How Qábíl (Cain) learned the trade of grave-digging from the crow (raven), before knowledge of grave-digging and graves existed in the world.
When was grave-digging, which was
the meanest trade (of all), (acquired)
from thought and cunning and meditation?
If Qábíl
had possessed this understanding, how should he have placed (the body of) Hábíl (Abel)
on his head?—
Saying, “Where shall I hide this murdered
one, this man bestained
with blood and
earth?”
He espied a crow which had
taken up a dead crow in
its mouth and
was
approaching (ever) so
quickly.
1305. It came down
from the air and began
skilfully
to
dig a grave for it
(the dead crow)
for the purpose of teaching
(him).
Then with
its talons it raised dust from
the ground and speedily
put the dead crow in
the
grave. It buried it, then it covered
it with earth: the
crow was endowed
with knowledge
through the inspiration
(given) of God.
Qábíl cried,
“Oh, fie on my intellect!
for a crow is superior to me in skill.”
Concerning the Universal Intellect
He (God) has said, “The sight did not rove (má zágh),” (but)
the particular intellect is
looking in every direction.
1310. The Intellect whose sight does not rove (‘aql-i má zágh) is the light
of the elect; the crow-intellect (‘aql-i zágh) is
the
sexton for the (spiritually) dead.
The spirit that flies after crows—the
crow carries it towards the
graveyard.
Beware! Do not run in pursuit
of the crow-like fleshly soul,
for it carries (you)
to the graveyard,
not towards the orchard.
If you go, go in
pursuit of the ‘Anqá of the
heart, towards the Qáf and
Farther Mosque of the
heart.
Every moment
from your cogitation a new plant is growing
in your Farther Mosque.
1315. Do thou, like Solomon,
give it its due: investigate it, do not lay upon it the foot of rejection,
Because the various sorts of plants declare to you the (inward)
state of this firm-set earth. Whether in the earth
there are sugar-canes or only (common)
reeds, every
earth (soil) is interpreted by its plants.
Therefore the heart's soil, whereof thought was (ever) the plant—(those) thoughts have revealed
the heart's secrets.
If I find in the company
him that draws
the discourse (from me towards
himself), I,
like the garden, will grow hundreds
of thousands
of
roses;
1320. And if at that time I find
(there) the scoundrel who kills the discourse,
the
deep sayings will
flee, like a
thief, from my heart.
The movement of every one is towards the
Drawer: the true
drawing is not like
the false drawing.
Sometimes you art going astray,
sometimes aright: the cord is not visible,
nor
He who is drawing you.
You art a blind
camel, and your toggle is in (His) keeping: do
you regard the act of drawing, do not
regard your toggle.
If the Drawer and the toggle
became perceptible
(to
the senses), then this
world
would
no longer
remain the abode of heedlessness
(delusion).
1325. (If) the infidel saw that he was going after a cur and was being made
subject to the hideous Devil,
How should he go at its heels like a catamite (base sycophant)? The infidel
too would step back.
If the cow were acquainted with the
butchers, how should she follow
them to that (butcher's) shop,
Or eat bran
from their hands,
or give them milk
on account of (their)
coaxing (her)?
And if she
ate, how should
the
fodder be digested by her, if she were
aware of the purpose
of the fodder?
1330. Heedlessness (delusion),
then, is in sooth
the pillar (support) of
this world: what is dawlat (worldly fortune)?
for
this dawádaw (running to and
fro) is (accompanied) with lat (blows).
The
beginning thereof is daw, daw (run, run);
in the end (it is) lat khwar (suffer blows): the death
of the ass is not (occurring) except in this wilderness.
Whenever you have earnestly taken a work in
hand, its faultiness has become
veiled to you at
this moment.
You art able to give
yourself up to the
work, (only) because
the Creator veils
its faultiness from you.
Likewise, (with)
every thought in which you art hot (eager),
the faultiness of
that thought of
thine has become hidden from you.
1335. If its faultiness and disgrace
were made visible to
you, your soul would flee from it (as
far
as) the distance
between east and
west.
The state (of
mind) in which
at last you repentest of it (of a
faulty action)—if this should
be your state (of mind) at first, how wouldst you run (for the sake of that
action)?
Therefore He (God) at first
veiled (the real nature of) that from
our souls, in order that
we might
perform that
action in accordance with the Divine destiny.
When the Divine destiny
brought its ordainment into view,
the eye was
opened, so that repentance arrived.
This repentance is another (manifestation of the) Divine destiny: abandon this repentance,
worship
God!
1340. And
if you make (it) a habit
and become addicted to repentance, because of this
(habitual) repentance you wilt
become more repentant.
One half of your life will pass in distraction
and the other half
will pass in
repentance.
Take leave of this (anxious) thought and
repentance: seek a
better (spiritual) state
and friend and work.
And if you have no better work in
hand, then for
the omission of what (work) is
your repentance?
If you knowest the good way, worship
(God);
and if you do not know (it), how do
you know that this way
(in which you art going)
is
evil?
1345. You do not know evil till you knowest good: (only) from (one) contrary is it possible to discern (the
other) contrary, O
youth.
Since (as you sayest) you wert
rendered impotent to abandon the thought of this (repentance),
at that time you wert also impotent to commit
sin.
Since you wert impotent (to commit sin), on account
of what is your repentance? Inquire concerning impotence,
by whose pull (exertion
of power) is it (produced)?
No one has seen impotence in the world without power,
nor will it
(ever) be (so).
Know this (for
sure).
Similarly, (with) every desire that you cherishest, you art debarred from
(perceiving) its faultiness;
1350. And if the viciousness of that desire had
been shown, your soul of its
own accord would
have recoiled from
seeking (to gratify
it).
If He (God) had
shown unto you the
faultiness of that work,
no one, dragging (you)
along (by
force), would
have taken you in
that direction;
And (as regards)
that other work from which you art
exceedingly averse, the reason is that
its faultiness has come into
clear view.
O God who knowest the secret and
who art gracious in speech, do not hide from us the
faultiness of the evil work;
(And) do not
show unto us the faultiness of the good work, lest we
become cold
(disgusted) and distracted from journeying (in
the
Way).
1355. According to that (aforesaid) habit, the exalted Solomon went into the Mosque in the brightness (of dawn).
The king
was seeking (to observe) the daily rule
of
seeing the new plants in the Mosque. The heart with that
pure eye (which
it possesses) sees occultly the
(spiritual) herbs that are invisible to the vulgar.
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