Then his eyes were torn out. At this a tumult arose in the crowd. Some burst into tears, others cast stones at him. When they were about to cut out his tongue, he exclaimed, "Wait a little; I have something to say." Then, lifting his face towards heaven, he said, "My God, for the sake of these sufferings, which they inflict on me because of Thee, do not inflict loss upon them nor deprive them of their share of felicity. Behold, upon the scaffold of my torture I enjoy the contemplation of Thy glory." His last words were, "Help me, O Thou only One, to whom there is no second!" and he recited the following verse of the Koran, "Those who do not believe say, 'Why does not the day of judgment hasten?' Those who believe tremble at the mention of it, for they know that it is near." Then they cut out his tongue, and he smiled. Finally, at the time of evening prayer, his head was cut off. His body was burnt, and the ashes thrown into the Tigris. The high opinion entertained of Mansur Hallaj by Fariduddin Attar, as seen in the above account, has been echoed by subsequent Sufi writers. Jalaluddin Rumi, the great mystic poet, says of him: "Pharaoh said 'I am the Truth,'[30] and was laid low. Mansur Hallaj said 'I am the Truth,' and escaped free. Pharaoh's 'I' was followed by the curse of God. Mansur's 'I' was followed by the mercies of God. Because Pharaoh was a stone, Mansur a ruby, Pharaoh an enemy of light, Mansur a friend. Mansur's 'I am He,' was a deep mystic saying, Expressing union with the light, not mere incarnation."[31] Similarly Abdurrahman, the chief poet of the Afghans says: "Every one who is crucified like Mansur, After death his cross becomes a fruitful tree." [21] Spirits. [22] Judges. [23] A small coin. [24] The founders of the four orthodox Sects. [25] A celebrated contemporary Sufi [26] Referring to punishment by impaling. [27] Learned men. [28] i.e. God. [29] Koran V, v 70. [30] According to the Koran, Pharaoh claimed divinity. [31] Whinfield's Masnavi p. 248. CHAPTER IX HABIB AJAMI (D 773 AD)