The aged man who met Asrar was the maulana’s son. He had acquired knowledge and wisdom from his father and had command over Persian, Arabic and Urdu. The maulana had talked to his son at length a few days before his death. He had explained to him some tenets of wisdom and warned him that the book should not reach the hands of any religious man ever. He said: ‘This is that truth which the evil truth wants to destroy. Keep the book like a treasure close to your heart.’ He also handed over the Urdu translation and said that it was the most important book in the world but if it became commonplace, then the world would submerge in blood. He did not share a lot of details of his research with his son. He was sure that this book was written by Yakrab Abu Kuhan, who had the knowledge of all the worlds. He had given this knowledge to his daughter, Turab Kuhan.

The daughter had revealed this secret to one of her lovers. He profited through that knowledge and was able to establish his empire before the death of the Saryo River. This empire had established control over many countries of the world. She had revealed many secrets to her lover about the world, life, human nature, history but did not hand over the book to him. She had given it to her brother’s son, Jalal Hikmatyar, and made him vow that he would not open the book till her husband died. He fulfilled his promise. But after the death of his uncle, the disintegration of the empire started and there was chaos all around. Once, when he was leaving his house, a poison-dipped arrow hit him in the chest.

His wife, Tilism Shabyar, after the burial, crossed the Saryo and after a long journey across the desert reached Hijaz. She camped there for seven days. It came to her knowledge that there was a civil war on in Hijaz. People of various clans and tribes were killing each other and hanging severed heads and limbs in lanes and streets. They cut off the genitals of honourable women and spat on them. And those who did not join them in the spitting were considered traitors and enemies. The terror struck fear in Tilism’s heart. She went to Damascus. Her husband had beseeched her to carry the book to a safe place immediately if anything ever happened to him. She had lived up to her husband’s expectations. The book kept wandering. It is said that the clan to which Tilism belonged had rumours doing the rounds that the Kitab-ul-Hikmat Bain-ul-Aafaq had been lost.

The book contained signs of those who were privy to revelations of life, death and secrets of death and soul while they were alive. The Sufi-faced man had heard similar things. A line on Asrar’s palm had intrigued him and hence he had called the aged man.