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Shah Nimatullah was a popular Sufi teacher and poet who lived in Persia a long time ago. He was a saintly man whose teachings brought people closer to God. Shah means 'king' and he was certainly a king among holy men. But he had a powerful enemy in the ruler of that land, Timur the Lame. Timur was a cruel king and was hated by most people. When he realised that Shah Nimatullah had a great many followers and that some of his own generals and senior officers had become his disciples, Timur grew worried. He decided to find some excuse for getting rid of Shah Nimatullah.
It did not take the king long to plot the downfall of the Sufi. Somehow he would show that Shah Nimatullah was not the holy man that everyone believed him to be. Then Timur would have him executed for being a bad Muslim and cheating people.
Timur paid Shah Nimatullah a visit in his home. "I have heard so much about you that I had to come and meet you for myself," said the sly king. The Sufi teacher welcomed him politely, as he would anyone who came to him. But surprisingly Timur refused all his food and drink. Instead the king had brought his own food with him. He had his servants spread a rich feast of bread, tender lamb's meat, fruits and dates in front of the Sufi. Then he asked Shah Nimatullah to join him in the meal.
When they had finished eating, Timur asked him a question. "I have been told that you are such a good Muslim that you will never eat any food which is haram or forbidden," said Timur. "Is this really true?"
"Only God can judge how good a Muslim anyone is," replied Shah Nimatullah, "but yes, it is true that I never eat anything that is haram."
"Then you are a liar," said Timur. "The lamb which you have eaten was certainly haram." This was just the moment that he had been waiting for. Shah Nimatullah calmly asked him why he made such an accusation. The king then ordered his cook to be brought to them and commanded him to explain to the Sufi how he had obtained the lamb. The cook said that Timur had ordered him to steal a lamb and cook it for their dinner. "So I obeyed his majesty and did not go to the market to buy the meat. Instead, I seized the lamb from a poor old woman whom I saw."
This was proof, said Timur, that the Sufi had eaten meat which did not belong to him and was, therefore, haram. Shah Nimatullah gently pointed out that Timur too had eaten the lamb, but the wicked king argued that he was not considered a great Sufi teacher and had not boasted that he did not eat haram food. The Sufi must receive the death penalty, he insisted, as an example to the people.
"Wait," said Shah Nimatullah, "and let us look into the truth of what the cook has told us. We should question the poor woman too." Timur saw no harm in agreeing to this. From the cook's description of the old woman and the place where he had robbed her, it did not take long for the king's soldiers to find her.
They brought the woman to the Sufi's house where Timur was also waiting. As soon as she saw Shah Nimatullah she burst into tears. "Alas!" she cried, "I am sorry to come to you empty-handed. I am a widow and my only son had gone to a sheep market in a distant town. I heard that a bad accident had happened to him there. But yesterday he came back safe and sound; the news of his accident had been a false alarm. By God's grace, he was also very successful in his trading at the market. So, feeling very happy, I decided to visit you this morning and was on my way here, carrying a little lamb as a gift. But a big brute stopped me in the street and stole my lamb."
Shah Nimatullah comforted her, saying that God must have willed that her lamb should reach him one way or another. He explained all that had happened. He thanked the woman for her gift and blessed her. The old widow went away, her sorrow turned into happiness once more.
Timur had witnessed all this in astonishment. He was forced to admit now that the Sufi was a godly man and that he had no proof that he ever ate haram food. Nevertheless, Timur had made up his mind to be rid of Shah Nimatullah once and for all. He pointed out that the Sufi's name was Shah. "One land cannot have two kings," said Timur, even though he knew very well that Shah Nimatullah was not a king in his sense of the word. So Timur ordered the Sufi's banishment from his kingdom.
Shah Nimatullah did not protest. He packed his few belongings and left. Some years later when Timur died, his son, Shah Rukh, came to the throne. Shah Rukh was a very different king from his father. He had always admired Shah Nimatullah and now begged him to come home once more. When the Sufi teacher finally returned, there was great rejoicing throughout the land.
Some Sayings of Shah Nimatullah
Engage yourself as much as you can, my friend, in remembrance of God;
If you can work, remember Him at your labour.
* * *
Take one step beyond yourself -
The whole path lasts no longer than a step.
* * *
If you never discover the Creator in His creation -
you will find the house, but not the door.
* * *
I cannot tell secrets [of God's mysteries] with pen and paper.
* * *
A rose without thorns cannot be found -
there is no gathering of roses without shedding blood.
* * *
Shah Nimatullah (1331 - 1431 AD)
Shah Nimatullah was born in Aleppo, and lived for most of his long life in present-day Iran. He founded the Nimatullahi order of Sufis which continues to be very popular to this day.
Shah Nimatullah earned his living from farming. He was also a very good poet in Persian. His major book, the Diwan, consists of some 14,000 lines. Some of his books were written in question and answer form, one such book of answers being written in response to questions by Timur's son, Shah Rukh.
Timur (c.1336 - 1405AD) or Tamerlane as he was also called because of his lameness in one leg, a descendent of the Mongol conqueror, Genghis Khan, was one of the most bloodthirsty kings in history. Cities which would not accept his rule suffered cruel punishment as Timur would order great numbers of their people to be beheaded and pyramids of human heads would then be raised in the public squares. Timur wanted to conquer the world and swept through Mongolia, Persia, Turkey, Russia and India. Shah Nimatullah is said to have told the arrogant Timur: "Your empire may extend from China to Shiraz, but mine is a world without end."
The story, the sayings and note are all taken from Sufi Stories from Around the World by Debjani Chatterjee, published by Harper Collins India, 1993.