Volume 3 — CHAPTER XII.

Of the Religion of the Sufiahs,[162] contained in three Sections.

Section I.—Some of their tenets.

Section II.—The open interpretation of their open confessions.

Section III.—Some individuals among them.

Section I.—Of some of their tenets.

These sectaries, like other philosophers, always were, and are, scattered among all nations of the 221 world, and are called in Persian vèzhahderún, “internally pure,” or róuchen-dil, “enlightened minds,” or Yékána-bín, “seers of unity;” in the Hindu language, Rakhísher (Rakshasas) and Tapísher (Tapasis), Gyanisher and Gyáni (Jnánis), or Atma-jnánis. The lord Maulavi Jámi, in his work entitled Resálah-i-vajudíah, “treatise upon existence,”[163] states, that the universal Being is distinct from any intellectual and exterior existence, inasmuch as every individual from among the intellectual and exterior beings belongs to some class of beings; but the universal Being is not subordinate to the condition of any thing; he is absolute and sovereign, and not general, not partial, not special, not common, and not one by (the number of) unity; for, it is neither a substance nor an accident, but by itself one, and not a multiple. These things however are necessary in 222 the sovereign being, according to their degrees and stations,[164] but the real Being, under the condition of no substance whatever, is distinguished by the name martibah-ahadiyat,[165] “degree of unity,” and all names and attributes are (as it were) consumed by this degree, which the Yogis express by the title hakiket al hakáyek,[166] “reality of realities.” But the real Being, under the condition of all things which are necessarily himself, according to generalities and specialities, is called by names and attributes of the divine degree, and this degree is entitled Vahedet-i-mokam,[167] “solitariness of station,” and jamah,[168] “union.” The real Being, under no condition of “a thing” (shí),[169] and under no condition of “nothing” (láshi),[170] is called húvíyat,[171] “essence, absolute being, objectivity,” and it is manifesting itself[172] in all existences, 223 and under the condition of “a thing and nothing,” is the form of the universe.[173]

Some of the sagacious have stated that, in the same manner as the sun is radiant, so the real Being manifests himself at once for in opposition to it is âdem, “non-entity,” and from the superabundance of manifestation the tongue and language (in the effort) to express and to describe, to define and to explain, become dumb. The final explanation of the two words, vojud, “existence,” and âdem, “non-entity” may be, that existence is the negation of non-entity, and non-entity the negation of existence; and the Lord of unity is the grand origin of the multiplicity of names and attributes. The first attribute, which emerged into manifestation by this Lord from within, was intelligence; and in this degree all aâyán sabitah, “fixed realities,”[174] were under intellectual 224 forms, and in this degree the Súfís give to the true highest and absolute Being the name of “All-Wise.” The impulsion of divine wisdom to procure to his fixed ideals the superiority over non-entity is by them entitled irádet,[175] “providence,” and the name of murid, “he who wills,” attached to God. As often as the divine knowledge becomes joined to accomplishment and victory, as having 225 given to the existence of knowledge the superiority over contingencies, in this degree they call this victory kadaret, “might;” and in this degree originated the name of Kadir, “Almighty.” With respect to the seeing of God, as the meaning of knowledge is his presence in face of the existing external figures of contingencies, in this degree, the name of Básír, “the All-Seeing,” offered itself. Likewise, the meditation upon God, by those who, praying, recite his emblematic attributes, is the time of propitiating; and the granting of these prayers is called samíâ, “hearing:” whence proceeded the name samíâ, “hearer.” Further, the will of God, the Highest, becoming concentrated in this state, having joined the letter kaf (k) to the letter nún (n), so as to manifest by action kun faíkun,[176] “Be, and it is:” this state they called kalám, “the word,” and the name of mutkalem, “speaker,” was produced on this account.

The lord Shaikh Muhammed Shosterí,[177] in his treatise Hak al yakín,[178] “the truth of conviction,” has 226 stated, that the action of choice prevails with the self-existent Being over necessity, because choice is presupposed in the nature of might, and provident choice, as well as vicissitudes and excitement, are parts suitable to a purpose, and providence came to succour every one of the necessitous crowd, by procreating remedies against the evils without number which are determined by necessity, in opposition to that necessity whence pure procreation proceeds. When the free agent is straightened in his choice, then choice assumes the nature of necessity. Thus Ibn Mâyín eddin Maibedí[179] relates, in his Favátah, “Prolegomena,” that the Súfis say: The wished for, but never-found Being proceeds from the field of pure non-entity, and the bare negation puts no foot into the station of evidence and habitation of bodily existence, in the same manner as the wished-for but never-found Being never assumes the color of bodily existence; certainly, the real Being also does not take the color of non-entity. The substance of any thing cannot be caused to vanish into non-existence; thus, if thou consumest a stick in the fire, its substance is not annihilated although its form changes, and becomes manifest in the form of ashes. The self-existent Being is an essence which is stable in all conditions, and in the accidents of existence, in the forms and 227 states which undergo changes, the divine procreation of the world is the manifested light of his absolute reality, under the shape of divers combinations which thou beholdest.

“Certainly God made the heaven and earth to shine.”

In the book of the sagacious is found that the beautiful of this world enjoys the advantage of his beauty, when he beholds and considers its reflexion in a looking-glass; on that account, the absolute Being, having been revealed in the mirror of existences and appropriate places, and having seen his beauty in various mirrors, and in every one of them being exhibited under a shape worthy of himself, become manifest in a series of multitudinous appearances.

The Súfis further say: God is pure, conformable to his essence, above all purity and comparison, and in the gradations of names and attributes praised in both ways. Whoever dispenses with the comparison of something which has no equal, does not know that, declaring God to be without an equal, is comparing him with pure beings. The friends of God say that his name is of three kinds, viz.: he is itlák, “absolute,” by his essence, or considered as an unsubstantial (abstract) thing;[180] and they give him 228 the name of zát, “essence,” like that of kadus, “pure, holy;” that is, considered as a substance, he is the Being the meaning of which is not dependent upon the meaning of another; they call him sifet, “excelling in attributes,” and háí, “living;” that is, considered as a substance, he is a Being whose meaning is dependent upon that of another. They name him fâl, “action,” like khálik, “Creator,” which is the general name of God, as well as 229 rahmen, “mercy;” but the great name is at last khafá, “the concealed (mysterious).” A person asked the lord Shaikh Bayezíd Bastámí:[181] “Which is the great name of God?” The Shaikh answered: “Communicate thou to me his least name, that I may give thee in return his greatest:” that is to say, the names of God are all great.

The sagacious say: Every era is the epoch of the fame and dominion of a name, and when this epoch expires, it becomes concealed under the name which it had at the epoch of its flourishing state.[182]

230 They say, the names of the Deity contain the distinct forms in the divine science, and these are called aâyan sábitah, “fixed substances,”[183] whether general or partial, and these intellectual forms received existence in eternity without beginning,[183] by fayz,[184] “emanation,” from the essence of God endowed with most holy emanation. Further, the intellectual forms rise into evidence with all dependencies and necessary consequences of the most holy emanation. The fixed substances have a relation to the names 231 of bodies, and to the external substances[185] of spirits, and between all beings there arises an interposition dependent on the degree of excellence which it has with respect to God. All the reality of accidental beings lies in the external existence; the reality of individuals is dependent upon fixed times, and every one emerges into existence at his time.[186]

The Súfis maintain that all attributes of perfection are necessarily inherent in the supreme holy essence; that is, are fixed by the purity of his essence. What in the accidental substance is fixed by properties, for instance, thy substance, is not sufficient for the revelation of thyself; as long as the attribute of God’s essence, which is the principle of that revelation, has not taken firm hold of thee, this revelation 232 cannot be obtained. On the contrary, God, the most High, stands not in need of that revelation of things, on account of the purity which is inherent in him; but his essence is the principle of that revelation; that is, his essence and attributes are one. On this account, the Amir of the believers, Alí, said:

“The perfection of the belief in the unity of God consists in the negation of attributes.”

The lord Shaikh Dáud Kaiśerí says in the Sherah-fes us, “Commentary upon the bezels:”[187] the knowledge of God the most High, in his essence, is the identity of the essence, and the knowledge of this world is that of the forms of things in it, whether generally or partially; and if one essence is said to be the receptacle of manifold things, this acceptation is not to be feared, as the things are identic with God according to the acceptation of “existence,” and in truth are different only according to the acceptation of being either involved or manifested. Further, in reality, there is neither state nor place, but there is one object exhibited under forms of decoration and portraiture by external appearances. Kasá, “God’s 233 universal judgment or decree (predestination)” is the summary decision of the conditions of existence, as the decision for the death of all mankind; and Kadr[188] is “the interpretation of that decision by determined means, and in consequence of results conformable to the faculties;” for instance, the decision of the death of Záid, on such a day, by such a malady. Kas a, “predestination,” is the eternal knowledge concerning existences, and this knowledge is dependent on the âyán sábitah, “fixed substances.” Each thing demands, by disposition,[189] a peculiar emanation of God.

The Súfis say, according to the sacred text:

“God created man according to his image.”

We have the power of acting on account of our being the mirror of the supreme essence; if we say: “The action is ours,” it may be right; and if we say: “It is of God,” it is equally true. The master of the rose-bower says:

It is written in the glorious Koran:

“If any thing good happens to them, they say: ‘It comes from God;’ and if any thing bad, they say: ‘It comes from me,’ say: ‘Every thing comes from God.’”

The Súfis say that the whole heaven is a body, the first intelligence its soul, the breath of the whole his heart, and the spirits of the seven planets, of the fixed stars and the rest, are his power.

“Your creation and your resurrection are as those of one man.”

The Shaikh Mohí eddin[191] says in his Faś hawdí, 235 “chapter of repentance:” The world is the image of God, and he the soul and governor of the universe, further he is the great mankind. The lord Maulavi Jámí, in the Nakd-al faśus, “the ready money of bezels,” states, that there are two divisions of the beings of the universe: the first consists of those who on no account have any sort of connection with the bodily world, in conformity to office and direction; these, called Cherubim, are divided into two classes: the one take not the least notice of the world and its inhabitants, and are named “the great Angels;” the other, although not connected with the bodily world, are yet entranced in astonishment as witnesses and valuers of God’s power, standing at the curtain of the divine court, and being the ministers of the supreme bounty; before them is an angel entitled 236 “the great spirit,” greater than whom no angel exists. According to another interpretation he is said to be “the highest secretary and first intelligence.” This great spirit (the blessing of God be upon him!) holds the first rank of this class. The spirit, who is called Jabríil, follows after him in this legion.

“The rank which he possesses is a place known.”

Another division is composed of those who have connection with the bodily world according to order and office; these are named “spirits,” also divided into two classes: the one are spirits who perform their office in the heavens, and these are entitled “the high angels;” the other class are those who perform their office upon earth, and these bear the name of “lower angels.” Many thousands of them are appointed to the human race, and many thousands to minerals, to plants, and the animal kingdom. The people of the revelation (prophets) say: “There, where seven angels are not assembled, not a leaf can germinate from a branch;” the seven angels are meant to be seven divine powers. Thus, the spirits of fire, who are called Jin and Siátín, “genii and demons,” belong to the kind of lower angels, and Iblis is their chief and ruler. The lord Shaikh Mahmúd Shósterí says, that Iblis is the power of imagination, which the learned call “the material.” The Súfis give it the name of “the foundation 237 of material substance,” or Enka.[192] According to the Súfis, matter is mâdum, “not eternally existent.” They call the absolute body “the universal body.” The Súfis say, as is found in the Favátah, that the spirit of mankind is the absolute spirit of the divinity; thus the spirit of mankind, for the sake of elocution—that is, excellence—expresses itself by sound; and sound, for the sake of elocution, by various distinct modulations, which in utterance are made sensible, becomes a word, and by the combination of words a language acquires reality. The Shaikh Muhammed Láhaji[193] says, in his Commentary on Gulshen raz,[194] “the Mystery of the Rosebower,” that the meaning of the expression “the divine spirit,” is “the revelation of truth in the circus of multiplicity,” and in the Sharh mahtaśer, “abridged Commentary (epitome)” on Gulshen, is found that, in like manner as the spirit of mankind becomes sound, and sound a word, so also the divine 238 spirit becomes jawher, “substance,” and substances become spirits and forms; thus human nature is determined in a manner that its hidden conditions proceed from the interior to manifestation.

The presence of the universal deity, which is expansive in the divine spirit and soul), is fivefold. The first is hazeret ghaib mut´lak, “the presence of the absolute mystery,” and this is one with the aâyían sábatah, “the invariable prototypes (realities of things).” The second is the hazeret ghaib muśáf,[195] “the presence of the relative mystery,” which is nearest the absolute mystery, and this belongs to pure intellects and spirits. The third is the hazeret musáf ghaib,[196] “the presence of the mysterious relation,” which is nearest the absolute evidence; this is the world of similitude, or dream. The fourth is the hazeret shahádet mut´lak,[197] “the presence of the absolute evidence,” which reaches from the centre of the earth to the middle of the ninth empyrean 239 heaven. The fifth is the hazerát jámâh,[198] “the presence of the vest,” and this is the universe in an extensive, and mankind in a restricted, acceptation.[199]

The Súfis besides say: The world is life and intellect, as far as the mineral kingdom; but the manifestation of intellect in every body is determined by the temperature of the human constitution. Sometimes bounty attains an excellence which is uttered with ecstacy, and becomes a modulation more powerful than that which strikes the ear: and this is the 240 mode of the prophet (blessing upon him!). Thus is it commonly related that Jabrííl brought to the blessed prophet the happy news, that his poor followers will enter heaven five hundred years sooner than the rich. The prophet, full of joy, said: “Can none of you recite a verse?” A person proffered these distichs:

Upon this the lord prophet, with his companions, moved about in ecstacy, with such a violence that the cloak fell from his shoulder.[200]

Further, the sagacious say that the forms of the sensible world are shades of seeming forms. The Súfis also maintain that a spirit cannot exist without a body;[201] when it breaks forth from a body, it obtains, according to its deeds and actions, an apparent body, which they call acquired.

وجود اندر كالش حويش ساريست

تعينها امور اعتباريست

امور اعتبارى نيست موجود

عدو بسيار و يكجيزست معدود

جهانرا نيست هستى جز مجازي

سراسر حال او لهوست و بازي

241 Section II.—Of the prophetic Office; and Explanation of the public Declarations conformable to the Revelation of inspired Persons.

The Súfis say: The prophet is a person who is sent to the people as their guide to the perfection which is fixed for them in the scientific presence (of God) according to the exigency of the dispositions determined by the fixed substances, whether it be the perfection of faith, or another. The Shaikh Hamíd eddin Nagóri[202] states, in his Sharh-i-ashk, “Commentary upon Love,” that Abúdíyet, “devotion,”[203] 242 and rubúbíyet, “divinity,”[204] both attributes of God; as often as the manifestation of divinity came to seize the lord of the prophetic asylum (Muhammed), and the quality of devotion became effaced in him, in this transitory state,[205] whatever he proffered was the word of God. The Máulaví Mânavi says:

And when he arrived at the quality of divinity, what he then uttered, this is called by them hadís, “sacred saying;” further, what he said with the 243 tongue of divinity, was a hadís. The meaning of the words “from Jabríil” is this, that between these two qualities (devotion and divinity), is a mind which in the manifestation of divinity is giving information from divinity, but in the quality of divinity there is nothing intervening between itself:[206] hence it is said:

The sagacious Súfís say, that what causes the revelation of the original Being in the gradations of divinity and in the wisdom of a book, and his appearance in whatever form, is the manifestation of his perfection, and this is of two kinds and in a twofold degree. The first degree is manifestation and exhibition in such a manner that whatever exists may prove complete, and this can take place only in the completeness of form; it is man who, according to the terminology of this sect, is indicated by it, that is, essentiality, which is the union of universalities and particularities: it is said accordingly:

“There is nothing moist—there is nothing dry, that be not in the manifest book (the Koran).” That is: Every thing is contained in the Koran.

Without him (God) there is no strength; it is by 244 him that every thing enters into the area of form and evidence.

(ARABIC SENTENCE.)

“Every thing has an advantage, which, at the junction of its parts, has been placed in it.”

The second degree is in the perfection of the existence of forth-bringing and exhibiting; so that every thing which exists, as it exists, is made to appear complete.

The seal, or “the last prophet,” in the terminology of this sect, is a person, to whom this office can be appropriated, and from whom the great business may proceed; but, in forthcoming it is not allowed to him to be, in form,[207] all-sufficient in dignity, and in showing this form in the world; this is not confined to a single person; but if this excellence is manifested around, it is acknowledged as the seal of dignity in this age. When this condition is established, then, by the before-said interpretation, the moon is said to be the symbol realised in this form, because, in the style of eloquence, it is generally usual to interpret the form of perfection by that of the moon, and “to divide the moon,” means in figurative language to elicit thoroughly the sense 245 from this form, without taking into consideration the instruments of imitation and the arrangement of artful contrivances. Thus was it with regard to the promised lord of the prophetic asylum. The lord Imâm Muhammed núrbakhsh,[208] “the light-bestower,” in his treatise upon the ascent to heaven, stated: “Know that the lord Muhammed, the Selected (peace be with him!) ascended to heaven with a body, but this body was light, like that assumed in a dream, with which he went into a state of trance, which is an intermediate state[209] between sleeping and waking, and on that account it is said in the first tradition of the ascent:

“I was between sleeping and waking.”

And further:

“God directed thee in the explanation of things revealed to the prophets and saints, upon whom be peace!”

That his being carried from the mosque of Mecca to the mosque of Jerusalem, is an image of the migration 246 of the terrestrial angels from one place to another. To keep the Imámate (or presidence) during worship is to the prophet an image, that in his religion there are many heirs of the prophet, who are the saints and learned men of the age.

Borák, the vehicle of devotion, is like an image of prayer; the saddle and bridle represent the ready mind and the perfect union of religion. The members of Borák, of precious jewels, typify purity, candor, affection, submission, humility, and perfect love of God, rejecting all other desire except that tending towards the supreme Being in prayer. The restiveness of Borak, and the aid given by Jabríil in mounting Borák present a similitude of the reluctance of the human mind to the wisdom of its knowledge of God, and Jabríil figures the science of divinity.

The travelling by steps up to heaven, means the gradual elevation by steps, which are remembrance, rosary-beads, praising and magnifying by exclamation, God and the like, by which the heart arrives from this nether world of sensuality to the upper world.

By the first heaven, which is that of the moon, is understood the arrival at the station of cordiality. The opening of the heavenly door by an angel, and the appearance of Jabríil, is figuratively the victory of the heart over remembrance, as will be explained 247 in the sequel. The arriving at the heaven of Aĺ áred, “Mercury,” is the image of elevation on the regions of cordiality on account of meditation on the knowledge of God, as—

“One hour’s meditation is preferable to seventy years of exterior worship.”

The arrival at the heaven of Zaherah, “Venus,” signifies elevation of the upper angels, on account of the delight and beatitude which are produced in the interior by the love of God. The arrival at the heaven of the sun is to be interpreted as the elevation in the inner sense, on account of accomplishing the precepts of the faith, and the promulgated orders, which are derived from it. The arrival at the heaven of Meríkh, “Mars,” denotes the elevation which may have taken place in consequence of the war made upon the spirit of fraud. The arrival at the heaven of Mishterí, “Jupiter,” offers an image of the elevation on account of purity, piety, and abstinence from any thing doubtful, which are manifested by these steps. The arrival at the heaven of Zehel, “Saturn,” is to be understood as the elevation from the state of spirituality to that of mystery by the blessing of exertion and sanctity, by choice or by force, which means overcoming a difficulty.

The arrival at Falek sábetab, “the heaven of the fixed stars,” is an image of the elevation by the blessing of firmness in the faith, and evident proof 248 of diligent permanency in good practices, and fidelity in the love of God and of the people of God. The arrival at Falek atlas, “the crystalline sphere,” is to be interpreted as the elevation to the utmost boundary of the angels by the blessing of interior purity, and a heart free from all desire except that after God.

The remaining behind of Borák, the arch, and Jabríil, in each station indicate the meaning, that in the worlds of the upper spirits, and the empyreal heaven, there are certain extents of spiritual faculties, and limits of imagination, so that no body can deviate from the station of comprehension, and

“The place of his acquisition is a place known.”

The explanation of this is, that, as the elemental body cannot deviate from the elemental world, and the soul, however composed it may be, cannot make a step out of the nether dominion, as well as the heart cannot leave the outer skirts of the upper angelic courts, so that the mystery never comes forth from the middle of the upper dominion, and the spirit cannot make a step out of the extreme ends of the upper regions into the âalem-i-jabrút, “the highest empyreal heaven,” and the hidden cannot transgress the empyreal world. Hence proceeds the sense of ghaib al ghaiyûb, “evanescence of evanescences,” the mysterious hidden.

249 The Enka, upon the mount Kâf,[210] is divinity, and there is annihilation into God. He does not allow 250 plurality nor partnership of eternal beauty and strength, and from that exalted station there is no descent. When a bird or man is annihilated, a name is always without a designate object. Vás el, “the perfect master of union,”[211] finds in this station 251 by annihilation into God emancipation from the confinement of visible existence, and acquires with an eternal mansion the intimate connection with God, and an exit from the garment of servitude, and becomes endowed with divine qualities. In the station of transition into God, Jabríil is the image of wisdom and of manifest knowledge, on which account it has been declared—

“There are moments when I am with God in such a manner that neither angel nor archangel, prophet nor apostle, can attain to it.”

When at the time of transition, science, comprehension, knowledge, and all qualities are cancelled and vanish, then transitory knowledge unites with the perfect science, the dangers of mankind are carried off and disappear, before the rays of light of the supreme Being. And this is the kind of knowledge which Jabríil revealed. Above this station resides the absolute Being. Again, ascent and descent, and letter and sound denote the meaning that mankind comprises all qualities—the high and the 252 low; by the exigency of its united properties, at times drowned in the ocean of unity, man is bewildered; and, at times, yielding to this prevailing nature, he associates with women. Know what Shaikh Aziz Nasfy says: Men, devoted to God’s unity declared, regarding the expression táí asmavat, “the folding up heaven,” that “heaven” signifies something that is high and of a bountiful expansion[212] with respect to those who are below it, and this, causing a bountiful communication, may take place either in the spiritual or in the material world; the bestower of the bountiful communication may be from the latter, he may be from the former, world. Further, any thing may be either terrestrial or heavenly. If thou hast well conceived the sense of the heavenly and terrestrial, know that mankind has four nishá, “stages,”[213] in like manner as the blasts of the trumpet are four times repeated: because death and life have four periods. In the first stage, man is living under the form of a thing; but, with respect to qualities and reason, he is a dead thing. In the second stage, under the form of mind, he is a living thing, but, with respect to qualities and reason, a dead thing. In the third stage, under the 253 form of mind, qualities he is a living thing, but, with respect to reason, a dead thing. In the fourth stage, under the form of mind, qualities, and reason, he is a living thing. In the first stage, he is entirely in the sleep of ignorance, darkness, and stupidity, as

“Darkness upon darkness——”

In this stage he awakes from the first sleep; in the second stage, from the second; in the third, from the third sleep; in the fourth stage, from the last sleep; and in this awaking of the heart he becomes thoroughly and entirely awake, and acquires perfect possession of himself, and knows positively that all he had known in the three preceeding stages was not so: because truth, having been but imaginary, was falsehood; and that heaven and earth, as they had been understood before, were not so. Further, in this stage, earth will not be that earth, and heaven not that heaven, which men knew before. This is the meaning of the words:

“On the day when the earth shall be changed into something else than the earth, as well as the heaven, and when all that shall be manifested by the power of God, the only one, the Almighty.”[214]

And when they arrived at that station and possessed positively the form of mind, qualities, and reason of an individual, certainly they knew by 254 means of revelation and inspiration, that except one there is no being, and this being is God, the glorious and sublime; they were informed of the real state of things from the beginning to the utmost extremity. In the account concerning the obscuration of the moon, and sun, and stars, they said: that stars have their meaning from the beginning of the light, which is produced in the hearts of the intelligent and select; that the sun denotes the utmost fulness and universality of light; and that the moon, a mediator between the sun and the star,[215] from all sides, spreads their tidings. Then the sun is the universal bestower of abundant blessings; the moon is in one respect “a benefactor,” in another respect, “benefitted.” As often as the sun’s light, which is the universal light, manifests and spreads itself, unity of light comes forth; the light of the moon and that of the stars is effaced by the light of the sun. From the beginning, the prophet says, that—

“When the stars shall fall,

And in the midst,

“When the moon shall be obscured,”

And when the select associate with the bestower of abundant blessings, that

“When the sun and moon shall unite,”

255 there remains no trace of istifáset, “diffusion,” nor of afáset,[216] “profusion.”

“When the sun shall be folded up.”

It was said that the earth of the last judgment signifies that earth on which the creatures of the world will be assembled, and that earth is the existing mankind, because the permanence of all beings is not possible upon any other earth. Further, there will be the day of the last judgment, and the presence of the inhabitants of the world is not intended, nor possible, upon any other earth but the actual earth of mankind. Moreover there will be Friday,[217] and truth will be separated from falsehood upon no other earth but upon the earth of the actual mankind. Then, there will be the day of the last judgment, and no mystery among mysteries will be manifested upon any other earth but that of actual mankind. Afterwards, there will be the day of ripping open the secrets, and upon no earth will a retribution be given to any body but upon the earth of the actual mankind. Finally, there will be the day of faith.

The lord durvish Sabjány gave the information, saying: With the Súfí’s heaven is beauty; certainly the other world of objects of beauty is to be referred to the beauty of God; and in hell there is majesty;[218] 256 necessarily the other world of objects of majesty is referrible to that of God; and the Jelálían, or “those to whom majesty applies,” will be satisfied in like manner as the Jemálian, “those to whom beauty appertains.”[219] Further, it is said, hell is the place of punishment; this means that if an object of beauty be joined to majesty, it becomes disturbed; in like manner majesty is made uneasy by beauty. From the lord Sabjáni comes also the information that the 257 sagacious declare: Phârâoh was worthy of the name of God, and in him the establishment of divinity gained predominance, as well as in Moses the establishment of divine mission. On that account the lord Imám of the professors of divine unity, the Shaikh Mahí-eddin gave in several of his compositions the proof of Pharáoh’s faith, and declared him to be a worthy object of veneration, as well as Moses. It is said also, that the land of Arafat[220] signifies the land, which is sought by those who made a vow, and conceived the desire, of pilgrimage, and with their face turned towards this land, with the utmost effort and endeavor proceed upon their way and journey; if in this country they meet with the day of Arirfah, that is, “the ninth day of the moon,” and accomplish the pilgrimage, they are then considered as having become pilgrims, and to have 258 found the fruit of their journey, and fulfilled their desire, as is said:

“He who reaches the mount Arafah has accomplished the pilgrimage.”

If they have not arrived in this land on the said day, they have not accomplished the pilgrimage, they have not become pilgrims nor fulfilled their desire. If this matter be well understood, it necessarily follows that the land of Arifát signifies the actual earth of mankind, because all beings, heavenly and earthly, are upon the way of travelling, until they arrive at the dignity of mankind, and when they arrive at it, their journey and voyage is accomplished. If on this earth, which is that of the actual mankind, they arrive on the day of Aráfat, which means the knowledge of God, they have attained their wish at the Kâbah, they have accomplished their pilgrimage, and become pilgrims.

Haj, in the Dictionary, is interpreted kaśed, “aspiring to,” and kaśed, in the law, means the house which Ibrahim the prophet (the blessing of God be upon him!) built in Mecca, and, in truth, this means the house of God, according to these words:

“Neither the earth nor the heavens can contain me, but only the heart of the believing servant.”

Besides, the Mobed says:

The sagacious Súfís said: Every action of the 259 actions commanded by law denotes a mystery of the mysteries. Ghasel, “bathing,” means coming forth by resignation from foreign dependence. Waśu, “ablution,” indicates abandonment of great occupations. Mazmaza, “rinsing the mouth,” refers to the rapture caused by the sweetness of remembrance. Istinsak,[221] “washing the nostrils three times, by inhaling water out of the palm of the hand,” denotes inhaling the perfumes of divine bounty. Istinsar, “drawing up water through the nostrils and discharging it again,” signifies throwing off blameable qualities. Washing the face, has the meaning of turning our face to God. Washing the hand is withholding the hand from prohibited things. Washing the feet has reference to giving precedence to diligence upon the carpet of devotion. Standing upright signifies experience in the earthly station. To be turned towards the Kiblah is a sign of offering supplications to the divine majesty. Joining both hands denotes the bond of an obligatory engagement. Keeping the hands open during prayers means holding back the hand from all except what relates to God. The Takbír,[222] “pious exclamation,” 260 signifies respect to divine commands. Kerát, chanting (the Koran or prayers), is perusing the divine signets upon the tables of fate, preserved in the heart by means of the interpretation of the tongue, and the renewal of information upon the boundaries of commanded and prohibited things. Rukuâ, “bowing the head with the hands upon the knees,” represents the state of resignation and submission. Sajúd, “prostration,”[223] indicates investigation of the divine Being, and dismissal of all pretension. Tashahhud, “ritual profession of religion,” refers to the state of resignation and humility. To sit down and to stand up before God five times means understanding and appreciating the five majesties, which are: divinity, grandeur, dominion, power, and love of humanity. Two rikâts,[224] “attitudes of devotion in 261 “the morning,” are indicative of God’s absolute being and of reality. Four rikâts relate to four effulgencies, which are impressiveness, agency, inherence of attributes, and substantiality. Three rikâts, imply separation, union, and union of unions, viz.: separation, in viewing the creatures without God; union, in viewing God without the creatures; and union of unions, in viewing God in the creatures, and the creatures in God; so that the view of the one may not to the heart be a veil to the view of the other. Keeping the fast refers to the purity of the interior. The sight of halál, “the new moon,”[225] is seeing the eye-brows of the perfect spiritual guide. 262 Aíd, “a feast,” is the knowledge of God. Kurban, “sacrificing”[226] (killing victims), denotes annihilating the brutal spirit. Rozah, “fasting,”[227] has three degrees. The first degree is guarding the belly and the sexual organs from what is improper; the second degree is guarding one’s self from unbecoming words and deeds; the third degree is guarding the heart from whatever is contrary to God. Jahad, “holy war upon unbelievers,” signifies combating the spirit of deceit. Múmen, “right faith,” implies adherence to whatever is essential to the true worship of God, and tendency to it by any way which God wills, for—

“The road towards the idols is formed of the great number of sighs of the creatures.”

The lord Aín ul-Kazat said, he has learned upon 263 his way, that the essence of all creeds is God, and that of all creeds of the sophists is this:

“All shall perish except his countenance (that is God’s); all that is upon the earth is perishable.”

And the meaning of the verse of the merciful is, that at a certain time he will be nothing, because on that very day all is nothing and this very opinion is the principal part of the creed of sharp-sighted men. In the takwiyat mâni, “the strengthening of sense,” the lord Aín ul Kazat, saheb-i zúkí, “possessor of delight,” said that the mood of the verbal noun is in progressive efficiency at all times, whilst perdition of all things at all times is also constant, but has no determined future time: consequently this perdition, which is an indetermined tense, does not imply that the contingent efficiency is perdition in a future time.

The Imám Muhammed Núr bakhsh stated, that all those who are reckoned to have seen God as particular servants near to him, have said the truth; because the rational spirit, which means that of mankind, is pure and uncompounded; on that account it is not prevented from seeing God, and those who speak against the sight are also right, because the eye cannot see the mysterious blessed Being on account of his solitude. An investigator of truth has said: Those who assert the solitude of God are right: because the blessed Being is solitary. 264 And those who speak of his corporeity, and consider God as one of the bodies, such as fire, air, water, or earth, say right, because he is in every sort of beings. Likewise, those who hold him to be good or bad, are not wrong; because nothing exists without him, so that what happens can happen but by his order. And those who ascribe the bad to themselves are right, because in practice they are the movers of their works. So it is with other opinions, such as those who consider God as a Father with regard to all existing beings, and this opinion is true.

The Sonnites recognise Abu Bekr (may God reward him), as a khalif on the strength of his perfection: this is sufficiently founded. But the Shíâhs oppose that on the supposition of his deficiencies. Besides, every body may, conformably to his own conceptions, have some objection to Abu Bekr. In the same manner, concerning the future state, there are contradictory creeds of nations, and histories of their princes in the world adopted as certain. All these contradictions of the inhabitants of this world are to be considered in this point of view—that they are more or less belonging to truth.

The Súfís maintain that vilayet, “holiness,”[228] in 265 the Dictionary signifies vicinity (to God), and in the public circle to be chosen by the people of God, is evident prophetic mission, and interior faith is incitement to prophecy; the prophet is its faith, and the incitement of the faith of a saint is the mission of a prophet, and the faith of an apostle is the completion of the apostleship. Inspiration takes place without the intervention of an angel, and revelation with the intervention of an angel is the revelation appropriate to the prophet. Inspiration is also appropriate to him.

The pious Sajan Sajání says, the perfection of sanctity is the period of a Mahdí’s time; hence all those among the saints who claimed the dignity of a Mahdi, were divine. In the same manner as every 266 malady of the body has a curative medicine, so every malady of the spirit has also its means of cure. Thus, as the pulse and the urine are indicative of the state of bodies, so dream and vision indicate the state of the spirit. On that account, the devotees relate the visions to their Shaíkh, who is the doctor of the soul.

The Súfís say, that upon the way of pilgrimage there are seven mertebah, “degrees.” The first degree consists of penitence, obedience, and meditation, and in this degree the light is, as it were, green. The second degree is the purity of the spirit from satanic qualities, violence, and brutality; because, as long as the spirit is the slave of satanic qualities, it is subject to concupiscence, and this is the quality of fire. In this state Iblis evinces his strength, and when the spirit is liberated from this, it is distressed with the quality of fierceness, which may be said flashing, and this is conformable to the property of wind. Then it becomes insatiable,[229] and this is similar to water. After this it obtains quietness, and this quality resembles earth.[230] In the degree of repose, the light is as it were blue, and the utmost 267 reach of one’s progress is the earthly dominion. The third degree is the manifestation of the heart, by laudable qualities, which is similar to red light, and the utmost reach of its progress is the middle of the upper dominion; and in this station the heart praises God, and sees the light of worship and spiritual qualities. With the pure Súfís, “the heart” signifies the form of moderation which keeps the mind in such dispositions that it may not at all be inclined to any side towards excess and redundancy, and the possessor of his mind whose fortunate lot is such a station, is praised as “the master of the heart,” or “the lord of the mind.” The fourth degree is the applying of the constitution to nothing else but to God, and this is similar to yellow light, and the utmost reach of its progress is the midst of the heavenly malkut, “dominion.” The fifth degree of the soul is that which resembles white light, and the utmost aim of its progress is the extreme heavenly dominion. The sixth degree is the hidden, which is like a black light,[231] and the utmost reach of its progress is the âálemi jabrút, “the world of power.” The seventh degree is ghaiyúb al ghaiyúb, “the evanescence of evanescence,”[232] 268 which is faná, “annihilation,” and baka, “eternal life,” and is colorless; this is absorption in God, non-existence, and effacement of the imaginary in the true being, like the loss of a drop of water in the ocean; and “eternal life” is the union of the drop with the sea, and abstraction from all except the proper view of the heart, or separation from the idle images which prevented the salik, “traveller,” in the midst of existence from distinguishing the drop from the ocean. Faná, “annihilation,” is of two kinds: partial, and universal. The partial consists in this: that a traveller is effaced at once, or that, by gradation, several of his members are effaced, and then the rest of his members. The senses and faculties pass first through the exigency of sukr, “intoxication,” and, secondly, through that of sahu, “recovery from ebriety.” The universal annihilation consists in this: that all existences belonging to the worlds of malik, malkut, 269 and jabrút, “of the angels, of dominion, and power,” are effaced at once, or by gradation: first, the three kingdoms of nature are effaced; then the elements; further the heavens; afterwards, malkut, “dominion;” finally, jabrut, “power.” Proceeding, the traveller experiences first the exigency of a sudden manifestation[233] of majesty, and, secondly, that of beauty.

The author of this book heard from the durvish Sabjání, that what the prophet has revealed, viz.: “that earth and heaven will go to perdition,” signifies “annihilation,” not as people take it in the common acceptation, but in a higher sense, “annihilation in God;” so that God with all his attributes manifests itself to the pious person, who becomes entirely annihilated. Eternal life, which is the opposite of 270 annihilation, has also four divisions. The first degree is eternal existence with God, when the pious person from the absorption in God returns, and sees himself âyin vajud, “a real being,” endowed with all qualities—

“Who has seen himself, saw God.”

If in absorption he keeps consciousness, there remains duality behind.

In the abridged commentary upon Gulshen raz, it is stated, that there are four kinds of manifestations. The first is ásárí, “impression,” by which the absolute being appears under the form of some corporeal beings, among which the human form is the most perfect. The second kind is Afâalí, “belonging to action,” when the contemplative person sees the absolute being endowed with several attributes of action, such as creator, or nourisher, and the like, or sees himself a being endowed with one of the attributes. The manifestations are frequently colored with lights, and exhibit all sorts of tints. The third kind is sifátí, “belonging to attributes,” when the contemplative person sees the absolute being endowed with the attributes of his own essence, such as science and life, or sees himself a real being, endowed with these attributes. The fourth kind is zatí, “essence,” in which, on account of manifestation, annihilation takes place, so that the possessor of this manifestation participates in a condition in 271 which no trace of himself remains, and no consciousness whatever is preserved. It is not necessary that the manifestation be colored in a vest of light, or that every light be a light of manifestation. It may happen that a light proceeds from a prophet, a saint, or a creature. The symptom of manifestation is annihilation, or the science (that is intimate knowledge) of the object manifested at the time of manifestation. The evidence for the truth of manifestations is derived from the Koran, or from traditions.

“I am God, the Lord of creatures.”

Moses heard the voice from a bush,[234] and the chosen prophet said:

“I saw my Lord under the most excellent form.”

272 The writer of these pages heard from the durvish Sabjáni that the Hindus and other nations, having formed and adored as Gods various different images, this is founded upon the fact, that eminent persons among them were impressed with manifestations; and in such a manner the ten ávatárs became the counterfeits of these manifestations; some of the ávatárs held themselves to be divinities; because they have been the masters of these manifestations; that the Jews and other nations acknowledge God under bodily forms proceeds from the like manifestations. Besides, that Pharâoh declared himself to be a God, comes from a like manifestation:[235] because Pharáoh, under his own form had seen God; on that account the lord Imám Múheddín Shaikh Mahí-eddín, in some of his compositions, exhibited proofs of Pharâoh’s religion, and rendered this personage 273 illustrious. Moses saw God under a bodily form, and did not find himself like that (exalted) being; but it was under his own form that Pharâoh saw God, and found himself like that being. Jesus declared himself the son of God; because he found himself the son of God Almighty, in a like manifestation.

Hajab, “the veil,[236] is of two kinds: the one, of darkness, is that of a servant, like morality and exterior occupations and the other is the veil of light which comes from God; because traditions are veils of actions; actions, veils of attributes; and attributes, veils of the essence of revelation, which relates to mystery, dependent either upon exterior 274 form or inner sense. The first kind of truth is called Kashef surí, the “exterior revelation;” the second kind is the Kashef mâní, “inner revelation.” The exterior revelation takes place by means of sight, hearing, touch, smell, or rapture, and is dependent upon temporal traditions; this is called rahbániyet, “way-guarding,” because the finding of truth according to investigation is contemplation, and some reckon this investigation among the sorts of istidráj,[237] “miracles permitted by God for hardening the hearts of sinners,” and of makr Ilahí, “divine fascination.”

Some derived the commands relative to the other world from the revelation, and confined their desires to faná, “annihilation, and baká, “eternal life.” The author of this book heard from Sabjana that the exterior revelation concerning temporal actions is called “monastic institution,”[238] because 275 monks belong to the exterior people; and its worship is, according to rules, relative to every thing exterior; and its purpose, on account of service, directed to the retribution of deeds, reward of heaven, adherence to a particular prophet, and the like. Further obedience is an indication which bears towards temporal actions; on that account its revelation is connected with temporal concerns. The devout Muselman follows also the rule of monastic life, and the Christian is not without participation in absorption and eternal life.

It is to be known that in the service of a king there are two confidential Amirs, who are not friends, but entertain enmity against each other. They may bring their own friends before the king. So are the prophets appointed at the court of God; if not so, how would the absolute Being have divided the extent of his empire by religion, if this were to be confined to one person? Another opinion is that of a pious philosopher, who contemplates the light of God in all objects of this and the other world, and turns not his regard from the least atom; he 276 raised this belief to a high estimation; and to him remained no rancor of creed or religion; whoever, in the service of faith and morality is not freed from duality, and whoever says, the state of Muselmans is in dignity higher than that of Christians, knows nothing of the real Being. Whoever said of himself: “I attained a height of knowledge equal to that of Mâruf Kerkhi,[239] said nothing else than this: the variety and multitude of the rules of prophets proceed only from the abundance of names, and, as in names there is no mutual opposition or contradiction, the superiority in rank among them is only the predominance of a name.”

The Súfis say: The spirits of the perfect men[240] 277 after separation from their bodies, go to the world of angels. The saints are directed by the interpretation of the Korán, and the vulgar people by the commentary upon both. Some maintain that the Saints do not subject themselves to it, but are tenacious only of this verse:

“Adore God, thy Lord, until attaining certitude (himself).”

The Shaikh Nájem eddin Kabra[241] said: When distinguished persons abandon the ceremonies of the worship, this means that these ceremonies which are performed by prescription, are contrary to them, because in worship no difficulty or inconvenience is to take place, but only joy and pleasure to be derived from it.

The lord Saíd Muhammed Nurbakhsh says, in the account of apparitions: The difference between baroz, “apparition,” and tanásokh, “transmigration,” is this: that the latter is the arrival of the soul, when it has separated from one body to take possession of another, in the embryo which is fit 278 for receiving a soul in the fourth month, to be reckoned from the moment when the sperma fell and settled in the womb; and this separation from one body and junction with another is called maâd, “resurrection.” An “apparition” is when a soul accumulates excellence upon excellence and an overflow takes place; so that by beatific vision it becomes visible; that is, it may happen, that a perfect soul, after its separation from the body, resides years in the upper world, and afterwards, for the sake of perfecting mankind, joins with a body, and the time of this junction is also the fourth month to be reckoned from the moment of the formation of the body, as was said upon transmigration.

It is stated, in the abridged commentary upon Gulshen-raz, that the soul cannot be without a body. When it is separated from the elemental body, it becomes a shadowy figure in the barzakh, that is, in the interval of time between the death and the resurrection of a man;[242] this is called “the acquired body.” The barzakh, to which the soul is transported after its separation from this world, is another place than that which is between the spirits and the bodies. The first is called ghaib imkaní, “the possible disappearance,” and the second ghaib maháli, “the illusive disappearance.” All those who experience the possible disappearance, become informed 279 of future events. There are many contradictory opinions about the illusive disappearance, which is the annunciation of the tidings of an extraordinary death. The lord Shaikh Muhammed Láhejí stated, in his commentary upon Gulshen-raz, that in the histories and accounts before-said is to be found, that Jábilká is a town of immense magnitude in the East, and Jábilsá a town of the utmost extent in the West, opposite to the former.[243] Commentators have said a great deal upon both. According to the impressions which I, an humble person, have received upon my mind relative to this subject, without copying others, and conformably with the indications, there are two places; the one, Jábilká is âalemi-misal, the “world of images,” because on the east side the spirits emerge into existence. Barzakh (another name for it) is between the invisible and the visible, and contains every image of the world; certainly there may be a town of immense greatness, and Jábilsá is “the world of similitude.” Barzakh is there the world in which the souls reside after their separation from the worldly station, all suitably to their deeds, manners, and words, good or bad, which 280 they had made their own in the worldly station, as is to be found in the sacred verses and traditions. This Barzakh is on the west side of the material world, and is certainly a town of immense greatness, and opposite to it is Jábilká. The inhabitants of this town are gentle and just, whilst the people of Jábilsá, on account of the wicked deeds and manners which they had made their own in the worldly station, well deserve to be distinguished by the title of oppressors. Many entertain the opinion that both Barzakhs are but one; it should however be stated, that Barzakh in which the souls will abide after their separation from the worldly station is to the right of that Barzakh which is placed, between the pure spirits and the bodies: because the gradations of the descent and ascent of beings form a circle, in which the junction of the last with the first point cannot be imagined but in the movement of the circle, and that Barzakh which is prior to the worldly station, with regard to the graduated descent, has a connection with the anterior worldly station; and that Barzakh, which is posterior to the worldly station, with regard to the graduated ascent, has a connection with the posterior worldly station. Further, whatever be the form of manners of the souls in the posterior Barzakh, this will also be the form of deeds, consequences of manners, actions, and qualities which had been owned in the worldly 281 station, in opposition to the former Barzakh. Then the one is a stranger to the other; however, as both worlds, inasmuch as spiritual essences of light, being different from matter, are comprised in the visionary forms of the universe, they may be taken for synonimous. The Shaikh Dáúd Káíśerí relates that Shaikh Mahi-eddin of Arabia (may his tomb be purified!) has stated in the Fatúhál, “revelations,” that Barzakh is different from the first; and the reason that the first is distinguished by the name of “possible absence,” and the latter by “illusive absence,” is, that every form in the first Barzakh is contingent, and depends upon exterior evidence, and every form in the last Barzakh, is inaccessible to the senses, and admits of no evidence but on the last day of the world. There are many expounders to whom the form of the first Barzakh appears evident, and who know what takes place in the world of accidents; however, few of these expounders are informed of the news of death.

The author of this book heard from Sabjáni, the learned in the knowledge of God; that the belief of the pure Súfis is the same as that of the Ashrákían, “the Platonists;” but the Súfis have now mixed their creed with so many glosses, that nobody finds therein the door to the rules of the prophet, and the ancient Saints. Sabjáni gave the information that the essence of God Almighty is absolute light, absolute 282 brightness, and mysterious life; that he is pure, and free from all colors, figures, shapes, and without a prototype; that the interpretation of the eloquent and the indications of the learned are deficient in the account of that light which is without color and mark; that the understanding of the learned and the wisdom of the sage is too weak for entirely comprehending the pure essence of that light, and as, conformably to these words:

“I was a hidden treasure; but I wished to be known, and I created the world for being known.”

The essence of God the most High and Almighty showed his existence, so that, except him, there is no real being. In this employment of manifestation, he entered into contemplation, whence the sage calls him the first intelligence; because this lord of expansive creation considered every being according to the scope of propriety; and when the Almighty Being of expansive creation had examined every form inasmuch as by his power it was possible that such a form might appear, he fixed his contemplation in this employment of manifestation, so that what is called “the perfect spirit” is nothing else but himself. From Sabjana the information has been received and found in books that Abul Hassen Surí said: God Almighty rendered his spirit beauteous, then called it “truth,” and made revelations, and brought forth names to the creatures; 283 the absolute being has two heads: the first is itlák sarf,[244] “absolute excellence,” and vahedet mahs,[245] “unmixed unity;” the second is mukayed va kasret va badáyet,[246] “compass, abundance, and primitiveness.” This, according to the greatest number, relates to unity. Further is âkl-kulli,[247] “the universal spirit,” which incloses all realities which are (as it were) concrete in him, and this is called ârsh-i-majíd,[248] “the throne of glory” (the ninth or empyrean heaven); he is the truth of mankind, and between him and the majesty of divinity there is no mediator according to the wise, although some admit a difference. Sabjání said, this indicates that they wish no separation from the Lord of grace may ever take place. Moreover, the universal spirit, which embraces all realities in the way of expansion, they call ârsh-i-Kerim,[249] “the throne of mercy,” and lawh-i-mahfúz,[250] “the tables of destiny.” Besides, there is the universal 284 nature, penetrating all material and spiritual beings, and this is called âikáb,[251] “vicissitude.” With the philosophers nature is the noble part of bodies, and Sajani stated, the penetrating nature in spirits indicates and signifies that there is one divine Being, and the rest nothing else but shadows. Finally, there is an essence of life, which the philosophers call hayúli, “the first principle of every thing material,” and the Súfis call it enka.

Section III. Of some of the Saints among the Moderns, and of the Sufis, whom the Author of this Work has known.

The God-devoted lord Mawláná shah Badakhshí, when he had come from his accustomed abode to India, by the assistance of God was received among the disciples of Shah Mír of the Kádarí lineage, who had chosen his residence in the royal capital of Lahore, and acquired great knowledge by his studies. 285 From the original compositions of this sect of holiness, we have the following quatrain:

Besides, the lord Mahi eddin Muhammed, the master of rank and dignity, the lord of the universe Dáráshukó,[252] having, according to his desire, hastened 286 to wait on his person, obtained the object of his wish, so that, whatever was established as certainty among the theological propositions which he found for the benefit of the travellers in the vast desert, he sent it to Kachmír, where the lord Múláná sháh keeps his residence.

“Upon the whole, God spoke by the tongue of Omar.”

Any questions of every one who interrogates are asked from him, although they may fall from the tongue of the asker, and the hearing of every thing solicited comes from the asker, although he himself may not know it.

“All beings are one.”

Some of this sect of Alides (may God sanctify their tombs!) also believe that the progress of perfection has no limits, because revelation is without limit, as it takes place every moment; hence it follows that the increase cannot be limited. So they say, if the Súfi live one thousand years, he still is in progress. Some of the ancient Shaikhs proffer, as a confirmation 287 of this statement, that the Shaikh al islam, “the shaikh of the right faith,” said: There exists no more evident sign of bad fortune than the day of a fixed fortune; whoever does not proceed, retrogrades. It is reported as the saying of the prophet (may the benediction of the most High be upon him):

“He whose two days are alike is deceived.”

It was also said: “A traveller, who during two days goes on in the same manner, is in the way of detriment; he must be intent upon acquiring and preserving.”[253]

The greatest part of this sect maintain the same doctrine, but, by the benediction of my Shaikh, the crier for help in the quarters of heaven, the teacher of the people of God, the godly, the lord Mulána Shah (the peace and mercy of God be his!), upon me, an humble person, fell, as if it were the splendor of the sun, and made it clear to me that the Súfi has degrees and a limit of perfection, that, after having attained it, he remains at that height; because with me, an humble broken 288 individual, to remain at a height attained, is proficiency, inasmuch as every state has its perfection, and the perfection of a progressing state annihilates the progress. This is also the meaning of the before-quoted saying of the prophet; because there is bondage with those who tend towards God, and absolute freedom with those only who are united with him, and the words “two days” refer to time. In the same manner my master (the mercy of God be upon him!) interpreted those words. The truth is, that they have not understood the saying, and have not penetrated into the interior sense of the figurative expression: because the latter refers in truth to the insufficiency of a contemplative man: And this sense agrees with that of the following authentic tradition of the prophet (the peace and blessing of the Highest be upon him):

“There are moments in which I am with God in such a manner that neither angel nor arch-angel, nor prophet, nor apostle, can attain to it.”

These words confirm his having once been in a lower station. It is said that the prophet (the peace and blessing of the most High be upon him!) was not always of the same disposition, the same state, and the same sort of constitution; but this is not so, but from the same approved tradition it is evident that the prophet (peace and blessing upon him!) was always in the same state, and no ascent nor descent 289 was possible therein because he says: “Yon place was at once so contiguous to me, that no cherub or no divine missioned prophet ever found himself in such a situation.” The time of a prophet is a universal one, and is free from temporariness: this time has neither priority nor posteriority—

“With thy Lord there is neither morning nor evening.”

Except this, the noble tradition has no meaning, which is also evident from the obvious interpretation, and moreover included in the state of perfection and constitution of Muhammed (peace and blessing upon him!). But, in the sense which they attribute to the words, a deficiency is necessarily implied. The state of the lord of the world (Muhammed) is always in the perfection of unity; this is the best to adopt, at times in a particular, and at times in a general qualification. There is also another interpretation which the Shaikhs (the mercy of the most High be upon them) gave to these words: inasmuch as the gradations of these Saints are infinite. Thus in the work nefhát ul ins, “the fragrant gales of mankind,”[254] the opinion of the Shaikhs is stated to be, that some of the saints are without a mark and without an attribute, and the perfection of a state, and the utmost degree to which Saints 290 may attain, is to be without an attribute and without a mark. It was said:

“He who has no mark, his mark are we.”

Besides, those who acknowledge an ascent without a limit, if in the pure being and true essence of the glorious and most high God, who is exempt and free from ascent and descent, color, odor, outwardness and inwardness, increase and decrease, they admit a progression, it must also be admissible in the existence of a Súfi professing the unity of God. And if they do not admit a gradation of progress in God, then they ought not to admit it in the professor of the divine unity, who in the exalted state of purity and holiness became united with him. When a devotee among men, having left the connexion with works of supererogation, arrives at that of divine precepts, he realises the words:

“When thou didst cast thy arrows against them, thou didst not cast them, but God slew them.”[255]

It may be said: Certainly, he who became one with God, and of whose being not an atom remained, 291 he, from whose sight both worlds vanished, who in the steps of right faith arrived at the rank of perfect purity, and from truth to truth became God, what then higher than God can there ever be, to which the pious professor of unity may further tend to ascend? It is known:

“Beyond blackness, no color can go.”[256]

Every one, as long as he is in the state of progress, cannot have arrived at the condition

“Where there is no fear and no care.”

292 Because care and fear derive from ascent and descent. Fear at ascending is in the expectation whether the ascent will succeed or not, but whoever disregards ascent and descent, and elevates himself above care and fear, he obtains tranquillity in tranquillity, and rectitude in rectitude. And the verse of the merciful is:

“Keep thyself upright as thou wast directed.”

Hence is also understood, that the Súfi remains steadfast in the dignity of perfection, for rectitude is perseverance. O Muhammed! it is necessary; remain fixed in the dignity of professing the unity of God, which is free from the misfortune of inconstancy. And the verse of the merciful is:

“The day on which I perfected religion for your sake, and rendered complete my favor towards you.”

This indicates clearly the meaning that, by this perfection also, the prophet (upon whom be the peace and the blessing of the most High!) is manifested. And those who, on account of the infinity of revelation, hold progress to be perpetual, are not right: because, as long as the sight is illuminated by the light of the revelation, the revelationists and the illuminated are still separate, and not yet become one:[257] in this state there is duality and infidelity 293 in the individual who has not yet been liberated from the idea of something double in himself, and he to whom an atom of something else but that one remains attached is reckoned, by all professors of unity and by all perfect saints, to be one who gives partners to God or an infidel, and in a state of deficiency.

* Why dost thou not thyself produce revelation, so that thou mayest always be illuminated? *[258]

294 As this question, solved in this manner by me, humble individual, was very abstruse, I sent it to my friends, that, if there were occasion for further discussion, they might write to me, and thus the matter be better elucidated. God alone is all-sufficient; the rest is inordinate desire. What has been hitherto said is taken from the prince of the world (Dara sheko).

It should be known that, in the work Merás ed al ânáyet, “Observations upon the blessed favor,” is stated, that the sect, which in their (exalted) feeling[259] conquer the state of jazbet,[260] jamâ va vahedet, “attraction, union, and unity,” have acquired, by means of the superiority of the manifest name (the quality of) exterior deity, and interior and hidden creation. This sect is called, in the language of the Súfis, saheban-i-kereb[261] -i-feráis, “the masters of 295 proximity to divine “precepts,” and this proximity is acknowledged to be that of divine precepts. This sect, which, on account of the proper meaning of the name of al báten, “interior,” may be brought into relation with expansive creation and hidden reality, this sect after jamâ, “union,” obtains ferk, “division,”[262] and this is called kereb-i-naváfil, “proximity of supererogation.” The lord Shaikh Muhammed Láheji states that jamâ, “union,” is contrary to ferk, “division;” and division is the veil of God before the creatures. Every one sees the creation, but acknowledges God to be without it; every one has the sight of God by means of the creation, that is, every one sees God, but the creation by itself affords no access to the sight of him.

296 Besides, the Mariyam of the world, the Fátima of the time and ages, the purity of human kind, the protecting intelligence, Jehán ára “the ornament of the world,” the begum, the lady, the daughter of Abu ’l Muzafer Shíhábu ’d dín Muhammed sáhib-Kirán sání Amir ul muslemin sháh Jehán pádsháh ghází, “the victorious lord, the bright star of religion, Muhammed, a second Sáhib Kírán, the Amir of the believers,” Shah Jehan, the conquering emperor, having secretly followed, by the desire of her heart, the injunctions of the blessed Mullá shah, turned her face to the right rule, and attained her wish, the full knowledge of God. One of the wonderful speeches of this blessed and exalted personage, whom the author of this book knew, is the following: In the year of the Hejira 1057 (A. D. 1647) Mulla shah came to the house of a friend in Hyderábád. One of the persons present, by way of reproving allusion, began to ask questions about the hurt which the begum of the lord received by fire. The teacher of morality said to him: “A slight garment imbibed with oil, when it takes fire, is easily burnt;” in such a manner came the misfortune upon the most pure form of her majesty. This person laughed and continued to revile. By accident, somebody came from the house of this person and said: “What, art thou sitting here, whilst thy sister is burnt, because fire fell upon her garment.” 297 The master observed: “In such a manner, I said, befell misfortune on the illustrious princess; God has shown it to thee.”

The Sufi Mulla Ismâíl Isfahaní, seeking enjoyment, came from Iran to the great towns of India, and in Lahore visited the lord Mián Mír; he chose the condition of a Durvish, and from Lahore soon betook himself to Kashmir, where he abandoned the worldly affairs, and practised pious austerity. The author of this book saw him in Kashmir, in the year of the Hejira 1049 (A. D. 1639). The following verse is by him:

From Mírzá Muhammed Makím, the jeweller, the information was received that Mír Fakher eddin Muhammed Tafresí was occupied in Kashmir with reviling and reproving Mulla Ismâíl and Fakher, and said: “These belong to the infidels, and are destined to hell.” Mulla Ismâíl answered: “In this state I withheld my hand from worldly affairs, and in this world never was associated to thee; in like manner in the future world, as, according to thy opinion, we are infidels, and go to hell, and not to heaven with thee; therefore it behoves thee to be satisfied and content with us, as we have left 298 to thee the present and the future world.” The Mobed says:

Mírzá Muhammed Mokim, the jeweller, further said: A person gave bad names to Fakheraye Fál; the latter, looking towards him, gave him no answer. When we asked him the reason of his silence, he replied: “A man moved his lips, and agitated the air; what does that concern me?” Fakher, the ornament of mankind, was not much addicted to religious austerity, but gave himself up to counselling, reforming, and correcting others. He assumed the surname of Tarsa, “timid, or unbeliever;” he called the Journal of his travels, Dair-namah, “Journal of a tavern (also monastery).” In this Journal are the following lines:

In the year of the Hejira 1056 (A. D. 1647), according to information received, Fakhera Tarsa left his old habitation in Ahmed ábad of Guzerat. The father of the Durvish, the pious Sabjáni, was an inhabitant of Hirát, but he was born in India. This illustrious person made a great proficiency in the sciences of philosophy and history, and acquired also a fortune but he at last turned his face from it, and chose retirement and solitude; for 300 many years he followed the footsteps of a perfect spiritual guide; he travelled to see monasteries and hermitages, until he became the disciple of Shaikh Mujed eddín Muhammed Balkhí Kâderí, who was free, virtuous, and remote from the world. The said Shaikh read the whole work of Shaikh Mohí eddín Arabi before his master, and his master perused it likewise with Shaikh Sader eddin. Kautíví, who had heard the whole of it from Shaidh Mohí eddín. Ths pious Sabjání frequently expounded the words of the lord Rais ul Mohedín, “the chief of the believers of divine unity,” Shaikh Mohí eddín Arabí, and those of the best Súfis, and as he was carried to the very limit of evidence, he found them conformable with the doctrine of the Platonists. The godly Sabjána studied the whole work of the celebrated Shaikh in the service of his perfect master. After this attendance, having resigned every thing into the hands of the fortunate Shaikh, he turned his face entirely to sanctity, and lived a considerable time retired in solitude, until his master declared to him: Now, thou hast attained perfection. The pious Sabjáni keeps nothing with him but the cover of his privities, he abstains from eating the flesh of any animal; he asks for nothing; if any sustenance be left near him, provided it be not animal food, he takes a little of it; he venerates the mosques and the 301 temples of idols; and he performs in butgadah,[264] “house of idols,” according to the usage of the Hindus, the puja and dandavet, “worship and prostration,” that is, the religious rites, but in the mosques he conforms in praying after the manner of the Muselmans; he never abuses the faith and rites of others; nor gives he one creed preference over another; he always practises abstinence, but at times he breaks the fast with some fruits from the mountains, such as pine-kernels, and the like; he takes no pleasure in demonstrations of honor and magnificence to him, nor is he afflicted by disdain and contempt, and in order to remain unknown to men, he dwells in the Kohistan, “mountainous country” of the Afgháns and Kafrís, and the like. The Kafrís are a tribe from Kabulistan, and are called Kafer Katóriz, who before lived upon mountains, in deserts and forests, remote and concealed from others.

The author of this book saw Sabjání in the year of the Hejira 1046 (A. D. 1636) in upper Bangash. This personage never sleeps at night, but sits awake in deep meditation; every one who sees him would take him for a divine being. Shaikh Sâdi says:

302

Sabjání appears a (divine) revelation in his actions, steps, attributes, and nature, and to have attained the summit of perfection. He said that, with respect to the other world, there are several classes of men. The one denies the absolute being; another interprets it in an abstract manner of reasoning, inasmuch as they have sufficient intelligence to be modest and conciliating. The distinguished Súfis, without interpreting the different systems of nations, which, in their separate creeds of various kinds and religions, differ about the beforesaid object, view in the bodies the agreeableness of imagery. Khiźer, Elías, Brahma, Ganésa, and all the gods of India, these and the like representations, which in this world have no reality, all are distinct objects of imagination. Essential is what was said by Abu Nazer Farábí (may God illume his grave!) that the common people view their creeds under the form of their imagination. The author of this book heard also from the lord, the pious Sábjaní: The contemplative man sees every one whom he loves and esteems, frequently in dreams in a beautiful shape, and in an exalted state, although to other people he may appear iniquitous; and the person whom he 303 knows to be depraved, will often be viewed by him in a repulsive condition, although to the crowd he may appear glorious and powerful. Hence follows, that the learned among the contemplative persons make use of a negative argument in their creed, in order that it may become evident what the truth really is. When any one sees a person of high rank, such as a prophet, an Imám, or any dignified individual, in a state of some deficiency, he views his own defects in his understanding, spirit, heart, or nature; and as these things are but seeming defects in the great personage, he must endeavor to remove them from himself. In like manner, if one sees a person in good health (appearing to him) in a state of illness, there is illness in his own state, and if he thinks him bad with regard to his own faith, he ought to be somewhat disposed to think that person good.

A disciple demanded some employment from Sabjání. The master asked him: “Hast thou devoted thyself to piety?” The answer was: “I have.” Then Sabjání said: “If thou art a Muselman, go to the Franks, and stay with that people; if thou art a Nazarean, join the Jews; if a Sonni, betake thyself to Irak, and hear the speeches and reproaches of those men; if thou professest to be a Shíah, mix with the schismatics, and lend thy ear to their words; in this manner, whatever 304 be thy religion, associate with men of an opposite persuasion; if, in hearing their discourses thou feelest but little disturbed, thy mind keeps the tenor of piety; but if thou art not in the least moved and mixest with them like milk and sugar, then certainly thou hast attained the highest degree of perfect peace, and art a master of the divine creation.”

Yusef was a man belonging to the tribe of Durds,[266] and in his youth a hermit; at last, by his efforts, he found access to the intellectual world, and by the grace of God he carried it so far, that he was ranged among the disciples called Sanyásis, on account of their piety and knowledge, and among the learned followers of the celebrated master, who dwelt in Bárahmúlah, a village in Kachmir. It so happened that, when he devoted himself to his service, he found what he was in search of. Shaikh At´ar says:

Having known many countries and persons, he became impressed with the marks of revelations. So it happened that the author of this book heard from him what follows: “One night I saw in a 305 dream that the world was deluged by water; there remained no trace of a living being, and I was myself immersed in the water. In the midst of this state I saw a kingly rider come, sitting upon his horse upon the surface of the water. When he came near me, he said to me: ‘Come with me that I may save thee.’ I replied: ‘Who art thou?’ He answered: ‘I am the self-existing being, and creator of all things.’ Then I began to follow him rapidly, and run along the surface of the water, until I arrived in a garden. There I put my foot on the ground, and, directing my sight to the right, I beheld a delightful spot, full of all sorts of odoriferous herbs and elevated palaces, huris (beautiful virgins), kaśurs (bridal chambers), and youths and boys, and all the gifts of heaven, as well as the blessed, occupied with enjoyments. Besides, at the left, I saw pits, black, narrow, and tenebrious; and therein, like bats, suspended a crowd of miserable beings whose hands and feet were tied to the neck. The horseman, after having invited me to a pleasure-walk in the garden, wanted to conduct me out of the delightful place, but I had resolved in myself that, like Idris, I would not go out of it. Then I stuck close to the door, and took fast hold of the post. When I awoke from sleep, I found my lips held fast by both my hands; and thus it was 306 revealed to me that, whatever is, exists within mankind itself.

“Demand from thyself whatever thou wishest: for thou art every thing.”

It is related: That there was a man called Baháder among the Hindus, and he happened to have no male offspring in his house; therefore he came to Baba Yúsef, and demanded his benediction. Baba Yúsef gave him a bit of white earth, and said to him: “Let thy wife eat it.” When the man had done as was enjoined him, a boy was born in his house, and received the name of Rahu. This individual, by the favor of the friends of God, became a learned man, and acquired the surname of “independent,” as was said in the chapter of the Jnanian.[267]

The Mulla, called Umer, prohibited Baba Yúsef to listen to music, and whatever gentle entreaties Baba Yúsef employed, he paid no attention to them; at last the Baba, in the perturbation of his mind, threw a small fragment of stone upon him, in such a manner that Mulla Umer lost his senses for some time; when he recovered, he prostrated himself before the Baba, went out, and was no more seen.

Yúsef, the inspired, was a durvish, devoted to the practice of restraining his breath, which he carried so far that he kept his breath during four watches 307 (twelve hours).[268] One of his friends said to the author of this book in Kachmir, that Yúsef during a length of time ate nothing at all. The friend related: “I went one night to watch with him; he said to me: ‘Go and eat something.’ I replied: ‘I will; but it would be well that thou also shouldst take something to eat and to drink.’ His answer was: ‘Thou art not able to satisfy my want of food.’ I assured him: ‘I am able.’ He then ordered: ‘Go, bring what thou hast.’ I went home and brought him a great dish full of rice, a large cup of coagulated milk, with bread and other eatables, as much as might have been sufficient for ten gluttons; he eat up every thing, and said: ‘Bring something more.’ I went home, prepared a meal for twenty persons, and with the aid of the people of the house, brought it to him. He eat it up, and desired more. I returned home, and carried to him meats half cooked and other things. He eat up all, and said: ‘Bring more.’ I fell at his feet; he called out: ‘Have I not said to thee that thou wouldst not be able to satisfy my want of food.’”

One of his disciples related: Yúsef said, that he 308 has seen God the Almighty in the shape of a man, sitting in his house. The author of this book frequented the society of many contemplative pious Súfis, and learned men of this sect, elevated in rank; if he should relate all he knows of them, he would have to write a copious work.

To sum up precisely the creed of all these sects, it may be said, that some do not agree upon beings perceived and beings probable, but all acknowledge the existence of appearances. These are called Súfistáyah, and in Persian Samrádí. All those who believe all ought to be comprehended in what is perceived, and deny any reality to things probable (or to the subjects of reason), are named Tábíâyah, “physiologists,” in Persian, Mansí. The belief of the latter is, that the world is composed of things perceived, and of individuals, children of Adam, and that animals are like plants: the one dries, the other shoots up afresh, and this occurrence will be repeated without end. Enjoyment is comprehended in eating, drinking, women, vehicles, and the like, and besides this world there is no other existence. Some agree upon the existence of things perceived and things probable, but differ upon the limits and laws. These are entitled Filásafa-i-dahriah, “secular philosophers,” in Persian Jáyákárí, “attached to temporariness.” This sect establishes a world of probabilities (composed) of nothing but things 309 perceived, but they believe also the perfection proper to mankind is that, after a certain knowledge of an Almighty Creator, they attain the future spiritual existence in an exalted station of the rational world, and become blessed with an abundance of every beatitude; they acknowledge a powerful intrinsic virtue of the intellect in the acquisition of this everlasting beatitude, which, with the essence of wisdom, has no want of another gift of any sort whatever. Disgrace means the opposition to the mode of laudable reason, and law is the mode in which the wise have settled the common affairs of the individuals of mankind conformably with rectitude.

There is another sect which, assuming the conviction of a material and immaterial world, and the power of reason, believe in a prophet, and say, that these distinguished persons have established the law for the good of God’s creatures and the order of cities; and to that effect they possess a knowledge of the highest and most perfect kind; they are supported by the self-existing Being for the establishment of regulations and the decision of what is legal and forbidden, and what they announce concerning the world of spirits, angels, the ninth heaven, the throne of God, the tables of destiny, the written characters, and the like, are all ingenious inventions, rendered sensible to the understanding of the vulgar under forms which strike the imagination 310 and offer tangible bodies; in this manner, in the account of the other world, they represent figuratively paradise, and húrís, kasúrs, rivers, birds, and fruits, merely with the intention of subduing the hearts of the vulgar, as allurement often renders their minds inclined to the proposed ends. And what they relate of chains, bolts, and hell, is calculated for alarming and terrifying the people. This class of men, that is the philosophers, direct also their hints and interpretation to this object, and their disciples say, that their wish is to follow the indicated footsteps of the prophet; these are the pious sages to whom they give the title of “philosophers of God,” and in Persian, Jánsáyi, “the polishers of souls.”

The sect which adopts the material and immaterial world, adopts also the precepts of reason, but not the laws of the prophet. These are named Sábíah.[269] Another sect agrees to the material and immaterial 311 world, and to the precepts of religious reason, but they say that the law of the prophet is 312 to be conformable with reason, and every prophet who appears is not to be opposed to his predecessor, and not self-complacently to exalt his law: these are the Yézdanían. Some adopt the law of tradition, which others, with respect to literal meaning, reject as contrary to reason.

It is known that there are five great religions, viz.: that of the Hindus, Jews, Magians, Nazárean, and Muselmans. Each of these five proffer claims that their law is the true one, and set forth demonstrations for the confirmation of its truth.

Finally, at the conclusion of this book let it be said that, according to the statement of some excellent personages, every thing relating to religion and law has been exhibited in the work Tabśeret ul âvam, “Rendering the Vulgar quick-sighted;” but at 313 present this is not before the eyes of the author; on that account its contents remain unknown to him. The author begs further to say that, after having greatly frequented the meetings of the followers of the five beforesaid religions, he wished and undertook to write this book, and whatever in this work treating of the religions of countries has been stated, concerning the creed of different sects, had been received from the tongue of the chiefs of those sects or from their books, and, as to the account of the persons belonging to any particular sect, the author wrote down the information which had been imparted to him by their adherents and sincere friends, in such a manner that no trace of partiality nor aversion might be perceived; in short, the writer of these pages performed nothing more than the office of a translator.

Thus, by the aid of the generous King, was brought to a conclusion the printing of this work, entitled Dabistán al Mazáheb, “the school of sects,” in the month of October of the year 1809, since the Messiah’s being carried to heaven,[270] the prophet, upon 314 whom be the blessing (of heaven), which corresponds to the sacred month of Zí ’l Kâdah, “the penultimate month of the Muhammedans,” of the year 1224 of the Hejira of Muhammed, upon whom be the most excellent blessings and veneration, as well as upon his family and companions. Glory to God for his benefits! at the final conclusion.