,j,m    ,,by ,f4 ,,hadland ,,davis      
,,author ,,of ,,jal,,lu',d-,d,n ,r,m1   
,,etc4      ,,wisdom ,,of ,,the ,,east  
,,the ,,persian ,,mystics      ,,london 
,,john ,,murray1 ,,albemarle ,,street1  
,w4    #aiah        ,with men of light  
,i sought these pearls to string1  ,the 
drift of mystics' sayings forth to      
bring4                                  
,j,m                        ,,to        
,,all ,,those ,,who ,,find ,,in ,,the   
,,wisdom ,,and ,,mysticism ,,op ,,the   
,,east      ,,great ,,beauty ,,and ,a   
,,great ,,peace       ,,this ,,little   
,,book ,,is ,,inscribed                 
,,preface    ,in the preparation of this
 little volume much depended upon the   
kindness and generosity of certain      
,oriental scholars1 who have allowed  me
 to reproduce some of their translations
 from ,jm4 ,i have attempted  to give   
their best work in so far as it tends to
 illustrate the  mystical teaching of   
the last great poet of ,persia4    ,once
 more ,i am indebted to ,mr4 ,e4 ,h4    

,whinfield for permission to  quote from
 his translation of the ,law'ih         
7,oriental ,translation  ,fund1 ,new    
,series1 vol4 xvi41 ,royal ,asiatic     
,society1 ,london74 ,i have  to thank   
,prof4 ,edward ,g4 ,browne for allowing 
me to use his beautiful  translation    
from ,ysuf and ,zulaikha1 which ,i have 
called ,the ,coming  of the ,beloved4   
,this translation appears1 in fuller    
form1 in ,prof4 ,e4  ,g4 ,browne's      
article on ,sfism in ,religious ,systems
 of the ,world  7,sonnenschein74 ,the   
chapter in the present volume entitled  
,the ,story  of ,ysuf and ,zulaikha     
originally appeared in the ,orient      
,review1  and ,i am indebted to the     
editors for their courtesy in allowing  
me  to reproduce it here4 ,i very much  
appreciate ,mr4 ,e4 ,edwards's kindly   
interest in my work1 and for the        
valuable suggestions he has made from   
time to time4 ,i tender my thanks to    
,messrs4 ,kegan ,paul for allowing me   
to make a selection from ,ysuf and      

,zulaikha1 translated by the late  ,mr4 
,ralph ,t4 ,griffith 7,trbner's         
,oriental ,series74    ,the translations
 from ,salmn and ,absl are by ,edward   
,fitz,gerald1  and those from the       
,bahristn were originally published by  
the ,kama  ,shastra ,society4           
,f4 ,,hadland ,,davis    ,,london1      
,march1#aijh4          ,,contents       
,,introduction          ,i4 ,,the ,,life
 ,,of ,j,m       ,,ii4 ,,the ,,story    
,,of ,,sal,m,n ,,and ,,abs,l      ,,iii4
 ,,the ,,teaching ,,of ,,the ,,law',,ih 
,,iv4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,y,,suf ,,and  
,,zulaikha        ,v4 ,,the             
,,bah,,rist,n1 ,,or ,,abode ,,of        
,,spring        ,,selections ,,from     
,,sal,m,n ,,and ,,abs,l                 
,,selections ,,from ,,the ,,law',,ih    
,,selections ,,from ,y,,suf ,,and       
,,zulaikha      ,,selections ,,from     
,,the ,,bah,,rist,n        ,,editorial  
,,note    ,the object of the editors of 
this series is a very definite one4     
,they  desire above all things that1 in 

their humble way1 these books shall be  
the ambassadors of good-will and        
understanding between ,east and ,west1  
the old world of ,thought1 and the new  
of ,action4 ,in this endeavour1  and in 
their own sphere1 they are but followers
 of the highest example  in the land4   
,they are confident that a deeper       
knowledge of the great  ideals and lofty
 philosophy of ,oriental thought may    
help to a revival  of that true spirit  
of ,charity which neither despises nor  
fears the  nations of another creed and 
colour4                                 
,l4 ,,cranmer-,,byng4                   
,s4 ,a4 ,,kapadia4    ,,northbrook      
,,society1      #ba ,,cromwell ,,road1  
,,kensington1 ,s4,w4                    
,,introduction    ,i4 ,,the ,,life ,,of 
,j,m    ,nur-addn ',abd-alrahmn ,jm was 
born in ,jm#a the #bcrd of ,sha'bn1     
#hag1 ,a4,h4 7,nov4 #g1 #adad ,a4,d471  
and died at ,hert the #ahth of          
,muharram1  #hih ,a4,h4 7,,nov4 #i1     
#adib ,a4,d474 ,dr4 ,hermann ,eth gives 

,khasjird1 near  ,jm1 as the birthplace 
of the poet2 but as ,jm himself refers  
more  than once to the fact of ,jm being
 his birthplace1 we must give the  poet 
the benefit of the doubt and ,i trust to
 his good memory in the  matter4 ,the   
fact that ,jm and ,khasjird are in close
 proximity ,i has  probably given rise  
to confusion in the matter4 ,it will be 
evident that  the poet took his name    
from the first-mentioned town4    ,in   
#hbb ,a4,h4 ,khwjah ,mohammad ,prs      
happened to pass through the little     
town of ,jm1 en route for ,hijz4 ,a     
great concourse of people came out  to  
do the holy man honour1 and among them  
was the little boy1 ,jm1 and  his       
father4 ,a pretty story is told of how  
,jm's father seated his son  in front of
 ,khwjah's litter4 ,i do not think the  
little fellow laughed  very much1 as    
most boys would have done on such a     
joyous occasion1  because ,jm1 writing  
on his impression of that day sixty     
years after1  tells us that ,the pure   

refulgence of his 7,mohammad ,prs's7    
beaming  countenance is even now1 as    
then1 clearly visible to me1 and my     
heart  still feels the joy ,i           
experienced from that happy meeting4 ,i 
firmly  believe that that bond of union1
 friendship1 confidence1 and love1      
which subsequently bound the great body 
of pious spirits to this humble         
creature1 is wholly due to the fortunate
 influence of his glance1 and  most     
devoutly do ,i trust that the           
auspiciousness of this union may  cause 
me to be ranked among the number of his 
friends4 ,jm seems to  have had much    
faith in the contact with holy men1 and 
he attached much  importance to a       
certain ,shaikh who took him on his knee
 as a child4  ,this very estimable      
reverence for holy men and holy things  
must ever  remain as one of the poet's  
finest characteristics4 ,we can1        
however1  never say of ,jm that he was a
 man of wide sympathy4 ,he was kind and 
generous towards the poor and needy2 but

 he lamentably failed where1  perhaps1  
he should have shone most1 namely1 among
 the literary men of  his own period4   
,he too frequently displayed a fighting 
spirit1 where  tolerance and a          
willingness to admit of another point of
 view would  have shown to greater      
advantage4    ,jm commenced his         
education at ,hert4 ,he strongly        
objected to the  disciplinary methods of
 instruction1 was not studious as a boy1
 and  preferred games rather than the   
study of books4 ,but he was naturally   
clever1 naturally quick at absorbing    
knowledge with a minimum of  labour4 ,it
 is said of him that he used to snatch a
 book from one of his  fellow students  
while on his way to school and excel    
them all when they  were examined in    
class4    ,jm soon left his instructor  
,mull ,junaid and became a pupil of     
,khwjah ',al al-,samarqandi4 ,jm was so 
brilliant a scholar that  after forty   
lessons further instruction from his    
master was quite  unnecessary4 ,after   

attending a series of lectures by ,qaz  
,rm1 at  ,samarqand1 he succeeded in    
getting the best of an argument with the
  learned professor who had given the   
lectures4 ,it might have been  expected 
that the defeat of an older man of      
letters than ,jm would  have produced   
ill-feeling2 but quite the contrary was 
the case4  ,qaz ,rm1 before a large     
assembly1 described ,jm thus3 ,since the
  building of this city1 no one equal1  
in sharpness of intellects and  power of
 using them1 to young ,jm1 has ever     
crossed the ,oxus and  entered          
,samarqand4 ,this was high praise       
indeed2 but though it awakens  our      
admiration1 the fact that he dispensed  
with home-work while  at school1 scanned
 his lessons while walking past the     
rose-gardens1  bettered his instructor  
in an argument1 and in every way shone  
as a  most clever young man1 because he 
simply could not help being anything    
else1 makes him not one whit dearer to  
our hearts if we expect from him        

something more than cleverness4 ,jm had 
not that greatness of soul  whereby to  
counteract the deterrent effect his     
conspicuous success  might have upon    
him4 ,in these early days of too        
youthful recognition we  find ,jm       
infected with that disease commonly     
known as swelled head1  from which the  
poet never recovered4 ,we see him too   
often as a little  tin-god denying1 with
 the exception of his father1 all       
indebtedness to  others for his         
noteworthy erudition--an absurd attitude
 for any one  to take4 ,he remarks3 ,i  
have found no master with whom ,i have  
read1  superior to myself4 ,on the      
contrary ,i have invariably found that1 
in argument1 ,i could defeat them all4  
,i acknowledge1 therefore1 the          
obligations of a pupil to his master to 
none of them2 for if ,i am the  pupil of
 any one1 it is of my father who taught 
me the language4 ,this  blatantly       
conceited attitude is both disappointing
 and surprising  when we remember first1

 that ,jm was a professed ,sf1 the      
follower  of a teaching the tenets of   
which are the abandonment of self and   
the  knowledge of ,god only4 ,second1   
that ,jm had a very decided sense of    
humour1 strongly in evidence in the     
,sixth ,garden of his ,bahristn1  so    
delightfully entitled3 ,blowing of the  
zephyrs of wit and the  breezes of      
jocular sallies1 which cause the buds of
 the lips to laugh  and the flowers of  
the hearts to bloom4 ,from these two    
things alone we  might have expected a  
finer and nobler character4 ,we must be1
 however1  content with the life of a   
great literary egoist1 abandon          
sentiment1  and remember only that he   
has left to posterity the most polished 
of  ,persian poetry4    ,jm's acceptance
 of ,sfism was brought about through a  
vision in  which ,s'ad al-,dn appeared  
to him and said3 ,go1 ,o child6 and wait
  on one who is indispensable to you4   
,as this message was delivered  by a    
spirit ,jm appears to have taken no     

objection to the word  indispensable2   
but on the contrary1 obeyed the command 
and went to  ,s'ad al-,dn for spiritual 
instruction4 ,under this holy man ,jm   
lived  the life of a rigid ascetic4 ,so 
devoutly and so strenuously did ,jm     
perform his penances that when ,s'ad    
al-,dn thought fit to lessen them  and  
allow ,jm to mix with society again1 the
 poet found that he had  lost his power 
of eloquence1 for which he had been so  
justly famed1  and it was some          
considerable time before he regained his
 position as a  great master of         
rhetoric4    ,i have already said that  
,jm showed a very strong liking for holy
  and pious men4 ,particularly might be 
mentioned ,shams al-,dn ,mohammad  ,asad
 and ',ubaid ,ullah ,ahrr4 ,the last    
mentioned alludes to ,jm as  the flood  
of light1 and to himself as the small   
lamp4 ,but ,jm1  nevertheless1 was not  
very optimistic in his views regarding  
other  people4 ,alas1 said he1 ,i can   
find no seekers after ,truth4 ,seekers  

there are1 but they are seekers of their
 own prosperity4    ,it was while making
 a pilgrimage to ,mecca that ,jm        
suffered  considerably from the         
mutilation of a passage from his        
,silsilah  al-,dhahab1 a passage        
purposely borrowed from ,qaz ,azd4 ,the 
mutilation  was performed by ,n'imat-i  
,haidar1 a native of ,jm1 who had       
accompanied  ,jm to ,baghdad1 had       
quarrelled1 and left the little band and
 some  ,moslims of another order4 ,the  
partially suppressed passage was shown  
to  some of the ,sh'a as the work of    
,jm4 ,the poet and his followers met    
with a heated dispute from the people of
 ,baghdad4 ,finally a meeting was       
called in the ,madrassah of the town4 ,a
 large number of excited people         
attended4 ,the ,hanafi and ,shfi'       
churches were represented1 and in  front
 of their respective representatives sat
 the ,governor4 ,when the  ,silsilah    
al-,dhahab was perused the piece of     
deception was discovered1  namely1 that 

the beginning and end had been          
suppressed1 and a passage  added likely 
to offend the people of ,baghdad4 ,peace
 was once more  restored4 ,jm1 however1 
felt justified in punishing the         
originators  of the plot4 ,n'imat-i     
,haidar had his moustache very          
unceremoniously  cut off1 and was       
commanded to forfeit a pious garb with  
the crushing  remark3 ,it will be       
necessary for you to recommend yourself 
to some  holy man of the day1 who1      
peradventure1 may yet put you on the    
right  way4 ,this man's brother1 who had
 also offended1 was forced to wear  a   
fool's cap and to ride on an ass with   
his head facing the animal's  tail1 amid
 the none too complimentary remarks of  
the ,baghdad people4    ,although ,jm1  
in spite of the incident mentioned      
above1 remained in  ,baghdad four       
months1 he never forgot the insult1 and 
expressed himself  bitterly on the      
subject in some of his poetry4    ,we   
then find our poet continuing his       

journey to ,mecca1 and both on his  way 
to the holy city of ,islam and upon his 
return therefrom1 he met  with cordial  
receptions from the people1 who came out
 to do him honour4  ,on one occasion1   
however1 while ,jm stayed at ,aleppo the
 ,sultn of ,rm  sent a messenger with a 
present of five thousand pieces of gold 
if ,jm  would consent to visit          
,constantinople4 ,the messenger came to 
,damascus  only to find that ,jm had    
recently vacated it4 ,the poet1 hearing 
of  the ,sultn of ,rm's intentions1 and 
wishing to avoid his munificence1  took 
his departure to ,tabrz4 ,at this town  
,hasan ,beg1 the ,governor of           
,kurdistan1 made repeated overtures to  
try and persuade the poet to  reside in 
his capital4 ,but ,jm1 making the excuse
 that he wished to  visit his aged      
mother1 journeyed to ,khorasan4 ,fate1  
however1 ordained  honours and showers  
of gold for the none too grateful or    
needy ,jm1  and at ,khorasan he was     
again the recipient of many costly      

presents4    ,jm1 probably wearied with 
the continual adulation which he had    
everywhere received1 now retired from   
public life4 ,at this juncture  little  
is recorded of him1 and here we must    
leave him with one anecdote  which will 
serve to show his ready wit3 ,you 7i4e4 
,god7 so occupy my  whole thoughts and  
vision1 that whatsoever comes into view 
from afar  appears to me to be ,you4    
,what1 said a sharp contemporary1 if a  
jackass were to come into view8 ,it     
would appear to me to be you6  was ,jm's
 prompt reply4      ,,ii4 ,,the ,,story 
,,of ,,sal,m,n ,,and ,,abs,l4      ,in  
this beautiful little allegory1 the     
meaning of which is so obvious  that ,jm
 need not have explained it in his      
,epilogue1 we read of the  ,shah of     
,yunan4 ,he was a king ever wisely      
counselled by a sage who kept  the      
,tower of ,wisdom1 and might be         
therefore reasonably supposed to be a   
fit and able personage to have about the
 king's person4 ,however1 this  sage was

 also a cynic4    ,one day1 after the   
king had poured forth a very beautiful  
lament on  his childless marriage1 and  
had concluded by remarking that a son   
was  man's prime desire1 the keeper of  
the ,tower of ,wisdom supplemented  his 
lord's remarks by describing woman as ,a
 foolish1 faithless thing1  and marriage
 made miserable by ,one little twist of 
temper4 ,if the  sage succeeded in      
frightening the king with his tirade on 
earthly  marriage1 he was certainly not 
successful in quelling the king's desire
  for a son4 ,of course in allegories   
nothing is impossible1 and we are  not  
at all surprised to find that the king's
 wish was fulfilled by  magic6 ,the fond
 father named his son ,salmn and chose  
,absl for his  nurse4    ,absl seems to 
have been delighted with her charge3    
,as soon as she had opened eyes on him1 
,she closed those eyes to all the world 
beside4    ,by this we might well infer 
that ,absl was a most estimable nurse4  
,it so happened1 however1 that her eyes 

remained closed to everything  else but 
her charge to such an alarming extent   
that when ,salmn  was fourteen years old
 she revealed herself1 with many subtle1
  ,zulaikha-like wiles1 as his devoted  
lover4    ,after the young people had   
spent a joyous year together1 the       
knowledge  of their attachment came to  
the ears of the king4 ,that wise ruler  
duly admonished his wayward son and     
suggested hunting in preference  to     
dalliance unwise4 ,the sage added his   
profound wisdom1 as was his  wont4      
,these admonitions only resulted in the 
lovers fleeing the city4  ,across desert
 and sea they went until they came to a 
most wonderful  island1 the island of   
all earthly delights4    ,in the        
meantime the ,shah became aware of his  
son's ,soul-wasting  absence4 ,the much 
troubled king looked into a mirror1     
,reflecting all  the world1 and saw the 
lovers on their beautiful island1       
,looking  only in each other's eyes1 and
 r never finding any sorrow there4 ,the 

old king1 remembering1 perhaps1 his     
early days1 pitied them at first4  ,but 
human pity is usually short-lived4 ,day 
after day seeing the same  lovelorn     
objects in the magic mirror1 he grew    
very angry and decided  to make the     
lovers' embraces impossible in future4  
,the king succeeded  in casting a spell 
and also in revealing his face to his   
son1 which  so pricked the young man's  
conscience that he and ,absl left their 
beautiful island and returned to their  
city4 ,but here ,salmn was torn  with   
conflicting thoughts about his beloved  
,absl4 ,memories of the  island garden  
came back to him again4 ,in this        
melancholy state of mind  the lovers    
again journeyed forth into the desert1  
this time to cut down  branches and burn
 themselves to death4 ,hand in hand they
 sprang into  the fire4 ,while one      
little hand slipped away from its hold  
and one  fair body fell among the       
flames1 ,salmn remained unscathed4      
,it was after this sad scene that the   

sage explained the nature of  ,celestial
 ,love1 and revealed to ,salmn's weary  
eyes the beautiful  goddess1 ,zuhrah4   
,little by little ,salmn came to regard 
his old  earthly love as ,the bondage of
 ,absl1 a thing merely of the senses1   
whereas this new ,knowledge1 this ,love1
 belonged to the ,harvest of  ,eternity4
 ,and so this beautiful little poem1 to 
put it as briefly as  possible1 tells of
 the love that binds and fetters and is 
corruptible1  and of that other ,love   
that is ,incorruptible4      ,,iii4     
,,the ,,teaching ,,of ,,the ,,law',,ih4 
,the ,law'ih1 or ,flashes of ,light1 is 
a theological treatise based  on ,sfism1
 and is a book of immense importance to 
the student of  ,mysticism4 ,it will    
afford him a very interesting and       
striking parallel  to ,neo-,platonism   
7,plotinus in particular71 and also to  
some of the  ,buddhistic teachings4 ,as 
,i have treated the subject of ,sfism1  
or  ,persian ,mysticism1 elsewhere1#b ,i
 need add but few words to this         

particular volume of ,sf lore4    ,the  
keynote to the ,law'ih is to be found in
 ,jm's preface4 ,he  describes the work 
as ,explanatory of the intuitions and   
verities  displayed on the pages of the 
hearts and minds of men of insight and  
divine knowledge4 ,after a request to   
his readers to refrain from  cavilling  
and animadversion1 he continues1 this   
time in verse3        ,believe me1 ,i am
 naught--yea1 less than naught4      ,by
 naught and less than naught what can be
 taught8        ,i tell the mysteries of
 truth1 but know      ,naught save the  
telling to this task ,i brought4        
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99  
99      ,with men of light ,i sought    
these pearls to string1      ,the drift 
of mystics' sayings forth to bring4     
,the ,law'ih1 expounds some very        
beautiful and very ennobling truths4    
,in ,flash ,,ii4 ,jm pleads for the love
 of ,one and the abandonment of  all    
little earthly loves that distract the  
attention of the lover for  his         

,beloved--precisely the same theme as   
that expressed in ,salmn  and ,absl4    
,the poet loudly condemns ,hell-born    
vanity and the  accumulation of worldly 
wisdom1 even all learning except ,the   
lore of  ,god4 ,it would be a strange   
theme for a poet to so persistently     
choose  were not ,jm a mystic4 ,with the
 ,inner light of the true mystic he     
sets aside the things of the world as   
being unsatisfactory4 ,he does  not1    
however1 merely pull down the fading1   
ever vanishing vanities of  the world1  
but with the strong clear voice of the  
poet-prophet1 he  sings3        ,the    
fleeting phantoms you admire to-day     
,will soon at ,heaven's behest be swept 
away4      ,o give your heart to ,him   
who never fails1      ,who1 ever with   
you1 and will ever stay4    ,jm         
advocates1 as others have done before   
him1 the destruction of self  in order  
to gain knowledge of ,very ,being1      
,until ,he mingles ,himself  with thy   
soul1 and thine own individual existence

 passes out of thy  sight4 ,the poet    
also discusses the question of matter   
being maya--  ,i delusion1 the ceaseless
 round of ,accidents1 the ,i ever coming
 and  vanishing media for the           
revelations of the ,beloved4    ,the    
,law'ih should be studied in conjunction
 with ,mahmud ,shabistari's             
,gulshan-i-,raz#c or ,the ,mystic ,rose 
,garden4 ,the main teaching of  both    
these books is that the indwelling of   
,god ,i in the soul can only  take place
 when that soul realises that self is a 
delusion1 that things  of this ,i world 
are but phantom-pictures coming and     
going1 as it were1  upon the surface of 
a mirror3        ,go1 sweep out the     
chamber of your heart1      ,make it    
ready to be the dwelling-place of the   
,beloved4      ,when you depart out1 ,he
 will enter in1      ,in you1 void of   
yourself1 will ,he display ,his         
beauty4#d    ,the phenomenal world to   
the ,sf was nothing more than an        
ever-recurring process of genesis and   

end3 union with the ,divine1            
annihilation of that process4 ,the      
,law'ih is deeply spiritual  throughout1
 and full of an almost pathetic pity for
 those who delight  in worldly pleasures
 and find no joy in contemplating ,union
 with the  ,beloved4    ,jm1 after      
having spent considerable care on his   
,law'ih1 and after  his reader has made 
a strenuous effort to catch a momentary 
glimpse of  his visionary meaning1      
concludes3        ,jm1 leave polishing  
of phrases1 cease      ,writing and     
chanting fables1 hold thy peace2        
,dream not that ,truth can be revealed  
by words3      ,from this fond dream1 ,o
 dreamer1 find release6             99  
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99  
,how long wilt thou keep clanging like a
 bell8      ,thou'lt never come to hold 
the pearl of ,truth      ,till thou art 
made all ear1 as is the shell4    ,and  
here we see the great mystical poet     
sitting1 like a little child  listening 
to a tale that is told1 quelled into    

reverential silence by  the greatness of
 the theme4 ,it is in silence1 in the   
quiet places of  our hearts1 rather than
 on the housetops of much controversy1  
that we  can hear the sweet call of the 
,beloved and forget the clanging of the 
world in the ,great ,peace which ,he    
alone can give4      ,,iv4 ,,the ,,story
 ,,of ,y,,suf ,,and ,,zulaikha4    ,ysuf
 and ,zulaikha1 like ,salmn and ,absl1  
belongs to the series  of poems known as
 the ,haft ,aurang4 ,jm heralds his poem
 with a good  deal of laudacious singing
 on the ,prophet1 ,beauty1 ,love1 and   
concludes  by remarking that the loves  
of ,majnn and ,laila have had their day1
  and makes this excuse for weaving     
another love poem on another theme4     
,but this scheme was scarcely original1 
,firdaws and ,ansari having  previously 
composed poems on a similar subject4    
,however1 the tongue of  the critic is  
surely silenced by these humble lines3  
,if here and there a slip or fault you  
see1      ,may he not lay the blame of  

all on me4      ,may he correct my      
errors1 or befriend      ,with generous 
silence faults he cannot mend4    ,if   
the work be regarded as a love poem1    
without its mystical  interpretation1   
,ysuf may well be regarded as a cold1   
statuesque young  man of the ,st4       
,anthony type1 but cast in a more       
beautiful mould4  ,while we may equally 
well regard ,zulaikha as a passionate   
young lady  sadly lacking in worldly    
wisdom4 ,the coldness of ,ysuf would    
probably  irritate us were we not       
frequently reminded of the way in which 
poor  ,zulaikha plagues him with her too
 constant attentions4 ,neither strike   
us as being very ordinary human people  
for precisely reverse reasons4  ,there  
are occasions1 however1 when ,zulaikha  
awakens our sympathy4 ,it is  touching  
to note that when she finds her own love
 slighted she should  send other women  
to try their fortune with him1          
intending1 should they  succeed1 to     
subtly take their place by strategy of  

some kind4 ,again1  in the splendid     
,palace of ,pleasure1 painted all over1 
floor and wall  and ceiling1 with       
love-entwined figures of ,ysuf and      
,zulaikha1 there is  an idol--,a golden 
idol with jewelled eyes1 representing   
this fatuous  woman's love4 ,the idol is
 placed behind a curtain1 and on ,ysuf  
asking  the reason1 ,zulaikha replies3  
,if ,i swerve from religion ,i would not
 be      ,where the angry eyes of my god
 may see4    ,then we watch the honeyed 
sweetness of ,zulaikha's passion burst  
forth  into bitter hate and shameless   
lying4 ,we see the proud1 chaste ,ysuf  
cast into prison on false pretences and 
quite melodramatically freed  by the    
marvellous utterance of a babe at its   
mother's breast4#e  ,but ,zulaikha finds
 the gossip of ,memphis hard to be      
borne--the  insinuations1 the sneers1   
the cruel reproaches for the unrequited 
and  ill-fated love of hers4 ,moreover1 
,zulaikha1 like the women of ,austria   
at the beginning of the eighteenth      

century1#f had a husband as well  as a  
lover1 ,potiphar1 ,grand ,vizier of     
,egypt4 ,these two concocted a          
scandalous story1 which was easily set  
going and as easily believed by  the    
common people4 ,it resulted in ,ysuf    
being again sent to prison4 ,at  this   
point of the poem we are once more      
reminded of the ,bible story of         
,joseph1 for ,jm also mentions the      
interpretation of ,pharaoh's dream1  the
 release of the interpreter1 and the    
unlimited power as the king's  right    
hand that followed4    ,so we watch     
,ysuf rise from slave to be the king's  
chief adviser1 and  in consequence the  
fall of the ,grand ,vizier and          
,zulaikha4 ,the success  of ,ysuf       
awakens little admiration4 ,he is so far
 from being human that  we should not   
have been very surprised if he had eaten
 one of the  ,pyramids4    ,but         
,zulaikha's condition is to be pitied4  
,she is now a widow4 ,her  jewels are   
gone1 her dress is in rags1 there are   

wrinkles in her once  beautiful face1   
and her back is bent4 ,but more than all
 these trials is  the loss of her       
eyesight4 ,we see her crouching in the  
road1 listening  eagerly for the sound  
of the coming of the proud ,ysuf on his 
wonderful  steed1#g happy to feel the   
dust of his passing procession4 ,there  
is a  note of real pathos in this scene4
 ,we see for the first time1 perhaps1   
that ,zulaikha's passion is changing    
into a fairer1 nobler thing4  ,sometimes
 the boys who preceded ,ysuf would shout
 to her as she sat by  her cottage of   
reeds1 ,ysuf is nigh6 ,but ,zulaikha's  
heart1 sore and  hungry and yearning1   
knew better than they the approach of   
her lord4  ,the eyes that had seen the  
,palace of ,pleasure saw more now that  
they  were blind6 ,and yet the old      
passion had not quite burnt itself out4 
,we  see the bent form crouching on the 
ground1 feeling the statue of her  ,ysuf
 with her thin1 trembling fingers1 and  
piteously praying for some  recognition4

    ,the sound of ,ysuf's steed is heard
 in the distance1 and a great shout     
rends the air3 ,make room6 ,make room6  
,zulaikha again crouches in the         
roadway4 ,how long has she made room for
 the selfish and unfeeling  ambitions of
 a man who was once her pampered slave6 
,it is then1 for the  first time1 that  
the soul of ,zulaikha asserts itself and
 the mysticism  of the poem becomes     
strongly evident4 ,the material spell of
 a fleshly  love is broken at last4 ,in 
humility and absolute resignation       
,zulaikha  shatters her once dear idol1 
destroys a sordid and hopeless dream4   
,her  red rose of passion is turned into
 a white one1 as she fervently cries3   
,o ,god1 who lovest the humble1 ,thou   
,to whom idols1 their makers1 their     
servants bow2      ',tis to the light   
which ,thy splendour lends      ,to the 
idol's face that its worshipper bends4  
,still more triumphant are her words3   
,glory to ,god6 to a monarch's state    
,he has cast the king from his glory    

down1      ,and set on the head of a    
servant his crown4    ,these words      
sufficiently interest ,ysuf to ask1 ,who
 is this  bedeswoman8 and eventually to 
win an interview for the poor ,unpitied1
  forgotten1 disgraced woman4 ,ysuf does
 not proceed to moralise2 but he  does  
not dispense with frigid formalities    
beyond calling her ,zulaikha  and       
offering1 in a studied kind of way1 to  
do anything for her that she  may       
desire4 ,zulaikha asks for beauty1      
youth1 and the power to win his  love4  
,ysuf grants her first two wishes1 and  
the decrepit old woman  is changed into 
the ravishingly beautiful ,zulaikha of  
eighteen4 ,but  ,ysuf1#h cold even now1 
in silence turns in prayer to ,heaven1  
and  takes ,gabriel's word rather than  
his own conviction that he is doing     
well to marry her at last4    ,here the 
late ,mr4 ,ralph ,griffith's translation
 of ,ysuf and ,zulaikha  ends1 and the  
curious and farseeing might be pardoned 
for conjecturing  an unhappy marriage   

under these remarkably one-sided        
circumstances4  ,but in the original the
 poem does not end here4 ,for the       
advantage of  optimistic believers in   
marriage1 ,i may add that these two     
people  had an almost unending          
honeymoon4 ,remarkable as it may appear1
  ,zulaikha actually became religious1  
for which altogether wonderful  and     
unexpected event the now kindly ,ysuf   
built her a most beautiful  ,house of   
,prayer4 ,the canto entitled ,the       
,longed-for ,death is a little          
disconcerting1 perhaps1 but we may      
reasonably suppose that ,ysuf became    
religious too1 and was not in any way   
uncomplimentary to his beautiful  bride4
 ,his death was well arranged1 and he   
was shortly joined by the  soul of      
,zulaikha4    ,this1 then1 is  brief    
sketch of ,ysuf and ,zulaikha4 ,like    
,salmn  and ,absl it is intended to     
reveal the beauty of the ,beloved2 that 
,he can be only approached after much   
purification1 when the physical  form   

ceases to blind the soul's outlook1 and 
only when we realise that  passion is an
 idol that must be broken1 and ,love the
 pure ,light that  shines alone from    
,him4      ,v4 ,,the ,,bah,,rist,n1 ,,or
 ,,abode ,,of ,,spring      ,the        
,bahristn1 or ,abode of ,spring1 is     
admitted by ,jm to be  an imitation of  
,sa'di's ,gulistn1 or ,rose ,garden4    
,the idea of  arranging a book of verse 
and prose into a series of ,gardens was 
a very beautiful one4 ,two other books  
compiled on similar lines are  ,sa'di's 
,bstn1 or ,orchard1 and the ,nigaristn1 
or ,picture  ,gallery1 by ,mu'in-uddin  
,jawini1 which appeared in #accd ,a4,d4 
,sir  ,edwin ,arnold's ,with ,sa'di in a
 ,garden gives the ,westerner some  idea
 of the beauty of ,eastern gardens1 and 
this particular garden is  rendered all 
the more delectable because it holds a  
greater beauty  than the loveliest      
garden1 the ,taj ,mahal itself4 ,sir    
,edwin transfers  ,persian poetry to an 
,indian garden1 which is not very       

dissimilar to  the beautiful gardens of 
,shiraz4 ,professor ,a4 ,v4 ,williams   
,jackson#i  describes the               
,bagh-i-,takht1 ,garden of the ,throne1 
thus3 ,terrace  rises above terrace1 and
 fountain1 channel1 and stream pour     
their  waters in cascades over slabs of 
marble into reservoirs faced with       
stone--the walks bordered with cypress  
and orange trees4 ,it would be          
interesting to know if the terraces in  
any way corresponded with the  idea of  
naming and numbering the ,gardens in    
,jm's ,bahristn4 ,a  beautiful mosque1 a
 bower of roses1 running water2 might   
not these  things alone have suggested  
to the poet's mind ,the pavilion of     
,excellency1 ,love1 and ,laughter8      
,the ,bahristn has a distinct interest  
apart from its literary merit4  ,it     
appears to have been written by ,jm for 
the instruction of his  darling and     
beloved son ,zi-uddin-,ysuf4 ,the       
poet-father goes on to  say1 ,that young
 boys and inexperienced youths become   

very disheartened  and unhappy when they
 receive instruction in idiomatic       
expressions  they are not accustomed to4
 ,although ,jm allowed his son to read  
the  ,gulistn1 he evidently thought the 
last word had not yet been written  in  
the interests of instructing the young1 
and thus conceived the idea  of writing 
the ,bahristn4    ,one is so apt to see 
printed requests in the public gardens  
of ,england  that it seems a little     
ironical to come across the following in
 the  literary ,gardens of ,jm3 ,it is  
requested that the promenaders  in these
 gardens--which contain no thorns to    
give offence1 nor  rubbish displayed for
 interested purposes1--walking through  
them with  sympathetic steps and looking
 at them carefully1 will bestow their   
good  wishes1 and rejoice with praise   
the gardener who has spent much trouble 
and great exertions in planning and     
cultivating these gardens4 ,in  regard  
to the statement that the ,gardens      
contain no ,thorns to give  offence1 ,i1

 for one1 must beg to differ4 ,one ugly 
weed there is which  the gardener would 
have done well to destroy in his        
otherwise very  beautiful garden4       
,the ,bahristn is divided into eight    
,gardens4 ,the ,first deals  with the   
sayings and doings of the saintly1 wise1
 and those who occupy  the chief seats  
in the pavilion of ,excellency4 ,the    
,second with  philosophical subtleties4 
,the ,third with ,justice1 ,equity1     
,government1  and ,administration1 and  
in general to show the wisdom of        
,sultns4 ,the  ,fourth with ,liberality 
and ,generosity4 ,the ,fifth with ,love4
 ,the  ,sixth with ,blowing of the      
zephyrs of wit1 and the breezes of      
jocular  sallies1 which cause the buds  
of the lips to laugh and the flowers of 
the hearts2 to bloom4 ,the ,seventh with
 a selection from the work of  ,persian 
poets4 ,the ,eighth1 and last1 with     
animal stories4      ,footnote #a3 ,see 
,preface to ,lives of the ,mystics4 ,by 
,nassan ,lees4  ,calcutta1 #ahei4       

,footnote #b3 ,the ,persian ,mystics3   
,jallu'd-,dn ,rm4 ,wisdom of the  ,east 
,series4    ,footnote #c3 ,see ,e4 ,h4  
,whinfield's translation4    ,footnote  
#d3 ,gulshan-i-,raz4 ,translated by ,e4 
,h4 ,whinfield4    ,footnote #e3        
,compare the miraculous speaking of the 
babe ,jesus in a  cave1 mentioned in the
 ,new ,testament ,apocryphal ,writings4 
,footnote #f3 ,see the ,letters of ,lady
 ,mary ,wortley ,montagu4    ,footnote  
#g3 ,compare ,firdaws's description of  
the horse ,rakush in  the ,shahnm4 ,also
 ,kyrat1 the wonderful steed of the     
bandit-poet1  ,kurroglou4    ,footnote  
#h3 ,compare ,rama's attitude after the 
destruction of ,lanka4    ,footnote #i3 
,persia ,past and ,present4 ,a ,book of 
,travel and ,research4                  
,,selections ,,from ,,sal,m,n ,,and     
,,abs,l          ,the guests have drunk 
the wine and are departed1      ,leaving
 their empty bowls behind--not one      
,to carry on the revel1 cup in hand6    
,up1 ,jm1 then6 ,and whether lees or    

wine      ,to offer--boldly offer it in 
thine6      ,and yet1 how long1 ,jm1 is 
this old house      ,stringing thy      
pearls upon a harp of song8      ,year  
after year striking up some new song1   
,the breath of some old story8 ,life is 
gone1      ,and yet the song is not the 
last2 my soul      ,is spent--and still 
a story to be told6                     
,,sal,m,n ,,and ,,abs,l4          ,,thou
 ,,movest ,,under ,,all ,,the ,,forms   
,,of ,,truth        ,o ,thou1 whose     
memory quickens lovers' souls1          
,whose fount of joy renews the lover's  
tongue1      ,thy shadow falls across   
the world1 and they      ,bow down to   
it2 and of the rich in beauty      ,thou
 art the riches that make lovers mad4   
,not till ,thy secret beauty through the
 cheek      ,of ,laila smite does she   
inflame ,majnn1      ,and not till ,thou
 have sugar'd ,shrn's lip      ,the     
hearts of those two lovers fill with    
blood4      ,for lov'd and lover are not
 but by ,thee1      ,nor beauty2 mortal 

beauty but the veil      ,thy heavenly  
hides behind1 and from itself           
,feeds1 and our hearts yearn after as a 
bride      ,that glances past us        
veil'd--but even so      ,as none the   
beauty from the veil may know4      ,how
 long wilt ,thou continue thus the world
      ,to cozen with the phantom of a   
veil      ,from which ,thou only        
peepest8--,time it is      ,to unfold   
,thy perfect beauty4 ,i would be        
,thy lover1 and ,thine only--,i1 mine   
eyes      ,seal'd in the light of ,thee 
to all but ,thee1      ,yea1 in the     
revelation of ,thyself      ,self-lost1 
and conscience-quit of good and evil4   
,thou movest under all the forms of     
truth1      ,under the forms of all     
created things2      ,look whence ,i    
will1 still nothing ,i discern      ,but
 ,thee in all the universe4             
,,man',s ,,prime ,,desire        ,o thou
 whose wisdom is the rule of kings--    
7,glory to ,god who gave it67--answer   
me3      ,is any blessing better than a 

son8      ,man's prime desire2 by which 
his name and he      ,shall live beyond 
himself2 by whom his eyes      ,shine   
living1 and his dust with roses blows2  
,a foot for thee to stand on he shall   
be1      ,a hand to stop thy falling2 in
 his youth      ,thou shalt be young1   
and in his strength be strong2          
,sharp shall he be in battle as a sword1
      ,a cloud of arrows on the enemy's 
head2      ,his voice shall cheer his   
friends to better plight1      ,and turn
 the foeman's glory into flight4        
,,lust        ,lust that makes blind the
 reason2 lust that makes      ,a devil's
 self seem angel to our eyes2      ,a   
cataract that1 carrying havoc with it1  
,confounds the prosperous house2 a road 
of mire      ,where whoso falls he rises
 not again2      ,a wine of which       
whoever tastes shall see                
,redemption's face no more--one little  
sip      ,of that delicious and unlawful
 drink1      ,making crave much1 and    
hanging round the palate      ,till it  

become a ring to lead thee by           
7,putting the rope in a vain woman's    
hand71      ,till thou thyself go down  
the ,way of ,nothing4              ,,the
 ,,baby ,,darling        ,as soon as she
 had opened eyes on him1      ,she      
closed those eyes to all the world      
beside1      ,and her soul crazed1      
a-doting on her jewel1--      ,her jewel
 in a golden cradle set2      ,opening  
and shutting which her day's delight1   
,to gaze upon his heart-inflaming       
cheek--      ,upon the darling whom1    
could she1 she would      ,have cradled 
as the baby of her eye4      ,in rose   
and musk she wash'd him--to his lips    
,press'd the pure sugar from the        
honeycomb2      ,and when1 day over1 she
 withdrew her milk1      ,she made1 and 
having laid him in1 his bed1            
,burn'd all night like a taper o'er his 
head4        ,then still as morning     
came1 and as he grew1      ,she dressed 
him like a little idol up2      ,on with
 his robe--with fresh collyrium dew     

,touch'd his narcissus eyes--the musky  
locks      ,divided from his            
forehead--and embraced      ,with gold  
and ruby girdle his fine waist4         
,,the ,,moon ,,and ,,roses        ,sat a
 lover solitary      ,self-discoursing  
in a corner1      ,passionate and       
ever-changing      ,invocation pouring  
out3      ,sometimes sun and moon2 and  
sometimes      ,under hyacinth          
half-hidden      ,roses2 or the lofty   
cypress1      ,and the little weed      
below4      ,nightingaling thus a noodle
      ,heard him1 and1 completely       
puzzled1--      ,what6 quoth he1 and    
you1 a lover1      ,raving not about    
your mistress1      ,but about the moon 
and roses6        ,answer'd he3 ,o thou 
that aimest      ,wide of love1 and     
lover's language      ,wholly           
misinterpreting2      ,sun and moon are 
but my lady's      ,self1 as any lover  
knows2      ,hyacinth ,i said1 and meant
 her      ,hair--her cheek was in the   
rose--      ,and ,i myself the wretched 

weed      ,that in her cypress shadow   
grows4              ,,the ,,wiles ,,of  
,,abs,l        ,now from her hair would 
twine a musky chain1      ,to bind his  
heart--now twist it into curls          
,nestling innumerable temptations2      
,doubled the darkness of her eyes with  
surma      ,to make him lose his way1   
and over them      ,adorn'd the bows    
that were to shoot him then2      ,fresh
 rose1 and then a grain of musk lay     
there1      ,the bird of the beloved    
heart to snare4      ,now to the        
rose-leaf of her cheek would add1       
,now with a laugh would break the ruby  
seal      ,that1 lockt up pearl2 or     
busied in the room      ,would smite her
 hand1 perhaps--on that pretence        
,to lift and show the silver in her     
sleeve2      ,or hastily rising1 dash   
her golden anklets      ,to draw the    
crowned head under her feet4      ,thus 
by innumerable bridal wiles      ,she   
went about soliciting his eyes1         
,which she would scarce let lose her for

 a moment2      ,for well she knew that 
mainly by the eye      ,love makes his  
sign1 and by no other road      ,enters 
and takes possession of the heart4      
,,love',s ,,earthly ,,way        ,now   
when ,salmn's heart turned to ,absl1    
,her star was happy in the heavens--old 
,love      ,put forth afresh--,desire   
doubled his bond3      ,and of the      
running time she watch'd an hour        
,to creep into the mansion of her moon  
,and satiate her soul upon his lips4    
,and the hour came2 she stole into his  
chamber--      ,ran up to him1 ,life's  
offer in her hand--      ,and1 falling  
like a shadow at his feet1      ,she    
laid her face beneath4 ,salmn then      
,with all the courtesies of princely    
grace      ,put forth his hand--he      
rais'd her in his arms--      ,he held  
her trembling there--and from that fount
      ,drew first desire2 then deeper   
from her lips1      ,that1 yielding1    
mutually drew from his      ,a wine that
 ever drawn from never fail'd4      ,so 

through the day--so through another     
still4      ,the day became a           
seventh--the seventh a moon--      ,the 
moon a year--while they rejoiced        
together1      ,thinking their pleasure 
never was to end4      ,but rolling     
,heaven whisper'd from his ambush1      
,so in my license is it not set down4   
,ah for the sweet societies ,i make     
,at morning and before the nightfall    
break6      ,ah for that bliss that with
 the setting sun      ,i mix1 and1 with 
his rising1 all is done6                
,,reason        ,reason that rights the 
retrograde--completes      ,the         
imperfect--reason that unites the knot2 
,for reason is the fountain from of old 
,from which the prophets drew1 and none 
beside4      ,who boasts of other       
inspiration lies--      ,there are no   
other prophets than the wise4           
,,the ,,moon ,,of ,,love        ,o      
,shah1 ,i am the slave of thy desire1   
,dust of thy throne1 ascending foot am  
,i2      ,whatever thou desirest ,i     

would do1      ,but sicken of my own    
incompetence2      ,not in the hand of  
my infirmer will      ,to carry into    
deed mine own desire4      ,time upon   
time ,i torture mine own soul1          
,devising liberation from the snare     
,i languish in4 ,but when upon that moon
      ,i think1 my soul relapses2 and   
when look--      ,i leave both worlds   
behind to follow her6                   
,,love                     ,without my  
lover1      ,were my chamber ,heaven's  
horizon1      ,it were closer than an   
ant's eye2      ,and the ant's eye wider
 were      ,than ,heaven1 my lover with 
me there6              ,,mortal         
,,paramour        ,the ,almighty hand   
that mix'd thy dust inscribed      ,the 
character of wisdom on thy heart2       
,o cleanse thy bosom of material form1  
,and turn the mirror of the soul to     
spirit1      ,until it be with spirit   
all possest1      ,crown'd in the light 
of intellectual truth4      ,o veil     
thine eyes from mortal paramour1        

,and follow not her step6 ,for what is  
she8--      ,what is she but a vice and 
a reproach1      ,her very garment-hem  
pollution6      ,for such pollution     
madden not thine eyes1      ,waste not  
thy body's strength1 nor taint thy soul1
      ,nor set the body and the soul in 
strife6      ,supreme is thine original 
degree1      ,thy star upon the top of  
heaven2 but lust      ,will fling it    
down even unto the dust6                
,,the ,,divine ,,union        ,whisper'd
 one to ,wmik1 ,o thou      ,victim of  
the wound of ,azra1      ,what is it    
like1 that a shadow      ,movest thou   
about in silence      ,meditating night 
and day8      ,wmik answer'd1 ,even     
this--      ,to fly with ,azra to the   
desert3      ,there by so remote a      
fountain      ,that1 whichever way one  
travell'd      ,league on league1 one   
yet should never1      ,never meet the  
face of man--      ,there to pitch my   
tent--for ever      ,there to gaze on my
 ,belovd2      ,gaze1 till gazing out of

 gazing      ,grew to being her ,i gaze 
on1      ,she and ,i no more1 but in one
      ,undivided being blended4         
,all that is not ,one must ever         
,suffer with the wound of absence2      
,and whoever in ,love's city            
,enters1 finds but room for ,one1       
,and but in ,oneness ,union4            
,,do ,,well        ,do well1 that in thy
 turn well may betide thee2      ,and   
turn from ill1 that ill may turn beside 
thee4              ,,the ,,magic        
,,mirror        ,then bade he bring a   
mirror that he had1      ,a mirror1 like
 the bosom of the wise1      ,reflecting
 all the world1 and lifting up      ,the
 veil from all its secret1 good and     
evil4      ,that mirror bade he bring1  
and1 in its face      ,looking1 beheld  
the face of his ,desire1      ,he saw   
those lovers in the solitude1           
,turn'd from the world1 and all its ways
 and people1      ,and looking only in  
each other's eyes1      ,and never      
finding any sorrow there4               

,a ,,lament        ,o thou whose        
presence so long sooth'd my soul1       
,now burnt with thy remembrance6 ,o so  
long      ,the light that fed these eyes
 now dark with tears6      ,o long1 long
 home of love now lost for ever6        
,we were together--that was all enough--
      ,we two rejoicing in each other's 
eyes1      ,infinitely rejoicing--all   
the world      ,nothing to us1 nor we to
 all the world3      ,no road to reach  
us1 nor an eye to watch--      ,all day 
we whisper'd in each other's ears1      
,all night we slept in one another's    
arms--      ,all seem'd to our desire1  
as if the hand      ,of unjust ,fortune 
were for once too short4      ,o would  
to ,god that when ,i lit the pyre       
,the flame had left thee living and me  
dead1      ,not living worse than dead1 
depriv'd of thee6      ,o were ,i but   
with thee6 at any cost      ,stript of  
this terrible self-solitude6      ,o but
 with thee annihilation--lost1      ,or 
in eternal intercourse renew'd6         

,,the ,,harvest ,,of ,,eternity         
,my son1 the kingdom of the world is not
      ,eternal1 nor the sum of right    
desire6      ,make thou the             
faith-preserving intellect      ,thy    
counsellor2 and considering to-day      
,to-morrow's seed-field1 ere that come  
to bear      ,sow with the harvest of   
eternity4            ,,selections ,,from
 ,,the ,l,,wa',,ih        ,believe me1  
,i am naught--yea1 less than naught1    
,by naught and less than naught what can
 be taught8      ,i tell the mysteries  
of truth1 but know      ,naught save the
 telling to this task ,i brought4       
,,law',,ih4            ,,deliver ,,us   
,,from ,,ourselves          ,o ,god1    
deliver us from preoccupation with      
worldly        vanities1 and show us the
 nature of things as        they really 
are4 ,remove from our eyes the veil     
of ignorance1 and show us things as they
 really        are4 ,show not to us     
non-existence as existent1 nor          
cast the veil of non-existence over the 

beauty of        existence4 ,make this  
phenomenal world the mirror to          
reflect the manifestations of thy       
beauty1 and not        a veil to        
separate and repel us from ,thee4 ,cause
        these unreal phenomena of the   
universe to be for us        the sources
 of knowledge and insight1 and not the  
cause of ignorance and blindness4 ,our  
alienation and        severance from    
,thy beauty all proceed from ourselves4 
,deliver us from ourselves1 and accord  
to us intimate        knowledge of      
,thee4            ,,make ,,my ,,heart   
,,pure        ,make my heart pure1 my   
soul from error free1      ,make tears  
and sighs my daily lot to be1           
,and lead me on ,thy road away from     
self1      ,that lost to self ,i may    
approach to ,thee6        ,set enmity   
between the world and me1      ,make me 
averse from worldly company3            
,from other objects turn away my heart1 
,so that it is engrossed with love to   
,thee4        ,how were it1 ,lord1 if   

,thou should'st set me free      ,from  
error's grasp and cause me truth to see8
        ,guebres#a by scores ,thou      
makest ,musulmans1      ,why1 then1 not 
make a ,musulman of me8        ,my lust 
for this world and the next efface1     
,grant me the crown of poverty and grace
        ,to be partaker in ,thy         
mysteries1      ,from paths that lead   
not towards ,thee turn my face4         
,,one ,,heart1 ,,one ,,love        ,o   
votary of earthly idols' fane1      ,why
 let these veils of flesh enwrap thy    
brain8        ',tis folly to pursue a   
host of loves2      ,a single heart can 
but one love contain6        ,o thou    
whose heart is torn by lust for all1    
,yet vainly strives to burst these bonds
 of all1        ,this all begets        
distraction of the heart3      ,give up 
thy heart to ,,one and break with all4#b
            ,,the ,,absolute ,,beauty   
,the ,absolute ,beauty is the ,divine   
,majesty endued        with the         
attributes of power and bounty4 ,every  

beauty and perfection manifested in the 
theatre of        the various grades of 
beings is a ray of ,his perfect         
beauty reflected therein4 ,it is from   
these rays that        exalted souls    
have received their impress of beauty   
and their quality of perfection4        
,whosoever is wise        derives his   
wisdom from ,divine wisdom4             
,,my ,,love ,,stood ,,by ,,me ,,at ,,the
 ,,dawn ,,of ,,day        ,my love stood
 by me at the dawn of day1      ,and    
said1 ,to grief you make my heart a prey
        ,whilst ,i am casting looks of  
love at you1      ,have you no shame to 
turn your eyes away8        ,all my life
 long ,i tread love's path of pain1     
,if peradventure ,union ,i may gain4    
,better to catch one moment's glimpse of
 ,thee      ,than earthly beauties' love
 through life retain4            ,,god  
,,the ,,only ,,love ,,eternal           
,yesterday this universe neither existed
 nor appeared        to exist1 while    
to-day it appears to exist but has no   

real existence3 it is a mere semblance1 
and to-morrow        nothing thereof    
will be seen4 ,what does it profit      
thee to allow thyself to be guided by   
vain passions        and desires8 ,why  
dost thou place reliance on these       
transitory objects that glitter with    
false lustre8        ,turn thy heart    
away from all of them1 and firmly       
attach it to ,god4 ,break loose from all
 these1 and        cleave closely to    
,him4 ,it is only ,he who always has    
been and always will continue to be4    
,the countenance        of ,his eternity
 is never scarred by the thorn of       
contingency4            ,,finite ,,and  
,,infinite ,,beauty        ,the ,loved  
,one's rose-parterre ,i went to see1    
,that beauty's ,torch espied me1 and1   
quoth ,he1        ,i am the tree2 these 
flowers ,my offshoots are4      ,let not
 these offshoots hide from thee the     
tree4        ,what profit rosy cheeks1  
forms full of grace1      ,and ringlets 
clustering round a lovely face8         

,when ,beauty ,absolute beams all       
around1      ,why linger finite beauties
 to embrace8            ,,how ,,to      
,,obtain ,,union ,,with ,,the ,,divine  
,in like manner1 as it behoves thee to  
maintain        the said relation       
continuously1 so it is of the           
first importance to develop one quality 
thereof by        detaching thyself from
 mundane relations and by               
emancipating thyself from attention to  
contingent        forms2 and this is    
possible only through hard              
striving and earnest endeavour to expel 
vain thoughts        and imaginations   
from thy mind4 ,the more these          
thoughts are cast out and these         
suggestions checked1        the stronger
 and closer this relation becomes4 ,it  
is1 then1 necessary to use every        
endeavour to force        these thoughts
 to encamp outside the enclosure of     
thy breast1 and that the ,truth most    
glorious may        cast ,his beams into
 thy heart1 and deliver thee        from

 thyself1 and save thee from the trouble
 of        entertaining ,his rivals in  
thy heart4 ,then there        will abide
 with-thee neither consciousness of     
thyself1 nor even consciousness of such 
absence of        consciousness--nay1   
there will abide nothing save the       
,one ,god alone4            ,,truth     
,in the fair idols1 goal of ardent      
youth1      ,and in all cynosures lies  
hid the ,truth2        ,what1 seen as   
relative1 appears the world1            
,viewed in its essence is the very      
,truth4        ,when in ,his partial    
modes ,truth shone out plain1           
,straightway appeared this world of loss
 and gain2        ,were it and all who  
dwell there gathered back      ,into the
 ,whole1 the ,truth would still remain4 
,,the ,,glorious ,,god        ,the      
glorious ,god1 whose bounty1 mercy1     
grace1      ,and loving-kindness all the
 world embrace1        ,at every moment 
brings a world to naught1      ,and     
fashions such another in its place4     

,all gifts soever unto ,god are due1    
,yet special gifts from special ,names  
ensue2        ,at every breath one ,name
 annihilates1      ,and one creates all 
outward things anew4#c          ,,the   
,,god ,,behind ,,the ,,veil        ,o   
fairest rose1 with rosebud mouth1 ,i    
sighed1      ,why1 like coquettes1 thy  
face for ever hide8        ,he smiled1  
,unlike the beauties of the earth1      
,even when veiled ,i still may be       
described4        ,thy face uncovered   
would be all too bright1      ,without a
 veil none could endure the sight2      
,what eye is strong enough to gaze upon 
,the dazzling splendour of the fount of 
light8        ,when the sun's banner    
blazes in the sky1      ,its light gives
 pain by its intensity1        ,but when
 'tis tempered by a veil of cloud       
,that light is soft and pleasant to the 
eye4            ,,the ,,divine          
,,self-,,sufficiency          ,absolute 
self-sufficiency is a quality involved  
in        ,divine ,perfection4 ,it      

signifies this1 that in a        general
 and universal manner all the modes1    
states1        and aspects of the ,one  
,real ,being1 with all their            
adherent properties and qualities1 in   
all their        presentations1 past1   
present1 or future1 manifested        in
 all grades of substances1 divine and   
mundane1 are        present and realised
 in the secret thought of that          
,divine ,being1 in such wise that the   
sum of them all        is contained in  
,his ,unity4 ,from this point of view   
,he is independent of all other         
existences2 as it is        said1 ,god  
most glorious can do without the world4 
,,our ,,need ,,of ,,the ,,beloved       
,o ,thou whose sacred precincts none may
 see1      ,unseen ,thou makest all     
things seen to be2        ,thou and we  
are not separate1 yet still      ,thou  
hast no need of us1 but we of ,thee4    
,none by endeavour can behold ,thy face1
      ,or access gain without prevenient
 grace2        ,for every man some      

substitute is found1      ,thou hast no 
peer1 and none can take ,thy place4     
,of accident or substance ,thou hast    
nought1      ,without constraint of     
cause ,thy grace is wrought2            
,thou canst replace what's lost1 but if 
,thou'rt lost1      ,in vain a          
substitute for ,thee is sought4         
,in me ,thy beauty love and longing     
wrought2      ,did ,i not seek ,thee1   
how wouldst ,thou be sought8        ,my 
love is as a mirror in the which        
,thy beauty into evidence is brought4   
,o ,lord1 none but ,thyself can fathom  
,thee1      ,yet every mosque and church
 doth harbour ,thee2        ,i know the 
seekers and what 'tis they seek--       
,seekers and sought are all comprised in
 ,thee4            ,,the ,,universe ,a  
,,number ,,of ,,accidents          ,the 
universe1 together with its parts1 is   
nothing        but a number of          
accidents1 ever changing and being      
renewed at every breath1 and linked     
together in a        single substance1  

and at each instant disappearing        
and being replaced by a similar set4 ,in
 consequence        of this rapid       
succession1 the spectator is deceived   
into the belief that the universe is a  
permanent        existence4             
,,the ,,hidden ,,truth        ,the ocean
 does not shrink or vaster grow1        
,though the waves ever ebb and ever     
flow2        ,the being of the world's a
 wave3 it lasts      ,one moment1 and   
the next it has to go4        ,in the   
world1 men of insight may discern       
,a stream whose currents swirl and surge
 and churn1        ,and from the force  
that works within the stream      ,the  
hidden working of the ,truth may learn4 
,,the ,,great ,,idealist                
,philosophers devoid of reason find     
,this world a mere idea of the mind2    
',tis an idea--but they fail to see     
,the great ,idealist who looms behind4  
,,the ,,sea ,,of ,,being        ,being's
 a sea in constant billows rolled1      
',tis but these billows that we men     

behold2        ,sped from within1 they  
rest upon the sea1      ,and like a veil
 its actual form enfold4        ,being's
 the essence of the ,lord of all1       
,all things exist in ,him and ,he in    
all2        ,this is the meaning of the 
,gnostic phrase1      ,all things are   
comprehended in the ,all4               
,,the ,,revelation ,,of ,,truth         
,the ,majesty of the ,truth most        
glorious is revealed        in two      
manners--the first the inward1          
subjective        revelation1 which the 
,sfs name ,most ,holy        ,emanation2
 it consists in the self-manifestation  
of the ,truth to ,his own consciousness 
from all        eternity under the forms
 of substances1 their                   
characteristics and capacities4 ,the    
second revelation        is the outward 
objective manifestation1 which        is
 called ,holy ,emanation2 it consists in
 the        manifestation of the ,truth1
 with the impress of        the         
properties and marks of the same        

substances4        ,this second         
revelation ranks after the first2 it    
is the theatre wherein are manifested to
 sight the        perfections which in  
the first revelation were               
contained potentially in the            
characteristics and        capacities of
 the substances4            ',,tis ,,he 
,,who ,,lives ,,within ,,our ,,forms    
,both power and being are denied to us1 
,the lack of both is what's ordained for
 us2        ,but since 'tis ,he who     
lives within our forms1      ,both power
 and action are ascribed to us4         
,your self is non-existent1 knowing one6
      ,deem not your actions by yourself
 are done2        ,make no wry faces at 
this wholesome truth--      ,build the  
wall ere the fresco is begun4           
,why vaunt thy self before those jealous
 eyes8      ,why seek to deal in this   
false merchandise8        ,why feign to 
be existent of thyself8      ,down with 
these vain conceits and foolish lies6   
,,mirror ,,and ,,face        ,they say1 

,how strange6 ,this peerless beauty's   
face      ,within the mirror's heart now
 holds a place6        ,the marvel's not
 the face1 the marvel is      ,that it  
should be at once mirror and face4      
,all mirrors in the universe ,i ween    
,display ,thy image with its radiant    
sheen--        ,nay1 in them all1 so    
vast ,thy effluent grace1      ',tis    
,thyself1 not ,thine image1 that is     
seen4      ,footnote #a3 ,magians and   
,zoroastrians4    ,footnote #b3 ,the    
first verse belongs to ,flash ,i41 the  
second to  ,flash ,,ii41 but ,i have    
thought it wise to couple them together 
on  account of the unity of their       
meaning4    ,footnote #c3 ,that is to   
say that a portion of the material      
world1  through the mercy of ,god1 is   
capable of receiving ,very ,being1 and  
thus the phenomenon becomes ,very ,being
 externalised4 ,but ,omnipotence        
requires the total destruction of all   
phenomena and all multiplicity of  the  
same substance4 ,the process is repeated

 ad infinitum4    ,the ,names are       
mentioned in the ,masnavi4 ,see also    
,professor ,r4 ,a4  ,nicholson's ,divan 
,shamsi ,tabrz1 p4 #ga4                 
,,selections ,,from ,y,,suf ,,and       
,,zulaikha        ,lips sweet as sugar  
on my pen bestow1      ,and from my book
 let streams of odour flow4             
,y,,suf ,,and ,,zulaikha4          ,,the
 ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,beloved          
,in solitude1 where ,being signless     
dwelt1      ,and all the universe still 
dormant lay      ,concealed in          
selflessness1 ,one ,being was           
,exempt from ,i or ,thou-ness1 and apart
      ,from all duality2 ,beauty        
,supreme1      ,unmanifest1 except unto 
,itself      ,by ,its own lights yet    
fraught with power to charm      ,the   
souls of all2 concealed in the ,unseen1 
,an ,essence pure1 unstained by aught of
 ill4      ,no mirror to reflect ,its   
loveliness1      ,nor comb to touch ,its
 locks2 the morning breeze      ,ne'er  
stirred ,its tresses2 no collyrium      

,lent lustre to ,its eyes2 no rosy      
cheeks      ,o'ershadowed by dark curls 
like hyacinth      ,nor peach-like down 
were there2 no dusky mole      ,adorned 
,its face2 no eye had yet beheld        
,its image4 ,to ,itself it sang of ,love
      ,in wordless measures4 ,by ,itself
 it cast      ,the die of ,love4 ,but   
,beauty cannot brook      ,concealment  
and the veil1 nor patient rest          
,unseen and unadmired2 'twill burst all 
bonds1      ,and from ,its              
prison-casement to the world            
,reveal ,itself4 ,see where the tulip   
grows      ,in upland meadows1 how in   
balmy spring      ,it decks itself2 and 
how amidst its thorns      ,the wild    
rose rends its garment1 and reveals     
,its loveliness4 ,thou too1 when some   
rare thought1      ,or beauteous image1 
or deep mystery      ,flashes across thy
 soul1 canst not endure      ,to let it 
pass1 but holdst it1 that perchance     
,in speech or writing thou mayst send it
 forth      ,to charm the world4        

,whatever beauty dwells1      ,such is  
its nature1 and its heritage      ,from 
,everlasting ,beauty1 which emerged     
,from realms of purity to shine upon    
,the worlds1 and all the souls which    
dwell therein4      ,one gleam fell from
 ,it on the universe      ,and on the   
angels1 and this single ray             
,dazzled the angels1 till their senses  
whirled      ,like the revolving sky4   
,in diverse forms      ,each mirror     
showed it forth1 and everywhere         
,its praise was chanted in new          
harmonies4      ,the cherubim1          
enraptured1 sought for songs      ,of   
praise4 ,the spirits who explore the    
depths      ,of boundless seas1 wherein 
the heavens swim      ,like some small  
boat1 cried with one mighty voice1      
,praise to the ,lord of all the         
universe6          ,,behold ,,those     
,,spheres        ,behold those spheres  
for ever circling1 bound                
,with-scarves of azure1 in their mystic 
round4      ,see1 their light mantles   

loosely floating throw      ,a flood of 
radiance on the world below4      ,see  
them pursuing through the night and day1
      ,true to their purpose1 their     
triumphant way4      ,each1 like a      
player's ball obedient1 still      ,is  
moved and guided by superior will4      
,one eastward from the west its journey 
bends1      ,the other's ship to western
 waves descends4      ,each in due      
progress with alternate sway            
,lights the still night or cheers the   
busy day4      ,one writes fair lines   
that promise golden joys3      ,one with
 sad aspect bonds of bliss destroys4    
,all1 joying in their might1 their task 
renew1      ,and with untiring haste    
their course pursue4      ,onward for   
ever to the goal they press      ,with  
feet and loins that know not weariness4 
,who learns the secret of their dark    
intent8      ,who knows on whom each    
wanderer's face is bent8          ,,love
        ,no heart is that which love    
ne'er wounded3 they      ,who know not  

lovers' pangs are soulless clay4        
,turn from the world1 ,o turn thy       
wandering feet2      ,come to the world 
of ,love and find it sweet4             
,,the ,,ways ,,of ,,love        ,once to
 his master a disciple cried3--      ,to
 wisdom's pleasant path be thou my      
guide4      ,hast thou ne'er loved8 the 
master answered2 learn      ,the ways of
 love and then to me return4      ,drink
 deep of earthly love1 that so thy lip  
,may learn the wine of holier love to   
sip4      ,but let not form too long thy
 soul entrance3      ,pass o'er the     
bridge2 with rapid feet advance4        
,if thou wilt rest1 thine ordered       
journey sped1      ,forbear to linger at
 the bridge's head4          ,,if ,,the 
,,sun',s ,,splendour ,,never ,,died     
,,away        ,in this orchestra full of
 vain deceit      ,the drum of ,being1  
each in turn1 we beat4      ,each       
morning brings new truth to light and   
fame1      ,and on the world falls      
lustre from a name4      ,if in one     

constant course the ages rolled1        
,full many a secret would remain untold4
      ,if the sun's splendour never died
 away1      ,ne'er would the market of  
the stars be gay4      ,if in our       
gardens endless frost were king1        
,no rose would blossom at the kiss of   
,spring4          ,,the ,,beauty ,,of   
,,zulaikha        ,her face was the     
garden of ,iram1 where      ,roses of   
every hue are fair4      ,the dusky     
moles that enhanced the red      ,were  
like ,moorish boys playing in each      
rose-bed4      ,of silver that paid no  
tithe1 her chin      ,had a well with   
the ,water of ,life therein4      ,if a 
sage in his thirst came near to drink1  
,he would feel the spray ere he reached 
the brink1      ,but lost were his soul 
if he nearer drew1      ,for it was a   
well and a whirlpool too4      ,her neck
 was of ivory4 ,thither drawn1          
,came with her tribute to beauty the    
fawn2      ,and the rose hung her head  
at the gleam of the skin      ,of       

shoulders fairer than jasmine4      ,her
 breasts were orbs of a light most pure1
      ,twin bubbles new-risen from fount
 ,kafur1#a      ,two young pomegranates 
grown on one spray1      ,where bold    
hope never a ringer might lay4      ,the
 touchstone itself was proved false when
 it tried      ,her arms' fine silver   
thrice purified2      ,but the          
pearl-pure amulets fastened there       
,were the hearts of the holy absorbed in
 prayer4          ,,self ,,dies ,,in    
,,love        ,i shall roll up the      
carpet of life when ,i see      ,thy    
dear face again1 and shall cease to be1 
,for self will be lost in that rapture1 
and all      ,the threads of my thought 
from my hand will fall2      ,not me    
wilt thou find1 for this self will have 
fled3      ,thou wilt be my soul in mine
 own soul's stead4      ,all thought of 
self will be swept from my mind1        
,and thee1 only thee1 in my place shall 
,i find2      ,more precious than       
heaven1 than earth more dear1           

,myself were forgotten if thou wert     
near4          ,,mine ,,eyes ,,have     
,,been ,,touched        ,mine eyes have 
been touched by the ,truth's pure ray1  
,and the dream of folly has passed away4
      ,mine eyes thou hast opened--,god 
bless thee for it6--      ,and my heart 
to the ,soul of the soul thou hast knit4
        ,from a fond strange love thou  
hast turned my feet      ,the ,lord of  
all creatures to know and meet2      ,if
 ,i bore a tongue in each single hair1  
,each and all should thy praise declare4
          ,,zulaikha ,,pleads ,,with    
,y,,suf ,,for ,,his ,,love        ,by   
the excellent bloom of that cheek which 
,he gave1      ,by that beauty which    
makes the whole world thy slave2        
,by the splendour that beams from that  
beautiful brow1      ,that bids the full
 moon to thy majesty bow2      ,by the  
graceful gait of that cypress1 by       
,the delicate bow that is bent o'er     
thine eye2      ,by that arch of the    
temple devoted to prayer1      ,by each 

fine-woven mesh of the coils of thy     
hair2      ,by that charming narcissus1 
that form arrayed      ,in the sheen and
 glory of silk brocade2      ,by that   
secret thou callest a mouth1 by the hair
      ,thou callest the waist of that   
body most fair      ,by the musky spots 
on thy cheek's pure rose1      ,by the  
smile of thy lips when those buds       
unclose1      ,by my longing tears1 by  
the sigh and groan      ,that rend my   
heart as ,i pine alone2      ,by thine  
absence1 a mountain too heavy to bear1  
,by my thousand fetters of grief and    
care2      ,by the sovereign sway of my 
passion1 by      ,my carelessness       
whether ,i live or die2      ,pity me1  
pity my lovelorn grief3      ,loosen my 
fetters and grant relief3      ,an age  
has scorched me since over my soul      
,the soft sweet air of thy garden stole4
      ,be the balm of my wounds for a   
little2 shed      ,sweet scent on the   
heart where the flowers are dead      ,i
 hunger for thee till my whole frame is 

weak3      ,o give me the food for my   
soul which ,i seek4          ,,the      
,,horse ,,of ,y,,suf        ,in his     
stalls had ,ysuf a fairy steed1      ,a 
courser through space of no earthly     
breed2      ,swift as the heavens1 and  
black and white      ,with a thousand   
patches of day and night2      ,now a   
jetty spot1 now a starry blaze1         
,like ,time with succession of nights   
and days4      ,with his tail the       
heavenly ,virgo's hair1      ,with his  
hoof the moon1 was afraid to compare4   
,each foot with a golden new moon was   
shod1      ,and the stars of its nails  
struck the earth as he trod4      ,when 
his hoof smote sharp on the rugged flint
      ,a planet flashed forth from the  
new moon's dint2      ,and a new moon   
rose in the sky when a shoe      ,from  
the galloping foot of the courser flew4 
,like an arrow shot through its side in 
the chase4      ,he outstripped the game
 in the deadly race4      ,at a single  
bound he would spring1 unpressed1       

,with the lightning's speed from the    
east to the west4          ,,the        
,,freeing ,,of ,,zulaikha',s ,,soul     
,o thou who hast broken mine honour's   
urn1      ,thou stone of offence        
wheresoever ,i turn1      ,i should     
smite--for thy falsehood has ruined my  
rest--      ,with the stone thou art    
made of1 the heart in my breast4        
,the way of misfortune too surely ,i    
trod      ,when ,i bowed down before    
thee and made thee my god2      ,when ,i
 looked up to thee with wet eyes in my  
woe1      ,i renounced all the bliss    
which both worlds can bestow4      ,from
 thy stony dominion my soul will ,i     
free1      ,and thus shatter the gem of 
thy power and thee4          ,,breaking 
,,the ,,idol        ,with a hard flint  
stone1 like the ,friend1#b as she spoke1
      ,in a thousand pieces the image   
she broke4      ,riven and shattered the
 idol fell1      ,and with her from that
 moment shall all be well4      ,she    
made her ablution1 'mid penitent sighs1 

,with the blood of her heart and the    
tears of her eyes4      ,she bent down  
her head to the dust2 with a moan       
,she made supplication to ,god's pure   
throne3--      ,o ,god1 who lovest the  
humble1 ,thou      ,to whom idols1 their
 makers1 their servants bow2      ',tis 
to the light which ,thy splendour lends 
,to the idol's face that its worshipper 
bends4      ,thy love the heart of the  
sculptor stirs1      ,and the idol is   
graven for worshippers4      ,they bow  
them down to the image1 and think       
,that they worship ,thee as before it   
they sink4      ,to myself1 ,o ,lord1 ,i
 have done this wrong1      ,if mine    
eyes to an idol have turned so long4    
99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99  
99      ,thou hast washed the dark stain
 of my sin away2      ,now restore the  
lost blessing for which ,i pray4        
,may ,i feel my heart free from the     
brand of its woes1      ,and cull from  
the garden of ,ysuf a rose4             
,y,,suf ,,and ,,zulaikha ,,meet ,,again 

,where is thy youth1 and thy beauty1 and
 pride8      ,gone1 since ,i parted from
 thee6 she replied4      ,where is the  
light of thine eye8 said he1            
,drowned in blood-tears for the loss of 
thee4      ,why is that cypress tree    
bowed and bent8      ,by absence from   
thee and my long lament4      ,where is 
thy pearl1 and thy silver and gold1     
,and the diadem bright on thy head of   
old8      ,she who spoke of my loved    
one1 she answered1 shed1      ,in the   
praise of thy beauty1 rare pearls on my 
head4      ,in return for those jewels1 
a recompense meet1      ,i scattered my 
jewels and gold at her feet4      ,a    
crown of pure gold on her forehead ,i   
set1      ,and the dust that she trod   
was my coronet4      ,the stream of my  
treasure of gold ran dry2      ,my heart
 is ,love's storehouse1 and ,i am ,i4   
,,zulaikha',s ,,youth ,,returns         
,the beauty returned which was ruined   
and dead1      ,and her cheek gained the
 splendour which long ,i had fled4      

,again shone the waters which sad years 
had dried1      ,and the rose-bed of    
youth bloomed again in its pride4       
,the musk was restored and the camphor  
withdrawn1      ,and the black night    
followed the grey of the dawn1      ,the
 cypress rose stately and tall as of    
old3      ,the pure silver was free from
 all wrinkle and fold4      ,from each  
musky tress fled the traces of white3   
,to the black narcissus came beauty and 
light4          ,,zulaikha',s ,,wish    
,the one sole wish of my heart1 she     
replied1      ,is still to be near thee1
 to sit by thy side2      ,to have thee 
by day in my happy sight1      ,and to  
lay my cheek on thy foot at night2      
,to lie in the shade of the cypress and 
sip      ,the sugar that lies on thy    
ruby lip2      ,to my wounded heart this
 soft balm to lay2      ,for naught     
beyond this can ,i wish or pray4        
,the streams of thy love will new life  
bestow      ,on the dry thirsty field   
where its sweet waters flow4            

,,united        ,thus spoke the ,angel3 
,to thee1 ,o ,king1      ,from the ,lord
 ,almighty a message ,i bring3          
',mine eyes have seen her in humble     
mood2      ,i heard her prayer when to  
thee she sued4      ,at the sight of her
 labours1 her prayers1 and sighs1       
,the waves of the sea of my pity rise4  
,her soul from the sword of despair ,i  
free1      ,and here from ,my throne ,i 
betroth her to thee4'      ,footnote #a3
 ,a well in ,paradise4    ,footnote #b3 
,abraham4          ,,selections ,,from  
,,the ,,bah,,rist,n    7,,abode ,,of    
,,spring7          ,take a walk in this 
,bahristn ,abode of ,spring      ,that  
you may see therein ,gulistn rose-groves
      ,with gracefulness in each        
,gulistn1      ,flowers growing and     
aromatic plants blooming4               
,,bah,,rist,n4          ,,to ,,the      
,,reader ,,of ,,the ,,bah,,rist,n       
,let every fortunate man who of these   
blooming trees      ,the shade enjoys1  
or the fruit consumes1      ,act        

according to the laws of righteousness1 
,walk on the road of generosity and pray
 thus3      ,may ,jm1 who planted this  
garden1 ,o ,lord1      ,be always full  
of ,god and empty of self4#a      ,may  
he travel on no other path but ,his1 and
 seek no other ,union#b          but    
,his2      ,nor utter another name but  
,his1 nor see another face but ,his4    
,,song ,,in ,,praise ,,of ,,the         
,,beloved        ,to the ,maker6--the   
rose-grove of the sphere      ,is but   
one leaf of the flower-garden of4 ,his  
creation--      ,that those who sing    
,his praises      ,may have a plate of  
pearls and jewels full of oblations6    
,may the magnitude of ,his glory shine1 
and the world of ,his perfection        
be exalted6          ,a thousand chants 
of salutation and greeting from         
the philomels of the garden-mansion of  
,union and        benevolence1 who are  
the musicians of the assembly of        
witnesses and songsters in the          
delightful house of        ,ecstasy#c   

and benevolence4        ,,first ,,garden
          ,,for ,,thee        ,for ,thee
 we have hastened across land and sea1  
,have passed over plains1 and mountains 
climbed1      ,have turned away from    
whatever we met      ,until we found the
 way to the sanctuary of ,union with    
,thee4          ,,pride        ,boast   
not of having no pride1 because it is   
more invisible      ,than the mark of an
 ant's foot on a black rock in a dark   
night2      ,think it not easy to       
extirpate it from thy heart1      ,for  
it is more easy to root up a mountain   
from the earth with a needle4           
,i ,,cannot ,,be ,,far ,,from ,,thy     
,,door        ,beloved6 ,i cannot be far
 from ,thy door1      ,cannot be        
satisfied with ,paradise and with       
houris4      ,my head is on ,thy        
threshold by ,love's command1 not for   
wages4      ,whatever ,i may do1 ,i     
cannot bear to be away from this door4  
,,friendship        ,he is a friend1 who
 although meeting with enmity      ,from

 his friend1 only becomes more attached 
to him4      ,if he strikes him with a  
thousand stones of violence1      ,the  
edifice of his love will only be made   
more firm by them4      ,,second        
,,garden          ,a ,,secret        ,o 
boy6 ,a secret necessary to be concealed
 from a foe      ,thou wilt do well not 
to reveal it even to a friend4      ,i  
have seen many who in course of         
capricious time      ,became foes from  
friends1 and amity to enmity turned4    
,,the ,,indispensable ,,knowledge       
,cultivate the knowledge which is       
indispensable to you1      ,and seek not
 that which you can dispense with4      
,from the moment you acquire the        
indispensable knowledge1      ,you must 
not desire to act except in accordance  
therewith4          ,,silence        ,no
 one repented for keeping a secret under
 seal1      ,but many for having        
revealed it4      ,remain silent1       
because to sit quietly with a collected 
mind      ,is better than speaking what 

will distract it4                       
,,occupation ,,ennobled ,,by ,a ,,great 
,,man          ,alexander degraded one  
of his officials by removing        him 
from a high and employing him in a low  
post4 ,one        day this man waited   
upon ,alexander1 who asked him          
what he thought of his occupation1 and  
he replied3        ,may the life of my  
,lord be long6 ,a man is not            
ennobled by a great occupation1 but an  
occupation        is ennobled by a great
 man4 ,in every post honesty1           
justice and equity are needed4          
,alexander was pleased        with this 
opinion1 and re-installed him in his    
former        office4        ,,third    
,,garden          ,,wise ,,maxims       
,every wise1 maxim by the mouth and     
teeth is a jewel3      ,happy is he who 
has made of his breast a casket of      
jewels2      ,a sage is a treasury of   
the jewels of philosophy1      ,do not  
separate thyself from this treasure4    
,,the ,,downfall ,,of ,,the ,,mighty    

,the favourites of ,sultns are like     
people climbing        up a precipitous 
mountain1 and falling off from        it
 in consequence of the quakes of anger  
and the        vicissitudes of time4    
,there is no doubt that the fall        
of those who are higher up is more      
disastrous than        the coming down  
of those who are in lower positions4    
,,justice ,,and ,,virtue          ,a    
culprit having been brought before the  
,khalifa1 he        ordered the         
punishment due to the transgression to  
be        administered4 ,the prisoner   
said3 ,o ,commander of the              
,faithful1 to take vengeance for a crime
 is justice1        but to pass it over 
is virtue2 and the magnanimity of       
the ,prince of the ,faithful is more    
exalted1 than that        he should     
disregard what is higher1 and descend to
        what is lower4 ,the ,khalifa1   
being pleased with his        argument1 
condoned his transgression4             
,,the ,,woman ,,who ,,was ,,ashamed ,,to

 ,,look ,,at ,a ,,man ,,whom ,,god      
,,had ,,forsaken          ,a woman who  
belonged to the faction which had risen 
in arms against ,hajaj1 having been     
brought before        him1 he spoke to  
her1 but she looked down1 and fixing    
her eyes upon the ground1 neither       
replied1 nor        glanced at him4 ,one
 who was present said3 ,o woman1        
the ,amir is speaking1 and thou lookest 
away8 ,she        replied3 ,i am ashamed
 before ,god the ,most ,high1 to        
look on a man1 upon whom ,god the ,most 
,high does not        look4             
,,how ,,alexander ,,acquired ,,his      
,,power          ,alexander having been 
asked by what means he had              
attained such dominion1 power1 and glory
 at so        youthful an age and during
 so short a reign1 replied3        ,by  
conciliating foes till they turned away 
from the        path of enmity1 and by  
strengthening the alliances        with 
friends till they became firm in the    
bonds of        amity4        ,,fourth  

,,garden          ,,the ,,value ,,of ,a 
,,man        ,the price of a man        
consists not in silver and gold2        
,the value of a man is his power and    
virtue4      ,many a slave has by       
acquiring virtue      ,attained much    
greater power than a gentleman1         
,and many a gentleman has for want of   
virtue      ,become inferior#d to his   
own slave4            ,,liberality      
,it is on record that ',abdullah ,ibn   
,ja'far 7may ,allah        be pleased   
with him67 intended one day to travel1  
and approaching a date-grove where he   
had seen some        persons1 he        
alighted4 ,the guardian of the trees    
happened to be a black slave1 to whom   
two loaves        of bread had just been
 sent from the house2 and as        a   
dog stood near him1 he threw one of the 
loaves        to it1 which having been  
devoured by the animal1        he gave  
away also the other1 and the dog        
likewise        consumed it4 ,then      
',abdullah 7may ,allah be pleased       

with him67 asked what his daily         
allowance was4 ,the        slave        
replied3 ,what thou hast seen4 ,then why
 hast        thou not kept it for       
thyself8 ,the dog is a stranger         
here2 ,i thought he had come from a long
 distance and        was hungry1        
wherefore ,i did not mean to leave him  
in        that condition4 ,then what    
wilt thou eat to-day8        ,i shall   
fast4 ,then ',abdullah said to himself3 
,everybody is blaming me for my         
liberality1 and this        slave is    
more liberal than myself4 ,then he      
purchased        both the slave and the 
date-grove1 presenting him        with  
the latter1 and emancipating him4       
,,learn ,,thou ,,bravery6        ,o     
brave man1 learn thou bravery6          
,from men of the world learn manliness4 
,preserve thy heart from the remorse of 
remorse-seekers2      ,preserve thy     
tongue from the blame of evil-speakers4 
,requite with good him who did thee     
evil1      ,because by that evil he     

injured his own prosperity4      ,if    
thou makest beneficence thy rule        
,the good thou doest will return only to
 thee4            ,,self-,,sacrifice    
,one night a great mosque in ,egypt1    
having caught        fire1 was burnt4   
,the ,musulmans suspected that          
,christians had committed the act1 and  
in revenge        put fire to their     
houses1 which consumed them4 ,the       
,sultn of ,egypt had the persons        
captured who burnt        these houses1 
and having assembled them in one spot1  
ordered notes to be distributed among   
them1 on some        of which a sentence
 of death to the bearer was             
written1 on some to cut off his hands1  
and on some        to whip him4 ,these  
notes having been thrown to the         
culprits and been picked up by them1    
each of them        underwent the       
punishment which had fallen to his lot4 
,one1 to whom the sentence of death had 
been awarded1        said3 ,i do not    
fear to be killed1 but ,i have a        

mother1 of whom no one will take care   
except myself4        ,near him stood a 
man who was to be punished by           
whippings but they exchanged their      
notes1 the latter        saying3 ,i have
 no mother1 let me be killed instead    
of him1 and him be whipped instead of   
me1 and this        was done4           
,,gallantry ,,and ,,humour          ,an 
,arab of the desert welcomed the arrival
 of an ,arab        chief in a ,qasda   
recited by him1 which terminated in     
the following ,arabic distich3          
,stretch out thy hand to me1 the palm   
whereof      ,distributes largesses1 and
 its back is kissed4                    
,accordingly the generous man held out  
his hand to be        kissed by the     
,arab1 whereon he said by way of a joke3
        ,the hairs upon thy lips have   
scratched my hand4        ,the ,arab    
replied3 ,what injury can the bristles  
of a        porcupine inflict upon the  
paw of a formidable lion8        ,this  
sally pleased the liberal man1 who said3

 ,i like        this better than the    
,qasda1 and ordered him to be           
rewarded for it with #a1jjj and for the 
sally #c1jjj        dirhams4            
,,fifth ,,garden          ,a ,,lovers'  
,,dialogue        ,maiden3      ,by     
,god1 who openly and secretly      ,is  
worshipped by men and fairies1      ,i  
swear that of all whom ,i see in the    
world      ,no one is dearer to me than 
thou4        ,youth3        ,o thou who 
sawest me1 and residest in my heart1    
,soul and body1 all now belong to thee4 
,if my heart inclines to thee it is no  
wonder2      ,it must be a stone1 not a 
heart1 which turns not to thee6         
',the girl said that now her only wish  
in the world        was that they should
 put their hands round each             
other's waists1 and eat sugar from the  
lips of each        other4 ,the youth   
replied3 ,my desire is the same1        
but what can ,i do8 ,as ,god the ,most  
,high says3 ',the        intimate       
friends on that day shall be enemies    

unto        one another1 except the     
pious1' which means that        on the  
day of resurrection friendship of       
friends        will become enmity1      
except the friendship of the            
abstemious1 which will increase the     
attachment4 ,i do        not wish that  
on the morn of resurrection the edifice 
of our love be impaired1 and our        
friendship be turned        into enmity4
 ,after saying these words1 he departed1
        reciting the following3         
,o heart1 abandon this love of two days1
      ,because a love of two days       
profits not2      ,choose a love        
wherewith on the day of reckoning       
,thou mayest abide in the eternal abode4
          ,a ,,kind ,,friend        ,o  
heart1 when a time of sorrow overtakes  
thee      ,there will be no sorrow if   
thou hast a kind friend2      ,for a day
 of trouble a friend is required1       
,because in times of comfort1 friends   
are not scarce4            ,a           
,,beautiful ,,woman          ,a         

beautiful woman had many admirers1 whose
 attentions        were so assiduous    
that the very street in which she       
lived became thronged by her visitors1  
but when her        attractions         
disappeared and she had become ugly1 her
        lovers abandoned her4 ,then ,i  
said to one of them3        ,she is the 
same friend as before1 with the same    
eyes1 brows1 lips1 but perhaps her      
stature is more        tall and her body
 more stout4 ,it is faithless and       
treacherous on thy part to neglect her4 
,he replied3        ,alas for what thou 
sayest6 ,that which ravished the        
heart1 and enthralled the senses1 was   
the spirit        which resided in her  
form1 in the gracefulness of        her 
limbs1 the smoothness of her skin1 and  
in the        pleasantness of her voice1
 but as that spirit has        departed 
from the figure1 how can ,i love a dead 
body1        or fondle a withered rose8 
,,sixth ,,garden          ,,jocularity  
,if a contented man jokes1 blame him    

not1      ,it is a trade licit by the   
laws of reason and religion2      ,the  
heart is a mirror1 and vexation the rust
 on it3      ,that rust is best polished
 away by jocularity4          ,a        
,,weaver ,,and ,a ,,learned ,,professor 
,a weaver1 who had left something in    
trust with a        learned man1 desired
 again to have it back some time        
afterwards1 and going to ask for it1 he 
saw the man        sitting in front of  
his house on the professional           
couch1 with a number of his disciples in
 front of        him4 ,he said3         
,mullana1 ,i am in need of my deposit4  
,he replied3 ,wait an hour till ,i      
finish my lecture4        ,the weaver   
accordingly took a seat1 and1 as the    
lecture proceeded1 he observed that the 
,mullana often        shook his head2   
and thinking that the imparting of      
the lesson consisted in this1 he said3  
,o professor1        arise and let me   
take thy place till thy return1 and     
wag my head till thou hast brought out  

my deposit1        because ,i am in     
haste4            ,a ,,word ,,to ,,the  
,,wise        ,if the gentleman fails to
 use the hair clipper      ,daily upon  
the hirsute countenance1      ,but few  
days will elapse when his face          
,will1 on account of the hair1 pretend  
to be his head4            ,,the        
,,explicit ,,beggar          ,a         
mendicant begged at the door of a house1
 whereon        the landlord apologised1
 saying that the people had        gone 
out1 and the beggar rejoined3 ,i want a 
morsel        of bread1 and net the     
people of the house4                    
,,phantom ,,relations          ,a man   
was visited by a stranger who began     
complaining1 and said3 ,is it possible  
that thou        knowest me not1 and    
dost not consider my claims        upon 
thee8 ,the man was amazed1 and replied3 
,i        know nothing of what thou     
sayest4 ,he continued3        ,my father
 desired to wed thy mother1 and if he   
had        married her we would be      

brothers4 ,the man rejoined3        ,by 
,allah6 ,this relationship will be the  
occasion for        my becoming thy     
heir1 and thou mine6            ,,an    
,,old ,,hag ,,who ,,desired ,,only      
,,pleasure          ,a man said his     
prayers and then began his              
supplications1 desiring to enter        
,paradise and to        be delivered    
from the fire of ,hell4 ,an old woman1  
who happened to be in his rear1 and     
heard him1        said3 ,o ,lord1 cause 
me to share in whatever he              
supplicates for4 ,the man1 who had      
listened1 then        said3 ,o ,lord1   
hang me on a gibbet1 and cause me       
to die of scourging4 ,the hag continued3
 ,o ,lord1        pardon me and preserve
 me from what he asked for4        ,the 
man then turned to her and said3 ,what a
        wonderfully-unpleasant partner  
this is6 ,she desires        to share   
with me in all that gives rest and      
pleasure1        but refuses to be my   
partner in distress and misery4         

,,plagiarism          ,a poet brought to
 a critic a composition1 every          
distich of which he had plagiarised from
 a different        collection of poems1
 and every rhetorical figure from       
another author4 ,the critic said3 ,for a
 wonder thou        hast brought a line 
of camels1 but if the string were       
untied1 every one of the herd would rush
 away in        another direction4      
,,the ,,afflicted ,,poet          ,a    
poet paid a visit to a doctor1 and said3
 ,something        has become knotted in
 my heart which makes me                
uncomfortable2 it makes also my limbs   
wither1 and        causes the hairs on  
my body to stand on end4 ,the           
physician1 who was a shrewd man1 asked3 
,very likely        thou has not yet    
recited to any one thy latest           
verses4 ,the poet replied3 ,just so4    
,the doctor        continued3 ,then     
recite them4 ,he complied1 was          
requested to repeat them1 and again to  
rehearse them        for the third time4

 ,after he had done so1 the doctor      
said3 ,now arise1 for thou art saved4   
,this poetry        had become knotted  
in thy heart1 and the dryness of        
it took effect upon the outside2 but1 as
 thou hast        relieved thy heart1   
thou art cured4        ,footnote #a3    
,there is a clever play on the author's 
name1 which also  means a goblet4       
,footnote #b3 ,the seventh degree of the
 ,sfs4    ,footnote #c3 ,the fifth      
degree of the ,sfs4    ,footnote #d3 ,in
 the ,persian1 without a shield4