Muntakhab al-tawarikh 368.1

368.1

He was a relation of Shihābu-d-dīn Ahmad Khān and his name was Muhammad Sharīf. Alas, that such a noble name should be borne by such a vile fellow! For he was more heretical than any person who, in this brief age, was known by the same and is enrolled in that band of poets who are entitled gentlemen of the suite. In imitation of that qasidah by Shaikh Nizami of Ganja (may God rest his soul,) which begins, “I am king of the kings of learning, by means of the excellence of my grace of language The earth and the age have taken on themselves the likeness of the sky,” he wrote the following qasidah:— “I can scarcely contain myself in my excellence when the wine of my songs in its vat Rends the clothes on my body, when sublime realities seethe within me. Waylay me not with foolish stories, for, with the fire of high resolve I desire to raise a steam from my brain and my eyes throughout the night. I have become the trusted adviser of those who hasten towards reunion (with the Beloved) For I never return a boastful answer. I am the dog of the threshold, but all night I gnaw my collar, For the desire of hunting seizes me, not the intention of watching.” The following verses also are by him:— “Although for an age I have girt up my loins in thy service what rank have I gained? I should have become a Brahman had I so often girt myself with the sacred thread.”