He was a sympathetic friend, and excelled in all descriptions of poetry. He entered the imperial service on the recommenda­tion of Ḥakīm Abū-'l-Fatḥ and grew up in that service. He has written a dīvān and is well acquainted with the poetry of the ancients. Although he is entirely destitute of actual learning he is strenuous and has a sound understanding and a well-balanced mind.

The following verses are his:—

“Watch thyself well in every word that thou utterest, ²²⁰
Repent of a speech which gladdens no heart.
What need hast thou of the wing of a bird? If the men
of this age are employed in light talk
Borrow the foot of the ant, and flee.”

“God doth not accustom my tongue to the uttering of com-
plaints.
May He not associate me with complaints, especially of
thee.”

Quatrain.

“Ever hast thou treated me with harshness,—thou art
excused:
Thou hast heard but the name of faithfulness,—thou art
excused:
Thou sayest, ‘I am falsely accused of harshness’;
Thou hast not tried thyself,—thou art excused.”

Quatrain.

“So long as thou art employed in the nurture of vain
desires
Thine axe shall strike no stump but thine own foot.

No enemy works thee such mischief as thou workest thy-
self,
Thy blood is on the head of thine own imagining.”

“We have associated with unbelievers
But found among them no waist worthy of the sacred
thread.”*

An ode.

“I desire a house of mourning that I may shut its door on
myself
But my resolution has peopled it, and now I desire some
desert spot.
The world is disturbed by stories of “to-morrow” and
“yesterday,”
I desire some tale of the speech of my own grief.
²²¹ From the fields of this world, the harvest of ox and ass,
I desire no harvest nor ear of corn nor even a grain.
I am content whether I be killed by the sword of the
warrior of Islām or the arrow of the unbeliever,
I thirst for my own blood and all I require is a cup.
Ḥayātī, sit not before me, prevent not my ravings,
I am a lover and thou art wise, a demented companion
is what I require.”