LIVES OF THE SUFI & DERVISH POETS Paul Smith SUFISM: LIVES OF ITS POETS Here are the lives of over 150 Sufi & Dervish poets from the 7th c. to the present. All the famous ones are included with more space, but there are many who will be a discovery for some. Directions to where to find translations of the poetry of each poet is given. Introduction: Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art & Use of Poetry & The Main Forms in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushtu & English Sufi & Dervish Poetry... THE POETS: Majnun, Rabi'a of Basra, Abu Nuwas, Dhu'l-Nun, Bayazid Bastami,...

DIVAN OF BIDEL Selected Poems Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Mirza Abdul-Qader Bidel (1644-1721) is one of the most respected poets from Afghanistan. In the early 17th century, his family moved from Balkh to India, to live under the Mughul dynasty. He was born and educated near Patna. In his later life he spent time travelling and visiting ancestral lands. His writings in Persian are extensive, being one of the creators of the 'Indian style'. Bidel's 16 books of poetry contain nearly 147,000 couplets. With Ghalib he is considered a master of the 'Indian Style' of the ghazal. He had...

SUFISM: LIVES OF ITS POETS Paul Smith Here are the lives of over 150 Sufi & Dervish poets from the 7th c. to the present. All the famous ones are included with more space, but there are many who will be a discovery for some. Directions to where to find translations of the poetry of each poet is given. Introduction: Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art & Use of Poetry & The Main Forms in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pushtu & English Sufi & Dervish Poetry... THE POETS: Majnun, Rabi'a of Basra, Abu Nuwas, Dhu'l-Nun, Bayazid Bastami, Al-Nuri, Junaid, Mansur Hallaj,...

SUFISM IN ARABIC POETRY An Anthology Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Introduction includes... Sufis: Their Art and Use of Poetry & The Main Forms in Arabic Sufi Poetry. Included with each selection of a particular poet is a brief biography plus a list of further reading. The correct rhyme-structure has been kept as well as the beauty and meaning of these beautiful, mystical poems. THE POETS... Hazrat Ali 27, Ali Ibn Husain 29, Majnun (Qays ibn al-Mulawwah ibn Muzahim) 31, Rabi'a of Basra 62, Abu Nuwas 82, Dhu'l-Nun 92, Bayazid Bistami 106, Al Nuri 110, Junaid 120, Sumnun 125, Mansur...

Jack Harrigan has learned a lesson in betrayal... now he'll teach them about vengeance.

1971, sure, there's a war on, but that's all a long way away for RAAF mechanic, Jack Harrigan. At 22, life is all aobut mates, booze and women. That's all about to chang.

Jack takes a swing at the wrong guy and finds himself in the firing line of an infamous Sydney underworld family. He is quickly shipped off to Vietnam, where he'll be enlisted for a secret mission working with CIA agent, Chuck Hudson.

If Jack has one talent, it's the ability to piss people off. Now he has the...

SEEMAB: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Seemab began ghazal writing in the 19th century and became a disciple of the poet Dagh Dehlvi. He did Urdu translation in rhyming poetry of the Quran. He also translated into Urdu the Masnavi of Rumi, a massive task. His ghazals are suffused with true Sufism. The Perfect Spiritual Master, Meher Baba (pen-name 'Huma'), while listening to a ghazal-singer singing a ghazal of Seemab was so impressed by a particular couplet that he stopped the singer and declared that because of it he had bestowed on Seemab the ultimate gift of...

HALI: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Hali (1837-1914) has a special place in Urdu Sufi literature. He was poet, critic, teacher, reformer and prose-writer. He had no formal education yet he acquired through his own efforts Urdu, Persian and Arabic and a good knowledge of English. As a poet he did not confine himself to the ghazal, but successfully composed in the form of the nazm, ruba'i and marsie or elegy. His poetic abilities were used to high aims of social and moral education. He wrote biographies of Ghalib and Sadi of Shiraz and others. His interests were...

HATEF: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith HATEF (d. 1784). Born in Isfahan in the first half of the eighteenth century Hatef is mainly remembered for his beautiful and remarkable, much celebrated tarji-band in Persian and his beautiful ruba'is and ghazals. ..". a great Sufi, who wrote in both Arabic and Persian. He was especially celebrated as a writer of ghazals and was the author of a famous poem of recurring lines (tarji-band). He writes as a lover of God and uses the imagery of wine of the Divine Love which brings rapture and ecstasy to those who receive it." Margaret...

THE 'MANTLE' POETS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Ka'b ibn Zuhair (died 7th century A.D.) was a famous poet who at first opposed Prophet Muhammad. Finally, he secretly went to Medina and approached the Prophet to ask if one who repented and embraced the faith would be forgiven. Mohammed answered yes and the poet asked, "Even Ka'b ibn Zuhair?" When he affirmed this, Ka'b revealed his identity and read a poem, his Banat Suad (of 55 couplets), which would become his most famous poem. As a reward Prophet Mohammed took off his mantle (cloak) and put it on Ka'b's shoulders. The second was...

JIGAR & SEEMAB Meher Baba's Favourite Urdu Poets Selected Poems Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Meher Baba, took Huma (Phoenix) as a pen-name when he composed ghazals in his twenties and later on. He knew the ghazals of Hafiz by heart. He went on to reveal himself as Qutub (Perfect Master) and later as the Rasool or Messiah (Avatar). Of the Urdu Poets, Jigar and Seemab in particular were his favourites and he had a connection with them. Jigar was admired and read by many. He had a large following among the ordinary people. His fame transcended religious and language barriers. He was a...