ISLAMIC MYSTICAL LITERATURE 711
"Then the high king said, 'Your sins went too far.
You must be dismissed from the blue curtain.
I know how far it goes with you, though you
don't know. I know all things you do not know.'^131
"The waverers shouted and wept, 'We gave
advice that was a sin. Why was it so?'
A mob below them festered with remorse
and penitence. They begged for intercession
and complained to the king, 'You mustn't grieve
one time but often.'^132 But the king forgave,
freed them of doubt, created spirits of them,
and spread them over all the earth: 'He made
their spirits by mixing fire.'^133 The waverers
received the name confessors of the one
and only. Degradation was made from them.
There were four thousand of them, and in rank
they made their home below the Najib angels.
"The other waverers who remained did not
complain or demand intercession. No,
they praised the king, and turning to him
said, 'Lord, what can you do for us who were
transgressors?^134 Lord, we know that we have sinned
against ourselves. If you will not forgive us,
we'll stay among the lost. If we repent,
pardon us, lord, or else we are the lost.'THE WAVERERS LEARN PRAISE
"The high king said to Salman forgivingly,
'Cast these waverers out from the blue dome
down to a heavenly airy covering.' Salman
transformed them into air and held them firmly
up in the air. They formed pairs, two and two,- Qur'an sura 2.
- Qur'an sura 25.
- Qur'an sura 55.
- Qur'an sura 7.