The Persian Mystics: Jámí

SELECTIONS FROM "YÚSUF AND ZULAIKHA"

Lips sweet as sugar on my pen bestow,
And from my book let streams of odour flow.
YÚSUF AND ZULAIKHA.

THE COMING OF THE BELOVED

In solitude, where Being signless dwelt,
And all the universe still dormant lay
Concealed in selflessness, One Being was
Exempt from "I" or "Thou"-ness, and apart
From all duality; Beauty Supreme,
Unmanifest, except unto Itself
By Its own lights yet fraught with power to charm
The souls of all; concealed in the Unseen,
An Essence pure, unstained by aught of ill.
No mirror to reflect Its loveliness,
Nor comb to touch Its locks; the morning breeze
Ne'er stirred Its tresses; no collyrium
Lent lustre to Its eyes; no rosy cheeks
O'ershadowed by dark curls like hyacinth
Nor peach-like down were there; no dusky mole
Adorned Its face; no eye had yet beheld
Its image. To Itself it sang of Love
In wordless measures. By Itself it cast
The die of Love. But Beauty cannot brook
Concealment and the veil, nor patient rest
Unseen and unadmired; 'twill burst all bonds,
And from Its prison-casement to the world
Reveal Itself. See where the tulip grows
In upland meadows, how in balmy spring
It decks itself; and how amidst its thorns
The wild rose rends its garment, and reveals
Its loveliness. Thou too, when some rare thought,
Or beauteous image, or deep mystery
Flashes across thy soul, canst not endure
To let it pass, but holdst it, that perchance
In speech or writing thou mayst send it forth
To charm the world. Whatever beauty dwells,
Such is its nature, and its heritage
From Everlasting Beauty, which emerged
From realms of purity to shine upon
The worlds, and all the souls which dwell therein.
One gleam fell from It on the universe
And on the angels, and this single ray
Dazzled the angels, till their senses whirled
Like the revolving sky. In diverse forms
Each mirror showed it forth, and everywhere
Its praise was chanted in new harmonies.
The cherubim, enraptured, sought for songs
Of praise. The spirits who explore the depths
Of boundless seas, wherein the heavens swim
Like some small boat, cried with one mighty voice,
"Praise to the Lord of all the universe!"

"BEHOLD THOSE SPHERES"

Behold those spheres for ever circling, bound
With-scarves of azure, in their mystic round.
See, their light mantles loosely floating throw
A flood of radiance on the world below.
See them pursuing through the night and day,
True to their purpose, their triumphant way.
Each, like a player's ball obedient, still
Is moved and guided by superior will.
One eastward from the west its journey bends,
The other's ship to western waves descends.
Each in due progress with alternate sway
Lights the still night or cheers the busy day.
One writes fair lines that promise golden joys:
One with sad aspect bonds of bliss destroys.
All, joying in their might, their task renew,
And with untiring haste their course pursue.
Onward for ever to the goal they press
With feet and loins that know not weariness.
Who learns the secret of their dark intent?
Who knows on whom each wanderer's face is bent?

LOVE

No heart is that which love ne'er wounded: they
Who know not lovers' pangs are soulless clay.
Turn from the world, O turn thy wandering feet;
Come to the world of Love and find it sweet.

THE WAYS OF LOVE

Once to his master a disciple cried:—
"To wisdom's pleasant path be thou my guide."
"Hast thou ne'er loved?" the master answered; "learn
The ways of love and then to me return."
Drink deep of earthly love, that so thy lip
May learn the wine of holier love to sip.
But let not form too long thy soul entrance:
Pass o'er the bridge; with rapid feet advance.
If thou wilt rest, thine ordered journey sped,
Forbear to linger at the bridge's head.

"IF THE SUN'S SPLENDOUR NEVER DIED AWAY"

In this orchestra full of vain deceit
The drum of Being, each in turn, we beat.
Each morning brings new truth to light and fame,
And on the world falls lustre from a name.
If in one constant course the ages rolled,
Full many a secret would remain untold.
If the sun's splendour never died away,
Ne'er would the market of the stars be gay.
If in our gardens endless frost were king,
No rose would blossom at the kiss of Spring.

THE BEAUTY OF ZULAIKHA

Her face was the garden of Iram, where
Roses of every hue are fair.
The dusky moles that enhanced the red
Were like Moorish boys playing in each rose-bed.
Of silver that paid no tithe, her chin
Had a well with the Water of Life therein.
If a sage in his thirst came near to drink,
He would feel the spray ere he reached the brink,
But lost were his soul if he nearer drew,
For it was a well and a whirlpool too.
Her neck was of ivory. Thither drawn,
Came with her tribute to beauty the fawn;
And the rose hung her head at the gleam of the skin
Of shoulders fairer than jasmine.
Her breasts were orbs of a light most pure,
Twin bubbles new-risen from fount Kafur,[1]
Two young pomegranates grown on one spray,
Where bold hope never a ringer might lay.
The touchstone itself was proved false when it tried
Her arms' fine silver thrice purified;
But the pearl-pure amulets fastened there
Were the hearts of the holy absorbed in prayer.

SELF DIES IN LOVE

"I shall roll up the carpet of life when I see
Thy dear face again, and shall cease to be,
For self will be lost in that rapture, and all
The threads of my thought from my hand will fall;
Not me wilt thou find, for this self will have fled:
Thou wilt be my soul in mine own soul's stead.
All thought of self will be swept from my mind,
And thee, only thee, in my place shall I find;
More precious than heaven, than earth more dear,
Myself were forgotten if thou wert near."

"MINE EYES HAVE BEEN TOUCHED"

"Mine eyes have been touched by the Truth's pure ray,
And the dream of folly has passed away.
Mine eyes thou hast opened—God bless thee for it!—
And my heart to the Soul of the soul thou hast knit.

From a fond strange love thou hast turned my feet
The Lord of all creatures to know and meet;
If I bore a tongue in each single hair,
Each and all should thy praise declare."

ZULAIKHA PLEADS WITH YÚSUF FOR HIS LOVE

"By the excellent bloom of that cheek which He gave,
By that beauty which makes the whole world thy slave;
By the splendour that beams from that beautiful brow,
That bids the full moon to thy majesty bow;
By the graceful gait of that cypress, by
The delicate bow that is bent o'er thine eye;
By that arch of the temple devoted to prayer,
By each fine-woven mesh of the coils of thy hair;
By that charming narcissus, that form arrayed
In the sheen and glory of silk brocade;
By that secret thou callest a mouth, by the hair
Thou callest the waist of that body most fair
By the musky spots on thy cheek's pure rose,
By the smile of thy lips when those buds unclose,
By my longing tears, by the sigh and groan
That rend my heart as I pine alone;
By thine absence, a mountain too heavy to bear,
By my thousand fetters of grief and care;
By the sovereign sway of my passion, by
My carelessness whether I live or die;
Pity me, pity my lovelorn grief:
Loosen my fetters and grant relief:
An age has scorched me since over my soul
The soft sweet air of thy garden stole.
Be the balm of my wounds for a little; shed
Sweet scent on the heart where the flowers are dead
I hunger for thee till my whole frame is weak:
O give me the food for my soul which I seek."

THE HORSE OF YÚSUF

In his stalls had Yúsuf a fairy steed,
A courser through space of no earthly breed;
Swift as the heavens, and black and white
With a thousand patches of day and night;
Now a jetty spot, now a starry blaze,
Like Time with succession of nights and days.
With his tail the heavenly Virgo's hair,
With his hoof the moon, was afraid to compare.
Each foot with a golden new moon was shod,
And the stars of its nails struck the earth as he trod.
When his hoof smote sharp on the rugged flint
A planet flashed forth from the new moon's dint;
And a new moon rose in the sky when a shoe
From the galloping foot of the courser flew.
Like an arrow shot through its side in the chase.
He outstripped the game in the deadly race.
At a single bound he would spring, unpressed,
With the lightning's speed from the east to the west.

THE FREEING OF ZULAIKHA'S SOUL

"O thou who hast broken mine honour's urn,
Thou stone of offence wheresoever I turn,
I should smite—for thy falsehood has ruined my rest—
With the stone thou art made of, the heart in my breast.
The way of misfortune too surely I trod
When I bowed down before thee and made thee my god;
When I looked up to thee with wet eyes in my woe,
I renounced all the bliss which both worlds can bestow.
From thy stony dominion my soul will I free,
And thus shatter the gem of thy power and thee."

BREAKING THE IDOL

With a hard flint stone, like the Friend,[2] as she spoke,
In a thousand pieces the image she broke.
Riven and shattered the idol fell,
And with her from that moment shall all be well.
She made her ablution, 'mid penitent sighs,
With the blood of her heart and the tears of her eyes.
She bent down her head to the dust; with a moan
She made supplication to God's pure throne:—
"O God, who lovest the humble, Thou
To whom idols, their makers, their servants bow;
'Tis to the light which Thy splendour lends
To the idol's face that its worshipper bends.
Thy love the heart of the sculptor stirs,
And the idol is graven for worshippers.
They bow them down to the image, and think
That they worship Thee as before it they sink.
To myself, O Lord, I have done this wrong,
If mine eyes to an idol have turned so long.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Thou hast washed the dark stain of my sin away;
Now restore the lost blessing for which I pray.
May I feel my heart free from the brand of its woes,
And cull from the garden of Yúsuf a rose."

YÚSUF AND ZULAIKHA MEET AGAIN

"Where is thy youth, and thy beauty, and pride?"
"Gone, since I parted from thee!" she replied.
"Where is the light of thine eye?" said he,
"Drowned in blood-tears for the loss of thee."
"Why is that cypress tree bowed and bent?"
"By absence from thee and my long lament."
"Where is thy pearl, and thy silver and gold,
And the diadem bright on thy head of old?"
"She who spoke of my loved one," she answered, "shed,
In the praise of thy beauty, rare pearls on my head.
In return for those jewels, a recompense meet,
I scattered my jewels and gold at her feet.
A crown of pure gold on her forehead I set,
And the dust that she trod was my coronet.
The stream of my treasure of gold ran dry;
My heart is Love's storehouse, and I am I."

ZULAIKHA'S YOUTH RETURNS

The beauty returned which was ruined and dead,
And her cheek gained the splendour which long I had fled.
Again shone the waters which sad years had dried,
And the rose-bed of youth bloomed again in its pride.
The musk was restored and the camphor withdrawn,
And the black night followed the grey of the dawn,
The cypress rose stately and tall as of old:
The pure silver was free from all wrinkle and fold.
From each musky tress fled the traces of white:
To the black narcissus came beauty and light.

ZULAIKHA'S WISH

"The one sole wish of my heart," she replied,
"Is still to be near thee, to sit by thy side;
To have thee by day in my happy sight,
And to lay my cheek on thy foot at night;
To lie in the shade of the cypress and sip
The sugar that lies on thy ruby lip;
To my wounded heart this soft balm to lay;
For naught beyond this can I wish or pray.
The streams of thy love will new life bestow
On the dry thirsty field where its sweet waters flow."

UNITED

Thus spoke the Angel: "To thee, O King,
From the Lord Almighty a message I bring:
'Mine eyes have seen her in humble mood;
I heard her prayer when to thee she sued.
At the sight of her labours, her prayers, and sighs,
The waves of the sea of my pity rise.
Her soul from the sword of despair I free,
And here from My throne I betroth her to thee.'"

SELECTIONS FROM THE "BAHÁRISTÁN"

("ABODE OF SPRING")

Take a walk in this Baháristán [Abode of Spring]
That you may see therein Gulistán [rose-groves]
With gracefulness in each Gulistán,
Flowers growing and aromatic plants blooming.
BAHÁRISTÁN.

TO THE READER OF THE "BAHÁRISTÁN"

Let every fortunate man who of these blooming trees
The shade enjoys, or the fruit consumes,
Act according to the laws of righteousness,
Walk on the road of generosity and pray thus:
May Jámí, who planted this garden, O Lord,
Be always full of God and empty of self.[1]
May he travel on no other path but His, and seek no other Union[2] but His;
Nor utter another name but His, nor see another face but His.

SONG IN PRAISE OF THE BELOVED

To the Maker!—the rose-grove of the sphere
Is but one leaf of the flower-garden of. His creation—
That those who sing His praises
May have a plate of pearls and jewels full of oblations!
May the magnitude of His glory shine, and the world of His perfection be exalted!

A thousand chants of salutation and greeting from the philomels of the garden-mansion of Union and benevolence, who are the musicians of the assembly of witnesses and songsters in the delightful house of Ecstasy[3] and benevolence.

FIRST GARDEN


"FOR THEE"

For Thee we have hastened across land and sea,
Have passed over plains, and mountains climbed,
Have turned away from whatever we met
Until we found the way to the sanctuary of Union with Thee.

PRIDE

Boast not of having no pride, because it is more invisible
Than the mark of an ant's foot on a black rock in a dark night;
Think it not easy to extirpate it from thy heart,
For it is more easy to root up a mountain from the earth with a needle.

"I CANNOT BE FAR FROM THY DOOR"

Beloved! I cannot be far from Thy door,
Cannot be satisfied with Paradise and with houris.
My head is on Thy threshold by Love's command, not for wages.
Whatever I may do, I cannot bear to be away from this door.

FRIENDSHIP

He is a friend, who although meeting with enmity
From his friend, only becomes more attached to him.
If he strikes him with a thousand stones of violence,
The edifice of his love will only be made more firm by them.

SECOND GARDEN


"A SECRET"

O boy! A secret necessary to be concealed from a foe
Thou wilt do well not to reveal it even to a friend.
I have seen many who in course of capricious time
Became foes from friends, and amity to enmity turned.

"THE INDISPENSABLE KNOWLEDGE"

Cultivate the knowledge which is indispensable to you,
And seek not that which you can dispense with.
From the moment you acquire the indispensable knowledge,
You must not desire to act except in accordance therewith.

SILENCE

No one repented for keeping a secret under seal,
But many for having revealed it.
Remain silent, because to sit quietly with a collected mind
Is better than speaking what will distract it.

OCCUPATION ENNOBLED BY A GREAT MAN

Alexander degraded one of his officials by removing him from a high and employing him in a low post. One day this man waited upon Alexander, who asked him what he thought of his occupation, and he replied: "May the life of my Lord be long! A man is not ennobled by a great occupation, but an occupation is ennobled by a great man. In every post honesty, justice and equity are needed." Alexander was pleased with this opinion, and re-installed him in his former office.

THIRD GARDEN


WISE MAXIMS

Every [wise], maxim by the mouth and teeth is a jewel:
Happy is he who has made of his breast a casket of jewels;
A sage is a treasury of the jewels of philosophy,
Do not separate thyself from this treasure.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE MIGHTY

The favourites of Sultáns are like people climbing up a precipitous mountain, and falling off from it in consequence of the quakes of anger and the vicissitudes of time. 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 positions.

JUSTICE AND VIRTUE

A culprit having been brought before the Khalifa, he ordered the punishment due to the transgression to be administered. The prisoner said: "O Commander of the Faithful, to take vengeance for a crime is justice, but to pass it over is virtue; and the magnanimity of the Prince of the Faithful is more exalted, than that he should disregard what is higher, and descend to what is lower." The Khalifa, being pleased with his argument, condoned his transgression.

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 Hajaj, having been brought before him, he spoke to her, but she looked down, and fixing her eyes upon the ground, neither replied, nor glanced at him. One who was present said: "O woman, the Amir is speaking, and thou lookest away?" She replied: "I am ashamed before God the Most High, to look on a man, upon whom God the Most High does not look."

HOW ALEXANDER ACQUIRED HIS POWER

Alexander having been asked by what means he had attained such dominion, power, and glory at so youthful an age and during so short a reign, replied: "By conciliating foes till they turned away from the path of enmity, and by strengthening the alliances with friends till they became firm in the bonds of amity."

FOURTH GARDEN


"THE VALUE OF A MAN"

The price of a man consists not in silver and gold;
The value of a man is his power and virtue.
Many a slave has by acquiring virtue
Attained much greater power than a gentleman,
And many a gentleman has for want of virtue
Become inferior[4] to his own slave.

LIBERALITY

It is on record that 'Abdullah Ibn Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him!) intended one day to travel, and approaching a date-grove where he had seen some persons, he alighted. The guardian of the trees happened to be a black slave, to whom two loaves of bread had just been sent from the house; and as a dog stood near him, he threw one of the loaves to it, which having been devoured by the animal, he gave away also the other, and the dog likewise consumed it. Then 'Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him!) asked what his daily allowance was. The slave replied: "What thou hast seen." "Then why hast thou not kept it for thyself?" "The dog is a stranger here; I thought he had come from a long distance and was hungry, wherefore I did not mean to leave him in that condition." "Then what wilt thou eat to-day?" "I shall fast." Then 'Abdullah said to himself: "Everybody is blaming me for my liberality, and this slave is more liberal than myself." Then he purchased both the slave and the date-grove, presenting him with the latter, and emancipating him.

"LEARN THOU BRAVERY!"

O brave man, learn thou bravery!
From men of the world learn manliness.
Preserve thy heart from the remorse of remorse-seekers;
Preserve thy tongue from the blame of evil-speakers.
Requite with good him who did thee evil,
Because by that evil he injured his own prosperity.
If thou makest beneficence thy rule
The good thou doest will return only to thee.

SELF-SACRIFICE

One night a great mosque in Egypt, having caught fire, was burnt. The Musulmans suspected that Christians had committed the act, and in revenge put fire to their houses, which consumed them. The Sultán of Egypt had the persons captured who burnt these houses, and having assembled them in one spot, ordered notes to be distributed among them, on some of which a sentence of death to the bearer was written, on some to cut off his hands, and on some to whip him. These notes having been thrown to the culprits and been picked up by them, each of them underwent the punishment which had fallen to his lot. One, to whom the sentence of death had been awarded, said: "I do not fear to be killed, but I have a mother, of whom no one will take care except myself." Near him stood a man who was to be punished by whippings but they exchanged their notes, the latter saying: "I have no mother, let me be killed instead of him, and him be whipped instead of me," and this was done.

GALLANTRY AND HUMOUR

An Arab of the desert welcomed the arrival of an Arab chief in a Qasída recited by him, which terminated in the following [Arabic] distich:

Stretch out thy hand to me, the palm whereof
Distributes largesses, and its back is kissed.

Accordingly the generous man held out his hand to be kissed by the Arab, whereon he said by way of a joke: "The hairs upon thy lips have scratched my hand." The Arab replied: "What injury can the bristles of a porcupine inflict upon the paw of a formidable lion?" This sally pleased the liberal man, who said: "I like this better than the Qasída," and ordered him to be rewarded for it with 1,000 and for the sally 3,000 dirhams.

FIFTH GARDEN


A LOVERS' DIALOGUE

Maiden:
By God, who openly and secretly
Is worshipped by men and fairies,
I swear that of all whom I see in the world
No one is dearer to me than thou.

Youth:
O thou who sawest me, and residest in my heart,
Soul and body, all now belong to thee.
If my heart inclines to thee it is no wonder;
It must be a stone, not a heart, which turns not to thee!

'The girl said that now her only wish in the world was that they should put their hands round each other's waists, and eat sugar from the lips of each other. The youth replied: "My desire is the same, but what can I do? As God the Most High says: 'The intimate friends on that day shall be enemies unto one another, except the pious,' which means that on the day of resurrection friendship of friends will become enmity, except the friendship of the abstemious, which will increase the attachment. I do not wish that on the morn of resurrection the edifice of our love be impaired, and our friendship be turned into enmity." After saying these words, he departed, reciting the following:

O heart, abandon this love of two days,
Because a love of two days profits not;
Choose a love wherewith on the day of reckoning
Thou mayest abide in the eternal abode.

A KIND FRIEND

O heart, when a time of sorrow overtakes thee
There will be no sorrow if thou hast a kind friend;
For a day of trouble a friend is required,
Because in times of comfort, friends are not scarce.

A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN

A beautiful woman had many admirers, whose attentions were so assiduous that the very street in which she lived became thronged by her visitors, but when her attractions disappeared and she had become ugly, her lovers abandoned her. Then I said to one of them: "She is the same friend as before, with the same eyes, brows, lips, but perhaps her stature is more tall and her body more stout. It is faithless and treacherous on thy part to neglect her." He replied: "Alas for what thou sayest! That which ravished the heart, and enthralled the senses, was the spirit which resided in her form, in the gracefulness of her limbs, the smoothness of her skin, and in the pleasantness of her voice, but as that spirit has departed from the figure, how can I love a dead body, or fondle a withered rose?"

SIXTH GARDEN


JOCULARITY

If a contented man jokes, blame him not,
It is a trade licit by the laws of reason and religion;
The heart is a mirror, and vexation the rust on it:
That rust is best polished away by jocularity.

A WEAVER AND A LEARNED PROFESSOR

A weaver, who had left something in trust with a learned man, desired again to have it back some time afterwards, and going to ask for it, he saw the man sitting in front of his house on the professional couch, with a number of his disciples in front of him. He said: "Mullana, I am in need of my deposit." He replied: "Wait an hour till I finish my lecture." The weaver accordingly took a seat, and, as the lecture proceeded, he observed that the Mullana often shook his head; and thinking that the imparting of the lesson consisted in this, he said: "O professor, arise and let me take thy place till thy return, and wag my head till thou hast brought out my deposit, because I am in haste."

A WORD TO THE WISE

If the gentleman fails to use the hair clipper
Daily upon the hirsute countenance,
But few days will elapse when his face
Will, on account of the hair, pretend to be his head.

THE EXPLICIT BEGGAR

A mendicant begged at the door of a house, whereon the landlord apologised, saying that the people had gone out, and the beggar rejoined: "I want a morsel of bread, and net the people of the house."

PHANTOM RELATIONS

A man was visited by a stranger who began complaining, and said: "Is it possible that thou knowest me not, and dost not consider my claims upon thee?" The man was amazed, and replied: "I know nothing of what thou sayest." He continued: "My father desired to wed thy mother, and if he had married her we would be brothers." The man rejoined: "By Allah! This relationship will be the occasion for my becoming thy heir, and thou mine!"

AN OLD HAG WHO DESIRED ONLY PLEASURE

A man said his prayers and then began his supplications, desiring to enter Paradise and to be delivered from the fire of Hell. An old woman, who happened to be in his rear, and heard him, said: "O Lord, cause me to share in whatever he supplicates for." The man, who had listened, then said: "O Lord, hang me on a gibbet, and cause me to die of scourging." The hag continued: "O Lord, pardon me and preserve me from what he asked for." The man then turned to her and said: "What a wonderfully-unpleasant partner this is! She desires to share with me in all that gives rest and pleasure, but refuses to be my partner in distress and misery."

PLAGIARISM

A poet brought to a critic a composition, every distich of which he had plagiarised from a different collection of poems, and every rhetorical figure from another author. The critic said: "For a wonder thou hast brought a line of camels, but if the string were untied, every one of the herd would rush away in another direction."

THE AFFLICTED POET

A poet paid a visit to a doctor, and said: "Something has become knotted in my heart which makes me uncomfortable; it makes also my limbs wither, and causes the hairs on my body to stand on end." The physician, who was a shrewd man, asked: "Very likely thou has not yet recited to any one thy latest verses." The poet replied: "Just so." The doctor continued: "Then recite them." He complied, was requested to repeat them, and again to rehearse them for the third time. After he had done so, the doctor said: "Now arise, for thou art saved. This poetry had become knotted in thy heart, and the dryness of it took effect upon the outside; but, as thou hast relieved thy heart, thou art cured."