During the time of Shah Mahmud, the conqueror of Ghazni, there lived a young man. His name was Haydar Ali Jan. His father, Iskander Khan, predicted a place for his son at the Shah's court and sent him to comprehend subtle matters from the greatest sages of that time.
When Haydar Ali reached the heights of knowledge of texts and exercises, and completely mastered the teaching stories and body postures of various Sufi schools, his father brought him to the Shah.
“Your Majesty,” said Iskander, “this young man is my eldest son.” He has a keen mind and is specially trained in Sufi methods to be worthy to serve in Your Majesty's court.
Mahmud only said, without even looking at the young man:
- Bring him back in a year.
Slightly upset, but still harboring ambitious plans, Iskander sent Ali to study the works of the great Sufis of the past and visit the tombs of the great Masters in Baghdad - so that the waiting time would not be in vain.
Bringing the young man back to the Shah’s court, he said:
- O Peacock of the century! My son has made a long and difficult journey, and to his knowledge of the exercises has been added a thorough knowledge of the classical works of the people of the Way. I beg you, test whether he is worthy to decorate your yard.
“Let him return in another year,” Mahmud answered.
Over the next twelve months, Haydar Ali, crossing the Oxus, visited Bukhara and Samarkand Qasr-al-Arif and Tashkent, Dushanbe and the turbats of the Sufi saints of Turkestan.
When he returned to the court, Mahmud of Ghazni looked at him and said:
- He may return after a year.
Haydar Ali made a pilgrimage to Mecca, visited India, looked for rare books in Persia and never missed an opportunity to pay his respects to the great dervishes of his time.
When he returned to Ghazni, Mahmud told him:
“Now choose a mentor for yourself, and if he accepts you, come back in a year.”
When this year passed, and Iskander Khan wanted to go to court with his son again, Haydar Ali did not show any interest in this. He simply sat down at the feet of his Teacher in Herat, and no admonition from his father could move him from his place.
“I spent both time and money on him, but this fellow did not pass the test imposed on him by Shah Mahmud,” the father lamented, giving up on his son’s career.
Meanwhile, the day came when the young man was to appear before the Shah. And when that day came to an end, and the young man did not appear, Mahmud said to his entourage:
— Get ready for your trip to Herat. There's someone there I'd like to see.
When the Shah's cavalcade entered Herat to the sounds of fanfare, Haidar's mentor Ali took him by the hand and led him to the gates of the tekkiya.
They did not wait there for long - Mahmud and his close servant Ayaz, having taken off their shoes in this holy place, appeared before them.
“Mahmud, this is the one who was nothing at the time when he appeared before the shahs, but now the shahs appear before him,” said the Sufi sheikh. - Accept him as your Sufi advisor, for he is ready.
This is the story of the teaching of Hirawi, Haydar Ali Jan, the sage of Herat.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru