He is the nephew, the son-in-law and the spiritual successor of his holiness the true spiritual guide, the abode of saintship, him who is seated in the chair of unity, lord of the sword of might and the troop of power of the Eternal One, the manifesta­tion of the perfections of Muḥammad, Miyāṅ Shaikh Dā'ūd* (may God sanctify his soul!). He is, in the swift pursuit of righteous­ness, the phœnix of the age, a pattern in all states and assemblies of holy poverty and self-effacement. If mention be made of those favoured by God it is his name which is most appropriately mentioned, and if the talk be of those who excel their fellows it is his name which is first spoken. He is a man of lofty soul who has completely effaced himself in the love which he bears to his spiritual guide, a man of noble mind who knows no other occupa­tion than the adoration of his saintly preceptor. He has himself written verses to that purport:—

Couplets.

“I am ever inebriated with the cup of love;
What should I know of ‘this’ and ‘that’—
I who worship Dā'ūd?”

“How can this frozen heart be warmed by the speech
of all?
Nay, it requires the breath of Dā'ūd, which can soften
even iron.”

“I sit on the throne of poverty, now that I have attained
my desire,
I reign like Sulaimān, for I am heart and soul the
slave of Dā'ūd.”

Quatrain.

“Lord, grant to me one glance of the eye which I
desire,*
Grant to me freedom alike from being and non-exis-
tence,
And although I be not worthy of this high fortune,
¹⁰³ Grant to me one atom of the love of Shaikh Dā'ūd.”*

One of his sayings is this:—“Oh, Abū-'l-Ma‘ālī, be the slave of the Lord, the Most High, and be not the slave of money and jewels!” It is said that in the year of his auspicious birth he was taken to his holiness, the universally respected* Miyān Shaikh Dā'ūd (may God sanctify his tomb!) and that his worthy father asked the Miyān to give a name to his auspicious offspring. His holiness the Miyān said, “Let his name be Shāh* Abū-'l-Ma‘ālī.” As this name was very uncommon in India the bes­towal of it has been regarded as a prophecy of the return of the Mughuls,* and of the appearance of the army of the emperor Humāyūn (may his grave be fragrant!) and a year had not passed when that emperor, who has now obtained forgiveness of his sins, returned to India, and (the spiritual influence of) Abū-'l-Ma‘ālī placed him who had thus conformed to that in­fluence in possession of the country of the Panjab. The words “Abū-'l-Ma‘ālī, the Worshipper of God” were found to give the date of his birth. The few flowing verses quoted below, which are to be interpreted mystically and not literally, are some of the products of his bright genius.

A fragment.

Ghurbatī* speaks in his religious ecstasy,
An ecstasy which is indeed altercation without speech.
It were impossible to describe the condition of his love,
Yet to refrain from doing so is another impossibility.

Ghurbatī! Make thy life a sacrifice to Him,
For the felicity of union with Him is not bes-
towed as a worthless gift.

Keep the mention of love in thine heart, and open not
thy lips.
Keep the mouth of this flask well closed, lest (cold)
air should enter it.

Ghurbatī! Raise the cry of ‘I am God!’* and fear ¹⁰⁴
not the stake,
For rope and stake are the means of ascent in this path.

That which we have seen and known of that Soul of
Souls
(We learnt) not to repeat, but to see and to know.

The following copy of a letter is one of his wonderful epistles which he sent to me in Lāhor:—

Verses.

I increased my desire and my heart is in grief,
And within my bowels a fire is kindled.
When will the absent return from their long journey?*
* * * *

“My dear one,—At this time of dejection in my separation from every friend and stranger I had come to regard the news even of those who* asked after the well-being of all as a letter-carrier and messenger, and used to hope for greetings and a message, when suddenly your affectionate letter took the place of a prescription for the restoration to health of those cast down with melancholy at separation from their friends, and redoubled my desire to see you, and my affection. Now the verses of that holy man of the Qādirī order, the seething of whose waves of eloquence astonishes and bewilders the soul, expel the anguish of my heart, and I beg that you will excuse me (for quoting them):—

Ho, ye (who hearken)! I wonder at all men.
And in my drunkenness I see neither that which is
before me nor that which is behind.
And there is nothing, I swear by God, in my bowels but
desire for you,
My heart seeth you, as though I saw from your
eyes.
From my grave whisper in the ears of my absent friends
That they are the objects of my regard both in life and
death.
When Munkir and Nakīr shall come to me
¹⁰⁵ I shall answer to Nakīr at the time of his coming,
and to Munkir.
And will say ‘Question not me, but another’ concern-
ing them, for I am verily their friend,
And the bond of my love for them has suffered no
change.
We all convey salutations to all of you.
Written by the humble Abū-'l-Ma‘ālī.”

And in another letter he wrote the following couplet:—

“As for that dear one who nightly moveth near me,
Blest will be the day when he appears clearly before
me.”

“Salutations blended with the desire of seeing you and flaunted like the banners of the Dā'ūdiyyah branch of the Qādiriyyah order are sent to you. Know that your friend has important business with Maulānā ‘Abdu-'l-Ghafūr and Shaikh ‘Umar, which can be settled by a moment's attention from you. If you can spare any of your precious time to bring it about it will, in truth, be most fruitful in benefits. My blessing.”