Story of the night-thieves with whom Sultan Mahmud fell in during the night, saying, “I am one of you”; and how he became acquainted with their affairs, etc.

2816 - While King Mahmud was roaming about alone at night he encountered a band of thieves.

2817 - Thereupon they said to him, “Who are you, O honest man ?” “I am one of you,” replied the King.

2818 - One said, “O company practised in cunning, let each of us declare his talent;

2819 - Let him tell his comrades in the night-talk what skill he possesses in his nature.”

2820 - One said, “O you fellows who are exhibiting cleverness, my specialty lies in my two ears.

2821 - That I know what a dog is saying when it barks.” The party replied, “Two dángs of a dinar.”

2822 - Another said, “O company of gold-worshippers, my specialty lies wholly in my eyes.

2823 - If I see any one in the world by night, I know him by day without doubt.”

2824 - Another said, “My specialty lies in my arm: I make tunnels by strength of hand.”

2825 - Another said, “My specialty lies in my nose: my business is to detect the smell in different earths.

2826 - The secret of ‘men are mines’ has yielded itself, so that why the Prophet has said it.

2827 - From the earth of the body I know how much good ore is therein and what mine it holds.

2828 - In one mine is contained gold immeasurable, while another revenue from it is less than the expenditure.

2829 - Like Majnun, I smell the soil and detect the soil of Layla without mistake.

2830 - I smell and know from every shirt whether it is a Joseph or an Ahriman.

2831 - Like Ahmad, who catches scent from Yemen, this nose of mine has gained some portion of that ,

2832 - So that I can smell which soil is a neighbour of gold, or which soil is empty and poor.”

2833 - Another said, “Look here, my specialty lies in my fist: I can throw a lasso to the height of a mountain,

2834 - Like Ahmad, whose spirit threw a lasso so that his lasso bore him to Heaven,

2835 - And God said to him, ‘O thrower of the lasso at the House, deem that to be from Me: you did not throw when you threw.’”

2836 - Then they asked the King, saying, “O man of authority, in what may your special talent consist ?”

2837 - He replied, “My specialty lies in my beard: I can save criminals from punishment.

2838 - When criminals are handed over to the executioners, as soon as my beard moves they are saved.

2839 - When I move my beard in mercy, they put an end to the killing and the trouble.”

2840 - The company said to him, “You are our qutb, for you will be the deliverance on the day of tribulation.”

2841 - Afterwards they all set out together and went towards the palace of the fortunate King.

2842 - When a dog barked on the right, said, “It says ‘The Sultan is with you.’”

2843 - Another smelt the ground from a hill and said, “This belongs to the house of a widow.”

2844 - Then the skilful master of the lasso threw his lasso, so that they got over the lofty wall.

2845 - When he smelt the earth in this other place, he said, “it is the earth of the treasury of a peerless king.”

2846 - The tunneller made a tunnel and reached the treasury: every one carried off some goods from the treasury.

2847 - The band took away much gold and gold-embroidered cloth and big pearls and quickly concealed them.

2848 - The King saw distinctly their lodging-place and their personal appearance and names and refuge and way.

2849 - He stole away from them and returned, and day related his adventure in council.

2850 - Thereupon furious officers rushed away to arrest and pinion the thieves.

2851 - They came handcuffed into the council-chamber, and they were trembling in fear for their lives.

2852 - When they stood before the King’s throne, that moon-like King was their night’s companion.

2853 - He who could without hesitation recognise by day any one on whom he had cast his eye by night.

2854 - Saw the King on the throne and said, “This man was going about with us last night and was our comrade.

2855 - He who has such a great talent in his beard— our arrest is the result of his enquiry.”

2856 - His eye was a knower of the King: consequently he opened his lips of knowledge to his followers.

2857 - He said, “This King was and He is with you: he was seeing our actions and hearing our secret.

2858 - My eye made its way, recognised the King by night, and all night long played the game of love with his moon-like face.

2859 - I will beg forgiveness for my people from him, for he never averts his face from the knower.

2860 - Deem the eye of the knower to be the salvation of the two worlds, whereby every Bahram obtained help.

2861 - Mohammed was the intercessor for every brand because his eye did not swerve for anything except God.

2862 - In the night of this world, where the sun is veiled, he was beholding God, and his hope was in Him.

2863 - His eyes received eye salve from “Did not We expand your breast ?”

2864 - The orphan to whom God applies eye salve becomes the orphan pearl endowed with guidance.

2865 - Its light overpowers pearls; it desires such an object of desire.

2866 - The stations of God’s servants were visible to him.

2884 - On that account, then, in meeting on the night of the Ascension our fond of dalliance said, ‘But for.’

2906 - He turned his face to the King as a thirsty man to a cloud— he who on the Night of Power was the Full-moon’s own.

2907 - Since his tongue and his spirit were His, he who is His may converse with Him boldly.

2908 - He said, “We have been bound like the spirit in its prison of clay: You are the Sun of the spirit on the Day of Judgement.

2909 - O King whose course is concealed, the time is come for You graciously to make a movement with Your beard in clemency.

2910 - Each one has displayed his specialty: all those talents have increased ill-fortune.

2911 - Those talents have bound our necks; by those high attainments we are headlong and low.

2912 - Talent is a cord of palm-fibre on our neck: there is no help from those accomplishments on the day of death.”

2913 - Save only the specialty of that man endowed with goodly perceptions whose eye was recognising the Sultan in the night.

2914 - All those talents were ghouls on the road, except the eye which was aware of the King.

2915 - On the day of audience the King was ashamed of him whose gaze was on the King’s face at night.

2916 - And the dog that is acquainted with the loving King— even him you must entitle “the Dog of the Cave.”

2917 - Excellent, too, is the specialty in the ear; for he by the bark of a dog is made aware of the Lion.

2918 - When the dog is awake during the night, like a watchman, he is not ignorant of the nightly vigil of the kings.

2919 - Listen, you must not disdain them that have a bad name: you must set your mind on their inward parts.

2920 - Whoever has once got a bad name must not seek a name and become half-baked.

2921 - Oh, many a gold is made black polished iron in order that it may be saved from pillage and calamity.

Story of the sea-cow: how it brings up the royal pearl from the depths of the ocean and at night lays it on the seashore and feeds in the resplendence and lustre thereof; and how the trader comes forth from his hiding-place and, when the cow has gone some distance away from the pearl, covers the pearl with loam and black clay and runs off and climbs a tree; and so on to the end of the story and exposition.

2922 - The water-cow fetches a pearl out of the sea, lays it on the meadow, and grazes around it.

2923 - In the radiance of the light of the pearl the water-cow feeds hurriedly on hyacinths and lilies.

2924 - The excrement of the water-cow is ambergris because its food is narcissus and water lily.

2925 - Anyone whose food is the Light of Majesty, how should not lawful magic spring from his lips ?

2926 - Anyone who, like the bee, has been given inspiration as a prize, how should not his house be full of honey ?

2927 - The cow grazes in the light of the pearl; suddenly it moves some distance away from the pearl.

2928 - A trader puts black loam on the pearl, so that the meadow and verdant ground becomes dark.

2929 - Then the trader takes refuge on a tree, while the cow seeks the man with its hard horn.

2930 - Twenty times the cow runs about the meadow, in order to impale its enemy on its horn.

2931 - When the fierce cow despairs of him, it comes to the place where the pearl was laid.

2932 - And sees the loam over the royal pearl; then it runs away from the clay, like Iblís.

2933 - Iblís is blind and deaf to the gist of the clay, how should the cow know that the pearl is in the clay ?

2934 (The Divine command) fall cast the spirit into abasement: this menstruation excluded it from prayer.

2935 - O comrades, beware of this resting-place and of that talk: truly, sensuality is the menstruation of men.

2936 - (The Divine command) fall cast the spirit into the body, that the pearl of Aden might be hidden in clay.

2937 - The trader knows it, but the cow does not: the spiritual know, but not any clay digger.

2938 - Every piece of clay in the heart of which there is a pearl— its pearl can tell the secrets of clay;

2939 - While the clay that has not been illumined by God’s sprinkling cannot bear the companionship of the pieces of clay that are filled with pearls.

Story of ‘Abdu ’l-Ghawth and his being carried off by the peris and staying among them for years, and how after years he returned to his town and his children, but could not endure to be parted from the peris, because he was really their congener and spiritually one with them.

2974 - Abdu ’l-Ghawth was a congener of the peri: for nine years he was flying about invisibly, like a peri.

2975 - His wife had offspring by another husband, and his orphans used to talk of his death.

2976 - Saying, “A wolf or a brigand attacked him, or he fell into a pit or ambush.”

2977 - All his children were passionately absorbed in occupations: they never said that they had a father.

2978 - After nine years he came temporarily: he appeared and disappeared again.

2979 - He was the guest of his children for one month, and after that nobody saw any more of him.

2980-Homogeneity with the peris carried him off; just as a spear thrust ravishes the spirit.

2981 - Since one who is destined for Paradise is homogeneous with Paradise, on account of homogeneity he also becomes a worshipper of God.

2982 - Has not the Prophet said, “Know that liberality and virtue are branches of Paradise come into this world” ?

2983 - Declare all loves to be homogeneous with Love; deem all wraths to be homogeneous with Wrath.

2997 - When He implants in you the qualities of Gabriel, you will seek the way up to the air, like a young bird,

2998 - Gazing expectantly, your eye fixed upon the air, estranged from the earth and enamoured of heaven.

3007 - Be always in quest of the nature and consort with him whose nature is good: observe how rose-oil has received the nature of the rose.

3010 - Then, say, “first the neighbour, then the house (clay)”: if you have a heart, go, seek a sweetheart.

Ya Ali Madad