Margaret Smith The Persian Mystics Attar

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EDITED BY
L.
Bast Series
CRANMER-BYNG
DR.
S.
A.
KAPADIA
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
'ATTAR
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WISDOM OF THE EAST
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS

'ATTAR
BY MARGARET SMITH,
:
M.A., PH.D.
AUTHOR OF
'RABI'A THE MYSTIC AND HER FELLOW-SAINTS IN ISLAM" AND
STUDIES IN EARLY MYSTICISM IN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST"
'
NEW YORK
E. P.
DUTTON AND COMPANY,
INC.
FIEST EDITION, 1932
LII< AKlrlS
PErsro?ED IN
GREAT BBITAIN
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
I.
II.
THE LIFE OF 'ATTAR
....
THE MYSTICAL DOCTRINE OF

"ATTAR
III.
11
THE STORY OF THE

AL-TAYR"
.
SELECTIONS FROM THE

SELECTIONS
AWLIYA
"
"
"
19
MANTIQ
"
26
"
MANTIQ AL-TAYR
.....
FROM
"
SELECTIONS FROM THE
"
SELECTIONS FROM THE
"
TADHKIRAT
PANDNAMA
34
AL65
"
85
JAWHAR AL-DHAT
"
90
SELECTIONS FROM OTHER WORKS THAN THE
FOREGOING
98
"
Man
has only to look within himself to find God."

'ATTAR.
FOR
PREFATORY NOTE
of my references I am
indebted to
I have also to express
my thanks to the Literary Executors of the late
Prof. E. G. Browne and the Syndics of the
Cambridge University Press for permission to
include two translations from the Mantig alTayr, by Prof. E. G. Browne (pp. 34, 60). I have
also included two translations from the Jawhar
al-DMt (pp. 95, 97), by R. A. Vaughan, given in
his Hours with the Mystics (Parker & Son, London).
Otherwise the translations are my own work.
certain
Shaykh Azzam,
of Cairo.
MARGARET SMITH.
LONDON,
October 1931.
EDITORIAL NOTE
THE
object of the Editors of this series is a very

They desire above all things that,
in their humble way, these books shall be the
definite one.
ambassadors of good-will and understanding

between East and West the old world of
Thought and the new of Action. 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 colour.
L.
S.
NOBTHBBOOK SOCIETY,
21, CEOMWELL ROAD,
KENSINGTON, S.W.
CRANMER-BYNG.
KAPADIA.
A.
INTRODUCTION
I.
THE LIFE OF 'ATTAR
FARID AL-Drsr ABU HAMID MUHAMMAD B.

IBRAHIM 'ATTAR was born some time previous to
A.D. 1150.
His native biographers place the date
of his birth as early as A.D. 1119-20, but this early
date seems improbable, as it would make the poet
at least a hundred and ten at the time of his
death. He was born at Kadkan, a village near

Nishapur, and henee was called Nishapuri, and
it is to be noted that Khurasan, and Nishapur
in particular, have been famous as centres of
Sufi mysticism.
Some of the greatest of the
of
Islam,
mystics
including the poet Abu Sa'id b.
Abi al-Khayr, and al-Ghazali, the " Proof of
Islam," belonged to this region.
The name 'Attar signifies one who deals in
perfumes or drugs, especially 'itr or otto of roses.
The poet's father had followed this occupation,
and the son succeeded to his business. To his
mother, Farid al-Din 'Attar seems to have been
greatly attached ; he speaks of the joy and
satisfaction which he had in her company, and
"
of her spiritual rank as a
Caliph in the Realm
11
12
INTRODUCTION
of Religion," and it was no doubt from her that

he inherited his strong inclination towards the
religious life, though his father, who died before
his son was old enough to be much influenced by
him, was also a Sufi. In addition to his trade in
the sale of perfumes, 'Attar seems to have kept
a sort of pharmacy, where he was consulted by
patients, for whom he prescribed, and to whom he
dispensed his own prescriptions. His clinic
appears to have been frequented at one time by
as many as five hundred patients in a day, and it
was in his drug-store, he tells us, that he composed
certain of his poems.
We do not know much of the course of his life,

but he seems to have spent some years of his
youth at Mashad, before he took up business in
It was while he was engaged
his druggist's shop.
in selling perfumes and drugs that the call came
to him to follow the religious life. Dawlatshah,
in his Memoirs of the Poets, relates that one day
a dervish, who was far advanced in the spiritual
life, came to the door of Shaykh Farid al-Dln's
shop, and cast curious glances upon the treasures
displayed there in such profusion ; then his eyes
were seen to fill with tears, while he gave vent to
deep sighs. The Shaykh, disturbed by this
unwonted
visitor,
bade him pass on his way and

"
The dervish
begone.
that is easily done.
in response said,
My
baggage
is light,
Sir,
for it
consists only of this patched robe that I wear,
INTRODUCTION
13
but for you, with these sacks full of precious drugs,
when the time comes for you to depart hence,

how will you take them with you ? As for
.1 can depart quickly enough from the
bazaar of this transient world, but as for you, you
will need to occupy yourself well in advance with
the arrangement of your packages and your
baggage it would be wise to ponder a little on
myself,
your situation."
'Attar was profoundly affected by the words
of the dervish, and his biographer says that his
"
as cold as camphor." He gave
heart became
his profession, and
his
abandoned
up
shop,
entirely renounced all worldly affairs.
'Attar now turned his back on the world, and
retired into a monastery under the spiritual
direction of the venerable Shaykh Rukn al-
Din Akkaf, a well-known contemplative, and

became a novice under his guidance. 'Attar's
manner of life was now completely changed, and
he delivered him self over to the discipline of selfmortification, and the practice of works of
devotion. He spent some years among the other
disciples of Shaykh Rukn al-Dln, and also during
this period went on pilgrimage to Mecca.
He
appears to have travelled extensively at this
most of the great Sufi teachers seem to
have done at some period of their lives, before
they settled down to teach or to write. 'Attar
time, as
was no exception, and he
visited
Rayy, Kufa,
INTRODUCTION
14
Egypt, Damascus, India, and Turkistan, before

returning to settle down in Nishapur. Of the
asceticism and loneliness of his life at this time he
tells
"
us something in his own writings. He says,

sorrow of heart, and the
am consumed by
graceless folk around me remain unheeding,

so that I must needs sorrow alone. When I set
forth dry bread upon
table, I moisten it with
tears.
meat is sorrow of heart, and yet at
times I have Gabriel as
Since the Holy
guest.
Spirit Himself bears me company, why should
I break bread with any mean companion ? This
nourishment
dry bread of mine is sufficient for
and a contented heart gives fresh life to
soul.
my
My
my
my
my
my
Truth
my
which cannot pass away,

and only he who possesses such a treasure is rich.
Why should I put myself under an obligation to
any ignoble wretch, or let him enslave my heart ?
Never have I eaten the food of any tyrant, nor
dedicated any book of mine to such a one. It is
the high purpose alone that I praise, and it is the
strength of my spirit alone which gives sustenance
to my body."
In the course of his travels, 'Attar made the
acquaintance of a large number of men of God,
Sufi mystics and contemplatives, and for thirtynine years he occupied himself in collecting the
verses and sayings of the Sufi saints, and securing
information as to their lives and practice, so that
he was reputed to have more knowledge of the
is
treasure,
INTRODUCTION
15
Sufi philosophy, and the Sufis themselves, than

of his disany author of his time. On account
"
" of the
he
was
said
to
the
be
courses,
scourge
Sufi gnostics, because he urged them on to such
lofty heights of knowledge and attainment, while
we are told that " his burning zeal in the service
of God became a bright lamp for the guidance of
the divers for the pearls of truth in the sea of
knowledge."
At the end
of his life, 'Attar was living in comhis

door opened to none, save those
plete retreat,
who sought his spiritual advice. There in his
retreat he remained absorbed in the contemplation

of the Divine Essence, until the deepest spiritual
mysteries, truths the most impenetrable and
inaccessible to man, were revealed and made clear
"
the most perfect

His biographer wrote
degree of spirituality."
"
of him that he was
submerged in the ocean of
the knowledge of God, and plunged in the sea of
immediate experience of the Divine." Thus he
came to the goal of the mystic's quest, that which
"
is called
annihilation," which is the complete
passing away of the personal self in the consciousness of the Divine, when the human spirit becomes
one with the Eternal Spirit, the lover is united
for ever with the Beloved, and the soul returns
unto the Source from which it came forth.
Legend relates that 'Attar met his death at the
hands of the Mongols during the sack of Nishapur
to him, so that he attained
INTRODUCTION
16
He was said to have been taken

(A.D. 1229-30).
captive by a Mongol, who was on the point of
putting him to death when a second Mongol
him a ransom of a thousand pieces of
he would spare the old man's life. 'Attar's
captor was ready to accept the offer, but the poet
told him that he was a man of importance, for
whom someone else might offer a much higher
ransom. So they went on their way, and a second
time the Mongol was minded to kill his captive,and
again a passer-by offered a ransom, this time of a
sack of straw. "Accept his offer, said 'Attar, for
this is what I am worth," and this time the Mongol,
enraged at his action, proceeded to put him to
death. A religious devotee, who had witnessed
the murder, was seized with ecstasy and exclaimed,
"
O Lord, those who are leaders in the Faith,
and those who are in union with the Divine, fall
one after the other into the hands of these inoffered
silver
if
' '
' '
and yet Thou doest naught

for
but
behalf,
my part, I am overcome
with grief and wrath." So saying, he drew his
sword, and other Muslims, attracted by his
courage, also took their swords in their hands and
succeeded in putting the Mongols to flight, and
so saved their own lives and their nation.
'Attar's tomb was outside the gate of Shadbakh.
The original shrine over it later fell into ruins, but
the Amir 'AH Shir restored it and built a beautiful
vaders,
and perish
on their
monument over
the grave.
INTRODUCTION
17
must have applied the greater part of his

to
He wrote twenty long
long
literary work.
works, of which his Tadhkirat al-Awliyd (The
Memoirs of the Saints), is the only one written in
prose, and he also wrote an important and
extensive Diwan of short poems. Though greatly
renowned as a poet, he has as great a reputation
for his philosophic and mystical teaching, and
practically all his work is to be interpreted in the
'Attar
life
One of his latest writings, a

light of mysticism.
poem entitled Mazhar al-'Aja'ib (The Manifestation of Wonders) aroused the wrath of an
orthodox theologian of Samarkand, who caused
the book to be burned, and denounced the author
on a charge of heresy, and in consequence
'Attar's house was attacked and burned.
'Attar's chief works, in addition to the Memoirs
of the Saints, in which he incorporates the vast
store of information concerning the lives and
teachings of the Sufis which he had accumulated during his long investigation, include the
Pandnama (The Book of Counsels), a little moral
very austere in tone, which is practical
The bestas well as mystical in its teaching.
known of his poems is the Mantig al-Tayr (The
Discourse of the Birds), an allegory dealing
with the mystic Way, and the attainment of the
Goal of the Quest. Other long poems full of
mystical meaning are the Jawhar al-Dhdt (The
treatise,
Inner Nature of the Divine Essence), the Asrdr
INTRODUCTION
18
Ndma
Ndma
(The Book of Mysteries), and the Ilahi

(The Book of Divine Knowledge).
*
Attar's teaching was greatly appreciated even
in his own lifetime. Jalal al-Dln Rumi, as a
child, is said to have received 'Attar's blessing,
and been presented with his Asrdr Ndma, and
;
Rumi
afterwards considered himself to be a

disciple of the earlier mystic, and spoke of himself
as a planet revolving about his sun, for 'Attar,

said, had drunk a draught of wine from the
hand of the Sun. He also said of 'Attar, " He
was the soul of the (Sufi) Doctrine and traversed
he
the seven
cities of
Love, while we are
still
at the
turning of one street." Again Rumi said that the

light of Hallaj, the great Sufi teacher and martyr,
who was put to death in A.D.

in
'Attar,
922, was manifested

and was to him illumination and
guidance. Of 'Attar in relation to the great

mystic poet Sana'I, author of the Hadigat alHaqiga, (The Garden of Truth), Rumi said further
"
that
'Attar was the Spirit, and Sana'I its two
I
came after both of them."
eyes.
Sufi, who was asked his opinion of the respec"
The former
tive merits of 'Attar and Rumi, said,
flew up like an eagle to the height of perfection,
in the twinkling of an eye
the latter reached the
same summit, but it was by slow and persevering
progress." Another Sufi poet, Mahmud Sha.the writer of the Gulshan-i Rdz (The
Rose-Garden of Mystery), said of him that the
bistarl,
INTRODUCTION
19
would not come again for a hundred

The poet Katibi of Nishapur, who
flourished some two centuries after 'Attar, wrote,
"
Like 'Attar I am from the Rose-garden of
Nishapur, but I am the thorn of Nishapur and
he was the rose."
like of 'Attar
centuries.
II.
THE MYSTICAL DOCTBINE OF 'ATTAR
What we call Mysticism represents an attitude

of mind which is intensely and continuously aware
of the unity of all Reality, whether that Reality
be called the Divine Essence, the Eternal Wisdom,
Unclouded Light, Beauty Supreme, Perfect Love,
or simply, God. The mystic holds that God
contains everything, and yet transcends all things.
He is the One in
all is lost and also the One
in
all is found.
Mysticism means, therefore, a constant awareness of the all-pervading
Presence of God, but it seeks to go farther still,
and to arrive at a knowledge of the One Reality.
To the mystic, no other relation matters compared
with the relation of the soul to God, and so
mysticism aims at the attainment of animmediate,
direct apprehension by the human of the Divine,
in which the soul shall in truth become one with
God. The mystic claims that this is possible
because the soul is itself Divine in origin only
the real can know Reality, and only the god-like
Whom
Whom
can find God.
20
INTRODUCTION
If the soul is related to God, then is God also

related to the soul. But the soul, tied to a material
body, dwelling in a material world, has wandered
far from its Source, and the way of return, the
path of ascent, to its home in God, is long and
arduous. Only by purification and self -stripping

can the soul hope to tear aside the veils between
itself and the All-Holy, and to see clearly the
Divine Vision. Only that soul which, by ceasing
to think of self, has passed beyond itself can enter
into that abiding state of Union with the One.
There is but one key to unlock the door, but
one inspiration and motive-power strong enough

to lead the soul through all trials and all sacrifices,
until at last it reaches the goal of its Quest, and
that power is Love Love, disinterested and all"
fire in the heart consuming all
absorbing, that
save the Will of the Beloved," that Love which
"
has
set the soul on fire and transmuted it into
Love, has annihilated and destroyed it to all that
not Love." That passion of Love for God will
lead the mystic onward and upward, until, purged
as by fire from all the dross of self and self-seeking,
the soul can look upon God face to face, andbecome
one with that Supreme Reality, Which is also
is
Everlasting Love.
'Attar, in his mystical teaching concerning
the nature of the Godhead, says that the Divine
Essence is beyond human conception, and all
that men say of God is but the result of their
INTRODUCTION
21
ideas of Him, for He is Incomand

therefore
Unknowable and Incomparable,
human
the
reason, which knows
prehensible by
little enough about itself, and how then can it
hope to know the Ineffable Essence ? Yet, even
own imaginary
is, as He truly is, God can

be known through love and ecstasy, for these are
His own gifts, and in them He reveals Himself.
The Divine Attributes can be known, for by them
God is manifested in the Universe. God, to
'Attar, is the Sole Source of all existence everything is God and there is no other existence but
God. All is the Essence of the Incomparable
Lord, from His Essence He created all things.
He is Infinite, without limit or end, and therefore
nothing else can exist, for nothing can remain
outside of the Infinite. The universe is the
reflection of His Perfection, for God is to the world
as Essence to attributes. He is a hidden treasure,
and the visible world is a means whereby we may
discover Him. Those who take pains really to
understand the universe will find that God is the
Evil is non-existent,
hidden Truth behind it.
what we call good
because all comes from God
and evil are both from Him, therefore nothing
should be regarded as evil, for everything comes
in His Essence, that
from Him, and therefore everything is good.

God is not only Being but Will. He is the sole
Agent, the Motive-power of all action. His power
is at work in every atom, says 'A^tar, and He i
INTRODUCTION
22
in truth, the Spirit and Life of the world. He is

the infinite fathomless Sea, in which every drop
is longing to manifest itself ; and the whole universe is but a drop in that boundless sea of the
Unity. God is also the Sun which shines upon
every atom, and gives light to it both without and
a wondrous, incomparable Light, the

splendour of which is revealed even through a
hundred thousand veils. As God is the Source
of all movement, so also is He the Goal towards
within,
which
all
things move.
Everything
is
yearning
Him: the drop longs for the Sea whence it

came forth, the spark for the Flame whence it
had its origin. The universe is crying aloud for
God, the heart is athirst for Him, all creatures are
all movement and all activity
seeking for Him
for
within the universe, the very motions of the

spheres, all arise from this yearning search for the
Divine, Which is thus for ever drawing back
again to Itself those souls which are indeed a part
of Itself, which have for a brief while been parted
from their Source, but which must return again
to become one with the Whole.
In his teaching, then, on the nature of the soul
and its relation to God, 'Attar makes plain his
belief that man is made in the image of God, and
that the human soul is derived from the Divine
Essence. Within the human spirit is a Divine
treasure hidden, which is of the essence of the
Divine mysteries, and therefore when God willed
INTRODUCTION
23
to manifest Himself through man, He revealed

many of the secrets of Reality. God is
therefore the Life of the soul, and it is this which
makes it real. Man is, in truth, the only real
existence in the universe ; all else is unreal, for he
alone has Divinity within him, he alone shares
in the Essence of the Sole Reality.
But this
Divinity dwells within a material body, the spirit
is attached to matter, and so man in this perishable world is in fetters and afflicted, his soul is
like a bird within a cage, which is ever striving to
burst its bonds and to fly forth, up to the heavens
and the serried ranks of the stars.
The soul, then, must find its way back to its
native home in God, it must seek to break loose
from the fetters of the body, from its attachment
to gross matter and to this phenomenal world,
and must wing its way back to that incomparable
realm of the Divine, where the spirit of man
shall become one again with the Eternal Spirit
of God.
For man, says 'Attar, there is an ascent
of the soul, whereby it may attain to the Light
thereby
of lights ;
all else is mortal, perishable,
transient, but the human soul is immortal
shall abide for ever in God.
But the
Way
for Eternal Life
and
and
long and hard, and the Quest

must be pursued with ceaseless
is
striving and effort until, through pain, weariness,

and darkness, the soul finds peace and light in
the Presence of God, Yet the goal is not to be
INTRODUCTION
24
attained by the efforts of the soul alone it needs

the grace of God to help it on its forward way, and
without that grace and help, and the Divine
:
it will fall back and perish.

Only
humble reliance on the Divine aid can the soul
for all is the
hope that by its efforts it will attain,
The seeker said, " I put my heart
gift of God.
and soul at Thy service, all that I had I scattered
"
for Thy sake," and God said to him,
What art
thou ? What dost thou do or leave undone ?
It was I Who roused thee to be up and doing."
guidance,
in
And even when
the soul has listened to the call,

set his face towards the goal,
are so great as to be almost in"
and the traveller has
the difficulties
surmountable.
When you have travelled on
the road of God for a hundred centuries, you will
find yourself still at the first step." It is a trackless desert Path, in which are no signs to give
in this
guidance to the bewildered traveller
Road the only sign is that no sign is to be seen.
The shadow seeks to attain to union with the
Sun. That may be possible, says 'Attar, but
the impossibility must be borne in mind. On this
mystic Way, there are stages to be traversed,
halting-places for the traveller, and only when
each stage has been traversed, and the qualities
proper to it acquired, must the traveller proceed
to a higher stage, and the time taken to traverse
each stage depends on the traveller's spiritual
capacity and equipment for the journey. But
;
INTRODUCTION
25
from time to time God may grant him the grace

of illumination, and he will know the joy of
ecstasy, to cheer him on his way and encourage
him to face fresh toils and trials.
Yet all the difficulties may be overcome by
Love, for Love is the solution of the insoluble
where reason fails, Love will triumph, and where
earthly knowledge is powerless to help, Love will
prove all-availing. Though you possess all the
knowledge in the world, says 'Attar, if you are
without Love you do not know the first letter of
;
the alphabet in this realm of the spirit. It is

Love which leads the traveller ever onward and
inspires him to endure all things for the sake of
attaining his end, the vision of the Beloved face
to face, and abiding union with Him. For
Love means self -stripping, the passing away from
self, the cutting off of all ties which bind the soul
to this material world, and which distract it from
pre-occupation with the Beloved, and of " all
hindrances which hamper it on the Way.
If
"
you would seek God," writes 'Attar, cut yourself
off from wife and child, sever all the bonds that
tie you to mankind.
Everything which you
you how can- you travel in

Love which gives the power to
die to self, and Love which is the guide to the
"
Beloved.
Love draws aside the veil," 'Attar
" for it sees
writes,
Thee, and knows itself to be
one with Thee," that Love which is all-consuming,
desire is
fetters
"
fetter to
It is
INTKOBUCTION
26
in which, the desires of the senses, and the self,

shrivel up and are burnt away, like the moth in
the flame of the candle, and in that passing away
the soul becomes one with the Object of its desire.
So, at last, through Love, the mystic attains
to the end of the Quest, and in dying to self he
finds Eternal Life.
Now he knows that the Centre
is within him, now he sees no longer his own
but only the Essence of God. He has

passed away from himself, from the stages and the
states, from the world of phenomenal existence,
from the transient and the perishable from
mortality he has passed into immortality, from
death into the Everlasting Life in God.
reality,
III.
THE STORY OF THE
"
"
MANTIQ AL-TAYB
The Mantiq al-Tayr (The Discourse

is
the most famous of
all 'Attar's
of the
poems.
It is a mystical allegory representing the slow and
arduous journey of the Sufi mystic through all
the trials and difficulties of the Path which leads
him to God. It tells also of the final attainment,
when he reaches his goal, and passes into the
Presence of God, only to find that he is in reality
one with God, and in that consciousness of union
with the Divine, he attains to immortality.
The poem contains a number of independent
stories, each having a moral or mystical sigBirds)
nificance.
INTRODUCTION
At the beginning the poem
27
tells
birds, having gathered together,

desire to have a king for themselves.
how
all
the
express their
The Hoopoe
(hudhud], renowned above all the birds, because

she was chosen by King Solomon to be his
messenger to the Queen of Sheba, and who in
token of her dignity wears the crest of spiritual
knowledge on her breast, and a crown, the reward
of piety, upon her head, tells them that they
already have a sovereign, to whom they owe
allegiance.
His name
is
Simurgh
(lit.
the king of all the birds.

but they are far from him.
is
Thirty Birds), and he

He is near to them,
He is such as to be
beyond all description, and though it is hard to

find the way to him, yet none of his subjects can
rest without him.
Those who go in search of him
will
meet with many
difficulties
on the way, and
great courage and vigour and self-sacrifice will

be needed to accomplish the journey, and yet to
fail to find him is to spend one's life in vain.
There are Seven Valleys to be crossed in order to
reach the place of his abode, and the journey
across these valleys means great risk and many
adventures.
The birds, on hearing all this, expressed their

desire to undertake the quest, and to travel to that
mythical mountain Kaf, where dwelt their king,
the All-Wise Simurgh, and do homage to him.
Because of her wisdom and knowledge of Divine
28
INTRODUCTION
things, they chose the
Hoopoe
as their leader
and
guide.
But when she proceeded to describe to them

in detail the difficulties and dangers of the way,
the enthusiasm of the birds began to wane, and
their courage failed them.
One after another,
make
their
The Nightinto
excuses.
they began
of
his
love
for
the
from
whom he
Rose,
gale spoke
could not bear to be parted, but the Hoopoe bade

fadeless Beauty of that which
is eternal, rather than that which is but transient
and perishes anon. The Parrot declared that it
was held captive in a cage, and was not free to
go. The Peacock pleaded his unworthiness for
so high a Quest, because he had had a share in
driving out Adam from Paradise. The Duck
claimed that it must have water if it was to be
happy, and the Partridge that it needed its
mountains. The Heron desired the lagoons where
it was accustomed to wade in search of fish, the
Owl wanted the ruins which it was wont to haunt.
The Falcon did not wish to forego its privilege
of resting on the King's wrist when he went forth
to hunt, while the Wagtail held that it was a
feeble creature, and had not the strength necessary for such a journey.
All these excuses, which represent the weakness
of human beings in the pursuit of spiritual things,
were dealt with by the Hoopoe, who showed, by
various illustrations and anecdotes, that they were
him look upon the
INTRODUCTION
29
unworthy of being sustained. The birds, put to

shame by her rebukes, asked her to explain what
was their real relation to the Simurgh, and she
told them how the Simurgh had once removed the
veil from his face, and the rays of light which then
issued from his countenance were changed into
they were all one in essence
with him. The Hoopoe then told them of the
Seven Valleys which they must cross.
The first of the Seven is the Valley of Search,
in which the traveller meets with infinite difficulties and has to face all kinds of trials and
At this stage, he must renounce all
calamities.
earthly things and detach himself from all that
exists.
When he has arrived at complete selfloss and is purified from all earthly ties, then the
traveller will be illuminated by the Divine Light.
He will see his quest to be not one but a thousand,
but the Eternal Cup-Bearer will give him to
drink of the wine of f orgetfulness and he will
go on his way, heedless of all the dangers that
beset him.
The second is the Valley of Love, in which the
soul of the traveller is consumed as with fire, in
birds, so that in truth
his desire to attain to his Beloved.
may
befall
him matters naught
That which
for him, evil
and good have ceased to exist. He can no longer

reason, for reason is to Love as the smoke to the
The traveller
fire, valueless and without reality.
would fain be possessed of hundreds of thousands
INTRODUCTION
30
of lives that he might cast them, all away for the

sake of Love.
The third valley is that of Knowledge, which
has neither beginning nor end. Here the sun of
Gnosis shines forth, and each traveller receives
illumination according to his spiritual capacity for

the reception of that light. Now are countless secrets
revealed, and mysteries unveiled, but thousands
are lost on tne way for one who attains to complete
apprehension.
He who has apprehended no longer
sees himself, but only his Beloved. Wherever he

looks, he sees always the Face of God.
The fourth stage is the Valley of Detachment,
where the traveller finds himself free from all
attachments, even from the desire to know the

Divine secrets. There he realises the Infinity of
God, and the Divine Glory which envelops all
things, and compared with which all else is as
nothing.
The fifth valley is that of Unification, where

everything is unified, and the Unity is therefore
complete. There is no longer any distinction of
number or attribute, no place for death or life,
time or eternity. Here Real Being will become
manifest, and since God is One, comprehending
all things, and without beginning or end, for He
was from everlasting and will be to eternity,
"
When everything
nothing exists save Him.
is One, cease to speak of
two.' Here there is
no I nor Thou.' "
'
'
'
'
INTRODUCTION
31
The sixth valley is the Valley of Bewilderment,

for the traveller, having apprehended the Unity,
loses himself completely, since he has ceased to be
aware of himself. Whoever is conscious within
his soul of the Unity, loses all things and himself.
"
If he were asked,
Are you existent or not ?
Are you within or without ? Manifest or hidden ?
"
Annihilated or subsist ent ?
he would say that he
knows nothing and does not even know whether
he knows. He knows that he loves, but knows
not whom. Nor does he know whether he is
Muslim or infidel. What is he then ? He is
hardly aware whether he loves or no, for his heart
is full and empty of love, at one and the same
time.
The seventh and
last valley is the Valley of
which passes all description. It

means forgetfulness, dumbness, deafness, and
Annihilation,
stupefaction.
He who
the Ocean of Infinity
loses
is
himself there in
lost for ever in self-
annihilation and is at rest. There, in the waters

of tranquillity, he finds naught but oblivion.
He
who sinks into that Ocean will no longer manifest
his
own existence
he
is,
and he
is
not.
Of all the birds who set out on the Quest, to

traverse the Seven Valleys, only thirty survived
the privations and temptations of the way and
succeeded in completing the journey to the abode
of the Simurgh.
These thirty birds, purified by
32
INTRODUCTION
their trials, but weary, travel-stained, and heartbroken, presented themselves at the threshold of
the King's Palace, only to find themselves bidden

by the chamberlain to return whence they had
come, because they were too insignificant and
unworthy to enter into the Presence of the King.
The birds, stricken to the heart by this rebuff,
submitted that their love for the King was like
that of the moth for the candle-flame, and sooner
would they stay and be altogether consumed
by their love than depart without attaining the
object of their Quest. Then, at last, came the
chamberlain of Grace, and by him they were
admitted into the Royal Presence, and the Light
of the Divine Glory was manifested to them, and
they were allowed to approach the Kong. After
this each one was given a record of his deeds, and
on the perusal of this record they were so overcome
by shame and remorse that they became completely annihilated and their bodies were reduced
to dust.
But after death came resurrection being thus
;
purified
and freed from
all
earthly elements, they
were enlightened by the Eternal Sun and their

The birds saw
souls transformed into its light.
the Simurgh in the reflection of their own faces,
and at last saw themselves and the Simurgh to be
one. The Simurgh was the thirty birds, and they
were the Simurgh, and they and He formed but
One Being. Then the birds lost themselves for
INTRODUCTION
ever in the Simurgh,
in the Sun.
33
and the shadows vanished
So the mystic, who has trodden the Path to

the end, passes away from himself and enters into
union with the Divine, the part becomes one
with the Whole, and the One in all becomes the
One and
All.
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS

'ATTAR
SELECTIONS FROM "MANTIQ AL-
TAYR "
THE FIRST MANIFESTATION OF THE

SlMURGH
WHEN first the Simurgh, radiant in the night,
Passed o'er the land of China in its flight,
A feather from its wing on Chinese soil
Fell, and the world in tumult did embroil,
Each one did strive that feather to portray
Who saw these sketches, fell to work straightway.

In China's Picture-hall that feather is.
"
Seek knowledge e'en in China," x points to
this.
Had not mankind the feather's
portrait seen,
strife throughout the world would ne'er
Such
have been.
Its praise hath neither end nor origin
Unto what end its praise shall we begin
:
well-known
traditional
Muhammad.
34
saying
of
the
Prophet
FROM "MANTIQ AL-TAYR"
35
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO A StM

to weep in the middle of
A Sufi ecstatic began
"
This is what I see the world

the night and said
it is like a closed casket in which we are
to be
placed and wherein we spend our time, through
our ignorance, in folly. When Death opens the
lid of the casket, each one who has wings takes his
flight to Eternity, but he who is without wings,
remains in the casket, a prey to a thousand
:
afflictions.
Give then, to the bird of spiritual desire, the

wing of the mystic sense give a heart to Reason,
and ecstasy to the soul. Before the lid is taken
away from this casket, become a bird of the Way
to God, and develop your wings and your
feathers. Nay, rather, burn your wings and your
feathers, and destroy yourself by fire, and so will
you arrive at the Goal before all others.
:
THE STORY OF MAHMtJD AND AYAZ

One day the Sultan Ma^mud called his favourite
slave Ayaz, and when he had handed over to him
his crown, he placed Ayaz on the throne and said
to him : "I give unto thee my kingdom and
army : be thou sovereign, for this country is
It is
will that thou shouldst be king
thine.
and shouldst cast to the Moon and the Fish the
ear-ring of slavery."
my
my
36
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS: 'ATTAR
When all the soldiers, both cavalry and infantry,

heard these words, their eyes became dark with
"
Never in the world," they cried,
jealousy.
"
"
has any king done a slave so much honour
!
But the wise Ayaz, on the contrary, fell to weeping

forthwith when he heard the Sultan's decree,
"
Thou art
whereupon they all said to him
mad and knowest not what thou doest thou
:
hast surely lost thy reason. Since thou hast

achieved royalty,
slave, why weepest thus ?
Sit thee down and rejoice."
But Ayaz replied to them without hesitation.
"
Ye are far from the Way of truth, for ye do not
comprehend that the king of the great Assembly
is
sending
himself.
He gives me
in the midst of the army, so that I
me away from
work to do
remain separated from him. Although the

supreme king gives me the government of his
kingdom, yet I, for my part, would not wish to
be absent from him for even the briefest space of
time. All that he commands, I must needs do,
yet, if the choice were left to me, I would fain be
always near to his side. What concern have I
with his kingdom and the rule over it ? My
may
consists in the sight of his countenance."

thou art a seeker, and knowest the Truth,
learn from Ayaz how to serve God.
thou who
remainest idle, concerned only by night and by
day with thy primary desires, whilst each night,
to set thee, an example, Ayaz descends from the
kingdom
If
FROM "MANTIQ AL-TAYR M

summit of power
like
37
an ill-mannered boor, thou
move from thy place, nor experience any

Alas, thou
spiritual desire, by night or by day.
art no true man. To whom wilt thou tell thy
dost not
sorrow at the end ?

So long as Paradise and Hell are in thy road,
how can thy spirit recognise the secret I announce
to thee ? But when thou dost cast aside these
two altogether, the dawn of this joy will arise
from the night. The garden of Paradise is not
for such as thee, it is reserved for the spirituallyminded. Like them, renounce both Paradise and
Hell,
shalt
and pass beyond them both. When thou

have renounced them both, and become
separated therefrom, then, even though thou be

a woman, thou wilt become a man in very truth.
STORY OF RABI'A OF BASRA
A man who was beside himself with ecstasy

"
addressed God, saying,
my Lord, I pray
Thee that now at last Thou wilt open the door to
me that I may attain to Thy Presence." Rabi'a,
the woman-mystic of Basra, who happened to
be sitting near, said to him
"0 heedless one,
is His door in truth ever closed ?
Stretch out
thine hand, my son, thou hast but to turn thy
face towards this door, and to proceed on thy
:
way, to attain thy desire."
38
THE TWO WORLDS
A devotee who
spent his
life
in the contemplaare these two
God was asked " What

worlds of which we think so much ?
tion of
"
The world above and
this
"
He replied
world beneath are
a drop of water which is and yet is not.

At the beginning the universe appeared as a drop
of water, which displayed upon its surface many
reflections, but every reflection which we see upon
like
the face of the water, even though it be of iron,

will pass away.
There is nothing more enduring
than iron, and yet thou must see that its sole
basis is the water. But all which has water for
a foundation, even though it be of iron, has no
more reality than a dream. None can conceive
of water as a stable thing.
How, then, should
is based upon water stand fast or
aught that
"
abide ?
THE SHAYKH AND THE DOG

An
unclean dog sat himself down beside a

shaykh, who did not withdraw the skirt of his
robe from him. Someone said to him ; "0 you
who are distinguished for the purity of your life,
why do you not protect" yourself
against the
"
defilement of this dog ?
This dog," replied
"
the shaykh,
is outwardly unclean, but he does
not appear to be so to my inner self. That un-
FROM "MANTIQ AL-TAYR "
39
cleanness which is manifested outwardly in regard

to him, in me is hidden within my inmost self.
Since my inward part is like the exterior of the
dog, why should I have an aversion to him,
seeing that he and I are alike in that ? Since the
smallest thing forms an obstacle to your progress
on the Way, what matter whether you are
"
checked by a mountain or a straw ?
IBRAHIM
B.
ADHAM AND POVERTY
man was constantly bewailing his

and complaining of his poverty. Ibrahim b.
Adham said to him " My son, it may be that
" "
You
you paid but little for your poverty ?
"
are talking nonsense," replied the man.
You
should be ashamed of yourself. Does anyone
"
certain
state
buy poverty
Adham
of
"
For my part, I chose it

nay more, I bought it at the
world's sovereignty, and I would
responded
my own free will,
price of this
buy one instant of this poverty again with a
hundred worlds, for every moment it becomes
worth yet more to me. When I found this
precious merchandise, I bade a final farewell to
royalty. Without any doubt, I know the value
of poverty, while you remain in ignorance of it.
I give thanks for it, while you are ungrateful.
Those who aspire to spiritual things are willing
to stake both body and soul, and they spend their
40
years consumed by their love to God, The bird

of their ambition has attained to fellowship with
Him ; it has soared beyond temporal things and
If you are not man enough
spiritual things alike.
for such an ambition, get you gone, for you are
unworthy to be a partaker of the Divine grace."
THE
StJFl
AND THE PALACE
A certain king built for himself a palace adorned

much gilding, for the construction of which
he paid one thousand dinars. When the decorations of this palace, like unto Paradise, were
complete, it was embellished still further by the
with
display of precious rugs. From every direction

there came people to present their homage to the
king and to bring hirn gifts, which they offered
to him upon salvers. The king then summoned
his great men and chosen companions to come to
him, and when they were seated, he said to them
"
What do you think of this palace of mine ?
Is there anything left to desire in the way of
"
All of them united in
perfection ?
beauty and
"
seen
or will see such a
None
has
ever
saying,
the
face
of
earth."
on
the
palace
a
devotee rose up and said
" Thereupon religious
O thou favourite of Fortune, there is one breach
:
remaining in this palace, and it constitutes a great

defect.
If the palace were not spoilt by this
would
it
serve as a gift for Paradise itself
fault,
41
invisible world."
"I do not see this
'
the
You
said
are an ignorant man
breach,
king.
and you are seeking to stir up trouble." The
Sufi responded
thou who art filled with
pride because of thy royalty, know that the gap
of which I speak is that by which the Angel of
and the
''
"0
Death will pass through. Would that thou

couldst close this gap, for otherwise of what use
is this palace, or thy crown, or this throne ?
Although this palace be delightful as Paradise,
death will make it disagreeable in thine eyes.
Nothing endures in this life of ours, and what art
can render enduring that which is not so ? Ah,
be not too complaisant over this thy palace and
thy castle : let not the steed of Self rear thus
proudly. If, by reason of thine exalted position
and thy dignity, none makes known to thee thy
"
faults, woe is thee
!
THE VALLEY OF SEARCH

In this valley, when thine heart has been
cleansed from all that leads to destruction, it
will behold the pure Light of God's Presence,
and when that Light shines upon the heart,
within thy soul will one desire become a thousand.
thousand steep valleys will appear, and the
traveller, beside himself with love, will seek, like
the moth, to fling himself into the flame. He will
ask for a draught from the Eternal Cup-Bearer,
42
a draught of that wine which,

it,
make him
will
when he has drunk
forgetful of both worlds.
Plunged in the Ocean, yet he remains dryhe must seek the secret of the Beloved
lipped
from his own soul. In his desire to know that
secret, he does not fear to attack the dragons of
the soul. If infidelity and faith present themselves
together to him, he will receive them with equal
:
willingness, provided that they open the door to

him, whereby he may attain his end. When that
door
is
For he
opened, what matter infidelity or faith ?

is no longer concerned with one or the
other.
THE
SAINT'S
DREAM
saint once dreamt that while he was walking

in the Path of God, an angel met him, and asked
him whither he was going, and the saint replied
"
I am on
way to the Royal Presence." Said
"
the angel,
You are so much concerned with
worldly affairs, and you are encumbered with so
how can you hope
great riches and possessions
to be admitted to the Presence of the King, with
"
so many burdens to hamper you ?
So the saint cast away all that he had, except
a single blanket wherewith to protect himself
from the weather, and to serve him as a covering.
:
my
The next night he dreamt that he saw the angel

again, and was asked the same question, and again
he replied that he was on his way to the abode
43
"
of the Lord of All.

The angel said to him,
wise man, how can you expect to reach it, while
you have this blanket ? It is the greatest
hindrance to your progress."
When the saint awoke from his dream, he put
the blanket on the fire and burnt it.
On the third night, he saw the angel yet again,
and the angel spoke again to him. "
thou of
"
where art thou going
life," he said,
unspotted
now ? " And the saint answered as before, " I
go "to seek the Creator of the Universe."
chosen one," said the angel then, " now
that thou hast cast away all that thou hadst,
remain here where thou art. It needs not that
thou shouldst go in search of thy Lord, for He
Himself will come to thee."
THE WISE MAN AND THE OCEAN

One who was versed in spiritual things went
down to the Ocean and said to it
"0 thou
:
x
Ocean, wherefore dost wear this robe of blue ?
Why art thou clothed thus with a mourning
garment ? There is" no fire to be seen, why art
thou boiling thus ?
Then the Ocean made reply to that man of
"I am in anguish because
spiritual insight
of separation from my Beloved.
Since, by reason
of my shortcomings, I am not worthy of Him,
:
Blue represents the colour of mourning in the East.
44
I have clad myself in a vesture of blue as a sign

of my grief for Him.
Griefstricken I remain,
with lips for ever parched with thirst, and the
turbulence of my waves is due to the burning
flame of my love. Could I attain to but one drop
of water from the river which flows through His
Paradise, then should I dwell for ever, immortal
within TTifi courts. Without that water of life
for which I crave, I shall perish of my longing
for Him, like the thousands who die in anguish,
day and night, in their search for Him."
A STORY OF BAYAZlD BISTlMl

It is related that one night Shaykh Bayazid
went outside the city and found everything
wrapped in a deep silence, free from the clamour
of men. The moon was shedding her radiance
upon the world, and by her light made night as
the day. Stars innumerable shone

heavens above, each pursuing
For a long time the Shaykh
its appointed task.
walked across the open country, without finding
the least movement therein, and without seeing
a single soul. He felt profoundly moved by the
fact and said
"0 Lord, my heart is stirred
within me by this Thy Court displayed in all its
splendour and sublimity, yet none are found here
to give Thee the adoring worship which is Thy
due. Why should this be,
Lord ? "
brilliant as
like jewels in the

"
Then spake
to
him the Hidden Voice
of
45
God
O thou who art bewildered in the Way, know that
the King does not grant admission to every

passer-by. So exalted is the Majesty of this court
that not every beggar can be admitted thereto.
When the Splendour of My Glory sheds abroad
its radiance from this My sanctuary, the heedless
and those who are wrapped in the sleep of indolence are repelled thereby. Those who are worthy
of admittance to this court wait for long years,
until one in a thousand of them wins entrance
thereto."
THE VALLEY OF LOVE

He who
into
fire,
arrives in the Valley of Love is plunged

for he who is in this Valley has become
he who
cannot dwell happily

he who resembles fire
his countenance will be radiant, and he will bear
himself erect as flame. Not for a moment will
he be concerned for consequences
gladly will
he cast away a hundred worlds into the flames,
for he knows neither infidelity nor faith, neither
doubt nor certainty. Good and evil are all
one to him as he goes on the Way, for Love has
all fire
there.
The true
is
not
lover
fire
is
But to him who is heedless,

discourse will be meaningless.
He who
is pure stakes all that he has for the sake of
attaining to union with the Beloved ; for others
transcended both.
this
46
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS: 'ATTlR
the promise of to-morrow, but he requires

fulfilment now.
Until his self has been wholly consumed away,
he cannot be free from the grief which overwhelms
him. So long as the substance of thine own
existence remains unconsumed, how can the heart
The lover strives unrejoice in happiness ?
ceasingly, being consumed and melted in the fire,
until suddenly he arrives again at his own abode.
fish, when it is cast out of the sea on to the dry
land, struggles until it falls back into the water.
Love in that Valley is flame, and reason is
naught but smoke. When Love is kindled into
flame, reason takes to flight. Reason cannot
continue to exist alongside of Love's madness,
for Love has nothing to do with human reason.
If thou dost attain to an unhindered view of the
Invisible, there alone wilt thou perceive whence
is the origin of Love.
The existence of every
single blade of grass is derived from the existence
all things are overwhelmed by the
of Love
intoxication of Love. If thou hadst the vision
whereby to penetrate to the Invisible, all the
atoms of this visible world would become unveiled
to thine understanding. But if thou seest only
with the eye of Reason, thou wilt never wholly
is
comprehend Love.
tried
by
Only that man who has been

and who is truly free, is
experience,
worthy of Love. Thou who hast passed through

no such trial art no lover, thou art spiritually
47
how
canst thou be worthy of Love ?

tread this Path must have a
hundred thousand living hearts, so that with every
dead, and
He who would
breath he
may
cast
away a hundred
of
them.
ADAM AND PARADISE

A
"
asked of his master

Why was
Adam driven out of Paradise ? " His master
"
Adam was the most noble of all God's
replied
and
when he entered Paradise, he heard
creatures,
the voice of God speaking unto him and saying
"
O thou who art bound by a hundred ties to
this earthly Paradise, know that whosoever in
the two worlds concerns himself with aught but
Myself, I detach him from all material things,
so that he may attach himself to Me, his Friend,
alone. What is one soul in comparison with
thousands of souls ? But of what use is any soul
apart from the Beloved ? He who has lived for
aught else but the Beloved, were he Adam himThose who dwell in
self, must be rejected.
Paradise know that the first thing they must
give is their heart, but if they are not worthy to
know the Divine secrets and to remain in Paradise,
they will recoil before the sacrifice of their hearts."
disciple
THE FAITH OF THE LOVER

The
who
is
own life, for he

a lover, whether he be an ascetic or a
lover thinks naught of his
48
prepared to sacrifice Ms life for the

sake of Love. If your spirit is at enmity with
your soul, sacrifice your soul, and you will be
able to go on your way unhindered. If your soul
is a distraction to you on the road, cast it aside,
then look straight before you and give yourself
to contemplation. If you are bidden to renounce
libertine, is
your faith or to give up your life, cast away both

abandon your faith, and sacrifice your life. If
one who is ignorant of spiritual things should
be
say to you that it is untrue that Love should
"
him
or
to
to
What
faith,
preferred
infidelity
say
has Love to do with infidelity or faith ? Do lovers
concern themselves with their souls ? A lover
sets fire to the whole harvest
he puts the knife
to his own throat, and pierces his own body.
:
Torment and affliction

Love expects difficult
are
what pertain to Love
He who
has his
things.
foot set firmly in the abode of Love renounces
at once both infidelity and faith."
STORY OF A FRIEND OF GOD

One
of the friends of
to die.
he
said,
God wept
asked him the

They
"
as he was about
"
I weep,"
reason.
like the cloud in Spring,
because the
moment of dissolution has come and I am afflicted

thereby. It is fitting that I should make lamentation, for since my heart is already with God, how
"
should death come to me now ?
49
him then : " Since

will be
your heart is with God, if you die, yours
"
a good death." The Sufi replied
Can Death
take possession of him whose heart is united with
God ? My heart is joined to Him, so it seems
One
of his friends said to
me
that I should die."

the joy of this secret union
with God, you cannot be contained by this world.
He whose heart rejoices in the knowledge that he
impossible to
If once
is
you know
really one with
and becomes
God loses his own individuality

Be eternally satisfied with
free.
thy Beloved, and so shalt thou dwell in

the rose within
its
Him
as
calyx.
THE VALLEY OF GNOSIS

The Valley
of Gnosis has neither beginning nor

other road is like the road which is
trodden therein, nor any road there like any other
road there, but the traveller in the body is other
than the traveller in the spirit. Soul and body
are for ever hi a state of deficiency or perfection
Thereaccording to their strength and weakness
fore, of necessity, the road is revealed to each
one according to his capacity for that revelation.
On this road, trodden by Abraham, the Friend
of God, how could the feeble spider be a companion to the elephant ? The progress of each
will be in accordance with his spiritual state.
Though the gnat were to fly with all its might,
No
end.
50
ever equal the perfection of the wind ?

Since, then, there are different ways of making
the journey, no two birds will fly alike. Each
could
it
finds a way of his own, on this road of mystic

1
knowledge, one by means of the Mihrab, and
another through the idol. When the Sun of
Gnosis shines forth from the heaven above, on
to this most blessed road, each one is enlightened
according to his capacity, and finds his own place,

in the knowledge of the Truth.
When that Sun shines upon him, the dust-bin
of this world is changed for him into a rosethe kernel is seen beneath the rind.
garden
No longer does the lover see any particle of him:
he sees only the Beloved

wheresoever he
he
in
sees
His
Face
looks,
every atom he
always
beholds TTis dwelling-place. A hundred thousand
mysteries are revealed to him from under the veil,
as clearly as the sun, yet thousands of men are
lost eternally, for one who perfectly apprehends
these mysteries. He must be perfect, who would
succeed in this quest, who would plunge into
this fathomless sea.
If the joy of its secrets be
revealed to him, every moment will renew his
longing for it. He thirsts to have a perfect
apprehension of this place, he would sacrifice
his life a hundred thousand times for the sake of
self,
this abode.
1
The niche in a mosque showing the direction of Mecca,

towards which the Muslim worshipper turns in prayer.
51
Even if thou shouldst attain to the Throne of

Glory, cease not each moment to say : "Is there
more than this ? " l Plunge thyself into the Sea
of Gnosis, or if thou canst not, sprinkle the dust of
the road upon thy head.
thou who remainest
and
it
is
no
matter
for
asleep
congratulation
why dost thou not put on mourning ? If thou
hast not attained to the joy of union with the
Friend, at least arise, and put on signs of mourning
for thy separation from Him.
If thou hast not
looked upon the Beauty of the Beloved, rouse
thee, sit not still, but seek out those mysteries
destined for thee, and if as yet thou knowest
them not, seek them out in shame. How long
wilt remain like an ass without a bridle ?
THE STORY OF THE PHCENIX

The Phoenix is a wonderful bird, which is found
no mate, but dwells alone
is wonderfully hard and
like
a
flute,
long,
containing holes to the number
of nearly a hundred.
Each of these holes gives
forth a different tone, and each tone reveals a
The art of music was taught
different mystery.
to this bird by a philosopher who became its
friend, and when the Phoenix utters these sounds,
bird and fish are agitated thereby all the wild
in Hindustan. It has
in solitude. Its beak
1 Cf.
Sura, 60
29i
52
beasts are reduced to silence, and by that entrancing music are bereft of their senses.
The Phoenix lives about a thousand years it

knows quite clearly the tune of its death, and when
;
this
knowledge is tearing at its heart, it gathers

a hundred trees or more, and heaps them
up in one place. It hastens to place itself in the
midst of this pyre, and utters a hundred laments
over itself. Then through each of those holes
in its beak, out of the depths of its spotless soul,
fuel,
it gives forth plaintive cries of woe, and as it

utters its dying lament, it trembles like a leaf.
At the sound of its music, all the birds of the
gather together, and the wild beasts come,

attracted by the sound, and all assemble to be
present at the death of the Phoenix, knowing
that they must die like it. When the moment
has come to draw its last breath, the Phoenix
air
and its feathers, and thereby

and the flames spread swiftly to
the heaped-up wood, and it blazes up with vigour.
Soon both pyre and bird become a glowing redspreads out
fire is
its tail
kindled,
hot mass. When the glowing charcoal is reduced

to ashes, and but one spark remains, then, from
the ashes, a new Phoenix arises into life.
STORY OF THE MOTHS AND THE CANDLE

One night, the moths gathered together, tormented by the desire to unite themselves with the

"
candle. All of them said
We must find
:
who can
give us
some news
of that for
53
one
which we
seek so earnestly.'*
One of the moths went to a castle afar off, and
saw within the light of a candle. He came back
and told the others what he had seen, and began
to describe the candle as intelligently as he was
able to do. But the wise moth, who was chief
"
of their assembly, observed
He has no real
information to give us of the candle."
he passed
Another moth visited the candle
close to the light and drew near to it.
With his
he
of
that
which
he
touched
the
flames
wings,
the heat of the candle drove him back,
desired
:
He also returned, and

revealed something of the mystery, in explaining
a little of what union with the candle meant, but
"
the wise moth said to him
Thine explanation
is of no more real worth than that of thy comrade."
third moth rose up, intoxicated with love, to
hurl himself violently into the flame of the candle.
He threw himself forward and stretched out his
antennae towards the flame. As he entered
and he was vanquished.
completely into its embrace, his members became

red like the flame itself. When the wise moth
saw from afar that the candle had identified the
moth with itself, and had given to it its own light,
he said " This moth has accomplished his desire
but he alone comprehends that to which he has
attained. None other knows it, and that is all."
:
54
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
'ATTAR
In truth, it is he who lost all knowledge and all

trace of his own existence who has at the same
time found knowledge of the Beloved. So long
as you will not ignore your own body and soul,
how will you ever know the Object of your love ?
He who has given you some indication thereof,
by that means plunges your soul deep in torment,
but since not even the breath of life is admitted
here, none can attain to this and live.
THE LOVERS OF GOD

One day, while Dhu al-Nun al-Misrl was
travelling in the desert, he came across the dead
"
bodies of some dervishes, and he exclaimed,
Lord, why have these who were so happy been
"
*
thus overthrown ?
And a heavenly Voice
"
I knew of all this. I
answered him, saying,
have bought them and paid the price of their
"
blood." Dhu al-Nun said,
O Lord, why didst
"
die thus wretchedly ?

And
"
the Lord answered him,
So that their bloodwit
treasury. I slew them for
might remain in
Mine own consolation. When the earthly body
of one of these
lovers is destroyed, then I
reveal unto him the Sun of
Countenance, and
I envelop him with
as
Beauty with a garment,
and I make radiant his countenance, because of
I make him to rest in contemplahis sacrifice.
Thou make them to
My
My
My
My
One
of the early Sufi mystics
and
ascetics.

tion,
on the dust
of the
Way, and cause him
55
to
be as a shadow on My road.
" Then I make the
Light of My Countenance to
shine upon him, and when that Sun appears, how
can the shadow remain ? It vanishes altogether
in the Sun.
Whoso
loses himself, finds himself.
Therefore lose thyself and say naught of thy loss

surrender thy soul, and seek naught from others.
I know of no greater happiness for a man than this,
that he lose himself."
:
THE VALLEY OF POVERTY AND

AJSnSTIHILATION
The last valley to be traversed is the Valley of

Poverty and Annihilation, but how can it be
described in words ? The essence of this Valley
is forgetfulness, dumbness, deafness, and stupefaction.
Here a hundred thousand shadows
which formerly surrounded you are seen to disappear in a single ray of the Sun. When the
Ocean of Infinity begins to stir its waves, how can
the reflections upon its surface remain where
they are ? The world present and the world to
come are but as pictures reflected on its waters,
and he who declares that neither of these exist
has gained much thereby. He whose heart is lost
in that Ocean is lost therein for ever, and is
eternally at rest. The heart, in this sea, is filled
with tranquillity, for it finds there naught but
56
granted to a man to return

the
whole creation will become
oblivion,
clear to hi
and many mysteries will be revealed
to him. Even those who were experienced
travellers in the mystic Way, and men worthy to
be called brave men, when they entered into the
sphere of suffering, were lost at the first step
therein, and what was the use of venturing farther,
since none was able to take a second step forward ?
Seeing that all went astray at the first step, you
might think they were but senseless clods, though
in truth they were men.
Aloes and common fire-wood, when they are
put on the fire, are both of them equally reduced
to ashes. These, though in two forms, are in
effect the same substance, though their qualities
are very different. If an unclean thing fall into
a sea of rose-water, it will remain vile as it was,
but if a pure thing fall into that Ocean, it will no
longer manifest its own individual existence. Its
movements will be merged in the movements of
the Ocean
ceasing to exist in itself, its beauty
will remain.
It will cease to exist and yet be
existent. Howcanthisbe? This is a mystery which
is beyond the power of the mind to apprehend.
If it is ever
oblivion.
from this
THE CUP OP
Whoever
away from
SELF-AJSOSHHILATION
him passes
has
he
and
when
mortality,
passed
leaves this world behind
FROM "MANTIQ
AL-TAYB,
"
57
away from
mortality, he attains to immortality.

thou findest thyself bewildered,
heart, pass
over the bridge of Sirat x and the burning fires of
Hell.
Grieve not, for the flame from the oil in
the lamp gives forth smoke black as an old crow,
but when the oil has been consumed by that flame,
it has ceased to exist as oil.
If thou dost desire
to reach this abode of immortality, and to attain
If
to this exalted station, divest thyself
then
summon unto
first of self,
thyself a winged steed out of
nothingness, to bear thee aloft. Clothe thyself

with the garment of nothingness and drink the
cup of self-annihilation. Cover thy breast with
nothingness, and draw over thy head the robe
of non-existence.
Set thy foot in the stirrup of
complete renunciation and, looking straight before

thee, ride the steed of not-being to the place
where nothing is. Thou wilt be lost again and
again, yet go on thy way in tranquillity, until at
thou shalt reach the world where thou art
lost altogether to Self.
last
THE PALACE OF THE KING

thou who dost wander wilfully away from the
know that he who desires the palace
of this King, which is more desirable than any
palace here, has but to draw near unto it. It is
true Path,
The bridge across Hell, wliieli

sharper than the edge of a knife.
is
thinner than a hair, and
58
the habitation of the soul, which abides unto

eternity, it is the goal of our desires, the restingplace of the heart, the seat of Truth itself. The
Presence of God Most High is as a mighty Ocean,
and the Gardens of Paradise, with all their joys,
are but as the least drop in it. He who possesses
the Ocean possesses the drop also. All that is
not the Ocean is mere vanity. Since thou art
able to find the way to the Ocean itself, why dost
hasten to seek a single drop of dew ? Can he who
shares in the secrets of the Sun dally with a
mote in its beams ? When a man has become
one with the Whole, what concern has he with the
part ? What need has he who has found his soul
of the members of his body ?
If thou, O man,
hast found thy reality to be one with the Whole,
then contemplate the Whole, seek out the Whole,
become one with the Whole, and choose for thyself
the Whole."
THE HANDSOME KING

There was once a king so goodly to look upon
that he had no equal in the realm of Beauty.
The whole world was full of his fame, and every
creature was smitten with desire for him. Sometimes he used to go forth, with his countenance
veiled, lest men should see his beauty and perish,
for thousands died out of love to him.
Such
is
Love, and
its effect.
Each
one,
who sought
59
to see his beauty unveiled, willingly gave up his

to die for the love of that hearttherefor
countenance
was better than to live
ravishing
a hundred lives apart from him. None could
endure to be without him for a moment, and none
was able to remain in his company men were
dying continually because of their desire for him.
Strange it was that none could either bear his
To anyone who
presence, or do without him.
had the power to behold him for a moment, the
king displayed his face unveiled, while those who
were unable to bear the sight of him, contented
themselves with the joy of hearing his voice.
Since not one was worthy of him, all died brokenhearted for the love of him.
The king therefore caused a mirror to be made,
so that he could be regarded in this mirror. The
palace of the king was suitably adorned, and the
mirror was set in its place. The king went to
the top of the palace and looked into the mirror,
so that his face was reflected in the mirror, and
by this means everyone was enabled to look upon
that countenance of wondrous beauty.
So also, if thou dost cherish the beauty of the
Beloved, know that thine heart is the mirror in
which thou dost behold Him. Take thine heart
in thine hand, and behold His Beauty there
make a mirror of thy soul, and contemplate His
glory therein. He is thy King in the palace of
Majesty, a palace made radiant by the sun of that
life
60
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
Divine Loveliness
thine
own
heart
ATTAR
Contemplate thy King within

behold His Throne within
a mere atom.
THE FINDING OF THE SlMURGH

Through trouble and shame the
souls of these
birds were reduced to utter Annihilation,
while their bodies became dust.
Being thus utterly purified of all, they received
Life from the Light of the Divine Presence.
Once again they became servants with souls
renewed ; once again in another way were
they overwhelmed with astonishment.

Their ancient deeds and undeeds were cleansed
away and annihilated from their bosoms.
The Sun of Propinquity shone forth from them
the souls of all of them were illuminated by
:
its rays.
reflection of the faces of these thirty

(si murgh) of the world, they then
Through the
birds
beheld the countenance of the Simurgh

they looked, that was the Simurgh without doubt that Simurgh was those thirty
;
When
birds.
All were bewildered with amazement, not knowing

whether they were this or that.
They perceived themselves to be naught else but
the Simurgh, while the Simurgh was naught
else
than the thirty
birds.
61
When
they looked towards the Simurgh, it was

indeed the Simurgh which was there
While, when they looked towards themselves, they
were thirty birds, and that was the Simurgh ;
And if they looked at both together, both were the
Simurgh, neither more nor less.
This one was that, and that one this
the like
of this hath no one heard in the world.
All of them were plunged in amazement, and continued thinking without thought.
Since they understood naught of any matter,
without speech they made inquiry of that
;
Presence.
They besought the disclosure of this" deep mystery,

and demanded the solution of we-ness " and
"
thou-ness."
THE DISCOURSE OF THE SlMURGH

The Simurgh said to the thirty birds who had
"
attained to the goal of their Quest
This Sun
:
of
My
Majesty
is
a mirror, and each one
who
comes to look at himself therein sees there his

own soul and body, his whole self. Since you
came here as thirty birds, you find thirty birds

in the mirror, If you had been forty or fifty birds,
the veil would still have been drawn aside. Though
you are greatly changed, you see yourselves as
you were. How can the eye of a creature attain
unto Me ? How can the eye of the ant perceive
62

Have you
ever seen an ant

a
or
anvil,
lifting
gnat seizing an elephant
with its teeth ?
All that you have known or seen was not that
Reality, and what you have said and heard was
not that either. All these valleys which you
have traversed, all these brave deeds which
the Pleiades
an
each one of you has done, all came about through

My agency, and thereby you were enabled to
see the oasis of My Essence and My Attributes.
who are only thirty birds,

bewildered, without heart or
patience or soul. But as for Me, I am of more
account than thirty birds
I am the very Essence
of the Real Simurgh. Annihilate yourselves in
Me and enter into the glory of eternal bliss. So
shall you find yourselves again in Me.'
It is well that you,
should
remain
FROM MORTALITY TO IMMORTALITY

When a hundred thousand ages beyond all
time, before or after, had passed, then these
mortal birds delivered themselves over joyfully
to total annihilation, and when all these birds,
who were beyond themselves, had returned unto
themselves, they attained, after annihilation,
to immortality. Even as these things cannot
be seen by mortal eyes, so also their description
is
beyond
all
mortal tongue.
explanation and
all definition
by
63
Whilst thou art in existence or non-existence,

canst thou set foot in this place ? but when
thou art no more hindered by existence or nonexistence, then as in a dream,
ignorant one,
thou seest what took place at the beginning and
at the end, and when thou knowest the end, behold
A germ of life is nourished in the
the gain of it
midst of a hundred honours and cares in order that
how
may become an intelligent and active being.

That being learns the secrets that concern himself,
he is given the knowledge of his own existence.
Then Death comes to efface all, and casts down all
it
grandeur into humiliation. Man has turned

again into the dust of the way, and has been
annihilated again and again. But in the midst
of this annihilation he has learnt a hundred
different kinds of mysteries, of which he knew
not hitherto. Then he has been given complete
immortality, and he has received glory instead
this
of humiliation.
Dost thou know what thou dost possess as thy

heritage ? Enter then at last within thyself and
meditate. So long as thy soul is not the bondslave of the Eternal King, how wilt thou find
acceptance here with Him ? So long as thou
wilt not humiliate thyself in annihilation, thou
wilt never know the state of immortality.
First
thou must be cast down in abasement in the Path
which leads to God, then suddenly thou shalt
be raised in honour. Cease to exist, so that thou
64
mayst become
existing,
existent.
So long as thou art
how canst thou attain to true existence
Until thou art effaced in humility and selfannihilation thou canst never attain to the glory
of immortality.
SELECTIONS FROM
"
TADHKIKAT ALAWLIYA "
SAYINGS OF HASAN AL-BASRl

BESTEABST these carnal souls of yours, for they
seek ever to assert themselves, and mortify them,
for if you give way to them, they will bring you
into great affliction, and exhort them with the
mention of God, for they are swift to become
defiled.
The root
of religion
is
which corrupts abstinence
abstinence,
and that
is desire.
He is a wise man who regards this world as

nothing, and so regarding it, seeks the other
world, instead of disregarding the other world
and seeking this. Whoso knows God regards
Him
as a friend, and whoso knows this world

Him as an enemy.
He who is content, needing nothing, and who
has sought solitude apart from mankind, will
find peace
he who has trodden his carnal desires
underfoot will find freedom ; he who has rid
himself of envy will find friendship ; and he who
has patience for a little while will find himself
regards
prepared for Eternity.

5
65
66

Meditation
is
a mirror which reveals to you
your virtues and your
When
vices.
the inhabitants of Paradise
first open
remain in ecstasy for seven
hundred thousand years, because the Lord Most
High reveals Himself to them in all His Glory.
When they look upon His Glory, they are overcome with awe, and when they look upon His
Beauty, they are overwhelmed by the Unity.
their eyes there, they
IBRAHIM
B.
ADHAM, PRINCE OF BALKH
That Sultan of the world and of the Faith, that

Simurgh of the mountain of Truth, that treasure
of the Eternal
World, the spiritual leader of his

Ibrahim
such
was
b. Adham, Prince of Balkh.
age,
the following
his
were
Among
sayings
It is the mark of the gnostic that his thoughts
consist chiefly in meditation and weeping, his
:
speech consists chiefly of thanksgiving and praise

to God, and his conduct consists of obedience to
God, together with kind deeds and courageous
living.
There are three veils which must be torn aside

from the traveller's heart, so that he may attain
to eternal felicity. First, if he were given complete possession of this world and the next, he
should not rejoice in it, for avarice is a veil
second, if he were in enjoyment of the two worlds,
and they were wrested from him, leaving him
;
FROM "TADHKIRAT AL-AWLIYA "
67
in penury, he should not feel the least vexation,

for passion is a veil ; third, though all men were
to praise and flatter him, he should not be beguiled,
for vanity is a veil, and the high-minded traveller
must be free from all these.
Ibrahim asked someone if he desired to become
one of the saints. The man said, "I do."
"
"
be not desirous of
Then," said Ibrahim,
any particle of this world or the next. Turn thy
from all that exists and fix thy regard

Eat what is lawful, and cease to
God.
upon
occupy thyself with any save God alone."
face aside
RlBI'A AL-'ADAWIYYA OF BASRA

That one
that
set apart in the seclusion of sanctity,

veiled with the veil of religious
woman
sincerity, that one on fire with love and longing,

that one enamoured of the desire to approach
her Lord and be consumed in His glory, that
woman who lost herself in union with the Divine,
that one accepted by men as a second spotless
Mary Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya, may God " have

If anyone should ask,
Why
mercy on her
have you made mention of her in. the class of
"
men ? " I should
does not look
!
reply,
God
upon the outward form for it is not the outward

form that matters, but the inner purpose of the
heart. Wherever these people, the Sufis, are,
they have no separate existence, but exist only
;
68
in the Unity of God. In the Unity, what remains

'
'
'
'
of the existence of
or
I
thou ? So how
*
'
'
'
can
man or woman continue to be ? "
When a woman walks in the Way of God like a
man, she cannot be called a woman.
RlBI'A
AND THE WILD CREATURES
One day Rabi'a had gone to the mountains and

there a band of wild creatures gathered round her,
deer and gazelle and mountain goats and wild
asses, who came and looked at her and drew close
to her. Suddenly Hasan al-Basri appeared, and
seeing Rabi'a, he approached her, and those wild
creatures,
forthwith,
when they saw Hasan,
all fled
away
and Rabi'a was left alone. Hasan

was vexed at this, and looking at Rabi'a, he asked,
"
from me, when they
Why did they flee in terror
"
"
were so friendly with you ?
Rabi'a said, What
"
have you eaten to-day ?
and he told her,
"
Some onions fried in fat." Then she said,
"
You
eat of their fat,
from you
"
how
should they not
flee
SAYINGS OF RIBI'A
On one occasion Rabi'a fell ill, and her sickness
was serious. Her friends came and asked her
what was the cause of her illness, and she replied,
"
I looked towards Paradise, and my Lord has
69
chastened me. At daybreak I longed for the joys

of Paradise, and my Friend has rebuked me.
This illness is a reproach from Him."
Once Rabi'a saw a man who had a bandage
bound about his head. She said to him, " Why-
"
He said,
bandage round your head ?
head
is
me."
Rabi'a
him
asked
My
paining
what age he was, and when he answered that he
was thirty years old, she asked him further,
"Were you in pain and trouble for the greater
" "
No," he replied. Then
part of your life ?
"
Rabi'a said
For thirty years God has kept
your body fit and well, and you have never
bound upon it the bandage of gratitude, but
because of a single night of pain in your head,
of complaint."
you bind it with the bandage
Someone said to Rabi'a, " What is Love ? "
"
and she answered
Love has come from
Eternity and passes into Eternity, and none has
been found in seventy-thousand worlds who has
been able to drink one drop of it until at last he
is absorbed in God, and thence comes the saying,
He loves His saints and they love Him/ "
is
this
"
RlBI'A
AND HER LORD
After her death, Rabi'a was seen in a dream by

one of her friends, who said to her, " Tell us of
your state, and how you escaped from Munkar
70
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
'ATTlR
and Nakir." * Rabi'a answered, " Those angelic

Who is thy Lord ?
beings came and said,
and I said to them, Return and tell your Lord,
"
Notwithstanding the thousands upon thousands
'
'
'
Thou hast not forgotten a poor

who had only Thee in all the world,
have never forgotten Thee, that Thou shouldst
" "
ask, Who is Thy Lord ?
Thy
of
creatures,
old woman.
I,
'
'
SHAQlQ BALKHI
That most holy man, who put his whole trust in
God, he who possessed all the secrets of the Truth,
that one revered as a Pillar of the Faith, that great
exemplar of religion, that unwearied explorer in
the way of God, Abu 'All Shaqiq Balkhi, may God
have mercy on him
He was without any equal
!
his contemporaries and was the spiritual

leader of his age. Spending his life in asceticism
and works of devotion, and depending, throughout
among
his life, upon God to support his needs, he excelled

in all kinds of knowledge, and wrote many books
on various subjects. His knowledge of the Road
God he had derived from Ibrahim b. Adham,

and he had also consorted with many others of
the great Sufis he even asserted that he had been
the humble disciple of seventeen hundred masters.
The books he had acquired, he said, would have
to
made
loads for several camels.
The two angels who visit Muslims after death, in the tomb,
to question them on their faith.
1
71
"
He who
In answer to an inquirer he said
walks in the Way of God is distinguished by four
Firstly, by his freedom from all anxiety
things.
for his daily sustenance.
Secondly, all that he
does is done in sincerity and with a pure heart.
Thirdly, he is in a state of continual enmity with
Satan. Fourthly, he is prepared for Death,
whensoever it may come."
:
SHAQlQ AND THE SLAVE

It is related that once when there was a great
famine at Balkh, so much so that men were
eating one another, Shaqiq Balkhi saw a slave
in the bazaar who displayed great cheerfulness and
was laughing for

"
astonishment,
joy, and Shaqiq said to him in

slave, this gaiety is misplaced ;
do you not see that the people all around you are
"
stricken unto starvation ?
The slave replied
"
What have I to fear ? for I belong to a master
possessed of unusual foresight, and he has such
a store of grain that hunger will never touch me."
Shaqiq was overcome for a moment then he
:
said
"
ample
my God, because his earthly master has
stores of food, this slave
is
full of joy.
Thou art the Ruler and the Lord of all things, Who
dost give to each one of us our daily bread why,
"
then, should we be anxious ?
Forthwith Shaqiq Balkhi turned aside from
the affairs of this world and, repenting of his
;
72
former manner of life, he set his face towards the

Way of God, and attained to a state of complete
"
hope and trust in Him. He used to say, I am
in truth the disciple of this slave."
PROVISIONS FOR THE
WAY
There is a story told of how a certain man came

"
to Shaqiq Balkhi and said to him
I am about
"
to start for the Pilgrimage."
What are your
"
provisions for the journey ?
Shaqiq asked, to
"
I have four kinds of
which the man replied,
provision." Shaqiq asked what they were. The
"
First, there is my daily sustenpilgrim said
ance from God, and I know no one more sure of
it than I am.
Second, I do not feel that the share
He gives to others in any way takes from my own.
Third, I know that the hand of God will find me
wherever I may go. Fourth, I am confident that
:
may befall me, my Lord knows more of

and
what is good for me than I do."
my
"
You have done well, these are
Shaqiq said
for the Way. May good fortune
good provisions
"
attend you
whatever
state
SAYINGS OF SHAQIQ BALKHl

One day, someone said to Shaqiq Balkhi
Shaqiq, you are blamed because it is said that
Shaqiq Hves on the work of other men. Come,
:
"
FROM "TADHKIRAT AL-AWLIYA"

work
73
me and
I will give you wages for your

I would be willing to serve you,"
"
if it were not for five disadShaqiq replied,
in
service.
Your wealth is liable
your
vantages
to diminish ; thieves may carry off your goods ;
all that you give me you will grudge ; if you find
any fault in me, you will probably stop my pay ;
and if death should overtake you, I should remain
without- resources. But I have a Master, in
for
"
work."
Whom
from
is
no
defect,
and Whose
service is free
His treasures will never

diminish and thieves cannot take possession of
His goods. He gives the means of subsistence to
the whole world and does not grudge His gifts.
If He were to discover a thousand faults in me,
He would not diminish my daily bread. I have
the certain hope that He will never leave me without resources and that, in His mercy, He will blot
out my transgressions."
all imperfection.
ABU AL-FAYD
DHtJ AL-NUN AL-MESRl
related that one day Dhu al-Nun's friends

in to see him and noticed that he was
and when they asked the cause, he said
weeping,
"
Last night, while I was engaged in worship, I
fell asleep, and I saw in a dream God Almighty,
and He said to me : '
Abu al-Fayd, when I
created men, I divided them into ten sections and
I showed the world to them ; nine sections out
It
is
came
74
of the ten turned towards it and one section

remained unmoved. I divided those who remained into ten more sections, and showed them
Paradise
nine of the sections turned in its
and
one section alone remained.
direction,
I
divided
those
who had remained unmoved
Again
into ten sections, and displayed Hell before
their eyes
all were terrified and filled with fear
of Hell, save one section, which alone remained,
of those who had not been beguiled by this world,
;
who did not feel attracted by Paradise, and who

had no fear of Hell.
"'I said to them, " What do ye desire ? " They
"
said,
Lord, knowest what we desire."
Thou,
"
For they desired their Lord and Him alone.'
DHtJ AL-NUN
It
is
himself
said that
"
:
AND THE KING'S SON
Dhu
al-Nun related concerning
Once I was seated in the mosque,
How foolish is that one who,

being weak, goes to law with one stronger than
and was saying
'
himself.'
"
The
king's son happened to overhear these

words, and, entering with his suite, said to me,
'
What do you mean by that ? ' I said to him,
'
Man is weak and the Lord Most High

an act
is
strong
even to wish to plead at

His court.'
The prince changed colour on
Which,
hearing these words, and asked me
it is
of infidelity
'
FROM "TADHKIRAT AL-AWLIYA"

is
then,
'
little
you choose the
little
him,
If
the road that leads to
There
is
God
'
75
I said to
and a great road.

you must renounce
if you choose
desires
road,
road,
;
entirely sin and all fleshly
the great road, you must cast out of your heart all
that is not God Himself.'
'
" '
So be it,' cried the prince, I choose the great
Then forthwith, he donned the woollen

road.'
robe of the Sufis, and casting out of his heart the
love of this present world, he became a dervish."
SAYINGS OF
Yusuf
whom
"
b.
shall
DHU AL-NUN
"
Husayn asked Dhu al-Nun, With"
I seek to
have
companionship
With that One," he answered, " Who will bring
?
thou nor I.' "

Then Yusuf b. Husayn said, Give me a word of
"
Be the friend of God Most High,"
counsel."
" and the
said Dhu al-Nun,
enemy of your own
and conpassions, for they are hostile to Him
sider no one beneath you, even though he be an
idolater, for it may be that gnosis will be taken
from you and given to him. When God grants
it with all gratitude."
you any favour, accept
Dhu al-Nun said " The gnostic becomes more
humble every hour, for every hour he is drawing
nearer to his Lord."
"
"
In one of my journeys," he said,
I saw a
woman and I asked her concerning the end of
into your intercourse neither
'
'
'
"
76

"
Love, and she said,

Fool, Love hath no end."
"
"
I said to her,
and she answered,
Why ?
"
Because the Beloved hath no end."
Knowledge is of three sorts. First, the knowledge of the Unity of God, and this is common to
all believers ; second, knowledge gained by proof
and demonstration, and this belongs to the wise
and the eloquent and the learned and third,
the knowledge of the attributes of the Unity,
and this belongs to the Saints, those who contemplate the Face of God within their hearts,
so that God reveals Himself to them in a way in
which He is not revealed to any others in the
;
world.
SAYINGS OF HARITH AL-MFHlSIBl

To practise patience means to know how to
serve as a target for the arrows of adversity.
True resignation means to hold out the neck
to the sovereign decrees of God, and to remain
unmoved both outwardly and inwardly when
misfortunes come.
He who
purifies his
inward
self
tion and sincerity will find that
by contemplaGod will adorn his
outward conduct with all godly and righteous acts.
Whoever enjoys the company of the dervishes,

those humble-minded and God-seeking men, will
find therein all the delights experienced by the
inhabitants of Paradise.
FROM "TADHKIRAT AL-AWLIYl"
77
Love is the inclination towards an object, to

the exclusion of all else, then the preference of
that to oneself, in body, soul, and possessions,
and complete agreement with it both outwardly
and inwardly, and the knowledge that all shortlies in oneself.
gnostics are those who cross the ditch of
satisfaction and plunge into the sea of purity and
bring out the pearls of fulfilment, so that they
may of a surety attain to the secret and inmost
Being of God.
coming
The
A PRAYER OF YAHYl MU'lDH RAZl

My God, of Thy mercy forgive my sins.
my
Lord, though my sinful deeds make me fear Thy

justice, yet the greatness of Thy compassion makes
me hope in Thee.
Lord, I have not merited
Paradise by my deeds, and I cannot endure the
pains of Hell, so I entrust myself simply to Thy
grace. If, on the Day of Resurrection, I am
"
What hast thou brought unto Me ? "
asked,
"
I shall reply
What can one straight from prison,
with unkempt hair, and tattered garment,
burdened with worldly cares and full of
:
Wash me from my
shame, bring unto Thee ?
of the redeemed,
unto
me
the
robe
sins, give
and in Thy mercy cast me not away from Thy
Presence."
78
ABtJ YAZID BISTAMl
ON THE UNITIVE
LIFE
I went from
God
me in me, saying,
"
to God, until they cried from

"
for I have reached
thou I
!
annihilation in God.
For thirty years God Most High was

mirror, now I am my own mirror, and that which
" "
I was I am no more, for
and " God " repreI
sents polytheism, a denial of His Unity. Since
I am no more, God Most High is His own mirror.
my
Behold,
for with
now I say that God is the mirror of myself,
my tongue He speaks
and I have passed
away.
HAKIM TIRMIDHI AND HIS MOTHER

It
made
happened that Tirmidhi, when a boy, had

his plans to go with two fellow-students and
travel to other places in order to secure instruction.

When his mother heard of this plan, she was very
"
sad and said to him
son, you wish
What,
to go away, though I am in poor health and have
no one but you to support me
How can you
"
Those
go away and leave me alone and infirm ?
words went to his heart and he abandoned the
idea of his journey, and his two friends went off
.without "him, in search of knowledge.
One day, when he was seated in the cemetery,
and was lamenting, " Here am I neglected,
:
my
!
FROM
"
TADHKIRAT AL-AWLIYA "
79
remaining ignorant, while my companions will

return with all the knowledge they have acquired,"
suddenly an old man appeared before him and
"
"
said,
my son, why dost thou lament thus 1
When Tirmidhi had set forth his case, the old
man said to him, " If you so desire it, I will teach
you each day and you will speedily outstrip those
who have gone away." Tirmidhi said joyfully,
"I do desire it," and each day from that time
the old man gave him lessons and continued to
teach him thus for three years.
"At the end of these three years, "said Tirmidhi,
"
I realised that he was the Prophet Khidr, upon
him be peace, 1 and it was thanks to my Mother
that I had obtained so great a boon."
JUNAYD OF BAGHDAD
It is related that a Sayyid
named
Nasiri, going
from Gilan on pilgrimage to the Ka'ba, when he

arrived in Baghdad, went at once to visit Junayd.
The latter greeted him on his arrival and said to
"
"
He replied,
him,
Sayyid, whence art thou ?
"
From Gilan." Junayd then asked him to
what family he belonged. He said that he was
one of the descendants of 'AH, the Commander of
the Faithful, and son-in-law of the Prophet.
Then Junayd said to him, " Thine ancestor 'AH
1 A
prophet and a .saint, who presided over the well of
Immortality, and who was regarded by the Sufis as the
greatest of all spiritual directors.
80
struck with two swords, with one he smote the

infidels, with the other he smote his own passions.
Of which of these two swords dost thou intend to
make use ? "
When the Sayyid heard these words, he wept
"
bitterly, and fell at Junayd's feet, saying,
Shaykh, I have come on pilgrimage to this "place,
It is
but do thou show me the Way to God."
"
thine own heart," said Junayd,
which is in truth
the dwelling-place of God Most High. So far
as in thee lies, give no admission into this abode
of His, to any other save Him."
ABtJ
HUSAYN
NtJRl
Abu Husayn was called Nuri, because when he

was speaking with God in the midst of the darkness
of the light, a light (nur) issued forth from his
mouth, so that the whole house was illuminated
thereby. Others said that he was called Nun,
because by the light of intuition he was enabled
to interpret the mysteries of the Invisible. It
was also related of him that he had a cell in the
desert, and there every night, while he was
engaged in worship, people watching that spot
used to see a light which shone forth from his cell
and streamed up to the heavens.
N0RI AND THE TWO SLAVES

related that once the slave-market at
Baghdad caught fire and many people lost their
It
is
FROM "TAEEKIRAT AL-AWLIYA"
81
In a certain shop there were

of great beauty, and they
were surrounded by the flames and could not
escape. Their master proclaimed that he would
give a thousand pieces of gold to anyone who
would bring them out to safety, but no one had
the courage to rescue them. Suddenly Nuri
arrived on the spot, and saw the two slave-boys,
who were crying out in their distress. Saying,
"
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful/' he entered the burning building and
brought the two boys out in safety.
The owner of the slaves brought the thousand
pieces of gold, and offered them to Nun, but the
"
latter said
Take them away and give thanks
to God, for He would not have granted me such
a degree of TTis favour as I enjoy, if I had taken
gifts such as these, in exchange for the next
lives in
the flames.
two Greek slave-boys
world."
AND JUNAYD
One day, when Nuri had fallen ill, Junayd came
him and brought him some roses and
fruit.
Shortly afterwards, Junayd himself fell
ill, and Nun came to inquire after him, in the
of his disciples, to whom he said
company
"
Let each one of you take upon himself a part
to inquire for
of
so that he may be restored

Junayd's sickness,
"
We will do so willingly," they said,
to health."
82
and immediately Junayd rose up, fit and well.

ThenNuri said to him "That was what you should
have done when you came to inquire after me,
instead of bringing such things as flowers and
:
fruit."
ABU 'UTHMAN HlRl AND THE ASS

It
is
school,
related that one day Hiri was going to

accompanied by four slaves, of whom one
was an Abyssinian, one a Greek, one a Kashmiri,

and one a Turk. Hiri was carrying a golden pencase in his hand, he had a fine muslin turban on
his head, and was wearing a robe of silk.
He
came to the old caravanserai, and on looking in,
saw an ass with a wounded shoulder a carrion
crow was pecking at the wound, and the ass had
not the strength to drive it away. Abu 'Uthman
was filled with pity, and said to one of his slaves,
"
"
Why are you with me ? The slave replied,
"
So that I may help you to carry out any idea
;
that may pass through your mind."

Hiri at once took off his silken robe and covered
the ass with it, and bound it upon him with his
muslin turban. Immediately that ass seemed to
pray to God for him in its own language. As a

was from this day that the degree of
spiritual power accorded to the elect of God was
manifested in Abu 'Uthman.
fact, it
KHAYR NASSAJ
83
(THE WEAVER)
When Khayr Nassaj was making the
pilgrimage
to Mecca, his journey took him by way of Kufa,

and when he arrived at the gate of that city, he
was wearing a patched and tattered garment, and
as he was of a swarthy countenance and looked
like
a slave, the people made a mock of him.
man who saw him said to himself, " I will

make him work for me for a while." So he went
certain
"
up to him and"said: Are you not a
"
slave ?
a slave." The
The
man
In truth I am
"
said, "Have you not run away from your master ?
"
He answered, I have done so." Then the man
other replied,
"
said to him,
I shall take charge of you in order
to hand you over to your master," to which he
"
I myself am seeking this ; for a long
replied,
time I have been desirous of finding someone who
would restore me to
master."
Thereupon the man carried him off to his house
and gave him the name of Khayr. Khayr went
my
willingly and served the man, who taught him

the art of weaving. For several years Khayr
served his master, until the time came when that
man was ashamed, when he observed Khayr's
sincerity in all he did, and his courtesy and
intelligence, and witnessed his unfailing piety.
So his master said to him, " I did wrong ; you
were not
my
slave.
Go now
whithersoever
it
84
Then Khayr departed to Mecca,

and afterwards attained to such a degree in the
"
spiritual life that Junayd used to say
Khayr
pleases you."
is
the best
among us."
related that part of his time
It is
Khayr spent
in weaving, and part of it sitting on the bank of
the river Tigris, and the fishes used to leap around
One day he had
him, and act as his messengers.
been weaving some fine material for an old woman,
and she said to him, " If I bring thee the money
for it, and I do not find thee here, to whom shall
"
I give it ?
He said, " Throw it into the Tigris."
When she came, he was not there, so she threw
the money into the river, and when Khayr
returned to the bank of the river, the fish came up
out of the water and laid the money before him.
PANDNAMA "
THE STRUGGLE WITH THE LOWER SOUL
SELECTIONS FROM THE
"
truly wise man is he who is grateful for the

of
God, and who knows at the same time how
gifts
to rule his own soul. Whoever knows how to
control his passions will be among those who have
THE
secured freedom in this world. Although Poverty

is hard to endure, yet there is nothing better
worth having. The man who reduces his rebellious soul to obedience will earn a good name
Take heed and
for himself among the wise.
discipline your lower soul, lest it bring you into
He who seeks for salvation in
dire misfortune.
truth must turn his face away from all created
Know that all mankind are sunk in
things.
he
alone is truly awake who has departed
sleep
from this world.
:
OF HUMILITY AND THE SOCIETY OF THE

DERVISHES
are possessed of discernment joined with
knowledge, seek the company of the dervishes
and become one of them. Associate with none
If
you
86
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
'ATTAR
but them. Love for the dervishes is the key

which opens the door into Paradise, and those
who hate them are worthy of anathema. The
dervish's garment is naught but a patched robe,
and he is not led astray by creaturely desires and
passions. Until a man treads his carnal self
underfoot, how can he find the way to the abode
of God Most High ?
The man who walks in
the Path of
and
fair
God has no
longing after fine palaces

is naught but the
in his heart
gardens
pain of yearning love.
:
Though you raise your palace as high as the

heavens, yet in the end you will come to be buried
under the earth, and though your strength and
power were like to those of Rustam, yet at the
last you will die, like Bahrain, and be brought
down to the tomb Be not unmindful of Eternity,
and set not your heart upon the transient goods
of this world.
Be patient in the midst of the
.
tribulations of this
Me, and when things go well
with you, give thanks to
God Almighty.
OF GODLY POVERTY
Do you know what Poverty really is ? If you
have no knowledge of it, I will teach you concerning it. A f aqir, although he possesses no treasure
save the patched robe which he wears, conducts
himself before men as if he had abundance.
Though he be hungry, he boasts of satiety for
:
SELECTIONS FROM "PANDNlMA"
87
he has nothing but friendship.
He
his enemies
appears to be lean, wretched, and infirm, yet, in

the matter of religious devotion, he is no whit
behind the most robust and vigorous. Since his
heart is full, though his hand be empty, he is
able to weigh down the scales.
Abandon yourself, then, to become one of the
poor, so that the Almighty may take you under
His care. He who is found in the company of
those who are poor for the sake of God will be
admitted into the palace of Eternity.
RENUNCIATION AND SOLITUDE

If you seek to attain purity of heart, you must
if you are wise,
detach yourself from all things
become one of those who act Hke the wise and join
:
yourself to their
company.
Renunciation means detachment from all

claims, and by that you will understand the true
of solitude.
The first step in renunciato say farewell to the sensual desires nay,
more, it means breaking loose from all your
passions, and then you will attain to the extreme
meaning
tion
is
degree of solitude. If you renounce all hope of

created things, then you will have all that is to
be gained by complete self -stripping. When

God becomes your sole support, then your soul
will attain to perfect isolation.
Abandon this world for the sake of Eternity
88
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
'ATTlR
strip yourself of the garments of wealth, and if

you achieve this degree of happiness, you will
have found true renunciation. If, for the love

of God, you renounce even the bliss of the next
world, men will find in you the pattern of one who
is detached from all ties.
Go, strip yourself of
go apart into solitude, bring yourself
to the dust, and so shall you be exalted to
all things,
down
Put away from you pride, self-love,

and attachment to your own opinion learn to
know yourself, and do not concern yourself with
the heights.
others. He who walks around the brazier of

burning charcoal has his garments blackened
and soiled by the smoke, but he who approaches
the seller of perfumes ('Attar), himself acquires
a part of the sweet fragrance given forth by those
scents.
OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Strive to acquire the mystic gnosis, so that you
may learn to know God. He who truly knows
God by contemplation realises that Eternal Life
means passing away from the personal self.

Without this knowledge, man has no real existence
he is not worthy to approach God, nor
will he obtain the goal of his desires.
If you
really know your self and its desires, you will
know God Most High and His gifts.
;
He
alone
is
the true gnostic
who
knows. God,
SELECTIONS
FEOM "PAKDNAMA"
89
and whoever is without this knowledge is unfit

to be counted among human beings. The gnostic
has a heart full of sincere and constant love :
The
all his actions are pure and without stain.
one to whom this gift of Gnosis has been given
finds no place in his heart save for God alone.
To the gnostic, this world is of no concern, nay

more, he never gives a thought to himself. Gnosis
means that the gnostic passes away from himself
into God. How can the one who does not completely pass away from self attain to this perfection ?
The gnostic occupies himself neither with
world nor the next he is not concerned with

Because he has died altogether
to himself, he is completely absorbed in the
attainment of union with God.
this
any but his Lord.
SELECTIONS FROM THE
DHAT
"
JAWHAR AL-
"
THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD

THOU
art Fire, but Thy fire is veiled, for in all to

which Thou hast joined Thyself, Thou art under
a veil. Thou art the Breath of Life in both body
and soul. Thou art the Water of Life to be found
in every place. In every form Thou dost manifest Thyself, according to Thy Will
even in the
;
dust are Thy mysteries shown forth. Thou art

the mine and dost show Thyself forth in its jewels.
Thou, the Creator, art seen in the creatures,
Spirit shining through gross matter.
Thou art God in Absolute Unity, and Thou
dwellest here in body and soul, for Thou art the
Divine Essence dwelling in the midst of each one
of us.
Lord Most High, how glorious is the
manifestation of Thy Light
Thou art the
Sought and the Seeker what remains to be said ?
Give me, I pray Thee, to drink from the cup of
Immortality. Eor Thou art the Cup and the
Wine and the Cup-bearer.
Since I am myself part of the Mystery of the
!
90
FROM THE "JAWHAR AL-DHAT"

Unity, happy will be that
shall
moment when
be free from body and return unto
91
soul
its
Home.
THE UNIVERSE SEEKING

God
is
ITS
SOURCE
the Light of both body and soul, and
it
He Who hath hidden the soul within the body,

and He Who hath created both earth and heaven
from His Light. He hath made the vault of
is
heaven His pavilion in the firmament beyond

Moon and sun are His worshippers,
Infinity.
making supplication before Him. Human reason

bewildered before Him, for it can teach naught
is
concerning His Essence, but all things, didst

thou but know it, can give thee sight of the Friend.
The heaven itself revolves in silence, consumed
its yearning to look upon Him.
The sun, as
goes on its orbit, is seeking to solve the mystery
the moon and the stars, as they wax and wane, are
craving for union with Him. When the flames
of the fire rise heavenwards, it is from their
longing to meet with Him. The wind, without
foot or pinion, mounts aloft in its search for fTim.
The water rushing by in every stream seeks to
find its rest in Him. For His sake the mountain
is cleft into range upon range, so that in every
spot it may keep its watch for Him. Even the
sea, when thou seest it raging so furiously, is
seething with yearning for the Friend.
by
it
92
THE SPIRIT OF MAN

Since the whole universe is thus seeking for
God, do thou also seek out the inner meaning
of Reality. How long canst be content with
the outward and the external ? Thou hast the
secret of Reality within thyself, thou dost possess
the treasure of the Divine Essence and Its attributes, yet is thy heart far from the Essence
its
Thou art endowed with a being above

in the universe, and thou must be thine own
guide towards the Reality of the Essence. If
only for a moment, raise thou the veil from the
Itself.
all
and when thou hast revealed it, veil thy

beauty again, for the atoms of the universe are
spirit,
all
watching.
In truth thou art the Centre and at the same
Thou art the attributes

Thou art the Beloved and the
Thou art seeking for the Object
time the Circumference.

of all things in one.
Desired of souls.
and that which thou seekest is

Since thou hast no equal, O
of
how
can I describe thee ? The
man,
Spirit
human intellect is but an infant when it seeks
to describe thy perfection, it is helpless when it
tries to portray thy beauty.
But Love knows
thine attributes, for Love itself is one with that
which is thine Essence,
of
thy
desire,
within thyself.
FROM THE "JAWHAR AL-DHlT"
93
LOVE AS THE RULER OP THE UNIVERSE

The whole world is a market-place for Love,
For naught that is, from Love remains remote.
The Eternal Wisdom made all things in Love
On Love they all depend, to Love all turn.
The earth, the heavens, the sun, the moon, the
:
stars,
The Centre of their orbit find in Love.

By Love are all bewildered, stupefied,
Intoxicated by the Wine of Love.
From each a mystic silence Love demands.
What do all seek so earnestly ? 'Tis Love.

What do they whisper to each other ? Love.
Love is the subject of their inmost thoughts.
" "
"
"
In Love no longer thou and I exist,
For Self has passed away in the Beloved.
Now will I draw aside the veil from Love,
And in the temple of mine inmost soul,
Behold the Friend, Incomparable Love.
secret of both worlds,
He who would know the

Will find the secret of
them
both,
is
Love.
THE SOUL
Thou hast a treasure within thy soul, a treasure
hidden there by the Friend, and within this
treasure of thine is the essence of all mysteries.
If thou desirest to see this treasure, why dost thou
remain a slave to thyself ? If thou dost desire
94
to seek for this treasure, thou wilt find no rest

here. Within this treasure is contained the
mystery of all Being, and now this treasure is
hidden from sight. When God created man,
then at that moment the treasure of the Divine
Essence became manifested,

Himself in our form.
for
He showed
THE ASCENT OF THE SOUL

For thee there is an ascent of the soul towards
the Divine Light, therefore shall thy heart and
soul in the end attain to union with that Light.
With thy whole heart and soul, seek to regain
Reality, nay, seek for Reality within thine own
heart, for Reality in truth is hidden within thee
the heart is the dwelling-place of that which is
the Essence of the universe, within the heart and
soul is the very Essence of God. Like the saints,
make a journey into thy self like the lovers of
God, cast one glance within. As a lover now, in
contemplation of the Beloved, be unveiled within,
and behold the Essence. Form is a veil to thee
and thy heart is a veil. When the veil vanishes,
:
thou shalt become all Light.

Tear aside the veils of all thou seest in this
world, and thou wilt find thyself apart in solitude
with God. If thou dost draw aside the veils of
the stars and the spheres, thou wilt see all to be
one with the Essence of thine own pure soul.
FROM THE "JAWHAR AL-DHAT"

If
thou wilt tear aside the
He
veil,
95
thou shalt become
pure. Cast aside the veil from

and non-existence and thou shalt see
forthwith the true meaning of God's purpose.
When thou hast cast aside the veil, thou wilt
see the Essence, and all things will be shown forth
within the Essence. If thou dost draw aside
the veil from the Face of the Beloved, all that is
hidden will be made manifest, and thou wilt
become God, for then wilt thou be the very
Essence of the Divine.
pure, as
existence
is
MAN
Man, what thou art is hidden from thyself.
Rnowest not that morning, mid-day, and the eve
All are within thee ? The ninth heaven art thou,
And from the spheres into this roar of time
Didst fall erewhile. Thou art the brush that
painted
The hues of all this world the light of life,

That rayed its glory on the nothingness.
LOVE
Love, in truth,
at
it is
that interprets
Thy Unity,
which Reason remains bewildered.
Love
it
that proclaims Thy praise abroad, telling how

that which is transient is seen in the end to be
is
naught.
It
is
Love which
sees
Thy Beauty,
for
THE PERSIAN MYSTICS
96
'ATTlR
beholds the secret depths of Thy Perfection.

Love, in truth, draws aside the veil, for it saw Thee
in Thy Oneness and knew Thee as Thou art.
Love it is which holds the key to the soul, for
Thou art its King in both this world and the next.
In truth, since there is naught but Thee, there is
none other existent, save Thine Essence.
Since
Thou art the Essence of what is manifested, in
all things that are, is Thine Essence made manifest.
Thou dost show forth in all things the
mystery hidden therein, since Thou Thyself art
Love in concealment. Thou dost show Thy Face
within the veil of the soul, there dost Thou speak
it
and there Thou

Verily
art heard.
art the Absolute Light of this
the next, and every soul doth seek for
Thou
world and
union with Thee.
WHEN SEPARATION COMES TO AN END

I have ceased to have a separate existence,
for I have pierced beyond the veil, and the bird
of Unity has there become
prey. I no longer
my
exist apart, for I
am
No
separated, for
become pure within heart

and soul, made pure by Love. In the love of
His glorious Majesty, I have found supreme joy.
longer are
we
my
beauty has
become resplendent in the Beauty Supreme. In

very truth I am now one with the Prophets and the
Saints. I have said all that can be said, for I have
FROM "JAWHAR- AL-DHAT"
97
What remains to be said,

what further secret have I to reveal ? What
concern have I now with this world, since I have
seen the Face of God, unveiled ? What remains
looked upon God.
of temporality, since His universality exists ?

I see naught of myself, only the form of the
Friend, for I have passed away in Love. In this
place is Reality unveiled, for Reality appears in
passing away from the self into God, and attaining
to immortality in Him.
THE TRIUMPH OF THE SOUL

Joy joy I triumph now no more I
Myself as simply me, I burn with love
!
know
Unto myself, and bury me in love.

The Centre is within me and its wonder
Lies as a circle everywhere about me.
no mortal thought can fathom me.

merchant and the pearl at once.
Lo, Time and Space lie crouching at my feet.
Joy joy when I would revel in a rapture,
I plunge into myself and all things know.
Joy
joy
am the
1
'
SELECTIONS FROM OTHEK
WORKS
THAN THE FOREGOING
QASlDA IN PRAISE OF THE CREATOR

PBAISE be to the Creator, Whose attributes,
and glorious, bring down the intellect
even of the Prophets to the dust of impotence.
Though all His creation were to meditate for a
hundred thousand years upon the Nature and
but
Majesty of God, yet at the last they could
"
O God,
confess that all had been in vain, saying,
all we have come to know is thatwe know nothing."
There, where the boundless ocean stirs its waves,
how can the dew-drop hope to be perceived ?
There, where the ear of the heavens is rent by the
thunder's peal, how can the fly, imprisoned in a
Can the
jar, make its buzzing to be heard ?
ineffable
darkness endure beside the Light of the Divine

Essence ? Or the full moon appear upon the
horizon, when the sun is at the zenith ?
GOD IN HIS WORLD

O Thou Who
into this bazaar, hast

veiled Face,
98
come with
SELECTIONS FROM OTHER

Hast drawn by Thine attraction
all
WORKS
99
mankind to
follow Thee.
One ray from Thy fair Countenance has lightened

all
our race,
The harvest
every
of
Thy sowing
has borne fruit on
tree.
GOD THE SOLE EXISTENCE

There is naught but Thee in the whole world.
Everywhere in the Universe it is Thy Face that
we see. In whatsoever direction I turn my eyes,
there art Thou, and without Thee there is nothing
that
is.
O Thou Who art the Essence of
all
that abides,
what that subsists art Thou not ? Thou art

no place, and where is the place where Thou
art not ?
O Thou Whose Essence is independent
of seeking and striving, he whose eye beholds,
on the Way, Thy Beauty, he whose intellect
in
in
beholds the image of Thy Perfection, though all

the glories of the world were displayed before him
to dazzle his eyes, yet would he see clearly in the
Light which comes of Union with Thee.
THE TRANSIENCE OF THIS WORLD

All things which for our profit now we see
Will change, and sore affliction come to be,
And when the time of dissolution comes,
Our
all will
pass into non-entity.
100
THE SPIRIT IN PRISON

O
Nightingale of the Spirit, thou remainest

afflicted, for thou art caught in. the snare of this
world, and therefore thou dost continue in sorrow.
Spirit, thou who art so excellent in understanding, so wonderful in knowledge, and in thy
desire to know, surpassing all in thine endowments.
Since thou hast come from that incomparable
world, resplendent and unequalled in thy beauty,
thou dost chafe under the veil of the material
self, and wilt have no rest until thou dost come
forth from beneath the veil.
Spirit, how dost thou find thyself in this
strange world, how dost thou endure thine
attachment to the evil self ?
pearl of purity,
know that thy price is high, realise thine own
worth renounce all base desires, and seek once
more the Court of Heaven.
:
THE SEEKER AND THE SOUGHT

bird, from the World of Mystery,
1 flew to set some earth-bound creature free,
But since I found none worthy of that Realm,
Thence I returned, but took none back with me.
As a
GAIN IN LOSS
Lose thyself, die joyfully and sacrifice thy life,
because thou art living now in the Life of Another.
SELECTIONS FROM OTHER WORKS
101
Contemplate that One unceasingly with the eye

thou
then
must thou look away from the dust.
If
of the heart, and journey away from self.
dost not desire to be dust under the dust,
When
the heart
is
distraught in seeking to
approach unto its God, it is because the desire

for union has taken possession of the soul, for all
that exists must needs lay itself at His feet. When
we ourselves have perceived the veil that Self
lays upon us, we renounce Self altogether. Burning with love towards Thee, we bring our lamentations and our prayers
like the candle, we
consume away in our desire, and renouncing all
else, we offer ourselves unto Thee.
;
LOVE AS THE GUIDE TO THE BELOVED

When Love
becomes manifested in
its perfec-
tion, in thine eyes will remain neither seer nor

seen, and the heart will no longer contain itself ;
out of love to the Friend, for ever will it remain
in rapture
beyond
itself.
None who
is
faint-
hearted will attain to that Love, for Love requires

the strength of the full-grown, and Reason is
but a child before it. The lover knows that in
passing away in Love, he will find the perfection
of Love.
Learn to know Love in truth, and pass
away from self, and even as thou passest away

from mortality, thou shalt put on immortality.
Love, in truth, is a guide to the Friend there
;
102
but a
breadth between thee and the

Love will surely see the
Way, for it will find its Lord within itself. All
being is for Love an indication of the Way to the
Beloved
therefore, if thou dost desire sure
seek
it from none but Love.
guidance,
is
hair's
breast of the Beloved.
THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SELF IN GOD

In the deep waters of the ocean of Annihilation
I would seek to be, for though I aspire to the Sun,
yet, since one is powerless to attain to Thy great
height, I would desire to sleep at Thy feet.
But
Behold, what grief I suffer without Thee
now, since I have become naught, I know that in
the end I shall attain again to my desire. I said
"I have passed away, as I was
unto Thee
"I will bring thee
asked." Thou saidst unto me
unto Eternal Life, as thou hast asked, for when
thou dost see thyself as naught, then will I give
unto thee such an existence as thou hast asked."
Every moment now I spend in the loving
adoration of Another than myself. Long since
I died to mine own existence, and if now I live,
I sacrificed all
it is in the existence of Another.
!
tranquillity and ease, and renounced all hope of

fame, so that I might attain to complete annihilaI laid down
life and sacrificed
tion.
soul,
and all mankind became to me as naught Now
I have arisen, and I am free from all grief of soul,
my
my
SELECTIONS FROM OTHER,
WORKS
103
am set free from the world of Existence

and Non-Existence, and now I dwell beyond both.
I have taken my flight from phenomenal existence
for I
to non-entity.
I am without body and soul, and surely body

and soul are necessary to me. Without these,
what am I ? I am that which I was meant to
Within myself, I have no knowledge of
be.
myself, for self-less I was meant to be. Happy
he who has thus passed away, for passing away

the essence of abiding. This I know, that
Annihilation is a glorious thing, but that which I
do not know is what I am yet to be.
is
is
THE UNION OF THE SOUL WITH GOD

Save Thee I see naught in the two worlds, for
verily Thou alone dost exist in this world and
in that. From everlasting Thou wast and changeless shalt be
unto eternity is Thy Being and
shall be for ever.
Thou Who didst make
manifest both Time and Place, Thou hast created
both the soul of man and the universe wherein he
dwells, and Thou dost cause the spheres to revolve
and dost make the hearts of thousands to be filled
with awe and amazement at Thy manifestation
:
of Thyself.
Now am I made
my heart
Union
From
that Union,
one with Thee, and from that

is
consumed with rapture.
my
tongue
is all
bewildered.
104
By Union, I have been merged in the Unity, I

am become altogether apart from all else, I am
Thou and Thou art I
nay, not
I, all is
altogether
become annihilated, " I " and

"
Thou no more exist. We have become one,
and I have become altogether Thou.
By union with Thee, I have become the perfected gnostic, and now the gnostic has vanished
away and I have become altogether the Creative
I have
"
Thou.
Truth.
am
am God
am God
am God
from pride and passion and desire.

reveal the Divine Mysteries and thereby I
free
the lovers of
God throughout
I
I
fill
the world with
amazement, and a hundred thousand creatures

remain astonished at me. All forms are con-
sumed
when the
in the flames,
candle of Union
Him is set alight and blazes up.

When the paintings are hidden, then wilt thou
O brother, I will tell thee the
see the Painter.
with
mystery of mysteries. Know, then, that painting

and Painter are one
When thy faith in God
is made perfect, thou wilt never see thyself, save
!
in
Him.
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Margaret Smith The Persian Mystics Attar

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THE

tfoe ratsfcom of tbe

THE PERSIAN MYSTICS

WISDOM OF THE EAST

THE PERSIAN MYSTICS

DUTTON AND COMPANY,

FIEST EDITION, 1932

THE LIFE OF 'ATTAR

THE MYSTICAL DOCTRINE OF

THE STORY OF THE

SELECTIONS FROM THE

SELECTIONS FROM THE

SELECTIONS FROM THE

SELECTIONS FROM OTHER WORKS THAN THE

has only to look within himself to find God."

object of the Editors of this series is a very

ambassadors of good-will and understanding

THE LIFE OF 'ATTAR

FARID AL-Drsr ABU HAMID MUHAMMAD B.

death. He was born at Kadkan, a village near

of Religion," and it was no doubt from her that

certain of his poems.

We do not know much of the course of his life,

bade him pass on his way and

consists only of this patched robe that I wear,

but for you, with these sacks full of precious drugs,

when the time comes for you to depart hence,

Din Akkaf, a well-known contemplative, and

was no exception, and he

Egypt, Damascus, India, and Turkistan, before

us something in his own writings. He says,

graceless folk around me remain unheeding,

which cannot pass away,

Sufi philosophy, and the Sufis themselves, than

of his life, 'Attar was living in comhis

retreat he remained absorbed in the contemplation

the most perfect

to him, so that he attained

He was said to have been taken

and yet Thou doest naught

must have applied the greater part of his

One of his latest writings, a

Inner Nature of the Divine Essence), the Asrdr

(The Book of Mysteries), and the Ilahi

afterwards considered himself to be a

as a planet revolving about his sun, for 'Attar,

Love, while we are

turning of one street." Again Rumi said that the

who was put to death in A.D.

922, was manifested

guidance. Of 'Attar in relation to the great

would not come again for a hundred

THE MYSTICAL DOCTBINE OF 'ATTAR

What we call Mysticism represents an attitude

can find God.

If the soul is related to God, then is God also

arduous. Only by purification and self -stripping

one inspiration and motive-power strong enough