WHEN THAT BENIÿZ OPENS HIS GRACEFUL HAND

Translation
When that Beni«z opens His Graceful Hand
Why should the niazmand be not proud of his humility 1

You have confined Him to the ‘Arsh, O preacher !
What kind of God would keep away from His people? 2

In my view he is not a rind 3 at all, O cup-bearer
Who would distinguish between ecstasy and lack of it 4

Always remain very attentive to the heart, this orchestra is such
If broken, it would produce the music of the Secret

Somebody should ask how it hurts the preacher
If God shows His Grace even to the sinner

O God! From where does poetry acquire its heat?
This is a thing with which even stone would soften

Nightingale’s lament comes from discrimination between tulip and rose
No one in the world should open the discriminating eye

The arrogance of piety has taught the preacher
To use abusive language to the people of God5

Such wind should blow from India, O Iqb«l
Which would blow me as dust to Hijaz


Explanatory Notes
1. The words Beni«z and Ni«zmand are difficult to translate. Literally, they mean "the one without need" and "the needy" respectively. They are attributes of God and Man respectively and are used for them. This verse describes the correct psychology of a real man of God, in that on account of the boundless Grace and Beneficence of God, the man who is a real devotee of Him would be proud of his being the needy one. It is so because it is only in this way that he would deserve the Grace of his Lord. The use of Beni«z and Ni«zmand in the same verse is a mark of literary elegance.

2. God is Omni-present and transcends time and space. In that way He is close to His people. See the Holy Qur«n 2:186 and 50:16 to cite only a few verses on this subject.

3. Rind is a person who has gone so far in the Love of God that he has become ecstatic and is not able to follow the requirements of the Sharâ‘h.

4. As long as a person is consciously aware of being or not being ecstatic he is not a rind. He becomes a rind only when he loses this consciousness also.

5. Allusion to and sarcasm on the arrogance of the seemingly pious persons who are so arrogant that they are rude to other people. Really pious people are not rude and are very modest. Modesty is one of the components of piety.