم
direct object marker . rā. را
intoxicated . mast kard . مست کرد
that . ān . آن
Sovereign of . shāh-e . شاه
fasting . rūze - روزه

How wonderful the felicity, good fortune and sple

How wonderful the felicity,
good fortune and splendour of fasting is!

زهی اقبال و بخت و جاه روزه

‏ zehī iqbāl o bakht o jāh-e rūze

how excellent/wonderful is . zehī . زهی
the felicity . iqbāl. اقبال
and . o . و
good fortune . bakht . بخت
splendour/rank of . jāh-e . جاه
fasting . rūze . روزه

Follow on Instagram

lotetreepress

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

Prostrate by Arifa Afzal in our newest publication

Prostrate by Arifa Afzal in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

The second couplet from the opening lines of Rumi’

The second couplet from the opening lines of Rumi’s celebrated six volume Masnavi, and part of an eighteen-line prologue poem known as the Neyname or The Song of the Reed, in which Rumi likens the haunting sound of the reed, in its emptiness and pain at being separated from the reed-bed, to the expression of the soul’s longing to be reunited with the Divine. This couplet comes directly after the often quoted opening lines:

Listen to the reed as it tells a tale
Complaining of separations
بشنو از نى چون حكايت مى كند
از جدائی ها شكايت مي كند

The Martyr’s Body by Muna Nassir in our newest pub

The Martyr’s Body by Muna Nassir in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

from the poem Abiding Forever by Zinnira in our ne

from the poem Abiding Forever by Zinnira in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

On Writing a Poem by Sumaiyah Mohamed in our newes

On Writing a Poem by Sumaiyah Mohamed in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

The often quoted opening lines of Rumi’s celebrate

The often quoted opening lines of Rumi’s celebrated six volume Masnavi, and part of an eighteen-line prologue poem known as the Neyname or The Song of the Reed, in which Rumi likens the haunting sound of the reed, in its emptiness and pain at being separated from the reed-bed, to the expression of the soul’s longing to be reunited with the Divine.

A.H. Fitzwilliam-Hall’s poem Witness in our newest

A.H. Fitzwilliam-Hall’s poem Witness in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in

from the poem Crushed Fragrance by Nadia Irshad in our newest publication The Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore Ecstatic Poetry Prize 2025 - Winning Entries, Shortlist & Longlist, now available from online booksellers and to order from independent bookshops. Link in bio

Follow on Instagram

lotetreesufipoetry

Instagram post 18084089137721012

Instagram post 18084089137721012

For the sown fields of the soul whose kernels are

For the sown fields of the soul
whose kernels are concealed
the cloud of mercy
is full of the water of Kawthar

زرع جان را كش جواهر مضمر است
ابر رحمت پر ز آب كوثر است

zar’-e jān rā kesh javāher muzmar ast
abr-e rahmat pur ze āb-e kawsar ast

sown fields of . zar’-e . زرع
the soul . jān . جان
‎را . rā . for
whose . kesh . كش
kernels/ essences . javāher . جواهر
concealed . muzmar . مضمر
are . ast. است
the cloud of . abr-e . ابر
mercy . rahmat . رحمت
full . pur . پر
of . ze . ز
water of . āb-e . آب
Kawthar . kawsar . كوثر
is. ast . است

Wash your hands Because the table and divine banqu

Wash your hands
Because the table and divine banquet from the heavens has arrived
Wash your hands and mouth
Do not eat or speak
Find those words and mouthfuls
which have arrived for the silent

‎دست بشو کز فلک مایده و خوان رسید
‎دست و دهان را بشو نه بخور و نه بگو
‎آن سخن و لقمه جو کان به خموشان رسید

dast beshu kaz falak māyede va khān rasīd
dast u dahān rā beshū nah bekhūr u nah begū
ān sukhan u lugma jū kān beh khamūshān rasīd

hand . dast . دست
wash . beshu . بشو
because . kaz . کز
the heavens . falak . فلک
heavenly banquet . māyede . مایده
and . va . و
table . khān . خوان
arrived . rasīd . رسید
hand . dast . دست
mouth . dahān . دهان
[direct object marker] rā . را
do not . nah . نه
eat . bekhūr . بخور
speak . begū . بگو
that . ān . آن
word/speech . sukhan . سخن
mouthful . lugma . لقمه
find/seek jū . جو
has . kān . کان
for . beh . به
the silent ones. khamūshān . خموشان
arrived . rasīd . رسید

When the self is in need the soul ascends on a jou

When the self is in need
the soul ascends on a journey to heaven
When the gate of the prison is broken
the soul reaches the land of the Beloved

‎نفس چو محتاج شد روح به معراج شد
‎چون در زندان شکست جان بر جانان رسید

nafs chu mohtāj shod rūh beh mi’rāj shod
chun dar-e zendān shekast jān bar-e jānān rasīd

the ego/self . nafs . نفس
when . chu . چو
in need . mohtāj . محتاج
is . shod . شد
soul/ spirit . rūh . روح
on . beh . به
ascension/ journey to heaven . mi’rāj . معراج
goes. shod . شد
when . chun . چون
the gate of . dar-e . در
the prison . zendān . زندان
is broken . shekast . شکست
the soul . jān . جان
the land of . bar-e . بر
the Beloved . jānān . جانان
arrives at/ reaches . rasīd . رسید

Patience is like a gentle cloud, wisdom raining d

Patience is like a gentle cloud,
wisdom raining down from it
Thus it was in such a month of patience
that the Qur’an came down

‎صبر چو ابریست خوش حکمت بارد از او
‎زانک چنین ماه صبر بود که قرآن رسید

sabr chu abrīst khosh hikmat bārad az u
zānke chonīn māh-e sabr būd ke qurān rasīd

patience . sabr . صبر
like . chu . چو
is a cloud . abrīst . ابریست
good/gentle . khosh . خوش
wisdom . hikmat . حکمت
rains . bārad . بارد
from . az . از
it . u . او
thus . zānke . زانک
such . chonīn . چنین
a month of . māh-e . ماه
patience . sabr . صبر
it was . būd . بود
that . keh . که
the Quran . qurān . قرآن
came/arrived . rasīd . رسید

Don’t strike the drum for sahur too much, that is

Don’t strike the drum for sahur too much, that is to say, speak little and fall silent
They will come to understand fasting
from fasting itself

سحوری کم زن ای نطق و خمش کن
ز روزه خود شوند آگاه روزه

‏sahūrī kam zan ay nutq u khamush kon ze rūze khod shavand āgāh-e rūze  
سحوری . sahūrī .
‏sahur drum (to wake people up)
کم . little . kam
زن . strike . zan
ای . meaning / that is . ay
نطق . speaking . nutq
و . and . u
خمش کن . be silent . khamush kon
ز . from . ze
روزه . fasting . rūze
خود . itself . khod
شوند . they will become . shavand
آگاه . aware of . āgāh-e
روزه . fasting . rūze

Like Yusuf, the one who endures patiently in the

Like Yusuf,
the one who endures patiently
in the well of fasting
attains the kingdom of the Egypt of love

‎چو یوسف ملک مصر عشق گیرد
‎کسی کو صبر کرد در چاه روزه
 chū yūsuf mulk-e misr-e`ishq gīrad  kasī kū sabr kard dar chāh-e rūze

like . chū . چو
Joseph . yūsuf . یوسف
kingdom of . mulk-e . ملک
Egypt of . misr-e . مصر
‘ishq . love . عشق
attains . gīrad . گیرد
the one . kasī . کسی
who . kū . کو
patience . sabr . صبر
practices . kard . کرد
in . dar . در
the well of . chāh-e . چاه
fasting . rūze - روزه

Gazing up (to see the moon) my hat fell from my he

Gazing up (to see the moon) my hat fell from my head
Intoxicated as my head was by the Sovereign of fasting

‎نظر کردم کلاه از سر بیفتاد
‎سرم را مست کرد آن شاه روزه  nazar kardam, kolāh az sar beyoftād saram ra mast kard ān shāh-e rūze 
I gazed . nazar kardam . نظر کردم
hat . kolāh . کلاه
from . az . از
head . sar . سر
fell . beyoftād . بیفتاد
my head . saram . سرم
direct object marker . rā. را
intoxicated . mast kard . مست کرد
that . ān . آن
Sovereign of . shāh-e . شاه
fasting . rūze - روزه

How wonderful the felicity, good fortune and sple

How wonderful the felicity,
good fortune and splendour of fasting is!

زهی اقبال و بخت و جاه روزه

‏ zehī iqbāl o bakht o jāh-e rūze

how excellent/wonderful is . zehī . زهی
the felicity . iqbāl. اقبال
and . o . و
good fortune . bakht . بخت
splendour/rank of . jāh-e . جاه
fasting . rūze . روزه

Follow on Instagram

Art by Light Seed Prints

Greetings CardsOpens in a new tab
PrintsOpens in a new tab

lotetreepress.com