By divine grace we got safely across the Oxus[196] and encamped on the
opposite shore, awaiting the arrival of the rest of our party. While
there, the wife of Sheik Husein sent me a message to say that she had
a dream in which she had seen her father, the holy Makhdum Aazam, who
had come from Vezir to Kharezm in company with another holy sage.
Arrived in the town he had thus addressed the people, who welcomed him
joyfully: "Mir Sidi Ali has read the Koran over my grave in Vezir, and
he has supplicated for my patronage. I have therefore come to help
him and to lead him safely through Khorassan." This message filled me
with joy. I struck camp next morning and the day following we arrived
in Dorum;[197] we passed through, unmolested by Mahmud Sultan, and
proceeded to Bagwai,[198] which place we also passed, without being
hindered by Pulad Sultan, and came to Nesa.[199] Here I found Ali
Sultan, former Governor of Merw, and brother of Tin Sultan, to whom
I offered my letter of commendation from Esh Sultan, and was allowed
free passage, for everybody in these parts is devoted to his Majesty
our Padishah. Thus we came to Bawerd (Abiwerd)[200] and Tus, where I
visited the graves of Imam Mohammed Hanifi and of the poet Firdusi; and
on the first of Muharram of the year 964 I reached Meshhed-i-Khorassan,
where I immediately made a pilgrimage to the grave of Imam Ali Musa
Riza, the prince of Khorassan.
When at sea, during the great storm some time ago, I had vowed to give
a _Tumen_ to the Imam; now I fulfilled my vow, and paid a _Tumen_ to
Mutawali (the overseer of the Mosque and Mausoleum) and I also paid
a _Tumen_ to the Seid. In Meshhed I found Ibrahim Mirza, the son of
Behram Mirza, who occupied the throne there; also Suleiman Mirza, the
son of Shah, and his Vekil (representative) called Kokche Khalipha, who
entertained me at a banquet.
In the course of our conversation, these gentlemen naturally wished
to draw me into an argument upon the succession and sanctity of the
Caliphs Ali, Ebubekr, Omar, and Osman; but I acted upon the principle
that silence is the best answer to give a fool, and I was silent. They
pressed me, however, and I told them the story of Khodja Nasreddin,
who was once asked to read the Koran in the Mosque, to which he had
replied, "this is not the place." "And now," I said, "I have not come
hither to argue with you, and I refuse to be questioned." It was with
great difficulty that I at last rid myself of them.[201]
One of the guests, unfortunately, was a miscreant, of the name of Ghazi
Bey; he gave vent to his wrath in these words: "It is not seemly to
send such people as these to the Shah. How do we know that they may
not kill the men we give them as an escort, and then take flight? Very
possibly they belong to the Ottomans that were sent to Borak Khan, or
perhaps they are the bearers of a secret correspondence, and it might
be advisable to search them."
The Mirza (Ibrahim) approved of this plan, and the next morning 200 men
in armor (_kurdji_) surrounded the _kervanserai_ and took us prisoners.
As the proverb says: "Those who can not be caught by fair means will be
by foul play."
We were each of us put in charge of one of the guards; I was taken to
the apartment of the Kokehe Khalipha, with my two attendants. My horses
were given in another man's charge, and my other effects were entrusted
to Mutawali's keeping. They made us undress, and as it was winter we
suffered much from the cold. The next day the Mirza took from me all my
official papers and sundry letters which I had received from different
princes, and had them all put into a bag and sealed.
When my companions saw this they trembled for their lives, but I
comforted them with the sayings, "He who falls through no mistake of
his will not shed tears," and "Since fate has not forgotten to bring
thee into this world, it will not forget to take thee out of it," and
further, "Patience is the key to the final goal."
So we calmly resigned ourselves to our fate. A little later on all
were put in chains, except myself; but I was strictly guarded by five
men. This action of the Mirza troubled me not a little, and although I
tried to make light of it, my heart was very heavy. I wrote a gazel to
comfort myself, and with the inspiring thoughts suggested by it fresh
in mind, I fell asleep, and being in a semiconscious state, a divine
inspiration in the form of a _Murabba_[202] was vouchsafed to me, which
I sent to Mutawali. This composition caused great excitement among the
nobility of the place. About the same time one of the attendants of the
Imam declared (whether it was true or feigned I can not say) that in
his dream he had seen the Caliph Ali, who had charged him to go and set
Mir Sidi Ali free. The news of this dream spread rapidly through the
town and stirred up the people, whose sympathies were now all turned in
my favor.
Mutawali and Seid went to the Mirza and said: "This man came on a
pilgrimage to visit the shrine of the Imam. He is under a vow and
desires to go to the Shah. As the Shah is on friendly terms with the
Padishah of Turkey it is not right that we should in any way trouble
this pilgrim now in the Ashura[203] days. If the man be a traitor, it
is sure to come to light, for as the Koran says, 'A traitor is known by
his countenance,' and there need be no further question of suspicion."
These words of the wise man and of Seid did not lose their effect upon
the Mirza. From my side I pointed out to him the unreliableness of the
information upon which he had acted, and in order further to enlist
his sympathies in my favor I sent him three poems, after which, partly
for fear of the Shah, and partly regretting his rash deed, he gave us
our liberty on the tenth of Ashura. He loaded me with presents and
gave another banquet in my honor. He also restored to us our horses
and our clothes; but many of my other possessions I never recovered.
Four valuable books were taken, and the whole of my correspondence was
conveyed by his armour-bearer, Ali Bey, and a Yassaul to the Shah in a
sealed bag, the transport being effected on a barrow about the middle
of Muharram of the said year. Traveling in the same caravan with us
was one of the wives of the Shah and one of the wives of Behram Mirza,
who were both returning from a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Imam. I
made their acquaintance, and they treated us kindly. By my advice my
companions comported themselves with due courtesy and modesty toward
the retinue of these ladies, mindful of the saying: "The peace of two
worlds depends on two things only, courtesy to friends and flattery to
foes."
Arrived in Mshabur I visited the graves of Imamzade Mohammed Mahruk,
and of Sheik Attar (_ferideddin_). Here I also met with Aga Kemal,
the Vekil of Khorassan, who, however, did not interfere with us. In
Sebzevar we met with a little hostility, but acting on the principle
that "Barking dogs bite not," we soon got free from these firebrands
and continued on our way.