SECTION I.—Of the appearance of the lord Míyán Báyezid.

In the Hálnámeh, a true work from Báyezid's pen, it is stated that the lord Míyán Báyezíd Ansári was the son of Shaikh Abdullah, who descended in the seventh generation from Shaikh Siráj-eddin Ansári, and that, in the latter time of the dominion of the Afghans, he was born in the town of Jalendher in the Panjab.* A year after this event, the blessed lord Zahír-eddin Báber Pádsháh, having obtained a victory over the Afghans, conquered Hind. In the history of the Moghúls it is recorded that, in the year of the Hejira 932 (A. D. 1525)* the blessed lord Báber Pádshah defeated Ibráhím Khán Afghán. In the before-said Hálnámeh is to be found that the mother of Míyán Báyezíd was called Bánin, and that the father of Banín and the grandfather of Abd ullah were brothers, and had their residence in the town of Jalendher. Míyán Báyezíd was born in this place. The father of Abdullah asked Banin, the daughter of Muhammed Amin, in marriage for his son Abd ullah. The father of Báyezíd Abd ullah resided at Kánígaram, which is situated in Kóhistan (the hilly country) of the Afghans.* When the conquests of the Moghúls began to extend, Banín also came with Báyezid to Kánígaram. Abd ullah had no liking for Banin, on which account he repudiated her; and Míyán Báyezíd experienced many sufferings from the enmity of another wife of Abd ullah, and from the son of the wife of Yâkub, besides the care­lessness of his father.

It was the custom of Míyán Bayezíd that, when­ever he went to tend his own field, he took care also of the fields of others, and guarded them. From his infancy he felt a disposition towards the first cause, so as to investigate—“the heavens and the earth are here; but where is God?” When Khájah Ismâîl was blessed in a dream by a revela­tion, he devoted himself to austere practices of piety, and many persons who partook in his exer­cises, derived benefit from them. Báyezíd wished to become his disciple; but Abd ullah forbade it, say­ing: “It is a disgrace to me that thou shouldst be the disciple of the meanest of our relations; go to the sons of Shaikh Bahá-eddín Zakaríá.”* Báye­zíd replied: “The character of a Shaikh is no inheritance.” Finally, Báyezíd was called by a myste­rious influence to sanctity, and passed through the gradations of sheríât, “external law;” hakíket, “reality;” mârifet, “true knowledge;” kurbet, “prox­imity;” vâsalet, “union;” and sekúnat, “dwelling in God.” Many men joined him, at which the envious were vexed, and he invited to him the crowd which had not attained the same degree. With Báyezíd lineage obtained no respect, but only knowledge and virtue were valued, as

“Paradise belongs to the servants of God, let them
Be habshís, ‘negroes,’ and hell is for the depraved,
Let them be sáids of Koresh extraction.”

He saw God manifest:

“Peradventure you may see your God made manifest.”

And the order was given to Báyezíd to say:

“I have seen thee by thee; I have heard thee from thee.”

God said to him further:

“The disgrace of this world is lighter than the disgrace
Of thy future world; haste towards what is good; be slow
Towards what is bad.”

And the Lord God announced to him:

“I have established as duties the exterior and the interior worship: the exterior worship as a duty for acquiring knowledge, and the interior worship as a perpetual duty.”

Báyezíd was perplexed: “If I offer prayers I am an idolator, and if I neglect them I am an infidel; for it is said:

“‘The offering of prayers is idolatry, and the neglect of them infidelity.”

Then the command arrived: “Perform the prayers of the prophet;” he asked: “What prayers are these?” The Almighty God said: “The praise of the Divinity.” Afterwards he chose this prayer, as it is said:

“The worship of those who are attached to the unity of God is, before men, like the worship of worshippers; but before God, it participates in the object of worship itself.”

Báyezíd devoted himself so much more to secret practices of piety, about which the prophet has said:

“The best remembrance of God is secret remembrance, and the best food is that which is sufficient.”

And again:

“Remember your God morning and evening; and be not one of the negligent.”

His friends saw in a night dream, and he himself heard the voice, that Báyezíd should be called Míyán Róshen, and he obtained eternal life, according to the words of God:

“Say not of him who is slain in the way of the Lord, that he is dead, but that he is alive; but you cannot distinguish the deaf, the dumb, and the blind; nor can they reply to you; for they are deaf in hearing the truth, dumb in speaking the truth, and blind in seeing the truth.”

He made himself free of the crowd of such description; and frequently divine inspiration came upon him. Now, according to the prophetic saying:

“Inspiration is a light which descends into the heart, and displays the real nature of the things according as they are.”

And Jabríl also descended to him; we read in the Korán:

“I send down angels and the spirit, at my pleasure, on whomsoever I please among my servants.”

God Almighty elected him also for an apostle, and conferred upon him the gift of prophecy:

“I have sent none before thee, excepting those persons who have received revelation.”

The lord Míyan Róshen, that is, Báyezíd, was extremely righteous in his conduct, as it is said:

“When God intends the good of one of his creatures, he gives him an admonisher in his spirit, and a restrainer in his heart; so that, of his own accord, he admonishes and restrains himself.”

Míyán Róshen, that is, Báyezíd, said to the learned: “What says the confession of the faith?” The reply was: “We bear testimony that there is no god but God;” that is: we testify that there is no god worthy to be worshipped but God Almighty. Míyán Báyezíd said: “If one is not acquainted with Lord Almighty, and says: ‘I am acquainted with him,’ he is a liar; as it is said:

“He who sees not God, knows not God.”

Móuláná Zakaríá said to Míyán Báyazíd: “Thou sayest that thou art acquainted with the heart, and thou proclaimest thyself the master of open­ing the hearts; give me information of my heart, and if this proves to be true, I shall then place my confidence in thee.” Míyán Róshen Báyazd replied: “I am the master of opening the hearts; but there is no heart in thee; if thou hadst possessed a heart, I should have given thee information about it.” Then Móulána Zikeríá declared (to those about him): “Kill me first; if a heart comes forth from my body, then put Báyazíd to death, and if none appear, then let him be safe.” Míyán Báyazid said: “The heart which thou mentionest will come forth if a calf, a kid, or a dog be killed; but that lump of flesh is not the heart. The Arabian prophet says:

“The heart of the faithful is more elevated than the ninth or empy­rean heaven; and more spacious than the extent of the ninth heaven (the throne of God).”

“And again:

“Hearts bear witness of hearts.”

Móulána Zakaríá said to him: “Thou takest thy­self for a master of opening the tombs; let us go together to a burying ground, that the dead may converse with thee.” Míyán Báyezíd replied: “If thou didst listen to the voice of the dead, I should not call thee an infidel.” The author of this work observed to Míyan, who was attached to the Roshi­nian persuasion: “If, instead of these words, the lord Míyan had said: When I hear your voice, it is the voice of the dead, and proceeds from the tomb of the corporeal members, it would have been better.” Being pleased with this observa­tion, the Míyán wrote down upon the margin of the Hálnámeh, that this also is the speech of the lord Míyán. The Mobed says:

“Between our friends we saw and we gave
To the searchers of the road a mark without a mark.”

Then the learned said to Míyán Báyezíd: “By what word or deed of thine shall men believe in thee?” Míyán Róshen Báyazíd replied: “Let there be one of your number, the best and ablest, who applies to science and practises devotion; let him join me, and according to my direction per­form exercises of worship and piety; if he find a superior advantage, then believe in me.”

A person named Malik Mirzá said: “O Báyezíd, beware of arrogant speech, and call not men detest­able; whoever likes, may follow thy path, but if he does not like it, let him remain away from it.” Míyán Róshen Báyezíd answered: “I will propose a simile: if in a house which should have but one door, a great number of persons had fallen asleep, and in that house fire had broken out; if by acci­dent one person should be awake, ought he to awake the others, or not?” His adversaries said: “O Báyezíd, since God Almighty has charged thee with his orders, declare, ‘Jabriyil descended to me, and I am the Mahdi;’ but call not the people infidels and detestable.”

Míyán Róshen Bayazíd did not think it right to eat of the flesh of an animal killed by a person whom he did not know, and who did not adhere to the rule of the unity of God. Báyezíd knew that:

“A worldly wise man, before man, is living, but before God, dead; his form is like the form of a man, but his qualities like the qualities of beasts; whilst a man, knowing God, is living before God; his form is like the form of a man, and his qualities are like the qualities of the merciful God.”

Báyezíd said to his father Abd ullah: “The Ara­bian prophet has declared:

Sheríát, ‘the law,’ is like night; Taríkat, ‘religious rule,’ is like the stars; Hakiket, ‘the truth,’ is like the moon; and Mârifet, ‘the true knowledge,’ like the sun; and nothing is superior to the sun.”

Míyán Báyezíd Róshen said: “The matter of the law rests upon the five fundamental principles of the Muselmáns.*

Pronouncing the words of the faith, and joining to the words the belief in their truth; these are the actions of the law. The tasbíh, “rosary;” the tahlíl, “praise of God;” the being constantly employed in the verbal commemoration of the attributes of God; the guarding of the heart from temptation: this is the business of taríkat, “religious rule.”

To keep the fast of the month Ramazan, and to abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual inter­course; this is the business of sheríât, “the law.” Fasting beyond the demands of duty; not filling the belly, but training it to a scanty diet; and restraining the body from what is bad: this is the business of taríkat.

The Zacat, “stated alms,” and the giving of the tithe, is the business of sheríât; but the distribution of food and raiment to the fakírs and performers of fasts, and the taking by the hand the distressed, is the business of taríkat.

To perform the circuit around the house of the friend of God,* and to be free from wickedness, and crime, and warring, is the business of the sheríât; but to perform the circuit of the house of the friend of God, to wit the heart,* to combat bodily propen­sities, and to worship the angels, is the business of taríkat.

To meditate constantly on the Almighty God, to place confidence in the instructions received, to dis­card from the heart the exterior veil, and to fix the view on the perfection of the celestial object of our affection: this is the business of hakíkat, “truth.”

To view the nature of God with the eye of the heart, and to see him face to face in every mansion and on every side, with the light of the intellect, and to cause no injury to the creatures of the All-Just: this is the business of mârifat, “true knowledge.”

To know the All-Just, and to perceive and com­prehend the sound of the tasbíh, “rosary:” this is the business of kurbet, “proximity to God.”

To choose self-abnegation, to perform every thing in the essence of the All-Nourisher, to practise renunciation of all superfluities, and to carry in one's self the proof of the true sense of the divine union: this is váśalet, “union with God.”

To annihilate one's self before Deity absolute, and in God to be eternal and absolute; to become one with the unity, and to beware of evil: this is the business of touhíd, “coalescence with God.”*

To become an inmate and resident, to assume the attributes of God absolute, to divorce from one's own attributes: this is the business of sacúnat, “in-dwell­ing in God,” and there is no superior station beyond sacúnat.

The terms kurbat, váśalet, vahed, and sacúnat are peculiar to the style of the lord Miyán Róshen Báye­zíd, who places them higher than sheríât, térikat, and mârifat.

At that time it was the custom, when friends had been separated and met again, on meeting, their first inquiries were about the health, wealth, and children of each other. But the friends of Miyán Róshen Báyezid first inquired about each other's faith, religious thoughts, zeal, love, and knowledge of the All-Just, and afterwards about their health and welfare. When they made inquiry about any other person, it was in the following manner: “How is he with respect to religion and faith? does he keep the affection of the friends of God?” and in these things they rejoiced. The words of the prophet are:

“Verily, God does not regard your forms nor your wealth,
But he regards your hearts and your actions.”

Miyán Báyezíd, in his early years, used to con­form to the five fundamental principles of the Muselman faith, such as the confession of faith, to say prayers five times a-day, and to keep the fasts; but as he was not possessor of a sufficient estate, it was not necessary for him to give the stated alms. He was desirous to perform the pilgrimage, but he was then too young for it, so it was postponed until he attained the truth of his religion. The words of God Almighty are:

“Verily, I am near to mankind, nearer than their own necks; there is no separation between me and mankind; and I am one with mankind; but mankind know it not: nor can a man attain the knowledge of me, unless by the means of the assiduous perusal of the sacred volume, and not by much travel of the feet; but he may attain the knowledge of me by ardent meditation, and, by obedience, a man becomes perfect.”

Thus far from the Hál-námeh of Miyán Báyazid.