[58] _I.e._ in his body.
[59] Khizr, according to the legend, discovered the Fountain of Life in
the Land of Darkness.
[60] In this passage the author assails the Persian and Urdu poetry so
much in favour with his contemporaries.
[61] Arabic odes usually begin with a prelude in which the poet makes
mention of his beloved; and her name is often Salmá. Here “the Salmá of
Araby” refers to the Koran and the ideals for which it stands.
[62] It is related that an ignorant Kurd came to some students and
besought them to instruct him in the mysteries of Súfism. They told him
that he must fasten a rope to the roof of his house, then tie the loose
end to his feet and suspend himself, head downwards; and that he must
remain in this posture as long as possible, reciting continually some
words of gibberish which they taught him. The poor man did not perceive
that he was being mocked. He followed their instructions and passed
the whole night repeating the words given him. God rewarded his faith
and sincerity by granting him illumination, so that he became a saint
and could discourse learnedly on the most abstruse matters of mystical
theology. Afterwards he used to say, “In the evening I was a Kurd, but
the next morning I was an Arab.”