Muntakhab al-tawarikh 99.3

99.3

My heart, in the hope that one cry might perchance reach thee, “ Has uttered in this mountain lamentations such as were never uttered by Farhad.”
And since the roads between Lahor and Shirgarh were, in consequence of the rebellion of the Ulugh Baigi Mirzas, closed, both at the time of my going to Shirgarh and at the time of my return, and as I was alone, the Shaikh gave me an attendant as a guide, who was to take me to Shaikh Abu Ishaq-i-Mihrang in Lahor, one of the most noted of the holy man’s deputies, in order that he might arrange to send me with a caravan to the army of Husain Khan, which had come to Lahor from Talamba, and was to proceed thence to Kant-u-Gula. “ When I reached Lahor I set out for Hindustan with Husain Khan’s men.” I was sitting one day at our halting-place at Saharanpur in a garden, consumed with grief at my separation from that holy man, when a traveller brought to me a Qādirī shirt, which he had in his hand, saying, “Take this, which I received from the hand of a venerable saint, and give me something to help me on my way.” When I questioned him as to the truth of the matter he said, “When Mirza Ibrahim Husain met with that mischance I, with a party of his troops, overwhelmed with misfortune and a prey to plunderers, arrived stripped and naked at Shirgarh, where we attached ourselves to the holy saint, our helper, and he gave something to each of us. When my turn came round he took this shirt off his blessed body, and bestowed it upon me. I, thinking that it would be irreverent to wear it, deposited it in safe custody, with a view to taking it away to some place as a rare gift, and now I leave it with you.” I received from him that mysteriously conveyed gift, that treasure wafted to me by the wind, as though it had been a blessing and benediction.
Verses
The perfume of thy shirt has reached me, My soul was ravished by that sweet odour I had offered a fatihah for union with thee, Praise be to God that my fātihah was accepted
And, remembering the word that he had spoken, I regarded this occurrence as a miracle, and I now preserve that Joseph's coat as I preserve my life—and praise be to God for all this!
Verses. And as I have been the companion of desire for his excellency From the cradle, I hope that (that desire) will continue to the grave.
Verses. Desire for thee within my mind, and love for thee within my heart, Did enter me with mother’s milk, and with my life will leave me.
The following is a brief account of that holy man. He was the cynosure of his time, an inspired prophet, and a worker of wonders and manifest miracles, giving clear proofs of his sanctity. He had undergone severe discipline and in holy endeavour had striven much. In early life he acquired exoteric knowledge and had also been engaged in teaching. He had resigned himself to God and lived an eremite, going never to the houses of worldly men but once, when in obedience to the (royal) command he went from Shirgarh to Gwaliyar to see Salim Shah, and although the Khalifah of the age, when he was proceeding to Patan sent Shahbaz Khan to summon the Shaikh to bestow on him the honour of a visit, the Shaikh made his excuses, saying, “My secret prayers are sufficient.” He avoided to the utmost of his power the companionship of the lords of the earth, investing himself with the cloak of “Poverty is my glory.” He was constant in almsgiving, and in pointing out to searchers after truth the path of holiness, and whosoever was so aided by fortune as to be led to the Shaikh received great profit from the precious utterances of that blessing of the age and cynosure of the world. In the year H. 982 (A.D. 1574-5) his tent was pitched under the curtain of the Majesty of God the Most High, and in the Court of union with Him, may His glory be exalted! The words "Ah, Shaikh Da’ud the Saint!" were found to give the date (of his death). May God bestow upon him His boundless mercy, and raise us with him in that hour when all shall be gathered together!