“A hymn to God for the deaf” a sonnet by Imam Khamenei

“A hymn to God for the deaf” a sonnet by The Leader of Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei

Although Imam Khamenei’s Persian sonnet for the deaf people was written back in 1996, it was not published anywhere until 30th September 2009 when the Leader of Ummah and Oppressed People gave this sonnet as a gift to the deaf people on the occasion of International Week of the Deaf. This sonnet was recited to a group of Iranian deaf intellectuals.

In this sonnet, Imam Khamenei provides us with a mystical perspective on deaf people. In the sonnet his Eminence considers these people true-hearted individuals who resemble lucid mirrors and without duplicity, who have been taught divine mysteries by God and they have in return safeguarded these mysteries in their hearts; individuals who have managed to protect the innocence of their childhood and have not lost the purity and innocence amid the hustle and bustle of the society.

English translation of a part of this Persian sonnet can be read in the following lines.

“A hymn to God for the deaf”

As servants we are known to you
Though tongueless, still known to you

We’re mirrors though with lips closed to people
We hold so many secrets, all known to you

our tongues and ears closed on uproars
Free from each and every, we’re known to you

Our childlike innocence not dejected by uproars
As evergreen rosaries, we’re known to you

We speak soundly like the mirrors
Honest and truthful, we’re known to you

Closed-lips like the wise, joyful like children
Both young and old, we’re known to you.

April 02, 1996