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As an instance of the great value attached to the poetry of Jelāl, the following anecdote is related:—

Shemsu-’d-Dīn Hindī, (Prince of Shīrāz in the province of Fars, Southern Persia), wrote a flattering letter to the renowned poet, Sheykh Sa’dī, of Shīrāz (who lived A.H. 571-691, A.D. 1175-1291, and was consequently a contemporary of Jelāl’s), begging him to select the best ode, with the most sublime thoughts, that he knew of as existing in Persian, and to send it to him, for presentation to the great Khān of the Moguls (who then ruled over nearly all Asia).

It so happened that the ode by Jelāl had just become known at Shīrāz, which commences:—

“Divine love’s voice each instant left and right is heard to sound,

We’re bound for heaven. To witness our departure who’ll be found?”

This ode had captivated the minds of all the men of culture in the city; and this ode Sa’dī selected, wrote it out, and sent it to the prince, with the remark: “A monarch, of auspicious advent, has sprung up in the land of Rome, from whose privacy these are some of the breathings. Never have more beautiful words been uttered, and never will be. Would that I could go to Rome, and rub my face in the dust under his feet!”