Struck with these words, the poet-laureate arose, uncovered, begged forgiveness, confessed contrition for his disrespect, and became one of Jelāl’s disciples.
A disciple of Husāmu-’d-Dīn wished to make a vow never to do an act not expressly authorised by the Canon Law of Islām. For the purpose of administering the oath to him, instead of the Qur’ān, a copy of the Ilāhī-nāma (Divine Hymns) of the philosopher Sanā’ī was placed on a lectern, covered over with a cloth, and tendered as “the Book” on which he was to swear.
Just then, Jelāl came into the room, and asked what was going on. Husām replied: “One of my disciples is going to make a vow against backsliding. We shrank from swearing him on the Qur’ān, and have therefore prepared a copy of the Ilāhī-nāma for the occasion.”
Jelāl observed: “Indeed! Why, the Ilāhī-nāma would draw down on a forswearer a more severe chastisement than the Qur’ān itself. The Word of God is but milk, of which the Ilāhī-nāma is the cream and the butter!”
When Adam was created, God commanded Gabriel to take the three most precious pearls of the divine treasury, and offer them in a golden salver to Adam, to choose for himself one of the three.
The three pearls were: _wisdom_, _faith_, and _modesty_.
Gabriel then proceeded to remove the salver with the remaining two pearls, in order to replace them in the divine treasury. With all his mighty power, he found he could not lift the salver.
The two pearls said to him: “We will not separate from our beloved wisdom. We could not be happy and quiet away from it. From all eternity, we three have been the three compeers of God’s glory, the pearls of His power. We cannot be separated.”
A voice was now heard to proceed from the divine presence, saying: “Gabriel! leave them, and come away.”
From that time, wisdom has taken its seat on the summit of the brain of Adam; faith took up its abode in his heart; modesty established itself in his countenance. Those three pearls have remained as the heirlooms of the chosen children of Adam. For, whoever, of all his descendants, is not embellished and enriched with those three jewels, is lacking of the sentiment and lustre of his divine origin.
So runs the narrative reported by Husām, Jelāl’s successor, as having been imparted to him by the latter.