Diwan-e-Saib

About this text

Introductory notes

Saib Tabrizi (c.1592-1676) was the son of Mirzā ʿAbd-al-Rahim, a successful merchant. His uncle, Shams-al-Din of Tabriz, had earned the title Shirin Qalam (‘Sweet Pen’) for his calligraphy. Saib’s family was evacuated from Tabriz by ʿAbbās I during Ottoman incursions and settled in Isfahan. Saib set off to the east in search of patronage in 1624-25. In Kabul, he made friends with the governor Mirzā Ahsan-Allāh Zafar Khan, also a poet who wrote under the penname Ahsan. Saib accompanied Zafar Khan when he was called to court to pledge his allegiance to Shāhjahān in 1628. Saib’s attempts to accompany his patron on his military campaigns in the Deccan were unsuccessful, however, as rigors of army life and the climate in Burhānpur did not suit him. When his father arrived in Agra to persuade him to return to Persia, Saib requested permission to depart, which was ultimately granted in 1632. Saib was a prolific poet, and during his 65-year literary career, he compiled one of the largest divāns in Persian literature, containing around 75,000 lines of poetry.

1.

ما چون گهر حصاری در روی سخت خویشیم
از خشکسالی غم نیست آب زلال مارا

2.

حاصلش از رزق غیر از گردش بیهوده نیست
آسیا هر چند مستغرق در آب و دانه است

3.

لقمه چون افتاد فربه روح را لاغر کند
چون هما از خوان قسمت استخوان مارا بس است

4.

برگ عیش آماده از فقر و قناعت شد مرا
دست خود از هرچه شستم پاک، قسمت شد مرا

5.

غم روزی و توکّل نشود باهم جمع
بستن توشه درین ره به کمر زنّار است

6.

می رسد رزق به اندازۀ حاجت صائب
بر زیادت طلبان آب و گیا نیمرس است

7.

نیست غیر از خوردن دل تنگ روزی را نصیب
آسیا بی دانه چون گردید خود را می خورد

8.

چون داغ لاله سوخته نانی است روزیم
آن هم فلک به خون جگر می دهد مرا

9.

تنگ می سازد بیابان را به رهرو کفش تنگ
تنگدستی از جهان بیزار می سازد مرا

10.

با تهیدستی توان مغلوب کردن نفس را
اسب سرکش را به دست پر عنان نتوان‌کشید

11.

بیشتر ارباب دنیا زر به منعم می دهند
آب این بیحاصلان یکسر به دریا می رود

12.

اشتها چون سوخت دارد لذت مرغ کباب
خوان ما را مرغ بریان گر نباشد گو مباش

13.

قناعت کن به نان خشک تا بی آرزو گردی
که خواهشهای الوان هست نعمتهای الوان را

This text is in its original language, and has an English translation:
Translation

This is a selection from the original text

Keywords

آب, دانه

Source text

Title: Diwan-e-Saib

Author: Saib Tabrezi

Editor(s): Jahangir Mansur

Publisher: Kitabkhana Milli

Publication date: 1995

Original compiled c.1620-1677

Place of publication: Tehran

Provenance/location: Original compiled c.1620-1677

Digital edition

Original author(s): Saib Tabrizi

Original editor(s): Md. Ehteshamuddin Institute of Persian Research, Aligarh Muslim University , Azarmi Dukht Safavi Institute of Persian Research, Aligarh Muslim University

Language: Persian

Selection used:

  • 1 ) pages 1083 to 1084
  • 2 ) pages

Responsibility:

Texts collected by: Ayesha Mukherjee, Amlan Das Gupta, Azarmi Dukht Safavi

Texts transcribed by: Muhammad Irshad Alam, Bonisha Bhattacharya, Arshdeep Singh Brar, Muhammad Ehteshamuddin, Kahkashan Khalil, Sarbajit Mitra

Texts encoded by: Bonisha Bhattacharya, Shreya Bose, Lucy Corley, Kinshuk Das, Bedbyas Datta, Arshdeep Singh Brar, Sarbajit Mitra, Josh Monk, Reesoom Pal

Encoding checking by: Hannah Petrie, Gary Stringer, Charlotte Tupman

Genre: India > poetry

For more information about the project, contact Dr Ayesha Mukherjee at the University of Exeter.

Acknowledgements