MYSTICS AND SAINTS OF ISLAM

 BY

 CLAUD FIELD

 LONDON: FRANCIS GRIFFITHS, 34 MAIDEN LANE, STRAND, W. C. 1910. 

 CONTENTS. 

CHAP. PAGE

 I. PANTHEISTIC SUFISM 1

 II. HASAN BASRI 18

 III. RABIA, THE WOMAN SUFI 28

 IV. IBRAHIM BEN ADHAM 36

 V. FUDHAYL BEN AYAZ 46

 VI. BAYAZID BASTAMI 52

 VII. ZU'N NUN OF EGYPT 60

VIII. MANSUR HALLAJ 68

 IX. HABIB AJAMI 79

 X. AVICENNA (IBN SINA) 86

 XI. AL GHAZZALI 106

 XII. FARIDUDDIN ATTAR 123

XIII. SUHRAWARDY 141

 XIV. JALALUDDIN RUMI 148

 XV. SHARANI, THE EGYPTIAN 164

 XVI. MULLAH SHAH 174

APPENDIX I. MOHAMMEDAN CONVERSIONS 192

 " II. EXPOSITION OF SUFISM 196

 " III. CHRISTIAN ELEMENTS IN MOHAMMEDAN LITERATURE 202

 " IV. CHRIST IN MOHAMMEDAN TRADITION 208

PREFACE

It is a custom in some quarters to represent Mohammadan mysticism asmerely a late importation into Islam, and an altogether alien element init. But however much later Islamic mysticism may have derived fromChristian, Neo-platonic, and Buddhist sources, there is little doubtthat the roots of mysticism are to be found in the Koran itself. Thefollowing verse is an instance: "God is the Light of the heavens and theearth. His light is like a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp encased inglass--the glass as it were a glistening star. From a blessed tree is itlighted, the olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil wouldwell nigh shine out even though fire touched it not! It is light uponlight!" (_Koran Sura_ 24). 

Indeed it seems strange to accord the title of "a practical mystic" toCromwell and to deny it to Mohammad, whose proclivity for religiousmeditation was so strong that the Arabs used to say "Muhammad is in lovewith his Maker, "[1] and whose sense of the "terror of the Lord" was sointense that it turned his hair prematurely white. Many of the reportedsayings of the Early Companions of Muhammad show that they shared thisterror. "Verily, you shall see hell, you shall see it with the eye ofcertainty" says the Koran, and they thought it very probable. Thus Aliexclaimed "Alas for the shortness of the provision and the terrors ofthe way!" Abu'l Darda said "If ye knew what ye shall see after death, yewould not eat nor drink, and I wish that I were a tree that is loppedand then devoured. "[2]

This "fear of the Lord" led naturally to an almost fierce asceticism. Abu Bekr and Ali both founded communities of ascetics, [3] and during thefirst and second centuries of Islam there were many orthodox mystics. Professor Nicholson in the work just quoted, rightly says "I do notthink that we need look beyond Islam for the origin of the Sufidoctrines. . . . The early Sufis are still on orthodox ground, theirrelation to Islam is not unlike that of the medięval Spanish mystics tothe Roman Catholic Church. "

 * * * * *

The following sketches are for the most part translations of papers bycontinental scholars such as Alfred Von Kremer, Pavet de Courteille, andA. F. Mehren. The essays on Ghazzali and Jalaluddin Rumi are, however, founded on original study of those writers. The translator hopes awholesome tonic may be found in some of these Moslem mystics at a timewhen many "Christian" pulpits and presses seem anxious to diluteChristianity "into a presumptuous and effeminate love which never knewfear. "[4]

He desires to thank the Editors of the _Expository Times_, _ChurchMissionary Review_, _Irish Church Quarterly_, and _London QuarterlyReview_ for permission to include papers which have appeared in thosejournals. 

 C. F. 

 [1] Ghazzali, Munqidh. 

 [2] Nicholson. Literary History of the Arabs (p. 225). 

 [3] Tholuck. Sufismus. 

 [4] Sir John Seeley. 

CHAPTER I

PANTHEISTIC SUFISM[5]

I. --THE IMPORT OF ISLAMIC MYSTICISM

The moral law proclaimed by Moses three thousand years ago agrees withthat which governs men to-day, irrespective of their various stages ofculture; the moral precepts of a Buddha and Confucius agree with thoseof the Gospel, and the sins for which, according to the Book of the Deadof the ancient Egyptians, men will answer to the judges of the otherworld are sins still after four thousand years. If the nature of theunknown First Cause is ever to be grasped at all, it can only be in thelight of those unchanging moral principles which every man carries inhis own breast. The idea of God is therefore not an affair of theunderstanding, but of the feeling and conscience. Mysticism has alwaysso taken it, and has therefore always had a strong attraction for theexcitable and emotional portion of mankind whom it has comforted intrial and affliction. Every religion is accordingly rather intended forthe emotions than for the understanding, and therefore they all containmystical tendencies. The mysticism of Islam and Christendom have manypoints of contact, and by mysticism perhaps will be first bridged thewide gulf which separates Islam from Christendom, and thereby frommodern civilisation. Just in proportion as the various religions expressthe ideals of goodness and truth they approximate to one another asmanifestations of the unchanging moral principle. Inasmuch as theysurmised this, the Motazilites (or free-thinkers in Islam), at a timewhen Europe lay in the profoundest intellectual and moral bewilderment, fought for one of those ideas which, although they are quickly submergedagain in the stormy current of the times, continue to work in silenceand finally emerge victorious. On that day when the Moslem no longerbeholds in God simply omnipotence, but also righteousness, he willsimultaneously re-enter the circle of the great civilised nations amongwhom he once before, though only for a short time, had won the firstplace. 

It is not perhaps too fanciful to hail, as an omen of the triumph ofmoral mysticism over the dogmatic rigidity of Islam, the fact that thepresent Sultan Muhammad V. Was girded with the sword of Osman by thehead of the Mevlevi dervishes, a sect founded by the great mysticteacher Jalaluddin Rumi of Iconium. Forty-three years ago a PersianOrientalist Mirza Kasim Beg wrote in the _Journal Asiatique_:--

 "_L'unique voie qui dans l'Islam puisse conduire a la reforme c'est la doctrine du mysticisme. _"

II. --EARLIER PHASES

The period during which the asceticism practised by the earlier Sufispassed into the dreamy pantheism which characterises the later Sufismis the end of the third century after Muhammad. This introduced a newelement into Islam which for centuries exercised a powerful influence onnational culture, and is still partially operative at present. Theconception of God and of the relation of the finite and human with theinfinite and divine from this time onward formed the chief subject ofinquiry and meditation. 

The man who was destined to be the first to give those ideas, which hadhitherto been foreign to Arabian Sufism, definite expression was a poorworkman, a cotton-carder, bearing the name of Hellaj. He was an ArabisedPersian, born in Persia, but educated in Irak, where he enjoyed theprivilege of being instructed by Junaid. The story of his life as handeddown by Shiah or Sunni writers has been much exaggerated. It is clear, however, that he had a great number of disciples who revered him astheir spiritual guide and ascribed to him almost supernatural powers. His ever-growing popularity much scandalised the orthodox mullahs, whomoved the authorities to proceed against him, and were successful inprocuring his execution 922 A. D. Before his death he was subjected toterrible tortures, which he bore with wonderful composure. 

The reason of his condemnation was declared to be that he regardedhimself as an incarnation of the Godhead. His disciples honoured him asa saint after his death. They ascribed to him the famous saying, "I amthe Truth" (_i. E. _ God), which they took in a pantheistic sense. He issaid to have taught the doctrine of the incarnation of the Godhead in aman and to have uttered the exclamation:

 Praise to the Most High Who has revealed His humanity and concealed the overpowering splendour of His Deity. Whoso purifies himself by abstinence and purges himself from every trace of fleshiness, unto him the Spirit of God enters, as it entered into Jesus. When he has attained to this degree of perfection, whatever he wills, happens, and whatever he does is done by God. 

His letters to his disciples are said to have commenced with theformula, "From the Lord of Lords to His slaves. " His disciples wrote tohim:

 O Spirit of the Spirit! O highest Aim of the holy: We bear witness that Thou hast incarnated Thyself in the form of Hosain the cotton-carder (Hellaj). We flee for protection to Thee and hope in Thy mercy, O Knower of secrets. 

The genuineness of these fragments has much to support it, but is notentirely beyond doubt. This much, however, is clear, that the disciplesof Hellaj after his death regarded him as a divine being. Ibn Hazm, atrustworthy author who wrote only 150 years after the execution ofHellaj, says so expressly. Ghazzali, who wrote about fifty years laterstill, does not mention this, but shelters Hellaj from the charge ofblasphemy by construing his exclamation "I am the Truth" in apantheistic sense, and excuses it by ascribing it to an excess of loveto God and to mystic ecstacy. In another place he says:

 The first veil between God and His servant is His servant's soul. But the hidden depth of the human heart is divine and illuminated by light from above; for in it is mirrored the eternal Truth completely, so that it encloses the universe in itself. Now when a man turns his gaze on his own divinely illumined heart he is dazzled by the blaze of its beauty, and the expression "I am God!" easily escapes him. If from this stage he does not advance further in knowledge, he often falls into error and is ruined. It is as though he had allowed himself to be misled by a little spark from the light-ocean of Godhead instead of pressing forward to get more light. The ground of this self-deception is that he in whom the Supernatural is mirrored confuses himself with it. So the colour of a picture seen in a mirror is sometimes confounded with the mirror itself. 

Hellaj was no more than the representative of an old idea, Indian inorigin, which he combined with Sufism, thereby giving an entirely newdirection to Islamic thought, which was important, as leading to anentirely new development of the conception of God. Even previous toHellaj, the doctrine of incarnation had emerged in Islam. The Caliph Aliwas reported to have been such, and was accordingly venerated by theShiahs. The sect of the Khattabiyah worshipped the Imam Jafar Sadik asGod. Another sect believed that the Divine Spirit had descended uponAbdallah Ibn Amr. 

In Khorassan the opinion was widely spread that Abu Muslim, the greatgeneral who overturned the dynasty of the Ommeyads and set up that ofthe Abbasides, was an incarnation of the spirit of God. In the sameprovince under Al Mansur, the second Abbaside Caliph, a religious leadernamed Ostasys professes to be an emanation of the Godhead. He collectedthousands of followers, and the movement was not suppressed without muchfighting. Under the Caliph Mahdi a self-styled Avatar named Ata arose, who on account of a golden mask which he continually wore was called_Mokanna_, or "the veiled prophet. " He also had a numerous following, and held the Caliph's armies in check for several years, till in 779A. D. , being closely invested in his castle, he, with his whole harem andservants, put an end to themselves. 

Towards the end of the second century after Muhammad, Babek in Persiataught the transmigration of souls and communism. His followers, namedKhoramiyyah, long successfully resisted the Caliph's troops. He claimedthat the soul of an ancient law-giver named "Bod" had passed into him, which meant perhaps that he wished to pass for a "Buddha. "

It is well known that Shiite teachers were especially active in Persia. In the apotheosis of Ali, as well as in the cases of Abu Muslim, we findan assertion of the ideas peculiar to the Persians in pre-Islamic times. The infusion or indwelling of the Godhead in man as with the HinduAvatars was also popular, and widely spread in Persia. In Bagdad, fromthe time of the early Abbasides, the Persians had exercised greatinfluence. Shiahs were able to profess their views freely under thetolerant or rather religiously indifferent Caliph Mamoun. Bagdad earlyharboured within its walls a number of communities imbued with Shiahdoctrine, and the Persian conception of God silently, but widelyprevailed. 

Hellaj, educated in the orthodox Sunni school of Junaid, which, throughits laying stress on the idea of love to God, possessed rather a mysticthan dogmatic character, allowed himself to be carried away by hispassionate temperament into not only preaching, but practically applyingto himself the above-mentioned doctrines, which though known to many, had been discreetly veiled in reserve. When once the populace have beenprepared for a new idea, the mere expression of it is sufficient to actas a spark on tinder. The fatal word was spoken by Hellaj; theauthorities did their duty, seized the daring innovator and put him todeath in the cruel fashion of the time. But the word once spoken hadbeen borne on the winds in all directions, and the execution of Hellajgave a powerful impulse to the spread of his doctrine. There are periodsin the lives of some nations when the longing for a martyr's crownbecomes epidemic. A few years after the execution of Hellaj, a man ofthe people, Ibn Aby Azkyr, from the same village, Shalmaghan, whereHellaj had spent his youth, gave himself out as an incarnation of theGodhead. He was put to death with several of his followers under thereign of the Caliph Radhi, 933 A. D. A century after Hellaj an Egyptian, Ismail Darazy, from whom the Druses derive their name, proclaimed theFatimite Caliph Hakim to be an incarnation. 

How great was the influence exercised in general by those ideas forwhich Hellaj died a martyr's death we learn most clearly from the pagesof Ghazzali, who wrote not quite two hundred years later. He says:

 The speculations of the Sufis may be divided into two classes: to the first category belong all the phrases about love to God and union with Him, which according to them compensate for all outward works. Many of them allege that they have attained to complete oneness with God; that for them the veil has been lifted; that they have not only seen the Most High with their eyes, but have spoken with Him, and go so far as to say "The Most High spoke thus and thus. " They wish to imitate Hellaj, who was crucified for using such expressions, and justify themselves by quoting his saying, "I am the Truth. " They also refer to Abu Yazid Bistamy, who is reported to have exclaimed, "Praise be to me!, " instead of "Praise be to God!" This kind of speculation is extremely dangerous for the common people, and it is notorious that a number of craftsmen have left their occupation to make similar assertions. Such speeches are highly popular, as they hold out to men the prospect of laying aside active work with the idea of purging the soul through mystical ecstasies and transports. The common people are not slow to claim similar rights for themselves and to catch up wild and whirling expressions. As regards the second class of Sufi speculation, it consists in the use of unintelligible phrases which by their outward apparent meaning and boldness attract attention, but which on closer inspection prove to be devoid of any real sense. 

These words of the greatest thinker among the Muhammadans at that timeafford us a deep insight into the remarkable character of the period. From them we gather with certainty that the division of Sufism into twoclasses, one orthodox and outwardly conforming to Islam, and the otherfree-thinking and pantheistic, was already an accomplished fact beforeGhazzali's time. We recognise also that the latter kind of Sufism wasvery popular among the lowest classes of the people and even among theagricultural population. The fundamental characteristic of mysticism, the striving after the knowledge of God by way of ecstatic intuition, had already come into open conflict with the fundamental principles ofIslam. "Mystical love to God" was the catchword which brought people toplunge into ecstatic reverie, and by complete immersion in contemplationto lose their personality, and by this self-annihilation to be absorbedin God. The simple ascetic character of the ancient Arabian Sufism wascontinually counteracted by the element of passive contemplation whichwas entirely foreign to the Arab mind. The terms "ascetic" and "Sufi, "which were formerly almost synonymous, henceforward cease to be so, andoften conceal a fundamental variance with each other. We shall not govery far wrong if we connect the crisis of this intellectual developmentwith the appearance of Hellaj, so that the close of the third andcommencement of the fourth century after Muhammad marks the point oftime when this philosophico-religious schism was completed. In Persiathe theosophy of Hellaj and his supporters found a receptive soil andflourished vigorously; on that soil were reared the finest flowers ofPersian poetry. From the Persians this tendency passed over to theTurks, and the poetry of both nations contains strongly-markedtheosophical elements. 

III. --THE LOVE OF GOD AND ECSTASY

Already in the second century of Islam great stress was laid upon thecultivation of love to God, an outstanding example of which is thefemale Sufi Rabia. With it was connected a gradually elaborated doctrineof ecstatic states and visions which were believed to lead by the way ofintuition and divine illumination to the spiritual contemplation of God. We have already endeavoured to describe the religious enthusiasm whichtook possession of the Moslems in the first and second century afterMuhammad and have partly traced the causes which led to this phenomenon. 

Ecstasy is an invariable concomitant of religious enthusiasm. In theendeavour to break through the narrow bounds which confine the humanspirit pious and credulous natures are only too easily led astray. Theinstruments which man has at his command when he wishes to investigatethe supernatural do not suffice to procure him an even approximatelycorrect image of the object which he would fain observe. While theoptician with the aid of mathematics can reduce errors arising from theconvexity of his magnifying lens to an infinitesimally small amount, thetheologian has never found a device, and never will find one, to obviatethe errors which arise from the fact that his intellectual insight hasto be exercised through the medium of material senses, which obscure theclearness of his observation. And yet it is precisely this ceaselessstriving, this irresistible impulse after something higher, thisunquenchable thirst for the fountain-head of knowledge, whichconstitutes the highest and noblest side of humanity, and is the mostindubitable pledge of its spiritual future. The net result of thesestrivings has been an endless series of self-delusions, and yet humanitytakes on a grander aspect in them than in all its other manifold effortsand successes. The history of this spiritual wrestling, this hopelessand yet never relaxed struggle against the impossible, forms the noblestaspect of the history of mankind. 

The phenomena produced by Islam in this respect do not fundamentallydiffer from those produced by Christianity and Buddhism. Sufism exhibitsa more remarkable development of these phenomena, simply because it grewup in an environment which favoured their more luxuriant growth. 

The Koran, which Muhammad came, as he said to preach, was regarded asthe very word of God, and must therefore have produced an overpoweringimpression on the minds of the faithful. Of this numerous instances arereported. Abd al Wahid ibn Zaid heard one day a Koran-reader recite thefollowing verse (Sura 45: 28):--"This is Our book, which announces toyou the truth; for We have caused to be recorded all that ye have done. Those who believe and do good works shall their Lord admit to Hisfavour; verily this is the most manifest recompense. " On hearing thisAbd al Wahid broke into loud weeping and fainted. Miswar ibn Machramahwas not even able to hear any verse of the Koran read, being sopowerfully affected thereby as to become senseless. Of Jobair ibn Motimit is reported that he said: "I heard the Prophet recite the followingverses of the Koran:--

 1. I swear by Tur. 2. By a book which stands written on outspread parchment. 3. By the house to which pilgrimage is made. 4. By the lofty dome of heaven. 5. And by the swelling ocean. 6. That the judgment of thy Lord is at hand. 

Then it appeared to me, " said Jobair, "as if my heart would burst intwain. " The pious Cadi Ijad adduces as a special proof of theinspiration of the Koran the deep impression of fear and terror whichits recital produced on the minds of the hearers. 

Muhammad ibn Mansur relates that once passing a house at midnight heheard the voice of a man praying to God loudly and fervently, lamentinghis sins with deep contrition. Muhammad ibn Mansur could not resist thetemptation; he put his mouth to the keyhole and uttered the verse whichthreatens the unbelievers with hell-fire. He heard a heavy fall withinthe house, and all was still. As he went down the same street the nextmorning he saw a corpse being carried out of the same house, followed byan old woman. He inquired of her whose body it was, and she answered:"Last night my son heard a verse of the Koran recited, and it broke hisheart. " We are far from believing all these stories, but they show whata view was held in the earliest times regarding the effect produced bythe Koran on the minds of those who heard it. 

The ecstatic bent of mind of the ascetics of Islam and the later Sufisarose from these beginnings. Then, as now, self-originated phases offeeling were attributed to outer causes; from the remotest times menhave sought without them the Divinity which they carried within. 

The wider spread and greater permanence of ecstatic phenomena among theMoslems than elsewhere was due to the concurrence of various conditions, chief among which was the peculiar temperament of the Arab. Capable ofthe fiercest momentary excitement, he quickly subsided into a state ofcomplete apathy which is pain-proof. I[6] have a lively recollection ofthe cases mentioned by my late friend Dr. Bilharz, who spoke of theastonishing anęsthesia which the patients in the medical school of Kasral 'ain in Cairo, where he was professor, exhibited under the mostpainful operations. They uttered hardly a sound when operated upon inthe most sensitive nerve-centres. The negro, notoriously excitable as heis, and therefore still more exposed to complete prostration of theorgans of feeling, exhibits this apathy in a yet more marked degree thanthe Arab and Egyptian. Many examples of this are found in old Arabicauthors--_e. G. _, in the narratives of the martyrdoms of Hatyt, of Hellajand of a young Mameluke crucified in 1247 A. D. Of the last Suyuti haspreserved a psychologically detailed description. 

Although Christian martyrology is rich in such instances of unshakablefortitude under the most painful tortures, yet in Islam the ecstatictemper has attained a higher significance and been more constantlyexhibited. A chief reason of this was the religious fanaticism, whichwas incomparably stronger and more widely diffused in Islam than inmedięval Christendom. The minds of the Moslems were kept in perpetualtension by severe religious exercises, the effect of which wasintensified by fasts and pilgrimages. The peculiar manner of life in thedesert, the birthplace of Islam, also contributed to this; the scantydiet, the loneliness of the desert, and in the towns the want of civiclife, the poverty of ideas among the Arabs, all helped to produce thesame result. Finally, deception, hypocrisy, and superstition, as, alas, so often is the case in religious matters, played a great part. Whoeverdid not feel ecstatically moved at the recitation of the Koran pretendedto be so, and often thereby, perhaps unconsciously, exercised a greateffect on others. Men began by pretending to feel religious enthusiasmand ended by believing that they really felt it. Ghazzali mentions inthe Ihya ul-ulum that the prophet commanded that whoever did not feelmoved to tears at the recitation of the Koran should pretend to weepand to be deeply moved; for, adds Ghazzali sagely, in these matters onebegins by forcing oneself to do what afterwards comes spontaneously. Moreover, the fact that religious excitement was looked upon as the markof a fervent mind and devout intensity, vastly increased the number ofthose who claimed mystic illumination. 

When verses of the Koran through frequent repetition lost their power toawaken ecstasy, single lines of fragments of poems sufficed to produceit. Once the mystic Taury found himself in the midst of a company whowere discussing some scientific question. All took part in it with theexception of Taury, who suddenly rose and recited:--

 Many cooing doves mourn in the mid-day heat, Sadly under the roof of foliage overhead, Remembering old companions and days gone by; Their lament awakens my sorrow also, My mourning rouses them, and often theirs disturbs my sleep; I do not understand their cooing, and they do not understand my weeping: But through, my sorrow of heart I know them, and through their heart-sorrow they know me. 

Hardly had those present heard these verses than they all fell into astate of ecstatic contemplation. 

Ibrahim ben Adham, the celebrated Sufi, once heard the followingverses:--

 Everything is forgiven thee, except estrangement from Us: We pardon thee all the past, and only that remains which has escaped Our eyes (_i. E. _, nothing). 

They immediately caused him to fall into a trance which lastedtwenty-four hours. Ghazzali, who himself borrowed much from the Sufis, and was a diligent student of their doctrine, seeks to explain thesestrange phenomena on psychological grounds. He divides the ecstaticconditions which the hearing of poetical recitations produces into fourclasses. The first, which is the lowest, is that of the simple sensuousdelight in melody. The second class is that of pleasure in the melodyand of understanding the words in their apparent sense. The third classconsists of those who apply the meaning of the words to the relationsbetween man and God. To this class belongs the would-be initiate intoSufism; he has necessarily a goal marked out for him to aim at, and thisgoal is the knowledge of God, meeting Him and union with Him by the wayof secret contemplation, and the removal of the veil which conceals Him. In order to compass this aim the Sufi has a special path to follow; hemust perform various ascetic practices and overcome certain spiritualobstacles in doing so. Now when, during the recitation of poetry, theSufi hears mention made of blame or praise, of acceptance or refusal, ofunion with the Beloved or separation from Him, of lament over a departedjoy or longing for a look, as often occurs in Arabic poetry, one or theother of these accords with his spiritual state and acts upon him, likea spark on tinder, to set his heart aflame. Longing and love overpowerhim and unfold to him manifold vistas of spiritual experience. 

The fourth and highest class is that of the fully initiated who havepassed through the stages above-mentioned, and whose minds are closed toeverything except God. Such an one is wholly denuded of self, so that heno longer knows his own experiences and practices, and, as though withsenses sealed, sinks into the ocean of the contemplation of God. Thiscondition the Sufis characterise as self-annihilation (Fana). 

But he who is bereft of self-consciousness is none the less aware ofwhat is without him; it is as if his consciousness were withdrawn fromeverything but the one object of contemplation, _i. E. _, God. While hewho is completely absorbed in the contemplation of the object seen is aslittle capable of theorising regarding the act of contemplation asregarding the eye, the instrument of sight, or the heart, the seat ofjoyful emotion. Just in the same way a drunken man is not conscious ofhis intoxication, so he who is drowned in joy knows nothing of joyitself, but only knows what causes it. Such a condition of mind mayoccur with regard to created things as well as with regard to theCreator Himself, only in the latter case it is like a flash oflightning, without permanence. Could such a condition of the soul lastlonger, it would be beyond the power of human nature to endure and wouldend in overwhelming it. So it is related of Taury that once in a meetinghe heard this verse recited:--

 In my love to Thee I attained to a height where to tread causes the senses to reel. 

He immediately fell into an ecstatic condition and ran into a fieldwhere the newly-cut stubble cut his feet like knives. Here he ran aboutall night till the morning, and a few days afterwards died. 

In this highest condition of ecstasy the soul is to be compared to aclear mirror, which, itself colourless, reflects the colours of theobject seen in it. Or to a crystal, whose colour is that of the objecton which it stands or of the fluid which it contains. Itself colourless, it has the property of transmitting colours. This exposition of Sufisticecstasy by Ghazzali shows that in his time, far from being on the wane, such phenomena were on the increase. For when a man of suchcomprehensive mind, such a deep thinker, so well versed in the knowledgeof men and especially of his fellow-Moslems, speaks so plainly andwithout doubt upon the matter and seeks to explain it psychologically, this idea must have already taken deep root and spread widely. Ghazzaliis consequently to be regarded as a decided adherent of Sufism and asapproving of the enthusiastic tendencies accompanying it. He narrates inhis autobiography[7] how he left his family in Bagdad and went toDamascus, where for two whole years he studied Sufism. Afterwards hemade the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. In his lonely musings thingswere revealed to him, which, he said, could not be described, and hearrived at last at the firm conviction that the Sufis were on the way ofGod and that their teaching was the best. It must be admitted that bySufism Ghazzali meant that kind of it which held fast to the generalprinciples of Islam and was in accord, even though only externally, withthe orthodox party. These Sufis adhered to the Koran and the traditions, but interpreted them allegorically. Mysticism must always be propped upby a positive religion, as it has no support in itself. 

 [5] From Von Kremer. 

 [6] Von Kremer. 

 [7] "The Confessions of Al Ghazzali" (Wisdom of the East series). 

CHAPTER II

HASAN BASRI[8](D 728 AD)

Hasan Basri was born in Arabia at Medina, where his mother had beenbrought as a captive and sold to Omm Salma, one of the wives of theProphet. Arrived at man's estate, and having received his liberty, heretired to Basra on the Persian gulf, a stronghold of the ascetic sect. Here he lived undisturbed, though his open disavowal of the reigningfamily of Ommeyah exposed him to some danger. The following incident, illustrating his independence of character is narrated by Ibn Khalliqan. When Omar ibn Hubaira was appointed to the government of Irak in thereign of the Caliph Abd-al Malik (A. D. 721) he called for Hasan Basri, Muhammad Ibn Sirin and as Shabi to whom he said, "Abd al Malik hasreceived my promise that I will hear and obey him; and he has nowappointed me to what you see, and I receive from him written orders. Must I obey him in whatever orders he takes upon himself to give?" Tothis Ibn Sirin and as Shabi gave a cautious reply, but Hasan Basri, being asked his opinion, made this answer: "O Ibn Hubaira! God outweighsAbd al Malik, and Abd al Malik cannot outweigh God; God can defend theefrom Abd al Malik, and Abd al Malik cannot defend thee from God. Hewill soon send an angel to take thee from thy throne, and send thee fromthe width of thy palace into the narrowness of the tomb. Then thy deedsalone can save thee. " Ibn Hubaira then rewarded them, but bestowed adouble reward on Hasan Basri, upon which as Shabi said to Ibn Sirin, "Wegave him a poor answer, and he gave us a poor reward. "

Hasan Basri's adoption of the ascetic life was brought about in thefollowing way. When a young man he was a lapidary, and had gone to Roum(Asia Minor) to practise his craft. He there lived on friendly termswith the vizier of that country. One day the vizier said to him, "We aregoing out of the city to a certain place; will you come with us?" HasanBasri assented, and went. "We came, " he said afterwards, "to a plainwhere there was a vast tent the ropes of which were of silk and itsstakes of gold. I saw a large number of soldiers marching round it; theyrepeated some words which I could not hear, and then retired. Then cameabout four hundred mullahs and learned men, who did the same. These werefollowed by a similar number of old men. Then about four or five hundredbeautiful maidens, each holding in her hand a dish containing rubies, pearls, turquoises, and other precious stones. They went in processionround the tent in the same way. Finally the sultan and the vizier wentinto the tent and came out again. 

"As for me, I remained transfixed with astonishment. 'What does all thismean?' I asked the vizier. 'The King, ' he said, 'had an extremelybeautiful child of a happy disposition, who fell ill and died. His tombis within this tent, and they visit it once a year. First come thesoldiers, who circle round the tent and say, 'O son of the sultan, if wecould have ransomed thy life by the strokes of our swords, we would havedone it, even had it cost us our own; but God willed otherwise, and wecannot change his decree. ' Having so said, they go away. Then themullahs and learned men, coming in their turn, say, 'O son of thesultan, if we could have ransomed thee by knowledge or by eloquence, wewould have done so; but all the knowledge and eloquence in the worldcannot arrest the decrees of Allah. ' Then they depart. After them comethe old men, who cry, 'If we could have saved thee by groanings andprayers, we would have done so; but our intercession is useless. 'Finally come the young maidens, who say, 'O son of the sultan, if wecould have ransomed thee at the price of beauty and wealth, we wouldhave done it; but the steps of fate turn aside for neither. ' After themthe sultan and the vizier enter the tent. The sultan says, 'O my son, Ihave done all that I could do. I have brought all these soldiers, thesemullahs, these learned men, these old men, these beautiful maidensbearing treasures, and yet I cannot bring thee back. It depends not onme, but on Him before Whom all power is powerless. May the mercy of theLord be multiplied upon thee for another year. ' Having thus spoken, theyreturn by the way they came. '"

Hasan Basri, having heard this, felt stirred to the depths of his heart. Leaving Roum, he retired to Basra, where he took an oath that he wouldnot smile again till he knew what his eternal destiny would be. Hepractised the severest asceticism, and many came to hear him preach. 

Hasan Basri had a disciple who was in the habit of casting himself onthe ground and uttering groans when he heard the Koran recited. "If thouart able to restrain these groans, " said he, "they will prove like adestructive fire to thee; but if they are really beyond thy power tocontrol, I declare that I am six stages behind thee in the way of piety. Such groanings, " he added, "are generally the work of Satan. "

One day Hasan Basri was preaching when Hejaj ben Yusuf, the bloodthirstyand formidable governor of Irak, accompanied by a great number of hisretinue with drawn swords, entered the mosque. A person of distinctionin the audience said, "We must watch to-day whether Hasan will beembarrassed by the presence of Hejaj. " When the latter had taken hisplace, Hasan Basri, without paying the least attention to him, so farfrom shortening his discourse, prolonged it. When it was finished, theperson who was watching him exclaimed, "Bravo, Hasan!" When he came downfrom the pulpit, Hejaj came forward, and, taking him by the hand, said, addressing the people, "If you wish to see him whom the Lord hasdistinguished among you, come and look on Hasan Basri. "

Hasan had in his heart such a fear of the Lord that, like a man seatednear an executioner, he was always in a state of apprehension. Seeingone day a man who wept, he asked him what was the matter. "To-day, "answered the man, "I heard a preacher say that there were a great manyamong the Moslems who, by reason of their sins would remain severalyears in hell, and then be taken out. " "May God grant, " cried Hasan, "that I be one of those who come out of hell at last; may I be even asthat man, who, as the prophet of God said, will come out eighty-fouryears after all the rest. "

One night he was overheard weeping and groaning in his house. "Why thesetears and laments?" he was asked. "I weep, " he answered, "thinking thatperhaps to-day I have set my foot in an unlawful place, or allowed anevil word to escape my lips which will cause me to be chased from beforethe throne of the most high. 'Away!' it will be said to me; 'thou hastno access here, thy works of piety are not accepted. ' And what answershall I make? Behold the reason of my fear. " One of his sayings was, "Inever saw a certainty of which there is no doubt bear a greaterresemblance to a doubtful thing of which there is no certainty thandeath does. "

Hasan Basri had a neighbour named Shamaun, who was an infidel and afire-worshipper. He fell ill, and his last hour approached. Some onesaid to Hasan, "Shamaun is your neighbour, and his last hour is come;why don't you go to see him?" Hasan having come to see him, saw that byreason of his assiduous fire-worship, his hair and beard were quiteblackened by smoke. Hoping that he would become a Moslem, he said tohim, "Come, Shamaun, fear the punishment which the Lord prepares forthee who hast passed thy life of seventy years in infidelity andfire-worship. " "As for me, " answered Shamaun, "I see on the part of youMoslems three characteristics which I cannot explain, and which hinderme from becoming a Moslem:--(1) You never cease repeating that the worldis perishable and impure, and yet day and night, without interval orrepose, you heap up its treasures; (2) You say that death is certain andinevitable, and yet you put the thought of it aside, and practise noneof the works which should fit you for another world; (3) You assert yourbelief that in that world it will be possible to contemplate the face ofthe Most High, and yet you commit acts which He abhors. " "Thou speakestlike one of the initiated, " said Hasan, "but although the faithfulcommit sins, none the less they confess the unity and the existence ofthe Most High, whilst thou hast spent thy life in worshipping the fire. At the day of judgment, if they cast us both into hell, the fire willcarry thee away at once, but if the grace of the Lord is accorded to me, it will not be able to scorch one of my eyebrows; this shows that it isonly a creature. And, moreover, you have worshipped it for seventyyears, and I have never worshipped it. "

These words made such an impression on Shamaun that he made a professionof the faith of Islam, dying soon afterwards. On the night of his death, Hasan in a dream saw Shamaun wearing a crown of gold, clothed in raimentof resplendent beauty, and walking in Paradise. "My God, " he cried whenhe awoke, "Thou hast had mercy on him who spent seventy years ininfidelity; is it strange that Thou shouldest show mercy to thefaithful?"

Hasan was a man of such humility of mind that he considered everyonewhom he saw his superior. One day when he was walking along the bank ofthe river Tigris he saw a negro seated near a woman; before them was ajar and a cup. Each of them in turn poured from the jar into the cup anddrank. Seeing this man, Hasan, according to his wont, said to himself, "There is a man better than myself. " At the same time he secretlythought, "As regards the observance of the ceremonial law, it ispossible that he is not superior to me, for he is sitting near a womanof doubtful character and drinking wine. " While he was thus reflecting, there appeared on the river a boat heavily laden, and containing sevenpersons. Just as it was approaching the shore, it foundered. The negro, casting himself into the water, drew out six persons in succession;then, going to Hasan, he said to him, "Rise, if thou art better than I. I have saved six, for my part; thou save one, for thine. " Then he added, "O true believers, this jar contains water, and this woman is my mother. I have wished to tempt Hasan. " Then, addressing the latter, he said, "See, thou hast looked with the outer eye only, and hast not beencapable of looking with the inner eye. " At these words, Hasan, fallingat his feet, kissed his hand, and understood that he was one of theLord's chosen servants. "Sir, " he said, "as thou hast drawn thesedrowning men from the water so save me from the abyss of self-worship. "The negro replied, "Go, thou art saved. " From that time Hasan consideredno one smaller than himself, but everyone his superior. 

On one occasion, Hasan Basri said, "I have been startled by the sayingsof four persons, (1) a drunkard, (2) a debauchee, (3) a child, (4) awoman. " "How was that?" he was asked. "One day, " he said, "I saw adrunkard staggering in the midst of the mire. I said to him, 'Try andwalk so as not to stumble. ' 'O Hasan, ' the drunkard replied, 'in spiteof all your efforts, do _you_ walk firmly in the way of God? Tell me, yes or no. If I fall in the mire no great harm is done, I can get rid ofit by washing; but if you fall into the pit of self-conceit, you willnever emerge clean and your eternal welfare will be entirely ruined. 'These words pierced me to the heart. (2) Again, as I passed once closeto a man of infamous character, I drew my robes close about me lest theyshould touch him. 'O Hasan, ' he said, 'why draw thy robes away fromcontact with me. Only the Most High knows what will be the end of each. '(3) Another time I saw a child coming towards me holding a lighted torchin his hand. 'Where have you brought this light from?' I asked him. Heimmediately blew it out, and said to me, 'O Hasan, tell me where it isgone, and I will tell you whence I fetched it. ' (4) One day a beautifulwoman, with her face unveiled, came to me. She had just been quarrellingwith her husband, and no sooner had she met me than she began reportinghis words. 'O woman, ' I said, 'first cover thy face and then speak. ' 'OHasan, ' she answered, 'In my excitement I lost reason, and I did noteven know that my face was uncovered. If you had not told me I shouldhave gone thus into the bazaar. But you who with so great zeal cultivatethe friendship of the Most High, ought you not to curb your eye, so asnot to see whether my face was uncovered or not?' Her words sank deeplyinto my heart. "

One day Hasan said to his friends, "You are like the companions of theprophet, on whom be peace. " They felt immensely gratified at this, buthe added, "I mean your faces and beards are like theirs, but nothingelse in you. If you had seen them, such was their absorption in divinethings, you would have thought them mad. Had they seen you, they wouldnot have regarded one of you as a real Moslem. They, in the practice ofthe faith, were like horsemen mounted on swift steeds, or like the wind, or like the bird which cleaves the air; while we progress like menmounted on donkeys with sores on their backs. "

An Arab visiting Hasan Basri asked him for a definition of patience. Hasan answered, "There are two kinds of patience; one kind consists inbearing afflictions and calamities bravely and in abstaining from whatthe Lord has forbidden, the other kind consists in never lending an earto the suggestions of Satan. " "As for me, " said the Arab, "I have neverseen anyone more retiring from the world and more patient than thyself. ""Alas, " answered Hasan, "my renouncement of the world and my patiencecount as nothing. " "Why dost thou say so?" exclaimed the Arab. "Because, if I practise renouncement it is only from dread of hell-fire, and if Ikeep patient it is only because I hope to enter Paradise. Now that manalone deserves to be taken into account who, without self-regardingmotives practises patience for the sake of the Most High, and whoserenouncement of the world has not Paradise for its object, but only thedesire to please God. Such a way of acting is a manifest sign ofsincerity of heart. "

Asked on another occasion what his spiritual state was like, Hasanreplied, "My state is like that of a man shipwrecked in the sea, who isclinging to a solitary plank. "

He never laughed. At the moment of death he smiled once, and called out"What sin? What sin?" Someone saw him after his death in a dream, andasked him, "O Hasan Basri, thou who never wert in the habit of smiling, why, when dying, didst thou say with a smile, 'What sin? What sin?'"Hasan answered, "When I was dying I heard a voice which said, 'O Azrael, hold back his soul a little longer, it has still one sin, ' and in my joyI exclaimed, 'What sin?'"

The night of his death another of his friends had a dream, in which hesaw the gates of heaven open and heard a voice proclaim, "Hasan Basrihas come to his Lord, Who is satisfied with him. "

 [8] These and the following eight sketches are taken from Attar's "Tazkirat-ul-Auliya. "

CHAPTER III

RABIA, THE WOMAN SUFI

Rabia, the daughter of Ismail, a woman celebrated for her holy life, anda native of Basra, belonged to the tribe of Adi. Al Qushairi says in histreatise on Sufism, "She used to say when holding converse with God, 'Consume with fire O God, a presumptuous heart which loveth Thee. ' Onone of these occasions a voice spoke to her and said, 'That we shall notdo. Think not of us an ill thought. ' Often in the silence of the nightshe would go on the roof of her house and say, 'The lover is now withhis beloved, but I rejoice in being alone with Thee. '"

When Rabia grew up her father and mother died. At that time there was afamine in Basra. She came into the possession of an evil man, who soldher as a slave. The master who bought her treated her hardly, andexacted all kinds of menial services from her. One day, when she wasseeking to avoid the rude gaze of a stranger, she slipped on the pathand fell, breaking her wrist. Lying there with her face to the ground, she said "Lord, I am far from my own, a captive and an orphan, and mywrist has just been broken, and yet none of these things grieve me. Onlythis one thought causes me disquiet; it is that I know not if Thou artsatisfied with me. " She then heard a voice, "Vex not thyself, O Rabia, for at the day of Resurrection We shall give thee such a rank that theangels nearest Us shall envy thee. " Rabia went home with her heart atpeace. 

One night, Rabia's master being awake, heard the sound of her voice. Heperceived Rabia with her head bent, saying, "My Lord, Thou knowest thatthe desire of my heart is to seek Thy approbation, and that its onlywish is to obey Thy commands. If I had liberty of action, I would notremain a single instant without doing Thee service; but Thou hastdelivered me into the hands of a creature, and therefore I am hinderedin the same. " Her master said to himself that it was not possible anylonger to treat her as a slave, and as soon as daybreak appeared, hesaid to her, "O Rabia, I make thee free. If thou desirest, remain here, and we shall be at thy service. If thou dost not wish to stay here, go whithersoever it pleaseth thee. "

Then Rabia departed from them and devoted herself entirely to works ofpiety. One day when she was making the pilgrimage to the Kaaba[9] shehalted in the desert and exclaimed, "My God, my heart is a prey toperplexity in the midst of this solitude. I am a stone, and so is theKaaba; what can it do for me? That which I need is to contemplate Thyface. " At these words a voice came from the Most High, "O Rabia, wiltthou bear alone that which the whole world cannot? When Moses desired tosee Our Face we showed It to a mountain, which dissolved into a thousandfragments. "

Abda, the servant maid of Rabia, relates as follows, "Rabia used to passthe whole night in prayer, and at morning dawn she took a light sleepin her oratory till daylight, and I have heard her say when she sprangin dread from her couch, 'O my soul, how long wilt thou sleep? Soon thoushalt sleep to rise no more, till the call shall summon thee on the dayof resurrection. '"

Hasan Basri once asked Rabia if she ever thought of marrying. Sheanswered, "The marriage contract can be entered into by those who havepossession of their free-will. As for me, I have no will to dispose of;I belong to the Lord, and I rest in the shadow of His commandments, counting myself as nothing. " "But, " said Hasan, "how have you arrived atsuch a degree of piety?" "By annihilating myself completely. "

Being asked on another occasion why she did not marry, she answered, "There are three things which cause me anxiety. " "And what are they?""One is to know whether at the moment of death I shall be able to takemy faith with me intact. The second is whether in the Day ofResurrection the register of my actions will be placed in my right handor not. [10] The third is to know, when some are led to Paradise and someto hell, in which direction I shall be led. " "But, " they cried, "none ofus know any of these things. " "What!" she answered, "when I have suchobjects to pre-occupy my mind, should I think of a husband?"

Someone asked her one day, "Whence comest thou?" "From the other world, "was her reply. "And whither goest thou?" "Into the other world. " "Andwhat doest thou in this world. " "I jest with it by eating its bread anddoing the works of the other world in it. " "O Rabia, " said another toher, "dost thou love the Lord?" "Truly, " she replied, "I love Him. ""And dost thou regard Satan as an enemy?" "I love the Lord so much, " sheanswered, "that I do not trouble myself about the enmity of Satan. "

One night she saw the Prophet (on whom be peace) in a dream. He salutedher and said, "Rabia, lovest thou me?" "O Prophet of God, " she replied, "is there anyone who does not love thee? Yet the love of the Most Highfills my heart to such a degree that there is no room for love or hatredtowards anyone else. "

On one occasion she was asked, "Dost thou see Him Whom thou servest?""If I did not see Him, " she said, "I would not serve Him. " She wasfrequently found in tears, and, being asked the reason why, replied, "Ifear that at the last moment a Voice may cry, 'Rabia is not worthy toappear in Our court. '" The following question was put to her, "If one ofHis servants truly repents, will the Lord accept it or not?" "As long asGod does not grant repentance, " she replied, "how can anyone repent? Andif He does grant it, there is no doubt that he will accept it. "

Once when Rabia had immured herself for a long while in her housewithout coming forth, her servant said to her, "Lady, come forth out ofthis house and contemplate the works of the Most High. " "Nay, " saidRabia, "enter rather into thyself and contemplate His work in thyself. "Having kept a strict fast for seven days and nights in order to giveherself to prayer, on the eighth night she seemed to hear her emaciatedbody say, "O Rabia, how long wilt thou torture me without mercy?" Whilstshe was holding this soliloquy with herself, suddenly someone knockedat the door, and a man brought in some food in a bowl. Rabia took it andset it down; then while she went to light the lamp, a cat came and atethe food. No sooner had Rabia returned and seen what had happened thanshe said to herself, "I will break my fast on water. " As she went todraw water her lamp went out. She then uttered a deep sigh, and said, "Lord, why dost thou make me wretched?" Whereupon she heard a voicesaying, "O Rabia, if thou desirest it, I will give thee the whole worldfor thine own; but I shall have to take away the love which thou hastfor Me from thy heart, for the love of Me and of the world cannot existtogether. " "Hearing myself thus addressed, " said Rabia, "I entirelyexpelled from my heart the love of earthly things, and resolutely turnedmy gaze away from them. For thirty years I have not prayed withoutsaying to myself, 'This prayer, perhaps, is the last which I shallpray, ' and I have never been tired of saying, 'My God, let me be soabsorbed in Thy love that no other affection may find room in myheart. '"

One day some men of learning and piety came to her and said, "The MostHigh has crowned His chosen saints with the gift of performing miracles, but such privileges have never been granted to a woman. How didst thouattain to such a high degree?" "What you say is true, " she answered, "but, on the other hand, women have never been so infatuated withthemselves as men, nor have they ever claimed divinity. "

Hasan Basri relates, "One day when I had been to Rabia who had fallensick, to ask after her, I saw seated at her gate a merchant who wept. 'Why are you weeping?' I asked him. 'I have just brought for Rabia, ' heanswered, 'this purse of gold, and I am troubled in mind, not knowingwhether she will accept it or not. Go in Hasan, and ask whether shewill. ' Then I went in, and no sooner had I reported to her the words ofthis merchant than she said to me, 'Thou knowest well, O Hasan, that theMost High gives daily bread even to those who do not worship Him; howthen will He not give it to those whose hearts are aglow with love toHim? Besides, ever since I have known God, I have turned my eyes awayfrom all except Him. How can I accept anyone's money when I know notwhether it has been gained by lawful or unlawful means? Present then myexcuses to this merchant, and let him go. '"

Another merchant visiting Rabia found her house in ill repair. Hepresented her with a new house. Rabia had no sooner entered it than, seeing paintings on the wall, she became absorbed in contemplating them. Recovering herself, she quitted the house, and refused to re-enter it, saying, "I fear lest my heart may become attached to this house to sucha degree that I neglect preparation for the other world. "

One day Abdul Wahid and Sofiān Tsavri went to see Rabia in her illness. They were so touched by the sight of her weakness that for some momentsthey could not speak a word. At last Sofiān said, "O Rabia, pray thatthe Lord may lighten thy sufferings. " "O Sofiān, " she answered, "who hassent me these sufferings?" "The Most High, " he said. "Very well, " shereplied, "if it is his will that this trial come upon me, how can I, ignoring His will, ask Him to remove it?" "Rabia, " said Sofiān, "I amnot capable of talking to thee about thy own affairs; talk to me aboutmine. " "Well, " answered Rabia, "if thou hadst not an inclination to thislow world, thou wouldst be a man without fault. " "Then, " relates Sofiān, "I cried with tears, 'My God, canst Thou be satisfied with me?'" "OSofiān, " said Rabia, "dost thou not blush at saying to the Lord, 'CanstThou be satisfied with me?' without having done a single thing to pleasehim?"

Malik Dinar recounts the following: "I went to see Rabia, and found herdrinking water out of a broken pitcher. She was lying stretched on anold mat, with a brick for her pillow. I was pierced to the heart at thesight, and said, "O Rabia, I have rich friends; if you will let me, Iwill go and ask them for something for you. " "You have spoken ill, Malik, " she replied; "it is the Lord who, to them as to me, gives dailybread. He Who provides for the needs of the rich, shall He not providefor the necessities of the poor? If He wills that it should be thus withus, we shall gladly submit to His will. '"

On one occasion when Malik Dinar, Hasan Basri and Shaqiq were with her, the conversation turned on sincerity of heart towards God. Hasan Basrisaid, "He has not sincere love to God who does not bear with constancythe afflictions which the Lord sends him. " "That remark savours ofself-conceit, " said Rabia. Shaqiq observed, "He is not sincere who doesnot render thanks for afflictions. " "There is a higher degree ofsincerity than that, " said Rabia. Malik Dinar suggested, "He is notsincere who does not find delight in the afflictions which the Lordsends. " "That is not the purest sincerity, " she remarked. Then theyasked her to define sincerity. She said, "He is not sincere who does notforget the pain of affliction through his absorption in God. "

One of the learned theologians of Basra, once visiting Rabia, began toenlarge upon the defects of the world. "You must be very fond of theworld, " said Rabia, "for if you were not, you would not talk so muchabout it. He who really intends to buy something keeps on discussing it. If you were really disentangled from it, what would you care about itsmerits or its faults?"

Other sayings of Rabia were these, "My God, if on the day of judgmentThou sendest me to hell, I shall reveal a secret which will make hellfly far from me. " "O Lord, give all Thou destinest for me of the goodsof this world to Thy enemies, and all that Thou reservest for me inParadise to Thy friends, for it is Thou only Whom I seek. " "My God, ifit is from fear of hell that I serve Thee, condemn me to burn in hell;and if it is for the hope of Paradise, forbid me entrance there; but ifit is for Thy sake only, deny me not the sight of Thy face. "

Rabia died A. D. 752, and was buried near Jerusalem. Her tomb was acentre of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. 

 [9] The sacred shrine at Mecca. 

 [10] A sign the person is acquitted. 

CHAPTER IV

IBRAHIM BEN ADHAM PRINCE OF BALKH(D 875)

Ibrahim Ben Adham was originally Prince of the city of Balkh, and hadcontrol of the riches of many provinces. One night when he was in bed heheard a sound of footsteps on the roof of his palace. "Who are you onthe roof?" he cried out. An answer came, "I have lost a camel, and I amlooking for it on this roof. " "Well, " he said, "you must be a fool foryour pains, to look for a camel on a roof. " "And thou, witless man, "returned the voice, "is it while seated on a throne of gold that thouexpectest to find the Most High? That is far madder than to seek a camelon a roof. " At these words, fear seized the heart of Ibrahim, who spentthe rest of the night in prayer, till the early dawn. The next morninghe took his seat upon his throne, round which were ranged all thegrandees of his kingdom and his guards, according to their rank, in theusual manner. All of a sudden Ibrahim perceived in the midst of thecrowd a majestic figure, who advanced towards him unseen by the rest. When he had come near, Ibrahim asked him, "Who art thou, and what hastthou come to seek here?" "I am a stranger, " he answered, "and I wish tostay at this inn. " "But this is not an inn, " answered Ibrahim, "it is myown house. " "To whom did it belong before thee?" inquired the stranger. "To my father. " "And before thy father, to whom did it belong?" "To mygrandfather. " "And where are thy ancestors now?" "They are dead. " "Wellthen, is this house anything but an hotel, where the coming guestsucceeds to the departing one?" So saying, the stranger began towithdraw. Ibrahim rose, ran toward him, and said, "I adjure thee tostop, in the name of the Most High. " The stranger paused. "Who artthou, " cried Ibrahim, "who hast lit this fire in my soul?" "I am Khizr, O Ibrahim. It is time for thee to awake. " So saying, he disappeared. Ibrahim, pierced with sorrow, awoke from his trance, and felt a keendisdain for all earthly grandeur. 

The next morning, being mounted and going to the chase, he heard a voicewhich said, "O Ibrahim, thou wast not created for this. " He looked roundhim on all sides, but could see no one, and went on again. Presentlyagain the voice was heard, proceeding, as it were, from his saddle, "OIbrahim, thou wast not created for this. " Struck to the heart, Ibrahimexclaimed, "It is the Lord who commands; His servant will obey. " Hethereupon dismounted, exchanged clothes with a shepherd whom hediscovered close by, and began to lead the life of a wandering dervish, and became famous for his devoutness and austerity. 

After some years, he undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca, and joined acaravan which was bound thither. The news of his coming having reachedthe chief men of the city, they all came out to meet him. Some of theirservants, going on, met Ibrahim (whom, of course, they did not know), and asked him if Ibrahim ben Adham was approaching. "Why do you askme?" he said. "Because the chief men of the city are come out to meethim. " "And why make so much ado about that man, " he said, "who is asinner and an infidel?" "What right hast thou to speak thus of him?"they cried; and, seizing him, handled him roughly. After having beatenhim they went on their way. Ibrahim said to himself, "Thou hast had thydeserts. " When he was recognised afterwards, an ample apology was madeto him, and he was conducted to Mecca, where he remained several years, supporting himself by money earned by his daily toil. 

When Ibrahim left Balkh, he had a son who was then a child. When thelatter became a young man, he asked, "Where is my father?" Whereupon hismother told him all that had occurred to his father. "Well, " said theyouth, "where is he to be found now?" "At Mecca, " his mother answered. "Very well, I will go to Mecca, " he replied, "and find my father. " Heset out, and when he arrived there, he found in the sacred precinctsurrounding the Kaaba many fakirs clothed with rags. "Do you knowIbrahim ben Adham?" he asked them. "He is one of ourselves, " one of themanswered; "he has gone to gather and sell wood wherewith to buy breadand bring it us. " The younger Ibrahim immediately went out of the cityto seek his father. Presently he found an old man carrying a bundle ofwood on his head, whom he recognised as his father. At this sight he wasnear weeping, but controlled himself, and walked behind him unobserved. 

As for Ibrahim ben Adham, he carried his wood to the bazaar, sold it, and bought bread, which he took to his fellow-fakirs, and thenperformed his devotions. On the other hand, his son did not disclosehimself, for he feared that to do so suddenly would cause his father tofly. 

The next morning one of Ibrahim ben Adham's fellow-fakirs rose and wentto his son's tent. He found the young man reading the Koran and weeping. The fakir advanced and saluted him, asking, "Who art thou? Whence comestthou? Whose son art thou?" "I am the son of Ibrahim ben Adham, " repliedthe young man, "and I was never able to see my father until now; but Ifear that if I make myself known to him, he will repulse me brusquelyand flee away. " "Come, " said the fakir, "I will myself lead you to him. "

Without further delay the wife and son of Ibrahim joined the fakir, andwent to seek him. No sooner had his wife perceived him than she uttereda cry and said, "My son, behold thy father. " All the bystanders burstinto tears, while Ibrahim's son fell down in a swoon. When he came tohimself he saluted his father, who returned his greeting, embraced him, and said, "O my son, of what religion art thou?" "Of the religion ofMuhammad, " he answered. "God be praised!" exclaimed Ibrahim. Then heasked, "Dost thou know the Koran?" "I know it, " was the reply. "Dostthou read the books which treat of religious knowledge?" "I read them. ""God be praised!" again exclaimed Ibrahim. Then he prepared to leavethem and depart, but his wife and son would not let him, and began toweep. But Ibrahim, lifting up his eyes to heaven, prayed, "My God, cometo my help, " on which his son immediately died. The companions ofIbrahim asked him, "What is the meaning of this?" "When I saw my son, "he answered, "my paternal tenderness was aroused. But immediately Iheard a voice, 'What, Ibrahim! Dost thou pretend attachment to Us whileall the while thy heart is engaged with another person? How can twoloves co-exist in one heart?' On hearing this, I prayed to the Lord andsaid, 'O my God, if my love to this child makes Thee withdraw from me, take his soul or mine. ' My prayer was heard, and He has taken the soulof my son. " On one occasion Ibrahim is reported to have said, "Manynights in succession I sought to find the Kaaba unoccupied. One nightwhen it was raining very hard, I at last found it so. I entered it, andlifting my heart to God, I said, 'O God, blot out my sins, ' upon which Iheard a Voice, which said, 'O Ibrahim, all over the world men ask Us thesame thing; but if We blot out everyone's sins, whom shall We cause toshare in the ocean of Our mercy?'" On another occasion he was asked, "Why hast thou given up thy rank and thy kingdom?" "One day, " he said, "When I was seated on my throne, I looked at a mirror. I saw reflectedin it my last resting-place, which was an obscure tomb, wherein I had noone to keep me company. The road whereby to reach the other world waslong, nay infinite, and I had no provision for the way. I saw besides anupright judge, who questioned me so rigorously that I could return himno fit answer. Behold why my rank and my kingdom lost all value in myeyes, and why I abandoned them. " "But why, " continued the questioner, "didst thou flee Khorasan?" "Because, " he said, "they kept onquestioning me. " "And why dost thou not marry?" "Is there any woman whowould marry a man like myself, who am always hungry and naked? If Icould, I would divorce myself; how then can I attach anyone to myself?"

Once Ibrahim asked a dervish, "Have you a wife and children?" "No, "answered the dervish. "It is all then well for thee. " "Why so?" askedthe dervish. "Because, " said Ibrahim, "everytime a dervish marries he islike one who embarks on a vessel, but when children are born to him heis like one who is drowning. "

Seeing a dervish groaning, he said, "Doubtless thou hast bought thisposition of dervish at a low price. " "What, Ibrahim, " answered theother, "can the position of dervish be bought?" "Certainly, " answeredIbrahim; "I have bought it at the price of royalty, and I find I havemade a good bargain. "

One day a man brought to Ibrahim a sum of a thousand pieces of gold, which he had vowed to offer him. "I do not take anything from thewretched, " the latter said. "But, " said the other, "I am a rich man. ""What, " answered Ibrahim, "you are as rich as that, and still seek toincrease your wealth?" "As a matter of fact, I do. " "Well then, you aremore wretched than anyone, " and he added, "Listen! I possess nothing, and I ask nothing of anyone. I have aspired after the condition of adervish and found riches in it; others have aspired after riches andfound poverty. " Another person also offered Ibrahim a thousand pieces ofgold, which he refused, saying, "You wish doubtless by means of thisgold to erase my name from the list of dervishes. "

Every day Ibrahim worked for hire, and whatever he earned he spent onprovisions to take to his companions; then they all broke their fasttogether. He never returned in any case till he had performed hisevening devotions. One day when he had been absorbed in them, hereturned later than usual. His companions, who were waiting for him, said to themselves, "We had better break our fast and all go to bed. When Ibrahim sees what we have done, he will come earlier another time, and not keep us waiting. " Accordingly, they all ate and lay down. WhenIbrahim came and saw them asleep, he said to himself, "Perhaps they havegone to bed hungry. " He had brought with him a little meal, which hemade into dough; then he blew up the fire, and cooked supper for hiscompanions. They then rose and said to him, "What are you doing, Ibrahim?" "I am cooking something for you, for it has occurred to methat perhaps you have gone to bed without taking anything. " They lookedat each other, and said, "See, while we were plotting against him, hewas engaged in thinking for us. "

One day a man came to Ibrahim and said, "O Ibrahim, I have done myself agreat deal of harm (by sin). Give me some advice. " "Listen then, " saidIbrahim, "here are six rules for you. First: When you have committed asin, do not eat the food which the Lord sends you. " "But I cannot livewithout food, " said the other. "What!" exclaimed Ibrahim, "is it justthat you should profit by what the Lord supplies while you do not serveHim and never cease to offend Him?" Second: "When you are on the pointof committing a sin, quit the Kingdom of the Most High. " "But, " saidthe man, "His Kingdom extends from the East to the West; how can I goout of it?" "Very well, remain in it; but give up sin, and don't berebellious. " Third: "When you are about to sin, place thyself where theMost High cannot see you. " "But one cannot hide anything from Him. ""Very well then, " said Ibrahim, "is it right that you should live onwhat He supplies, and that you should dwell in His Kingdom, and commitevil actions under His eyes?" Fourth: "When Azrael, the Angel of Death, comes to claim your soul, say to him, 'Give me a respite, I wish torepent. '" "But how will Azrael listen to such a prayer?" "If it is so, "replied Ibrahim, "repent now, so as not to have to do so when Azraelcomes. " Fifth: "When you are placed in the tomb, dismiss the angelsMunkir and Nakir, [11] who will come to examine thee. " "But I cannot. ""Very well, live such a life as to be able to reply satisfactorily tothem. " Sixth: "On the Day of Judgment, when the order goes forth toconduct sinners to hell, say you won't go. " "It suffices, Ibrahim, youhave said enough. " The man repented, and the fervour of his conversionlasted till his death. 

Ibrahim is said to have told the following story. "One day I went toglean, but as soon as I put any ears of corn in the lappet of my robethey were shaken out. This happened something like forty times. At lastI cried, 'What does this mean, O Lord?' I heard a Voice say in reply, 'O, Ibrahim, in the time of your prosperity forty bucklers of red goldwere carried in front of thee. It was necessary that you should be thusmolested as a requital for the luxury of those forty golden bucklers. '"

Once Ibrahim was entrusted with the charge of an orchard. The owner oneday came down to visit it, and told Ibrahim to bring him some sweetpomegranates. Ibrahim went and gathered the largest he could find, butthey all proved to be bitter. "What!" said the owner, "you have eatenthese pomegranates so long, and cannot distinguish the sweet from thebitter?" "Sir, " replied Ibrahim, "you told me to take charge of theorchard, but you did not tell me to eat the pomegranates. " "Ah, " repliedthe other, "to judge by your austerity, you must be no other thanIbrahim ben Adham. " The latter, seeing that he was discovered, left theorchard and departed. 

A story told by Ibrahim was as follows. "One night I saw in a dreamGabriel, with a piece of paper in his hand. 'What are you doing?' Iasked him. 'I am writing on this sheet of paper the names of the friendsof the Lord. ' 'Will you write mine among them?' Ibrahim asked. 'But youare not one of His friends. ' 'If I am not one of His friends, at least Iam a friend of His friends. ' Immediately a Voice was heard, 'O Gabriel, write Ibrahim's name on the first line, for he who loves Our friends isOur friend. '"[12]

Once while Ibrahim was walking in the country, a horseman met him andasked him who he was, "I am, " answered Ibrahim, "the servant of the MostHigh. " "Well, " said the horseman, "direct me to the nearest dwellings. "Ibrahim pointed to the cemetery. "You are jesting at me, " the othercried, and struck him on the head so severely that the blood began toflow. Then he tied a cord round his neck, and dragged him forcibly intothe middle of the neighbouring town. The people cried out "Madman, whatare you doing? It is Ibrahim ben Adham. " Immediately the horsemanprostrated himself before Ibrahim and implored his pardon. "O Ibrahim, "he said, "when I asked you where were the nearest dwellings, why did youpoint to the cemetery?" "Every day, " he answered, "the cemetery becomesmore and more peopled, while the town and its most flourishing quartersare continually falling into ruins. "

When Ibrahim's last hour arrived, he disappeared from sight, and no onehas been able to say exactly where his tomb is. Some say it is atBagdad, others at Damascus, others at Pentapolis. When he died, a Voicewas heard saying, "The man who excelled all others in faith is dead;Ibrahim ben Adham has passed away. "

 [11] According to the Mahommadan belief every man as soon as he is buried is examined by these two angels. 

 [12] Leigh Hunt's well known poem refers to this:

 "Abou ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)" Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the presence in the room he said: "What writest thou?" The vision raised its head, And with a look made all of sweet accord, Answered "The names of those who love the Lord, " "And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay not so, " Replied the Angel. Abou spoke more low But cheerily still; and said: "I pray thee then Write me as one that loves his fellow men. " The angel wrote and vanished. The next night He came again with a great wakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had blest, And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. "

CHAPTER V

FUDHAYL BEN AYAZ, THE HIGHWAYMAN(D 803 AD)

In the beginning of his career Fudhayl ben Ayaz was a highwayman, andused to pitch his tent on the plains between Merv and Abiwerd. He hadcollected many other robbers round him; when they brought in booty, he, as their chief, apportioned it. He never neglected saying the Fridayprayers, and dismissed any of his servants whom he found neglectingthem. 

One day his men were lying in wait on the high road when a numerouscaravan arrived and fell into their clutches. In this caravan was amerchant who had a large sum of money in his purse. Desirous of hidingit, he fled towards the open plain; there he found a tent and a manclothed in coarse garments seated in it. The merchant, having explainedthe matter to him, was told to leave his money there. He did so, andreturned to the caravan. When he got there he saw that the robbers hadattacked it and taken all the goods, after having bound and laid on theearth all the travellers. He ransomed them, and helped them to gathertogether the remains of their property. When he returned to the tent hefound the robbers there dividing their booty. Seeing this, he said, "Woeis me! Then he whom I trusted my money to was a robber. " He was on thepoint of departing when Fudhayl called out to him, "What is the matter?""I had come, " he answered, "to take back my money which I had depositedhere. " "Well, " said Fudhayl, "you will find it where you placed it. " Themerchant did so. "But, " cried Fudhayl's companions, "we did not find anycoined money at all in this caravan; how is it that you hand over such alarge sum?" "This man, " answered Fudhayl, "has trusted me in thesimplicity of his heart; now I, in the simplicity of my heart, trust inthe Lord; and just as I have justified the good opinion which themerchant had of me, I hope the Lord will justify that which I have ofHim. "

The conversion of Fudhayl to an ascetic life took place in the followingmanner. As he was climbing over a wall to see a girl whom he loved, heheard a voice pronounce this verse of the Koran: "Is not the time yetcome unto those who believe that their hearts should humbly submit tothe admonition of God?"[13] On this he exclaimed, "O Lord, that time iscome. " He then went away from the place, and the approach of nightinduced him to repair for shelter to a ruined edifice. A caravan wasencamped not far off, and Fudhayl heard one of the travellers say toanother, "We must rise and be going, lest Fudhayl should arrive and robus. " Fudhayl then came forward and said, "I have good news for you. Fudhayl has entered upon the path of penitence, and is more likely toflee from you than you from him. " Then he departed, after having askedtheir pardon for his former misdeeds. For some time he resided at Mecca, where he received instruction from Abou Hanifeh, and subsequentlyreturned to his own country, where his sanctity became widespread. 

It is related that one night the Caliph Harun-al-Rashid said to Fazl theBarmecide, "Take me to a man by whose aid I may rise out of the moraltorpor into which I have fallen. " Fazl took him to the door of acelebrated ascetic, Sofyan ibn Oyaina, who asked on their knocking, "Whois there?" "The Prince of the Faithful, " answered Fazl. "Why did you notsend for me?" said Sofyan, "I would have come myself in person to servehim. " Al-Rashid, hearing this, said, "This is not the man I seek. " Theythen departed, and knocked at the door of Fudhayl. As they arrived, thelatter was reciting the following verse of the Koran: "Do those who havedone evil imagine that we shall set them on the same level with thosewho have done well?" Koran (Sura xlv. , v. 20). The Caliph had no soonerheard this verse than he said, "If it is good advice we are seeking, here is enough for us. " Then they knocked at the door. "Who is there?"asked Fudhayl. "The Prince of the Faithful, " Fazl answered. "What do youwant?" was the reply; "I have nothing to do with you, leave me alone anddon't waste my time. " "But you should treat the Caliph with honour, andlet us in. " "It is for you to come in if you must, in spite of me, "answered Fudhayl. When the Caliph and his attendant entered, Fudhaylextinguished the lamp in order not to see the intruders. Harun-al-Rashid, having touched Fudhayl's hand in the dark, the latterexclaimed, "How soft this hand is; may it escape hell fire. " Having thusspoken, he rose to pray. As for the Caliph, he began to weep, and said, "Speak to me at least one word. " Fudhayl, when he had finished hisprayers, said to him, "O Harun, thy ancestor Abbas, who was thepaternal uncle of the Prophet (on whom be peace!) said to him one day, OProphet of God, make me ruler over a nation. The Prophet replied, I havemade thee ruler over thyself. If thou rulest thine own body and keepestit constant in the service of the Lord, that is better than ruling anation for a thousand years. Again, Omar, the son of Abd al Aziz, beinginstalled on the throne of the Caliphate, sent for three of his intimatefriends, and said to them, 'Behold me caught in the toils of theCaliphate; how shall I get rid of them? Many people consider power ablessing; I regard it as a calamity. '"

Then Fudhayl added, "O Harun, if thou wishest to escape the punishmentof the Day of Judgment, regard each old man among the Moslems as thyfather, the young men as thy brothers, the women as thy sisters. OHarun, I fear lest thy handsome visage be scorched by the flames ofhell. Fear the Most High, and know that He will interrogate thee on theDay of Resurrection. " At these words, Harun-al-Rashid wept copiously. Then Fazl said to Fudhayl, "Say no more; you have killed the Caliph withgrief. " "Oh Haman!"[14] Fudhayl answered, "it is not I, it is thou andthy relations who have misled the Caliph and destroyed him. " Hearingthese words, Harun-al-Rashid wept still more bitterly, and said to Fazl, "Be silent! If he has called you Haman, he has (tacitly) compared me toPharaoh. " Then, addressing Fudhayl, he asked him, "Have you any debt topay?" "Yes, " he answered, "that of the service which I owe to the MostHigh. He furnishes me with subsistence, I have no need to borrow. " ThenHarun-al-Rashid placed in Fudhayl's hand a purse in which were athousand pieces of gold, saying, "This money is lawfully acquired, Ihave inherited it from my mother. " "Ah!" exclaimed Fudhayl, "my advicehas been wasted; my object in giving it was to lighten thy burden; thouseekest to make mine more heavy. " At these words, Harun-al-Rashid rose, saluted him, and departed. All the way home he kept repeating tohimself, "This Fudhayl is a great teacher. " On another occasion theCaliph is reported to have said to Fudhayl, "How great is thyself-abnegation, " to which Fudhayl made answer, "Thine is greater. " "Howso?" said the Caliph. "Because I make abnegation of this world, and thoumakest abnegation of the next; now this world is transitory, and thenext will endure for ever. "

Sofiān Tsavri relates the following anecdote. "One night I was talkingwith Fudhayl, and after we had been conversing on all kinds of subjects, I said to him, 'What a pleasant evening we have had, and whatinteresting conversation. ' 'No, ' he said, 'neither the evening nor theconversation have been good. ' 'Why so?' I remarked. 'Because, ' he said, 'you sought to speak words which might please me, and I sought to answerso as to gratify you. Both of us, pre-occupied with our talk, hadforgotten the Most High. It would be better for each of us to sit stillin his place and to lift up his heart towards God. '"

A stranger coming to Fudhayl one day was asked by the latter for whatpurpose he came. "I have come, " he answered, "to talk with you, and tofind in so doing calm of mind, " "That is to say, " broke in Fudhayl, "youwish to mislead me with lies, and desire me to do the same to you. Beoff about your business. "

[15]But with all his austerity of life, his prolonged fasts andwatchings, his ragged dress and wearisome pilgrimages, he preferred thepractice of interior virtue and purity of intention to all outwardobservances, and used often to say that "he who is modest and compliantto others and lives in meekness and patience gains a higher reward by sodoing than if he fasted all his days and watched in prayer all hisnights. " At so high a price did he place obedience to a spiritual guide, and so necessary did he deem it, that he declared, "Had I a promise ofwhatever I should ask in prayer, yet would I not offer that prayer savein union with a superior. "

But his favourite virtue was the love of God in perfect conformity toHis will above all hope or fear. Thus, when his only son (whose virtuesresembled his father's) died in early age, Fudhayl was seen with acountenance of unusual cheerfulness, and, being asked by his intimatedisciple, Abou Ali, the reason wherefore, he answered, "It was God'sgood pleasure, and it is therefore my good pleasure also. "

Others of his sayings are the following: "To leave aught undone for theesteem of men is hypocrisy, and to do ought for their esteem isidolatry. " "Much is he beguiled who serves God for fear or hope, for Histrue service is for mere love. " "I serve God because I cannot helpserving Him for very love's sake. "

 [13] Koran, Sura 57, v 15. 

 [14] According to the Koran, Haman was the vizier of Pharaoh whom he misled by bad advice. 

 [15] Vide Palgrave: "Asceticism among Mohammedan nations. "

CHAPTER VI

BAYAZID BASTAMI(D 874 AD)

Bayazid Bastami, whose grandfather was a Zoroastrian converted to Islam, was distinguished for his piety while still a child. His mother used tosend him regularly to the mosque to read the Koran with a mullah. Whenhe reached the chapter "Luqman, " he read the verse, "Show thy gratitudein serving Me, and show thy gratitude to thy parents in serving them. "He asked his teacher the meaning of the verse, and had no sooner heardit explained than he immediately ran home. When she saw him, his mothersaid, "Why have you come home so early, my child? Have they sent you forthe fees?" "Mother, " answered Bayezid, "I have just read the verse inwhich the Lord commands me to serve Him, and to serve thee; but, as Icannot serve in two places at once, I have come to propose to you thatyou should ask the Lord to give me to you in order that I may serve you, or that you should yourself give me to the Lord that I may serve Him. ""Since that is the case, " said his mother, "I give you up to the Lord, and renounce all my rights over you. " Accordingly, a few yearsafterwards, Bayazid left his native village Bastam, and for thirty yearslived as a bare-footed ascetic in the deserts of Syria. Once duringthis time Bayazid came home and listened at the door of his mother'shouse before going in. He heard her saying in prayer, "May God bless mypoor exile, may the hearts of the pious be rejoiced by him and accordhim grace. " Bayazid, hearing these words, wept, and knocked at the door. "Who is there?" she asked. "Thy exile, " he answered. No sooner had sheopened the door than, embracing Bayazid, she said to him, weeping, "O myson, separated from thee as I have been, my eyes have lost the power tosee, and my back is bent, " and they both mingled their tears together. 

Some time after Bayazid said to a friend, "What I ought to have knownmost clearly is just what I have only learnt when too late--to serve mymother. That which I sought in devoting myself to so many religiousexercises, in putting myself at the service of others, and in exilingmyself far from my kindred and my country, see, how I have discoveredit. One night when my mother asked for water, as there was none in thepitcher, I went to the canal to draw some. It was a winter night, andthe frost was very sharp. While I had gone for the water, my mother hadfallen asleep again. I stood waiting with the full pitcher in my handtill she should awake. When she did so, she asked for water, but when Iwished to give it her, I found that the water was frozen, and the handleof the jug stuck fast to my hand. 'Why, ' said my mother, 'did you notput it down?' 'Because I feared, ' I answered, 'not to be ready when youasked for it. ' That same night the Lord revealed to me all that I wantedto know. "

Bayazid used to tell the following story. "A man came to see me, andasked where I was going. 'I am going to Mecca, ' I said, 'to make thecircuit of the Kaaba. '[16] 'How much money hast thou?' he asked. 'Twohundred pieces of gold, ' I answered. 'Very well, ' he said, 'give them meand walk seven times round me. By this act of charity thou wilt deservea greater recompense than thou wouldest obtain at the Kaaba. '[17] I didas he asked, and that year I did not make the pilgrimage. "

One day the thought crossed Bayazid's mind that he was the greatest Sufiof the age. But no sooner had it done so, than he understood it was anaberration on his part. "I rose immediately, " he said, "and went someway into the desert of Khorassan, where I sat down. I took then theresolution of not moving from the spot where I was seated till the Lordshould send me someone who would make me see myself as I really was. Iwaited thus for three days and three nights. On the fourth night a rideron a camel approached. I perceived on his countenance the marks of apenetrating mind. He halted, and, fixing his eyes on me, said, 'Thoudesirest doubtless, that in the twinkling of an eye I should cause to beswallowed up the village of Bastam and all its population, together withits riches, and Bayazid himself. ' At these words I was seized with anindescribable fear, and asked him, 'Whence comest thou?' 'O Bayazid, ' heanswered, 'while thou hast been seated here I have travelled threethousand miles. Take care, O Bayazid, to place a curb on thy heart, andnot to forget the road; else shalt thou infallibly perish. ' Then heturned his back and departed. "

One night Bayazid, having gone out of his house, went to theburial-ground to perform his devotions. There he found a young manplaying a guitar, who came towards him. Bayazid, considering musicunlawful, exclaimed, "There is no might or power except in God. "[18] Theyoung man, irritated, struck the head of Bayazid with his guitar, breaking it, and wounding him. Bayazid returned home. The next morningvery early he placed some sweetmeats and some pieces of gold in a dishand sent it to the young man, charging the messenger to say from him, "Last night you broke your guitar by striking my head with it; take, therefore, this money, buy another guitar, and eat the sweetmeats sothat there may remain no rancour in your heart. " When he had receivedthe message, the young man came in tears to Bayazid, asked his pardon, and repented. 

On another occasion, Bayazid was saying his prayers in company with afriend. When they had finished their devotions, his friend said to him, "Tell me, Bayazid, you do not ask anything of anyone, you do not engagein any industry; whence do you get your provision?" "Wait a little, "said Bayazid, "I am going to say my prayers again. " "Why?" "Because itis unlawful to pray with a man who does not know Who is the Bestower ofdaily bread. "

Hatim Assam used to say to his disciples, "If, on the Day of Judgmentyou do not intercede for those who will be conducted to hell, you arenot my disciples. " Bayazid, having heard this, said in his turn, "Thoseonly are my disciples who, on the Day of Judgment, will stand on thebrink of hell, in order to seize and save the wretches cast downthither, even were it necessary to enter hell themselves for thesalvation of the others. "

Bayazid related as follows. "One day I heard a Voice, which said, 'OBayazid, our treasure-house is brimmed full with acts of adoration anddevotion offered by men; bring Us something which is not in Ourtreasury. ' 'But, O God, ' I cried, 'what then shall I bring?' And thevoice answered me, 'Bring Me sorrow of heart, humility, contrition. '"

Another time he said, "After having endured the rigours of asceticismfor forty years, one night I found myself before the doors and curtainswhich hide the throne of God. 'For pity's sake, ' I exclaimed, groaning, 'let me pass. ' 'O Bayazid, ' cried a Voice, 'you still possess a pitcherand an old cloak; you cannot pass. ' Then I cast away the pitcher and thecloak, and I heard the Voice again address me, 'O Bayazid, go and say tothose who do not know: "Behold, for forty years I have practisedrigorous asceticism. Well, till I cast away my broken pitcher and torncloak, I could not find access to God; and you, who are entangled in theties of worldly interests, how shall you discover the way to Him?"'"

One night, after having said his evening prayer, Bayazid remainedstanding till the morning, and shedding tears. When morning came, hisservant asked him, "What has happened to you to-night?" "Methought I hadarrived at the throne of God, " replied Bayazid, and I said to it, 'OThrone, we are taught that the Lord rests on thee. ' 'O Bayazid, ' repliedthe throne, 'it is said here that the Lord dwells in a humble heart; butwhere is the intelligence capable of penetrating this mystery? Heavenlybeings question earthly ones concerning it, and they only cast thequestion back. '

Bayazid said once, "When I had arrived at the station of Proximity, Iheard a Voice say to me, 'O Bayazid, ask what thou hast to ask. ' 'MyGod, ' I answered, 'Thou art the Object of my desire. ' 'O Bayazid, ' theVoice replied, 'if there lingers in thee an atom of earthly desire, andtill thou art reduced to nothing in the station of Annihilation, thoucanst not find Me. ' 'My God, ' I answered, 'I shall not return from ThyCourt empty-handed; I wish to ask something from Thee. ' 'Very well, askit. ' 'Grant me mercy for all men. ' The Voice said, 'O Bayazid lift upthine eyes. ' I lifted them, and I saw that the Most High was far moreinclined to have mercy on His servants than I. 'Lord, ' I cried, 'havemercy on Satan. ' 'O Bayazid, ' the Voice answered, 'Satan is made offire, and fire must needs go to the fire. Take heed lest thou thyselfdeserve to go there. '"

One day, when Bayazid was walking along the road, a young man whofollowed him closely, setting his feet in his tracks, said to him, "Tearoff a piece of thy cloak and give it me, in order that thy blessing mayrest upon me. " Bayazid answered, "Although thou strip Bayazid of hisskin and clothe thyself with it, it will profit thee nothing, unlessthou reproduce the actions of Bayazid. "

Amongst other remarkable utterances of Bayazid are the following. "Whenfrom hatred to the world I fled to the Lord, His love so filled my heartthat I hated myself. " "He who relies on his acts of piety is worse thanhe who commits sin. " "There are those among the servants of the Lord whowould utter groans like the damned in hell if one put them in possessionof the eight paradises without Him. " "A single grain of the love of Godis worth more than a hundred thousand paradises. " "He whom the Lordloves is known by three distinct signs--his liberality is like the sea, his kindness is like the sun, his humility is like the earth, whichallows itself to be trampled on by everyone. " "Whoso has the knowledgeof the Lord receives from Him intuitional wisdom in such a manner thathe needs not to have recourse to anyone to learn anything. "

Being asked his age, he replied, "I am four years old. " "How is that, Sheikh?" they said. "For seventy years, " he said, "I have been envelopedin the veils of this dull world; it is only four years since Idisentangled myself from them and see God. " Being asked to defineSufism, he said, "Sufism consists in giving up repose, and acceptingsuffering. "

In the last moments of his life he put on a girdle and seated himself inthe "mihrab"[19] of the mosque. Then, turning his cloak and cap insideout, he said, "My God, I ask for no reward for the austerities I havepractised all my life. I say nothing of the prayers which I have prayedduring whole nights, of the fasts I have kept during the day, of thenumber of times I have said the Koran through. O my God, thou knowestthat I think nothing of the works which I have done, and that so farfrom putting trust in them, I would rather forget them. Besides, is itnot thou who hast covered my nakedness with the raiment of these goodworks? As for me, I consider myself as a fire-worshipper who has grownto old age in a state of infidelity. But now I say 'Allah! Allah!' and Icut the girdle of the idolator. I enter Islam as a new proselyte, and Irepeat the profession of the Moslem faith. I reckon all that I have donenothing. Deign, for Thy mercy's sake, to blot out all my evil deeds andtransgressions. " When he was dying, he again ejaculated "Allah! Allah!"Then he cried, "My God, I have passed my life in neglect of thee; I havenot served Thee faithfully, " and expired. 

 [16] Pilgrims at Mecca go round the Kaaba seven times. 

 [17] An allusion to the mystics' doctrine that man himself is the true Kaaba or House of God. 

 [18] A formula used by devout Mussalmen at the sight of anything evil. 

 [19] The "Mihrab" is the niche or apse in the wall of the mosque facing towards Mecca. 

CHAPTER VII

ZU'N NUN OF EGYPT(D 860 AD)

Ibn Khalliqan, the historian, calls Zu'n Nun "the first person of hisage for learning, devotion and communion with the Divinity. " His father, who was a native of Nubia, was a slave, enfranchised and adopted by thetribe 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 wasopened, and lo, a little bird, still blind, fell from its nest to theground. Then the ground split open and two trays came forth, one ofgold, 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 asufficient warning for me; I renounce the world. ' And then I did notquit 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 hispresence, he addressed a pious exhortation to the Caliph, who shedtears, and dismissed him honourably. After this, whenever men of pietywere spoken of before the Caliph, he would weep and say, "Speaking ofpious men, let me have Zu'n Nun. "

At Cairo, however, Zu'n Nun did not come off so easily. He openlyrebuked the vices of the inhabitants, and especially of the localgovernors, who caused him to be beaten and imprisoned. "All this is asnothing, so I be not separated from thee, O my God, " was his exclamationwhile dragged through the crowded street with blows and insults by thesoldiers of the garrison. 

Zu'n Nun related the following story of himself. "One day I saw abeautiful palace on the bank of a river where I was performing mydevotions. On the roof of this palace I perceived a lovely maiden. Curious of learning who she was, I approached and asked her the name ofher master. She answered, 'O Zu'n Nun when you were still a great wayoff, 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 perceivethat you are neither mad, nor religious, nor initiated. If you had beenmad, you would not have engaged in religious exercises; if you had beenreligious, you would not have looked at a person whom you ought not toapproach; if you had been initiated, nothing would have drawn yourattention away from God. ' So saying, she disappeared. I then recognisedthat she was no mortal, but an angel. "

[20]Zu'n Nun relates that he heard his spiritual teacher Schakranrecount the following story. "When I was young, I lived on the easternbank of the Nile, near Cairo, and gained my livelihood by ferryingpassengers across to the western side. One day, as I was sitting in myboat near the river edge, an aged man presented himself before me; hewore a tattered robe, a staff was in his hand, and a water-skinsuspended 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 thelove of God?' 'Yes. ' Accordingly, I rowed him across to the westernside. On alighting from the boat, he pointed to a solitary tree somedistance off, and said to me, 'Now go your way, and do not troubleyourself further about me till to-morrow; nor indeed will it be in yourpower, even should you desire it, for as soon as I have left you, youwill at once forget me. But to-morrow, at this same hour of noon, youwill suddenly call me to mind. Then go to that tree which you see beforeyou, I shall be lying dead in its shade. Say the customary prayers overmy 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 themto him who shall first ask them of you. This is my commission. '

"Having said this, he immediately departed. I looked after him, but soonlost sight of him; and then, as he had himself already forewarned me, Iutterly forgot him. But next day, at the approach of noon, I suddenlyremembered the event, and hastily crossing the river alone, I came tothe western bank, and then made straight for the tree. In its shade Ifound him stretched out at full length, with a calm and smiling face, but dead. I recited over him the customary prayers, and buried him inthe sand at the foot of the tree; then I took the garment, the staff andthe water-skin, and returned to my boat. Arrived at the eastern side, Ifound standing on the shore to meet me a young man whom I knew as a mostdissolute fellow of the town, a hired musician by profession. He wasgaudily dressed, his countenance bore the traces of recent debauch, andhis fingers were stained with henna. 'Give me the bequest, ' said he. Amazed at such a demand from such a character, 'What bequest?' Ianswered. '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 strippedoff his gay clothes, put on the tattered robe, hung the water-skin roundhis neck, took the staff in his hand, and turned to depart. 

"I, however, caught hold of him and exclaimed, 'For God's sake, ere yougo, 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 andmorning drew near, tired out with pleasure and heavy with wine, I laydown to sleep. Then in my sleep one stood by me, and said, "God has atthis very hour taken to himself the soul of such an ascetic, and haschosen 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, andlive as their first owner lived. "'

"Such was his story. He then bade me farewell, and went his way. But Iwept bitterly over my own loss, in that I had not been chosen in hisplace as successor to the dead saint, and thought that such a favourwould have been more worthily bestowed on me than on him. But that samenight, as I slept, I heard a voice saying unto me, 'Schakran, is itgrief to thee that I have called an erring servant of Mine torepentance? The favour is My free gift, and I bestow such on whom Iwill, nor yet do I forget those who seek Me. ' I awoke from sleep, andrepented of my impatient ambition. "

Zu'n Nun had a disciple who had made the pilgrimage to the Kaaba fortytimes, and during forty years had passed all his nights in devotionalexercises. One day he came to Zu'n Nun and said, "During the forty yearsthat I have practised austerity, nothing of the unseen world has beenrevealed to me; the Friend (_i. E. _, God) has not spoken to me, nor castupon me a single look. I fear lest I die and leave this world indespair. Thou, who are the physician of sick souls, devise some meansfor 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 doesnot look upon you with an eye of mercy, He will at any rate look uponyou with an eye of anger. " The dervish went away, but said his prayersas usual, saying to himself that it would be wrong to omit them. Then heate to satiety, and went to sleep. In his dreams he saw the Prophet, whosaid 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 Mycourt, 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 whichthou hast practised for forty years, and make thee reach the goal of thydesires. '"

Perhaps someone may ask why Zu'n Nun told his disciple to omit hisprayers. We should consider that sheikhs are physicians knowing theremedy for every kind of disease. Now there are many diseases whosetreatment involves the use of poisons. Besides, Zu'n Nun knew well thathis disciple would certainly not neglect his prayers. There are in thespiritual path (_tariqat_) many things not justifiable according to thewritten law (_shariat_). It is thus that the Lord ordered Abraham toslay his son, an act unlawful according to the written law. But whoever, without having attained to so high a degree in the spiritual life asZu'n Nun, should act as he did in this matter would be a being withoutfaith or law; for each one in his actions must conform to the decisionsof the written law. 

Zu'n Nun related once the following. "When I was making the circuit ofthe Kaaba, I saw a man with a pale face and emaciated frame. I said tohim, 'Dost thou really love Him?' 'Yes, ' he answered. 'Does the Friendcome near thee?' 'Yes, assuredly. ' 'Is He kind to thee?' 'Yes, certainly. ' 'What!' I exclaimed, 'the Friend approaches thee, He is kindto thee, and look at the wretched state of thy body!' He replied, 'Simpleton! Knowest thou not that they whom the Friend approaches mostnearly, are the most severely tried?'"

"One day, " said Zu'n Nun, "when I was travelling, I arrived at a plaincovered with snow. I saw a fire-worshipper who was strewing seeds ofmillet there. 'O infidel, ' I said, 'why are you strewing this millet?''To-day, ' he said, 'as it has been snowing, I reflected that the birdswould find nothing to eat, and I strewed this millet that they may findsome food, and I hope that the Most High will perchance have mercy uponme. ' 'The grain which an infidel sows, ' I replied, 'does not germinate, and thou art a fire-worshipper. ' 'Well, ' he answered, 'even if God doesnot 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 isenough for me. '

"Long afterwards I met this infidel at Mecca making the circuit of theKaaba. He recognised me, and exclaimed, 'O Zu'n Nun, the Most High, witnessing my act, has accepted it. The grain I sowed has indeed sprungup, for God has given me faith, and brought me to His House. ' "Seeinghim, " added Zu'n Nun, "I rejoiced, and cried, 'My God, dost Thou giveparadise to an infidel for a handful of millet seed?' Then I heard avoice 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 neverto have any certainty of his means of subsistence for the morrow. Thesecond was never to be in honour among men. And the third was to seeGod's face in mercy at his death-hour. Near the end of his life, one ofhis more intimate disciples ventured to question him on this tripleprayer, and what had been its result. "As for the first and secondpetitions, " answered Zu'n Nun, "God has liberally granted them, and Itrust in His goodness that He will not refuse me the third. "

During his last moments he was asked what he wished. "I wish, " hereplied, "that if I have only one more breath left, it may be spent inblessing 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 venerationat Cairo. 

 [20] Vide Palgrave: Asceticism among Muhammadan Nations. 

CHAPTER VIII

MANSUR HALLAJ(D 922 AD)

Mansur Hallaj ("the cotton-comber"), a Persian, of Zoroastrian lineage, was a pupil of Junaid of Bagdad, a more sober-minded Sufi than hiscontemporary Bayazid Bastami. Mansur himself however was of anenthusiastic temperament, and took no pains to guard his language. Oneof his extraordinary utterances, "I am the truth, " led at last to hisexecution, "the Truth" being one of the recognised names of God inMuhammadan nomenclature. Notwithstanding this, even at the present dayhe passes among the Sufis for one of their greatest saints, while themore orthodox regard him as a daring blasphemer who received hisdeserts. "His contemporaries, " says a Muhammadan writer, "entertained asmany different views concerning him as the Jews and Christians withrespect to the Messiah. " Certainly when we read the various accounts ofhim by authors of different tendencies, if we did not know to thecontrary, we might suppose ourselves reading about different personsbearing the same name. The orthodox regard him chiefly as a sorcerer inleague with supernatural powers, whether celestial or infernal, for hecaused, it is said, summer fruits to appear in winter and _vice versa_. He could reveal in open day what had been done in secret, kneweveryone's most private thoughts, and when he extended his empty hand inthe air he drew it back full of coins bearing the inscription, "Say: Godis One. " Among the moderate Shiites, who had more than one point ofcontact with the Sufis, it is not a question of sorcery at all. For themthe doctrine of Hallaj, which he had also practised himself, meant thatby using abstinence, by refusing pleasure and by chastising the flesh, man can lift himself gradually to the height of the elect and even ofangels. If he perseveres in this path he is gradually purged fromeverything human, he receives the spirit of God as Jesus did, and allthat he does is done by God. 

The Shiites say, moreover, that the reason for which Hallaj was put todeath should be found not in his utterances but in the astonishinginfluence which he exercised over the highest classes of society, onprinces and their courts, and which caused much disquietude to others, especially to the orthodox mullahs. Hallaj has even been judged notunfavourably by those among the orthodox who were characterised by acertain breadth of view, and who, like Ghazzali, although they dislikedfree-thinking, yet wished for a religion of the heart, and were notcontent with the dry orthodoxy of the great majority of theologians. Ghazzali indeed has gone so far as to put a favourable construction onthe following sayings of Hallaj: "I am the Truth, " "There is nothing inParadise except God. " He justifies them on the ground of the speaker'sexcessive love for God. In his eyes, as well as in those of other greatauthorities, Hallaj is a saint and a martyr. The most learnedtheologians of the tenth century, on the contrary, believed that hedeserved execution as an infidel and a blasphemer. Even the greatestadmirers of Hallaj, the Sufis, are not agreed regarding him. Some ofthem question whether he were a thorough-going pantheist, and think thathe taught a numerical Pantheism, an immanence of the Deity in certainsouls only. But this is not the opinion of the majority of the Sufis. The high esteem which they entertain for him is best understood bycomparing the account they give of his martyrdom with that by orthodoxwriters. The latter runs as follows:

The common people of Bagdad were circulating reports that Hallaj couldraise the dead, and that the Jinn[21] were his slaves, and brought himwhatever he desired. Hamid, the vizier of the Caliph Muqtadir, was muchdisturbed by this, and requested the Caliph to have Hallaj and hispartizans arrested. But the grand chamberlain Nasir was strongly in hisfavour, and opposed this; his influence, however, being less than thatof the vizier, Hallaj and some of his followers were arrested. When thelatter were questioned, they admitted that they regarded their leader asGod, since he raised the dead; but when he was questioned himself, hesaid, "God preserve me from claiming divinity or the dignity of aprophet; I am a mortal man who adores the Most High. "

The vizier then summoned two cadis[22] and the principal theologians, and desired that they should give sentence against Hallaj. They answeredthat they could not pronounce sentence without proofs and withoutconfession on the part of the accused. The vizier, foiled in hisattempt, caused Hallaj to be brought several times before him, and triedby artfully devised questions to elicit from him some hereticalutterance, but in vain. Finally he succeeded in finding in one of hisbooks the assertion that if a man wished to make the pilgrimage toMecca, but was hindered from doing so by some reason or other, he couldperform the equivalent of it in the following way. He should go throughall the prescribed circuits in a chamber carefully cleansed and closed. In this chamber also he should give a feast of the choicest food tothirty orphans, should wait upon them himself, make them a present ofclothing, and give them each seven dirhems. [23] All this, he maintained, would be a work more meritorious than the pilgrimage itself. 

The vizier showed to the cadi Abou Amr this passage which scandalisedhim. Abou Amr then asked Hallaj, "Whence did you derive this idea?"Hallaj quoted a work of Hassan of Basra, from which he said he had takenit. "It is a lie, O infidel, whose death is lawful, " exclaimed the cadi;"the book you speak of was expounded to us at Mecca by one of thelearned, but what you have written is not in it. " The vizier eagerlycaught up the expressions "O infidel, " etc. , which escaped the cadi inhis excitement, and asked him to pronounce sentence of death. The cadirefused; that, he said, was not his intention; but the vizier insisted, and ended by obtaining the sentence of death, which was signed by allthe maulvies present. In vain Hallaj sought to prove that thecondemnation was unjust. "You have no right, " he exclaimed, "to shed myblood. My religion is Islam; I believe in the traditions handed downfrom the Prophet, and I have written on this subject books which you canfind everywhere. I have always acknowledged the four Imams[24] and thefirst four Caliphs. I invoke the help of God to save my life!"

He was taken to prison. The vizier despatched the sentence of death, signed by the maulvies, to the Caliph, who ordered that Hallaj should behanded to the Chief of Police and receive a thousand strokes of the rod, and then another thousand if he did not die from the effects of thefirst scourging, and finally be decapitated. The vizier, however, didnot transmit the order accurately, but modified it as follows: "IfHallaj does not die under the blows of the rod, let him first have ahand cut off, then a foot, then the other hand and foot. Lastly let hishead be cut off, and his body burnt. "

Hallaj underwent the terrible punishment with admirable courage, andwhen his body had been burnt the ashes were cast into the Tigris. Buthis disciples did not believe in his death; they were persuaded that aperson resembling him had been martyred in his place, and that he wouldshow himself again after forty days. Some declared that they had met himmounted on an ass on the road leading to Nahrawan, and had heard himsay, "Be not like those simpletons who think that I have been scourgedand put to death. "

Thus far the theologians' account. That given by Fariduddin Attar in his"Tazkirat-ul-Aulia" is as follows:

This is he who was a martyr in the way of truth, whose rank has becomeexalted, whose outer and inner man were pure, who has been a pattern ofloyalty in love, whom an irresistible longing drew towards thecontemplation of the face of God; this is the enthusiast Mansur Hallaj, may the mercy of God be upon him! He was intoxicated with a love whoseflames consumed him. The miracles he worked were such that the learnedwere thunderstruck at them. He was a man whose range of vision wasimmense, whose words were riddles, and profoundly versed in theknowledge of mysteries. Born in the canton of Baida in the province ofShiraz, he grew up at Wasit. 

Abd Allah Khafif used to say, "Mansur really possessed the knowledge ofthe truth. " "I and Mansur, " declared Shibli, [25] "followed the samepath; they regarded me as mad, and my life was saved thereby, whileMansur perished because he was sane. " If Mansur had been really astrayin error, the two learned men we have just quoted would not have spokenof him in such terms. Many wise men, however, have reproached him forrevealing the mysteries of truth to the vulgar herd. 

When he had grown up, he was two years in the service of Abd AllahTeshtari. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca, and on his return became adisciple of the Sufi Junaid. One day, when Mansur was plying him withquestions on certain obscure and difficult points, Junaid said, "OMansur, before very long you will redden the head of the stake. "[26]"The day when I redden the head of the stake, " rejoined Mansur, "youwill cast away the garment of the dervish and assume that of ordinarymen. " It is related that on the day when Mansur was taken to executionall the Ulama[27] signed the sentence of death. "Junaid also must sign, "said the Caliph. Junaid accordingly repaired to the college of theUlama, where, after putting on a mullah's robe and turban, he recordedin writing his opinion that "though apparently Mansur deserved death, inwardly he possessed the knowledge of the Most High. "

Having left Bagdad, Mansur spent a year at Tashter, then he spent fiveyears in travelling through Khorassan, Seistan and Turkestan. On hisreturn to Bagdad, the number of his followers largely increased, and hegave utterance to many strange sayings which excited the suspicions ofthe orthodox. At last he began to say, "I am the Truth. " These wordswere repeated to the Caliph, and many persons renounced Mansur as areligious leader and appeared as witnesses against him. Among these wasJunaid, to whom the Caliph said, "O Junaid, what is the meaning of thissaying of Mansur?" "O Caliph, " answered Junaid, "this man should be putto death, for such a saying cannot be reasonably explained. " The Caliphthen ordered him to be cast into prison. There for a whole year hecontinued to hold discussions with the learned. At the end of that timethe Caliph forbade that anyone should have access to him; inconsequence, no one went to see him for five months except Abd AllahKhafif. Another time Ibn Ata sent someone to say to him, "O Sheikh, withdraw what you said, so that you may escape death. " "Nay, rather hewho sent you to me should ask forgiveness, " replied Mansur. Ibn Ata, hearing this, shed tears and said, "Alas, he is irreparably lost!"

In order to force him to retract, he was first of all given threehundred blows with a rod, but in vain. He was then led to execution. Acrowd of about a hundred thousand men followed him, and as he lookedround on them, he cried, "True! True! True! I am the Truth!"

It is said that among them was a dervish who asked him, "What is love?""Thou shalt see, " Mansur replied, "to-day and to-morrow and the dayafter. " And, as it happened, that day he was put to death, the next dayhis body was burnt, and on the third his ashes were scattered to thewinds. He meant that such would be the results of his love to God. Onhis son asking of him a last piece of advice, "While the people of theworld, " he said, "spend their energies on earthly objects, do thou applythyself to a study, the least portion of which is worth all that men andJinn can produce--the study of truth. "

As he walked along lightly and alertly, though loaded with many chains, they asked him the reason of his confident bearing. "It is, " he said, "because I am going to the presence of the King. " Then he added, "MyHost, in whom there is no injustice, has presented me with the drinkwhich is usually given to a guest; but when the cups have began tocirculate he has sent for the executioner with his sword and leatherncarpet. Thus fares it with him who drinks with the Dragon[28] in July. "

When he reached the scaffold, he turned his face towards the westerngate of Bagdad, and set his foot on the first rung of the ladder, "thefirst step heavenward, " as he said. Then he girded himself with agirdle, and, lifting up his hands towards heaven, turned towards Mecca, and said exultantly, "Let it be as He has willed. " When he reached theplatform of the scaffold, a group of his disciples called out to him, "What do you say regarding us, thy disciples, and regarding those whodeny thy claims and are about to stone thee?" "They will have a two-foldreward, and you only a single one, " he answered, "for you limityourselves to having a good opinion of me, while they are carried on bytheir zeal for the unity of God and for the written law. Now in the lawthe doctrine of God's unity is fundamental, while a good opinion ismerely accessory. "

Shibli the Sufi stood in front of him and cried, "Did we not tell theenot to gather men together?"[29] Then he added, "O Hallaj, what isSufism?" "Thou seest, " replied Hallaj, "the least part of it. " "What isthen the highest?" asked Shibli. "Thou canst not attain to it, " heanswered. 

Then they all began to stone him. Shibli making common cause with theothers threw mud at him. Hallaj uttered a cry. "What, " said one, "youhave not flinched under this hail of stones, and now you cry out becauseof a little mud! Why is that?" "Ah!" he replied, "they do not know whatthey are doing, and are excusable; but he grieves me because he knows Iought not to be stoned at all. "

When they cut off his hands, he laughed and said, "To cut off the handsof a fettered man is easy, but to sever the links which bind me to theDivinity would be a task indeed. " Then they cut off his two feet. Hesaid smiling, "With these I used to accomplish my earthly journeys, butI have another pair of feet with which I can traverse both worlds. Hewthese off if ye can!" Then, with his bleeding stumps, he rubbed hischeeks and arms. "Why do you do that?" he was asked. "I have lost muchblood, " he answered, "and lest you should think the pallor of mycountenance betokens fear, I have reddened my cheeks. " "But why yourarms. " "The ablutions of love must be made in blood, " he replied. 

Then his eyes were torn out. At this a tumult arose in the crowd. Someburst into tears, others cast stones at him. When they were about to cutout his tongue, he exclaimed, "Wait a little; I have something to say. "Then, lifting his face towards heaven, he said, "My God, for the sake ofthese sufferings, which they inflict on me because of Thee, do notinflict loss upon them nor deprive them of their share of felicity. Behold, upon the scaffold of my torture I enjoy the contemplation of Thyglory. " His last words were, "Help me, O Thou only One, to whom there isno second!" and he recited the following verse of the Koran, "Those whodo not believe say, 'Why does not the day of judgment hasten?' Those whobelieve tremble at the mention of it, for they know that it is near. "Then they cut out his tongue, and he smiled. Finally, at the time ofevening prayer, his head was cut off. His body was burnt, and the ashesthrown into the Tigris. 

The high opinion entertained of Mansur Hallaj by Fariduddin Attar, asseen in the above account, has been echoed by subsequent Sufi writers. Jalaluddin Rumi, the great mystic poet, says of him:

 "Pharaoh said 'I am the Truth, '[30] and was laid low. Mansur Hallaj said 'I am the Truth, ' and escaped free. Pharaoh's 'I' was followed by the curse of God. Mansur's 'I' was followed by the mercies of God. Because Pharaoh was a stone, Mansur a ruby, Pharaoh an enemy of light, Mansur a friend. Mansur's 'I am He, ' was a deep mystic saying, Expressing union with the light, not mere incarnation. "[31]

Similarly Abdurrahman, the chief poet of the Afghans says:

 "Every one who is crucified like Mansur, After death his cross becomes a fruitful tree. "

 [21] Spirits. 

 [22] Judges. 

 [23] A small coin. 

 [24] The founders of the four orthodox Sects. 

 [25] A celebrated contemporary Sufi

 [26] Referring to punishment by impaling. 

 [27] Learned men. 

 [28] i. E. God. 

 [29] Koran V, v 70. 

 [30] According to the Koran, Pharaoh claimed divinity. 

 [31] Whinfield's Masnavi p. 248. 

CHAPTER IX

HABIB AJAMI(D 773 AD)

Habib Ajami was a rich usurer of Basra, and used to spend most of histime going about and collecting the money which was due to him. He usedalso to insist on being paid for the time so spent. One day he had goneto the house of one of his debtors, and when he had knocked at the doorthe debtor's wife said to him, "My husband is not at home. " "If he isnot, " said Habib, "pay me for my lost time and I will go. " "But I havenothing, " replied the woman, "except a neck of mutton. " She fetched itand gave it to him. Habib took it home to his wife, and told her to cookit. "But, " said she, "we have no bread or wood. " So Habib went offagain, exacted his indemnity for lost time from another debtor, andbought wood and bread, which he took home. His wife set about cookingthe food, when a dervish appeared at the door asking alms. "Go away, "said Habib to him; "you won't become rich with what you get here. " Thedervish departed in silence. Habib's wife prepared to put the food onthe plates, but when she looked into the cooking pot she saw a mass ofblood. Filled with terror, she said to Habib, "Your harshness towardsthe dervish has brought this misfortune on us. All the food in thecooking pot has turned to blood. " Habib, frightened himself, repented, and, as a pledge of the reality of his conversion, vowed to abandon thepractice of usury. The following day was a Friday. Habib, having goneout, saw as he was walking along, children playing on the road. They nosooner saw him than they said to each other, "Here is the usurer coming;let us be off, lest the dust raised by his feet touch us and we becomecursed like him. " At these words Habib Ajami was profoundly stirred, andwent off to consult Hasan Basri, whom he found in the act of preachingon the terrors of the judgment-day. Habib was so overcome with fear thathe fainted. When he came to himself, he made public confession of hissins in the presence of Hasan Basri and the congregation. 

Then he left the mosque and returned home. One of his debtors, seeinghim on the road, attempted to get out of his way, but Habib called afterhim and said, "Don't fly away; formerly you used to avoid me, but now itis I who seek to avoid you. " As he approached his house he met the samechildren as before, and heard them say to one another, "We must get outof the way, lest the dust raised by our feet should soil Habib, who hasrepented. " Habib, hearing this, exclaimed, "O Lord, in that very hour, when, returning from my errors, I have taken refuge with Thee, Thou hastput affection for me in the hearts of Thy friends, and changed intoblessings the curses which used to greet my name. "

He remitted all the debts that were due to him, and gave public noticethat all his debtors had only to come and take back their bonds. Theyall came and did so. Then he gave away all the wealth he had beenamassing for years, till he had nothing left. He built a hermitage onthe banks of the Euphrates, where he gave himself up to a devotionallife, spending whole nights in prayer. During the day he attended theinstructions of Hasan Basri. At the commencement of his religious lifehe received the appellation "Ajami" (ill-instructed) because he couldnot pronounce the words of the Koran properly. 

After some time his wife began to complain, saying, "I must really havesome money; we have neither food to eat nor clothes to wear. " At thistime Habib was in the habit of going every day to his hermitage on thebanks of the river, and spending the day in devotional exercises. In theevenings he came home. One evening his wife asked him where he had beenduring the day. "I have been working, " he replied. "Very well, where areyour wages?" she asked. "My employer, " said Habib, "is a generousperson. He has promised to pay me at the end of ten days. " So hecontinued spending his time as before. On the tenth day, as he reflectedin his hermitage, he wondered what he should say to his wife when hereturned in the evening, and she wanted something to eat. That day fourmen came to the house of Habib. One brought a quantity of flour, anothera sheep, a third a jar of honey, and the fourth a bottle of oil. Notlong after them a fifth came with a purse of gold. They gave all theseto Habib's wife, saying to her, "Your husband's Employer has sentthese, " and they added, "Tell your husband that his Master bids himcontinue his work, and He will continue his wages. " Then they departed. 

In the evening Habib came home, pensive and anxious. As he entered thehouse an odour of cooking greeted him. His wife hastened to meet him, and said, "O Habib, go on working for your employer, for he is verygenerous, and has sent all that you see here, with this message that youare to go on working, and he will continue to pay you. " Hearing this, Habib became more confirmed than ever in his resolve to give up theworld and to live to God. 

One day Hasan Basri paid Habib a visit in his hermitage. The latter hadtwo barley loaves and a little salt, which he placed before his guest. Just as the latter was commencing to eat and in the act of stretchingout his hand, a dervish appeared at the door and asked for alms. Habibimmediately handed him the two loaves. Hasan, somewhat ruffled, said, "Habib, you are a good man, but you would be none the worse for a littleculture and intelligence. Don't you know that one ought never to takefood away from before a guest? At any rate, you might have given one ofthose loaves to the dervish, and left the other. " Habib made no reply. Some minutes afterwards a man came carrying in a napkin a roast lamb, alarge plate of sweetmeats, and some money. He set them before Habib andsaid, "Sir, so and so sends you these with his compliments. " Habib andHasan made a hearty meal, and Habib distributed the money to somepassing mendicants. Then he said to Hasan Basri, "My master, you are agood man, but it would have been better had you shown more sincerity inthis matter, for then you would have possessed both knowledge andsincerity, and the two go well together. "

On another occasion Hasan Basri arrived at Habib's hermitage just as thelatter was commencing his evening prayers. Hearing him pronounce thewords "al hamdu[32]" as "al hemdu, " Hasan said to himself, "This mancannot pronounce the words of the Koran properly; it is impossible topray with him, " and he said his prayers apart. That same night he sawthe Lord in a dream, and asked him, "Lord, what must I do to gain Thyapproval. " An answer came, "O Hasan, thou hadst gained it, but didst notappreciate its value. Thou shouldest have prayed with Habib Ajami. Sucha prayer would have had more worth than all those which thou hast madein the course of thy life. The tongues of others may speak rightly, butthe heart of Habib feels rightly. "

One day Hasan Basri, flying from the agents of Hejjaj ibn Yusuf, thebloodthirsty governor of Irak, took refuge in Habib's hermitage. Thepursuers, arriving, asked Habib whether Hasan had passed that way. "No, "he said, "he is here in my dwelling. " They entered, and seeing no onesaid to Habib, "O Habib, whatever treatment Hejjaj deals out to you, youwill have richly deserved it. Why did you lie to us?" "I tell you, " saidHabib, "Hasan is within this dwelling; if you don't see him, what can Ido?" They again made a search, but not succeeding in finding Hasan, departed. Hasan then came out of his hiding-place, and said, "O Habib, is this the way thou repayest thy debt to thy master, by betrayinghim?" "Master, " answered Habib, "it is thanks to my truthfulness thatthou hast escaped. If I had told a lie we should have both been caught. "Hasan then said, "What words didst thou recite as a safeguard?" "Irepeated ten times, " said Habib, "the 'Verse of the throne, '[33] tentimes 'Believe in the Apostle, '[34] six times 'Say, there is one God, 'and in addition I said, 'Lord, I entrust Hasan to Thee; take care ofhim. '"

Hasan then asked Habib how he had arrived at such a high degree ofsanctity. "I spend my time, " he said, "in purifying my heart, while youspend yours in blackening paper" (Hasan having written many theologicalworks). "Alas!" said Hasan. "Must then my knowledge benefit others, onlywhile I have nothing but the outward show of it?"

"We must not suppose, " says Fariduddin Attar in narrating the aboveincident, "that Habib had really attained a higher degree of piety thanHasan; for in the eyes of the Lord nothing is higher than knowledge. Thedoctors of Islam have said truly, 'In the spiritual path the gift ofperforming miracles is the fourteenth stage, while knowledge is theeighteenth. The gift of miracles is the reward of many works of piety, while the knowledge of mysteries is revealed only to profoundmeditation. Consider the case of Solomon, upon whom be peace! Heunderstood the language of birds, and yet, though arrived at such a highdegree of knowledge, he submitted to the Law given by Moses, and actedaccording to its instructions. '"

Every time that he heard the Koran read, Habib used to weep bitterly. Some one said to him, "You are a barbarian (the literal meaning of theword 'Ajami'). The Koran is in Arabic, and you don't understand it; whythen do you weep?" "It is true, " he said "my tongue is barbarian, but myheart is Arab. "

 [32] "Praise to God. "

 [33] Koran c. 2, v. 256. 

 [34] Koran c. 4, v. 135. 

CHAPTER X

AVICENNA (IBN SINA)(AD 980-1037)

Avicenna, now best known as a philosopher, was perhaps better known inthe middle ages as a kind of magician owing to the mastery of medicalscience. His father was a native of Balkh, but removed from that city toBokhara; having displayed great abilities as a government tax collectorhe was appointed to fill that office in a town called Kharmaithen, oneof the dependencies of Bokhara. Here Avicenna was born. At the age often years he was a perfect master of the Koran, and had studiedarithmetic and algebra. 

The philosopher An-Natili having visited them about that time, Avicenna's father lodged him in his own house, and Avicenna studiedunder him logic, Euclid and the Almagest (an astronomical treatise ofPtolemy). He soon surpassed his master, and explained to himdifficulties and obscurities which the latter had not understood. On thedeparture of An-Natili, Avicenna applied himself to the study of naturalphilosophy, divinity, and other sciences. He then felt an inclination tolearn medicine, and studied medical works; he treated patients, not forgain, but in order to increase his knowledge. When he was sixteen yearsof age, physicians of the highest eminence came to him for instructionand to learn from him those modes of treatment which he had discoveredby his practice. But the greater portion of his time was given to thestudy of logic and philosophy. "When I was perplexed about anyquestion, " he says in an autobiographical fragment, "I went to themosque and prayed God to resolve the difficulty. At night I returnedhome; I lit the lamp, and set myself to read and write. When I feltmyself growing tired and sleepy I drank a glass of wine, which renewedmy energy, and then resumed reading. When finally I fell asleep I keptdreaming of the problems which had exercised my waking thoughts, and asa matter of fact often discovered the solution of them in my sleep. "

When he came across the "Metaphysics" of Aristotle, that work in spiteof his acuteness seemed to present an insuperable difficulty. "I readthis book, " he says, "but I did not understand it, and the purport of itremained so obscure to me that though I read it forty times through andcould repeat it by heart, I was as far from understanding it as ever. Indespair, I said to myself, 'This book is quite incomprehensible. ' Oneday at the time of afternoon prayer I went to a bookseller's, and thereI met a friend who had a book in his hand, which he praised and showedme. I looked at it in a listless way and handed it back, certain that itwas of no use to me. But he said to me, 'Buy it; it is very cheap. Iwill sell it you for three dirhems; its owner is in need of money. ' Itwas a commentary of Al Farabi on the metaphysics of Aristotle. I boughtit, took it home and began to read it. Immediately all my difficultieswere cleared up, as I knew the "Metaphysics" by heart. I was delighted, and the next day distributed alms to the poor in order to show mygratitude to God. "

About this time the Emir Nuh Ibn Mansur, prince of Khorassan, fell ill, and having heard of Avicenna's talent, sent for him and was restored tohealth under his treatment. As a reward, Avicenna was allowed to studyin the prince's library, which contained several chests of raremanuscripts. Here he discovered treatises on the sciences of theancients, and other subjects, the essence of which he extracted. Ithappened some time afterwards that this library was destroyed by fire, and Avicenna remained the sole depository of the knowledge which itcontained. Some persons even said that it was he who had set fire to thelibrary because he alone was acquainted with its contents, and wished tobe their sole possessor. 

At the age of eighteen he had completely mastered all the sciences whichhe had studied. The death of his father and the fall of the Samanidedynasty forced him to quit those literary treasures which he had learntto appreciate so well. At the age of twenty-two he left Bokhara and wentto Jorjan, the capital of Khwarezm where he frequented the Court of ShahAli ibn Mamoun. At this time the celebrated Sultan Mahmoud of Ghazni, having heard that there were several learned men, and among themAvicenna, at the Court of Mamoun, requested the latter to send them tohim. Several of them went, but Avicenna refused, probably because hisorthodoxy was suspected, and Sultan Mahmoud was a strict Sunni. Mahmoudwas much displeased at not seeing Avicenna appear at his court with therest, and sent descriptions and drawings of him in several directions inorder that he might be arrested. In the meantime, Avicenna finding theallowance made to him at the Court of Mamoun insufficient, left Jorjanand wandered through the towns of Khorassan. Finally he settled in alittle village near Balkh. There he composed the greater part of hisphilosophical works, and among others the book on the "Eternal Principleand the Return of the Soul. " Some time afterwards he was called toHamadan to treat the Buwayhid Sultan Shams-ed Dawla, who suffered from adangerous gastric malady. He was successful in curing the Sultan, whoshowed his gratitude by appointing Avicenna his vizier. 

The affairs of State did not prevent Avicenna from carrying on hisstudies, for during his stay at Hamadan he found time to commence hisexposition of the philosophy of Aristotle entitled the "Shifa" which heundertook at the Sultan's request. At this time Avicenna presented therare spectacle of a philosopher discharging the functions of astatesman, without injury to either statesmanship or philosophy. Hisgreat physical energy enabled him to spend the day in the service of theSultan and a great part of the night in philosophical discussions withhis disciples. His writings, which date from this time, allow us tojudge with what success he pursued his philosophical studies, and wehave every reason to believe that he was equally successful in theconduct of affairs, for, after the death of Shams-ed-Dawla, his son andsuccessor Taj-ed-Dawla requested him to retain the post of vizier. 

Avicenna appreciated this testimony to his worth, but declined the offerin order to devote himself to the completion of his great work, theShifa. But even in his studious retirement he was not out of reach ofpolitical disturbance. Suspected of carrying on secret correspondencewith Ala-ed-Dawla, the governor of Ispahan, an enemy of Taj-ed-Dawla, Avicenna was imprisoned in a neighbouring fortress. He would probablyhave remained there a long time had not the fortune of war putAla-ed-Dawla in possession of Hamadan, Avicenna was liberated after animprisonment of four months. Despite this misadventure he succeededduring his stay at Hamadan in completing the Shifa and several medicaltreatises, besides, a little mystical allegory, "Hay ibn Yokdhan" ("Theliving one, son of the Waking One"). This shows the mystical side ofAvicenna's philosophy, and we therefore subjoin an abridgment andexplanation of it. 

"During my sojourn in a certain country, I used to make excursions withmy friends to pleasant spots in our vicinity. One day when strolling outwith them I met an old man who, in spite of his advanced age, seemedbrimful of juvenile ardour, being neither bent nor having white hairs. We felt attracted by him and accosted him. After the usual salutations, I opened the conversation by requesting him to inform us about himself, his trade, name, family, and country. 'As to my name and family, ' heanswered, 'I am called Hay ibn Yokdhan, and I was born in Jerusalem; asto my occupation, it consists in traversing all the regions of theearth, always following the direction indicated by my Father. He hasentrusted to me the keys of all the sciences and guided me through allways even to the utmost bounds of the universe. ' We continued to ask himquestions regarding different branches of science till we touched on thescience of physiognomy, on which he spoke with marvellous precision, taking it as the starting point of a discourse which he delivered tous. "

This exordium may be interpreted as follows: "During the sojourn of mysoul in the body I felt a desire under the guidance of my imaginationand my senses to examine whatever presented itself to me. While thusengaged, I came in contact with active Intelligence (the old man), thesalutary effects of which I had long experienced and which had preservedmy vigour unabated. I commenced to examine the nature of thisIntelligence freed as it is from all material grossness and yet in acertain way, linked to the material world. Since life includes the twoconditions necessary to actual development, consciousness and movement, he calls himself 'Hay' 'the Living, ' and adds 'ibn Yokdhan' 'Son of theWaking, ' meaning that he derives his origin from a Being higher thanhimself, Who is always awake and has no need of repose. His birthplaceis the holy city of Jerusalem, free from all earthly stain, and hisoccupation is to traverse the highest regions open to intelligence inorder to understand the nature of his heavenly Father, who has committedto him the keys of all forms of knowledge. Thus, favoured by his help, we arrive at Logic, a science which leads by sure and evidentconclusions to a knowledge of what is remote and occult. For this reasonlogic is indicated by the term 'physiognomy' which judges of the hiddenby its outward manifestation. "

After this commencement the allegory proceeds: "Logic, " continued theold man, "is a science whose income is paid in ready money; she bringsto light what nature conceals, and what may be a source of either joy orsorrow; she points you out the way of freedom from earthly entanglementsand sensual propensities. If her healing hand touches you, it will giveyou salutary support, but if your weakness cause you to stumble, youwill be exposed to ruin, accompanied as you always are by badcompanions[35] from which it is impossible to get free. 

"As to thy nearest companion (imagination), he is a confused babbler, abounding in futility and falsity; he brings you news in which truth andfalsehood are mingled together, and that, though he professes to be yourguide and enlightener. He often brings matters before you veryill-suited to your dignity and position, and you must be at the pains ofdistinguishing the false from the true in them. But for all that, he isvery necessary to you, and would exert a healthy influence on you, ifhis false witness did not lead you into error. 

"But your companion on the right (irascibility) is still more impetuous, and it is only with the greatest difficulty that his attacks can berepulsed by reason or avoided by dexterity. He is like a blazing fire, arushing torrent, a runaway horse, or a lioness deprived of its young. Similarly with your left-hand companion (carnal concupiscence) whoseevil influence springs from insatiable appetite; he is like a famishedbeast let loose to graze. Such are your companions, unhappy mortal, towhom you are tied, and from whom no release is to be obtained except bymigrating to those countries where such creatures are unknown. But tillyou are allowed to do so, your hand at any rate must tame them; bewareof flinging the rein on their necks and giving them free course; if youhold the reins tight they will submit, and you will be master. "

"After I had heard this description of my companions, I began torecognise the justice of it, and accordingly I varied gentleness andseverity in my treatment of them. Alternately I and they had the upperhand. But I constantly invoked the help of God in this respect, until Iwas delivered. Meanwhile I prepared for the journey, and the old manadded this last counsel: 'You and those like you will be constantlyimpeded in this journey, and the road will be very difficult for you, unless you can succeed in quitting this world for ever; but you cannothasten the time fixed by God. You must therefore be content with afrequently interrupted progress; sometimes you will make way, sometimesyou will be at the beck and call of your companions. When you applyyourself with your whole heart to making progress, you will succeed, andyour companions will lose all influence over you; but if you connive attheir importunities, they will conquer you, and you will altogether losetouch with me. '

"I then asked the old man for information on the various regions of theuniverse, of which he possessed ample knowledge, and he replied: 'Theuniverse has three parts; first, the visible heaven and earth, thenature of which is ascertainable by ordinary observation: But as to theother two parts, they are marvellous indeed; one is on the East, theother on the West. Each of these regions is separated from our world bya barrier which only a few elect souls succeed in passing, and that onlyby divine grace; the man who relies only on his natural powers isexcluded from them. What makes the passage thither easier is to wash inthe flowing waters of the fountain whose source is close to a stagnantpool. [36] The traveller who has found the way to it and is refreshed byits healing waters, will feel himself endued with a marvellous energy, which will help him to traverse savage deserts. Unfatigued he will scalethe heights of Mount Kaf, and the guardians of hell will lose all powerto seize him and to cast him into the abyss. '

"We asked him to explain more precisely the situation of this fountain, and he said: 'You are doubtless aware that perpetual darkness surroundsthe pole[37] unpenetrated by any ray of light till God permits. But hewho fearlessly enters this darkness will emerge into a clearly lightedplain, where he will find this springing fountain. 

"We then asked him to tell us more about the Western region borderingour earth, of which he had spoken, and he gave us the followinginformation:

"'In the extreme West is an immense sea called in the DivineRevelation[38] "the miry sea, " where the sun sets and along whichstretches a desolate and sterile land, where the inhabitants never abidebut are always passing away, and which is covered by thick darkness. Those who go there are exposed to every kind of illusion. The sun onlygives a feeble light, the soil is completely barren, whatever is builtthere is soon destroyed again, conflict and strife perpetually ragethere, whatever gets the upper hand tyrannises over those which were inpower before it. There are found all kinds of animals and plants passingthrough strange developments. 

"'Now if you turn to the East[39] you will see a region where there isno human being, nor plant, nor tree, nor animal; it is an immense andempty plain. Crossing it, you will reach a mountainous region, where areclouds and strong winds and rapid rivers; there are also gold and silverand precious stones, but no plants. From thence you will pass into aregion where there are plants but no animals, then into another wherethere are animals but no men. Lastly you will arrive at a region wherethere are human beings such as are familiar to you. 

"'After passing the extreme limit of the East, you will see the sunrising between the two horns of Satan, "the flying horn" and "themarching horn. " This latter is divided into two parts, one having theform of a fierce animal, the other of a gross one; between these twocomposing the left horn is perpetual strife. As to "the flying horn, " ithas no one distinct form, but is composed of several, such as a wingedman, a serpent with a swine's head, or merely a foot or an arm. Thehuman soul which rules this region has established five ways ofcommunication under the care of a watchman who takes whatever comesalong them and passes it on to a treasurer who presents it to the King. 

"'The two horns continually attack the human soul, even to the point ofdriving it to madness. As to "the marching horn, " the fierce animal ofwhich it is partly composed lays a trap for man by embellishing in hiseyes all his evil actions, murder, mutilation, oppression anddestruction, by exciting his hatred and impelling him to violence andinjustice; while the other part in the shape of a gross animalcontinually attacks the human soul by casting a glamour over vilenessand foulness and urging her thereto; nor does it cease its assaults tillshe is brought into complete subjection. It is seconded in its attacksby the spirits of the flying horn, which make man reject whatever hecannot see with his own eyes, whispering to him that there is noresurrection nor retribution nor spiritual Lord of the universe. 

"'Passing hence, we find a region inhabited by beings of angelic origin, free from the defects above-mentioned. They enter into communicationwith man, and contribute towards his spiritual progress. These are theintellectual faculties, which, though they are far below the pureIntelligences, have an instinctive desire to shake off the yoke ofirascibility and concupiscence. Beyond this region is that of theangels, and further still, one directly governed by the Great King, anddwelt in by his faithful servants, who are engaged in fulfilling Hiscommands. These are free from all evil inclination, whether toconcupiscence or injustice or envy or idleness. To them is committed thedefence of the frontier of this Kingdom, which they guard in person. Allotted to different parts, they occupy lofty forts constructed ofcrystal and precious stones, which surpass in durability all that may befound in the region of earth. They are immortal, and subject to nofeebleness nor decay of force in discharging their duties. 

"'Beyond this region again are beings in immediate and continualrelation with the supreme King, constantly occupied in His service, andnever replaced by others. They are allowed to approach the Lord, tocontemplate the throne of His Majesty and to adore Him, enjoying thesight of Him continually and without intermission. They have thegentlest natures, great spiritual beauty, and a keen faculty ofpenetration and of arriving at the truth. To each has been assigned adistinct place and fixed rank, which can be shared by no one. Highest ofall is that unique being, the nearest to the Lord, and the parent of allthe rest. Active Intelligence[40]; it is by his mediation that the wordand commandment of the Lord go forth to all the other beings ofcreation. 

"'In this highest region all are pure spirits, having no relation tomatter, except in so far as innate desire may set them in movement orcause them to move others. From such desire only, the Lord himself isabsolutely exempt. 

"'Those who think that He had a beginning are in complete error, andthose who think to describe Him fully are beside themselves. In relationto Him all description and comparison are impossible. Those who attemptto describe Him can only indicate the distance which separates Him fromall human attributes; the beauty of being is represented in scripturallanguage by His Face and His infinite bounty by His Hand. If even one ofthe cherubims wished to contemplate His essence, he would be dazzled andfrustrated by His glory. Since beauty is the veil of beauty, Hismanifestation must always remain a mystery, in the same way as the sun, when lightly obscured by a cloud allows its disc to be seen, but when itblazes forth in all its splendour, its disc is veiled from human eye byexcess of light. The Lord, however, is always communicating Hissplendour to His creation without grudging or reserve; He impartsHimself generously and the plenitude of His bounty is without limit: Hewho has the least glimpse of His beauty remains entranced by it forever; sometimes saints of extraordinary attainments who have giventhemselves up to Him and have been favoured by His grace, aware of theworthlessness of the perishable world, when, from their ecstatic statethey return to it, are haunted for the rest of their lives by regret andsadness. '

"Here Hay ibn Yokdhan closed his discourse by adding:

"'If I had not, in thus addressing you, been acting in obedience to thecommands of my Lord, I would rather have left you for Him. If you will, accompany me on the path of safety. '"

Thus concludes this brief allegory, which, like Avicenna's othermystical treatises, is concerned with the progress and development ofthe human soul. According to him, the soul is created for eternity, andthe object of its union with the body is the formation of a spiritualand independent microcosm. During our earthly life we have but a dimpresentiment of this future condition; this presentiment produces indifferent characters a lesser or greater desire for it, and thethoroughness of our preparation depends on this desire. This preparationis only accomplished by the development of the highest faculties of thesoul, and the inferior faculties of the senses furnish the indispensablebasis for this. 

Every human faculty has some pleasure corresponding to it. The pleasureof the appetitive faculty for example, is to receive a sensation whichaccords with its desire; the pleasure of the irascible faculty isattack; the pleasure of the surmising faculty, hope; that of therecollective faculty, memory. Generally speaking, the pleasuresattending these faculties consist in their realising themselves inaction, but they differ widely in rank, the soul's delight inintellectual perception of realities, in which the knower and the knownare one, being incomparably higher than any mere sensual satisfaction. By attaining to such perceptions, the soul prepares itself for thebeatitude of the next life. The degree of this beatitude will correspondto the intensity of spiritual desire awakened in it during its earthlysojourn. [41]

It is extremely difficult, not to say impossible, to determine thedegrees of beatitude of the soul after death. We may, nevertheless, understand that the various impediments of passions, prejudices, etc. , to which its union with the body has given rise, are not immediatelydissolved on its separation from the body. Souls thus hindered may passinto a state depicted by Plato and other ancient philosophers, in whichthey are still weighed down by the passions they indulged in. Every soulis eternal and imperishable, and will finally attain the beatitude forwhich it was created. But it may be punished after death by a shorter orlonger exclusion from that beatitude. To suppose with AlexanderAphrodisius that an imperfect or ill-prepared soul may be annihilated, would be to admit a belief at complete variance with its eternal essenceand origin. 

But we may well conjecture that the punishment of such ill-prepared andrefractory souls would consist in their being in a state in which afterseparation from the body they still pine after sensual enjoyments andsuffer from the impossibility of such gratification. 

It may also be supposed that such ill-prepared souls remember thenotions that were current in this world regarding beatitude anddamnation; their conceptions would in that case resemble dreams whichare often more vivid than impressions received in waking moments. Theywould imagine themselves undergoing the examination in the tomb and allthe other punishments depicted in the Koran, or it may be enjoying thesensual pleasures there described. On the other hand, the noble andwell-prepared soul will pass at once to the contemplation of theeternal, and will be exempt from every memory and every conceptionrelating to this world. For if anything of this kind remained in it as areminder of its union with the body, it would so far fall short of theplenitude of its perfection. 

Besides his mystical treatise "On the soul, " Avicenna has left a shortbut remarkable poem on the same subject, which runs as follows:--

"THE SOUL. 

"It descended upon thee from the lofty station (heaven); a dove rare anduncaptured, curtained from the eyes of every knower yet which ismanifest and never wore a veil. [42] It came to thee unwillingly and itmay perhaps be unwilling to abandon thee although it complain of itssufferings. It resisted at first, and would not become familiar, butwhen it was in friendly union with the body, it grew accustomed to thedesert waste (the world). Methinks it then forgot the recollections ofthe protected park (heaven), and of those abodes which it left withregret; but when in its spiral descent it arrived at the centre of itscircle in the terrestrial world, it was united to the infirmity of thematerial body and remained among the monuments and prostrate ruins. Itnow remembers the protected park and weepeth with tears which flow andcease not till the time for setting out towards the protected parkapproacheth; till the instant of departure for the vast plain (thespiritual world) draweth nigh. It then cooeth on the top of a loftypinnacle (for knowledge can exalt all who were not exalted) and it hascome to the knowledge of every mystery in the universe, while yet itstattered vest hath not been mended. [43]

"Its descent was predestined so that it might hear what it had notheard, else why did it descend from the high and lofty heaven to thedepth of the low and humble earth? If God sent it down by a decision ofHis will, His motive is concealed from the intelligence of man. Why didit descend to be withheld from the exalted summit of heaven by thecoarse net of the body, and to be detained in a cage? It is like a flashof lightning shining over the meadow, and disappearing as if it hadnever gleamed. "

Although Avicenna's reputation in the Muhammedan world has always beenhigh, his mystical treatises have generally been regarded as heretical, and many have only been preserved in Hebrew translations. He himselfsays explicitly that he only intended them for his most intimatedisciples, and forbade them to be communicated to the multitude. For hisown part, he conformed to the religious law and customs. The celebratedcontemporary Sufi Abou Said Abi'l Khair having asked his opinionregarding the custom of praying for the dead, and visiting their tombs, he answers thus:

"God the Unique Being and Source of all that exists--angels, intelligences exempt from connection with matter, souls united tomatter, elements in all their varied developments--animal, vegetable andmineral, inspires His whole creation, and His omniscience embraces all. His influence in the first place acts immediately on the ActiveIntelligences and angels, who in their turn act on souls which in theirturn act on our sublunary world. If there were not homogeneity ofsubstance between celestial and terrestrial souls and likeness betweenthe macrocosm of the universe, and the microcosm of man, the knowledgeof God would be impossible for us, as the Prophet himself hath said, 'Hewho knows himself, knows God. ' All creation, whose parts are linkedtogether, is subject to influences which all derive from a singlesource--God. Terrestrial souls differ widely in rank; the highest areendowed with gifts of prophecy, and perfected so far that they attainthe sphere of pure intelligence. A soul of this kind entering afterdeath into eternal beatitude, shared with its peers, continues alongwith them to exercise a certain influence on terrestrial souls. Theobject of prayer for the dead and visiting their tombs is to beg for thehelp of those pure souls, a help which is realised sometimes in amaterial, sometimes in a spiritual way. The former kind of help may becompared with the direction which the body receives from the brain;spiritual assistance is realised by the purification of the mind fromevery thought but that of God. "

Avicenna, after his liberation from imprisonment by Ala-ed-Dowla, beinganxious to quit Hamadan, left the city secretly with his brother, hisdisciple Joujani and two servants, all five disguised as Sufis. After apainful journey they reached Ispahan, where they were received in afriendly manner by Ala-ed-Dowla. Avicenna here continued to holdphilosophical discussions as he had done at Hamadan. At Ispahan he alsocomposed two of his most important works, the "Shifa" and the "Najat, "treating of medicine. Later on he followed Ala-ed-Dowla to Bagdad, buton the way was seized with a gastric malady, accompanied by an attack ofapoplexy. He recovered at the time, but not long afterwards the sicknessreturned, and he died at the age of 57, A. D. 1037. 

In his Literary History of Persia (vo. II. , p. 108) Professor Brownepoints out that one of the most celebrated stanzas in Fitzgerald'stranslation of Omar Khayyam was really composed by Avicenna:--

 "Up from earth's centre through the Seventh Gate I rose, and on the throne of Saturn sate, And many a knot unravelled by the road, But not the master-knot of human fate. "

Another interesting link between the two philosophers is supplied by thefact, mentioned by Professor Browne, that a few days before his deathOmar Khayyam was reading in the "Shifa" of Avicenna the chapter treatingof the One and of the Many. 

 [35] The bad companions of man which hinder his intellectual progress are unregulated imagination, irascibility and carnal concupiscence. Death alone delivers him and transports him to the celestial country of true repose. 

 [36] The flowing waters signify logic and metaphysics, which help man to attain to the unknown. Because they provoke argument and discussion, they are called "flowing. " The stagnant pool signifies positive science, which is the basis of philosophy. The man who is refreshed by the flowing waters of philosophy will grasp the scheme of the universe without losing himself in the confusion of details; he will scale the heights of science (the encircling mountain of Kaf) without being held back by worldly entanglements. 

 [37] The pole surrounded by darkness signifies the soul of man which, though intended to govern the body, is without any power to attain truth unless guided by divine grace, but then it will emerge into the full light and attain the end for which it was created. 

 [38] Koran, c. 18, v. 84. The "miry sea" indicates _Matter_ stirred into life by the setting sun (Form), entering at every moment into union with some new form, birth and death and ebb and flow proceeding in ceaseless change. 

 [39] In the kingdom of _Form_ at first nothing is found but the four elements mingled with each other, developed successively through mineral, vegetable and animal stages. After the last is found pure intellect struggling with powerful opponents, that is to say, the various human faculties. "The flying horn" signifies imaginitive faculties; "the marching horn" the passions, the fierce animal representing irascibility, and the gross one, concupiscence. "The flying horn, " irregulated imagination, is in need of constant supervision by the human soul. The watchman is the perceptive faculty, which, gathering the various impressions of the five senses, conveys them to the King, the human soul. 

 [40] c. F. The Logos of Philo. 

 [41] c. F. Lowell

 "Perhaps the _longing_ to be so, Helps make the soul immortal. "

 [42] The existence of the soul, though not manifest to the senses, is yet too manifest to leave any doubt. 

 [43] The tattered vest of the soul or the body destroyed by death is not mended till the day of resurrection; and yet the soul is in heaven and in the enjoyment of all knowledge. 

CHAPTER XI

AL GHAZZALI(AD 1058--1111)

Al Ghazzali is one of the deepest thinkers, greatest theologians andprofoundest moralists of Islam. In all Muhammadan lands he is celebratedboth as an apologist of orthodoxy and a warm advocate of Sufi mysticism. Intimately acquainted with all the learning of his time, he was not onlyone of the numerous oriental philosophers who traverse every sphere ofintellectual activity, but one of those rarer minds whose originality isnot crushed by their learning. He was imbued with a sacred enthusiasmfor the triumph of his faith, and his whole life was dedicated to onepurpose--the defence of Islam. As Browning says, "he made life consistof one idea. " His full name was Abu Hamid Muhammad Ibn Muhammad IbnAhmed Algazzali, and he was born at Tus in Khorassan, 1058 A. D. , where ageneration earlier Firdausi, the author of the Shahnama, had died. Tuswas already famous for learning and culture, and later on Ghazzali's ownfame caused the town to become a centre of pilgrimage for pious Moslems, till it was laid in ruins by Genghis Khan, a century after Ghazzali'sdeath. 

His birth occurred at a time when the power of the Caliphs had been longon the wane, and the Turkish militia, like the Pretorian guards of thelater Roman empire, were the real dispensers of power. While thepolitical unity of Islam had been broken up into a number ofmutually-opposed states, Islam itself was threatened by dangers fromwithout. In Spain, Alphonso II. Had begun to press the Moors hardly. Before Ghazzali was forty, Peter the Hermit was preaching the FirstCrusade, and during his lifetime Baldwin of Bouillon was proclaimed Kingin the Mosque of Omar at Jerusalem. But more serious than these outerfoes was the great schism which had split Islam into the two greatopposing parties of Shiahs and Sunnis--a schism which was embittered andcomplicated by the struggle of rival dynasties for power. While theShiites prevailed in Egypt and Persia, the Turks and Seljuks wereSunnis. In Bagdad the seat of the Caliphate during the reign of AlKasim, when Ghazzali was a youth, fatal encounters between the twocontending factions were of daily occurrence. Ghazzali's native city wasShiite, and not till Khorassan had been conquered by the Ghaznevides andSeljuks did Sunni teaching prevail there. Yet, however bitterly Shiahsand Sunnis might be opposed to each other, they both counted as orthodoxand were agreed as to the fundamental principles of Islam, nor did theirstrife endanger the religion itself. But besides the two great partiesof Shiahs and Sunnis, a mass of heretical sects, classed under thecommon name of Mutazilites, had sprung up within Islam. These hereticshad studied Aristotle and Greek philosophy in Arabic translations, andfor a long time all that the orthodox could do was to thunder anathemasat them and denounce all speculation. But at last Al Asha'ari, himselfformerly a Mutazilite, renounced his heresies, and sought to defendorthodoxy and confute the heretics on philosophical grounds. 

The Mutazilites had cultivated the study of philosophy with especialzeal, and therefore the struggle with them was a fierce one, complicatedas it was by political animosity. The most dangerous sect of all wasthat of the Ismailians and Assassins, with their doctrine of a hiddenImam or leader. In some of his works Ghazzali gives special attention toconfuting these. 

The whole aspect and condition of Islam during Ghazzali's lifetime wassuch as to cause a devout Moslem deep distress and anxiety. It istherefore natural that a man who, after long and earnest search, hadfound rest and peace in Islam, should have bent all the energies of hisenthusiastic character to oppose these destructive forces to the utmost. Ghazzali is never weary of exhorting those who have no faith to studythe Muhammadan revelation; he defends religion in a philosophical wayagainst the philosophers, refutes the heretics, chides the laxity of theShiites, defends the austere principles of the Schafiites, championsorthodoxy, and finally, by word and example, urges his readers towardsthe mysticism and asceticism of the Sufis. His numerous writings are alldirected to one or another of these objects. As a recognition of hisendeavours, the Muhammadan Church has conferred upon him the title of"Hujjat al Islam, " "the witness of Islam. "

It is a fact worthy of notice that when the power of the Caliphs wasshattered and Muhammadanism, already in a state of decline, precisely atthat period theology and all other sciences were flourishing. 

The reason of this may be found in the fact that nearly all theMuhammadan dynasties, however much they might be opposed to each other, zealously favoured literature and science. Besides this, the moreearnest spirits, weary of the political confusions of the time, devotedthemselves all the more fervently to cultivating the inner life, inwhich they sought compensation and refuge from outward distractions. Ghazzali was the most striking figure among all these. Of his earlyhistory not much is known. His father is said to have died while he wasa child, but he had a brother Abu'l Futuh Ahmed Alghazzali, who was ingreat favour with the Sultan Malik Shah, and owing to his zeal for Islamhad won the title of "Glory of the Faith. " From the similarity of theirpursuits we gather that the relationship between the brothers must havebeen a close one. Ibn Khalliqan the historian informs us that later onAbu'l Futuh succeeded his brother as professor, and abridged his mostimportant literary work, "The Revival of the religious sciences. " Whilestill a youth, Ghazzali studied theology at Jorjan under the Imam AbuNasr Ismail. On his return journey from Jorjan to Tus, he is said tohave fallen into the hands of robbers. They took from him all that hehad, but at his earnest entreaty returned to him his note books, at thesame time telling him that he could know nothing really, if he could beso easily deprived of his knowledge. This made him resolve for thefuture to learn everything by heart. 

Later on Ghazzali studied at Nishapur under the celebrated Abu'l-Maali. Here also at the court of the Vizier Nizam-ul-mulk (the school-fellow ofOmar Khayyam) he took a distinguished part in those discussions onpoetry and philosophy which were so popular in the East. In 1091Nizam-ul-mulk appointed him to the professorship of Jurisprudence in theNizamiya College at Bagdad, which he had founded twenty-four yearspreviously. Here Ghazzali lectured to a class of 300 students. In hisleisure hours, as he informs us in his brief autobiography, "Al munkidhmin uddallal" ("The Deliverance from error") he busied himself with thestudy of philosophy. He also received a commission from the Caliph torefute the doctrine of the Ismailians. 

In the first chapter it has been mentioned how a deep-seated unrest andthirst for peace led him, after many mental struggles, to throw up hisappointment and betake himself to religious seclusion at Damascus andJerusalem. This, together with his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, lasted nearly ten years. Ibn Khalliqan informs us that he also went toEgypt and stayed some time in Alexandria. Here the fame of theAlmoravide leader in Spain, Yusuf ibn Tashifin, is said to have reachedGhazzali, and to have made him think of journeying thither. This princehad begun those campaigns in Spain against the Cid and other Christianleaders which were destined to add Andalusia to his Moroccan dominions. By these victories in the West he had to some extent retrieved thedecline of Islam in the East. It is natural to suppose that theenthusiastic Ghazzali would gladly have met with this champion ofMuhammadanism. The news of Yusuf ibn Tashifin's death in 1106 seems tohave made him renounce his intention of proceeding to Spain. 

The realisation of Ghazzali's wish to withdraw from public affairs andgive himself to a contemplative life was now interrupted. The requestsof his children and other family affairs, of which we have no exactinformation, caused him to return home. Besides this, the continuedprogress of the Ismailians, the spread of irreligious doctrines, and theincreasing religious indifference of the masses not only filled Ghazzaliand his Sufi friends with profound grief but determined them to stem theevil with the whole force of their philosophy, the ardour of vitalconviction, and the authority of noble example. 

In addition, the governor of Nishapur, Muhammad Ibn Malikshah, had askedGhazzali to proceed thither in order to help to bring about a religiousrevival. Thus, after an absence of ten years, he returned to Nishapur toresume his post as teacher. But his activity at this period was directedto a different aim than that of the former one. Regarding the contrasthe speaks like a Muhammadan Thomas į Kempis. Formerly, he says, hetaught a knowledge which won him fame and glory, but now he taught aknowledge which brought just the opposite. Inspired with an earnestdesire for the spiritual progress of his co-religionists and himself, and convinced that he was called to this task by God, he prays theAlmighty to lead and enlighten him, so that he may do the same forothers. 

How long Ghazzali occupied his professorship at Nishapur the second timeis not precisely clear. Only five or six years of his life remained, andtowards the close he again resigned his post to give himself up to alife of contemplation to which he felt irresistibly drawn, in hisnative city of Tus. Here he spent the rest of days in devotionalexercises in friendly intercourses with other Sufis and in religiousinstruction of the young. He died, devout as he lived, in thefifty-fourth year of his age, A. D. 1111. He founded a convent for Sufisand a professorship of jurisprudence. 

Ghazzali's activity as an author during his relatively short life wasenormous. According to the literary historians, he is the author ofninety-nine different works. These are not all known to us, but thereare existing in the West a considerable quantity of them, some in Latinand Hebrew translations, as he was much studied by the Jews in theMiddle Ages. A writer in the Jewish Encyclopędia says (_sub. Voc. _), "From his 'Makasid-al-Falasifah' in which he expounded logic, physicsand metaphysics according to Aristotle, many a Jewish student ofphilosophy derived much accurate information. It was not, however, through his attacks on philosophy that Ghazzali's authority wasestablished among Jewish thinkers of the middle ages, but through theethical teachings in his theological works. He approached the ethicalidea of Judaism to such an extent that some supposed him to be actuallydrifting in that direction. "

Although Ghazzali was a Persian, both by race and birthplace, most ofhis works are composed in Arabic, that language being as familiar toMuhammadan theologians as Latin to those of Europe in the Middle Ages. One of his most important works is the "Tahafut al falasifah, ""Destruction of the Philosophers, " which the great Averroes endeavouredto refute. Somewhat in the style of Mr. Balfour's "Defence ofphilosophic doubt, " Ghazzali attempts to erect his religious system ona basis of scepticism. He denies causation as thoroughly as Hume, butasserts that the divine mind has ordained that certain phenomena shallalways occur in a certain order, and that philosophy without faith ispowerless to discover God. Although chiefly famous in the West as aphilosopher, he himself would probably have repudiated the title. Hetells us that his object in studying philosophy was to confute thephilosophers. His true element was not philosophy but religion, withwhich his whole being was penetrated, and which met all his spiritualneeds. Even in his most heterogeneous studies he always kept before himone aim--the confirmation, spread, and glorification of Islam. 

It is true that more than one of his contemporaries accused him ofhypocrisy, saying that he had an esoteric doctrine for himself and hisprivate circle of friends, and an exoteric for the vulgar. His Sufisticleanings might lend some colour to this accusation, it being awell-known Sufi habit to cloak their teaching under a metaphorical veil, wine representing the love of God, etc. , as in Hafiz and Omar Khayyam. Against this must be set the fact that in his autobiography written nearthe close of his life, he constantly refers to his former works, whichhe would hardly have done had he been conscious of any strikingdiscrepancy between his earlier and his later teaching. There is noreason to doubt his previously-quoted statement that he "studiedphilosophy in order to refute the philosophers. "

He was, at any rate, intensely indignant at having his orthodoxyimpugned, as appears from a striking story narrated by the Arabichistorian Abu'l Feda. He tells us that Ghazzali's most important work, "The revival of the religious sciences" had created a great sensationwhen it reached Cordova. The Muhammadan theologians of Spain wererigidly orthodox, and accused the work of being tainted by heresy. Theyrepresented to the Caliph Ali Ibn Yusuf that not only this but allGhazzali's other works which circulated in Andalusia should be collectedand burnt, which was accordingly done. Not long after, a young Berberfrom North Africa named Ibn Tumart wandered to Bagdad, where he attendedGhazzali's lectures. Ghazzali noticing the foreigner, accosted him, andinquired regarding religious affairs in the West, and how his works hadbeen received there. To his horror he learned that they had beencondemned as heretical and committed to the flames by order of theAlmoravide Caliph Ali. Upon this, Ghazzali, raising his hands towardsheaven, exclaimed in a voice shaken with emotion, "O God, destroy hiskingdom as he has destroyed my books, and take all power from him. " IbnTumart, in sympathy with his teacher, said, "O Imam[44] Ghazzali, praythat thy wish may be accomplished by my means. " And so it happened. IbnTumart returned to his North African, proclaimed himself a Mahdi, gaineda large following among the Berbers, and overthrew Ali and the dynastyof the Almoravides. This story is not entirely beyond doubt, but showsthe importance attached by Ghazzali's contemporaries to his influenceand teaching. 

As an example of Ghazzali's ethical earnestness, we may quote thefollowing from his Ihya-ul-ulum ("Revival of the religious sciences"). He refers to the habit common to all Muhammadans of ejaculating, "Wetake refuge in God. " "By the fear of God, " he says, "I do not mean afear like that of women when their eyes swim and their hearts beat athearing some eloquent religious discourse, which they quickly forget andturn again to frivolity. There is no real fear at all. He who fears athing flees from it, and he who hopes for a thing strives for it, andthe only fear that will save thee is the fear that forbids sinningagainst God and instils obedience to Him. Beware of the shallow fear ofwomen and fools, who, when they hear of the terrors of the Lord, saylightly, 'We take refuge in God, ' and at the same time continue in thevery sins which will destroy them. Satan laughs at such piousejaculations. They are like a man who should meet a lion in a desert, while there is a fortress at no great distance away, and when he seesthe ravenous beast, should stand exclaiming, 'I take refuge in thatfortress, ' without moving a step towards it. What will such anejaculation profit him? In the same way, merely ejaculating 'I takerefuge in God' will not protect thee from the terrors of His judgmentunless thou really take refuge in Him. "

Ghazzali's moral earnestness is equally apparent in the followingextract from his work "Munqidh min uddallal" "The Deliverance fromerror, " in which he sets himself to combat the general laxity andheretical tendencies of his time:--

"Man is composed of a body and a heart; by the word 'heart' I understandthat spiritual part of him which is the seat of the knowledge of God, and not the material organ of flesh and blood which he possesses incommon with the animals. Just as the body flourishes in health anddecays in disease, so the heart is either spiritually sound or the preyof a malady which ends in death. 

"Now ignorance of God is a deadly poison, and the revolt of the passionsis a disease for which the knowledge of God and obedience to Him, manifested in self-control, are the only antidote and remedy. Just asremedies for the body are only known to physicians who have studiedtheir secret properties, so the remedies for the soul are devotionalpractices as defined by the prophets, the effects of which transcendreason. 

"The proper work of reason is to confess the truth of inspiration andits own impotence to grasp what is only revealed to the prophets; reasontakes us by the hand and hands us over to the prophets, as blind mencommit themselves to their guides, or as the desperately sick to theirphysicians. Such are the range and limits of reason; beyond prophetictruth it cannot take a step. 

"The causes of the general religious languor and decay of faith in ourtime are chiefly to be traced to four classes of people: (1)Philosophers, (2) Sufis, (3) Ismailians[45], (4) the Ulema or scholastictheologians. I have specially interrogated those who were lax in theirreligion; I have questioned them concerning their doubts, and spoken tothem in these terms: 'Why are you so lukewarm in your religion? If youreally believe in a future life, and instead of preparing for it sell itin exchange for the goods of this world, you must be mad. You would notgive two things for one of the same quality; how can you barter eternityfor days which are numbered? If you do not believe, you are infidels, and should seek to obtain faith. '

"In answer to such appeals, I have heard men say, 'If the observance ofreligious practices is obligatory, it is certainly obligatory on theUlema or theologians. And what do we find amongst the most conspicuousof these? One does not pray, another drinks wine, a third devours theorphans' inheritance, and a fourth lets himself be bribed into givingwrong decisions, and so forth. '

"Another man giving himself out as a Sufi said that he had attained tosuch a high pitch of proficiency in Sufism that for him religiouspractice was no longer necessary. An Ismailian said, 'Truth is verydifficult to find, and the road to it is strewn with obstacles;so-called proofs are mutually contradictory, and the speculations ofphilosophers cannot be trusted. But we have an Imam (leader) who is aninfallible judge and needs no proofs. Why should we abandon truth forerror?' A fifth said, 'I have studied the subject, and what you callinspiration is really a high degree of sagacity. Religion is intended asa restraint on the passions of the vulgar. But I, who do not belong tothe common herd, what have I to do with such stringent obligations? I ama philosopher; science is my guide, and dispenses me from submission toauthority. '

"This last is the fate of philosophic theists, as we find it expressedin the writings of Avicenna and Farabi. It is no rare thing to find menwho read the Koran, attend public worship at the mosque, and outwardlyprofess the greatest respect for the religious law, in private indulgingin the use of wine and committing other shameful actions. If we ask suchmen how it comes that although they do not believe in the reality ofinspiration, they attend public worship, they say that they practise itas a useful exercise and as a safeguard for their fortunes and families. If we further ask them why they drink wine, which is absolutelyprohibited in the Koran, they say, "The only object of the prohibitionof wine was to prevent quarrelling and violence. Wise men like ourselvesare in no danger of such excesses, and we drink in order to brighten andkindle our imaginative powers. '

"Such is the faith of these pretended Moslems and their example has ledmany astray who have been all the more encouraged to follow thesephilosophers because their opponents have often been incompetent. "

In the above extracts Ghazzali appears as a reformer, and it would notbe difficult to find modern parallels for the tendencies which hedescribes. Professor D. B. Macdonald compares him to Ritschl in thestress which he lays on personal religious experience, and in hissuspicion of the intrusion of metaphysics into the domain of religion. Although intensely in earnest, he was diffident of his powers as apreacher, and in a surviving letter says, "I do not think myself worthyto preach; for preaching is like a tax, and the property on which it isimposed is the acceptance of preaching to oneself. He then who has noproperty, how shall he pay the tax? and he who lacks a garment how shallhe cover another? and 'When is the stick crooked and the shadowstraight?' And God revealed to Jesus (upon whom be peace). Preach tothyself, then if thou acceptest the preaching, preach to mankind, and ifnot, be ashamed before Me. "[46]

Like other preachers of righteousness, Ghazzali strove to rouse men outof lethargy by laying stress on the terrors of the world to come and theJudgment Day. He was not one of those who think fear too base a motiveto appeal to; he strikes the note of warning again and again. Towardsthe close of his life he composed a short work on eschatology "Al Durraal Fakhirah" ("The precious pearl") of a sufficiently lurid character. In it he says: "When you watch a dead man and see that the saliva hasrun from his mouth, that his lips are contracted, his face black, thewhites of his eyes showing, know that he is damned, and that the fact ofhis damnation in the other world has just been revealed to him. But ifyou see the dead with a smile on his lips, a serene countenance, hiseyes half-closed, know that he has just received the good news of thehappiness which awaits him in the other life. 

"On the Day of Judgment, when all men are gathered before the throne ofGod, their accounts are all cast up, and their good and evil deedsweighed. During all this time each man believes he is the only one withwhom God is dealing. Though peradventure at the same moment God istaking account of countless multitudes whose number is known to Himonly. Men do not see each other, nor hear each other speak. "

Regarding faith, Ghazzali says in the Ihya-ul-ulum:

"Faith consists of two elements, patience and gratitude. Both are gracesbestowed by God, and there is no way to God except faith. The Koranexpounds the excellence of patience in more than seventy passages. TheCaliph Ali said, 'Patience bears the same relation to faith as the headdoes to the body. He who has no head, has no body, and he who has nopatience has no faith. '"

Ghazzali's philosophy is the re-action of his intensely religiouspersonality against the naturalistic tendencies of men like Avicenna andAverroes. They believed in the eternity of matter, and reduced God to abare First Cause. He also, though sympathising with the Sufis, especially on the side of their asceticism, was opposed to SufisticPantheism. He conceived God chiefly as an active Will, and not merely asthe Self existent. 

While his contemporaries were busying themselves with metaphysicaltheories concerning matter and creation, Ghazzali laid stress onself-observation and self-knowledge ("He who knows himself, knows God"). As St. Augustine found deliverance from doubt and error in his inwardexperience of God, and Descartes in self-consciousness, so Ghazzali, unsatisfied with speculation and troubled by scepticism, surrendershimself to the will of God. Leaving others to demonstrate the existenceof God from the external world, he finds God revealed in the depths ofhis own consciousness and the mystery of his own free will. 

He fared as innovators in religion and philosophy always do, and waslooked upon during his lifetime as a heretic. He admits himself that his"Destruction of the philosophers" was written to expose their mutualcontradictions. But he has no mere Mephistophelic pleasure indestruction; he pulls down in order to erect. He is not a mere scepticon the one hand, nor a bigoted theologian on the other, and his verdicton the Mutazilite heretics of his day is especially mild. Acute thinkerthough he was, in him will and feeling predominated over thought. Herejected the dogmatic and philosophic systems of his contemporaries asmere jejune skeletons of reality, and devoted the close of his life tostudy of the traditions and the Koran. 

Like Augustine, he finds in God-derived self-consciousness thestarting-point for the thought, and like him emphasizes the fundamentalsignificance of the will. He sees everywhere the Divine Will at work inwhat philosophers call natural causes. He seeks the truth, but seeks itwith a certain consciousness of possessing it already within himself. 

He is a unique and lonely figure in Islam, and has to this day been onlypartially understood. In the Middle Ages his fame was eclipsed by thatof Averroes, whose commentary on Aristotle is alluded to by Dante, andwas studied by Thomas Aquinas and the schoolmen. Averroes' system wasrounded and complete, but Ghazzali was one of those "whose reach exceedstheir grasp"; he was always striking after something he had notattained, and stands in many respects nearer to the modern mind thanAverroes. Renan, though far from sympathising with his religiousearnestness, calls him "the most original mind among Arabianphilosophers, " and De Boer says, "Men like Ghazzali have for philosophythis significance that they are a problem alike for themselves and forphilosophy, because they are a fragment of spiritual reality thatrequires explanation. By the force of their personality they removewhat hinders them in the construction of their systems without troublingabout correctness. Later thinkers make it their business to explain theimpulses that guide such men both in their work of destruction and ofrestoration. Original minds like his supply food for reflection tofuture generations. "

 [44] Imam, _i. E. _ leader. 

 [45] A sect which declared the impossibility of arriving at truth except through an "Imam" or infallible guide. 

 [46] D. B. Macdonald "Life of Ghazzali. "

CHAPTER XII. 

Fariduddin Attar(AD 1119-1229)

Fariduddin Attar was born in the village of Kerken near Nishapur inKhorassan, A. D. 1119 under the Sultan Sandjar. Some years after hisbirth his father removed to Schadbakh, where he kept a druggist's shop. On his father's death, Fariduddin carried on the business, whence hereceived his cognomen Attar (druggist). His call to the religious lifewas as follows: One day while he was seated in his shop surrounded byservants busily attending to his orders, a wandering dervish paused atthe door and regarded him silently, while his eyes slowly filled withtears. Attar sharply told him to be off about his business. "That iseasily done, " replied the dervish; "I have only a light bundle to carry, nothing in fact but my clothes. But you with your sacks full of valuabledrugs, when the time comes to go, what will _you_ do? Had you not betterconsider a little?" The appeal went home. He promptly abandoned hisbusiness in order to devote himself to a religious life. Bidding adecisive adieu to the world, he betook himself to a Sufi convent, presided over by Sheikh Ruknuddin. Here he resided for some time engagedin devotional practices, and then made the pilgrimage to Mecca, where hemet with many devotees and conceived the idea of compiling a collectionof stories of the holy men of Islam. To this work he devoted severalyears of his long life; he also composed a Pand-nama or "Book ofCounsels. " But the work by which he is chiefly known is the"Mantiq-ut-tair" or "Parliament of Birds, " and of this we proceed togive some account. 

In this allegorical poem various birds representing mystics, unitethemselves under the leadership of the hoopoe in order to journey to thecourt of the Simurgh, a mysterious bird whose name signifies "thirtybirds, " dwelling in Mount Kaf, the mountain which encircles the world. At the commencement of the poem there is a long debate between thehoopoe and the other birds, who at first allege various excuses for notundertaking the journey, while he rebukes them for their lukewarmness, not concealing, however, the fact that the journey is full of peril, andthat though many start few will reach the goal. The hoopoe's descriptionof the road is as follows: "We have seven valleys to traverse. [47] Thefirst is the Valley of Search; the second the Valley of Love, which hasno limits; the third is the Valley of Knowledge; the fourth is theValley of Independence; the fifth is the Valley of Unity, pure andsimple; the sixth is the Valley of Amazement; last of all is the valleyof Poverty and Annihilation, beyond which there is no advance. Therethou wilt feel thyself drawn, but will have no power to go any further. 

"(1) When thou enterest the Valley of Search, at every step new trialswill present themselves; there the parrot of the celestial sphere is asmute as a fly. There thou must cast away all thy possessions and imperilall thy riches. Not only must the hand be empty, but thy heart must bedetached from all that is earthly. Then the Light of the Divine Essencewill begin to cast upon thee some rays. 

"(2) In order to enter the second valley (of love) thou must be made allof fire; he who is not composed of fire will find no pleasure in thatvalley; he must not think of the future, but be ready to sacrifice ahundred worlds to the flames, if needs be. Faith and infidelity, goodand evil, religion and irreligion, are all one for him who has arrivedat the second stage; for where love reigns, none of them exist any more. 

"(3) In the third valley (of knowledge) the progress of the pilgrims isin proportion to their innate powers. In the path traversed by Abrahamthe Friend of God, can a feeble spider keep pace with an elephant? Letthe gnat fly as hard as he may, he will never keep up with the wind. Thus the degrees of knowledge attained to by the initiated aredifferent; one only reaches the entrance of the temple, while anotherfinds the Divinity who dwells in it. When the Sun of Knowledge darts itsrays, each is illumined in proportion to his capacity, and finds in thecontemplation of the truth the rank which belongs to him. He sees a pathlie open before him through the midst of the fire, the furnace of theworld becomes for him a garden of roses. He perceives the almond withinthe shell, that is to say, he sees God under the veil of all apparentthings. But for one happy man who penetrates into these mysteries, howmany millions have gone astray? Only the perfect can dive with successinto the depths of this ocean. 

"(4) In the fourth valley (of independence) thou hast done witheverything but God. Out of this disposition of mind, which no longerfeels the need of anything, there rises a tempestuous hurricane, everyblast of which annihilates whole kingdoms. The seven seas are then nomore than a pool of water; the seven planets are a spark; the eightparadises are only a single curtain; the seven hells a mass of ice. Inless time than it takes the greedy crow to fill its crop, out of ahundred caravans of travellers there remains not one alive. 

"(5) The Valley of Unity which succeeds to that of Independence, is thevalley of privation of all things and reduction to unity, that is tosay, the attainment of a degree of spirituality, in which the DivineEssence, apart from every attribute, is the object of contemplation. 

"(6) In the sixth valley, that of Amazement, the pilgrim's lot is tosuffer and to groan; each breath he draws is like a sword; his days andnights are passed in sighs; from each of his hairs distils a drop ofblood, which, as it falls, traces in the air the letters of the word"alas!" There he remains in a state of stupefaction, and finds his wayno more. "

To make the meaning of "Amazement" clearer, Attar gives the followingallegory. He supposes that the young companions of a princess wished oneday to amuse themselves at the expense of a slave. They made him drinkwine in which they had dropped a narcotic drug, and when he was asleephad him carried to the harem. At midnight, when he woke, he foundhimself on a gilded couch surrounded by perfumed candles, scent-boxes ofaloes, and lovely women whose songs ravished his ear. "Disconcerted andstupefied, " says the poet, "he no longer retained reason nor life. Hewas no longer in this world, nor was he in the other. His heart was fullof love for the princess, but his tongue remained mute. His spirit wasin ecstacies. When he awoke in the morning he found himself again aslave at his old post. The memory of the past night was so vivid that itcaused him to utter a cry; he tore his garments, and threw dust upon hishead. They asked him what was the matter, but he knew not what to reply. He could not say whether what he had seen was a dream or a reality;whether he had passed the night in drunkenness or in full possession ofhis faculties. What he had seen had left a profound impression on hismind, and yet he could not trace it out accurately. He had contemplatedBeauty beyond all words, and yet he was not sure whether he had seen Itafter all. The only effect of his vision was a trouble of mind anduncertainty. "

(7) At last comes the seventh valley, that of Poverty and Annihilation. "But these words are insufficient to describe it; forgetfulness, deafness, dumbness, fainting--such is the condition of the pilgrim inthis valley. One sun causes millions of shadows to vanish. When theocean is agitated, how can the figures traced on its waters remain? Suchfigures are this world and the world to come, and he who knows them tobe nothing is right. He who is plunged in this sea, where the heart isastray and lost, has by means of his very annihilation found immutablerepose. In this ocean, where reigns a constant calm, the heart findsnought but annihilation. "

Attar also illustrates the Sufi doctrine of annihilation (whichresembles the Buddhistic nirvana) by an allegory. "One night, " he says, "the butterflies were tormented by the desire to unite themselves withthe candle-flame. They held a meeting, and resolved that one of themshould go and experiment, and bring back news. A butterfly was sent to aneighbouring house, and he perceived the flame of the candle which wasburning within. He brought back word and tried to describe the flameaccording to the measure of his intelligence; but the butterfly whopresided over the assembly said that the exploring butterfly hadattained no real knowledge of the candle-flame. A second butterfly wentforth, and approached so close to the flame as to singe his wings. Healso returned, and threw a little light on the mystery of union with theflame. But the presiding butterfly found his explanation not much moresatisfactory than the preceding one. 

"A third butterfly then flew forth; he was intoxicated with love for theflame, and flung himself wholly into it; he lost himself, and identifiedhimself with it. It embraced him completely, and his body became asfiery-red as the flame itself. When the presiding butterfly saw fromafar that the flame had absorbed the devoted butterfly and communicatedits own qualities to it; 'That butterfly, ' he exclaimed, 'has learntwhat he wished to know, but he alone understands it. Only he who haslost all trace and token of his own existence knows what annihilationis. Until thou ignorest thyself, body and soul, thou canst not know theobject which deserves thy love. '"

The foregoing terrible description of the seven mysterious valleys waswell calculated to discourage the birds, and Attar tells us that afterhearing it they stood with hearts oppressed and heads bent. "Allunderstood, " he says, "that it was not for a feeble hand to bend thisbow. They were so terrified by the discourse of the hoopoe that a greatnumber died on the spot where they were assembled. As to the others, inspite of their dismay, they consented to commence the journey. Duringlong years they travelled over hill and dale, and spent a great part oftheir lives in pilgrimage. 

"Finally, of all who set out, a very small band arrived at the goal. Some were drowned in the ocean, others were annihilated and disappeared. Others perished on the peaks of high mountains, devoured by thirst and aprey to all kinds of ills. [48] Others had their plumes burnt and theirhearts dried up by the scorching heat of the sun; others fell a prey tothe wild beasts which haunted the road, falling panic-struck, withoutresistance, into their claws; others died of sheer exhaustion in thedesert; others fought and killed each other madly for chance grains ofcorn; others experienced all kinds of pains and fatigues, and ended bystopping short of the goal; others, engrossed in curiosity andpleasure, perished without thinking of the object for which they hadset out. 

"When they started, their numbers were countless, but at last onlythirty arrived, and these without feathers and wings, exhausted andprostrated, their hearts broken, their souls fainting, their bodies wornout by fatigue. They had arrived at the Palace of the Simurgh. Achamberlain of the King, who saw these thirty hapless birds withoutfeathers or wings, questioned them whence they came, and why. 'We havecome, ' they answered, 'that the Simurgh may become our king. The lovethat we feel for him has unsettled our reason. We have denied ourselvesall rest to follow the road that leads to Him. It is very long since westarted, and of our many millions, only thirty have reached the goal. The hope of appearing here has buoyed us up hitherto; may the King thinkkindly of the perils we have undergone, and cast upon us at least aglance of compassion. ' The chamberlain returned a harsh answer, andordered them to go back, telling them that the King had no need of theirhomage. This answer at first cast them into despair, but afterwards, imitating the moth which seeks certain death in the flame of the lamp, they persisted in their request to be admitted to the presence of theSimurgh. Their steadfastness did not remain unrewarded. The "chamberlainof grace" came out, opened a door, and presented them with a documentwhich he ordered them to read. This contained a list of all the sinswhich the birds had committed against the Simurgh. The perusal of itcaused them nothing less than death, but this death was for them thebirth into a new life. "

Attar says: "By reason of the shame and confusion which these birdsexperienced, their bodies became dust, and their souls were annihilated. When they were entirely purified from all earthly elements, they allreceived a new life. All that they had done or omitted to do duringtheir earthly existence passed entirely out of mind. The sun ofproximity burnt them, that is to say, their former existence wasconsumed by the sun of the Divine Essence which they had approached, anda ray of this light produced a life which animated them all. At thismoment they beheld themselves reflected in the Simurgh. [49] When theystole a glance at Him, He appeared to be the thirty birds themselves;when they looked at themselves, they seemed to be the Simurgh; and whenthey looked at both together, only one Simurgh appeared. The situationwas inexpressible in words. They were all submerged in an ocean ofstupefaction, with all faculties of thought suspended. Without moving atongue, they interrogated the Awful Presence for an explanation of themystery of apparent identity between the Divinity and his adorers. 

"Then a voice was heard saying, 'The Majesty of the Simurgh is asun-resembling mirror; whosoever contemplates Him beholds his ownreflection; body and soul see in Him body and soul. As you are thirtybirds, you appear in this mirror as thirty birds; if forty or fiftybirds came here they would see forty or fifty. Although you have passedthrough many changes, it is yourselves only whom you have seenthroughout. Can the eye of an ant reach the Pleiades? Then how can yourinch of inkling attain to Us?

"In all the valleys which you have traversed, in all the acts ofkindness which you have done to others, it was by Our impulse alone thatyou were acting. All this while you have been asleep in the Valley ofthe Essence and the Attributes. You thirty birds have been unconscioushitherto. The name "thirty birds" belongs rather to Us, who are theveritable Simurgh. Find then in Us a glorious self-effacement, in orderto find yourselves again in us. '

"So they vanished in Him for ever, as the shadow disappears in the sun. While on pilgrimage they conversed; when they had arrived, all converseceased. There was no longer a guide; there were no longer pilgrims; theroad itself had ceased to be. "

Such is this allegory, or Sufi's "Pilgrim's Progress, " which containsnearly five thousand couplets. Attar varies the monotony of the longspeeches of the Hoopoe and the other birds by inserting anecdotes, ofwhich the following is one of the most striking:--

STORY OF THE SHEIKH SANAAN. 

The Sheikh Sanaan was one of the saints of his age; four or five timeshe had made the pilgrimage to Mecca; his prayers and fasts werecountless; no practice enjoined by the religious law was omitted by him;he had passed through all the degrees of the spiritual life; his verybreath had a healing influence upon the sick. In joy and in grief, hewas an example for men, and, as it were, a standard lifted up. 

One night, to his distress, he dreamt that he was fated to leave Mecca(where he was then residing) for Roum (Asia Minor), and there become anidolator. When he awoke, he said to his disciples, of whom he had fourhundred, "My decision is taken; I must go to Roum in order to have thisdream explained. " His four hundred disciples accompanied him on thejourney. They went from Mecca to Roum, and traversed the country fromone end to another. One day, by chance they saw on an elevated balcony ayoung and lovely Christian girl. No sooner had the Sheikh seen her thanhe became violently in love, and seemed to lose all regard for hisreligious duties. His disciples tried to rouse him out of his perilousstate, but in vain. One said to him, "O thou knower of secrets, rise andperform thy prayers. " He replied, "My 'mihrab'[50] is the face of myBeloved; only thither will I direct my prayers. " Another said, "Dostthou not repent? Dost thou not preserve any regard for Islam?" "No one, "he said, "repents more deeply than I do for not having been in lovebefore. " A third said, "Anyone with intelligence can see that thoughthou wast our guide, thou hast gone astray. " He answered, "Say what youlike, I am not ashamed; I break with a stone the vase of hypocrisy. "

To many similar remonstrances he made similar replies. At last, findingtheir efforts of no avail, his disciples left him. Lost in a kind ofstupor, he remained the whole night motionless before the balcony. 

In the morning the young Christian came out, and seeing that he did notgot away, understood that he was in love. He poured out a passionateappeal, when she would have dismissed him, and refused to depart. Atlast she said, "If thou art really in earnest, thou must utterly washthy hands of Islam; thou must bow to idols, [51] burn the Koran, drinkwine, and give up thy religious observances. " The Sheikh replied, "Iwill drink wine, but I cannot consent to the three other conditions. "She said, "Rise, then, and drink; when thou hast drunk, thou mayest, perchance, be able. " Accordingly the Sheikh drank wine, and, having doneso, lost his senses entirely, complied with her requests, and became herabject slave. He then said to her, "O charming maiden, what remains tobe done? I have drunk wine, I have adored idols; no one could do morefor love than I have done. " She, though she began to requite hisaffection, wishing still further to prove him, answered, "Go, then, andfeed my swine for a year, and then we will pass our lives together injoy or in sorrow. "

So this saint and great Sheikh consented to keep swine for a year. Thenews of his apostasy spread all over Roum, and his disciples again cameto remonstrate with him, and said, "O thou who disregardest religion, return with us again to the Kaaba. " The Sheikh answered, "My soul isfull of sadness; go whither your desires carry you. As for me, theChurch is henceforth my place, and the young Christian the happiness ofmy life. " He spoke, and turning his face from his friends, went back tofeed his swine. They wept, and looked at him wistfully from afar. Atlast they returned sadly to the Kaaba. 

Now there was a friend of the Sheikh, who happened to have been absentwhen the Sheikh left Mecca. On the arrival of the Sheikh's disciples, hequestioned them, and learned all that had happened. He then said, "Ifyou are really his friends, go and pray to God night and day for theSheikh's conversion. " Accordingly, forty days and nights they prayed andfasted, till their prayers were heard, and God turned the sheikh's heartback again to Islam. The secrets of divine wisdom, the Koran, theprophecies, all that he had blotted out of his mind, came back to hismemory, and at the same time he was delivered from his folly and hismisery. When the fire of repentance burns, it consumes everything. Hemade his ablutions, resumed his Moslem garb, and departed for Mecca, where he and his old disciples embraced with tears of joy. 

In the meantime the young Christian saw the Prophet appearing to her ina dream, and saying, "Follow the Sheikh! Adopt his doctrine; be the dustunder his feet. Thou who wert the cause of his apostasy, be pure as heis. " When she awoke from her dream, a strong impulse urged her to seekfor him. With a heart full of affection, though with a feeble body, shewent to seek for the Sheikh and his disciples. While she was on the way, an inner voice apprised the Sheikh of what was passing. "This maiden, "it said, "has abandoned infidelity; she has heard of Our sacredHouse, [52] she has entered in Our way; thou mayest take her now, and beblameless. "

Forthwith, the Sheikh set out on the way towards Roum to meet her; hisdisciples essayed to stop him and said, "Was thy repentance not real?Art thou turning back again to folly?" But he told them of theintimation which he had received, and they set out together till theyarrived where the young Christian was. But they found her prostrate onthe ground, her hair soiled by the dust of the way, her feet bare, hergarments torn. At this sight tears ran down the Sheikh's cheeks; she, when she saw him, said, "Lift the veil that I may be instructed, andteach me Islam. "

When this lovely idol had become one of the Faithful, they shed tears ofjoy, but she was sad; "O Sheikh!" she cried, "my powers are exhausted; Icannot support absence. I am going to leave this dusty and bewilderingworld. Farewell, Sheikh Sanaan, farewell! I can say no more; pardon meand oppose me not. " So saying, her soul left the body; the drop returnedto the ocean. 

Other anecdotes which occur in the Mantiq-ut-tair are the following:--

THE ANGEL GABRIEL AND THE INFIDEL. 

One night Gabriel was near the Throne, when he heard Allah pronouncingwords of acquiescence in answer to someone's prayer. "A servant of God, "said Gabriel to himself, "is invoking the Eternal just now; but who ishe? All that I can understand is that he must be a saint of surpassingmerit, whose spirit has entirely subdued his flesh. Gabriel wished toknow who the happy mortal was, but though he flew over lands and seas, he did not find him. He hastened to return to the proximity of theThrone and heard again the same answer given to the same prayers. In hisanxiety to know the suppliant, he again sought for him throughout theworld, but in vain. Then he cried, "O God, show me the way that conductsto his dwelling. " "Go, " was the answer, "to the country of Roum; enter acertain Christian convent, and thou shalt find him. " Gabriel hastenedthither, and saw the man who was the object of the divine favour; atthat very moment he was adoring an idol. Then Gabriel said to God, "OMaster of the world, reveal to me this secret; How canst Thou hear withkindness him who prays to an idol in a convent?" God answered him, "Aveil is upon his heart; he knows not that he is astray. Since he haserred through ignorance, I pardon him, and grant him access to thehighest rank of saints. "

THE CLAY OF WHICH MAN IS MADE. 

One day the Prophet drank of a stream and found its taste more sweetthan rose-water. As he was sitting by the stream, someone came andfilled his clay pitcher from it, and the Prophet drank out of that also. To his amazement, he found the water bitter. "O God, " he said, "thewater of the stream and the water in the pitcher are one; disclose to methe secret of the difference in their taste. Why is the water in thepitcher bitter, and the other sweet as honey?" From the pitcher itselfcame the answer. "I am old; the clay of which I am made has been workedover and over again into a thousand shapes. But in every shape I amimpregnated with the bitter savour of mortality. It exists in me in sucha way that the water which I hold cannot be sweet. "

THE DEAD CRIMINAL. 

A poor criminal died, and as they were carrying him to burial, a devoteewho was passing by stood aloof, saying that funeral prayers should notbe said over such an one. The next night, in a dream, the devotee sawthe criminal in heaven, with his face shining like the sun. Amazed, hesaid to him, "How hast thou obtained so lofty a place, thou who hastspent thy life in crime, and art foul from head to foot?" He answered, "It is because of thy want of compassion towards me that God has shownme mercy, though so great a sinner. Behold the mystery of God's love andwisdom. In His wisdom, He sends man, like a child with a lamp, throughthe night as black as a raven; immediately afterwards he commands afurious wind to blow and extinguish the lamp. Then He asks His child whythe lamp is blown out. "

"Night and day, O my child, the seven spheres carry on their revolutionsfor thee. Heaven and hell are reflections of thy goodness and of thywickedness. The angels have all bowed down to thee. [53] The part andwhole are lost in thy essence. Do not, therefore, despise thine ownself, for nothing is higher than it. The body is part of the Whole, andthy soul is the Whole. The body is not distinct from the soul, but is apart of it, neither is the soul distinct from the Whole. It is for theethat the time arrives when the rose displays its beauty; for thee thatthe clouds pour down the rain of mercy. Whatever the angels do, theyhave done for thee. "

ANECDOTE OF BAYAZID BASTAMI. 

One night Sheikh Bayazid went out of the town, and found reigningeverywhere profound silence. The moon was shining at the full, makingthe night as clear as day. The sky was covered with constellations, eachfulfilling its course. The Sheikh walked on for a long while withouthearing the least sound, and without perceiving anyone. He was deeplymoved, and said, "O Lord, my heart is pained. Why is such a sublimeaudience-hall as Thine without throngs of worshippers?" "Cease thywonder, " an inner voice replied to him. "The King does not accord accessto His Court to everyone. When the sanctuary of Our splendour isdisplayed, the careless and the slumbering are without. Those who are tobe admitted to this Court wait whole years, and then only one in amillion enters. "

 * * * * *

In his latter years, Fariduddin Attar carried his asceticism to such adegree that he gave up composing poetry altogether. The story of hisdeath illustrates in a striking way the indifference to external thingscultivated by the Sufis. During the invasion of Persia by Jenghiz Khan(1229 A. D. ) when Attar had reached the great age of 110, he was takenprisoner by the Mongols. One of them was about to kill him, when anothersaid, "Let the old man live; I will give a thousand pieces of silver ashis ransom. " His captor was about to close with the bargain, but Attarsaid, "Don't sell me so cheaply; you will find someone willing to givemore. " Subsequently another man came up and offered a bag of straw forhim. "Sell me to him, " said Attar, "for that is all I am worth. " TheMongol, irritated at the loss of the first offer, slew the saint, whothus found the death he desired. 

 [47] _i. E. :_ The stages of the Sufi's progress to God. 

 [48] c. F. G. Meredith

 "Out of hundreds who aspire, Eighties perish, nineties tire; Those who bear up in spite of wrecks and wracks, Were seasoned by celestial blows and thwacks. "

 [49] It should be remembered that the name Simurgh means "thirty birds. "

 [50] The niche in the mosque wall facing Mecca, towards which Muhammadans pray. 

 [51] Christians are regarded as idolators by Moslems. 

 [52] The Kaaba. 

 [53] Alluding to the Koran (Sura 18) where the angels are represented as worshipping Adam by the command of God. 

CHAPTER XIII

Suhrawardy[54](1153-1191 AD)

Very few remains in writing, except their Persian poems, have come downto us from the older Pantheistic mystics. In the Kingdom of the Caliphsheretical books were suppressed by stronger measures than being placedon the Index. To express views openly at variance with the establishedreligion was to imperil one's life. The Persian Sufis, therefore, who intheir mystical works generally used Arabic, veiled their views in a sortof technical language, which was quite unintelligible to theuninitiated. Still some works are preserved which give us an insightinto their tendencies. 

The Sheikh Suhrawardy, who was a martyr to his convictions, must beregarded as the chief representative of this free-thinking tendency inSufism. His works have been more appreciated by the Persians and Turksthan by the Arabs, among whom copies of them are no longer to be found, while they may be met with in Turkish libraries. 

Suhrawardy belonged to the orthodox school of the Shafiites, and gaineda great reputation for his learning. He studied jurisprudence inMaraghah, then went to Ispahan, and later to Bagdad and Aleppo, where heoccupied himself chiefly with philosophical studies. He gave himselfthe title "Disciple of the Spirit-world. " In the Arabic biographies ofhim, his teaching is said to have aimed at overthrowing Islam; this, however, is always said of anyone who ventures to oppose the dominantorthodox party. As a matter of fact, he founded a sect who bore the nameIshrakiyya--"The Illumined. " For them he composed a work, "Hikmat alIshrak, " _i. E. _, "The philosophy of illumination, " containing mysticaland fantastic teaching. In Aleppo, where he finally took up his abode, he seems to have exercised a powerful influence on Prince Malik Zahir, the son of the famous Saladin. The orthodox party persuaded the latterto pass sentence of death on him as a heretic, which sentence MalikZahir caused to be carried out (1191 A. D. ), but not till he had receiveda threatening letter from his father for his dilatoriness. Suhrawardy issaid when he heard the sentence, to have quoted a Persian verse:

 "It is not worth while to draw the sword. "

By his own consent, he was then shut up in a separate chamber anddeprived of meat and drink till he passed into the world for which helonged. His tomb is still preserved in Aleppo, where the memory of himas "the murdered Suhrawardy" has by no means faded. The inhabitants saythat no tree or shrub will grow in the tomb-enclosure. His realcharacter has, for the most part, been forgotten, and he is representedas a magician and sorcerer who possessed the philosopher's stone, andknew how to make gold. Many even believe that he was never killed atall, but disappeared, while a phantom was put to death in his place. They say that at night weird sounds are heard from his grave. 

These popular legends give us reason to suppose that Suhrawardy's lifeand death in Aleppo really made an extraordinary impression on thepeople, and that his teaching penetrated more deeply than Muhammedanwriters find convenient to admit. Suhrawardy's writings were preservedfrom entire destruction by the Persians and Turks. The most important ofthem are the above-mentioned Hikmat al Ishrak, Haikal-un-nur (The Templeof Light) and others. From the two first a few passages may be quoted, which suffice to show that the theosophy of this Persian Sufi took amuch bolder flight than that of the Arabian Sufis, and that for it Islamwas a mere outward form. 

In the Hikmat al Ishrak we find the influences of two entirely differentschools of thought fantastically blended into an extraordinary compoundof philosophy and mysticism. In this, Neo-platonic ideas are broughtinto connection with a theory of light obviously derived fromZoroastrian doctrine, and both are variously modified by the influenceof Islamic monotheism and presented in the abstract terminology of theArabic Sufis. With these last, Suhrawardy found himself in harmony withregard to their "ecstatic" stages and arrival at the knowledge of God byway of intuition. He also betrays the influence of the Perso-Shiitedogma of the hidden spiritual Imams, of whom only one is believed to beon earth at any given time, and he is the highest spiritual andreligious authority among his contemporaries. 

The following is an abridged translation of the preface to the "Hikmatal Ishrak": "Long have ye, O worthy friends and companions--may Godprotect you!--prayed me to write for you a book wherein I shoulddescribe what has been revealed to me by way of inspiration in my lonelycontemplations and soul-combats. Spiritual science is no class privilegereserved for the elect, behind whom the doors of the spirit-world areclosed, and thereby he who would learn somewhat of the supernatural isexcluded. Nay, He who graciously granted us this knowledge, He, theHorizon of Illumination, is not miserly with the secrets of the otherworld. The worst of all ages is that in which the carpet of freespiritual investigation is rolled up, the wings of thought are cramped, the gates of intuition closed and the road of contemplation barricaded. 

"The world was never wholly without philosophy, and without someone whocultivated it and was declared a philosopher by manifest proofs andfacts. This man is the real Caliph or representative of God on earth, and his successors will be so, as long as heaven and earth shall endure. The difference between the old and new philosophers only consists in thevariations of their phraseology and of their methods of exposition andproof. All in common acknowledge the three worlds (the earthly world, the spirit world, and the world of Deity); all alike are agreed inMonotheism and in their fundamental principles. 

"As regards the first teacher, Aristotle, it is clear that he is ofincomparable value, that his wisdom is great and his faculty ofpenetration profound; yet we should not so exaggerate our reverence forhim as to undervalue his masters, among whom especially are to becounted the travelling and law-giving philosophers, such as Agathodęmon, Hermes, Ęsculapius and others. The line of their succession is long;the chief classes into which they may be divided are as follows: (1) TheTheosophist without philosophy; (2) the speculative philosopher withouttheosophy; (3) the philosopher who is equally strong in both; (4) theTheosophist who is strong in theosophy but mediocre or weak inphilosophy; (5) the philosopher who is strong in philosophy but mediocreor weak in theosophy, etc. Now if the complete mastery of bothphilosophic and theosophic science is found in one man, _this_ man isthe representative of God on earth. Failing such a person, the titledevolves on him who is complete in theosophy, though he may be mediocrein philosophy. Failing him, the representative of God is he who iscomplete in theosophy without possessing any philosophy at all. Therenever fails to be in the world _one_ great theosophist. 

"But the speculative philosopher, fully equipped in philosophy, has noclaim to the rule in this earth. For there is always a theosophist onearth and he is better fitted for the post than the philosopher, as theplace of God's Vicar on earth cannot remain unoccupied. By this 'rule, 'however, I do not mean the possession of political power; only the Imamwho is also a theosophist _may_ take over the political power andexercise it publicly, or he may rule in secret. In the latter case he istermed the mystical pole ("qutb"); to him the rule belongs, even thoughhe live in the deepest poverty. If the political power should reallycome into his hand, the age becomes illuminated; but if it lacks suchdivine guidance, it is overwhelmed by darkness. 

"It is nobler to aim at a high attainment at theosophy and philosophyalike than to confine one's effort to one or the other. This book isintended for those who devote themselves to both, and not to the latteronly; in it we address ourselves only to the untrammelled thinker in thereign of theosophy; the lowest step which the reader of it should haveattained, if he would derive any benefit therefrom, is at any rate tohave felt a flash of the divine light reach him, and in some measure tohave made it his own. Whoever merely wishes to study philosophy, let himattend the school of the Peripatetics; for that purpose it is good andsufficient. Just as we form certain sense-perceptions and recognisetheir conditions with certainty, and base further scientificinvestigations upon them, so in the spiritual realm we form certainperceptions and build upon them; but he who does not adopt this method, understands nothing of philosophy. "

Continuing, he assumes a peculiar theory of light, which betrays areally Persian origin. One special light he designates by the oldPersian word "Isfahbad. " The Godhead Itself he calls the "light oflights. " In other places he borrows from Neo-Platonism. He assumes aregion in the heavenly spheres where the ideal prototypes of existingthings are found. The saints and devout ascetics, according to him, havethe power to call those ideal prototypes into real existence, and thesecan produce at their wish, food, figures or melodies, etc. 

Suhrawardy's optimistic way of conceiving the world is peculiar for aMoslem. While Islam regards the world as a vale of tears, and earthlylife as a time of temptation, he finds the evil in this world much lessthan the good. The following sentences of his work are noteworthy:"Know that souls in whom the heavenly illuminations are lasting, reducethe material world to obedience. Their supplication is heard in theUpper World, and fate has already decreed that the supplication of sucha person for such an object should be heard. The light which streamsfrom the highest world is the Elixir of power and knowledge and theworld obeys it. In the purified souls is reproduced a reflex of God'slight, and a creative ray is focussed in them. The 'evil eye' is only alight-power, which influences objects and injures them. " Soon afterSuhrawardy had been put to death, nearly the whole of his books werecommitted to the flames by order to the Caliph Nasir. 

 [54] From Von Kremer. 

CHAPTER XIV

JALALUDDIN RUMI

Jalaluddin Rumi has been called by Professor Ethé (in the _EncyclopędiaBritannica_) "the greatest pantheistic writer of all ages. " However thatmay be, he is certainly the greatest mystical poet of Persia, though notso well known in Europe as Saadi, Hafiz and Omar Khayyam. Saadi, Jalaluddin's contemporary, seems to have been conscious of this, forwhen asked by the Prince of Shiraz to send him the finest poem which hadbeen published in Persia, he sent an ode from Jalaluddin's "Diwan. "

Jalaluddin ("the glory of religion") was born at Balkh, in Central Asia(1207 AD), where his father, Behauddin, was a professor of theologyunder the Sultan Khwarezm Shah. His discourses were largely attended bygreat and small, but for some reason he seems to have excited theSultan's displeasure. He therefore left Balkh with the whole of hisfamily and dependants, taking an oath not to return thither while theSultan was on the throne. Behauddin's way led him to Nishapur, where hemet the Sheikh Fariddudin Attar, who, pointing to Jalaluddin, said, "Take care! This son of yours will light a great flame in the world. "Attar also presented the boy with his _Asrarnama_, or "book ofsecrets. " In every town which they visited the chief men came to seeBehauddin and listened to his teaching. Behauddin and his son made thepilgrimage to Mecca, after which the former settled at Konia (Iconium), in Asia Minor ("Roum"), whence the poet received the title "Rumi. " HereBehauddin obtained as great a reputation as he had done at Balkh, and onhis death Jalaluddin succeeded him as "Sheikh, " or spiritual instructor. He soon grew tired of the ordinary round of Mohammedan learning and gavehimself up to mysticism. This tendency of his received an additionalimpulse from the arrival in Iconium of an extraordinary man, the fakirShams-i-Tabriz, a disciple of the celebrated Sheikh Ruknuddin. 

One day Ruknuddin, when conversing with Shams-i-Tabriz, had said to him, "In the land of Roum is a Sufi who glows with divine love; thou must gothither and fan this glow to a clear flame. " Shams-i-Tabriz immediatelywent to Iconium. On his arrival he met Jalaluddin riding on a mule inthe midst of a throng of disciples who were escorting him from thelecture hall to his house. He at once intuitively recognised that herewas the object of his search and his longing. He therefore went straightup to him and asked, "What is the aim of all the teaching that you give, and all the religious exercises which you practise?" "The aim of myteaching, " answered Jalaluddin, "is the regulation of conduct asprescribed by the traditions and the moral and religious law. " "Allthis, " answered Shams-i-Tabriz, "is mere skimming the surface. " "Butwhat then is under the surface?" asked Jalaluddin. "Only complete unionof the knower with the known is knowledge, " answered Shams-i-Tabriz andquoted the following verse of Hakim Sanai:--

 Only when knowledge frees thee from thyself, Is such knowledge better than ignorance. 

These words made a most powerful impression on Jalaluddin, so that heplied Shams-i-Tabriz with questions and resorted with him to lonelydesert places for uninterrupted converse. This led to a neglect ofteaching on his part, and his pupils and adherents persecuted andridiculed Shams-i-Tabriz, calling him "a bare-footed and bare-headedfakir, who has come hither to lead the pattern of believers astray. "Their treatment caused Shams-i-Tabriz to flee to his native city withouttelling Jalaluddin. The latter, however, overcome by love and longing, went after him, found him and persuaded him to return. 

Shams-i-Tabriz did so, and for some time longer they lived in friendlyintercourse together; but Jalaluddin's disciples again began topersecute the former, who departed to Syria, where he remained twoyears. During this interval, in order to soften the pain of separation, Jalaluddin instituted mystical dances, which he ordered to beaccompanied by the flute. This was the beginning of the celebrated orderof Mevlevis, or dancing dervishes, which has now existed for over sixhundred years, successively presided over by descendants of Jalaluddin. Their gyrations are intended to symbolise the wheelings of the planetsround their central sun and the attraction of the creature to theCreator. They exist in large numbers in Turkey, and to this day thecoronation of the Sultan of Turkey is not considered complete till heis girded with a sword by the head dervish of the Mevlevi order. 

Shams-i-Tabriz subsequently returned to Konia and perished there in atumult, the details of which are not known. To commemorate his friendJalaluddin composed his "Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz, " putting the latter'sname in place of his own as the author. It is a collection of spiritedodes setting forth the doctrines of Sufistic Pantheism. The followinglines on pilgrimage to the Kaaba afford a good instance of the way inwhich the Sufi poets endeavour to spiritualise the rites of Islam:--

 Beats there a heart within that breast of thine, Then compass reverently its sacred shrine: For the essential Kaaba is the heart, And no proud pile of perishable art. 

 When God ordained the pilgrim rite, that sign Was meant to lead thy thoughts to things divine; A thousand times _he_ treads that round in vain Who gives one human heart a needless pain. 

 Leave wealth behind; bring God thy heart, Whose light Will guide thy footsteps through the gloomiest night God spurns the riches of a thousand coffers, And says, 'The saint is he his heart who offers;

 Nor gold nor silver seek I, but above All gifts the heart, and buy it with My love: Yea! one sad, contrite heart which men despise More than My throne and fixed decree I prize'; The meanest heart that ever man has spurned Is a clear glass where God may be discerned. 

The following ode, translated by the late ProfessorFalconer, is frankly pantheistic:--

 I was, ere a name had been named upon earth, Ere one trace yet existed of aught that has birth: When the locks of the Loved One streamed forth for a sign And Being was none, save the Presence Divine. Named and name were alike emanations from Me, Ere aught that was 'I' yet existed, or 'We'; Ere the veil of the flesh for Messiah was wrought, To the Godhead I bowed in prostration of thought; I measured intently, I pondered with heed (But, ah, fruitless my labour!) the Cross and its Creed: To the pagod I rushed and the Magian's shrine, But my eye caught no glimpse of a glory divine; The reins of research to the Kaaba I bent, Whither hopefully thronging the old and young went; Candahąr and Herat searched I wistfully through, Nor above nor beneath came the Loved One to view. I toiled to the summit, wild, pathless and lone, Of the globe-girding Kąf, [55] but the Anka[56] had flown! The seventh earth I traversed, the seventh heaven explored, But in neither discerned I the court of the Lord. I questioned the Pen and the Tablet of Fate, But they whispered not where He pavilions His state; My vision I strained, but my God-scanning eye No trace that to Godhead belongs could descry. My glance I bent inward: within my own breast Lo, the vainly sought elsewhere! the Godhead confessed!

Jalaluddin's chief work, the Masnavi, containing upwards of 26, 000couplets, was undertaken at the instance of one of his disciples andintimates, Husam-ud-din, who had often urged him to put his teachinginto a written form. One day when Husam-ud-din pressed the subject uponhim, Jalaluddin drew from his turban a paper containing the openingcouplets of the Masnavi, which are thus translated by Mr. Whinfield:--

 Hearken to the reed flute, how it discourses, When complaining of the pains of separation:-- 'Ever since they tore me from my ozier-bed, My plaintive notes have moved men and women to tears. I burst my breast, striving to give vent to sighs, And to express the pangs of my yearning for my home. He who abides far away from his home Is ever longing for the day he shall return; My wailing is heard in every throng, In concert with them that rejoice and them that weep. '

The reed flute is one of the principal instruments in the melancholymusic which accompanies the dancing of the Mevlevi dervishes. It is apicture of the Sufi or enlightened man, whose life is, or ought to be, one long lament over his separation from the Godhead, for which heyearns till his purified spirit is re-absorbed into the Supreme Unity. We are here reminded of the words of Novalis, "Philosophy is, properlyspeaking, home sickness; the wish to be everywhere at home. "

Briefly speaking, the subject of the Masnavi may be said to be the loveof the soul for God as its Origin, to Whom it longs to return, not thesubmission of the ordinary pious Moslem to the iron despotism of Allah. This thesis is illustrated with an extraordinary wealth of imagery andapologue throughout the six books composing the work. The followingfable illustrates the familiar Sufi doctrine that all religions are thesame to God, Who only regards the heart:--

 Moses, to his horror, heard one summer day A benighted shepherd blasphemously pray: 'Lord!' he said, 'I would I knew Thee, where Thou art, That for Thee I might perform a servant's part; Comb Thy hair and dust Thy shoes and sweep Thy room, Bring Thee every morning milk and honeycomb. ' Moses cried: 'Blasphemer! curb thy blatant speech! Whom art thou addressing? Lord of all and each, Allah the Almighty? Thinkest thou He doth need Thine officious folly? Wilt all bounds exceed? Miscreant, have a care, lest thunderbolts should break On our heads and others perish for thy sake. Without eyes He seeth, without ears He hears, Hath no son nor partner through the endless years, Space cannot contain Him, time He is above, All the limits that He knows are Light and Love. '

 Put to shame, the shepherd, his poor garment rent, Went away disheartened, all his ardour spent. 

 Then spake God to Moses: 'Why hast thou from Me Driven away My servant, who goes heavily? Not for severance it was, but union, I commissioned thee to preach, O hasty one! Hatefullest of all things is to Me divorce, And the worst of all ways is the way of force. I made not creation, Self to aggrandize, But that creatures might with Me communion prize. What though childish tongues trip? 'Tis the heart I see, If it really loves Me in sincerity. Blood-stains of the martyrs no ablution need, Some mistakes are better than a cautious creed, Once _within_ the Kaaba, [57] wheresoe'er men turn, Is it much to Him Who spirits doth discern? Love's religion comprehends each creed and sect, Love flies straight to God, and outsoars intellect. If the gem be real, what matters the device? Love in seas of sorrow finds the pearl of price. '

A similar lesson is taught by the apologue of the "Elephant in theDark":--

 During the reign of an Eastern sovereign, he remarked that the learned men of his time differed widely in their estimate of the Deity, each ascribing to Him different characteristics. So he had an elephant brought in secret to his capital and placed in a dark chamber; then, inviting those learned men, he told them that he was in possession of an animal which none of them had ever seen. He requested them to accompany him to the chamber, and, on entering it, said that the animal was before them, and asked if they could see it. Being answered in the negative, he begged them to approach and feel it, which they did, each touching it in a different part. After returning to the light, he asked them what they thought the animal was really like. One declared that it was a huge column, another that it was a rough hide, a third that it was of ivory, a fourth that it had huge flaps of some coarse substance; but not one could correctly state what the animal was. They returned to the chamber, and when the light was let in, those learned men beheld for the first time the object of their curiosity, and learned that, whilst each was correct in what he had said, all differed widely from the truth. 

Though a pantheist, Jalaluddin lays great stress on the fact of man'ssinfulness and frailty and on the personality of the Devil, as in thefollowing lines:--

 Many a net the Devil spreads, weaving snare on snare, We, like foolish birds, are caught captive unaware; From one net no sooner free, straightway in another We are tangled, fresh defeats aspirations smother; Till upon the ground we lie, helpless as a stone, We, who might have gained the sky, we, who might have flown. When we seek to house our grain, pile a goodly store, Pride, a hidden mouse, is there nibbling evermore; Till upon the harvest day, lo, no golden heap, But a mildewed mass of chaff maggots overcreep. Many a brilliant spark is born where the hammers ply, But a lurking thief is there; prompt, with finger sly, Spark on spark he puts them out, sparks which might have soared Perish underneath his touch. Help us then, O Lord! What with gin and trap and snare, pitfall and device, How shall we poor sinners reach Thy fair paradise?

Again, in contradiction to logical pantheism Jalaluddin lays stress onman's free-will and responsibility, as in the following illustration:--

 On the frontier set, the warden of a fort, Far from his monarch and his monarch's court, Holds the fort, let foemen bluster as they may, Nor for fear or favour will his trust betray; Far from his monarch, on the empire's edge, He, with his master, keeps unbroken pledge; Surely then his lord his worth will higher own, Than their prompt obedience who surround his throne; In the Master's absence a little work done well Weighs more than a great one when his eyes compel; _Now_ is the time to show who faith and trust will keep, Once probation over, faith and trust are cheap. 

However much individual Sufis may have fallen into Antinomianism andacted as if there was no essential difference between good and evil, thegreat Sufi teachers have always enjoined self-mortification, quoting thesaying, "Die before you die. " This dying is divided by them into threekinds: "black death" (suffering oppression from others), "red death"(mortifying the flesh), and "white death" (suffering hunger). Jalaluddinillustrates this by the following parable:--

 A merchant from India a parrot had brought, And pent in a narrow cage, sorrow-distraught With longing for freedom. One day the good man Determined to try with his wares Hindustan; So he said to his parrot, 'What gift shall I bring From the land you were born in--what curious thing?' The parrot replied, 'There are kinsfolk of mine Flying blithe in those woods, for whose freedom I pine; (Oh, the green woods of India!). Go, tell them my state-- A captive in grip of implacable fate-- And say, "Is it justice that I should despair While you, where you list, can flash swift through the air, Can peck at the pineapples, bathe in the springs, And spread in the sunlight your green-gleaming wings?" His message the man took, and made his word good When he came where the parrots flew free in the wood; But no sooner the message was given than one Like lead to the earth fell as dead as a stone. The merchant upbraided himself, 'It is clear This parrot of mine was a relative dear, And the shock has been fatal; myself am to blame. ' When his journey was finished and homeward he came, His parrot inquired, 'Hast brought me a crumb Of comfort in sorrow where, caged, I sit dumb?' The merchant said, 'No; 'twas a pity you sent, For the message you gave proved of fatal content; As soon as I gave it one shuddered and fell Stone-dead, as if struck by some magical spell. ' No sooner that bird's fate it heard, than his own On the floor of its cage fell as dead as a stone. 'Alas!' cried the merchant, 'my own bird I've killed-- My own pretty parrot, so Allah has willed!' Sadly out from the cage the dead body he drew, When, to his amazement, straight upwards it flew And perched on a tree. 'Lo! the message, ' he said, 'My friend sent--"Die thou, as I make myself dead, And by dying win freedom. " Farewell, master dear, I caught the plain hint with intelligence clear. Thyself reckon dead, and then thou shalt fly Free, free, from the prison of earth to the sky! Spring may come, but on granite will grow no green thing; It was barren in winter, 'tis barren in spring; And granite man's heart is, till grace intervene, And, crushing it, clothe the long barren with green. When the fresh breath of Jesus shall touch the heart's core, It will live, it will breathe, it will blossom once more. '

The last couplet is a good illustration of the different ways in whichChrist is regarded by the Sufi poets and by Mohammed in the Koran. Inthe latter, it is true, He is acknowledged as the Word of God and theSpirit of God, but His work among men is done, having been entirelysuperseded by the coming of Mohammed, the last and greatest of theprophets. Jalaluddin on the other hand, as in the above couplet, speaksof Christ as still exercising healing influences. Elsewhere he says, referring to the Gospel narrative of Christ's entry into Jerusalem (notmentioned in the Koran), and taking the ass as the symbol of the bodypampered by the sensualist:--

 You deserted Jesus, a mere ass to feed, In a crowd of asses you would take the lead; Those who follow Jesus, win to wisdom's ranks; Those who fatten asses get a kick for thanks. Pity keep for Jesus, pity not the ass, Let not fleshly impulse intellect surpass. If an ass could somewhat catch of Jesus' mind, Classed among the sages he himself would find; Though because of Jesus you may suffer woe, Still from Him comes healing, never let Him go. 

In another place, speaking of the importance of controlling the tonguebecause of the general sensitiveness of human nature, he says:--

 In each human spirit is a Christ concealed, To be helped or hindered, to be hurt or healed; If from any human soul you lift the veil You will find a Christ there hidden without fail; Woe, then, to blind tyrants whose vindictive ire, Venting words of fury, sets the world on fire. 

But though he speaks with reverence of Christ, he shares the commonMohammedan animus against St. Paul. As a matter of fact St. Paul israrely mentioned in Mohammedan writings, but Jalaluddin spent most ofhis life at Iconium, where, probably, owing to the tenacity of Orientaltradition, traces of St. Paul's teaching lingered. In the first book ofthe Masnavi a curious story is told of an early corrupter ofChristianity who wrote letters containing contradictory doctrines to thevarious leaders of their Church, and brought the religion intoconfusion. In this case Jalaluddin seems to have neglected theimportance of distinguishing between second-hand opinion and first-handknowledge, on which he elsewhere lays stress:--

 Knowledge hath two wings, Opinion hath but one, And opinion soon fails in its orphan flight; The bird with one wing soon droops its head and falls, But give it two wings and it gains its desire. The bird of Opinion flies, rising and falling, On its wing in vain hope of its rest; But when it escapes from Opinion and Knowledge receives it, It gains its two wings and spreads them wide to heaven; On its two wings it flies like Gabriel Without doubt or conjecture, and without speech or voice. Though the whole world should shout beneath it, 'Thou art in the road to God and the perfect faith, ' It would not become warmer at their speech, And its lonely soul would not mate with theirs; And though they should shout to it, 'Thou hast lost thy way; And thinkest thyself a mountain and art but a leaf, ' It would not lose its convictions from their censure, Nor vex its bosom with their loud reproof; And though sea and land should join in concert, Exclaiming, 'O wanderer, thou hast lost thy road!' Not an atom of doubt would fall into its soul, Nor a shade of sorrow at the scorner's scorn. 

 (_Professor Cowell's translation. _)

Like all quietists, Jalaluddin dwells on the importance of keeping themind unclouded by anger and resentment, as in the following littleparable:--

 One day a lion, looking down a well, Saw what appeared to him a miracle, Another lion's face that upward glared As if the first to try his strength he dared. Furious, the lion took a sudden leap And o'er him closed the placid waters deep. Thou who dost blame injustice in mankind, 'Tis but the image of thine own dark mind; In them reflected clear thy nature is With all its angles and obliquities. Around thyself thyself the noose hast thrown, Like that mad beast precipitate and prone; Face answereth to face, and heart to heart, As in the well that lion's counterpart. 'Back to each other we reflections throw, ' So spake Arabia's Prophet long ago; And he, who views men through self's murky glass, Proclaims himself no lion, but an ass. 

As Ghazzali had done before him, Jalaluddin sees in the phenomena ofsleep a picture of the state of mind which should be cultivated by thetrue Sufi, "dead to this world and alive to God":--

 Every night, O God, from the net of the body Thou releasest our souls and makest them like blank tablets; Every night thou releasest them from their cages And settest them free: none is master or slave. At night the prisoners forget their prisons, At night the monarchs forget their wealth: No sorrow, no care, no profit, no loss, No thought or fear of this man or that. Such is the state of the Sufi in this world, Like the seven sleepers[58] he sleeps open-eyed, Dead to worldly affairs, day and night, Like a pen held in the hand of his Lord. 

 --(_Professor Cowell. _)

As we have seen, Jalaluddin's conception of God is a far higher one thanis embodied in the orthodox formula of the Koran, "Say: God is One. Heneither begetteth nor is begotten. " With Jalaluddin God is far moreimmanent than transcendent. In one place he says, "He who beholdeth Godis godlike, " and in another, "Our attributes are copies of Hisattributes. " In a remarkable passage anticipating the theory ofEvolution he portrays man ascending through the various stages ofexistence back to his Origin:--

 From the inorganic we developed into the vegetable kingdom, Dying from the vegetable we rose to animal, And leaving the animal, we became man. Then what fear that death will lower us? The next transition will make us an angel, Then shall we rise from angels and merge in the Nameless, All existence proclaims, "Unto Him shall we return. "

Elsewhere he says:--

 Soul becomes pregnant by the Soul of souls And brings forth Christ; Not that Christ Who walked on land and sea, But that Christ Who is above space. 

The work of man in this world is to polish his soul from the rust ofconcupiscence and self-love, till, like a clear mirror, it reflects God. To this end he must bear patiently the discipline appointed:--

 If thou takest offence at every rub, How wilt thou become a polished mirror?

He must choose a "pir, " or spiritual guide who may represent the UnseenGod for him; this guide he must obey and imitate not from slavishcompulsion, but from an inward and spontaneous attraction, for though itmay be logically inconsistent with Pantheism, Jalaluddin is a thoroughbeliever in free-will. Love is the keynote of all his teaching, andwithout free-will love is impossible. Alluding to the ancient orientalbelief that jewels are formed by the long-continued action of the sun oncommon stones, he says:--

 For as a stone, so Sufi legends run, Wooed by unwearied patience of the sun Piercing its dense opacity, has grown From a mere pebble to a precious stone, Its flintiness impermeable and crass Turned crystalline to let the sunlight pass; So hearts long years impassive and opaque Whom terror could not crush nor sorrow break, Yielding at last to love's refining ray Transforming and transmuting, day by day, From dull grown clear, from earthly grown divine, Flash back to God the light that made them shine. 

Jalaluddin did not live to finish the Masnavi, which breaks off abruptlynear the end of the sixth book. He died in 1272, seven years afterDante's birth. His last charge to his disciples was as follows:--

 I bid you fear God openly and in secret, guard against excess in eating, drinking and speech; keep aloof from evil companionship; be diligent in fasts and self-renunciation and bear wrongs patiently. The best man is he who helps his fellow-men, and the best speech is a brief one which leads to knowledge. Praise be to God alone!

He is buried at Iconium, and his tomb, like those of all Mohammedansaints, in a greater or lesser degree, is a centre of pilgrimage. Thereverence with which he is regarded is expressed in the saying currentamong Moslems:--

 Paigumbar nest, wali darad Kitab (He is not a prophet, but he has a book)

 [55] The mountain which encircles the world. 

 [56] The Eastern Phoenix. 

 [57] All Mohammedans pray towards the Kaaba. 

 [58] Koran, c. 18. 

CHAPTER XV

SHARANI, THE EGYPTIAN(AD 1550)

One of the last representatives of the mystical school of Islam isSharani, who wrote in the middle of the sixteenth century. In his timeEgypt had just been conquered by the Turks, whose military despotismtook the place of the feudal anarchy which had prevailed under theMameluke sultans. The supremacy of Islam was not affected by the change, the Turks being as sincere Moslems as the Arabs. The administration ofthe country was centralised in the hands of a Pasha, who resided atCairo as governor-general. As elsewhere in the Muhammadan world, themost powerful class was that of the Ulema, or learned men. The generousgifts which the Sultan showered upon them and the privileged position heallowed them quickly reconciled them to the new regime. But there wasanother numerous body, who, though deprived of the substantialadvantages which the Ulema enjoyed, had, however, with the masses aprestige almost as great. These were the Sufis. Poor and humble, theywere lost in the crowd, whence they drew their origin, and whosemiseries they shared. A smouldering animosity existed between theseEssenes of Islam and the Ulema, who corresponded to the Pharisees. Theselast claimed to be the exclusive depositaries of religious knowledgeand divine wisdom; they administered justice and monopolised benefices. 

The doctrine of the Sufis was in diametrical opposition to this. Intheir eyes the knowledge derived from books and theological science wasfar inferior to the inner perception of the supernatural, the mysticintuition to which they claimed to attain in their religious ecstacies. They regarded the theosophist as far superior in every respect to thetheologian. Besides this, they considered the different sects of Islamas equally good, and attached no importance to any of the formalities ofthe ceremonial law, the strict observation of which was considered bythe orthodox as binding on every good Moslem. Thus, the reading of theKoran, with rhythmical intonation, as practised in every mosque, had intheir eyes no value. To adore God with a pure heart, according to them, was infinitely more important than all outward observances. 

Such ideas could not be acceptable to the Ulemas, who saw the absoluteauthority in religious matters slipping from their hands. Only amoderate power of perception was needed to understand what dangers forthe official hierarchy lurked in the ideas of these enthusiasts whoclaimed to derive divine wisdom from a source so different to that ofwhich the Ulemas believed themselves to be the sole dispensers. 

It is true that Arab mysticism had never taken such a bold flight asPersian theosophy, which proclaimed openly a Pantheistic system, inwhich the authority of the books revealed to different prophets wasdisplaced by a poetic belief. According to this faith, the universe wasan emanation of God, the human soul a spark of the Divine Essence goneastray in this transitory world, but destined to return finally to God, after having been purified of its earthly stains. The Arab Sufis did notgo so far; for them the Koran was always the Word of God, and Muhammedwas His prophet. They conformed externally to the precepts of Islam, butclaimed at the same time to understand God and His law better than thetheologians, and that not by the study of large volumes of exegesis andtraditions, but by celestial inspiration. The orthodox mullahsunderstood the danger, and did not conceal their growing irritationagainst these audacious heretics. The government and the great majorityof Moslems were on the side of the Ulema, but the mystics found sympathyamong the people, and their ideas spread with incredible rapidity. 

In the eleventh century, a man of great ability, of whom the Muhammadansare justly proud, made a vigorous effort to reconcile orthodox Islamwith the Sufi doctrines current in his time. This man was Ghazzali. Heconsecrated the labour of a lifetime to this task, and his chief work, "The Revival of the Religious Sciences, " is a veritable encyclopędia ofIslam. He did not work in vain, but succeeded in erecting a system inwhich dogmatic theology is cleverly combined with the theosophy of theArab school of mysticism. But Islam such as Ghazzali conceived it is nolonger that of ancient times. Another order of ideas has been insensiblysubstituted for the austere creed of the Prophet of Mecca, the veryfoundations of which they have undermined. Muhammad's religious edificeremains standing, its framework and external outlines are the same; butthe spirit which informs it is profoundly different. Arab mysticism hassucceeded in finding a footing in the official circles of the Moslemhierarchy. 

The reconciliation, however, of the mystics with the theologians wasonly apparent, and could not be otherwise. At the bottom of the questionthere were two incompatible principles. For the theologians the letterof the Koran and written tradition contained all religious knowledge. For the mystics the dead letter was nothing, and the inspiration oftheir own hearts was the sole source of all knowledge. Of these twoprinciples, one subordinates reason to tradition and tends to the almostcomplete abdication of thought in favour of absolute faith; the otherresults in enthroning imagination, spiritual hallucination and mysticecstacy. The first confines religion to too narrow limits; the secondrobs it of all palpable substance and positive form, and makes it asvague and intangible as the clouds. 

Egypt has always been a soil favourable to the development of mystictendencies. Christian asceticism took early root there, and during thefirst centuries of our era thousands of anchorites inhabited the desertsof the Thebaid, and carried on there religious exercises of extremeausterity. We do not know what secret connection may exist between theclimate of the valley of the Nile and the character of its inhabitants, but if the Arab chroniclers deserve any credit, Arab mysticismoriginated in this country. The celebrated theosophist Zu'l Noun isknown as the first who introduced into Islam visions and mysticecstacies. Some centuries later the famous poet Omar Ibn Faridh saw thelight at Cairo, and since then Egypt has produced a long series ofMuhammadan ascetics more or less famous. Sharani is one of the last ofthis theosophic school of Egypt, the doctrines of which he expounds inhis numerous works. We do not know if the impression he made on hiscontemporaries was as great as the zeal with which he pleads the causeof mysticism, but up to the present day his memory is religiouslypreserved at Cairo, where a mosque still bears his name. The nativesrevere his memory as that of a saint. He himself informs us that thepublication of his work entitled "Al bahr al Maurud" gave rise toserious disturbances at Cairo. 

In this work Sharani expounds the duties of the true Sufi, the perfecttheosophist, and at the same time in very energetic language he exposesthe defects and weakness of the Muhammadan society of his day. His mostvirulent attacks are naturally directed against the Ulema, as in thefollowing extract:

"We Sufis have entered into an engagement never to allow one of our bodyto have recourse to intrigues to obtain employment such as thosepractised by self-styled doctors of the law. The endeavour to obtainsuch a post is all the more contemptible when it has belonged to aperson recently deceased who has left sons or brothers or when it isalready occupied by a poor man who has no protector or support in theworld. Such acts of injustice, however, are often committed by theso-called Ulema. The plot to supplant men of merit, with the aim ofobtaining for themselves lucrative posts, which they straightwaydispose of for money to incompetent individuals. 

"Often one man occupies more than one office, _e. G. _, that of preacherin mosques so far apart that it is impossible for him to attend to bothproperly; in which case he puts in a deputy-preacher (sometimes he doesnot even do that) and pays him part of the emolument of the post, pocketing the rest. 

"We have also entered into an engagement to rise before our superiorswhen they appear, and to kiss their hands even when they are unjust. Wedo this with the Ulema, although they do not act in a manner conformableto the science which they profess. "

In speaking of the Christians and the Jews, he praises their demeanour, in order to censure all the more sharply the pretensions of the Ulema. "See, " he says, "how modestly they conduct themselves towards themeanest subordinates, and you will see that their manners and demeanourare more noble and worthy of imitation than those of the Ulema. They arenot angry if people do not make room for them when they enter a publicassembly; and if they are offered to drink water which has been sulliedby the hands of children, slaves or beggars, they do not changecountenance, but on the contrary consider themselves as the last of men. When they are allowed to sit down in an assembly they look upon it as afavour. They take their places with heads bent, praying God to covertheir faults with the veil of his clemency, and not to expose them tothe scorn of others. These are the distinctive qualities of the trulylearned; for if learning does not increase the modesty of him who hasit, it is good for nothing. "

These extracts make it sufficiently plain with what courage the daringtheosophist censured the most influential class of Moslem society in hisday. Sharani reproaches the Ulema, with their ambition, their cupidity, their pride, their hypocrisy, and he advises them to confine themselvesin their sermons simply to dwelling on the precepts of the moral law andto abstain from speaking of the recompenses and punishments of thefuture life, since the destiny of souls after death depends on God, andnot on them. 

As a natural consequence of these ideas, Sharani goes on to inveighagainst the Turkish Government, which, wishing to create for itself asupport in the powerful class of the Ulema, made them great concessions, and by doing so annoyed their antagonists the Sufis. Thus Sharani doesnot hesitate to say that since a. D. 1517 real learning had ceased toexist, that being the date of the conquest of Egypt by the Sultan Selim. 

The lot of the Egyptian fellahin or peasants has never been an enviableone. Successive Roman and Arab dominations brought no change favourableto them. Under the Mamelukes, when the country was parcelled out amongpetty feudal lords ruling over their domains with absolute authority, the condition of the peasants was one of extreme wretchedness. Sharanifinds that in his time the state of the agricultural class was worsethan formerly. 

"In past times, " he says, "when a peasant died, there was often found inthe corner of his house a jar, a pot or other vessel filled with piecesof gold. It was what the poor man had saved from his harvests afterhaving paid his taxes and the daily expenses of his family and hisguests. But in our day, in order to pay his taxes, the peasant is oftenobliged to sell the produce of his land, the ox with which he ploughs, and the cow which gives him milk. 

"If part of his tax is unpaid he is taken to prison, and often his wifeand children accompany him thither. Often the Kashif or governordisposes of the hand of his daughter without consulting him, and herdowry is kept back to pay the arrears of his tax. It sometimes happensthat the tax charged upon him is not really due from him at all, butfrom his fellow-villagers who have gone away to avoid molestation. "

Elsewhere he says, "We Sufis have entered into an engagement not to buymerchandises, gardens or water-wheels, for in our time the taxes onthese are so heavy that no one can afford to possess them. Let him wholistens not to our counsel and acquires such property, blame himself ifhe has to undergo all kinds of humiliations; if, in order that theGovernment may pay for naval expeditions, it demands of him in advance ayear's taxes on his houses, his merchandise or his lands. Then he willsay with a sigh, 'How happy are they who possess nothing. '"

It is not difficult to see in these passages a profound dissatisfaction, not only with the ruling class, but with the Government itself. Notwithstanding this, Sharani enjoins his disciples to respect thetemporal authority and to submit to the laws. Passive obedience hasalways characterised the Oriental. 

We do not know precisely whether Sharani had in view a veritable reformof Muhammadan society. Probably the contrary. He felt deeply thegeneral uneasiness of the time; he understood that Islam was entering aperiod of decadence, but he had, as far as we can see, no clear plan forits regeneration. Mysticism, in which he was such a fervent adept, herehindered him. But this mystical tendency, which was in one respect hisweakness, was his glory in another. A tone of high moral purity markshis utterances on the social and religious state of his time, and, ledrather by instinct than by philosophical considerations, he hits theblot on Muhammadan society--polygamy. We may judge by the followingextract: "We Sufis have entered into an engagement to espouse only onewife, and not to associate others with her. 

"The man who has only one wife is happy; his means are sufficient tosupport his home; but as soon as he takes a second wife, the prosperityof his house decreases, and when he opens his money-box he finds itempty. A pure-hearted wife is a great happiness in the house. Oh, howoften while I was weaving[59] have I stolen a glance at my wife, themother of my son Abdurahman, sewing garments for the poor. I understoodthen that I had happiness in my house. Often she opened her larder whichsufficed us for whole months, and distributed the contents to the poor, who quickly emptied it. May God be merciful to her. "

As a religious reformer, Sharani endeavoured to restore Islam to itsprimitive unity. Many sects existed in it from the earliest times[60]four of which preserved the title of orthodox. Sharani sought to unitethese sects on a common basis, and numerous passages in his writingsattest that this idea remained with him all his life. His effortsapparently had no success, but for those who have faith in the power ofideas, it is certain that Sharani has not lived nor laboured in vain. Inthe East, reforming ideas do not make way so quickly as in Europe, buttheir effect is none the less great when they come to the front. Fewdetails of Sharani's life are known. He informs us that he belonged tothe order of the Shadiliyah dervishes, and that his instructor inmysticism was the Egyptian Sufi, Ali Khawass. He died at Cairo, A. D. 1565. 

 [59] Sharani was a weaver by trade. 

 [60] They are generally reckoned at 73. 

CHAPTER XVI

MULLAH SHAH(D 1661)

Mullah Shah was born A. D. 1584, in the village of Erkesa in Badakshan, amountainous and inaccessible country to the north of the IndianCaucasus. His family, which was of Mongol origin, held a certainposition, and his grandfather had been judge of the village. At the ageof twenty-one the young man quitted his relatives and his country, andwent back to Balkh, then a centre of learning in Central Asia. He madegreat progress there, especially in the knowledge of Arabic. After sometime he left Balkh, and turning his steps southward, arrived at Kashmir, where he continued his studies, but an irresistible thirst after truthmade him feel the necessity of seeking a spiritual guide, and heresolved to go to Lahore, where there lived a celebrated saint, SheikhMian Mir. 

The reception he met with was not favourable. Mian Mir at first repulsedhim, but allowed himself at last to be overcome by the perseverance ofthe young man, and taught him Sufi exercises according to the rule ofthe Qadiri order of dervishes. [61] The stifling heat of Lahore did notsuit the health of Mullah Shah, who accordingly resolved to spend thesummers in Kashmir, returning to Lahore for the winter. He led thislife for several years, till he had passed through all the stages ofasceticism, but his spiritual guide would not lead him to the supremegoal of mystical science, which is termed "Union with God, " or"knowledge of oneself. "[62]

Mian Mir only spoke to him of it in an enigmatic way and said, "Do notcease to study thyself and thine own heart, for thy goal is in thyself. "

In the year 1636 A. D. He returned again, as usual, from Lahore toKashmir, and practised his austerities without relaxation, when one day, by the special favour of the Divinity, and without the assistance of anyspiritual preceptor, "the desired image" revealed itself to him. By thisexpression is understood, in mystic phraseology, union with God, and theconception of Absolute Being, which is equivalent to the knowledge ofone's self. When Mullah Shah thus attained the goal of his mysticalaspirations he was in his forty-seventh year, and had been engagedtwenty-seven years in the spiritual exercises of the Sufis. When hereturned to Lahore, he informed his spiritual guide that he had attainedunion with God. The latter advised him not to divulge the fact, and notto give up his ascetic practices. In Kashmir Mullah Shah had collectedround him a little circle of devoted disciples. The strong emotionalcondition into which Mullah Shah's new spiritual experience had broughthim did not prevent him from doing his best not to offend against thereligious law, and he was in the habit of saying to his friends, "Whosodoes not respect the precepts of the religious law is not one of us. "

Mullah Shah had always been of a retiring disposition, but in hispresent mood he carried his self-isolation so far that he closed thedoor of his house and only received his intimates at fixed times, whenhe dropped his habitual reserve. The spiritual power of Mullah Shah hadbecome so great that every novice whom he caused to sit in front of himand to concentrate his mental faculties on his own heart, becameclairvoyant to such a degree that his internal senses were unfolded, andthe unseen world appeared to him. 

Mullah Shah expressed himself in very bold terms regarding the mannerwith which he conceived God and His relation to humanity. Thus he said, "Since I have arrived at understanding the absolute Reality and that Iknow most positively that nothing exists besides God, existence andnon-existence are in my eyes the same thing. " In one of his poems hesays, "The sage who knows himself has become God, be sure of that, myfriend. " In another poem, which caused a temporary estrangement betweenhimself and the Sheikh Mian Mir, he said:

"My heart by a thousand tongues cries to me 'I am God. ' What reproach ofheresy can they bring against me that this utterance comes to my lips?

"Those who had attained union with God used to say, 'I am AbsoluteBeing. '

"But I only say what I have heard from the mouth of Sheikh Mian Mir. "

In the meantime the number of his adherents daily increased; persons ofall classes in society became his adherents; even women became capableof mystical intuitions by the effect of his prayers and without havingseen him. However, the increasing number of those who wished to approachhim commenced to be inconvenient, and he said, "I am not a sheikh ofdervishes who receives novices and builds convents. "

 "Neither the mosque nor the dervish-convent attract me, But the purity of the desert and the freedom of the open country. "

In the year 1634 A. D. , a certain Mir Baki, a descendant of the prophet, attached himself to Mullah Shah, and experienced in a short timeecstatic states; he then preached the doctrine of union with God withoutany reserve. At the same time he claimed to be free from the precepts ofthe religious law. The following lines were composed by him:--

 "Why should my hand let go this sparkling cup of my soul, I already realise the aspirations of to-morrow. "

Which lines, rendered into prose, seem to mean, "Why should I pass mylife sadly on in self-maceration and austerity? I prefer to anticipatenow the delights which they speak of as belonging to the future life. "This is epicureanism, pure and simple, such as we find it in the odes ofHafiz and the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam. When Mullah Shah heard of theseextravagant utterances, he caused Mir Baki to be expelled from the town. At the same time the doctrines of Mullah Shah regarding union with Godbegan to make a great deal of sensation, and a large number ofinfluential men who belonged to the Conservative party raised againsthim the accusation of heresy without really understanding his teaching. They quoted some of his verses against him, and said, "Mullah Shah isbeginning to imitate Mansur Hellaj. [63] He should be brought to trialand sentenced to death. " They unanimously drew up an indictment againsthim and affixed their seals; a large number of religious functionariesjoined them, and they submitted their petition to the EmperorShah-jehan, requesting him to pronounce sentence of death against MullahShah. The Emperor consented, and despatched a firman to that effect toZafer-Khan, governor of Kashmir. Shah-jehan's son, the princeDara-Shikoh, had been absent, and only learned what had happened when hereturned. He immediately went to his father and represented to him thatMullah Shah was a pupil of Sheikh Mian Mir, a man renowned for piety, and that the Emperor ought, before pronouncing final judgment, to askthe latter regarding the conduct of his former disciple. The princeconcluded by saying that in such a matter haste was ill-omened, becauseto deprive a man of life is to pull down a building of which God is theArchitect. The Emperor accepted this appeal graciously, and ordered theexecution to be deferred. Meanwhile the news of the condemnation ofMullah Shah had spread and reached Kashmir, but the respite obtained bythe Prince was still unknown there. The friends of Mullah Shah were indespair, and used their utmost endeavours to persuade him to fly. But heanswered, "I am not an impostor that I should seek safety in flight; Iam an utterer of truth; death and life are to me alike. Let my blood inanother life also redden the impaling stake. I am living and eternal;death recoils from me, for my knowledge has vanquished death. Thesphere where all colours are effaced has become my abode. "

"Once, " he added, "I used to bar the door of my house with a bolt inorder not to be disturbed by anyone, but now I will leave it wide open, in order that whoever wishes to make me a martyr may enter at hispleasure. "

Mullah Shah thus awaited death in an attitude of imperturbable calm, butfate had decided otherwise. Not long afterwards the Emperor Shah-jehanwent to Lahore, and in the company of Prince Dara-Shikoh paid a visit tothe Sheikh Mian Mir, and questioned him concerning Mullah Shah. Mian Mirtold him that Mullah Shah was apt to be carried out of himself when inan ecstatic state, and that then he sometimes spoke without observingthe reserve necessary on the doctrine of union with God; but he adjuredthe Emperor at the same time to take no steps against his old pupil, "For, " he said, "this holy man is a consuming fire, and woe to you if hebe irritated, for he could destroy the world. In any case prevent theorthodox party from persecuting him, otherwise some dreadful disastermay happen. "

This advice made a deep impression on the Emperor, who thanked PrinceDara-Shikoh for having prevented his carrying out the sentence of death. He said, "These theologians have tried to persuade me to kill avisionary dervish; I thank thee, my son, for having prevented mycommitting an act of injustice. " Some time afterwards the Emperor wentto Kashmir, but he did not see Mullah Shah, who had become so fond ofsolitude that he rarely showed himself in the city. 

In 1635 A. D. , the Sheikh Mian Mir died at Lahore, and in thesame year one of the chief nobles of the court named Najat Khan became adisciple of Mullah Shah. About the same time, Mozaffer Beg, one of theEmperor's suite, devoted himself to his service, and his example wasfollowed by several of his friends. But no sooner had they beeninitiated into the mystical doctrines than they believed themselvesprivileged to dispense with the prescribed fast of Ramazan and theobligatory prayers, considering that the religious law no longer appliedto them. Being informed of these irregularities, Mullah Shah prayed thegovernor to have them removed from the town. 

About this time he made a collection of his verses, among which are thefollowing:--

 "If alchemy can change dust into gold, thou marvellest; But asceticism is an alchemy which changes dust into God. If a man dives into the ocean of Deity what does he become? As a drop which falls from the clouds into the sea. "

Regarding pedantic theologians, he says:--

 "Well I know these preachers who do not practise, Their memory stored with a hundred thousand traditions, While their mind is empty of ideas. "

In 1639 the Emperor Shah-jehan came a second time to Kashmir, and tookup his dwelling in the park called Zafer-abad, in a pavilion whichcommanded a delightful view of the lake. No sooner had he arrived thanhe sent for Mullah Shah, who came without delay. The Emperor receivedhim with marked kindness and conversed long with him on subjectsrelating to the Sufi sciences. 

This same year is remarkable for an event which had important resultsfor Mullah Shah and his followers. The Prince Dara-Shikoh, who had savedMullah Shah's life by his intervention, had always been marked by keenreligious feeling, and often spent whole nights in prayer andmeditation. He had often heard of the extraordinary powers of MullahShah, but had never had the opportunity of seeing him, as the sheikhstill maintained his habits of retirement. Little by little, a feelingof irresistible curiosity took possession of the Prince; he determinedto see the holy man who was so highly spoken of, and one night, accompanied by a single servant named Mujahid, he left his palace anddirected his steps towards the dwelling of Mullah Shah. The latter hadin his courtyard an ancient plane-tree, and was in the habit of sittingat the foot of it during the night, lost in meditation. Having arrivedat the house, the prince ordered his servant to wait near the door, andentered the courtyard alone. Seeing the Sheikh seated at the foot of thetree, he stopped and remained standing till the master should speak tohim. The latter knew very well who the new-comer was, and that littlepersuasion was needed to make him one of his disciples; but he made asthough he did not see him. A long time passed thus, till the Sheikhbroke the silence by asking the Prince "Who art thou?" The Prince didnot speak. Mullah Shah then said again, "Why dost thou not answer?Speak, and tell thy name. "

The Prince, filled with embarrassment, replied, "My name isDara-Shikoh. " "Who is thy father?" "The Emperor Shah-jehan, " "Why hastthou come to see me?" "Because I feel drawn towards God, and seek for aspiritual guide. " On this Mullah Shah exclaimed sharply, "What areemperors and princes to me? Know that I am a man devoted to asceticism. Is this hour of the night the time to come and trouble me? Go, and donot show thyself here a second time. "

Deeply wounded by this reception, the Prince withdrew and re-entered hispalace, where he spent the whole night weeping. But in spite of all hisdisappointment, he felt himself drawn the next night by an irresistibleattraction towards the saint's dwelling, but the latter this time didnot even condescend to speak to him. Mujahid, the servant whoaccompanied the Prince, became angry, and said to his master, "Whatmiracles has this crabbed dervish shown you that you should come hereevery night and expose yourself to such indignities? Ordinary dervishesare cheerful folk, not uncivil and morose like this old man. For my ownpart, I set no great store by this asceticism, and the only thing thatmakes me uneasy is your putting faith in it. " The Prince answered, "IfMullah Shah was an impostor, so far from treating me as he has done, hewould, on the contrary, have prayed God to bring me to him. It isprecisely his independent spirit and irritated manner which proves himto be an extraordinary man. " That same night when Mujahid returned home, he was seized by fever and carried off in a few hours. Dara-Shikoh, wheninformed of this terrible event, was profoundly moved. He reproachedhimself bitterly for not having at once punished his servant'sinsolence, and considered the death of Mujahid as a divine punishmentwhich menaced him also. He immediately sent for the Qazi Afzal, one ofhis most devoted friends, and told him of his anxiety. The latter was afriend of Akhund Mullah Muhammad Synd, a disciple of Mullah Shah, and athis instance the Sheikh consented to see the prince. 

Dara-Shikoh could not pay his visit during the day, from fear ofarousing public curiosity, but as soon as night fell, he presentedhimself before the Sheikh, whom this time he found seated in his cell. Before crossing the threshold, the Prince saluted the holy man withprofound respect, and the latter bade him enter and be seated. The cellwas lighted by a single lamp, whose wick was smoking; in his eagerdesire to discern the venerable features of the Sheikh, the Princedressed the wick with his own fingers. This simple action gained him theSheikh's affection. At the end of some days he bade him to blindfoldhimself, then he concentrated his attention upon him in such a way thatthe invisible world was revealed to the view of the Prince, who felt hisheart filled with joy. 

Dara-Shikoh had a sister, the Princess Fatimah, to whom he was deeplyattached. As soon as he had become a disciple of Mullah Shah and hisheart had been opened to the intuition of the spiritual world, hehastened to inform his sister. This news made such an impression on themind of the Princess that she wrote to the Sheikh several letters fullof humility and devotion. He read them all, but made no reply for morethan a month, till he was convinced that Fatimah was animated by aninvincible resolution. At last he accorded his sympathy to her also, andadmitted her to the circle of the initiates. The Princess perseveredardently in these mystical studies, and received the instructions of herspiritual guide by correspondence. She attained to such perfection thatshe arrived at intuitive knowledge of God and union with Him. Althoughthe Sheikh was full of affection for all his disciples, he had aparticular regard for her, and was in the habit of saying that "she hadattained to such an extraordinary degree of knowledge that she was fitto be his successor. "

Mullah Shah was now old and infirm; he had passed several winters atLahore, surrounded by the care and attention of his friends and pupils. In the year 1655 A. D. , the Emperor wrote to him to invite himto pass the winter with him at Shahjahanabad, his ordinary residence, but the Sheikh was beginning to suffer from weakness of the eyes, anddid not feel strong enough to undertake the journey. For some years heremained in Kashmir, and would often say, "The theosophist ought toprofit by length of life. My life is approaching its end; let us thenenjoy our stay in Kashmir, and not leave it. "

In A. D. 1658 Aurangzeb, Dara-Shikoh's younger brother, seized on theperson of his father the Emperor Shah-jehan, whom he kept in confinementfor the rest of his life, and had Dara assassinated in prison. Aurangzebwas a bigoted Muhammadan, and his accession to the throne threatened tohave serious consequences for Mullah Shah. As soon as he had assumed thereins of government, the clerical party began to represent to him thatMullah Shah taught doctrines contrary to revealed religion. There werenot wanting witnesses on the other side, but the Emperor, on hearingthe complaints against Mullah Shah, sent an order to the governor ofKashmir to send him to the capital. The governor pleaded for a delay onaccount of Mullah Shah's advanced age and weakness till he was strongenough to make the journey. A year thus passed by; some verses whichMullah Shah composed in honour of Aurangzeb made a favourable impressionon the Emperor, and the Princess Fatimah having interceded on behalf ofher old teacher, Aurangzeb revoked his first order, and merely enjoinedhim to take up his residence at Lahore as soon as possible. 

It was not till 1660 A. D. That Mullah Shah could obey this order; heleft Kashmir at the beginning of winter and came to Lahore, where hecontinued to live a retired life, only granting interviews to a fewchosen disciples. But when from time to time he had an access ofmystical emotion he would speak of union with God without any reserve, in a loud voice, and without noticing who was present. One of hisfriends said to him one day, "We live in a strange time, and people aredisquieted by your discourses on this matter; it would be more prudentto expound your doctrines with a little more reserve. " The Sheikhanswered him, "Up to the present I have never been afraid for my life;books containing such doctrine are known to all, and everyone has readthem. What precautions, then, at my time of life, ought I to observe? Icannot abandon or change my habits of thinking and speaking now. "

Some of his other sayings reported at this time show that he had alreadya presentiment of his approaching death. Kabil Khan, one of his friends, said to him one day, "Formerly our sovereign Aurangzeb loved to listento discourses on the subject of mysticism, and I have often had thehonour of reading before him passages from the Masnavi of JalaluddinRumi. [64] The Emperor was often so touched by them that he shed tears;certainly when he comes to Lahore he will wish to see you. " "No, "replied Mullah Shah; "we shall never see him:

 'The night is great with child, see what it will bring forth. '"

In 1661 he had an attack of fever which lasted about fifteen days. Thatyear fever became epidemic at Lahore, and on the 11th of the month ofSafar Mullah Shah had another attack, which carried him off on the nightof the 15th of the same month. He was buried in a plot of ground whichhe had already acquired for the purpose. The Princess Fatimah bought thesurrounding land, and erected a shrine of red stone over his tomb. Theforegoing sketch of Mullah Shah gives a general view of orientalspiritualism as it prevailed two and a half centuries ago over a greatpart of Asia. The first point worthy of notice in it is the immensepopularity of mystical ideas at that time, and the wide influence whichthey exercised over all minds. Round Mullah Shah gathered persons ofevery condition; poor peasants as well as princes were seized with thesame enthusiasm for his doctrines; the same ascetic training producedthe same results in the most varying temperaments. The Master seems tohave exercised a kind of magnetic influence over his neophytes. He fixeshis gaze upon them for a longer or shorter time, till their inwardsenses open and render them capable of seeing the wonders of thespiritual world. All the accounts are unanimous in this respect, andthey carry such a stamp of sincerity that their veracity isindisputable. We are then obliged to admit that at this period manyminds shared a predisposition to religious ecstacy and enthusiasm. 

Under the apparent stagnation of the East, there is continually going ona collision between two opposing forces--the official hierarchy of theUlema, conservative to the core, and mysticism in its early phases, pietistic and enthusiastic, but gradually tending to scepticism, andfinally to pantheism and the negation of all positive religion. TheMussalman hierarchy, which in its own interests desired to maintain theprestige of dogma and of the revealed law, combatted this tendency tomysticism, but, as we have seen, without success. The orthodox mullahsmade fruitless efforts to obtain the condemnation of Mullah Shah, whohad on his side the members of the imperial family of Delhi and theEmperor himself, all more or less imbued with mystical ideas. 

The biography of Mullah Shah also throws a great deal of light on thefundamental ideas of oriental mysticism. They spring from a pantheisticphilosophy in many respects, startlingly resembling those of moderntimes. Mullah Shah often insists that individual existence counts fornothing, and that nothing in reality exists outside of God, the AbsoluteBeing; every particular life dissolves in this universal unity, life anddeath are mere changes in the form of existence. The individual is onlyin some way a part of the Infinite Being who fills the universe; aparticle which has been momentarily detached therefrom, only to returnthither. To know oneself is therefore the equivalent of knowing God. Butin order to acquire this knowledge the pupil must submit to long andpainful self-discipline; he must pass through all the tests of theseverest asceticism; only after he has thus prepared himself will thespiritual master open his heart and render him capable of perceiving themysteries of the spiritual world. 

But this great secret must not be divulged; it is only permissable tospeak of it to the initiate, as Mullah Shah says, in the followingverses:--

 We must say that only One exists, Though such a saying excite astonishment; The universe is He, though we must not say so openly, Such doctrines must be kept secret. 

This Eastern Pantheism does not lack a certain grandeur, but it has alsoa dangerous side, and tends to atheism and materialism. Of this someinstances occur in the life of Mullah Shah. The passage from pantheismto epicureanism is not a long one. If the human soul only possesses atransient individuality, and after death is merged like a drop in theocean of divinity, why, many will argue, not have done with asceticismfor good, and enjoy the pleasures of existence as long as possibleduring the little while our individuality endures? Thus Omar Khayyamsays:--

 Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend, Before we too into the dust descend, Dust into dust, and under dust to lie, Sans wine, sans song, sans singer, and--sans end. 

It is precisely this dangerous side of oriental philosophy which hasunhappily attained a much greater development and an incomparably morecomplete success than the elevated moral systems of the chieftheosophists of Persia. A mocking cynicism has been, up to modern times, a common characteristic of the great majority of Sufis and dervishes. The dangerous consequences of theosophical ideas and of orientalspiritualism in general became at an early date so apparent thatGhazzali, although a fervent partisan of Sufism, did not hesitate toavow that if these doctrines were generally accepted society wouldnecessarily fall into a state of anarchy. 

In face of the wild aberrations caused by Sufism, we should not grudgeall the greater credit to the few distinguished men who, althoughadherents of Sufism and dominated by its doctrines, kept theircharacters clear of stain. In spite of their conviction that there wasno individual life after death, these men spent their lives inmortification of the senses and in abstinence, and often braved deathwith a truly Roman stoicism. 

Such shining characters are not of frequent occurrence in orientalhistory; but certainly Mullah Shah is one and Prince Dara-Shikohanother. In a path strewn with pitfalls he kept a name without stain andwithout reproach, thanks to the austere moral principles instilled intohim by his master. He faced death with calm resignation, and knew how todie as a prince and as a philosopher. 

 NOTE. --Prince Dara-Shikoh has left a curious fragment of spiritual autobiography in his preface to a Persian translation of the Upanishads or chapters from the Vedas which he had caused to be translated from Sanskrit. It is indeed strange to see this son of a Muhammadan Emperor ranking these selections from the Vedas above the Koran, the Pentateuch, Psalms and Gospels, all of which he says he had read. The Preface runs as follows:--

 "When Dara-Shikoh, the resigned worshipper of God, visited Kashmir in the year of the Hegira 1050 (A. D. 1640), by the blessing of the Most High he met with Mullah Shah, the chief of the learned, the teacher of teachers, versed in the subtleties of "Tauhid" (Unity); may he be joined with God!

 "As that prince already relished the pleasure of seeing the learning of each sect, had perused various treaties of the Sufi philosophers, and even composed some himself, the thirst of exploring the doctrine of the Unity (which is a boundless ocean) daily increased, and his mind attained a degree of acuteness and subtlety which would have been impossible without the immediate assistance and favour of the Divine will. Now the sacred Koran, being frequently obscure, and few at this day being found capable of explaining it, he determined to read all inspired works; that the word of God might furnish a commentary on itself, and what is concisely expressed in one book might be elucidated by a reference to others; the abridged being the more diffuse. With this view he perused the Pentateuch, the Gospels and the Psalms, but the unity of God was obscurely and enigmatically expressed in these works; nor did he derive more instruction from the simple translations of hired linguists. 

 "He next desired to ascertain how it happened that in Hindustan the Unity of God is the frequent theme of discourse, and that the ancient philosophers of India neither denied nor objected to the doctrine of the Divine Unity, but on the contrary held it as an axiom. Unlike the ignorant race of the present day who set up for philosophers, though they have fallen into the track of bloodshed and infidelity, denying the attributes and unity of God, and contradicting the proofs of that doctrine derived from the Koran and authentic traditions; these may be considered as banditti on the path of God. 

 "In the cause of this inquiry it was discovered that amongst the Hindus, four inspired books were held peculiarly sacred, viz. : the Rig Veda, the Jajur Veda, the Sam Veda and Atharva Veda, which had descended from the skies to the prophets of those times, of whom Adam (purified by God; may blessings attend him!) was the chief, containing rules and precepts; and this doctrine (viz. : the Unity of God) is clearly expressed in those books. As the object of this explorer of truth (Dara-Shikoh) was not the acquisition of languages, whether Arabic, Syriac or Sanskrit, but the proofs of the Unity of the Supreme Being, he determined that the Upanishads (which might be considered as a treasure of Unitarianism) should be translated into Persian without adding or expunging, and without bias or partiality, but correctly and literally that it might appear what mysteries are contained in those books which the Hindus so carefully conceal from Moslems. 

 "As the city of Benares, which is the seat of Hindu science, was a dependency of this explorer of truth (Dara-Shikoh), having assembled the Pundits and Sanyasis who are the expounders of the Vedas and Upanishads, he caused a translation to be made of the latter into Persian. This was completed in the year of the Hegira, 1067, A. D. , 1656. Every difficulty was elucidated by this ancient compilation, which, without doubt, is the first of inspired works, the fountain of truth, the Sea of the Unity; not only consentaneous with the Koran, but a commentary on it. "

 [61] Founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani. 

 [62] According to the reported saying of Muhammad, "He who knows himself, knows God. "

 [63] Chapter 5. 

 [64] The great mystic poet of Persia (A. D. 1207-1272). 

APPENDIX I

MOHAMMEDAN CONVERSIONS

By Mohammedan Conversion is not here meant conversion from Christianityto Mohammedanism, or _vice versa_, but those spiritual crises which takeplace _within_ Mohammedanism, as within Christianity, by which the soulis stung as with a regenerating shudder to use George Eliot's phrase, torise from a notional to a real belief in God. Mohammedan theologians areas aware of this distinction as Christian ones. Thus Al Ghazzali, in his_Revival of the Religious Sciences_, is very sarcastic on the indulgencein the common expletive, "We take refuge in God, " by Mohammedans withoutattaching any real meaning to it. He says: "If you see a lion comingtowards you, and there is a fort close by, you do not stand exclaiming, 'I take refuge in this fort!' but you get into it. Similarly, when youhear of the wrath to come, do not merely _say_, 'I take refuge in God, 'but take refuge in Him. "

This transformation of a notional into a real belief has proved thecrisis in the lives of many of the saints and mystics of Islam, without, as far as it appears, any contact on their part with Christianity. Thus, Ibn Khalliqan, in his great Biographical Dictionary, tells of Al-Fudail, a celebrated highwayman, who, one night, while he was on his way to animmoral assignation, was arrested by the voice of a Koran-readerchanting the verse, "Is not the time yet come unto those who believe, that their hearts should humbly submit to the admonition of God?" Onthis he exclaimed, "O Lord! that time is come. " He then went away fromthat place, and the approach of night induced him to repair for shelterto a ruined edifice. He there found a band of travellers, one of whomsaid to the others, "Let us set out"; but another answered, "Let usrather wait till daylight, for Al-Fudail is on the road, and will stopus. " Al-Fudail then turned his heart to God, and assured them that theyhad nothing to fear. For the rest of his life he lived as an ascetic, and ranked among the greatest saints. One of his recorded sayings is, "If the world with all it contains were offered to me, even on thecondition of my not being taken to account for it, I would shun it asyou would shun a carrion, lest it should defile your clothes. "

Another striking "conversion" is that of Ibrahim Ben Adham, Prince ofKhorassan. He was passionately addicted to the chase, and one day whenso employed heard a voice behind him exclaiming, "O Ibrahim, thou wastnot born for this. " At first he took it for a delusion of Satan, but onhearing the same words pronounced more loudly exclaimed, "It is the Lordwho speaks; His servant will obey. " Immediately he desisted from hisamusement, and, changing clothes with an attendant, bade adieu toKhorassan, took the road towards Syria, and from thenceforth devotedhimself entirely to a life of piety and labour. 

A third example is that of Ghazzali himself, who, in his work _TheDeliverance from Error_, has left one of the very few specimens ofEastern religious autobiography, and one bearing a certain resemblanceto Newman's _Apologia_. He was professor of theology at the Universityof Bagdad in the eleventh century. In his autobiography he says:"Reflecting upon my situation, I found myself bound to this world by athousand ties; temptations assailed me on all sides. I then examined myactions. The best were those relating to instruction and education; andeven there I saw myself given up to unimportant sciences, all useless inanother world. Reflecting on the aim of my teaching, I found it was notpure in the sight of the Lord. I saw that all my efforts were directedtowards the acquisition of glory to myself. " After this, as he was oneday about to lecture, his tongue refused utterance; he was dumb. Helooked upon this as a visitation from God, and was deeply afflicted atit. He became seriously ill, and the physicians said his recovery washopeless unless he could shake off his depression. "Then, " he continues, "feeling my helplessness, I had recourse to God, as one who has no otherrecourse in his distress. He compassionated me as He compassionates theunhappy who invoke Him. My heart no longer made any resistance, butwillingly renounced the glories and the pleasures of this world. "

We may close this short list with the name of the Sufi poet, Ferid-eddin-Attar. He was a druggist by trade, and one day was startledby one of the half-mad fakirs, who swarm in Oriental cities, pensivelygazing at him while his eyes slowly filled with tears. Ferid-eddinangrily ordered him to go about his business. "Sir, " replied the fakir, "that is easily done; for my baggage is light. But would it not be wisefor you to commence preparations for your journey?" The words struckhome, Ferid-eddin abandoned his business, and devoted the rest of hislife to meditation and collecting the sayings of the wise. 

These four cases, the highwayman, the prince, the theologian, the poet, are sufficient to show that the Recognition (anagnorisis) and Revolution(peripeteia), to use Aristotle's phrase, which turns life from a chaoticdream into a well-ordered drama, of which God is the Protagonist, mayreceive as signal though not as frequent illustration in the territoryof Islam as in that of Christianity. They also serve to illustrateProfessor W. James' thesis in his Gifford Lectures, that "conversion, "whether Christian or extra-Christian, is a psychological fact, and not amere emotional illusion. 

APPENDIX II

A MOHAMMEDAN EXPOSITION OF SUFISMBY IBN KHALDOUN

Sufism consists essentially in giving up oneself constantly todevotional exercises, in living solely for God, in abandoning all thefrivolous attractions of the world, in disregarding the ordinary aims ofmen--pleasures, riches and honours--and finally in separating oneselffrom society for the sake of practising devotion to God. This way oflife was extremely common among the companions of the Prophet and theearly Moslems. But when in the second century of Islam and thesucceeding centuries the desire for worldly wealth had spread, andordinary men allowed themselves to be drawn into the current of adissipated and worldly life, the persons who gave themselves up to pietywere distinguished by the name of "Sufis, " or aspirants to Sufism. 

The most probable derivation is from "suf" (wool), for, as a rule, Sufiswear woollen garments to distinguish themselves from the crowd, who lovegaudy attire. 

For an intelligent being possessed of a body, thought is the jointproduct of the perception of events which happen from without, and ofthe emotions to which they give rise within, and is that quality whichdistinguishes man from animals. These emotions proceed one from another;just as knowledge is born of arguments, joy and sadness spring from theperception of that which causes grief or pleasure. Similarly with thedisciple of the spiritual life in the warfare which he wages withhimself, and in his devotional exercises. Every struggle which he haswith his passions produces in him a state resulting from this struggle. This state is either a disposition to piety which, strengthening byrepetition, becomes for him a "station" (_maqam_), or merely an emotionwhich he undergoes, such as joy, merriment, &c. 

The disciple of the spiritual life continues to rise from one station toanother, till he arrives at the knowledge of the Divine Unity and ofGod, the necessary condition for obtaining felicity, conformably to thesaying of the Prophet: "Whosoever dies while confessing that there is nogod but God, shall enter Paradise. "

Progress through these different stages is gradual. They have as theircommon foundation obedience and sincerity of intention; faith precedesand accompanies them, and from them proceed the emotions and qualities, the transient and permanent modifications of the soul; these emotionsand qualities go on producing others in a perpetual progression whichfinally arrives at the station of the knowledge of the Unity of God. Thedisciple of the spiritual life needs to demand an account of his soul inall its actions, and to keep an attentive eye on the most hiddenrecesses of his heart; for actions must necessarily produce results, andwhatever evil is in results betokens a corresponding evil in actions. 

There are but a few persons who imitate the Sufis in this practice ofself-examination, for negligence and indifference in this respect arealmost universal. Pious men who have not risen to this class (themystics) only aim at fulfilling the works commanded by the law in allthe completeness laid down by the science of jurisprudence. But themystics examine scrupulously the results of these works, the effects andimpressions which they produce upon the soul. For this purpose they usewhatever rays of divine illumination may have reached them while in astate of ecstacy, with the object of assuring themselves whether theiractions are exempt or not from some defect. The essence of their systemis this practice of obliging the soul often to render an account of itsactions and of what it has left undone. It also consists in thedevelopment of those gifts of discrimination and ecstacy which are bornout of struggles with natural inclinations, and which then become forthe disciple stations of progress. 

The Sufis possess some rules of conduct peculiar to themselves, and makeuse of certain technical expressions. Of these Ghazzali has treated in_Ihya-ul-ulum_ ("Revival of the Religious Sciences"). He speaks of thelaws regulating devotion, he explains the rules and customs of the Sufisand the technical terms which they use. Thus the system of the Sufis, which was at first only a special way of carrying on worship, and thelaws of which were only handed on by example and tradition, wasmethodised and reduced to writing, like the exegesis of the Koran, theTraditions, Jurisprudence, and so forth. 

This spiritual combat and this habit of meditation are usually followedby a lifting of the veils of sense, and by the perception of certainworlds which form part of the "things of God" (knowledge of which He hasreserved for Himself). The sensual man can have no perception of suchthings. 

Disentanglement from the things of sense and consequent perception ofinvisible things takes place when the spirit, giving up the uses ofexterior senses, only uses interior ones; in this state the emotionsproceeding from the former grow feebler, while those which proceed fromthe spirit grow stronger; the spirit dominates, and its vigour isrenewed. 

Now, the practice of meditation contributes materially to this result. It is the nourishment by which the spirit grows. Such growth continuestill what was the knowledge of One absent becomes the consciousness ofOne present, and the veils of sense being lifted, the soul enjoys thefullness of the faculties which belong to it in virtue of its essence, _i. E. _, perception. On this plane it becomes capable of receiving divinegrace and knowledge granted by the Deity. Finally its nature as regardsthe real knowledge of things as they are, approaches the loftiest heavenof angelic beings. 

This disentanglement from things of sense takes place oftenest in menwho practise the spiritual combat, and thus they arrive at a perceptionof the real nature of things such as is impossible to any besidethemselves. Similarly, they often know of events before they arrive; andby the power of their prayers and their spiritual force, they hold swayover inferior beings who are obliged to obey them. 

The greatest of the mystics do not boast of this disentanglement fromthings of sense and this rule over inferior creatures; unless they havereceived an order to do so, they reveal nothing of what they have learntof the real nature of things. These supernatural workings are painful, and when they experience them they ask God for deliverance. 

The companions of the Prophet also practised this spiritual warfare;like the mystics, they were overwhelmed with these tokens of divinefavour such as the power to walk on the water, to pass through firewithout being burnt, to receive their food in miraculous ways, but theydid not attach great importance to them. Abu-bekr, Omar, and Ali weredistinguished by a great number of these supernatural gifts, and theirmanner of viewing them was followed by the mystics who succeeded them. 

But among the moderns there are men who have set great store byobtaining this disentanglement from things of sense, and by speaking ofthe mysteries discovered when this veil is removed. To reach this goalthey have had recourse to different methods of asceticism, in which theintellectual soul is nourished by meditation to the utmost of itscapacity, and enjoys in its fullness the faculty of perception whichconstitutes its essence. According to them, when a man has arrived atthis point, his perception comprehends all existence and the real natureof things without a veil, from the throne of God to the smallest dropsof rain. Ghazzali describes the ascetic practices which are necessary toarrive at this state. 

This condition of disentanglement from the things of sense is only heldto be perfect when it springs from right dispositions. For there are, asa matter of fact, persons who profess to live in retirement and to fastwithout possessing right dispositions; such are sorcerers, Christians, and others who practise ascetic exercises. We may illustrate this by theimage of a well-polished mirror. According as its surface is convex orconcave, the object reflected in it is distorted from its real shape;if, on the contrary, the mirror has a plane surface, the object isreflected exactly as it is. Now, what a plane surface is for the mirror, a right disposition is for the soul, as regards the impressions itreceives from without. 

APPENDIX III

CHRISTIAN ELEMENTS IN MOHAMMEDANLITERATURE

The almost miraculous renaissance in Islam which is now proceeding inTurkey and other Mohammedan countries reminds one forcibly of Dante'slines:

 For I have seen The thorn frown rudely all the winter long, And after bear the rose upon its top. 

 _Paradiso_, xiii. 133. 

It is not perhaps fanciful to conjecture that one of the hidden causesof this renaissance is the large quantity of Christian truth which Islamliterature holds, so to speak, in solution. It is a well-known fact thatthe Koran has borrowed largely from the Old Testament and the ApocryphalGospels, but it is not so generally known that Mohammedan philosophers, theologians, and poets betray an acquaintance with facts and incidentsof the Gospels of which the Koran contains no mention. 

Leaving the Koran on one side, in the "Traditions, " _i. E. _, sayings ofMohammed handed down by tradition, we find God represented as saying atthe Judgment, "O ye sons of men, I was hungry and ye gave Me no food, "the whole of the passage in Matt. Xxv. Being quoted. This is remarkable, as it strikes directly at the orthodox Mohammedan conception of God asan impassible despot. Other sayings attributed to God which have aChristian ring are, "I was a hidden Treasure and desired to be known, therefore I created the world"; "If it were not for Thee, I would nothave made the world" (addressed to Mohammed), evidently an echo of Col. I. 17, "All things have been created through Him and unto Him" (R. V. ). The writer has often heard this last saying quoted by Indian Mohammedansin controversy. 

Another traditional saying attributed to Mohammed is not unlike thedoctrine of the Holy Spirit: "Verily from your Lord come breathings. Beye prepared for them. " The Second Advent is also referred to in others:"How will it be with you when God sends Jesus to judge you?" "There isno Mahdi but Jesus. " It is a well-known fact that a certain gate inJerusalem is kept walled up because the Mohammedans believe that Jesuswill pass through it when He returns. 

Some traditions have twisted Gospel parables, &c. , in favour ofMohammedanism. Thus in the mention of the parable of the hiredlabourers, the first two sets of labourers are said to mean Jews andChristians, and the last comers, who receive an equal wage, thoughgrumbled at by the others, are believed to indicate the Mohammedans. Other traditions give one of Christ's sayings a grotesquely literaldress. Thus our Lord is said to have met a fox, and to have said, "Fox!where art thou going?" The fox replied, to his home. Upon which our Lorduttered the verse, "Foxes have holes, " &c. Once when entering an Afghanvillage the writer was met by a Pathan, who asked if the New Testamentcontained that verse. This shows how even garbled traditions maypredispose the Mohammedan mind for the study of the Gospels. 

Tabari, the historian (d. 923 A. D. ), gives an account of the Last Supperand of Christ washing the disciples' hands (_sic_)--topics entirelyignored by the Koran--and quotes the saying of our Lord regarding thesmiting of the Shepherd and the scattering of the sheep. 

Sufi literature, representing as it does the mystical side of Islam, abounds with allusions to Scripture. Al Ghazzali, the great opponent ofAverroes (1058-1111 A. D. ), in his _Ihya-ul-ulum_ ("Revival of theReligious Sciences") quotes the saying of Christ regarding the childrenplaying in the market-place. In his _Kimiya-i-Saadat_ ("Alchemy ofHappiness") he writes, "It is said that Jesus Christ in a vision sawthis world in the form of an old woman, and asked how many husbands shehad lived with. She said they were innumerable. He asked her if they haddied, or had divorced her. She replied that it was neither, the factbeing that she had killed all. " Here we seem to have a confused echo ofthe episode of the woman of Samaria. Again in the same work he says, "Itis a saying of Jesus Christ that the seeker of the world is like a mansuffering from dropsy; the more he drinks water the more he feelsthirsty. " In the _Ihya-ul-ulum_, the verse "Eye hath not seen, " &c. , isquoted as if from the Koran, where it nowhere occurs. Ghazzali was anardent student of the Neo-Platonists, and through him the phrasesAql-i-Kull (--Logos) and Nafs-i-Kull (--Pneuma) passed into Sufiwritings (v. Whinfield, Preface to the _Masnavi_). 

Saadi (b. 1184 A. D. ), the famous author of the _Gulistan_ and_Bostan_, was for some time kept in captivity by the Crusaders. This mayaccount for echoes of the Gospels which we find in his writings. In the_Gulistan_ he quotes the verse, "We are members of one another, " and inthe _Bostan_ the parable of the Pharisee and Publican is told in greatdetail. 

Nizami (b. 1140) gives a story which, though grotesque, seems to showthat he had apprehended something of the Christian spirit. Somepassers-by were commenting on the body of a dead dog, saying howabominably it smelt, &c. Christ passed, and said, "Behold, how white itsteeth are!"

But of all the Mohammedan writers, none bears such distinct traces ofChristian influence as Jalaluddin Rumi, the greatest of the Sufi poets, who is to this day much studied in Persia, Turkey and India. In thefirst book of his _Masnavi_ he has a strange story of a vizier whopersuaded his king, a Jewish persecutor of the Christians, to mutilatehim. He then went to the Christians and said, "See what I have sufferedfor your religion. " After gaining their confidence and being chosentheir guide, he wrote epistles in different directions to the chiefChristians, contradicting each other, maintaining in one that man issaved by grace, and in another that salvation rests upon works, &c. Thushe brought their religion into inextricable confusion. This is evidentlyaimed at St. Paul, and it is a curious fact that Jalaluddin Rumi spentmost of his life at Iconium, where some traditions of the apostle'steaching must have lingered. Other allusions to the Gospel narrative inthe _Masnavi_ are found in the mention of John the Baptist leaping inhis mother's womb, of Christ walking on the water, &c. , none of whichoccur in the Koran. Isolated verses of Jalaluddin's clearly show aChristian origin:

 I am the sweet-smiling Jesus, And the world is alive by Me. 

 I am the sunlight falling from above, Yet never severed from the Sun I love. 

It will be seen that Jalaluddin gives our Lord a much higher rank thanis accorded to Him in the Koran, which says, "And who could hinder Godif He chose to destroy Mary and her son together?"

A strange echo of the Gospel narrative is found in the story of thecelebrated Sufi, Mansur-al-Hallaj, who was put to death at Bagdad, 919A. D. , for exclaiming while in a state of mystic ecstacy, "I amthe Truth. " Shortly before he died he cried out, "My Friend (God) is notguilty of injuring me; He gives me to drink what as Master of the feastHe drinks Himself" (Whinfield, preface to the _Masnavi_). Notwithstanding the apparent blasphemy of Mansur's exclamation, he hasalways been the object of eulogy by Mohammedan poets. Even the orthodoxAfghan poet, Abdurrahman, says of him:

 Every man who is crucified like Mansur, After death his cross becomes a fruit-bearing tree. 

Many of the favourite Sufi phrases, "The Perfect Man, " "The newcreation, " "The return to God, " have a Christian sound, and the modernBabi movement which has so profoundly influenced Persian life andthought owes its very name to the saying of Christ, "I am the Door"("Ana ul Bab"), adopted by Mirza Ali, the founder of the sect. 

When Henry Martyn reached Shiraz in 1811, he found his most attentivelisteners among the Sufis. "These Sufis, " he writes in his diary, "arequite the Methodists of the East. They delight in everything Christianexcept in being exclusive. They consider they all will finally return toGod, from whom they emanated. "

It is certainly noteworthy that some of the highly educated Indianconverts from Islam to Christianity have been men who have passedthrough a stage of Sufism, _e. G. _, Moulvie Imaduddin of Amritsar, onwhom Archbishop Benson conferred a D. D. Degree, and Safdar Ali, lateInspector of Schools at Jabalpur. In one of the semi-domes of the Mosqueof St. Sophia at Constantinople is a gigantic figure of Christ inmosaic, which the Mohammedans have not destroyed, but overlaid withgilding, yet so that the outlines of the figure are still visible. Is itnot a parable?

APPENDIX IV

CHRIST IN MODAMMEDAN TRADITION. 

The following brief article is an attempt to bring together some of thepassages in Mohammedan writers in which Christ is accorded a higherplace than in the Koran, and in which deeds and words of His arementioned regarding which the Koran is quite silent. For though theKoran calls Him 'the Spirit of God' and 'a Word proceeding from Him, ' atthe same time it says 'What could hinder God if He chose to destroy theMessiah and His mother both together?'

In the traditional sayings of Mohammed collected by Al Bokhari, acceptedby all Sunni Mohammedans, we have the following:--

1st. The sinlessness of Christ. The Prophet said, 'Satan touches everychild at its birth and it cries out from the touch of Satan. This is thecase with all, except Mary and her son. '

2nd. A famous utterance of Christ is attributed to God. The Prophetsaid, 'At the resurrection God shall say, "O ye sons of men, I was sickand ye visited Me not. " They shall say, "Thou art the Lord of the worldshow should we visit Thee?" He will say, "A certain servant of Mine wassick; if you had visited him you would have found Me with him. "' Thistradition is noteworthy as it brings out the affinity between God andman which the Koran for the most part ignores. 

3rd. Christ returning to judgment. The Prophet said, 'How will it bewith you when God sends back the Son of Mary to rule and to judge(hakiman, muqsitan)?'

In the 'Awarifu-l-Mawarif of Shahabu-d-Din Suhrawardi the doctrine ofthe New Birth is definitely attributed to Christ: 'The death of natureand of will which they call "the second birth" even as Christ haswritten. '

Ghazzali in the Ihya-ul-ulum thus refers to St. Matt. Xi. 17: 'Some onesaid, "I saw written in the Gospel, We have sung to you but ye have notbeen moved with emotion; we have piped unto you but ye have notdanced. "' He also quotes St. Matt. Vi. 25, 'Jesus said, Consider thefowls, etc. '

The historian Tabari mentions the institution of the Last Supper, Christ's washing His disciple's hands, requesting them to watch withHim, predicting Peter's denial, and quotes the text, 'The shepherd shallbe smitten, and the sheep shall be scattered. '

In the Bostan of Sa'di the parable of the Publican and the Phariseetakes the following curious shape:--

 In Jesus' time there lived a youth so black and dissolute, That Satan from him shrank appalled in every attribute; He in a sea of pleasures foul uninterrupted swam And gluttonized on dainty vices, sipping many a dram. Whoever met him on the highway turned as from a pest, Or, pointing lifted finger at him, cracked some horrid jest. I have been told that Jesus once was passing by the cave Where dwelt a monk who asked Him in, -- When suddenly that slave of sin appeared across the way, Far off he paused, fell down and sobbingly began to pray; And like a storm or rain the tears pour gushing from his eyes. 'Alas, and woe is me for thirty squandered years, ' he cries; The pride-puffed monk self-righteous lifts his eyebrows with a sneer, And haughtily exclaims, 'Vile wretch! in vain hast thou come here. Art thou not plunged in sin, and tossed in lust's devouring sea? What will thy filthy rags avail with Jesus and with me? O God! the granting of a single wish is all I pray, Grant me to stand far distant from this man at Judgement Day. ' From heaven's throne a revelation instantaneous broke, And God's own thunder-words through the mouth of Jesus spoke: 'The two whom praying there I see, shall equally be heard; They pray diverse, --I give to each according to his word. That poor one thirty years has rolled in sin's most slimy steeps, But now with stricken heart and streaming eyes for pardon weeps. Upon the threshold of My grace he throws him in despair, And faintly hoping pity pours his supplications there. Therefore forgiven and freed from all the guilt in which he lies My mercy chooses him a citizen of paradise; This monk desires that he may not that sinner stand beside, Therefore he goes to hell and so his wish is gratified. '

 (_Alger: Poetry of the Orient_)

It is refreshing to find one of the classical Moslem writers so stronglydenouncing self-righteousness. The poet Nizami in the following apologueseems to have caught no little of the spirit of the Gospel:--

 One evening Jesus lingered in the market-place Teaching the people parables of truth and grace, When in the square remote a crowd was seen to rise And stop with loathing gestures and abhorring cries. The Master and His meek Disciples went to see What cause for this commotion and disgust could be, And found a poor dead dog beside the gutter laid; Revolting sight! at which each face its hate betrayed. One held his nose, one shut his eyes, one turned away, And all amongst themselves began loud to say, 'Detested creature! he pollutes the earth and air!' 'His eyes are blear!' 'His ears are foul!' 'His ribs are bare!' 'In his torn hide there's not a decent shoe-string left!' 'No doubt the execrable cur was hung for theft!' Then Jesus spake and dropped on him this saving wreath: 'Even pearls are dark before the whiteness of his teeth!'

 (_Alger: Poetry of the Orient. _)

The entrance of our Lord into Jerusalem is referred to in the followingpassage from the Masnavi of Jalaluddin Rumi:--

 Having left Jesus, thou cherishest an ass, And art perforce excluded like an ass; The portion of Jesus is knowledge and wisdom, Not so the portion of an ass, O assinine one! Thou pitiest thine ass when it complains; So art thou ignorant, thine ass makes thee assinine, Keep thy pity for Jesus, not for the ass, Make not thy lust to vanquish thy reason. 

 (_Whinfield's Translation_). 

Elsewhere in the Masnavi Jalaluddin Rumi says:--

 Jesus, thy Spirit, is present with thee; Ask help of Him, for He is a good Helper. 

In the Diwan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz, by the same author, we have the lines:--

 I am that sweet-smiling Jesus, And the world is alive through Me. 

Elsewhere he says, 'The pure one is regenerated by the breath of Jesus. 'It is a significant fact that Jalaluddin Rumi spent most of his life atIconium, where very likely some apostolic traditions lingered. 

One aspect of our Lord which has strongly impressed itself on theMohammedan imagination is His homelessness. [65] Once on entering aPathan village the writer was met by a youth, who asked, 'Is this versein the Injil: "The Son of Mary had nowhere to lay His head"?' In theQissas-al-ambiya (Stories of the Prophets) this takes the followinggrotesque shape:--

 One day Jesus saw a fox running through the wilderness. He said to him, 'O fox! whither art thou going?' The fox answered, 'I have come out for exercise; now I am returning to my own home. ' Jesus said, 'Every one has built himself a house; but for Me there is no resting-place. ' Some people who heard it, said, 'We are sorry for Thee and will build Thee a house. ' He replied, 'I have no money. ' They answered, 'We will pay all the expenses. ' Then he said, 'Very well, I will choose the site. ' He led them down to the edge of the sea and, pointing where the waves were dashing highest, said, 'Build Me a house there. ' The people said, 'That is the sea, O Prophet! how can we build there?' 'Yea, and is not the world a sea, ' He answered, 'on which no one can raise a building that abides?'

A similar echo of Christ's words is found in the famous inscription overa bridge at Fatehpur Sikri: 'Jesus (upon Whom be peace) said, "The worldis a bridge; pass over it, but do not build upon it. "'

This keen sense of the transitoriness of everything earthly is astrongly-marked feature of the Oriental mind, and characterized alltheir saints and mystics. There is no wonder that this side of thegospel should make a special appeal to Orientals, and that theFakir-missionary should seem to them to approximate most closely to hisMaster. [66]

The following account of the trial of our Lord before the Sanhedrin andPilate which occurs in the Dabistan of Mohsin Fani (A. D. 1647)approximates more nearly to the Gospel narrative than that which isordinarily current among Mohammedan writers:--

 When Jesus appeared, the high-priest said, 'We charge Thee upon Thy oath by the living God, say art Thou the Son of God?' The blessed and holy Lord Jesus replied to him, 'I am what thou hast said. Verily We say unto you, you shall see the Son of man seated at the right hand of God, and He shall descend in the clouds of heaven. ' They said, 'Thou utterest a blasphemy, because, according to the creed of the Jews, God never descends in the clouds of heaven. '

 Isaiah the prophet has announced the birth of Jesus in words the translation of which is as follows:--'A branch from the root of I'shai shall spring up, and from this branch shall come forth a flower in which the Spirit of God shall dwell, verily a virgin shall be pregnant and bring forth a Son. ' I'shai is the name of the father of David. 

 "When they had apprehended Jesus, they spat upon His blessed face and smote Him. Isaiah had predicted it. 'I shall give up My body to the smiters, and My cheek to the diggers of wounds. I shall not turn My face from those who will use bad words and throw spittle upon Me. ' When Pilatus, a judge of the Jews, scourged the Lord Jesus in such a manner that His body from head to foot became but one wound, so was it as Isaiah had predicted, 'He was wounded for our transgressions; I struck Him for His people. ' When Pilatus saw that the Jews insisted upon the death and crucifixion of Jesus, he said, 'I take no part in the blood of this Man; I wash my hands clean of His blood. ' The Jews answered, 'His blood be on us and on our children. ' On that account the Jews are oppressed and curbed down in retribution of their iniquities. When they had placed the cross upon the shoulders of Jesus and led Him to die, a woman wiped with the border of her garment the face, full of blood, of the Lord Jesus. Verily she obtained three images of it and carried them home; the one of these images exists still in Spain, the other is in the town of Milan in Italy, and the third in the city of Rome. "

The same author, Mohsin Fani, says:--

 The Gospel has been translated from the tongue of Jesus into different languages, namely, into Arabic, Greek, Latin, which last is the language of the learned among the Firangis; and into Syriac, and this all learned men know. 

Fragments of our Lord's teaching are found not only in religious butalso in secular Mohammedan books; thus in the Kitab Jawidan of IbnMuskawih we have the following:--

 The hatefullest of learned men in the eyes of God is he who loves reputation and that room should be made for him in the assemblies of the great, and to be invited to feasts. Verily I say they have their reward in the world. 

In the Kitab-al-Aghani, a history of Arabic poetry, it is related:--

 Satan came to Jesus and said, 'Dost Thou not speak the truth?' 'Certainly, ' answered Jesus. 'Well then, ' said Satan, 'climb this mountain and cast Thyself down. ' Jesus said, 'Woe to thee, for hath not God said, O Son of Man, tempt Me not by casting thyself into destruction, for I do that which I will. '

From the above instances taken from well-known Mohammedan writers itwill be seen that the Christ of post-Koranic tradition is far morelife-like than the Christ of the Koran. The latter is a mere lay-figure, bedecked with honorific titles indeed, such as the 'Spirit of God and aword proceeding from Him, ' and working miracles, but displaying nocharacter. In the post-Koranic writers, on the other hand, we have Hissinlessness, His return to judgment, His humility, His unworldliness, His sufferings, His doctrine of the New Birth, topics upon which theKoran is entirely silent. An open-minded Moslem perusing the abovepassages in the original Persian and Arabic (and many might be added)would certainly gain a far higher conception of our Lord than fromanything he would find in the Koran. 

 [65] In one tradition He is called 'Imam al ashin, ' 'Leader of the wanderers. '

 [66] Although Mohammed said, 'There is no monkery in Islam, ' and rebuked one of his followers who showed a tendency to it, celibacy and homelessness have often marked the saints of Islam. 

 One of them, Bishr Hafi, being asked why he did not marry, answered, 'I am afraid of that verse in the Koran, "The rights of women over men are the same as the rights of men over women. "'

 +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | There are a number of words, mostly Arabic, spelled in | | different ways in the present book. As many of these are | | variants often used in the transliteration of Arabic | | names, these differences have been retained. Below is | | the list of the words which have been spelled differently | | at different places in the book: | | | | Adham, Adhem. | | Alghazzali, Algazzali. | | Bayazid, Bayezid. | | Hassan, Hasan. | | Hejaj, Hejjaj. | | Judgment, Judgement. | | Kaf, Kąf. | | Khorassan, Khorasan. | | Muhammad, Mohammed, Muhammed, Mohammad. | | Mohammedan, Muhammadan, Muhammedan, Mahommadan, | | Mohammadan. | | Mohammedanism, Muhammedanism. | | Saadi, Sa'di. | | Sofiān, Sofyan. | | Suhrawardy, Suhrawardi. | +-----------------------------------------------------------+