Shaykh Mahmud Barzanji's diwan

1.  

Long before the birth of Mahmud Barzanji, the Kurdish poet Ahmadi Xani dreamed of a star rising upon the firmament: a leader around whom all Kurds could rally, and a patron who would nurture and champion the flourishing of Kurdish literature, learning, and the arts. Mahmud Barzanji sought to realize Xani's vision, but the British had very different aims. They intended to confine his authority to a strictly local role, preventing him from pursuing either an independent Kurdish state or a broader sphere of influence. Given the overwhelming military power of the British, many Kurds, including some of Mahmud Barzanji's closest associates, believed he should accept these terms and cooperate with the British. His most famous poem was written in response to those urging him to compromise.

Many of shaykh Mahmud's expressions draw on the rich vocabulary of classical Sufi literature, where they ordinarily carry religious connotations. Yet he frequently recasts these familiar motifs in a political register. Expressions such as besme ʿumrî gumrāhehî, for example, are transformed into declarations about the Kurdish national struggle. 

        The heart, imprisoned within the cage of the chest, cries out again in lament,

while the giver of radiant light—unknown yet present—awakens a longing for strife and tumult.

It demands vengeance, in truth, for a nation trampled in ruin,

day and night my thoughts in this world raise banners of resolve.

The sword of my lion-hearted spirit longs for the hunt of a royal prey,

and the enemy is drawn into its course by the thoughts of the pen.

For the chase of a fierce lion, the aged fox has taken its place in rank,

the pure homeland, left alone and orphaned, has fallen into dispute and confusion.

Alas for the field of courage—where is the warrior? What sorrow indeed!

The banner-bearer of the day of struggle calls out for clarity and dawn.

Hand in hand, O brave and noble youth, unite,

how long shall the enemy dwell among us like a wolf among tribes?

Come, be each other's strength, and together turn them to dust,

cling fast to the hem of God and weep in devotion and plea.

Until our foe rises no more in the gardens of Iram.

I do not desire a life of bondage—only the life of wandering ruin,

I will not place upon my head, by claimers' hands, a crown of shame.

By the command of enemies I do not seek dominion,

nor do I desire the throne of kings, nor fortune, nor imperial glory.

I thirst for the blood of the foe—for the vindication of rights it calls,

so that when I reach freedom I blind the eye of the rival (raqib).

So that the noble Kurd is freed from the tyranny of foreigners,

I seek success and divine aid from the Lord who answers prayers.

It is the verse: “Help from God,” unto “a near victory,”

the dawn of my thoughts calls me towards nothing but Him.

 

Dil le bendî sîneda dûbare waweyla eka
Nûrbexşî naserewê meylî şer û gewğa eka
Întiqamî qewmî lêqewmaw be heq dawa eka
Roj û şêw fikrim le dunyada ʿelem berpa eka
Tîğî şêrim arizûy seydî şikarî şa eka
Seyrî dujmin ken be fikrî xamewe bôte teref
Bo şîkari şêri şêrze pîrî rêwi hate sef
Nistimani pakî bêkes dîwe boye kewte gef
Wam le meydanî şecaʿetda mubariz kwa esef
Sefderî rojî weğayî tabîne dawa eka
Dest be destî yekter beden ey lawekanî merd û qoz
Takû key dujmin lenawmana ebête gurgî hoz
Bên bibine pështiwanî yekter û bikeyne toz
Dest be dawenî Xudawa bigrin û bigrin be soz
Takû dujminman le Jannātu'l-Iram berpa eka
Namewê jînî esaret, besme ʿumrî gumrahehî
Naykemeser xom bedestî muddeʿî tacî şehî
Qed be emrî dujminanim namewê fermandehî
Namewê textî Key û bextî Cem û şahenşehî
Tişneyî xweni ʿedûm û bo huqûqî wa eka
Ta be azadi egem, kuêri ekam çawî raqîb
Ta le zulmî ecnebî rizgar ebê Kurdî necîb
Aṭlub al-najāḥ wa'l-tawfīq min Rabb al-Mujīb
Ayetî  "Naṣrun mina'llāh"-ye heta "Fatḥun qarīb"

Dengi tegbîrî sebeynanim be "illā Allāh" eka 

2. 

The dust and ashes of the world's afflictions have brought me to ruin;

they have settled upon both my eyes, dimming my sight and my dignity.

The claw of Death has seized me by the collar, as though saying:

“Rise—offer your prayer, for you now face the Day of Resurrection.”

Ghubar û tozî mihnetî dunya helaketim

Kewtûwete ser dû dîde û şe'nî nedametim

Penceyî ecel be yexemewe bend bûwe ele

Heste, duʿa bixiwaze bile rû le qiyametim

 

3. 

Where is the Kurdish Kawa, O chosen one?

Fereydun stands ready, clad in armor.

Kawey Kurd kuanê, ey berguzîde,  

Fereydûn hazir, silah pûshide.

 

4. 

The reference to Kohkan invokes the legendary figure of Farhad from the classical romance of Khosrow and Shirin. In the story, Farhad is tasked with an impossible task: he must carve a passage through a mountain in order to be granted Shirin. Through sheer perseverance and unwavering devotion, he begins to cut through solid rock with his pickaxe, and because of this feat he becomes known as Kohkan (the mountain-digger). Historically, Farhad was identified as a Kurd by a number of premodern authors. Several factors contributed to this association, one of which is the location of Farhad Tarash, which helped anchor the story within a Kurdish geographical and cultural landscape. 

Shaykh Mahmud’s reference to the “House of the Prophet” refers to his own family, grounded in the widely held claim that the Barzanjis descends from Husayn.

I am the Farhad of the Kurdish nation, and for the Kurds I raise my lament,

I shatter the foe beneath Kawa's hammer, like glass to glittering shards. 

For every towering pillar that stands against the Kurds' longed-for hopes,

like Kohkan of old, I set my hand to work with steadfast resolve.

Either I shall guide the Kurdish ship to the shore of deliverance,

or I shall make my own soul—and the House of the Prophet—a bridge across the flood.

I set Mahmud's thought at the feet of Kurdish Ayaz,

or I pursue the union of nationhood and the fulfillment of Kurdish desire.

I am Kurdish, I speak in Kurdish—and I declare it done:

humiliation is no more; the joy of the Kurds has returned.

Farhadi qewmî Kurdim û feriadi Kurd ekem

Dujmin be kutkî Kawa wekû shûsha werd ekem

Bo bistûni maniʿî amalî Kurdakan

Wek Kohkan be azmî metîn dest û berd ekem

Ya keshitî Kurd ekem bo sahilî nejat

Ya rûhî xom û alî Peyember be perd ekem

Mahmûdî fikretim exem bo dûy Eyazî Kurd

Ya kesbî weslî millet û neylî Kurd ekem

Mn Kurdim û be Kurdî ellem û birayewe

Zilllet nema, saʿadetî Kurdan gerayewe

 

5. 

Many of Shaykh Mahmud’s poems were, so to speak, composed in the moment. He often wrote verse directly within letters to friends, or responded to conversations spontaneously in poetic form. This poem reflects his characteristic sense of humour. It is addressed to Shakur Majrum, who was responsible for managing posts and telegrams in the government. On this occasion, Shakur had been absent from his duties for some time because of a woman. There are many such instances in which men abandon both their comrades and their sense of patriotic duty the moment they become infatuated with a woman.

A hundred salutations to you, O madman of the crags.

You broke your pledge and became like a mangy fox.

You forsook your homeland for an old woman;

Alas for you—that your life should end in such disgrace.

Sad selamet lê bê, şêtî peterrî

Qewlêkît girtûye wak rîvî gerî

Wetenet tark kir bo pîrêjinek

Zor heyf bo to ka axir şerrî

6. 

The shaykh’s statement that his missed prayers would be in Kurdish, should Arabs hinder Kurdish aspirations, is not immediately straightforward. His reference to qada prayers means that he would deem his prayers said in Arabic invalid, requiring them to be redone in Kurdish.

When the heart goes hunting, starved for love,
I am the falcon, ranging the homeland without deceit.

With the courage of Ḥaydar I defend the rights of the Kurdish nation,
or else I would lay down my soul and the House of the Prophet in devotion.

If Arabs should stand in the way of the Kurdish nation’s right,
then without doubt I shall perform my missed prayers in Kurdish speech.

If fortune grants me strength, I will make the pilgrimage and circle the Sacred House;
and between Ṣafā and Marwah I shall cleanse this hardened heart of mine.

Naqshbandi, Suhrawardi, Chishti, and Qadiri—
I know their commands as binding obligations, and I fulfil them as one.

Should I become Mullah ‘Azīzī, or a mufti, or Baba ‘Alī in ascetic awe,
still for that heart-stealing gazelle I would cry out in restless longing.

The difference between Qadiri and Naqshbandi is no more than this:
the Sufi turns inward upon the discipline of his devotion,

while I give voice to the people’s path and stand within its rhythm.

Kati shikarê dil be muhîbbat ka bersî ye

Min bazm û shikarî weten bê riyâ ekem

Parêz ekem bi himmeti Ḥeyder huqûqî Kurd
Yan rûhi xom û âli Peyamber fida ekem

Ger manî‘ê haqî milletî Kurd bibin Ereb
Bê shak nwêjkanim bi Kurdî qezâ ekem

Hacî tawaf dekem ger tal‘îş meded bide
Em qalbê qalbme be safâ û Merwe saf ekem

Naqsî û Suhrewerdî û Chishtî û Qadirî
Emrîyan be ferzî ‘eyn dizanim wek yek eda ekem

Mela ‘Azîzî muftî û Baba ‘Alî bim le wari‘da
Bo ew gazalê dilfirîne leser ser hera ekem

Ferqî bêni Qadirî û Naqshî hêndeyê
Sûfî le warigî eda minish zergî pya ekem

Translation and commentary by yours truly. The translation seeks to convey the spirit and experiential resonance of the original as it might be felt by a native reader or listener, rather than aiming for strict word-for-word correspondence.