Ruba'iyat of Dara Shikoh

~*RUBA’IYAT OF DARA SHIKOH*~Translation & Introduction by Paul SmithDara Shikoh (1615-1659) was the oldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan of Mughal India and was known to be a loving husband, a good son and loving father. He was a fine poet, his poems having the influence of Sufism to which he was dedicated. He used ‘Qadiri’ as his takhallus or pen-name. His Divan of ghazals, ruba’is and qasidas in Persian was not the only work he left us, his five prose works on Sufism and mysticism are popular in India even today. His Majma al-Bahrain or The Mingling of the Two Oceans is an explanation of the mystical sameness of Sufism and Vedanta. He also translated the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Yoga-Vasishta into Persian. He was defeated after leading an uprising against his cruel, fundamentalist brother Emperor Aurangzeb and was brutally killed in 1659. The correct rhyme-structure has been kept and the meaning of these beautiful, powerful, always mystical poems. This is the largest translation of his poems into English. 148 pagesCOMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH’S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ’S ‘DIVAN’.“It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all.” Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran.“Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith.” Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many mystical works in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz’s Divan off by heart.“I was very impressed with the beauty of these books.” Dr. R.K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University.“Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz.” Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 80 books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages… including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, ‘Attar, Sana’i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre and many others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children’s books and screenplays.