* THE QIT'A * Anthology of the 'Fragment' in Arabic, Persian and Eastern Poetry. Translations, Introduction Paul Smith Contents... Introduction: Arabic Poetry, Persian Poetry. The Form & Function of the Qit'a. THE POETS (In Order of Appearance) Al-A'sha, Khansa, Omar Ibn Abi Rabi'a, Suhaym, Ali Ibn Husain, Raba'i of Basra, Majnun, Bashshar, Abu Nuwas, Abu Tammam, Abbas of Merv, Hanzalah, Firuz, Dhu'l-Nun, Bayazid Bistami, Al-Nuri, Junaid, Sumnun, Mansur al-Hallaj, Abu Salik, Abu Shakur, Shibli, Junaidi, Shahid, Rudaki, Agachi, Rabi'a Balkhi, Khusravani, Al-Mutanabbi, Manjik, Daqiqi, Mantiki,...

RUBA'IYAT OF JAHAN KHATUN Translation by Paul Smith & Rezvaneh Pashai Introduction & Notes by Paul Smith Jahan Khatun (1326-1416?) was the daughter of the king of one of Shiraz's most turbulent times... Masud Shah; pupil and lifelong friend of the world's greatest mystical, lyric poet, Hafiz of Shiraz; the object of crazed desire by (among others) Iran's greatest satirist, the obscene, outrageous, visionary poet Obeyd Zakani; lover, then wife of womanizer Amin al-Din, a minister of one of Persia's most loved, debauched and tragic rulers, Abu Ishak. She was cruelly imprisoned for twenty years...

**RUBA'IYAT OF ANSARI** Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith One of the greatest mystical poets and Perfect Masters of all time, Abdullah Ansari... who passed from this world 1089 in Herat was most famous for his biographical dictionary on saints and Sufi masters and his much loved collection of inspiring prayers, the Munajat among many works in Persian and Arabic. His ruba'is appear throughout his works. The correct rhyme-structure has been kept and the meaning of these beautiful, powerful, mystical poems. This is the largest translation of his ruba'is into English. Introduction...

DEGREESPOEMS OF MAJNUN DEGREES Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Majnun was a real person Qays (Majnun='madman) was a youth, a Bedouin poet in the seventh century of the Bani Amir tribe in the Najd desert in Arabia. He fell in love with Layla from the same tribe whom he was denied. (It is said that Shakespeare was inspired by their tale for Romeo & Juliet from their tragic love story). Most of his recorded poetry was composed before his descent into love-madness (mast) then through a Perfect Master... his spiritual unification with his beloved. Nizami's famous telling of their tale...

SATIRICAL PROSE OF OBEYD ZAKANI Translation and Introduction by Paul Smith Obeyd Zakani is an important a figure in Persian and Sufi literature and poetry. His satire, humorous stories, ribald and obscene poems, social commentary, mystical ghazals, prose, ruba'is and his famous epic qasida 'Mouse & Cat' are popular today and are more relevant than ever. He is considered to be one of the world's greatest satirist and social-commentator whose life and mystical poems had a great influence on his student and friend Hafiz and many others. Here are most of his hilarious and often obscene satirical...

KHIDR IN SUFI POETRY: A SELECTION Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Khidr (Khizer, Khadir) is often called: "The Green One" for he was said to have drunk from the Fountain of Immortality and gained Eternal life. He has been identified with Elias, St. George, Phineas, the Angel Gabriel, the companion of Mohammed on a journey which is told in the Koran, viii, 59-8 1, and throughout the literature of Mysticism has appeared to many great seekers who eventually became Perfect Masters. Here are poems by many great Sufi Master Poets who have composed poems in Persian, Turkish, Pashtu, Urdu...

LALLA DED: SELECTED POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Lalla Ded is the famous female poet/saint from Kashmir who lived at exactly the same time as Hafiz of Shiraz (1320-1392). Her vakhs (poems/sayings) are sung even today in Kashmir. She was married at a young age but the marriage was a failure and she walked out at the age of twenty-four. She became a disciple of Siddha Srikanth. It must have taken a lot of courage on her part to walk out of a marriage and to walk around unclothed as she did. She was treated with contempt by some and much reverence by others, seeing her as a...

HAFIZ The Ugly Little Boy who became a Great Poet Paul Smith HAFIZ is the true story of the ugliest boy of his age but with a remarkable memory whose father dies when he is eight and he has to live with his mother at his Uncle Sadi's house. Hafiz goes to work in a drapery shop where he becomes part of the people's overthrowing of a cruel ruler. He then becomes an apprentice baker, who delivers bread to the rich suburbs of Shiraz, Persia in 1320. One day he catches sight of Nabat, the beautiful daughter of one of the cities wealthy traders, promised to a handsome prince. Hafiz pours his love...

A BIRD IN HIS HAND POEMS FOR AVATAR MEHER BABA by Paul Smith On a ship leaving Bombay for Italy in 1965 the Author met a man who had just met the Indian born Perfect Spiritual Master of Iranian descent Meher Baba, (Merwan S. Irani). After a year investigating his life and teaching he accepted him as his Spiritual Master in 1966, and from his books heard of the Persian poet of ghazals, Hafiz of Shiraz, whom many believed (including Meher Baba) was the greatest poet that ever lived but had not been adequately translated into English. While working on translating the poetry of Hafiz, Kabir, Sadi...

BHAGAVAD GITA The Gospel of the Lord Shri Krishna Revised into Modern English by Paul Smith from the original Sanskrit by Shri Purohit Swami Introductions to Chapters by Charles Johnston The Bhagavad Gita is the single most famous poem in the ancient literature of India. It is equally celebrated as the highest spiritual philosophy and poetry. It constitutes the beginning and in a sense the end of any true knowledge of Indian mysticism. The translator refers to it as 'The Bible of India'. The Guardian said of this translation in 1935 when it was first published: "A beautiful rendering, and...