Page:A Moslem seeker after God - showing Islam at its best in the life and teaching of al-Ghazali, mystic and theologian of the eleventh century (IA moslemseekeraft00zwem).pdf/40



Al-Baihaki, the chronicler of the court at Bagdad, shows us that the zeal for the faith was often accompanied by a reckless disregard for the law of Islam as regards the use of fermented liquor. Not only the soldiers and their officers had drunken brawls, but the Sultan Mas ud used to enjoy regular bouts in which he frequently saw his fellow topers " under the table." Here is a scene repre sented as having taken place at Ghazni, the capital of Khorasan province. " Fifty goblets and flagons of wine were brought from the pavilion into the garden, and the cups began to go round. Fair measure/ said the amir, and equal cups let us drink fair/ They grew merry and the minstrels sang. One of the courtiers had finished five tank ards each held nearly a pint of wine but the sixth confused him, the seventh bereft him of his senses, and at the eighth he was consigned to his servants. The doctor was carried off at his fifth cup; Khalil Dawud managed ten, Siyabiruz nine, and then they were taken home; everybody rolled or was rolled away, till only the Sultan and the Khwaja Abd-ar-Razzak remained. The Khwaja finished eighteen goblets and then rose, saying, If your slave has any more he will lose both his wits and his respect for your Majesty. Mas ud went on alone, and after he had drunk twenty-seven full cups, he too arose, called for water and prayer-carpet, washed, and recited the belated noon and sunset prayers together as soberly as if he had