The Nāṣirī Generations 300: CONCLUSION.

300

As much as was possible to, and lay in the power of, and came within the circle of the hearing of, and was related to, this votary, has been written and recorded. Should the observation of the ruler of the people of Islam — God perpetuate his sovereignty! — or of the Khakan-i-Mu’azzam, Ulugh Khan-i-A’zam — may his prosperity endure! — or of the Maliks, or Nobles, or Grandees, or Sadrs, or Pillars of the State, or Eyes of the Faith, during the lifetime of the author, or subsequent to his decease, notice, in this Tabakat, an error, mistake, deficiency, or redundance, may they veil it with the skirt of the robe of kindness and forgiveness, which will be the extreme of favour, and perfection of benevolence.
Praise be unto Thee, O God, the all-sufficient helper in every respect! By Thy mercy, O Thou Most Merciful of the Merciful, have pity upon us! May God bless the best of His creation — Muhammad, the chief of the prophets, the noblest of the dwellers in earth and in heaven, and all the prophets and divine messengers, and their descendants, every one of them!
The frailest of the servants of the Divine, Minhaj-i-Saraj, the Jurjani, who is the author of this Tabakat — Almighty God protect him! — thus states, that, when this History was submitted by him to the SULTAN, NASIR-UD-DIN, Mahmud Shah — God prolong his reign! — he ordained him a royal dress of honour, and the washak [marten] pelisse [trimmed] with fine ermine, which was on his own blessed shoulders. He likewise bestowed upon the author an allowance of 10,000 jitals yearly, and the grant of a village; and, when a transcription of this History was transmitted to the KHAKAN-I-MU'AZZAM Ulugh Khan-i-A'zam — may his prosperity endure! — he sent [to the author] 20,000 jitals in ready money, a Mahi Subahi, a bundle of ermine, and another of fox [skin]. This strophe, out of gratitude for those gifts, was pronounced [by the author] and inscribed upon the back of the Khan's copy. Strophe: — "To the Shahr-yar of the universe, Ulugh he Who is Khan of the Ilbari, and Shah of the Yamak. Whosoever found acceptance in his presence Never more turned face towards the heavens. Before him [indeed] who is Hatim-i-Ta-i? Near unto him what is Yahya-i-Barmak? The dust from the tablet of the heart of Minhaj — The cares of the world — he with kindness wiped away. Listen to this assertion from me, all people, By the way of certainty, not by the road of doubt. — Ninety and nine shares of [his] generosity belong to me: Of it, all others have but one out of a hundred. Every prayer I may offer up from the heart for him, The angels, with sincerity, say, Amin! thereto."
The book of Minhaj-i-Saraj, the Jurjani, on the 5th of the month of Rabi’-ul-Awwal, in the year 658 was brought to its