'Obeyd-e Zakani The Ethics of the Aristocrats, translated by Hasan Javadi (Chapter Seven)

 

Chapter Seven

Modesty, Fidelity, Sincerity, Mercy and Compassion

The Abrogated Practice

Sages have said: "Modesty is the restraining of the carnal soul from the commission of acts of obscenity which are worthly of blame." The Prophet, upon whom be peace, says, "Modesty is part of faith." Fidelity is making (one incombent that) one should tread the way of fellowship, and (recompense for) what another person has done for him. The Koranic verse reads, "Whoever fulfills his promise to God will be given a great reward."' Sincerity is to be of one heart with friends, so that nothing untruthful will be uttered. In the case of mercy and compassion, if a prson sees another one in an unfortunate situation, he will be moved to pity and try to change it.

The Adopted Practice

 

Our contemporaries say, "These qualities are extremely hollow and disagreeable." Whoever is afflicted with one of these fatal qualities will always be dejected and ufortunate and unable to attain any goal. It is selfevident that a shy or modest person will be deprived of all good things, and will be unable to gain glory or wealth. Between him and his goal, modesty is a great barrier or a thick veil, and he would always be weeping over his misfortune and fate. This is why in Arabic the weeping of a cloud is also called "haya" (bashfulness). The Prophet, upon whom be peace, says, "Bashfulness is an obstacle in the way of livelihood." It has been observed that a man who is shamelss and impudent will do whatever he pleases and will not give a hoot for anyone. He will flay the people, overcome all barriers, and reach the highest positions in such a way that he will surpass those with whom he has had an intimate relationship. The people will fear him because of his impudence. But the poor man who is known for his shame will be left behind doors, and in waiting rooms he will be beaten by the ushers, and evniously watching the men of impudence he will say:

The ignorant is upon the throne, the learned outside the door,

Seeking a way by trickery, he can't reach the doorman.

 

Concerning fidelity, they say that it is the result of the baseness of the carnal soul and excessive avidity. If someone receives a trivial thing from a patron or a firend, or attains some livelihood from the latter or former, greed and avarice will induce him to seek more, and he will pester that person everyday like an impudent blood-letter to such an extent that the poor man will be sick and tired of his life due to the intruder, and he will seek a way to rid himself of such a company of nuisance.

Seeing the Angel of Death is better than seeing you.

 

The ancients have praised such behavior unknowingly, and they have likened the person who has reached the utmost stage of fidelity to a dog. One must rather have in mind his own interest, and when the goal is attained and no expectations are left, he should definitely not pay any attention to anyone, not even to his own father. One should spend every morning and every evening with new company. For the enjoyment of life, one should not heed restrictive notions, so that one may fully enjoy the company and wealth of one's peers. Consequently, people will not be saddened by him, and will know for certain that:

A morsel from every pot is delightful.

 

Anecdote

 

It has been related that Muhy al-Din Arabi,2 who was the great philosopher and leader of the scholars of his time, for thirty years was intimately associated day and night with Muwlana Nur al-Din Rasadi, and they could not rest one moment without being in each other's company. In the last few days of the life of Nur al-Din, Muhy al-Din was busy drinking wine at his bedside. After going one night to his own chamber and returning the next morning, he saw that the slaves had shortened their hair and were bewailing the death of Nur al-Din. He asked what had happened. They said that Nur al-Din had passed away. Muhy al-Din said, "Alas! Nur al-Din." Then turning to his slave he said, "let us go and find another companion," and then he went to his quarters. They say that he lived for twenty years after that incident and that no one heard the name of Nur al-Din from his lips. In truth, it is only appropriate to our contemporaries to learn fidelity from this unique philosopher of his time. Another obvious proof (of the uselessnpss of fidelity) is that whoever had persisted in faithfulness will always be dejected and eventually will spend his life in futility, as was the case with Farhad, who carved Mount Bisutun; he never reached his goal, and finally spent his sweet (shirin) life on the love of Shirin.3 While he was dying, he said:

The wretched Farhad has thus sacrificed his life

For the sake of Shirin, that sweet love.

                And that helpless lover who is known as Majnun4 of Bani Amir was at first a wise and learned youth but was suddenly struck by the love of a girl called Laili. In faithfulness to her, life became bitter to him, and he could never enjoy her. He would run naked in the deserts and sing:

If I find Laili all alone

I will perform the pilgrimage to Mecca on bare feet.

 

Our great men are right. People who meet such an end should be avoided. (But concerning sincerity,) our great men say that this is the worst of attributes because sincerity is the source of loss and animosity . One who is sincere will never prosper. As much as possible a man must flatter his friends and patrons, and lie or please them, and always use the phrase "The emir says the Truth" as his motto. Whatever pleases people should be said. For instance, if at midnight a great man says, "Now it is the time of the early prayer," one should jump forward saying, "Of course it is."5 And one should add that today the sun is very warm, and in order to prove it he should swear by the Koran or an irrevocable divorce of his wife. If an old, miserly and ugly eunuch is being addressed, he should be called "the champion of the age," "the most chaste of the world", "a sweet budding youth," "the Joseph of Egypt," and "the generous Hatam Tai" so that one might benefit from his gold, his bounty, his robes of honor and his influence, and thus establish one's friendship in the eunuch's heart. If one calls a hairless man bald, or a hernia a rupture, or a wife-prostituted husband a cuckold, for the sake of this ill-omened truth, they will be annoyed,and having the power, they will give him a sound thrashing. If a cuckold or a bald man is not strong enough, he will not cease from his animosity, troubling one in a multitude of ways. Consequently, for the rest of one's life, thanks to this one word of truth, antagonism will not cease between them. This is why great men have said, "A well-motivated lie is better than a seditious truth " 6 What evidence is better than the fact that if a truthful man gives a hundred truthful testimonies, not only he will not be appreciated, but those who hear him will even be annoyed and will bring forth a hundred interpretations to falsify him. But if a faithless man wants to give a false testimony they will bribe him in a hundred ways and lavish various considerations on him so that he will give that testimony. It is for the very same reason that today in Islamic countries many thousands of judges, sheikhs, theologians, and reliable witnesses and their dependents earn their livelihood in this way, and they say:

A lie which brings you happiness

Is better than the truth which causes sadness.7

 

Concerning mercy and compassion, our masters have great doubts. They say whoever pities an oppressed or deprived person has sinned and made himself the object of (Divine) wrath, based on the fact that nothing happens without God's desire. Therefore whatever comes to His servants comes out of necessity from His Exalted desire. Plato says:"The case is not eventuated unless it is necessitated." God, who is the Most Merciful, surely would not have sent misfortune, had that person been unworthy of it, because whatever befalls a person befits that person. As the proverb says:

May the dog be hungry, the raven blind, and the goat lean.

 

And also it has been said:

There is no blind man unworthy of his blindness.

So if you want to have pity on a person who has been struck by God's wrath, you will sin and be a transgressor, and will be punished on the day of Resurrection for that. The analogy of this would be the case of a man who beats his slave in order to train him, and a stranger caresses and kisses him, saying "Your master is doing wrong in beating you. You should be rewarded and given a robe of honor." Of course, the master will be annoyed by this stranger.

Anecdote

 

In the blessed days of the Prophet, the pagans were told to feed the poor. They answered, "The poor are the servants of God. If He wanted to feed them, He would have done so. If He does not, why should we do so?" Similarly, the Koran states: "Are we to feed those whom God would have fed if He chose? Surely you are in manifest error."8 So it is incumbent upon every created being not to take pity and not pay attention to the condition of an oppressed or wounded person, an orphan, a family man in distress or a servant who has grown old and paralytic serving in the house of the master. Rather, for the sake of God, he should annoy them as much as he can, so that his reward and station may be elevated, and on the day of Resurrection, when "neither wealth nor children will be of any help"9 , this will come to his aid.

This was what I had promised at the beginning of the book to my brothers. It is hoped that if a beginner persists in practicing the characteristics of great men and making them part of his rational soul he will succeed both in this and the next world.