12th-century-persian-poets

"Sainthood and prophet-hood are twins in gnosis i.e, the oceans of sainthood and prophet-hood interpenetrate each other."

"I swam in the primordial and ultimate oceans, in eternity and subsistence, and I discovered the unveiling of the Essence and Attributes which deaf stones and lofty mountains cannot endure."

"I was in my youth and in the days of my intoxication extravagance and excitement that unveiling of the angelic world and the manifestation of the wonders of power took place in my heart, spirit, conscience and intellect."

"Unveiling is the mystical perception of the saint but not through abstract of philosophical knowledge, but it is a vision clothed in form especially human form. It is cognitive but apparitional revealing knowledge through divine light."

"What is common to all the divine Attributes is that they are modes through which the Essence can interact with the temporal world. The Attributes of God can be divided into two types: Attribues of Majesty that mediate the power and wrath of God, and Attributes of Beauty that convey the grace and mercy of God."

"From the Throne to the earth is the creation of God Most High; everything but his existence is his action. He brought them into existence from pure non-being."

"God alone can help a man to do good deeds."

"The spiritual path is hard to travel except for those who were created for the purpose."

"Whosoever refrains his soul from lust, verily Paradise shall be his abode."

"Implore God to deliver you from the wickedness of your soul."

"Every good and evil that happens to man is decreed by God."

"The ostentatious man purposely acts in such a way as to win popularity, while the Malàmatí purposely acts in such a way that the people reject him. Both have their thoughts fixed on mankind and do not pass beyond that sphere."

"Knowledge is immense and life is short: therefore it is not obligatory to learn all the sciences, such as Astronomy and Medicine, and Arithmetic, etc., but only so much of each as bears upon the religious law: enough astronomy to know the times (of prayer) in the night, enough medicine to abstain from what is injurious, enough arithmetic to understand the division of inheritances and to calculate the duration of the Iddat."

"The fragrant rose blossoms in the garden; It seems to me, this is the face of my Fairest. The tulip in the green meadow appears to the eye As the face of the Beloved sitting beside me. From afar, the intoxicated narcissus Is my Sweetheart's eye looking out for me. When I see the violets, I say to myself: 'These are his locks, or else my emaculated body.'"

"O mighty Prince, whose majesty sublime Scarce deigns to mount the piebald steed of Time; Whose judgment hits the mark of empire high, As 'twere an arrow quivered in the Sky– To-day hath Heav'n arrayed his cloudy throne, The wind shoots keener shafts than Arish's own; On every mountain-angle snowflakes star The landscape, like a jewelled scimitar. And I have graced my song, as well I may, With the sweet prelude of another's lay. For whose'er of such a day hath sight, (Now chiefly when the tangled locks of Night Fall thickliest) to his mind will come the line, "To-day's the day for tent and fire and wine." The Nine Spheres' influence keep thee safe and fast, While the Four Elements and Six Directions last!"

"Waft, gentle gale, oh waft to Samercand, When next thou visitest that blissful land, The plaint of Khorassania plung'd in woe: Bear to Turania's King our piteous scroll, Whose opening breathes forth all the anguish'd soul, And close denotes whate'er the tortur'd know."

"The universe is an abode of Divine mysteries, which are deposited in created things."

"Blind conformity had taken the place of spiritual enthusiasm."

"The people are occupied with following their lusts and have turned their back on the path of spiritualism."

"In our time the science of Sufism is desolate."

"All humans action and inaction is the act and creation of God."

"There is a Witness in the world, but we are idle; There is a draught left in the cup, but we remain sober. Arise! Let us set to rest, with the water from our faces, The wind blowing from this deceitful heap of earth. Let's sally forth on a raid and let's destroy The marketplace where this black-faced soul thrives!"

"I went to the Tavern last night, but I was not admitted I was bellowing yet nobody was listening to me Either none of the wine-sellers were awake Or I was a nobody, and no one opened the door for a Nobody When more or less half of the night had passed A shrewd, perfect man (rind) raised his head from a booth and showed his face I asked him: “to open the door”, he told me: “go away, do not talk nonsense! At this hour, nobody opens door for anybody This is not a mosque where its doors are open any moment Where you can come late and move quickly to the first row This is the Tavern of Magians and rinds dwell here There are Beauties, candle, wine, sugar, reed flute and songs Whatever wonders that exists, is present here (in this tavern there are) Muslims, Armenians, Zoroastrian, Nestorians, and Jews If you are seeking company of all that is found here You must become a dust upon the feet of everyone in order to reach your (spiritual perfection) goal” O Nezami! if you knock the ring on this door day and night You won't find except smoke from this burning fire"

"Alas, the wasted labour of my youth! Alas, the hope which vain hath proved in truth! I tunnelled mountain walls: behold my prize! My labour's wasted: here the hardship lies! The world is void of sun and moon for me: My garden lacks its box and willow tree. For the last time my beacon-light hath shone; Not Shirin, but the sun from me is gone! Beyond Death's portals, Shirin shall I greet, So with one leap, I hasten Death to meet! Thus to the world the mournful tale he cried, For Shirin kissed the ground and kissing died."

"Take not apart the good pearl from the string; from him who is of evil nature flee. An evil nature acts consistently: have you not heard that Nature does not err? The evil-natured man keeps faith with none; the erring nature does not fail to err. The scorpion since it is by nature bad—to let it live's a fault, to kill it, good. Seek knowledge, for through knowledge you effect that doors to you be opened and not closed. He who shames not at learning can draw forth pearls from the water, rubies from the rock. Whilst he to whom no knowledge is assigned—that person (you will find) ashamed to learn. How many, keen of mind, in effort slack, sell pottery from lack of pearls (to sell)! How many a dullard, through his being taught, becomes the chief judge of the Seven Climes!"

"Like as my ancestors, so did my father Yusuf, son of Zaki Muwajjad, early depart hence. Yet what boots it to quarrel with destiny? Fate spoke, and complaints must be hushed. Yet whose father died not? When I saw him depart to his fathers, I tore his image out of my heart. Whatever has happened to me, bitter or sweet, all I have done is to resign myself."

"The bird that sings the song of pain is love The courier who knows the tongue of the Unseen is love The existence that call you to nonexistence is love And that which redeems you from you is love"

"Do you know what I benefitted from this world? Nothing And what I gained from the days of life? Nothing I am a candle of wisdom; but when extinguished, nothing I am the cup of Jamshid; but when broken nothing"

"To me the heart is a sheikh who teaches me, And I am the child who understands his language. When I bow my head I pay him my fee, When I put my head on my knees I attend his school. Not on every knee his school can be found; Not all moments are tablets to receive his words. Not every sea hides shells, Not every drop is an April shower. Kneeling down is only a school, Like Noah's Ark, to him Whose sorrow is a frothing Flood, To whom Ararat is a heaven. However, to him who, once, Enters this school be kneeling down, The Ararat will not be higher than his ankle-bone, The Flood will not reach his shank. No one qualifies for this school Unless he has a sorrow so great that, With each breath he inhales, four Floods Invade the four elements of his body. The school of kneeling down is meant Especially for those men who, being lions, Like a dog shy away behind a knee From all the agitation among men."

"Others are heedless,—do thou be wise, and on this path keep thy tongue silent. The condition laid on such a one is that he should receive all food and drink from the Causer, not from the causes. Go, suffer hardship, if thou wouldst be cherished; and if not, be content with the road to Hell. None ever attained his object without enduring hardship."

"He who knows not his own soul, how shall he know the soul of another? and he who only knows hand and foot, how shall he know the Godhead? The prophets are unequal to understanding this matter; why dost thou foolishly claim to do so? When thou hast brought forward a demonstration of this subject, then thou wilt know the pure essence of the faith; otherwise what have faith and thou in common? thou hadst best be silent, and speak not folly. The learned talk nonsense all; for true religion is not woven about the feet of everyone."

"While mankind remains mere baggage in the world It will be swept along, as in a boat, asleep. What can they see in sleep? What real merit or punishment can there be?"

"In the gallery of God's Command no statues Of believers or unbelievers can be seen: Deep in the ocean of "Other than God" lives The snake 'No' who devours belief and unbelief."

"I am fallen person in a thousand sorrows In each breath my life's looking in end with no sin I am prisoner with no reason fallen in trouble stars have sworn to hurt me the sky has come to fight with me today in pains I'm higher than the yesterday this year my soul's lesser than last year I had many selected friends what has become no one's remain every night the sky's made sad with my painful sadness cryings I fell in jail, why? I don't know I just know: I'm not still nor wicked to much desires I had before oh alas! where is my lost desires"

"گردوں بہ رنج و درد مارا کشتہ بود اگر پیوند و عمر من نہ شدے نظم جان فضائے"

"“As power and the strength of a lion was bestowed upon Ibrahim by the Almighty, he made over to him the well-populated country of Hindustan and gave him 40,000 valiant horsemen to take the country, in which there were more than 1000 rais… Its length extends from Lahore to the Euphrates, and its breadth from Kashmir to the borders of Sistan… The army of the king destroyed at one time a thousand temples of idols, which had each been built for more than a thousand years. How can I describe the victories of the king…”"

"“The narrative of thy battles eclipses the stories of Rustam and Isfandiyar. Thou didst bring an army in one night from Dhangan to Jalandhar… Thou didst direct but one assault and by that alone brought destruction upon the country. By the morning meal not one soldier, not one Brahman, remained unkilled or uncaptured. Their beads were severed by the carriers of swords. Their houses were levelled with the ground with flaming fire… Thou has secured victory to the country and to religion, for amongst the Hindus this achievement will be remembered till the day of resurrection.”"

"“Thou didst depart with a thousand joyful anticipations on a holy expedition, and didst return having achieved a thousand victories… On this journey the army destroyed a thousand idol-temples and thy elephants trampled over more than a hundred strongholds. Thou didst march thy arm to Ujjain; Malwa trembled and fled from thee… On the way to Kalinjar thy pomp obscured the light of day. The lip of infidelity became dry through fear of thee, the eye of plural-worship became blind…”"

"[Among the different coins struck in Mahmud's reign one bore the following inscription:] "The right hand of the empire, Mahmud Sultan, son of Nasir-ud-Din Subuk-Tigin, Breaker of Idols.""

"[Minhaj Siraj describes:] “The Maliks and servants of the Sultan’s Court were all Turks of pure lineage” (Turkan-i-pak) writes he, and Taziks of noble birth (Tazikan-i-guzida was). “Imad-ud-Din Rayhan (who) was castrated and mutilated, and of the tribe of Hind, was ruling over the heads of lords of high descent, and the whole of them were loathing that state, and were unable to suffer any longer that degradation.”..."

"Turks of pure lineage and Tajiks of noble birth could not tolerate … the tribes of Hind to rule over them."

"The greater number of inhabitants of that place were Brahmans, and the whole of those Brahmans had their heads shaven, and they were all slain. There were a great number of books there; and when all these books came under the observation of the Musalmans, they summoned a number of Hindus that they might give them information respecting the import of those books; but the whole of the Hindus had been killed. On being acquainted (with the contents of the books), it was found that the whole of that fortress and city was a college, and in the Hindu tongue, they call a college, Bihar [vihara]."

"Sultan-i Mu’azzam Nasiru-d dunya wau-d din ascended the throne in the Green Palace at Delhi with the most favourable auspices on Sunday, 23rd Muharram 644 H. (10th June, 1246)…Ulugh Khan-I Azam, who now held the office of lord chamberlain, ...with the help of God, ravaged the hills of Jud and the Jailam, and sent many of the Kokhars (Gakkars) and rebellious infidels to hell… In the neighbourhood of Kanauj there is a fortified village called Nandana, where there is a very strong fort vying with the wall of Alexander. A body of infidel Hindus shut themselves up in this place, resolved to fight to the extremity. For two days the royal army carried on a murderous conflict at this village, but at length the rebels were sent to hell, and the place subdued… There was in the neighbourhood a Rana who (ora) was called Dalaki wa Malaki. He had many dependants, countless fighting men, great dominion and wealth, fortified places, and hills and defiles extremely difficult of access. All these he (Ulugh Khan) ravaged. He took prisoners the wives, sons, and dependants of that accursed one, and secured great booty… …His Majesty…advanced as far as Malwa. Jahir Deo was the greatest of all the Ranas of that country and neighbourhood. He had five thousand horse and two hundred thousand infantry, but he was defeated…Ulugh exhibited great energy in this campaign… On the 16th Ramazan Ulugh Khan was sent into the hills of Delhi, to chastise the rebel inhabitants of Mewat, and to intimidate their Deo. Ten thousand horsemen in armour, and a large army of brave and warlike soldiers were under his command. Great booty was gained, and many cattle captured. Defiles and passes were cleared, strong forts were taken, and numberless Hindus perished under the merciless swords of the soldiers of Islam…"

"The Khakan-I Muazzam Ulugh Khan-I Azam belonged to the stock of the Khakans of Albari…The Almighty desired to grant a support to the power of Islam and to the strength of the Muhammadan faith, to extend his glorious shadow over it, and to preserve Hindustan within the range of his favour and protection. He therefore removed Ulugh Khan in his youth from Turkistan, and separated him from his race and kindred, from his tribe and relations, and conveyed him to the country (of Hindustan), for the purpose of curbing the Mughals [Mongols]…"

"On Monday, the 1st Rajab, 644 H., the army set forth and proceeded to the river Sodra. Here Ulugh Khan was detached with several nobles and generals to make an incursion into the hills of Jud. The Rana of these hills had acted as guide to the infidel Mughals, and it was now determined to take vengeance. Ulugh Khan accordingly attacked the hills of Jud, and the countries on the Jailam, and led his forces as far as the banks of the Indus. All the women and dependants of the infidels which were in those parts were obliged to flee, and a party of the Mughal army crossed over the Jailam, and saw the forces which were arrayed under the command of Ulugh Khan. The manifold lines of the army, the numbers of the horse, the armour and the arms, filled the observers with wonder and dismay. The bravery and generalship which Ulugh Khan displayed in scaling the mountains, breaking through defiles, capturing fortified places, and crossing jungles, cannot be described in writing. The fame of this campaign extended to Turkistan… The perseverance and resolution of Ulugh Khan had been the means of showing to the army of Turkistan and the Mughals such bravery and generalship that in the course of this year no one came from the upper parts towards Sindh…"

"The nobles and servants of the State were all Turks of pure origin and Taziks of good stock, but Imadu-d din [an Indian convert] was an eunuch and impotent; he, moreover, belonged to one of the tribe of Hindustan. Notwithstanding all this he exercised authority over the heads of all these chiefs. They were disgusted with this state of affairs and could no longer endure it…"

"At the beginning of 658 H. (December, 1259), Ulugh Khan resolved upon a campaign in the hills near the capital. These hills were inhabited by a turbulent people, who committed depredations on the roads, plundered the goods of Musulmans, drove away the cultivators, and ravaged the villages in the districts of Harriana, the Siwalik hills, and Bayana. Three years before they had carried off from Hansi a drove of camels and a number of the people of Ulugh Khan. Their chief was a Hindu named Malka, a fierce and desperate fellow. It was he who carried off the camels, and he fomented disturbances among the Hindus from the hills to Rantambhor. But when he did these things the army was otherwise engaged…in repelling the Mughal forces, which had attacked the frontiers of Islam in Sindh, at Lahore, and in the vicinity of the river Biyah…. Ulugh Khan and other nobles...resolved upon a campaign in the hills, and made the first march in advance on Monday, 4th Safar, 658. In their first forced march (kashish) they accomplished nearly fifty kos, and fell unexpectedly upon the rebels. These retreated to the summits of the mountains, to the defiles, to deep gorges and narrow valleys, but they were all taken and put to the sword. For twenty days the troops traversed the hills in all directions. The villages and habitations of the mountaineers were on the summits of the loftiest hills and rocks, and were of great strength, but they were all taken and ravaged by order of Ulugh Khan…A silver tanka was offered for every head, and two tankas for every man brought in alive. Eager for these rewards the soldiers climbed the highest hills, and penetrated the ravines and deepest gorges, and brought in heads and captives…Fortune now so favoured Ulugh Khan that he was able to penetrate to a fastness which no Musulman army had ever reached… In the course of twenty days this great work was accomplished, and the army returned to the capital on the 24th Rabi’u-l, 658. His Majesty, with a great retinue of chiefs and nobles, came forth to the plain of Hauz-rani to meet him, and a grand Court was held in which many honours and rewards were bestowed. After a stay of two days in the capital the Court went forth again to Hauz-rani on a mission of revenge. The elephants were prepared, and the Turks made ready their trenchant swords. By royal command many of the rebels were cast under the feet of elephants, and the fierce Turks cut the bodies of the Hindus in two. About a hundred met their death at the hands of the flayers, being skinned from head to foot; their skins were all stuffed with straw, and some of them were hung over every gate of the city. The plain of Hauz-rani and the gates of Delhi remembered no punishment like this, nor had any one heard such a tale of horror… The last event which I have to record is this. When Ulugh Khan carried war into the hills, and punished the rebels in the way we have related, a number of them escaped by flight. They now again took to plundering on the highways, and murdering Musulmans, so that the roads became dangerous. This being reported to the Khan, he sent emissaries and spies to find out the places where the rebels had taken refuge, and to make a full report of their state and condition. On Monday, 24th Rajab, 658 (July, 1260), he marched from Delhi with his own forces, the main army, and the forces of several chiefs. He hastened towards the hills, and, accomplishing more than fifty kos in one day’s journey (!), he fell upon the insurgents unawares, and captured them all, to the number of twelve thousand – men, women, and children – whom he put to the sword. All their valleys and strongholds were overrun and cleared, and great booty captured. Thanks be to God for this victory of Islam."

"That heart which, through separation, thou madest sad; From every joy that was, which thou madest bare of; From thy disposition I am aware that, suddenly and unexpectedly, The rumour may arise that thou hast broken it."

"The lip, in the ruby lips of heart-ravishes delighting, And to ruffle the dishevelled tresses essaying, To-day is delightful, but to-morrow it is not— To make one's self like as straw, fuel for the fire."

"[Minhaj Siraj writes that] “Ulugh Khan Balban’s taking of captives, and his capture of the dependents of the great Ranas cannot be recounted”. ... “All the infidels’ wives, sons and dependents… and children… fell into the hands of the victors.”"