Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is one of the most famous singers of Qawwali, or devotional Sufi music. Here's my personal favorite of his, Yeh Jo Halka Halka Suroor Hai (یہ جو ہلکا ہلکا سرور ہے, "This Mild Intoxication"). Like many poems in Urdu and Persian, it focuses on the theme of wine and the wine bearer as a metaphor for spirituality. Enjoy!
Lyrics:
This mild intoxication
It is the fault of your gaze
That you have taught me how to drink
With my desire, my longing for you
Your flirtatious looks
Have made me a lover of wine
What a drink, what a high
These are all your gifts
How you have made me elated with your looks
That I am not even aware of myself
Your flirtatious looks
Have made me a lover of wine
The whole world is exhilarated
Day, night, morning and evening
The heart is intoxicated, so is the mirror, the glass and even the wine itself
Your captivating eyes have made everything delirious
Every kind of wine resides in your cellar
And then there is that look in those eyes as well
I understand your cleverness well
It is the fault of your gaze, but the blame is put on the wine
Your flirtatious looks
Have made me a lover of wine
To love you is my life
To love you is my bondage
To love you is my life,
To love you is my life
Not prayer nor ablution do I know
I prostrate when before me you come
My life is only my love for you
I am a true lover
With no fear of the hereafter
Now that my head has found your mat
No need have I to search for heaven
My bondage is to that spot
Which is tied to no sacred place
My taking one look at you
By God is equal to prayer
My life is only my love for you
My life is only my love for you
To take your name,
To bow down before you
My ardor tells me,
To make you my God
With your name on my lips,
I remember you every where
The world will forget me,
If I forget you
In my heart reside,
Your many glories
That candle which has not your light,
Will be put out by me
When I asked how rain happens
From her forehead, she dripped a few beads of sweat
When I asked how lightening falls
She met my eyes, and then lowered her lids
When I asked how night and day come together
She moved the hair away from her face
When I asked about the magic in music
She whispered a few things sweetly
Of my own desires when I inquired
Quickly, she snuffed some candles
And I was left saying, what a punishment for the sin of loving
After inhabiting my heart’s world, you destroyed it
Who will you torment after me?
How will you obliterate me?
Where will you direct your arrows?
Thank my friendship
Raise your hands and bless me
That I have made you a murderer
Look at me, desire of my life’s life
That I am that same man
When did you ever have such self-awareness
Don’t argue with me like this
In fact, be grateful
That I was the one who taught how you to speak
This mild intoxication
It is the fault of your gaze
That you have taught me how to drink.