Thread by @aqilazme

This is from one of my favourite poems written by Hamzah Fansuri, a 16th century Sufi who wrote Malay poetry on mysticism, and is considered the first known poet of the Malay world.

He was said to be the first person who introduced the genre of ‘syair’ and influenced the entire Sufi poetry of the Malays.

Original text:
‘Ajab sekali akan gajahmina
Tempatnya dā’im di laut Cina
Mencari air ke Tūr Sīnā
Olehnya itu kerjanya hina

Laut Cina terlalu dalam
Itulah bangsa sekalian ‘ālam
Merupakan jan malak dan Ādam
Di laut itu kita nin karam

Karangnya banyak rantaunya panjang
Teluknya permai seperti kandang
Ke laut itu yogya berenang
Mangkanya dapat segera memandang

Tawfannya dā’im terlalu nyala
Datangnya sangat tiada berkala
Menyelam ke sana sepala-pala
Supaya dapat engkau berpahala

Translation:
The whale is most peculiar!
In the China Sea is its abode as ever
On Mount Sinai it searches for water
Hence, wretched is its endeavor

The China Sea extends most deeply
That is why the population of the universe in its entirety
Jinn, angels and Adam’s progeny
All of us will be submerged in that sea

Its reefs are numerous, its coasts lengthy
Its bays are like enclosures, full of beauty
Swimming in that sea one must be
Then you will be able to gain sight quickly

Its storm is most violent and perpetual
When it comes is unpredictable
You get submerged there in full
So that to obtain a heavenly reward, you will be capable.

(Translation mine)

The first stanza introduces to us the absurd behavior of a whale who lives in the ocean but does the impossible task of searching for water in the middle of the desert.

This is a reference to the Qur’anic story where the Prophet Moses a.s. encountered God at Mount Sinai and this is possibly an allusion by Fansuri to the worthlessness of searching for God in the phenomenal world.

The next stanzas describe the China Sea, which is near Southeast Asia—where Hamzah Fansuri lived—and is familiar to its inhabitants.

According to Prof. Syed Naquib al-Attās, The fathomless ocean in Sufi poetry, even in those by ibn ‘Arabī, ‘Irāqī, Jamī, etc, is often used to...

describe the Divine Essence due to its nature of being beyond human’s comprehension and this is also reflected in Fansuri’s poetry.

The imagery of drowning/submerging meanwhile is often employed to explain the Sufi concept of achieving mystical union.

Wallāhu a’lam.

The calligraphy and letter is by @uecriwc

https://twitter.com/soyoulikeart/status/1292796725325750273

References:
Syed Muhammad Naquib al-’Attās’ (may Allah preserve him!) The Mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri

G.W.J Drewes and L. Brakel’s The Poems of Hamzah Fansuri

V. Braginsky’s Towards the Biography of Hamzah Fansuri