“As he yet spake, in walked Jelāl. We saluted; and he was begged to partake of the food. He took a little morsel, no larger than a filbert, giving me some also. I fell at his feet, and told him I was from Qonya on pilgrimage, and had missed the caravan by falling asleep. ‘Well,’ answered he, ‘as we are fellow-townsmen, be of good cheer.’ He then bade me close my eyes. I did so; and on opening them again I found myself in the midst of my companions of the caravan. I am now come here, on my return home in safety, to offer my thanks for that miraculous kindness, and to profess myself a disciple of the holy man.”
57.
A man of great learning came once to visit Jelāl. By way of a test, he asked Jelāl two questions: “Is it correct to speak of God as ‘a living soul?’ since God hath said (Qur’ān iii. 182): ‘Every living soul shall taste death!’” and: “If one ought not to call God ‘a living soul,’ what did Jesus mean when he said (Qur’ān v. 116): ‛Thou knowest what is in my soul, but I know not what is in Thy soul’?” The second question was: “Can God properly be called ‘a thing’? If He can be so called, what is the signification of His word (Qur’ān xxviii. 88): ‘Every thing shall perish, save His cause’?”
Jelāl immediately replied: “‘But I know not what is in Thy soul’ means in Thy knowledge, in Thy absentness, or, as we seers say, in Thy secrecy. Thus the passage would be paraphrased: Thou knowest what is in my secrecy; but I know not what is in the secret of Thy secrecy; or, as ‘the people of heart’ would put it: Thou knowest what issues from me in the world; but I know not the secret of what issues from Thee in the world to come. It is quite proper to speak of God as ‘a thing;’ for He hath said (Qur’ān vi. 19): ‘What thing is greatest in testimony? Say thou: “God;“’ i.e., God is the greatest thing in testimony; ‘God will be a witness between me and you in the day of the resurrection.’ The signification of the passage ‘Every thing shall perish’ is: every created thing shall perish; not the Creator, i.e., ‘save He.’ The thing excepted from the general category is ‘He.’ But God knows best.”
The man of learning instantly professed himself a disciple, and composed a panegyric on Jelāl.
58.
The legend goes that Jelāl made a practice of seeing the new moon of the Arabian new year, and always uttered the following prayer on seeing it:—“O our Lord God! Thou art the Past-eternal One, the Future-eternal One, the Ancient One! This is a new year. I beg of Thee therein steadfastness to withstand the lapidated Satan,[18] and assistance against the rebellious spirit (within me); also, occupation in what will approximate me to Thee, and an avoidance of what might elongate me from Thee. O God! O the All-merciful One, the All-compassionate One! Through Thy mercy, O Most-compassionate of the merciful ones! O thou Lord of majesty and of honour!”
59.
It is related that Jelāl cured one of his disciples of an intermittent fever by writing down the following invocation on paper, washing off the ink in water, and giving this to the patient to drink; who was, under God’s favour, immediately relieved from the malady:—“O Mother of the sleek one (a nickname of the tertian ague)! If thou hast believed in God, the Most Great, make not the head to ache; vitiate not the swallow; eat not the flesh; drink not the blood; and depart thou out of So-and-So, betaking thyself to some one who attributes to God partners of other false gods. And I bear witness that there is not any god save God, and I testify that Muhammed is His servant and apostle.”