ASRAR-I-KHUDI
(The Secrets of the Self)

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal

Translated
from the original Persian with
introduction and notes
by
Reynold A. Nicholson

INTRODUCTION

THE Asrar-i-Khudi was first published at Lahore in 1915. I read it soon afterwards and thought so highly of it that I wrote to Iqbal, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at Cambridge some fifteen years ago, asking leave to prepare an English translation. My proposal was cordially accepted, but in the meantime I found other work to do, which caused the translation to be laid aside until last year. Before submitting it to the reader, a few remarks are necessary concerning the poem and its author-"

Iqbal is an Indian Muslim. During his stay in the West he studied modem philosophy, in which subjects he holds degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Munich. His dissertation on the development of metaphysics in Persia-an illuminating sketch-appeared as a book in 1908. Since then he has developed a philosophy of his own, on which I am able to give some extremely interesting notes communicated by himself. Of this, however, the Asrar-i-Khudi gives no systematic account, though it puts his ideas in a popular and attractive form. While the Hind a philosophers, in explaining the doctrine of the unity of being, addressed themselves to the head, Iqbal, like the Persian poets who teach the same doctrine, takes a more dangerous course and aims at the heart. He is no mean poet, and his verse can rouse or persuade even if his logic fail to convince. His message is not for the Mohammedans of India alone, but for Muslims everywhere: accordingly he writes in Persian instead of Hindustani a happy choice, for amongst educated Muslims there are many familiar with Persian literature, while the Persian language is singularly well-adapted to express philosophical ideas in a style at once elevated and charming.

Iqbal comes forward as an apostle, if not to his own age, then to posterity

"I have no need of the ear of To-day. 
I am the voice of the poet of To-morrow"

and after Persian fashion he invokes the Saki to fill his cup with wine and pour moonbeams into the dark night of his thought.

That I may lead home the wanderer. 
And imbue the idle looker-on with restless impatience. 
And advance hotly on a new quest. 
And become known as the champion of a new spirit."

Let us begin at the end. What is the far-off goal on which his eyes are fixed? The answer to that question will discover his true character, and we shall be less likely to stumble on the way if we see whither we are going. Iqbal has drunk deep of European literature, his philosophy owes much to Nietzsche and Bergson, and his poetry; often remians us of Shelly ; yet he thinks and feels as a Muslim, and just for this reason his influence may be great. He is a religious enthusiast, inspired by the vision of a New Mecca, a world-wide, theocratic, Utopian state in which all Muslims, no longer divided by the barriers of race and country, shall be one. He will have nothing to do with nationalism and imperialism. -These, he says, "rob us of Paradise": they make us strangers to each Other, destroy feelings of brotherhood, and sow the bitter seed of war. He dreams of a world ruled by religion, not by politics, and condemns Machiavelli, that "worshipper of false goods," who has blinded so many. It must be observed that when he speaks of religion he always means Islam. Non-Muslims are simply unbelievers, and (in theory, at any rate) the Jihad is justifiable, provided that it is waged "for God's sake alone." A free and independent Muslim fraternity, having the Ka'ba as its centre and knit together by love of Allah and devotion to the Prophet-such is lqbal's ideal. In the Asrar-i-Khudi and the' Ramuz-i-Bekhudi lie preaches it with a burning sincerity which we cannot but admire, and at the same time points out how it may be attained. The former poem deals with the life of the individual Muslim, the latter with the life of the Islamic community.

The cry "Back to the Koran! Back to Mohammad!" has been heard before, and the responses have hitherto been somewhat discouraging. But on this occasion it is allied with the revolutionary force of Western philosophy, which Iqbal hopes and believes will vitalise the movement and ensure its triumph. He sees that Hindu intellectualism and Islamic pantheism have destroyed the capacity for action, based on scientific observation and interpretation of phenomena, which distinguishes the Western peoples "and especially the English." Now; this capacity depends ultimately on the conviction that Khudi (selfhood, individuality, personality) is real and is not merely an illusion of the mind. Iqbal, therefore, throws himself with all his might against idealistic philosophers and pseudo-mystical poets, the authors, in his opinion, of the decay prevailing in Islam, and argues that only by self affirmation, self-expression, and self development can the Muslims once more become strong and -free. He appeals from the alluring raptures of Hafiz to the moral fervour of Jalalu'd din Rumi, from an Islam sunk in Platonic contemplation to the fresh and vigorous monotheism which inspired Mohammed and brought Islam into existence-² Here, perhaps, I should guard against a possible misunderstanding Iqbal's philosophy is religious, but the does not treat philosophy as the handmaid of religion. Holding that the full development of the individual presupposes a society, he finds the ideal society in what he considers to be the Prophet's conception of Islam. Every Muslim, in striving to make himself a more perfect individual, is helping to establish the-Islamic kingdom of God upon earth.³

The Asrar-i-Khudi is composed in the metre and modelled on the style of the famous Masnavi. In the prologue lqbal relates how Jalalu'd din Rumi, who is to him almost what Virgil was to Dante, appeared in a vision and bade him arise and sing. Much as be dislikes the type of Sufism exhibited by Hafiz, he pays homage to the pure and profound genius of Jalalu'ddin, though he rejects the doctrine of self-abandonment taught by the great Persian mystic and does not accompany him in his pan theistic Rights.

To European readers the Asrar-i Khudi presents certain obscurities which no translation can entirely remove. These lie partly in the form and would not be felt, as a rule, by any one conversant with Persian poetry. Often, however, the ideas themselves, being associated with peculiarly Oriental ways of thinking, are hard for our minds to follow. I am not sure that I have always grasped the meaning or rendered it correctly; but I hope that such errors are few, thanks to the assistance so kindly given me by my friend Muhammad Shafi, now Professor of Arabic at Lahore, with whom I read the poem and discussed many points of difficulty. Other questions of a more fundamental character have been solved for me by the author himself. At my request he drew up a statement of his philosophical- views on the problem touched and suggested in the book. I will give it in his own words as nearly as possible. It is not, of course, a complete statement, and was written, as he says, "in a great hurry," but apart from its power and originality it elucidates the poetical argument for better than any explanation that could have been offered by me.

1. THE PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS OF THE ASRAR-I-KHUDI

'The experience should take place in finite centres and should wear the form of finite this-ness is in the end inexplicable.' These are the words of Prof. Bradley. But starting- with these inexplicable centres of experience, he ends in a unity which -he calls Absolute and in which the finite centres lose their finiteness and distinctness. According to him, therefore, the finite centre is only an appearance. The test of reality, in his opinion is all-inclusiveness; and since all finiteness is 'infected with relativity, it follows that the latter is a mere illusion. To my mind, this inexplicable finite centre of experience is the fundamental fact of the universe. All life is individual; there is no such thing as universal life. God himself is an individual: He is the most unique individual.⁴ The universe, as Dr. McTaggart says, is an -association of individual ; but we must add that the orderliness and adjustment which we find in this association is not eternally achieved and complete in itself. it is the result of instinctive or conscious effort. We are gradually travelling from chaos to cosmos and are helpers in this achievement. Nor are the members of the association fixed; new members are ever coming to birth to co-operate in the great task. Thus the universe is not a completed act: it is still in the course of formation. There can be no complete truth about the universe, for the universe has not yet become 'whole.' The process of creation is still going on, and man too takes his share in it, inasmuch as he helps to bring order into at least a portion or the chaos. The Koran indicates the possibility of other creators than God.⁵

"Obviously this view of man and the universe is opposed to that of the English Neo-Hegelians as well as to all forms of pantheistic Sufiism which regard absorption in a universal life or soul as the final aim and salvation of man.⁶ The moral and religious ideal of man is not self-negation but self-affirmation, and he attains to this ideal by becoming more and more individual, more and more unique. The Prophet said, 'Takhallaqu bi-akhlaq Allah,' 'Create in yourselves the attributes of God.' Thus man becomes unique by becoming more and more like the most unique Individual. What then is life? It is individual : its highest form, so far, is the Ego (Khudi) in which the individual becomes a self contained exclusive centre. Physically as well as spiritually man is a self-contained centre, but he is not yet a complete individual. The greater his distance from God, the less his individuality. He who comes nearest to God is the completest person. Nor that he is finally absorbed in God. On the contrary, he absorbs God into himself.⁷ The true person not only absorbs the world of matter; by mastering it he absorbs God Himself into his Ego. Life is a forward assimilative movement. It removes all obstructions in its march by assimilating them. Its essence is the continual creation of desires and ideals, and for the purpose of it its preservation and expansion it has invented or developed out of itself certain instruments, ,e.g., senses, intellect, etc., which help in to assimilate obstructions.⁸ The greatest obstacle in the way of life is matter. Nature ; yet Nature is not evil, since it enables the inner powers of life to unfold themselves.

"The Ego attains to freedom by the removal of all observations in its way. It is partly free, partly determined⁹, and reaches fuller freedom by approaching the Individual. who is most free-God. In one word, life is an endeavour for freedom.

2. THE EGO AND CONTINUATION OF PERSONALITY

"In man the centre of life becomes an Ego or Person. Personality is a state of tension and can continue only if that state is maintained. If the state of tension is not maintained,, relaxation will ensue. Since personality, or the state of tension, is the most valuable achievement of man, he should see that he does not revert to a state of relaxation. That which tends to maintain the state of tension tends to make us immortal. Thus the idea of personality gives us a standard of value : it settles the problem of good and evil. That which fortifies personality is good, that which weakens it is bad. Art,¹⁰ religion, and ethics¹¹ must be judged from the stand-point of personality. My criticism of Plato¹² is directed against those philosophical systems which hold up death rather than life as their ideal-systems which ignore the greatest obstruction to life, namely, matter, and teach us to run away from it instead of absorbing it. "As in connexion with the question of the freedom of the Ego we have to face the problem of matter, similarly in connexion with its immortality we have to face the problem of time.¹³ Bergson has taught us that time is not an infinite line (in the spatial sense of the word 'line') through which we must pass whether we wish it or not. This idea of time is adulterated. Pure time has no length. Personal immorality is an aspiration: you can have it if you make an effort to achieve it. It depends on our adopting, in this life modes of thought and activity which tend to maintain the state of tension. Buddhism, Persian Sufism and allied forms of ethics will not serve our purpose. But they are not wholly useless, because after periods of great activity we need opiates, narcotics, for some time. They forms of thought and action are like, nights in the days of life. Thus, if our activity is directed towards the maintenance of a state of tension, the shock of death is not likely to affect it. After death there may be an interval of relaxation, as the Koran speaks of a barzakh, or intermediate state, which lasts until the Day of Resurrection¹⁴. Only those Egos will survive this state of relaxation who have taken good care during the present life. Although life abhors repetition in its evolution, yet on Bergson's principles the resurrection of the body too, as Wildon Carr says, is quite possible. By breaking up time into moments we spatialise it and then find difficulty in getting over it. The true nature of time is reached when we look into our deepar self.¹⁵ Real time is life itself which can preserve itself by maintaining that. particular state of tension (personality) which it has so far achieved. We are subject to time so long as we look upon time as something spatial.. Spatialised time is a fetter which life has forged for itself in order to assimilate the present environment. In reality we are timeless, and it is possible to realise our timelessness even in this life. This revelation, however, can be momentary only.

3. THE EDUCATION OF THE EGO

"The Ego is fortified by love (Ishq)¹⁶. This word is used in a very wide sense and means the desire to assimilate, to absorb. Its highest form is the creation of values and ideals and the endeavour to realise them. Love individualises the lover as well as the beloved. The effort to realise the most unique individuality individualises the seeker and implies the individuality of the sought, for nothing else would satisfy the nature of the seeker. As love fortifies the Ego, asking (sua'l) weakens it." All that is achieved without personal effort comes under sua'l. The son of a rich man who inherits his father's wealth is an 'asker' (beggar); so is every one who thinks the thoughts of others. Thus, in order to fortify the Ego we should cultivate love, i.e. the power of assimilative action, and avoid all forms of 'asking, ie. inaction. The lesson of assimilative action is given by the life of the Prophet, at least to a Muhammadan.¹⁷

"In another part of the poem¹⁸ I have hinted at the general principles of Muslim ethics and have tried to reveal their meaning in connexion with the idea of personality. The Ego in its movement towards uniqueness has to pass through three stages :

(a) Obedience to the Law.
(b) Self-control, which is the highest form of self-consciousness or Ego-hood!¹⁹
(c) Divine vicegerency.²⁰

"This (divine vicegerency, niyabat-e-Alahi) is the third and last stage of human development on earth. The na'ib (vicegerent) is the vicegerent of God on earth. He is the completest Ego, the goal of humanity²¹, the acume of life both in mind and body; in him the -discord of our mental life becomes a harmony. This highest power is united in him with the highest knowledge. In this life thought and action, instinct and reason become one. He is the last fruit of the tree of humanity, and all the trial of a painful evolution are justified because he is to come at the end. He is the real ruler of mankind; his kingdom is the kingdom of God on earth. Out of the richness of his nature he lavishes the wealth of life on others, and brings them nearer and nearer to himself. The more we advance in evolution,, the nearer we get to him. In approaching him we are raising ourselves in the scale of life. The development of humanity both in mind and body is a condition precedent to his birth. For the present he is a mere ideal ; but the evolution of humanity is tending towards the production of an ideal race of more or less unique individuals who will become his fitting parents. Thus the Kingdom of God on earth means the democracy of more or less unique individuals, presided over by the most unique individual possible on this earth. Nietzsche had a glimpse of this ideal race, but his atheism and aristocratic prejudices marred his whole conception."²²

Every one, I suppose, will acknowledge that the substance of the Asrar i-Khudi is striking enough to command attention. In the -poem, naturally, this philosophy presents itself under a different aspect. Its audacity of thought and phrase is less apparent, its logical brilliancy dissolves in the glow of feeling and imagination, and it wins the heart before taking possession of the mind. The artistic quality of the poem is remarkable when we consider that its language is not the author's own I have done my best to preserve as much of this as a literal prose translation would allow. Many passages of the original are poetry of the kind that, once read, is not easily forgotten, e.g. the description of the Ideal Man as a deliverer for whom the word is waiting, and the noble invocation which brings the book to an end. Like Jalal'uddin Rumi, Iqbal is found of introducing fables and apologues to relieve the argument and illustrate his meaning with more force and point than would be possible otherwise.

On its first appearance the Asrar-i Khudi took by storm the younger generation of Indian Muslim. ',Iqbal," wrote one of them, "has come amongst us as a Messiah and has stirred the dead with life." It remains to be seen in what direction the awakened one will march. Will they -be satisfied with a glorious but distant vision or the City of God, or will they adapt the new doctrine to other ends than those which its author has in view ? Notwithstanding that he explicitly denounces the idea of nationalism, his admirers are already protesting that he does not mean what he says.

How far the influence of his work may ultimately go I will not attempt to prophesy. It has been said of him that "he is a man of his age and a man in advance of his age; he is also a man in disagreement with his age." We cannot regard his ideas as typical of any section of his co-religionists. They involve a radical change-in the Muslim mind, and their real importance is not to be measured by the fact that such a change is unlikely to occur within a calculable time.

1. The present translation follows the text of the second edition.

2. His criticism of Hafiz called forth angry protests from Sufi circles in which Hafiz is venerated as a master-hierophant. Iqbal made no recantation, but since the passage had served its purpose and was offensive to many he cancelled it in the second edition of the poem. It was omitted in my translation.

3. The principles of Islam, regarded as the ideal society, as set forth in the author's second poem, the Rumuz-i-BeKhudi or "Mysteries of Selflessness." He explains the title by pointing out that the individual who loses himself in the community reflects both the past and the future as in a mirror, so that he transcends mortality and enters into that life of Islam, which is infinite and everlasting. Among the topics discussed are the origin of society, the divine guidance of man through the prophets, the formation of collective life centres, and the value of History as a factor in maintaining the sense of personal entity in a people.

4. This view was held by the orthodox Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal in its extreme (anthropomorphic) form.

5. Koran, ch. 23. v. 14. -Blessed is God. the best of those who create.

6. Cf. his note on "Islam and Mysticism (The Nw; Era, 1916, p. 250).

7. Here Iqbal adds : "Maulana Rumi has very beautifully expressed this idea. The Prophet, when a little boy, was once lost in the desert. His nurse Halima was almost beside herself with grief but while roaming the desert in search of the boy she heard a voice saying:

‘Do not grieve he will not be lost to thee;
Nay, the whole world will be lost in him.’

The true individual cannot be lost in the world; it is the world that lost in him. I go a step further and say, prefixing a new half-verse to a hemistich of Rumi Trans. 1. 1325):

In his will that which God wills becomes lost;
‘How shall a man believe this saying?’

8. Transl. 1. 289 foil.

9. According to the Tradition, -The true Faith is between predestination and free-will,"

10. Transl. 1, 673 follow. In a note on ,Our Prophes's criticism of contemporary Arabian poetry" (The New Era. 1916, p. 251) Iqbal writes : "The ultimate end of all human activity is Life glorious, powerful, exuberant. All human art must be subordinated to this final purpose, and the value of everything must be determined in reference to its life-yielding capacity The highest art is that which awakens our dormant will-force and braves us to face the trials of life manfully. All that brings drowsiness and makes us shut our eyes to Reality around, on the mastery of which alone Life depends, is a message of decay and death. There should be no opium eating in Art. The dogma of Art for the sake of Art is a clever invention of decadence to cheat us out of life and power."

11. Ibid. 1. 537 foll.

12. Ibid, 1. 631 foll.

13. Transal. 1. 1531 foll

14. Koran, ch. 23, v. 102.

15. Transl. 1, 15" foll.

16. Transl. 1, 323 foll.

17. Transl. 1, 435 foll.

18. Ibid. 1. 815 foll.

19. Transl. 1. 849 foll.

20. Ibid. 1. 893 foll.

21. Man already possesses the germ of vicegerency as God says in the Koran (ch. 2. v. 28) ; Lo! I will appoint a khalifa (vicegerent) on the earth." Cf. Transl 1,434.

22. Writing of "Muslim Democracy" in The New Era, 1916, p. 251. Iqbal says: -"The Democracy of Europe fear overshadowed by socialistic agitation and anarchical–originated mainly in the economic regeneration of European societies. Nietzsche, however, abhors this ’rule of the heard' and, hopeless of the plebeian, he bases all higher culture on the cultivation and growth of an Aristocracy of Supermen. But is the plebeian so absolutely hopeless ? The Democracy of Islam did not grow out of the extension of economic opportunity; it is a spiritual principle based on the assumption that every human being is a centre of latent power the possibilities of which can be developed by cultivating a certain type of character. One of the plebeian material Islam has formed men of the noblest type of life and power. Is not, then, the Democracy of early Islam an experimental refutation of the ideas of Nietzsche ?"

23. Jamshad one of the mythical Persian kings, is said to have possessed a marvellous cup in which the whole world was displayed to him.

24. The Sea of oman in a [name given by the Arabs to the Persian Gulf.

25. The holy well at Mecca

26. lqbal means to say that he will raise the value of his poetry by putting his deepest aspirations into it. The metaphor refers to the practice of herb-sellers who sprinke water on their herbs in order to make them heavier and fetch moremoney.

27. Jalaluddin Rumi the greatest mystical poet of Persia (A.D. 1207-1173). Most of his life was passed at lconium in Galatia. for which reason be in generally known as "Rumi. i.e. "the Auatolian."

28. This refers to the fatuous Masnavi of JaIal-uddin Rumi

29. Rue-seed. which is burned for the purpose of fumiation, crackles in the fire.

30. "Wine" signifies the mysteries. of divine love.

31. Majnun is the Orlando Furioso of Arabia.

32. Khansar. which lies abolut a hundred miles north

west of Isfahan, was the birth-Place Of several Persian poets.

33 Shirin was loved by the Persian Emperor Kbusrau Parwiz Farhad fell in love with her and cast himself down a precipice on bearing a false runmour of her death.

34. Abraham is said to have been cast on a burning pile by order of Nimrod and miraculously preserved from harm

35, I.e., so long as it remains as distinct individual,

36. Cf. Quran ch. 18. vv. 64-80. Khizr represents the mystic seer whose actions are misjudged by persons of less insight.

37. I.e., the reed was made into a flute.

38. For the sense which Iqbal attaches to the word "love," see the Introduction, p, xxv.

39. A prophet or saint.

40. See note on line 95, Tabriz is an allusion to Sbams-i-Tabraiz the spiritual director of Jalal-u'ddin Rumi

41. Najd. the Highlands of Arabia, is celebrated in love-remance, I need only mention Lial� and Majn�n.

42. Her father Hatim of Tai, is proverbial in the East for his hospitality.

43. The story of the pulpit that wept when Muhammad descended from it occurs. I think. in the Masnavi.

44. When according to Muhammadans belief, the sun will rise in the west.

45. A quotation from the Masnavi. The Prophet was buried at Medina.

46. Bayazid of Bistan died in A.D. 875. He refused to eat a water-melon. saying he had no assurance that the Prophet had even tested that fruit.

47. Muhammad used to retire to a cave On Mount Hira near Mecca. for purpose of solitary meditation.

48. Lat and Uzza were goddesses worshipped by the heathen Arabs- O neighborhood

49. Faran, name of a mountain in the of Mccea

50. Koran, ch. 2,v, 28. in them words, which were addressed to the angels. God foretold the creation of Adam.

51. This alludes to a story told of the Caliph Omar. who while riding a camel dropped his whip and insisted on dismounting in order to pick it up himself.

52. Khizr is supposed to have drunk of the Fountain of life.

53. The bubble is compared to an inverted cup. which of course receives nothing.

54. Alluding to a well-known miracle of the Prophet (Koran, ch. 54, v. 1).

55. Sheikh Sharafu'ddin of Panipat, who is better known as Bu Ali Qalandar, was a great saint. He died about A.D. 1325.

56. Amir Khusrau of Delhi, the most celebrated the Persian poets of India,

57. These expressions are borrowed from the Koran,

58. Quoted from the Masnavi.

59. The direct influence of Platonism on Muslim thought has been comparatively slight. When the Muslims began to study Greek philosophy, they turned to Aristotle. The genuine writings of Aristotle. however, were not accessible to them. They studied translations of books passing under his name, which were the work of Neoplatonists, so that what they believed to be Aristotelian doctrine was in fact the philosophy of Plotinus. Proelus, and the later Neoplatonic school. Indirectly, therefore, Plato has profoundly influenced the intellectual and spiritual development of Islam and may be called, if not the father of Mohammedan mysticism, at any rate its presiding genius.

60. I.e., it is worthless sg anyhow. In the East a brick is placed beneath or over the wine-jar. Some Muslim writers confuse Plato with Diogenes the Cynic, who is said to have lived in a cask.

61. i e., in his body.

62. Khizr, according to the legend, discovered the Fountain of Life in the Land of Darkness.

63. In this passage the author assails the Persian and Urdu poetry so much in favour with his contemporaries.

64. Arabic odes usually began with a prelude in which the poet makes mention of his beloved and her name is often Salma Here "the Salma of Araby" refers to purely Muslim ideals in literature and religion.

65. It is related that aim ignorant Hurd came to some students and besought them to instruct him in the mysteries of Sufism They told him that be must fasten a rope to the root of his house, then tie the loose end to his feet and suspend himself head downwards-, and that he must remain in this posture as long as possible, reciting continually some words of gibberish which they taught him. The poor man did not perceive that he was being mocked. He followed their instructions and passed the whole night repeating the words given him. God rewarded his faith. and sincerity by granting him illumination. so that he became a saint and could discourse, learnedly on the most abstruse matters of mystical theology. Afterwards he used to say. "In the evening I was Kurd but the next morning I was an Arab."

66. The religious law of Islam

67. The first article of the Mohammedan creed.

68. I.e., denies every object of worship except Allah

69. Like Abraham when he was about to sacrific Isaace. of (as Muslims generally believe) Ishmael.

70. The lesser pilgrimage (umra) in not obligatory like the greater pilgrimage (haij)

71. The original quotes part of a verse in the Koran (ch. 3. v. 86), where it is said, "Ye shall never attain unto righteousness until ye. give in aims of that which ye love."

72. "#., overcome the lusts of the flash.

73. Here Iqbal interprets in his own way the Sufi doctrine of the Insan al-kamil or Perfect Man, which teaches that every man is potentially a microcosm and that when be has become spiritually perfect. all the Divine attributes are displayed by him, so that as saint prophet he is the God-man. the representative and vicegerent of God on earth.

74. ie. his appearance marks the end of an epoch.

75. Koran ch. 2. v. 29. The Ideal Man is the final cause of creation.

76. Koran. ch. 17. v. 1, referring to the Ascension on the Prophet

77. For the white hand (of Moses) of Koran. ch. 7. v. 105. ch. 26. v. 32. and Exodus, ch. 4, v.6.

78. These four lives may allude to Jesus, regarded as a type of the Perfect Man.

79. Murtaza, "he. whom God is pleased," is a name of Ali Bu Turab means literally "father of earth."

80. A miracle attributed to Ali.

81. The fortress of Khaibar, a village in the Hijaz. was captured by the Muslim in A.D. 628. Ali Performed great feats of valour on this occasion.

82. A river of Paradise.

83. According to the Tradition of the Prophet, "I am the city of Knowledge and Ali is its gate."

84. See note on 1,213.

85. The burning pyre on which Abraham was thrown lost its beat and was transformed into a rose-garden.

86. The "trust" which God offered to Man and which Man accepted, after it had been refused by Heaven and Earth (Koran. ch. 33, v. 72), is the divine vicegerency, i.e., the duty of displaying the divine attributes.

87 A parody of the verse in the Masnavi quoted above. See 1.603.

88, Hajwiri author of the oldest Persian treatise on Sufism, was a native of Ghazna in Afghanistan. He died at Lahore about A D. 1072 Pir-i-Sanjar is the renowned saint, Mu'inuddin, head of the Chishti order of dervishes, who died in A D. 1235 at Ajmir.,

89. These lines correct the Sufi doctrine that means of Passing away from individuality the mystic attains to everlasting life in God.

90. i.e., allegorically. This verse occurs in the Masnavi.

91. i.e., it he swallow a diamond, he will die.

92. These, two lines indicate the gist of the coal's being

93. A mysterious bird, of which nothing is known except its same.

94. Rue-seed is burned for the purpose of fumigation.

95. "The badge of unbelief"; here the original has sinnar (Zwvapiov) i.e. the sacred thread worn by Zoroastrians and other non-Muslims,

96. Azar, the father of Abraham, was an idolater.

97. see Introduction P- xix, note 1.

98. i.e., that life Of the true Muslim displays to 11161" kind the ideal realised.

99. A celebrated Muslim saint who died at Lahore in A.D. 1635.

100. Shah Jahan.

101. Koran, ch. 50 v. 29.

102. This appears to be a pseudonym assumed by the author.

103. Jalaluddin Rumi.

104. Baba Kamaluddin Jundi For Shams-i-Tabriz and his relation to Jalaluddin Rumi see my Selected Poems from Divan-i-Shams-i-Tabriz (Cambridge).

105. Abraham refused to worship the sun, moon and stars, stars. saying, "I love not them that set" (Koran, 6. 6, v. 76).

106. See p. 91, note.

107. In the Masnavi Love is called ',the physician of our pride and self-conceit, our Plato, and our Galen.

108. The famous idol of Somnath was destroyed by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna

109. The pilgrims are forbidden to kill game

110. See p. 10, note.

111. Founder Of one of the four great Mohammadan school of law.

112. i.e. turn you attention to the nature and meaning of Time.

113. The Prophet said, "I have a time with God of such sort that neither angel nor prophet is y peer." meaning (if we interpret his words according to the sense Of this passage) that he felt himself to be timeless.

114. The Prophet is reported to have said, "Do not abuse Time. for Time is God."

115. The glorious days when Islam first set out to convert and conquer the world.

116. The takbir is the cry "Allah-o-Akbar" "Allah is most great,"

117. Salman was a Persian, Bilal was Abyssianian. Both had been slaves and were devoted henchmen of the Prophet

118. i.e., affirmation of the Divine Unity.