Chapter XLVIII

O Tyrannous One, when from my heart was drawn
The fatal arrow, like a scarlet flood
My life gushed forth; but yet the one word Hope
Was written in my blood.

Why should the Cosmos turn its wheel of worlds
If not to search for thee eternally?
Why should the tireless Sun arise each morn
If not to look for thee?

Alas my fate! before you came to me
Already had I felt the touch of Death,
Nor was I spared before thy worshipped feet
To offer up my breath.

For long, throughout the world, I sought for thee,
Through weary years and ages of unrest;
At last I found thee hidden in my arms
Within my breast!

ZAUQ.

FRAGMENTS.

Each morn I see the Sun in majesty
Come back to shine thy rival as before,
But O what ages has it taken thee
To come to me--if thou wilt come--once more!

ARZU.

Through Love did I the joy of life attain,
And walking in the way that He hath led
I found the remedy to heal all pain;
Why therefore is my pain unremedied?

GHALIB.

O burnish well the mirror of thy heart
And make it fair,
If thou desire the image of thy Love
To shine reflected there.

HATIM.

No fault is thine, Beloved, I do not blame thee, Nor do I blame my rivals for their part, I know my trouble causeless, yet I hearken To my unreasonable, doubting heart.

MAZHAR.

What thou hast done, never an enemy Would practise on a bitterly-hated foe; And yet, my friend, I took thee for a friend, and did not know.

MAZHAR.

Mayhap my sorrowful heart
Did not deserve thou shouldst bestow on me
Thy priceless love, but neither did it merit
Thy cruel tyranny.

MAZHAR.

She lightly laughed--And so is Mazhar dead? Alas, poor helpless one! I knew not I What was his trouble.--Then again she said --I did not think him ill enough to die.

MAZHAR.

If I behold her, I am mad, And if I see her not, I die; O Love, to tender hearts like mine Thou art a great calamity.

MAZHAR.

I ask for Allah's pardon, if I dare
To weigh and criticise what He hath done;
But when He made thy beauty shining fair,
What need was there for Him to make the Sun?

MIR DARD.

In spring, O Bulbul, go not in thy grief
To seek the garden, wandering apart;
But wait--one day within thy very heart
It shall arise, in bud and bloom and leaf.

MIR SOZ.

Some friend of mine, may be, After my lonely death may let her see How foolish were her idle doubts of me; But no! how can I think the rolling Wheel of Fate Should turn to favour one so long unfortunate?

MIR TAQI.

I, like a poor fakir, Wander from door to door, Bearing my load of pain; But thou, O Ever-Dear, Thou comest never more Unto my door again.

SAUDA.

O changing Wheel of Fate, what thing is there Thou hast not in thy myriad cycles brought! Wilt thou, indeed, I wonder in despair, Bring me at last what I so long have sought?

SAUDA.

I longed that the Beloved might come to me, Or Patience come and in my heart remain; But neither came, and now at last I see The only constant friend I have is Pain.

TABAN.

False is she, breaker of all promises,
The heart's unending malady is she;
All this and more she is,
And she herself the only remedy.

* * * * *

Only in visions can I come again To the Beloved, and a shade she seems; My lips desire in vain The touch of ghostly kisses, The shadowy kisses that I know in dreams.

* * * * *

O kind imagination, thou hast given
Eyes to my heart, and though She veil her grace
Fold behind fold, they seek the hidden heaven,
They find the secret beauties of her face.

* * * * *

I did not weep until my heart was lost,
So strange the bartering of love appears,
I gave the shining jewel of my soul
To buy these pearls--my tears.

* * * * *

The eyes say in reproach, O wayward heart, What road of ruin hast thou led us in! The heart complains, O eyes, Beguiled yourselves, ye lured me into sin.

GLOSSARY.

Bazar--market place.

Bulbul--nightingale.

Darwesh--devotee, dervish.

Diwan--collection of poems.

Ede--festival.

Fakir--an ascetic in Islam.

Ghazal--ode: form of verse written in couplets, all in one rhyme.

Hind, Hindustan--Upper India, north of the Vindhya Hills.

Islam--The religion of Muslims: lit. absolute surrender to Allah alone.

Kaaba--central sanctuary of Islam, at Mecca, holy city of Islam.

Kafir--unbeliever, one who is not a Muslim.

Kismet--fate.

Lakh--100,000: myriad.

Masnawi--epic poem, written in rhymed couplets.

Mecca, Medina--sacred places of Islam, in Arabia: the birthplace and burial place of Muhammad.

Muhammad--the Prophet of Islam (A.D. 570-632).

Mushaira--poetical concourse (see Foreword p. 1.).

Muslim--or Musulman; lit. one surrendered to Allah alone.

Prophet--see Muhammad.

Purdah--curtain.

Qasidah--elegy or eulogy.

Saki--the cup-bearer, wine-giver.

Sufi--see Foreword, p. 2.

Suleiman--Solomon, King of the Jews: in Muslim legend lord over angels and demons.

Takhallus--pen-name.

Urdu--see Foreword, p. 3.

Works on Sufism.

A SUFI MESSAGE OF SPIRITUAL LIBERTY, WITH A SHORT SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR'S LIFE AND HIS PORTRAIT IN COLOURS. 2/6 net.

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THE DIWAN OF INAYAT KHAN, RENDERED INTO VERSE BY JESSIE DUNCAN WESTBROOK, WITH THE PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR IN COLOURS. 2/6 net.

THE CONFESSIONS OF INAYAT KHAN, BY REGINA MIRIAM BLOCH. 1/- net.

SONGS OF INDIA, RENDERED FROM THE URDU, HINDI AND PERSIAN BY INAYAT KHAN AND JESSIE DUNCAN WESTBROOK. 1/6 net.

SUFISM: OMAR KHAYYAM AND E. FITZGERALD, BY C. H. A. BJERREGAARD. 2/6 net.

HINDUSTANI LYRICS, BY INAYAT KHAN AND JESSIE DUNCAN WESTBROOK. 2/6 net.

MERAJ, THE TRANSPORTATION OF MOHAMMED, BY INAYAT KHAN. 2/6 net.

PHENOMENON OF SOUL ("VOICE OF INAYAT" SERIES), BY SHERIFA LUCY GOODENOUGH. 2/6 net.

LOVE, HUMAN AND DIVINE ("VOICE OF INAYAT" SERIES), BY SHERIFA LUCY GOODENOUGH. 2/6 net.

AKIBAT, LIFE AFTER DEATH ("VOICE OF INAYAT" SERIES), BY SHERIFA LUCY GOODENOUGH. 2/6 net.

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