blood. Jelāl thereupon facetiously replied: “A homicide is popularly
termed ‘a son of ‘Azrā’īl (the angel of death).’ Being such, what on
earth is he to do, unless he kill some one?”
This repartee so pleased the Perwāna, that he pardoned the culprit, and
paid himself to the heirs of the slain man the price of his blood.
41.
Jelāl one day went forth and preached in the market. Crowds collected
round him. But he continued until night fell around him; so he was at
length left alone.
The dogs of the market-place now collected in a circle about him,
wagging their tails and whining.
Seeing this, Jelāl exclaimed: “By the Lord, the Highest, the Strongest,
the All-Compelling One, besides whom none is high, or strong, or
powerful! These dogs comprehend my discourse, and the truths I expound.
Men call them dogs; but henceforward let them not be so termed. They
are of the family of the ‘_Seven Sleepers_.’”[14]
42.
The Perwāna much wished Jelāl to give him private instruction at his
palace; and requested Jelāl’s son, Sultan Veled, to intercede for him
in the matter; which he did.
Jelāl replied to his son: “Bahā’u-’d-Dīn! He cannot bear that
burden.” This was thrice repeated. Jelāl then remarked to his son:
“Bahā’u-’d-Dīn! A bucket, the water of which is enough for forty,
cannot be drained by one.”
Bahā made the reflection: “Had I not pressed the matter, I had never
heard this wonderful saying.”
43.
At another time, the Perwāna, through Bahā’u-’d-Dīn, requested Jelāl to
give a public lecture to all the men of science of the city, who were
desirous to hear him.
His answer was: “A tree laden with fruit, had its branches bowed down
to the earth therewith. At the time, doubts and gainsayings prevented
the gardeners from gathering and enjoying the fruit. The tree has now
raised its head to the skies, and beyond. Can they hope, then, to pluck
and eat of its fruit?”
44.
Again, the Perwāna requested Jelāl himself to instruct him and give him
counsel.
After a little reflection, Jelāl said: “I have heard that thou hast
committed the Qur’ān to memory. Is it so?” “I have.” “I have heard that
thou hast studied, under a great teacher, the Jāmi’u-’l-Usūl, that
mighty work on the ‘Elements of Jurisprudence.’ Is it so?” “It is.”
“Then,” answered Jelāl, “thou knowest the Word of God, and thou knowest
all the words and acts reported of His Apostle. But thou settest them
at naught, and actest not up to their precepts. How, then, canst thou
expect that words of mine will profit thee?”
The Perwāna was abashed, and burst into tears. He went his way; but
from that day he began to execute justice, so as to become a rival of
the great Chosroes. He made himself the phœnix of the age, and Jelāl
accepted him as a disciple.
45.
A company of pilgrims arrived one year at Qonya from Mekka, on their
way home elsewhere. They were taken in succession to visit all the
chief men of rank and learning in the capital, and were received with
every demonstration of respect.
At last they were conducted to Jelāl also, in his college. On seeing
him seated there, they all screamed out and fainted away.
When they were recovered, Jelāl began to offer excuses, saying to them:
“I fear you have been deceived, either by an impostor, or by some
person resembling me in feature. There are men who strongly resemble
one another.”
The pilgrims one and all objected: “Why talks he thus? Why strive to
make us doubt our eyes? By the God of heaven and earth, he was with us
in person, habited in the very dress he now wears, when we all assumed
the pilgrim garb at Mekka. He performed with us all the ceremonies of
the pilgrimage, there and at ‘Arafāt.[15] He visited with us the tomb
of the Prophet at Medīna; though he never once ate or drank with us.
Now he pretends that he does not know us or we know him.”
On hearing this declaration, Jelāl’s disciples were transported with
joy, a musical festival ensued, and all those pilgrims became disciples.
46.
A certain rich merchant of Qonya, a disciple, as was his wife, of
Jelāl’s, went to Mekka one year for the pilgrimage.
On the day when the victims are slaughtered, the lady had a dish of
sweetmeat prepared, and sent some of it in a china bowl to Jelāl, to
be eaten at dinner. She made the request that, when he partook of the
food, he would favour her absent husband with his remembrance, his
prayers, and his blessing.
Jelāl invited his disciples to the feast; and all ate of the lady’s
sweetmeat to repletion. But the bowl still remained full.
Jelāl then said: “Oh, he too must partake of it.” He took the bowl,
ascended to the terraced roof of the college with it, returning
immediately empty-handed. His friends asked him what he had done with
the bowl and the food. “I have handed them,” said Jelāl, “to her
husband, whose property they are.” The company remained bewildered.
In due course of time, the pilgrims from Qonya returned home from
Mekka; and out of the baggage of the merchant, the china bowl was
produced, and sent in to the lady, who was much astonished at sight of
it. She inquired of her husband how he had become possessed of that
identical dish. He replied: “Ah! I also am at a loss to know how it
happened. But, on the eve of the slaughter of the victims, I was seated
in my tent, at ‘Arafāt, with a company of other pilgrims, when an arm
projected into the tent, and placed this dish before me, filled with
sweetmeat. I sent out servants to see who had brought it to me; but
no one was found.” The lady at once inferred the truth, and guessed
what had happened. Her husband was more and more astonished at such
miraculous power.
Next day, husband and wife went to Jelāl, stood bare-headed before him,
wept for joy, and related what had occurred. He answered:
“The whole thing is the effect of your trust and belief. God has merely
made use of my hand as the instrument wherewith to make manifest His
power.”
47.
Jelāl was accustomed to go every year for about six weeks to a place
near Qonya, called “_The Hot Waters_,” where there is a lake or marsh
inhabited by a large colony of frogs.
A religious musical festival was arranged one day near the lake, and
Jelāl delivered a discourse. The frogs were vociferous, and made his
words inaudible. He therefore addressed himself to them, with a loud
shout, saying: “What is all this noise about? Either do you pronounce
a discourse, or allow me to speak.” Complete silence immediately
ensued; nor was a frog ever once heard to croak again, so long as Jelāl
remained there.
Before leaving, he went to the marsh, and gave them his permission to
croak again now as much as they pleased. The chorus instantly began.
Numbers of people, who were witnesses of this miraculous power over
the frogs, became believers in Jelāl, and professed themselves his
disciples.
48.
A party of butchers had purchased a heifer, and were leading her away
to be slaughtered, when she broke loose from them, and ran away, a
crowd following and shouting after her, so that she became furious, and
none could pass near her.
By chance Jelāl met her, his followers being at some distance behind.
On beholding him, the heifer became calm and quiet, came gently
towards him, and then stood still, as though communing with him mutely,
heart to heart, as is the wont with saints; and as though pleading for
her life. Jelāl patted and caressed her.
The butchers now came up. Jelāl begged of them the animal’s life, as
having placed herself under his protection. They gave their consent,
and let her go free.
Jelāl’s disciples now joined the party, and he improved the occasion
by the following remarks:—“If a brute beast, on being led away to
slaughter, break loose and take refuge with me, so that God grants it
immunity for my sake, how much more so would the case be, when a human
being turns unto God with all his heart and soul, devoutly seeking
Him. God will certainly save such a man from the tormenting demons of
hell-fire, and lead him to heaven, there to dwell eternally.”
Those words caused such joy and gladness among the disciples that a
musical festival, with dancing, at once commenced, and was carried on
into the night. Alms and clothing were distributed to the poor singers
of the chorus.
It is related that the heifer was never seen again in the meadows of
Qonya.
49.
A meeting was held at the Perwāna’s palace, each guest bringing his
own waxlight of about four or five pounds’ weight. Jelāl came to the
assembly with a small wax-taper.
The grandees smiled at the taper. Jelāl, however, told them that their
imposing candles depended on his taper for their light. Their looks
expressed their incredulity at this. Jelāl, therefore, blew out his
taper, and all the candles were at once extinguished; the company being
left in darkness.
After a short interval, Jelāl fetched a sigh. His taper took fire
therefrom, and the candles all burnt brightly as before. Numerous were
the conversions resulting from this miraculous display.
50.
One day, the poet-laureate, Qāni’ī, came to visit Jelāl at his college.
He was the very Khāqānī[16] of the age, and was accompanied by a crowd
of noble admirers.
After much conversation, Qāni’ī remarked that he did not like the
writings of the poet Sanā’ī,[17] and Jelāl inquired the reason. The
poet-laureate replied: “Sanā’ī was not a Muslim.” Again Jelāl asked why
he had formed that opinion; and Qāni’ī replied: “He has quoted passages
from the Qur’ān in his poetry, and has even used them as his rhymes.”
Jelāl hereupon rebuked him most severely, as follows:—
“Do hold thy peace. What sort of a Muslim art thou? Could a Muslim
perceive the grandeur of that poet, his hair would stand on end, and
his turban would fall from his head. That Muslim, and thousands such
as he,--such as thee,--out of this lower world, and out of the land of
spirits, would become real Muslims. His poetry, which is an exposition
of the mysteries of the Qur’ān, is so beautifully embellished, that
one may apply to it the adage: ‘We have drawn from the ocean, and we
have poured out again into the ocean.’ Thou hast not understood his
philosophy; thou hast not studied it; for thou art a Qāni’ī (Follower
of one who is satisfied). The vicars of God have a technology, of which
the rhetoricians have no knowledge. Hence these truths appear to be
imperfect, because men of crude minds are prevented from comprehending
them. Though thou hast no part in the lot of the recondite mysteries
of the saints, it does not thence follow that thou shouldest deny
their position, and so place thyself in a position where destruction
may be brought down upon thee. On the contrary, shouldest thou fix thy
faith upon them, and act with true sincerity, thou shalt find in the
day of judgment no heavy burden on thy shoulders. In lieu thereof, a
burden-bearer will be present at thy side,--a refuge, who will prove
thy most earnest intercessor.”
Struck with these words, the poet-laureate arose, uncovered, begged
forgiveness, confessed contrition for his disrespect, and became one of
Jelāl’s disciples.
51.
A disciple of Husāmu-’d-Dīn wished to make a vow never to do an act
not expressly authorised by the Canon Law of Islām. For the purpose of
administering the oath to him, instead of the Qur’ān, a copy of the
Ilāhī-nāma (Divine Hymns) of the philosopher Sanā’ī was placed on a
lectern, covered over with a cloth, and tendered as “the Book” on which
he was to swear.
Just then, Jelāl came into the room, and asked what was going on.
Husām replied: “One of my disciples is going to make a vow against
backsliding. We shrank from swearing him on the Qur’ān, and have
therefore prepared a copy of the Ilāhī-nāma for the occasion.”
Jelāl observed: “Indeed! Why, the Ilāhī-nāma would draw down on a
forswearer a more severe chastisement than the Qur’ān itself. The
Word of God is but milk, of which the Ilāhī-nāma is the cream and the
butter!”
52.
When Adam was created, God commanded Gabriel to take the three most
precious pearls of the divine treasury, and offer them in a golden
salver to Adam, to choose for himself one of the three.
The three pearls were: _wisdom_, _faith_, and _modesty_.
Adam chose the pearl of _wisdom_.
Gabriel then proceeded to remove the salver with the remaining two
pearls, in order to replace them in the divine treasury. With all his
mighty power, he found he could not lift the salver.
The two pearls said to him: “We will not separate from our beloved
wisdom. We could not be happy and quiet away from it. From all
eternity, we three have been the three compeers of God’s glory, the
pearls of His power. We cannot be separated.”
A voice was now heard to proceed from the divine presence, saying:
“Gabriel! leave them, and come away.”
From that time, wisdom has taken its seat on the summit of the brain of
Adam; faith took up its abode in his heart; modesty established itself
in his countenance. Those three pearls have remained as the heirlooms
of the chosen children of Adam. For, whoever, of all his descendants,
is not embellished and enriched with those three jewels, is lacking of
the sentiment and lustre of his divine origin.
So runs the narrative reported by Husām, Jelāl’s successor, as having
been imparted to him by the latter.
53.
A certain flute-player named Hamza, much beloved by Jelāl, happened
to die. Jelāl sent some of his disciples to array the defunct in his
grave-clothes. He himself followed them to the house of the deceased.
On entering the room, Jelāl addresses the dead body: “My dear friend
Hamza, arise!” Instantly, the deceased arose, saying: “Lo, here I am!”
He then took his flute, and for three whole days and nights a religious
festival was kept up in his house.
Above a hundred Roman misbelievers were thereby converted to the faith
of Islām. When Jelāl left the house, life departed from the corpse also.
54.
Among the disciples there was a hunchback, a devout man, and a player
on the tambourine, whom Jelāl loved.
On the occasion of a festival, this poor man beat his tambourine and
shouted in ecstasy to an unusual degree. Jelāl was also greatly moved
in the spirit with the holy dance.
Approaching the hunchback, he said to him: “Why erectest thou not
thyself like the rest?” The infirmity of the hunch was pleaded. Jelāl
then patted him on the back, and stroked him down. The poor man
immediately arose, erect and graceful as a cypress.
When he went home, his wife refused him admittance, denying that he
was her husband. His companions came, and bare witness to her of what
had happened. Then she was convinced, let him in, and the couple lived
together for many years afterwards.
55.
It was once remarked to Jelāl, with respect to the burial service for
the dead, that, from the earliest times, it had been usual for certain
prayers and Qur’ānic recitations to be said at the grave and round the
corpse; but, that people could not understand why he had introduced
into the ceremony the practice of singing hymns during the procession
towards the place of burial, which canonists had pronounced to be a
mischievous innovation.
Jelāl replied: “The ordinary reciters, by their services, bear witness
that the deceased lived a Muslim. My singers, however, testify that he
was a Muslim, a believer and a lover of God.”
He added also: “Besides that; when the human spirit, after years of
imprisonment in the cage and dungeon of the body, is at length set
free, and wings its flight to the source whence it came, is not this an
occasion for rejoicings, thanks, and dancings? The soul, in ecstasy,
soars to the presence of the Eternal; and stirs up others to make proof
of courage and self-sacrifice. If a prisoner be released from a dungeon
and be clothed with honour, who would doubt that rejoicings are proper?
So, too, the death of a saint is an exactly parallel case.”
56.
One of Jelāl’s chief disciples related that, when he first began to
study under that teacher, a company of pilgrims from Mekka came to
Qonya, and among them was a very handsome young man of this latter
city, son to one of the chief professors there.
This young man brought rich presents to Jelāl, and gifts for the
disciples, relating to the latter the following adventure:—
“We were travelling in the desert of Arabia, and I chanced to fall
asleep. The caravan went on without me. When I awoke, I found myself
alone in the trackless sands. I knew not which way to turn. I wept
and lamented for a considerable time, took a direction at hazard, and
walked until I was thoroughly exhausted.
“To my surprise and joy I espied a large tent at a distance, with a
great smoke rising by it. I made for the tent, and there encountered a
most formidable-looking personage, to whom I related my misadventure.
He bid me welcome, asked me in, and invited me to rest myself. Within
the tent I observed a large kettle, full of fresh-cooked sweetmeat of
the finest kind, and a plentiful supply of cool clear water.
“My wonder was great. I asked my host what these preparations might
mean, and he answered: ‘I am a disciple of the great Jelālu-’d-Dīn
of Qonya, son of Bahā’u-’d-Dīn of Balkh. He is used to pass by here
every day. I have therefore pitched this tent for him, and I prepare
this food. Perchance, he may honour and bless me with his presence,
partaking of hospitality here.’
“As he yet spake, in walked Jelāl. We saluted; and he was begged to
partake of the food. He took a little morsel, no larger than a filbert,
giving me some also. I fell at his feet, and told him I was from
Qonya on pilgrimage, and had missed the caravan by falling asleep.
‘Well,’ answered he, ‘as we are fellow-townsmen, be of good cheer.’
He then bade me close my eyes. I did so; and on opening them again I
found myself in the midst of my companions of the caravan. I am now
come here, on my return home in safety, to offer my thanks for that
miraculous kindness, and to profess myself a disciple of the holy man.”
57.
A man of great learning came once to visit Jelāl. By way of a test, he
asked Jelāl two questions: “Is it correct to speak of God as ‘_a living
soul_?’ since God hath said (Qur’ān iii. 182): ‘Every living soul shall
taste death!’” and: “If one ought not to call God ‘a living soul,’ what
did Jesus mean when he said (Qur’ān v. 116): ‛Thou knowest what is in
my soul, but I know not what is in Thy soul’?” The second question was:
“Can God properly be called ‘a thing’? If He can be so called, what is
the signification of His word (Qur’ān xxviii. 88): ‘Every thing shall
perish, save His cause’?”
Jelāl immediately replied: “‘But I know not what is in Thy soul’ means
_in Thy knowledge_, _in Thy absentness_, or, as we seers say, _in
Thy secrecy_. Thus the passage would be paraphrased: _Thou knowest
what is in my secrecy; but I know not what is in the secret of Thy
secrecy_; or, as ‘_the people of heart_’ would put it: _Thou knowest
what issues from me in the world; but I know not the secret of what
issues from Thee in the world to come._ It is quite proper to speak
of God as ‘a thing;’ for He hath said (Qur’ān vi. 19): ‘What thing is
greatest in testimony? Say thou: “God;“’ _i.e._, God is the greatest
thing in testimony; ‘God will be a witness between me and you in the
day of the resurrection.’ The signification of the passage ‘Every thing
shall perish’ is: _every created thing shall perish_; not the Creator,
_i.e._, ‘save He.’ The thing excepted from the general category is
‘He.’ But God knows best.”
The man of learning instantly professed himself a disciple, and
composed a panegyric on Jelāl.
58.
The legend goes that Jelāl made a practice of seeing the new moon of
the Arabian new year, and always uttered the following prayer on seeing
it:—“O our Lord God! Thou art the Past-eternal One, the Future-eternal
One, the Ancient One! This is a new year. I beg of Thee therein
steadfastness to withstand the lapidated Satan,[18] and assistance
against the rebellious spirit (within me); also, occupation in what
will approximate me to Thee, and an avoidance of what might elongate me
from Thee. O God! O the All-merciful One, the All-compassionate One!
Through Thy mercy, O Most-compassionate of the merciful ones! O thou
Lord of majesty and of honour!”
59.
It is related that Jelāl cured one of his disciples of an intermittent
fever by writing down the following invocation on paper, washing off
the ink in water, and giving this to the patient to drink; who was,
under God’s favour, immediately relieved from the malady:—“O Mother of
the sleek one (a nickname of the tertian ague)! If thou hast believed
in God, the Most Great, make not the head to ache; vitiate not the
swallow; eat not the flesh; drink not the blood; and depart thou out of
So-and-So, betaking thyself to some one who attributes to God partners
of other false gods. And I bear witness that there is not any god save
God, and I testify that Muhammed is His servant and apostle.”
60.
One day Jelāl paid a visit to a great Sheykh. He was received with
the utmost respect, and seated with the Sheykh on the same carpet,
both together falling into ecstatic heart-communion with the world of
spirits.
A certain dervish was there present also, who had repeatedly performed
the pilgrimage at Mekka. The dervish addressed Jelāl, and inquired:
“What is poverty?” Jelāl returned no answer; and the question was
thrice repeated.
When Jelāl took his leave, the great Sheykh accompanied him to the
street door. On his return to his room, he reprimanded the dervish
severely for his insolent intrusion on the guest; “especially,” said
the Sheykh, “as he fully answered thy question the first time thou
puttest it.” The dervish, surprised, asked what the answer had been.
“The poor man,” said the Sheykh, “when he hath known God, hath his
tongue tied. That is being a real dervish; who, when in the presence
of saints, speaks not; neither with the tongue, nor with the heart.
This is what is signified by (Qur’ān xlvi. 28): ‘Hold ye your peace.’
But now, prepare thyself for thy end. Thou art struck by a shaft from
heaven.”
Three days later, the dervish was met by a gang of reprobates, who
attacked and killed him, carrying off every thing he had about him.
_Salve fac nos, Domine!_
61.
In the days of Jelāl there was in Qonya a lady-saint, named
Fakhru-’n-Nisā (the Glory of Women). She was known to all the holy men
of the time, who were all aware of her sanctity. Miracles were wrought
by her in countless numbers. She constantly attended the meetings at
Jelāl’s home, and he occasionally paid her a visit at her house.
Her friends suggested to her that she ought to go and perform the
pilgrimage at Mekka; but she would not undertake this duty unless she
should first consult with Jelāl about it. Accordingly she went to see
him. As she entered his presence, before she spoke, he called out to
her: “Oh, most happy idea! May thy journey be prosperous! God willing,
we shall be together.” She bowed, but said nothing. The disciples
present were puzzled.
That night she remained a guest at Jelāl’s house, conversing with him
till past midnight. At that hour he went up to the terraced roof of
the college to perform the divine service of the vigil. When he had
completed that service of worship, he fell into an ecstasy, shouting
and exclaiming. Then he lifted the skylight of the room below, where
the lady was, and invited her to come up on to the roof also.
When she was come, he told her to look upwards, saying that her wish
was come to pass. On looking up, she beheld the Cubical House of
Mekka in the air, circumambulating round Jelāl’s head above him, and
spinning round like a dervish in his waltz, plainly and distinctly, so
as to leave no room for doubt or uncertainty. She screamed out with
astonishment and fright, swooning away. On coming to herself, she
felt the conviction that the journey to Mekka was not one for her to
perform; so she totally relinquished the idea.
62.
Jelāl was once standing at the edge of the moat round the city of
Qonya, when a company of students, undergraduates of one of the
colleges in the neighbourhood, seeing him, agreed to try him by asking
the question: “Of what colour was the dog of the Seven Sleepers?”
Jelāl’s immediate, unpremeditated answer was: “Yellow. A lover is
always yellow (sallow); as am I; and that dog was a lover.” The
students bowed to him, and all became disciples.
63.
The Superior of the monks of the monastery of Plato was an old man,
and was held in the very highest esteem for his learning in all
Constantinople and Firengistān, in Sīs, Jānik, and other lands. (Sīs
was capital of the kingdom of Lower Armenia, and Jānik was the
secondary “Roman Empire” of Trebizond.) From all those lands did
disciples flock to learn wisdom from him.
This Superior related the following anecdote:—
“One day, Jelāl came to the monastery of Plato, situated at the foot
of a hill, with a cavern therein, from whence issued a stream of
cold water. Jelāl entered the cavern, and proceeded to its farther
extremity. The Superior remained at the cavern’s mouth, watching for
what might happen. For seven whole days and nights Jelāl remained
there, seated in the midst of the cold water. At the end of that period
he came forth from the cavern, and walked away, singing a hymn. Not the
slightest change was apparent in his features, nor in his eyes.”
The Superior made oath that all he had read about the person and
qualities of the Messiah, as also in the books of Abraham and Moses,
were found in the person of Jelāl, as well as the grandeur and mien of
the prophets, as set forth in books of ancient history, and far more
besides.
64.
Shemsu-’d-Dīn of Tebrīz once asserted, in Jelāl’s college, that
whosoever wished to see again the prophets, had only to look on Jelāl,
who possessed all their qualifications; more especially of those to
whom revelations were made, whether by angelic communications, or
whether in visions; the chief of such qualities being serenity of mind
with perfect inward confidence and consciousness of being one of God’s
elect. “Now,” said he, “to possess Jelāl’s approbation is heaven;
while hell is to incur his displeasure. Jelāl is the key of heaven. Go
then, and look upon Jelāl, if thou wish to comprehend the signification
of that saying ‘_the learned are the heirs of the prophets_,’ together
with something beyond that, which I will not here specify. He has more
learning in every science than any one else upon earth. He explains
better, with greater tact and taste, as also more exhaustively, than
all others. Were I, with my mere intellect, to study for a hundred
years, I could not acquire a tenth part of what he knows. He has
intuitively thought out that knowledge, without being aware of it, in
my presence, by his own subtlety.”
65.
One of the greatest teachers of Qonya was one day giving a lecture
on a terraced roof, when suddenly he heard the sound of a lute. He
exclaimed: “These lutes are an innovation on the prophetic usages. They
must be interdicted.”
Forthwith, the form of Jelāl appeared before him, and answered: “That
must not be.” On this the teacher fainted away.
When he regained his consciousness, he sought to make his peace with
Jelāl, by sending an apology and a recantation to him, through the
medium of Jelāl’s son, Sultan Veled; but Jelāl would not accept them.
He answered: “It would be easier to convert seventy Roman bishops to
Islām, than to clear away from the mind of that teacher the stains of
hate, and so set him on the right road. His soul is as foul as the
paper on which children practise their writing exercises.”
At length, however, he allowed himself to be appeased by his son;
so that he permitted the teacher, with his pupils, to constitute
themselves his disciples.
66.
Jelāl one day addressed his son, saying: “Bahā’u-’d-Dīn, dost thou
wish to love thy enemy, and to be loved of him? Speak well of him, and
extol his virtues. He will then be thy friend; and for this reason: In
like manner as there is a road open between the heart and the tongue,
so also is there a way from the tongue to the heart. The love of God
may be found by hearing His _comely names_. God hath said: ‘O My
servants, take ye heed that ye often commemorate Me, so that sincerity
may abound.’ The more that sincerity prevails, the more do the rays of
the light of truth shine into the heart. The hotter a baker’s oven is,
the more bread will it bake; if cool, it will not bake at all.”
67.
Sultan Veled, Bahā’u-’d-Dīn, is said to have recounted of his father,
Jelāl, this saying: “A true disciple is he who holds his teacher to be
superior to all others. So much so, that, for instance, a disciple of
Bāyezīd of Bestām was once asked whether Bāyezīd or Abū-Hanīfa was the
greater, and he replied that his teacher, Bāyezīd, was the greater.
‘Then,’ said the questioner, ‘is Bāyezīd the greater, or is Abū-Bekr?’
‘My teacher is the greater.’ ‘Bāyezīd or Muhammed?’ ‘Bāyezīd.’ ‘Bāyezīd
or God?’ ‘I only know my teacher; I know no other than him; and I know
that he is greater than all others.’
“Another was asked the last question, and his reply was: ‘There is no
difference between the two.’ A third was asked it also, and he replied:
‘It would require a greater one than either of the two to determine
which of them is the greater.’
“As God does not walk in this world of sensible objects, the prophets
are the substitutes of God. No, no! I am wrong! For if thou suppose
that those substitutes and their principal are two different things,
thou hast judged erroneously, not rightly.”
68.
Sultan Veled is reported to have said: “My grandfather, the Great
Master, used to recommend to his disciples to honour his son Jelāl
exceedingly, as one of noble extraction and exalted pedigree, of an
eternal descent in the past; since the mother of his mother was the
daughter of the Imām Sarakhsī, a descendant from Huseyn, son of ‘Alī,
and grandson of the Prophet.”
69.
Sultan Veled is also reported to have said: “My father told his
disciples that I was seven, and my brother ‘Alā’u-’d-Dīn eight years
old, when the Dizdār Bedru-’d-Dīn Guhertāsh had us circumcised at
Qara-Hisār.” (See chap. i., No. 12.)
He is also reported to have declared: “When the Sultan invited my
grandfather to Qonya, a year passed, and then the Emīr Mūsa invited my
grandfather to Larenda, and took my father to be his own son-in-law;
so that I was born in that town.” (See chap. i., No. 2. The account
now given here is at variance with that mentioned in the preface,
which makes ‘Alā’u-’d-Dīn and Bahā’u-’d-Dīn to have been born at
Larenda before Jelāl and his father went to Qonya. Moreover, their
mother, Gevher Khātūn, is there said to have been the daughter of Lala
Sherefu-’d-Dīn of Samarqand. Is that an alias of the Emīr Mūsa of the
present anecdote; or did Jelāl marry two ladies of Larenda at different
times? There are several difficulties here. Sultan Veled puts only one
year as the difference of age between himself and his elder brother. If
the daughter of the Emīr Mūsa was the mother of both these brothers,
Jelāl’s stay at Larenda must have been of about two years at least. If
they were by different mothers, and born, the one before, the other
after Bahā Veled’s settling at Qonya, there must have been a greater
difference in their ages. Jelāl’s age at his marriage is also variously
stated. These discrepancies show that the anecdotes were collected from
traditions of various sources, long after the events recorded.)
70.
Sultan Veled is said to have related that one day, two Turks,
law-students, brought to Jelāl an offering of a few lentils, excusing
the paucity of the gift, as the result of their poverty. Jelāl
thereupon narrated the following anecdote:—
“God revealed to Mustafa (Muhammed) that the believers should
contribute of their possessions, for the service of God, as much as
they could spare. Some brought the half, some the third part; Abū-Bekr
brought the whole of what he possessed. Thus a large treasure was
collected, of money, beasts, and arms, for God’s service.
“A poor woman, too, brought three dates and a cake of bread--all she
had on earth.
“The disciples smiled. Mustafa perceived their action, and said that
God had showed him a vision, which he desired to tell to them. They
all begged he would favour them with the recital. He therefore thus
proceeded:
“‘God hath removed the veils from before me. And lo, I saw that the
angels had placed in one scale of a balance the whole of your very
liberal offerings together, and in the other scale the three dates and
one cake of this poor woman. The latter scale was preponderant; its
contents outweighed all the rest.’
“The disciples bowed, thanked the prophet, and inquired the hidden
explanation of this mystery. He answered: ‘This poor woman has parted
with her all, whereas my disciples have kept back a part of their
possessions. Proverbs say: “The generous one is generous out of what
he possesses,” and, “A little, in the eyes of the Most Great, is
much.” You put into the earth a single date-stone, intrusting it to
God. He makes that stone become a tree, which yields fruits without
number; because the stone was confided to Him. Therefore, let your
alms be given to the poor, and to God’s servants, as a trust committed
unto God. For it is said: “Alms fall first into God’s hand, before
reaching the hands of the poor;” and again: “Alms for the poor and the
destitute.”’
“The poor of Mekka and Medīna, refugees and auxiliaries, shouted their
admiration as they heard these words.”
When the two Turkish students heard this anecdote related, they
professed themselves disciples of Jelāl.
71.
When Jelāl was quite young, he was one day preaching on the subject of
Moses and Elias (Qur’ān xviii. 59-81). One of his disciples noticed
a stranger seated in a corner, paying great attention, and every now
and then saying: “Good! Quite true! Quite correct! He might have been
the third one with us two!” The disciple surmised that the stranger
might be Elias. (Elias is believed by Muslims to be always visible
somewhere, but that people know him not. Did they recognise him, they
could obtain from him a knowledge of the secret of eternal life, which
he possesses.) He therefore seized hold of the stranger’s skirt, and
asked for his spiritual aid. “Oh,” said the stranger, “rather seek
assistance from Jelāl, as we all do. Every occult saint of God is the
loving and admiring friend of him.” So saying, he managed to disengage
his skirt from the disciple’s hold, and instantly disappeared. The
disciple went to pay his respects to Jelāl, who at once addressed him,
saying: “Elias, and Moses, and the prophets, are all friends of mine.”
The disciple understood the allusion, and became more and more devoted
at heart to Jelāl than he even was before.
72.
It is related that when the burial service was about to be performed
over the corpse of Jelāl, the precentor gave a shriek, and swooned
away. After a while, he recovered, and then performed his office,
weeping bitterly.
On being asked the cause of his emotion, he answered: “As I stood
forward to perform my office, I perceived a row of the most noble of
spiritual saints of the spiritual world, as being present, and as being
engaged in reciting the prayers for the dead over the departed one.
Those angels of heaven wore robes of blue (the mourning of some sects
of Muslims), and wept.”
For forty days, that precentor and others daily visited Jelāl’s grave.
73.
At Damascus, when a young student, Jelāl was frequently seen by
others to walk several arrow-flights’ distance in the air, tranquilly
returning to the terraced roof on which they were standing.
Those fellow-pupils were among his earliest believers and disciples.
74.
A friend of Jelāl’s once took leave of him at Qonya, and went to
Damascus. On his arrival there, he found Jelāl seated in a corner of
his room. Asking for an explanation of this surprising phenomenon,
Jelāl replied: “The men of God are like fishes in the ocean; they pop
up into view on the surface here and there and everywhere, as they
please.”
75.
Jelāl once met a Turk in Qonya, who was selling fox-skins in the
market, and crying them: “Dilku! Dilku!” (Fox! Fox! in Turkish.)
Jelāl immediately began to parody his cry, calling out in Persian: “Dil
kū! Dil kū!” (Heart, where art thou?) At the same time he broke out
into one of his holy waltzes of ecstasy.
76.
In the time of Sultan Veled (A.D. 1284-1312), a young man, of the
descendants of the Prophet, and son of the guardian of the holy
tomb of Muhammed at Medīna, came to Qonya with a company of his
fellow-descendants, belonging to that city. He was presented to Sultan
Veled, and became his disciple.
He wore a most singular head-dress. One end of his turban hung down
in front to below his navel; while the other end was formed into the
_sheker-āvīz_[19] of the Mevlevī dervishes.
When they had become somewhat intimate, Sultan Veled asked him how it
happened that he wore the _sheker-āvīz_ of the Mevlevis, when nobody
else but those dervishes wear it, in imitation of their founder, Jelāl.
The young man explained that his family were descended from the
Prophet. That the Prophet, on the night of his ascension to heaven,
after seeing God and many mysteries, had returned a certain distance,
and, as is well known, then went back to intercede with God for his
people. He now perceived, on the pinnacle of God’s throne, the ideal
portrait of a form, so beautiful, that he had not hitherto witnessed
anything so charming among the angels and inhabitants of heaven.
After contemplating the lovely vision, in amazement, for some time,
Muhammed was able to notice that the ideal form wore on its head a
_sheker-āvīz_. He asked Gabriel what that ideal portrait might portend,
which was so attractive in its beauty as to surpass all the wonders he
had witnessed in all the nine heavens. “Is it the portrait of an angel,
a prophet, or a saint?” Gabriel replied: “It is the portrait of a
personage of the descendants of Abū-Bekr, who will appear in the latter
days among the people of thy Church, and will fill the whole world
with the effulgence of the knowledge of thy mysteries. To him will God
vouchsafe a precedency, and a pen, and a breath, such that kings and
princes will profess themselves his disciples; and he will be a most
pure upholder of thy religion, being, in every respect, the counterpart
of thyself in aspect and in morals. His name will be Muhammed, as is
thine; and his surname will be Jelālu-’d-Dīn. His words will explain
thy sayings, and will expound thy Qur’ān.”
On his return home, the Prophet adopted the form of turban he had seen
worn in that ideal portrait, making one end hang down a span in front,
and binding the other end behind into a _sheker-āvīz_.
“From that day to this,” said the young man, “the fathers of our family
have followed that fashion, so adopted by the Prophet; and we continue
to do so too.”
It is said that when Abū-Bekr heard this narrative from the Prophet,
respecting his great descendant that was thus foretold, he gave the
whole of his possessions to the Prophet, to be expended in God’s cause.
When Muhammed died, Abū-Bekr wept long and bitterly. But the Prophet
appeared to him, and consoled him by saying: “One day I will reappear
among my people from out of the collar of one of thy race.”
The young man continued: “From that time onwards, our family were on
the outlook for the manifestation of the holy personage whose ideal
portrait the Prophet so saw. Thank God that I have witnessed the
realisation of their hope.”
The Qonya pilgrims published this communication to all the disciples
there present.
77.
In the days of Sultan Veled, a great merchant came to Qonya to visit
the tomb of Jelāl. He offered many rich gifts to Sultan Veled, making
presents also to the disciples. He related to them many anecdotes of
adventures encountered by him in his travels, such as the following:—
He once went to Kīsh and Bahreyn in quest of pearls and rubies. “An
inhabitant told me,” said he, “that I should find some in the hands of
a certain fisherman. I went to him, and the fisher showed me a chest,
containing pearls of inestimable value, such as impressed me with
astonishment. I asked him how he had collected them; and he told me,
calling God to witness, that he, his three brothers, and his father,
were formerly poor fishermen. One day they hooked something that gave
them immense trouble before they could bring it to land.
“They now found they had captured a ‘Lord of the Waters,’ also named a
‘Marvel of the Sea,’ as is commonly known.[20]
“We wondered,” said he, “what we could do with the beast. We wept for
the ill fortune that had brought us such a disappointment. The creature
looked at us as we spoke. Suddenly my father cried out: ‘I have it! I
will put him on a cart, and exhibit him all over the country at a penny
a head!’
“Through the miraculous power of Him who has endowed man with speech
and His creatures with life, the beast broke forth and exclaimed: ‘Make
me not a staring-block in the world, and I will do anything you may
wish of me, so as to suffice for you and your children for many years
to come!’
“Our father answered: ‘How should I set thee free, when thou art so
strange and unparalleled a creature?’ The beast replied: ‘I will make
an oath.’ Our father said: ‘Speak! Let us hear thy oath.’
“The beast now said: ‘We are of the faith of Muhammed, and disciples of
the holy Mevlānā. By the soul of the Mevlānā, the holy Jelālu-’d-Dīn of
Rome, I will go, and I will return.’
“Our father fainted away with astonishment. I, therefore, now asked:
‘How hast thou any knowledge of him?’ The beast replied: ‘We are a
nation of twelve thousand individuals. We have believed in him, and he
frequently showed himself to us at the bottom of the sea, lecturing and
sermonising to us on the divine mysteries of the truth. He brought us
to a knowledge of the true faith; so that we continually practise what
he taught us.’
“Our father instantly told him he was free. He went back, therefore,
into the water, and was lost to sight. But two days later he returned,
and brought with him innumerable pearls and precious stones. He asked
whether he had been true and faithful to his promise; and on our
expressing our satisfaction on that score, he took an affectionate
farewell from us.
“We were thus raised from the depths of poverty to the pinnacle of
wealth. We became merchant princes, and our slaves are the great
merchants of the earth. Every dealer who wishes for pearls and rubies
comes to us. We are known as the _Sons of the Fisherman_. Our father
went to Qonya, and paid his respects to the Mevlānā.
“Through his narrative, I formed the design, now carried into effect,
to visit the son of that great saint.”
This wonderful narrative has been handed down ever since in the mouths
of the merchants of Qonya.
78.
(The following appears to be an account of one of the first visits
of the Perwāna to Jelāl, to whom he subsequently became so devotedly
attached.)
One of the most eminent among the men of learning in Qonya was visited
by the Perwāna. The learned man held forth eloquently on several
exalted themes, and then informed the Perwāna that he had, the night
before, been taken up into the highest heaven, and had there learnt
many mysteries. He said that he there saw Jelāl hold a higher station
of proximity to God than any other saint, as he stood on a level with
God’s throne.
A day or two later, the Perwāna, filled with reverence for Jelāl’s
unequalled sanctity, went and paid him a visit with the utmost
deference. Before the Perwāna could broach any subject of conversation,
Jelāl said to him: “Mu’īnu-’d-Dīn! the vision related to you by your
learned friend is quite true in the main facts, though I never saw him
there at any time.” He then extemporised the following ode:—
“Fellow-visitant wert thou? Then say what thou sawest there last
night.
’Twixt my heart and inspiring loved darling what passed in thy sight?
And if thou, in thy dream, with thy eyes sawest my beautiful love,
Tell us then, in the earrings he wore there what jewels were wove.
If with me thou be fellow in coat, as in thoughts and in creeds,
Let us hear the details of that ragged old mendicant’s weeds.
If thou poverty’s son be, and unspoken mysteries hear,
Thou’lt recount all the words that were thought by my silent compeer,
If thou’st learnt whence the source of mankind and of souls did
proceed.
Since the source was but one, what then means all this search, all
this greed?
And if thou hast not seen any place of his form and face free,
Say then what, in the thoughts of his lovers, that face and form be.
And if I head the lists of those lovers, as thou seemest to say,
Tell us, What are those lists? What his messages, words, answers?
Pray!”
A musical service was then got up, this ode being chanted during its
performance. The Perwāna was so utterly bewildered by this incident,
that he could say nothing. He therefore rose, bowed, and took his leave.
79.
One day, it is said, the Prophet (Muhammed) recited to ‘Alī in private
the secrets and mysteries of the “Brethren of Sincerity” (who appear to
be the “Freemasons” of the Muslim dervish world), enjoining on him not
to divulge them to any of the uninitiated, so that they should not be
betrayed; also, to yield obedience to the rule of implicit submission.
For forty days, ‘Alī kept the secret in his own sole breast, and bore
therewith until he was sick at heart. Like a pregnant woman, his
abdomen became swollen with the burden, so that he could no longer
breathe freely.
He therefore fled to the open wilderness, and there chanced upon a
well. He stooped, reached his head as far down into the well as he was
able; and then, one by one, he confided those mysteries to the bowels
of the earth. From the excess of his excitement, his mouth filled with
froth and foam. These he spat out into the water of the well, until he
had freed himself of the whole, and he felt relieved.
After a certain number of days, a single reed was observed to be
growing in that well. It waxed and shot up, until at length a youth,
whose heart was miraculously enlightened on the point, became aware of
this growing plant, cut it down, drilled holes in it, and began to play
upon it airs, similar to those performed by the dervish lovers of God,
as he pastured his sheep in the neighbourhood.
By degrees, the various tribes of Arabs of the desert heard of this
flute-playing of the shepherd, and its fame spread abroad. The camels
and the sheep of the whole region would gather around him as he piped,
ceasing to pasture that they might listen. From all directions,
north and south, the nomads flocked to hear his strains, going into
ecstasies with delight, weeping for joy and pleasure, breaking forth in
transports of gratification.
The rumour at length reached the ears of the Prophet, who gave orders
for the piper to be brought before him. When he began to play in the
sacred presence, all the holy disciples of God’s messenger were moved
to tears and transports, bursting forth with shouts and exclamations
of pure bliss, and losing all consciousness. The Prophet declared that
the notes of the shepherd’s flute were the interpretation of the holy
mysteries he had confided in private to ‘Alī’s charge.[21]
Thus it is that, until a man acquire the sincere devotion of the
linnet-voiced flute-reed, he cannot hear the mysteries of the Brethren
of Sincerity in its dulcet notes, or realise the delights thereof; for
“faith is altogether a yearning of the heart, and a gratification of
the spiritual sense.”
“To whom, alas, the pangs my love for thee excites, to breathe?
My sighs, like ‘Alī, I’ll to some deep well’s recess bequeathe.
Perchance some reeds may spring therefrom, its brink to overgrow;
Those reeds may moaning flutes become, and so betray my woe.
Who hear will say: ‘Be silent, flutes! We’re not love’s confidants;
To that sweet tyrant make excuse for us and for those plants!’”
80.
One of Jelāl’s disciples possessed a slave girl of Roman origin,
whom Jelāl had named Siddīqa (after Muhammed’s virgin wife ‘Ā’isha).
Occasionally she had miraculous visions. She used to see aureolas of
heavenly light, green, red, and _black_. Various of the angels used to
visit her, and souls of the departed.
Her master was vexed at her being so favoured above himself. Once
he was visited by Jelāl, and expressed his chagrin to him on the
subject. Jelāl replied: “True! There is a heavenly light resides in the
pupils of some eyes. These occasionally mislead a few with visions of
beauteous form, with which they fall in love. Others they preserve in
chastity, and lead them to their adored Maker. Others, again, they may
lead to take delight in exterior objects, so as to cast their eyes on
every pretty face they see, while the wife at home is curtained away
from her husband. Thus, whenever God opens a way to any one, appearing
to him, and showing him glimpses of the hidden world, he is apt to
become entranced therewith, and to lose all power of further progress,
saying to himself: ‘How greatly in favour am I!’ Others, in short, use
every endeavour; but nothing is vouchsafed to them in visions, until
they be favoured with a special sight of God Himself, and they be
admitted to a near approach unto Him.”
The girl’s master was comforted, and bowed to his teacher, whose
disciples then broke out into a holy service of psalmody and dancing.
81.
There was once a wise monk in the monastery of Plato, who was on very
friendly terms with Jelāl’s grandson ‘Ārif. He was very aged, and used
to be visited by the dervishes of his neighbourhood, to whom he was
very polite, and towards whom he exhibited great confidence; so much so
that, one day, some of them inquired of him how he had found Jelāl, and
what he had thought of him.
The monk replied to them: “What do you know of him, as to who or
what he was? I have seen signs and miracles without number worked by
him. I became his devoted servant. I had read in the gospel and in
the prophets the lives and the works of the saints of old, and I saw
that he compassed them all. I therefore had faith in the truth of his
reality.
“One day he came here, conferring on me the honour of a visit. For
forty days he shut himself up in ecstatic seclusion. When at length
he came forth from his privacy, I laid hold of his skirt, and said to
him: ‘God, in His holy scripture hath said (Qur’ān xix. 72): “And there
is none of you but shall come to it (hell-fire).” Now, since it is
incontestable that all shall come to the fire of hell, what preference
is there in Islām over our faith?’
“For a little time he made no answer. At length, however, he made a
sign towards the city, and went away in that direction. I followed
after him leisurely. Near the city, we came to a bakehouse, the oven of
which was being heated. He now took my black cassock, wrapped it in his
own cloak, and threw the bundle into the oven. He then withdrew for a
time into a corner, sunk in meditation.
“I saw a great smoke come out of the oven, such that no one had the
power of utterance. After that, he said to me: ‘Behold!’ The baker
withdrew the bundle from the oven, and assisted the saint to put on his
cloak, which had become exquisitely clean; whereas my cassock was, as
it were, branded and scorched, so as to fall in pieces. Then he said:
‘Thus shall we enter therein, and thus shall you enter!’
“That selfsame moment I made my bow to him and became his disciple.”
82.
The reason why the Mesnevī was written is related to have been the
following:—
Husāmu-’d-Dīn learnt that several of the followers of Jelāl were
fond of studying the Ilāhī-nāma of Sanā’ī, the Hakīm, and the
Mantiqu-’t-Tayr of ‘Attār, as also the Nasīb-nāma of the latter.
He therefore sought and found an opportunity to propose that Jelāl
should indite something in the style of the Ilāhī-nāma, but in the
metre of the Mantiqu-’t-Tayr; saying that the circle of friends would
then willingly give up all other poetry, and study that alone.
Jelāl immediately produced a portion of the Mesnevī, saying that God
had forewarned him of the wishes of the brethren, in consequence of
which he had already begun to compose the work. That fragment consisted
of the first eighteen couplets of the introductory verses:—
“From reed-flute hear what tale it tells,
What plaint it makes of absence’ ills,” &c.
It is of the metre _Remel_, hexameter contracted:
- ‿ - - │ - ‿ - - │ - ‿ - ║ - ‿ - - │ - ‿ - - │ - ‿ - ║
Jelāl frequently mentions Husām as the cause of the work’s having been
begun and continued. In the fourth book he addresses him in the opening
couplet:—
“Of Truth, the light; of Faith, the sword; Husāmu-’d-Dīn aye be;
Above the lunar orb has clomb my Mesnevī, through thee.”
And again the sixth book has for its opening verse the following
apostrophe:—
“O thou, Husāmu-’d-Dīn, my heart’s true life! Zeal, for thy sake,
I feel springs up in me sixth book hereby to undertake.”
Often they spent whole nights at the task, Jelāl inditing, and Husām
writing down his inspirations, chanting it aloud, as he wrote it, with
his beautiful voice. Just as the first book was completed, Husām’s wife
died, and an interval ensued.
Two years thus passed without progress. Husām married again; and in
that year, A.H. 662 (A.D. 1263), the second book was commenced. No
other interval occurred until the work was brought to a conclusion. The
third couplet of the second book mentions Husām in these terms--
“When thou, of Truth the light, Husāmu-’d-Dīn, thy courser’s rein
Didst turn, descending earthward from the zenith’s starry plain.”
The third, fifth, and seventh books have similar addresses to Husām in
their opening verses. His name is also mentioned cursorily in the third
tale of the first book.
83.
On the death of Jelāl, a party of zealots went in a body to the
Perwāna, explaining to him that the new practices of music and dancing,
introduced by Jelāl, were innovations altogether contrary to the
canonical institutes, and begging him to use his utmost endeavours to
suppress them.
The Perwāna called on the learned Mufti of Qonya, Sheykh Sadru-’d-Dīn,
and consulted him on the subject. The Mufti’s answer was: “Do nothing
of the kind. Listen not to such biased suggestions. There is an
apostolical saying to this effect: ‘A laudable innovation, introduced
by a perfect follower of the prophets, is of the same nature with the
customary practices of the prophets themselves.’” The Perwāna resolved,
therefore, to do nothing towards suppressing Jelāl’s institutions.
84.
A certain great man, who esteemed Jelāl, was nevertheless shocked that
he should, with all his learning and piety, sanction the use of music
and dancing.
He had occasion to visit Jelāl, who at once addressed him as
follows:—“It is an axiom in the sacred canons that a Muslim, if
hard pressed, and in danger of death, may eat of carrion and other
forbidden food, so that the life of a man be not sacrificed. This rule
is admitted and approved by all the authorities of the law. Now, we
_men of God_ are exactly in that position of extreme danger to our
lives; and from that danger there is no escape, save by song, by music,
and by the dance. Otherwise, through the awful majesty of the divine
manifestations, the bodies of the saints would melt away as wax, and
disappear like snow under the beams of a July sun.”
The personage thus addressed was so struck with the earnestness of
Jelāl’s manner, and the cogency of his reasoning, that he became
convinced, and thenceforward was a defender and upholder of Jelāl’s
institutions, so that these formed, as it were, the very nourishment
of his heart. Many of the learned followed his example, and joined
themselves to Jelāl’s followers and disciples.
85.
Kālūmān and ‘Aynu-’d-Devla were two Roman painters. They were
unrivalled in their art of painting portraits and pictures. Both were
disciples of Jelāl.
Kālūmān one day narrated that in Constantinople, on a certain tablet,
the portraits of the Lady Meryem and of Jesus were painted, in such
style as to be matchless. From all parts of the world artists came
and tried their best; but none could produce the equal of those two
portraits.
‘Aynu-’d-Devla undertook, therefore, to journey to Constantinople,
and see this picture. He made himself an inmate of the great church
of Constantinople for a whole year, and served the priests thereof in
various ways.
One night, then, he spied his opportunity, took the tablet under his
arm, and absconded with it.
On reaching Qonya, he paid his respects to Jelāl, who inquired of him
where he had been. He narrated to Jelāl all that had occurred with the
tablet, which he exhibited.
Jelāl found the picture exceedingly beautiful, and gazed on it long
with the utmost pleasure. He then spake as follows:—
“These two beautiful portraits complain of you, saying that you are
not a faithful admirer of theirs, but are an untrue lover.” The artist
asked: “How?” Jelāl replied: “They say they are not supplied with food
and rest. On the contrary, they are kept sleepless every night, and
fasting every day. They complain: ‘Aynu-’d-Devla leaves us, sleeps
himself all night, and takes his meals by day, never remaining with us
to do as we do!’”
The artist remarked: “Food and sleep are to them impossibilities.
Neither have they speech, with which to say anything. They are mere
lifeless effigies.”
Jelāl now replied: “Thou art a living effigy. Thou hast acquired a
knowledge of various arts. Thou art the handiwork of a limner whose
hand has framed the universe, the human race, and all things on earth
and in heaven. Is it right that thou forsake Him, and enamour thyself
of an insignificant lifeless effigy? What profit is there in these
portraits? What advantage can accrue to thee from them?”
Touched by these reproaches, the artist vowed repentance of his sin,
and professed himself a Muslim.
86.
When the time of Jelāl’s death drew near, he cautioned his disciples
to have no fear or anxiety on that account; “for,” said he, “as the
spirit of Mansūr[22] appeared, a hundred and fifty years after his
death, to the Sheykh Ferīdu-’d-Dīn ‘Attār, and became the Sheykh’s
spiritual guide and teacher, so, too, do you always be with me,
whatever may happen, and remember me, so that I may show myself to you,
in whatever form that may be;--that I may always belong to you, and
ever be shedding in your breasts the light of heavenly inspiration. I
will simply remind you now that our dear Lord, Muhammed, the Apostle
of God, said to his disciples: ‘My life is a blessing unto you, and my
death will be a blessing unto you. In my life I have guided you, and
after my death I will send blessings on you.’”
Jelāl’s friends shed tears all, and broke out into sighs and
lamentations; but bowed their heads in reverence.
It is said that he gave directions to get ready his grave-clothes, and
that his wife, Kirā Khātūn, began to wail, tearing her clothes, and
exclaiming: “O thou light of the world, life of the human race; unto
whom wilt thou commit us? Whither wilt thou go?”
He answered her: “Whither will I go? Verily, I shall not quit your
circle.” She then asked: “Will there be another like unto thee, our
Lord? Will another become manifest?” He replied: “If there be, he
will be I.” After a while he added: “While in the body, I have two
attachments; one, to you; the other, to the flesh. When, by the grace
of the unique Spirit, I become disembodied,--when the world of unbodied
spirits, unity, and singleness, shall appear, my attachment to the
flesh will become attachment to you, and I shall then have but one sole
attachment.”
87.
With his last breath Jelāl recommended to Husāmu-’d-Dīn to lay him in
the upper part of his tomb, so that he might be the first to rise at
the last day.
As he lay in his extreme sickness, there were earthquakes for seven
days and nights, very severe, so that walls and houses were overthrown.
On the seventh occasion, all his disciples were alarmed. He, however,
calmly remarked: “Poor earth! it is eager for a fat morsel! It shall
have one!”
He then gave his last instructions to his disciples, as follows:—“I
recommend unto you the fear of God, in public and in private;
abstemiousness in eating and in sleeping, as also in speaking;
the avoidance of rebelliousness and of sin; constancy in fasting,
continuous worship, and perpetual abstinence from fleshly lusts;
long-suffering under the ill-treatment of all mankind; to shun the
companionship of the light-minded and of the common herd; to associate
with the righteous and with men of worth. For verily ‘_the best of
mankind is he who benefiteth men_,’[23] and ‘_the best of speech is
that which is short and to the purpose_.’”[24]
88.
The following is a prayer taught by Jelāl, on his deathbed, to one of
his friends, to be used whenever affliction or care might weigh upon
him:—
“O our Lord God, I breathe but for Thee, and I stretch forth my
spirit towards Thee, that I may recite Thy doxologies abundantly,
commemorating Thee frequently. O our Lord God, lay not on me an ailment
that may make me forgetful to commemorate Thee, or lessen my yearning
towards Thee, or cut off the delight I experience in reciting the
litanies of Thy praise. Grant me not a health that may engender or
increase in me presumptuous or thankless insolence. For Thy mercy’s
sake, O Thou Most-Merciful of the compassionate. Amen.”
89.
A friend was seated by Jelāl’s pillow, and Jelāl leaned on that
friend’s bosom. Suddenly a most handsome youth appeared at the door of
the room, to the utmost astonishment of the friend.
Jelāl arose and advanced to receive the stranger. But the friend was
quicker, and quietly asked his business. The stranger answered: “I am
‘Azrā’īl, the angel of departure and separation. I am come, by the
divine command, to inquire what commission the Master may have to
intrust to me.”
Blessed are the eyes that can perceive such sights!
The friend was near fainting at this answer. But he heard Jelāl call
out: “Come in, come in, thou messenger of my King. Do that which thou
art bidden; and, God willing, thou shalt find me one of the patient.”
He now told his attendants to bring a vessel of water, placed his two
feet therein, and occasionally sprinkled a little on his breast and
forehead, saying: “My beloved (God) has proffered me a cup of poison
(bitterness). From his hand I drink that poison with delight.”
The singers and musicians now came in, and executed a hymn, while the
whole company of friends wept, and sobbed loudly.
Jelāl observed: “It is as my friends say. But, were they even to pull
down the house, what use? See my panting heart; look at my delight. The
sun sheds a grateful light on the moth. My friends invite me one way;
my teacher Shemsu-’d-Dīn beckons me the other way. Comply ye with the
summoner of the Lord, and have faith in Him. Departure is inevitable.
All being came out of nothing, and again it will be shut up in the
prison of nullity. Such is God’s decree from all eternity; and, to
decree belongeth unto God, the Most High, the All-Great!”
His son Sultan Veled had been unremitting in his attentions. He wept
and sobbed. He was reduced to a shadow. Jelāl therefore said to him:
“Bahā’u-’d-Dīn, my son, I am better. Go and lie down a little. Rest
thyself, and sleep awhile!”
When he was gone, Jelāl indited his last ode; thus:—
“Go! head on pillow lay; alone, in peace, me leave,
Loved tyrant, plague by night, while all around thee grieve.
That peerless beauty (God) has no need kind care to show;
But, sallow lovers, ye must patient faith still know.
Perplexity is ours to bear; ’tis his to own hard heart;
Shed he our blood; what sin? He’ll not pay murder’s smart.
To die’s hard, after all; but remedy there’s none;
How, then, to crave a remedy? The evil’s done.
Last night, in dream, a warder, from my love’s abode,
Made sign to me, and said: ‘This way! Hold thou my lode.’”
* * * * *
90.
It is related that, after his death, when laid on his bier, and while
he was being washed by the hands of a loving and beloved disciple,
while others poured the water for the ablution of Jelāl’s body, not one
drop was allowed to fall to the earth. All was caught by the fond ones
around, as had been the case with the Prophet at his death. Every drop
was drunk by them as the holiest and purest of waters.
As the washer folded Jelāl’s arms over his breast, a tremor appeared to
pass over the corpse, and the washer fell with his face on the lifeless
breast, weeping. He felt his ear pulled by the dead saint’s hand, as
an admonition. On this, he fainted away, and in his swoon he heard a
cry from heaven, which said to him: “Ho there! Verily the saints of
the Lord have nothing to fear, neither shall they sorrow. Believers die
not; they merely depart from one habitation to another abode!”
91.
When the corpse was brought forth, all the men, women, and children,
who flocked to the funeral procession, smote their breasts, rent their
garments, and uttered loud lamentations. These mourners were of all
creeds, and of various nations; Jews and Christians, Turks, Romans, and
Arabians were among them. Each recited sacred passages, according to
their several usages, from the Law, the Psalms, or the Gospel.
The Muslims strove to drive away these strangers, with blows of fist,
or staff, or sword. They would not be repelled. A great tumult was
the result. The Sultan, the Heir-Apparent, and the Perwāna all flew
to appease the strife, together with the chief Rabbis, the Bishops,
Abbots, &c.
It was asked of these latter why they mixed themselves up with the
funeral of an eminent Muslim sage and saint. They replied that they had
learnt from him more of the mysteries shrouded in their scriptures,
than they had ever known before; and had found in him all the signs and
qualities of a prophet and saint, as set forth in those writings. They
further declared: “If you Muslims hold him to have been the Muhammed of
his age, we esteem him as the Moses, the David, the Jesus of our time;
and we are his disciples, his adherents.”
The Muslim leaders could make no answer. And so, in all honour, with
every possible demonstration of love and respect, was he borne along,
and at length laid in his grave.
He had died as the sun went down, on Sunday, the fifth of the month
Jumāda-l-ākhir, A.H. 672 (16th December A.D. 1273); being thus
sixty-eight (lunar) years (sixty-six solar years) of age.
92.
Sultan Veled is reported to have related that, shortly after the death
of his father, Jelāl, he was sitting with his step-mother, Jelāl’s
widow, Kirā Khātūn, and Husāmu-’d-Dīn, when his step-mother saw the
spirit of the departed saint, winged as a seraph, poised over his,
Sultan Veled’s, head, to watch over him.
93.
Jelāl had a female disciple, a saint, named Nizāma Khātūn, an intimate
friend of his wife’s.
Nizāma formed the design to give a spiritual party to Jelāl, with
an entertainment for his disciples. She possessed nothing but a
Thevr (_or_ Sevr)[25] veil, which she had destined to be her own
winding-sheet.
She now ordered her servants to sell this veil, and so procure the
necessaries for the projected feast. But, that same morning, Jelāl
came to her house with his disciples, and, addressing her, said:
“Nizāma Khātūn, sell not thy veil; to thee it is a piece of necessary
furniture. Lo! we are come to thy entertainment.”
He and his disciples remained with her, engaged in spiritual exercises,
three whole days and nights.
94.
After Jelāl’s death, Kīgātū Khān, a Mogul general, came up against
Qonya, intending to sack the city and massacre the inhabitants. (He was
emperor from A.H. 690 to 696, A.D. 1290-1294.)
That night, in a dream, he saw Jelāl, who seized him by the throat, and
nearly choked him, saying to him: “Qonya is mine. What seekest thou
from its people?”
On awaking from his dream, he fell on his knees and prayed for mercy,
seeking also for information as to what that portent might signify. He
sent in an ambassador to beg permission for him to enter the city as a
friendly guest.
When he arrived at the palace, the nobles of Qonya flocked to his
court with rich offerings. All being seated in solemn conclave, Kīgātū
was suddenly seized with a violent tremor, and asked one of the
princes of the city, who was seated on a sofa by himself: “Who may the
personage be that is sitting at your side on your sofa?” The prince
looked about, right and left; but saw no one. He replied accordingly.
Kīgātū answered: “What? How sayest thou? I see by thy side, seated, a
tall man with a grisly beard and a sallow complexion, a grey turban,
and an Indian plaid over his chest, who looks at me most pryingly.”
The prince sagaciously suspected forthwith that Jelāl’s shade was there
present by his side, and made answer: “The sacred eyes of majesty alone
are privileged to witness that vision. It is the son of Bahā’u-’d-Dīn
of Balkh, our Lord Jelālu-’d-Dīn, who is entombed in this land.”
The Khān replied: “Last night I saw him in my dream. He went nigh
choking me, and told me Qonya is his possession. Now, prince, thee
I call my adoptive father; and I entirely forego my intention to
devastate this city. Tell me; has that holy man any son or descendant
alive here?”
The prince told him of Bahā Veled, now Sheykh of the city, and the
peerless saint of God. Kīgātū expressed the wish to go and visit the
Sheykh. The prince conducted him and his suite of nobles to Sultan
Veled. They all declared themselves his disciples, and assumed
the dervish turban. Bahā recounted to the Khān the history of his
grandfather’s expulsion from Balkh, and of all that followed. The Khān
offered him royal presents, and accompanied him on a visit of reverence
to the shrine of the deceased saint.