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Or have it piled up in the royal store.
What should he do? Shah Mahmoud was unsure.
Just then his eye caught sight of Boul Hoosein,
A pious fool whom many thought insane;
He said: Whatever that man says, I ll do --
No kings or armies influence his view.
They called the madman over to the king,
Who welcomed him and told him everything.
The madman said: O king, these anxious plans
Are not worth more than two small barley grains --
If all your dealings with the Lord cease here,
Forget the vow you made and never fear;
But if you think you might need Him again
Then keep your promise to the final grain.
God gave the victory to you; now where
In this agreement is your lordship s share?
So Mahmoud gave the gold where it was owed,
And took his way along the royal road.
A bird asks what gifts he should take the Simorgh
Another bird said: You have seen our king --
What gifts would it be right for me to bring?
I ll gladly get whatever you advise;
What would be welcome to our sovereign s eyes?
A king deserves a quite distinctive gift;
Only a miser would be ruled by thrift!
The hoopoe answers him
Be ruled by me, the hoopoe said. Take care
To offer something which is lacking there --
Where is the point in dragging all that way
A costly present common there as day?
There mystery resides and confidence,
Pure knowledge and the soul s obedience --
But take the torment of a heart alone,
The soul s distress, for these are there unknown,
And let the anguish you endure arise
Borne upward to the king in bitter sighs;
If one sigh rises from the inmost soul,
That man is saved, and has attained our goal.
Zuleikha has Joseph whipped
Zuleikha used her great authority
To have poor Joseph kept in custody --
She gave her callous orders to the guard:
Give that man fifty lashes, good and hard!
Deal with this Joseph s body so that I
From far away can hear him groan and sigh.
But when the guard saw Joseph s face he felt
The cold indifference of his calling melt.
There was a leather coat left on the ground,
And with his whip he made this skin resound --
As every blow descended on the coat,
A scream of pain went up from Joseph s throat.
But when Zuleikha heard his voice she cried:
You are too soft; whip harder, break his pride!
The guard said: What, dear Joseph, can I do?
Zuleikha only has to look at you
And see no weals or bruises on your back,
And I ll be torn to pieces on the rack --
So bare your shoulders to the lash; some sign
Must mar your skin if I m to rescue mine.
When Joseph stripped in readiness, a sound
Of mourning spread from heaven to the ground;
The guard s right arm was raised, and its descent
Produced a cry that split the firmament --
Zuleikha said: Now Joseph cannot bluff;
This sigh is from his inmost soul -- enough!
This sigh was real and from his essence came --
His former groans were nothing but a game.
The mourners at a funeral
A hundred mourners at a funeral grieved;
One truly sighed -- the man who was bereaved.
They were a ring, but only one of them
Was set within that circle as a gem --
Till you have truly mourned beside the grave,
You cannot take your place among the brave.
Love drives the wandering pilgrim on his quest;
And where by day or night will he find rest?
The devout slave
A negro had a slave devout and wise
Who at an early hour would wake and rise,
Then pray until the sun came peeping through.
His master said: Wake me up early too,
And we can pray together till the dawn.
The slave said: Just before a baby s born,
Who tells the mother Now your time draws near ?
She knows it does -- her pain has made it clear;
If you have felt this pain you are awake --
No other man can feel it for your sake.
If someone has to rouse you every day,
Then someone else instead of you should pray.
The man without this pain is not a man;
May grief destroy the bragging charlatan!
But one who is entangled in its spell
Forgets all thoughts of heaven or of hell.
A vision of heaven and hell
Sheikh Bou Ali Tousi s long pilgrimage
(He was the wisest savant of his age)
Conducted him so far that I know none
Who could draw near to what this man has done.
He said: The wretches damned in hell will cry
To those in paradise: O, testify
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