Pas Chih Bayad Kard

WHAT
SHOULD THEN BE DONE,
O NATIONS OF THE EAST!
&
THE TRAVELLER
whose heart is effulgent with the light of the
WHAT SHOULD THEN BE Quran,
DONE, whose mirror is more revealing than
Jamshidʹs cup.
O NATIONS OF THE EAST! That musician of Pure breed has
thrown my being into tumult once again with
his music.
To the reader of the book Said he: The people have become aware of the
secrets,
I raise a new army from the Kingdom of Love;
the East has awoken from its deep slumber;
for there is danger of revolt by the intellect
destiny has given it new aspirations,
against the Sanctuary.
and loosened its age‐old chains.
The world does not know the real nature of
No one, O knower of the secrets of the West,
Madness:
has experienced the fire of the West better
it is a garment that fits the intellect perfectly.
than thee.
Donning this garment, I attained to a station
Be God‐intoxicated like the Friend of God,
where it would be honour for the intellect
and help bring down every idol‐temple.
to walk around my house (like a pilgrim).
It is ecstasy that imparts life to peoples,
Donʹt think that the intellect is exempt from
though the undiscerning call it madness.
the final reckoning:
No people under the azure dome of the sky
one look from the believer judges it as if on
has ever achieved anything without this
Judgment Day.
ingenious madness.
The believer is strong through his will and his
Introduction
tawakkul;
The Pir of Rum, the clairvoyant murshid, if he lacks these two, he is an unbeliever.
the leader of the caravan of love and ecstasy, He can distinguish between good and evil;
whose station is far above the Moon and the a mere look from him can shake the whole
Sun, world;
for whose tent the Milky Way serves as pegs,
340 Collected Poetical Works of Iqbal
his blow can crush a mountain to pieces; Reveal once again the significance of religion
and he has thousands of resurrections at his and politics,
command. tell the devotees of the Truth what you
Having drunk wine from my tavern, understand by them.
you have removed all outmodedness from ʺSuffer grief (patiently) and do not eat the
your vision. bread of those who augment grief;
Live in the garden like smell, both hidden and a wise man suffers grief while a child eats
manifest, sweets.
live among colours, but be free from colour. To the mendicant, even his patched‐up
Your age is not aware of the secrets of the garment is a burden.
spirit: Like breeze you should carry nothing except
its creed is nothing but love for the other‐ the smell of roses.
than‐God. Are you an ocean? Then be constantly at war
Little has the philosopher understood this with your environment.
point: Are you a dew‐drop? Then drop yourself
his thought revolves only round matter. gently on a rose‐petal.
He has not illumined his eyes with the lantern
The Divine mystery is not hidden from the
of the heart;
man of God;
hence he sees nothing but blue, red and
do you know what is the true nature of a
yellow.
believerʹs soul?
Fortunate is he who never bowed before any
It is a drop of dew which, out of desire for
man,
self‐manifestation,
and who freed his feet from the chains of
unravelled its own knot with its own hands,
servitude to the other‐than‐God.
which sat in the depth of its being by dint of
What it means to be a lion is beyond the ken self hood,
of cows and buffaloes; which started on its journey from the stillness
never reveal your secret except to lions. of the heavens;
One should not drink wine in the company of which did not turn towards the limitless
a churl, expanse of the ocean,
though he may be king of Rum or Rayy. nor hid itself in an oyster;
It is better that our Joseph be taken away by a It palpitated in the lap of the morning for a
wolf moment
than be bought by an unworthy person. and then dropped into the mouth of the new‐
People of the world lack reason and born bud.
imagination:
they are weavers of mat and know nothing Address to the world‐Illuminating Sun
about satin.
O lord of the East, O shining Sun!
What a beautiful verse a Persian poet has
thou illuminest the heart of every mote of
sung,
dust.
which sets the soul afire:
It is through thee that Being has ardour and
ʺTo the ears of the people of the world, the
exhilaration;
wailing of the lover
it is through thee that every hidden thing
is like the cry of the azan in the land of the
desires to manifest itself.
Franks.
Thy golden canoe in the silvery waters
moves brighter than the hand of Moses.
It is thy rays which give light to the Moon,
What Should Then Be Done… & The Traveller 341
and provide sustenance to the ruby within the The wisdom of Moses
heart of the stone.
The inner burning of the tulip As the prophet establishes God’s decrees,
and the coursing of blood in its veins are the he repudiates Caesar’s law.
result of thy bounty. In his eyes the royal palace is like an old idol‐
The narcissus tears away hundreds of veils to temple;
catch a glimpse of thy ray. his sense of honour makes him disobey the
Welcome, with thee comes the morning of our order of the other‐than‐God.
heart’s desire, The imperfect become perfect through
thou hast transformed every tree into the association with him.
Burning Bush of Mount Sina’i. He gives a new tumult to the age.
Thou art the beginning of the morning while I His message is that Allah is sufficient and all
am else is meaningless,
at the end of my days; light a lamp in my so that the man of truth does not fall into
heart; anybody’s snare.
illumine my dark earth from head to foot; His moisture imparts fire to the vine’s twig
cover me up in thy illuminations and his breath gives life to this handful of
that I may bring the light of the day to the earth.
night of the Orient’s thought, He is the meaning of Gabriel and the Quran,
brighten up the heart of the free men of the and he is the custodian of God’s Law.
Orient, His wisdom is superior to artful Reason,
give maturity to the inexperienced through his spirit gives birth to a people (ummah).
my songs, He is a ruler disinterested in throne and
and give a new turn to the events of the crown:
world. sans crown, sans army, sans tribute.
Thus may the thought of the Orient free itself His look transforms autumn into spring,
from the Franks and through him the dregs of every pitcher
And gain lustre through my songs. become stronger than the wine.
Life comes not but through dhikr In his morning‐lamentation lies life,
(meditation); and the universe is renewed by the morning
(true) independence comes not but through of his manifestation.
purity of thought. The sea and the earth are devastated by the
When the thought of a people becomes intensity of his deluge,
corrupt, and in his eyes there is a message of
then in their hands pure silver turns into base revolution.
metal. He teaches the lesson of they have no fear;
The pure heart dies in their breast, he puts a heart into the breast of man.
and to their eyes the crooked appears straight. He teaches man determination, submission
From the battlefield of life they keep (to the will of God) and willing
themselves safely away; acquiescence;
for them life resides only in the stationary. and makes him radiant in the world like a
Seldom do waves arise from their ocean; lamp.
their pearls are as worthless as pieces of clay. I do not know what magic he practises,
It is therefore necessary that their thought but he totally transforms the soul in the body.
should In his society a piece of clay becomes a pearl;
first be purified (of all dross); and his wisdom gives abundance to the
Reconstruction of thought would then be easy deficient.
for them. He says to the downtrodden slave:
Arise and break into pieces every ancient If he gains ardour and zeal from There is no
deity. deity (but God),
O man of God, break the spell of this old the Sun and Moon will revolve only at his
world bidding.
with these words: God is the highest of all.
If you wish to gain faqr, don’t complain of The wisdom of the Pharaohs
poverty; I have unfolded the wisdom of the people of
well‐being depends on one’s attitude and not faith,
on rank and wealth. now learn the wisdom of the people of malice.
Truthfulness, sincerity, submissiveness, The wisdom of the people of malice is deceit
ardour and sympathy and artifice;
these are needed and not gold or silver, nor what are deceit and artifice?—they destroy
red and yellow coins. the soul and build the body.
O living man, avoid these kings and nobles, This is wisdom that has freed itself from
walk around your own self and not around faith’s bonds
the palaces. and has strayed far away from the station of
Thou hast fallen away from thy true station, Love.
thou art born of a falcon, do not follow the The school follows in his (Pharaoh’s) ways
ways of vultures. so that the servant learns to think in line with
A bird in a garden grove builds his nest to his the master’s desires.
own liking. The religious leader of the millat, in a
Thou who hast a heaven‐traversing charming way,
imagination reinterprets religion to his (Pharaoh’s) liking.
should not think thyself inferior to a bird. The unity of the people is sundered through
Rebuild these nine heavens his machinations;
and refashion this world according to thy nothing can withstand him except Moses’
own desire. Staff.
When he gets annihilated in God’s will, Woe to a people that, prey to others’
the man of faith becomes God’ decree. stratagems,
The four dimensions along with the blue destroy themselves and build up others.
heavens They gain knowledge of science and art,
are born out of his pure bosom. but remain unaware of their own self‐identity.
Annihilate thyself in the will of God like thy They erase the Lord’s impress from their
forefathers; signet,
bring out thy pearl out of the oyster. aspirations arise in their heart only to die
In the darkness of this world of stone and away.
bricks, They are not blessed with a progeny imbued
illumine thy eyes with the light of thy nature. with a sense of honour,
Unless thou takest thy share of the majesty of their children have souls in their bodies like
God, corpses in graves.
thou canst not enjoy Divine Beauty. Their old people lack modesty,
The beginning of love and ecstasy is majesty the young are busy decking themselves out
(qahiri); like women‐folk.
the end of love and ecstasy is beauty (dilbari). The desires that spring from their hearts are
The man of faith is a symbol of perfect unstable,
existence: they are born dead from the wombs of their
he alone is real; all else is mere appearance. mothers.
Their daughters are caught in the snares of Unless the secret of negation is grasped,
their curling locks, the bonds of the other‐than‐God cannot be
bold‐eyed, fond of display and carping; broken.
well‐dressed, with exquisite make‐up, The beginning of every work in the world is
coquettish; with the word of negation:
their eyebrows like two unsheathed swords; it is the first stage of the man of God.
their white silvery forearms pleasing to the A nation which burns itself in its heat for a
eyes; moment
their bosoms showing like fish in water. recreates itself out of its own ashes.
A nation whose ashes are devoid of any live To say No to the other‐than‐God is Life:
spark, the universe is ever renewed by its tumult.
whose morn is darker than its eve. Not every person is affected by its madness;
It is always in search of material goods, not every haystack is fit to catch its fire.
its only preoccupation is anxiety for When this ecstasy affects the heart of a living
livelihood and fear of death. person,
Its rich are miserly, pleasure‐loving, he makes sluggards sitting on the roadside to
intent upon seeking the shell, and neglectful move on swiftly.
of the kernel. Dost thou wish the servant to fight the master
The might of its ruler is the object of its (for his rights)?
adoration, Then sow the seed of No in his handful of
in loss of faith and belief lies its gain. dust.
It never looks beyond its today Whoever has this burning ardour in his heart
and never creates a tomorrow for itself. is more awe‐inspiring than the Doomsday.
It has the annals of its ancestors under its No is a succession of violent blows;
arms, it is the rumbling of thunder, not the piping
but, alas! it only discourses on them without tune of a flute;
acting on them. its blow changes every being into non‐being,
Its creed is to offer loyalty to others, So that thou comest out of the whirlpool of
to build temples with the material of the Existence.
mosque.
I relate to thee the history of the Arabs
Alas! for a nation which has cut itself adrift
that thou mayest know its good and bad
from God,
aspects.
which is dead, but does not know that it is
Their strokes broke Lat and Manat into pieces;
dead.
confined within dimensions, they yet lived
free of all bonds.
There is no deity except God Every old garment was torn off by them;
I tell thee a significant point known only to Chosroes and Caesars met their doom at their
the people of ecstasy: hands.
for nations, negation expresses power, At times deserts were overrun by their
affirmation expresses beauty. thunder showers;
Negation and affirmation together signify at other times seas were churned by their
control of the universe: storms.
they are the keys to the doors of the universe. The whole world, no more than a straw, was
Both are the destiny of this world of set afire by them:
Becoming. it was all a manifestation of No.
Movement is born out of negation, They were constantly astir until out of this old
stationariness, out of affirmation. world
they brought forth a new one into existence. Faqr
The invitation to the truth (the call to prayer)
is O slaves of material things, what is faqr?—
the result of their early rising; a penetrating insight and a living heart.
whatever exists is the outcome of their sowing Faqr is to sit in judgment over one’s own
(of seed). work,
The lamp of the tulip that has been lit up and to envelop oneself round the words there
was brought from the banks of their river— is no deity.
They erased from the tablet of their heart the Faqr is conquering Khyber and living on
impress of the other‐than‐God; barley meal,
hundreds of new worlds therefore came into kings and nobles are tied to its saddle‐straps.
being at their hands. Faqr is ardour, ecstasy and submission to the
will of God.
You will similarly see that in the period of It belongs really to Mustafa; we are only its
Western dominance trustees.
capital and labour have come to blows. Faqr makes a nightly assault on the angelic
As the heart of Russia was sorely afflicted, the hosts,
word and on the hidden forces of Nature;
No came out of the depths of her being. it transforms you into a different man,
She has upset the old order and turns you from a piece of glass to a
and applied a sharp scalpel to the veins of the diamond.
world. Its whole equipment is derived from the
I have closely observed her position which is: Great Quran.
no kings, no church, no deity. a dervish cannot be contained in a blanket.
Her thought has remained tied to the wind‐ Although he speaks very little in the assembly
storm of negation, of people,
and has not marched towards the affirmative yet this little enlivens a hundred assemblies.
but. It gives to the wingless the ambition to fly,
Maybe a day will come when through force of and the majesty of a falcon to a gnat.
ecstasy When a fakir falls out with kings,
She may extricate herself from this whirlwind. the throne trembles before the mat’s majesty.
Life does not rest at the station of Negation, He sets the whole town in tumult through his
the universe moves on towards but. madness,
Negation and affirmation both are necessary for and frees the people from tyranny and
the nations: oppression.
Negation without affirmation is their death. He does not settle but in places
How can Khalil (friend) be ripe in love where a falcon runs away from before a dove.
unless negation guides him towards His heart’s power flows from ecstasy and
affirmation? sobriety.
O you who indulge in debate in your closet, His slogan before the king is no kings.
raise the cry of negation before a Nimrod. It is through his dust that our fire glows and
What you see around you is not worth two burns,
grains of barley, the flame trembles before the meanest
be acquainted with the might of there is no particles of his dust.
deity. No nation suffers defeat in the battle of life
He who has the sword of negation in his hands as long as it has a single dervish.
is the ruler of all the universe. Our honour is due to his lordly contentment,
our yearning is due to his carefree zeal.
Look at yourself in this mirror, life for the latter flows from a glorious death;
that God may bestow on you clear authority. the former is seeking God through
The essence of faith lies in the graciousness of renunciation of flesh,
faqr; the latter is whetting one’s khudi on the stone
the might of faith flows from its of God;
highmindedness. the former is killing and burning out of khudi,
the latter is to illumine the khudi like a lamp.
The King of the Faith said to the Muslims:
When faqr becomes naked under the Sun,
“The whole earth is my mosque.”
the Sun and the Moon tremble through its
Seek protection from the revolution of the
fear.
nine heavens,
Naked faqr is the warmth of Badr and Hunain,
that the Muslim’s mosque remains in the
it is the sound of Husain’s takbir.
hands of others.
When faqr lost its zest for nakedness,
The person of pure faith tries hard
the Muslims lost their might (jalal).
to take back the mosque of his beloved Lord.
O you who talk of renunciation of this world, Alas! for us and for this ancient world!
don’t talk of it, neither you nor I possess the sword of
renunciation of this world lies in conquering negation.
it. O young man, free your heart of the other‐
To be its rider is to free oneself from its than‐God,
bondage: and barter away this ancient world.
it is to rise above the status of water und clay. How long can you live careless of the plight
This world of water and clay is the Muslim’s of your faith?
quarry, O Muslim, this kind of life is as good as death.
would you advise a falcon to give up its prey? The man of faith renews himself;
I am unable to understand he does not look at himself except in the light
why a falcon should flee from the skies. of God;
Alas! for a falcon that does not follow its he measures himself by the standard set by
nature, Mustafa,
that recoils from inflicting pain on little birds, and thus succeeds in creating a new world.
that remains confined to its nest, afflicted and
Woe to a nation that has fallen so low
depressed,
that it gives birth to kings and lords but not to
and does not wing the azure expanse of the
a single dervish.
skies.
Do not ask me to tell you its story, for how
The Quranic faqr is a critical examination of can I describe what is indescribable?
Existence: Tears choke my throat;
it is not mere rebeck‐playing, intoxication, it is better if this commotion remains within
dancing and singing. the heart.
What is a believer’s faqr? It is conquering of The Muslim of this land has lost all hope in
dimensions, himself,
the slave acquires attributes of the Lord for a long time he has not seen a true man of
through it. God,
The faqr of an unbeliever is flight to the hence he has grown sceptical about the
wilderness, strength of his faith,
the faqr of a believer makes land and sea and has started waylaying his own caravan.
tremble; For three centuries the Ummah has been
life for the former is solitude in caves and wretched and helpless,
mountains,
it lives on without an inner (spiritual) fire and no live desire appeared in your heart.
ecstasy. Subject yourself to examination and do not
Lowly in thought, mean of nature, vulgar in forget yourself;
taste, be forgetful of the other‐than‐yourself for a
its teachers and religious preceptors are while.
devoid of fervour; Why do you give in to fear, doubt and
its low thoughts have made it wretched, melancholy?
and lack of unity has made it sick of itself. Realise your position in this country.
As he (the Muslim) is not aware of his true This garden (country) has many tall trees,
station, therefore do not make your nest on a low
the zeal for revolution has died in his heart. branch.
For lack of contact with a man of knowledge, O man unaware of yourself you have a song
he has become in your throat,
feeble and dejected, and incapable of recognise your true stock and do not fly with
accepting truth. crows.
He is a slave who has been rejected by his Give yourself the keenness of a sword,
Lord, and then hand yourself over to Destiny.
who has grown poor, indigent and absolutely You have within you an irresistible storm,
careless. before which a lofty mountain is but straw.
He has no wealth which may be snatched The grandeur of the storm lies in restlessness;
away by a king, for it to rest for a moment is to die.
nor has he any (spiritual) light that may be I am neither a theologian nor a jurist with an
taken away by a Satan. analytical mind,
His religious leader is a disciple of the nor am I acquainted with the intricacies of
Frankish lord, faqr.
though he boasts of the station of Bayazid. For all my keen insight into the ways of faith,
He says: Bondage gives splendour to religion, I am slow‐footed;
and life consists in being devoid of khudi. all my work is incomplete and what to me
He looked upon the enemy’s political control appears mature is unripe,
as a mercy; but God has given me a heart full of living
danced in adoration round the Church and passion
died. and thus enabled me to unravel one knot out
of a hundred.
O you who are devoid of spiritual zest and
“Take your share of my fire and ardour,
anguish,
there may not come after me a fakir like me.”
do you know what this age of ours has done
to us ?
This age has estranged us from ourselves
The free man
and cut us asunder from the beauty of The free man is strong through repetition of
Mustafa. Fear not;
Since love for Mustafa departed from the in the battlefield we are hesitant while he is
breast, daring;
the mirror lost its natural lustre. the free man is clairvoyant through There is no
You did not understand the real character of deity,
this age, he does not fall into the snare of kings and
and have lost the wager in the very first lords;
move. like the camel, the free man carries burdens:
Since your mind got involved in its vortex, he carries burdens but lives on thorny bushes.
He sets his foot so firmly on the ground he is all activity and little talk;
that the pulse of the pathway begins to throb we are beggars roaming the streets and
with his ardour; destitute,
his soul becomes more everlasting through his faqr is equipped with the sword of There is
death, no deity;
his call of takbir is beyond words and sounds. We are mere straw caught in a whirlwind,
The dervish gets tribute from kings, his stroke on the mountain brings out springs
who regards the stones of the pathway as of water.
mere glass. Get acquainted with him and avoid us,
The warmth of your nature is due to his red destroy your present house and acquire a new
wine; one.
your stream is watered by his river. Complain not of the revolving sky
Kings in their silken robes revive yourself through associating with that
are pallid from fear of that naked fakir. living person.
The essence of faith for us is report, for him it Association is better than knowledge of
is vision books,
he is within the house while we are outside companionship of free men is creative of men.
the door; A free man is a deep and shoreless sea,
we are friends of the Church, we sell get your water from an ocean and not from a
mosques, canal.
he quaffs cups from the hands of Mustafa His breast is in ferment like a boiling kettle,
himself; for him a solid mountain is like a heap of
He is not indebted to the wine‐seller, nor has sand.
he the cup in his hand; In peace, he is the ornament of the assembly,
we have empty cups, while he is intoxicated like spring wind to the garden;
since eternity. on the day of battle, he, the knower of his
The face of the rose is red through his grace, destiny,
his smoke is brighter than our fire. digs his own grave with his own sword;
He has in his bosom a clarion call to nations, fly from us like an arrow,
their destiny is inscribed on his forehead. and catch hold of his skirt with a frenzy.
We turn in worship sometimes to the Church The seed of the heart does not develop out of
and sometimes to the temple, water and clay,
he does not seek his sustenance from others’ without the look of the people of the heart.
hands; In this world you do not count more than a
we are all slaves of the Franks, he is His slave, piece of straw
he cannot be contained in this world of colour unless you attach yourself to the skirt of
and smell. somebody.
Our days and nights are spent in anxiety for
livelihood; The essence of the Shari’ah
but what is our end?—pains of death.
I have learnt many things from the Master of
He alone has stability amidst this world of
Rum,
instability;
especially have I burnt myself in (the fire of)
death for him is one of the stations of life.
these words of his:
The people of the heart feel frustrated in our
“‘If you carry money for the sake of the Faith,
company,
that money is a blessing,’ says the Prophet.”
but the grace of his company puts a heart
If you don’t keep this point in mind,
even into dust.
you are a slave and money is your lord.
Our life is subject to doubts and misgivings,
The welfare of the nations is in the hands of which path is straight and which crooked.
the poor, The Shari‘ah grows out of life’s bosom;
while the rich man causes disruption to the its light illumines the darkness of the
nations. universe.
In his eyes, novelty is something mean, If the world were to accept its judgment
he buys only old things; regarding what is forbidden,
what is wrong he regards as right this system would endure for ever.
and is afraid of the upheavals of revolution. It is not for the jurists to evaluate it, O son,
The capitalist usurps the portion of the look at it in another way;
labourer, its legal formulations are based on justice and
and robs the honour of his daughter. submission to Divine Will,
The labourer bewails before him like a reed, its roots lie in the bosom of Mustafa.
with constant cries issuing from his lips. it is through “separation” (from God) that
His cup lacks wine; desires warm the hearts.
he builds palaces but is himself a homeless When “He” manifests Himself, you will cease
wanderer. to exist.
Praise be to the rich person who lives like a This separation is no doubt hard to bear,
dervish try not to seek union with Him, rather submit
and is God‐oriented in an age like ours. to His will.
Mustafa communicated His will to us;
Unless people understand the significance of
the injunctions of religion consist of nothing
a lawfully earned food,
else.
life of society becomes miserable.
The throne of Jamshid is hid under the mat (of
Alas! Europe is not aware of this principle,
a fakir),
her eyes do not see through God’s light;
Faqr and political authority are both stations
she does not know lawful from unlawful,
of (submission to God’s) Will;
her wisdom is immature and all her activities
accept the injunctions of the Shari’ah and do
defective
not complain,
One nation preys on another,
the field of battle is not the place to argue
one sows the seed, another takes away the
why.
harvest.
So far as you can help, do not disobey its law,
It is “wisdom” to snatch food from the weak
so that nobody may disobey your orders.
and to rob their body of the soul.
Be of the best make through the Shari’ah,
The way of the new culture is to murder
and inheritor of Abraham’s faith.
people;
and this killing is done under the garb of O man of lofty attributes, what is Tariqah?
commerce. to see the Shari‘ah in the recesses of life’s
These banks, the result of clever Jews’ heart.
thinking, If you wish to see the essence of religion
have taken away God’s light from the heart of clearly,
man. look but into the depth of your heart;
Unless this system is destroyed completely, if you do not enjoy vision, your faith is only
knowledge, religion and culture are mere compulsion;
empty names. such a religion is a veil between you and God.
If man does not see God fully manifest,
In this world of good and evil, man seldom
he cannot rise higher than (the polarity of)
knows
free‐will and determinism.
what is profitable to him and what is harmful;
Dive into your inner nature for a moment,
nobody knows the right and wrong of an act,
become a man of truth, don’t rely on mere Lament on the Differences among Indians
conjecture—
O Himalayas! O Attock! O Ganges!
that you may see the right and wrong of
how long shall we go on living sordidly like
things,
this ?
and know what secrets lie behind these nine
The old lack insight,
veils.
the young are devoid of love;
He who shares in the experiences of the
East and West are free, but we are slaves of
Prophet
others;
gets close to the faithful Gabriel.
our bricks go to the building of others’
O you who are proud of having the great
mansions.
Quran,
To live according to the wish of others
how long will you sit (inactive) in cell?
is not deep slumber; it is eternal death;
Reveal to the world the essence of religion,
this is not a death that comes from the sky;
and the significance of the clear Shari’ah;
its seed grows out of the depths of one’s soul.
none need be dependent on another (for one’s
Its prey waits neither for the undertaker nor
primary needs),
for the grave,
this is the sum and substance of the clear
nor for friends from far and near;
Shari’ah;
no clothes are torn in grief over his death,
the jurists and the theologians have spun long
his hell is not on the other side of the skies.
tales;
Do not seek him among the crowd on the Day
the faithful have failed to grasp this point.
of Judgment,
A living nation met its death due to
his tomorrow lies in his today.
misinterpretations,
What use is there to produce before God
her heart lost fire (of life).
one who has both sown the seed and reaped
I have seen Sufis of pure heart
the fruit in this world?
and taken good stock of the teacher in school,
A nation that does not relish the prodding of
my age produced a prophet too,
desire
who could see in the Quran nothing but
is wiped off the face of the earth by Nature.
himself;
It is through magic that the crown and the
every one of them is fully conversant with the
throne acquire authority;
Quran and the traditions;
what is frail as glass becomes through magic
but they are totally unaware of the true
hard as stone.
significance of the Shari’ah.
Under the influence of this “clear
Reason and tradition both have fallen prey to
enchantment,”
lust,
Muslims abjured their faith and unbelievers,
their pulpit is a counter for the display of their
their unbelief.
wares.
The Indians quarrel with one another
There is no hope of salvation from these
having revived their old differences,
reformers.
until a Frankish nation from the land of the
What is the use of the sleeve when it lacks the
West
White Hand?
assumed the role of a mediator between Islam
The problems of the nations cannot be set
and kufr.
right by you,
Nobody knows water from mirage,
Unless you prove by action that you are the
Revolution, O revolution, O revolution!
bearer of truth.
O you who are always anxious for material
sustenance,
ask of God a living heart;
although its seat is in water and clay If you desire (real) freedom, do not get caught
yet the nine heavens are under its authority. in its coils,
Do not think it belongs to the earth, remain thirsty rather than pine for moisture
it really comes from the highest heavens. from its vine.
The world is for it the Friend’s abode May God protect you from its speech and its
and gets the Friend’s smell from the tulip’s equivocal word!
tunic. The eyes (of the people), through its
It is constantly at war with the world, collyrium, become more blind,
the stones on the path are broken to pieces by and the helpless are rendered more helpless
its strokes; through its subterfuges;
it is familiar with the pulpit and the gibbet, may God protect us from the wine of its cup,
and keeps a strict watch over its own fire; and from its gamester’s tricks.
it is only a streamlet but has oceans in its lap, The free man does not neglect his ego;
its ripples bring tidings of storms; protect yourself, do not take its opium pill.
it is not by bread that it lives,
Speak the word of (truth like) Moses before
it dies as soon as it loses its vision of the
Pharaohs
Truth;
so that your stroke may split the river into
it is like a lamp in the dark chamber of the
two.
body:
My heart is grieved at the dishonour suffered
it illumines both multitude and solitude.
by the caravan,
Such a heart, ever watchful of itself and God‐
I do not see the light of soul in its leader;
intoxicated,
he is a worshipper of the body, ambitious of
is not achieved except through faqr.
worldly honour and short‐sighted:
O young man, catch hold of its skirt firmly,
his heart devoid of the light of la ilah,
you have been born in slavery, now live free.
he was born a Muslim but is a disciple of the
church,
Present‐day politics he rent asunder the veil of our honour;
It strengthens the chains of the slaves; to catch hold of his skirt is the height of
the inexperienced call it “freedom”. foolishness,
When it saw the people’s agitation, his breast is devoid of a shining heart.
it drew a curtain over the face of imperialism. In this path rely on yourself, for nobody
It characterised State as multi‐national, goes hunting deer with the help of blind dogs.
and thus covered its trickery under this naïve Alas! for the nation that shuts its eyes from
phrase. itself,
One can hardly move about freely in its gives its heart to the other‐than‐God, and
environment, breaks loose from itself.
no door can be opened by its keys. When khudi died in the breast of the millat,
It said to the bird in cage, “O sorrow‐stricken the mountain became a straw and was blown
bird, away by the wind.
build thy nest in the house of the hunter; Although it has la ilah in its very constitution,
he who builds his nest in meadows and yet it gave birth to no true Muslim.
gardens One who gives faith to the faithless,
cannot be secure from falcon and hawk.” whose self‐prostration makes the earth
Under its spell, the self‐deluding bird, tremble,
enamoured of grain, who utters there is no god at the risk of his life,
choked its wailings in its throat. from whose blood grows (the flower of) there
is no god;
that ecstasy, that ardour of longing, has you will know that the ascension of a Muslim
disappeared, is in his prayer.
no longer is there such a man of heart in the If you have no warm blood in your body,
sanctuary. your prostration is but conformity to an
O Muslim, in this ancient tavern, ancient custom;
how long will you remain in the snares of the ‘Id of the free people is the glory of State
Satan? and religion,
Ask (of God) His blessing in your striving and the ‘Id of the slaves is but a congregation of
delight therein, Muslims.
nothing is attained without midnight
supplications. A few words to the Arab people
How long to live in the ocean like a floating May your land prosper till eternity!
straw? who raised the cry: no Caesars and Chosroes?
Become hard like a mountain through self‐ In this world of near and far, fast and slow,
control. who was the first to read the Quran?
Although the wise do not reveal the state of who was taught the secret of la ilah?
their heart to anybody, where was this lamp (of knowledge) lighted?
I cannot hide from you my heart’s grief. From whom did the world gain knowledge?
Being a slave and born in slavery, for whom is the (Quranic) verse revealed: You
I have wandered away from the threshold of became?
the Ka‘bah. It was due to the bounty of the one called
When I recite salutations in the name of Ummi
Mustafa, that tulips grew out of the sandy desert of
my whole being suffers acutely through Arabia.
shame. Freedom (as a concept) developed under his
Love says: “O slave of others, care,
your breast is like a temple full of idols; that is, the “today” of the peoples is from his
so long as you do not have the colour of “yesterday”;
Muhammad he put a “heart” into the body of Adam
do not pollute his name by your salutations.” and removed the veil from his face,
he broke all the ancient gods;
Do not ask me about my inattentive standing
every old twig, through his breath, grew a
in prayer
flower.
and about my prostration lacking in ecstasy.
The excitement of the battles of Badr and
God’s manifestation, although it may last but
Hunain,
for a moment,
Hyder, Siddiq, Faruq and Husain,
is enjoyed by free people alone.
the grandeur of the call to prayer,
When a free man falls down in prostration
the recitation of the Quranic Surat al‐Saffat, in
before God,
the battlefield,
the blue sky revolves round him ecstatically;
the sword of Ayyubi and the look of Bayazid,
we slaves are unaware of his might
the keys to the treasures of both the worlds,
and of his beauty and grace.
reason and heart intoxicated with one cup of
Do not seek the ecstasy of faith in a slave,
wine,
even if he be a hafiz of the Quran.
a mixture of dhikr and fikr of Rum and Rayy;
He is a Muslim but behaves like an Azar,
knowledge and science, Shari‘ah and religion,
his religion and gnosis are all kufr (unbelief).
administration of State;
If you have life’s ardour in your body,
ever‐dissatisfied hearts within the breast,
al‐Hamra and the Taj, of world‐consuming recreate in your body the soul of ‘Umar.
beauty, Power lies in the unity of the true religion,.
that win tributes from the celestial beings— religion is strong will, sincerity and faith.
all these are moments of his time, As his heart knows the secrets of Nature,
a single lustre of his manifold manifestations. the man of the desert is Nature’s protector.
All these heart‐pleasing phenomena are his He is simple, and his nature is the touchstone
outward aspects, of right and wrong,
his inward aspect is still hidden from the his rise means setting of a hundred thousand
gnostics. stars.
“Limitless praise be to the Holy Prophet, Leave aside these deserts, mountains and
who gave to this handful of dust true belief in valleys,
God.” 1 pitch your tent in your own being.
Whetting your nature on the desert wind
God made you sharper than the sword:
set your dromedary onto the battlefield.
He made the camel‐driver the rider of
The modern age was born out of your
destiny.
achievements;
Your takbir, your prayer and your war:
its intoxication is the result of your rose‐red
on these depend the fate of East and West.
wine.
How good this dedication and selfless
You have been the expositor of its secrets,
devotion.
and the first builder of its edifice.
Alas! for this grievous affliction and
Since the West adopted it as its own,
melancholy!
it has grown into a coquette, with no sense of
The nations of the world are promoting their
honour.
interests,
Although she is sweet and pleasant,
you are unaware of the value of your desert;
yet she is crooked, saucy and irreligious.
you were a single nation, you have become
O man of the desert, make what is unripe
now several nations,
mature
you have broken up your society yourself.
and refashion the world according to your
He who loosened himself from the bonds of
touchstone
khudi,
and merged himself in others, met certain
death.
What should then be done O Nations 2 of
Nobody else ever did what you have done to the East?
yourself. The West has put mankind in grievous pain,
The soul of Mustafa was grieved by it. and, through it, life has lost all charm.
O you who are unaware of the Frankish What should then be done, O people of the
magic, East?—
see the mischiefs hidden in his sleeves! that the life of the East may once again
If you wish to escape his deceits, brighten up.
turn away his camels from your ponds. A revolution has occurred in the East’s heart,
His diplomacy has weakened every nation night has passed away, and the sun has risen.
and broken the unity of the Arabs. Europe has fallen prey to its own sword;
Ever since the Arabs fell into its snares, it has laid the foundation of secularism in the
not for one moment have they enjoyed peace. world;
O man of insight, look at your times, it is a wolf in the garb of a lamb,

1 Iqbal’s note—[From] Khwaja Attar with verbal 2 We have changed the trasnlator’s ‘People of the
alteration. East’ to the more well‐known title.
every moment in ambush for a prey. that it may afford the key to the door of
The difficulties of mankind are due to it, Reality.
it is the source of all the hidden anguish of Reason under heart’s guidance is godlike;
man. When it frees itself from the heart, it becomes
In its eyes man is nothing but water and clay, Satanic.
and the caravan of Life has no goal.
At every moment life is a struggle,
Whatever you see is the manifestation of the situation in Abyssinia affords a warning;
God’s light; the law of Europe, without any doubt,
the knowledge of things is a part of God’s allows wolves to kill sheep.
secrets. We should set up a new order in the world,
He who sees God’s signs is a free man, there is no hope of relief from these
the basis of this wisdom is God’s order: Look. plunderers of the dead.
Through it the believer is more successful in There is nothing in Geneva except deceit and
life than the non‐believer fraud:
and more sympathetic towards others. this sheep is my share, that is yours.
When knowledge illumines his mind, There are many subtle ideas of the West
his heart grows more and more God‐oriented. which cannot be expressed in words,
Knowledge of things is like elixir to our dust, a world of mischief and disorders lies hidden
alas! its effect in the West is different. in them.
Its (the West’s) reason and thought have no
O you who are enamoured of colour, rise
standards of right and wrong,
above colour;
its eyes know no tear, its heart is hard as
have faith in yourself, deny the Franks.
stone.
The strings of gain and loss are in your hands,
Knowledge, through it, has become a disgrace
the honour of the East depends on you.
for all,
Bring all the ancient nations together;
Gabriel, in its society, has become Iblis.
raise the flag of sincerity and rectitude.
The wisdom of the Franks is an unsheathed
The life of the votaries of truth depends upon
sword,
their possessing power,
ever ready to destroy the human species.
and the power of every nation depends upon
In this world of good and evil, intoxication of
unity.
knowledge
Wisdom without power is deceit and
does not suit mean natures.
enchantment,
May God protect us from the West and its
power without wisdom is ignorance and
ways,
madness.
and from its secular thinking;
the Westerners have changed true knowledge Ardour, harmony, sympathy and
into magic, compassion—all come from Asia,
nay, rather into unbelief. both the wine and the cup are Asia’s.
A hundred mischiefs have raised their head We taught love the way of ravishing hearts
on all sides, and the art of creating man.
snatch away the sword from the hands of this Art as well as religion came from the land of
highwayman. the East
O you who know the distinction between whose sacred dust is the envy of the heavens.
body and soul, We revealed to the world all that lay hidden,
break the spell of this godless civilisation. the sun is from us and we are of the sun.
Breathe the soul of the East into the West’s Every oyster has its pearl through our spring
body, rains,
the majesty of every ocean is due to our the musk of this merchant is from the navel of
storms. a dog.
We have discerned our souls in the songs of Sleeping on his velvet will rob you of your
the nightingale eyes,
and the blood of Adam in the veins of and its beauty will rob you of yourself.
flowers. You have made a muddle of your affairs,
Our thought, seeker of the secrets of do not build up your prestige on his basis;
Existence, a wise person would not drink wine from his
was the first to strike the note of life pitcher,
We had in our breast a wound of passion, and anyone who did would drop dead in the
made by us into a lamp to illumine the tavern;
pathway of life. while negotiating a business deal, he is all
You are the trustee of religion and culture, smiles and sweet word,
bring out the White Hand from under your we are like children and he is a sweetmeat
sleeve. seller.
Rise and solve the problems of the nations, He fully knows the heart and look of the
put out of your head the intoxication of the buyer,
West. O God! is this commerce or magic?
Set the pattern for the unity of Asia, Those dealers in merchandise take away all
snatch yourself away from the hand of the profit,
Ahriman. we buyers are all blind.
O free man, sell, wear and eat
You know the West and its deeds,
only that which grows out of your own soil.
how long will you remain tied to its strings?
Those pure of heart, who are aware of
The wound, the lancet and the needle are all
themselves,
West’s,
have themselves sewn their simple garments.
ours is the pool of blood and the expectation
O you unaware of the deeds of the present
that incision will be stitched up.
age,
You know that kingship is power to rule,
see the skilfulness of the people of Europe.
but power, in our times, is mere commerce.
They weave out of your wool and silk,
The shopkeeper is a partner in political
and then offer them to you for sale.
power,
Your eyes are taken in by their appearances;
trade brings in profit and political power
their colour and glamour turn your head.
brings in tribute.
Alas for the river whose waves did not fret,
If a ruler is also a shopkeeper,
and which bought its own pearls from the
you will find good on his tongue, but evil in
divers!
his heart.
If you can assess him properly,
you will find your coarse cloth finer than his
To The Holy Prophet
silk. On the night of 3 April 1936, while I was
Pass off his workshop unmindful of staying in Dar al‐Iqbal, Bhopal I saw in a
everything, dream Sayyid Ahmad Khan (on whom be
do not buy his fur in winter. God’s mercy). He advised me to place before
His principle is: to kill without striking; the Holy Prophet the state of my health.
death lurks in the movement of his machines;
O you who are helper of helpless people like
do not exchange your mat for his rugs
us,
and your pawn for his queen;
free this nation from the fear of death.
his pearl is blemished, his ruby impure,
You burnt down ancient idols
and renewed the old universe. and is unaware of the blue expanse of space.
In this world where men and genii are The teacher, lacking intellectual equipment
engaged in meditation and devotion, and insight,
you are the morning prayer and the call to did not inform him of his real stature.
prayer. The fire of the Franks has melted him:
La ilah is the essence of ardour and ecstasy, this hell has totally transformed him.
it sheds light in the dark night of doubts. He is a believer and yet unaware of the secret
We did not make gods of cows and asses, of Death.
nor did we bow our heads before soothsayers; His heart does not believe in the truth that
we did not prostrate ourselves before ancient None is supreme except Allah.
gods, As his heart has died in his breast,
nor did we walk in adoration round the He does not think of anything except food
palaces of kings and nobles; and sleep.
this is all the result of your benevolence, For one piece of bread, he bears the sting of
our thought has been nourished by your yes and no,
kindness. for a day’s meal he begs favours from a
Our remembrance of you is the source of hundred persons.
delight and rapture, He buys false gods from the Frank,
and keeps the nation jealous of its honour though he is a believer, his mind is an idol‐
even in poverty. temple.
You are the goal of every wayfarer, Say: Get up at my order and quicken,
the ideal that everyone aspires to attain. revive in his heart the cry: Allah is He,
We are a defunct musical instrument We are all under the spell of Western culture,
whose chords do not respond to the plectrum and are martyrs at the altar of the Franks.
any longer. From that nation whose cup is now broken,
I have wandered through lands, Arab and produce a single man who is God‐intoxicated,
non‐Arab, so that the Muslim should learn to see himself
Bu Lahab is everywhere, Mustafa nowhere. again
The so‐called enlightened Muslim and look upon himself as the cream of the whole
has no lamp to illumine the darkness of his world.
heart.
O rider, rein in your horse for a moment;
Even in his youth he is soft like silk,
I cannot easily find words to express my
the desires in his heart are short‐lived.
mind.
He is a slave, son of a slave, son of a slave,
Should I give expression to my desire or not?
who dare not think of freedom;
Love is not restrained by etiquette;
the school has drained him of love for
Love says: O grieved one, open your lips;
religion;
etiquette says: Open your eyes and keep your
all I can say about him is that he existed at
mouth shut.
one time;
The whole universe revolves round you.
forgetful of himself and enamoured of the
I entreat a look of mercy from you.
West,
You are my dhikr and fikr, my knowledge and
he begs bread of barley from the hands of the
gnosis;
Franks.
you are my boat, river and storm.
This hungry man bartered away his soul for a
Not even a lean, frail and weak deer
piece of bread
could anybody tie to my saddle‐strap.
and caused us great grief thereby.
My shelter is the sanctuary of your street:
He picks up grain from the ground like
I turn towards you with a hopeful heart.
domestic birds
No longer am I able to nourish song in the Sharpen my axe all the more,
breast for I have a task greater than that of Farhad.
and open a hundred buds with a single breath. I am a believer and I do not deny myself;
My song has broken in my throat; test me on the touchstone, you will not find
the flame no longer comes out of my breast. me false metal.
My words have lost their fervour
Although the field of my life has remained
and I have ceased to enjoy my morning
barren,
recitation of the Quran.
yet I possess a tiny thing called “heart”.
How could songs remain confined within my
I keep it hidden from the eye of the people,
breast—
for it bears the marks of your horse’s hoof.
songs that could hardly be contained in the
For a slave who does not seek material means
mind.
life without you is as good as death.
They need a limitless expanse‐‐
You blessed a Kurd with fluency in the Arabic
the whole breadth of nine heavens.
tongue,
Ah! the pain that afflicts my body and soul, call your slave into your presence—
a look from your eyes is my remedy. a slave who bears like the tulip a mark on his
These medicines no longer agree with this heart,
weak soul of mine: which his friends are unaware of,
their bitter taste and smell are unbearable. a slave who weeps like a reed,
My condition cannot be improved by these his soul almost burnt through constant songs.
medicines: I am like a half‐burnt piece of wood in the
at the very sight of them I cry like a child. desert,
I deceive myself by sugar‐coating them, the caravan has passed on, and I am still
the physicians laugh at me in their sleeves. burning.
I seek relief from you as did Busairi 3 , In this vast world
and pray that old days may come back again. perhaps another caravan one day appear.
Your kindness to sinners is great: My soul, afflicted with separation, cries
it is forgiving like a mother’s love. within me:
I am battling against the worshippers of O my lament! Ah me! Ah me!
darkness,
replenish my lamp with oil.
Your existence lends lustre to the world,
do not deny my soul a reflection from it.
You know that value of the body is due to soul, THE TRAVELLER
and the value of the soul is due to the reflection of
the Beloved! 4
I have no hope from other‐than‐God, BEING AN ACCOUNT OF A BRIEF VISIT TO
make of me either a sword or a key. AFGHANISTAN
I am quick in understanding the significance OCTOBER 1933
of religion;
the seed of action, however, has never
In the Name of Allah Almighty, the Most
sprouted out of my dust.
Beneficent and the Most Merciful

3 Iqbal’s note—Busairi, the author of the famous Nadir, the Afghan monarch, meek in the spirit
Qasidah Burdah, a poem in praise of the Holy like a dervish,
Prophet. It is related that his poem found blessings of God on his noble soul;
acceptance and the poet was relieved of paralysis. affairs of the nation sound by his sagacity,
4 Iqbal’s note—[the italicised verses are from] Rumi.
his sword protector of the luminous Faith; Khayhar is not unfamiliar with godly men;
like Abu Dhar melting himself in prayer, Its breast is full of thousand stories.
his blow in fight shattering rocks. I have seldom seen paths more intricate and
The time of Siddiq was renewed by his grace. criss cross,
the days of Farooq made afresh by his glory. the sight gets lost in their winding courses.
Bearer of anguish for the Faith like a tulip, Seek not grass in its barren crags,
in the night of the East his person a lamp; colour and scent arise not from its core.
in his sight the ecstasy of inspired men, It is a land whose partridges have the temper
the essence of his life charged with fervour. of a hawk;
Kingship, a sword, and dervish‐hood, the in its clime white fierce falcons with sharp
inner sight, talons,
both these are pearls from the sea of la Ilah! the leopard starts trembling by their fear.
Faqr and kingship are twin incidences of the But on account of lack of centrality, it is in a
Prophet. bad plight.
these are but effulgences of his charismatic Lacking order, it is imperfect and half‐baked.
self. No majesty of falcons in its people’s flight,
Both these powers spring from a believer’s Which is less even than that of pheasants.
self, Alas! this nation without the glow of life!
one is the Qayam and the other prostration. Its time is devoid of happenings;
Faqr is all feeling, pain, scalds and aspiration; one is lying prostrate and the other standing
its glory lies in rolling in blood, up,
Felicitations without end to the faqr of this its condition is just like a prayer without an
martyr. imam.
O breeze, O traveller with high speed; my Its flask shattered to pieces by its own stone;
winged Hermes, Alas! this parlous state — a today without the
blow softly in going round his grave; morrow.
the King is asleep, lay your feet softly,
open the knot of the bud even more gently. Address to people of the Frontier
I received a message from his glorious self, O you who are hidden to your own self,
which infused new life in me. It ran: discover yourself.
“I was burnt sere O! by your fiery lay, In the Islamic Faith concealment is taboo.
how happy the nation which knows your Know you the secret of the Prophet’s Deen?
intent.” Seeing one’s self explicitly is being right royal.
Our nation knows well your heart‐ache, What is the Deen? Finding out your self’s
we know from where these notes arise. secrets.
O you like lightning in the lap of our Life is sheer death without beholding your
clouds, self.
the East aglow and bright with your light, That Muslim who keens his self
Shine awhile on our mountains, selects himself only out of the whole world.
grant once again the same burning fever. He knows the very nature of the universe.
How long will you remain bound in He is the sword yclept: There is naught Existent
chains? except God.
You are a Moses, take to the path of Sinai.” Both space and hyper‐space are full of this
I passed over gardens and villas, plains and tumult;
terrains, barren and dry, the nine skies are straggling in its expanse.
stopping over hills and mountains like the So long as his heart is a secret out of the
breeze. secrets of God,
alack if he sees not his own self! your face crimson with refulgence divine.
The votary of God is heir to prophets, Be a man and move about the earth like a
he is not contained in the world of objects. steed,
In order that he should create another world, not like a dead corpse carried on the
he shatters this old, weather‐beaten one. shoulders.”
A live person is free from fealty to others than Complain little of the cerulean sky,
God, revolve not round anything except your sun.
There is a lamp lighted in him by the ego. Become aware of the lofty station of spiritual
His foot is firm in the srife between good and ardour.
bad; If a mere mote, become the hunter of the sun
his remembrance of God is the scimitar and and moon.
his contemplation the shield. Take measure of the present world
His morning is by a call which arises from the and raise aloft your voice therein.
depth of his soul, not by the light of the The coherence of this world is by unity alone,
orient sun. life herein means unity in this subterranean
His nature is sans directions in the midst of world.
dimensions; Leave off these scents and hues old,
his is the sanctuary round which the world purge yourself of antiquated aspirations.
revolves; All this stuff is not worth even a barley grain.
A particle from his path is the sun; Devise anew live aspiration, for life has its
the Book bears testimony to his lofty status. base therein.
His nature finds exposition by the millat Develop your identity by this aspiratin of
making his eye bright therewith. yours.
His eye is lustrous by this corporate body. The eye, ears and senses are all sharpened by
Be lost a bit in the Quran and Traditions, it.
O ignorant one! Then plunge into your own A pinch of dust gives rise to tulips thereby.
covert self. He who does not sow the seed of aspiration in
Lost you are in the world bewildered and his heart
confounded, becomes downtrodden by others like rocks
Losing your unity you are blown into bits. and stones.
The manacle of “other‐than‐God” binds your Aspiration is the wherewithal of kings and
feet. lords;
Alas, this mark of bondage on your forehead! it is the discerning cup of a mendicant.
Leader of the people, be afraid of this inner It is this turns water and clay—the physical
mischief; self—into a human being.
be afraid of the deterioration of the Afghan It is that which acquaints us with ourselves.
spirit. When a spark leaps up from our body’s dust,
Let me kindle you with the fire of godly folk it grants a mote the vast expanse of the sky.
teaching you by the precept of the master The son of Azar, Abraham, constructed the
saint Rumi. Ka‘bah,
“Seek livelihood from the Lord, not this thereby converting the earth to alchemy with
and that, just a glance.
seek stimulation from Him, not from You too build a self in your corporeal frame
hemlock and wine. and convert a pinch of dust of your self into
Seek not mud, eat it not and seek it not; alchemy.
for the mire is foul and always pale in hue.
Seek the heart so that you always remain
young,
The traveller enters Kabul and visits the Of earth earthly but purer than angels
late Martyr King luminous;
cognizant of both modesty and kingship.
The city of Kabul, its clime resembling In his sight the affairs of both East and West;
paradise; his sagacity knowing their secrets alike.
You get the Water of Life from the vein of its A king knowing subtle matters well like a
grapes, sage
the eye of poet acquires collyrium from its knowing the causes of rise and fall of nations.
precincts. He said, “with the fire that you have in mind,
Observe its jesamine beds in the darkness of I hold you as dear as my own son.
night: Anyone who bears scent and hue of love
you would say as if the dawn lolls on the is like Hashim and Mahmud in my eyes.”
carpet of its grass. I presented a copy of the glorious Quran
That city with the lovely climes in that to this noble Muslim as a gift.
hallowed land, I said this is the whole and sole substance of
its breeze is better far than that of Syria and men and God;
Rum. it contains the very essence of life in all its
Its water so glittering and earth radiant, absoluteness.
the dead earth springs into life with its Therein is the endpoint of all beginnings.
pleasant draughts. By virtue of it, Hyder threw open the gate of
Its excellence cannot fall into the grasp of Khyber.
words’ expressions, The intensity of my words ran into his blood.
suns upon suns lapped in sleep in its and tears upon tears trickled from his eyes in
mountains; serried train.
its inhabitants complacent and genial, He said, “I, Nadir, was a helpless one,
unware of their mettle like a sword. bewildered because of the sad plight of the
The royal palace named Dilkusha (Heart‐ Faith and homeland;
Ease), the dust on its way hills’ arid tracts were unaware of my
is like alchemy for those who come to it. perturbation,
I met the king in his lofty palace ignorant of my boundless sorrows.
—a poor fakir in the presence of a monarch. I raised cries with the note of the nightingale
His courteous nature opened wide the partals mixing my tears with the stream aflow in
of hearts, spring.
nothing in the way of ways and formalities of I had no solace except that of the Quran;
kings. its powers opened all doors to me.”
This humble one in the presence of that noble The words of that king of high lineage
king caused again an upsurge in me.
was like an insignificant person in the court of The call of noon prayer arose awhile
‘Umar the great caliph. which rids a believer of all limits.
My heart melt with the warmth of his hand, The climax of ardent love is nothing but
I kissed his hand out of humility. intense feeling,
A king pleasant of speech and plainly clad, so I performed the prayer in his lead.
hard in striving, mild of nature and warm‐ The secret of that standing and prostrating
hearted. cannot be told except to those who are close
Sincerity and frankness apparent from his associates.
looks.
Both Faith and realm firm in his person.
At the tomb of the heaven‐resting emperor by whose voice the hearts of men grew
Babur strong.
That seer of the unseen, man of high station
Come, for the harp of the West has fallen out by whose iteration Rumi’s passion rose to a
of tune. climax.
There is no note in its chords but only a wail. I exulted in the Present, he exulted in the
Time has a thousand times adorned old idols; Hidden,
I have not swerved from the Harem because it both having their wheewithal
has a firm foundation. from zest for the sight of sights.
The banner of the Ottomans has risen high He raised the veil from the face of Faith
again, and my thought indicated the destiny of a
I know not what has befallen the Timurids. believer.
How happy that your body has found rest Both learnt their lesson from Quranic
here. Wisdom.
For this land is free from the witchcraft of the He speaks of God while I speak of godly folk.
West. I felt afire in the tomb’s atmosphere
Kabul is a thousand times better than Delhi to such an extent that I became apprized of a
which has been the bride of so many cry.
bridegrooms. I said to him, “O you seer of the secrets of life,
I preserve the bloody tears in my eyes both this world and the other luminous to
because I am a poor fakir and this is God‐ you,
given wealth. our age is infatuated by material things
Although the High Priest of the Harem keeps symbolised by water and clay,
reciting la ilah, which raises problems without end for those
Where is the glance sharper than a steel godly.
blade? Leave aside what the believers suffered
at the hands of Western nations,
Visiting Ghazna and offering reverence to there has sprung up so much mischief in the
the sage San‘ai Harem even.
By the favour of the martyred King, Since the believers sight was not disciplined
my mornings and evenings were as pleasant by the heart,
as those of Eid. the glamour of the West bewitched his eyes.
Bard of the East, the Indian fakir, O you seer of the hidden, leader of the
was guest unto that monarch with saturn as knowing once,
throne. by whose beneficence the rawness of the seers
Ever since I moved from the royal city, became mature,
travelling became lighter for me than sojourn. whatever is there hidden behind the veil, let
I opened my breast to the breeze by which me know;
tulips had sprung up the past year in the may be the wave once past should come back
mountains. in the stream.
Alas! Ghazni, the home of learning and art,
the hunting ground of lion‐hunters of yore, San‘ai’s Spirit Speaks from Heaven
a beautiful bride of Mahmud’s realm, I came to know the knower of good and bad
of whose henna‐dyed adorners one was the by continence,
Sage of Tus. I became alive and deep of sight by
In it resting in eternal sleep the Ghaznavid sublimation.
sage too I mean that austerity which knows the way
and beholds God with the light of the self. her eyes riveted on the good and bad of the
It seeks la ilah within itself, uttering it beneath universe,
the sword. the hidden things unfolded to her sight.
Think of the inside and spin not around your I asked her what are you searching?
body like women. in search of whose warp and woof?
Fling the ball on the ground like men. She said: By the order of the gracious Lord,
Rulership in this world of water and clay, I am fashioning out a new Adam from the old
is bought by one drop of blood of the heart. earth.
Believers under this azure sky live She examined a pinch of dust in a hundred
by ardour and regaling. ways,
Know you not where from ardour and ecstasy turning over and over again, weighed and
arise? added to it.
These are but rays shot from the sun of the At last she imparted the hue and lustre of a
Prophet. tulip
You are alive so long as there is spirit in you. and cast la ilah in its core.
It is this that safeguards your faith. Wait till you see another spring arise,
Become aware of the secrets of your water more iridescent than the one bygone.
and clay Every time your antagonist resorts to
and then apply the alchemy of the heart to machinations
both comprising your physical system. so that you should not come by this
The art is the fountainhead of all power by the vegetating season.
faith I keep my eyes on the inside of the rose
and faith is a miracle of miracles of espirit de branch,
corps. and have seen a stir therein.
Seek not faith in books, O you ignorant one! We cannot prevent the tulips from blooming
Knowledge and wisdom come from books in the meadows, vales, mountains.
but faith arises from the heart. A man of sensitive type can hear
Bu Ali Sina knows only mere elements of the the note that is still in the throat.
body;
he knows not the ailments of the heart. At the Tomb of Sultan Mahmud
Cast away the sweet and bitter of Bu Ali, Cries arise from my heart in spite of all
the cure of the heart lies with the men of restraint,
heart. Alas! that city we had in the times past.
The Prophet is an ocean with surging waves, That city, those palaces, streets are all in ruin,
arise and enclose this river in your channel. That glory, splendour, magnificence a mere
You have for years twined around its shore, tale now.
but not seen the buffets of its lashing waves. The cupola, circumambulated by the lofty
Fling yourself in the river for a while sky,
so that the departed spirit should come back this is the grave of Sultan Mahmud.
to the body. He whose name a babe when weaned of
O Muslims, tread not any path save that of mother’s milk,
God first pronounced in the cradle.
and despair not of His general mercy. A consuming lightning his unsparing sword;
Leave off seclusion and seek manifestation. lands and climes aquiver on his onslaught.
so that the earth should quake by your Under the sky his flag a sign of God,
prostration. angels reciting the Quran on his grave.
I saw restless Nature the other day, My nimble fancy took me off from myself
that moving spirit of all that happens;
so that I did not remain in this world of late I saw mischief in this old abode;
and soon. there are mischiefs there within and without.
That sun arose in my breast by the effulgence Did this world come into existence with Your
of which device,
the hidden became manifest. or some other deity created it?
The sun on high prostrates before whose Its inside all peace but the outside all strife.
splendour; The hearts of sentient ones all shattered to
from his rays the past rises up. pieces.
I was rid of this world of eyes and ears There is no trace of sincerity and purity!
so that I clearly saw the past morning like Broken is the jar, and the saki no more!
today. Your eye is on the tulip‐faced ones of the
The city of Ghazna, a paradise of colour and West;
hue, man is bereft of freshness by whose sorcery?
with streams to aflow trilling out songs By what does this universe acquire order?
in the palaces and common streets. O you infatuated by the charm of idols,
Its palaces ranged row upon row, the godly man with luminous spirit,
the sky grazing with its cupolas. was alone Your vicegerent in this world.
I saw the bard of Tus in the royal assembly He is bound fast in the love of silver, kith and
and the army of Mahmud in the battlefield. kin.
My spirit strolled in the world of secrets Shatter this idol‐house if you can.
till a frenzied one woke me up. This Muslim whom does he worship? There’s
That fervour, that intensity and poignancy of not the least tumult in his soul.
his, His breast without feeling and spirit without
speaking like an audacious voluptuary. any clamour.
He sowed the seed of a tear in that He is an Israfil whose trumpet is dumb.
wilderness. His heart is unstable and soul palsied;
He was having a colloquy with God. his stuff is of no worth in this world.
Since I was not unaware of this secret, Infirm in the battle of life,
I was all afire with his voice’s heat. bearing idols in his sleeves.
Like the infidels he regards death as mortal.
Supplication of a frenzied one His fire is of little worth like dust.
Raise again a flame from his inert clay,
The tulip for getting just ray of the sun,
that very urge to search and search once
has such curveting within a branch!
more.
When the spring brings it out in the open,
Grant him again that inner verve,
it tells it to stay here for not more than a
that very manifold zest and zeal.
moment.
Make the East firm by his self,
Both life and death furnish gear to each other,
bring out a new morn from his cellar;
I know not whether one is better than the
split the Red Sea with his staff,
other.
let Caucasia Quake with his glory.
Life is a perpetual strife between the
unpleasant and pleasant.
Seeing the Prophet’s garb at Qandhar
Today’s hue and freshness spring from
yesterday’s blood. Qandhar, that place of paradisiac charm,
Alack this machination of morn and eve, Its dust the heart’s desire of men of heart.
alack! These hues, scents, waters!
These waters glittering like mercury!
O God, the contriver of body and soul, Tulips in the coign of the mountains.
this frenzied one has to say a word to You.
fires frozen within pomegranates. and love a matchless sword.
Its streets the streets of the friend for us, He is the destination of the caravan of ardour,
O camel‐driver, set the litter for the beautiful we are but a pinch of dust and he the heart
one. thereof.
I sing again of the mates of Najd To see his outside is our asra’,
and bring the dromedary into ecstasy with and in his inner self is our Aqsa.
my chant. From his garment I sensed his perfume;
he gave us the shout of Allah‐hu.
Ghazal
What did my reckless love do to my heart?
I come from the temple of Magians Whatever tempestuous wine to the flask.
intoxicated with the passing of wine. It leapt in the breast because of wild rapture
I was inebriate with the wine of illa in the till it rushed out of the eyes.
state of la. It said: I am Gabriel and radiant light;
I know his eyes perceive the capacity of every I never saw him like this before.
person, It recited lines from Rumi, laughed and wept,
the saki has made me ecstatic by his O God! who is this sage gone wild?
blandishment and beckoning. It talked to me so volubly in the sanctuary,
talking of wine, Magian pages and wine cups.
It is time I should again open the tavern of I asked it what audacious words these be;
Rumi: close your lips for this is a solemn occasion.
I have seen the custodian of the Harem I have nurtured you with my blood and made
intoxicated in the churchyard. you fit
It is not the work of a philosopher, catch hold for raising a morning sigh.
of the hem of a Moses, who conversed with Note again this point you who understand,
God. the love of disciplined lovers is naught but
A hundred persons enrapt with the shore and restraint.
but one tipsy with the river. It said: Reason and restraint are a blight for
the heart,
I took my heart to the garden where it became ecstasy and frenzy are its nature.
numb with the breeze It raised shouts upon shouts till it fell into
It dies in a park, this tulip stimulated by the prostration;
desert! there was only the flame of its voice but itself
From his delightful words, the secrets of the no more!
Harem shine out:
I saw a mini‐infidel yesterday intoxicated in At the Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Baba
the valley of Bat’ha. Founder of the Afghan Nation
Is this Sinai or Faran? O God, what is this The grave of that enlightened king
place? from whose self a nation arose;
Each particle of my dust is an eye lost in its dome is regarded as a sanctuary by the
beholding the garment of that Interstice that sky,
cannot be crossed. like Fateh, conquerer of Constantinople,
I behold in his saying—For me two garbs this stalwart fighter struck coins in the realm
Continence and Jihad; of poetry even;
Both his Faith and system expositions of the angels invoke blessings on his grave.
whole; By the munificent heart and pearl‐scattering
on his forehead inscribed the destiny of all. hand he had,
Intellect made him knower of secrets, he acquired realms and gave them away
without taking any thought. A connoisseur, a I know well this rare sword is that of Nadir,
seer and wielder what shall I say, its nature is evident.
of the sword, his soul fell into talk with me. I have brought a word of love, accept it from
He said: I know where you stand, me.
your high station; your song is alchemy for learn from a fakir the secret of kingship.
denizens of the earth.
O you whose sight is sharper than that of a
Stocks and stones acquire a heart from your
falcon,
bounty,
look at the God‐given land.
the Sinai of the heart is bright with your
What we see is by whose dispensation?
speech.
What is it that ought to be but is not?
O you knower of the Friend’s street, come to
Days and nights are a reflection of our
me,
endeavours;
and stay awhile, for you hear the smell of the
these are the mirror of our destiny.
beloved.
I tell you, O stubborn young man,
Happy he who made the self his mirror
what is the future but a child of today
and in that recognised the world.
the sky fold upon fold revolves around him?
This earth and the sky have grown old,
He is the glory of the world of hue and scent,
the moon has become blind because of the
the day gone by, today and morrow, all are
indifference of the sun.
his.
There is need of the heat of commotion now
A votary of God is the soul and substance of
so that the pristine hue and scent should come
day and night
back.
because he is the star governing his destiny.
A true believer acts like Israfil
A discerning person, chief of the nation,
whose trumpet shatters every thing old.
no sword is sharper than his sight;
O you whom God has granted a restless
we are all quarries but he is not.
spirit,
By the thought of this seasoned one
you know the secrets of rulership and Faith,
events quake in the womb of time.
tell, O tell the son of Nadir patently;
Accomplished men befriend like your father,
disclose what is in your mind to Zahir
and those who have a deep insight.
unreservedly.
Like that departed one be wide awake,
striving hard, spirited and intrepid.
Address to the King of Islam, Do you know what is meant by Karrar (knight
Zahir Shah veteran)?
—may God bless him with help It is one of the high stations of Ali.
For nations in this ephemeral world, life is not
O you on whom the robe of kingship fits well,
possible
your shadow is like alchemy for our dust.
without this indispensable sterling quality.
Your self a standard for ruler‐ship;
Look at the annals of the Ottomans
your majesty a fortress for the realm and
who lapped at the bled hands of the
state.
Europeans.
Through you, O the wherewithal of Victory,
Since they possessed material spirit,
Ahmad Shah’s throne has acquired new
they flew their banner in the world once
glory.
more.
Let the breasts without your love be barren;
Why did the Mussulmans of India lose
bereft of heart and aspiration.
ground?
The bright sword you wear round your waist,
Their mettle lacked the stimulus of fighting
even midnight turns into morning with its
spirit.
sheen.
Their pinch of dust waxed so cold that my for believers one is all grace and the other
fiery muse bore no effect on them. majesty.
The spirit and thought of Nadir are in your The knowledge of things is not European in
blood. origin,
Sternness with geniality pervades you. its root is the zest for invention.
O you the lustre of the eyes of young and old, If you see well, it owes its existence to the
learn the knack of handling things from Muslims,
Hashim and Mahmud, this pearl has fallen from our hands.
as also from that man with whom the voice of When the Arabs spread their wings in the
truth West,
rang aloud in hills and plains—Wali. they laid a new foundation for learning and
We can be restless day and night and create a knowledge.
new age. The seed was sown by these dwellers of the
There are a hundred worlds still in the Quran, desert,
burn yourself a little in the flames of its but the harvest was reaped by the Europeans.
verses. This fairy sprang from the glass of our
Give again the Afghans a new fiery spirit, ancestors;
give their time a New Year’s day. win her again because she hailed from our
A nation lost in hills and cliffs. Caucasia.
I have observed a new thing in its forehead. But get away from a faithless civilisation
Since there was an intense feeling in me, because it is at war with men of God.
God has made me aware of its destiny. This mischief‐monger brings forth mischief,
I have carefully scanned its affairs bringing back the idols Lat and Uzza to the
and perceived clearly what is hidden. Ka‘bah.
A man out in the field remains alive with By its sorcery the eye of the heart is made
Allah‐hu, blind;
under his feet lies the world of four the spirit dies of thirst for lack of water.
directions. It takes away the joy of restlessness of the
A person who does not bind himself to other‐ heart,
than‐God, nay, the heart itself from the body!
can break a stone with his glass. An old thief, it loots with open hands, the
He cannot be contained in this limited world tulip wails where is my dot?
of what and how much.
Let God grant you the zest for the Presence–
Brand not this river by calling it a bank.
I tell you again what I said in the Persian
When this masterly person removes the veil
Psalms: 5
from his face,
“Living and dying, O discerning one, are
he is himself the reckoning, the reward, the
but arbitrary categories;
chastisement.
A deaf person is dead in respect of sound,
Our whole and sole is the Book and its knowing not what it means.
wisdom; He is senseless to sound.
both these powers form the glory of the millat. A blind man goes into ecstasy on hearing a
The Book spells the victories of the world of harp,
ardent inspiration, but he is as good as dead before colour.
this, the wisdom, determines the success of The spirit is alive and endures with God;
this world of above and below.
Both are the bounties of the eternal God;
5 We have changed the translator’s Zabur to the
expression more well‐known in English.
otherwise it is dead for this and living for and explained the meaning of Divine Colour.
that. I have imparted a feeling into the Muslims,
He who is Living without death is God; providing moisture to an old branch.
to live with God is life absolute. My passion has the mark of life,
He who lives without God is nothing but a the intellect acquires lustre from my wine.
corpse, Who has said moving words to the Muslims?
although no one laments him.” I cried like a flute in hills and plains
until my position became clear to me.
Benefit from the Quran if you want to endure,
I learnt the word of passion and became afire,
I have seen the Water of Life therein.
I lighted again the extinguished fire.
It gives the message of Fear not,
I have been given a sigh of the morning.
and takes us to this very end‐point.
granting the might of a mountain to a straw.
The power of the kings and chiefs arises from
I bear the light of la ilah in my breast,
la ilah;
my wine owes its bracing effect to it.
the awe of fakir arises from it.
My thought is sky‐traversing by conferment,
So long as we had the sword of la and illa,
My stream is averse to the bank thereby.
we left no trace of other‐than‐God.
Therefore take one or two cups from my
The East is bright with my flame;
brew.
happy he who lives in my age.
so that you should shine like an unsheathed
Have your share from my flaming self,
sword.
for no fakir like me will come forth after me!
I have strung the pearls of the Quran

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