(34) For I have fallen into this dire disgrace; Aid me so that perchance I may escape hence, And extricate myself from this deep slough." He repeats this prayer to high and low, " Release me, release me, release me!" His eyes and ears are open, and he is free from bonds, No jailer watches him, no chain binds him; What, then, is the bond from which he asks release? What is the prison from which ho seeks an exit? 'Tis the bond of God's purpose and hidden decrees; Ah! none but the pure in sight can see that bond;

(1) "How is it with thee this morning, O pure disciple?" He replied, "Thy faithful slave am I." Again he said, "If the garden of faith has bloomed, show a token of it." He answered, "I was athirst many days, By night I slept not for the burning pangs of love; So that I passed by days and nights, For in that state all faith is one, A hundred thousand years and a moment are all one; World without beginning and world without end are one; Reason finds no entrance when mind is thus lost." The Prophet's final counsels of "Reserve".

(21) The agent is the property of the spirit, and not himself; His self is departed, and he has become the spirit. The Turk without instruction speaks Arabic; Seeing God is lord of spirits and of man, How can He be inferior in power to a spirit? When the eagle of alienation from self took wing, Bayazid began to utter similar speeches; The torrent of madness bore away his reason, "Within my vesture is naught but God, Whether you seek Him on earth or in heaven."

(31) All creatures are enslaved to thought; I send myself on an embassy to thought, And, at will, spring back again from thought. I am as the bird of heaven and thought as the fly, How can the fly lend a helping hand to me? Whoso has in him a spark of the light of Omnipotence, However much he eats, say ' Eat on;' 'tis lawful to him." To the spiritual man the "inner voice" is its own evidence, and needs no other proof. "If you are a true lover of my soul,

(31) At night prisoners are unaware of their prison, Then there is no thought or care for loss or gain, The state of the "Knower" is such as this, even when awake. God says, "Thou wouldst deem him awake though asleep, Sleeping to the affairs of the world, day and night, He who sees not the hand which effects the writing If the "Knower" revealed the particulars of this state, 'Twould rob the vulgar of their sensual sleep. His soul wanders in the desert that has no similitude; Like his body, his spirit is enjoying perfect rest;

(10) Now let us mark: Where men are enlightened with the true light, they perceive that all which they might desire or choose, is nothing to that which all creatures, as creatures, ever desired or chose or knew. Therefore they renounce all desire and choice, and commit and commend themselves and all things to the Eternal Goodness. Nevertheless, there remaineth in them a desire to go forward and get nearer to the Eternal Goodness; that is, to come to a clearer knowledge, and warmer love, and more comfortable assurance, and perfect obedience and subjection; so that every enlightened man could say: “I would fain be to the Eternal Goodness, what His own hand is to a man.” And he feareth always that he is not enough so, and longeth for the salvation of all men. And such men do not call this longing their own, nor take it unto themselves, for they know well that this desire is not of man, but of the Eternal Goodness; for whatsoever is good shall no one take unto himself as his own, seeing that it belongeth to the Eternal Goodness, only. Moreover, these men are in a state of freedom, because they have lost the fear of pain or hell, and the hope of reward or heaven, but are living in pure submission to the Eternal Goodness, in the perfect freedom of fervent love. This mind was in Christ in perfection, and is also in His followers, in some more, and in some less. But it is a sorrow and shame to think that the Eternal Goodness is ever most graciously guiding and drawing us, and we will not yield to it.

(32) Thou hast no sovereignty over thine own passions, How canst thou sway good and evil? Thy hair turns white without thy concurrence, Whoso bows his head to the King of kings Will receive a hundred kingdoms not of this world; But the delight of bowing down before God Will seem sweeter to thee than countless glories." Haste to renounce thy kingdom, like Ibrahim bin Adham, To obtain, like him, the kingdom of eternity. At night that king would sleep on his throne,

(91) Which say, "See me a man destined to the fire; I am a part of the fire, and go to join my whole; Not a light, so that I should join the Source of light." Kill thine own lust and give life to the world; It has killed its lord, reduce it to servitude. That claimant of the cow is thy lust; Beware! That slayer of the cow is thy reason; Go! Reason is a poor captive, and ever cries to God On what depends its getting meat without toiling?

(23) Then 'Omar said to him, "This wailing of thine Shows thou art still in a state of ' sobriety."' Afterwards he thus urged him to quit that state And called him out of his beggary to absorption in God: "Sobriety savours of memory of the past; Burn up both of them with fire! How long Wilt thou be partitioned by these segments as a reed? So long as a reed has partitions 'tis not privy to secrets, While circumambulating the house thou art a stranger; Thou whose knowledge is ignorance of the Giver of knowledge, The road of the 'annihilated' is another road;

(21) Now, it may be asked, what is the state of a man who followeth the true Light to the utmost of his power? I answer truly, it will never be declared aright, for he who is not such a man, can neither understand nor know it, and he who is, knoweth it indeed; but he cannot utter it, for it is unspeakable. Therefore let him who would know it, give his whole diligence that he may enter therein; then will he see and find what hath never been uttered by man’s lips. However, I believe that such a man hath liberty as to his outward walk and conversation, so long as they consist with what must be or ought to be; but they may not consist with what he merely willeth to be. But oftentimes a man maketh to himself many must-be’s and oughtto-be’s which are false. The which ye may see hereby, that when a man is moved by his pride or covetousness or other evil dispositions, to do or leave undone anything, he ofttimes saith, “It must needs be so, and ought to be so.” Or if he is driven to, or held back from anything by the desire to find favour in men’s eyes, or by love, friendship, enmity, or the lusts and appetites of his body, he saith, “It must needs be so, and ought to be so.” Yet behold, that is utterly false. Had we no must-be’s, nor ought-to-be’s, but such as God and the Truth show us, and constrain us to, we should have less, forsooth, to order and do than now; for we make to ourselves much disquietude and difficulty which we might well be spared and raised above.

(41) Freed from desire of eating and drinking, But when he is again beguiled into the snare, The Khalifa said to Laila, "Art thou really she For whom Majnun lost his head and went distracted? Thou art not fairer than many other fair ones." She replied, "Be silent; thou art not Majnun!" If thou hadst Majnun's eyes, Thou art in thy senses, but Majnun is beside himself. The more a man is awake, the more he sleeps (to love); Our wakefulness fetters our spirits,

(13) No one knows the God of truth except solely the man who will forsake all of the things of the world, having renounced the whole place, (and) having grasped the fringe of his garment. He has set himself up as a power; he has subdued desire in every way within himself. He has [...] and he has turned to him [...], having also examined [...] in becoming [...] the mind. And he [...] from his soul [...] there [...] he has ... ... (1 line unrecoverable) ... in what way [...] the flesh which [...] in what way [...] out of it, and how many powers does he have? And who is the one who has bound him? And who is the one who will loose him? And what is the light? And what is the darkness? And who is the one who has created the earth? And who is God? And who are the angels? And what is soul? And what is spirit? And where is the voice? And who is the one who speaks? And who is the one who hears? Who is the one who gives pain? And who is the one who suffers? And who is it who has begotten the corruptible flesh? And what is the governance? And why are some lame, and some blind, and some [...], and some [...], and some rich, and some poor? And why are some powerless, some brigands? ... ... (4 lines unrecoverable)

(1) "I know not if thou art a moon or an idol, I know not what service to pay thee, Thou art not apart from me, yet, strange to say, I know not where I am, or where thou art. I know not wherefore thou art dragging me, Now embracing me, and now wounding me!" That wine of God is gained from that minstrel, Both of these have one and the same name in speech, Men's bodies are like pitchers with closed mouths; Beware, till you see what is inside them.

(34) Sobriety is wrong, and a straying from that other road. O thou who seekest to be contrite for the past, How wilt thou be contrite for this contrition? At one time thou adorest the music of the lute, At another embracest wailing and weeping." While the "Discerner" reflected these mysteries, Like a soul he was freed from weeping and rejoicing, His old life died, and he was regenerated. Amazement fell upon him at that moment, For he was exalted above earth and heaven,

(22) When you pluck up your foot you escape from the mire, When you obtain salvation at God's hands, O wanderer, You are free from the mire, and go your way. When the suckling is weaned from its nurse, You are bound to the bosom of earth like seeds, Eat the words of wisdom, for veiled light When you have accepted the light, O beloved, When you behold what is veiled without a veil, Like a star you will walk upon the heavens; Nay, though not in heaven, you will walk on high.

(101) How long, O Lord, is this trial to last? Give me one ruling principle, not ten principles! The whole world flees away from its own will and being In order to escape a while from self-consciousness, Men incur the reproach of wine and strong drink; For all know well this existence is a snare, Therefore they flee from self to being beside themselves, Call it intoxication or call it preoccupation, O guided one. Ere it is annihilated, no single soul What is "ascension" to heaven? Annihilation of self;

(7) "Those whose hearts are in a state of repose give forth a divine radiance, by the light of which they see themselves as they are. And only by cultivating such repose can man attain to the constant. "Those who are constant are sought after by men and assisted by God. Those who are sought after by men are the people of God; those who are assisted by God are his chosen children. "To study this is to study what cannot be learnt. To practise this is to practise what cannot be accomplished. To discuss this is to discuss what can never be proved. Let knowledge stop at the unknowable. That is perfection. And for those who do not follow this, God will destroy them! "With such defences for the body, ever prepared for the unexpected, deferential to the rights of others,—if then calamities overtake you, these are from God, not from man. Let them not disturb what you have already achieved. Let them not penetrate into the soul's abode. For there resides the Will. And if the will knows not what to will, it will not be able to will. "Whatsoever is not said in all sincerity, is wrongly said. And not to be able to rid oneself of this vice is only to sink deeper towards perdition. "Those who do evil in the open light of day,—men will punish them. Those who do evil in secret,—God will punish them. Who fears both man and God, he is fit to walk alone.

(81) That in lieu of one thou may'st see a thousand joys, For by quenching the light the soul is rejoiced, Whoso to display his devotion renounces the world, The world is ever with him, before and behind." In one 'twas said, "Whatsoever God has given thee In His creation, that He has made sweet to thee; Yea, pleasant to thee and allowable. Take it, then, And cast not thyself into the pangs of abstinence." In one 'twas said, "Give up all thou possessest, For to be ruled by covetousness is grievous sin."

The Prince of Bokhara had a Vakil who, through fear of punishment for an offence he had committed, ran away and remained concealed in Kuhistan and the desert for the space of ten years. At the end of that time, being unable to endure absence from his lord and his home any longer, he determined to return to Bokhara and throw himself at his lord's feet, and endure whatever punishment his lord might be pleased to inflict upon him. His friends did all they could to dissuade him, assuring him that the Prince's wrath was still hot against him, and that if he appeared at Bokhara he would be put to death, or at least imprisoned for the rest of his life. He replied, "O advisers, be silent, for the force of the love which is drawing me to Bokhara is stronger than the force of prudent counsels. When love pulls one way all the wisdom of Abu Hanifa and Ash-Shafi'i is impotent to withstand it. If it shall please my lord to slay me, I will yield up my life without reluctance, for this life of estrangement from him which I am now leading is the same as death, and release from it will be eternal happiness. I will return to Bokhara and throw myself at my lord's feet, and say to him, 'Deal with me as thou wilt, for I can no longer bear absence from thee, and life or death at thy hands is all the same to me!'" Accordingly, he journeyed back to Bokhara, counting the very toils and discomforts of the road sweet and delightful, because they were steps in his homeward course. When he reached Bokhara his friends and relations all warned him not to show himself, as the Prince was still mindful of his offence and bent on punishing him; but he replied to them as to his other advisers, that he was utterly regardless of his life, and was resolved to commit himself to his lord's good pleasure. He then went to the court and threw himself at his lord's feet and swooned away. The Prince, seeing the strong affection borne to him by his repentant servant, conceived a similar affection towards him, and descended from his throne and graciously raised him from the ground, and pardoned his offence. Thus it is that eternal life is gained by utter abandonment of one's own life. When God appears to His ardent lover the lover is absorbed in Him, and not so much as a hair of the lover remains. True lovers are as shadows, and when the sun shines in glory the shadows vanish away. He is a true lover of God to whom God says, "I am thine, and thou art mine!" In the course of this story, which is narrated at great length, are introduced anecdotes of a lover and his mistress, of the Virgin Mary being visited by the "Blessed Spirit" or Angel Gabriel, of the fatal mosque, of Galen's devotion to carnal learning, of Satan's treachery to the men of Mecca at the battle of Bedr, and of Solomon and the gnat. There also occur comments on various texts, and a curious comparison of the trials and wholesome afflictions of the righteous to the boiling of potherbs in a saucepan by the cook. The reply of the lover when asked by his mistress which city of all those he had seen was most pleasing in his sight.