THE PALACE OF SHARAF AL-NISA
| I said, ‘Yonder mansion of pure ruby | |
| which gathers tribute from the sun, | 2810 |
| yon station, yon abode, yon lofty palace | |
| whose portico the houris throng pilgrim-robed— | |
| tell me, you who inspired the travellers to search, | |
| who is the owner of this habitation?’ | |
| Rumi replied: ‘This is the mansion of Sharaf al-Nisa; | 2815 |
| the birds on its roof sing in the angels’ choir. | |
| Our ocean gave not birth to such a pearl; | |
| no mother gave birth to such a daughter. | |
| By her grave the earth of Lahore vies with heaven; | |
| none in this world comprehends her secret. | 2820 |
| She was all ecstasy and yearning, anguish and burning, | |
| eyes and lamp to the governor of Panjab; | |
| radiance of the family of Abd al-Samad, | |
| her poverty is an image remaining eternally. | |
| To cleanse her being wholly with the Koran, | 2825 |
| not for one moment did she cease recitation; | |
| at her side a double-edged sword, the Koran in her hand, | |
| flesh, body, mind and soul drunken with God; | |
| solitude with sword, Koran and prayer— | |
| O happy life, passed in supplication! | 2830 |
| When the last breath issued from her lips, | |
| looking upon her mother most yearningly | |
| she spoke: "If you would have knowledge of my secret, | |
| regard this sword and this Koran. | |
| These two forces preserve each the other | 2835 |
| and are the axis of all life’s creation. | |
| In this world, which dies every moment, | |
| only these two were your daughter’s intimates. | |
| Now that I take my leave I have this to say to you: | |
| do not remove the sword and the Koran from me. | 2840 |
| Take to your heart these words I speak; | |
| better my tomb without dome and lamp; | |
| for believers. sword and Koran suffice— | |
| let this be the furniture of my grave." | |
| For long ages, beneath this golden dome, | 2845 |
| the sword and the scriptures lay upon her shrine. | |
| Her resting-place, in this inconstant world, | |
| spoke a message to the people of the Truth | |
| until the Moslems did with themselves what they did | |
| and time’s revolution rolled up their carpet. | 2850 |
| The man of God was mindful of other than God, | |
| the lion of the Lord took to the trade of the fox; | |
| the quicksilver fire and fever departed from his heart— | |
| you know well what befell Panjab— | |
| the Khalsa snatched away sword and Koran | 2855 |
| and in that land Islam expired.’ |