Who is Al Hallaj?
Persian Sufi philosopher and poet, Mansour Al Hallaj (858-922) is one of the early Sufis who was persecuted for proclaiming, “Anal Haq” – “I am God. I am the Ultimate Truth”. Many people saw his saying as a claim to divinity, while others interpreted it as an instance of mystical annihilation of the ego which allows God to speak through the individual. Any way, This saying provided cause for the accusation that he had claimed to be divine. Such a statement was highly inappropriate in the view of most Muslims.
Al Hallaj realized in early age that love, peace and freedom are Fundamental Values that can’t be limited by country, time, ethnic or beliefs. He undertook extensive travels, stayed in Gujarat, Punjab. When he returned to Persia, he wanted to share this experience with others. However, People thought he was crazy because the way he dressed up, and because the claim that he ever uttered the words “ana’l-haqq“ (I am the Truth), But he wouldn’t stop. He sang and danced madly on the street.
Al-Hallaj gained a wide following as a preacher before he became implicated in power struggles of the Abbasid court, His thought and activity had been provocative and had been interpreted in various ways, some of which left him highly suspect in the eyes of civil and religious authorities, and he did nothing to improve his image in the eyes of the political leaders.
Al-Ḥallāj was eventually crucified and brutally tortured to death after a long period of confinement on religious and political charges. A large crowd witnessed his execution Outside the Gates of Baghdad in 922. Hallaj’s writings also were burned to ashes, his only surviving work, Tawasin. Although most of his Sufi contemporaries disapproved of his actions, Hallaj later became a major figure in the Sufi tradition.
Some of Mansour Al Hallaj’s quotes :
“I have seen my Lord with the eye of my heart, and I said: ‘Who are You?’ He said: ‘You.'”
“Between me and You, there is only me. Take away the me, so only You remain.”
“I am He whom I love,
and He whom I love is I:
We are two spirits
dwelling in one body.
If thou seest me,
thou seest Him,
And if thou seest Him,
thou seest us both.”
“Love is in the pleasure of possession, but in the Love of Allah there is no pleasure of possession, because the stations of the Reality are wonderment, the cancelling of the debt which is owed, and the blinding of vision. The Love of the human being for God is a reverence which penetrates the very depths of his being, and which is not permitted to be given except to Allah alone. The Love of Allah for the human being is that He Himself gives proof of Himself, not revealing Himself to anything that is not He.”
Sufism preaches peace, tolerance and pluralism, while encouraging music as a way of deepening one’s relationship with the Creator. Here’s a sufi music playlist inspired by Al Hallaj’s poems, is sung by Arabic artists.
1- If You Abandoned me/ إذا هجرت
Singer: ahida Wehbe
Lyrics:
If you abandoned me, then who will be there for me?
And who will make me all beautiful?
And who will be there for my soul and my comfort?
You are the most of me and the least of me
You are all of my entirety
So be mine
If you won’t be mine, then who will be there for me?
You are all of my entirety
And all my people at times of isolation and humiliation
I have nothing but my soul
Take it, the soul is all the poor possesses
You are all of my entirety
So be mine
If you won’t be mine, then who will be there for me?
2- Breeze of the wind/ يا نسيم الريح
Singer: Marcel Khalife
Lyrics:
oh, breeze of the wind, tell the rasha (type of a plant)
the water has only made me more thirsty
i have a lover, his love has filled my heart
if he wants to walk over my cheek, he could walk
his soul is my soul, and my soul is his soul
if he wishes i obey, and if i wish he obeys
3- I was amazed by you and me/ عجبت منك ومنّي
Singer: Rim Banna
Lyrics:
I was amazed by you and me, O you, the desire of every wisher
You pulled me so close that I thought we had became one
I got lost in elation until you consumed me
You, my bless in life and peace beyond the grave
You are my sole consoler easing my fears and insecurities
All of my art lies within your horizons
If I were to have any wishes, you are all I wish for
4- I swear to God, the sun has never risen or set / والله ما طلعت شمس ولا غربت
Singer: Hind Hamed
Lyrics:
I swear to God, the sun has never risen or set without Your love being entwined with my breath;
Neither have I confided in anyone except to talk about You.
Never have I mentioned Your name in gladness or in sorrow,
Unless You were in my heart, wedged in my obsessive thoughts.
Nor have I touched water to quench my thirst without seeing a glimpse of You in the glass.
Were it possible for me to reach You I would come to you at once, crawling on my face or walking on my head.
I say to our minstrel that if he is to sing, let him sing about my grief at the harshness of his heart.
What cause have the people to foolishly blame me? They have their own faith and I have mine.
5- Sevdah (to Jon Hassell)
singer: Dhafer youssef
Lyrics:
What cause have foolish people to blame me? They have their own faith and I have mine.
6- Kill me / أقتلوني
Singer: Dhafer Youssef
Lyrics:
Kill me and burn me
Among my perishing bones
then pass my remains
Among the ruined graves
You will find my love’s secret
7- The Entity Of My Entity / يا كلَ كليَّ
Singer: Issa Boulos
8- Mali Joufit / مالي جفيت
Singer: Bachar Zarkan
9- I have refused the worship due to God / ُكفرت
ٍSinger: Dhafer Youssef
10- I was amazed by you and me/ عجبت منك ومنّي
Singer: Naziha Meftah
11- La prière de l’absent
ٍSinger: Dhafer Youssef
12- Aya/ I swear to God, the sun has never risen or set/ والله ما طلعت شمس ولا غربت
ٍSinger: Dhafer Youssef
13- I was amazed by you and me/ عجبت منك ومنّي
Singer: Mike Massy & Fadia
14- Breeze of the wind/ يا نسيم الريح
Singer: Hiba Kawas
15- I was amazed by you and me/ عجبت منك ومنّي
Singer: Iyad Rimawi & Ruba Halabi
16- Breeze of the wind/ يا نسيم الريح
Singer: Abed Azrié
17- I was amazed by you and me/ عجبت منك ومنّي
Singer: Ahmad Hawili