In Remembrance of the Saints: The Rise and Fall of an Inner Asian Sufi Dynasty by David Brophy

Author:David Brophy [Brophy, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Literary Collections, Modern, Asia, 18th Century, General, Literary Collections/Asian/General, history, LCO004000, islam, HIS050000, History/Asia/Central Asia, Asian, Central Asia
ISBN: 9780231552523
Google: X1jZDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2021-01-05T00:26:49.447551+00:00

This is but the start of love, don’t mope and cry so much,

For this flood of dishonor will drown the whole world.190

On days of parting, O eyes, shed tears of blood,

Do you know from whom you are separating?191

With a final “Farewell, be safe in God’s hands,” Khoja Yusuf dismissed his children and set out for Yarkand by the Yopurgha road. It was the height of summer, and the heat gave an indication of the hardships of Hell—it was almost as fiery as the plain of Judgment Day. His illness was extremely critical, and his pulse was thinner than a thread. The physicians were anxious, and unable to move forward or go back, they stalled helplessly on the road.192

It is difficult to reach the destination,

For my eyes are blind, the night is dark, my horse is lame, and the road muddy.193

The next morning Khoja Yusuf called his assistants and asked them what the reason for the delay was, ordering them to get a move on. The doctors inspected his pulse, and there were small signs of improvement. They were surprised, but Khoja Yusuf said, “God Almighty has granted me this health. My hope is that instead of being left here in discomfort, I will undertake my final journey after pressing my face to the dust of my ancestors’ graves, and with the honor of meeting my elder brother the king.” With this, they continued on their way.

People hurried out from Yarkand /95b/ to welcome him, and eventually when he came close to the city, the princes too came out to meet him. They intended to carry Khoja Yusuf into the city on a palanquin, but he did not allow it. Dressed in royal regalia, with his belt tied tight, he rode into the city mounted on a swift steed. Everyone praised him for his courage and stamina.

Khoja Yusuf met Khoja Jahan in the yard of the palace, and they embraced with much weeping. Everyone else was kept out while he greeted his family and kin and reclined on the throne of honor in the great hall. Then the scholars and amirs and the rest of the population came in and recited the opening of the Quran in his honor. For most of the time he was there, Khoja Jahan sat by his bedside and tended to his illness. The princes also attended to him, as did the princesses. They had a sister whose name was Ulugh Azizim, who was especially beautiful and charming. She had qualities of Maryam and Aʾisha, and was a scholar and poet of great eloquence and intelligence. Her locks had yet to curl and had a musky camphor color. She was still chaste, no foreign dust had settled on her pure skirts, /96a/ no one had picked anything from her flower bed, and the crook of her curly locks had yet to trap any prey. Nonetheless she already had complete mastery of poetry, and oftentimes Khoja Ṣiddiq would study composition from her. Khoja Yusuf also had two daughters, the first of whom was the envy of the sun, and the second made the moon jealous.

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