Seeking the subtle presence that consumes, Odes were always meant to be an imperative pursuit. This project seeks to revive that once oft-treaded path, in a way that is profoundly beautiful, and deeply personal.

PROJECT: ODES OF THE SOUL

 

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Arabic word for Ode is “قصيدة” (qaṣīdah) which comes also in the meaning of intention, pursuit, aim, and meaning, perhaps symbolizing the necessary relationship between each of the derivations when recited or read. This project seeks to elucidate the elevated purpose of the human soul through traversing traditional odes of seriousness and power. Arabic speaker or not, any human being can often feel the intensities and chills from listening to each track, which the English rendition seeks to preserve and retell. Through the revival of these odes, the deepest you is also revived, along with each of our infinite treasures.

April 1st, 2021

2022 HOPWOOD AWARD WINNER & THE 2022 MEADER FAMILY AWARD WINNER

Ode: The Fragrance of Arrival

BILINGUAL. Translation, diacritical marks, and annotations with commentary, and reflections (coming soon) by tariq elsaid. Special thanks to Nancy Roberts, Karim Attia and Fanta Conde for their edits and keen insights. Skip to minute: 5:03, Performed here:

 

The fragrant breeze of arrival,

Brushes against a sigh of remorse,

So He inebriated them,

With a thunderless wine,

And their bodies aspired to depart,

Out of hearts imbued with yearning,

And when The Giver wills, He manifests,

Arousing them from a swathing darkness,

Summoning them with a chilling whisper,

My servants, sleep not.

For he who arrives, voyages the night,

Summoning them,

 With a spilling whisper,

My servants, 

Sleep not.

For he who arrives, traverses the night in stillness,

He who arrives, observes the night with a riveting vigilance, 

On legs, assenting,

the aching stands to sweetness,

Neither is paradise their goal,

Nor its noble maidens,

But The Face of Thy Compassion,

Manifested.

نَسِيْمُ الوَصْلِ

هَبَّ عَلَى النَّدَامَى

فَأَسْكَرَهُمْ

وَمَاشَرِبُوْا مُدَامَى

وَمَالَتْ مِنْهُمُ الأَعْطَافُ مَيْلاً

لِأَنَّ قُلُوْبَهُمْ مُلِئَتْ غَرَاماً

وَلَمَّا يَنُوالسَّاقِي تَجَلَّى

وَأَيْقَظَ فِي الدُّجَى مَنْ كَانَ نَامَا

وَنَادَاهُم

عِبَادِي لَاتَنَامُوْا

يَنَالُ الوَصْلَ مَنْ هَجَرَ المَنَامَ

وَنَادَاهُم

عِبَادِي

لَا

تَنَامُوْا

يَنَالُ الوَصْلَ مَنْ هَجَرَ المَنَامَ

يَنَالُ الوَصْلَ مَنْ سَهِرَ اللَيَالِي

عَلَى الأَقْدَامِ

واسْتَحْلَــى القِيَامَةَ

فَمَا مَقْصُوْدُهُم جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ

وَلَا الحُوْرُ الحِسَانُ وَلَا الخِيَامَ

سِوَى نَظْرَ الجَمِيْلِ

تَعَطَّفْ عَلَيْنَا يَا جَمِيلْ

COMMENTARY

coming soon.

REFLECTIONS

coming soon.

April 1st, 2024

Ode: Ya Mawjud

BILINGUAL. Translation, diacritical marks, and annotations with commentary, and reflections (coming soon) by tariq elsaid. Performed here:

 

O, Eternally Present,

Necessary is Your Existence,

to everything that breathes,

to everything that is;

God, God.

O, O! Oft-Worshiped,

Incomparably One, Beloved and Beloving,

—Ever-Living.

He Who has no end,

possessing the presence,

of [a] thundering reverence,

eternally bestowing,

gifts, divine.

God, God!

Within whose grasp,

lie the reigns of might,

breathing secrets,

in each moment.

August be His splendor,

whose command runs swift to the sinner;

Sinner,

To Us,

Return.

يَا

مَوْجُود

وَاجِبُ

الوُجُوْد

الله الله

يَا يَا مَعْبُود

وَاحِدٌ وَدُوْد

حَيٌّ

لَا يَمُوْت

ذُوْ

الجَلَال

دَائِمُ

النَّوَال

الله الله

ذُوْ

الجَلَال

دَائِمُ

النَّوَال

سُبْحَانَ

,مَن قَالَ لِلْعَاصِي

عَاصِي

إِلَيْنَا

عُود

COMMENTARY

coming soon.

REFLECTIONS

coming soon.

April 1st, 2024

Ode: God-speed!

BILINGUAL. Translation, diacritical marks, and annotations with commentary, and reflections (coming soon) by tariq elsaid. Performed here:

 

God-speed! God-speed!

[For the] wellsprings of secrets have passed you by,

now gleaned and subsumed while you lay in slumber.

Were you to glimpse those subtle masters,

then behold a fluent serenity; like doves abliss.

So if you longed for a path other than remorse,

then stand and withstand for the beloved of hearts,

and dwell in the persistence of vigilance.

And cling to these celestial gates!

Oh bearer of affliction,

he whose concern is

Our proximity.

For verily is the felicitous,

he who remains firmly grasping,

The Rope of Divine Providence.

And whosoever commands himself,

to the devotion of persistence,

arrives to the vicinity of nearness.

Triumphant is his recompense,

and bountiful is his prize.

So sleep not,

during the late hours when adornments manifest,

for he who lay in slumber,

can not attain the secrets of the night.

!بَادِرْ! بَادِرْ

لَقَدْ فَاتَتْكَ الغَنَائِم

تَقَاسَمُوْهَا وَأَنْتَ نَائِم

وَلَوْ رَأَيْتَ اَلَّذِينَ فَازُوا

نِحْتَ كَمَا نَاحَتْ الحَمَائِم

إِنْ رُمْتَ أَنْ لَا تَكُوْنَ نَادِم

قُمْ لِحْبِيْبِ القُلُوْبِ

لَازِم

وَلَازِم

اَلْبَابَ

يَا

مُعْنَّى

إِنَّ السَّعِيْدَ

اَلَّذِي

يُلَازِم

مَنْ لَازَمَ اَلْبَابَ

نَالَ

قُرْبًا

وَفَازَ بِالْأَجْرِ

والْغَنَائِم

وَلَا تَنَمْ

سَاعَةَ التَّجَلِّي

فَلَيْسَ يَحْظَى

بِالْأَجْرِ نائِمٌ

COMMENTARY

coming soon.

REFLECTIONS

coming soon.