Muntakhab al-tawarikh 139.5

139.5

He was the grandson of Maulānā Mu‘īn the preacher, a well-known man, the author of the Ma‘āriju-n-nubūwwah. Shaikh Mu‘īn (of whom I am writing) was an angel in human form. He was employed for some time under the farmān of the Khalīfah of the age, as Qāzī of Lāhor. They say that he never decided a case, and that if a plaintiff pressed for the decision of his suit he would, with much insistence and lamentation and with protestations of his own incompetence, say, “For God’s sake compromise the matter between you, so that I may avoid responsibility and have no cause for repentance or shame.” He would also say, “You both know all about the case; it is my misfortune that I, who know nothing of it, am left alone to decide between two who know all about it. Do not, then, give me cause to be ashamed before the Court of God, the Most High!” If a woman prayed for a separation from her husband on the ground of his absence from her he would provide her with means of livelihood to the extent of his ability, and would say, “Take this much for your subsistence and await your husband’s return; do not separate from him.” He devoted his subsistence allowance, over which he had exclusive rights, to the pay of scribes, whom he used to employ to copy valuable books, and he used to collate the copies and have them bound, and would then present them to students. This was his principal occupation and employment throughout his life, and he must have distributed thousands of such volumes to the people.