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LET ME DRINK MORE AND MORE, O SAQI...
This night, O. let this night go on as long as it can,
And may you O my Saqi*, let us, yours only, carry on,
O I my Beloved Saqi, I can sacrifice everything for this,
Just don't let my goblet of your wine of Love* ever be empty:
Fill two more goblets just for me and Thee only:
One in your blessed name and one for the Almighty...
Let the aches disappear, all of them, all of them, completely...
...Of this broken heart, with your Divine Drink of the holy...
Even if it be just a few drops, come, fill my cup O Saqi,
And convert the last dreg into a sea of God's Love Saqi....
O Saqi, blessed be thou, and blessed be thy unique tavern*
Make me drink His Cup of Holy Love till I am no more thirsty.
I haven't had my thirst quenched by any other drink, so don't stop:
Lett me have more and more and more of this O Saqi...
Let me have more and more and more of this O Saqi,
Let me have more and more and more of this O Saqi....
Come, let me drink more and more of this holy drink,
Come, let thy tavern be open for just me O blessed one,
Let my goblet never run dry, O my blessed Saqi...
Let me quench my thirst with the divine drinks O Saqi....
The drinks which are found only here, O my Saqi....
Come, don't pull back your hands O my pain-healer,
Keep filling my goblet till my thirst is quenched forever...
Let me have more and more and more O Saqi.
Don’t shy away from me for I am not haughty,
Just be kind and let me drink to my heart's content,
Let me not stop, for doing so, will make your tavern lonely...
Let me have more and more of His divine drink, O Saqi,
Let me have more and more, more and more…O Saqi.
O, don't steal thy gaze away, do look at me O Saqi,
Keep in mind my need and don't be devoid of mercy,
Let me have it all, tonight, don’t put this off till tomorrow,
For who knows tomorrow may ever see me alive, O Saqi.
Let me have more and more of His divine drink of healing mercy,
I plead to your goodness, let me drink as much as I can, completely.
Let me have more and more and more of these drinks, O Saqi,
Let me have more and more,
More and More…more and more, O Saqi!
Look, how much I have been tormented, O filler of my goblet,
So let the drinks keep flowing into the divine goblet....
So that my being gets drowned in my Host's generosity,
Ah, look I not as one, belonging to Him Only?
Let me have more and more of His drinks, O Saqi,
Can't you be what you are, tell me, His angel of mercy?
Can't you observe that I am no longer this world's Saqi,
Can't you see, O yes you can, so let me drink and fully,
More and More from the cup of divine love O Saqi!
Let me just be me tonight and let me fulfil destiny,
By keeping the goblet of divine drink filled, O Saqi,
Let me have more of His healing drinks, O Saqi,
And this night, which might become eternity,
For me and my broken heart, O Saqi,
Let me have more and more, please, O Saqi...
Wait? You asked me what my favourite drink is, O Saqi:
Well, it is not the one drunk by Al Hallaj*, no, no, O Saqi,
No, neither is it the one which Moses* drank in Sinai, O Saqi,
No, it is not even the one drunk by Tabrez* when he was skinned alive,
Nor is it the one drunk by the Christ* on the Cross, O Saqi...
Nor any of his, which he drank, by giving life to the deadly,
Nay, nor is it the one drunk by Job* by virtue of his patience,
No, it was not even drunk by Sarmast* when he was beheaded, in vengeance,
No O Saqi, none of these drinks can vanquish my aches and thirst, please be quiet,
O, now you look perplexed and bewildered, wondering what my favourite could be;
Come nigh and let me whisper in your ear what my favourite is, O Saqi:
Well, O my mystified one, let me share a secret and solve for you a mystery.
My favourite drink is the one given to the grandson of Prophet Muhammad*,
Yes, when he and his 72 faithfuls were martyred by the thousands near Baghdad.
Yes, O my Saqi, now tell me, for I am verily still very much thirsty,
O Saqi, do you have my favourite drink, filled with the love of God?
Can you quench my thirst by giving me a cup of the Good Lord?
The Cup which Hussain was given to drink, in Karbala,
When they were refused even water by the forces opposing Allah?
For three whole days and for three whole summer nights,
Noble Hussain* was deprived of food and drink, with his family.
The grandson of the Prophet* and the son of the bravest Ali*,
The pride of his mother Fatimah* and the symbol of the very holy,
Yes, my Imam Hussain was confronting the armies of evil,
And despite the hunger, the thirst, he did not bend his will,
And he and all those who were with him in Karbala those days,
Were given to drink the best drink by God's angels of grace,
Yes, that drink sent down by Allah, the One, true, God,
Did my Imam drink and with his supporters and family,
Embraced martyrdom rather than bow to the evil and mighty.
That drink which my Imam drank, is my favourite drink, now you know it,
Tell me, do you have it with you, kept hidden, for yourself only?
For that drink only do I define as my favourite drink of Godly love,
The one, which Hussain and his faithful were served from Him Above.
What, O my Saqi, why, tell me, why don't you have my favourite drink?
I would have sipped it neatly and wholly to the very brink.
Cursing the forces of Shimr* and his army of 10,000 rebels,
Before whom my Imam didn’t bend despite the days they spent,
WIthout food and water, in the burning sands of Karbala,
And got blessed by the fountain of Kausar*, offered by Allah.
Tell me O Saqi, don't you have that divine drink,
My favourite it is and if I have it will I never sink,
Into other drinks, which you have, and… some of them holy,
You made me drink from them all, yet I am still thirsty....
So let thy tavern remain open tonight just for my sake,
Who knows, Allah may make me sip from Kausar's grapes?
Till then, you go on without relenting, O my blessed Saqi,
Let me drink more and more of what is sent by God to thee.
You do seem appalled at my state, aren't you, O Saqi,
Well, let me drink on and on till I meet my Almighty.
And listen, O filler of my goblets, do listen,
That Firdous* is only for the likes of Hussain.
It is not for those who do not deserve of it even a bit,
And rejoice in the worldly lights which their revelry has lit.
They are so blind in following the Devil, Satan,
That they think this is a myth, this God's tavern.
Fie on them all! Let them be, for now I care naught for a thing,
And let me drink deep even if it be a cup, from the Holy Spring*;
Till I embrace my Everything and by doing so, become nothing.
Till then, O Saqi, let me have more and more of what you have in store.
For, as I told you earlier, didn't I, O my divine Saqi,
That I am heart-broken and now seek nothing but Him only?
And before this night betrays us and dawn comes, O my Saqi,
Let us pray that the ungodly too may come here and drink fully.
For, only when they drink from the Cup of my Allah's Love,
Will they never condemn this blessed tavern of thine, O Saqi.
The men and women I have come across in my un-drunk state,
Love more of the life of this world and innately hate,
They hate those who worship no god other than theOne, Allah,
Yes, O Saqi, they hate us and even mock God's holy tavern,
Where only those come who in worldly love have their hearts smitten.
