“We were thus raised from the depths of poverty to the pinnacle of wealth. We became merchant princes, and our slaves are the great merchants of the earth. Every dealer who wishes for pearls and rubies comes to us. We are known as the Sons of the Fisherman. Our father went to Qonya, and paid his respects to the Mevlānā.
“Through his narrative, I formed the design, now carried into effect, to visit the son of that great saint.”
This wonderful narrative has been handed down ever since in the mouths of the merchants of Qonya.
78.
(The following appears to be an account of one of the first visits of the Perwāna to Jelāl, to whom he subsequently became so devotedly attached.)
One of the most eminent among the men of learning in Qonya was visited by the Perwāna. The learned man held forth eloquently on several exalted themes, and then informed the Perwāna that he had, the night before, been taken up into the highest heaven, and had there learnt many mysteries. He said that he there saw Jelāl hold a higher station of proximity to God than any other saint, as he stood on a level with God’s throne.
A day or two later, the Perwāna, filled with reverence for Jelāl’s unequalled sanctity, went and paid him a visit with the utmost deference. Before the Perwāna could broach any subject of conversation, Jelāl said to him: “Mu’īnu-’d-Dīn! the vision related to you by your learned friend is quite true in the main facts, though I never saw him there at any time.” He then extemporised the following ode:—
“Fellow-visitant wert thou? Then say what thou sawest there last night.
’Twixt my heart and inspiring loved darling what passed in thy sight?
And if thou, in thy dream, with thy eyes sawest my beautiful love,