Dari, The language of Rumi

In 13^th century a Muslim Afghan Poet who spoke Dari as his first language wrote and spoke words that speak to the hearts of not only the Dari or Persian speaking people but to the hearts of millions around the world.  If you are a learner of Dari language, you are learning and speaking the language of Rumi, one of world’s best poets.  Mawlana Jalaludin Balkhi who is known to the western world as Rumi is a 13^th century Afghan Muslim poet. He was born in present day Balkh province of Afghanistan.  Rumi spoke Dari as his native language. Rumi is famous for his great mystical poetry; his major poetry works are called Masnawe Ma’nawe, and Dewan e Kabeer which are originally written in Dari/Persian and have been translated to many languages of the world. The invitation to loving and being in peace are expressed in the best possible way in his poetry. The poetry of Mawlana does not recognize any borders and is universal, it has something to offer to people from anywhere in the world.  In 2007 Mawlana was named as the most popular poet in America .Professor Majid Naini one of the famous scholars of Rumi very beautifully describes Rumi’s words and vision, “Rumi’s visions, words, and life teach us how to reach inner peace and happiness so we can finally stop the continual stream of hostility and hatred and achieve true global peace and harmony.”  Now that you know who Rumi is, it is time to learn a poem of Rumi in his language, Dari. The following are some verses from a love poem of Rumi. In order for you to be able to read it and understand the meaning, we have provided the Dari text, the transliteration, and translation. Also watch the video for the correct pronunciation of the poem.

From love, thorns become flowers,

 (az muhabat khaar-ha gul meshawad)  از محبت خارها گل میشود

From love, vinegar becomes wine,

(az muhabat surka-ha mul meshawad        از محبت سرکه ها مل میشود

From love, bitter becomes sweet,

(az muhabat talkh-ha sheren shawad)  ازمحبت تلخ ها شیرین شود

From love, fire becomes light

(az muhabat naar nure meshawad)       از محبت نار نوری میشود

From love, devil becomes angel

(za muhabat dew hore meshawad) از محبت دیو حوری میشود

From love, fury becomes mercy

(az muhabat qaher rahmat meshawad)      از محبت قهر رحمت میشود

From love, dead becomes alive

 (az muhabat murda zenda meshawad)    از محبت مرده زنده میشود

From love, king becomes servant

(az muhabat shaah banda meshawad)     از محبت شاه بنده میشود