# Tales from the Gulistan/Chapter 2

II
THE MORALS OF DERVISHES
“THE BUDDING OF MY YOUTH OVERCAME ME”
[p. 59
STORY XLI
One of the great devotees having been asked about his opinion concerning a hermit whom others had censured in their conversation, he replied: "I do not see any external blemishes on him, and do not know of internal ones."
STORY XLII
I saw a Dervish who placed his head upon the threshold of the Ka'bah, groaned, and said: "O forgiving, O merciful one! Thou knowest what an unrighteous, ignorant man can offer to Thee. I have craved pardon for the deficiency of my service, because I can implore no reward for my obedience; sinners repent of their transgressions, Arifs ask forgiveness for their imperfect worship. Devotees desire a reward for their obedience, and merchants the price of their wares; but I, who am a worshipper, have brought hope and not obedience; I have come to beg and not to trade-deal with me as Thou deemest fit. Whether Thou killest me, or forgivest my crime, my face and head are on Thy threshold; a slave has nothing to command; whatever Thou commandest, I obey."
STORY XLLIII
I saw A'bd-ul-Qâder Gaillani in the sanctuary of the Ka'bah, with his face on the pebbles, and saying: "O Lord! Pardon my sins, and, if I deserve punishment, cause me to arise blind on the day of resurrection, that I may not be ashamed in the sight of the righteous.
STORY XLIV
A thief paid a visit to the house of a pious man, but, although he sought a great deal, found nothing, and was much grieved. The pious man, who knew this, threw the blanket upon which he had been sleeping into the way of the thief, that he might not go away disappointed.
I heard that men of the way of God have not distressed the hearts of enemies; how canst thou attain that dignity who quarrellest and wagest war against friends?
The friendship of pure men, whether in thy presence or absence, is not such as will find fault behind thy back and is ready to die [for thee] before thy face.
STORY XLV
Several travellers were on a journey together, and equally sharing each other's troubles and comforts. I desired to accompany them, but they would not agree. Then I said: "It is foreign to the manners of great men to turn away the face from the company of the poor, and so deprive themselves of the advantage they might derive therefrom; because I for one consider myself sufficiently strong and energetic to be of service to men, and not an encumbrance. Although I am not riding on a beast, I shall aid you in carrying blankets.
One of them said: "Do not be grieved in the words thou hast heard, because some days ago a thief in the guise of a Dervish arrived and joined our company. How can people know who is in the dress? The writer is aware what the book contains. As the state of Dervishes is safe, we entertained no suspicion of him, and received him as a friend.
    "THe outward state of Arifs is the patched dress;
    It suffices as a display to the face of the people.
    The abandoning of the world, of lust and desire
    Is sanctity; not the abandonment of the robe only.
"We travelled one day till the night set in, during which we slept near a fort, and the graceless thief, taking up the water-pot of a companion, pretending to go for an ablution, departed for plunder.
    A pretended Saint who wears the Dervish garb
    Has made of the Ka'bah's robes the covering of an ass. ​"After disappearing from the sight of the Dervishes, he went to a tower, from which he stole a casket; and, when the day dawned, the dark-heated wretch had already progressed a considerable distance. In the morning the guiltless sleeping companions were all taken tot he fort and thrown into prison. From that date we renounced companionship and took the road of solitude, according to the maxim 'Safety is in solitude.' When one of a tribe has done a foolish thing no honour is left either to the low or the high. Seest thou not how one ox of the pasturage defiles all oxen of the village?"
STORY XLVI
A hermit, being the guest of a Pâdshâh, ate less than he wished when sitting at dinner; and, when he rose for prayers, he prolonged them more than was his wont, in order to enhance the opinion entertained [by the Pâdshâh] of his piety.
When he returned to his own house, he desired the table to be laid out for eating. He had an intelligent son, who said: "Father! Hast thou not eaten anything at the repast of the Sultân?"
He replied: "I have not eaten anything to serve a purpose."
STORY XLVII
I remember, being pious in my childhood, rising in the night, addicted to devotion and abstinence. One night I was sitting with my father, remaining awake and holding the beloved Qurân in my lap, whilst the people around us were asleep. I said: "Not one of these persons lifts up his head, or makes a genuflection. They are as fast asleep as if they were dead."
He replied: "Darling of thy father! Would that thou wert also asleep, rather than disparaging people."
    The pretender sees no one but himself,
    Because he has the veil of conceit in front;
    If he were endowed with a God-discerning eye,
    He would see that no one is weaker than himself.
STORY XLVIII
A great man was praised in an assembly, and, his good qualities being extolled, he raised his head and said: "I am such as I know myself to be. O thou who reckonest my virtues, refrain from giving me pain; these are my open, and thou knowest not my hidden, qualities."
STORY XLIX
One of the devotees of Mount Lebanon, whose piety was famed in the Arab country and his miracles well known, entered the cathedral mosque of Damascus, and was performing his purificatory ablution on the edge of a tank when his feet slipped and he fell into the reservoir, but saved himself with great trouble. After the congregation had finished their prayers, one of his companions said: "I have a difficulty."
He asked: "What is it?"
He continued: "I remember that the Sheikh walked on the surface of the African sea without his feet getting wetted, and to-day he nearly perished in this paltry water, which is not deeper than a man's stature; what reason is there in this?"
The Sheikh drooped his head into the bosom of meditation, and said after a long pause: "Hast thou not heard that the prince of the world, Muhammad the chosen, upon whom be the benediction of Allah and peace, has said: 'I have a time with Allah, during which no Cherubim nor inspired prophet is equal to me'; but he did not say that such was always the case."
The time alluded to was when Gabriel or Michael inspired him, whilst on other occasions he was satisfied with the society of Hafsah and Zainab. The visions of the righteous one are between brilliance and obscurity. Thou showest Thy countenance and then hidest it, enhancing Thy value and augmenting our desire. ​
    I behold whom I love, without an intervention;
    Then a trance befalls me; I lose the road;
    It kindles fire, then quenches it with a sprinkling shower;
    Wherefore thou seest me burning, and drowning.
STORY L
One asked the old man who had lost his son: "O noble and intelligent old man! As thou has smelt the odour of his garment from Egypt, why hast thou not seen him in the well of Canaan?
STORY LI
I spoke in the cathedral mosque of Damascus a few words by way of a sermon, but to a congregation whose hearts were withered and dead, not having traveled from the world of form [i.e. the physical] to the world of meaning [i.e. the moral world], I perceived that my words took no effect, and that burning fire does not kindle moist wood. I was sorry for instructing brutes, and holding forth a mirror in a locality of blind people; I had, however, opened the door of meaning and was giving a long explanation of the verse 'We are nearer to Him than the jugular vein,' till I said, "The Friend is nearer to me than myself, but it is more strange that I am far from Him. What am I to do? To whom can it be said that He is in my arms, but I am exiled [from Him]."
I had intoxicated myself with the wine of these sentiments, holding the remnant of the cup [of the sermon] in my hand, when a traveller happened to pass near the edge of the assembly, and the last turn [of the circulating cup, i.e. the above verses] made such an impression on him that he shouted, and the others joined him who began to roar, whilst the raw portion of the congregation became turbulent; whereon I said: "Praise be to Allah! Those who are far away, but intelligent, are in the presence [of Allah], and those who are near, but blind, are distant."
STORY LII
One night in the desert of Mekkah I had become so weak from want of sleep that I was unable to walk, and, laying myself down, told the camel-driver to let me alone. How far can the foot of a wretched pedestrian go, when a dromedary gets distressed by its load? Whilst the body of a fat man becomes lean, a weak man will be dead of exhaustion.
He replied: "O brother! The sanctuary is in front of us and brigands in the rear. If thou goest thou wilt prosper; if thou sleepest thou wilt die."
STORY LIII
STORY LIV
A Dervish, who had fallen into want, stole a blanket from the house of a friend. The judge ordered his hand to be amputated; but the owner of the blanket interceded, saying that he had condoned the fault.
The judge rejoined: "Thy intercession cannot persuade me to neglect the provision of the law."
The man continued: "Thou hast spoken the truth, but amputation is not applicable to a person who steals some property dedicated to pious uses, [moreover] a begged possesses nothing, and whatever belongs to a Dervish is dedicated to the use of the needy."
Thereon the judge released the captive, saying: "The world must indeed have become too narrow for thee, that thou hast committed no theft except from the house of a friend."
He replied: "Hast thou not heard the saying: 'Sweep out the house of friends and do not knock at the door of foes'?"
STORY LV
A Pâdshâh, meeting a holy man, asked him whether he did not sometimes remember him [for the purpose of getting presents]. He replied: "Yes, I do, whenever I forget God."
Whom He drives from His door, runs everywhere; Whom He calls, runs to no one's door.
STORY LVI
STORY LVII
A bareheaded and barefooted pedestrian who had arrived from Kufah with the Hejâz-caravan [of pilgrims] joined us, strutted about, and recited: "I am neither riding a camel nor under a load like a camel; I am neither a lord of subjects nor the slave of a potentate; grief for the present, or distress for the past, does not trouble me; I draw my breath in comfort and then spend my life.
A camel-driver shouted to him: "O Dervish! Where art thou going? Return! for thou wilt expire from hardships."
He paid no attention, but entered the desert and marched.
When we reached the [station at the] palm-grove of Mahmûd, the rich man was on the point of death, and the Dervish, approaching his pillow, said: "We have not expired from hardships, but thou hast died on a dromedary."
STORY LVIII
A hermit, having been invited by a Pâdshâh, concluded that if he were to take some medicine to make himself weak he might perhaps enhance the opinion [of the Pâdshâh] regarding his merits; but it is related that the medicine was lethal, so that when he partook of it he died.
STORY LIX
A caravan having been plundered in the Yunân county, and deprived of boundless wealth, the merchants went and lamented, beseeching God and the prophet to intercede for them [with the robbers], but ineffectually. When a dark-minded robber is victorious, what cares he for the weeping of the caravan?
Loqmân the philosopher being among the people of the caravan, one of them asked him to speak a few words of wisdom and advice to the robbers, so that they might perhaps return some of the property they had plundered, because the loss of so much wealth would be lamentable. Loqmân replied: "It would be lamentable to utter one word of wisdom to them. The rust which has eaten into iron cannot be removed by polishing. Of what use is preaching to a black heart? An iron nail cannot be driven into a rock."
STORY LX
Despite of the abundant admonitions of the most illustrious Sheikh Abulfaraj Ben Jûzi to shun musical entertainments and to prefer solitude and retirement, the budding of my youth overcame me, my sensual desires were excited, so that, unable to resist them, I walked some steps contrary to the opinion of my tutor, enjoying myself in musicial amusements and convivial meetings. When the advice of my Sheikh occurred to my mind, I said: "If the Qâzi were sitting with us, he would clap his hands; if the Muhtasib were bibbing wine, he would excuse a drunkard."
[Thus I lived] till I paid one night a visit to an assembly of people, in which I saw a musician. Thou wouldst have said he was tearing up the vital artery with his fiddle-bow; his voice was more unpleasant than the wailing of one who lost his father. The audience now stopped their ears with their fingers, and now put them on their lips to silence him. "We became ecstatic by the sounds of pleasing songs; but thou art such a singer that when thou art silent we are pleased. No one feels pleased by thy performance, except at the time of departure when thou pleasest."
When that harper began to sing, I said to the host: "For God's sake put mercury in my ear, that I may not hear, or open the door that I may go away."
In short, I tried to please my friends, and succeeded, after a considerable struggle [against my repugnance], in spending the whole night there. The Muezzin shouted the call to prayer out of time, not knowing how much of the night had elapsed; ask the length of the night from my eyelids, for sleep did not enter my eyes one moment.
In the morning I took my turban from my head, with one ​dinâr from my belt by way of gratification, and placed them before the musician, whom I embraced and thanked. My friends, who saw that my appreciation of his merits was unusual, attributed it to the levity of my intellect and laughed secretly; one of them, however, lengthened out his tongue of objection, and began to reproach me, saying that I had committed an act repugnant to intelligent men by bestowing a portion of my professional dress upon a musician who had all his life not a dirhem laid upon the palm of his hand, nor filings of silver or gold placed on his drum.
A musician! Far be he from this happy abode! No one ever saw him twice in the same place! As soon as the shout rose from his mouth, The hair on the bodies of the people stood on end; The fowls of the house, terrified by him, flew away, Whilst he distracted our senses, and tore his throat!
I said: "It would be proper to shorten the tongue of objection, because his talent has become evident to me." He then asked me to explain the quality of it in order to inform the company, so that all might apologise for the jokes they had cracked about me. I replied: "Although my Sheikh had often told me to abandon musical entertainments, and had given me abundant advice, I did not mind it. This night my propitious horoscope and my august luck have guided me to this place, where I have, on hearing the performance of this musician, repented [and vowed] never again to attend at singing and convivial parties.
STORY LXI
Loqmân, being asked from whom he had learnt civility, replied: "From those who had no civility, because what appeared to me unbecoming in them I refrained from doing."
Not a word is said even in sport without an intelligent man taking advice thereby; but if a hundred chapters of wisdom are read to a fool, all strike his ear merely as sport.
STORY LXII
It is related that a hermit consumed during one night ten mann of food, and perused the whole Qurân till morning. A pious fellow, who had heard of this, said: "It would have been more excellent if he had eaten half a loaf, and slept till the morning."
STORY LXIII
A man had by his sins forfeited the divine favour, but the lamp of grace nevertheless [afterwards again] so shown upon his path that it guided him into the circle of religious men, and, by the blessing of his association with Dervishes, as well as by [the example of] their righteousness, the depravities of his character were transmuted into virtues, and he refrained from lust and passion; but the tongues of the malevolent were lengthened with reference to his character, alleging that it was the same as it had ever been, and that his abstinence and piety were spurious.
By apology and penitence one may be saved from the wrath of God, but cannot be saved from the tongues of men.
STORY LXIV
I complained to one of the Sheikhs that a certain man had falsely accused mem of lasciviousness. He replied: "Put him to shame by thy good conduct."
Be thou well behaved, that a maligner may not find occasion to speak of thy faults. When the harp is in proper tune, how can the hand of the musician correct it?
STORY LXV
One of the Sheikhs of Syria, being asked on the true state of the Sûfis, replied: "In former times they were a tribe in the world, apparently distressed, but in reality contented; whereas to-day they are people outwardly satisfied, but inwardly discontented."
STORY LXVI
I remember having once walked all night with a caravan, and then slept on the edge of the desert. A distracted man, who had accompanied us on that journey, raised a shout, ran towards the desert, and took not a moment's rest. When it was daylight, I asked him what state of his that was. He replied:
"I saw the bulbuls commencing to lament on the trees, the partridges on the mountains, the frogs in the water, and the beasts in the desert; so I bethought myself that it would not be becoming for me to sleep in carelessness, whilst they were all praising God.
STORY LXVII
It once happened that in a journey to the Hejâz a company of young and pious men, whose sentiments harmonised with mine, were my fellow travellers. They occasionally sang, and recited spiritual verses; but we had with us also an A'bid who entertained a bad opinion of the behaviour of the Dervishes and was ignorant of their sufferings. When we reached the palm-grove of the Beni Hallâl, a black boy of the encampment, falling into a state of excitement, broke out in a strain, which brought down the birds from the sky; I saw, however, the camel of the A'bid, which began to prance, throwing him and running into the desert.
Knowest thou what that matutinal bulbul said to me? What man art thou to be ignorant of love? That Arabic verse threw a camel into ecstasy and joy; if thou hast no taste, thou art an ill-natured brute. When a camel's head is turned by the frenzy of joy and a man does not feel it, he must be an ass. When the winds blow over the plain, the branches of the bantree bend; not hard rocks.
STORY LXVIII
The life of a king was drawing to a close, and he had no successor. He ordered in his last testament that the next morning [after his death] the first person entering the gate of the city be presented with the royal crown and be entrusted with the government of the realm. It so happened that the first person who entered was a mendicant, who had all his life subsisted on the morsels he collected, and had sewn patch after patch upon his clothes. The pillars of the State and grandees of the court executed the injunction of the King, and bestowed upon him the government and treasures; whereon the Dervish reigned for a while, until some Amirs of the monarchy withdrew their necks from his obedience, and Kings from every side began to rise for hostilities and to prepare their armies for war. At last his own troops and subjects also rebelled and deprived him of a portion of his dominions. This event afflicted the mind of the Dervish, until one of his old friends, who had been his companion when he was yet himself a Dervish, returned from a journey, and, seeing him in such an exalted position, said:
"Thanks be to God the Most High and Glorious that thy rose has thus come forth from the thorn, and thy thorn was extracted from thy foot. Thy high luck has aided thee, and prosperity with fortune has guided thee, till thou hast attained this position. Verily hardship is followed by comfort. A flower is at sometimes blooming, and sometimes withering, a tree is at times nude, and at times clothed."
He replied: "Brother! Condole with me, because there is no occasion for congratulation. When thou sawest me lats, I was distressed for bread, and now a world of distress has overwhelmed me. If I have no wealth, I grieve; if I have some, the love of it captivates me. There is no greater calamity than ​wordly goods; both their possession and their want are griefs."
STORY LXIX
A man had a friend, who held the office of Devân to the Pâdshâh, but whom he had not seen for a long time; and, a man having asked him for the reason, he replied: "I do not want to see him." A dependent, however, of the Devân, who also happened to be present, queried: "What fault has he committed that thou art unwilling to meet him?" He replied: "There is no fault in the matter, but a friend who is a Devân may be seen when he is removed from office."
STORY LXX
Abu Harirah,-may the approbation of Allah be upon him!-was in the habit of daily waiting upon the Mustafa-peace on him!-who said: "Abu Harirah, visit me on alternate days, that our love may increase."
A man said to a devotee: "Beautiful as the sun is, I never heard that anybody took it for a friend or fell in love with it"; and he replied: "This is because it may be seen daily, except in winter, when it is veiled, and beloved."
STORY LXXI
Having become tired of my friends in Damascus, I went into the desert of Jerusalem and associated with animals, till the time when I became a prisoner of the Franks, who put me to work with infidels in digging the earth of a moat in Tarapolis, when one of the chiefs of Aleppo, with whom I had formerly been acquainted, recognised me, and said: "What state is this?" I recited:
"I fled from men to mountain and desert, Wishing to attend upon no one but God; Imagine what my state at present is, When I must be satisfied in a stable of wretches."
The feet in chains with friends is better than to be friends with strangers in a garden.
He took pity on my state and ransomed me for ten dinârsfrom the captivity of the Franks, taking me to Aleppo, where he had a daughter, and married me to her, with a dowry of one hundred dinârs. After some time had elapsed, she turned out to be ill-humoured, quarrelsome, disobedient, abusive in her tongue, and embittering my life. A bad wife in a good man's home is his hell in this world already. Alas for a bad consort, alas! Preserve us, O Lord, from this punishment of fire.
One she lengthened her tongue of reproach, and said: "Art thou not the man whom my father purchased from the Franks for ten dinârs?"
I replied: " Yes, he bought me for ten dinârs, and sold me into thy hands for one hundred dinârs."
STORY LXXII
A Pâdshâh asked a hermit: "How spendest thou thy precious time?" He replied: "I am all night engaged in prayer, during the morning in supplications, and the rest of the day in restricting my expenses." Then the King ordered a sufficient allowance to be allotted to him, so as to relieve him of the cares of his family.
STORY LXXIII
A man, professing to be a hermit in the desert of Syria, attended for years to his devotions, and subsisted on the leaves of trees. A Pâdshâh, who had gone in that direction by way of pilgrimage, approached him and said: "If thou thinkest proper, we shall prepare a place for thee in the town, where thou wilt enjoy leisure for thy devotions, and others may profit by thy spiritual advice, as well as imitate thy good works."
The hermits refused compliance, but the pillars of the State were of the opinion that, in order to please the King, he ought to spend a few days in town to ascertain the state of the place; so that if [he feared that] the purity of his precious time might become turbid by association with strangers, he would still have the option [to refuse compliance]. It is related that the hermit entered the town, where a private garden-house of the King, which was a heart-expanding and soul-refreshing locality, had been prepared to receive him.
Its red roses were like the cheeks of belles, Its hyacinths like the ringlets of mistresses; Protected from the inclemency of mid-winter, Like sucklings who have not yet tasted the nurse's milk
The King immediately sent him a beautiful slave-girl. After [beholding] this hermit-deceiving crescent-moon of the form of an angel, and the beauty of a peacock; after seeing her it would be impossible to an anchorite's nature to remain patient. After her he sent likewise a slave-boy of wonderful beauty, and graceful placidity.
The hermit began to eat delicious foods, to wear nice clothes, to enjoy fruit and perfumed confectionery; as well as to ​contemplate the beauty of the slave-boy and -girl in conformity with the maxim of wise men, who have said that the curls of belles are fetters to the feet of the intellect and a snare to a sagacious bird. In short, the happiness of his [former] time of contentedness had come to an end; as the saying is: 'Any Faqih, Pir, and Murid, or pure-minded orator, descending into the base world, sticks in the honey like a fly.'
Once a King desired to visit him, but saw the hermit changed from his former state, as he had become red, white, and corpulent. When the King entered, he beheld him reclining on a couch of gold brocade, whilst the boy and the fairy stood near his head with a fan of peacock's feathers. He expressed pleasure to behold the hermit in so comfortable a position, conversed with him on many topics, and said at the conclusion of the visit: "I am afraid of these two classes of men in the world: scholars and hermits."
The vizier, who was a philosopher and experienced in the affairs of the world, being present, said: "O King! The conditions of friendship require thee to do good to both classes. Bestow gold upon scholars, that they may read more; but give nothing to hermits, that they may remain hermits. A hermit requires neither dirhams nor dinârs; if he takes any, find another hermit."
STORY LXXIV
In conformity with the above sentiments of an affair of importance emerged to a Pâdshâh, who thereon vowed that, if it terminated according to his wishes, he would present devotees with a certain sum of money. His wish having been fulfilled, it became necessary to keep his promise; accordingly he gave a purse of dirhems to one of his confidential servants, to distribute it among recluses. It is related that the slave was intelligent and shrewd, he walked about all day, and, returning at nightfall, kissed the dirhems, and deposited them before the King, with the remark that he had not found any devotees. The King rejoined: "What nonsense is this. As far as I know there are four hundred devotees in this town."
He said: "Lord of the world! Who is a devotee does not accept money, and who accepts it is not a devotee."
The King smiled and said to his courtiers: "Despite of my wishing to do good to this class of worshippers of God, this rogue bears them enmity and thwarts my wish, but truth is on his side."
STORY LXXV
STORY LXXVI
A Dervish arrived in a place, the owner of which was ofa noble disposition, and had surrounded himself with a company of distinguished and eloquent men, each of whom uttered something elegant or jocular, according to the fashion of wits. The Dervish, who had travelled through the desert and was faituged, had eaten nothing. One of the company asked him by way of encouragement likewise to say something.
The Dervish replied: "I do not possess distinction and eloquence like you, and have read nothing; so you must be satisfied ith one distich of mine."
The company having agreed with pleasure, he recited:
I am hungry and opposite to a table of food, Likea bachelor at the door of a bath of females.
The company, having thus been apprised of his famished condition, produced a table [with bread], but [as he began to eat greedily] the host said: "Friend! At any rate stop a while till my servants roast some minced meats." Whereon the Dervishes lifted his head and recited:
Do not order pounded meat for my table; To a pounded man simple bread is pounded meat.
STORY LXXVII
A Murid said to his Pir: "What am I to do? I am troubled by the people, many of whom pay me visits. By their coming and going they encroach upon my precious time."
He replied:" Lend something to every one of them who is poor, and ask something from every one who is rich, and they will come round thee no more."
STORY LXXVIII
The son of a Faqih said to his father: "These heart-ravishing words of moralists make no impression upon me, because I do not see that their action are in conformity with their speeches. They teach people to abandon the world, but themselves accumulate silver and corn."
A scholar who only preaches and nothing more will not impress anyone when he speaks. He is a scholar who commits no evil, not he who speaks to men but acts no himself. Will you rejoin virtue to mankind, and forget your own souls? A scholar who follows his lusts and panders to his body is himself lost, although me may show the way.
The father replied: "My son! It is not proper merely on account of this vain fancy to turn away the face from the instructions of advisers, to travel on the road of vanity, to accuse the Ullemma to aberration, and whilst searching for an immaculate scholar, to remain excluded from the benefits of knowledge, like a blind man who one night fell into the mud, and shouted: 'O Mussalmâns! Hold a lamp on my path!' Whereon a courtesan who heard him asked: 'As thou canst not see the lamp, what wilt thou see with the lamp?' In the same way the preaching assembly is like the shop of a dealer in linen; because if thou bringest no money, thou canst obtain no wares, and if thou bringest no inclination of the assembly, thou wilt not get any felicity. Listen with thy soul's ear to a scholar, although his actions may not be like his doctrines. In vain does the gainsayer ask: 'How can a sleeper awaken a sleeper?' A man must receive into his ears the advice, although it may be written on a wall."
STORY LXXIX
STORY LXXX
A company of vagabonds met a Dervish, spoke insulted words to him, struck him, and otherwise molested him; whereon he complained to his superior, and explained the case.
The Pir replied: “ My son! The patched frock of Dervishes is the garment of resignation, and who, wearing it, cannot bear injuries, is a pretender [only a false Dervish] not entitled to the frock.”
STORY LXXXI
List to this story how in Baghdad a flag and a curtain fell into dispute. Travel-stained, dusty, and fatigued, the flag said to the curtain by way of reproach: "I and thou, we are both fellow-servants, slaves of the Sultân's palace. Not a moment had I rest from service; in season and out of season I travelled about; thou hast suffered neither toil nor siege, nor from the desert, wind, nor dust and dirt. My step in the march is more advancing, then why is thy honour exceeding mine? Thou art upon moon-faced servants, or jessamine-scented slave-girls; I have fallen into 'prentice hands; I travel with foot in fetters and head fluttering."
STORY LXXXII
A pious man saw an acrobat in great dudgeon, full of wrath and foaming at teh mouth. He asked: "What is the matter with this fellow?
A bystander remarked: "Someone has insulted him."
He remarked: "This base wretch is able to lift a thousand mann of stones, and has not the power to bear one word. Abandon thy claim to strength and manliness, thou art weak-minded and base, whether thou be a man or a woman! If you art able, make a sweet mouth; it is not manliness to strike the fist on a mouth."
STORY LXXXIII
I asked a good man concerning the [good] qualities of the brethren of purity. He replied: "The least of them is that they prefer to please their friends rather than themselves; and philosophers have said that a brother who is fettered by affairs relating to himself is neither a brother nor a relative."
If thy fellow-traveller hastens, he is not thy fellow. Tie not thy heart to one whose heart is not tied to thine. When a kinsman possesses no virtue and piety, then severing connection is better than love of kinship.
I remember that an opponent objected to the last two lines, saying: "God the Most High and Glorious has in His noble Book prohibited the severing of connection with relatives, and has commanded us to love them; what thou hast alleged is contrary to it."
I replied: "Thou art mistaken, because, according to the Qurân, Allah the Most High has said, 'If they both [i.e. father and mother] strive to induce thee to associate with Me that concerning which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not.'"
A thousand kinsmen who are strangers to God Are the sacrifice for one stranger who knows Him.
STORY LXXXIV
A kind old man in Baghdad gave his daughter to a cobbler; the cruel little man so bit her than blood flowed from the daughter's lips. Next morning the father saw her thus, and going to the bridegroom asked him: "O mean wretch! What teeth are these? Chewest thou thus her lips? They are not leather. I do not say these words in jest; leave joking off, and enjoy her seriously. If ill-humour becomes fixed in a nature, it will not leave it till the time of death."
STORY LXXXV
A Faqih had a very ugly daughter, and when she attained puberty no one was inclined to marry her, in spite of her dowry and wealth. Bad is the brocade and damask cloth which is upon an ugly bride.
At last it became necessary to marry her to a blind man, and it is related that on the said occasion a physician arrived from Serandip who was able to restore sight to the blind. The Faqih, being asked why he had not put his son-in-law under treatment, replied: "I fear that if he is able to see he will divorce my daughter."
STORY LXXXVI
A Pâdshâh was casting a glance of contempt upon a company of Dervishes, and one of them, understanding by his sagacity the meaning of it, said: "O King! In this world we are inferior to thee in dignity, but more happy in life. In death we are equal, and in the resurrection superior to thee."
Though the master of a country may have enjoyment and the Dervish may be in need of bread, in that hour when both of them will die they will take from the world not more than a shourd. When thou takes thy departure from the realm it will be better to be a mendicant than a Pâdshâh.
Externally the Dervish shows a patched robe and a shaved head, but in reality his heart is living, and his lust dead. He does not sit at the door of pretence, away from people, to fight against them if they oppose him; because when a millstone rolls from a mountain he is not an Arif who gets out of the way of the stone.
The way of Dervishes is praying, gratitude, service, obedience, almsgiving, contentment, professing the unity of God, trust, submission, and patience. Whoever possesses these qualities is really a Dervish, although he may wear an elegant robe; whereas a prattler who neglects his orisons, is luxurious, sensual, turning day into night in the bondage of lust, and night into day in the sleep of carelessness, eats whatever he gets, and speaks whatever comes upon his tongue, is a profligate, although he may wear the habit of a Dervish.
O thou whose interior is denuded of piety But wearest outwardly the garb of hypocrisy, Do not display a curtain of seven colours; Thou hast reed mats inside thy house.
STORY LXXXVII
I saw bouquets of fresh roses tied upon a cupola of grass. I asked: "What! is despicable grass to sit also in the line of the roses?"
The grass wept and said: "Hush! Companionship does not obliterate nobility. Although I have no beauty, colour, and perfume, am I not, after all, the grass of His garden? I am the slave of a bountiful lord, cherished from old by His liberality. Whether I possess virtue or not I hope for grace from the Lord; although I possess no property, no capital to offer as obedience, He knows the remedy for the slave to whom no support remains. It is customary that the owner gives a writ of emancipation to an old slave. O God, who hast adorned the universe, be bountiful to Thy old slave."
Sa'di, take the road to the Ka'bah of submission. O man of God! Follow the way of God.
STORY LXXXVIII
A sage having been asked whether liberality or bravery is better, replied: "He who possesses liberality needs no bravery."
It is written on the tomb of Behrâm Gûr: 'A liberal hand is better than a strong arm.'
Hâtim Tâi has passed away, but for ever his high name will remain celebrated for beneficence. Set aside the Zekât from they property, because the exuberant vines when pruned by the vintner will yield more grapes.
* ↑ This word has already been explained in the footnote on p.27.
* ↑ An 'Arif' is a Sûfi who has attained the degree of ma'rifet, or (divine) knowledge.
* ↑ Name of a celebrated Dervish, whom a certain sect of Faqirs now still profess to follow in India as Pir.
* ↑ Meaning that the character of Dervishes is considered good and safe.
* ↑ Here the patched garb of the Dervish is compared to the costly robes with which the Ka'bah of Mekkah is covered, and the hypocrite who wears it degrades it.
* ↑ The tri-literal root of this word, which is the same in Arabic and in Hebrew, means nearness, and the literal translation of the expression Malak muqarrab, used in the text, is an 'angel who is near [God].'
* ↑ After obtaining divine revelations from the above-named two archangels, the prophet enjoyed himself with two of his favourite ladies.
* ↑ Literally: 'Thou makest Thy bazâr and our fire sharp.'
* ↑ Jacob is meant, who lost Joseph.
* ↑ Such is the Moslem tradition.
* ↑ If a Dervish were perpetually in a trance of ecstasy, he would desire the pleasures neither of this, nor of the next world.
* ↑ See Qurân, ch.1., part of v.15.
* ↑ In Sûfi parlance 'the Friend' means 'God.'
* ↑ This is one of the names of Mekkah.
* ↑ The direction towards Mekkah to be kept in view when praying in any part of the world, for which purpose a diminutive compass, called Qiblah-numâ, or simply Qiblah, is used when necessary.
* ↑ One mann is by some stated to be 80 pounds!
* ↑ The 'Pir' is the spiritual director of Dervishes, and guide in the 'Tariqat,' i.e. road to perfection.
* ↑ Namely, pilgrimage to Mekkah, which is in the Hejâz.
* ↑ A hermit, recluse, and devotee.
* ↑ Ecstacy is the fifth state, or degree, of the Tariqat, or 'Road' [to perfection].
* ↑ The praises of God.
* ↑ This is to be understood in a spiritual sense, to the effect that the poverty of a Dervish, which he bears patiently, is more salutary to him than riches, which tempt him to become worldly; this is also the reason why a Dervish is not to thank for gold poured into his lap.
* ↑ Minister of State, or Premier.
* ↑ Literally, 'Father of the Kitten,' from his habit of always carrying one about. He was one of the companions of Muhammad.
* ↑ Literally, 'the Elect,' another name for Muhammad as the chosen prophet.
* ↑ A 'Faqih' is skilled in scared and in civil law; 'Pir' is a spiritual guide; and 'Murid' a disciple of one.
* ↑ Neither money of silver nor of gold.
* ↑ Waqf is a pious endowment, and the above allusion means the food received therefrom by some Dervishes, whilst others beg for it.
* ↑ Rebat is a caravanserai, and also a monastery of Dervishes.
* ↑ A maxim nearly of the same purport already occurred in Story lxxiii.
* ↑ 'Tariqat,' literally 'the road,' but meaning the road to perfection followed by Sûfis and Dervishes professing their doctrines.
* ↑ Spiritual director of the Tariqat.
* ↑ 'Arif' is a Sûfi who knows, i.e. has attained spiritual knowledge.
* ↑ As in many other passages, so also here it was impossible to render the homophony of words having different meanings; accordingly khâk has been translated 'earth,' and khâki by 'humble.'
* ↑ Also the Sûfis are called 'Ikhvân-ussafa,' or 'Brethren of Purity,' by some; although the name properly applies to a celebrated literary society which produced many works of interest.
* ↑ Qurân, ch.xxxi, v.14. Here by 'associating with,' the attributing of partners to God, namely idolatry, is meant.
* ↑ This is a corruption of the Sanskrit expression 'Suvarna Dvipa,' 'Gold Island,' which is the name for Ceylon, according to Oriental authors, but according to European authors, for Sumatra.
* ↑ The word is a'ba, meaning a striped cloak peculiar to Dervishes.
* ↑ God's garden.
* ↑ A king of the Sasanian dynasty of Persia who reigned from A.D. 420 till 439.
* ↑ A pre-islamitic Arab, whose name has to this day remained proverbial for liberality.
* ↑ Zekât is the legal alms, sanctioned by the Qurân, consisting of 2 ½ per cent, from the income of every estate.