Tonight is their wedding night. And she is beginning the night with a song that celebrates their blessed union, her desires for their first night, and her prescription for a lifetime of joy.
First, she praises the quality of their love and credits the one who brought them together.
Your heart is like a boat
A boat that is the color of Gold.
That our destinies now
Belong to one another
Is the work of God.
That is why she has agreed to marry him. Their love for another, cultivated by God, will be all that they need around them.
The beautiful Island of Love
Is a land empty of insincerity.
We shall go there where
There is only room
For our two hearts.
But that is the future. Tonight is their wedding night. She is finally allowed to express herself in a way that would not have been acceptable before. And she knows exactly what she wants to happen tonight with her new husband.
Up to now, even amorous gestures would have been a sin
But tonight, I am accompanied by my dowry.
I want, tonight until dawn, for us to share
Our secrets and needs.
From Nasrin's "Our Wedding" (Aroosiye Ma)
Tonight is Our Wedding Night
Must Have Seemed Like A Good Idea
He got inspired by the experience of a disabled fox. Wondering how the immobile fox survived, the man watched as a lion happened by holding a jackal it had hunted in its mouth. The lion ate most of the jackal but his leftovers were more than enough to feed the disabled fox.
A similar thing happened the next day, and the man marveled at the glory of God for taking care of his creations. But he also got an idea. He would stop working and just depend on God. After all, he had seen first-hand how God delivered for the fox. Surely, God would do no less for him.
So the man stopped working, but neither friend nor stranger came to his aid. Though feebled in his condition, the man could hear a message while praying:
Go be the mighty lion,
You fraud.
Don't make as if you are the disabled fox.
Strive so that like the lion
You can make the foxes full with your leftovers.
Eat, as much as possible, by the strength of your own arm,
For your meal shall be the size of efforts of your own.
Young man, take the hand of the old and the poor,
Don't hold yourself down and ask for a hand.
From Sa'di's "Boostan". This poem was excerpted in the fifth grade text book in Iran. The poem also appeared on the last midterm exam I took in Iran before leaving for the United Sates.
God Would Almost Have Reason to be Jealous
Love is not strong enough to describe how she feels about this man. No, she boldly uses the W word.
A term of endearment that is ordinarily for one supreme being. Blasphemous? Perhaps. Except, that she is quite open and honest to all parties about it.
When I heard you were coming,
I sat facing God.
I said, “After You, O God,
I worship him."
From Mahasti's "Housecleaning" (Khooneh Tekooni)
Moses and the Shepherd
Moses happened to see a Shepherd who was praying to God. In his prayer, the Shepherd was seeking out the location of God, so he could become, quite literally, a servant for God. The Shepherd was offering to sew His clothes, and comb His hair, and kiss His Hands, and massage His feet, etc.
Hearing all this, Moses tells the Sheepherder to stop such talk which is not befitting of God or a God worshipper (the 'Moses' of this story is an ecuminical one). Hearing Moses' point, the Shepherd sighs, and runs away all embarassed and ashamed.
A Voice came to Moses from God:
Why did you distance my creation from Me?
You are there to bring us closer not apart.
We don't look at appearances or words
We look at their 'inside' and their heart.
Hearing this, Moses seeks out the Shepherd and tells him:
Good News.
Don't worry about any style or form;
Just tell God whatever your heart desires.
From Rumi's "Moses and the Shepherd" (Moosa va Shaban); This poem, from the Seventh Century, long appeared in the fifth grade text book. Many of your parents' or grandparents' generation might still be able to recall some of its words by heart).
God of the Drunks
Regardless of your religious beliefs--or your drinking habits--you probably have not prayed to the God of the Drunks too many times. Yet, that is precisely what is happening in the song lyrics described below, where the man is pleading with God, God of the Drunks, to bring he and his beloved together.
God,
God of the Drunks,
God of the Wine Worshippers
In the name of all that is love
Bring us to one another
Bring us to one another
After mentioning how hard it is to be apart from one another, he goes on to say:
God,
Think of us
Think of those in love
We, who are drunk with love
Let us be.
Let us be.
Note that in Islam, drinking alcohol is prohibited. So the idea of the God of the Drunks sounds not only jarring but also quite blasphemous. But the man clarifies that they are not drunk with alcohol---they are drunk with love. Thus, God of the Drunks, would in essence, be the God of Those in Love.
(Persian poetry is filled with references to drunkedness and drinking. I must confess that I do not know its significance all that well. I believe the references have their roots in Sufism, which has influenced certain aspect of Persian poetry).
From: God of the Drunks (Khodaye Mastoon)
Asleep When Love Knocked
Sometimes, love comes when we are not ready for it.
Unannounced, it knocked and left
I was asleep when it flew away.
It came and saw my heart was still asleep.
Not bothering to sit on the roof,
It flew away.
That, which is the light of hope
They say it comes from God
In the blackness of my nights
It is like the dawn of morning.
Maybe, but for the man in the song, that dawn does not come.
From Aref's Light of Hope (Noor-e-Omid)
Thank You, God For Bring You to Me
Some or even many of you may be familiar with the song "Sultan-e-Ghalbha" (Ruler of the Hearts), which was from a movie of the same name. But you may not know that the movie featured several versions of the song--same music but very different lyrics.
My favorite version is a duet that, at its end, describes the sentiments of along-separated couple who is finally reunited.
I will die for God
Whose Kindness brings the hearts together.
His Compassion solves the problems.
Thank You, God!
What's past is passed.
Troubles are part of the games of Destiny
Thank You, God
for is now Heaven
Our house.
What's past is passed, Come
Come, Let's say Thank You, God.
That He brought together our hearts.
Thank You, God
If, for a day, this Sky
Is Unkind to me and you
Today, there is no trace of sighs
Thank you, God.
From Aref & Ahdiyeh's Duet at closing credits of Ruler of the Hearts (Soltan-e-Ghalbha)