Part of the Matheson Trust Sacred Audio Collection

The turuq or Sufi brotherhoods concentrate in their gatherings the most profound expression of Muslim piety, but far from being the exclusive treasury of an elite, they are woven into the texture of daily life in every Islamic community. They range from diversely accompanied multitudinous chants in big mosques to lonely voices in mud huts in the desert, and they make use not only of Arabic, but also of languages like Persian, Urdu, Turkish and others.

Fakhr al-Din al-Iraqi: “Love Has Filled Our Depths”

Sung in Persian by Farzin Negahban. Recording by The Matheson Trust.

A translation from the Persian:

Love has filled our depths with a passion
and has plunged our souls in turmoil.
It retold the story of the good ones,
and set fire upon the hearts of the young and old.
It unveiled a secret from the mystery of wine;
and revealed the secrets of those who are intoxicated.
It placed the heart of (the lover) Majnun in the palms of (the beloved) Layla,
and left on the lips of Azra the soul of Wamaq.
It tossed to the winds our names and reputation,
and called us fools and miserable ones.
It breathed colours and perfumes on the flowers,
to feed the song of the nightingale.
Finding Iraqi unbaked upon this path,
it breathed into his heart the fire of passion.