And the following two poems are taken from a qaṣīdah which he wrote to satirise the Qāẓī of Nīshāpūr:—

Verses.

A certain theologian wrote contrary to the religious law of
the Prophet,*
There was nothing of that kind written in the books.
He wrote that honey is unlawful and wine lawful to be used
because (said he) the latter is the juice of the vine and the
former the spume of the bee.
To the wife who went* to complain of her husband to the ^489.
Qāẓī, saying I get no enjoyment of sense from him,
He replied, If he has become enfeebled and weak,
It is right that he should employ a hireling in his place.

The Khwāja in his poems sometimes uses the takhalluṣ* of Ayūb and sometimes that of Firāqī; the following ghazal is by him:—

Verse.

Lovely rose-branch, whose stature is straight as the cypress,
Thou hast twined a line of emerald around thy lips,
Thy form is straight like the letter Alif [may his shadow be
lengthened),
And thine eyebrows are extended like the madda over the
Alif.*
Thou hast cast the die of acceptance on the words of others,
But through the words of lovers thou has drawn the line of
refusal;
Thou endurest troubles, do not attempt to draw her, O painter
of Chīn,
Wert thou to draw a hundred, never would there come eyes
and locks like her's.
Firāqī, be not over-desirous of the wealth of union with her,
Thou hast suffered boundless tyranny and spite at the hands
of thy beloved.*

The king, who has now taken refuge in God's pardon, in spite of that unseemly behaviour was excessively fond of the Khwājah.

Accordingly, so* desirous was he of his society that he joined him in the marriage-bond to one of the Begams, in the hope* that he would adopt the manner of life of people of probity and rectitude, but the Khwājah was held so close a prisoner* by his evil habits, that he could not abide companionship with the king.

Verse.

When once evil habits have taken possession of the nature
They will never leave it till the day of death.

^490. He put forward various flimsy pretexts to that end, and not even contenting himself with this, one day while in the king's assembly he was guilty of a breach of decorum which one blushes to mention. The king, out of the exceeding kindliness and good­ness of his nature, overlooked his fault, and merely remarked, “My dear Khwāja what sort of manners are these!” The Khwāja sought permission to proceed to Makka the revered, the blessed,* and after duly setting in order the requisites for his journey and the requirements for a sea-voyage,* he bade him farewell. When he embarked he enquired of his companions, what* are the advantages of going thither? They replied, “Purification from past sins.” He rejoined, “I will wait then till I have fulfilled the catalogue of sins, and then be purified, so that I may have no further desire to sin.”* Thus he remained destitute of that grace, and abandoning himself to his desires, gave the rein to his passions. Sulān Bahādur of Gujrāt in consideration of pleasant companionship and good-fellowship, appointed* him a daily allowance of one ashrafī* for his expenditure. One day when he was passing through the bāzār of Aḥmadābād, seeing the Khwāja in the Tirpauliya mosque,* he reined back and with great kindness and empressement asked “How is the Khwāja faring?” He replied “On the fare which you have allotted me, one of my limbs even cannot obtain sufficient sustenance, why do you ask such a question?” Sulān Bahādur notwithstanding this rudeness doubled his allowance.*

Just at that time too Shāh Ṭāhir Dakkanī came to Gujrāt with all pomp and circumstance on the occasion of his embassage from Niām Shāh Dakkanī, and having heard such high praise of the Khwāja, arrived at his house, which had neither a mat nor a pitcher of water. A very pleasant colloquy followed, each reciting his own and hearing the other's verses, and on the next ^491. day, after arranging all the requirements of hospitality, with a khil‘at, a horse, and a bag of coin and valuable gifts in his own lodging, sent the Khwāja an invitation. In the warmth of their meeting and the enthusiasm of their conversation, suddenly the conversation turned upon* religion and sects. The Khwāja enquired of the Shāh, what is the reason that the Shī‘ahs among you say such unbecoming things regarding the companions of the Prophet on him be peace? He answered ‘Our jurisconsults* have decided that cursing (la‘n) is an element of faith (Īmān).’ The Khwāja rejoined, ‘Curses on a faith of which cursing is an ele­ment.’ The Shāh was astounded at this, and their colloquy came to an end, and that urbanity and courtesy which he had thought to shew remained hidden by the curtain of his anger, and was lost. Finally he departed thence in wretchedness and ignominy to the Dakkan, and had an interview* with Niām Shāh, who likewise sent all that was necessary to his honourable reception, and received him cordially, but neither there could the Khwāja remain, owing* to his perverse temper and his want of self-restraint, till by leaving the world he freed himself from the torment of existence.

Verse.

My heart, be patient for that stern-hearted friend,
Is sitting and grieving sore* at his own unhappy fate.

Verse.

Where was the black horse? whither did I wend?

Who am I, and what words are these? but what can I do, for the rein of my restive, hasty* and audacious pen has been turned in this direction, and words have leapt forth beyond the area of my control. Were it not so, I know that it is no virtue to pry into faults, while to carp at the vices of others, shutting one's eyes to one's own defects is the acme of shortsightedness.

Verse.

The wicked sees all the vices of others,
From the pitcher that distils which it contains.*

God He is glorified and exalted, preserves all of us from that ^492. which is wrong and improper, and as at this time* the writer has not with him a selection from the anthologies of the eloquent and learned poets, accordingly he has found it necessary to restrict himself* to the brief mention of these few poets by way of an example.

Should this inconstant and transitory life give a few days res­pite, and should the days, in opposition to their usual habit afford assistance, and should Fate give its help, he will make mention of the poets of former times, and the contemporary poets of Hindūstān, especially of those whom he has seen or heard and appreciated in his own lifetime, together with extracts from their poems included in their biographies.

Mine is the endeavour, its perfection is from God.* Should this not come to pass, this much will suffice as a memorial of the author.

Qia‘h.

If I remain in life, I will repair
The garment which exile has rent;
If I should die,* accept this my excuse,
Many are the hopes which crumble into dust.