3 21
THE LETTER DAL ^
O
keep thyself safe from His bold eye for Because, plunder, that sorcerer (the eye), the archer, heart
Hafiz
!
;
came.
stained (with sin), thou art. Ask a favour of the king (the murshid) ; purification (of the sin-stained), that foundation of liberality (the
!
For, for
came.
murshid)
The King's assembly
Ho O !
On
loss-stricken
is
Discover the time of pearl-gaining the time of barter and profit hath
a sea.
one
!
:
come.
the throne of Jamshid, whose crown is with the loftiness of the sun, behold man's spirit, notwithstanding that his nature is of earth and that it is scorned by the most perfect and by the highest.
the lowest of the low, through lofty spirit and following God's qualities, causeth himself to reach the highest of the high. From the state of "possibility," he reacheth the state of "the necessarily existent one" (God).
Man,
in
Though His In the
"
essence (zat) he becometh not "the necessarily existent one," yet wholly he acquireth
qualities.
"
Wusul-i-Salik," Sahib Marghubu-1-Kulub saith there, the holy traveller reacheth to like God, :
When,
" Over In the
"
all
that
is,
he
is
king."
Fususu-1-Hikam," Shaikh Muhi-u-d-Din bin 'Arabi saith
:
" The king of travellers, and of all the stars is the sun. " Though it is on the fourth heaven, its sway reacheth to the eighth heaven stars
"Who
and
;
and there aie the
constellations.
asketh about the (contemptible) earth whose sway (by Fate's decree) every whet e
reacheth." " 9.
The King,"
A
perfect
in couplets 8
and
g,
may
signify
:
man.
2
T