How the Prophet, on whom be peace, appointed a youth of Hudhayl to be commander of an expeditionary force in which there were elders and veteran warriors.
The Prophet
was sending a force
to fight against the unbelievers and
repel insolence.
He chose a youth of Hudhayl and
appointed him commander of the army
and leader of the cavalry.
The foundation of an army is unquestionably the chief in command: a people without a chief are a body
without a head.
1995. That you are (spiritually) dead
and decrepit—all this
is because you have abandoned the chief.
On account of laziness
and avarice and
egoism you are drawing
your head
back (behaving in
a
headstrong manner) and making yourself the head.
(You are) like the beast
that flees from
the burden: it takes its head
(goes its own way) into the mountains.
Its master is running
after it, crying, “O giddy-headed one, on every side there is a wolf in
quest of an ass.
If you disappear
now from mine
eye, the mighty
wolf will approach
you from every direction.
2000. He will
chew your bones like sugar, so that
you wilt never see
life again.
(Or) do not suppose
that (immediate destruction); at any rate
you wilt be left without fodder:
fire is (finally) extinguished
by lack
of
faggots.
Beware! Do not
flee from my
control and from
the heaviness of the burden,
for I am thy
(rational) soul.”
You also are a beast
(of burden), for your carnal soul predominates: the predominant
(quality)
determines (a thing's
nature), O worshipper of self.
The Almighty did not call you an ass,
He called you a horse: the
Arabs say to the
Arab horse
“ta‘ál” (“come”).
2005. Mustafá (Mohammed) was God's stable-overseer for the
beasts, (which
are) the iniquitous carnal soul.
Moved by lovingkindness,
He (God) said,
“Say, ‘ta‘álaw (come ye), to the end
that I may train
you: I am
the
trainer.’”
(The Prophet said),
“Since I have
trained the carnal souls, I have suffered many
kicks from these beasts.
Wherever there is one fond
of training, he has no
means of avoiding kicks.
Of necessity the
most affliction falls
on the prophets,
for
it is an affliction
to
give training to the
raw (ignorant).
2010. Ye are
stumbling along: at my word (in obedience to my command)
go at a jog-trot, that ye may
become gentle and be suitable
for the king to ride.
The Lord said, ‘Say, Come ye, say, Come ye, O beasts that have
shied away from discipline.
If they come
not, O Prophet,
be not grieved: be not
full of hatred
on account of
those twain without steadfastness.’”
The ears of some are
deaf to these (cries of) ta‘álaw: every beast has a different stable. Some
are put to flight by this call: the stall of every horse is separate.
2015. Some are
chagrined by this story, for every bird
has a separate cage.
Even the
angels too were not peers: for
this reason they formed
diverse
ranks in Heaven. Children, though they are at one (the same) school,
surpass each other in (their) lessons.
Sense-perceptions are possessed by Easterner and Westerner,
(but) the function of sight belongs
to the ocular sense
(alone).
Though a hundred thousand
ears be arrayed in
rank, they all are in need of the clear eye.
2020. Again, the ranks of ears have a (special)
function
in respect of
hearing the (words
of the) Spirit and the
Traditions (of the Prophet)
and the Revelation.
A hundred thousand eyes do not possess that avenue
(faculty): no eye is acquainted with hearing.
Similarly, enumerate each
sense, one by
one: each one is removed
from (incapable
of
doing) the work of
another.
The five external
and the five internal
senses are (arrayed) in ten
ranks in the standing posture of the (angels) ranked (for worship of God).
Any one who
(disobediently)
draws back from
the rank of
(the true) religion
will go into the
rank that is behind.
2025. Do not make little of the (Divine) Word ta‘álaw (come ye): this Word is an exceedingly great elixir.
If a copper
(a base person)
turn away in repugnance from
your saying (this Word), by
no means
withhold the elixir from him.
If his magician-like soul has bound
(cast a spell upon)
him at the present
time, (yet) your
saying
will profit
him in
his latter end.
O slave
(of God), say, Come ye, say, Come ye: take heed,
for
verily God inviteth unto the (Abode of) Peace.
Then come back, sire, from egoism and
headship: seek a leader,
do not desire leadership.
How an objector objected to the Prophet's—on whom be peace— appointing the man of Hudhayl to
be commander.
2030. When the
Prophet appointed a leader
from (the tribe of) Hudhayl for the army
whose troops were Divinely aided,
An insolent fellow,
through envy, could not endure
(to keep silence): he raised objection and
opposition.
Behold humankind,
how dark (unenlightened) they
are,
and how they are perishing
in (desire for) a perishable
piece of goods.
On account of pride
they all are in separation (from God), dead
to the spirit,
living in
deception.
It is wonderful that the spirit is in prison, and
then (all that time) the key of the prison is in its
hand!
2035. That youth (the spirit)
is plunged in dung
from head to foot, (whilst) the flowing river is
(almost) touching
his skirt!
(He is) always moving restlessly
from side to side beside the
place of repose and the couch where he might recline!
The (Divine) light is hidden, and search
is the evidence (of its existence),
for the heart
(spirit)
does not seek
shelter in
vain.
If this world's prison had no refuge,
neither would there be any
feeling of aversion nor would the heart seek release.
Thy aversion is dragging you along,
like a custodian, saying, “O man astray, seek the path
of righteousness.”
2040. The path is there, but it is hidden
in a secret place:
its discovery is in
pawn to
(involves) seeking in vain (before it can be found).
Separation is secretly in
quest of union: in this seeker do you discern
the face of the sought.
The dead (trees
and plants)
of
the orchard spring up from
the root, saying,
“Perceive the
Giver of life!”
How should the
eyes of these
prisoners (of the
world) be always
(fixed) on
(what lies) beyond, if
there were
no bringer of the good news (of
deliverance)?
How should there be a hundred
thousand befouled ones seeking
water, if there
were no water in the river?
2045. (If) there
is no rest for your side upon the earth,
(yet) know
that there is a coverlet
and mattress at home.
Without (there
being) a resting-place there would not
be
the restless (seeker); without
(there being) that
which takes away the headache
of intoxication,
there would not be this headache.
He (the objector)
said, “Nay, nay, O Messenger of God,
do
not appoint any but an old Shaykh
to be chief of the
army.
O Messenger of God, (even) if the youth is lion-born (heroic), may none
but an old man be
head of the army!
You too have said, and your word is (a true) witness,
‘The leader must be old, must be old.’
2050. O Messenger
of God, look on
this army,
(in which) there are so many
elders and
(persons) superior to
him.”
Do not regard the yellow leaves of this tree, (but)
pick its ripe apples.
How, in sooth, are its yellow leaves void (of worth)? This is the sign of maturity and perfection. The yellow leaf
of the (elder's)
beard and his white hair bring
tidings of joy on account of
his
mature intelligence.
The newly-arrived green-coloured
leaves signify that this fruit is unripe.
2055. The provision
of leaflessness (spiritual poverty)
is the sign of being a gnostic; the yellowness of gold is the (cause of the) money-changer's ruddiness of face (cheerful
countenance).
If he that
(still) is rosy-cheeked has
fresh down (on his face), (yet) he has just begun to
learn writing in the
school of knowledge.
The letters of his handwriting are very crooked (misshapen): he is a cripple in respect
of intelligence, though his body moves with agility.
Although an old man's feet
are deprived of
rapid movement, his intelligence has gotten two
wings and has sped to the zenith.
If you wish for an example (of this), look at Ja‘far: God gave him wings instead of hands and
feet.
2060. Cease from
(speaking of) gold (pallor), for this topic
is
recondite: this heart of mine
has become agitated like quicksilver.
From within me a hundred sweet-breathing silent ones put their hands on their lips, signifying, “It is enough.”
Silence is the sea, and speech is like
the river. The
sea is seeking you: do
not seek the river.
Do not
turn your head away
from the indications given by the
sea: conclude (the subject)—and
God best knoweth
the right course.
That irreverent (objector) made no pause
in the words (which he poured
forth) in this
fashion from
those cold (insipid) lips (of his) in the presence
of the Prophet.
2065. Words were assisting
(did not fail)
him, (but)
he was ignorant
that hearsay (traditional knowledge) is mere
babble in the presence
of sight (immediate
vision).
Indeed, these matters of
hearsay are (only) a substitute for sight: they are not for him who is present, (but) for him who is
absent.
Whoever has been
caused to attain unto sight,
before him these matters of hearsay
are idle.
When you have sat down
beside your
beloved, after
this banish the dallálas (the old
women who act as go-betweens).
When any
one
has passed beyond childhood and
has become a man, the letter
and the dallála
become irksome
to him.
2070. He reads
letters, (but
only) for the
purpose of teaching (others); he utters
words, (but only) for the purpose
of making (others) understand.
It is wrong to speak by
hearsay in the
presence of those
who see (who are
endowed with vision), for it is a proof of our
heedlessness and
deficiency.
In the presence
of the seer silence is to your advantage:
on this account came (from
God) the allocution, Be ye silent.
If he (the
seer) bid you speak, speak gladly,
but say little and
do not draw
out (your words) to length;
And if he bid you draw them
out to length, speak with the same
modesty (as
before) and comply with his command,
2075. Even as I (am complying)
now, in this goodly enchantment (this enchanting poem), with (the
command of) Ziyá’u
’l-Haqq (the Radiance of God) Husámu’ddín.
When I am
cutting short (my discourse) concerning (the Way of)
righteousness, he draws
me on to speak by a hundred kinds (of contrivance).
O Husámu’ddín, Radiance of the Almighty, inasmuch as you art seeing, why do you seek
speech (from
me)?
Perchance this demand (on
your part) may arise from (your)
love for the
Desired One, (as the poet said), “Give me wine to drink and tell me that it is (wine).”
At this moment
His cup is at your mouth, (but
thy) ear says, “Where
is the ear's portion?”
2080. (O ear),
your portion is the heat
(of love): lo, you art heated
and intoxicated.
It
replied, “My greed is greater
than this.”
How Mustafá,
on whom be
peace, answered the objector.
When that Arab carried
disputation
beyond bounds in the presence of
sweettempered Mustafá,
That king of Wa ’l-Najm and that sultan
of ‘Abas bit his lip
(in
anger) and said to the silly prater, “Enough!”
He was putting his hand on
his (the
objector's) mouth to prevent
him, (as though
to say), “How long wilt you speak
in the presence of one who knows the occult?”
You have brought dry ordure to
one endowed with vision, saying, “Buy this instead of a musk-
bag.”
2085. O you of stinking
brain and stinking
marrow, you placest camel's dung beneath
your nose and sayest, “Oh, delicious!”
O squinting
crazy fool,
you have exclaimed in delight, “Oh, oh,” that
your bad wares may find a
ready sale,
And that you mayst deceive that pure
organ of (spiritual) smell, that which
pastures in the
celestial rose-garden.
Though his (the
saint's) forbearance has
feigned to be
stupid, one must know one's self a little. If to-night
the mouth of the cooking-pot is left open,
yet the cat
must have discretion.
2090. If that glorious one
(the saint) has
feigned to
be
asleep, he is (really)
very much awake: do not
carry off his turban.
How long, O
contumacious man devoid
of (spiritual)
excellence,
wilt you utter these Devil's
enchantments in
the presence of God's elect one?
This company (of
the
elect) have a hundred
thousand forbearances, every one
of
which is
(immovable) as a hundred mountains.
Their forbearance makes a fool
of
the wary and causes the keen-witted man with a hundred
eyes to lose his way.
Their forbearance, like
fine choice wine,
mounts by nice degrees
up to the brain.
2095. Behold the man drunken with that marvellous (earthly) wine: the drunken man has begun to move crookedly like the queen (in chess).
From (the
effect of) that
quickly-catching wine the
(vigorous)
youth is falling in the middle of the road, like an aged man.
Especially (consider the effect of)
this (spiritual) wine
which
is from the
jar of Balá—not the wine whereof the intoxication lasts (only) one night;
(But) that (wine)
from which, (by drinking it) at dessert
and in migration (from
place to place), the Men of the Cave (the
Seven Sleepers) lost
their reason
for
three hundred
and nine years. The women of Egypt drank
one cup of
that (wine) and cut
their hands to pieces.
2100. The magicians (of Pharaoh)
too had the intoxication of
Moses: they deemed the gallows to be their
beloved.
Ja‘far-i Tayyár was drunken
with that wine:
therefore, being
beside himself, he was pawning
(sacrificing) his feet
and hands (for God's sake).
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