AFTER Sháhi Beg Khán had put my father to death, he despatched an emissary to Bokhárá with instructions to throw me into the river, and thus send me to join those who had been drowned in the river of Khojand. Although the order was an obnoxious one to Ubaid Sultán, who received it (for he was married to my sister), still it was impossible for him to refuse.
But how excellent a thing it is that the Almighty has power to check the violent and, if He so wills it, to restrain the hand of the cruel: so that, without His consent, the tyrant cannot touch a single hair of any man's head. And this is confirmed by the events of this disturbed time.* For, in his glory, vanity and magnificence, see how many royal families Sháhi Beg Khán destroyed, and the number of princely houses he annihilated! For example, Sultán Husaini* and his followers, to the number of nearly 200,000 persons; Sultán Mahmud and the Mirzás with nearly 50,000 men—these all suffered at the hands of Sháhi Beg Khán. Again the royal houses of Samarkand and of Mirzá Sultán Ahmad: to what extremities were they not all driven by this tyrant? In a short space of time, he scattered to the winds of annihilation many governors and officials, so that the dust of their existence formed towers on the plains of non-existence, which reached up to the heavens, and from the mists of their sighs a frightful whirlwind arose in the deserts.
This king, who could commit such atrocities and practise such violence, was resolved on my death, at a time when I had only just passed the half of my childhood, and did not know my right hand from my left, nor good from evil; nor had I the ability to use my strength—nay, I had not enough intelligence to execute my own wishes. I had become an orphan, without father or mother, my paternal uncles were scattered and my maternal uncles slain. I had not [even] an elder brother who could share in my grief; no friend or relation to comfort me.
That year, 914,* proved one of disaster for the Sultáns of the day in general, and of massacre for the Moghul Khákáns in particular. When God willed that all my uncles, aunts, and cousins should be carried off in different directions and murdered, I was the weakest and youngest of the family. The strangest part of it all is that they were, everyone, at a great distance [from Sháhi Beg Khán], as has been mentioned above, but being helpless, nay, having no alternative, they came and threw themselves into calamity and were murdered; while I escaped, though in the town of Bokhárá, in the middle of the ocean of Sháhi Beg Khán's dominions. Since the decree of the will of the Almighty had not been issued for my destruction, but for my preservation, Sháhi Beg Khán, with all his boasting and power, was not able to touch one hair of the head of that helpless little child whom he wished to kill. (Thanks be to God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the Possessor of Might, Majesty, and Power.)
The details [of my escape] are briefly as follows: at the above date, my father went to Khorásán and was put to death by Sháhi Beg Khán, who also sent an emissary to Bokhárá to kill me. And although this was an act that would have been distasteful to Ubaid Ullah Khán, it was quite impossible for him to disobey the orders of Sháhi Beg Khán. He handed me over to the emissary, with instructions to throw me into the river Amu, that I might join those others who had been drowned in the ocean of divine mercy. He was engaged in investigating some of the property which my father had left [in Bokhárá], alleging that the Mirzá had said to him: “Bring my property along with my son.” This occasioned a delay of a few days. During this interval Mauláná Muhammad, who was my master and my father's Khalifa, went to see Hazrat Mauláná Muhammad Kázi, who asked him: “When are you starting for Khorásán?” Maulána Muhammad replied: “We have decided to depart in a few days.” Hazrat Mauláná then said: “Come back in a little while, I have something I wish to say to you.” After a time, when the assembly of faithful men had dispersed, Mauláná Muhammad came in again, and Hazrat Mauláná asked him: “How could I consent to Muhammad Husain Mirzá going to Khorásán, and now to the Mirzá's son going there too?” Mauláná Muhammad replied: “Verily, we are taking him, fully trusting in God's protection.” Then, said Hazrat Mauláná: “The Holy Prophet, when his life was threatened by the infidels of Mekka, did not put his trust in standing still and being captured, but took to flight. Therefore, what you should now do is, trusting in God, to take the Mirzá and flee; and if danger or cause of fear presents itself, I am your security. You ought certainly to set out without delay.”
Mauláná Muhammad used to say: “I never had any such thought in my mind, but those words of Hazrat Mauláná had a wonderful effect on me, and the determination to go and seize you and carry you away, took so strong a hold of me that as soon as I had left him, I turned my whole attention to our flight.”
Having reached this point in my narrative, I think fit to give some details of the life of Hazrat Mauláná, who has been mentioned above, in connection with my illness.