Note 32 — The Thirteenth New Year’s Feast

By the grace of Allah, it has become my habit not to surrender the nychthemeron, for more than two or three sidereal hours of the coin of Time, to the plundering of sleep. In this there are two advantages—one, the knowledge of the kingdom; the other, wakefulness of heart in calling God to mind. God forbid that this life of a few days should pass in carelessness. As a heavy sleep is in front, I must reckon as a gain this time of my wakefulness, which I shall not see again in sleep, and must not be careless of recollecting God for a single wink. “Be wakeful, for a wondrous32 sleep is ahead.” On the same day that I contracted fever, my son S͟hāh-Jahān, who is close to my heart, also contracted it. His attack lasted a long time, and for ten days he could not come to pay his respects. He came on Thursday, the 24th, and waited on me, and appeared very weak and powerless, so much so that if anyone had not explained the matter, one might have supposed he had been ill for a month or more. I am grateful that at last all ended well. On Thursday, the 31st, Mīr Jumla, who had come from Īrān—a summary of what had happened to him has been already written—was honoured with the mansab of 1,500 personal and 200 horse. On this day, in consequence of the weakness I suffered from, I bestowed as alms on deserving people an elephant, a horse, and varieties of quadrupeds, with a quantity of gold and silver and other valuable things. Most of my servants also brought alms according to their means. I told them that if their object was to parade their loyalty, their proceeding was not acceptable, and if they were acting from genuine piety there was no need for bringing their alms into the Presence; they could secretly and personally distribute them to the poor and needy. On Mubārak-s͟hamba (Thursday), the 7th Tīr, Divine month, Ṣādiq K. Bak͟hs͟hī was promoted to the mansab of 2,000 personal and horse, original and increased; Irādat K., the Mīr Sāmān, to that of 2,000 and 1,000 horse, Mīr Abū Ṣāliḥ Riẓawī to the mansab of 2,000 and 1,000 horse, with the title of Riẓawī K͟hān, and, being honoured with a standard and an elephant, he took leave for the Deccan.