‘Araftul-hawā – Sami Yousuf (Lyrics)

‘Araftul-hawā – Sami Yousuf (Lyrics)

I only knew love when I knew love of Thee,
I sealed up my heart against Thy enemy.

I stood long in converse with Thee, who doth see
My heart’s inner secrets, but Thou I don’t see.

My love is twin loves, yet the twain are for Thee,
The first’s for Thy love, and the other’s for Thee.

And as for the first, which is love of Thy love:
Remembrance complete, not distracted from Thee.

‘Araftul-hawā mudh ‘araftu hawāk
Wa-’aghlaqtu qalbī ‘alā man ‘ādāk
I only knew love when I knew love of Thee,
I sealed up my heart against Thy enemy.

And as for the second: my true love of Thee,
I see Thou as present in all that I see.

All praise to Thy name, and no praises for me,
For Thine is the glory in all unity.

‘Araftul-hawā mudh ‘araftu hawāk
Wa-’aghlaqtu qalbī ‘alā man ‘ādāk
I only knew love when I knew love of Thee,
I sealed up my heart against Thy enemy.

’Uḥibbuka ḥubbayni, ḥubba l-hawā
Wa-ḥubban li-’annaka ’ahlu l-lidhāk
My love is twin loves, yet the twain are for Thee,
The first’s for Thy love, and the other’s for Thee.

Fa-’amma l-ladhī huwa ḥubbul-hawā
Fa-shughlī bi-dhikrika ‘an man siwāk
And as for the first, which is love of Thy love:
Remembrance complete, not distracted from Thee.

Wa-’amma l-ladhī ’anta ’ahlu l-lahu
Fa-lastu ’ara l-kawna ḥattā ’arāk
And as for the second: my true love of Thee,
I see Thou as present in all that I see.

Fa-la l-ḥamdu fī dhā wa-lā dhāka lī
Wa-lākin laka l-ḥamdu fī dhā wa-dhāk
All praise to Thy name, and no praises for me,
For Thine is the glory in all unity.

Maqām: Nahāwand
Commentary: This most famous poem of the 8th century female Sufi saint of Iraq, Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyyah, has been set to music many times, but this Andalusian melody fits the tone and rhythm of the poem beautifully. The inclusion of the tanbour and daf add a Persian influence to the piece. English lyrics and translation provided by Dr. Tim Winter.

Words: Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyyah
Music: Traditional Islamic (Andalusian)

Performed and arranged by Sami Yusuf
Recorded at Andante Studios

Sami Yusuf is a British singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and humanitarian, born in Tehran, Iran. Yusuf gained international attention with the release of his debut album, Al-Mu`allim, in 2003. Now with over 34 million albums sold, he performs at venues around the world. The BBC, CNN, ARTE, FRANCE 24, Reuters, Time, Rolling Stone, and Music Week are among the media outlets that have covered him and his work. His seventh studio album, Barakah, was released in 2016.

Sami Yusuf was born on 1980 in Tehran to Azerbaijani parents.. His grandparents are from Baku, Azerbaijan. His grandparents left Baku when it was recaptured by the Bolsheviks after the First World War. From an early age, Yusuf showed great interest in music. He was influenced by the wide range of musical genres available to him in his home town of Ealing in West London, immersing himself especially in Western classical music and Middle Eastern music. He learned piano and violin as well as traditional instruments including oud, setar, and tonbak. In 2003, although considering pursuing a career in law, he produced and released his first album. It quickly became an international success and launched Yusuf’s professional music career. Yusuf studied music as a composition student at the prestigious Royal Academy, as well as at Salford University in north-west England.