Ginans
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The Ginans (Urdu: گنان, Gujarati: ગિનાન) are a vast corpus of devotional literature in the form of lyrics and hymns worshiping and praising God, and has been the living tradition of Nizari Ismailis particularly from South Asia. The word is Hindustani, and derived from the Sanskrit word jñāna ("knowledge, wisdom, gnosis"). Pir Sadardin was an early pioneer of this form of literature.
It was originally an oral rendition mostly by Pirs, first among whom to come to South Asia was Pir Satgur Nur in the 12th century. Ginans are composed in many languages of South Asia, especially Gujarati, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi and many more. Similar religious traditions exist in the form of qasīdas (قصيدة) amongst Nizaris of Arab, Persian and Central Asian origins authored by likes of early Muslim duʻāt such as Qadi Noman, Nasir Khusraw and others.
Example Translation of a Ginan (Other examples available here): Sahebaji tun more man bhave: Verses I-VIII
My lord,
My heart is fond of you.
I think of no-one else.
None else pleases my heart.
My lord,
My heart is fond of you.
So readily, my lord,
You give me
Whatever I ask of you.
You indulge me
In so many ways,
My lord.
In all four ages,
I went about,
Looking hard.
I found none
To match you, my lord.
My lord, my heart
Is fond of you.
Come, come,
My maiden friends,
Let us go
To view the groom.
He's the one, the beloved
I've attained.
He comes to my home,
The beloved,
He but for whom
A minute is hard to pass.
How should we call him
Unhappy -
He whose lord
Is one such as this?
How should we find fault
With the merciful?
What's written
In our karma
Is what we shall have.
Ram and Raheman
Are but one Deity.
Of this mystery,
The fool is quite unaware.
Says Saiyad Mohamadshah:
I am bonded to you,
My lord.
Leaving you,
At what other door
Am I to knock?
My lord,
My heart is fond of you.
I think of no-one else.
None else pleases my heart.
My lord,
My heart is fond of you.
Retrieved from the Institute of Ismaili Studies Website;
Originally Publsihed in: Esmail, Aziz. A Scent of Sandalwood: Indo-Ismaili Religious Lyrics. (London: Curzon in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2002), 128-9.
[edit] References
- Esmail, Aziz, A scent of sandalwood : Indo-Ismaili religious lyrics (Ginans), Richmond, Surrey UK: Curzon (published 2002), ISBN 0700717684
- Asani, Ali Sultaan Ali, Ecstasy and enlightenment : the Ismaili devotional literature of South Asia, London: I B Tauris (published 2002), ISBN 1860648282
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