Sayings of Shamsi Tabriz
By the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
From the Sayings of the King of Beloveds,
our Master Shamsuddin al Tabrizi from whose
blessing may God not deprive us.
1. If you renounce the body and attain the soul, you have attained a transient, God is eternal. How should the transient discover the eternal? What is the dust to do with the Lord of Lords? The soul is all you have by which you may escape and be saved. What then will have you done if you offer up your soul? Verse:
If your lovers bring you their soul as a gift,
I swear by your head, it is as if they carry
cumin seeds to Kerman.
If you carry cumin seeds to Kerman (carry coals to Newcastle), what price, what value, what reputation does it bring to you? Since it is such a royal court and now he is free from want, do you carry a gift of supplication, because he who is free from want likes the gift of supplication. By means of such a gift, you will suddenly be rescued from the midst of these accidents. From the Eternal something is attached to you and that is love. The net of love appeared and ensnared him, because "they love Him" is the effect of "He loves them" (Quran 5:59). From that eternal you see the Eternal and:" He comprehendeth (all) visions" (Quran 6:106). This is the whole of this discourse of which there is no end, and it will not end until the Day of Judgment.
2. The mirror does not consent, even if you prostrate yourself a hundred times before it and say to it: " there is only this defect in his face; hide it from him, since he is my friend." It says in mute language that this is certainly impossible. He says: "No, my friend, you ask me to give you (put in your hand) the mirror that you may look at yourself in it; I cannot make any pretext and reject pour demand." And in his heart, he says:" Of course, I shall make a pretext and shall not give the mirror to him. Because if I say there is a defect in his face, he cannot bear it, and if I say, the defect is in the
face of the mirror, it is still worse." But still affection does not let him make an excuse and he says:" I shall give you the mirror, but if you see a defect in the face of the mirror, do not consider it that of the mirror, but do not consider it as an accidental defect in the mirror; consider it as your own ref-lection, consider it as a defect of your own, and do not impute it to the mirror. If you do not consider it as your own defects, consider it as a defect of mine who am the owner of the mirror and do not impute it to the mirror." He says: I have agreed, and here is my oath on it, so bring the mirror, since I have no more patience." But still his heart does not allow him. He says:" Master, I shall make another pretext; perhaps he will give up the condition.; and the affair of mirror is very delicate;" but again affection does not permit him. He says (to himself): "I shall renew the condition once more" and says: " The condition and promise is that whatever defect you may see, you will not dash it to the ground and will not break its precious substance, though its substance indeed is not breakable." He says:" No! God forbid, I will never do this and will never think of it; I will never complain of any defect
in the mirror. Now give me the mirror so that you may see my politeness and loyalty." He says:" If you break it, its price is so much, and the fine (for breaking it) is so much", and he calls witnesses to this. Nevertheless, when he gives him the mirror, he runs away. He says to himself:" If the mirror is sound, why did he run away and wish to break it? When he held it before his face he saw in it an extremely ugly image and he wanted to dash it to the ground, and he filled my heart with sorrow, but he remembered the fine, the indemnity and the calling of witnesses." He said: "I whisk there were not the third condition, that of calling witnesses, so that I could cool down my heart and show him what should be done; I said this and the mirror reproached him with mute language, saying: I Do you see what you have done to me and what I have done to you?!' Now the fact is that he loves himself and has made a pretense with the mirror. For if he loves himself he can cope with himself but if he loves the mirror he can cope with neither of them. This mirror is the truth itself and he imagines that the mirror is different from him. All the same, as he has an
inclination towards the mirror, so too the mirror L an inclination towards him. It is because of the inclination of the mirror towards him that he has an inclination towards the mirror, but he thinks the opposite. If you break the mirror you would break me; because He says:" I am near the broken hearted." In short, it is impossible for the mirror to have an inclination or a partiality; and likewise for the touchstone and the balance, which both incline to the truth. If you say to the balance:" 0 balance, make this small weight heavier and put it in order", it inclines only to the truth, even if you tend it and prostrate yourself before it for two hundred years.
3. I shall say this word today and shall analyze it; it might be that once I will say the same word and will not break it into pieces. It seems difficult to say this word without hypocrisy. To say this truly and openly is the same as what the heretic teacher said to Junayd to whom he was sent by a divine order. When after a long journey Junayd arrived at his place, the teacher said:" 0 Junayd, since you set out to meet me, I have been aware of your position and I am helpless anal do not know
what to say to you. As the Shaykh said to a certain Sufi that :"even a mouse cannot trust you, how then can I divulge a secret to you?!"
4. One makes an anouncement loudly, yet the reason cannot hear it. When one is ordered to announce it in a lower voice, the reason hears, but something other than this word. Even if I try to communicate it to him, how can he hold out? That is because Junayd was not a confidant, although he was himself a Shaykh and the power of Shaykhs is different from ours and (they attained such a state of tolerance) that they say :"disbelief and Islam are the same to us, those are two clothings (for the same truth). In spite of all this power, the teacher said to Junayd: " I can say nothing t o you, for you have become famous and notorious all over the world.
5. Beware! This is the pure description of the Glorious One and it is His blessed word, but who are you and what is yours? These sayings are true and based on wisdom. Great saints make allusions in this kind of speech; and since they do this, you must show what your kind of speech is. I talk
about my position and make no reference to them,you too tell me if you have something to say and dispute about. If once the discussion becomes delicate and abstruse, one as Mawlana says takes the seal off the Quran and tradition and calls them to witness, in order to describe the subject in full detail, and it is permissible.
6. The revelation and vision of God is more evident to the men of God through Same' (the ecstatic dance), they have come out of the world of their existence, and the Sam a' brings them out of the other worlds, and meeting with God is attained. In short, there is a Sama' which is forbidden and, indeed, such a Sama' is a blasphemy; he was generous to call it unlawful. The man whose hand rises up without that ecstasy, certainly his hand, and foot, will be tortured in hell; and the hand which rises up with that ecstasy, certainly attains paradise. And there is a Same' which is lawful, and that is the Sama' of the men of mortification and asceticism, by which they can shed tears and be moved to pity. And there is the Sama' which is an ordinance and that is the Sama' of the men of ecstasy (hal). This is a real ordinance, like the five, times of prayer and the fast of Ramasan, and like consuming bread and water when necessary which is an ordinance for men of ecstasy, since it helps them to live. If a man of Sama' performs the Same' in the East, there is a Sam3' in the West for another man of Sama'; and they are aware of one another's state.
7. One said:" Mawlana is all grace (lutf), and Mawlana Shamsuddin has both the quality of violence (qahr)and of grace." A certain man said that everybody was like that. Then he came to explain and apologize, and he said, 'my intention was to deny what he said and not your deficiency.' 0 fool, since it was about me, how can you expound it and how can you apologize? He endowed me with the attributes of God, who has both violence and grace. That was not the word of God, or the Quran or the Sayings of the Prophet; it was my word uttered by him. How do you dare to say that everybody has grace ,and violence, so that they attribute this statement to me? How can everybody have both grace and violence? Then, with such intelligence and politeness, they must go to Junayd, Bayazid and Shebli, within two days.
and drink with them from the same cup. If they describe for him the conduct of those Masters, he will go mad, at the very hearing of it, even without doing their deeds. But, nevertheless, he (Junayd) died cut off from God. On his tomb a Derwish said:" O, only one curtain remained between this man and God." It was the generosity of that Derwish; you had better ask another Blerwi sh .
8. Mawlana has beauty. But I have both beauty and ugliness. Mawlana had seen my beauty, but not my ugliness. This time I shall not play the hypocrite and shall show him my ugliness, so that he may see me as a whole, both my elegance and my ugliness. Whoever found the way to my company, its sign is that the company of others becomes icy and bitter to him. Not in the way that it becomes icy to him and yet he continues the company, but in such a way that he will not be able to converse with them.
9. Our friends get warm by taking Hashish; that is the phantom of the demon (dev); here the phantom of the angel is worth nothing, still less the phantom of the demon; we are not contented with the
angel himself, still less with the phantom of the angel; what is the demon himself, to say nothing of his phantom?! Why have our friends no taste for the pure and infinite world of ours? It (Hashish) affects people, so that they understand nothing and become giddy and stupefied. A question; he said, wine is prohibited in the Quran, but Hashish is not prohibited (?!). I said:' There was a reason for each verse (of the Quran), and thus it was revealed to the Prophet; in the time of the Prophet (may peace be upon him), the companions (Sehabah) never took Hashish, for he would have punished them with death. Each verse was revealed to the Prophet to meet a certain need and for a certain reason. When the Companions recited the Quran a loud vice in the presence of the Prophet, his blessed mind was disturbed and this verse was revealed to him:" 0 Ye, who believe! lift not up your voice above the voice of the Prophet " (Quran 49:2).
Posted by Nasir Shamsi
Selections from Maqalat-i Shamsi Tabriz (Maqalat consist of the conversation of Shams Tabriz with his disciple and student, Rumi, as recorded by his son, Sultan Vald).
From the Sayings of the King of Beloveds,
our Master Shamsuddin al Tabrizi from whose
blessing may God not deprive us.
1. If you renounce the body and attain the soul, you have attained a transient, God is eternal. How should the transient discover the eternal? What is the dust to do with the Lord of Lords? The soul is all you have by which you may escape and be saved. What then will have you done if you offer up your soul? Verse:
If your lovers bring you their soul as a gift,
I swear by your head, it is as if they carry
cumin seeds to Kerman.
If you carry cumin seeds to Kerman (carry coals to Newcastle), what price, what value, what reputation does it bring to you? Since it is such a royal court and now he is free from want, do you carry a gift of supplication, because he who is free from want likes the gift of supplication. By means of such a gift, you will suddenly be rescued from the midst of these accidents. From the Eternal something is attached to you and that is love. The net of love appeared and ensnared him, because "they love Him" is the effect of "He loves them" (Quran 5:59). From that eternal you see the Eternal and:" He comprehendeth (all) visions" (Quran 6:106). This is the whole of this discourse of which there is no end, and it will not end until the Day of Judgment.
2. The mirror does not consent, even if you prostrate yourself a hundred times before it and say to it: " there is only this defect in his face; hide it from him, since he is my friend." It says in mute language that this is certainly impossible. He says: "No, my friend, you ask me to give you (put in your hand) the mirror that you may look at yourself in it; I cannot make any pretext and reject pour demand." And in his heart, he says:" Of course, I shall make a pretext and shall not give the mirror to him. Because if I say there is a defect in his face, he cannot bear it, and if I say, the defect is in the
face of the mirror, it is still worse." But still affection does not let him make an excuse and he says:" I shall give you the mirror, but if you see a defect in the face of the mirror, do not consider it that of the mirror, but do not consider it as an accidental defect in the mirror; consider it as your own ref-lection, consider it as a defect of your own, and do not impute it to the mirror. If you do not consider it as your own defects, consider it as a defect of mine who am the owner of the mirror and do not impute it to the mirror." He says: I have agreed, and here is my oath on it, so bring the mirror, since I have no more patience." But still his heart does not allow him. He says:" Master, I shall make another pretext; perhaps he will give up the condition.; and the affair of mirror is very delicate;" but again affection does not permit him. He says (to himself): "I shall renew the condition once more" and says: " The condition and promise is that whatever defect you may see, you will not dash it to the ground and will not break its precious substance, though its substance indeed is not breakable." He says:" No! God forbid, I will never do this and will never think of it; I will never complain of any defect
in the mirror. Now give me the mirror so that you may see my politeness and loyalty." He says:" If you break it, its price is so much, and the fine (for breaking it) is so much", and he calls witnesses to this. Nevertheless, when he gives him the mirror, he runs away. He says to himself:" If the mirror is sound, why did he run away and wish to break it? When he held it before his face he saw in it an extremely ugly image and he wanted to dash it to the ground, and he filled my heart with sorrow, but he remembered the fine, the indemnity and the calling of witnesses." He said: "I whisk there were not the third condition, that of calling witnesses, so that I could cool down my heart and show him what should be done; I said this and the mirror reproached him with mute language, saying: I Do you see what you have done to me and what I have done to you?!' Now the fact is that he loves himself and has made a pretense with the mirror. For if he loves himself he can cope with himself but if he loves the mirror he can cope with neither of them. This mirror is the truth itself and he imagines that the mirror is different from him. All the same, as he has an
inclination towards the mirror, so too the mirror L an inclination towards him. It is because of the inclination of the mirror towards him that he has an inclination towards the mirror, but he thinks the opposite. If you break the mirror you would break me; because He says:" I am near the broken hearted." In short, it is impossible for the mirror to have an inclination or a partiality; and likewise for the touchstone and the balance, which both incline to the truth. If you say to the balance:" 0 balance, make this small weight heavier and put it in order", it inclines only to the truth, even if you tend it and prostrate yourself before it for two hundred years.
3. I shall say this word today and shall analyze it; it might be that once I will say the same word and will not break it into pieces. It seems difficult to say this word without hypocrisy. To say this truly and openly is the same as what the heretic teacher said to Junayd to whom he was sent by a divine order. When after a long journey Junayd arrived at his place, the teacher said:" 0 Junayd, since you set out to meet me, I have been aware of your position and I am helpless anal do not know
what to say to you. As the Shaykh said to a certain Sufi that :"even a mouse cannot trust you, how then can I divulge a secret to you?!"
4. One makes an anouncement loudly, yet the reason cannot hear it. When one is ordered to announce it in a lower voice, the reason hears, but something other than this word. Even if I try to communicate it to him, how can he hold out? That is because Junayd was not a confidant, although he was himself a Shaykh and the power of Shaykhs is different from ours and (they attained such a state of tolerance) that they say :"disbelief and Islam are the same to us, those are two clothings (for the same truth). In spite of all this power, the teacher said to Junayd: " I can say nothing t o you, for you have become famous and notorious all over the world.
5. Beware! This is the pure description of the Glorious One and it is His blessed word, but who are you and what is yours? These sayings are true and based on wisdom. Great saints make allusions in this kind of speech; and since they do this, you must show what your kind of speech is. I talk
about my position and make no reference to them,you too tell me if you have something to say and dispute about. If once the discussion becomes delicate and abstruse, one as Mawlana says takes the seal off the Quran and tradition and calls them to witness, in order to describe the subject in full detail, and it is permissible.
6. The revelation and vision of God is more evident to the men of God through Same' (the ecstatic dance), they have come out of the world of their existence, and the Sam a' brings them out of the other worlds, and meeting with God is attained. In short, there is a Sama' which is forbidden and, indeed, such a Sama' is a blasphemy; he was generous to call it unlawful. The man whose hand rises up without that ecstasy, certainly his hand, and foot, will be tortured in hell; and the hand which rises up with that ecstasy, certainly attains paradise. And there is a Same' which is lawful, and that is the Sama' of the men of mortification and asceticism, by which they can shed tears and be moved to pity. And there is the Sama' which is an ordinance and that is the Sama' of the men of ecstasy (hal). This is a real ordinance, like the five, times of prayer and the fast of Ramasan, and like consuming bread and water when necessary which is an ordinance for men of ecstasy, since it helps them to live. If a man of Sama' performs the Same' in the East, there is a Sam3' in the West for another man of Sama'; and they are aware of one another's state.
7. One said:" Mawlana is all grace (lutf), and Mawlana Shamsuddin has both the quality of violence (qahr)and of grace." A certain man said that everybody was like that. Then he came to explain and apologize, and he said, 'my intention was to deny what he said and not your deficiency.' 0 fool, since it was about me, how can you expound it and how can you apologize? He endowed me with the attributes of God, who has both violence and grace. That was not the word of God, or the Quran or the Sayings of the Prophet; it was my word uttered by him. How do you dare to say that everybody has grace ,and violence, so that they attribute this statement to me? How can everybody have both grace and violence? Then, with such intelligence and politeness, they must go to Junayd, Bayazid and Shebli, within two days.
and drink with them from the same cup. If they describe for him the conduct of those Masters, he will go mad, at the very hearing of it, even without doing their deeds. But, nevertheless, he (Junayd) died cut off from God. On his tomb a Derwish said:" O, only one curtain remained between this man and God." It was the generosity of that Derwish; you had better ask another Blerwi sh .
8. Mawlana has beauty. But I have both beauty and ugliness. Mawlana had seen my beauty, but not my ugliness. This time I shall not play the hypocrite and shall show him my ugliness, so that he may see me as a whole, both my elegance and my ugliness. Whoever found the way to my company, its sign is that the company of others becomes icy and bitter to him. Not in the way that it becomes icy to him and yet he continues the company, but in such a way that he will not be able to converse with them.
9. Our friends get warm by taking Hashish; that is the phantom of the demon (dev); here the phantom of the angel is worth nothing, still less the phantom of the demon; we are not contented with the
angel himself, still less with the phantom of the angel; what is the demon himself, to say nothing of his phantom?! Why have our friends no taste for the pure and infinite world of ours? It (Hashish) affects people, so that they understand nothing and become giddy and stupefied. A question; he said, wine is prohibited in the Quran, but Hashish is not prohibited (?!). I said:' There was a reason for each verse (of the Quran), and thus it was revealed to the Prophet; in the time of the Prophet (may peace be upon him), the companions (Sehabah) never took Hashish, for he would have punished them with death. Each verse was revealed to the Prophet to meet a certain need and for a certain reason. When the Companions recited the Quran a loud vice in the presence of the Prophet, his blessed mind was disturbed and this verse was revealed to him:" 0 Ye, who believe! lift not up your voice above the voice of the Prophet " (Quran 49:2).
Posted by Nasir Shamsi
Selections from Maqalat-i Shamsi Tabriz (Maqalat consist of the conversation of Shams Tabriz with his disciple and student, Rumi, as recorded by his son, Sultan Vald).
posted by Nasir Shamsi | 12:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home