The following is a copy of a letter which he wrote from Lāhor to Shaikh Umam Ya‘qūb of Kashmīr:—

“It is not my heart alone that is the abode of longing for
thee.
In desire for thee all the members of my body have become
hearts.”

Why should I complain of the power* of the spells of this old enchanter* sitting on a throne, wearing a patched robe, and dwelling in a lofty temple, who has, by the power of his magical incantations, brought the whole universe, from the fish* to the moon, into his blue glass bottle, and, having closed the mouth of that bottle with wax from the candle of the moon, has sealed it ³⁵⁹ with so many thousand seals that the foot of flight has no power to step from within it, and there is no hope of the hand of any helper from without reaching those within?

I have uttered many cries but no one comes to my assis-
tance.
It is as though there were nobody in this turquoise vault.*

Perforce, therefore, I remain in the bonds forged for me from eternity, and place my head on the threshold of discipleship. And, since the country and the king are alike in this condition in relation to fate, it is evident that mankind in general, much less a solitary individual, can have but little power to move hand or foot in those bonds, or release himself from durance in its prison; unless it be a perfect religious leader and perfected guide, aided in various ways and by different means by divine guidance and divine inspiration. Such a man might, striving with the strength of divine assistance, and the aid of boundless struggles and ecstacies, free himself from this most dangerors of places, this most difficult of situations. But, in truth, in these days there is, save that incomparable one of the age, whose nature is endowed with auspicious attributes, angelic qualities, and holy signs of God's handiwork, who is a revelation of the marks of the mercy of Providence (His power is honoured), no perfect knower of God illuminated and adorned by the qualities described above.*

I hope that your holiness will, by your exalted* regard, free this hopeless prisoner in the bonds of the body and of outward forms, who is a unit not beyond the pale of human kind, from all bonds contrary to the laws of the prophet and intrusive upon the faith of the chosen one (on him be the most excellent of benedictions and the most perfect of blessings) and that you will sometimes, when you have leisure to think thereon, call him to mind in prayer for his attainment of his outward and inward desires, for his happiness both in things seen and things unseen, and for the accomplishment of his objects both in matters pertaining to the world and in matters pertaining to God; for there can be for him no other means but this of arriving at God and at the firm rope of the manifest religion. He hopes that God (He is praised and exalted), will, of His favour and perfect clemency, protect ³⁶⁰ and guard your holiness, with your dear sons and your honoured friends, from all the snares of the world and misfortunes of the age, and will preserve you over those who love you truly and those who follow you sincerely.”