يَا لائِمِيْ فِي الْهَوٰى الْعُذْرِيِّ مَعْذِرَةً مِّنِّي إِلَيْكَ وَلَوْ أنْصَفْـتَ لَمْ تَلُـمِ

9/9. O you who reproach me regarding my love like the Banu Adhrah, accept my excuse which I present to you. And if you were just, you would not reproach me.

When the poet has declared his love, his questioner reproaches him.

The poet then asks, “Why are you reproaching me? Why are you not fair and just with me?”

Banu Adhrah was a tribe of Yemen who were renowned for their love, as well as their chastity and purity. Their women were extremely beautiful together with possessing a high level of chastity. Their young boys were extremely soft hearted and would very easily fall in love.

It is mentioned that generally the youngsters residing there would not live beyond thirty years of age. The result of their love was death. Dying in love had become a characteristic amongst them. A poet states,

اذا خلص العذري من ميتة الهوى فذاك و رب العاشقين دخيل

This means that if any person from the Banu Adhrah does not die due to intense love (ishq), then by Allaah Jalla Jalaalahoo, he is not from this tribe. He must be from another tribe and he now resides amongst these people. It cannot happen such that a person is from this tribe and he does not die when he falls in love.

There is a famous incident wherein a person asked someone from the Banu Adhrah, “Who are you?” He replied, “I am an individual from that tribe who does not remain alive when they fall in love.” Immediately the questioner asked,

أأنت عذري؟

“Are you from Banu Adhrah?”

In short, the poet is stating that his love for Rasulullaah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam is true and intense. He then states that he has an excuse for his feelings which is the extreme love of Rasulullaah SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam.

He thereafter states that if the addressee was sincere, he would not have reproached. The reason is that love is beyond one’s control and volition. How can one be reproached for something not within his control? Another point to bear in mind is that a person who has not tasted love cannot reproach those who are completely entrapped in this love.

The sufis state,

لا ينبغي للشخص ان يتكلم على حال الا اذا اذاقها

It is not appropriate for a person to speak about any condition until he has tasted it.

By mentioning love to be like that of Banu Adhrah, Allamah Buseeri Rahimahullaah is alluding to the fact that, just as the love found in this tribe will not come to an end, his love too will not cease. Therefore, reproaching him
 is of no benefit.

There is a lesson in this stanza for those who love Allaah Jalla Jalaalahoo and His Messenger SalAllaahu Alayhi Wasallam, in that they should continue in their endeavours to serve Islam without being concerned about reproaching people. They should never decrease their endeavours, but continue dedicating their lives to this mission. Allaah Jalla Jalaalahoo speaks about the qualities of His lovers in the Quraan:

فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ وَلاَ يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لآئِمٍ

Soon Allaah will bring a people whom Allaah loves and they love Him. They are soft-hearted to the Muslims, stern towards the disbelievers. They strive in the path of Allaah and do not fear being censured by anyone.

(Maaidah verse 54)

مَوْلَاىَ صَلِّ وَ سَلِّمْ دَائِمًا أَبَداً  عَلىٰ حَبِيْبِكَ خَيْرِ الْخَلْقِ كُلِّهِمِ