ZU'N NUN OF EGYPT
(D 860 AD)
Ibn Khalliqan, the historian, calls Zu'n Nun "the first person of his
age for learning, devotion and communion with the Divinity." His father,
who was a native of Nubia, was a slave, enfranchised and adopted by the
tribe of Koraish. Zu'n Nun, being asked why he had renounced the world,
said, "I went forth from Misr (Egypt) journeying to a certain village,
and I fell asleep in one of the deserts on the way. And my eye was
opened, and lo, a little bird, still blind, fell from its nest to the
ground. Then the ground split open and two trays came forth, one of
gold, the other of silver; in one was sesame, and in the other water;
and the bird ate of that, and drank of this. 'That', said I, 'is a
sufficient warning for me; I renounce the world.' And then I did not
quit the door of divine mercy till I was let in."
Having been denounced by his enemies to the Caliph Mutawakkil of Bagdad,
he was summoned from Egypt to appear before him. On entering into his
presence, he addressed a pious exhortation to the Caliph, who shed
tears, and dismissed him honourably. After this, whenever men of piety
were spoken of before the Caliph, he would weep and say, "Speaking of
pious men, let me have Zu'n Nun."
At Cairo, however, Zu'n Nun did not come off so easily. He openly
rebuked the vices of the inhabitants, and especially of the local
governors, who caused him to be beaten and imprisoned. "All this is as
nothing, so I be not separated from thee, O my God," was his exclamation
while dragged through the crowded street with blows and insults by the
soldiers of the garrison.
Zu'n Nun related the following story of himself. "One day I saw a
beautiful palace on the bank of a river where I was performing my
devotions. On the roof of this palace I perceived a lovely maiden.
Curious of learning who she was, I approached and asked her the name of
her master. She answered, 'O Zu'n Nun when you were still a great way
off, I took you for a madman, when you came nearer, for a religious man,
when you came still nearer, for one of the initiated. I now perceive
that you are neither mad, nor religious, nor initiated. If you had been
mad, you would not have engaged in religious exercises; if you had been
religious, you would not have looked at a person whom you ought not to
approach; if you had been initiated, nothing would have drawn your
attention away from God.' So saying, she disappeared. I then recognised
that she was no mortal, but an angel."
[20]Zu'n Nun relates that he heard his spiritual teacher Schakran
recount the following story. "When I was young, I lived on the eastern
bank of the Nile, near Cairo, and gained my livelihood by ferrying
passengers across to the western side. One day, as I was sitting in my
boat near the river edge, an aged man presented himself before me; he
wore a tattered robe, a staff was in his hand, and a water-skin
suspended from his neck. 'Will you ferry me over for the love of God?'
said he. I answered, 'Yes.' 'And will you fulfil my commission for the
love of God?' 'Yes.' Accordingly, I rowed him across to the western
side. On alighting from the boat, he pointed to a solitary tree some
distance off, and said to me, 'Now go your way, and do not trouble
yourself further about me till to-morrow; nor indeed will it be in your
power, even should you desire it, for as soon as I have left you, you
will at once forget me. But to-morrow, at this same hour of noon, you
will suddenly call me to mind. Then go to that tree which you see before
you, I shall be lying dead in its shade. Say the customary prayers over
my corpse, and bury me; then take my robe, my staff and the water-skin,
and return with them to the other side of the river; there deliver them
to him who shall first ask them of you. This is my commission.'
"Having said this, he immediately departed. I looked after him, but soon
lost sight of him; and then, as he had himself already forewarned me, I
utterly forgot him. But next day, at the approach of noon, I suddenly
remembered the event, and hastily crossing the river alone, I came to
the western bank, and then made straight for the tree. In its shade I
found him stretched out at full length, with a calm and smiling face,
but dead. I recited over him the customary prayers, and buried him in
the sand at the foot of the tree; then I took the garment, the staff and
the water-skin, and returned to my boat. Arrived at the eastern side, I
found standing on the shore to meet me a young man whom I knew as a most
dissolute fellow of the town, a hired musician by profession. He was
gaudily dressed, his countenance bore the traces of recent debauch, and
his fingers were stained with henna. 'Give me the bequest,' said he.
Amazed at such a demand from such a character, 'What bequest?' I
answered. 'The staff, the water-skin and the garment,' was his reply.
Thereupon I drew them, though unwillingly, from the bottom of the boat,
where I had concealed them, and gave them to him. He at once stripped
off his gay clothes, put on the tattered robe, hung the water-skin round
his neck, took the staff in his hand, and turned to depart.
"I, however, caught hold of him and exclaimed, 'For God's sake, ere you
go, tell me the meaning of this, and how this bequest has become yours,
such as I know you.' 'By no merit of my own, certainly,' answered he;
'but I passed last night at a wedding-feast, with many boon companions,
in singing, drinking deep, and mad debauch. As the night wore away and
morning drew near, tired out with pleasure and heavy with wine, I lay
down to sleep. Then in my sleep one stood by me, and said, "God has at
this very hour taken to himself the soul of such an ascetic, and has
chosen you to fill his place on earth. Rise and go to the river bank,
there you will meet a ferryman in his boat; demand from him the bequest.
He will give you a garment, a staff and a water-skin; take them, and
live as their first owner lived."'
"Such was his story. He then bade me farewell, and went his way. But I
wept bitterly over my own loss, in that I had not been chosen in his
place as successor to the dead saint, and thought that such a favour
would have been more worthily bestowed on me than on him. But that same
night, as I slept, I heard a voice saying unto me, 'Schakran, is it
grief to thee that I have called an erring servant of Mine to
repentance? The favour is My free gift, and I bestow such on whom I
will, nor yet do I forget those who seek Me.' I awoke from sleep, and
repented of my impatient ambition."
Zu'n Nun had a disciple who had made the pilgrimage to the Kaaba forty
times, and during forty years had passed all his nights in devotional
exercises. One day he came to Zu'n Nun and said, "During the forty years
that I have practised austerity, nothing of the unseen world has been
revealed to me; the Friend (_i.e._, God) has not spoken to me, nor cast
upon me a single look. I fear lest I die and leave this world in
despair. Thou, who are the physician of sick souls, devise some means
for my cure." "Go," Zu'n Nun replied, "this evening, omit your prayers,
eat as much as you like, and go to sleep. Doubtless, if the Friend does
not look upon you with an eye of mercy, He will at any rate look upon
you with an eye of anger." The dervish went away, but said his prayers
as usual, saying to himself that it would be wrong to omit them. Then he
ate to satiety, and went to sleep. In his dreams he saw the Prophet, who
said to him, "O Dervish, the Friend sends thee his salutation, and says,
'Surely that man is pusillanimous who, as soon as he has arrived at My
court, hastens to return; set thy feet on this path like a brave man,
and then We will give thee the reward for all the austerities which
thou hast practised for forty years, and make thee reach the goal of thy
desires.'"
Perhaps someone may ask why Zu'n Nun told his disciple to omit his
prayers. We should consider that sheikhs are physicians knowing the
remedy for every kind of disease. Now there are many diseases whose
treatment involves the use of poisons. Besides, Zu'n Nun knew well that
his disciple would certainly not neglect his prayers. There are in the
spiritual path (_tariqat_) many things not justifiable according to the
written law (_shariat_). It is thus that the Lord ordered Abraham to
slay his son, an act unlawful according to the written law. But whoever,
without having attained to so high a degree in the spiritual life as
Zu'n Nun, should act as he did in this matter would be a being without
faith or law; for each one in his actions must conform to the decisions
of the written law.
Zu'n Nun related once the following. "When I was making the circuit of
the Kaaba, I saw a man with a pale face and emaciated frame. I said to
him, 'Dost thou really love Him?' 'Yes,' he answered. 'Does the Friend
come near thee?' 'Yes, assuredly.' 'Is He kind to thee?' 'Yes,
certainly.' 'What!' I exclaimed, 'the Friend approaches thee, He is kind
to thee, and look at the wretched state of thy body!' He replied,
'Simpleton! Knowest thou not that they whom the Friend approaches most
nearly, are the most severely tried?'"
"One day," said Zu'n Nun, "when I was travelling, I arrived at a plain
covered with snow. I saw a fire-worshipper who was strewing seeds of
millet there. 'O infidel,' I said, 'why are you strewing this millet?'
'To-day,' he said, 'as it has been snowing, I reflected that the birds
would find nothing to eat, and I strewed this millet that they may find
some food, and I hope that the Most High will perchance have mercy upon
me.' 'The grain which an infidel sows,' I replied, 'does not germinate,
and thou art a fire-worshipper.' 'Well,' he answered, 'even if God does
not accept my offering, may I not hope that He sees what I am doing?'
'Certainly He sees it,' I said. 'If He sees it,' he remarked 'that is
enough for me.'
"Long afterwards I met this infidel at Mecca making the circuit of the
Kaaba. He recognised me, and exclaimed, 'O Zu'n Nun, the Most High,
witnessing my act, has accepted it. The grain I sowed has indeed sprung
up, for God has given me faith, and brought me to His House.' "Seeing
him," added Zu'n Nun, "I rejoiced, and cried, 'My God, dost Thou give
paradise to an infidel for a handful of millet seed?' Then I heard a
voice reply, 'O Zu'n Nun, the mercy of the Lord is without limit.'"
Zu'n Nun daily asked three things of God in prayer. The first was never
to have any certainty of his means of subsistence for the morrow. The
second was never to be in honour among men. And the third was to see
God's face in mercy at his death-hour. Near the end of his life, one of
his more intimate disciples ventured to question him on this triple
prayer, and what had been its result. "As for the first and second
petitions," answered Zu'n Nun, "God has liberally granted them, and I
trust in His goodness that He will not refuse me the third."
During his last moments he was asked what he wished. "I wish," he
replied, "that if I have only one more breath left, it may be spent in
blessing the Most High." As he said this, he breathed his last.
He died 860 A.D., and his tomb is still an object of popular veneration
at Cairo.
[20] Vide Palgrave: Asceticism among Muhammadan Nations.