The Autobiography of al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī

(b. before 830, d. between 905 and 910)

Introduction

The account of ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī, known as al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī (“the Sage of Tirmidh”) is one of the earliest surviving spiritual autobiographies in the Arabic tradition. The author was born between 820 and 830 in Tirmidh, in what is today southern Uzbekistan. He studied the religious sciences of his day but became aware of his mystical calling only while performing the pilgrimage rites in Mecca. Thereafter, he embarked on a rigorous program of prayer, austerity, and meditation, culminating in a vividly described experience of closeness to God. Unfortunately, his expressions of devotion provoked accusations of heresy similar to those leveled against his mystical contemporaries. Eventually, however, al-Tirmidhī's charisma won him a devoted following. He died sometime between 905 and 910, leaving behind a number of works that offer mystical interpretations of ḥadīth and religious law.

One of al-Tirmidhī's works, Khatm al-awliyā’ (The Seal of the Saints), helps to clarify some of the unusual features of his autobiography. In the Khatm, he explains that the soul or the self must begin by suppressing its desires and concentrating on the fulfillment of religious duties. Neither good deeds nor a reputation for piety will succeed in bringing one closer to God. Rather, the sincere seeker must attain an exemplary degree of self-control and resist all engagement with the transient world. Eventually, the seeker will find himself in a “wasteland of perplexity” and cry out to God in despair. Should He respond by carrying off the seeker's heart to a place near Him in heaven, the seeker will become a walī Allāh, an “ally” or a “friend” of God.

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In keeping with al-Tirmidhī's emphasis on spiritual development rather than scholarly work or worldly rank, his autobiography passes quickly over his youth and religious training, as well as his travails at the hands of his rivals and detractors, and focuses instead on a series of dreams and visions that he construes as indicators of his spiritual status. Although he evidently believed himself to be a walī Allāh, he was reluctant to say so explicitly, preferring to let the dream-visions speak for him.^[1] Indeed, he attributes the most powerful of these visions to others, including several male companions as well as his wife. The visions are narrated in the text exactly as they were related to al-Tirmidhī, necessitating abrupt shifts from the autobiographical “I” to the first-person “I's” of the other dreamers. The increasing importance of dreams in the text leads ultimately to al-Tirmidhī's surrender of the narrative to other voices.

The most important of these voices is that of his wife, who is given no other name. Many of her dream-visions affirm her husband's high standing; others, however, deal exclusively with her own spiritual journey. In one vision, a visiting angel hands her a branch of myrtle and tells her that her husband is not yet ready to receive such a gift. In another, she is granted knowledge of the names of God. These dreams are narrated in a mixture of Arabic and Persian, the latter being the couple's native language and probably the only one al-Timidhī's wife could speak. Although al-Tirmidhī does not say so, his wife's ascent to the highest spiritual state affirms the contention that formal education is not a prerequisite for attaining mystical knowledge. It is she who reports to him that a mysterious figure called “the prince” has identified him as the leading walī of his time. And it is she who has the last word: in a series of waking visions, she learns the meaning of the sacred names of God. At this point, having given her the floor, al-Tirmidhī the narrator—if not al-Tirmidhī the man—is overshadowed by his wife and her mystical experiences.^[2]

Bibliography

Radtke, Bernd, and John O'Kane. The Concept of Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism: Two Works by al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 1996.

Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad al-Tirmidhī. “Buduww sha’n Abī ‘Abd Allāh.” In Khatm al-awliyā’, ed. ‘Uthmān Yaḥyā. Buḥūth wa-dirāsāt bi-idārat ma‘had al-ādāb al-sharqiyya fī Bayrūt, 19. Beirut: al-Maṭba‘a al-Kāthūlīkiyya, 1965. 14–32.

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The Beginning of the Career of Abī ‘Abd Allāh [the Sage of Tirmidh]
[Khatm al-awliyā’, pp. 14–32]

My career began because God favored me with a father^[3]—God rest his soul—who pressed me to take up the pursuit of knowledge. When I was eight years old, he began to instruct me and to encourage me to study. This he did with unvarying vigor both when I was disposed to heed him and when I was not, until study became a habit for me and took the place of the games and play of childhood. He thus acquainted me, still a youth, with the sciences of ḥadīth and legal reasoning.

When I reached the age of twenty-seven, or thereabouts, I suddenly felt the need to make the pilgrimage. Fortunately, the means to do so became available to me, and I set off, stopping for a time in Iraq to collect ḥadīth. I then traveled to Basra and from there I left for Mecca in the month of Rajab, arriving toward the end of Sha‘bān. God provided me with the means to remain in Mecca until pilgrimage time. I came, by God's grace, to pray at the multazam [the area near the door of the Ka‘ba where all prayers are said to be answered], every morning at the first light of dawn. There I was truly converted in my heart, and made to see past the clash of questions great and small. I performed the pilgrimage and returned, having effected in myself a change of heart.

At those times when I prayed at the multazam, I would ask God to make me righteous, inspire me with an aversion for the things of the world, and grant me the ability to know His Book by heart. At that time, this was all I felt the need to ask for.

I set off for home, God having instilled in me the desire to memorize the Qur’ān while on the road. I learned a good portion of it while traveling, and, after I had returned home, God by His grace eased my task, and I succeeded in memorizing all of it. I would stay up late reading, but I never wearied of the Qur’ān, even when I had been up all night, and I discovered the sweetness of it.

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I began reading books of the praises of God—blessed be His name—and collecting phrases with which to admonish myself and to inspire thoughts of the Hereafter. Meanwhile, I was searching the nearby towns, but could find no one to guide me along the path, or preach to me and strengthen my resolve. I was confused; I did not know what God wished for me. Nevertheless, I pursued my fasting and my prayer, until at last the words of a man of [mystical] knowledge reached my ears. I came across the book of al-Anṭākī and examined it, and was thus guided to some knowledge of the discipline of the soul. I took up this practice and God helped me. Inspired to deny myself my desires, I found that I could train myself to do one thing after another, even to the point of denying myself cool water. I would refrain from drinking from the river, thinking, “Perhaps this water had flowed here wrongfully.” So I would drink from a well or from a big watercourse.

I became enamored of solitude at home and of walking in the wilderness. I took to wandering amid the ruins and the cemeteries on the outskirts of town. I sought for trustworthy friends to support me, but could find none, and so I withdrew to those ruins and lonely places.

While in this state, I dreamt that the Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—entered the Friday mosque in our town. I followed him inside. He continued walking until he reached the enclosed area with me close behind him, almost touching his back, and placing my feet exactly where he had placed his, until I too reached the enclosed area. The Prophet ascended the pulpit, and I followed behind him, step for step. He reached the top step and sat down, and I sat on the next step down. To my right was the Prophet, in front of me were the doors that open onto the market, and to my left was the congregation. I then woke up while I was still in that state.

One night, a little time later, I was praying and felt sleepy, so I put my head down on the prayer rug next to my bed. I saw an enormous stretch of desert, in some place I did not know, and I saw an enormous court, with a place prepared at the head, and a tent or booth set up there, made of cloths and curtains I cannot describe. Then I seemed to hear someone saying, “You are being taken to your Lord.” I entered the tent. I could see no one at all, no shape or figure, but I was terrified as I passed behind the curtains. I was certain, even as I slept, that I was standing in His presence. Soon after, I saw myself emerging from the tent, standing near the outermost curtain, and saying, “He has forgiven me” [or: “May He forgive me!”]. I found that I had stopped breathing, I was so terrified.

I continued in my practice of self-denial, pushing aside my desires, staying at home to be away from people, and constantly addressing myself to God in supplication. In this way, one thing after another was opened up to me. I discovered strength and awareness in myself, and I sought out those who could help me. We would meet at night, practicing the remembrance of God, praying, and abasing ourselves in supplication at the first light of dawn.

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At this time I fell into trouble on account of slander and baseless rumors about me. Certain persons, of the sort who pretend to knowledge, made themselves heard at my expense. They slandered and persecuted me, accusing me of freethinking and heresy. Rumors spread, but I was indifferent. I remained on my own course, day and night, never changing, always the same. But matters took a turn for the worse: I was denounced to the governor at Balkh, who sent someone to investigate. “Here,” it was reported to the governor, “is someone who talks of Love [al-ḥubb], corrupts the people, preaches heresy, and claims to be a prophet,” and other things that I had never even thought, much less said. Finally, I went to Balkh, where I was forbidden by the governor to speak of Love.

Sorrow purifies the heart, and thus did God—blessed be His name—provide me with the means to purify myself. I recalled the saying of David— God bless him and grant him peace: “O Lord, Thou hast commanded me to purify my body by fasting and prayer, but how do I purify my heart?” God said: “With trouble and sorrow, David!” [cf. II Samuel 16]. Troubles came upon me from all sides, but I finally found in them the path to the mortification of my soul. In the past, I had tried to mortify my soul in various ways: I had ridden a donkey through the marketplace, walked barefoot through the streets, worn shabby clothes, and carried burdens like a poor man or a slave; but my soul would recoil and refuse to submit. This was upsetting to me, but when these slanders came to afflict me, the perversity of my soul disappeared. My soul bore all these things and was humbled, and obeyed me; and at last, I experienced in my heart the sweetness of humility.

One night during this time, a group of us gathered for the remembrance of God, on the occasion of a visit by one of our brethren. After some part of the night had passed, I left to return home. On the road, my heart opened up in a manner I cannot describe: as if something had touched my heart, something which cheered and delighted my soul. I was so happy that, as I walked, I feared nothing in my path: the dogs barked at me and I treasured their barking, because of some delight I felt in my heart. It even seemed to me that the sky with its moon and all its stars had drawn near the earth. All the while, I was invoking God, and I felt as if something had been set firmly within my heart. As I experienced this sweetness, my stomach wriggled and twisted and turned over on itself, and contracted, so powerful was this delight. The sweetness spread down my spine and through my veins. It seemed to me as if I were as close to God as His throne.

Every night I would stay awake until morning, unable to sleep, and I grew to bear this easily. I was still perplexed, however; I did not know what this experience was, but I grew stronger and more assiduous in my activities.

At that time an insurrection occurred in the area and civil strife ensued. All those who were persecuting and defaming me in the nearby towns fled. They suffered in the conflict and were forced into exile, and the country was rid of them.

It was during this period that my wife said to me:

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I dreamt I saw someone walking in the air, coming out of our house and walking above the path. He looked like a young man with curly hair, dressed in white, wearing sandals. He was calling to me from the air, and I was opposite him on the bench. He said, “Where is your husband?” “He has gone out,” I replied. He said, “Tell him the Prince commands him to act justly.” Then he was gone.

A short while later, a large number of people, including the elders of the town, gathered at my doorstep. I did not realize they were there until they started banging on the door. I went out and found them asking me to teach and hold assemblies for them on a regular basis. These people were the very same ones who had been spreading nasty rumors about me among the population, rumors so malicious that I had come to think of these people—or most of them in any case—as a sort of infectious disease. They had cast aspersions on my way of life and accused me of heretical beliefs that I had never held or even imagined holding.

Now here they were asking me to do this for them. Eventually, I gave in. When I spoke to them, it was as if the words came to me like ladlefuls of water from the sea and captivated their hearts. More and more people gathered round me. They filled the house and formed crowds in the street and the mosque. Finally, they carried me off to the mosque and it was as if all those lies and falsehoods about me had never been. Then the conversions began and disciples appeared and leadership, with all of its trials, fell to me as a Divine tribulation.

When the aforementioned slanderers returned from exile, they found that I had become a powerful man with many students and followers. In the past, they had turned the government and the people against me so effectively that I did not dare show my face in public, but God saw to it that their plots came to nothing. Now it was clear that they had acted out of malice and envy, and that no one was listening to them any more, so they gave up hope of harming me further.

In the meantime, my wife continued to have visions. They always came before dawn, and they came one after the other, like a Divine message. They were always so clear and so obvious in their meaning that they need no interpretation. One of these visions went like this:

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I saw a big pool, in a place I had never been before. The water in the pool was as clear as spring water. Where the water was flowing into the pool, we saw bunches of grapes, all white. My two sisters and I were sitting at the head of the pool eating the grapes, with our legs in the water, but floating without sinking or disappearing from sight. I said to my little sister, “Here we are eating grapes, but who do you think is sending them to us?”

Suddenly a man appeared, curly haired, dressed in white, with a white turban on his head and his hair hanging loose behind him. He asked me, “Who would have a pool like this or grapes like these?”

Then he took my hand and helped me to my feet, and, leading me away from my sisters, said: “Tell [your husband] Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī [al-Tirmidhī] to stop reading the verse, ‘We have placed the balanced scales for the Day of Resurrection . . .'” [Q 21:47] and so on to the end of the verse. “Those scales are not for flour nor for bread; they weigh the speech that comes from here”—pointing to his tongue—“and the deeds that come from here and here”—pointing to his hands and feet. “You do not know that an excess of words, like the drinking of wine, produces a kind of intoxication.”

I asked him: “Who are you?”

He replied: “I am an angel. We roam the earth, and we reside in the Holy Temple at Jerusalem.” In his right hand, I saw a sprig of fresh green myrtle, and in his other hand, sweet basil. He was holding these as he spoke to me.

“We walk the earth,” he said, “and seek out the servants of God. We place this basil on the hearts of the servants of God, that they arise to serve and worship Him. And we place the myrtle on the hearts of the True and Certain Ones, that they may know sincerity. Sweet basil is green even in summer, and the myrtle never changes, no matter what the season. So ask [your husband] Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī, ‘Would you not be happy to have these?'—pointing to the myrtle and the basil. God can increase the piety of the God-fearing to the point that they need fear no longer, but He places these on their hearts to teach them piety first.”

Then he continued, “Tell him to purify his home.”

I replied, “I have small children and it is hard to keep the house clean.”

He answered, “I don't mean free of urine. I mean this”—pointing to his tongue.

“Why don't you tell him all this yourself?” I asked him.

“I will not tell him myself,” he said, “because the matter is not important enough for that, at least, not for other people. When he transgresses, though, it is important. Why does he trangress, then? Because this”—he gestured with the myrtle—“is still a long way off for him.”

Then he pulled off some of the myrtle from the bunch in his hand and gave it to me.

“Should I keep this for myself, or give it to him?” I asked.

He laughed and his teeth sparkled like pearls. “Take it,” he said, “and I'll bring the rest to him myself. What you have is for both of you—the two of you are of equal rank. And tell him, `Let this be my last exhortation to you.' Peace be with you.” But then he added, “God will give you, you and your sisters, a garden, but not because of your fasting and prayer; rather, because of the goodness of your hearts, and because you love good and shun evil”—or, in Persian, “You do not accept evil and you love the good.”

“Why didn't you say this in front of my sisters?” I asked him.

“Because neither of them measures up to you.” Then he said, “Peace be with you,” and was gone, and I woke up.

Another time she dreamt that she was in the big room of our house:

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In the room were couches upholstered with silk. One of these big couches was next to the prayer room. I looked and behind the couch I saw a tree growing out of the qibla end of the prayer room [the wall facing Mecca]. The tree grew as high as the height of a man, and then stopped. It was dry and shriveled up, with branches like a palm tree, looking like tent-pegs or shavings. Then fresh green branches, about five in number, sprouted from the trunk. When the new branches started growing about halfway up the trunk, the tree suddenly shot up into the air, about three times as high as a man, carrying the new sprouts up with it. Then bunches of fresh dates appeared on the branches.

I said to myself in my sleep, “This tree is mine. No one in the world, even in Mecca, has a tree like this.” I stepped closer to it, and I heard a voice coming out of the trunk of the tree. I could see no one, so I looked at the trunk of the tree, and I noticed that it was growing out of a rock. It was a big rock and it filled half the room, with the tree growing out of the center of it. Next to this rock was another one, hollowed out like a basin. Water was flowing from the trunk of the tree into the hollow rock. This water was utterly clear and pure, like sap.

Then I heard a voice calling to me from somewhere near the tree: “Do you promise to watch over this tree and to make sure that no one touches it? For this tree is yours. Once it grew in sandy soil, and so many hands touched it that its fruit drooped and withered, but we placed a rock around it and sent a bird to watch over its fruit. Look!”

I looked and I saw a green bird the size of a dove on one of the branches of the tree, not on one of the fresh shoots that had sprouted from the trunk, but on one of the withered limbs just above. The bird flew from branch to branch, working its way upward. Whenever it landed on one of the dry branches that looked like pegs, the branch would turn green and fresh, and sprout bunches of dates.

The voice said, “Guard this tree until the bird reaches the top and makes the whole tree green or else it will have to stop there in the middle.”

“I will guard it,” I said, not seeing who I was speaking to. The bird went up the tree branch by branch, and each one turned green. When the bird reached the top of the tree, I said in wonder, “There is no god but God! Where is everybody? Don't they see this tree? Don't they know where it is?”

From the top of the tree the bird cried, “There is no god but God!”

I wanted to pull a date from the tree, but the voice said, “Not yet! Wait until they ripen.” Then I woke up.

Then another time she dreamt she was sleeping next to me on the roof:

I heard voices from the garden. I cried aloud in dismay, “We've neglected our guests! I'd better go and give them something to eat.” I walked over to the edge of the roof to find my way down, and then the whole side of the house simply lowered itself and left me standing upright on the ground.

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Two men were sitting there, awe-inspiring in their dignity. I approached them and apologized, but they smiled back. One of them said, “Ask your husband why he is so preoccupied with this furuzd, meaning 'grass.'^[4] Your duty is to succor the weak, and be a support to them. And tell him, `You are one of the pegs [that hold up] the earth, and a large segment of mankind is in your care.'”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“I am the Prophet Muḥammad Aḥmad,^[5] and this is Jesus.” Then he said, “Tell him: `When you say—O King! O Holiness! Have mercy on us!—you bring holiness upon yourself. Every land you bless will grow strong and mighty, and every land you do not bless will grow weak and feeble.' And tell him: ‘We have given you a dwelling place and the frequented house [Q 52:4—a reference to the Ka‘ba in Mecca], so treat them well.'” Then I woke up.

Then, on the twenty-fourth night of the month of Ramadan, she dreamt that she heard my voice from afar

. . . but sounding like no voice I had ever heard. I followed the sound and came to the door of a palace full of light. I went in. The prayer room was raised up, higher than the congregation and higher than the building around it. There you were, in something that resembled a prayer niche, standing and facing Mecca. You were praying, with the light shining all around you. I thought, “His voice is enough to save the people, but he keeps himself from them.”

Abū Dawūd the tailor dreamt he saw people gathering around a stairway, or ladder, set in a wall that rose to the skies:

I approached and found a crowd of people at the base of the ladder. I wanted to climb up, but a voice said, “You shall not ascend until you obtain permission.” I looked up and there was a man standing in my way.

I thought to myself, “How am I supposed to obtain permission?” Then I noticed a piece of paper in my hand. I showed it to the man, and he stepped aside. I climbed the high wall. At the top, I saw only a few other people. Beyond the wall was a sea, and beyond the sea was an enormous, dizzying expanse of emptiness. I said to the others at the top of the wall, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“On the other side of the sea,” they said, “in that great space, is Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī [al-Tirmidhī].” I stared as if staring at the crescent moon, until at last I saw you a great distance away. Again and again I rubbed my eyes and stared. I noticed the people with me were keeping away from the sea. I threw myself into it and almost immediately found myself on the other side. I walked until I found you, and there you were, sitting in that emptiness with your hood wrapped around your head. I wondered how I had come to find you in this place. Then I woke up.

Then Aḥmad ibn Jibrīl the whole-cloth dealer told me that he had dreamt of me as well:

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I saw you walking around the Holy Ka‘ba. Something like a shelf, or a wing, had come out of the walls, about two cubits below the roof. You were making your circumambulations on this shelf, with the top of the wall just higher than your waist. Then you rose up into the air until you were higher than the roof, and you kept on walking around the Ka‘ba, up in the air like that. Then, astonished, I woke up.

And Muḥammad ibn Najm the lumber dealer had a dream:

I saw the Prophet—may God bless and grant him peace—surrounded by light and praying with Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī [al-Tirmidhī] right behind him, praying along with him.

At one point during those years, I became much occupied with computing the declinations and learning to calculate using the zodiac and the astrolabe, and had become immersed in these matters. Then Muḥammad ibn Najm told me of a dream he had had:

I heard a voice say, “Tell Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī [al-Tirmidhī], `These things you are doing are not part of your calling or your way, so avoid them!'” I was terror-stricken by the awful splendor of the man who spoke these words. He appeared to me as an old man with white hair and beard, sweet smelling, handsome, and I imagined somehow that he was an angel.

Then he said, “Tell Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī to cast those things aside, for I suspect they will become a veil between him and the Lord of Majesty. Remember to fear God in this world—you are not a base wretch, you are merely distracted [?]. Tell him this and do not neglect to pass on God's counsel to His creatures.”

Then my wife dreamt that the two of us were sleeping in one bed and the Prophet of God—may God bless him and grant him peace—entered and lay down in our bed with us. Another time she dreamt that he came to our house. She said:

I was overjoyed and bent to kiss his feet, but he stopped me. He gave me his hand and I kissed it. I was trying to think of what to ask him for. I used to suffer from an inflammation in one of my eyes, so I said, “O Prophet of God, sometimes my eye becomes inflamed.” He replied, “Whenever that happens, put your hand over your eye and say, `There is no god but God, alone, without partner; His is the power and His is the praise. He brings life and death. Goodness is in His hands, for He is All-Powerful.'” Then I woke up. After that, whenever my eye became inflamed, I would say these words and the inflammation would subside.

Then my wife dreamt that she was on Sakiba Street, looking at the cemetery, a long way off:

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Then suddenly I could see even farther—as far as Dawdabad, it seemed—and I saw an uncountable number of people, as if the world had suddenly become crowded with people, even clinging to walls and treetops, like birds. I thought, “What is all this?”

A voice said, “The prince has invaded without warning. No one knew he was coming. For twelve days his armies were advancing upon us, and we sensed nothing, and now they have covered the earth.”

I looked at all the people. They were pale-faced and speechless with terror. Then I saw you coming into the room. You undressed, asked for water, and then washed yourself with water from the brass ewer. You put on a waist-wrapper and a cloak. You were wearing sandals. I asked you, “What are you doing?” You replied, “What a marvel! Do you know what this prince wants?”

The people had fallen into a stunned and terror-stricken silence. It was as if they no longer knew one another—as if, in their fear, they had all become strangers. But you were calm and fearless. You were saying to me, “What a marvel! The prince will choose, from all the people on the earth, forty souls to speak to.”

I said, “Why aren't you going?”

“God's will be done,” you replied.

The whole world was watching you (this she said in Persian). The people were saying, “Unless Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī comes to our rescue we shall all perish. He must find these forty people, wherever they are, and if he does not take his place among them, then all these people will be destroyed.”

She said that forty people were to be found, from all over the world, and if I was not among them, then all these people would go to ruin. But how would the prince know me and when would he find me? At any rate, it seemed I was needed to complete the forty myself, for there was still one missing. The story was that the prince had come with Turkish troops to search out these people. She said that I put on a white shirt and cowl, and sandals, and went out:

It seemed to me in my dream—she said—that when you reached the prince, you found the people jostling to get away from the Turks, but the Turks were not beating anyone, and the people's fear seemed to have disappeared. I called out, as I stood at the end of the street, “Are you one of the forty?”

Someone said, “By those forty we shall be saved.”

“Muḥammad ibn ‘Alī will save us,” said someone else. I started to weep. “What are you weeping about? He's the one who is going to save us,” they said. “Not because something bad is going to happen to him,” I said, “but because of his kind heart. How can he bear to look at the sword?” I was thinking that the forty would be executed, so I wept.

Then I went back to the house. I felt that somehow a whole day had passed. When I reached the front door, I turned and I saw you there. “Thank God!” I said. “How were you spared?”

You gestured as if to say, “If only I had been!” Then, “Just wait until you hear the whole story.”

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You seemed to be covered in white, and you seemed twice your normal height. Your cheeks were flushed and shining, and your forehead and eyebrows were covered with something that looked like dust. I looked more closely and saw that there was no dust, only the traces of your terror. “How were you spared?” I asked again.

“Don't you realize? I am the first of the forty. It was me he recognized and me he chose. He touched me here”—you pointed to your chest—“and he shook me so hard I thought my whole body was going to be torn apart. Then he said to me in Persian, `You are a great lord. . . .You are at the head of the world.'”

“You saw the prince? You actually saw him?!”

“No. I got as far as the pavilion, where there was an enclosure set up before his door, and the prince put his hand out—or so it seemed—and he touched me, and shook me, and spoke to me. Then we went out into the courtyard, which looked like the festival enclosure they set up in the cemetery. The prince said, ‘Take these forty souls out to the courtyard, and hold them there. Keep them standing, do not let them sit.'”

“So I went out with the others into the courtyard. The prince said to the others, `Send this one'—meaning me—`out to pray.' So I entered with them and then I was sent out to pray. It was as if we had been chosen from all the souls on earth. I walked on past the prince's troops and past the Turks, and no one laid a hand on me. I realized then that the prince thought well of me, and that he had assembled all those people for my sake. He had sought out those forty souls only because I would be among them.”

“Now you can rest,” I said.

“I am saved from myself,” you said, and went up to the mosque. I watched you move away, borne above the heads of the people. Then I woke up.

Later she had another dream, this time in Persian.^[6] At the end she said, “Then I woke up.” Then she was seized by an ardent desire to listen to sermons and to exact obedience from her soul. The first validation of her visions came on the twenty-seventh of the month of Dhū al-Qa‘da, five or six days after her last vision. While sitting in the garden, she heard in her heart the words, “O Light and Guidance to all things! O You Whose light cleaves the darkness!”

She said:

I felt as if something had entered my breast and wrapped itself about my heart. My chest and throat were full, so full that I felt near to choking, full of something hot that scorched my heart. All things seemed beautiful to me. Everything I looked at—the earth, the sky, the creatures—had taken on a new and different shape, a shape lovely, glorious and sweet. There came to me then words in Persian: “We have given you a seal-ring.” I was filled with joy, contentment and cheer.

She told me of this experience and the next day she told me of another:

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I heard the words, “We have given you three things —in Persian—”My glory, My greatness, and My majesty. A light appeared above me, and remained there above my head, as I had seen once before in a dream. And in the light appeared the mark of glory, the mark of greatness, and the light of majesty. Of this glory, I saw a house that moved [in Persian] with something in it, with all of mankind moving along in it, and the greatness of the kingdom and of all things, and the majesty of all things, and their grandeur, were in it. I saw clearly a flame spreading through the heavens and then downwards.

Then on the third day she heard in her heart: “I have bestowed upon you the knowledge of those who have gone before and those who are to come.” And in this state, she spoke the knowledge of the [99] Names of God. Every day, names were revealed to her. A light would shine upon her heart and reveal the hidden meaning of the Names to her. This continued until, on Friday, the tenth of the month, she attended our gathering and told us that God's Beneficent [100th] Name had been revealed to her.

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