بخش 79 - قصهٔ «سُبْحانی، ما اَعْظَمَ شَأْنی» گفتن ابویزید قدّس الله سرّه و اعتراض مریدان و جواب این مر ایشان را نه به طریق گفت زبان بلک از راه عیان

That venerable dervish, Báyazíd, came to his disciples, saying, “Lo, I am God.”

That master of the (mystic) sciences said plainly in drunken fashion, “Hark, there is no god but I, so worship me.”

When that ecstasy had passed, they said to him at dawn, “Thou saidest such and such, and this is impiety.”

He said, “This time, if I make a scandal, come on at once and dash knives into me.

God transcends the body, and I am with the body: ye must kill me when I say a thing like this.”

When that (spiritual) freeman gave the injunction, each disciple made ready a knife.

Again he (Báyazíd) became intoxicated by that potent flagon: those injunctions vanished from his mind.

The Dessert came: his reason became distraught. The Dawn came: his candle became helpless.

Reason is like the prefect: when the sultan arrives, the helpless prefect creeps into a corner.

Reason is the shadow of God: God is the sun: what power hath the shadow to resist His sun?

When a genie prevails over (gains possession of) a man, the attributes of humanity disappear from the man.

Whatsoever he says, that genie will (really) have said it: the one who belongs to this side will have spoken from (the control of) the one who belongs to yonder side.

Since a genie hath this influence and rule, how (much more powerful) indeed must be the Creator of that genie!

His (the possessed man's) “he” (personality) is gone: he has in sooth become the genie: the Turk, without (receiving) Divine inspiration, has become a speaker of Arabic.

When he comes to himself, he does not know a word (of Arabic). Inasmuch as a genie hath this essence and quality,

Then how, pray, should the Lord of genie and man have inferiority to the genie?

If a pot-valiant fellow has drunk the blood of a fierce lion, you will say that the wine did it, not he;

And if he fashion words of old (pure) gold, you will say that the wine has spoken those words.

A wine hath this (power to excite) disturbance and commotion: hath not the Light of God that virtue and potency

To make you entirely empty of self, (so that) you should be laid low and He should make the Word lofty (within you)?

Though the Qur’án is (dictated) from the lips of the Prophet —if any one says God did not speak it, he is an infidel.

When the humá of selflessness took wing (and soared), Báyazíd began (to repeat) those words.

The flood of bewilderment swept away his reason: he spoke more strongly than he had spoken at first,

(Saying), “Within my mantle there is naught but God: how long wilt thou seek on the earth and in heaven?”

All the disciples became frenzied and dashed their knives at his holy body.

Like the heretics of Girdakúh, every one was ruthlessly stabbing his spiritual Director.

Every one who plunged a dagger into the Shaykh was reversely making a gash in his own body.

There was no mark (of a wound) on the body of that possessor of the (mystic) sciences, while those disciples were wounded and drowned in blood.

Whoever aimed a blow at his throat saw his own throat cut, and died miserably;

And whoever inflicted a blow on his breast, his (own) breast was riven, and he became dead for ever;

And he that was acquainted with that (spiritual) emperor of high fortune, (and) his heart (courage) did not consent to strike a heavy blow,

Half-knowledge tied his hand, (so that) he saved his life and only wounded himself.

Day broke, and the disciples were thinned: wails of lamentation arose from their house.

Thousands of men and women came to him (Báyazíd), saying, “O thou in whose single shirt the two worlds are contained,

If this body of thine were a human body, it would have been destroyed, like a human body, by the daggers.”

A self-existent one encountered a selfless one in combat: the self-existent one drove a thorn into his own eye (hurt himself).

O you who stab the selfless ones with the sword, you are stabbing your own body with it. Beware!

For the selfless one has passed away (in God) and is safe: he is dwelling in safety for ever.

His form has passed away and he has become a mirror: naught is there but the form (image) of the face of another.

If you spit (at it), you spit at your own face; and if you strike at the mirror, you strike at yourself;

And if you see an ugly face (in that mirror), ’tis you; and if you see Jesus and Mary, ’tis you.

He is neither this nor that: he is simple (pure and free from attributes of self): he has placed your image before you.

When the discourse reached this point, it closed its lips; when the pen reached this point, it broke to pieces.

Close thy lips (O my soul): though eloquence is at thy command, do not breathe a word—and God best knoweth the right way.

O you who are drunken with the wine (of love), you are on the edge of the roof: sit down or (else) descend, and peace be with you!

Every moment when you enjoy (union with the Beloved), deem that delightful moment to be the edge of the roof.

Be trembling for (fear of losing) the delightful moment: conceal it like a treasure, do not divulge it.

Lest calamity suddenly befall (your) plighted love, take heed, go very fearfully into that place of ambush.

The spirit's fear of loss at the moment of enjoyment is (the sign of its) departure (descent) from the hidden roof-edge.

If you do not see the mysterious roof-edge, (yet) the spirit is seeing, for it is shuddering (with fear).

Every sudden chastisement that has come to pass has taken place on the edge of the turret of enjoyment.

Indeed there is no fall except (on) the edge of the roof: (take) warning from (the fate of) the people of Noah and the people of Lot.