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Page 1 of 11910 · PDF PAGE 59
…an M.S. reading. Ed.) 2. Cf. Verlaine — c’est à recommencer. But “ be- ginning ” is here “ maruk ” [Persian text] not “ rah- sid ” ; and Mahbub says that here is a punning ref- erence to Marut [Persian text] (any connection with the Sanskrit Maruts ?) and Harut, who are the Per- sian “ Beni Elohim ” going in to the daughters of men. To punish them, Allah hung them by their heels in a well at Babylon, where they wile away the time by giving magical instruction. The mean- ing, therefore, (argal !) of the whole passage is that unredeemed (i.e. uni…
1910 · PDF PAGE 79
…shi failed to make me see the joke. 8. Shahrava was a despot who forced leather money into circulation. The passage means accord- ing to Mahbub that El Qahar will not use a leather dildo, but his own stalwart member, upon the po- dex of Habib ; but I prefer to think that he simply means “ I will not beat thee ” i.e. with leather thongs. In all countries beating is jestingly spoken of as “ payment.” Besides, the whole ode concerns active punishment, not mere deprivation of plea- sure. (See note to XII. Ed.)
1910 · PDF PAGE 12
…ise of the Sheik al Nef- zawi, which Burton rendered into English and his silly wife destroyed1. This is the Ars Amoris of the Bedawin ! Mahbub (who had never heard of all this) observed that Allah knew everything, and the Sahib nearly everything. The upshot of it all was that I started to read the work as part of my daily task. But it was not until a second perusal that I grasped what had happened. Some pedantic idiot had arranged the Ghazals in alphabetical order, according to the rhymes ! A common practice in the diwan of the common poet ! h…
1910 · PDF PAGE 99
…ve hate ends ; hate never ends by hate.”6 1. They who worship Allah give pleasure to themselves, but He profiteth not at all there- by. [Mahbub’s comment]. 2. This doctrine of Freewill as the prize of Theurgy is curiously parallel to that of Zoroaster,
1910 · PDF PAGE 107
…oot (arithmetic). Possibly a pun with the word [Persian text] jazbat, which I have translated “ charm.” However there is (ac- cording to Mahbub) a mystic truth con- cealed. Arithmetic like all sciences was at one time considered magical by the vulgar ; to this day the “ magic squares ” of numbers of which the simplest cast is : 492 357 816 are attributed to the planets, and credited with su- pernatural powers. There is an Arab saying — I think by Averrhoes — “ God is the square root of man ” : and a certain very holy Fakir (only recently dead) …
1910 · PDF PAGE 110
…lingam, whose dimensions are only to be expressed in astronomi- cal terminology. Ed. 4. Goathair — the “ pashmina ” of Kashmir ; so says Mahbub the Kashmiri ; but I suspect him of patriotism and believe the text to read ‘ pustin ’ [Persian text] a fur peliise spread out as a quilt. (Of course one may cavil at “ quilt ”, which im- plies quilting, not any rug qua rug. But a wounded buffalo is a very mild animal compared to a trans- lator in trouble with his monorhyme, so that we had perhaps better say nothing. Ed.) 5. This perhaps refers to a pos…
1910 · PDF PAGE 152
…l great in Hindos- tan. I can trace no legend to justify this epi- thet ; perhaps it is merely poetic for “ mighty.” 3. This verse (says Mahbub) conceals a “ Great Word to become mad, and go about naked ” if re- peated 1001 times nightly for a number of nights not stated. Very probable. The concealed Word is only the common : [Persian text] “ Glory to God and Praise to God ! There is no God but God. Great is He, and protecteth us ; there is no might save in Him, the Exalted One.” 4. The “ Heart of the Q’uran ” ; one of it holiest chapters, reci…
1910 · PDF PAGE 74
…agues. For thy desertion, Habib, and this thy ingratitude doth El Qahar give praise to the beloved One. 1. Again a long explanation from Mahbub. The soul (he says) falls from 66 [Persian text] to 45 ([Persian text] Adam, man). Then the twofold head
1910 · PDF PAGE 13
…structed : and (e) his constant gibes at Sadi. (I must admit that I was quite unable to see the point of any single one of these, though Mahbub took a deal of pains to shew me. They appear to depend on subtle points of grammar and phraseology.)
1910 · PDF PAGE 11
…o acquire a thorough grounding in the tongue of Hafiz, for these as well as professional reasons. Thus I made the acquaintance of Munshi Mahbub Tantra, a Kashmiri from Bandipur, but one residence of nearly 30 years in Shiraz and Bushir. My know- ledge of the writings of Richard Burton came in very handy, as also the vague studies of Oriental mysticism with which I had amused my leisure hours : so that a genuine friendship soon sprang up between pupil and teacher. After some months, indeed, — and this is how I find myself transformed into that g…
1910 · PDF PAGE 125
…s) the inhalation is the enlightenment of the soul ; the exhalation the holy influence shed by the Sufi upon his fellow man — and so on. Mahbub was perfectly willing to explain every phrase in the book along these lines ; reasonable people will agree that a single sample is enough. But see the note 1 on XXXVIIIth Ghazal. 4. Aristu — Aristotle. Most sensible men will heartily agree with these sentiments. El Qahar is more than mystic and sodomite ; he is a practical person. But perhaps the unusual word huqqa is a pun on hukm (command) and the phr…
1910 · PDF PAGE 108
…colour to it ; for mystical reasons, doubtless, but also because (to my eyes at least) it actually has that colour. 6. I suspect, maugre Mahbub’s head, that this is “ writ sarcastic.” The pompous old dullard must have seemed to our lively Abdullah very much as Southey did to Byron. Yet the Eastern is a terrible slave to convention, and may perhaps acquiesce in Hafiz as the undergraduate of to-day acquiesces in Milton. 7. The central thought of these two chapters is represented in the Buddhist philosophy, per- haps ; but in the Hindu practice, c…
1910 · PDF PAGE 54
…s the podex itself throughout most of his masterpiece. 4. Friday. This appears at first sight an obvious misreading. But (if you please) Mahbub says : “ When a boy opens his podex, the hairs depart one from another like true believers quitting the mosque on Friday. [Persian text] (mist) also means a worm in Arabic and the passage implies that all Arabs have tape-worms ! ” As is well known, they pay re- spect to Abu Bekr and Omar, and make things very hot for the ’Arami every year at Mecca. The dragon is of course the universal one ; Rahu in Ind…
1910 · PDF PAGE 84
…e House not made with hands. The letter [Persian text] itself (not [Persian text] but the Hebrew ב. Ed.) means house, and connotes (says Mahbub) a great Magus — “ The Magus of Power.” The passage means therefore that mystic Union is the key to Practical Magic. 3. This sort of individualization of ideas is common in Eastern literature. We had a bad attack of it ourselves with Thomas Haines Bayley and Co. “ Though Custom may frown upon Boyhood and Beauty, And Ethics take counsel with Prudence and Breeding, Morality smiles “ But if Patience be Dut…
1910 · PDF PAGE 66
…me time, it must be remembered that the titles are all probably of late insertion and for convenience of reference only. 8. According to Mahbub, this is an attack on the Q’uran. (He being like so many Persian to-day not only a Sufi, but a follower in secret of El Baab, delights to point out these things). For furious [Persian text] is a pun on [Persian text] Salir, a prophet, who converted some of the Thamud Tribe
1910 · PDF PAGE 20
…mastery of their mystic systems, not only as a theoretician, valuable as that is, but as a craftsman. In my own case I am convinced that Mahbub would never have entrusted me with his precious MS. but for the fact that he recognized me as one of the ‘ illuminati ’. Such a secret as that of Samadhi is absolutely safe, because one knows it cannot by any possibility divulge the same. It is a real, not an artificial secret. One could expose Freemason — it has been done repeatedly by idiots who did not understand what it meant — by pub- lishing the r…
1910 · PDF PAGE 78
70 The Shame of the Prodigal. derous Moor, who slays his guest with felon blow ? ” 5. Ass of the member of honey [Persian text]. So Mahbub’s expansion of the “ portmanteau ” text [Persian text] Khazk’asal. 6. Refers to a fable. An elephant had fallen into a pit, but managed to scramble out. Seeing an ass going in that direction, he kindly warned him. The ass disdainfully replied that he, being light, ran little danger. Ay ! said the elephant, but small and without an hand, how will thou escape if thou dost fall ? And in fact the ass fell, and p…