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Title: Description Of Paradise
Author: George Borrow [
More Titles by Borrow]
From the Turkish.
(Translated from the metrical History of the World.)
Eight Gennets {1} there be, as some relate,
Or one subdivided, as others state;
The first Dar al Galal, the next is Salem,
And Gennet Amawi stands next to them;
Then Kholud and Nayim and Gennet Ferdous--
And that last as most lovely is pictur'd to us;
A seventh there is, Dar al Karar the same,
And an eighth there is also, and Ad is its name.
God made Dar al Galal of white pearls fair,
Then of rubies Al Salem, so red in their glare;
He made Gennet Kholud so splendid to stand
Of bright yellow corals, so smooth to the hand;
Then blest Gennet Nayim of silver ore--
Behold ye its strength, and its Maker adore.
Gold bricks He employ'd when He built Ferdous,
And of living sapphires Al Karar rose.
He made the eighth Gennet of jewels all,
With arbours replete 'tis a diamond hall.
Broad and vast is paradise-peak--
The lowest foundation is not weak.
One over the other the stories are pil'd:
The loftiest story Ad is styl'd.
From above or below if you cast your eyes,
You can see the Gennets in order rise.
You ask, for whom are those mansions gay;
For the prophets of God, for his lov'd, I say.
Seven walls are plac'd, which to open are meant,
Far betwixt them is the extent;
Betwixt two walls the whole doth stand,
Walls uncrumbling, mighty and grand.
Within are bowers, cedar-woods dusk,
Houries and odours of amber and musk;
Eight are the gates for the eight estates,
Jewel-beset, gold-beaming gates;
Upon the first inscrib'd you see:
For those who repent this gate is free.
On the second: for those who up-offer pray'r;
On the third: for the sons of charity fair.
On the fourth this solemn inscription stands:
For those who fulfil the Lord's commands.
In painted letters the fifth doth say:
For those who for pilgrimage gold up-lay.
The sixth fair portal thus proclaims:
For ye who inhibit from sin your frames;
The seventh: for God's own warrior train,
Who bleed for his cause, nor flinch from pain.
'Tis written in white the eighth above:
For those who instruct for Allah's love {2}.
For ye who serve God with heart and eye,
Control your passions when swelling high,
Your parents cherish and all your race,
For ye are the halls of joy and grace;
For the prophets of God are they decreed,
Who His law in the sacred volumes read.
Footnote: {1} Gennet is a word of Arabic origin, and signifies paradise.
Footnote: {2} No true Mussulman will receive any remuneration for communicating instruction.
[The end]
George Borrow's poem: Description Of Paradise
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