Muntaḫab al-tavārīḫ - The Muntakhabu-’rukh, Volume 3

He was a descendant in the fourth generation of the holy Khāja Aḥrār^150b (may God sanctify his soul!). He was well acquainted with the seven styles of penmanship, and was a professor of that art. He had great practice and wonderful skill in medicine and therapeutics. His excellent qualities and disposition were an inheritance which he had received from his forbears, and although he was little given to discourse he exercised hospitality, and whatever he received from his jāgīr was ¹⁰⁰ spent in furnishing the table of friendship. He was the benefactor both of high and low. When the new heresy was introduced and the influence of the vilest of men waxed great he withdrew from this society and obtained leave to perform the pilgrimage to the Ḥijāz. He was made “leader of the pilgrimage” and was sent on his way to the holy places with ample store for the journey. When he had attained the felicity of completing the pilgrimage he returned, and passed his precious time in Āgra, in devotion and the service of the Most High God, which alone is the object for which man was created, until the importunate messenger of doom seized the garment of his holy life, and invited him to the abode of nearness to God and the threshold of His greatness, so that having obtained his release from this abode of distraction and darkness he entered into close fellowship with the faithful, the martyrs, and the pious.

Couplet.

They call to thee from the highest heaven,
I know not what more thou hast to do with this world
of snares.

He was one of the spiritual successors of the lord Shaikh Ḥusain of Kh'ārazm (may God sanctify his soul!). Religious ecstasy, overpowering him, used to reduce him to a state like inebriety. Daily, after early morning prayers, the Miṣbāḥ, written by Shaikh Rashīd (may God sanctify his soul!), used to be read in his venerable assembly, after the rule of the Kibrawī order, and he would then fall into a religious ecstasy, and in like manuer he was assiduous in reading the Maṯnavī of the Maulavī-yi-Ma‘navī .¹⁵¹ His feet were firm in the path of the most pure law, and his speech sprang ever from spiritual knowledge, and affected the hearts of his hearers. If at times one would praise him he would say, “It is yourself that you are regarding.”

He stayed some time in Badāon for the purpose of seeing some ¹⁰¹ Turks who had attached themselves to him as their spiritual leader, and made that place resplendent with the light of his presence, and the bounty of his blessed companionship reached the inhabitants of that district. Returning thence he came to Āgra, and thence hastened to the court of the great God.

He is one of the descendants of Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Qādir the second, of Ucch, who was entitled his holiness Ghauṯ-i-Rabbānī (may God be graciously pleased with them!). Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Qādir and his younger brother, Shaikh Ilāh Bakhsh, were both educated in piety, devotion, and temperance, and were distinguished for their mental perfections. They lived for some time in Fatḥpūr, and the emperor, at the time when religious controversy waxed warm, extended his patronage to Shaikh Ilāh Bakhsh, and appointed him to Gujarāt with the title of Ṣadr, and sent him to Shāhbāz Khān.¹⁵² This was, in fact, banishment. The Shaikh, however, rendered good service to the state, and constantly^152a sent express messengers with representations containing full news^152b of the rebels, and other matters, so that a commission was issued, granting him the rank of commander of three hundred. But just then the messenger of death delivered in his ear the joyful message, “Return thou to thy Lord,” and he responded cheerfully to the messenger of God. His elder brother, Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Qādir, was then banished to the glorious city of Makkah, and at the time when the Khānkhānān, son of Bairām Khān,^152c and Mīrzā Niẓāmu-'d-dīn Aḥmad had the control of affairs in Gujarāt, he went thither, and having obtained from them provisions for his journey and attached himself to a company of pilgrims he obtained the glory of performing the pilgrimage of the Ḥajj. Thence he returned to his own native place, Lāhōr, where he now lives,¹⁵³ engaged in the service of God and in devotion, and remaining steadfast in the same.

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^153a (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,¹⁵⁴
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.”^154a

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^154b 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^154c 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,^154d 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.

Ghurbatī¹⁵⁵ 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!’^155a 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?^155b
* * * *

“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 who¹⁵⁶ 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.”

Tala is a famous quarter of Lāhōr. The Maulānā is a relative of Ḥājī Mahdī, who was one of the most famous Shaikhs. He is now one of the most learned men of the time, and has been appointed as a teacher at Lāhōr. He is a pupil of Mullā Isma‘īl of Ucch, and has also received instruction from other teachers. He is a most expert lapidary, possesses great acumen, and has much store of learning in all branches of knowledge, both those which call for the exercise of the reasoning faculty and those which depend on the memory. They say that he has been engaged in teaching since he was eight years old. He has a good delivery and speaks unambiguously so that he is able readily to convey to the understanding of his pupils the sense of arguments on knotty points of speculative and traditional science. He is kind-hearted, pious and religious, and has the Qur'ān by heart. He is endowed with noble qualities. The correction and arrangement of the Quranic exegesis¹⁵⁷ of Shaikh Faiẓī is principally his work. His age is between fifty and sixty.

Couplet.

What of argument regarding knowledge? Though it travel as ¹⁰⁶
far as Farqad,^157a
The mention of the name of Maulānā Jamālu-'d-dīn Muḥam-
mad will accompany it.

He is a most eminent and distinguished sage, and well known for the vigour of his understanding and his natural acumen. His belief in the Shaikhs is unshaken, and the firmness of his confidence in these men is wonderful. Most of his precious time is expended in perusing the works of this class of men, and he employs his life in the recitation of supererogatory prayers and petitions and in the perusal of the Qur'ān, and whatever comes to his board is at the disposal of the poor and needy. At the time when the controversy with the ‘Ulamā and the Shaikhs took place he was banished,¹⁵⁸ and having been appointed to be Qāẓī of Jaunpūr he was sent thither. When he joined the imperial Court at the time when it was at Ilāhābad^158a the Qāẓī-ship of Jaunpūr was bestowed on the Ottoman Qāẓī-zāda, an accomplished man of pleasant disposition and adorned with many mental perfections. Since that time Maulānā ‘Abdu-'sh-Shakūr has remained there in retirement, engaged in teaching and imparting knowledge, contenting himself with what is sufficient for subsistence, averse from covetousness, far removed from worldly perils and fears, and near to the salvation of faith.

He is the successor of his respected father. He is a young man who in childhood attained to perfection and excelled holy men. If in these latter days there be a son who is better than was his father it may be said that it is he who has attained this ¹⁰⁷ condition. He prosecuted his studies in most of those branches of knowledge which are included in the ordinary curriculum under his father, and his respected father-in-law, Miyān Sa‘du-'llāh Banī Isrā'īl, and subsequently made the society and companionship of his fellows the rule of his life, and became a courtier. May the most Holy God (be He exalted!) grant him repentance for his indulgence in opium, his pride, and his lying and boasting. At the time when, in accordance with the imperial order, he accompanied his father to the pargana of Bajwāra¹⁵⁹ and the spurs of the northern mountains, and was employed in the administration of that district, he wrote a letter to me from which the degree of perfection to which he, as a man, had attained may be inferred. That letter was as follows:—

Poetry.

I had a heart by means of which I enjoyed life, but my heart
perished from me owing to the change which it suffered.

“May the attendants of that possessor of a sublime disposition, that resort of excellence, be in good health. Oh, my lord! The concerns of my heart and soul, that is to say the only true concerns of a man, are firmly established on the threshold of sincere affection; but my earthly body (may the dust of the world be on its head!) consorts with the birds and beasts of the wilderness of superfluity,^159a nay, by God! it consorts with a multitude from the sight of which the very birds and beasts could not choose but flee. Glory be to God! I know not where I may find a remedy. My vile spirit now knows what a blessing health is. From the time when I first came to years of discretion to this day, when I have reached my fortieth year, all my endeavours have been directed towards the companionship of the most spiritually-minded men, wherein I might seek a remedy for my spiritual imperfections and the diseases of my soul, and now zeal for the Supreme and jealous God (may His majesty be exalted!) having affected me has brought on me a sore affliction, which none but He can cure. Cheerfulness,¹⁶⁰ contentment, and the quiet enjoyment of health have all been snatched from me. You, O Maulavī, will surely have experienced the magnanimous and affectionate solicitude of the Nawwāb Fayyāẓī,^160a that most learned and most wise man, unique in this age (may God enrich us from his perfection, and may He bestow on us the profitable honour of ¹⁰⁸ his discourse!), and you must have recognized it as one of the greatest of the Lord's benefits, and have returned thanks for this great gift. At the time when prayers are answered put up a petition for the needs of your slave. Salutations to you. May the attendants of the sympathetic Miyān Aḥmad, the marvel of the age, be in good health, and believe me to be desirous of reunion.”

Biyāna^160c is one of the districts in the eastern portion of India. The Shaikh from his childhood was in the service of Shaikh Muḥammad Ghauṯ,^160d and passed his time with him in fasts of forty days^160e and in exorcism, and subsequently himself continued these practices. He built a hospice in the district of Biyāna and was for many years resorted to by students and followers of the religious life. He employed himself in the instruction and spiritual guidance of such men. In knowledge of syntax he had no equal in his time. For seventy years he never broke his fast save on milk, green vegetables,¹⁶¹ and wild fruits. His liberality was profuse and open-handed. In the reign of Salīm Shāh^161a I went, in company with my maternal grandfather, to pay my respects to the Shaikh and took some lessons in the Kāfiyyah^161b from him. At last the Shaikh, withdrawing himself from all worldly concerns was overcome by stupor. He secluded himself alone in a room and would not admit even his sons to his presence, until in the year H. 989 (A.D. 1581) he departed from this world. He is buried in the hospice which he built. On the day of his death a sparrow fell down from the air on to the head of the corpse, and this was a matter of wonder to all who beheld it.

He was a native of Hindaun,^161c and had the reputation of being skilled in alchemy. It is said that the Shaikh was constantly in attendance on the emperor Humāyūn, who has obtained forgiveness of his sins, both in court and in camp, and that when the emperor arrived at Āgra after being defeated at Jausā^161d the ¹⁰⁹ Shaikh said,^161e “Something will be required for the maintenance of a fresh army,” and accordingly collected all the copper pots, dishes, and other vessels which could be found and, in the late emperor's presence, converted them into pure gold. This matter was noised abroad, but when I inquired into the truth of it from his sons, with whom I am connected by marriage, they told me that a darvīsh of great attainments¹⁶² had given their father a basket, full of the ingredients necessary for the transmutation of the baser metals, and that to whatever copper this was applied the alchemist's object was attained, but that after their father had once mixed these ingredients with the copper he had no further power of manufacturing gold, as he was unacquainted with the science of alchemy,—but God knows the truth!

I saw the Shaikh in Āgra in the days when Bairam Khān was in power in the house of Sayyid Shāh Mīr,^162a the nephew of Mīr Sayyid Rafī‘u-'d-dīn the traditionist. He was an old man of enlightened appearance and of a good disposition. He died in those days, and is buried in Hindaun.

Salīm Shāh used to call him Shāh Mubārak, and used to place his shoes before his feet. The Shaikh generally claimed to be a Sayyid, and was in great repute among the Afghāns. Thus when their power was on the wane and they were fleeing before the Mughuls some of the Afghāns seized Shaikh Islām^162c of Fatḥ-pūr suspecting him of being a wealthy man, and, having confined him in a strange manner, carried him off to the fort of Rantambhor. Shaikh Mubārak went thither from Alwar by way of Basāwar, and was the means of Shaikh Islīm's^162d liberation.

Shaikh Mubārak twice attained the honour of performing a pilgrimage to the glorious ka‘bah.

I was sixteen years of age at that time when, in company with my venerated father, I paid my respects to the Shaikh in Basā-wār, and after that, in the year H. 987 (A.D. 1579), when the ¹¹⁰ emperor was returning from his pilgrimage to Ajmīr at which the whole of the Qur'ān was read, and was journeying to Fatḥ-pūr by way of Alwar, I was again honoured by an interview with the Shaikh. He had, in truth, reached perfection and was most liberal and open-handed. It is now¹⁶³ reported that he has recently, at the age of ninety years, bidden farewell to this transitory world.

(Ladh) Sohna^163a is a pargana town of Mewāt, eighteen kurūh^163b distant from Dihlī. There is there a hot spring, rising from a mine of sulphur. The water is green in colour and smells of sulphur. Even in the winter time the water is so hot that it is impossible to bear it on the body. Bathing at that spring is a remedy for scald-head and itch. The smell and colour of the water are clear proof that it springs from sulphur. On summer nights, too, small flashes of fire may be seen on the hills surrounding the town, though nobody kindle a fire there.

The Shaikh was one of the most famous successors of Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-‘Azīz of Dihlī^163c and travelled resolutely in the path of poverty. He used to give instruction in Ṣūfī-istic books, such as the Fuṣūṣ^163d and the Naqd-i-fuṣūṣ,^163e to his pupils, who were seekers after the truth. The emperor, towards the end of the Shaikh's life, placed great confidence in him and sought the help of his auspices in several important matters of state. He appointed quarters for him in the ‘ibādatkhāna close to the imperial palace and used to admit him to private interviews at night, and the inverted prayers of the recitation of which the emperor was a witness became inverted in their effects.¹⁶⁴

In the year H. 998^164a (A.D. 1590) when the Shaikh fell sick of the complaint of which he died he sent for the worthy son of Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-‘Azīz Quṭb-i-‘Ālam, who was then employed in the army, from Dihlī, and, placing before him the patched robe, the staff, and the other insignia of Shaikh-dom, said to him, “These were a trust which I received from your venerable father. You are more worthy of them than I.” He then set out on his journey to the next world. The words “the truth of poverty”^164b were found to give the date of his death.

Shaikh Quṭb-i-‘Ālam, guided by God's grace, retired from the ¹¹¹ imperial service, and, obeying the call to follow in his venerable father's footsteps, guided his life thereby. He is settled in Dihlī, and is employed, by the emperor's order, in the guardianship of the footprint of his holiness the resort of apostleship^164c (the blessing and peace of God be upon him!), rendering service to all who visit it. If it please God, who is honoured, he will be endowed with the noble qualities of his honoured father.

He^164d also is one of the successors of Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-‘Azīz. In asceticism^164e he has no equal in these days, and in seeking solitude, he is the “Shibli¹⁶⁵ of the age. At the beginning of his career, when he was a student in Badāon, he used to be overcome by religious ecstasy, and sometimes even in the midst of his studies on hearing the chanting of a mystical song he would remain insensible for a whole watch of the day, more or less. When his intimate friends asked him what he had seen to bring this ecstatic trance upon him he would reply, “I know nothing of it.”

In consequence of the responsibilities which he incurred by his marriage, which is^165a a pitfall for enlightened seekers after knowledge,—

Couplet.

Who are the robbers whom we encounter on our road to
God?
Those robbers are no other than women—

he came to Dihlī in search of a livelihood, and there entered the service of Tatār Khān,^165b the governor of the city, who, though clad in the habiliments of the great ones of the earth, was one of the godly. The Shaikh attached himself as a disciple to Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-‘Azīz, and under him he studied all those books which are generally current and are included in the ordinary curriculum. He then spent several years in teaching, and was then suddenly drawn mysteriously by God's grace, and, abandoning all his occupations, he joined the circle of ascetic darvīshes in the Shaikh's hospice, and employed himself in striving in the path of holiness and in self-mortification. After attaining perfection he left human habitations and took up his dwelling near ¹¹² the footprint of his holiness the resort of apostleship (may the blessing and peace of God be upon him!), in a masjid known as the masjid of Khān-i-Jahān. There he dwells in religious seclusion, and, in spite of his having a large family, he follows a religious rule, with a firm trust in God. He had not taken one step from the corner of retirement when in the year H. 1003 (A.D. 1594-95) the Khān-i-Khānān¹⁶⁶ waited upon him, and asked him for his advice. He said, “Deem the following of the holy law^166a of Muḥammad (may the blessing and peace of God be upon him!) to be of the first importance.” At the time when this hastily compiled history was written Aḥmad-i-Ṣūfiyak^166b and Ḥisā-mak ^166c of Banāras, men newly converted to Islām, who in the religious strife of these latter days are branded with the mark of eternal execration—

Maṯnawī.

Stand aloof from the Sūfīs of the city and the country,
All of them are unmanly wretches, devourers of men.
Whatever one gives to them that they devour,
Whatever lies in their power that they do.
They have no occupation but sleeping and eating,
They take no thought on the day on which they shall die—

for the purpose of averting from themselves their evil reputation and concealing their gross immorality, formed the design of dispatching a farmān summoning from Dihlī to Lāhōr Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Ghanī with one or two of his surviving children, whose names will be mentioned hereafter, for the purpose of urging him to submit to the new orders,^166d which they themselves had most readily and cheerfully accepted. The Shaikh wrote a letter to me setting forth his helplessness and asking to be excused, and accordingly, after many representations Aḥmad-i-Ṣūfiyak was appeased, and abandoned his design, and he caused a letter to be written and sent to the Shaikh excusing him from attending in obedience to the summons and asking forgiveness for what he had done. Please God, the matter will end satisfactorily.

He is very learned in the traditional sayings of the prophet. ¹¹³ Having associated much with men who are devoted to a life of poverty and self-effacement he has now, for some time past, recognized the delights of such a life, and, the grace of God helping him, has set himself to follow it for good, and has no longer any dealings with the worldly, but is busied in teaching and instructing his pupils.

He has taken Ḥaqqī as his poetical name. He is a compendium of perfect qualities and a source of excellence. He gives instruction in all branches of knowledge, both in those in which the reasoning faculty is called into play and in those which depend on the memory. He has attained a high degree in Ṣūfī-ism, and among his works are the History of Madīnah the Tranquil , and a book on the modern Shaikhs of India, the date of the writing of which is given by the words zikru-'l-Auliyā.¹⁶⁷ From his earliest youth he has sought eagerly after God, and, on account of his long-standing friendship with them he was for some time the companion, in Fatḥpūr, of Shaikh Faiẓī and Mīrzā Niẓāmu-'d-dīn Aḥmad, and by means of them I also had the honour of being permitted to wait on him, and continually enjoyed the advantages of his society. When a change came over the spirit of the time and the men of the time, all of whom are corrupters of what is good and compounded of the abominations of their own natures, and it was no longer safe to trust the dispositions of one's friends, the companionship of such a one and such a one¹⁶⁸ became disagreeable to him, and, the grace of God influencing him, he was impelled to journey to the most noble Ka‘bah, and he left Dihlī for Gujarāt, in the condition of one who is mysteriously attracted by God, and cut off from all worldly concerns. Thanks to the good offices and assistance of Mīrzā Niẓāmu-'d-dīn Aḥmad he there obtained a passage on a ship bound for the Ḥijāz, but, being hindered by physical difficulties, he was unable to reach Madīnah the Tranquil (on its inhabitants be peace and salutation!), and he spent some time in Makkah the glorious with Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Wahhāb of India, the follower of ¹¹⁴ Shaikh Raḥmatu-'llāh the traditionist (may the mercy of God be upon him!), who, having returned from the pilgrimage to Makkah with Ḥājī Begam,^168a came to Agra, where I drank some of the water of Zamzam^168b from his auspicious hands, and took some lessons from him in the traditional sayings of Muḥammad, by way of a good augury, and from him, Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Wahhāh, that is, he received permission to give instruction in the traditional sayings, and then returned to his well-loved native land. Here he cloaks his Ṣūfī-ism by giving instruction in those branches of knowledge which are included in the ordinary course of education. His aspirations are so high that he will not, if God the most High please, be ensnared on his heavenly way, and fail of attaining his object.

At the time when he returned from Makkah the glorious to Dihlī, and I, perplexed and troubled in pursuit of my object, was on my way to the imperial camp, I had the opportunity of paying my respects to him for a few minutes, and after I had arrived at Lāhōr I wrote him a letter. I place a copy of it on record by way of invoking a blessing and as a memento:—

“After expressing my subjection to you, and the obligations which I owe you, I would represent that the affairs of this disappointed exile are, so far as is compatible with exile and disappointment, matter for thankfulness, and it is my hope that you too are constantly surrounded by God's protection. When you returned to Dihlī and honoured me for one delightful hour, that interview did nothing but excite my thirst and vehement desire for your society, and so much remained unsaid and unheard that I cannot express it. ‘A year of companionship is but an hour’¹⁶⁹ as has been said, and I myself experienced the truth of the saying. Indeed, the same might be said even of lifelong companionship (between friends). They said, ‘We have tarried for a day, or part of a day.’^169a This world does not allow us sufficient time for companionship, or the delights of the society of friends, if their friendship be true and its bonds strong: it may be that on the morrow, beyond the grave, we shall enjoy this companionship, ‘seated face to face on thrones’^169b please God. To-day we must devote our efforts to strengthening the bonds and to directing ¹¹⁵ our aims aright. The time for true companionship will be the morrow, when presence and absence will be alike, and what we here call separation and union will be the same. May God (be He glorified and exalted!) grant to us some kind of affinity, even though it should be common to all, so that we may understand truly what sincerity really means. I pray you to keep your heart towards me, as mine is towards you. I have ascertained with the eye of certainty that the real meaning of affection and the true signification of friendship have implanted themselves in your nature, ‘and praise be to God therefor.’ May he increase them and not diminish them.’ There was an honoured man, one of the dwellers in the two holy places, who used constantly to recite this prayer:—‘O God! as Thou hast favoured so do Thou increase Thy favours, and as Thou hast increased them so do Thou continue them, and as Thou hast continued them, so do Thou bless them to us.’ May God (be He glorified and exalted!) increase, continue, and bless to us the gift of true knowledge and love, by the dignity of the chief of the first and the last of men, Muḥammad, and his family, and his companions, all of them! If you should ever honour your friend with a kind letter I hope that you will also honour and delight me with whatever holy news you may have of his holiness the Shaikh, him to whom all men turn, and who is named Kalīmu-'llāh (may God bless and preserve him!), and that you will convey to his noble presence a few words from me, so that I may not disappear from his memory. Much as I wished to write something on this subject my pen refused its office. Nor was there any need that I should write anything, for when the time came for me to make my requests of the Mīrzā¹⁷⁰ I composed some verses on this subject, moreover I wrote plainly that there was no occasion for ceremony. I hope that you will be diligent in delivering that letter. Farewell.”

Shaikh Faiẓī, after his return from the Dakan, following his old custom of ingeniously tormenting his friends, was very desirous of gathering them round him in order to increase the attractions of his social circle and to indulge in conversation with them and was constantly annoying and troubling them (to come to him).

¹¹⁶ He sent several letters from Lāhor to express the strong desire which he had of summoning Shaikh ‘Abdu-'l-Ḥaqq to him. The Shaikh, however, was exceedingly vexed, and would not come, but sent letters containing excuses, and made his seclusion from the world his pretext for not coming. Shaikh Faiẓī then sent in reply the letter of which a copy appears below, and this is the last letter which he wrote, and what is written in it is written.

“My strong desire of seeing you, my spiritual friend, dear to the Lord (may He long preserve you!) was not of the nature of official or formal matters, that it should have been reduced to writing. At first I was not aware that you were sick at heart— that heart which displays bounty—and it is probable that I may have expressed my desire (somewhat too strongly). After I became aware that you had closed this way of access I gave your wishes precedence over my own, and I trust that the odour (of this action) will be agreeable to you. My request now is that you should not give yourself over to melancholy in your place of retirement. Two or three days ago that choicest of saints, Miyān Shaikh Mūsā,¹⁷¹ honoured my poor dwelling with a visit, and said that it was not improbable that you would be coming hither about this time. I pressed him to tell me what grounds he had for saying this, but he left the matter uncertain and undetermined. I swear by God, the Supreme Object of worship, that I gave him no hint of my own wishes, nor shall I do so.

If you remain at home, it is light, and if you come it will be light upon light. I swear by God that I have constrained myself to forego this wish and that I have not of my own accord given any intimation of my desire, nor shall I do so. I hope that you will not vex yourself further regarding this matter. But if I had wings I would sit daily on the roof of your chamber and would gather ¹¹⁷ the grains of your affectionate discourse, trilling forth the song of my desire. What more shall I write? Your pearl-like^171a petitions are few and far between. I pray you for God's sake close not the road against the caravan of my secrets. If it is closed from your side it shall not be from mine. Greetings. I send supplications to the Alexander of the throne of holy poverty, Miyān Buhlūl. In the past two days what is expressed in the following quatrain has come to pass in a certain counection:—

Quatrain.

“Faiẓī! Old age is upon thee, walk circumspectly,
Let each step that thou takest be such as may be
approved.
Through spectacles of glass thou wilt perceive naught,
Tear a bit from thy heart and place it on thine eyes.”

Glory be to God! That Shaikh Faiẓī has passed away and become a by-word, and as for these, the mention of whom is still among us for a few days, or rather for a few hours, who are they that we should waste time in addressing them where preparation is even now being made for our departure hence? All that remains to them is the wind of speech. How long shall we waste our time in measuring it?

Couplet.

It will not be long before no trace of us remains,
You have broken the flask and spilt the wine, there is no
cupbearer (to replace it).

He originally came from Banoda, a village in Sind. He was a pupil of Makhdūmu-'l-Mulk. He is distinguished for the nobility of his descent. Although he was formerly much puffed up with the pride of learning and youth he has now gained experience, and his former pride has been changed for poverty and humility. For some time he held the appointment of Ṣadr of the Ṣūba of the Panjāb^172a but has now for a long time past held that of Qāẓī of the new settlement of the Ilāhābād,^172b and remains in the imperial service, contenting himself with the small allowance which has been allotted to him in that city, and refraining from constantly visiting the houses of the worldly. He is endowed with probity and is zealous in devotion to God.

In those branches of knowledge which call for the exercise of the reasoning faculty he was a pupil of Ḥakīmu-l-Mulk,^173a and he acquired those which depend on the memory from other teachers. He is a capable and ready divine, and very liable to fits of religious ecstasy. He is now in attendance on the imperial court. His understanding is good. He is inclined to religious retirement, and most of his time is spent in devotion. He was employed for some years, by the interest of Qilīj Khān,^173b in the administration of some parganas in the Dū-āb. He has now come to court and is ranked among the manṣabdārs.^173c

He has acquired the honour of performing the pilgrimage to Makkah the glorious and Madinah the delectable. He is well-versed in those branches of learning which depend on the memory and was for a long time in the imperial service. He was employed for four years, alone and without any co-adjutor, on the translation of the Mahābhārata, which is known as the Razm-nāma ,^173d and what was begun by Naqīb Khān was finished by him. On account of an accusation of the crime of cow-killing which was brought against him by the Hindus of that pargana^173e an order was issued for his banishment to Bhakkar, and the Khān-i-Khānān, who was in those days in charge of the Ṣūba (of Multān), treated him with great consideration and kindness, and applied ointment to the wounds of his soul. After that land had been completely subjugated the Khān-i-Khānān took Ḥājī Sulṭān with him thence, and promised to procure the reversal of the sentence of banishment which had been passed against him. Ḥājī Sulṭān returned secretly to his native place, and the Khān-i-Khānān, after conquering the province of Asīrgaṛh and Burhānpūr, prayed in one of his petitions for the reversal of the sentence against him. His request was granted, and Providence watched over the Ḥājī's affairs, so that the emperor privately ordered Shaikh Abū-l-Faẓl to appoint him Karōrī of Thānēsar and Karnāl,¹⁷⁴ so that he was freed from the fear that had beset him. He still holds the appointment of Karōrī.

¹¹⁹ Poetry.

“How many mysterious favours are bestowed by God,
The mystery of which is great to the intelligent^174a
understanding!”

These events were, as one might say, comfort^174b after adversity.

At the time when Ḥājī Sultān was translating the Mahābhārata one asked him what it was that he was writing. He replied, “I am translating what was well known ten thousand years ago into the modern tongue.”

He is a Sayyid of authentic descent, adorned with the excellence of learning and decked with the jewel of piety. His hand is drawn within the skirt of contentment, and he passes his time in instructing students, having his dwelling on the far side of the river at Agra, near to where the late Shaikh Bahā-'u-'ddīn, the Muftī, used to live. Students and Ṣūfīs are gathered together in his hospice and profit by his companionship. He had one pupil, a one-eyed man named Maulānā Farīd, of whom it was said that, although¹⁷⁵ he had not studied deeply, as soon as a difficult question or subtle and obscure argument was propounded to him from any advanced^175a book whatsoever, he would at once call for pen and inkstand, and, having reduced it to writing, would solve it immediately, although he could not give the solution orally, or even read what he had himself written. Shaikh Ẓiyā'u-'llāh^175b and the whole of the Ghauṯiyyah order submitted themselves entirely to the authority of this (Farīd), so that their subjection to the Sayyid may be imagined. I have also heard that the same Farīd would in one night relate to Sayyid Shāh Mīr events that had just happened in the farthest parts of the world, east or west. Some attributed this power to the possession of a jinn, and others to other causes. In the year in which the emperor summoned Shaikh Ẓiyā'u-'llāh from Āgra with great favour and kindness and assigned a place to him in the ‘Ibādat-khāna on an occasion when there was a gathering of the Shaikhs and ‘Ulamā, I one night in private questioned the Shaikh concerning the matter of Farīd the scribe, and, after relating what was spread abroad concerning him, I said, “Are these things really so?” The Shaikh first of all enumerated his own fragmentary writings and the works of which he was the author, detailed his own accomplishments and acquirements, and gave me a full account of himself, and then said, “In spite of all these favours which God (may His Majesty be exalted!) has bestowed upon me I cannot call myself so much us a gleaner (in the field of knowledge) after Shaikh Farīd, and all that you have heard of him does not amount to one hundredth part of the truth. His dignity is above it all, and he has attained this great good fortune by means of sweeping the threshold of the holy Sayyid Shāh Mīr. Now I had seen Sayyid Shāh Mīr before this at Badāon, whither he had gone on business connected with his subsistence allowance. A copy of the Mashāriqu-'l-Anwār¹⁷⁶ was between us, and we had much learned discourse. He certainly had the meditative faculty strongly developed, a pleasant disposition, a ready understanding and a good stock of knowledge, but I did not find him such a prodigy as Shaikh Ẓiyā'u-'llāh and other men had represented. As for the rest, God the most High knows the truth. It may be that he purposely concealed his abilities from me, but indeed what need is there to suppose that he might not have displayed to others those abilities of the display of which^176a he allowed me to be disappointed?

He is one of the cousins of Sayyid Shāh Mīr. He studied most of the books usually current, and acquired all such knowledge as is included in the ordinary course of education under Miyān Vajīhu-'d-dīn,^176b in Gujarāt, and also became his disciple in spiritual matters. He acquired the honour of performing the pilgrimage of Islām, and studied the traditions in the Ḥijāz, and there received authority to give instruction therein. Thence he returned to India, and spent some time in Lāhor in the company of wealthy and powerful men, who were concerned with the affairs of the state. He then broke off his companionship with these men, and lived in Sirhind, clad in the garb of Shaikhs and the raiment of those who follow a life of holy poverty, and for some time gave instruction there to his followers, who were clad in blue, and he also claimed to be a religious leader. Since he was ever desirous of going again to Gujarāt, and thence to the two holy places, he could not rest in the district of Sirhind, and went to Bangāl, where he is now travelling. It remains to be seen whither his destiny will lead him and in what land he will at last find the happiness of retirement.

He is the successor of Shaikh Muḥammad Ghauṯ.¹⁷⁷ Few of the Shaikhs of this age can be his equals in Sūfī-istic converse. In his assembly the talk was ever of “true knowledge,” and nothing was spoken of save the contemplation of unity and the asceticism of the Sūfīs, but who knows what his private opinions may be,^177a or to what extent he will carry his claims? At the beginning of his career, when the report of him was spread abroad in all the surrounding country, I heard that the Shaikh had succeeded his father in the throne of holy poverty and religious leadership and that in some accomplisḥ-ments ^177b he excelled him, for instance, that he could explain the meaning of the Qur'ān in such a manner that there was no need of a commentary,^177c besides having committed the Qur'ān to memory, so that he had it on the tip of his tongue. Accordingly in the year H. 970 (A.D. 1562-63) I went to visit him in Āgra, and that without^177d the intervention of any person to introduce me and to act as a mentor, and in the character of one who was altogether free from ceremony and had been long disappointed of his object, a character to which I had accustomed myself. Indeed, in visiting holy men worldly means and the intervention of men interested in externals only are disturbing elements in the attainment of one's object. I made the usual salutation and I had a conversation with him face to face. The Shaikh himself, from the high consideration in which he was held, was probably a slave to those ceremonial observances dear to Shaikhs' sons, and my unceremonial manner of visiting him displeased him. Those who were present in his assembly said to me, “Where do you come from?” I said, “From Sahsarām.”¹⁷⁸ When they asked me whether I had made any advance in the study of the sciences, I said that I had, at one time or another, studied a little of each one of them. Since Sahsawān is an inconsiderable town and at that time Qilīj Khan,^178a Caugān Begi, the disciple of the Shaikh's father, was jāgirdār of that place, I was of small account in his eyes, and he esteemed me lightly and began to jest with me and mock me, and made a sign to a jester who was present, prompting him to scare me and turn me out of my place, but I, becoming aware of these proceedings, the like of which I had often witnessed, pretended that I had noticed nothing and posed as an innocent fool. The jester then began his pranks, saying, “the odour of some sweet scent has reached my nostrils, and my brain is becoming disordered, let those who are present in the assembly have a care, lest I do some one a mischief.” He then began to foam at the mouth and one of the Shaikh's companions, who posed as a Ṣūfī, asked me whether I had applied the scent to myself. I said, “Yes; but what is the matter?” He said, “This person whom you see in this state of unconsciousness was once bitten by a mad dog, and now, whenever he smells a sweet scent he falls to foaming at the mouth, howling like a dog, and tries to bite people. Have a care for yourself.” Those who were present there began to flee and the Shaikh too, inaugurating this new custom, joined with them in setting himself knowingly to terrify me, and became the accomplice ^178b of those devilish men. At that moment I said, “It is strange that men travel from distant lands to this exalted threshold in order to obtain the fulfilment of their desires when, as a matter of fact, one who has been bitten by a mad dog cannot find a remedy here.” The Shaikh asked me whether I knew of a remedy, and, on my replying that I did, asked me what it was. I replied, “This man should be beaten on the head with shoes and clods, as Shaikh Sa'dī (may God have mercy upon him!) said:—

They were all astonished, and I continued, “The strange thing is,” I said, “that kulūkh is also the name of a vegetable drug, which is a remedy for the bite of a dog.” The Shaikh then became uneasy,¹⁷⁹ fearing that his jest had fallen flat, and said, “Come, let us go and busy ourselves with the study of the words of God and His prophet.” Then, taking a copy of the glorious Qur'ān he proceeded to expound a verse from the chapter of “The Cow,”^179a and in doing so exercised the right of private judgment very freely.^179b His pupils, blockheads that they were, assented to every absurdity that he concocted, saying, “We believe it, we accept it!” I, since my heart was full (of indignation) said, “Perhaps this interpretation which is given by the Shaikh is to be found in the commentary.” He replied, “I am speaking of the secondary meaning^179c of the text and what may be inferred from it,^179d and this is a common practice and by no means a peculiarity of my own.” I said, “Taking this for granted, is your interpretation literal or the metaphorical meaning of the text?” He replied, “The metaphorical meaning.” I replied, “Pray then explain the connection between the two interpretations,” and led him on into an argument regarding the meanings of the text. He replied disconnectedly and glanced, in an agitated manner, in all directions. When I held him firmly to the point he lost his temper, and said, shutting up the Qur'ān, “I have not studied dialectics.” I said, “You have presumed so far as to interpret a text of the Qur'ān in a manner unsupported by tradition, and it is necessary that the connection between the literal interpretation and (your) metaphorical interpretation should be investigated.” He then turned the subject and began to ask me about myself. In the meantime I produced a portion of a commentary which I had written on the Qaṣīdatu'l-Burdah ,¹⁸⁰ and called his attention to the expressions in the opening couplet of that qaṣīdah which had struck me. He praised my work, and himself also said something on the same subject, and our interview came to an end in that manner. This was all I saw of him until the time when I entered the imperial service, when the Shaikh in obedience to a summons from the Court came alone and helpless to the ‘Ibādat-khāna, where he took his place. It was on a Friday when the Shaikh with one or two of his intimate companions first entered the ‘Ibadat-khāna and Mīrzā Ghiyāṯu-'d-din ‘Alī the theologian,^180a Mīrzā Ākh'und, and Mīrzā ‘Alī Āṣaf Khān^180b had been ordered to examine the Shaikh thoroughly and to question him on his Ṣūfī-ism, in order to see what he would let fall. Āṣaf Khān introduced into the conversation the following quatrain from the Liwā‘iḥ,^180c

“If thoughts of the rose pass in thy heart, thou becomest a
rose,
If thoughts of the passionate nightingale pass, thou
becomest a nightingale,
Thou art only an atom, God is all,
If thou accustom thyself to meditate on Him who is all in
all, thou wilt become all.”

He then asked, “How can God the most Holy be described as “all” or “the whole,” since He is above being defined as a part or the whole?” The Shaikh who had undergone much tribulation before coming to Court, and whose pride, haughtiness and self-conceit were completely broken, since he had endured much trouble, was¹⁸¹ very modest and indistinctly muttered a few words which nobody understood. At last I, growing bold, ventured to say, “Although the Maulavī Jāmī (may his tomb be sanctified!) has in this quatrain applied the expression “the whole” to God the most Holy and most High, yet he has in another quatrain spoken of Him as being divisible into parts, and far be that from the most High!

Quatrain.

“As for this love which is a part of the Indissoluble One
(whom) we (love)
God forbid that it should be comprehended of our intelli-
gence,
Happy will it be for us if there flash a ray from the light
of certainty
Which will free us from the darkness of our doubts.”

The meaning of these passages is that whatever can be conceived, whether it be the whole or a part, is nothing but God, and that besides Him there is no true existence. In short, since words fail to express the writer's meaning adequately he uses them in various senses, explaining (God's existence) sometimes as a whole and sometimes as (possessing) parts.” I then adduced several propositions regarding the inherent unity of essence, a principle which had at that time become ingrained in me, and called upon the Shaikh to corroborate my arguments, and both ¹²⁵ the emperor and the Shaikh were well pleased with my discourse. About this time Shaikh Isma‘īl, the half-brother of the Shaikh, near whom I lived in the quarter of the Kh'āja-yi-Jahān in Fatḥpūr, and with whom I was on terms of intimate companionship, took me, in obedience to Shaikh Ẓiyā'u-'llāh's wish, to the ‘Ibādatkhāna, and there introduced me to him, and related to him the story of my meeting with him eleven years before, which he had heard from me. Shaikh Ẓiyā'u-'llāh was much perturbed and said that he did not remember that any such thing had happened. The Shaikh, although he pretends to refrain from company, which is really self-advertisement, now lives in Āgra, in outward appearance, like his father, one of the holy men, while on the contrary he spends his time in self-indulgence and idleness, clad in the raiment of men of rank, and retains his old habits, many strange utterances, calculated to deceive the vulgar, and delivered with apparent simplicity, being reported. I have not space to record them.

Mīr Abū'l-Ghaiṯ of Bukhārā¹⁸² (may the mercy of God be upon him!) used to say, “Let him be what he may, with his devotee's raiment, his assemblies of those vowed to holy poverty, and his discourses on mysticism. We believe in him with our whole heart!”

In the year in which the Khān-i-Zamān was defeated^182a Shaikh Ẓīyā'u-'llāh accompanied the army to Ambeṭhī, and had an interview with his holiness Miyān Shaikh Niẓāmu-'d-dīn (may his tomb be sanctified!). When the Miyān was commenting on the blessed verse, “And therein shall they be given to drink of a cup of wine, mixed with the water of Zanjabīl, a fountain in paradise named Salsabīl,”^182b Shaikh Ẓiyā'u-'llāh, with a view of displaying his ability, interrupted the discourse, and said, “There is a discrepancy between this verse and another verse of the Qur'ān.” The Miyān was moved to anger and said, “Holy is God! The father dived in that (sea of doubt) and must now be feeling the utmost need of intercession, and the son here sets himself to prove discrepancies between the words of God (be He honoured and glorified!)”

He was a high-minded man and a follower of the pure religion who had so acquired angelic qualities that they became, as it were, ingrafted in his noble nature. Though clad in the outward garb of wealth he possessed the inward attributes of holy poverty. From association with many of the great Shaikhs of his time he had profited much, and had inherited much of the customs of his noble ancestors. In good breeding, but especially in liberal disbursement of his substance,¹⁸³ in independence of character, good fellowship, and uprightness in his dealings, he was one of the noblest of God's works. He followed the ceremonial observances of the law and imitated the laudable qualities of the ancients and their successors so closely that he omitted not the observance of one tittle of the holy law.^183a Such were his endeavours to fulfil all the requirements of the law of the congregation^183b that even in the time of his mortal sickness, when he was suffering from a painful chronic disorder he did not omit the recital of the “Allāhu Akbar”^183c at the commencement of his prayers. The conversation in his assemblies consisted always of texts from the Qur'ān, traditional sayings of the prophet, and the words of holy men. He died in the year H. 995 (A.D. 1587),^183d and the words “The Mīr of laudable qualities”^183e were found to give the date of his death.

When the heart in calling loved ones to remembrance blossoms like the rose it is not becoming that the dust of vexation should reach or settle upon the hearts of friends even though the account of their lives be somewhat prolonged.

Miyān Kamālu-d-dīn Ḥusain is the worthy son of Maulānā Ḥasan of Shīrāz who at the time when Shāh Isma‘īl was expelled from Shīrāz went to Makkah the glorious, and on his return thence came to Gujarāt in the reign of Sulṭān Sikandar Lōdī,¹⁸⁴ and, accompanying the caravan of Sayyid Rafi‘u-d-dīn the traditionist,^184a and Mīyān Abū-'l-Fatḥ of Khurāsān, the father of Miyān Budh, he took up his residence in Agra. The famous and well-known Shaikh Zainu-d-dīn^184b praises him as follows:—

127 “My verse is of both reason and tradition, therefore I would
that it should be hearkened to
By him who combines the knowledge of sciences both of
reason and tradition, Maulānā Ḥasan.”

Miyān Kamālu-d-dīn Ḥusain is an angel in the form of a man, whose laudable qualities and praiseworthy attributes are more than can be either written or related. The emperor, recognizing that he was distinguished for his greatness and loftiness (of mind), was exceedingly desirous that he should enter the imperial service. At last he abandoned everything, and contenting himself with a small grant of land for his subsistence found complete happiness in the exile of poverty and the honour of good faith, and spends his time in continual devotion. He lives, free from care, sometimes in Dihlī and sometimes in Agra. From earliest youth till old age he has walked unintermittently in the path of devotion, reciting the praises of God, giving alms, reciting set portions of the word of God, and reading the Qur'ān, knowing no other habit of life; but with all this excellence and perfection in religious matters he has the highest ability, and perfect eloquence, excellent penmanship, skill in orthography and a masterly style are his by inheritance.

When I first came to Agra in my youth, in the time of Bairam Khān, the first place where I lodged was his masjid, where bounty was bestowed upon me, and his dwelling, where my soul was cherished, and there, in my opinion, the gates of happiness were first opened to me.

From that time till the time of writing this hasty memoir a period of full forty years has elapsed, during which time I have observed that his kindness, sympathy, and regard for my friendship have increased daily, although (I could) not (have believed that) there was room for any increase:—

Poetry.

Enough of love, for that grows less, enough of beauty, for
that decays.
But my love for thee and thy beauty remain undiminished
—nay, have increased.

What now follows is a few drops distilled from his musk-diffusing pen, now incorporated by me in this record of friendship. They are as follows:—

“In¹⁸⁵ the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! ¹²⁸
We bless his prophet, the gracious one, and love for thee
has not waned but its strength is increased towards
thee,

and my desire towards thee is as it is.

This atom of dust, inconsiderable and full of defects and blemishes, Kamālu-d-dīn Ḥusain, after conveying to you the greetings of an exile and the salutations of one who longs to see you, with the tongue of abridgment and brevity, of supplication and poverty, conveys to the enlightened mind, coruscating with benignity, namely, the mind of my worshipful master, the resort of clemency (may God save and preserve him and bestow on him all that pertains to matters both of religion and of the world!), the intelligence that since in these mournful days the hardships of loneliness and the grief of separation, the anxiety of religious duties and the absence of all traces of love and friendship have become my lot, I have sometimes in my restlessness travelled to the imperial city of Dihlī and have there acquired the honour of visiting the blessed tombs (of the Saints), and at other times have gone to Agra to see my friendless children (may God guard them with his power!) who dwell there in retirement, and I was much disturbed in mind, when those kind letters from my lord¹⁸⁶ began to arrive at irregular intervals. I swear by God that they conveyed very much consolation and comfort to my mournful heart, and for some days I took delight in studying and repeating them, and morning and evening I raised and still raise my hands in prayer to the All-Wise, praying Him to grant length of life to my lord:—^186a

Hemistich.

(I pray to) God that thou mayest live till the day of
resurrection.

But I will not dilate further on this subject, and will commit it to the care of the All-Wise God who knows the truth, and passing to my ulterior (outward) object, will bring it to your consideration,^186b informing you that for a long time I endured great grief and sorrow from hearing of the death of that repository of humanity, inseparably connected with liberality, him who had acquired all perfections, Mīrzā Niẓāmu-d-dīn Aḥmad, and from the passing away of all the excellence of that phoenix of the age and of his love and faithful affection for you, my lord.¹⁸⁷ “Verily we are God's, and to Him do we return!” What can I say, and to whom can I confide these griefs, which assail me ¹²⁹ incessantly and repeatedly? At all events we are awaiting our own death, and we have no resource but the favour of the bountiful God. My tongue is now ever chanting this prayer, “O God have mercy upon us, behold the sweat of our brows and the multitude of our groans! May the physician be disappointed of us, and may our friends weep for us! O God, have mercy upon us when the earth surrounds us, and our friends love us! Scatter Thy favours among us, and may the wind cease to blow upon us!” I hope that our end will be good and that we shall preserve our faith unblemished. Since the bearer of this letter was in great haste to depart I have written it hurriedly at night, and have not been able to explain one thousandth part of the desire which I have towards your service. You will be able to conceive it in your pure heart, for verily hearts have intercourse one with another. Salutations and honour be upon you and on him who is with you, both first and last, both inwardly and outwardly.”

He is one of the foremost^187a among the wise men of the age and one of the chief among profound and eminent scholars. He acquired a thorough knowledge of Islamic tradition under Sayyid Rafī'u-d-dīn the traditionist, and has now dwelt for about fifty years in the quarter named after the above-mentioned Mīr in Agra, engaged in teaching those branches of knowledge which call for the exercise of the reasoning faculty as well as those which depend upon the memory. Many able and ready scholars have sat at his feet and have gone out into the world (with the fruits of his teaching). Both I and Miyān Kamālu-d-dīn Ḥusain, just mentioned, shared the benefits of being taught by this great man. His most noble and orthodox son, Shaikh ‘Īsā, is now, by the emperor's appointment, the authorized deliverer of fatwās¹⁸⁸ in Agra.

130 He was an old Shaikh who took up his residence in Sambhal. Miyān Ḥātim of Sambhal^188a was his pupil, and used sometimes to visit him and request him to put up a fātiḥah on his behalf. On one occasion I, when I was in attendance on the late Miyān Ḥātim in my childhood, had the honour of waiting upon the Maulānā.

He was one of the foremost among the distinguished men (of his day) and was employed in the instruction of students in the college of the imperial city of Dihlī. In those branches of knowledge which depend on the memory and which are usually studied in India, he was the most accomplished man of his time. He had a generous disposition.

He was one of the contemporaries and equals in age of Shaikh Ḥusain. In knowledge of mathematics, philosophy, and medicine he was unequalled, and as a teacher he was associated with Shaikh Ḥusain, and by the blessing of their noble companionship the doors of bounty were opened to students. The Maulavī was possessed of considerable wealth, and one night some thieves, instigated by the inhabitants of the city, broke into his house and murdered him.^188d

He was a most learned man and performed the duties of his office of Qāẓī with great integrity and honesty. He acquired his knowledge and good breeding from his teacher, Shaikh Niẓāmu-ddīn of Ambēṭhī¹⁸⁹ (may his tomb be sanctified!), and the Shaikh, from the time when the Miyān first began to study in his hospice, had a special regard for him and bestowed care on his education, and whenever the Qāẓī used to make his request, saying, “Why should not I too receive my share from the reservoir of your saintship?” Shaikh Niẓāmu-d-dīn would always reply, “Qāẓī Mubārak has devoured this world and gained (his reward in) the next.” The Qāẓī lived highly regarded, honoured, and respected ¹³¹ to the end of his life, and thus too took his departure to the next world.

Among the sages and learned men who came and settled in Gopāmau for the purpose of studying under the Qāẓī (on him be God's mercy!), and there grew to manhood, so that for the sake of profiting by their society men came from great distances, and attained to perfection thereby, was the respected Budh, who used to give instruction in all the books commonly studied. Another was Sayyid Muḥīyy, of whom the same may be said, and there were others too in the same category. That caravan of sojourners has now reached its journey's end, leaving no successors, and the mansions and abodes of learning have now been cleared of the tigers of the forest of knowledge, so that those who, fox-like, are ever ready to creep into an earth, have taken their place. The author of the Mashāriqu-'l-Anwār too makes the same complaint of his own time, saying no sooner is the den clear of the lioness with two cubs than the gravid vixen enters it in the morning.

Verse.

This one small loaf^189a remains to poor Ḥasan,
I fear that day when not even this will be left.

He was a learned man, argumentative and disputatious, and in his knowledge of first principles and deductions therefrom he had no equal in his time. The power of his memory¹⁹⁰ was such that in the midst of an argument when there was any necessity for an appeal to any authority, he would seem to recite from memory whole pages and would say, “This is what is written in such and such a book, look it up and see,” and would thus confute his adversary, but afterwards, when the book was searched, no trace of the pretended quotation would be found. In this manner he one day confuted, in the imperial assembly, Maulānā Iliyās the astrologer, who had been the tutor of the Emperor Muḥammad Humāyūn, and had great skill and readiness in the preparation of astronomical tables, so that the Maulānā, disgusted with his opposition, set out from Court, and travelling through the pargana of Mohān^190a in the Sarkār of Lakhnau, which was his jāgīr, he gave up his military appointment in the imperial service, and ¹³² proceeded in haste to Gujarāt, and thence to Makkah the glorious, and thence went to the land of 'Irāq and Āẕarbāījān, and Ardabīl, which was his well-loved native land, and there he died. The story of his dealings with Shāh Ismā‘īl II is well known, and is briefly as follows: When Maulānā Iliyās arrived at Ardabīl he wrote a letter to Shāh Ismā‘īl, who had been confined by Shāh Ṭahmāsp in the fortress of Qahqaha, saying, “From the aspects of the planets I have ascertained that in such a month you will obtain your freedom, and from the dungeon will attain to the highest rank, and will sit on the throne of the kingdom. Just as he had prophesied something was put into Shāh Ṭahmāsp's cup after a short space of time, and the affairs of Irāq fell into great confusion, and the amīrs and ministers of state summoned Shāh Ismā‘īl from his prison, by way of Ardabīl, with a view of setting him on the throne. Now the maulavī had said in his letter, “On your way from Qahqaha, when you reach Ardabīl it is necessary that you pay me a visit so that certain agreements and settlements may be made between us in your presence, and certain rites of exorcism may be performed while we are face to face.” It so happened that Shāh Ismā‘īl was in great haste and did not visit the maulavī's house, but after leaving Ardabīl he turned back and went to the maulavī's house with the object of waiting upon him. The maulavī shut the door of his mansion and refused to grant him an interview. After waiting a long time the king was compelled to break the door, and, entering the maulavī's room by force, waited upon him; but the maulavī covered his face, and, turning round, sat facing the wall, and said, “The appointed hour passed, and you did not come; why should I now see your face?” Shāh Ismā‘īl turned away disappointed, and although he became king, the nobles of the realm, a year after he had ascended the throne, conspired to prompt his sister, Parījān Khānum, to attempt his life. He became cognizant of the plot, but before he could do anything to baffle it Parījān Khānum suffocated him and left his ¹³³ room, closing the door behind her on his corpse.

He is a true^191a ‘Arab and is nephew to that Shaikh Zainu-d-dīn of Jabal-i‘Āmilī who was an ecclesiastical dignitary and religious guide among the Shī‘ahs, and on whom the Sulṭān of Turkey after much finesse and many stratagems laid hands when he was in Makkah the glorious, and after summoning him to Constantinople, put him to death. Shaikh Muḥammad is ranked among the manṣabdārs, and is distinguished for his bravery and valour and noted for that generosity and liberality which are characteristic of the ‘Arabs. He is also well known for his good breeding and courtesy and those branches of knowledge which are generally treated of in the Arabic language, and in the humanities generally his attainments are such that he may be called a second Kisā'ī.^191b The following letter, which he wrote in Lāhōr in answer to one from me, in which I had been guilty of some insolence, when our friendship first began, is an example of his correspondence.

[Here follow five letters in Arabic, of which the Editor of the Text writes in a footnote, “Be it known that the whole of the text of these five letters, from beginning to end, is full of errors, and I have found it impossible, notwithstanding the utmost care, to correct it from the three manuscripts at my disposal.” After a careful examination of the text in MSS. (A) and (B) I am compelled to agree with the Editor. Professor T. W. Arnold, who has kindly come to my assistance, agrees with me that the text is so corrupt that no satisfactory translation of these letters can be given. He also agrees, however, that the text, unsatisfactory as it is, is sufficient to indicate that the letters are not worth translating and consist, almost entirely, of long strings of bombastic and extravagant compliments. For this reason I have refrained from an attempt to reconstruct the text from other MSS.—T. W. H.]

He was the faithful pupil of Shāh Fatḥu-'llāh, but notwithstanding this he is an orthodox Sunnī. He entered the imperial service in the year in which Kābul was conquered, and was entrusted with the education of the emperor's eldest son until the young prince could repeat certain lessons from Persian and other treatises on philosophy. Shaikh Abū'l-Faẓl also for some time secretly received instruction from him in the exact sciences, and in physics, and other branches of philosophy, but notwithstanding this he never attempted to advance the Shaikh's interests, so that while he himself has his place on the carpet in the imperial presence his master takes his stand on the bare floor. Shaikh Ḥasan ‘Alī, finding that the conduct of such men was not in accord with his religious views, gave up the allowance which he used to receive and went to Gujarāt, where he associated himself for a time with Mīrzā Niẓāmu-d-dīn Aḥmad. The latter, and his son, Muḥammad Sharīf, received much profitable instruction from him in those branches of knowledge which exercise the reasoning faculty, and in secular learning, so much so indeed, that they advanced to perfection therein.

After the death of Shāh Fatḥu-'llāh Shaikh Abū-'l-Faẓl and other courtiers recounted some of the Shaikh's accomplishments ¹³⁷ and perfections in the imperial assembly, whereby the emperor was so impressed that Shaikh Ḥasan ‘Alī is now (recognized as) the spiritual successor of Shāh Fatḥu-'llāh. At that time an imperial order was issued summoning Shaikh Ḥasan ‘Alī to the imperial presence, and he accordingly came to Lāhōr, but when he paid his respects at Court Niẓāmu-d-dīn Aḥmad directed him to perform the sijdah (instead of the kūrnish),¹⁹³ which so displeased him that he made his release from the obligation of performing the ceremony a condition of his attendance, and even in his house he could not bear (to witness at Court) so many things which were abominations to him, and “the elephant once more remembered Hindustan”^193a and on the plea of an intention to visit his mother he obtained leave to go to his own country, and in the year H. 998 (A.D. 1589-90) he arrived at Thatha, when the Khān-i-Khānān was governor of that province, and having attained to trust in God and contentment of heart he set out for his own country, and when he arrived at Hurmuz he sent a message to the officers of the imperial court saying, “Praise be to God! I am freed from the hypocritical companionship of my friends.” Please God he has attained the object of his desires.

Although he is by religion a Shí‘ah^193c he is distinguished for his impartiality, justice, virtue, modesty, piety, continence, and such qualities as are possessed by noble men, and is well known for his learning, clemency, quickness of understanding, singleness of heart, clearness of perception, and acumen. He is the author of several able works, and he has written a monograph on the “undotted commentary”¹⁹⁴ of Shaikh Faiẓī which is beyond all praise. He also possesses the poetic faculty and writes impressive poetry. He was introduced to the emperor by the instrumentality of the physician Abū-'l-Fatḥ,^194a and when the victorious imperial army reached Lāhōr, and Shaikh Mu‘in the Qāẓī of Lāhōr, when he was paying his respects to the emperor, was afflicted suddenly in the presence chamber with the falling sickness, which came upon him in consequence of the feebleness of old age, and the failure of his natural powers, the emperor took pity on his weakness, and said, “The Shaikh is past his work, ¹³⁸ and we have therefore appointed Qāẓī Nūru-'llāh to the post which he held.” In truth he has reduced the insolent muftīs and the crafty and subtle muḥtasibs of Lāhōr, who venture to give lessons to the teacher of the angels, to order, and has closed to them the avenues of bribery, and restrained them within due bounds as closely as a nut is enclosed in its shell, and to such a degree that stricter discipline could not be imagined. One might almost say that the author of the following verses had the Qāẓī in his mind when he wrote them:—

“Thou art he who has never in all his life admitted
Any statement by anybody in a law-suit, except the sworn
testimony of a witness.”

One day when he was in the house of Shaikh Faiẓī the Nīshā-pūrī commentary was the subject of discussion, and regarding the blessed verse:—“When he said to his companion, ‘Be not cast down, verily God is with us,’”^194b —which verse is held, by the great majority of commentators, to refer to the greatest of faithful witnesses of the truth (Abū Bakr)—may God be graciously pleased with him!—he said, “If the signification of the companionship referred to in the text be trifling and unimportant then the expression cannot be understood as conveying praise of anybody, but if it be said that the word is used in the conventional sense which has been attributed to it by traditionists, we come back to the question under debate, and I deny that there was any companionship (in that sense).”¹⁹⁵ I replied, “If a mere child even who knew the Arabic language were asked he would say that this verse clearly involves praise (of the person referred to therein) and not blame, and an African infidel, or a Jew, or a Hindū who knew Arabic, would give the same reply.” There was much controversy on the subject, and Shaikh Faiẓī after his usual vile custom took the side of the Qāẓī, though he actually had nothing whatever in common with either side. Suddenly a passage was turned up, in the Nīshāpūrī commentary itself, which supported my contention, and even went beyond it, saying that the verse, supposing that the prophet (may God bless and preserve him!) had at that moment been summoned to the immediate presence of God, would have been authority for regarding Abū Bakr and no other as the successor nominated by the prophet himself.

He lived in Āgra, leading an ascetic, abstemious, and pious life, and occupied in teaching divinity, and especially the traditions of the prophet. His strict observance of the holy law and his asceticism prevented him from mixing or associating with his fellow-men. He was in the habit of delivering authoritative commands and prohibitions in matters of faith. When, in obedience to a summons from Court, he attended the ‘Ibādatkhāna, he declined to observe the etiquette and ceremonies of the Court and used to preach and utter admonitions (without respect of persons). To Kh'āja ‘Abdu-ṣ-Ṣamad of Shīrāz, who, by reason of his habit of letting out for hire old cotton cloth for decorations, is known as Kh'āja ‘Abdu-'llāh,¹⁹⁶ and is much occupied with ceremonial prayers and fasts, and with supererogatory prayers and outward devotions, and had great faith in the Ḥājī, he used to say, “Kh'āja, all these observances will profit you nothing until you give a place in your heart to love for the orthodox successors of the prophet.”

He is one of the spiritual successors of Shaikh Muḥammad Ghauṯ.^196c Early in his career he acquired perfection (in learning), but later he no longer allowed such matters to burden his memory and gave himself up wholly to the delight of listening to the chants of mystics, and to fits of religious ecstasy. His majesty the emperor has a very high opinion of him. On the whole there was less of striving after appearances among the spiritual successors of Shaikh Muḥammad Ghauṯ than among those of Shaikh Salīm,¹⁹⁷ though each sect decried and sought to ruin the other; and now the words of ‘Alī, the leader of the faithful (may God be graciously pleased with him!), which he spoke on hearing the blessed verse, “The Jews say, ‘the Christians are grounded on nothing,’ and the Christians say, ‘the Jews are grounded on nothing!”^197a are applicable to both parties. ‘Alī said, on hearing this verse, “We believe it.” Praise be to God, no trace of either sect remains.

He possessed such outward accomplishments as a knowledge of Arabic, Qurānic commentaries, the traditions, and miscellaneous Persian compositions in prose and poetry, and was also adorned with spiritual perfection in such matters as devotion, piety, a mystic longing for union with God,^197b and religious ecstasy. He was descended from the maliks of the land of Gujarāt, and his venerable father bore the name of Malik Piyārū. Malik Mah-mūd, owing to the elegance and copiousness of his discourse, his knowledge, and his ingenuity, was accorded the great honour of conversing with the Khalīfah of the age, in the heavenly assemblies held at Court, and ingratiated himself with his majesty, and owing to the great pleasure which he took in rendering any service to the godly, he was for some time favoured by being appointed to and associated with the glorious post of the trusteeship of the blessed tomb of that pole-star of saints who have become united with God, Kh'āja Mu‘īnu-d-dīn-i-Sanjarī-yi-Ci shtī (may God sanctify his tomb!). But notwithstanding all the favour which the emperor bestowed upon him and the faith which he had in him, and his nearness to the emperor's person, owing to the all-mastering love and overpowering desire and the strength of the mystic bonds by which he was bound to that pole-star of the heaven of chiefship and centre of the circle of happiness, the lord Shāh-i-‘Ālam of Bukhārā, one of the sons of Makhdūm-i-Jahānīān of Bukhārā¹⁹⁸ (may God sanctify his honoured tomb!), him who was the beloved of the possessors of true knowledge, and who was sought after by travellers in the right path, Malik Maḥmūd exerted all the influence and employed all the interest which he possessed in preferring his request that he might be permitted to depart from Court and undertake the guardianship of the holy man's tomb, employing himself in the circumambulation of its threshold, the dwelling-place of angels, and urged his request with an utter disregard of the emperor's wishes. Since he was thoroughly sincere in his intention and design, and was altogether free from any suspicion of hypocrisy or worldly designs, his prayer was naturally granted, but after much discussion and debate, and he retired to the corner of contentment and resignation, passing most of his blessed time in Aḥmadābād in the service of that shrine until he departed from its parterres to those of the abode of peace.

141 The author had the honour of being admitted to his joy-diffusing presence in Fatḥpūr and Ajmīr.

The following opening couplet of a qaṣīdāh is by the Malik:—

“I have an ever-veering heart which nevertheless I call my
qibla-numā,^198a
Whithersoever I turn it, it still turns towards His eye-
brow.”

Pihānī is a village in the district of Qannauj.^198c Ṣadr-i-Jahān is a learned Sayyid of a happy disposition, most of whose life has been passed in the camp. He acquired his great learning under the tuition of Shaikh ‘Abdu-'n-Nabī,¹⁹⁹ and it was in consequence of the Shaikh's exertions that he was appointed chief muftī of the empire, a post which he held for several years. After the religious leaders of India had fallen into disgrace, his habits of submission to authority and his time-serving and worldly disposition led him to regard before everything the honour and esteem which he enjoyed in the world. He accompanied the physician Humām^199a on his embassy to the ruler of Tūrān,^199b and when he returned thence he was honoured by being appointed Ṣadr of the empire. At the time when it was noised abroad in Lāhōr that those who remained of the 'Ulamā were to be banished to Makkah the glorious, and a list of them had been prepared, the Ṣadr-i-Jahān said one day, “I fear lest I may have been included in this class.” Mīrzā Niẓāmu-d-dīn Aḥmad, who had prepared the list, said, “Why should you be sent to Makkah?” The Ṣadr-i-Jahān asked the Mīrzā, why he needed to ask the question, and the Mirzā replied, “You have never given utterance to God's words, that you should be worthy of this banishment.”

The Ṣadr-i-Jahān, notwithstanding his poetic gifts and his great aptitude for writing poetry, now repents of his former devotion to the art. The following opening couplet of a qaṣīdah is by him:—

“May each hair of my beloved's locks,
O God, become an affliction,
And may my heart be afflicted with each one of those
afflictions!”

I pray that, if it please God, he may be given grace to repent of foolish disputations on points of secular knowledge, of hypocrisy, ostentation, self-esteem, and extravagant boasting, which he must have learnt from one possessed of a devil, just as he has repented of writing poetry.

He assumed as a poet the nom-de-plume of Ṣarfī, and in him were displayed both the accomplishments of learning and the perfect qualities which distinguish a pious man. He was the spiritual successor of the great master Shaikh Ḥusain of Kh'ārazm (may God sanctify his tomb!), and acquired honour by performing the pilgrimage to the two most excellent holy places. He received from Shaikh Ibn-u Ḥajar a licence to give instruction in the traditions of Muḥammad, and clad in the robes of a Shaikh he travelled much and visited most of the Shaikhs of Arabia and Persia, and profited much by his intercourse with them, and received authority to assume the prerogatives of a religious teacher and spiritual guide, and as such he had many disciples, both in Hindūstān and Kashmīr. He was the superior of an hospice. He was the author of some sublime and beautiful works, and completed a Khamsah,^200a and wrote many treatises on the art of composing enigmas, and also quatrains on the mysticism of the Ṣūfīs, with a commentary. His works, indeed, are too numerous to be recapitulated, and had it not been necessary that some slight mention should be made of his Ṣūfī-ism, and his mystic longing for God, even these few works could not have been noticed. He was illustrious and much relied upon as an authority in all branches of learning which are treated of in Arabic, such as Quranic commentaries, the traditions of Muḥam-mad, and Ṣūfī-ism, and he was an authorized religious leader. Latterly, not long before his death, he was writing a commentary which was one of the most wonderful productions of his perfect genius. Both the late emperor and his present majesty had a wonderful belief in him and conferred distinction on him by admitting him to the honour of their society, regarding him with gracious favour, so that he was held in high estimation and much honoured. He was generous and open-handed beyond anything that can be imagined of his contemporaries.

Although his poetry was very poor, in accordance with the verse:—“Poetry does not become the learned,” he used nevertheless, continually to exercise his intellect in this direction. These following few couplets are by him:—

Couplets.²⁰¹

“I see that comely face manifest in whatever I regard, ¹⁴³
“Though I look at a hundred thousand mirrors in all that
one face is manifest.
“On all sides people are wandering in search of the Friend,
“And the strange thing is that the Friend is manifest on
every side.”

Other couplets by the Shaikh are these:—

“Thy mole lurks near the corner of thine eyebrow to
deceive,
“Wherever a recluse, lurking in a corner, is to be found,
deceit is in him.”
“Break not my heart, Oh grief! and regard not whose that
heart may be,
“The heart is indeed mine, but consider who dwelleth
there.”
“If thou sayest to him, “It behoves that Thy foot pass
over my head,”
“(Remember that) thou shouldst at once forsake all thought
of self.”

This enigma on the name of Shaidā is also by the Shaikh:—

“My moon hath cast the veil from off her face,
“See, how she hath of set purpose turned day into night!”

At the time when he obtained permission to depart from Lāhor to his dearly loved native land, he wrote to me from the far side of the river Rāvī a letter, which I copy here as a fortunate relic.

“My helper and my mighty one! After laying before you the prayers and supplications of true friendship, I represent to your mind, brilliant as the sun, that the cause of your neglecting to observe, in respect of your sincere and true friend, one most excellent institution was probably the fact that, though the approved custom of travelling with a friend for a part of his journey is one of the requirements of the observance of setting ¹⁴⁴ him on his way, you were not able at the present time to perform this office and therefore could not help but leave it undone. I hope, however, that you will not entirely efface the memory of me from the margin of your bounteous heart, and that you will adopt the graceful habit of remembering the absent. If you should have any need of Kashmīr paper for rough notes and drafts I hope that you will inform me of the fact, so that I may send you from Kashmīr the rough copy of my commentaries, the writing of which can be washed from the paper with water so completely that no trace of the ink will remain, as you yourself have seen. And now peace be with you and grace be upon you.”

When he reached Kashmīr he sent me from there another letter, which was the last he wrote. I copy it here.

“In the presence of the bounteous Shaikh ‘Abdu-l-Qādir, him who is removed beyond the need of praise, recommendation, or encomium, that is to say our lord and leader in learning, may this letter be opened.

Without a doubt Badāonī excels Dawwānī²⁰²
In all branches of learning,

Thus a proof of the superabundance of the signification of his
name,
Is that its very beginning appears to be redundant.

As to the suppliant letters which from time to time I send to you, although owing to their not being worthy of an answer I do not trouble your wonder-describing pen to write one, nevertheless the pen of sincere friendship cannot be restrained from running on in (its desire of) setting forth my submission to you. I hope that whenever you sit in the Nawwāb Faẓiī Fayyāẓī's²⁰³ apartment of fragrant grass,^203a on the floor with its matting cooler than the breezes of Kashmīr, in the midday heat of summer,^203b drinking the water which, though warm, has been cooled with ice, and listening to sublime talk and witty conversation, you will think on me, the captive of the hardships of disappointment.”

Couplet.

“Ah! ye who meet in the cheerful assembly of union extend
a helping hand to the absent,
“For the hand of those who thus meet is never withheld
from the absent.”

“I pray you to accept, on behalf of your most honoured, most ¹⁴⁵ orthodox, and most glorious son, Shaikh Muḥīyyu-d-dīn Muḥam-mad, my humble submission. May God, the most Holy and most High, assist him in the acquirement of all knowledge, both secular and spiritual, by the honour of him^203c who was named with the name of his sublime title (may his pure tomb be hallowed!).

It is probable that, owing to your claims as a neighbour to confidence, you may have heard what that resort of chiefship, Mīrān Sayyid Quṭbu-d-dīn, had to say with regard to his failure to answer my humble letter to him, but it behoves you rather to regard my essential claims upon you, for these claims are clearly to be preferred to the claim of mere neighbourhood; and likewise you should not place too much confidence in the display of affection which the worshipful Mīrān makes, for in the end it has no stability. God the most High knows the truth!

I have lost the rough copy of the verses which I wrote in the new Āṣafkhānī style, explaining what had not previously been clearly expressed. It is possible that you, my honoured friend, may have taken a copy from my rough draft, and, if so, I pray you to send me a copy of your copy. If you answer this letter it will be well. (I call to mind) God!”

Verses by the Author.²⁰⁴

“O thou, at the thought of whose face intimacy comes back
to me,
My desire cannot be borne on paper,
As the lofty mountain cannot be weighed in a balance,
And as the ocean cannot be measured by a water-gauge.

Why should I sing your praises? They are far beyond the pretensions of the bald style and the impotent rhetoric of me, ‘Abdu-l-Qādir; and any attempt to comprise them therein would resemble the endeavour to imprison the sea in a jug.”

Poetry.

“And what shall I say of my blessings on you?
No bird of devotion flies from me to the lote-tree of Paradise,
For no bird bears in his beak a list of my blessings on thee.
Why should I say anything of my desire of seeing you
again?

Quatrain.

O thou whose hand has been held in my two hands,
Who hast hindered me from the enjoyment of health,

It is impossible, that I should record my desire towards thee, ¹⁴⁶
The strong desire that I have towards thee.

Since the time when you saw fit to take your departure hence to the land where you now dwell, the interpreter of divine secrets, by which expression may be understood the root of the elements of true knowledge, gladdened me by coming to me repeatedly, both for a few days before and a few days after the festival of the new year, conveying to me the truth contained in the following couplet from the Ten Sayings of Good Tidings:—²⁰⁵

Couplet.

“This day a tall and comely man, in his own city,
Sits with his bride, rejoicing in his good fortune.”

You wrote with that pen which cherishes the poor and distils musk,

“Without a doubt Badāonī, excels Dawwānī,” etc.

I reply to those verses in the following maṯnavi:—

O thou whose tongue is the key of the Hidden Book,
Whose pure heart is an outcome of the Infallible,
Thy pen hath displayed miracles,
The hidden treasures of “Be, and it was.”^205a
Thou saidst, with a logic which nourishes the intelligence,
“Badāonī is more pleasant than Dawwānī.”^205b
Whether it be of Dawwānī or of Badāonī (that thou
speakest),
Both subjects receive all their wealth from the treasure-
house of thy grace.
My heart has become the mirror of thy beauty,
The place where thy never-failing bounty is displayed.
What wonder then if, in regarding it truly,
Thou shouldst see thyself there?

If these verses be mere ostentation then let this much suffice. Who am I that I should presume in answering you? I have had recourse to poetry, wherein I have loosed the tongue of deprecation, seeking forgiveness, and asking pardon for my remissness in observing the custom of writing friendly letters, a custom which is contrary to the habit and wont of the vulgar, nay, may rather be described as one of the peculiar characteristics of those who are raised above the common herd, as you yourself know well, and, regarding this letter as atonement for my fault, I count it full satisfaction of all that is past.

147 As for what you wrote regarding the air of the apartment of fragrant grass, and the iced water, it brought to my mind the following verse:—

And reminded me of the saying, “O company of Muslims, have pity upon him whose stock-in-trade has declined,” for it is some days since I have enjoyed that cool air and that iced water.

Verse.

“Let him who imagines that love is an easy matter come,
and look upon my face, and from its haggardness he
will understand that lovē is a hard matter.”

His Majesty, who is near the sun in excellence, has, for some reason, and without the intervention of any person whatsoever, taken the name of me, the humblest of his slaves, on his blessed tongue, expressing some intention of bestowing on me the trusteeship of (the shrine in) the exalted region of Ajmer.

Verse.

Those tents have vanished from the sight of me, the watcher,
Peace be on the dwellers therein, is the wish which I would
have conveyed.

Nevertheless I have not yet been installed in the office,²⁰⁷ and it is my earnest desire that the effects of this good fortune may soon emerge from the region of probabilities into that of accomplished facts. Then my heart will be independent of the water of the whirlpools of daily life and the unwholesome air of every country, and the coolness of pure truth will become my portion, so that the rubbish-heap of the world will appear to me to be no more than rubbish, and the iced water of the times a mere mirage. My wretched lot impels me to be chanting ever this mournful refrain:—

“Wonder of wonders that your heart is not disgusted, and
your soul is not sick
With the putrid odours which arise from these unwhole-
some waters.”

The ambition and object of me, your well-wisher, is that you will strive to help me in all matters, worldly and spiritual, so that when I go to Ajmīr^207a I may remember that the name of the place rhymes with Kashmīr inasmuch as each delightful place ¹⁴⁸ is the pivot of one of the two axes, or rather the two extremities, north and south, of the same axis, which extends in either direction. “A delectable city, and a forgiving God!”

Just as you, in Kashmīr, will be drinking the ice water^207b of the fount Jhālara,^207c so shall I be moistening my tongue with the limpid water of thanks and praise to the Giver of all good things, both spiritual and bodily.

Verse.

To the bounteous may their bounty be pleasant,
And to the poor lover that which he sips.

A counterpart of my present condition would be the revealing of that which has been disclosed to the inspired. Your ssrvant's son has gone to Badāon, where he is employed in putting up prayers for you. May your sublime shadow never grow less!

Written in the month of Ramaẓān the blessed, dispensing blessings, in the year H. 1003 (May-June, 1595).”

The following ode is one of the productions of the Shaikh's pearl-scattering and jewel-dispersing pen, which he wrote to me during one of his travels.

Ode.

“At the moment when I was writing this letter,
My tears were flowing, mingled with blood,
All the writing which was set forth by my pen,
The letter of my longing for you, has been blotted out from my
heart.
The bitterness of separation is medicine.
Ṣarfī, so great is the flood of my tears that the nine oceans to
me
Seem but as the dropping of rain.”

To be brief I may say that one so feeble and so devoid of the graces of speech as I has not the power to recount fully the excellent qualities and perfection of the noble Shaikh. The noble works which he has left behind him, and which have, as one may say, put a girdle round the day of resurrection, are a sufficient witness to what he was. On the 18th of Ẕī-qa‘dah, in the year H. 1003 (July 25, 1595) the bird of his soul, whose nest was holiness, escaping from the cage of this world of confinement, flew to that of liberation, and the words “He was the Shaikh of nations” were found to give the date of his death.²⁰⁸

Verse.

Peace be to the world, for pleasant are its blessings.
¹⁴⁸ As though Yūsuf were sitting in it.

Verses.

Seek not in this waste spot the road to the treasure-house of
your desire,

For this ruined abode is nought but the place of toil and
grief.
Fate has laid, at every step herein, a snare of calamity,
Who is there that has set his foot in this region of snares
who has not also left his head here?
The vanished heart of the rose has left behind it a word of
hope,
But what can that profit us who are unable to read?²⁰⁹
The days of man's life are exceeding short. Be not deceived
For no sooner have you drawn a breath than you give your
life to the wind.

He was an angel in the form of a man, who had acquired honour by performing the pilgrimage to the two holy places, (may God increase their honour!). During the regency of Bairam Khān, the Khān-i-Khānān, he dwelt in Āgra, where the people profited much by his precious utterances. Under the tuition of the Maulānā, who was one of the best men of his time. I studied a portion of the Shamsiyyah,^209a commentary on logic, the work of Amīr Sayyid Muḥammad, who was the most noble and most orthodox son and successor of the holy Amīr Sayyid ‘Alī of Hamadān, by the blessing of whose holy foot-steps, which were inseparably connected with the spiritual instruction of the people, the faith of Islām was first promulgated and preached in the land of Kashmīr. And besides this commentary on logic I read other brief works with the Maulānā. From his blessed tongue I heard the following saying of the prophet, which has the very highest authority. “The prophet (may God bless and assoil him!) said, ‘He who sees a stranger (with his wife) may slay him; his blood is lawful (to him),’” and from him also I received authority to propound and expound this tradition, he having received it through only six intermediaries from ¹⁵⁰ that holy one who was the seal of prophecy (on him and on his family be blessings without end!) The authenticity of the tradition of this saying is related in detail in the Najātu-r-Ra shīd.²¹⁰

The Maulānā, at the time of the Khān-i-Zamān's rebellion, came from Agra to Dihlī, further than which place I have not been able to trace him, so that I do not know the (latter) circumstances of his auspicious life.

He is the disciple, the spiritual successor, and also the son-inlaw of the Governor^210b of Bukhārā (may his honoured tomb be sanctified!). The venerable Governor was so learned in law and divinity that if we may suppose that all the books on the theology of the Ḥanafī^210c school had disappeared from the world, he would have been able to write them afresh. It was on his account that ‘Abdu-'llāh Khān,^210d the king of Tūrān, put a stop to the study of logic and dialectics in his dominions, and expelled Mullā ‘Iṣāmu-d-dīn of Isfārāin with his vile pupils from Transoxiana. The circumstances were as follows: After the study of logic and dialectics had gained ground in Bukhārā and Samarqand vile and wicked students, whenever they met a pious and simple-minded man, used to say, “This fellow is an ass, for he will deny the proposition that he is an animal,^210e and, since the rejection of a general proposition necessarily involves the rejection of particular propositions dependent on it, he necessarily denies also his humanity.” When fallacies of this nature were frequently repeated and spread abroad the Governor wrote a treatise on divinity, inciting and urging ‘Abdu-'llah Khān to banish this school, and adducing clear proofs of the unlawfulness of teaching and studying logic and philosophy. He also recorded his opinion that there was no harm in using as a torchecul paper on which logical exercises had been written, and wrote much more to the same purport.

The Qāẓī always performed the zikr-i-arra²¹¹ after his prayers with his companions, and used to enroll disciples.

In the year H. 969 (A.D. 1561-62) he came to Agra, and I, as a ¹⁵¹ means of attaining good fortune and blessing, read some lessons with him in the beginning of the Sharḥ-i-Wiqāyah, and in truth, so far as that subject was concerned I found him to be a boundless sea of learning.

He was the grandson of Mulla Kh'āja, one of the greatest of the Shaikhs of Khurāsān. Maulānā Mīr-i-Kalān was endowed with both inward and outward perfection and was a profound sage, being especially proficient in the traditions, in which respect he was the wonder of the age. He had authority from Sayyid Mīrak Shāh²¹² to teach this branch of knowledge. He was highly regarded by Maulānā Zainu-d-dīn Maḥmūd, the bowmaker ^212a (may his honoured tomb be sanctified!). He was preserved by God, the most Holy and most High, from all sins, mortal and venial, and was ever employed in teaching divinity, and passed his life with his eyes cast down in meditation. He was the disciple of Shaikh Jalāl of Hirāt, who was one of the most famous of great Shaikhs. Maulānā Mīr-i-Kalān acquired a disposition like that of Muḥammad (may God bless and assoil him!), and his angelic nature was a manifestation of the (ninety-nine) attributes of God. He attained the age of eighty years, and his mother, who was a Sayyidah, was living at the time of his death. He never married, for fear lest his wife should not subject herself to his mother, and thus he passed away in his mother's lifetime. At the time when the Maulavī passed away to the eternal abode his mother was engaged in reading the glorious Qur'ān, and when they conveyed to her the news of the death of so precious a son, and asked her permission to proceed with the last rites she recited the noble verse, “We are God's, and to Him do we return,” and continued her reading of the Qur'ān, without a sign of weeping or lamentation. The Maulānā ¹⁵² passed away to the Presence of God's mercy in Agra, in the year H. 981 (A.D. 1573-74), and was buried also in Agra, and a year later his mother too journeyed to the next world and obtained the felicity of rejoining her blessed son.

I was blessed and honoured by meeting with the Maulānā of angelic disposition, but I received no instruction from him.

He was the most learned of the sages of his time. Some of his learning he acquired from Mullā Aḥmad-i-Jand²¹³ and some from Mullā Maḥmūd-i-Surkh,^213a and he also studied for a while under Mullā ‘Iṣāmu-'d-dīn Ibrāhīm.^213b He came to India and entered the service of the emperor, who delighted much in his company. He possessed all the qualities of a true, religious man and was lowly-minded and of a most genial disposition. In from understanding, likewise, and quickness of perception no Mullā Turkistān who has appeared in this country has equalled him. He was an eloquent and charming speaker, and as a teacher was kind and gentle towards his pupils.

He passed away into the presence of the Lord's mercy in the year H. 970 (A.D. 1562-63) after his return from India to Kābul.

He was generally known as Ḥāfiẓ of Tāshkand,^213d and was a profound scholar, especially in Arabic. He studied under Maulānā ‘Iṣāmu-d-dīn⁶ and acquired proficiency in all branches of knowledge. He taught much, and all the learned men of Transoxiana concurred in acknowledging his superiority. He affected a military mode of life, and whenever he rode abroad had a quiver in his belt, after the manner of the Turks. He came to India in the year H. 977 (A.D. 1569-70) and was honoured by ¹⁵³ being admitted to the service of the Khalīfah of the age. After receiving many substantial marks of the imperial favour he set out, by way of Gujarāt, on a pilgrimage to the two holy places, Makkah and Madīnah, whence he proceeded to Turkey, where he was presented to the Sulṭān of Turkey, and in that country received ten times more honour and attention than he had received in India, so that even the office of grand vazīr of the empire was offered to him. This office he declined, and returned to Transoxiana, where he died. I never had the honour of paying my respects either to Ḥāfiẓ-i-Kūmakī or to Maulānā Sa‘īd.

He received the title of Qāẓī Khān, and was a native of Badakhshān, where his home was situated near a ruby-mine. In such branches of knowledge as are acquired by study he was the pupil of Maulānā ‘Iṣāmu-d-dīn Ibrāhīm, and also studied under Mullā Sa‘īd. He had a great taste for and proficiency in Ṣūfī-istic studies, and in these, the way of truth, he was the disciple of the greatest of leaders, Shaikh Ḥusain of Kh'ārazm. In consequence of his close adherence to the esoteric school he has also acquired much respect among men of the world, and in Badakh-sh ān was one of the nobles of the State. When he came to India he obtained unbounded honour, receiving first the title of Qāẓī Khān, and afterwards that of Ghāzī Khān. He was eloquent and his delivery was pleasing. He was the author of some standard works, among which was a treatise on the proof of the word (of God) and an account of the religion of truth and verity. He also wrote marginal notes on the commentary on the dogmas of the faith, and numerous treatises on Ṣūfi-ism. He passed away to the presence of God's mercy at the age of seventy in the year H. 992 (A.D. 1584) in Awadh. He was the first person to suggest the performance of the ceremony of prostration^214a before the emperor. Mullā ‘Ālim of Kābul used to say regretfully, “Alas, that I was not the inventor of this ordinance!”

He comes from a quarter in Lāhōr. He is well versed in all such branches of knowledge as are included in the ordinary curriculum, and is a profound scholar. He rules his life in accordance with the holy law, and is abstinent, and most pious and religious. He employs his time in teaching. He has never visited the houses of worldly and unpolished men, and has never asked assistance from the great ones of the earth, nor accepted the usual subsistence allowance made to religious teachers. He is nearly eighty years of age.

He is one of the most respected teachers of Lāhor. He is endowed with many perfect qualities and is employed as Muftī. On each occasion on which he completes the perusal of the Ṣaḥīḥu-l-Bukhārī^215a or the Mishkāt^215b he gives a great entertainment, regaling his guests with bughrā khānīs^215c and sweetmeats. His assembly is the meeting-place of the most learned men. The Maulānā, now that he has reached the age of ninety years, and is bent and feeble, has given up teaching. He has four or five orthodox sons, all of whom are in learning and accomplishments worthy successors of their father.

He was one of the Sayyids of Shīrāz and the most learned of the learned men of his time. He was for a long time the spiritual guide of the rulers and nobles of Fārs. He was thoroughly versed in all those sciences which demand the exercise of the reasoning faculty, such as philosophy, astronomy, geometry, astrology, geomancy, arithmetic, the preparation of talismans, incantations, and mechanics, and in this department of learning he was such an adept that he was able to draw up an astronomical table as soon as the emperor demanded one from him. He was equally learned in Arabic, traditions, interpretation of the Qur'ān and rhetoric, and was the author of some excellent works, which were not, however, equal to those of ¹⁵⁵ Maulānā Mīrzā Jān of Shīrāz, who was a teacher in Transoxiana, an abstemious recluse, and was unique among the learned men of the age. Mīr Fatḥu-'llah, although he was polite, courteous, and well-conducted in society, seemed to be unable, as soon as he began to teach, to address his pupils otherwise than with abuse, insinuation, and sarcasm (God save us from the like!). For this reason very few ever became his pupils, and he has not left behind him one worthy disciple. He was for some years in the Dakan, and ‘Ādil Khān,^216a the ruler of that country, had a great regard for him. When he entered the imperial service he received the title of ‘Aẓdu-l-Mulk.^216b He died in Kashmīr in the year H. 997 (A.D. 1588-89) and is buried in the place known as Takht-i-Sulaimān.^216c The words, “He was an angel,”^216d were found to give the date of his death.

He is one of the disciples of Shaikh Isḥāq i-Rākū,²¹⁷ and acquired most of his learning under Maulānā Sa‘du-'llah,^217a with whom he was connected by marriage. He is a learned and able man and is proficient in all such philosophical learning as is usually studied in India. He has a pleasant disposition and a sound understanding, which enables him reading to grasp a subject. He associates much with the nobles and chief men of the State and is resorted to by them. For some time he held the post of chief Qāẓī of Mālwa, and when the emperor set up his court at Lāhōr, he left Mālwa and paid his respects at Court. He is now employed in the administration of the pargana of Bajwāra^217b and the submontane districts. His son Mullā ‘Alā'u-d-dīn was one of the most famous of the learned men employed in teaching, and was for some time among the companions of the Khan-i-Khānān, by whom he was highly regarded and much honoured. When he entered the imperial service he also received much honour, and though much pressed and urged to enter the ¹⁵⁶ military service he declined to do so, and employed himself in teaching, spending whatever he received from his jāgīr on the students whom he taught. Of all the Mullās in India, after Pīr Muhammad Khān, there was nobody so famous as Mullā ‘Alā'u-'d-dīn and Mullā Nūr Muḥammad Tarkhān for generosity, liberality, and open-handedness. Mullā ‘Alā'u-d-dīn has written wellknown marginal notes on the Sharḥ ‘Aqā'id.^217c He attained to the honour of performing the pilgrimage of the Ḥajj and is buried in the holy land of pilgrimage. I never met him.

He was a Mullā of good understanding and great penetration, and gathered round him a cheerful company. Notwithstanding this he was hard-hearted man, and took no heed to do that which was lawful or avoid that which was unlawful. He came from Shīrvān and entered the service of the Khān-i-Khānān, Bairam Khān, in Qandahār, and received advancement. After the reconquest of Hindūstān he received the title of Khān, and afterwards that of Nāṣiru-l-Mulk, and lived for three or four years in the greatest honour and consideration, but since the days of the wicked are few, he was shortly afterwards drowned²¹⁸ in the river Narbada in Mālwa, and joined Pharaoh in the Nile of hell. His death has been recorded in the history of the reign. I saw him from afar, but, thank God, I never associated with him.

He was one of the disciples of Mullā Aḥmad-i-Jand.^218b He was an able Mullā, and quick and ready in controversy, but was not eloquent, and when engaged in teaching behaved grotesquely. His figure was ungainly. He spent his time in religious retirement. He came from Transoxiana to India, and taught for four ¹⁵⁷ years in the jāmi‘ masjid of Kh'āja Mu‘īnu-d-dīn-i-Farankhūdī^218c in Āgra. By the grace of God he was enabled to perform the pilgrimage to the two holy places, and in Makkah the glorious he departed this life, dying at the age of seventy.

He had a comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and rhetoric, and was a man of pleasant disposition and a poet. Towards the end of his life he repented of and gave up poetry. He was appointed to the trusteeship of the mausoleum of his late majesty, the emperor Humāyūn, and died in Dihlī.

He was an able Mullā, of a pleasant disposition, unaffected, a good conversationalist, a charming associate and a boon companion, ever ready with a pleasant jest. He attracted many to his society and delighted all who associated with him. He obtained an appointment in the military service of the empire which enabled him to live contentedly. He was much attached to me throughout his life. In the year H. 990 (A.D. 1582), when the victorious army was marching towards Aṭak on the river in the neighbourhood of Siyālkōṭ, he delivered up the life which had been entrusted to him,^219a and his corpse was taken to a village in the pargana of Amrōha, which he had beautified for himself, and was there buried.

This concludes the brief account of those Shaikhs and learned men of the age whom, for the most part, I have had an opportunity of meeting and waiting upon, and by whose illuminating regard I have been honoured; as for those of them whom I have not seen, be it as God will! Of all those of whom my pen has given an account, but very few remain here and there, like moles on the face of the age, in these days in which there is such a dearth of men worthy to be so called. Those who remain avoid and flee from the world and have been completely forgotten by those of feeble and defective nature, the vulgar, that is to say, who are no better than cattle. These learned men, counting as a ¹⁵⁸ loan the few moments of life which are left to them, await the arrival of the swift-footed messenger of death, and, having fully realized the dignity of old age, now hearken with the ears of the soul for the cry “Prepare to set out!” expectantly waiting to answer obediently to the shout.

Quatrain.

In the history of the world the lives of all, both small and
great,
Are written, and accounts of brave men and heroes,
Read, and on each page of it you will see “In such a year
Died such one, the son of such a one, the son of such a one.”

And other Shaikhs and learned men are and were scattered throughout all parts of India, throughout its length and breadth, in such numbers that the reckoning of them is left to the knowledge of the Knower of Secrets. Likewise the number of those who are famed and known for the natural wickedness of their dispositions and innate baseness, for their hypocrisy, vileness, worthlessness, crooked dealings and injustice is beyond computation, and there is no need for me to soil my pen by recording anything concerning this handful of rubbish, these base fellows, for I have a great task before me and but little hope of long life, and my condition resembles that of the ice merchant of Nīshāpur who was selling ice in the summer, and when the sun waxed hot cried out, “O, ye Muslims! Have pity upon him whose stock-in-trade is melting away on his hands!”

Couplet.

“Our life is as ice in the heat of summer,
But little of it remains and its owner is still deceived.”

And my recording the dates of the deaths of the men of whom I write resembles the case of that tailor who in a certain city had his shop by the gate of the graveyard, and hung an earthen pot from a nail in his door, his only care being to drop a stone in the pot for every funeral which came from the city. Every month ¹⁵⁹ he used to count the stones, saying, “They have carried away so many to burial.” Then he would empty the pot and hang it again on the nail, dropping stones into it as before till another month had passed. It so happened that the master tailor died and a man who had not heard of his death came to demand his services. He found the door of his shop shut and asked a neighbour whither the tailor had gone. The neighbour replied, “He too has gone into the pot.”

Couplet.

Regard well what happens to others,
For when it has passed by them it will be your lot also.
God be gracious! We have fallen into the mouth of a
dragon where we cannot even struggle or move, and
whence we cannot obtain freedom.
Devour thine own blood like the rosebud; mourn and open
not thy lips,
For the rosebud of this garden, the world, has no hope of
blossoming.
It points out to thee that some form, lofty as the cypress,
has crumbled away to dust.
On every spot which is shaded by the box-tree.
Since some rose from the pleasaunce is every moment borne
away on the wind
The solitary lily wears ever the blue raiment of mourning.

I would here request my respected and critical readers and acute appraisers not to be unduly carping and censorious as regards the lack of arrangement in this work, for the famous names of the members of the two classes which I have mentioned, who have been specially chosen out from among the people for honour, are mentioned in these few pages at haphazard like scattered pearls, and without regard to precedence or place. I would deprecate criticism on this score inasmuch as these historical selections have been written, as it were, by a broken-winged pen in a hasty flight, and I have had no leisure to arrange my composition in a commonplace book. My case much resembles that of the saddler who was constantly losing ¹⁶⁰ his needle and said, “If my time were not mostly wasted in looking for my needle I should be able to get through a good deal of work in the day, notwithstanding that the beggars as one man gather round me like the thong of a whip.” This is a wellknown saying. Although some of those whom I have mentioned may not perhaps be altogether as I would have them, for many a sincerely pious man wears the appearance of an atheist, yet if there be even one of them who is acceptable to the Lord, that one person will be sufficient for my salvation, to make intercession for me and to gain honour for me. Although all of them in general are entitled to be considered as, in some sort, saints, for “God is near to them who believe,” and are thus many degrees better than I, yet some of them have a special and manifest claim, which I fully admit, to be regarded as saints. It is for this reason that I have not included among these biographies those of the irreligious and lewd, taking as my rule of conduct the saying of the sage of Busṭām, which he spoke to one of his disciples by way of advice, saying, “If in these present times you see anybody who has faith in the sayings of the Shaikhs request his prayers both for me and for yourself, for the prayers of such a one will most certainly be answered.”

I know no way and I can find no help for myself,
Except the love of those whose faith is firm.

It so happened that when I reckoned up the number of those of this honoured class whom I have mentioned, most of whom are truly men of God, and generous and enlightened souls, I found that it came to a hundred and eleven, the number which is given by the word quṭb and also by the word alf (“one thousand”), which latter word was the date of the year²²³ in which I wrote this treatise which has given me so much pleasure.

Now that my heart is disgusted with those depraved wretches who have not scrupled unblushingly to cavil at and openly to revile the faith of Islām, convicting themselves of infidelity and shamelessness, and who are the cause of all the ruin which has ¹⁶¹ fallen upon both the state and the people of Islām, and are known as the strife of the latter days, I will proceed to an account of the physicians (of the court) although some of these, too, may be classed in the same category as the infidels just mentioned.

Some of the physicians in this reign were so learned in the theory and skilled in the practice of medicine that they performed miracles like those of Mūsā,²²⁴ and brought to mind the wonder-working breath of the Lord ‘Īsā,^224a while others, for the reason that the healing art is a noble subject of study, but a mean pursuit in its practical application, although they busied themselves in the study of medicine, sought political employment, according to their several degrees.

His name was Shamsu-d-dīn, and in medicine and the healing art he was the Galen of the age, and was endowed with the healing breath of the Messiah.^224c In other branches of traditional learning also he was distinguished far above all his fellows. I myself had no dealings with him, for when I first entered the imperial service and presented my preface to the Nāma-yi- Khirad-afzā²²⁵ to the emperor, the ḥakīm served me very ill, replying, when asked by the emperor what he thought of my writing, “His style is polished, but his book is ill to read.” Notwithstanding this the ḥakīm was, to do him justice, a sincere well-wisher and a practical helper of God's servants, firm and steadfast in the faith, and devoted to the interests of his friends. He was constantly engaged in teaching students, to whom, indeed, he was not only a tutor, but also a generous patron. So devoted was he to them that he never on any occasion willingly took his food apart from them, and on this account he was an infrequent guest at the houses of others. He was seated one day in the assembly of Shaikh Salīm-i-Cishtī, discoursing on theology and theologians and praising physicians and magnifying and extolling the importance and glory of the science of medicine, and the greatness of Shaikh Abū ‘Alī Sīnā.^225a This occurred at ¹⁶² the time when the ‘Ulamā and the physicians were at feud, and were daily wrangling, disputing, and quarrelling regarding the dignity of their respective orders. As I was unacquainted with these matters and had only recently come from the country and was ignorant of the real grounds of the controversy, I quoted the following verses of Shaikh Shihābu-d-dīn-i-Sahravardī^225b (may God sanctify his soul!).

Verses.

“How long did I say to this people, “Ye are superfluous?
One cure, the grave, is to be found in books of medicine.”
But when they sought satisfaction in threatening us,
We rested in God for the sufficiency of our recompense.
And they died in the faith of Aristotle,
While we live in the faith of God's chosen prophet.”

And I also quoted, in support of the position which I had taken up, those verses of the inspired lord Jāmī²²⁶ (may his tomb be sanctified!) which he has written in his Tuḥfatu-l-Aḥrār.

Couplet.

“Seek not enlightenment of the heart from the bosom of
Sīnā,^226a
Seek not for light from the eyes of the blind.”

This enraged the ḥakīm, and the Shaikh said: “The fire of strife was already blazing between these people. Now you have come and have blown it to a still fiercer blaze.”

When the arena of strife was closed to the ‘ulamā and shaikhs this physician disputed with the enemies of the faith whenever he could find an opportunity of doing so, as is briefly related in the account of that party.^226b At length Ḥakīmu-l-Mulk was no longer able to continue the unequal struggle and applied for leave to go to Makkah the glorious, and in the year H. 988 or 989 (A.D. 1580 or 1581)^226c he departed on the pilgrimage, and died in the land of the pilgrimage. Thanks be to God for his efforts.

To great learning and knowledge of medicine he united a taste ¹⁶³ for writing vilely scurrilous and satirical verse. His nom-deplume was Shujā‘ī.^226e As ill-luck would have it, whenever this physician undertook the cure of a sick man, the unfortunate patient surrendered his life to the messenger of death, for which reason the wits gave him the nickname of Saifu-l-Ḥukamā.²²⁷ He attended one of the grandsons of the venerable Shaikh Jāmī, Mūḥammad-i-Khabūshānī^227a by name, better known as Makhdūm-zāda ,^227b and helped him on his journey to the next world. The words “Saifu-l-Ḥukamā killed him”^227c were found to give the date of his death. These few lines which were written on the physician Jalāl may well be applied to Saifu-l-Mulūk.

Verses.

“Regarding the physician Jalāl the Angel of Death,
Last night made his complaint to God, saying,
‘Thy slave is helpless before the physician,
Where I kill one he kills a hundred.
Either depose him I pray Thee, from the position which
he holds,
Or assign to me some other employment.’”^227d

He was held in much honour in India for some years during the time of Bairam Khān, and afterwards, but according to his own statement he received neither patronage nor honour, and returned to his country disappointed. Thence he wrote and despatched a satirical poem, which for gracefulness and the laughable nature of its subject has been equalled by the poems of few writers of this age. To whet the taste of my readers I transcribe here a few couplets from that poem, which recall themselves spontaneously to my memory.

“A pious calf, untimely born, hailing from Barbary,
Whom I have sometimes called a cat, sometimes the mouse
of the saints,
A Brahman without caste-mark or thread, that is to say an
Indian Shaikh.

I should be no Musalman were I to call such a one a
Musalman.
Hold, Shafī‘u-'d-dīn Muḥammad, cease your eternal mum-
bling of words,
That mumbling which I have likened to the chewing of a
cud by a man.
Farīdūn,²²⁸ in my anger against you, your shameless face
¹⁶⁴ Have I likened to an anvil, not for its smoothness, but for
its hardness.”

Mīr Farīdūn replied with the following couplet:—

“Philosopher's tears are the boast of the ass of the angel of
Death,
Of him whom I have called the doorkeeper of the house of
misfortune.”

When Mīr Mu‘izzu-l-Mulk^228a left the army and entered upon a life of religious retirement at Dihlī Saifu-l-Mulūk wrote of him:

“The king of the ascetics, Mu‘izzu-l-Mulk, is displeased with
me.
Why, when have I, his slave, ever said that he repented of
his ascetic life?”

He was distinguished for his learning, and had a place among those who were admitted to the emperor's company.

He bore the nom-de-plume of Davā'ī,^229a and held a very high rank among the learned, besides being of a most noble disposition. He died in the city of Hāndiya, as has been related.^229b The following verses were written by him when I was escorting him to the gate of the garden of the late Kh'āja Niẓāmu-d-dīn Aḥmad in the suburbs of Lāhōr. He wrote them and gave them to me as a keepsake as he bade me farewell, just before he set out^229c from Lāhōr for the Dakan, on his mission to Rāja ‘Alī Khān of Burhānpūr.^229d That was the last time I saw him.

Verses.

“So full am I of love that the world will not contain me,
All places are full of my love, and no place will contain
me.
If I care for naught but love it is no wonder,
Regard it rather as an example of my chastity, for wine
does not content me.

165 Why do you ask me of that which I myself do not know.
Verily I am the mystery of unity, though even that
mystery cannot contain me.”

Other verses by ‘Ainu-l-Mulk.

“No desert place has been seen without a sign of some
habitation.
But against the incurable pain of love no plans avail.
I became the prey of one fair as a gazelle, but when I
looked intently
(I saw) that there was nothing in the game-straps but a
pure soul.”