Mawlana Mulla Husayn Wa‘iz-e Kashifi

The Heart of Hearts of

Rumi’s Mathnawi

or Lubb-e Lubab-e Mathnawi-ye Ma‘nawi

Edited in English by Wazir Dayers

Mawlana Mulla Husayn Wa‘iz-e Kashifi

The Heart of Hearts of

Rumi’s Mathnawi

or Lubb-e Lubab-e Mathnawi-ye Ma‘nawi

Edited in English by Wazir Dayers

This book is dedicated to all students of mysticism and all lovers

of Hazrat Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi’s work, regardless of who

they are and regardless of their race, creed or culture.

© Wazir Dayers – All rights reserved – December 2015

1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

2-14

Introduction to this Edition of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī by Wazir Dayers

15-24

Preface to the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī by Mawlānā Mullā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī

25-27

Note: for the reader’s convenience, the Sources, Rivers and Rivulets and subheadings of the

three Sources of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī have been numbered in grey between square

brackets. The first number indicates the Source, the second number indicates the River within

a Source and the third number indicates the Rivulet within the River.

The First Source [1]

The Stages of Sharī‘a

The First River [1.1]

About Faith (Īmān), Testimony of Faith (Shahāda) and the Ways of Adoration and Devotion

(‘Ibāda)

28

The First Rivulet [1.1.1]

The true meaning of faith.

28

 The two kinds of believing: Believing by imitation and believing by

examination. There are two kinds of believing by examination: By reasoning

(istidlālī) and by visionary experience (shuhūdī).

28

 Story: Bāyazīd and the infidel.

29

The Second Rivulet [1.1.2]

 Testimony (shahāda) and its three kinds.

31

 A sālik’s testimony is manifest in his or her intention, words and deeds. 31

The Third Rivulet [1.1.3]

 Devotion or worship and its three stages.

33

 The humility of Saints before the Beloved during devotion.

34

The Second River [1.2]

Purification (Ṭahāra), Ritual Prayer (Fārsī: Namāz, Arabic: Ṣalāh), Fasting (Fārsī: Rūzeh,

Arabic: Ṣawm), Giving Alms (Zakāh), Pilgrimage (Ḥajj) and Inner Holy War (Jihād)

35

The First Rivulet [1.2.1]

 Inner purification. Freeing the mind from lust, greed and other negative

characteristics.

35

 God’s Mercy is like an all-cleansing water.

36

The Second Rivulet [1.2.2]

 Devotion is the presence of the heart.

 Immersing oneself in the ocean of love and connecting to the Divine. 37

 To him who visits the tavern in a state of spiritual poverty, both sobriety and

intoxication are devotion.

37

The Third Rivulet [1.2.3]

 Fasting.

40

 Avoiding desire through inner strength.

40

The Fourth Rivulet [1.2.4]

 Giving alms. Giving one’s heart and soul away to Beloved.

40

The Fifth Rivulet [1.2.5]

 Ḥajj (Pilgrimage)

42

 There are two kinds:

 1. Travelling to the house of God in Mecca.

 2. Visiting the house of God, which is the heart of the true servant of God.

42

2

 Story: How Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī circumambulated a dervish, because,

as the Ṣūfī saying goes: “The heart of the true believer is the House of God”.

42

 Everybody focuses on something, but the true lover focuses on the Beloved,

because wherever he looks, he sees the Beloved’s Face.

44

The Sixth Rivulet [1.2.6]

 Holy War (Jihād).

 The lesser jihād = fighting enemies.

 The greater jihād (i.e. the spiritual jihād) = fighting your nafs.

44

 Story: Ayyāzī’s return from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād.

45

 The difficulty of fighting the greater jihād, as compared to the lesser jihād,

which is easier.

47

The Third River [1.3]

Qaḍā and Qadar, Jabr and Ikhtiyār.

Divine Destiny and Divine Decree.

Compulsion (fatalism) and Free Will.

48

The First Rivulet [1.3.1]

 Qaḍā and Qadar.

48

 Story: The fool who wanted to change God’s Qaḍā to escape death.

49

 Qadar.

50

 The differences of opinion between groups are linked to their Qaḍā.

51

 The secret of qadar.

51

The Second Rivulet [1.3.2]

 Jabr wa Ikhtiyār (determinism and free will).

52

 The gardener and free will.

53

 God is the Creator of all acts and man but performs those acts.

54

The Fourth River [1.4]

The Stages of Knowledge and Intellect.

58

The First Rivulet [1.4.1]

 The knowledge of Sharī‘a.

58

 The knowledge of Ṭarīqa.

58

 The knowledge of Ḥaqīqa.

58

 Poem by Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī.

58

 Ḥadīth: “There are two greedy ones who will never be satisfied: the seeker of

the present world and the seeker of knowledge”.

59

 Story: The man in search of the Tree of Life did not know that it was the Tree

of Knowledge.

59

 Ḥadīth: “The seeker of knowledge lives forever.”

59

 Acquiring knowledge for status and rank, and its adverse repercussions. 60

 Conventional knowledge is only for this world.

61

 About people who do not put their knowledge to use.

62

 Self-realization is the key to knowledge of all things. Ḥadīth: “Whoever

knows himself, knows his Lord.”

64

 Ṣūfīs prefer a pure heart to a head filled with formal knowledge.

65

 All knowledge is reflected in a pure heart.

67

 The gnostic drinks from the eternal inner water, while remaing dependent on

transitory earthly water.

68

 The secret of ‘Ilm-e Ladunnī (the mystical knowledge of “the People of the

Heart”, i.e Ahl-e Dil).

68

 Story: The Chinese and the Greeks.

69

 Detachment of knowledge leads to gnosis and revelation in the heart. 71

 The story of the grammarian and the boatman.

71

 Attaining to the spiritual goal by passing through the spiritual stages. 72

3

 Story: The lover and the Beloved.

73

The Second Rivulet [1.4.2]

 The stages of the intellect (reason).

 Universal Intellect and partial intellect.

74

 The difference between the stages of the intellect.

76

 The partial intellect is subject to the Universal Intellect.

77

 When two people’s intellects are paired, they enhance and help each other.

77

 Transformation of the partial intellect into love.

78

The Fifth River [1.5]

Khawf wa Rajā (Fear and Hope).

80

The First Rivulet [1.5.1]

 The sun of hope illuminates the darkness.

80

 The meaning of hope in the ḥadīth qudsī Inna sabaqat raḥmatī ghaḍabī –

“Verily, My Mercy prevails over My wrath.”

82

The Second Rivulet [1.5.2]

 Fear. As hope and fear come together, faith (īmān) is born in the heart of the

beginning sālik.

84

 The mystic (‘ārif = gnostic) transcends these two inner states (hope and fear).

86

The Sixth River [1.6]

‘Adl and Ẓulm (Sincerity or Justice and Tyranny or Injustice).

86

The First Rivulet [1.6.1]

 ‘Adl (Sincere Justice)

86

 The inner potential power that is directed by the intellect, helps to free oneself

from the nafs.

86

 ‘Adl (Sincere Justice) enables you to help others better.

87

The Second Rivulet [1.6.2]

 Injustice and its Dark Consequences.

88

 Ḥadīth: “Oppression (Ẓulm) will be darkness (Ẓulumāt) on the Day of

Resurrection”.

88

The Third Rivulet [1.6.3]

 Mukāfāt (retribution) or the law of nature (cause and effect).

89

 “As you sow, so shall you reap.”

89

 Self-examination.

91

The Seventh River [1.7]

Ḥashr (the Gathering on the Day of Resurrection).

92

The First Rivulet [1.7.1]

 The return of all things to the other world.

92

 Allegory: The denial of the other world by the ignorant.

92

The Second Rivulet [1.7.2]

 The showing of the deeds on the Day of Judegment.

93

 Story: Luqmān-e Ḥakīm (“Luqmān the Wise”) and the proof of the Day of

Judgement.

94

The Third Rivulet [1.7.3]

 The philosophy of death, and death as a means of transformation.

95

 The meaning of the ḥadīth: “When a pious person dies, he or she regrets not

being able to do yet more good deeds by living longer, and when a bad person

dies, he or she regrets not having done any good deeds.”

97

 One of the meanings of death is that it manifests the Truth.

98

4

The Fourth Rivulet [1.7.4]

 The everlastingness of the soul and the transitoriness of the body.

99

 The story of the Prophet ‘Uzayr’s ass.

100

 The treasure of the soul is hidden in the ruins of the body.

 By experiencing voluntary death (Fārsī: marg-e ikhtiyārī, Arabic: al-mawtu’lirādī) you reach that treasure.

100

The Fifth Rivulet [1.7.5]

 In the afterlife you shall reap what you have sown in this life.

 Ḥadīth: “The way people have lived determines the way they die and the way

they will be resurrected.”

102

 Sleeping, or being dead, and being awake, or being alive, can be compared

with each other.

103

 It is God’s will that no deceased person let us know anything from the other

world.

104

The Sixth Rivulet [1.7.6]

 True lovers see death as a liberation.

105

 Before he died, Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī said: “By the Lord of the Ka‘ba, I am

liberated.”

105

 How God tested the deniers of the Truth by challenging them to invoke death.

105

 The story of Sayyidu’sh-Shuhadā (“The Chief of Martyrs”) Ḥamza, who

passionately sought after “the elixir of death” in order to gain eternal life.

107

 The meaning of the ḥadīth: “If anyone wants to meet God with love, God too

will meet him with love.”

108

 The story of Bilāl al-Ḥabashī, who embraced death with joy.

108

 To Prophets and Saints death is the gateway to the City of Eternity.

109

The Seventh Rivulet [1.7.7]

 Voluntary death and the meaning of the ḥadīth: “Die before you die.” 111

 Poem by Sanā’ī of Ghazna.

111

 The resurrection, the renewal or transformation and the impermanence of

beings.

113

 “Every day God embarks on a new task”– this means: Each time God is

manifested in a different form and the meaning of time according to the Ṣūfīs.

114

The Eighth Rivulet [1.7.8]

 Hell and Paradise.

115

 The four kinds of Paradise.

115

 Whether one attains Paradise depends on how great one’s love of God is; Hell

equally has levels; the level one reaches also depends on how great one’s

wickedness is.

115

 The metaphorical picture of the palaces of Paradise.

115

 The four rivers in Paradise.

116

 Man creates Hell and Paradise by his or her own character, by sowing and

reaping.

117

 Poem by Ḥakīm Sanā’ī Ghaznawī.

117

 Hell is but the reflection of bad deeds.

118

 The fire of desire and lust and the light of Faith (īmān) are incompatible.

119

 The true lover is not attached to thoughts of Hell and Paradise.

119

 Love chases Hell and Paradise away.

119

5

The Second Source [2]

The Secrets of the Inner Path – Ṭarīqa

The First River [2.1]

The necessary qualities a sālik (seeker, traveller on the Ṣūfī Path) needs at the beginning of his

journey. If he lacks these qualities, he is unable to progress.

121

The First Rivulet [2.1.1]

 Awakening from the slumber of heedlessness (ghafla), contemplating the

moment, being aware of the value of the Divine Breath (nafaḥāt-e ilāhī) and

being conscious of this blessing, which will lead the sālik to the Divine Light.

121

 The human body resembles a guest house in which the unseen guests are

received with honour and respect. The guests come and go, and do not come

back. But new guests will come in the future.

122

 Life is valuable and precious. It is particularly the realisation of the power of

youth and health in life, that will help man to achieve his spiritual goals. 123

 Regrets for days in life gone by.

124

 The story of the clay-eater.

125

 The story of a guardian crying for help after a burglary when the thieves had

already gone: “I had the means to prevent it, but I did not know how, what a

pity. Now that I have found out, it is too late to do anything” – ‘Aṭṭār 126

 The above-mentioned quotations are about people who are ruled by time and

circumstance. There are other people, i.e. Saints, who are able to transcend

time and circumstance and have control over them.

127

The Second Rivulet [2.1.2]

 Tawba (repentance, remorse).

129

 When ordinary (‘awāmm) people have tawba, they repent their bad deeds.

When the elect (khawāṣṣ) have tawba, they feel remorseful about their ego

(nafs).They attain awakining.

129

 Man’s essence is pure. Evil is caused by external factors. That is why humans

are inclined to feel remorse for sins or errors committed.

130

 Allegory: Even though God is Generous and covers the sins committed by His

servants, each person should be held accountable for his own deeds.

131

 Breach of promise and breach of repentance may cause God to bring about

misery.

133

 Allegory: A person caught in Satan’s hand abides in darkness and has no

knowledge of himself.

134

 One of the qualities of a wise person (sālik) is that he is not led astray by

promises of the Devil and that he will not allow anything to delay the time of

repentance (tawba).

135

 Allegory: The situation of the heedless in this world resembles that of

children who spend their whole lives playing. Later, however, they will come

to regret it.

136

The Third Rivulet [2.1.3]

 Associating with devout people.

137

 After the stage of repentance (tawba), nothing is sweeter or more delightful to

a sālik than to associate with the wise and the pure.

137

 Homogeneity.

140

 Birds of a feather flock together.

140

 The devout seeks the company of good people.

140

 The wrongdoer seeks the company of his own kind.

140

6

 The story of a child that got into a dangerous situation by a water spout and of

its mother turning to Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī, crying for help.

142

 Homogeneity is internal, not external. Birds of a feather flock together for

inner reasons.

144

 The story of ‘Abdu’l-Ghawth, who lived with parīs for many years.

144

The Fourth Rivulet [2.1.4]

 Seeking the company of mystics and experiencing their influence.

147

 The story of Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm-e Adham, who abandoned his kingdom and his

wealth and thus attained to the Truth.

148

 Story: The treasure that we are looking for is hidden in our house (i.e. what

you are looking for is to be found in yourself).

149

 You cannot seek the Beloved unless you are in love.

151

 It is the One Sought for (Maṭlūb) who attracts the seeker (ṭālib).

153

 The search holds a hidden pain, containing a message from the Beloved. 153

The Second River [2.2]

The help of the Pīr resembles a strong rope that the true murīd can hold on to.

155

The First Rivulet [2.2.1]

 The meaning and qualities of a true Pīr and the way a murīd should behave

towards the Pīr.

155

 The imitators of the Ṣūfīs, who deceive others and abuse the name of Sufism,

even though they know nothing about the Path of the Ṣūfī.

156

 How can anyone guide others if he or she has not walked the Path?

157

 Allegory: The parrot and the mirror.

159

 Story: The fools pretending to be wise.

160

 How knowledge and devotion cause arrogance and turn into a veil.

161

 Allegory: Following an unaccomplished Pīr leads one astray and causes

despair.

163

 How being put to the test reveals the true nature of things.

164

 The meaning of the name ‘Abdullāh (i.e. “true servant of God”) is possessing

Divine qualities and characteristics.

165

 The value and greatness of Saints can only be perceived with the inner eye.

166

 The true Saints are hidden from man’s eyes Some Saints are only recognized

by other Saints.

168

 Ḥadīth qudsī: “My Saints are under My domes and no one knows them except

Me”.

168

 The hidden Saints are like a treasure that lies hidden in the ruins.

169

 All Saints are one.

170

 The Quṭb – the Highest Saint.

171

 The meaning of “Quṭb”.

172

 The levels of sanctity according to Sufism and the status of the Pīr, who is the

shadow of God.

173

The Second Rivulet [2.2.2]

 The proper spiritual conduct or etiquette (adab, plural: ādāb) of the sālik

towards his Pīr.

175

 Showing courtesy towards the Saints is indispensible for murīds.

176

 Everything in love is adab (meticulous observance of the spiritual etiquette of

Sufism).

176

 The Saints too can assess the sālik’s inner state and heal it.

177

 You must listen to the Pīr’s words with your inner ear.

178

 Only a pure heart can understand the true words of God and His Saints. 180

 The secrets of the Path are not to be disclosed.

181

 The murīd’s patience and surrender to the Pīr’s commands.

183

 The story of the impatient ones.

183

7

 The story of Ḥażrat Luqmān, the patient one.

185

 Surrendering to the Saints on the Path is the first sign of spiritual maturity.

187

 The true murīd never critisizes the work of his Pīr, as the will of a true Pīr is

the will of God.

188

 Everything a Pīr says is the Truth and truly is beyond all doubt.

190

 All a Pīr’s actions are signs of the Truth.

192

 Whoever misjudges a true Master, in fact misjudges himself.

192

 A beginner on the Path should not blindly imitate the Master’s work. 194

 The murīd should never put a Master to the test.

195

The Third River [2.3]

The Pīr’s guidance of the murīd on the Path.

197

The First Rivulet [2.3.1]

 The different stages of the mystical journey (sayr wa sulūk) towards the

ultimate Goal.

197

 Returning to the house of the body.

198

 The ordinary journey through this world should be a stepping-stone to the

mystical journey.

198

 The mystical journey is fulfilled in two stages: fleeing from the nafs and

drawing closer to the Beloved.

199

The Second Rivulet [2.3.2]

 In order to avoid the perils and pitfalls on the Path, the mystical journey must

be undertaken under the guidance of a Master.

201

 Travelling in the company of advanced fellow wayfarers makes the journey

lighter.

204

The Third Rivulet [2.3.3]

 Prudence on the Path.

205

The Fourth Rivulet [2.3.4]

 Jadhba (Divine attraction, the force of attraction of God’s Love). How God

attracts His chosen servants, enabling them to strive in the Path and

accomplish goals with little or no effort.

208

 The grace of God’s force of attraction (jadhba).

209

 The sālik keeps progressing along the Path, whether he receives this grace or

not.

210

The Fourth River [2.4]

Riyāḍā wa mujāhada (spiritual practices and spiritual effort or struggle).

211

The First Rivulet [2.4.1]

 Powerlessness on a spiritual level.

216

 Poem:“While passing through this world you will meet many pickpockets”.

“Happy are those who have nothing in their pockets” (i.e. who are not

attached to anything).

216

 The world and what is in it, is transitory. Wise is he who is not attached to

worldly things.

218

 Poem by Ḥażrat Mawlānā ‘Abdu’r-Raḥmān Jāmī.

218

 To the wise, the transitory nature of worldly things holds a valuable lesson.

219

 To the wise, the transitory nature of worldly things holds a valuable lesson.

219

 Someone who chooses the way of the dervishes is saved from the

deceitfulness of the world and the nafs.

221

 The meaning of the saying: “All that keeps you from loving God, is the

material world. But to the wise man, the material world is merely a means, not

an end”.

222

8

 Someone who chooses the way of the dervishes is saved from the

deceitfulness of the world and the nafs.

221

 The meaning of the saying: “All that keeps you from loving God, is the

material world. But to the wise man, the material world is merely a means, not

an end”.

222

 Renouncing the material world through the power of love and the longing for

God.

223

The Second Rivulet [2.4.2]

 Renouncing the perils and pitfalls of the nafs and of passion, and the meaning

of the ḥadīth: “Your greatest enemy is your nafs, enclosed between your two

sides”.

224

 Being freed from the snares and pitfalls of the nafs by a wise Pīr who is a

spiritual healer.

228

 The nafs and Satan are in fact one and the same.

229

 The trap of lustful passion (shahwa).

231

 The nafs as the major source of vice and reprehensible qualities.

238

The Third Rivulet [2.4.3]

 Shunning the company of ill-natured persons and the benefits of solitude and

seclusion.

240

 The meaning of aloneness.

244

The Fourth Rivulet [2.4.4]

 Avoiding slander and the benefit of keeping silence.

245

 Man’s attitude is hidden under his tongue i.e. your words reveal your

personality.

247

 Keeping silence is not required for those whose tongue is a source of Divine

knowledge.

248

The Fifth Rivulet [2.4.5]

 Moderation in sleeping, the secret of the night and vigilance of the true lovers.

248

 Wakefulness of the heart.

250

The Sixth Rivulet [2.4.6]

 Moderation in eating and the secret of spiritual food.

251

 Food that is consumed with a good intention is transformed into inner light

and purity.

255

 Paying much attention to the body while forgetting that the soul can cause

disharmony in life.

256

 The true sālik does not feed his nafs and eats from the Divine table (mā’ida).

258

The Seventh Rivulet [2.4.7]

 Refraining from an overluxurious way of life and willingness to endure the

sorrows and pain of life lovingly and patiently.

260

 The secret of patience.

261

 For the sālik, practicing patience during adversity, suffering and difficulties

breeds purity and maturity.

261

 Patience leads to sincerity.

262

 Suffering for love’s sake brings ease and relief to the sālik.

263

 For every pain comes a remedy and after darkness comes light.

264

 Allegory: Life consists of oppositions (Relativity).

265

 The pain of love.

268

 The story of Ḥażrat Dhū’n-Nūn al-Miṣrī.

268

 The story of Ḥażrat Luqmān.

270

 The true lover also accepts the pain of love.

271

 The pain of love is followed by healing and liberation.

272

9

The Eighth Rivulet [2.4.8]

 Renouncing imitation and blindly aping others.

273

 The muqallid (the blind imitator) and the muḥaqqiq (one who actively seeks

the Truth).

274

 The difference between muqallid and muḥaqqiq.

276

The Ninth Rivulet [2.4.9]

 Renouncing pride and cherishing indigence towards the Beloved opens the

gate to Divine grace.

277

 The love for God renders the garden of the heart green and fresh.

280

 Shedding tears for God purifies the heart.

282

 Not every tear can contain love for God.

283

 Story: The difference between the tears of the Pīr and those of a murīd. 283

 The softness of the heart causes the pure tears to flow.

284

 The sālik draws closer to the Divine through indigence towards the Beloved.

285

 How God answers His servants’ prayers.

288

 Why God doesn’t always answer His servants’ prayers immediately.

289

 Allegory: God loves those who weep and plead during their prayers.

290

 God answers the true lovers without prayer and supplication.

290

The Tenth Rivulet [2.4.10]

 Renouncing reputation, fame and glory and striving for anonymity and self-effacingness.

291

 Praise or disapproval do not affect the inner state of a true dervish or sālik.

293

 When a sālik is rejected by people, it does not affect him, secure in the

knowledge that the Beloved loves him.

294

The Fifth River [2.5]

Renouncing bad qualities and bad character and striving for good and Divine qualities.

295

The First Rivulet [2.5.1]

 Good character and virtuous behaviour.

295

The Second Rivulet [2.5.2]

 Sincerity (ṣidq).

297

 Sincerity stems from renouncing desire.

300

 Meeting one’s commitments is the sign of sincerity.

301

The Third Rivulet [2.5.3]

 Generosity (jūd).

303

 Being generous without expecting a reward.

304

The Fourth Rivulet [2.5.4]

 Gratitude (shukr).

305

 Being thankful in all circumstances, in both sorrow and joy.

306

 Being thankful to God as well as to people.

307

 The ungrateful.

308

The Fifth Rivulet [2.5.5]

 Contentment (riḍā). True sāliks and gnostics are content with whatever

happens to them.

309

 Envy and its dangerous consequences.

311

The Sixth Rivulet [2.5.6]

 Contentment (qanā‘a) and avarice (ḥirṣ).

313

 Disappointment results from greed.

314

 Covetousness as a veil before the heart’s inner eye.

315

 Story: Covetous people forfeit the grace of the Saints.

316

 Cupidity among the elderly.

318

10

 The negative effects of greed.

320

 Love and greed.

320

The Seventh Rivulet [2.5.7]

 Absolute trust in God (tawakkul).

321

 Worrying about sustenance is incompatible with tawakkul.

322

 Forgetfulness (ghafla).

325

 Worldliness is a sign of forgetfulness.

326

 The Cause of Causes.

326

 The mystic transcends the causes.

327

 To the mystic, the One is the Cause of Causes. He only beseeches the One for

help.

329

 Story: Moses and trust in God.

330

 He who is attached to worldly things, is far removed from the Cause of

Causes.

332

The Eighth Rivulet [2.5.8]

 Honour (‘izza), humility and modesty (tawāḍu‘), baseness (dhilla) and false

pride, vanity and arrogance (takabbur).

334

 The difference between being drunk with love and drunk with pride.

336

 Self-conceit and arrogance stem from the ego ( nafs).

337

 Criticizing others’ faults and forgetting one’s own arises from self-conceit.

339

 The true artfulness lies in the willingness to see the positive aspects of things

as well.

341

 In reality ugliness does not exist, since God created all things perfect. 342

 The relativity of worldly things. All things are known by their opposites.

343

The Ninth Rivulet [2.5.9]

 Gentleness and forbearance (ḥilm) and anger (ghaḍab).

344

 The wrath of the Perfect Man.

346

The Tenth Rivulet [2.5.10]

 Sincerity (ikhlāṣ).

346

 Hypocrisy (riyā).

348

The Sixth River [2.6]

The qualities which enable a sālik to come closer to the Way of God.

350

The First Rivulet [2.6.1]

 Samā‘ (spiritual musical audition) is the sālik’s spiritual food, enabling him to

experience the Divine.

350

 Poem by Ḥażrat Shaykh Sa‘du’ddīn al-Ḥamawī

350

 The ney (reed flute) or the narrator of Divine love.

352

The Second Rivulet [2.6.2]

 Dhikr (remembrance of God).

354

The Third Rivulet [2.6.3]

 Contemplative thought and reflection (tafakkur).

356

 Outer form or appearance and inner quintessential core or inner quintessential

meaning.

358

 Without their inner quintessential core or meaning, outer forms or

appearances are transitory.

358

 All forms are dependent on the Formless One and the true sālik must

transcend all forms and appearances.

360

 Words that contain the quintessential meaning of a subject.

361

11

The Fourth Rivulet [2.6.4]

 Transcending the stage of Doubt (shakk wa taraddud) and reaching the realm

of Certainty (yaqīn).

364

 Speculative uncertainty and illusory conjecture (ẓann wa wahm) as obstacles

on the Path.

365

 Certainty as the guideline towards Salvation

366

 The world of fantasy (khayāl) as a veil.

367

 Division between groups of people arises from the negative power of illusion.

368

The Fifth Rivulet [2.6.5]

 The Perfect Man as the manifestation of the Divine.

370

 Man’s outer aspect and his inner essence.

371

 The meaning of the ḥadīth qudsī: “Verily, God created man in His own

image”.

373

 The meaning of macrocosm and microcosm and self-realization.

375

 Saying of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī.

375

 Man as microcosm and as sole representative of Divine qualities on earth.

377

The Sixth Rivulet [2.6.6]

 The Divine world of the heart.

380

 The heart as a Divine mirror.

382

 The heart is where Divine manifestations take place.

385

 The heart’s window.

386

The Seventh Rivulet [2.6.7]

 The world of the human spirit.

387

 The difference between the animal soul and the human soul.

389

 About the spirit, which is like a bird, and is caught in the body’s cage. 390

 The Greatest or Supreme Spirit (ar-rūḥu’l-a‘ẓam), the Universal or First

Intellect (‘aqlu’l-kull) or the Soul of Souls.

391

 The relation between spirit, soul and body.

392

The Eighth Rivulet [2.6.8]

 Sufism (taṣawwuf) or spiritual poverty (faqr). The spiritual journey towards

the Divine.

394

 The true dervish is indigent towards God alone.

395

The Third Source [3]

The Light of Truth – Ḥaqīqa

The First River [3.1]

The Power of the Qualities of ‘Ishq (Love).

398

The First Rivulet [3.1.1]

 How the hidden light of Love manifests itself.

398

 Love’s force of attraction.

401

The Second Rivulet [3.1.2]

 The qualities and stages of true lovers.

402

The Third Rivulet [3.1.3]

 The lover’s annihilation in love.

406

The Fourth Rivulet [3.1.4]

 Metaphorical love and True Love and the meaning of metaphorical love as a

stepping-stone to True Love.

408

 Story: How the Beloved manifests Himself in other creatures.

410

12

 The true lover sees the Beloved’s face everywhere.

413

The Fifth Rivulet [3.1.5]

 The detachment of the true lover.

414

 Allegory: Reason and Love.

415

 Annihilation in the Beloved.

416

The Sixth Rivulet [3.1.6]

 The lover’s unification with the Beloved and the colourless Divine colour of

Love.

417

 Story: Laylā and Majnūn.

418

 Story: The annihilation of the lover in the Beloved.

419

The Second River [3.2]

The stages of the inner vision and inner witnessing (mushāhada), i.e. perceiving the true nature

of things.

420

The First Rivulet [3.2.1]

 The stage of witnessing light in the sālik’s heart.

420

 The unveiling of the Divine mysteries to the sālik.

421

 The effect of inner light in the outer World.

422

 Seeing and hearing inwardly.

423

The Second Rivulet [3.2.2]

The contraction and expansion of the heart (qabḍ and basṭ).

424

The Third Rivulet [3.2.3]

 The stage of intoxication by Love (mystical drunkenness – sukr), which leads

the sālik to spiritual bewilderment (ḥayra) and spiritual insanity (junūn). 426

 Divine Madness (Junūn-e Ilāhī).

428

 Partial intellect (or “ego-mind”) as an obstacle on the Path.

430

 Story: When spiritual bewilderment hinders the power of thinking.

434

The Fourth Rivulet [3.2.4]

 The stage of God’s nearness (Qurb). Going beyond time and space, ego and

senses.

435

 The meaning of the Quranic verse 50:16: “And We are closer to him than his

jugular vein.”

435

 Love as a means to draw nearer to God.

436

 When the sālik is annihilated in God, his or her actions and words equally

become Divine.

439

The Fifth Rivulet [3.2.5]

 The stage of unification (wuṣla or wiṣāl) with God.

443

 The Beloved seeks the lover (for unification – wuṣla or wiṣāl).

444

 The tasting of unification with the Beloved.

445

 The way to unification with the Beloved.

446

 The lower self (nafs) as the obstacle.

448

 The lover’s yearning for union with the Beloved.

450

The Third River [3.3]

The final stages of sulūk (the Spiritual Journey).

452

The First Rivulet [3.3.1]

 Realization of Reality through Divine manifestations in life.

452

 Realization of God’s Essence.

454

 The inability of the human intellect to comprehend God’s Essence.

454

 How to understand that God’s Essence has never been revealed to anyone.

455

 God’s countless qualities cannot be explained by reason.

455

 Everybody speaks of That One from his or her own perspective.

458

 Story: The different languages and the same essence.

459

13

The Second Rivulet [3.3.2]

 Annihilation in the Beloved (fanā, merging with the Beloved).

460

 Allegory: Fat in milk.

461

 Complete annihilation in the Beloved (fanā-ye fanā) (beyond the power of

reason).

461

 Eternal life (baqā) arises from annihilation (fanā).

467

 The contradiction between words and deeds.

468

 Poem from the Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī

470

The Third Rivulet [3.3.3]

 The Unicity of God – Tawḥīd, or the final stage, when the sālik sees nothing

but the Beloved.

471

 Existence and non-existence.

473

 Existence (this world) as a veil before the light of Truth.

474

 The secret of the lover’s unification with the Beloved and the transformation

of human qualities into Divine attributes.

475

 Unification with the Beloved does not mean becoming the Beloved, but rather

losing one’s ego and seeing the Beloved everywhere.

476

 Transcending duality and drawing nearer to unification and union with the

Beloved.

477

 Although God may be witnessed in countless manifestations, His Essence

always remains one.

478

 The mystic is immersed in the ocean of God’s Essence and has reached

oneness (waḥda).

480

 Allegory: Different words but the same goal.

480

 The eternity of God’s Essence and the meaning of the Divine colour which is

without colour.

481

 Where the meaning (Essence) transcends the words.

483

Epilogue by Mawlānā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī

486

Bibliography

491

About the Editor

493

14

Introduction to this Edition of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī

By Wazir Dayers

Who was Mawlānā Mullā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī?

Kamālu’ddīn Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī was born ca. 840 AH/1436-1437 CE in the city of

Sabzewār, in the present-day province of Khurāsān1 in north-eastern Iran. He came to be

known as “Mawlānā2 Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī” 3 or simply “Mullā4 Ḥusayn”.

Mawlānā Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī stood out as a scholar in various areas of religious study, such as

Quranic sciences, ‘Ilmu’l-Ḥadīth (the science of Prophetic Traditions), Fiqh (jurisprudence),

‘Ilmu’s-Siḥr (the science of sorcery5), mysticism, astrology and astronomy.

In addition, he was blessed with a beautiful voice and excelled in reciting the Qur’ān.

Simply and affectionately known as “Mullā Ḥusayn” among the people, he was a charismatic

preacher. The gatherings at which he delivered his inspired sermons used to attract large

crowds of eager listeners.

When he was a young scholar, he left Sabzewār for Neyshāpūr (also romanized6 as

“Nayshāpūr”, “Neyshābūr”, “Nīshāpūr”, “Nīshābūr” etc.). After a short stay there, he

travelled to the holy city of Mashhad7.

1 Khurāsān now is a province in north-eastern Iran, but in Mawlānā Mullā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī’s time, when

it was known as “Greater Khurāsān”, it covered large parts of present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan,

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

2 Mawlānā is an honorific title that is used for the highest ranking Ṣūfī Masters and Saints (e.g. Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī). In that case Mawlānā means “our Master”, “our Lord”, “our Patron” or – in more traditional Ṣūfī terms – “our Caring, Supporting and Protecting Holy Friend”. But the title Mawlānā is also given to scholars of great merit (e.g. Mawlānā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī).

3 In the preface to the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī (see p. 26), Mawlānā Kāshifī states his name – in Arabicized form – as “Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī al-Bayhaqī al-Wā‘iẓ al-Kāshifī”. “Al-Bayhaqī” means “of Bayhaq” (“Bayhaq” being the old name of Sabzewār). “Kāshifī”, which translates as “Revealer” or “Uncoverer”, actually was his takhalluṣ

or pen name. “Wā‘iẓ” means “Preacher”, “Adviser” or “Teacher”, and also is one of the Prophet Muḥammad’s

epithets. Since Mawlānā Kāshifī was a professional preacher, “al-Wā‘iẓ al-Kāshifī” or “Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī” may be interpreted as “he who revealed hidden truths through his inspired preaching”.

4 Mullā (often written as mullah in the West): because of the present political situation in countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the title mullā (or mullah) has a derogatory connotation in our time, but in the past this was not so. Mullā means “religious teacher”, “learned master”, “someone well-versed in religion” or “religious leader or guardian of a community”. It is a corruption of the Arabic word mawlā, meaning “lord”, “master” or “patron”. Mawlā is often found with the Arabic possessive suffix -nā: Mawlānā (see the footnote on “Mawlānā”).

5 For clarity’s sake: this science does not involve the practice of sorcery or magic, but only its study. Sorcery, magic and other occult and superstitious practices are strictly forbidden in Islām.

6 “romanization” = rendering words from a language written in a different writing system in the Latin alphabet.

7 Neyshāpūr is one of the most famous cities of the modern Iranian Khurāsān province. The holy city of

Mashhad is the province’s capital. Mashhad’s most famous shrine is that of the eighth Imām of the Twelver

Shī‘ī faith, Ḥażrat Imām ‘Alī ibn Mūsā ar-Riḍā (ca. 765-818 CE), who is popularly known as “Emām Reżā” in

Iran. His shrine is an important site of pilgrimage. He was not only the leader of a religious community, but also a highly perfected and accomplished mystic, who holds an important place in the silsila-s (the chains of mystical succession and transmission) of various Ṣūfī Orders. The Ṣūfīs hold him in such high esteem that they have dubbed him Sulṭānu’l-Fuqarā’, “the Sulṭān of those who strive to realize Spiritual Poverty ( Faqr)”.

15

In Mashhad he experienced a vision, in which the Naqshbandī mystic and Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat8

Mawlānā Sa‘du’ddīn Kashgharī (d. 1462 CE) appeared to him and summoned him to the city

of Herāt9.

Complying with Ḥażrat Mawlānā Kashgarī’s command, he immediately left for Herāt, but

much to his disappointment the Master had already passed away when he arrived there.

Nevertheless, Ḥażrat Mawlānā Kashgarī’s demise opened the way for him to come into

contact with one of the greatest Ṣūfī Masters of his time, i.e. Ḥażrat Mawlānā Nūru’ddīn

‘Abdu’r-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414-1492 CE)10. Ḥażrat Mawlānā Jāmī actually was Ḥażrat

Mawlānā Kashgarī’s successor and initiated Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī into the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order.

Mawlānā Kāshifī arrived in Herāt in what is considered a golden era of the Timurid dynasty11,

an era in which Islamic sciences, Sufism, the arts and literature flourished greatly.

His career as a man of true spirituality and learning reached its peak under the reign of the

Timurid Sulṭān Ḥusayn Mīrzā Bāyqarā (1438-1506 CE), who ruled the Timurid Empire from

its capital Herāt between 1469 and 1506 CE. In Herāt, Mawlānā Kāshifī devoted most of his

time to preaching, the advanced research and practice of Sufism and the study of various

Islamic sciences. It wasn’t long before he gained recognition and renown as an outstanding

Ṣūfī writer and poet. He wrote a considerable number of books and treatises in Herāt. These

are the most important works of this prolific author:

1. Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī-ye Ma‘nawī.

2. Rawḍatu’sh-Shuhadā’: “The Garden of the Martyrs” – this book contains elegies for

Ḥażrat Imām Ḥusayn, his Family and Companions and their martyrdom at Karbalā in

680 CE.

3. Akhlāq-e Muḥsinī: “Morals of the Beneficent”.

4. Asrār-e Qāsimī – a treatise on magic and the occult sciences. See the footnote for

‘Ilmu’s-Siḥr.

5. Anwār-e Suhaylī: “Lights of Canopus12” – an adaptation in prose of Kalīla and Dimna,

a collection of animal fables, originally written in Sanskrit in India before the fifth

century CE. Its main themes are wise leadership and the value of true friendship.

6. Sab‘a-ye Kāshifiyya – a work on astrology and astronomy.

7. Tafsīr-e Ḥusaynī – an exegetical commentary on the Qur’ān.

8 Ḥażrat (< Arabic ḥaḍratun) is a title that expresses great reverence. It is often rendered as “His Holiness”, but its literal and original meaning is “Presence”.

9 During the Middle Ages the city of Herāt became one of the greatest cities of Greater Khurāsān; it was known as “the Pearl of Khurāsān”.

10 Apart from being a great mystic, Ḥażrat Mawlānā Jāmī also was the last of the great classical Persian poets. It was he who said about Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Mathnawī: “hast qur’ān dar zabān-e pahlawī” – “It is the Qur’ān in Persian.”

11 The Timurids were a Persianate dynasty of Turco-Mongol origin, whose rule lasted from 1370 to 1526 CE. At

the height of their power they ruled over a vast empire, which included the whole of Central Asia, modern-day Iran and Afghanistan, as well as large parts of modern-day Pakistan, North-India, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and the Caucasus. It was founded in the 14th century CE by the fierce conqueror Tīmūr-e Lang (“Tīmūr the Lame”, better known in the West as Tamerlane). By the time Mawlānā Kāshifī arrived in Herāt, the original Timurid Empire had already shrunk considerably; nonetheless, science, the arts, literature and Sufism continued to thrive.

12 A star, 650 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Carina. It is the second brightest star in the sky. Its Arabic name is Suhayl.

16

It is said that Mawlānā Kāshifī also made a journey to India and that he met a number of

prominent Ṣūfī Masters there.

He died in Herāt ca. 910 AH/1504-1505 CE and was laid to rest in that city.

What is the “Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī”?

Mawlānā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifi wrote the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī as an aid and benefit

for Ṣūfī adepts who studied Sufism using Ḥażrat Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī’s Mathnawī 13.

There is no literal translation for the title Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī. Only interpretive

translations are possible, e.g. “The Heart of Hearts of [Rūmī’s] Mathnawī” or “The Innermost

Part/The Innermost Heart/The Essence of Essences/The Quintessence/The Purest Core/The

Kernel of Kernels of the Mathnawī”.

Some further explanation about the Arabic words lubb and lubāb may help shed some light on

the title:

The word lubb means “innermost heart”. In Early Sufism, man’s spiritual heart was perceived

as having four aspects. The early Ṣūfī mystics Ḥażrat Abū’l-Ḥusayn an-Nūrī (840-907 CE)

and Ḥażrat al-Ḥakīm at-Tirmidhī (d. ca. 905-910 CE) were the ones who gave each of these

four aspects a specific name. Ḥażrat Abū’l-Ḥusayn an-Nūrī derived these names from the

Qur’ān:

 ṣadr (“breast” or “outer heart”) is connected with islām or “unconditional surrender to

God” – see Qur’ān 39:2214.

 qalb (“spiritual heart”) is the seat of īmān or “faith” – see Qur’ān 49:715 and 16:10616.

 fu’ād (“inner heart”) is connected with ma‘rifa or “gnosis” – see Qur’ān 53:1117 – and

the level of Sainthood.

 lubb (“innermost heart”) is the seat of tawḥīd or “Divine Unity” – see Qur’ān 3:19018

– and is connected to the stage of the Perfect Saint.

13 The primary meaning of the word mathnawī (often also romanized as masnawī or masnavī), is a poem consisting of an indefinite number of rhyming couplets, with the rhyme scheme aa/bb/cc etc. Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī’s mathnawī is so famous that when people mention “the Mathnawī”, it is obvious that they

mean Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Mathnawī. Its full title is Mathnawī-ye Ma‘nawī, which literally means

“Real/Meaningful/Significant or Spiritual Couplets”, but it is best understood in an explanatory way as

“Rhyming Couplets of Profound Spiritual Meaning”.

14 “Is he whose breast [ ṣadr] God has opened to Islām, so that he is in light from His Lord [received enlightenment from his Lord]? Woe then to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of God.

Those are manifestly in error.”

15 “And know that God’s Messenger is among you; should he obey you in many matters, you would surely fall

into distress, but God has made you love the faith and has made it beautiful in your hearts [ qulūb, the plural of qalb], and He has made unbelief, transgression and rebellion detestable to you; these are the followers of a right way.”

16 “Whoever disbelieves in God [after having embraced belief], except for one who is forced [to renounce his

religion] while his heart [ qalb] is at rest with faith. But those who [willingly] open their breasts to disbelief, upon them is God’s wrath, and for them is a great punishment.”

17 “The heart [ fu’ād] did not lie about what it saw.”

18 “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding” [in Arabic it says li-ūlī’l-albāb, which means “for those endowed with hearts”. Albāb is the plural of lubb].

17

The word lubāb, derived from the same Arabic verbal root as lubb, means “pure core” or

“quintessence”.

The Structure of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī

In his Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī Mawlānā Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī used an ingenious system to

classify the verses of the Mathnawī by subject: he divided his book into three so-called

“Sources”. Each “Source” was then subdivided into “Rivers”, and these “Rivers” in turn were

subdivided into “Rivulets”. Mawlānā Kāshifī’s selection of verses from the Mathnawī is quite

substantial, but with the help of the table of contents (see pp. 2-14) the reader will easily find

verses that deal with a particular subject.

In terms of geography it may seem strange that rivers should flow from sources and rivulets

from rivers. But in this case spiritual concepts are given precedence over geographical

realities.

The three Sources correspond to the three stages of acquiring inner knowledge on the Ṣūfī

Path: ‘Ilmu’l-Yaqīn (“the Knowledge of Certainty”), ‘Aynu’l-Yaqīn (“the Eye of Certainty”19)

and Ḥaqqu’l-Yaqīn (“the Truth of Certainty”). These three stages are reflected in the way

Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī expounds mystical realities in his Mathnawī.

The first stage is called ‘Ilmu’l-Yaqīn or “the Knowledge of Certainty”. In this stage, the sālik gains knowledge through theoretical learning. When Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks from this point of view, his words are said to be in accordance with the formal and outer precepts of

religion, the Sharī‘a, which is usually defined as “the religious code of law derived from the

Qur’ān and from the teachings and example of the Prophet Muḥammad”. However, since both

the Mathnawī and the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī deal with the inner or mystical aspect of

religion and not with its outer or formal aspect, in this context, Sharī‘a should be understood

as “Pathway to proper moral conduct”.

In a mystical sense, the word Sharī‘a also means “Pathway to Water” – in this case “Water”

stands for Ṭarīqa or “Mystical Path”, which leads to the Divine Ocean of Oneness and Love.

For a sālik or Ṣūfī wayfarer, this is the least important stage of his or her spiritual journey. It

is a mere preparatory passage, where the sālik learns the self-discipline he or she will need in

the stage of Ṭarīqa, the Inner or Mystical Path.

The sālik who attains to the second stage, ‘Aynu’l-Yaqīn or “the Eye of Knowledge”, learns to acquire inner knowledge through contemplation and mystical vision. This stage corresponds to Ṭarīqa, the Mystical Path, the Path of inner development towards union with the Divine.

In the third and final stage, Ḥaqqu’l-Yaqīn or “the Truth of Certainty”, the Ultimate Truth is

revealed to the sālik; in this stage, the sālik dies to himself/herself and becomes one with this Truth. This stage corresponds to Ḥaqīqa, “Divine Truth”, “Supreme Truth” – the ultimate goal of the mystical Path.

These three stages take their names from Quranic verses: Qur’ān 102:5 for ‘Ilmu’l-Yaqīn

(“Not at all! If only you knew with the Knowledge of Certainty”); 102:7 for ‘Aynu’l-Yaqīn

19 Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī attached great importance to the development of inner sight as a means of acquiring an ever-increasing spiritual understanding and consciousness.

18

(“Then you will surely see it with the Eye of Certainty”) and 69:51 for Ḥaqqu’l-Yaqīn (“And verily, it is the Truth of Certainty”).

The Universal Message of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī

When you read the Mathnawī, it very soon becomes obvious that these are the words of a man

who lived in the Near and Middle East in the 13th century CE, in a predominantly Muslim

culture. It cannot be denied that he expressed himself in the terminology of his religion and

his era. And prior to his meeting with his legendary Master, Ḥażrat Shams-e Tabrīzī20, he had

been a renowned Muslim theologian and jurist, just like his father21 had been before him. It is

also true that he remained deeply devoted to Islām, the Qur’ān and its Messenger until his last

breath. Even so, it would be incorrect to describe Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī and his message as

“merely Islamic”. In his youth he travelled extensively and was exposed to various religious,

spiritual, mystical and philosophical currents and traditions. All these influences would help

to shape Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s mystical philosophy.

He was born in the village of Wakhsh22 on 30th September 1207 CE. Wakhsh was part of the

province of Greater Balkh23. Its central city – also called Balkh – was an influential place of

learning in Greater Khurāsān, and one of its four main cities24. Balkh was a major centre of

Perso-Islamic culture and Sufism, which had been thriving there for several centuries. But the

golden age of Balkh would come to an end:

In 1219 CE young Jalālu’ddīn was forced to flee with his family from the onrushing brutal

Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, who would invade and utterly destroy Balkh in 1220 CE.

Travelling through Greater Khurāsān, he visited many cities that were still very much under

the influence of the age-old Zoroastrian religion25. In Neyshāpūr, as an adolescent, Jalālu’ddīn

met the illustrious Persian Ṣūfī mystic, writer and poet Ḥażrat Shaykh Farīdu’ddīn ‘Aṭṭār26,

who blessed him and presented him with a copy of his Asrār-Nāma (“Book of Mysteries”27).

In addition, he made the pilgrimage to Mecca and visited the city of Baghdad with its rich

Ṣūfī tradition. In Damascus he was inspired by the old teachings of Christian Gnosticism and

the mystical tradition of the Jewish religion. He was also influenced by Greek philosophy,

particularly by Neo-Platonism.

After visiting various cities in Anatolia, he and his family settled permanently ca. 1229 CE in

the Anatolian city of Konya (or Qūniya, as the Muslim peoples called it). Today’s Konya is a

thoroughly Islamic city, but in Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s time this ancient city also counted

Jews and Christians among its population. Konya is the city where Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī

spent the second and most important part of his life, until his demise on 17th December1273

CE.

20 This meeting occurred in the late autumn of 1244 CE, when Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī was 37 years old.

21 Bahā’u’ddīn Walad (ca. 1152-1231 CE), who was eminent theologian and a jurist with a strong inclination

towards mysticism.

22 Wakhsh now is part of present-day Tajikistan.

23 The province of Greater Balkh was located in the north of present-day Afghanistan and southern Tajikistan.

Because he was born in this province, Persian-speaking lovers of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī usually prefer to call

him “Balkhī” (meaning “of Balkh”) instead of “Rūmī” (meaning “of Rūm” – referring to the Seljuk Sultanate of

Rūm in Anatolia, where Ḥażrat Mawlānā lived from ca. 1229 CE onwards).

24 The other main cities of Greater Khurāsān were Merw, Neyshāpūr and Herāt.

25 For a long time Balkh itself had been an important centre of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.

26 Ca. 1145/1146-1221 CE.

27 A mystical narrative poem about Ṣūfī ideas.

19

When Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī lived in Konya, he taught that “Muslims, Christians, Jews and

Zoroastrians should be viewed with the same eye”. He saw all religions as manifestations of

the One Same Divine Source and lovingly embraced them all. It is clear that he was someone

who profoundly understood and lived by the Ṣūfī principle of the essential unity of all

religions and the need for them to live together in harmony.

Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s message is timeless and universal. In his Mathnawī, this is especially

felt when he addresses esoteric subjects like mystical Love and the Ultimate Reality. Then his

language takes on a tone that transcends the boundaries and conventions of formal religion.

This makes these parts of the Mathnawī and his other works so appealing to Western spiritual

seekers. These esoteric passages yield a glimpse of who the inner Mawlānā Rūmī really was.

They reveal a mystic with an inner realization beyond measure, whose message is not just

intended for the Islamic world, but for people of all creeds and nations.

The Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī: Not Just Any Persian Ṣūfī Book

While in the West the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī is virtually unknown, in Persian-speaking

Ṣūfī circles it is almost as famous as the Mathnawī itself. With this in mind, it’s hardly

surprising that I felt deeply honoured when Ḥażrat Pīr28 Mawlānā Ṣafī ‘Alī Shāh II29 – himself

an expert on interpreting the Mathnawī – entrusted me with the task of making the very first

English version of the Lubb-e Lubāb. This was a great privilege indeed. With humility and

gratitude I set about the awe-inspiring task assigned to me. I can only hope that the result will

fulfil the expectations of the esteemed readers of my work.

For Whom is this English Edition of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī Intended?

Mawlānā Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī compiled the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī as a help for fellow Ṣūfīs

who studied Sufism using Ḥażrat Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī’s Mathnawī-ye Ma‘nawī.

Similarly, this English edition of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī is mainly intended as a help

for students and practitioners of mysticism who wish to gain a deeper insight into Ḥażrat

Mawlānā Rūmī’s Mathnawī in order to increase their inner understanding. It is a major

advantage if you are already acquainted with Sufism and the Mathnawī and are under the

guidance of an accomplished spiritual Master who is able to elucidate its verses.

Students and practitioners of mysticism will gain the most benefit from the Lubb-e Lubāb if

they give it a permanent place in their lives and hearts, and don’t expect to understand all of it

by reading it only once. Readers who thirst for its Wisdom will have to return to it many times

– the Lubb-e Lubāb is a book that reveals its many layers of inner meaning bit by bit. As you

travel the Inner Path, it can become an inspiring travelling companion who gives answers to

questions when you need them, often disclosing deeper meanings when you least expect it. If

you use the Lubb-e Lubāb in this way, it will certainly help to expand your inner awareness.

28 Pīr is the Persian word for “Ṣūfī Master”. Its Arabic equivalent is Shaykh. The primary meaning of the Persian word pīr is “old” or “old person”. The primary meaning of the Arabic word shaykh is similar to the Persian word pīr: “old man” or “an elder”. The Persian Ṣūfīs borrowed the Arabic title Shaykh, but used it in their own way: in the hierarchy of most Persian Ṣūfī orders, the title Shaykh is given to Masters of a lower rank than Pīr. It should be noted, though, that throughout his Mathnawī, Ḥażrat Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī uses both Shaykh and Pīr indiscriminately to designate “Ṣūfī Master”, without difference in rank or realization.

29 From 1994 until his untimely demise on 13th December 2015, Ḥażrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣāfī ‘Alī Shāh II (b. 22nd

April 1947) was the head of the Ne‘matollāhī Ṣafī ‘Alīshāhī Ṣūfī Order, a traditional but very open-minded

Iranian Ṣūfī Order.

20

Why Use R.A. Nicholson’s Translation of the Mathnawī?

Ḥażrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣafī ‘Alī Shāh II urged me to use and adapt verses from the Mathnawī

translation by Reynold Alleyne Nicholson for editing the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī. Reynold

Alleyne Nicholson (1868-1945), Professor at Cambridge University, was a prominent English

orientalist. His academic speciality was Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism. He is

regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authorities on the work of Ḥażrat

Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī. His English translation of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Mathnawī-ye

Ma‘nawī was published between 1925 and 1940 and is considered his magnum opus30.

Apart from other older translations of the Mathnawī 31, there are more recent English

translations, and no doubt some of them have great merit, but none of them cover all of the

Mathnawī’s six books, with one exception: the translation by the Indian scholar Dr. M.G.

Gupta, who died in 2010.

Gupta’s translation is not a word-for-word literal translation like that done by Nicholson, but

rather a paraphrase of each line followed by a short commentary in brackets (sometimes

incorporating the views of Surat Shabd Yoga32). He seems not to have been aware of the work

of Nicholson and other scholars regarding early manuscripts of the Mathnawī. Instead, Gupta

translated from an “inflated” Persian edition containing several thousand extra lines that have

been added to the Mathnawī over the centuries33. For all these reasons, using Dr. Gupta’s

translation to make an English edition of Mawlānā Kāshifi’s Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī

obviously wasn’t the right thing to do.

So why then choose Professor Nicholson’s translation?

Nicholson’s translation is replete with archaic, obsolete and grandiloquent English. This can’t

be held against him, as the use of such language was customary and even expected in his day.

But regardless of Nicholson’s use of outdated language, there is something that sets him apart

from all other translators of the Mathnawī: he always remained faithful to the literal words of

Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī. As a result, no other English translation of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s

Mathnawī comes closer to the Persian original than Nicholson’s.

That’s why I am convinced that of all the existing English translations of the Mathnawī,

Nicholson’s is the most suitable to serve as a basis for this first English edition of the Lubb-e

Lubāb-e Mathnawī.

My Working Method

Carefully trying not to alter the exact meaning of the words in any way, I have brought

Professor Nicholson’s antiquated verses up to date, to the best of my ability, and often with a

sense of uncertainty – after all, Nicholson’s translation is nothing less than a milestone in the

history of the Mathnawī in the West. I did this while comparing Nicholson’s text to the

30 Nicholson also produced the first critical Persian edition of the Mathnawī, which is very popular with Persian-speaking lovers of the works of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī.

31 Such as the complete versified translation by James W. Redhouse (1881) and the abridged translation by E.H.

Winfield (1898).

32 Surat Shabd Yoga is a particular spiritual meditative practice. Its purpose is to realize the individual’s True Self (Self-Realization), True Essence (Spirit-Realization) and True Divinity (God-Realization) while living in the human physical body.

33 Most of this paragraph was copied from http://www.dar-al-masnavi.org/about_masnavi.html.

21

Persian original. Occasionally I consulted the complete French translation of the Mathnawī by the late French orientalist Eva de Vitray Meyerovitch (1909-1999).

The Mathnawī deals with profound and complex mystical issues, and yet Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī articulated its verses in an often astoundingly simple Persian. Such linguistic simplicity

is extremely hard, if not impossible, to reproduce in English, or indeed in any other language.

That’s why I have strived to use as many simple words and expressions as possible while

updating Nicholson’s verses.

In Nicholson’s translation many implied words are in brackets. For legibility’s sake I have

removed these brackets. The only words in brackets that have been preserved are those that

were added as a clarification by Nicholson.

Note: Each verse in the three Sources is preceded by two numbers, separated by a hyphen.

The number before the hyphen indicates to which of the six Books of the Mathnawī a verse

belongs, the number after the hyphen indicates the number of a verse in a particular Book.

Transcription34 of Arabic and Persian Names and Words in the Lubb-e Lubāb

Professor Nicholson’s method of transcribing Arabic and Persian names and words in his

translation of the Mathnawī is based on Arabic, and to native speakers of Persian his way of

transcribing will probably seem a little odd.

There are several scientific methods to transcribe Arabic and Persian, which can differ

considerably from each other35. But they all share these basic characteristics: methods for

transcribing Arabic use a, i and u for short vowels and transcribe the letter wāw as “w”.

Methods for transcribing Persian on the other hand – which are largely based on Persian

pronunciation – use a, e and o for short vowels and transcribe the letter wāw as “v” instead of “w”36. Some examples:

Based on Arabic:

Based on Persian:

 Wā‘iẓ-i Kāshifī

 Vā‘eẓ-e Kāshefī

 Mathnawī-yi Ma‘nawī37

 Masnavī-ye Ma‘navī

 Lubb-i Lubāb-i Mathnawī

 Lobb-e Lobāb-e Masnavī

 Muḥammad

 Moḥammad

 sālik

 sālek

 darwīsh

 darvīsh

34 Also called “romanization”, i.e. rendering words from a language written in a different writing system in the Latin alphabet.

35 E.g. the letter ghayn might be transcribed as gh, gh, ḡ, ġ or ğ.

36 Although there are exceptions: in the Encyclopaedia Iranica both “v” and “w” are used to transcribe the letter wāw, e.g. Wā‘eẓ-e Kāšefi (in many transcription methods the letter shīn – i.e. the sound “sh” – is transcribed as š) and Vaḥši Bāfqi (a Persian poet from the Safavid era, who lived from 1532 to 1583 CE).

37 The inverted apostrophe ‘ represents the Arabic guttural consonant ‘ayn. In Arabic it is a sound produced from the back of the throat, but in Persian it is pronounced as a glottal stop (a short vocal stop at the beginning of a word, between two letters of a word or at the end of a word), especially in formal Persian.

22

Both approaches are perfectly valid and acceptable, and for the English version of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī I could have opted for a transcription method based on Persian. However, out of respect for Professor Nicholson I decided to follow his transcription method.

Like Nicholson, I have transcribed the Arabic emphatic consonants ṣād, ḍād, ṭā’ and ẓā’ 38 and the strongly aspirated Arabic consonant ḥā’ 39 in the same way Nicholson did, using subscript dots to distinguish them from plain consonants40.

In his Commentaries on Jalálu’ddín Rúmí’s Mathnawí, Professor Nicholson added a final “h”

to Arabic words that end in tā’ marbūṭa (e.g. ‘ibādah instead of ‘ ibāda – meaning “worship”).

But since he didn’t apply this rule in his translation of the Mathnawī, I too have omitted the

final “h” from Arabic words that end in tā’ marbūṭa 41.

Nonetheless, there are a few minor differences: whereas Nicholson used to transcribe long

vowels by placing accent marks over them (e.g. Mawláná Jalálu’ddín Rúmí), I have chosen to

use macrons to indicate long vowels (e.g. Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī). This also includes the

alif maqṣūra (e.g. Mūsā, i.e. the Arabic form of the name “Moses”).

No single transcription method42 is perfect. Although I have tried to stay as close as possible

to Nicholson’s transcription method, my personal way of transcribing Persian reflects some

influence of the transcription system used by the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft43,

more specifically with regard to the iżāfa 44 (e.g. Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī-ye Ma‘nawī

instead of Lubb-i Lubāb-i Mathnawī-yi Ma‘nawī) and the Arabic emphatic consonant ḍād.

The letter ḍād has been transcribed as ż (e.g. qāżī, i.e. “Muslim judge”, from the Arabic qāḍī).

A final difference is that, unlike Nicholson in his Commentaries on the Mathnawí of

Jalálu’ddín Rúmí, I have always assimilated the lām of the Arabic definite article al if the initial consonant of the following word is a so-called solar ( shamsī) letter (e.g. at-tawḥīd instead of al-tawḥīd – meaning “the Divine Unity”).

Footnotes in the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī

This edition of the Lubb-e Lubāb contains a substantial number of footnotes. Many were

written by Professor Nicholson, others were added by myself. Advanced students of the

Mathnawī will probably find them superfluous, but I think they may be helpful and instructive

for others. For the reader’s convenience, certain footnotes have been repeated a number of

times.

38 Apart from the letter ḍād, which is pronounced as “z” in Persian, all these Arabic emphatic consonants are pronounced as plain consonants in Persian.

39 In Arabic, the strongly aspirated consonant ḥā’ is” pronounced as an “h” with friction at the back of the throat.

In Persian it sounds like a plain “h”, though.

40 Many contemporary transcription methods still use subscript dots to transcribe these emphatic consonants and the strongly aspirated consonant ḥā’.

41 With only a few exceptions, like ṣalāh (“ritual prayer”).

42 Or “transliteration method”, as some prefer.

43 Deutsche Morgenländiche Gesellschaft (DMG): “The German Oriental Society”, a scholarly organization

established in Leipzig in 1845.

44 In Persian grammar, the iżafa is a suffix that links words to each other, as in Lubb-e Lubāb, “The Heart of Hearts”.

23

Some Words of Thanks

My greatest gratitude goes to Ḥażrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣafī ‘Alī Shāh II, Master of the

Ne‘matollāhī45 Ṣafī ‘Alīshāhī Ṣūfī Order, for his faith in my ability to make the very first

English edition of the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī. Sadly, he passed away on 13th December

2015 – may God’s Mercy be upon him.

With love I also extend my deepest and most sincere thanks to two of my fellow wayfarers on

the Ṣūfī Path: Mahbub Dayers and Fraidoon Warasta. Their practical support and their

intellectual feedback on my work – both critical and constructive – have been a great and

most valuable help in editing the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī. In addition, I express my

wholehearted gratitude to Fraidoon46, who is the artist who made the inspiring painting of a

contemplating Mawlānā Rūmī on the opening page of this book.

Wazir Dayers – December 2015

45 I have transcribed the first part of the name of this Ṣūfī Order as Ne‘matollāhī, i.e. based on Persian instead of Arabic, because “Ne‘matollahi” is part of the Order’s official name.

46 You can find out more about this versatile artist and his work on his own website: http://fraidoon.com.

24

Preface

By Mawlānā Mullā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

This is the Heart of Hearts of the Mathnawī

After praising God, the One and Only Being, who bestows His abundance on all creatures,

and after extolling him who is the loftiest of men in the universe and who is the most perfect

among all creatures47, he who is the mirror of God’s essence and qualities (Qur’ān, 17:7048),

he for whom God has said: “[O Muḥammad], if it had not been for you, I would not have

created the heavenly spheres”, God honoured us by allowing us to make a selection from the

Mathnawī.

Writing the Mathnawī essentially was the result of the Divine revelation and the blessing by

the Source of Oneness, that became manifest in the heart of the Guide of the elect and the

people of Divine revelation, the one who possesses holy and spiritual qualities, the one who

receives the Light of the Divine heaven and the Secrets of the Treasures of the One, the King

of the Enraptured Ones49 , the Director of the wayfarers on the mystical path, the Language of

the Time50, the Father of the Time51, the Graceful Splendour of the Country and the Faith, the

Majesty of Truth and Certainty, Muḥammad, son of Muḥammad, son of Ḥusayn, Ḥażrat52

Mawlawī53 Rūmī of Balkh – may God sanctify his spirit54.

In this book one can find the secrets of the gardens of the reality of Ummu’l-Kitāb55, which

have been manifested from the unseen World into the seen World.

47 I.e. the Prophet Muḥammad.

48 “We have honoured the children of Adam, and provided them with rides on land and in the sea. We provided

for them good provisions, and we gave them greater advantages than many of our creatures”.

49 “Enraptured Ones”: majdhūbūna, the plural of majdhūb. Majdhūb means “one whom God has drawn close to Himself by Divine rapture or the force of Divine attraction ( jadhba)”.

50 The one who has been granted the ability to explain Divine Reality in a particular era, in words that are

understandable to common people.

51 Abū’l-Waqt: “Father of the Time” – a person whose contribution to the universal understanding of Divine

Reality is not hindered by the passage of time, i.e. the influence of his work endures.

52 Ḥażrat (< Arabic ḥaḍratun) is a title that expresses great reverence. It is often rendered as “His Holiness”, but its literal and original meaning is “Presence”.

53 Iranians usually call Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī “Mawlawī”, which is pronounced Mōlavi in Persian. The meaning of “Mawlawī” is “learned man” or “religious scholar”, but in this case it should be considered synonymous with “Mawlānā” (“our Master”, “our Lord”, “our Patron” or – in more traditional Ṣūfī terms – “our Caring,

Supporting and Protecting Holy Friend”). Afghans know him as “Mawlānā-ye Balkhī” (“Mawlānā of Balkh”).

54 When the name of a deceased Ṣūfī Master is mentioned, it is customary to add a benediction formula, like

“may God sanctify his spirit”.

55 In Arabic, Ummu’l-Kitāb means “the Mother of the Book”. This term usually refers to Sūratu’l-Fātiḥa, the Opening Sūra of the Qur’ān. However, Ummu’l-Kitāb equally means a heavenly prototype, the substance, essence or “blueprint” of all holy books, i.e. not only of the Qur’ān, but of the sacred scriptures of all religions.

The Ummu’l-Kitāb is inscribed on the “Preserved Tablet” ( al-Lawḥu’l-Maḥfūẓ). Ṣūfīs have also identified Ummu’l-Kitāb with the First Intellect ( al-‘Aqlu’l-Awwal), which is the first manifestation of Divine Beauty.

Since man’s true nature is Divine, this implies man’s possibility to attain to Divine Knowledge.

25

The gracious and supreme beauty and subtlety of the secrets that reveal the Divine Light

could not have been disclosed without the blessing and the aid of God’s Chosen Saints.

Therefore we have implored the assistance and benediction of the Perfect Gnostics to help us

unveil those secrets.

The reason why I have made this selection of the Mathnawī by Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn is that

some fellow travellers on the Path56 have asked this faqīr57, Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī al-Bayhaqī alWā‘iẓ al-Kāshifī, to write a book entitled Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī, (“The Heart of Hearts of

the Mathnawī”), intended as an aid and a benefit to the spiritual development of beginners on

the Ṣūfī Path.

With good resolves and with the aid of istikhāra (divination using the Qur’ān or another holy

text58) and with the permission of the Saints, I started with this verse:

“The name of this book is the Heart of Hearts59 of the Mathnawī”

The sālik must keep progressing along the Path of Sharī‘a 60, so that he may attain to the

qualities of the initiates of Ṭarīqa 61, and thus to the stages of those who have realized

Ḥaqīqa 62.

In order to further elucidate this mystical journey in a way that is relevant to sāliks, this book

is divided into three parts (“Sources”), i.e.:

 Source I: The Stages of Sharī‘a (the Sacred Law)

 Source II: The Treasure of the Secrets of Ṭarīqa (the Inner Path)

 Source III: The Light of Ḥaqīqa (Divine Reality)

Each Source is subdivided into “Rivers” and each “River” into “Rivulets”. In every “Rivulet”

each subject is elaborated and explained in depth.

56 A traveller or wayfarer on the Ṣūfī Path is called a sālik. The act of travelling the Ṣūfī Path is called sulūk.

57 Faqīr: “one who is poor before God and in need of His mercy” – Qur’ān: “O mankind! You are the poor before God, while God is the Rich and Independent, free of all wants and needs, and Praiseworthy” (Qur’ān 35:15).

Here, Mawlānā Kāshifī uses the term “faqīr” to express his humility.

58 Istikhāra involves the following: one focuses on a question or a problem and asks for help and guidance, holding the Qur’ān or another holy book in one’s hands. Then, one randomly opens the holy book, and if one’s intentions are sincere, the book will show a verse or sentence that contains an answer to the question or the problem. People often ask mystics or religious clerics to do the istikhāra for them.

59 In the Fārsī original Mawlānā Kāshifī uses the words Lubb-e Lubāb. Apart from “Heart of Hearts”, Lubb-e Lubāb may also be rendered as “The Mystical Essence of Essences”. A full and literal translation of the opening lines of the Lubb-e Lubāb would be: “The name of this [book] is The [Mystical] Heart of Hearts/The Mystical Essence of Essences of Inner Knowledge; it is a selection of a selection [of verses] from the Mathnawī”. What the author really means is that this book contains the mystical core and mystical knowledge of Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī’s Mathnawī, a knowledge that surpasses all other forms of knowledge.

60 Sharī‘a: the term “Sharī‘a” is usually defined as “the religious code of law derived from the Qur’ān and from the teachings and example of the Prophet Muḥammad”. However, this book deals with the inner or mystical aspect of religion and not with its outer or formal aspect. This means that in the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī,

“Sharī‘a” should be understood as “Pathway to proper moral conduct”. In a mystical sense, the word Sharī‘a also means “Pathway to Water” – in this case “Water” stands for Ṭarīqa or “Mystical Path”, which leads to the Divine Ocean of Oneness and Love. For a sālik, this is the least important stage of his or her spiritual journey. It is a mere preparatory passage, where the sālik learns the self-discipline he or she will need in the stage of Ṭarīqa, the Inner or Mystical Path.

61 Ṭarīqa: the mystical Path, the Path of inner development towards union with the Divine.

62 Ḥaqīqa: “Divine Truth”, “Supreme Reality” – the ultimate goal of the mystical Path.

26

I beseech those endowed with learning, knowledge and wisdom to consider this work with

magnanimity, and in doing so, to ignore our shortcomings.

Poem:

“Greater people do not heed the faults of smaller people, and,

in their greatness and mercifulness, accept their apologies.”

As God is at the beginning and the end of everything, guidance ( hidāya) on the right path also

comes from God.

Before going into the subjects of the three Sources, we would like to begin this book, as is

customary, by praising God and His Prophet. We also express our desire that the set-up of this

book will make it accessible for all.

Praise be to God, at the beginning and at the end.

27

The First Source

The Stages of Sharī‘a63

The First River [1.1]

About Faith (Īmān), Testimony of Faith (Shahāda)

and the Ways of Adoration and Devotion (‘Ibāda)

The First Rivulet [1.1.1]

The true meaning of faith.

The two kinds of believing:

Believing by imitation and believing by examination.

There are two kinds of believing by examination:

By reasoning (istidlālī) and by visionary experience (shuhūdī).

5-287

The essence of the faith is a mighty blessing and mightily delicious food, o you

who are pleased to take nothing of the faith but its declaration64!

5-288

Although that Light is the food of the soul and the spiritual sight, the body too

partakes of it, o son.

5-289

If the devilish body had not become fond of eating it, the Prophet would not

have said, “The devil accepted Islām”65.

5-290

How should the devil become a Muslim66 until he drinks of the sweet food by

which the dead is made living?

5-291

The devil is passionately in love with the world, blind and deaf; but this love,

no doubt, may be cut off by another love.

63 The term “Sharī‘a” is usually defined as “the religious code of law derived from the Qur’ān and from the

teachings and example of the Prophet Muḥammad”. However, since both the Mathnawī and the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī deal with the inner or mystical aspect of religion and not with its outer or formal aspect, in this context, Sharī‘a should be understood as “Pathway to proper moral conduct.” In a mystical sense, the word Sharī‘a also means “Pathway to Water” – in this case “Water” stands for Ṭarīqa or “Mystical Path”, which leads to the Divine Ocean of Oneness and Love. For a sālik or Ṣūfī wayfarer, this is the least important stage of his or her spiritual journey. It is a mere preparatory passage, where the sālik learns the self-discipline he or she will need in the stage of Ṭarīqa, the Inner or Mystical Path.

64 The shahāda or testimony of faith (“I testify that there is only one God and I testify that Muḥammad is the Envoy of God”) is the first of the Five Pillars of Islām. Shī‘ī Muslims add the phrase “and I testify that ‘Alī is the Friend of God”.

65 In a ḥadīth the Prophet Muḥammad has said: “Each one of you is accompanied by a shayṭān (“a satan”, meaning the lower self or nafs).” The people asked him: “What about you, o Messenger of God?”. To which he replied: “I also have one, but I have subdued it and made it surrender to God”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 432; Musnad-e Aḥmad, Vol. 1, p. 257. In another ḥadīth Ḥażrat Muḥammad says: aslama Shayṭānī; its literal meaning is “My Satan has become a Muslim”, but its spiritual meaning is “my lower self has surrendered itself to God”.

66 I.e. “How should your lower self surrender to God?”.

28

5-292

When he tastes the wine from the cellar of certainty, little by little it will take

its lover there.

5-3355

The true believer is he whose belief makes the unbeliever regretful amidst the

ebb and flow of fortune.

Story:

Bāyazīd and the infidel. [1.1.1].

5-3356

There was a certain infidel67 in the time of Bāyazīd68: a blessed Muslim said to

him,

5-3357

“How would it be if you embraced Islām, so that you may obtain a hundred

salvations and redemptions?”

5-3358

He replied, “If this faith of yours, o disciple, is the same as that which is held

by Bāyazīd, the Shaykh69 of the world,

5-3359

I cannot bear its glowing heat, which is too great for all the strivings of my soul

to reach it.

5-3361

I hold the faith that his faith70 is higher than all others: it is very beautiful,

resplendent and glorious.

5-3363

Again, if indeed the faith which you would have me embrace is your faith, I

have no inclination or desire for it.

5-3364

He who feels a hundred inclinations to believe – that inclination fades as soon

as he sees you71.

5-3365

Because he sees a mere name and no meaning in it, like calling the desert72 a

safe place.

67 The word used in the Persian text is gabr, which originally meant “fire-worshipper” or “Zoroastrian”. By the time of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī, the term gabr was applied to anyone who didn’t adhere to Islām. Since gabr had such a pejorative connotation, in time followers of the Zoroastrian faith were given the respectable name Zardushtī.

68 The Persian Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī, also known as Ḥażrat Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr al-Bisṭāmī (ca.

804-874 CE), is one of the key figures in the history of Sufism, in that he founded what came to be known as

“the School of Intoxication” ( sukr), which flourished in Greater Khurāsān, as opposed to the equally influential

“School of Sobriety” ( saḥw), which was founded in Baghdad by the Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Junayd al-Baghdādī (ca.

830-910 CE).

69 Shaykh: “spiritual Director” (Nich.). Please note that when a footnote is followed by (Nich.), it means that it was written by Nicholson.

70 Literally “that Faith of his”.

71 I.e. the Muslims (Nich.).

72 Arabic mafāza = “desert” (Nich.).

29

Allegory. [1.1.1]

5-3367

A certain muezzin had a very harsh voice: he calls the Muslims to prayer in the

land of the infidels.

5-3368

They said to him several times, “Do not give the call to prayer, otherwise

fighting and acts of hostility against us will continue.”

5-3369

He defied them, and then without showing any caution he gave the call to

prayer in the land of the infidels.

5-3370

The Muslims feared a general insurrection; however, an infidel came up to

them with a robe.

5-3372

Asking again and again, “Tell me, where is this muezzin, whose call and cry

increases my pleasure?”

5-3373

“Eh, what pleasure was there from such a harsh voice?” He replied, “His voice

penetrated into the church73.

5-3374

I have an appealing and highly distinguished daughter: she desires to be a true

believer.

5-3375

This passion would never leave her head, even though so many infidels were

pressing her.

5-3378

I didn’t know a remedy for it until this muezzin chanted the adhān (call to

prayer).

5-3379

Then my daughter said, “What is this awful noise? It irritates my ear.

5-3380

Never in all my life have I heard such a harsh voice in this Christian convent

and church.”

5-3383

When she became sure of this, her face turned pale and her heart grew cold to

Islām.

5-3384

I was delivered from anxiety and torment: last night I slept sound in a peaceful

sleep.

5-3385

This was the pleasure that came to me from his voice: in gratitude I bring these

gifts: where is the man?”

5-3389

“The faith of you Muslims is hypocrisy and falsehood: like that call to prayer,

it waylays the seeker and prevents him from embracing Islām;

5-3390

But many regrets have come into my heart and soul from my admiration for the

faith and sincerity of Bāyazīd.”

73 Apart from “church”, the Persian word kanasht can also mean “synagogue” or “fire temple”.

30

5-3398

He who received the faith entered into security; the infidelities of the rest

became a matter on which there were two opinions.

5-3403

If the luminous sun of the Shaykh’s faith should display itself from the Orient

to the Shaykh’s soul

5-3394

If a single drop of this faith enters into the ocean, the ocean will be submerged

in his drop.

5-3397

A star of Divine illumination appeared in Muḥammad, so that the substance of

the beliefs of Magian74 and the denier of the Truth75 passed away.

The Second Rivulet [1.1.2]

Testimony (shahāda)

and its three kinds:

1: the testimony of ordinary people, which is based on imitation.

2: the testimony of theologians, which is based on reasoning.

3: the testimony of gnostics or mystics, which is based on visionary

experience.

A sālik’s testimony is manifest in his or

her intention, words and deeds. [1.1.2]

5-174

In this court of the Judge who pronounces the Decree we are present for the

purpose of living up to our claim to fulfil the covenant signified by the words

“Am not I your Lord?” and “Yes”76.

5-175

For we said, “Yes” and since we are on trial our acts and words are the

necessary witnesses and evidence of that assent.

5-176

Why do we remain silent in the court of the Judge? Did we not come here to

bear testimony?

74 The Magians adhered to an ancient Persian religion associated with the worship and study of fire and celestial bodies like the sun and the stars. The Magian and the Zoroastrian religions are closely linked, but their exact relation seems to be a matter of some controversy.

75 In Nicholson’s translation it says “Jew” instead of “denier of the Truth”. But this is wrong. The word which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses in the Mathnawī is jahūd, which is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”).

Jahūd is best translated as “deniers of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood. It is usually translated as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e. “someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

76 Qur’ān 7:172 – the Day of Alast: while all human souls already existed within God before creation, God asked them: “Am I not your Lord? ( a lastu bi-Rabbikum? )”, and they all answered “Yes! We testify!”. Ṣūfī mystics have always endeavoured to inwardly remember the Day of Alast, in order to return to man’s true inner state, which is the awareness of the soul’s existence in the love of God, just as the love of God has always existed within the souls of mankind.

31

5-177

How long, o witness, will you remain under detention in the court of the

Judge? Give your testimony soon.

5-179

But in your obstinacy you’ve sat down and closed both hand and mouth in this

confinement.

5-180

Until you give that testimony, o witness, how will you escape from this court?

5-181

It can be done in a moment. Perform your duty and run away: do not make a

short matter long, tedious and annoying to yourself.

5-182

In the way you want it, whether during a hundred years or in a moment,

discharge yourself from this trust77 and free yourself from it.

5-183

This ritual prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and holy war are the evidence of the

inner belief.

5-184

The giving of alms and presents and the abandonment of envy are the evidence

of one’s secret thoughts.

5-236

Act and word are witnesses to the hidden mind: derive the inward state from

these two.

5-246

What is this testimony? The making manifest of that which is hidden, whether

by word or act or something else;

5-247

For its object is to make manifest the inner nature of the spiritual substance: the

attributes of that substance are permanent, even though these accidents78 such

as acts and words are fleeting.

5-248

The mark of the gold on the touchstone does not remain, but the gold itself

remains –well-renowned and undoubted.

5-249

Similarly, all this ritual prayer and holy war and fasting does not remain, but

the spirit’s good reputation is preserved for ever.

5-250

The spirit produced certain acts and words of this kind as proof: it rubbed its

substance on the touchstone of the Divine command,

5-251

As though to say, “My belief is perfect: here is the witness!” Yes, but there is

doubt regarding the witness.

5-252

Know that the truthfulness of the witnesses must be established: the means of

establishing is a great sincerity: you are dependent on that.

77 In the Persian text the word amānat is used, which means “something that is given in trust”.

78 Here, “accident” (‘araż, from the Arabic ‘araḍ) is used as a philosophical term, meaning “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something”.

32

5-253

In the case of the word-witness, it’s keeping your word that is the test; in the

case of the act-witness, it is keeping your solemn pledge to perform these acts.

5-254

The word-witness is rejected if it speaks falsely, and the act-witness is rejected

if it is out of line.

5-255

You must have words and acts that are not self-contradictory, in order that you

may be accepted immediately.

5-2218

Act, then, in such a way that the action itself, without your tongue uttering a

word, will be equivalent to saying “I testify” and to making the most explicit

declaration.

5-2219

So that your whole body, limb by limb, o son, will have said “I testify” as

regards both good and bad.

5-2220

The servant’s walking behind his master is a testimony equivalent to saying, “I

am subject to authority and this man is my lord.”

5-3316

All our movement action is really a continual profession of faith which bears

witness to the Eternal Almighty One.

5-3317

The restless turning of the millstone is a profession of faith in the existence of

the water brook.

The Third Rivulet [1.1.3]

Devotion or worship

and its three stages:

Devotion of ordinary people: obedience to God’s command.

Devotion of the elect on the mystical path:

Increasing of intention and will and cultivation of sincerity,

Devotion of “the elect of the elect” ( akhaṣṣu’l-khawāṣṣ):

Serving God with love.

3-2988

“I did not create the jinn and humankind except to worship Me79.” Recite this

text. The final purpose of the world is nothing but Divine worship.

5-2513

Restore your manliness by engaging in devotional works, that you may become

like the hot sun in the sign of Aries80.

3-4584

Strive for your inner light to become radiant, so that your travelling in the path

of devotion and service to God may be made easy.

79 Qur’ān 51:56.

80 I.e. that your power to foster the spiritual growth of your disciples may be as great as that of the sun to make the plants blossom in spring (Nich.). In Islamic and pre-Islamic folklore, jinn (singular: jinnī) are supernatural creatures, who possess free will and can be good or evil in nature. Iblīs (Satan) was the chief of the Jinn; when God ordered him to bow down before Adam, he refused and fell from grace.

33

3-4585

You take children to school by force, because they are blind to the benefits of

knowledge;

3-4586

But when the child becomes aware of the benefits, he runs to school: his soul

expands with joy at going.

3-4587

A child goes to school in sour resentment because he has seen nothing of the

rewards for his work;

3-4588

When he puts in his pocket a single dāng 81 earned by his handiwork, then he

remains sleepless at night, like the thief.

3-4589

Strive for the rewards for obedience to God to arrive: then you will envy the

obedient.

2-2769

Because everyone takes delight in some act of devotion, and consequently

cannot bear to miss it even for a short while.

Ordinary people pray at fixed times. The devotion of true lovers

is not subject to fixed times and transcends time. [1.1.3]

6-2669

The ritual prayer is five times daily, but the guide for lovers is the verse “they

who are in prayer continually. 82”

6-2670

The wine-headache that is in those heads is not relieved by five times nor by

five hundred thousand.

6-2671

“Visit once a week” is not the ration for lovers; the soul of the sincere lovers

has an intense craving to drink.

6-2672

“Visit once a week” is not the ration for those fishes, since they feel no

spiritual joy without the Sea.

6-2673

In spite of the yearning of the fishes, the water of this Sea, which is a

tremendous place, is but a single draft, too little to satisfy them.

The humility of Saints before the Beloved during devotion. [1.1.3]

2-337

Go, do not act basely, for even our fair deeds appear base in the sight of our

beautiful Loved One.

2-338

You deemed your service worthy: in doing so you raised the banner of sin.

2-3319

All the people, then, are as his spiritual Teacher’s children: this fact is

necessary for the Pīr to bear in mind when he gives them instruction.

81 A dāng is one sixth of a drahm (from the Arabic dirham, which in turn is derived from the Greek drachmè).

82 Qur’ān 70:23, slightly altered (Nich.).

34

2-3401

At night he took him to a window and said, “Look at that fine debauchery and

merrymaking!

6-2070

The Sun of God has risen from the sign of the Ram: the material sun has gone,

shamefaced, under the veil.

5-978

The roses do not remain; only the black thorns remain: it becomes pale and

weak like a heap of straw.

2-1225

The day late, the ass lame, and the way long; the shop ruined and the business

in disorder.

2-1263

The year has turned late; it is not sowing-time, and you have produced nothing

except black shame and foul deeds.

2-3393

And ritual prayer and almsgiving and so forth, but he does not have a single

atom of spiritual taste83.

2-3395

His devotions are good in form, but the spirit is not good: the walnuts are

many, but they contain no kernel.

2-3394

He performs high acts and deeds of devotion, but he does not have one atom of

spiritual delight.

2-3396

Spiritual taste is required, in order that devotions may yield fruit: a kernel is

required, in order that the berry may produce a tree.

2-3397

How shall a berry without kernel become a sapling? The soulless form is

nothing but fantasy.

The Second River [1.2]

Purification (Ṭahāra), Ritual Prayer (Fārsī: Namāz, Arabic: Ṣalāh),

Fasting (Fārsī: Rūzeh, Arabic: Ṣawm), Giving Alms (Zakāh),

Pilgrimage (Ḥajj) and Inner Holy War (Jihād)

The First Rivulet [1.2.1]

Inner purification84.

Freeing the mind from lust, greed

and other negative characteristics.

3-2092

Outer filthiness may be removed by some water; inner filthiness gradually

increases.

3-2093

It cannot be washed away except by water of the eye (tears), once the inner

filthiness has become manifest.

83 Spiritual taste: dhawq, meaning “direct experience of the Divine in a state of bliss”.

84 Qur’ān 2:222.

35

3-2094

Since God has called the infidel “impure”, that impurity is not on his outer

side.

3-2095

The infidel’s outer side is not defiled by this outer impurity; that impurity is in

his temperament and religion.

3-2096

The smell of this outer impurity extends to a distance of twenty paces; but the

smell of that inner impurity reaches from Rayy85 to Damascus.

4-2385

Wash your senses for a while with the water of clear-sightedness: know that the

garment-washing of the Ṣūfīs is like this.

4-2386

When you have become purified, the spirit of the pure ones will tear off the

veil and attach itself to you.

God’s Mercy is like an all-cleansing water. [1.2.1]

5-199

The water rained down from heaven, that it might cleanse the impure of their

defilement.

5-200

When the water86 had done battle during ablution, had been made dirty and had

become such that the senses rejected it,

5-201

God brought it back into the sea of Goodness, that the origin of the water might

generously wash it clean.

5-202

Next year it came sweeping proudly along. “Hey, where have you been?” “In

the sea of the pure,

5-204

Listen, come to me, o you polluted ones, for my nature has partaken of the

nature of God.

5-205

I will accept all your foulness: I will bestow purity like that of the angel on the

demon.

5-206

When I become defiled, I will return there: I will go to the Source of the source

of purities.

5-207

There I will pull the filthy cloak from my head: He will give me a clean robe

once more.

5-208

Such is His work, and my work is the same: the Lord of all created beings is

the beautifier of the world.”

5-212

Or, porter-like, it takes on its head the ship that is helplessly tossing in the

seas87.

85 Rayy: ancient Persian city to the southeast of Tehran. It was the regional capital in the 11th and 12th centuries CE.

86 The water is a type of saintly water which, when it is soiled through contact with human sin, renews its purity by Union with God (Nich.).

36

5-217

Then from its interior it raises cries of lamentation, saying, “O God, I have

given to others that which You gave me and I am left a beggar.

5-218

I poured the whole capital over pure and impure alike: O King who gives the

capital, is there anymore more? 88”

5-219

God said to the cloud, “Bear the water to the delightful place; and you too, o

sun, draw it up high.”

5-220

He makes it to go different ways, that He may bring it to the boundless sea.

5-221

Verily, what is meant by this water is the spirit of the Saints, which washes

away your dark stains.

The Second Rivulet [1.2.2]

Devotion is the presence of the heart.

Immersing oneself in the ocean of love

and connecting to the Divine.

Poem:

“The aim of my devotion is to impart to you the secrets of separation.

If I worshipped you absent-mindedly, my devotion would not be true89.”

[1.2.2]

To him who visits the tavern in a state of spiritual poverty,

both sobriety and intoxication are devotion. [1.2.2]

3-2086

O clear-sighted Imām, to lead the ritual prayer you require a clear eye.”

3-2087

According to the religious Law it is objectionable, o worthy reader, to let a

blind man perform the office of Imām.

3-2088

Even if he knows the Qur’ān by heart and is quick and learned in divinity, the

clear-sighted man is superior, even if he is a fool.

3-2089

The blind man has no means of avoiding filth: the eye is the source of

abstention and precaution.

3-2090

He does not see the dirt in passing by. May no true believer have blind eyes!

3-2091

The outwardly blind man is in outward material impurity; the inwardly blind

man is in inward spiritual filthiness.

87 I.e. it uplifts those who are struggling with doubt and despair and bears them onward to salvation (Nich.).

88 Qur’ān 50:30: “On the day that We will say to hell: Are you filled up? And it will say: Are there any more?”.

89 These verses are taken from Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī.

37

3-2143

O Imām, the real meaning of the takbīr 90 is this: “We have become a sacrifice,

o God, before You.”

3-2144

At the moment of slaughtering the victim you say Allāhu Akbar: even say so

when you slaughter the carnal soul (= nafs) which ought to be killed

3-2145

The body is like Ismā’īl (Ishmael)91, and the spirit like Ibrāhīm (Abraham): the

spirit has pronounced the takbīr over the noble body.

3-2146

By lusts and desires the body was merely killed, but by the words Bismi’Llāh

uttered in the ritual prayer it was sacrificed92.

3-2147

While praying they were drawn up in ranks before God, as at the Resurrection,

and engaged in self-examination and prayers,

3-2148

Standing in God’s presence and shedding tears, like one who rises up on the

Day of rising from the dead.

3-2149

On that Day God will say, “What have you produced for Me during this term

of respite which I gave you93?

3-2151

Where have you dimmed the brightness of your eye? Where have you

dissolved your five senses?

3-2154

Even if hundreds of thousands of such sorrowful messages come from the Lord

3-2155

At the time of standing in prayer94 these words return from God to the

worshipper, and out of shame he is bent double while bowing down.

3-2156

Out of shame, he loses the power to remain standing, and out of abashment he

recites a litany of glorification while his knees are bowed.

3-2157

Then comes the Divine command, “Lift up your head from bowing down and

tell what you have to say in answer to God.”

3-2158

The shamefaced one lifts up his head from bowing down; then the man whose

works are imperfect falls on his face.

3-2159

Again the Divine command comes to him, “Lift up your head from the

prostration and give an account of your deeds.”

3-2161

Again He says, “Lift up your head and relate your deeds, for I will interrogate

you about them, hair by hair.”

90 Takbīr: proclaiming the greatness of God by uttering the phrase Allāhu Akbar (meaning “God is the Greatest”,

“God is Greater than anything man can imagine”).

91 Whom Abraham was ordered to sacrifice. See Qur’ān 37:99 ff. (Nich.).

92 When Muslims ritually slaughter an animal, it is customary to say Bismi’Llāh (“in the Name of God”) and Allāhu Akbar (“God is the Greatest”).

93 Qur’ān 36:65.

94 This passage describes the real essence of the ritual prayer, which shall be made manifest at the Resurrection.

Cf. verse 3-2174 (Nich.).

38

3-2162

He has no power to stand on his feet, since the words of awe addressed to him

have burdened his soul;

3-2163

So he sits down because of that heavy burden. Then the Lord says to him,

“Speak plainly!

3-2164

I gave you bounty: tell Me, how did you thank Me? I gave you capital: come,

show Me the interest.”

3-2165

Then the worshipper turns his face to the right hand in the salutation95 –

towards the spirits of the Prophets and those of the noble Saints.

3-2166

Meaning to say, “O kings, grant intercession, for this vile one’s feet and mantle

are stuck fast in the mud.”

3-2167

The Prophets say, “The day for remedy is past; the remedy and the strong tool

for tilling the soil of good works were there.

3-2169

Then he turns his face to the left hand towards his family and kinsfolk: they say

to him, “Be silent!

3-2170

Listen, answer for yourself to the Creator. Who are we? Lord, keep you hands

off us96!”

3-2171

No help comes either from this side or from that: the soul of this desperate man

is torn into a hundred pieces.

3-2172

The wretched person loses all hope; then he lifts up both hands in supplication,

3-2173

Crying, “O God, I have lost all hope: You are the First and the Last and the

ultimate Destination97.

3-2174

See these abundant indications in the ritual prayer, in order that you may know

these will certainly come to pass.

3-2175

From the ritual prayer, which is as the egg, make the chick hatch; do not peck

like a bird without reverence or propriety.

1-381

Hear one of the sayings related from the Commander of Commanders (the

Prophet): “No prayer is complete without ‘presence’ (concentration of the mind

on God)98.”

95 The blessing, “Peace be on you, and the mercy of God!”, with which the prayer-service ends. Sunnī Muslims

conclude the ritual prayer by turning their face toward the right shoulder and then toward the left shoulder, each time saying a salutation ( taslīm) to the angels that take note of your good (right shoulder) and evil (left shoulder) deeds.

96 Qur’an 80:34-37.

97 Qur’ān 57:3.

98 Ḥadīth: “There is no (true) prayer without the Presence of Heart”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 22.

39

4-2023

The five external and the five internal senses are lined up in ten ranks in the

standing posture of the angels ranked for worship of God.

5-2048

The Prophet has said that acts of bowing down and prostration in ritual prayer

are equivalent to knocking the door-ring of mystical attainment on the Divine

Portal.

5-2049

When anyone continues to knock that door-ring, felicity peeps out for his sake.

The Third Rivulet [1.2.3]

Fasting.

Avoiding desire through inner strength.

5-189

Fasting says implicitly, “He has abstained from what is lawful: know therefore

that he has no connection with what is unlawful”;

5-193

He is a cat keeping the fast and feigning to be asleep at the time of fasting in

order to seize his ignorant prey.

5-194

By this unrighteousness he makes a hundred groups of people suspicious, he

causes the generous and abstinent to have a bad reputation

5-1730

Close your lips against food and drink: hasten towards the Heavenly table.

3-3747

If you have closed this bodily mouth, another mouth is opened, which becomes

an eater of the morsels of spiritual mysteries.

5-1756

When a magnanimous guest will not eat some inferior food, the host brings

better food.

5-1754

Practice expectation, o father, expectation, like a true man, for the sake of the

dishes from above.

The Fourth Rivulet [1.2.4]

Giving alms.

Giving one’s heart and soul away to Beloved.

6-3574

In the poor-tax99 the overflow and increase of one’s gold is involved: in the

ritual prayer100 preservation from lewdness and iniquity is involved.

6-3575

The poor-tax is the keeper of your purse, the ritual prayer is the shepherd who

saves you from the wolves.

4-1758

If riches is spent in charity, a hundred lives come into the heart as a

substitute101.

99 Zakāh, the almsgiving to the poor, which is obligatory to Muslims. It is one of the Five Pillars of Islām.

100 Ṣalāh (Arabic) or namāz (Persian), ritual prayer, also is one of the Five Pillars of Islām.

101 Qur’ān 6:160.

40

4-2611

Who, really, can find bazaars like this where with a single rose you buy whole

rose gardens;

4-2612

Where a hundred orchards are offered to you in exchange for one seed, a

hundred mines in exchange for one grain102?

4-2613

Kāna Li’Llāh is the giving of that small grain, in order that kāna’Llāh lahu 103

may come into your hand;

4-2622

In God’s name, in God’s name, sell and buy at once! Give a drop, and take in

return the Sea which is full of pearls.

4-2623

In God’s name, in God’s name, do not make any postponement, for these

words104 come from the Sea of Grace.

6-1972

For devotion consists in giving without cause: gambling one’s self clean away

(pure self-sacrifice) transcends every religion.

1-2236

It is fitting for the generous man to give money in this way, but verily the

generosity of the lover is the surrender of his soul (life).

1-2237

If the leaves of this plane-tree drop off, the Creator will bestow the provision of

leaflessness (spiritual poverty) on it.

1-2238

If because of your liberality no wealth remains in your hand, how should the

bounty of God leave you destitute?

2-1271

Shut the lips and open the palm filled with gold: give up being a miser with the

body, be generous.

2-1272

Generosity is the abandonment of lusts and pleasures; no one who is sunk in

lust rises up again.

102 Here “one grain” means “a small thing of little or no value”.

103 The Prophet is reported to have said, Man kāna li’Llāhi kāna’Llāhu lahu, “Whoever belongs (devotes himself) to God, God shall belong to him.” (Nich.) – meaning that will bestow His mercy upon him.

104 Even though Mawlānā Rūmī doesn’t say so explicitly in the Persian text, “These words” are “the words of

Moses”.

41

The Fifth Rivulet [1.2.5]

Ḥajj (Pilgrimage)

There are two kinds:

1. Travelling to the house of God in Mecca.

2. Visiting the house of God, which is the heart of the true servant of God.

Poem:

“O people who have performed Ḥajj, where are you?

The Beloved is near, come here.

You have visited that house a hundred times,

Come and visit this house, if only once (i.e. the heart).105” [1.2.5]

4-15

The formal Pilgrimage consists in visiting the House of God, but only the

Pilgrimage to the Lord of the House is worthy of a true man.

4-1138

The grandeur which the Ka‘ba gained at every moment – that grandeur came

from the acts done in pure devotion by Ibrāhīm (Abraham).

4-1139

The excellence of that mosque106 does not come from earth and stone, but from

the absence of greed or hostility in its builder.

2-3108

Why then do they behave presumptuously at the door of this house, if they

know who is within the house?

2-3109

Fools venerate the mosque and attempt to destroy those who have the heart in

which God dwells.

2-3111

The mosque that is the inner consciousness of the Saints is the place of worship

for all: God is there.

6-868

How should the form of the Perfect Man, which is splendid and sublime, ever

be absent from the House of God?

Story:

How Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī circumambulated a

dervish, because, as the Ṣūfī saying goes: “The heart

of the true believer is the House of God”. [1.2.5]

2-2218

Bāyazīd, the Shaykh of the community of believers, was hurrying to Mecca for

the greater pilgrimage ( ḥajj) and the lesser ( ‘umra)107.

2-2219

In every city to which he went he would at first search for the venerable Saints.

105 This is a part of Ghazal 648 of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī.

106 The actual meaning – although not written in so many words in Fārsī – is “the mosque built by the Prophets”.

107 The Greater Pilgrimage or Ḥajj is the fifth pillar of Islām and an obligation that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so, at least once in their lifetime. The Ḥajj is performed between the 8th to the 12th day of Dhū’l-Ḥijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. The ‘umra or lesser pilgrimage comprises the same rituals as the ḥajj, but can be taken at any time throughout the year.

42

2-2231

On his journey to the Ka‘ba Bāyazīd looked hard to find someone who was the

Khiḍr108of his time.

2-2232

He watched an old man whose stature was bent like the new moon; he saw in

him the majesty and lofty speech of holy men;

2-2237

Bāyāzīd sat down before him and asked about his condition; he found him to

be a dervish and also a family man.

2-2238

The old man said, “Where are you heading, o Bāyazīd? To what place do you

wish to travel in a strange land?

2-2239

Bāyazīd answered, “I depart for the Ka‘ba at daybreak.” “Eh,” cried the other,

“what do you have as provisions for the road?”

2-2240

“I have two hundred silver dirhams,” he said; “look, they are tied fast in the

corner of my cloak.”

2-2241

He said, “Walk around me seven times, and consider this to be better than the

circumambulation of the Ka‘ba in the pilgrimage;

2-2242

And lay those dirhams before me, o generous one. Know that you have made

the greater pilgrimage and that your desire has been fulfilled.

2-2243

That you have also performed the lesser pilgrimage and gained everlasting life;

that you have become pure ( ṣāf) and hurried up the Hill of Purity ( Ṣafā)109.

2-2244

By the truth of the Truth (God) whom your soul has seen, I swear that He has

chosen me above His House.

2-2245

Even though the Ka‘ba is the House of His religious service, my form too, in

which I was created, is the House of His inmost consciousness.

2-2246

God has never gone into the Ka‘ba since He made it, and no one but the Living

God has ever gone into this House of mine110.

108 Khiḍr (alternatively spelled Khaḍir or Khiżr): the enigmatic “Green Man”, who acted as a spiritual guide for a number of Prophets and Saints who did not have a guide of flesh and blood, such as the Prophet Moses. Even though he is referred to in the Qur’ān (18:60-62), he is not mentioned by name. Ṣūfī tradition has it that Khiḍr also was the spiritual guide of the great Ṣūfī Master, gnostic and theoretician Ḥażrat Muḥyī’ddīn ibn ‘Arabī

(1165-1240 CE).

109 During the ḥajj or ‘umra pilgrims perform the sa‘ī, which is hurrying seven times between the small hills named Ṣafā and Marwa, re-enacting the Biblical and Quranic story of Hājar’s (the second wife of Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm/Abraham) desperate search for life-giving water and food. The Qur’ān says about Ṣafā and Marwa:

“Look! Ṣafā and Marwa are among the Symbols of God. So if those who visit the House in the Season or at other times, should circumambulate them, there is no blame on them. And if anyone does good spontaneously, be sure that God is He Who recognizes and knows.” – Qur’ān 2:158.

110 Ḥadīth qudsī (sacred ḥadīth): “Neither My earth nor My sky contain Me, only the heart of My devoted, truly believing and pure servant contains Me”. A well-known definition of a ḥadīth qudsī is this: “A sacred ḥadīth is, as to the meaning, from God the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the Messenger of God. It is that which God the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he has communicated it in his own words”. See Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm ad-Dīn, Vol. 3, p.12; ‘Awārif al-Ma‘ārif.

43

2-2247

When you have seen me, you have seen God: you have circled around the

Ka‘ba of Sincerity111.

2-2248

To serve me is to obey and glorify God: be careful not to think that God is

separate from me.

2-2249

Open your eyes well and look at me, that you may see the Light of God in

man.”

Everybody focuses on something112, but the true

lover focuses on the Beloved, because wherever

he looks, he sees the Beloved’s Face113. [1.2.5]

6-1896

The Ka‘ba of Gabriel and the celestial spirits is a Lotus-tree114; the qibla 115 of

the glutton116 is the tablecloth, covered with dishes of food.

6-1897

The qibla of the Gnostic is the light of union with God; the qibla of the

philosopher’s intellect is fantasy.

6-1898

The qibla of the ascetic is the Gracious God; the qibla of the flatterer is a purse

of gold.

6-1899

The qibla of the spiritual is patience and long-suffering; the qibla of form—

worshippers is the image of stone.

6-1900

The qibla of those who dwell in the interior is the Bounteous One; the qibla of

those who worship the exterior is a woman’s face117.

The Sixth Rivulet [1.2.6]

Holy War (Jihād).

The lesser jihād = fighting enemies.

The greater jihād (i.e. the spiritual jihād) = fighting your nafs118.

2-2473

O, happy he who wages a holy war of self-mortification, and puts restraint on

the body and deals justly with it.

2-2474

And, in order that he may be delivered from the pain of the world, lays the pain

of serving God on himself.

111 Ḥadīth: “He who has seen me, has seen God”. Bukhārī, Vol. 4, p. 135.

112 Qur’ān 2:148.

113 Qur’ān 2:115.

114 Qur’ān 53:14.

115 Qibla: the direction faced by Muslims during ritual prayer (i.e. the Ka‘ba in Mecca).

116 Literally “slave of the belly”.

117 When Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks about “woman” or “women” in the Mathnawī, it is only meant

metaphorically, as it refers to the lower self or nafs.

118 Qur’ān 29:69.

44

1-975

O master, work hard as long as you can in following the way of the Prophets

and Saints!

1-977

I am an infidel if anyone has suffered loss a single moment while walking in

the way of faith and obedience.

2-3170

Make your soul a shield and drop the sword119, o son: whoever is headless

(selfless) saves his head from this King.

Story:

Ayyāzī’s120 return from the lesser jihād to the greater jihād. [1.2.6]

5-3780

Ayyāzī said, “Ninety times I went to battle without armour121, hoping that

perhaps I might be mortally wounded122.

5-3781

Without armour I went to meet the arrows, in order that I might receive a deep—

seated deadly arrow wound.

5-3783

No place in my body is without wounds: this body of mine is like a sieve from

being pierced with arrows;

5-3784

But the arrows never once hit a vital spot: this is a matter of luck, not of

bravery or cunning.

5-3785

When I saw that martyrdom was not the fate of my soul, I immediately went

into religious seclusion123.

5-3786

I threw myself into the greater warfare124 which consists in practising

austerities and becoming thin.

5-3787

One day the sound of the drums of the holy warriors reached my ear; for the

hard-fighting army was on the march.

5-3788

My fleshly soul125 cried out to me from within: at daybreak I heard its voice

with my sensory ear.

5-3789

Saying, “Get up! It is time to fight. Go, devote yourself to fighting in the holy

war!”

119 I.e. “bear what God sends and do not resist” (Nich.).

120 Ayyāzī: according to certain sources, Ayyāzī was a brave warrior who lived in the era of the Samanids, a

Persian dynasty that ruled over Greater Khurāsān between 819 and 999 CE.

121 Literally “with naked body”.

122 In the hope of becoming a martyr.

123 Again, it isn’t explicitly mentioned in Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Persian text, but nonetheless it is implied:

“…and started a forty days’ fast”.

124 Greater warfare: there are two forms of holy warfare or jihād: the lesser warfare or al-jihādu’l-aṣ g har, which means warfare against an enemy. Al-jihādu’l-akbar on the other hand is the struggle against the nafs or lower self.

125 I.e. the nafs.

45

5-3790

I answered, “O wicked deceitful soul, where does your desire to fight come

from?

5-3791

Tell the truth, o my soul! This is trickery. Why else would you fight? – the

lustful soul is free from obedience to the Divine command.

5-3792

Unless you tell the truth, I will attack you, I will squeeze and torment you more

painfully than before in starvation.”

5-3793

Immediately my soul, mutely eloquent, cunningly cried out from within me,

5-3794

‘Here you are killing me daily, you are putting my vital spirit on the rack, like

the spirits of infidels.

5-3795

No one is aware of my plight – how you are killing me by keeping me without

sleep and food.

5-3796

In war I should escape from the body with one slash, and the people would see

my manly bravery and self-sacrifice.’

5-3797

I replied, ‘O wretched soul, as a hypocrite you have lived and as a hypocrite

you shall die: what a pitiful thing you are!

5-3798

In both worlds you have been a hypocrite, in both worlds you are such a

worthless creature.’

5-3799

I vowed that I would never come out of seclusion, seeing that this body is alive,

5-3800

Because everything that this body does in seclusion it does with no regard to

man or woman.

5-3802

This is the greater warfare, and that other is the lesser warfare: both are suitable

work for men like Rustam126 and Ḥaydar127 (‘Alī).

5-3803

They are not suitable work for one whose reason and wits fly out of his body

when a mouse’s tail moves

126 Rustam: a brave and strong hero in the Shāhnāmeh (“The Book of Kings”), the Persian national epic, written by Abū’l-Qāsim Firdawsī of Ṭūs (ca. 935/940-1020/1026 CE).

127 Ḥaydar: a name of Ḥażrat ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, nephew and foremost mystical successor to the Prophet.

“Ḥaydar” means “Lion of God”, or “invincible warrior”, suggesting Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī’s perfect and exceptional courage and strength. Often the word “Karrār” is added to Ḥaydar: Ḥaydar-e Karrār. “Karrār” literally means “repeater”. The implication is that when Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī was pushed back in battle, he never stopped

returning to it until it was won. In a spiritual sense this serves as an example for all Ṣūfī wayfarers or sāliks, whose battle is fought against their untrue ego or nafs. Certain Persian mystics have given an additional explanation for “Ḥaydar”: they say that Ḥay means “dragon”, and that dar is derived from the Persian verb darīdan, meaning “to tear up”, “to rip into pieces”. According to a traditional story, as a baby Ḥażrat ‘Alī tore a dragon to pieces from his cradle (the dragon being a symbol for the lower self – the nafs; the baby symbolizes purity and innocence). Therefore Ḥaydar might be translated as “Dragon Slayer”. According to another version of this Persian traditional story, Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī gripped the dragon’s mouth and held it tightly shut, to prevent later mystical seekers from walking into it.

46

The difficulty of fighting the greater jihād128, as

compared to the lesser jihād, which is easier. [1.2.6]

1-1373

O kings, we have killed the outer enemy, but within us there remains a worse

enemy than he.

1-1374

To slay this enemy is not the work of reason and intelligence: the inner lion is

not subdued by the hare.

1-1375

This carnal self ( nafs) is Hell, and Hell is a dragon, the fire of which is not

diminished by oceans of water.

1-1376

It would drink up the Seven Seas, and still the blazing of that consumer of all

creatures would not become less.

1-1377

Stones and stony-hearted infidels enter it, miserable and shamefaced,

1-1378

But still it is not appeased by all this food, until from God this call comes to it –

1-1379

“Are you filled, are you filled?” It says, “Not yet; look: here is the fire, here is

the glow, here is the burning!”

1-1380

It made a mouthful and swallowed a whole world, its belly crying aloud, “Is

there any more129?”

1-1381

From the Placeless Realm130 God sets His foot on it: then it subsides at the

command “Be, and it was”131.

1-1382

Considering that this self of ours is a part of Hell, and all parts have the nature

of the whole,

1-1383

To God alone belongs this foot (power) to kill it: who, indeed, but God should

draw its bow (vanquish it)?

1-1387

We have returned from the lesser jihād, we are engaged along with the Prophet

in the greater jihād132.

1-1388

I pray God to grant me strength, help and the right of boasting133, that I may

uproot this mountain of Qāf 134 with a needle135.

128 Ḥadīth: “Your greatest enemy is your nafs, enclosed between your two sides.” Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 41. The meaning of “between your two sides” is between man’s two different aspects: his material or earthly aspect and his spiritual or heavenly aspect.

129 Qur’ān 50:30.

130 Lā Makān, literally meaning “no place”, or “spaceless space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

131 Qur’ān 2:117, 16:40 and 36:82.

132 After returning from a war, the Prophet once said: “We now return from the lesser warfare ( al-jihādu’l-aṣghar) to the greater warfare ( al-jihādu’l-akbar)”. His Companions asked, “O Prophet of God, what is the greater warfare?”. He replied: “The struggle against the nafs”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 63; Al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaghīr, Vol. 2, p. 85.

133 I.e. the success which would entitle me to boast of having conquered my “self” (Nich.).

47

1-1389

Consider the lion who breaks the ranks of the enemy of little value: the true

lion is he who breaks and conquers himself136.

The Third River [1.3]

Qaḍā and Qadar, Jabr and Ikhtiyār.

Divine Destiny and Divine Decree.

Compulsion (fatalism) and Free Will.

The First Rivulet [1.3.1]

Qaḍā137 and Qadar.

3-4177

Yet giving yourself up is the object of God’s eternal purpose: o Muslim, you

must seek to give yourself up.

1-910

Do not wrestle with Destiny, o fierce and furious one, if you do not wish

Destiny to pick a quarrel with you also.

1-911

One must be dead in presence of the decree of God, so that no blow may come

from the Lord of the Daybreak 138.”

1-953

Apart from the fate which was predestined in eternity and which came to pass,

nothing from their scheming and doing happened to them139.

3-469

When the Decree shows its head from Heaven, all the intelligent become blind

and deaf;

3-470

Fishes are cast out of the sea; the snare miserably catches the flying bird.

1-1232

When the Divine destiny comes, wisdom goes to sleep, the moon becomes

black, the sun is stopped from shining.

5-2897

The Divine Destiny makes the rolling sphere of heaven lose its way; the Divine

Destiny makes a hundred Mercuries140 ignorant;

1-1194

When the Divine Destiny comes to pass, you see nothing but the outer

appearance: you do not distinguish enemies from friends.

134 Qāf: mythical mountain or chain of mountains surrounding the earth, created from a single emerald. Mount

Qāf is the abode of the ‘Anqā, a mythical phoenix bird from Arabic story tradition, the Sīmurgh being its Persian equivalent. This mythical bird represents the Perfect Man, whose spirit dwells with God, even though his body is in the world.

135 I.e. slowly and painfully (Nich.).

136 Ḥadīth: “The true hero is he who can master his nafs when he is angry”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 66; Bukhārī, Vol. 4, p. 51.

137 The Persian form of the Arabic word qaḍā is qażā.

138 Qur’ān 113:1.

139 Literally “showed its face to them.”

140 Those born under the planet Mercury are supposed to be clever and talented (Nich.).

48

1-1283

This air is mixed with the spirit of life, but when the Divine Destiny comes, it

turns foul and stinking.

1-1255

This Divine Destiny is a cloud that covers the sun: in this way lions and

dragons become as mice.

3-473

Unless you take refuge with the Decree, no clever trickery will let you escape

from it.

Story:

The fool who wanted to change God’s Qaḍā to escape death. [1.3.1]

1-956

One morning a freeborn nobleman arrived and ran into Solomon’s hall of

justice.

1-957

His face pale with anguish and both lips blue. Then Solomon said, “Good sir,

what is the matter?”

1-958

He replied, “Azrael141 looked at me in such a way, so full of anger and hate.”

1-959

“Come,” the king said, “what favour do you desire now? Ask it!” “O protector

of my life,” he said, “command the wind

1-960

To take me from here to India. Maybe, when your slave has arrived there he

will save his life.”

1-961

Look! The people are fleeing from poverty: that’s why they are a prey to

covetousness and expectation.

1-962

The fear of poverty is like that man’s terror: realize that covetousness and

striving are like India in this tale.

1-963

Solomon commanded the wind to carry him quickly over the water to the

furthest part of India.

1-964

The next day, at the time of audience and meeting, Solomon said to Azrael:

1-965

“Did you look with anger on that Muslim in order that he might wander in exile

far from his home?”

1-966

Azrael said, “When did I look at him in anger? I saw him as I passed by, and

looked at him in astonishment,

1-967

For God had commanded me, saying, ‘Take his spirit to India today.’

1-968

In amazement I said to myself, ‘Even if he had a hundred wings, it would be

difficult for him to cover as far a distance as to India today.’”

141 Azrael or ‘Azrā’īl : the angel of death.

49

1-969

Judge all the affairs of this world in the same way and open your eye and see!

1-970

From whom shall we flee? From ourselves? O absurdity! From whom shall we

take ourselves away? From God? O crime!

3-447

If all the atoms of the world devised tricks, they are nothing, nothing, against

the Decree of Heaven.

3-448

How shall this earth flee from Heaven, how shall it conceal itself from it?

Conclusion. [1.3.1]

3-449

Whatever may come from Heaven to the earth, the earth has no refuge nor

remedy or hiding-place.

3-453

O you who are a part of this earth, do not raise your head in rebellion; when

you see the Decree of God, do not withdraw from it disobediently.

2-1060

Rid yourself of this scheming of yours before the Beloved – even though your

scheming is in fact devised by Him.

3-3075

When you forget your own devising, you will gain that happy fortune from

your spiritual Guide.

3-3076

When you are forgetful of your self, you are remembered by God: when you

have become a slave to Him, then you are set free.

Qadar. [1.3.1]

2-1051

Only that matters which has existed before the body; leave behind you the

things which have only recently come into being.

2-1052

That which matters belongs to the knower of God, for he is not squint-eyed: his

eye is fixed upon the things that were sown first.

2-1053

That which was sown as wheat (good) or as barley (relatively evil) – day and

night his eye is fastened on the place where it was sown.

2-1054

Night gave birth to nothing except that she was pregnant with: designs and

plots are wind, empty wind.

2-1057

Even though in the meanwhile a hundred herbs grow and fade, finally that

which God has sown will grow up.

2-1058

The cunning man sowed new seed over the first seed; but the second seed is

passing away, and only the first is sound and enduring.

2-1059

The first seed is perfect and superior; the second seed is corrupt and rotten.

50

2-1061

That which God has raised and that alone is useful: what He has sown initially

will finally grow.

2-1066

Hundreds of thousands of minds may conspire to lay a snare other than His

snare;

2-1067

But they only find their snare more grievous to themselves, for how can straws

show any power of resistance against the wind?

1-3160

The lion is not disgraced by the chain: we do not complain of God’s destiny.

1-1259

If the Divine destiny assaults your life a hundred times, yet the Divine destiny

gives you life and heals you.

1-2258

Relatives and strangers have come to flee from us in the same way as Sāmirī 142

fled from men.

1-2260

The Arabs take pride in fighting and giving: amongst the Arabs you are like a

fault in writing.

The differences of opinion between groups

are linked to their Qaḍā143. [1.3.1]

3-2776

The good and evil qualities are in agreement with the good and evil souls: the

letters that God has written are in agreement.

3-3051

The blessed one is surrounded by meadows and water brooks, while the

unblessed one beside him is in torment.

3-3052

The latter remains in astonishment, saying, “Where does this man’s delight

come from?” and the other remains in astonishment, saying, “In whose prison

is this man?

3-3053

Listen, why are you parched? – for here are fountains. Listen, why are you

pale? – for here are a hundred remedies.

3-3054

Listen, neighbour, come into the garden!” The unblessed man says, “O dear

soul, I cannot come.”

The secret of qadar. [1.3.1]

Story. [1.3.1]

3-3055

At dawn the Amīr144 wanted to go to the hot bath: he shouted, “Ho, Sunqur,

wake up!

142 The golden calf was an idol made for the Israelites during Moses’ absence as he went up Mount Sinai. The

Qur’ān names the man who tempted the Israelites into worshiping the golden calf as-Sāmirī which, according to Muslim scholars, means “the Samaritan” – Qur’ān 20:85.

143 Qur’ān 32:30.

51

3-3056

Get from Altūn the basin, the napkin and the clay, that we may go to the hot

bath, o you who are indispensable to me.”

3-3057

At that very moment Sunqur took up the basin and a fine napkin and set out

with him – the two together.

3-3058

There was a mosque on the road, and the call to prayer came into Sunqur’s ear

in public.

3-3059

Sunqur was very fond of the ritual prayer: he said, “O my Amīr, o kind master,

3-3060

Wait patiently for a while in at this shop, that I may perform the obligatory

prayers and may recite the Sūra beginning with the words lam yakun 145.

3-3061

When the Imām and the people had come out and finished the prayers and

invocations,

3-3062

Sunqur remained there until the early morning: the Amīr waited for him for

some time;

3-3063

Then he said, “O Sunqur, why don’t you come out?” He replied, “This artful

One will not let me out.”

3-3067

The master said, “Why, there is no one left in the mosque. Who is keeping you

there? Who has made you sit constrained?”

3-3068

Sunqur said, “He who has chained you outside of the mosque has chained me

too inside.

3-3069

He who will not let you come in will not let me come out.

3-3070

He who will not let you set foot in this direction has chained the foot of his

servant so that it cannot move in the opposite direction.”

3-3071

The sea does not let the fish out; the sea does not let the creatures of earth in.

3-3072

Water is the original home of the fish, and the coarse animal is of the earth:

here cunning and scheming are of no avail.

The Second Rivulet [1.3.2]

Jabr wa Ikhtiyār (determinism and free will).

5-3018

The whole world acknowledges the reality of the power of choice: the proof is

their commanding and forbidding each other – ‘Bring this and do not bring

that!’

144 Amīr: “commander”, “lord”, “master”, “nobleman”, “prince”.

145 Qur’ān 98.

52

5-3019

The determinist says that commanding and forbidding are meaningless and that

there is no power of choice. This entire doctrine is untrue.

5-3009

In the eyes of reason, determinism ( jabr) is more shameful than the doctrine of

absolute free will ( qadar), because the determinist denies his own inner

sense146.

5-2967

We doubtlessly possess a certain power of choice: you cannot deny the

unmistakable evidence of the inner sense.

5-2968

One never says ‘Come’ to a stone: how should anyone expect a piece of brick

to possess any faithfulness?

5-2969

One never says to a human being, “Hey, fly!” or “Come, o blind man, and look

at me!”

5-2973

Command and prohibition, anger, conferring honour and administering rebuke

concern only him who possesses the power of choice, o pure-hearted one.

5-3024

The thought, “Tomorrow I will do this or I will do that,” is a proof of the power

to choose, o worshipful one;

5-3026

The entire Qur’ān consists of commands, prohibitions and threats of

punishment: whoever saw commands given to a marble rock?

5-3027

Does any wise or reasonable man do this? Does he show anger and hostility to

bricks and stones? –

5-3004

The end result is this, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit who present

objects of desire to us exist in order that the power of choice might be realized.

5-3006

Teachers chastise schoolchildren: how should they administer that punishment

to a black stone?

5-3031

How then should the Creator who is the Maker of stars and sky make

commands and prohibitions like those of an ignorant person?

Story:

The gardener and free will. [1.3.2]

5-3077

A certain man was climbing up a tree and was vigorously scattering the fruit, in

the way thieves do.

5-3078

The owner of the orchard came along and said to him, ‘O rascal, where is your

reverence for God? What are you doing?’

146 Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī means that the concept of jabr (“fatalism” or “determinism”; literally jabr means

“compulsion”) and acting according to this doctrine is no better than believing in qadar (“acting according to one’s free will”), as this would imply the denial of the power of one’s own senses, which work according to one’s own free will.

53

5-3079

He replied, ‘If a servant of God eats from God’s orchard the dates which God

has bestowed upon him as a gift,

5-3080

Why do you vulgarly blame him? Stinginess at the table of the all-Rich Lord!’

5-3081

‘O Aybak’, he said, ‘fetch that rope, that I may give my answer to Bū’l-Ḥasan

(to this fine fellow)’147

5-3082

Then at once he bound him tightly to the tree and thrashed him hard on the

back and legs with a bludgeon.

5-3083

The thief cried, ‘Please, have more reverence for God! You are killing me

miserably, while I am innocent.’

5-3084

He answered, “With God’s bludgeon this servant of His is firmly beating the

back of another servant.

5-3085

It is God’s bludgeon, and the back and sides belong to Him: I am only the slave

and instrument of His command.”

5-3086

The thief said, “O cunning villain, I renounce determinism: there is free will,

there is free will, there is free will!”

5-3104

Since you are not ill, don’t bandage your head: you have free will, don’t laugh

at your moustache148.

1-635

No matter what kind of act you are inclined to, you are clearly conscious of

your power to perform it.

1-636

But in regard of every act for which you have no inclination and desire, you

have become a determinist, saying, “This comes from God.”

5-3187

Abandon this determinism, which is very empty of good, in order that you may

know what is the inmost secret of predestination.

God is the Creator of all acts and man

but performs those acts. [1.3.2]

1-1496

O heart, give a parable for the sake of illustrating a difference, that you may

know what distinguishes compulsion from free will.

1-1497

Take the case of a hand that is shaking from morbid or involuntary tremor and

the case of a person whose hand you cause to shake by knocking it away from

its place.

147 Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī only uses the name Bū’l-Ḥasan (“a fine fellow”) because it rhymes with the last word of the first part of the verse, rasan (“rope”). No deeper meaning is implied.

148 I.e. don’t make a fool of yourself (Nich.).

54

1-1498

Know that both these movements are created by God, but it is impossible to

compare the latter with the former.

1-1499

You are sorry for having caused his hand to shake: why is the man afflicted

with a morbid tremor not sorry?

1-1500

This is the intellectual quest. What is the use of such a quest, o ingenious one?

That perhaps a man of weak understanding may find his way to that place and

gain some idea of the truth.

1-1480

Consider both our action and the action of God. Regard our action as existent.

This is manifest.

1-1481

If the actions of created beings are not obviously existent149, then do not say to

anyone, “Why did you act like that?”

1-1482

The creative act of God brings our actions into existence: our actions are the

effects of the creative act of God.

1-1483

A rational being perceives either the letter (the outer sign) or the inner purpose

(the spirit): how should he comprehend two accidents150 at once?

5-3087

God’s universal power of choice brought our individual powers of choice into

existence: His power of choice is like a rider hidden beneath the dust which he

raises.

5-3097

Similarly, God’s power over our acts of free will does not deprive any act of

free will of that quality.

5-3098

Declare that God’s will is carried out completely, but without attributing

compulsion ( jabr) and responsibility for disobedience to His commands.

5-3099

Since you have said, ‘My unbelief stems from His will,’ know that it also stems

from your own will;

5-3100

For without your will your unbelief does not exist at all: involuntary unbelief is

a self-contradiction.

1-931

You have feet: why do you act as though you were lame? You have hands: why

do you hide the fingers which you use to grasp?

1-932

When the master put a spade in the slave’s hand, his intention was made known

to him without uttering a single word.

1-933

Hand and spade alike are God’s implicit signs; our ability to consider the

purpose is His explicit declaration.

149 Literally “does not remain in the middle”.

150 Here, “accident” is used as a philosophical term, meaning “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of

something”.

55

1-934

When you take His signs to heart, you will devote your life to fulfilling that

indication of His will.

1-935

He will give you many hints for the understanding of mysteries, He will

remove the burden from you and give you spiritual authority.

1-936

Do you bear His burden? He will cause you to be carried on high. Do you

receive His commands? He will make you receive His favour.

1-937

If you accept His command, you will become its spokesman; if you seek union

with Him, you will become united.

1-938

Free will is the endeavour to thank God for His beneficence: your determinism

is the denial of that beneficence.

1-939

Giving thanks for the power of acting freely increases your power; determinism

takes the Divine gift of free will out of your hand.

1-940

Your determinism is like sleeping on the road: do not sleep! Do not sleep, until

you see the gate and the threshold!

1-941

Beware! Do not sleep, o inconsiderate determinist, except underneath the fruit—

laden tree,

1-942

So that at every moment the wind may shake the branches and shower spiritual

delicacies and provision for the journey on the sleeper.

1-1068

Whoever, through heedlessness, remains without thanksgiving and patience

(self-control), has no alternative but to follow in the heels of predestination

( jabr).

1-1069

Anyone who pleads predestination as an excuse feigns illness, with the result

that the feigned illness brings him to the grave.

1-1071

What is the meaning of jabr? To bind up a broken limb or tie off a severed

vein.

1-1072

Since you have not broken your foot in this path, whom are you mocking? Why

have you bandaged your foot?

Conclusion. [1.3.2]

1-1463

The word “compulsion” ( jabr) made me uncontrollably impatient for love’s

sake, while it jails him who is not a lover in the prison of compulsion.

1-1464

This is union with God, and it is not compulsion: this is the shining splendour

of the moon, this is not a cloud.

1-1465

And if this is compulsion, it is not the compulsion of the common folk: it is not

the compulsion of the evil-commanding self-willed soul.

56

1-1466

O son, only they in whose hearts God has opened the sight of the spiritual eye,

know the real meaning of compulsion.

1-1468

Their free will and compulsion are different from that of ordinary men: in

oyster shells drops of rain are pearls.

1-1469

Outside of the shell it is a drop of water, small or great, but within the shell it is

a small or big pearl.

1-1470

Those persons have the nature of the musk deer’s gland: externally they are as

blood, while within them is the fragrance of musk.

1-1471

Do not say, “This substance is blood on the outside: how could it become a

musky perfume when it goes into the gland?”

1-1472

Do not say, “This copper was despicable on the outside: how could it assume

nobility in the heart of the elixir?”

1-1473

While within you the matter of free will and compulsion was a mere fantasy, it

became the light of Divine Majesty when it went into them.

1-1474

When bread is wrapped in the tablecloth it is a lifeless thing, but in the human

body it becomes happiness of spirit.

1-1476

O you who read correctly, such is the power of the soul: what, then, must be

the power of the Soul of the soul?

5-3105

Strive to gain freshness and spiritual grace from God’s cup of love: then you

will become without self and without free will.

1-1475

It does become transformed in the heart of the tablecloth: the animal soul

transforms it with the water of Salsabīl 151 .

5-3106

Then all free choice will belong to that Wine; and your behaviour will be

absolutely excusable, like that of a drunken man.

5-3107

Whatever you overcome will then be overcome by the Wine; whatever you

sweep away will then be swept away by the Wine.

5-3108

The drunken man who has gulped wine from God’s cup – how could his

behaviour be anything but just and right?

151 A fountain in paradise; see Qur’ān 76:18.

57

The Fourth River [1.4]

The Stages of Knowledge and Intellect

The First Rivulet [1.4.1]

The knowledge of Sharī‘a.

The knowledge of Ṭarīqa.

The knowledge of Ḥaqīqa.

i.e.

Formal knowledge: by learning at school

and similar institutions.

Gnosis: by spiritual exercises.

‘Ilm-e Ladunnī: knowledge passed on directly

by God to whomever He chooses152.

Poem by Ḥażrat Mawlā153 ‘Alī:

“We are contented with the destiny that we have received from God

We possess the gnosis, whereas the oblivious only have worldly

possessions; matter is transitory, knowledge is immortal.” [1.4.1]

1-1030

Knowledge is the seal of the kingdom of Solomon: the whole world is form,

and knowledge is the spirit.

6-3881

Knowledge ( ‘ilm) is an ocean without bound or shore: the seeker of knowledge

is like the diver in those seas.

6-3882

Even if he lives a thousand years, he will never become weary of seeking.

6-3883

For the Messenger of God has explained this by saying: “There are two greedy

ones who are never satisfied154.”

6-3884

The two kinds of seekers mentioned here are the seeker of the present world,

and the seeker of knowledge and its rewards.

152 Qur’ān 18:65.

153 Mawlā means “Master”, “Lord”, or “Caring, Supporting and Protecting Friend”. It is a name of God, and is mentioned as such in the Qur’ān (see Qur’ān 2:286 and 47:11), but it is also an honorific title of the Prophet Muḥammad and of ‘Alī, the Prophet’s nephew, son-in-law and foremost mystical successor. Mawlā is also often found with the possessive suffix -nā as an honorific title for Ṣūfī Saints and Masters: Mawlānā (e.g. Mawlānā

Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī). Mawlānā means “Our Master, Lord and Caring, Supporting and Protecting Friend”. The word Mawlā is derived from the same Arabic verbal root as the word walī (plural awliyā’). Walī is a name of God ( al-Walī, “the Protecting Friend”), as well as the common Ṣūfī term to designate a Saint. Walī means “one who is close to God”, “a close Friend of God”, hence a Saint.

154 Muṣṭafā (Muḥammad) said: “There are two greedy ones who will never be satisfied: the seeker of the present world and the seeker of knowledge.” (Nich.).

58

Ḥadīth:

“There are two greedy ones who will never be satisfied: the seeker

of the present world and the seeker of knowledge”155. [1.4.1]

6-3885

Now, when you fix your attention on this division, you will see that this

knowledge must be different from the present world, o father.

6-3886

What, then, is different from the present world? The next world, the knowledge

of which will take you away from here and be your guide to God.

Story:

The man in search of the Tree of Life did not

know that it was the Tree of Knowledge. [1.4.1]

Ḥadīth:

“The seeker of knowledge lives forever.” [1.4.1]

2-3641

A learned man once told a story, saying: “In India there is a certain tree:

2-3642

whoever takes and eats of its fruit, will never grow old or die.”

2-3643

A king heard this tale from a truthful person: he became a lover of the tree and

its fruit.

2-3644

He sent an expert envoy from the Dīwān (council) of culture to India in search

of it.

2-3645

For many years his envoy wandered about India in search of the tree.

2-3646

He roamed from town to town for this purpose: no island, mountain or plain

was left unvisited.

2-3647

Everyone whom he asked mocked him, saying, “Who would search after this,

unless perhaps a madman under lock and key?”

2-3655

After he had suffered much fatigue in that foreign land, he finally became too

exhausted to seek any longer.

2-3658

He decided to return to the king, shedding tears as he travelled the way back.

2-3659

There was a wise Shaykh, a noble Quṭb 156, at the halting-place where the king’s

confidant fell into despair.

155 Sources for this ḥadīth: Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī .p. 589, Al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaghīr, Vol. 2, p.183 and Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Vol. 2, p. 259.

156 Quṭb: according to Ṣūfī thought, there is an invisible hierarchy of Saints. The highest spiritual authority is the Quṭb (“Axis”, “Pole”, “Pivot”) or Ghawth, (“Help”, “Succour” or “Refuge”). He is surrounded by three Nuqabā’

(“Substitutes”), four Awtād (“Pillars”), seven Abrār (“Pious Ones”), forty Abdāl, (“Substitutes”), three hundred Akhyār (“Good Ones”), and four thousand other hidden Saints. However, here Quṭb simply means “a great Saint”.

59

2-3660

The envoy said, “As I have no hope, I will go to him,” and set out on the road

again from his threshold

2-3661

In order that his prayer and blessing may accompany me, since I have no hope

of fulfilling my heart’s desire.”

2-3662

With tearful eyes he went to the Shaykh: he was raining tears, like a cloud.

2-3663

“O Shaykh”, he cried, “it is the time for mercy and pity; I am in despair: now is

the time for kindness.”

2-3664

The Shaykh said, “Say plainly what is the cause of your despair: what is your

goal? What do you have in mind?”

2-3665

He answered, “The emperor chose me out to seek a certain tree,

2-3666

For there is a tree, unique in all the quarters of the world: its fruit contains the

substance of the Water of Life.

2-3667

I have sought it for years and seen no sign of it except the mockery and ridicule

of these lighthearted men.”

2-3668

The Shaykh laughed and said to him, “O simpleton, this is the Tree of

Knowledge in the wise –

2-3669

Very high, very great and very far-spreading: it is a Water of Life from the all—

compassing Sea of God.

2-3670

You have sought for the form, you have gone astray: you cannot find it because

you have abandoned reality.

2-3671

Sometimes it is named ‘tree’, sometimes ‘sun’; sometimes it is named ‘sea’,

sometimes ‘cloud’

Acquiring knowledge for status and rank,

and its adverse repercussions. [1.4.1]

4-1436

The knowledge and skill required to reach the evil-natured man is to put a

sword in the hand of a highwayman.

4-1437

It is better to put a sword in the hand of an intoxicated black man157, than that a

worthless person should acquire knowledge.

4-1448

He does not know the way, yet he acts as a guide: his wicked spirit sets the

world on fire.

157 This may sound offensive to our modern ears; however, one should bear in mind that in the cultural context in which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī lived and worked such expressions were common. What he actually means by “black man” – merely as a figure of speech – is “a dark and frightful thing”.

60

4-1434

Take the weapons out of the madman’s hand, that Justness and Goodness may

be satisfied with you.

4-1435

Since he has weapons and no understanding, shackle his hand; otherwise he

will inflict a hundred injuries.

4-1441

How should a hundred lions inflict the same as high office inflicts upon the

ignorant?

4-1442

His vice is hidden, but when he gained power, his snake, coming out from its

hole, rushed swiftly along the plain.

4-1443

The entire plain is filled with snakes and scorpions when the ignorant man

becomes a harshly ruling master.

4-1444

The worthless person who acquires wealth and office has become the seeker of

his own disgrace.

4-1447

When authority falls into the hands of one who has lost the right way, he deems

it to be a high position ( jāh), but in reality he has fallen into a pit ( chāh).

2-1398

When the pen of authority is in the hand of a traitor, unquestionably Manṣūr158

is on a gibbet.

2-3204

The ingenious rascals of this time have put themselves above the ancients;

2-3205

The apt learners of cunning have burnt their hearts in study and have learned

feints and tricks;

6-2369

Oh, how often have knowledge, keen wits and understandings become as

deadly as the ghoul159 or highwayman to the wayfarer!

6-4010

The common folk have learned this bird’s language and have acquired prestige

and authority by doing so.

6-4011

That speech is only the imitation of the bird’s voice: the uninitiated man is

ignorant of the inner state of the birds.

6-4012

Where is the Solomon who knows the birds’ song? Even if he seizes the

kingdom of Solomon, the demon is a stranger.

Conventional knowledge is only for this world. [1.4.1]

2-2429

Knowledge is conventional and acquired (not real), when its owner complains

because the listener is unwilling to listen to it

158 Ḥażrat Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj (ca. 858-922 CE): a Persian mystic, who was condemned for heresy and

blasphemy, and who was put to death in Bagdad. He is best known for having exclaimed in ecstasy “Anā’l-

Ḥaqq!” – “I am the Truth!”, i.e. God.

159 Corpse-eating ghost in Islamic legends (Nich.).

61

2-2431

Since he seeks knowledge for the sake of the common and the noble, not in

order to gain release from this world.

2-2436

Knowledge obtained by reasoning, which is soulless, is in love with (eager for)

the outer appearance of buyers;

2-2437

But even though it is robust at the time of debate, it is dead and gone when it

has no buyer.

2-2438

My buyer is God: He raises me up high, for God has bought 160.

2-2440

Abandon these destitute customers: what can be bought with a handful of

worthless clay?

2-2441

Do not eat clay, do not buy clay, do not seek clay, because the eater of clay is

always pale-faced.

2-2442

Eat your heart in love of God161, that you may be young always, and that your

face may be rosy with Divine illumination, like the arghawān 162.

2-3265

Conventional knowledge is only for sale: when it finds a buyer, it glows with

delight.

2-3266

The buyer of real knowledge163 is God: its market is always full of splendour.

About people who do not put their knowledge to use164. [1.4.1]

6-3902

O heart that inspired all others with ardour, inspire yourself with ardour and be

ashamed of yourself!

6-3903

O tongue that was a mentor to all others, now it is your turn: why are you

silent?

6-3907

When do you urge others, crying “Come on! Come on!”? In your own anguish

you cry, “Alas, alas!” like women.

6-3910

For fifty years you have woven on the loom of your intelligence: now put on an

undershirt of the fabric which you yourself have woven.

6-3911

The ears of your friends were delighted by your song: now hold out your hand

and pull your own ear165.

160 Qur’ān 9:111.

161 This expression means “attaining to Inner Light, Love and Wisdom”.

162 Arghawān: the Judas tree, which has rosy-pink to purplish flowers. It is also known as the Love tree, because of the heart-like shape of its flowers.

163 Literally “the knowledge that is verified (by mystical experience)” (Nich.).

164 Qur’ān 2:44.

165 Make yourself listen attentively (Nich.).

62

5-2485

Strive to become intoxicated and shining with light, in order that his light may

be like the rhyme-letter to your discourse.

5-2488

When your knowledge is steeped in the light of faith, then the obstinate

people166 derive light from your knowledge.

5-2489

Whatever you say, too, will be luminous, for the sky never rains anything but

pure water.

6-4664

How long will you follow the glittering phantom reflected by another? Strive to

make this experience real for yourself,

6-4665

So that your words be caused by your own feelings, and your flight will be

made with your own wings and feathers.

6-4666

The arrow captures its prey with alien feathers; consequently it gets no share of

the bird’s flesh;

6-4667

But the falcon brings its prey from the mountains themselves; consequently the

king lets it eat partridge and starling.

6-4668

The speech that is not derived from Divine inspiration springs from self-will: it

is like dust floating in the air among the specks in the rays of the sun.

5-2506

If you have the proof that you are a true Saint, put it into practice: by means of

that practice make your wooden sword sharp as Dhū’l-Faqār 167.

5-2502

You may have the sword Dhū’l-Faqār as a heritage from ‘Alī, but do you have

the powerful arm of the Lion of God168?

5-2501

When there is no manliness, of what use are daggers? When there is no heart

(courage), the helmet is of no avail.

5-2507

The proof that prevents you from practicing saintly works causes you to incur

the vengeance of the Divine Maker.

5-2509

You lecture to them all on trust in God, while you are slitting the vein of the

gnat in the air169.

166 Qur’ān 19:97.

167 Dhū’l-Faqār or, more commonly, Dhū’l-Fiqār, is the name of the formidable two-pointed sword of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī. In plain Arabic the name Dhū’l-Fiqār simply means “having notches”, but it may also be translated as “Backbone of All Swords”. According to the Shī‘ī Islamic tradition, Dhu’l-Fiqār was first sent to the Prophet Muḥammad by the Archangel Gabriel. Ḥażrat Muḥammad later passed it on to his chosen successor, Ḥażrat ‘Alī

ibn Abī Ṭālib. On this occasion, the cry: “There is no Hero or True Man but ‘Alī, there is no sword but Dhū’l-Fiqār,” was heard ( Lā Fatā illā ‘Alī, lā sayfa illā Dhū’l-Fiqār”). These words proclaim the unsurpassed spiritual perfection and the supreme chivalry, bravery and humanity of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī. One of the spiritual meanings of this sword is that it clearly separates falsehood from truth.

168 Title of ‘Alī (Nich.).

169 Literally “by contribution on demand or by your gift”. This verse is said to refer to Ṣūfīs who got khānaqāhs (gathering houses for dervishes) built for them in this way but were not qualified to act as spiritual guides (Nich.).

63

5-3193

O shameless man, instruction given to the worthless is like drawing a little

design on a clod of earth.

5-3194

Instruct yourself in love of God and spiritual insight; for that is like a design

engraved on a solid mass of stone.

5-3195

Your own self is the only pupil who is really faithful to you: all the others

perish: where will you seek them, where?

5-3196

In order that you may make others erudite and eminent, you make yourself

evil-natured and empty of true knowledge.

5-3197

But when your heart is united with that Eden of Reality, listen, keep speaking,

and do not be not afraid of becoming empty.

5-3198

For this reason the Divine command, ‘ Speak! ’170 came to the Prophet, saying,

‘O righteous one, it will not fail: this is an infinite ocean.’

5-3200

This discourse has no end, o father: leave this discourse and consider the end.

Self-realization is the key to knowledge of all things.

Ḥadīth: “Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord.171” [1.4.1]

3-2650

Saying, “I know what is permissible and impermissible.” You do not know

whether you yourself are permissible or impermissible as an old woman172.

3-2651

You know this allowable thing and that unallowable thing, but are you

allowable or unallowable? Consider this well!

3-2652

You do not know what the value of every article of merchandise is; if you do

not know the value of yourself, it is foolishness.

3-2653

You have become acquainted with the fortunate and auspicious stars; you do

not look to see whether you are fortunate or unwashed (spiritually foul and ill-favoured).

3-2654

This, this, is the soul of all sciences – that you should know who you will be on

the Day of Judgement.

3-2655

You are acquainted with the fundamentals ( uṣūl)173 of the religion, but look at

your own fundament ( aṣl) and see if it is good.

3-3038

Oh, there are many learned scholars who have no profit from their knowledge:

they are people who commit knowledge to memory, not people who love it.

170 Qur’ān 112:1.

171 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 471; Sharḥ-e Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam by Hussain Khwarazmi p. 87.

172 “The religion of old women” is synonymous with ignorance and superstition (Nich.).

173 Uṣūl-e Dīn = “the fundamentals of religion”, in this case Islām. These comprise: 1. Tawḥīd (the oneness of God), 2. Nubuwwa (Prophethood) and 3. Ma‘ād (Resurrection).

64

3-3039

From them the listener (but not the learned men themselves) perceives the

scent of knowledge, even if the listener is a commoner.

3-2649

They know the special properties of every substance, but in elucidating their

own substance (essence) they are as ignorant as an ass.

3-2648

They know a hundred thousand superfluous matters connected with the various

sciences, but those unjust men do not know their own soul.

1-2834

Of all these various kinds of knowledge, on the day of death the best equipment

and provision for the road is the knowledge of spiritual poverty.

Ṣūfīs prefer a pure heart to a head filled with formal knowledge. [1.4.1]

5-557

The face of the tranquil soul174 in the body suffers wounds inflicted by the

fingernails of thought.

5-558

Know that evil thought is a poisonous nail: in the case of deep reflection it

rends the face of the soul.

5-559

In order that the thinker may loosen the knot of difficulty, he has put a golden

spade into manure175.

5-560

Suppose the knot is untied, o clever thinker: it is like a tight knot on an empty

purse.

5-561

You have grown old while you occupied yourself with untying knots: suppose

you untie a few more knots, what then?

5-562

The knot that is fastened tight on our throat is that you should know whether

you are ill-fated or fortunate.

5-563

Solve this problem if you are a man: spend your breath (life) on this, if you

have the breath (spirit) of Adam within you.

1-2475

That which you imagine to be the treasure – through that vein imagination you

are losing the treasure.

1-2476

Know that illusions and opinions are like the state of cultivation: treasure is not

to be found in cultivated places.

1-2477

In the state of cultivation there is existence and bitter conflict: the non-existent

is ashamed of all existent things.

174 The soul at peace with God – Qur’ān 89:27 (Nich.).

175 I.e. has applied his reason to the futilities of exoteric knowledge (Nich.).

65

5-564

Suppose you know the definitions of all substances and accidents176, how will

you benefit from it? Know the true definition of yourself, for this is

indispensable.

5-566

Your life has gone to waste in the consideration of logical predicate and

subject: your life, devoid of spiritual insight, has gone in study of what has

been received by hearsay.

5-567

Every proof that is without a spiritual result and effect is vain: consider the

final result of yourself!

5-568

You have never perceived a Maker except by means of a made thing: you are

content with a syllogism.

5-569

The philosopher multiplies links consisting of logical proofs; on the other hand,

the elect (the mystic) is contrary to him in this respect.

5-570

The latter flees from the proof and from the veil between himself and God: he

has sunk his head in his bosom for the sake of contemplating the Object of the

proof.

3-1123

This company washed their hearts clean of the exoteric kinds of knowledge,

because this knowledge does not know this Way.

3-1124

In order to tread this Way one needs a knowledge that is rooted in the Other

World, since every branch is a guide to its root.

3-1126

Why, then, teach a man the knowledge of which he should purify his breast?

2-3174

Since these sciences bring you no blessing, make yourself a fool and leave bad

luck behind.

2-3175

Like the angels, say, “We have no knowledge, o God, except what You have

taught us 177 . ”

2-3200

My foolishness is a very blessed foolishness, for my heart is well-furnished

with spiritual graces and my soul is devout.”

2-3201

If you desire that misery may leave you, endeavour that wisdom may leave you

–

2-3202

The wisdom which is born of human nature and fantasy, the wisdom which

lacks the overflowing grace of the Light of the Glorious God.

2-3203

The wisdom of this world brings increase of supposition and doubt; the

wisdom of the religion soars above the sky.

176 These are philosophical terms, as are the terms “predicate” and “subject” in verse 5-566. “Substance” is

whatever is a natural kind of thing and exists in its own right. Examples are rocks, trees, animals, etc.

“Accidents” are nonessential attributes or characteristics of something.

177 Qur’ān 2:30, slightly altered (Nich.).

66

6-2370

Most of those destined for paradise are simpletons178, so that they escape from

the mischief of philosophy.

6-2371

Strip yourself of useless learning and vanity, in order that the Divine mercy

may descend on you at every moment.

6-2372

Cleverness is the opposite of abasement and supplication: give up cleverness

and befriend stupidity.

6-2374

The clever ones are content with an ingenious device; the simple ones have

gone away from the artifice to rest in the Artificer.

6-2500

Abandon eminence, worldly energy and skill: what matters is service rendered

to God and a good disposition.

6-2501

With this aim God brought us forth from non-existence: “I did not create

mankind except to serve Me 179.”

6-2502

What did Sāmirī, whose skill in making the golden calf caused him to be

banished from God’s door, gain from knowing this?

6-2503

What did Qārūn180 gain from his alchemy? See how the earth dragged him

down to its abyss.

All knowledge is reflected in a pure heart. [1.4.1]

3-3856

No one who has found the way of vision in seclusion will seek power using the

diverse kinds of knowledge.

3-3857

When he has become an intimate companion to the beauty of the Soul, he will

have a disgust of traditional learning and knowledge.

6-1931

And even if you read a hundred volumes without a pause, you will not

remember a single point of argument without the Divine decree;

6-1932

But if you serve God and do not read a single book, you will learn rare sciences

from your own bosom.

6-1933

From his bosom, the hand of Moses spread a radiance that surpassed the moon

in the sky.

178 This is a ḥadīth. Source: Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p.338. Al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaghīr, Vol. 1, p. 52.

179 Qur’ān 51:56.

180 Qārūn or Korah, who belonged to the people of Moses, symbolizes arrogance, self-conceit and avarice –

Qur’ān 28:76-82.

67

The gnostic drinks from the eternal inner water, while

remaing dependent on transitory earthly water. [1.4.1]

6-3596

How magnificent is the Canal which is the source of all things! It makes you

independent of these other canals.

6-3597

With relish you drink from a hundred fountains: whenever any of those

hundred yields less, your pleasure is diminished;

6-3598

But when the sublime Fountain gushes from within you, you no longer need to

steal from the other fountains.

6-3600

When the supply of water comes to a fortress from outside, it is more than

enough in times of peace;

6-3601

But when the enemy forms a ring around that fortress, in order that he may

drown the garrison in blood,

6-3602

The hostile troops cut off the outside water, so that the defenders of the fortress

may have no refuge from them.

6-3603

At that time a briny well inside the walls is better than a hundred sweet rivers

outside.

6-4649

The flowers that grow from plants live but a moment; the flowers that grow

from Reason are ever fresh.

6-4650

The flowers that bloom from earth become faded; the flowers that bloom from

the heart – oh, what a joy!

6-4651

Know that all the delightful sciences known to us are only two or three bunches

of flowers from that Garden.

6-4652

We are devoted to these two or three bunches of flowers because we have shut

the Garden door on ourselves.

The secret of ‘Ilm-e Ladunnī (the mystical knowledge

of “the People of the Heart”, i.e Ahl-e Dil)181. [1.4.1]

1-3446

The sciences of the mystics182 lift them high; then sciences of sensual men

183are burdens to them.

1-3447

When knowledge strikes on the heart (is acquired through mystical

experience), it becomes a helper ( yārī); when knowledge strikes on the body (is

acquired through the senses), it becomes a burden ( bārī).

181 Qur’ān 18:65.

182 Literally “People of the Heart”, is an expression that is often used as a synonym for “Ṣūfī Masters”.

183 Literally “the people of the body”.

68

1-3448

God has said, “Like an ass laden with his books”184: the knowledge that does

not come from Himself is difficult to bear.

1-3449

The knowledge that does not immediately come from Himself does not last, it

is like the esthetician’s paint.

1-3450

But when you carry this burden well, the burden will be removed and you will

be given spiritual joy.

1-3451

Beware! Do not carry this burden of knowledge for the sake of selfish desire,

but mortify yourself, so that you may ride on the smooth-paced steed of

knowledge.

4-3314

How should one who depends on a teacher and who is a disciple of a book find,

like Moses, light from his own bosom?

1-3460

Purify yourself from the attributes of self, that you may behold your own pure

unblemished essence,

1-3461

And behold within your heart all the sciences of the Prophets, without book

and without teacher and master.

1-3464

Without the two Ṣaḥīḥs 185 and traditions and traditionists186; no, they behold

him in the place where they drink the Water of Life.

1-3466

And if you desire a parable of the hidden knowledge, tell the story of the

Greeks187 and the Chinese.

Story:

The Chinese and the Greeks. [1.4.1]

1-3467

The Chinese said, “We are the better artists”; the Greeks said, “The superiority

in power and excellence belong to us.”

184 Qur’ān 62:5.

185 The title Ṣaḥīḥ (“authentic”, “sound”) is given to two works, by Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (or

“Bukhārī” for short – 810-870 CE) and Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj Neyshāpūrī (or “Muslim” for short – 821-875 CE),

which contain well-authenticated traditions ( aḥādīth) of the Prophet (Nich.).

186 Those who have transmitted the traditions, i.e. the ḥadīths or sayings of the Prophet Muḥammad.

187 The word used for “Greeks” in this verse is Rūmīyān, which literally means “Romans”. However, here

“Romans” means the Greek-speaking inhabitants of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rūm. In Arabic, Rūm or ar-Rūm refers to the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire. Although the multi-ethnic Byzantine Empire became more and more grecianized in the centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, they still viewed themselves as “true Romans”. The name Rūm was used by the Arabs, the Persians, the Seljuk Turks and the Muslim world in general. The Qur’ān even contains a Sūra called Ar-Rūm (i.e. “The Romans”, “The Roman Empire” or “The Byzantines” – Sūra 30). The name “Rūm” lived on in the Seljuk Sultanate of Rūm, which was a separate and very influential vassal state within the Great Seljuk Empire, which at the height of its power

covered large parts of Anatolia, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia. In 1243 CE the Seljuk Turks

were defeated by the Mongols and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rūm became a vassal state to them. It was in this

Sultanate’s capital, Konya (or Qūniya, as the Muslim peoples called it), that Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī spent the most important part of his life – hence the name “Rūmī” (meaning “of Rūm”).

69

1-3468

“I will put you to the test in this matter,” said the Sulṭān, “and see which of

your claims shall prove to be true.”

1-3469

The Chinese and the Greek began to debate: the Greeks withdrew from the

debate.

1-3470

Then the Chinese said, “Put a separate room at our disposal, and let there be

one for you as well.”

1-3472

The Chinese requested the King to give them a hundred colours: the King

opened his treasury to the Chinese.

1-3473

Every morning, with his generous consent, the colours were dispensed from the

treasury to the Chinese.

1-3474

The Greeks said, “No tints and colours are suited for our work, nothing is

needed except to remove the rust.”

1-3475

They shut the door and went on polishing: they became clear and pure like the

sky.

1-3476

There is a way from many-colouredness to colourlessness: colour is like the

clouds, and colourlessness is a moon.

1-3478

When the Chinese had finished their work, they were beating drums for joy.

1-3479

The King entered and saw the pictures there: seeing them utterly perplexed

him.

1-3480

After that, he went to the Greeks: they removed the dividing curtain.

1-3481

The reflection of the Chinese pictures and works of art struck these walls,

which had been made free of stains.

1-3482

All that he had seen in the Chinese room seemed more beautiful here: it made

his eyes leap out of their sockets.

1-3483

The Greeks, o father, are the Ṣūfīs: they do not depend on study, books and

erudition,

1-3484

But they have polished their hearts and purified them from greed, cupidity,

avarice and hatred.

1-3485

That purity of the mirror unquestionably is the heart which receives countless

images.

1-3486

That Moses (the perfect Saint) holds in his bosom the formless infinite form of

the Unseen, reflected from the mirror of his heart.

70

1-3491

Every new image that falls on the heart forevermore appears in it without any

imperfection.

1-3492

They who polish their hearts have escaped from mere scent and colour: they

effortlessly behold Beauty at every moment.

1-3493

They have relinquished the form and outer shell of knowledge, they have raised

the banner of the knowledge of certainty188.

1-3497

Even though they have abandoned grammar ( naḥw) and jurisprudence ( fiqh),

instead, they have taken up mystical self-effacement ( maḥw) and spiritual

poverty ( faqr).

Detachment of knowledge leads to gnosis and revelation in the heart. [1.4.1]

1-2830

With the master-theologian the quick and diligent pupil reads scholastic

theology.

1-2831

With the master-jurist the student of jurisprudence reads jurisprudence, not

theology.

1-2832

Then the master who is a grammarian – the soul of his pupil becomes imbued

by him with grammar.

1-2833

Again, the master who is absorbed in the Way of Sufism – because of him the

soul of his pupil is absorbed in the Divine King.

The story of the grammarian and the boatman. [1.4.1]

1-2835

A certain grammarian embarked a boat. That self-conceited person turned to

the boatman.

1-2836

And said, “Have you ever studied grammar?” “No,” he replied. The other said,

“Half your life has been meaningless.”

1-2837

The boatman became heartbroken with grief, but at the time he refrained from

answering.

1-2838

The wind hurled the boat into a whirlpool: the boatman shouted to the

grammarian,

1-2839

“Tell me, do you know how to swim?” “No,” he said, “O well-spoken, good—

looking man!”

1-2840

“O grammarian”, he said, “your whole life has been meaningless, because the

boat is sinking in these whirlpools.”

188 I.e. mystical intuition (Nich.).

71

1-2841

Know that here maḥw (self-effacement) is needed, not naḥw (grammar): if you

are maḥw (dead to self), plunge into the sea without danger.

1-2842

The water of the sea places the dead one on his head (makes him float on the

surface); but if he is alive, how shall he escape from the sea?

1-2843

Since you have died to the attributes of the flesh, the Sea of Divine

Consciousness will place you on the crown on its head (will raise you to

honour)

1-2844

But o you who have called the people asses, now you are left floundering on

this ice, like an ass.

1-2846

We have stitched in (inserted) the story of the grammarian, that we might teach

you the grammar ( naḥw) of self-effacement ( maḥw).

1-2847

In self-loss, o esteemed friend, you will find the jurisprudence of jurisprudence,

the grammar of grammar, and the accidence of accidence189.

5-3233

In Love, which is glorious and dazzlingly bright, you will find intelligible

things other than these intelligible things.

3-3831

My bonds are more grievous than your advice: your doctor, who taught you,

was not acquainted with love.

3-3847

For lovers, the only teacher is the beauty of the Beloved, their only book,

course and lesson is His face.

Attaining to the spiritual goal by passing

through the spiritual stages. [1.4.1]

3-1400

The sum of the matter is this: when a man has attained to union, the go-between becomes worthless to him.

3-1401

Since you have reached the object of your search, o elegant one, the search for

knowledge has now become evil.

3-1402

Since you have climbed to the roofs of Heaven, it would be futile to seek a

ladder.

3-1403

After having attained to felicity, the way that leads to felicity is worthless

except for the sake of helping and teaching others.

3-1404

The shining mirror, which has become clear and perfect – it would be foolish to

apply a burnisher to it.

189 I.e. the cream and essence of these sciences (Nich.). Accidence: the part of grammar that deals with

inflection.

72

3-1405

Seated happily beside the Sulṭān and in favour with him – it would be

disgraceful to seek letter and messenger.

Story:

The lover and the Beloved. [1.4.1]

3-1406

A certain man, when his beloved lets him sit beside her, produced a letter and

read it to her.

3-1407

In the letter were verses of praise and adulation, anguish and despair and many

humble pleas.

3-1408

The beloved said, “If this is for my sake, reading this at the time of our meeting

is to waste one’s life.

3-1409

I am here beside you, and you are reading a letter! This, at any rate, is not the

mark of true lovers.”

3-1410

He replied, “You are present here, but I am not completely filled with pleasure.

4-2066

Indeed, these matters of hearsay are only a substitute for sight: they are not for

him who is present, but for him who is absent.

4-2067

These matters of hearsay are hollow to anyone who has been lead to the

attainment of sight.

4-2068

When you have sat down next to your beloved, after this send off the dallālas

(the old women who act as go-between).

4-2069

When anyone has outgrown childhood and has become a man, the letter and

the dallāla become annoying to him.

4-2070

He reads letters, but only for the purpose of teaching others; he utters words,

but only for the purpose of making others understand.

4-2071

It is wrong to speak from hearsay in the presence of those who are endowed

with vision, for it is a proof of our heedlessness and imperfection.

4-2072

In the presence of the seer silence is to your advantage: because of this, the

formal injunction “Remain silent”190 came from God.

4-1418

Know that beside the words breathed by the Quṭb of the Time191 traditional

knowledge is like performing the traditional ablution with sand where there is

water available.

190 Qur’ān 7:204.

191 The head of the saintly hierarchy (Nich.). See footnote on “Quṭb” – Fourth River, First Rivulet, verse 2-3659.

There is a Quṭb or Supreme Saint for every era, who is called “Quṭb of the Time” ( Quṭbu’z-Zamān).

73

4-1419

Make yourself foolish (simple) and follow behind him: only by means of this

foolishness will you obtain deliverance.

4-1420

Because of this, o father, the Sulṭān of Mankind (Muḥammad) has said, “Most

of the people of Paradise are the naïve192.”

4-1421

Since cleverness is the arouser of pride and vanity in you, become a fool in

order that your heart may remain sound –

4-1422

Not the fool who is bent double and abases himself in clowning, but the fool

who is delirious, bewildered and lost in Him.

The Second Rivulet [1.4.2]

The stages of the intellect (reason).

Universal Intellect and partial intellect.

1-1109

Think, how many worlds are to be found within Reason! How wide is this

ocean of Reason!

5-619

Without any doubt, intellects and hearts (spirits) are celestial, even though they

live separated from the celestial light.

3-3570

The imagination falls into error and mistake; the intellect is engaged only in

acts of true perception.

6-2971

Through reason you can recognize congener and non-congener: you should not

run at once to outward forms.

6-2967

Get (learn) the distinction between evil and good from reason, not from the eye

that speaks only of black and white.

6-2969

The eye that sees only its object of desire is the bird’s curse; reason, which sees

the trap, is the bird’s means of liberation.

4-1261

The two eyes of the intellect are fixed on the end of things: it endures the pain

of the thorn for the sake of that Rose.

4-1984

The carnal nature desires to take revenge on its opponent: the reason binds the

flesh like an iron chain.

4-2301

Reason is the opposite of sensuality: o brave man, do not call (by the name of)

Reason that which is attached to sensuality.

4-1947

The Prophet said, “Whoever is foolish is our enemy and a ghoul who attacks

the traveller from ambush.

192 Cited by Aṭ-Ṭabarī in his Tafsīr (verse 21:79) and Al-Mahdawī in At-Taḥṣīl, as quoted by Hamid Lahmar in Al-Imām Mālik Mufassiran, Dār al-Fikr, Beirut, 1995 CE (p. 279).

74

4-1948

Whoever is intelligent is dear to our soul: his breeze and wind is our sweet

basil.”

4-1949

If intelligence rebukes me, I am well-pleased, because it possesses something

that has emerged from my activity of outpouring.

4-1950

Its rebuking is not useless, its hospitality is not without a table;

4-1951

But if the fool puts sweetmeat on my lip, its taste gives me a fever193.”

4-1954

Intelligence is the table, not bread and roast meat: the light of intelligence, o

son, is the nourishment for the soul.

4-409

In addition to the understanding and soul that the ox and the ass have, Man has

another intelligence and soul;

4-410

Again, in the owner of that Divine breath194 there is a soul other than the

human soul and intelligence.

5-3235

For from this individual intelligence you obtain the means of subsistence, while

from that other universal intelligence you make the spheres of Heaven a carpet

under your feet.

3-2528

The Intellect of intellect is your kernel, while your intellect is only the husk:

the belly of animals is ever seeking husks.

3-2529

He who seeks the kernel loathes the husk intensely: to the virtuous (Saints) the

kernel alone is lawful, lawful.

3-2530

When the intellect, which is the husk, offers a hundred evidences, how should

the Universal Intellect take a step without having intuitive certainty?

3-2531

The intellect makes books entirely black with writing; the Intellect of intellect

keeps the horizons (the whole universe) filled with light from the Moon of

Reality.

3-1145

The particular (partial) intellect is sometimes dominant, sometimes

overthrown; the Universal Intellect is safe from the calamities of Time.

4-1986

The reason that is allied to Faith is like a just police inspector: it is the guardian

and magistrate of the city of the heart.

5-454

Exceptionally well the good-natured Prophet has said, “A single speck of

intelligence is better for you than fasting and performing the ritual prayer195.”

193 Literally “I am in fever from that sweetmeat of his”.

194 The Prophet or Saint.

195 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 435.

75

5-455

Because your intelligence is the substance196, whereas these two things [fasting

and ritual prayer] are accidents197, these two are made obligatory in order to

fully complete the intelligence198.

The difference between the stages of the intellect199. [1.4.2]

5-459

Know well that the levels of intelligences differ like the earth from the sky.

5-460

There is an intelligence like the orb of the sun; there is an intelligence inferior

to the planet Venus and the meteor.

5-461

There is an intelligence like a tipsy (flickering) lamp; there is an intelligence

like a star of fire.

5-2463

Oh, blessed is he whose reason is male, while his wicked fleshly soul is

female200 and helpless.

5-2461

Alas for him whose reason is female, while his wicked fleshly soul is male and

ready to gratify its lust!

5-2462

Inevitably his reason is vanquished: his movement only leads to damnation.

4-1960

Intelligence consists of two intelligences; the former is the acquired one which

you learn, like a boy at school,

4-1961

From book, teacher, reflection and committing to memory, from concepts,

from excellent and virgin (previously unstudied) sciences.

4-1962

In this way your intelligence becomes superior to that of others; but by

preserving (retaining in your mind) that knowledge you are heavily burdened.

4-1963

You, who are occupied in wandering and going about in search of knowledge,

are a preserving (recording) tablet; the Preserved Tablet201 is he who has

passed beyond this.

196 Substance ( jawhar): here, the word is used in the philosophical sense, i.e. “A being whose nature it is to exist in and for itself and not in another as in a subject.”

197 Accident ( ‘araż, from the Arabic ‘araḍ) is also used as a philosophical term. It means “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something”.

198 I.e. they are not obligatory in the case of madmen or young boys.

199 Qur’ān 43:32.

200 The nafs’s gender is female. This does not mean that “woman” or “the feminine” are “evil”. It is related to the four earthly elements which constitute material man: water, fire, wind and earth. Just like the earth produces food, woman can give birth to children in this world, and likewise the nafs is able to produce a new nafs over and over again. That is why linguistically, the gender of nafs is female, since it can generate new life over and over again. Similarly, when Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks about “woman” in the Mathnawī, it is only meant metaphorically, as it refers to the productive quality of the nafs.” [Adapted from the speech delivered by Ḥażrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣāfī ‘Alī Shāh II on 20th August 2005 on the occasion of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī’s Birthday.]

201 This alludes to al-Lawḥu’l-Maḥfūẓ, “the Preserved Tablet” (Qur’ān 85:22). Al-Lawḥu’l-Maḥfūẓ means the knowledge that is firmly protected. It is said to contain all that God has ever decreed and the archetypes of all there ever has been, all there is and all there ever will be.

76

4-1964

The other intelligence is the gift of God: its fountain is in the middle of the

soul.

4-1965

When the water of God-given knowledge gushes out of the breast, it does not

become foul-smelling, old or yellow (impure);

4-1966

And if its way of flowing out is clogged, what harm could it do? For it

continually gushes out of the house of the heart.

4-1967

The acquired intelligence is like the water conduits which run into a house

from the streets:

4-1968

If the house’s waterway is blocked, it is without any supply of water. Seek the

fountain within yourself!

The partial intellect is subject to the Universal Intellect. [1.4.2]

1-2052

You have a partial reason hidden within you: now in this world seek one whose

reason is perfect.

1-2053

Through his totality your part is made whole and perfect: Universal Reason is

like a shackle on the neck of the flesh (= nafs, the false ego).

5-463

The partial intellect has given the Universal Intellect a bad name: worldly

desire has deprived the worldly man of his desire (in the next world).

3-1558

Imagination and opinion are the poison of the partial (discursive202) reason,

because its dwelling-place is in the darkness.

1-2329

Since your intellect is a shackle for mankind, it is not intellect: it is a snake and

scorpion.

4-1258

Do not take the partial (individual) intellect as your vizier: make the Universal

Intellect your vizier, o king.

4-1263

Even if you have intellect, seek the company and the advice of another

intellect, o father.

4-1264

With two intellects you will be set free from many sufferings: you will plant

your foot on the zenith of the heavens.

When two people’s intellects are paired,

they enhance and help each other. [1.4.2]

4-2188

The intelligent man is he who has the lamp: he is the guide and leader of the

caravan.

202 “Discursive reason” is also called “demonstrative reason” (istidlālī, i.e. relying on knowledge and proof obtained by deduction).

77

4-2189

That leader is one who follows his own light: that selfless traveller follows

himself.

4-2191

The other, who is the half-intelligent, regards a fully intelligent person as his

eye,

4-2192

And has clung to him as the blind man clings to guide, so that through him he

has become seeing, active and illustrious.

4-2193

But as far as the ass is concerned, who did not have a smidgen of intelligence,

who possessed no intelligence himself and abandoned the intelligent guide,

4-2194

Who knows next to nothing of the way and yet considers it beneath him to

follow the guide,

4-2197

He possesses neither perfect intelligence, that he should breathe the breath of

the living, nor a half-intelligence, that he should make himself dead.

4-2198

The half-intelligent one becomes wholly dead in devotion to the man of perfect

intelligence, that he may ascend from his own low place to the lofty roof.

4-2200

He (the man devoid of intelligence) is not living, that he should breathe like a

Jesus, nor is he dead, that he should become a channel for the life-giving breath

of a Jesus203.

4-2199

If you do not have perfect intelligence, make yourself dead under the protection

of an intelligent man whose words are living.

2-26

If the intellect is paired with another intellect, light increases and the way

becomes clear;

2-27

But if the fleshly soul indulges in merrymaking with another fleshly soul,

darkness increases, and the way becomes hidden.

Transformation of the partial intellect into love. [1.4.2]

4-1295

The particular (individual) intellect is not the intellect capable of production: it

is only the receiver and is in need of teaching.

4-1296

This intellect is capable of being taught and of understanding, but only the man

who is Divinely inspired gives it the teaching which it requires.

4-1294

This astronomy and medicine is knowledge given by Divine inspiration to the

Prophets: how could intellect and sense find a way to advance towards that

which has neither space nor direction?

203 I.e. “he is not dead (through self-abandonment), so that he should be brought to (spiritual) life by the

influence of a Saint.” (Nich.).

78

4-1297

Certainly, in their beginning, all trades (crafts and professions) were derived

from Divine inspiration, but the intellect added something to them.

4-1298

Consider whether this intellect of ours can learn any trade without a master.

4-1299

Even though the intellect was hair-splitting (subtle and ingenious) in trickery,

no trade was ever mastered without a master.

4-1300

If knowledge of a trade were derived from this intellect, any trade would be

mastered without a master.

5-4144

If the intellect could see the true way in this question204, Fakhr-e Rāzī205 would

be an expert in religious mysteries;

5-4145

But since he was an example of the saying that whoever has not tasted does not

know, his intelligence and imaginations only increased his perplexity.

5-4147

In their quest of the real “I” these intellects fall into the abyss of incarnation

( ḥulūl and ittiḥād 206).

3-1146

Sell intellect and talent and buy bewilderment in God: let your journey take

you to lowliness, o son, not to Bukhārā207!

5-3236

When you gamble away (sacrifice) your intelligence in love of the Lord208, He

gives you ten like it or seven hundred 209.

5-3237

When those women of Egypt gambled away (sacrificed) their intelligences,

they hurried to the pavilion of Joseph’s love.

5-3238

Love which is the cupbearer of life took away their intelligence in one moment:

they kept on drinking plenty of wisdom for the rest of their lives.

5-3239

The beauty of the Almighty210 is the source of a hundred Josephs: o you who

are less than a woman211, devote yourself to that beauty!

204 The question in preceding verse is: “If you seek, how should that which you seek go in search of you?”

205 Fakhru’ddīn of Rayy, a celebrated theologian and philosopher (d. 1209 CE) (Nich.).

206 The heretical doctrine that the creature becomes one with the Creator. (Nich.) Ḥulūl is defined as “the infusion of God’s Essence in man”, “the Divine Indwelling in man” or “Divine incarnation in man”. Ittiḥād means “Divine unification” or “identification of the Divine and human natures”.

207 Bukhārā used to be one of the largest centres of Islamic theology. Here it symbolizes “outer learning” and those vain and self-conceited ones who take pride in their acquired erudition, which is insignificant in comparison with true, Divinely inspired knowledge.

208 The word for Lord used here is Ṣamad, a Divine name with more than one meaning: it means, amongst other things, “the Self-Sufficient”, “the Absolute”, “He Who is without needs but upon Whom all depends”, “He Who is Eternal without change”,...

209 Qur’ān 6:160 and 2:261.

210 The actual name of God used here is Dhū’l-Jalāl, meaning “the Lord of Majesty”.

211 When Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks about “woman” or “women” in the Mathnawī, it is only meant

metaphorically, as it refers to the lower self or nafs.

79

Allegory. [1.4.2]

4-563

The gift of Bilqīs212 was forty mules: their whole load consisted of bricks of

gold.

4-564

When the envoy reached the open plain, belonging to Solomon, he saw that its

carpet was entirely made of solid gold.

4-565

He rode on gold for the distance of forty stages of his journey, until gold had

lost its value to him.

4-566

Many times they said, “Let us take the gold back to the treasury: what a useless

quest we are pursuing!

4-567

A vast land of which the soil is pure gold – to bring gold there as a gift is

foolish.”

4-568

O you who have brought intelligence to God as a gift, there intelligence is less

valuable than the dust of the road.

The Fifth River [1.5]

Khawf wa Rajā (Fear and Hope)

The First Rivulet [1.5.1]

The sun of hope illuminates the darkness.

2-2635

The Prophet has declared that God has said, ‘I created with the aim to do good,

2-2636

I created with the intention that My creatures might gain some profit from Me,

and that they might smear their hands with My honey;

2-2637

Not with the purpose that I might gain some profit from them, and that I might

tear off a coat from one who is naked.’

6-1267

No base metal coin is rejected by Him, for he does not buy with the aim to

make a profit.

2-2632

He made the world for kindness’ sake: His sun caressed the specks of dust (in

its beams).

6-2280

But nevertheless the sun of Divine favour has shone and has graciously come

to the aid of those who despair.

6-2281

In His mercy, God has played a marvellous game of backgammon: He has

changed the essence of ingratitude into a turning in repentance towards Him213.

212 Bilqīs: the queen of Sheba (or Sabā) – Qur’ān 27: 23-44.

80

6-2419

True believer and Christian, Jew and Zoroastrian and Magian – the faces of

them all are turned towards the mighty Sulṭān.

6-2420

On the contrary, stone, earth, mountain and water have their invisible recourse

to God.

6-2315

With His Merciful hand, He frees all from the bonds of servitude, whether they

deserve it or not.

6-1846

Whenever weariness made him despair in his sincere supplication, from the

presence of God he would hear the call “Come!”

6-4743

Although we are in the ditch and overwhelmed by this despair, let us go

dancing together, since He has invited us.

6-4741

No hope comes to me from any direction, except that Divine Bounty that says

to me, “Do not despair214!”

3-3107

Or are you unaware of the bounties of God, who is calling you to come to His

side?

1-3252

No, do not despair: make yourself cheerful, call for help to Him who comes in

answer to the call.

3-1866

You think well of Me and you justly hope that at each moment you may rise

higher.

5-4094

Does he who insolently disobeys Your command have any other support except

Your pardon?

5-4095

The heedlessness and irreverence of these sinners arise from the abundance of

Your clemency, o You mine of pardon.”

5-4110

(Ayāz215 said), “The forgivenesses of the whole world are but a mote – the

reflection of your forgiveness, o you from whom comes every fortune.

5-4111

All forgiveness sings the praise of Your forgiveness: it is peerless. O people,

beware of comparing it!

213 “Turning in repentance towards him”: the Arabic word for repentance is tawba, and is derived from the verb tāba (root: t-w-b), meaning “to turn towards”. One of God’s Beautiful Names, at-Tawwāb, is derived from the same root and means “He Who forgives those who turn to Him in repentance.”

214 Qur’ān 12:87.

215 There are a number of stories in the Mathnawī about the king Maḥmūd of Ghazna and his favourite slave, Ayāz, in which Ayāz symbolizes a Ṣūfī dervish Saint and the king symbolizes Almighty God. Ayāz was made the king’s vizier (or prime minister). In Islamic cultures, it was common for favourite slaves to be given

positions of power and influence. “In the allegorical interpretation of this Story the King is God, Ayāz the

Perfect Man who intercedes for sinners on the Day of Judgement, and the ‘ancient executioner’ the Angel of

Divine punishment. ( malaku’l-‘adhab).” (Nich.).

81

5-4206

Your grace said to our heart, “Go, o you who have become indebted to the

buttermilk of My love.

5-4207

You have fallen, like a gnat, into My buttermilk: O gnat, you are not

intoxicated, You are the wine itself.

5-4208

O gnat, the vultures become intoxicated by you, when you ride on the ocean of

honey.

5-4215

Because of the urgency my head is reeling: oh, I am dead in the presence of

that bounty.

5-4218

No one ever died in the presence of the Water of Life: compared with your

water the Water of Life is mere dregs.

5-4220

But those who drink from the cup of death are living through His love: they

have torn their hearts away from life and the Water of Life.

5-4221

When the water of Your love gave us its hand, the Water of Life became

worthless in our eyes.

The meaning of hope in the ḥadīth qudsī

Inna sabaqat raḥmatī ghaḍabī –

“Verily, My Mercy prevails over My wrath.216” [1.5.1]

5-1772

In the Traditions of the Prophet it is related that on the Day of Resurrection

every single body will be commanded to arise.

5-1773

The blast of the Trumpet is the command of the Holy God, namely, “O

children of Adam, lift up your heads from the grave.”

5-1774

Then every one’s soul will return to its body, just as consciousness returns to

the awakend body at dawn.

5-1796

When the sun of the Resurrection rises, both ugly and beautiful will leap up

hastily from the grave.

5-1806

Then a scroll headed with black and crammed with crime and wickedness

comes into the hand of such a servant of God;

5-1807

Containing not a single good deed or act of saving grace – nothing but wounds

inflicted on the hearts of the saintly.

5-1810

When that odious man reads his scroll, he knows that he is virtually on the way

to prison.

5-1814

Therefore, he sets out to the prison of Hell; for thorns have no means of escape

from being burnt in the fire.

216 Aḥādith-e Mathnawī, p. 114; Musnad-e Aḥmad, Vol. 2, p. 24; Muslim, Vol. 8, p. 95.

82

5-1817

He drags his feet on every road, that perhaps he may escape fromt the pit of

Hell.

5-1818

He stands expectantly, keeping silence and turning his face backward in a

fervent hope,

5-1819

Pouring tears like autumn rain. A mere hope – what does he have but that?

5-1820

So at every moment he is looking back and turning his face to the Holy Court

in heaven.

5-1821

Then in the realm of life comes the command from God – “Say to him, ‘O

good-for-nothing without any merit,

5-1822

What are you expecting, o mine of mischief? Why are you looking back, o

dumbfounded man?

5-1823

Your scroll is that which came into your hand, o offender against God and

worshipper of the devil.

5-1826

You do not have any outward or inward act of piety to your credit, nor do you

have an intention to perform one in your heart.

5-1827

No nightly prayers and vigils, no abstinence and fasting in the daytime.

5-1828

No holding the tongue to avoid hurting anyone, no looking forward and

backward in sincerity.

5-1829

What is meant by looking forward? To think of your own death and last agony.

What is meant by looking backward? To remember the passing of your friends.

5-1831

Since your scales were wrong and false, how should you require the scales of

your retribution to be right217?

5-1832

Since you were a left foot (were going to the left) in fraud and dishonesty, how

should the scroll come into your right hand?

5-1835

The servant of God answers: “I am a hundred, hundred, hundred times as much

as that which You have declared.

5-1836

Verily, in Your forbearance You have thrown a veil over worse things than

those mentioned; otherwise You might have divulged them, for with Your

knowledge You know all my shameful deeds;

5-1837

But, outisde of my own deeds, beyond good and evil and religion and

infidelity,

217 I.e. “how should you expect to receive full measure from God?” (Nich.).

83

5-1839

Beyond living righteously or behaving disobediently – I expectantly put my

hope in Your pure loving-kindness.

5-1841

I turn my face back to that pure grace: I am not looking towards my own

actions.

5-1842

I turn my face towards that hope, for You have given me existence from before

existence.

5-1843

You gave me existence, free of cost, as a robe of honour: I have always relied

upon that generosity.

5-1844

When he enumerates his sins and trespasses, the Pure Bounty begins to show

generosity,

5-1845

Saying, “O angels, bring him back to Us, for his inner eye has always been

turned towards hope.

5-1846

Like one who does not care about anything, We will set him free and cancel all

his trespasses.

5-1848

We will kindle up a bountiful fire of grace, in order that no sin and fault, great

or small, may last –

5-1850

We will set fire to the mortal frame of Man and make the thorns in it a spiritual

garden of roses.

3-4384

I frighten the fearless through My knowledge; I take away the fear of the

fearful through My clemency.

3-4385

I am a patcher: I put the patch in its proper place; I give drink to everyone in

due measure.

The Second Rivulet [1.5.2]

Fear.

As hope and fear come together, faith (īmān)

is born in the heart of the beginning sālik.

3-495

Know that it is a fulfilment of Fear not 218, when God has given you the fear

which causes you to refrain from sin: He will send the bread, since He has sent

the tray to you219.

3-496

The fear is for the one who has no fear of God; the anguish is for the one who

does not frequent the place where God is feared.

3-507

Rejoice in Him, do not rejoice in anything except Him: He is like the spring,

and all other things are like the month of December.

218 Qur’ān 20:68.

219 I.e. the tray (fear of God) is accompanied by the bread (security) (Nich.).

84

3-508

Everything other than He is the means of leading you gradually to perdition,

even though it is your throne, kingdom and crown.

3-509

Rejoice in sorrow, for sorrow is the snare through which you attain to union

with God: in this Way falling down in reality is rising upwards220.

3-2205

The fact is that the people of this world fear poverty, plunged as they are up to

their necks in the briny water.

3-2206

If they would fear the Creator of poverty, treasures would be opened to them

on the earth.

3-2207

Through fear of affliction they all are in the very essence of affliction: in their

pursuit of material existence they have fallen into non-existence221.

3-2487

Even though God’s clemency bestows many kindnesses, He exposes the sinner

when he has exceeded the limit.

3-4381

The sinner’s heart becomes afraid of Us, but in his fear there are a hundred

hopes.

3-4382

I frighten the shameless man who has lost the right way: why should I frighten

him who is afraid?

1-1430

When someone is afraid, they make him feel secure; they soothe his fearful

heart.

1-1429

Do not fear 222is the hospitality offered to those who fear: that is proper

sustenance for one who is afraid.

1-1431

How should you say “Fear not” to one who has no fear? Why give lessons to

him? He needs no lessons.

1-1432

He (‘Umar223) made that disturbed mind cheerful and made his desolate heart

happy.

2-3039

You have not heard from God the comforting words Fear not: why, then, have

you considered yourself safe and happy?

3-494

There is no fear of sea, waves or foam, since you have heard the Divine

utterance “Do not be afraid”224.

220 I.e. through lowliness and self-abasement (Nich.).

221 I.e. privation of real existence (Nich.).

222 Qur’ān 41:30.

223 Ḥażrat ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (ca. 581/584-644 CE), the second caliph or successor to the Prophet Muḥammad

in Sunnī Islām.

224 Qur’ān 20:77.

85

The mystic (‘ārif = gnostic) transcends these

two inner states (hope and fear). [1.5.2]

5-4065

The ascetic feels anxiety concerning his mortal end: he considers what will be

his predicament on the Day of Reckoning;

5-4066

But the Gnostics, having become conscious of their beginning225, are free from

anxiety and care for the ultimate conditions.

1-3616

This hope and fear are behind the veil that separates the seen from the unseen,

so that they may be nurtured behind the veil.

5-4067

Previously the Gnostic had the same fear and hope as the ascetic, but his

knowledge of the past devoured both those feelings.

5-4069

He is a gnostic and has been delivered from fear and dread: the sword of God

has cut lamentation in two.

5-4070

Earlier he had feelings of fear and hope from God: the fear has passed away

and the hope has come into clear view.

The Sixth River [1.6]

‘Adl and Ẓulm

(Sincerity or Justice and

Tyranny or Injustice)

The First Rivulet [1.6.1]

‘Adl (Sincere Justice)

The inner potential power that is directed by the

intellect, helps to free oneself from the nafs.

Poem:

“The intellect is the master of the workshop of the heart,

and prevents it from being in the service of the workshop

of clay (i.e. matters of the material world).” [1.6.1]

6-2596

What is justice? To put a thing in its right place. What is injustice? To put it in

its wrong place.

4-729

He knew that the just man is free from fear of attack and secure in his heart.

4-730

Justice is the guardian of pleasures; not men who shake their rattles on the

roofs at night.

225 I.e. having attained to knowledge of their eternally pre-ordained destiny (Nich.).

86

5-1089

What is justice? Giving water to trees. What is injustice? To give water to

thorns.

5-1090

Justice consists in bestowing a bounty in its proper place, not on every root that

will absorb water.

5-1092

Bestow the bounty of God on the spirit and reason, not on the carnal nature full

of disease and complications226.

5-1093

Make your body bear the conflict of worldly cares: do not lay your anxiety on

the heart and spirit.

5-1094

The burden is laid on the head of Jesus227, while the ass228 is frolicking in the

meadow.

5-1095

It is not right to put eyewash in the ear: it is not right to demand the work of the

heart from the body.

5-1096

If you are a devotee of the heart, go, despise the world, do not suffer its

humiliating insult; and if you are a devotee of the body, do not eat sugar but

taste poison.

5-1097

Poison is beneficial to the body, and sugar harmful: it is better that the body

should be deprived of supplies.

‘Adl (Sincere Justice) enables you to help others better. [1.6.1]

1-2354

God Most High is just, and how should the just behave tyrannically to the

dispirited (poor and weak)?

1-2820

The nature of kings becomes implanted in their subjects: the green sky makes

the earth verdant.

1-2821

Consider the king as a reservoir with pipes in every direction, and water

running from all the pipes like hoppers in a mill.

1-2822

When the water in all the pipes is from a pure reservoir, every single one gives

sweet water, pleasant to taste.

1-2823

But if the water in the reservoir is brackish and dirty, every pipe brings the

same into view.

1-2829

For whatever science the master is renowned, the souls of his pupils become

endowed with the same.

2-1933

Brave and holy men are a help in the world when the lamentation of the

oppressed reaches them.

226 Literally “dysentery and knots” (tumours) (Nich.).

227 The spirit (Nich.). The traditional epithet given to Jesus (‘Īsā) in Islām is Rūḥu’Llāh, “Spirit of God”.

228 The body (Nich.).

87

2-1934

From everywhere they hear the cry of the oppressed and run in that direction,

like the mercy of God.

2-1935

Those buttresses for the breaches of the world, those physicians for hidden

diseases,

2-1936

are pure love, justice and mercy; just like God, they are flawless and

incorruptible.

3-2435

Only he who cuts off the head of his lower self learns how to distinguish the

oppressor from the oppressed.

3-2434

How should one who is subject, like a straw, to the wind of sensuality know the

oppressor from the oppressed?

3-2436

Likewise, the oppressor, which is the fleshly soul within us that is moved by

frenzy, is the enemy of the oppressed.

The Second Rivulet [1.6.2]

Injustice and its Dark Consequences.

Ḥadīth:

“Oppression (Ẓulm) will be darkness

(Ẓulumāt) on the Day of Resurrection”229. [1.6.2]

1-1309

The injustice of evildoers became a dark pit for them: all the wise have said

this.

1-1310

The more unjust one is, the more frightful is his pit: Divine Justice has

ordained worse punishment for worse sin.

1-1311

O you who are digging a pit for others, driven by injustice, you are making a

snare for yourself.

1-1312

Do not weave a cocoon around yourself, like the silkworm. You are digging a

pit for yourself to fall in: dig with moderation (not too deep).

1-1313

Do not assume that the weak have no defending guardian: recite from the

Qur’ān the words When the help of God shall come 230.

1-1314

If you are an elephant and your enemy has fled from you, then look: the

retribution came to you, birds in flocks 231.

6-1890

The present world is the Creator’s penitentiary: since you have chosen to incur

punishment, suffer punishment!

229 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 61; Muslim, Vol. 8, p. 18.

230 Qur’ān 110:1.

231 Qur’ān 105:3.

88

4-228

You thought that I am as a lamb without shepherd, you thought that I have no

one who watches over me.

4-232

How am I less than a lamb, less than a kid, that there should not be a keeper

behind me?

4-233

I have a Keeper who is worthy of holding dominion: He knows the wind that

blows on me.

1-1315

If any poor man on the earth begs for mercy, a loud uproar arises among the

Heavenly Hordes.

1-1316

If you bite him with your teeth and make him bleed, toothache will attack you

– what will you do then?

3-2453

Wrong is covered from sight in the inmost thoughts of the soul: the wrongdoer

exposes it to men.

3-2455

Even here, then, your hands and feet, in doing harm, bear witness to your

conscience.

3-2456

Since your evil conscience becomes as an overseer to you and says, “Speak!

Do not keep back your belief,”

3-2457

And, especially at times of anger and quarrelling, makes manifest your secret

thought, hair by hair;

3-2458

Since wrong and injustice become your overseer and say, “Reveal me, o hands

and feet,”

3-2462

O you who most recklessly232 embarked on a course of injustice and malice,

your true nature is evident: this display of it is unnecessary.

5-1091

What is injustice? To bestow it in an improper place that can only be a source

of calamity.

3-2437

A dog always attacks the poor; it inflicts wounds upon the poor as much as it

can.

The Third Rivulet [1.6.3]

Mukāfāt (retribution) or the law of nature (cause and effect)233.

“As you sow, so shall you reap.” [1.6.3]

1-214

Although the wall casts a long shadow, yet in the end the shadow turns back

again towards it.

232 Literally “with ten hands” (Nich.).

233 Qur’ān, 99:7-8.

89

1-215

This world is the mountain, and our action the shout: the echo of the shouts

comes back to us.

4-165

When you have done evil, be afraid, do not be lighthearted, since the evil is

seed, and God will cause it to grow.

4-166

He covers it for a while, so that sorrow and shame for having committed that

evil may come to you.

4-170

He covers the sin many times in order to manifest His grace; then again, He

punishes the sinner in order to manifest His justice,

4-171

So that both these attributes may be displayed, and the former may be hope—

inspiring and the latter deterrent.

4-2458

When have you done wrong and when have you committed evil, without

having seen its proper effect?

4-2459

When have you sent a single good deed up to Heaven and have you seen a

good and corresponding effect following it234?

1-1319

O, you see many wrongs in others, but what you see is a reflection of your own

nature!

1-1320

All that you are in your hypocrisy, iniquity and insolence was reflected in

them.

1-1321

You are the evildoer, and you are striking blows at yourself: you curse yourself

at that moment.

1-1322

You do not see clearly the evil in yourself, otherwise you would hate yourself

with all your soul.

1-1324

When you reach the bottom of your own nature, then you will know that that

vileness came from yourself.

1-1329

You held a blue glass before your eye: for that reason the world seemed to be

blue to you.

1-1330

Unless you are blind, know that this blueness comes from yourself: speak ill of

yourself, do not speak ill of others anymore.

5-3999

Whoever seeks to commit adultery with other people’s wives, know that he is a

pimp to his own wife;

5-4000

For that adultery is retributed with the same, since retribution for an evil act is

an act similar to it235.

234 The Turkish commentator translates: “When have you sent a breath (breathed a prayer) to Heaven and have

you seen in consequence a (Divine) benefit like unto it?” (Nich.).

90

5-3997

Out of the pride of power I tried to conquer the concubine of another: that

injustice rebounded on me and I fell into the pit which I had dug.

5-3998

I knocked at the door of another person’s house: consequently he knocked at

the door of my house.

6-1570

Do you not know that if you dig a pit for me you will at last let yourself fall

into the same pit?

5-4008

God has given us knowledge about retribution: He has said, “If you repeat it

(the offence), We shall repeat it (the punishment). ” 236

Self-examination. [1.6.3]

4-2460

If you are observant and vigilant, you will see the response to your action at

every moment.

4-2461

When you are observant and grasp the rope of awareness, you do not need the

coming of the Resurrection (to reveal the ultimate effects).

4-2462

He who truly knows the meaning of a sign does not need any further

explanation of it.

4-2463

This calamity happens to you because of your stupidity in not understanding

the subtle hints and indications.

4-215

God has called Himself Baṣīr (All-Seeing), in order that His seeing would

dissuade you from committing sins at every moment.

4-216

God has called Himself Samī‘ (All-Hearing), in order that you would close

your lips and not use bad language.

4-217

God has called Himself ‘Alīm (All-Knowing), in order that fear would hold you

back from contemplating bad deeds.

4-2467

Listen, be watchful if you wish to have a pure heart, for out of your every

action something will be born to you.

4-2468

And if you have a greater aspiration than this, and if you have a greater

ambition than this, it goes beyond the spiritual rank of the observant.

235 Qur’ān 42:38.

236 Qur’ān 17:8.

91

The Seventh River [1.7]

Ḥashr (the Gathering on the Day of Resurrection)

The First Rivulet [1.7.1]

The return of all things to the other world.

1-2726

O you who have not escaped from this fleeting caravanserai (the material

world), how would you know the meaning of “self-extinction”, mystical

“intoxication” and “expansion”?

1-2724

The bird whose dwelling-place is the briny water, how should it know where to

find in it the clear and sweet water?

1-2725

O you whose abode is in the briny spring, how should you know the Shaṭṭ237

and the Jayhūn238 and the Euphrates?

1-2770

When the images (phenomena) which are in these hot baths (the world) are

viewed from outside the undressing room of self-abandonment, they seem like

clothes.

1-2771

As long as you are outside, you only see the clothes (phenomena): put off your

clothes and enter the bath of reality, o kindred spirit,

1-2772

Because, with your clothes, there is no way of getting inside: the body is

unconscious of the soul, the clothes are unaware of the body.

Allegory:

The denial of the other world by the ignorant. [1.7.1]

3-56

A sky very lofty and full of light, sun and moonbeams and a hundred stars.

3-58

Its marvels are beyond description: why are you suffering in this darkness?

3-59

Why do you drink blood on the gibbet of this narrow place (the womb),

incarcerated and surrounded by filth and pain?” –

3-60

Because of its present state, the embryo would be unbelieving, and would turn

away from this message and become an unbeliever.

3-61

Saying, “This is absurd, a deceit and delusion,” because the judgement of the

blind has no imagination.

3-63

Just as in this world the Abdāl 239 speak of that other world to the common folk

237 Shaṭṭ: the Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab (“River of the Arabs”) or Arwand Rūd (“Arwand River”, in Persian) is the river that is formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates in Southern Iraq. Its mouth is in the Persian Gulf.

238 The Jayhūn River is in fact the Āmū Daryā or Oxus River, the longest river in Central Asia. It more or less constitutes the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

239 Abdāl: see footnote on “Quṭb” – First Source, Fourth River, First Rivulet, verse 2-3659.

92

3-64

Saying, “This world is an boundless dark and narrow pit; outside is a world

without scent or colour”:

3-65

None of their words entered the ear of a single one of them, for this sensual

desire is a huge and formidable barrier.

1-3180

Move a little, like the embryo, in order that the senses which see the Light may

be given to you

1-3181

And then you are outside of this womb-like world: you got from earth into a

wide space.

1-3182

Know that the saying, “God’s earth is spacious 240,” refers to that vast region

which the Prophets have entered.

1-3183

The heart is not oppressed by that spacious expanse: there the fresh boughs of

the palm tree do not become dry.

The Second Rivulet [1.7.2]

The showing of the deeds on the Day of Judegment.

1-2917

Therefore the Resurrection is the day of the supreme inspection: inspection is

desired only by Him who is glorious and splendid.

1-2918

To anyone who is like a deceitful Hindu241, the day of inspection is the time of

exposure.

1-2919

Since he does not have a face like the sun, he desires nothing but night to cover

him like a veil.

1-2920

Since his thorn does not have a single rose leaf, Spring is the enemy of his

conscience,

1-2921

While to one who is roses and lilies from head to foot Spring is welcome as a

pair of bright eyes.

1-2922

The unspiritual thorn wishes for autumn, for autumn, in order that it may

contend as a rival with the rose-garden,

1-2923

And that autumn may hide the beauty of the rose and the shame of the thorn, so

that you may not see the colour of that and the colour of this.

1-2928

As long as the blossom shines like a coat of mail, how should the fruits display

their knobs?

240 Qur’ān 39:10.

241 Literally “a Hindu who does bad trade”, i.e. a reprobate whose dealings with God result in his perdition

(Nich.). In Fārsī, the word hindū can also mean “a dark-coloured person”. So, by no means does Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī intend to denigrate the Hindu religion, or indeed any religion. Whenever he uses the names of religions

and ethnicities, it is merely meant as a figure of speech.

93

1-2929

When the blossom is shed, the fruit ripens: when the body is shattered, the

spirit lifts up its head.

1-3515

All the spirits that have passed over to the next life are waiting to see in what

state that proud spirit shall be born.

1-3516

The Ethiopians (the damned spirits) say, “It belongs to us”; the Anatolians (the

blessed spirits) say, “No, it is beautiful.”

1-3518

If it is an Ethiopian (a damned spirit), the Ethiopians carry it off; and if it is an

Anatolian (a blessed spirit), the Anatolians lead it away.

1-3524

Who will still pay homage to both Turk and Hindu On the Day when faces

shall become white or black 242?

Story:

Luqmān-e Ḥakīm (“Luqmān243 the Wise”)

and the proof of the Day of Judgement. [1.7.2]

1-3584

In the eyes of his master, Luqmān was despicable because of his body (outward

aspect), compared to the other slaves.

1-3586

Among the slaves Luqmān was despised like a parasite; he was full of spiritual

ideas, dark-skinned as night.

1-3585

The master used to send the slaves to the garden, that fruit might be brought to

him for his pleasure.

1-3587

Those slaves, being impelled by greed, ate the whole of the fruit with pleasure.

1-3588

And told their master that Luqmān had eaten it, whereupon the master became

bitter and sorely displeased with Luqmān.

1-3589

When Luqmān inquired about and learned the cause of this, he opened his lips

to reproach his master.

1-3590

“O sir”, Luqmān said, “an unfaithful servant is not approved in the sight of

God.

1-3591

Put us all to the test, o noble sir: give us our fill of hot water to drink,

1-3592

and afterwards make us run into a great plain, you on horseback and we on

foot.

242 Qur’ān 3:106.

243 Ḥażrat Luqmān was a very wise and holy man who is mentioned in the Qur’ān, in the Sūra that is named after him (Sūra Luqmān, the 31st Sūra). He is believed to have been a Nubian, i.e. a black man. This is clear proof that Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī has no problem whatsoever with race.

94

1-3593

Then see the evildoer, see the things that are done by Him who reveals

mysteries!”

1-3594

The master gave the servants hot water to drink, and they drank it in fear of

him.

1-3595

Afterwards he drove them into the plains, and they ran amidst the cornfields.

1-3596

From distress they began to vomit: the hot water was bringing up the fruit from

within them.

1-3597

When Luqmān began to vomit from his belly, only the pure water came up

from within him.

1-3598

If Luqmān’s wisdom can make this clear, then what must be the wisdom of the

Lord of existence!

1-3599

On the day when all hidden thoughts shall be searched out 244, something

hidden and undesired will appear from you.

1-3600

When they shall be given hot water to drink 245, all the veils will be torn off

from that which is despised.

1-3601

The fire of Hell is made the torment of the infidels because fire is the proper

test for stones.

1-3602

How often, how often, have we spoken gently to our stony hearts, and they

would not accept the counsel!

1-3603

For a bad wound the vein requires a severe remedy: the teeth of the dog are

suitable for the donkey’s head.

The Third Rivulet [1.7.3]

The philosophy of death, and death

as a means of transformation.

5-789

Since the day you came into existence, you were fire or air or earth.

5-790

If you had remained in that condition, how should you have reached this

present height?

5-791

The Transmuter did not leave you in your first state of existence: He

established a better state of existence than the former one.

5-796

You have gained these successive lives from successive deaths: why have you

turned your face away from dying in Him?

244 Qur’ān, 86:9.

245 Qur’ān 10:4.

95

5-797

What loss did you suffer from those deaths, that you have clung to this earthly

life with such tenacity, o rat?

5-798

Since your second life is better than your first, seek to die to the world, and

worship the Transmuter.

5-799

O insolent man, you have experienced a hundred thousand resurrections at

every moment from the beginning of your existence until now:

5-800

From inanimateness you unconsciously moved towards vegetal growth, and

from vegetal growth towards animal life and tribulation.

5-801

Again, you moved towards reason and proper discernments; then again,

towards what lies outside of these five senses and six directions.

5-802

These footprints reach as far as the shore of the Ocean; then the footprints

disappear in the Ocean.

5-805

These Oceanic stages have no visible beacon: these resting-places have neither

sign nor name.

5-807

You have seen that this life was already implicitly present in previous deaths:

why, then, are you so attached to the life of the body?

Story. [1.7.3]

5-1760

A certain man was saying, “The world would be delightful, were it not for the

intervention of death.”

5-1761

The other said, “If there were no death, the tangled world would not be worth a

straw.

5-1762

It would be like a stack heaped up in the field, neglected and left unthreshed.

5-1763

You have taken death to be what is really life: you have sown your seed in a

barren soil.

5-1764

The false reason, indeed, sees the opposite of the truth: it sees life as death, o

man of weak judgement.”

5-1766

No one who has died is filled with grief because of death; his grief is caused by

having too little provision for the life hereafter;

5-1767

Otherwise he would not grieve, for he has come from a dungeon246 into the

open country amidst fortune, pleasure and delight.

5-1770

“It is the seat of truth,247 and there God is beside him: he is delivered from this

water and earth of the fire-temple248.

246 Literally “from a pit”.

96

The meaning of the ḥadīth:

“When a pious person dies, he or she regrets not being able to do yet

more good deeds by living longer, and when a bad person dies,

he or she regrets not having done any good deeds.249” [1.7.3]

6-1450

That commander of mankind250 has rightly said that no one who has passed

away from this world

6-1451

feels sorrow, regret and disappointment because of death; no, but he feels a

hundred regrets for having missed the opportunity,

6-1452

Saying to himself, “Why did I not make death my goal – death, which is the

storehouse of every fortune and every provision –

6-1453

And why, through seeing double, did I waste my life pursuing those phantoms

that vanished at the hour of death?

6-1454

The grief of the dead is not because of death; it is because (so they say) “we

dwelled on the outer forms.”

5-600

Consequently the present life has come first, in order that you may appreciate

the realm of Alast 251.

5-601

When you are delivered from this place and go to that place, you will give

thanks to God in the sugar-shop of everlastingness.

5-602

You will say, ‘There in the world below I was sifting dust, I was fleeing from

this pure world.

5-603

Alas, if only I had died earlier, so that my time of being tormented in the mud

might have been less!’

5-606

In reality everyone who dies wishes that the departure to this destination had

been earlier:

5-607

If he is wicked, in order that his wickedness might have been less; and if he is

devout, in order that he might have come home sooner.

247 Qur’ān 54:55.

248 I.e. from the material World where men are consumed with afflictions (Nich.).

249 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 440, Al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaghīr, Vol. 2, p. 147.

250 The Prophet (Nich.).

251 Qur’ān 7:172 – the Day of Alast: while all human souls already existed within God before creation, God asked them: “Am I not your Lord? ( a lastu bi-Rabbikum? )”, and they all answered “Yes! We testify!”. Ṣūfī

mystics have always endeavoured to inwardly remember the Day of Alast, in order to return to man’s true inner state, which is the awareness of the soul’s existence in the love of God, just as the love of God has always existed within the souls of mankind.

97

One of the meanings of death is that it manifests the Truth. [1.7.3]

Allegory. [1.7.3]

4-3001

Moses said, “O Lord of the Reckoning, You created the form: how did You

destroy it again?

4-3002

You have made the form, male and female, that gives joy to the spirit; and then

You destroy it: why?”

4-3003

God said, “I know that this question of yours does not stem from disbelief,

heedlessness and idle fancy;

4-3004

Otherwise I would have corrected and chastised you: I would have afflicted

you because of this question.

4-3005

But I know that you wish to discover in My actions the wisdom and hidden

meaning of the continuity of existence252.

4-3006

That you may make the lowly familiar with them and in doing so make every

raw (ignorant) person to become cooked253.

4-3015

Then God spoke to him, saying, “O you who possess the most excellent

understanding, since you have asked the question, come, hear the answer.

4-3016

O Moses, sow some seed in the earth, that you yourself may find the answer to

this question.”

4-3017

When Moses had sown and the grain seed was fully grown and its ears had

become beautiful and symmetrical;

4-3018

He took the sickle and was cutting the crop, when a voice from the Unseen

reached his ear,

4-3019

Crying, “Why do you sow and tend grain seed and cut it when it has become

perfect?”

4-3020

He replied, “O Lord, I destroy and lay it low because straw is here and also

grain.

4-3021

The grain is not suitable to be stored in the straw-barn; likewise, the straw is

unfit for putting in the grain barn.

4-3022

It is not wise to mix these two: wisdom makes it necessary to separate them

while winnowing.”

252 I.e. the constant renewal of existence through death and rebirth, the coming and going of being and things.

253 This verse is reminiscent of a famous verse from Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī, in which he summarized his life as follows: “The result of my life in brief is: I was unripe, I became ripe, I was burnt”

( Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī, Ghazal 1768, line 18521).

98

4-3023

God said, “From whom did you gain this knowledge, which enabled you to

construct a threshing floor?”

4-3024

He replied, “You, o God, gave me discernment.” God said, “Then how should I

not have discernment?”

4-3025

Amongst the created beings are pure spirits; there are also dark and muddy

spirits.

4-3026

These shells are not the same: in one of them is the pearl and in another the

worthless bead.

4-3027

It is necessary to make manifest the difference between this good and evil, just

as it is necessary to distinguish the wheat from the straw.

4-3028

The creation of these creatures of the world is for the purpose of manifestation,

in order that the treasure of Divine providences may not remain hidden254.

The Fourth Rivulet [1.7.4]

The everlastingness of the soul and the transitoriness of the body.

1-3267

The body is boasting of its beauty and attractiveness, while the spirit, having

concealed its glory, feathers and plumes,

1-3268

says to it, “O dunghill, who are you? Through my beams you have come to life

for a day or two.

1-3269

Your coquetry and prideful airs are not contained in the world (go beyond all

bounds), but wait until I spring up and escape from you!

1-3265

The plants say, “We are green of ourselves, we are merry and smiling

(blooming) and we are tall by nature.”

1-3266

The season of summer says to them, “O peoples, look at yourselves as I leave!”

3-4224

Your stature is normally unchangeable, but your shadow is now short, then

long.

3-1611

To the spirit the knowledge of the Unity of God is sweeter than care for the

body: it has a hand and a foot different from those which are visible255.

3-1612

In dreams you may see the spiritual hand and foot and their connection with the

spiritual body: consider that vision a reality, do not consider it imaginary.

3-1613

Even without the material body you have a spiritual body: therefore do not fear

the departure of the soul from the body.

254 Ḥadīth Qudsī: “I was a hidden treasure and desired to be known, so I created mankind, in order that I might be known”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 120; Al-Lu’lu’ al-Marṣū‘ p. 61.

255 I.e. “it has a hidden hand and foot”.

99

1-712

Without question, in this body the spirit that lacks reality is as a wooden sword

in the sheath.

3-1729

This world is a dream – do not cling to false opinions; if in dream a hand is

lost, no harm will come to you.

3-1730

If in a dream a pruning saw has cut off your head, not only will your head still

be in its place but also will your life be prolonged.

3-1733

The Prophet said of this world, which is unchanging in appearance, that it is the

sleeper’s dream256.

3-1738

If the potter breaks a pot, he himself will restore it to a perfect state when he

wishes.

The story of the Prophet ‘Uzayr’s ass257. [1.7.4]

3-1763

“Hey, ‘Uzayr, look at your ass which has rotted and crumbled into pieces at

your side.

3-1764

We will gather its parts in your presence – its head, tail, ears and legs.”

3-1765

There is no visible hand, and yet He is putting the parts together and giving a

wholeness to the scattered pieces.

3-1768

“Open your eyes and behold the resurrection clearly, that no doubt may remain

in you concerning the Day of Judgement,

3-1769

And that you may fully witness My power to unite, so that at the time of death

you wilt not tremble with anxiety,

3-1770

Even as during sleep you feel secure from (have no fear of) the passing of all

the bodily senses:

3-1771

When you are asleep you do not fear for your senses, even though they become

scattered and ruined.”

3-1877

Since He gives light without any lamp — if your lamp is gone, why are you

lamenting?

The treasure of the soul is hidden in the ruins of the body.

By experiencing voluntary death (Fārsī: marg-e ikhtiyārī,

Arabic: al-mawtu’l-irādī) you reach that treasure. [1.7.4]

4-2532

No, but you will begin to desire death as the sucking baby desires milk, not

because of the pain that holds you in its grip.

256 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 282; Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm ad-Dīn, Vol. 3, p. 148.

257 Qur’ān 2:259. ‘Uzayr is usually identified with the Biblical Prophet Ezra.

100

4-2533

You will be seeking death, but because of painful infirmity; no, you will see

the treasure of the ruin of the house (of the body).

4-2540

Demolish the house, for a hundred thousand houses may be made from the

cornelian258 of this Yemen.

4-2541

The treasure lies beneath the house, and there is no help for it: do not be afraid

of destroying the house and do not stand still259.

4-2542

For from one treasure in hand it is possible to build a thousand houses without

suffering toil and pain.

4-2543

In the end this house will fall into ruin of itself and the treasure beneath it will

certainly be uncovered;

4-2544

But the treasure will not be yours, since the spirit receives that Divine gift as

wages for destroying the house.

4-2545

When it has not done that work, its wages are nothing: there is nothing for Man

hereafter but the reward for that which he accomplished here260.

4-2546

After that, you will gnaw your hand in remorse, saying, “Alas, a moon like this

was concealed under the cloud.

4-2547

I did not do the good which they told me to do: the treasure and the house are

gone, and my hand is empty.”

4-2562

I saw beautiful pictures and paintings in the house: I was without self-control in

my love of the house.

4-2563

I was unaware of any hidden treasure; otherwise, the axe would have been as

the pomander in my hand261.

4-2564

Ah, if I had given the axe its due, I would now be free from grief.

258 A pale to deep red or reddish-brown variety of clear chalcedony (a microcrystalline, translucent variety of quartz) used in jewelry.

259 In Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s parlance, “destroying and ruining the body” means to transform the sensual

desires, which are derived from the nafs, i.e. ego.

260 Qur’ān 53:39-41.

261 I.e. “I should have taken delight in holding and wielding the axe (of self-mortification).” (Nich.). Pomander: A mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a bag or box as a protection against odour or infection.

101

The Fifth Rivulet [1.7.5]

In the afterlife you shall reap what you have sown in this life.

Ḥadīth: “The way people have lived determines the way

they die and the way they will be resurrected262.”

2-963

At the time of the Resurrection every accident has a particular form, and the

form of every accident263 has a way of appearing before God.

2-977

Where do those accidents come from? From ideas. And where do these ideas

come from? From thoughts.

2-978

This world is one thought, emanating from the Universal Intellect: the Intellect

is like a king, and the ideas are his envoys.

2-979

The first world is the world of trial; the second world is the world of reward for

this and that.

2-1419

You need to rise from the dead in the same manner of acting and form that

prevails in your nature.

2-1418

The decision as to what you are belongs to the disposition which is

predominant: when the gold is more than the copper, the mixture is gold.

1-1687

On the day of Resurrection the skills and dispositions will return to their

rightful owner, like articles of property.

1-1690

Like carrier pigeons, they bring useful things to know from other cities to their

own city.

1-2013

He made the earth so that it filled his grave: he vivified his seed under the

earth.

1-2014

These trees are like the buried ones: they have lifted up their hands from the

earth.

1-2019

Although He put them to death in winter, He revived them by means of spring

and gave them leaves.

5-3971

This new springtime after the fall of the leaves is a proof of the existence of

Resurrection.

5-3972

In spring the secrets are revealed: whatever this Earth has eaten is exposed to

view.

5-3973

It shoots up from her mouth and lips in order that she may bring to light her

hidden mind and way.

262 Qur’ān 78: 18. Aḥadīth-e Mathnawī, p. 81; Muslim, Vol. 8, p. 130.

263 Here, “accident” ( ‘araż, from the Arabic ‘araḍ) is used a philosophical term, meaning “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something”.

102

Sleeping, or being dead, and being awake, or being

alive, can be compared with each other. [1.7.5]

5-1780

Dawn is the little Resurrection: o seeker of refuge with God, judge from it what

the greater Resurrection will be like.

5-1781

Even as the soul flies towards the clay of its body, the scroll of every one’s

good and evil actions will fly into the left hand or the right264.

5-1782

Into his hand will be put the scroll (register) of avarice and generosity, impiety

and piety, and all the good or evil dispositions265 that he had formed

yesterday266.

5-1783

At dawn when he wakes from slumber, that good and evil will come back to

him.

5-1784

If he has disciplined his moral nature, the same purified nature will present

itself to him when he awakes;

5-1785

And if yesterday he was ignorant, wicked and misguided, he will find his left

hand black as a letter of mourning267;

5-1786

But if yesterday he was morally clean, pious and religious, he will gain the

precious pearl when he awakes.

5-1787

Our sleep and waking are two witnesses which attest the significance of death

and Resurrection to us.

5-1788

The lesser Resurrection has revealed the greater Resurrection; the lesser death

has shed light on the greater death.

5-1789

But in the present life this scroll of our good and evil actions is an illusion,

hidden from our sight, even though it will be seen very clearly at the greater

Resurrection.

5-1790

Here this illusion is hidden, only the traces are visible; but there God will

produce actual forms from this illusion.

5-1791

See the idea of a house in the architect, hidden in his mind like a seed in a piece

of earth.

5-1793

Every idea that makes its abode in the mind will become a visible form on the

Day of Resurrection.

264 Qur’ān 84:7-13.

265 I.e. habits of mind, attitudes, and character attributes.

266 I.e. in this world (Nich.).

267 I.e. the black list of his actions on earth will be placed in his left hand, since he is one of the damned (Nich.).

103

5-1794

Like the architect’s idea conceived in his thought; like the plant produced in the

earth that takes the seed.

It is God’s will that no deceased person let us

know anything from the other world. [1.7.5]

6-3524

The Khwāja268 said, “O excellent bailiff, I have heard what you said, point by

point,

6-3525

But I was not commanded to answer, and I dared not open my lips without

being directed.

6-3526

Now that we have become acquainted with the conditions and degrees of the

spiritual world, a seal has been laid upon our lips,

6-3527

in order that the mysteries of the Unseen would not be divulged, thus

destroying the life and livelihood of mortals,

6-3528

and in order that the veil of forgetfulness would not be entirely torn and the

meat in the pot of tribulation would not be left half-raw.

6-3529

we are all ear, although the material form of the ear has become deaf: we are all

speech, but our lips are silent.

6-3530

We now see the result of everything that we gave during our life in the world:

the material world is the veil, and the spiritual world is the vision.

6-3531

The day of sowing is the day of concealment and scattering seed in a piece of

earth.

6-3532

The season of reaping and the time of wielding the sickle is the day of reward

and manifestation.

2-940

On the day of death this sense-perception of yours will vanish: do you have the

spiritual light that should be the companion of your heart?

2-941

When dust shall fill these eyes in the tomb, do you have that which will make

the grave bright?

2-942

At the time when your hands and feet shall be torn to shreds, do you have

wings and feathers that your spirit may fly upwards?

268 Khwāja (< Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

In Sufism, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, it takes on the meaning of “Master”, e.g. Ḥażrat Khwāja

Mu‘īnu’ddīn Chishtī, the great Ṣūfī Saint of Ajmēr, Rājasthān, India. But also outside the Indian subcontinent Ṣūfī Masters have borne this title. A few examples: the prominent Persian Ṣūfī mystic and prolific author Ḥażrat Khwāja ‘Abdullāh Anṣārī of Herāt (1006-1088 CE) and the influential Turkic Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Aḥmad Yasawī (1093-1066 CE), who lived and worked in Kazākhstān. It is also worth mentioning that between

the 12th and 14th centuries CE the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order was known as Ṭarīqat-e Khwājagān, i.e. “the Way of the Masters” ( Khwājagā n is the plural of Khwāja). The Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order took its present name from the illustrious Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Bahā’u’ddīn Shāh Naqshband of Bukhārā (1318–1389 CE).

104

2-943

When this animal soul is no more, it befits you to replace it with the everlasting

spirit.

The Sixth Rivulet [1.7.6]

True lovers see death as a liberation.

Before he died, Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī said:

“By the Lord of the Ka‘ba, I am liberated269.” [1.7.6]

3-3934

Let the bodily form go: who am I in reality? Is not the bodily figure of little

importance when I am everlasting?

3-3935

Since by the grace of God the Divine spirit was breathed into me270, I am the

breath of God which is kept apart from the windpipe of the body.

1-3967

Desire for death became the badge of the sincere, for this word (declaration)

was made a test for the deniers of the Truth271.

How God tested the deniers of the Truth by

challenging them to invoke death272. [1.7.6]

3-3937

Since God said, ‘Desire death, O you who are sincere,’ I am sincere: I will

lavish my soul upon this (I will sacrifice my life for this purpose).”

3-3951

Death and migration from this earthly abode has become as sweet to me as

leaving the cage and flying is sweet to the captive bird —

3-3952

The cage that is in the very midst of the garden, so that the bird sees the rose—

beds and the trees,

3-3953

While outside, around the cage, a multitude of birds is sweetly chanting tales of

liberty:

3-3954

When it sees that verdant place, neither desire for food remains to the bird in

the cage, nor patience and rest,

269 Literally, Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī is reported to have said: “Fuztu wa Rabbi’l-Ka‘ba” – “By the Lord of the Ka‘ba, I have triumphed”, implying that his triumph liberated him. He uttered these words after having been mortally wounded with a poisoned sword (see Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 124 – Tafsīr-e Abū’l-Futūḥ, Vol. 5, p. 318).

270 Literally, “I was (the object of the verse of the Qur’ān in which God says) ‘ I breathed’.” (Nich.) - Qur’ān 15:29.

271 In Nicholson’s translation it says “Jews” instead of “deniers of Truth”. But this is wrong. The word which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses in the Mathnawī is jahūdān, the plural or jahūd, which is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”). Jahūd or jahūdān is best translated as “deniers of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood. It is usually translated as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e. “someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

272 Qur’ān 62:6.

105

3-3955

But it puts out its head through every hole, that perhaps it may tear off this

fetter from its leg.

3-3956

Since its heart and soul are already outside like this, how will it be when you

open the cage?

1-1346

Likewise, the spirits confined in water and clay, when they escape from their

prisons of clay glad at heart,

1-1347

Begin to dance in the air of Divine Love and become flawless like the full

moon’s orb.

3-4100

O friends, I am not one of those (without experience), that idle fancies should

make me halt on the Way.

3-4102

I am done with pomp and ostentation. ‘ Say, come’273: He (the Beloved) said to

my soul, ‘Come’.”

1-3933

To me the berry of dying has become sweet: the words “no, they are living”274

have come from God for my sake.

1-3934

Kill me, my trusted friends, kill me, despicable as I am, for in my being killed

is my everlasting life275.

1-3936

If my staying in this world did not separate me from God, He would not have

said, ‘ Verily, we are returning to Him.’ 276”

1-3937

The returning one is he who comes back to his native city, and, fleeing from

the revolution of Time, approaches the Unity.

1-3943

This body has no value in my view: without my body I am the noble-spirited,

the son of the noble.

1-3944

Dagger and sword have become my sweet basil: my death has become my

banquet and narcissus garden.’”

3-4186

The existence of the animal originated from the death of the plant: therefore the

command “kill me, o trustworthy friends” is right.

3-4187

Since there is such a victory for us after the checkmate of death, the words

“verily, in my being killed there is a life” are true.

273 Qur’ān 3:61 and 6:151.

274 Qur’ān 2:154.

275 This verse and the quotes between brackets in the verses 3-4186 and 3-4187 are taken from the Dīwān

(collection of poems) of Ḥażrat Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj, the famous Ṣūfī martyr (ca. 858-922 CE).

276 Qur’ān, 2:156.

106

The story of Sayyidu’sh-Shuhadā (“The Chief of Martyrs”)

Ḥamza277, who passionately sought after “the elixir

of death” in order to gain eternal life. [1.7.6]

3-3419

Whenever Ḥamza went into the battlefield at the end of his life, he would

enter the fray like one intoxicated, without a coat of mail.

3-3420

Advancing with open breast and naked body, he would throw himself into the

sword-bearing ranks.

3-3421

The people asked him, saying, “O uncle of the Prophet, o Lion who breaks the

ranks of the adversaries, o prince of the champions278,

3-3424

When you were young and strongly-knit279, you did not go into the battle line

without a coat of mail.

3-3425

Now that you have become old, infirm and bent, you are knocking at the doors

of recklessness,

3-3426

And with sword and spear, like one who fears nothing, you are grappling,

struggling and straining yourself.

3-3429

Ḥamza said, “When I was young, I used to consider farewell to this world as

death.

3-3430

How should anyone go to death eagerly? How should he come naked

(unarmed) to meet the dragon?

3-3431

But now, through the Light of Muḥammad, I am not subject to this transitory

world.

3-3432

Beyond the realm of the senses, I see the camp of the Divine King filled with

the army of the Light of God.

3-3433

Tent on tent and tent-rope on tent-rope. Thanks be to Him who awakened me

from slumber!”

3-3434

The one in whose eyes death is destruction – he clings to the Divine command,

“Do not cast yourselves into destruction”280;

3-3435

And the one to whom death is the opening of the gate – for him in the Divine

Allocution (the Qur’ān) there is the command, “Race with each other in

hastening” 281.

277 Even though Ḥamza ibn ‘Abdi’l-Muṭallib was one of the Prophet’s uncles, they were of about the same age

and grew up together. A fierce and brave warrior, he was a respected member of the Quraysh tribe. He died in

the Battle of Uḥud in 625 CE. After his heroic but brutal death Ḥażrat Muḥammad called him “the Chief of

Martyrs”.

278 Literally “stallions” (Nich.).

279 Literally “strung tight” (Nich.).

280 Qur’ān 2:195.

107

The meaning of the ḥadīth:

“If anyone wants to meet God with love,

God too will meet him with love.282” [1.7.6]

3-3439

Everyone’s death reflects his own qualities, my son: to the enemy of God an

enemy, and to the friend of God a friend.

3-3440

In the eyes of the Turk the mirror has a light colour; similarly, in the eyes of

the Ethiopian the mirror is dark as an Ethiopian.

3-3438

Whoever considers death to be beautiful like Joseph gives up his soul in

exchange for it; whoever considers it to be like the wolf turns back from the

path of right guidance.

3-3441

Your fear of death in fleeing from it is really your fear of yourself.283 Take

heed, o dear soul!

3-3442

It is your own ugly face, not the countenance of death: your spirit is like a tree,

and death is like the leaf.

3-3443

It has grown from you, whether it is good or evil: every hidden thought of

yours, good or bad, is born from within yourself.

The story of Bilāl al-Ḥabashī284, who embraced death with joy. [1.7.6]

3-3517

When weakness made Bilāl grow thin as the new moon, the colour of death fell

on his face.

3-3518

His wife saw him in this state and cried, “O sorrow!” Then Bilāl said to her,

“No, no! Say, ‘O joy!’

3-3519

Until now living has caused me pain and suffering: how should you know how

delightful death is, and what it is in reality?”

3-3527

Bilāl’s wife said to him, “This is the separation, o man of fine qualities.” “No,

no,” he said, “It is the union, the union with God.”

3-3228

The wife said, “Tonight you will go to a strange country, you will become

absent from your family and relatives.”

3-3529

“No, no,” he replied; “on the contrary, tonight in reality my spirit is coming

home from a strange country.”

281 Qur’ān 57:21.

282 Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazzālī, Ihyā’ ‘Ulūm ad-Dīn, Vol. 5, Second edition, Abnā’ Sharīf Al-Anṣārī Publishing Company, Al-Maktaba Al-‘Aṣrīya, Beirut, Lebanon, 1417 AH/1996 CE.

283 Literally “that which you fear from death in flight – you are (really) fearing that from yourself.” (Nich.).

284 “Bilāl the Ethiopian”, a freed slave, who became the first muezzin.

108

3-3530

She said, “Where shall we see your face?” He answered, “In God’s chosen

circle.”

3-3531

His chosen circle is close to you, if you look upward, not downward.

3-3533

“Alas,” she said, “this house has been ruined.” “Look at the moon,” he said.

“do not look at the cloud.

3-3534

He has ruined it in order that He may make it more flourishing: my relatives

were numerous and the house was too small.

3-3536

I was a beggar in this dungeon-like house; now I have become a king: a palace

is needed for a king.”

3-3537

Truly, palaces are the place for spiritual kings to dwell in; for him who is

spiritually dead a grave is a sufficient house and dwelling.

3-3538

To the Prophets this world seemed narrow: like kings, they went into the world

of spacelessness285.

To Prophets and Saints death is the

gateway to the City of Eternity. [1.7.6]

5-1713

Bodily death is not bitter to them, since they go from a dungeon and prison into

a garden.

3-1727

And that, if the mortar of the Sky (Fortune) should pound them small a hundred

times in this muddy place (the material world),

3-1728

Yet, since they had seen the origin of this bodily composition, they were not

afraid of the derivatives (which belong to the domain) of imagination.

5-1714

They have been delivered from the world of torment: no one weeps for the loss

of what amounts to nothing, nothing.

5-1721

The soul, freed from the turmoil of the body, is soaring on the wings of the

heart (spirit) without bodily feet (means of movement).

5-1722

Like the prisoner in a dungeon who falls asleep at night and dreams of a rose-garden,

5-1723

and says, “O God, do not bring me back to my body, but leave me alone so that

I may walk as a prince286 in this garden.”

5-1724

God says to him, “Your prayer is granted: do not go back” – and God knows

the right course best.

285 Lā Makān, literally meaning “no place”, or “spaceless space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

286 Literally “advance and retreat (on the battlefield)” (Nich.).

109

5-1725

Consider how delightful such a dream is! Without having seen death, the

dreamer goes into Paradise.

5-1736

People will say, “Poor so-and-so is dead,” but you will say, “I am living, o you

heedless ones!

5-1737

Even though my body, like other bodies, is laid to rest, the Eight Paradises

have blossomed in my heart.”

5-1738

When the spirit is lying at rest amidst roses and eglantines, what does it matter

if the body is buried in that dung?

5-1739

What should the spirit that has been laid asleep in this way know of the body,

or care whether the body is in a rose-garden or an ash-pit?

5-1740

For in the bright celestial world the spirit is crying, “O, if only my people

knew! 287”

4-442

Those persons, then, who have passed from the world are not non-existent, but

they are immersed in the Divine Attributes.

4-443

All their attributes are absorbed in the Attributes of God, just like the star is left

without trace in the presence of the sun.

4-444

If you demand a citation from the Qur’ān, o stubborn one, recite all of them

shall be brought into Our presence 288.

4-445

The person denoted by the word muḥḍarūn (those brought into the presence) is

not non-existent ( ma‘dūm). Consider this well, that you may gain some

knowledge of the everlasting life ( baqā) of the spirits.

3-3571

Every state of heaviness (sloth) and indolence, indeed, is derived from the

body; the spirit is always flying because of its lightness (subtlety).

287 Qur’ān 36:26.

288 Qur’ān 36:32 and 36:53.

110

The Seventh Rivulet [1.7.7]

Voluntary death289 and the meaning of

the ḥadīth: “Die before you die.290”

Poem by Sanā’ī of Ghazna291:

“If you yearn for eternal life, then, o friend, die before you die, for

Idrīs292 attained Paradise before us by dying in this manner.” [1.7.7]

4-2272

To die before death is to be safe, o young man: this was the command of

Muṣṭafā293 (Muḥammad) to us.

4-2273

He said, “Die, all of you, before death comes; otherwise you will die with the

certainty of suffering greatly afterwards.

4-3108

The king says, “The wind is fierce and my lamp is dying out (is an imperfect

one): I will light another lamp from it.

4-3110

Like the Gnostic who, for the sake of gaining freedom from care, has lit the

candle of the heart (spirit) from this defective lamp of the body,

4-3111

In order that, if one day this bodily lamp should suddenly die, he may place the

candle of the spirit before his eye.

6-3837

The mystery of “Die before death” is that the prizes come after dying (and not

before).

6-3838

Apart from dying, no other skill is of use to God, o cunning schemer.

6-3839

One Divine favour is better than a hundred kinds of personal effort: these may

bring about a hundred kinds of harm.

6-3840

And the Divine favour depends on dying: the trustworthy ones have put this

doctrine to the test.

6-3841

No, not even the mystic’s death is possible without the Divine favour: listen,

listen, do not tarry anywhere without the Divine favour!

6-723

You have suffered much agony, but you are still in the veil, because dying to

self was the fundamental principle, and you have not fulfilled it.

289 Voluntary death = fanā’ fi’Llāh (“annihilation in God”) or faqr (“spiritual poverty”).

290 Ahādīth-e Mathnawī, p. 370; also see Qur’ān 6:122.

291 “Sage of Ghazna”: the Persian Ṣūfī poet Ḥakīm Sanā’ī of Ghazna (d. ca.1131 CE). He was the first poet to

write a major mathnawī, entitled Ḥadīqatu’l-Ḥaqīqa wa Sharī‘atu’ṭ-Ṭarīqa (“The Walled Garden of Truth and the Law of the Path”). This work also was an inspiration to Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī.

292 Idrīs: a Prophet who is usually identified with the Biblical Prophet Enoch.

293 Al-Muṣṭafā is an epithet of the Prophet meaning “the Chosen One”, with the implication that Ḥażrat Muḥammad was chosen by God because of his purity – ṣafā in Arabic. Muṣṭafā and ṣafā are both derived from the Arabic verbal root, ṣ-f-w, meaning “to be pure”, “to purify” etc.

111

6-724

Your agony is not finished until you die: you cannot reach the roof without

completing the ladder.

6-725

When two rungs out of a hundred are deficient, the aspirer will be forbidden to

set foot on the roof.

6-726

When the rope lacks one yard out of a hundred, how should the water go from

the well into the bucket?

6-730

Since you have not died, your agony has been prolonged: be extinguished in

the dawn, o candle of Tirāz294!

6-731

Know that the Sun of the world is hidden until our stars have become hidden.

6-738

O you who possess sincerity, if you want that Reality unveiled, choose death

and tear off the veil –

6-739

Not such a death that you will go into a grave, but a death consisting of

spiritual transformation, so that you will go into a Light.

6-740

When a man grows up, his childhood dies; when he becomes a light-skinned

Greek, he washes out the darkish colour of the Ethiopian.

6-741

When earth becomes gold, its earthly aspect does not remain; when sorrow

becomes joy, the thorn of sorrowfulness does not remain.

6-820

Listen, how is this made known to you? By means of the spiritual resurrection.

Seek to experience that resurrection: do not dispute about that resurrection.

6-821

The necessary condition to experience the Day of Resurrection is to die first,

for the word ba‘th (resurrection) means “to raise to life from the dead.”

1-264

Because of this the whole world has gone astray: hardly anyone is aware of

God’s Abdāl (Substitutes)295.

6-822

Consequently all the world has taken the wrong way, for they are afraid of non-existence, even though in reality it is the refuge in which they find salvation.

6-823

How shall we seek true knowledge? By renouncing our false knowledge. How

shall we seek true peace? By renouncing peace with our carnal selves.

6-824

How shall we seek real existence? By renouncing illusory existence. How shall

we seek the apple of Truth? By renouncing the hand of self-assertion and self-interest.

294 I.e. “o beautiful one” (Nich.).

295 See footnote on “Quṭb” - Fourth River, First Rivulet, verse 2-3659. Even though the term Abdāl usually denotes a lesser degree of Saint in the hidden hierarchy of Saints, here it means the Saints who are next in rank to the Quṭb, who is at the pinnacle of this hierarchy. To understand this verse [1-264], it is helpful to know the preceding one [1-263]: “Do measure the actions of holy men by (the analogy of) yourself, even though shēr (lion) and shīr (milk) are written in the same way (ﺮﻴﺷ).”

112

6-825

O best Helper, only You can make the eye – that sees the non-existent – see

that which is really existent.

6-826

The eye that was produced from non-existence saw the Essence of real Being

as wholly non-existent;

The resurrection, the renewal or transformation

and the impermanence of beings296. [1.7.7]

6-827

But, if your two eyes are transformed and illumined, this well-ordered world

becomes the scene of the Last Judgement297.

6-761

In the whole world, both men and women are continually in agony and dying.

1-1144

Every moment the world is renewed, and we are unaware of its being renewed

while it remains the same in appearance.

1-1145

Like the stream, life is continually renewed, even though in the body it takes on

the appearance of everlastingness.

1-1147

If you whirl a piece of burning wood rapidly, it appears to the eye as a very

long line of fire.

1-1148

The swift motion produced by the action of God presents this length of

duration (Time) as a phenomenon arising from the rapidity of God’s action298.

1-1142

Every instant, then, you are dying and returning: Muṣṭafā declared that this

world only lasts for a single moment299.

1-2110

At every moment the call, “Am not I your Lord? ” 300 comes from Him and

substance and accidents301 become existent.

1-2111

If they do not answer “Yes”, then their coming from non-existence into

existence still is equivalent to “Yes”.

1-2222

From the Unseen soul and spirit come into human existence, like running

water.

296 Qur’ān 15:50.

297 I.e. “what is universally and eternally true.”

298 I.e. “This impression of continuity arises from the rapidity of God’s action.”

299 Ḥadīth: Aḥādith-e Mathnawī p. 56; Al-Lu’lu’u’l-Marṣū‘ p. 36.

300 Qur’ān 7:172 – the Day of Alast: while all human souls already existed within God before creation, God asked them: “Am I not your Lord? ( a lastu bi-Rabbikum? )”, and they all answered “Yes! We testify!”. Ṣūfī

mystics have always endeavoured to inwardly remember the Day of Alast, in order to return to man’s true inner state, which is the awareness of the soul’s existence in the love of God, just as the love of God has always existed within the souls of mankind.

301 Here, “accident” is used as a philosophical term, meaning “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of

something”.

113

5-3641

Even if a hundred thousand “states”302 came here and went back to the Unseen,

o trusted friend.

5-3642

Each day’s “state” is not like that of the day before: they are passing as a river

that has no obstacle in its course.

5-3543

Each day’s joy is of a different kind, each day’s thought makes a different

impression.

“Every day God embarks on a new task” - this means:

Each time God is manifested in a different form303 and

the meaning of time according to the Ṣūfīs. [1.7.7]

1-133

The Ṣūfī is the son of the present time304, o friend: it is not the rule of the Way

to say ‘Tomorrow.’

1-134

Are you not indeed a Ṣūfī, then? That which you hold in your hand is reduced

to nothing by postponing the payment.”

6-2719

Listen, come, o soul of my soul, o you are the soul of a hundred worlds305,

gladly take the opportunity of seizing the cash of this present moment.

6-2720

Do not stealthily remove your moonlike face from the night travellers, do not

withdraw yourself from this riverbed, o flowing water.

6-2722

When you see that verdure is fresh306 on the river’s brim, then you can know

even from a distance that water is there.

6-2725

But the freshness of every beautiful rose garden is clear evidence of the rain

that was hidden from view.

6-2721

But flow in order that the river bank may laugh (may be made to blossom), by

the running water, and that jasmines may raise their heads on each brim of the

river.

302 “states”: ḥāl, plural aḥwāl or ḥālāt – a ḥāl is a temporary mystical state, as opposed to maqām (plural maqāmāt), usually rendered as “station”, a lasting level of mystical attainment. A maqām is realized through one’s own efforts on the Path, while a ḥāl is a grace bestowed by God.

303 Cf. Qur’ān 55:29. This is one of the quotes of the Ṣūfī mystic Ḥażrat Shaykh Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī (d. 996

CE), mentioned in Ḥażrat Shaykh Fakhru’d-Dīn ‘Irāqī’s Lama’āt (“Divine Flashes”) and in his Kulliyyāt (“Complete Works”), p. 382. Ḥażrat Shaykh Fakhru’d-Dīn ‘Irāqī was a Ṣūfī mystic and writer who died in 1289

CE.

304 “Son of the present time” ( ibnu’l-waqt): a true Ṣūfī lives in the Eternal Now and is concerned with neither past nor future.

305 Or, “o you who are a hundred worlds to me.” (Nich.).

306 Literally, “intoxicated” or “drunk” (Nich.).

114

The Eighth Rivulet [1.7.8]

Hell and Paradise.

The four kinds of Paradise:

1: the Paradise of the nafs, which is full of pleasure, is promised

by the Sharī‘a as a reward to those who do good307.

2: the Paradise which is inherited by following the Path

of the Prophet Muḥammad and of the Saints308.

3: the spiritual Paradise, which is the heart

where the Divine manifests Itself309.

4: the Paradise of the Highest Spiritual Delight, which is

the Paradise where the soul beholds the beauty of God.

Whether one attains Paradise depends on how great one’s love

of God is; Hell equally has levels; the level one reaches

also depends on how great one’s wickedness is. [1.7.8]

4-472

God said that the wall of Paradise is not lifeless and ugly like other walls;

4-473

Like the door and wall of the body, it is endowed with intelligence: the house

(Paradise) is living since it belongs to the King of kings.

4-474

Tree, fruit and clear water take part in conversation and discourse with the

inhabitant of Paradise.

4-475

Because Paradise has not been built with the builder’s materials; no, but it has

been built with good deeds and intentions.

4-477

This edifice resembles its foundation which is full of defect, and that edifice

resembles its foundation, which is knowledge and action.

4-478

Throne, palace, crown and robes engage in conversation with the inhabitant of

Paradise.

4-482

The life of the everlasting Abode (Paradise) exists in the heart: it does not

come on my tongue, so why should I try to describe it?

The metaphorical picture of the palaces of Paradise. [1.7.8]

5-1741

If the spirit shall not live without this body, then for whom shall Heaven be the

palace of everlasting Abode?

307 Qur’ān 41:31. Mystics don’t care for the pleasures that the Sharī‘a promises. To them, there can be no

Paradise without the nearness to or the union with the Beloved. In their view, the Paradise of pleasure that is promised by the Sharī ‘a, is no better than remaining in the stage of the unpurified and tyrannical nafs ( an-nafsu’l-ammāra or nafs-e ammāra).

308 Qur’ān 23:10-11.

309 309 Qur’ān 89:29-30.

115

5-1742

If your spirit shall not live without the body, for whom is the blessing promised

in the words in Heaven is your provision 310?

5-1743

If you are delivered from this provision of coarse scraps, you will fall to eating

dainty and noble food.

5-1744

Even if you are eating a hundred pounds’ weight of His food, you will depart

pure and light as a parī 311 .

5-1745

For they will not make you a prisoner of (incapacitated by) wind and dysentery

and crucify you with belly cramps.

5-1748

Ride like a ship on such a spiritual ocean by eating the Food of God and the

easily digested (delicious) nutriment.

4-2517

Perhaps, by the effect of the river of honey312, this poison of hatred may be

turned into honey in my body;

4-2518

Or by the reflection of the river of that pure milk, my captive intelligence may

be nourished for a moment;

4-2519

Or perhaps, by the reflection of those rivers of wine, I may be intoxicated and

catch a scent of the delight of obedience to the Divine command;

4-2520

Or perhaps, by the favour of those rivers of water, my barren devastated body

may be refreshed –

4-2521

Some verdure may appear on my barren soil, my thorn thicket may become the

Garden of everlasting Abode;

4-2522

Perhaps, by the reflection of Paradise and the four rivers, with God’s help, my

spirit may become a seeker of the Friend.

The four rivers in Paradise313. [1.7.8]

5-1628

The Throne is the mine (source) of justice and equity: beneath it are four rivers

filled with forgiveness:

5-1629

Everlasting rivers of milk, honey, wine and running water.

5-1630

Then from the Throne they flow into Paradise; some little thing (offshoot)

appears in this world too,

5-1631

Although here those four rivers are defiled – by what? By the poison of

mortality and indigestion.

310 Qur’ān 51:22.

311 Parī: in Persian mythology, a beautiful and benevolent supernatural being or fairy.

312 Qur’ān 47:15.

313 Qur’ān 47:15.

116

5-1632

From each of those four rivers a draft has been poured on the dark Earth and a

temptation has been offered,

5-1633

In order that these vile wretches may seek its source; but these worthless

people are content with this draft.

5-1634

God has given milk and nourishment for babies: He has made the breast of

every wife a fountain of milk.

5-1635

He has given wine to drive away grief and care: of the grape He has made a

fountain to inspire courage.

5-1636

He has given honey as a remedy for the sick body: He has made the inner part

of the bee a fountain of honey.

5-1637

He gave water to both high and low for cleanliness and for drinking.

5-1638

The purpose is that you may follow the track from these offshoots towards their

origins; but you are content with this offshoot, o trifler.

Man creates Hell and Paradise by his or her

own character, by sowing and reaping. [1.7.8]

Poem by Ḥakīm Sanā’ī Ghaznawī314:

“Your actions are the seed of Hell and Paradise,

and you can sow this seed in yourself.” [1.7.8]

3-3457

When a man has sown a prostration or a bowing315 in prayer, in the Other

World his prostration becomes Paradise.

3-3460

When altruism and almsgiving have sprung up from your hand, the act of this

generous hand becomes date-palms and fresh herbage in the World Hereafter.

3-3461

The water (semen), namely your renunciation, became a river of water in

Paradise; your love and affection for God is a river of milk in Paradise.

3-3462

Delight in devotion became a river of honey; see your spiritual intoxication and

longing as a river of wine.

3-3464

Since these causes obeyed your command, the four rivers of Paradise likewise

showed obedience to you.

314 Ḥakīm Sanā’ī of Ghazna (ca. 1050-1131 CE) was one of the great Persian Ṣūfī poets. He was the first poet to write a major mathnawī, entitled Ḥadīqatu’l-Ḥaqīqa (“The Garden of Reality”). This work also was an inspiration to Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī.

315 Two positions in the Islamic ritual prayer: the position of rukū‘ (“bowing down”) is established by bending over, putting one’s hands on one’s knees, and remaining in that position until one attains inner calmness. The position of sujūd (“prostration”) is established by bowing down until one’s forehead, nose, the palms of both hands, both knees, and the tips of the toes touch the floor. Sujūd is considered the supreme symbol of humility, surrender and unconditional love of God. See also verse 5-2048 in the Second Rivulet of the First River.

117

3-3465

You make them flow in whatever direction you wish: you cause them to be of

the same quality (disposition) in the Next World as they were in this world.

3-3468

That praiseworthy quality obeyed your command in this world: likewise in the

Next World those rivers flow at your command.

3-3470

Since these qualities obey your command here, so your reward is at your

command there.

3-3469

Those trees of Paradise obey you, because those trees are made fruitful by your

good qualities.

Hell is but the reflection of bad deeds. [1.7.8]

3-3471

When blows from your hand struck the victim of injustice, they became a tree

in Hell: the Zaqqūm 316 grew from them.

3-3472

When in anger you threw fire into people’s hearts, you became the source of

Hellfire.

3-3473

Since your fire was burning mankind in this world, that which was born of it

was setting fire to men in Hell.

3-3474

Your fire of anger attacks the people here: the fire that sprang from it assaults

the people there.

3-3475

Your words resembling snakes and scorpions have become snakes and

scorpions and are seizing your tail (assailing you from behind).

3-3476

You kept the friends of God waiting: therefore you will be kept waiting at the

Resurrection317.

3-3477

Your promise, “Tomorrow” and “the day after tomorrow”, has become your

waiting on the Day of Gathering318: alas for you!

3-3480

Your anger is the seed of Hellfire: take heed, extinguish this Hell of yours, for

this is a trap.

3-3481

This fire cannot be extinguished except by the Light: “your light has put out

our fire319, we are the grateful.”

3-3482

If you lack the Light and carry out an act of kindness, it is evil: your fire of

anger is still alive and is still lurking in the smouldering cinders.

316 Zaqqūm: a tree that grows in hell according to Muslim belief. See Qur’ān 37:62 and 44:43-44.

317 Literally “the wait at the Resurrection has become your (destined) associate” (Nich.).

318 Day of Gathering ( Yawmu’l-Ḥashr): Judgement Day.

319 According to a Tradition ( Ḥadīth), on the Day of Judgement Hell will say to the true believer, while he is crossing the Bridge Sirāṭ, “Cross (in safety), for your light has put out my fire.” (Nich . ). Ahādīth-e Mathnawī, p.

182; Al-Jāmi‘ aṣ-Ṣaghīr, Vol. 11, p. 132.

118

3-3483

Beware! That kindness is nothing but ostentation and masking the truth:

nothing will extinguish the fire of anger except the Light of Religion.

3-3484

Do not be secure until you behold the Light of Religion, for one day the hidden

fire will become manifest.

The fire of desire and lust and the light of

Faith (īmān) are incompatible. [1.7.8]

6-3928

The Fire of Hell torments only the husks: the Fire has nothing to do with any

kernel;

6-3929

And if a fire should dart its flames at the kernel, know that it is in order to cook

it, not to burn it.

1-3604

The bad women for the bad men 320 is wisdom: the ugly is the mate and fitting

consort for the ugly.

2-83

Those of the Fire attract those of the Fire, those of the Light seek those of the

Light.

1-640

As the infidels were of the same nature as Sijjīn (Hell), they were well—

disposed to the prison ( sijn) of this world.

The true lover is not attached to thoughts of Hell and Paradise.

Love chases Hell and Paradise away. [1.7.8]

Poem:

“With my heart’s fire I shall set Paradise on fire,

and with my tears I shall extinguish Hell.” [1.7.8]

6-4607

The source of its heat lies beyond the realm of space321: the seven Hells are but

a smoke rising from the sparks of its fire.

6-4608

For this reason, o sincere man, Hell is weakened and extinguished by the fire of

Love.

6-4609

It says to the believer, “Pass speedily, o respected one, or else my fire will be

destroyed by your flames.”

6-4612

Paradise too says to him, “Pass like the wind, otherwise all that I possess will

become unsaleable;

6-4613

For you are the owner of the whole stack, while I am but a gleaner: I am but an

idol, while you are all the provinces of China322.

320 In Persian literature, “China” symbolizes any place where art and beauty flourish. “But-e Chīn” (“The idol from China”) is an expression used for the manifestation of Divine Beauty.

321 Lā Makān, literally meaning “no place”, or “spaceless space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

119

6-4614

Both Hell and Paradise tremble in fear of the believer: neither the one nor the

other feels safe from him.

322 I.e. the origin and home of idols (images of Buddha painted by Chinese artists) (Nich.).

120

The Second Source

The Secrets of the Inner Path – Ṭarīqa

The First River [2.1]

The necessary qualities a sālik (seeker, traveller on the Ṣūfī Path)

needs at the beginning of his journey. If he lacks these

qualities, he is unable to progress.

The First Rivulet [2.1.1]

Awakening from the slumber of heedlessness (ghafla),

contemplating the moment, being aware of the value of the Divine

Breath (nafaḥāt-e ilāhī) and being conscious of this blessing, which

will lead the sālik to the Divine Light. [2.1.1]

Ḥadīth: “Verily, during the days of your time, your Lord has

certain breathings: apply yourselves to receive them”323

Cited in the Mathnawī after verse 1950 of Book I.

1-1951

The Prophet said, “In these days the breaths of God prevail:

1-1952

Keep ear and mind attentive to these spiritual influences, catch up such

breaths.”

1-1953

The Divine breath came, looked at you, and departed: it gave life to whom it

wanted, and left.

1-1954

Another breath arrived. Be alert, that you may not miss this one too, o my

friend.

2-1203

It is like the breath of the Merciful God which, without mouth, comes to

Muḥammad from Yemen324.

2-1947

Find a remedy for your masculine self-importance, so that you may become a

real man, and that a hundred kinds of beautiful-faced youths may appear325.

323 The implication of this ḥadīth is that sāliks should work as hard and as much as they can on the Inner Path, so that they might become able of receiving the Breaths of Mercy, which constantly emanate from the Divine Being. When they accomplish this, they will literally become inspired by God’s Breaths, and their inner light and spiritual knowledge will increase.

324 Ḥadīth: “Verily, I feel the Breath of the Merciful (God) from the direction of Yemen.” – Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī

p. 250.

325 These words have spiritual meaning only and therefore should not be read or interpreted in a worldly sense.

121

1-1899

These words, which come from Universal Reason, are the scent of those

flowers, cypresses and hyacinths.

1-1900

Did you ever smell the scent of a rose where there was none? Did you ever see

the foaming of wine where there was none?

1-1901

The scent is your guide and leads you on your way: it will bring you to

Paradise and Kawthar326.

1-404

That this mind, eye and ear might be delivered from the Flood of wakefulness

and consciousness!

1-441

Whoever has no scent is without a nose; the scent referred to is that scent

which is religious.

The human body resembles a guest house in which the unseen guests

are received with honour and respect. The guests come and go, and

do not come back. But new guests will come in the future. [2.1.1]

5-3644

This body, o youth, is a guest house: every morning a new guest comes running

into it.

5-3646

Whatever comes into your heart from the invisible world is your guest: treat it

well!

5-3676

Every day, too, at every moment a different thought comes, like an honoured

guest, into your bosom.

5-3677

O dear soul, regard thought as a person, since every person derives his worth

from thought and spirit.

5-3693

Whenever the thought of sorrow comes into your heart again, meet it with

smiles and laughter.

5-3688

So that it may speak gratefully of you to the Lord of the heart when it reunites

with the Moon.

1-2190

God gave me a life. He alone knows the value of its every single day.

3-124

Your life is like a purse of gold: day and night are like him who counts the gold

coins (the money changer).

3-125

Time counts and gives the gold without stopping, until the purse is empty and

the eclipse (death) comes.

3-126

If you take something away from a mountain and do not replace what you have

taken, the mountain will be demolished by that deed327.

326 In Arabic, Kawthar literally means “abundance”. It is also the name of a fountain, pond, basin or river in Paradise. It is mentioned in the Qur’ān in the Sūra called Sūratu’l-Kawthar (Sūra 108).

122

3-127

Therefore, for every breath of yours, put an equivalent in its place, so that by

acting in accordance with the words and fall down in worship and draw

closer 328 you may reach your goal.

4-2148

Tremble in fear of losing the delightful moment: conceal it like a treasure, do

not divulge it.

Life is valuable and precious.

It is particularly the realisation of the power of youth and

health in life, that will help man to achieve his spiritual goals. [2.1.1]

2-1215

O, blessed is he who deems his early days an opportunity to be seized, and pays

his debt –

2-1216

In the days when he has the power, when he has health, strength of heart and

vigour,

2-1217

And when that season of youth, like a garden green and fresh, brings

vegetables and fruit to ripeness without limitation.

2-1220

Before the days of old age arrive and bind your neck with a halter of palm-

fibres 329;

2-1221

before the soil becomes nitrous (barren), crumbling, and poor – never did good

herbage grow from nitrous soil.

5-968

Old age makes the face that used to have a moonlike splendour become

wrinkled like the back of the Libyan lizard.

5-970

And in old age, the tall proud figure, piercing the ranks like a spear-point, is

bent double like a bow.

5-973

These truly are marks of pain and decay: every one of them is a messenger of

death.

5-974

But if his physician is the Light of God, he will suffer no loss or crushing blow

from old age and fever.

5-976

If he dies, his bones are drowned in spiritual savour330; his every atom is

floating in the beams of the light of love-desire.

5-977

And he who does not have that Water (i.e. Light) is an orchard without fruit,

which is reduced to ruin by autumn.

327 Literally “by that giving”.

328 Qur’ān 96:19.

329 Qur’ān 111:5.

330 Spiritual savour ( dhawq): experiencing the Divine in a state of bliss.

123

5-978

The roses do not last; only the black thorns remain: it becomes pale and weak

like a heap of straw.

2-1225

The day late, the ass lame, and the way long; the shop ruined and the business

in disorder.

2-1268

While this jewelled lamp is not yet extinguished, look: you trim its wick and

supply it with oil immediately.

2-1270

Listen to my warning that the body is a strong restraint: put off the old, if you

desire newness.

Regrets for days in life gone by. [2.1.1]

2-1265

Listen and listen again, o wayfarer! It is late, life’s sun has gone towards the pit

(is about to set).

2-1263

The year has turned late; it is not sowing-time, and you have produced nothing

except black shame and foul deeds.

6-1720

The Tailor, who is Worldly Vanity, takes away the satin of your life, bit by bit,

with his scissors, which are the months.

2-1266

During these one or two brief days when you have some strength, be quick,

flap your wings generously331.

2-1269

Beware! Do not say “Tomorrow – for many tomorrows have passed. Let not

the days of sowing pass by altogether.”

3-3298

When the power to act freely is gone, the work becomes unsalable (worthless).

Take heed so that Doom does not seize your capital.

3-3299

The power of free action is your profit-yielding capital. Listen, be aware of the

moment of power and observe it well!

5-1037

Magicians quickly measure moonbeams in the presence of the merchant and

receive gold as profit.

5-1038

When they make money by artful tricks of this kind, the money is gone from

the purchaser’s hand, but there is no linen to be seen332.

5-1039

This world is a sorcerer, and we are the merchants who buy the measured

moonbeams from it.

5-1040

Magician-like, it hastily measures out by the ell333 five hundred ells of linen

from the light of the moonbeams,

331 I.e. exert yourself unsparingly in doing good works (Nich.).

332 This verse is not in the original Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī. It has been added for clarity’s sake.

333 A linear measure equal to 45 inches (114 centimetres).

124

5-1041

Yet, when it takes the money, which is your life, o slave, the money is gone,

there is no linen, and your purse is empty.

The story of the clay-eater. [2.1.1]

4-625

A certain clay-eater went to a grocer to buy a quantity of fine hard sugar-loaf.

4-626

Now, at the grocer’s, who was a crafty vigilant334 man, there was clay instead

of the balance-weight.

4-627

He said, “If you want to buy sugar, my balance-weight is clay335.”

4-628

The customer said, “I need sugar urgently: let the balance-weight be whatever

you wish.”

4-633

“If you have no proper weight and your weight is of clay, this is better and

better: clay is the fruit desired by my heart.”

4-635

Then, for the other scale, he broke the equivalent amount of sugar with his

hand.

4-634

The grocer placed the clay, because it was easy to reach, in one scale of the

balance instead of the proper weight.

4-636

Since he had no pickaxe, he took a long time and let the customer sit waiting.

4-637

While his face was turned towards the sugar, the clay-eater, unable to restrain

himself, began secretly to steal the clay from him,

4-638

terribly frightened, as the grocer might suddenly look at him in order to put his

honesty to the test

4-639

The grocer saw it, but kept himself busy, saying, “Come, steal more, o pale-faced one!

4-640

If you are a thief and take some of my clay, go on doing so, for you are eating

out of your own side.

4-641

You are afraid of me, but only because you are a stupid ass: I am afraid you

will eat less (too little).

4-643

When you see the amount of sugar which you have bought, then you will know

who was foolish and careless.”

3-129

Otherwise at the end you will leave incomplete, your spiritual affairs harmed

and you bread unbaked.

334 Literally “of two minds”, i.e. while attending to his business, he observed what his customer was doing

(Nich.).

335 I.e. “wait until I have rectified the balance.” (Nich.).

125

3-128

Do not strive so much to complete your worldly affairs: do not strive in any

affair that is not religious.

6-541

O watchman, use your rattle before the caravan is ruined by the robbers.

The story of a guardian crying for help after a

burglary when the thieves had already gone: [2.1.1]

“I had the means to prevent it, but I did not know how, what a pity.

Now that I have found out, it is too late to do anything” – ‘Aṭṭār336 [2.1.1]

6-542

A certain watchman fell asleep. The robbers carried off the goods and hid the

various items under a piece of earth.

6-543

When it was day, the caravaneers woke up: they saw that livestock, money and

camels were gone.

6-544

Then they said to him, “O watchman, tell us what has happened. Where are this

livestock and these goods?”

6-545

He replied, “The robbers came unexpectedly, and hastily carried off the

livestock right before my very eyes.”

6-546

The party of merchants said to him, “O man weak as a sandhill, what were you

doing, then? Who are you, o coward?”

6-547

“I was only one’, he said, “and they were a band, armed and brave and

formidable.”

6-548

The spokesman of the merchants said, “If you had no hope of overcoming them

in battle, why didn’t you shout, ‘Gentlemen, get up from your beds’?”

6-549

He replied, “At that moment they produced knives and swords, crying,

‘Silence! Or we will kill you ruthlessly.’

6-550

So I shut my mouth in terror; now I can scream and call for help and utter cries

of distress.

6-551

At that time my breath was stopped from breathing a word: at this time I will

scream as much as you please.”

6-552

After the Devil who exposes sinners to disgrace has carried off your life, it is

foolish to cry “I seek refuge with God”337 and to recite the Fātiḥa338;

336 Ḥażrat Shaykh Farīdu’ddīn ‘Aṭṭār (ca. 1145-1221 CE): one of the most prominent Persian Ṣūfī mystics and

authors.

337 A recitation of the Qur’ān usually starts with the words “I seek refuge with God from Satan the Accursed”.

338 The Opening Sūra of the Qur’ān.

126

6-553

But even though it is foolish to moan now, heedlessness certainly is even more

foolish than that late supplication.

6-554

So keep on sobbing like this, even foolishly, crying, “Look upon the lowly

sinners, o Almighty One!

The above-mentioned quotations are about people

who are ruled by time and circumstance.

There are other people, i.e. Saints, who are able to transcend

time and circumstance and have control over them. [2.1.1]

3-1426

Likewise the Ṣūfī is “the son of the time”339, but the pure one ( ṣāfī) is

unconcerned with “time” and “state”.

1-1438

There are many Ṣūfīs who enjoy ḥāl, but few of them have attained to

maqām 340.

3-1434

The pure one ( ṣāfī) is plunged in the Light of the Glorious God; he is not the

son of anyone, he is free from “times” and “states”341.

3-1427

“States” depend on his decision and judgement; they are brought to life by his

Messiah-like breath.

3-1420

He is the lord of states of feeling, and does not depend on any state: month and

year are slaves of that Moon.

3-1421

When he summons the “state”, it answers his call; when he so wishes, he

makes bodies become spirits.

3-1423

The perfect Saint’s hand is the Elixir342 that transmutes the “state”: if he moves

his hand, the copper becomes intoxicated with him.

3-1425

He who depends on the “state” is still a human being, like the moon, at one

moment he is made greater by the “state”, at another moment he is on the

decrease.

3-1422

One who is stopped on the way is not at the journey’s end; he will be seated,

waiting and seeking the “state”.

3-1151

The man who transcends space and in whom the Light of God is present – what

does he care about the past, the future or the present343?

339 Ibnu’l-Waqt = “Son of the Time or Moment” is a Ṣūfī term, implying that a true Ṣūfī is concerned with neither past nor future, but lives in the Eternal Moment, the Eternal Now, which transcends all limitations.

340 Ḥāl and maqām: ḥāl (plural aḥwāl or ḥālāt) is a temporary state of mystical attainment, whereas maqām (plural maqāmāt), meaning “station”, is an enduring state of mystical accomplishment. Maqāmāt are realized by one’s own efforts, whereas aḥwāl are graces bestowed by God.

341 “times” and “states”: temporary and impermanent states ( ḥāl, plural aḥwāl or ḥālāt).

342 In the original text the term kīmīyā is used, meaning “alchemy”.

343 I.e. someone who has attained the station ( maqām) of non-existence or lā makān. Lā makān literally means “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond 127

3-1152

His past or future exists only in relation to you: both are one thing, and you

think they are two.

3-1435

Plunged in the Light which is uncreated: the description He neither begets nor

is He begotten 344 belongs to God alone.

3-1436

Go, seek a love like this, if you are spiritually alive; otherwise you are a slave

to the changing “time”.

3-2074

All changes have arisen from time: he who is freed from the hours is freed

from change.

3-2075

When you escape from the hours for an hour, relation345 does not remain: you

become familiar with that which is without relation.

3-2076

The hours are not acquainted with hourlessness (timelessness), because for him

who is conscious of time there is no way to it except bewilderment.

3-2937

To us a hundred years are the same as a single hour, for long and short time

have become detached from us.

3-2938

That length and shortness is in bodies alone: where is that long and short in the

soul?

3-2939

The three hundred and nine years of the Men of the Cave346 seemed to them

one day that passed without grief and woe;

3-2940

And it seemed only one day to them when their spirits came back from non-existence into their bodies.

3-2941

When there is no day, night, month and year, how could there be fullness, old

age and weariness?

3-2942

Since there is selflessness for us in the rose garden of non-existence, there is

intoxication for us, caused by the goblet of Divine grace.

our conception. In this “Placeless Realm”, there is no difference between past, present and future; they are all one and the same.

344 Qur’ān 112:3.

345 Literally “how” (Nich.).

346 The Seven Sleepers (Nich.). This story is related in the 18thSūra of the Qur’ān, Sūratu’l-Kahf, “The Sūra of the Cave”.

128

The Second Rivulet [2.1.2]

Tawba (repentance, remorse)

When ordinary (‘awāmm) people have tawba, they repent their bad

deeds. When the elect (khawāṣṣ) have tawba, they feel remorseful

about their ego (nafs).They attain awakining. [2.1.2]

Ḥadīth: “He who repents of a sin and turns back to

God is like him who has committed no sin.”

6-431

Repent like a man, turn your head towards the right Way, for whoever has done

an atom’s weight of good or evil shall see it 347 .

6-432

Do not become the victim of the trickeries of the carnal soul, for the Divine

Sun will not hide a single atom.

4-2504

In the direction of the West a door of repentance is open to mankind until

Resurrection348.

4-2506

Through the mercy of God, Paradise has eight doors: one of those eight is the

door of repentance, o son.

4-2507

All the others are sometimes open, sometimes closed; but the door of

repentance is always open.

4-2505

Until the sun lifts up its head (rises) from the West, that door is open: do not

turn your face away from it.

4-2508

Come, seize the opportunity: the door is open: carry your luggage towards it at

once, in spite of the envious Devil.

4-324

Learn from your Father; for after having sinned Adam came down willingly to

the dwelling-place below349.

4-325

When he saw the Knower of secrets, he stood up on his feet to ask forgiveness.

4-327

He only said, ‘O Lord, verily we have wronged ourselves,’ 350 when he saw the

angelic life-guards in front and behind.

347 Qur’ān 99:7.

348 Ahādīth-e Mathnawī p. 393.

349 I.e. abased himself (Nich.). “The dwelling-place below”: in the Persian text, the word pāygāh is used, which usually means “base” or “degree”. However, here the word pāygāh denotes a place which literally is located below, i.e. the earth; it is the place where Adam descended to when God expelled him from Paradise after his fall from Grace. Paradise should be interpreted as a state of spiritual felicity, freedom and absolute peace. Cf. Qur’ān 2:36: “Then Satan made them slip from it (Paradise), and drove them out from the state (of felicity) in which they had been; and We said: “Get down, all of you, as enemies to one another. On earth will be a dwelling-place for you and a means of livelihood for some time”.

129

4-347

Those who are the elect children of Adam sighingly confess, ‘verily we have

wronged ourselves.’

4-2503

Listen, from now on do not act in this way, but be careful, for through God’s

bounty the door of repentance is open.

Man’s essence is pure. Evil is caused by external factors. That is why

humans are inclined to feel remorse for sins or errors committed. [2.1.2]

4-3413

The borrowed (temporary) evil causes him in whom it appears to confess and

desire to repent.

4-3414

Like Adam, whose error was temporary: inevitably he immediately showed

penitence.

4-3415

Since the sin of Iblīs351 was original, there was no way to precious penitence

for him.

5-769

Iblīs said, “Grant me respite until the Day of Resurrection.” If only he had said,

“We repent, o our Lord.”

5-768

Like Iblīs, the crow implored the holy and incomparable God for bodily life

until Resurrection.

5-770

Life without repentance is total agony of spirit: to be absent from God is

present (instant) death.

5-771

Life and death – both these are sweet with the presence of God: without God

the Water of Life is fire.

5-2221

If you have blackened the scroll (record) of your life, repent of the deeds you

did formerly.

5-2222

Although your life has almost passed, this present moment is its root: water it

with repentance if it lacks moisture.

5-2223

Give the Living Water to the root of your life, in order that the tree of your life

may become verdant.

5-2224

Through this Water all past sins are made good: through this Water last year’s

poison is made sweet as sugar.

1-2206

O you who wants to repent of a past state, say, when will you repent of this

repentance?

350 Qur’ān 7:23.

351 Iblīs: a name of the Devil. This name is probably derived from the Arabic verb ablasa, meaning “he despaired (of God’s Mercy)”.

130

2-1651

Nor is it granted to every heart to fall down in prayer: not every mercenary is

allotted the wages of Divine mercy.

2-1643

But the power of asking forgiveness, also, is not in our hands: the savour of

repentance is not the dessert of every drunkard.

2-1653

For true repentance, it is imperative that there be a glow of inner feeling and a

flood of tears: such lightning and clouds are the indispensable condition for

repentance.

2-1654

It is imperative that there be fire and water (rain) for the fruit: clouds and

lightning are necessary for this accomplishment.

2-1655

Until there is the lightning of the heart and the rain clouds of the two eyes, how

shall the fire of Divine menace and wrath be pacified?

2-1656

How shall the herbage grow, the herbage of the delight of union with God?

How shall the fountains of clear water gush forth?

2-2009

Repent, and empty yourself of what you have drunk: and if your wound is old

and unhealed, go cauterize it.

4-321

Why do you defiantly bring forward dark pretences before those who see the

truth plainly?

4-322

To us, all the deceit and dissimulations that you have in your heart are manifest

and clear as day.

4-323

If we, in kindness to our servant, cover it up, why do you carry shamelessness

beyond the limit?

Allegory:

Even though God is Generous and covers the sins committed by His

servants, each person should be held accountable for his own deeds. [2.1.2]

2-3364

In the time of Shu‘ayb352 a certain man was saying, “God has seen many of my

faults”.

2-3365

How many sins and trespasses has He seen me commit! And still, in His

kindness God does not punish me.

2-3366

In an unseen, mysterious way God Most High answered clearly into the ear of

Shu‘ayb.

352 Shu‘ayb: the Arabic name of the Biblical Jethro, father-in-law of Moses. In the Islamic tradition, he is the thirteenth Prophet after Adam. Adam (Ḥażrat Ādam) is considered the first human being who possessed Divine Knowledge. God appointed him to guide his fellow human beings to the Divine Goal, and that’s why Ḥażrat

Ādam is regarded as the first Prophet.

131

2-3367

Saying, “Tell him, You have said, ‘How many sins have I committed! And still

God in His kindness has not punished me for my trespasses.’

2-3368

You say the opposite of the truth, o fool, o you who have abandoned the road

and have taken to the wilderness!

2-3369

How often, how often do I chastise you, and you remain unaware! You are

lying (bound) in chains from head to foot.

2-3370

Your rust, layer upon layer, o black pot, has marred the face of your heart.

2-3371

Layers of rust have accumulated upon your heart, so that it has become blind to

the spiritual mysteries.”

2-3372

If that smoke would beat upon a new pot, the traces of it would show, even if it

were only as much as a barley-corn,

2-3373

Because everything is made manifest by its opposite: upon a white object the

black becomes distinctly visible;

2-3374

But when the pot has been blackened, who then after this will at once perceive

the effect of the smoke upon it?

2-3378

But when he persists in sin and makes a practice of evil, and puts dust in the

eye of meditation,

2-3379

He thinks of penitence no more: that sin becomes so sweet to his heart that in

the end he comes to be without the Faith (he turns infidel).

2-3380

That repenting and crying “O Lord!” have departed from him: five layers of

rust have set on the mirror of his heart.

2-1647

Through the supplication and firm belief of that Friend (Abraham)353 the thing

that was hard and impossible became possible.

2-3392

One sign of My punishing him is this, that he has pious acts of fasting and

supplication to his credit.

2-3393

And ritual prayer and almsgiving etcetera, but he has not one atom of spiritual

savour.

2-3395

His devotions are good in form, but the spirit is not good: there are plenty of

walnuts, but they do not have a kernel.”

2-3394

He performs high acts and deeds of devotion, but he has not one atom of

spiritual relish.

353 In the Islamic tradition, the epithet given to the Prophet Abraham (Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm) is Khalīlu’Llāh, “Friend of God”.

132

2-3396

Spiritual savour is required, in order that devotions may yield fruit: a kernel is

required, in order that the berry may produce a tree.

2-3397

How shall a berry without kernel become a sapling? The soulless form is

nothing but fantasy.

Breach of promise and breach of repentance

may cause God to bring about misery. [2.1.2]

5-2591

To violate a pact and break vows of repentance becomes the cause of

damnation in the end.

5-2592

The violation of vows of repentance by the “Fellows of the Sabbath”354 became

the cause of their metamorphosis, destruction and abomination.

5-2593

Therefore God turned those people into apes, since they rebelliously broke

their covenant with God.

5-2594

In this community there has never been metamorphosis of the body, but there is

metamorphosis of the spirit, o man endowed with perception.

5-2598

The “Fellows of the Sabbath” suffered outward metamorphosis, in order that

the people might outwardly see their shameful fall.

5-2599

By breaking vows of repentance a hundred thousand others have become hogs

and asses inwardly.

4-3383

Like the intelligent man who, from faulty understanding, keeps committing sin

and continually breaks his vow of penitence.

4-3384

Because of his indecisiveness that breaker of vows of penitence becomes the

laughing-stock of Iblīs in the world.

4-3385

He constantly comes down on his head, like a lame horse, for his load is heavy

and the road is full of stones355.

4-3386

By breaking his vows of penitence, this unfortunate man continually receives

blows on his head from the Unseen.

4-3387

Then again he repents with infirm resolution: the Devil (= nafs) scornfully spits

and shatters his penitence.

6-345

The repentance they show is like that of the moth: soon forgetfulness draws

them back again to the same work.

354 “Fellows of the Sabbath” = the Jews. With these words ḤażratMawlānāRūmī does not condemn the Jewish

race or religion. The sole meaning of “Fellows of the Sabbath” is “people who have strayed from the Truth and have no penitence”.

355 Meaning: “The Path of Love is an arduous and stony road”.

133

6-346

Like the moth, such a person thinks the fire that he sees from a distance to be

light, and packs off356 (sets out) towards it.

6-347

As soon as he comes to the fire, it burns his wings, and he flees; and then again

he falls, like greedy children in a hurry, and spills the salt357.

6-348

Once more, thinking and hoping to profit, he quickly dashes himself on the fire

of that candle.

6-349

Once more he is scorched and shrinks; then again the greed of his heart makes

him forgetful and intoxicated.

6-352

Then again his repentance and moaning go out of his memory, since God has

made the wiles of the liars feeble.

6-355

Since there was no seed of sincerity sown by him, God has caused him to

forget that resolution.

6-356

Even though he strikes the match of his heart, the Hand of God always

extinguishes the spark.

Allegory:

A person caught in Satan’s hand abides in

darkness and has no knowledge of himself. [2.1.2]

6-357

A righteous man heard a sound of footsteps in his house during the night: he

took the firelighter to light a candle.

6-358

At that same moment the thief came and sat down beside him, and whenever

the tinder caught fire he put it out.

6-359

Laying the tip of his finger on the place, in order that the fiery spark might

vanish.

6-361

The Khwāja358 said, “This tinder was moist: because of its wetness the spark

dies at once.”

6-360

The Khwāja thought it was dying of itself: he didn’t see that the thief was

extinguishing it.

356 Literally “binds the load (on the beast of burden)” (Nich.).

357 I.e. he relapses into his old ways and spoils his good resolutions (Nich.).

358 Khwāja (< Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

In Sufism, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, it takes on the meaning of “Master”, e.g. Ḥażrat Khwāja

Mu‘īnu’ddīn Chishtī, the great Ṣūfī Saint of Ajmēr, Rājasthān, India. But also outside the Indian subcontinent Ṣūfī Masters have borne this title. A few examples: the prominent Persian Ṣūfī mystic and prolific author Ḥażrat Khwāja ‘Abdullāh Anṣārī of Herāt (1006-1088 CE) and the influential Turkic Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Aḥmad Yasawī (1093-1066 CE), who lived and worked in Kazākhstān. It is also worth mentioning that between

the 12th and 14th centuries CE the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order was known as Ṭarīqat-e Khwājagān, i.e. “the Way of the Masters” ( Khwājagān is the plural of Khwāja). The Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order took its present name from the illustrious Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Bahā’u’ddīn Shāh Naqshband of Bukhārā (1318–1389 CE).

134

6-362

As there was great murk and darkness in front of him, he didn’t see a fire—

extinguisher beside him.

6-363

So the infidel’s eye, because of its dimness, does not see a similar fire—

extinguisher in his heart.

One of the qualities of a wise person (sālik) is that

he is not led astray by promises of the Devil and

that he will not allow anything to delay

the time of repentance (tawba). [2.1.2]

3-4326

When you are sincerely determined to be religious, the Devil in your nature

cries out at you,

3-4327

“Do not go in that direction! Think again, o misguided one; for you will

become captive to distress and poverty.

3-4328

You will become destitute, you will be cut off from friends, you will be

despised, you will feel sorry.”

3-4329

The fear of the outcry of that accursed Devil will make you flee away from

certain truth into error,

3-4330

Saying, “Ho, tomorrow is mine and after tomorrow: I will run in the Way of

religion, I have plenty of time.”

3-4331

Then again you see Death killing your neighbours on left and right, so that the

cry of lamentation is raised.

3-4332

Now, out of fear of losing your life, you resolve to be religious: for a while,

you make yourself a true man;

3-4333

So you put on the armour of knowledge and wisdom, saying, “I will not shrink

from any danger.”

3-4334

Again he the Devil deceitfully cries out at you – “Be afraid and turn away from

the sword of poverty!”

3-4335

Once more you flee from the Way of Light and cast off that armour of

knowledge and virtue.

3-4336

For many years, you are a slave to him because of a cry: you have laid down

the blanket (have laid down to rest) in such darkness as this!

3-4337

Dread of the cry of the devils has bound the people and taken hold of their

throats,

3-4338

Until their souls have become as hopeless of the Light as the spirits of the

infidels who dwell in the tombs.

135

3-4339

Such is the terror of the cry of that accursed one: how great must be the dread

of the Divine cry!

3-4343

The cry of the devils is the driver of the damned; the cry of the Lord is the

guardian of the blessed Saints.

Allegory:

The situation of the heedless in this world resembles that of children who

spend their whole lives playing. Later, however, they will come to regret it.

[2.1.2]

6-454

At playtime the little child takes off his coat and shoes: suddenly the thief

carries them off.

6-455

He is so intensely absorbed in play that his cap and shirt are forgotten.

6-456

Night falls, and his playing become helpless (impossible): he is unwilling to go

home.

6-457

Have not you heard the verse the present life is but a play 359? You have

squandered (given to the wind) your goods and have become afraid.

6-458

Look for your clothes before the night comes: do not waste the day in idle talk.

6-460

Half of life is lost in desire for a charming friend360; the other half of life is lost

in anxieties caused by enemies.

6-461

That desire has carried off our cloak, this anxiety has carried off our cap, while

we have become absorbed in play, like a little child.

6-462

Look, the night-time of death is near. Leave this play: you have played enough,

do not return to it.

6-463

Listen, mount the steed of repentance, overtake the thief, and recover your

clothes from him.

6-464

The steed of repentance is a marvellous steed: in one moment it runs from

below up to Heaven.

6-465

But always keep the steed safe from him who secretly stole your coat.

6-466

In order to prevent him from stealing your steed also, keep watch over this

steed of yours incessantly.”

359 Qur’ān 6:32 and 29:64.

360 Literally “one who captivates the heart” (Nich.).

136

6-3622

Both the ass and he who caught the ass are stuck in the mud here: here (in this

world) they are forgetful of God and there (in the next world) they are sunk in

woe –

6-3623

All except those who turn away from that deception and emerge from the

autumn of sensuality into the springtime of Divine grace,

6-3624

and who repent, for God is ready to accept repentance, and cling to His

command, for a gracious Commander is He!

6-3625

When, moved by sorrow, they raise a pitiful cry, the highest Heaven trembles

at the moaning of the sinners.

6-3626

It trembles even as a mother for her child: it takes them by the hand and draws

them upward,

6-3627

saying, “O you whom God has redeemed from delusion, behold the gardens of

Divine grace and behold the forgiving Lord!”.

The Third Rivulet [2.1.3]

Associating with devout people.

After the stage of repentance (tawba), nothing is sweeter or more

delightful to a sālik than to associate with the wise and the pure. [2.1.3]

2-2163

Whoever wishes to sit with God, let him sit in the presence of the Saints.

2-2164

If you are broken off (divided) from the presence of the Saints, you are in

perdition, because you are a part without the whole.

2-2214

When you become far from the presence of the Saints, you have in reality

become far from God.

2-2576

O heart, go where they are bright361 towards you and are as a coat of mail to

you against afflictions.

2-2578

Make your abode within their souls: o radiant full-moon, make your home in

the sky!

4-1976

Whoever is sitting with friends is amidst a flower-garden even though he is in a

bath furnace.

4-1977

Whoever in the world sits with an enemy, he is in a bath-furnace even though

he is in a flower garden.

361 Literally unveiled and sincere (Nich.).

137

2-121

Straighten your limbs with the help of the righteous. O you who wants to

become straight, do not turn not your head away from that threshold where the

righteous dwell.

2-122

Balance makes balance correct; balance also makes balance defective362.

2-123

Whoever weighs the same (adopts the same standard) as the unrighteous

becomes deficient, and his understanding becomes dazed.

2-124

Go, be hard on the infidels 363, sprinkle dust on (renounce) fondness for

strangers,

2-125

Be as a sword upon the heads of strangers: come, do not play foxy tricks, be a

lion,

2-126

In order that the friends of God, moved by righteous jealousy, may not part

with you, because those thorns (the wicked) are the enemies of this rose (the

friend of God).

2-127

Set fire to the wolves as to rue-seed364, because those wolves are the enemies of

Joseph.

3-639

That you lick the dust and the wall of the pure (elect) is better for you than the

vulgar and their vines and rose gardens.

3-640

That you become a slave to a man with an enlightened heart is better for you

than that you should walk upon the crown of the head of kings365.

3-641

From the kings of earth you will get nothing but the empty noise of a drum, o

traveller of many roads.

1-726

O, give your heart food from conversation with one who is in accord with it;

go, seek spiritual advancement from one who is advanced.

1-2686

If you gain access to that King, you will become a king: how long will you

pursue every kind of misfortune?

1-721

The laughing pomegranate makes the garden laughing (joyful and blooming):

companionship with holy men makes you one of the holy men.

1-722

Even though you are rock or marble, you will become a jewel where you reach

the man of heart (the Saint).

1-723

Plant the love of the holy ones within your spirit; do not give your heart to

anything but to the love of those whose hearts are glad.

362 I.e. a true standard corrects a false one, and a false standard corrupts a true one.

363 Qur’ān 9:73.

364 Rue-seed is burnt as a charm against the evil eye (Nich.).

365 I.e. than that you should be a favourite of kings (Nich.).

138

1-725

The heart draws you near to the men of heart (the Saints); the body leads you

into the prison of water and earth.

1-763

All parts and fragments are turned towards the eternal whole: nightingales play

the game of love with the rose.

1-724

Do not go to the neighbourhood of despair: there are hopes. Do not go in the

direction of darkness: there are suns.

2-1341

O, happy is the ugly whom the beautiful one has befriended; alas for the one

with a rosy countenance who has become autumn’s consort!

1-1535

O, happy is the man who was freed from himself and united with the existence

of a living one!

1-1536

Alas for the living one who consorted with the dead! He became dead, and life

fled from him.

2-1342

When life is bestowed on lifeless bread, the bread becomes living and is turned

into the substance of that life.

2-1343

Dark bundles of wood become the companions of fire: the darkness departed,

and all was turned into light.

1-1531

When the torrent reached the sea, it became the sea; when the seed reached the

corn land, it became the crop of corn.

1-1534

When the powdered stone of antimony366 went into the eyes, it turned into sight

and became a scout (one who observes the enemy from some viewpoint).

1-1532

When the bread was connected to the animal (man), the dead bread came to life

and was endowed with knowledge.

1-1474

When bread is wrapped in the tablecloth it is a lifeless thing (so-called), but in

the human body it becomes the glad spirit of life.

1-1533

When the wax and firewood were devoted to the fire, their dark essence

became filled with light.

2-2150

The gist of the matter is this: be the friend of the whole community of Ṣūfīs367:

like the idol-maker, carve a friend out of the stone.

2-2151

Because the mass and multitude of a caravan will break the backs and spears of

the highwaymen368.

366 Antimony: a metal used to make eyeliner, which protects the eye from the sun, dust etc.

367 “of Ṣūfīs” is not in the original Persian text, but it is implied.

368 A seeker of God must not rely solely on his or her own strength, but should consider all Ṣūfīs as friends and brothers and sisters, without whose help he or she cannot overcome the many dangers and temptations that beset travellers on the Way [Adapted from R.A. Nicholson’s Commentaries on the Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí, Cambridge University Press, 1940].

139

5-1063

If you desire spiritual poverty, that depends on companionship with a Shaykh:

neither your tongue nor your hand is useful.

5-1064

The soul receives knowledge from the soul, not from a of book, nor from

spoken words.

5-1065

If the mysteries of spiritual poverty are in the traveller’s heart, the traveller

does not yet possess knowledge of the mystery.

5-1066

Let him wait until the expansion (illumination) of his heart shall make it full of

the Light: then God said, “Did We not expand…? 369

5-1067

For We have given the expansion (illumination) to you within your breast, We

have put the expansion into your breast.”

5-1070

O lake, you have a channel to the Sea: be ashamed to seek water from the pool.

5-1072

Contemplate the expansion of the heart within yourself, so that the reproach Do

you not see? 370 does not come.

Homogeneity. [2.1.3]

Birds of a feather flock together.

The devout seeks the company of good people.

The wrongdoer seeks the company of his own kind. [2.1.3]

6-2900

Each of the atoms which exist in this earth and heaven is like amber (a magnet)

for its congener.

1-640

Since the infidels were congeners of Sijjīn (Hell), they favoured the prison

( sijn) of this world.

1-641

Since the Prophets were congeners of ‘Illiyyīn (Heaven), they went to the

‘Illiyyīn of spirit and heart.

1-889

Every kind of delight certainly is to be found in its own kind: observe that the

delight of the part is in its whole.

2-81

In this world everything attracts something: the hot draws the hot to itself and

the cold the cold.

6-2901

The belly attracts bread to its resting-place; the heat of the liver attracts water.

2-83

Those of the Fire attract those of the Fire, those of the Light seek those of the

Light.

369 Qur’ān 94:1.

370 Qur’ān 51:21.

140

2-82

The worthless sort attracts the worthless; the lasting (those of lasting value) are

rejoiced by the lasting.

2-272

The good women are for the good men 371; there also are the words the bad men

are for the bad women. Take heed!

2-280

Look at the trays in front of druggists – each kind is put beside its own kind,

2-281

Things of each sort are mixed with things of the same sort, and a certain beauty

is produced by this homogeneity.

2-2055

What carries away (enraptures) worthless folk? Worthlessness. What pleases

futile folk? Futility.

2-2056

Because every kind is carried away (enraptured) by its own kind: how should

the ox turn its face towards the fierce lion?

2-2057

How should the wolf bear love for Joseph, unless, perhaps, through cunning, in

order to devour him?

3-4402

Every particle of the universe desires its mate, just like amber and the straw

stalks.

Allegory. [2.1.3]

2-2095

Jālīnūs372said to his companions, “Let one of you give me such and such

medicine.”

2-2096

Then that person said to him, “O master of many sciences, this medicine is

used as a cure for madness.

2-2097

How far is this from what you understand! Say no more about it.” He replied,

“A madman turned his face to me,

2-2098

Looked me pleasantly in the face for a while, made little eyes at me, and

plucked my sleeve.

2-2099

Had there not been congeniality with him in me, how would that unfortunate

man have turned his face towards me?

2-2100

Had he not seen one of his own kind in me, how would he have approached?

How would he have thrown himself upon (attached himself to) one of another

kind?”

2-2101

When two persons come into contact with each other, without doubt there is

something in common between them.

371 Qur’ān 24:26.

372 Jālīnūs = Galen, the famous Greek physician (ca.129/131-ca. 200/216 CE), whose medical system remained

dominant throughout the East and Europe for more than 1500 years.

141

2-2102

How would a bird fly except with its own kind? The society of the uncongenial

is the grave and the tomb.

3-3252

The reflection of the man of light is entirely resplendent; the reflection of the

man of darkness is entirely like a bath stove (ash heap).

3-3253

The reflection of the servant of God is entirely luminous; the reflection of the

stranger to God is entirely blindness.

3-3254

Know everyone’s reflection: see it plainly, o my soul. Then at all times sit

beside the congener whom you desire.

3-4401

Because of that predestination all the particles of the world are paired as mates

and are in love with their own mate.

4-280

Recite the words, the bad women are for the bad men: recognize both the front

and the back (the profound meaning) of this saying.

4-2656

Congener flies to congener with a hundred wings and tears all bounds apart in

the strong desire for him who is congenial.

The story of a child that got into a dangerous situation by a water spout

and of its mother turning to Ḥażrat Mawlā373 ‘Alī, crying for help: [2.1.3]

4-2657

A woman came to Murtażā ‘Alī374 and said, “My child has fallen into the

gutter.

4-2658

If I call it, it will not come to my hands (to me); and if I leave it, I am afraid it

will fall to the ground.

4-2659

It is not sensible, that it would understand, like us, if I say, ‘Come to me and

escape from the danger.’

4-2660

Moreover, it does not understand signs made by the hand; or if it would

understand, it will not listen: this too is bad (useless).

4-2661

I have shown it the milk and the nipple many times, but it always turns its eyes

and face away from me.

373 Mawlā means “Master”, “Lord”, or “Caring, Supporting and Protecting Friend”. It is a name of God, and is mentioned as such in the Qur’ān (see Qur’ān 2:286 and 47:11), but it is also an honorific title of the Prophet Muḥammad and of ‘Alī, the Prophet’s nephew, son-in-law and foremost mystical successor. Mawlā is also often found with the possessive suffix -nā as an honorific title for Ṣūfī Saints and Masters: Mawlānā (e.g. Mawlānā

Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī). Mawlānā means “Our Master, Lord and Caring, Supporting and Protecting Friend”. The word Mawlā is derived from the same Arabic verbal root as the word walī (plural awliyā’). Walī is a name of God ( al-Walī, “the Protecting Friend”), as well as the common Ṣūfī term to designate a Saint. Walī means “one who is close to God”, “a close Friend of God”, hence a Saint.

374 The name Murtażā, from the Arabic Murtaḍā, means “Chosen One”, but more particularly “Chosen because God is pleased with him”.

142

4-2662

For God’s sake – since you, o noble ones, are those who give succour in this

world and the other world –

4-2663

Quickly apply the remedy, for my heart is trembling from fear that I would be

torn painfully from the fruit of my heart.”

4-2664

‘Alī said, “Take another child up to the roof, in order that the boy may see his

congener.”

4-2665

And come swiftly from the gutter to his congener: congener is always in love

with congener.”

4-2666

The woman did so, and when the child saw its congener, it turned its face

towards it with delight

4-2667

And came from the ridge of the gutter to the roof: know that a congener attracts

every congener.

4-2668

The child came crawling along to the other child: it was saved from falling to

the ground below.

4-2669

The Prophets are human in order that humankind might be saved from the

gutter, through its homogeneity with the Prophets.

4-2670

Therefore the Prophet called himself a man like you 375, that you might come to

your congener and might not become lost;

4-2671

For homogeneity is a wondrous attractor: wherever there is a seeker, his

congener is attracting him.

6-1176

Miracles are not the cause of religious faith; it is the scent of homogeneity that

attracts qualities of the same kind to itself.

6-1177

Miracles are wrought for the purpose of subjugating the enemy: the scent of

homogeneity is only for the winning of hearts.

4-2672

Jesus and Idrīs376 ascended to heaven, since they were homogeneous with the

angels.

4-2673

Again, Hārūt and Mārūt377 were homogeneous with the body: therefore they

descended from above.

4-2697

Since the Prophets are homogeneous with spirit and angel, they drew angels

from heaven.

375 Qur’ān 18:110.

376 Idrīs: usually identified with the Biblical Prophet Enoch. He is the Prophet who precedes Noah (ḤażratNūḥ).

377 In Islamic mythology, there are many speculations and interpretations about Hārūt and Mārūt, but the most common one is that they were two angels in Babylon who unintentionally became masters of evil. They are mentioned in the Qur’ān (2:102-103).

143

4-2702

Again, the spirits that are homogeneous with the Prophets are moving

gradually towards them, like shadows.

4-2703

Because such a spirit’s intelligence prevailing; and doubtlessly the intelligence

is homogeneous in nature with the angel;

4-2704

While in the enemy of God the carnal soul’s ( nafs) lustfulness predominates:

the carnal soul is homogeneous with the lowest of the low and goes towards it.

4-2705

The Egyptian was a congener of the damned Pharaoh; the Israelite was a

congener of Moses, the Kalīm378.

4-2706

Hāmān379 was more congenial to the Pharaoh than anyone else: the Pharaoh

chose him out and brought him to the high seat in the palace.

4-2717

If you are inclined towards Hāmān, you have the nature of Hāmān; and if you

are inclined towards Moses, you are a glorifier of God.

4-2718

And if you are inclined and impelled towards both, you are carnal soul and

reason, both mingled together.

4-2719

Both these are at war: take heed, take heed, and try to make the spiritual

realities prevail over the sensuous forms.

Homogeneity is internal, not external. Birds of a

feather flock together for inner reasons. [2.1.3]

6-2952

“It is certain that congeniality is spiritual in origin and is not derived from

water and clay (the outer form).”

6-2953

Take heed, do not become a worshipper of form and do not say this. Do not

seek to discover the secret of congeniality in the outer form.

6-2954

Form resembles the mineral and the stone: a lifeless thing has no knowledge of

congeniality.

6-2971

By reason you can recognize congener and non-congener: you should not run

to outer forms at once.

6-2972

My being your congener bears no relation to your outer form: Jesus, in the

form of man, in reality was homogeneous with the angels.

The story of ‘Abdu’l-Ghawth, who lived with parīs380 for many years:

[2.1.3]

378 In the Muslim tradition, Kalīmu’Llāh, “he who spoke with God”, is the epithet of the Prophet Moses.

379 Hāmān: the chief minister of the Pharaoh in the time of Moses.

380 Parī: in Persian mythology, a beautiful and benevolent supernatural being or fairy.

144

6-2974

‘Abdu’l-Ghawth381 was a congener of the parī: for nine years he was flying

invisibly, like a parī.

6-2975

His wife had children from another husband, and ‘Abdu’l-Ghawth’s orphans

used to talk of his death,

6-2976

Saying, “A wolf or a highwayman must have attacked him, or perhaps he fell

into a pit or an ambush.”

6-2977

All his children were passionately absorbed in worldly occupations: they never

said (thought) that they had a father who might be alive.

6-2978

After nine years he came back for a short time: he appeared and then

disappeared again.

6-2979

He was the guest of his children for one month, and after that nobody saw any

more of him.

6-2980

Inner homogeneity with the parīs carried him off, just as a spear thrust robs the

spirit of the body.

6-2992

What is real homogeneity? A kind of insight that allows people to enter into the

minds and feelings of one another.

6-2993

When God endows you with the same insight which He has hidden in another

person, you become his congener.

6-2994

What draws a body (person) in any direction? Insight. How could the conscious

attract the unconscious?

6-2997

When He implants in you the qualities of Gabriel, you will seek the way up in

the air, like a young bird,

6-2998

Gazing expectantly, your eye fixed upon the air, estranged from the earth and

enamoured of heaven.

6-2999

When He implants the ass-like qualities in you, you will fly to the stable, even

if you have a hundred wings (means).

6-2981

Since one who is destined for Paradise is inwardly homogeneous with Paradise,

homogeneity causes him also to become a worshipper of God.

6-2982

Did the Prophet not say, “Know that generosity and virtue382 are drooping

branches of the trees in Paradise and have been let down into this world?”383

381 ‘Abdu’l-Ghawth is a fictional character, invented by Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī. He does not occur in any other

writings. However, ‘Abdu’l-Ghawth’s story bears a strong resemblance to a tale about one the Companions of

the Prophet Muḥammad, Abū Ruqayya ibn Aws Tamīm ad-Dārī. This Tamīm was stripped of all his possessions

by parīs (or jinn, i.e. spirits, good or bad in nature); he was forced to live in utter poverty for a long time, before he finally was able to return to his family.

382 Literally a praiseworthy quality or action (Nich.).

145

6-2983

Declare all loves to be homogeneous with Divine Love; deem all wraths to be

homogeneous with Divine Wrath.

6-2985

The congeniality (spiritual affinity) in Idrīs was derived from the stars: for

eight years he accompanied Saturn.

6-2986

He was Saturn’s companion in the East and in the West; he was his partner in

conversation and familiar with his characteristics.

6-2987

When he arrived on earth after his absence from the body, he was always

giving lessons in astronomy on the earth.

6-2988

The stars gladly ranged themselves in ranks before him: the stars attended his

lectures.

6-2990

The attraction exerted by homogeneity (spiritual affinity) drew the stars down

to the earth and caused them to speak plainly before him.

1-2894

If you are going on the Pilgrimage, seek a pilgrim as your companion, whether

he is a Hindu, a Turk or an Arab.

1-2895

Do not look at his figure and colour, look at his purpose and intention.

1-2896

If he is black, he still is in unison with you: call him white, for spiritually his

complexion is the same as yours.

1-1205

To speak the same language is a kinship and affinity: when a man is with those

in whom he cannot confide, he is like a prisoner in chains.

1-1206

O, many are the Indians and Turks who speak the same language; o, many are

the Turks who are as strangers to each other.

1-1207

Therefore the language of mutual understanding is different indeed: to be one

in heart is better than to be one in language (speak the same language).

2-1089

The heart eats a particular food from every single companion; the heart

acquires a particular excellence from every single piece of knowledge.

2-1091

You eat (receive) something from meeting with anyone, and you carry away

something from meeting with a companion.

2-1092

When a planet comes into conjunction with another planet, they will assuredly

produce the effect appropriate to both of them,

2-1093

As for example the human being is born from the union of man and woman,

and as sparks arise from stone and iron coming together;

383 This ḥadīth (saying of the Prophet) is mentioned in Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī on p. 183.

146

2-1094

And as from the joining together of earth with rains fruits, greenery and sweet

herbs are produced;

2-1095

And as from the joining together of plants and verdant spots with man, joy of

heart, being free of pain or sorrow and happiness are produced;

2-1096

And as from the joining together of happiness with our souls our goodness and

beneficence are born.

2-80

The Beautiful attracts the beautiful to itself: know this for sure. So recite the

words the good women are for the good men.

The Fourth Rivulet [2.1.4]

Seeking the company of mystics and experiencing their influence.

3-1442

For this seeking is a blessed work; this search is a killer of obstacles on the

Way to God.

3-1443

This search is the key to the things that you seek; this search is your army and

the victory of your banners.

3-1444

This search is like the rooster crowing and proclaiming that the dawn is near.

3-1446

Whomever you see engaged in search, o son, become his friend and cast your

head before him384,

3-1447

For by being the neighbour of the seekers you yourself will become a seeker,

and from the shadows (protection) of the conquerors you yourself will become

a conqueror.

3-1448

If an ant has endeavoured to attain the rank of Solomon, do not look on its

quest with contempt.

3-1449

Everything that you have of wealth and skill in a handicraft or profession – was

it not at first a quest and a thought?

3-2302

Come, seek them, for search is the pillar (foundation) of fortune: every success

consists in (depends on) fixing the heart upon the object of desire.

3-2303

Unconcerned with all the business of the world, keep saying with all your soul

kū, kū 385, like a dove

3-4781

If the shadow (protection) of God is over the head of the servant of God, the

seeker at last will be a finder.

384 I.e. devote yourself to him (Nich.).

385 Literally: where? where? (Nich.).

147

3-4782

The Prophet said that when you knock on a door, in the end a head will appear

from that door386.

3-4783

When you sit waiting for someone on the road, in the end you will see also his

face.

3-4784

When, every day, you keep digging the earth from a pit, in the end you will

reach the pure water.

4-724

Listen, come swiftly, o seeker of felicity, for now is the time for manifestations

of spiritual grace and the opening of the door.

4-725

O you who are not a seeker, come also, that you may gain the gift of seeking

felicity from this faithful Friend.

The story of Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm-e Adham387, who abandoned his

kingdom and his wealth and thus attained to the Truth. [2.1.4]

4-726

Quickly smash into pieces the kingdom of this world, like Ibrāhīm, son of

Adham, that like him you may gain the kingdom of everlasting life.

4-727

At night that king was asleep on his throne, while on the roof of the palace the

guards were on duty388.

4-829

Reclining on a throne, that man of good name at night heard a noise of

tramping and shrill cries from the roof.

4-830

He heard loud footsteps on the roof of the palace, and said to himself, “Who

dares to do this?”

4-831

He shouted, at the palace window, “Who is it? This is not a man, it may well be

a genie.”

4-832

Wondrous people put their heads down from the roof, saying, “We go round on

a nightly search.”

4-833

“Eh, what are you looking for?” “Camels,” they replied. He said, “Take heed!

Whoever looked for a camel on a roof?”

4-834

Then they said to him, “How are you seeking to meet with God on a throne of

state?”

4-835

That was all. No one saw him again: he vanished like a genie from the sight of

man.

386 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 342. Cf. the New Testament: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7).

387 Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm-e Adham (died 777 CE) was a prince or king in Balkh, in the east of Greater Khurāsān. He

renounced his position and wealth and became a renowned Ṣūfī Saint.

388 Literally: were engaged in holding and seizing (Nich.).

148

4-836

His reality (real self) was hidden, although he was in people’s presence: how

could the people see anything but the beard and robe of the dervish?

4-837

When he disappeared from his own and the people’s eyes, he became

renowned in the world, like the ‘Anqā389.

4-838

Whenever the soul of any spiritual bird has come to Mount Qāf390, all the world

boasts and brags about it.

5-2047

To everyone who suffers a tribulation a treasure is revealed: everyone who

makes an earnest endeavour comes into a fortune.

5-2048

The Prophet has said that genuflection and prostration in ritual prayer are

equivalent to knocking on the Divine door of mystical attainment391.

5-2049

When anyone continues to knock on that door, felicity peeps out for his sake.

Story:

The treasure that we are looking for is hidden in our house

(i.e. what you are looking for is to be found in yourself). [2.1.4]

6-4206

There once was a man who inherited money and estates: he squandered all and

was left destitute and miserable.

6-4207

Inherited wealth indeed does not remain faithful to its new owner, since it was

parted against its will from the deceased one.

6-4208

Just because the heir got it easily, he does not know its value; for he never

made haste to work, toil and earn it.

6-4210

His ready money went and his furniture and houses went: he was left alone like

owls in the deserts.

6-4211

He cried, “O Lord, You gave me provision: the provision is gone: either give

me some provision or send death.”

6-4212

When he became empty, he began to call unto God: he started the lament of “O

Lord!” and “O Lord, protect me!”

6-4240

He dreamed that he heard a Voice from heaven saying, “Your fortune will be

found in Cairo

6-4241

Go to Cairo: there your affair will be set right. God has accepted your humble

plea: He is the only beacon of hope.

6-4242

In such and such a spot is a great treasure: you must go to Cairo to seek it.

389‘Anqā: a phoenix-like bird from Arabic story tradition. Its main characteristic is its elusiveness: as soon as you try to catch it, it’s gone. Its Persian equivalent is the Sīmurgh.

390 Qāf: mythical mountain or chain of mountains surrounding the earth, created from a single emerald.

391 I.e. prayer is the means of attaining to union with God (Nich.).

149

6-4244

When he left Baghdad and came to Cairo, his courage was restored392 when he saw

Cairo,

6-4247

But he had no money left for great or small expenses; and he was about to go

and beg from the common people.

6-4250

“At nightfall,” he said to himself, “I will slip out very quietly, in order that I

may beg in the dark without feeling ashamed.”

6-4252

With this in mind he went out into the street, and with these thoughts in his

head he wandered to and fro.

6-4255

Suddenly the night patrol seized him and, unable to restrain his anger393, beat

him with fist and truncheon.

6-4256

As it happened, the people of the city had suffered losses in those dark nights

from the plundering of night thieves.

6-4258

So much so that the Khalīfa 394 said, “Cut off the hand of anyone who roams

about by night, even if he is a relative of mine.”

6-4265

The night patrol saw him in the street at such a time and gave him a thorough

beating and countless blows.

6-4266

Shrieks and cries for mercy arose from the poor wretch: “Don’t strike! Let me

tell the truth about it all!”

6-4267

He replied, “Look now, I will give you time: speak, that I may learn how you

came out into the streets by night.

6-4268

You do not belong to this place, you are a stranger and unknown to me: tell me

what you are really plotting here.

6-4272

After taking many oaths he replied, “I am not a burglar or pickpocket.

6-4273

I am no thief and criminal: I am a stranger in Cairo, I belong to Baghdad.”

6-4274

He related the story of his dream and the treasure of gold, and under the

influence of his truthfulness the man’s heart expanded like a flower.

6-4275

From the treasure seeker’s oaths (objections) he recognized the truth: in him

both the burning and the rue-seed395 were plainly visible.

392 Literally: his back became warm (Nich.).

393 Literally: yellow bile (Nich.).

394 “Khalīfa” literally means “one who replaces someone else who left or died”. The English word “caliph” is

derived from “Khalīfa”. In the Sunnī Muslim tradition, “Khalīfa” denotes “a successor to the Prophet

Muḥammad”; this is not the case in the Shī‘ī Muslim tradition – Shī‘ī Muslims call the successors to the Prophet

“Imām”. In Ṣūfī Orders, “khalīfa” is a title given to one who may represent his Master abroad or in his absence.

Khalīfa then means “deputy” or “deputized teacher and representative”. In certain orders however, khalīfa means “successor to a Ṣūfī Saint or Master”.

150

6-4312

The night patrol said, “You are not a thief and you are not a villain: you are a

good man, but you are foolish and silly.

6-4313

You make such a long journey, relying on a fantasy and mere dream: your

intelligence does not have the least spark396 of brightness.

6-4314

I have dreamed many times, continuously, that there is a hidden treasure in

Baghdad,

6-4315

Buried in such and such a quarter and such and such a street” – the name, in

fact, was that of the street where this sorrowful man lived.

6-4317

“I have often dreamed myself that there is a treasure in the dwelling-place in

Baghdad.

6-4318

I never left my home because of this fantasy, but in pursuit of a single dream

you come here without considering the fatigue.

6-4322

The treasure seeker said to himself, “The treasure is in my house: then why am

I poverty-stricken and lamenting there?

6-4323

While living above the treasure, I have almost died of beggary because I am

heedless and blind397.”

6-4324

This good news intoxicated him with joy: his sorrow vanished, and without

opening his lips he chanted a hundred thousand praises to God.

6-4336

He returned from Cairo to Baghdad, prostrating himself, bowing in prayer and

giving praise and thanks to God.

6-4385

When he came home, he discovered the treasure: by Divine grace his fortune

was restored.

You cannot seek the Beloved unless you are in love. [2.1.4]

6-1962

Burning the rose and occupying yourself with the thorn is of no use to you if

you have work to do.

6-1964

This specialty needs a man with a brave heart like you: do you, who have a

brave heart, search for this treasure?

6-1966

How could Reason go down the road of despair? It is Love that runs on its head

in that direction.

6-1967

Love is reckless, not Reason: Reason seeks that from which it may get some

profit.

395 I.e. both his inner sincerity and his veracity. Rue-seed is burnt as a charm against the evil eye (Nich.).

396 Literally “a tasū (a very small weight).”(Nich.).

397 Literally “in the veil” (Nich.).

151

1-150

When a thorn penetrates anyone’s foot, he sets his foot upon his knee.

1-151

And keeps searching for its head with the point of a needle, and if he does not

find it, he keeps moistening the spot with his lip.

1-152

A thorn in the foot is so hard to find: how then is it with a thorn in the heart?

Answer that!

1-153

If every mean fellow had seen the thorn in the heart, when would sorrows gain

the upper hand over anyone?

5-1727

If you are a true believer, come now, enter the ranks of battle, for a feast has

been prepared for you in Heaven.

5-1728

In the hope of journeying upwards, arise and take your stand before the

miḥrāb 398, to pray and weep like a candle, o young man!

5-1729

Let your tears fall like rain, and burn and search ardently all night long, like the

candle shortened by the flame.

5-1734

For this search is God’s pledge deposited within you, because every seeker

deserves to find something that he seeks.

3-1437

Do not look at your ugly or beautiful form; look at Love and the object of your

search.

3-1438

Do not consider the fact that you are despicable or weak; look upon your

aspiration, o noble one.

5-1104

And if you do not have a foot (means), then set yourself in motion that you

may see every great and small.

5-1105

Even though Zalīkhā399 shut the doors on every side, Joseph was able to return

to safety by setting himself in motion.

5-1107

Although the world has no visible breach (means of exit), one still must run to

and fro recklessly, like Joseph,

5-1108

In order that the lock may open and the doorway become clear, and the region

of non-spatiality400 become your dwelling-place.

398 I.e. the niche in the wall of a mosque showing the direction of Mecca (Nich.).

399 Zalīkhā is the Persian form of the Arabic name Zulaykha. The story of Yūsuf (Joseph) and Zulaykha is told in the Qur’ān (SūraYūsuf – the 12thSūra – verses 31-34), even though Zulaykha’s name is not explicitly mentioned.

Their story has been retold many times. The most famous version is the one written by the great Persian Ṣūfī

poet and mystic Ḥażrat Mawlānā Nūru’ddīn ‘Adbu’r-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414-1492 CE), in his Haft Awrang (“Seven Thrones”).

400 Non-spatiality: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

152

3-1439

In whatever state you may be, keep searching; o you who have a dry lip,

always seek the water,

3-1440

For that dry lip of yours is evidence that it will reach the source in the end.

3-1441

Dryness of lip is a message from the water to say that this agitation (anxious

search) will certainly bring you to the water401.

1-1817

The drowning man suffers an agony of soul and clutches at every straw.

1-1818

For fear of losing his life, he flings around both hand and foot to see whether

anyone will take his hand (help him) in danger.

1-1819

The Friend loves the agitation: it is better to struggle vainly than to lie still.

It is the One Sought for (Maṭlūb) who attracts the seeker (ṭālib). [2.1.4]

1-1739

The hearts of heart-ravishers are captivated by those who have lost their hearts

to them: all loved ones are the prey of their lovers.

1-1738

The fowler becomes a prey to the birds in order that all of a sudden he may

make them his prey.

1-1741

If the thirsty seek water from the world, water too seeks the thirsty in the

world.

1-1742

Since He is your lover, be silent: as He is pulling your ear, be all ear.

1-1822

Keep on scraping and scratching like this (exerting yourself to the utmost): do

not remain unoccupied for a single moment until your last breath.

The search holds a hidden pain, containing

a message from the Beloved. [2.1.4]

3-189

One night a certain man was crying “Allāh!” until his lips grew sweet with

praise of Him.

3-190

The Devil said, “Please tell me, o talkative one, where is the answer “Here I

am”402 to all this “Allāh”?

3-191

Not a single response comes from the Throne: how long will you cry ‘Allāh’

with grim face?”

401 Or “bring you to us (to me)” (Nich.).

402 This refers to a prayer called talbiya, which is constantly repeated by Muslims, as they set out to perform the Ḥajj or ritual pilgrimage to Mecca: “Labbayka, Allāhumma, Labbayk! Labbayka, la sharīka Laka, Labbayk!

Inna’l-ḥamda wa’n-ni‘mata Lakawa’l-Mulk! Lā sharīka Lak!” . This means: “Here I am, o God, Here I am

[literally “with You, o God”; the implication is: “Here I am at Your service!”]! Here I am, You are without equal, here I am! Verily, to You all praise is due, to You belongs all Beneficence, Yours is the Dominion! You are without equal!”.

153

3-192

His heart broke and he laid his head down to sleep: in a dream he saw

Khaḍir 403 amidst the verdure.

3-193

Khaḍir said, “Listen, you have ceased to praise and invoke God: why are you

remorseful about your invocation and remembrance of Him?”

3-194

He said, “Since no ‘Here I am’ is coming to me in response, I fear that I may

be a doomed one who is driven away from the Door.”

3-195

Khaḍir said, “God said, ‘Your ‘Allāh’ is My ‘Here I am, and your supplication,

grief and ardour are My messenger to you.

3-196

Your tricks and attempts to find a means to reach Me were in reality My

drawing you towards Me, and released your feet from the bonds of worldliness.

3-197

Your fear and love are the noose to catch My favour: beneath your every ‘O

Lord’ is many a ‘Here am I’ from Me.”

3-198

The soul of the fool is far from this prayer, because he is not permitted to cry

“O Lord.”

3-199

His mouth and heart are locked, so that he may not moan unto God at the time

of tribulation.

3-4398

The thirsty man is moaning, “O delicious water!!” The water moans too,

saying, “Where is the water drinker?”

3-4399

This thirst in our souls is the attraction exerted by the Water: we belong to It,

and It belongs to us.

3-978

Whether one moves slowly or quickly, he who is a seeker will be a finder.

3-979

Always devote yourself to seeking with both hands (with all your might), for

search is an excellent guide on the way.

3-980

Even though you are lame, limping, bent in figure and ill-mannered, always

creep towards Him and keep searching for Him.

403 Khaḍir: another name for Khiḍr, the enigmatic “Green Man”, who acted as a spiritual guide for a number of Prophets and Saints who did not have a guide of flesh and blood, such as the Prophet Moses and the famous Ṣūfī

Master, gnostic and theoretician Ḥażrat Muḥyī’ddīn ibn ‘Arabī (1165-1240 CE).

154

The Second River [2.2]

The help of the Pīr resembles a strong rope

that the true murīd can hold on to404.

The First Rivulet [2.2.1]

The meaning and qualities of a true Pīr and

the way a murīd should behave towards the Pīr.

3-1790

Who is a “Shaykh”? An old man ( pīr)405, that is to say, a white-haired one. Do

you understand the meaning of this “white hair”, o hopeless one?

3-1793

That “black hair” is the attribute of sensual men; that “hair” is not the hair of

the beard or the hair of the head.

3-1792

When his self-existence has ceased, he is “old” ( pīr), whether his hair is black

or grizzled.

3-1791

The black hair is his self-existence: he is not “old” until not a single hair of his

self-existence remains.

3-1795

If the Ṣūfī has been delivered from only a part of the attributes of sensual men,

he is not a Shaykh; he is a grey (middle-aged) one, o son.

3-1797

But if his hair is white and he is still with himself (self-existent), he is not a Pīr

and is not the elect of God;

3-1798

And if a single hair tip of his sensual attributes survives, he is not heavenly: he

belongs to the material world.

4-2161

O, there are many black bearded ones who are old in wisdom; o, there are

many white bearded ones with a heart black as pitch.

4-2163

O son, the really old one is the old in understanding: it is not whiteness of the

hair in the beard and on the head.

4-2164

How would any old man be older than Iblīs? When he lacks understanding, he

is good-for-nothing.

4-2165

Suppose he is a child: what does it matter if he has the life-giving breath of

Jesus and is purified of vain glory and vain desire?

404 Qur’ān 3:103

405 Pīr is the Persian word for “Ṣūfī Master”. Its Arabic equivalent is Shaykh. The primary meaning of the Persian word pīr is “old” or “old person”. The primary meaning of the Arabic word shaykh is similar to the Persian word pīr: “old man” or “an elder” It should be noted that throughout his Mathnawī, Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī uses both Shaykh and Pīr indiscriminately to designate “Ṣūfī Master”, without difference in rank or realization.

155

5-2484

The enlightened Shaykh acquaints his disciples with the Way; moreover, he

causes the light of faith to accompany his words.

1-2939

The Pīr is like summer, and other people are like the autumn month; other

people are like night, and the Pīr is the moon.

1-2940

I have bestowed on my young Fortune (Ḥusāmu’ddīn406) the name of Pīr (old),

because he is made old by the Truth, not made old by Time.

1-2938

Write down what pertains to the Pīr (Guide) who knows the Way: – Choose the

Pīr and regard him as the essence of the Way.

6-4121

May no other than the Pīr be your master and commander! – not the Pīr (old

man) of the rolling sky407, but the Pīr of right guidance408.

5-2485

Strive to become intoxicated and enlightened, in order that his light may be like

the rhyme letter409 to your speech.

2-493

There are great differences between the true knower and the blind imitator, for

the former is like David, while the other is but an echo.

1-314

The face of the one is turned towards the Beloved, while the face of the other is

just his own face (he is facing himself).

1-315

Look long on the face of everyone, keep watch attentively: it is possible that by

serving Ṣūfīs you will come to know the face of the true Saint.

1-316

Since there are many devils who have the face of Adam, it is not good to give

your hand to every hand.

The imitators of the Ṣūfīs, who deceive others and abuse the name of

Sufism, even though they know nothing about the Path of the Ṣūfī. [2.2.1]

1-2584

O, many are those who are sweet as sugar, but poison is concealed in the sugar.

5-1329

Its external appearance resembles other appearances, but the disc (round cake)

of bread is very far from being the disc of the moon.

5-3806

The false Ṣūfī is only the figure of a Ṣūfī: he has no soul (life); accordingly, the

true Ṣūfīs get a bad name from Ṣūfīs such as these.

1-2274:

He has stolen many expressions used by dervishes, in order that he himself

might be considered to be a holy person.

406 Ḥusāmu’ddīn Chelebī (died ca. 1284-1285 CE) was Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s most advanced disciple and

companion. He was the one who asked Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī to put his teachings down in writing. This request

was the beginning of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s Mathnawī. Ḥusāmu’ddīn diligentlywrote down all his Master’s words, as he uttered them in as state of Divine inspiration.

407 I.e. “Father Time” or “Fortune” (Nich.).

408 I.e. the spiritual director (Nich.).

409 I.e. be inseparable from (Nich.).

156

1-2275

In his talk he needlessly finds fault with Bāyazīd410, although Yazīd411 would

be ashamed of his existence.

How can anyone guide others if he or she has not walked the Path? [2.2.1]

5-1423

O, there are many ignorant hypocrites who have seen nothing of the Way of the

holy men except the woollen mantle ( ṣūf 412).

4-1448

He does not know the way, yet he acts as a guide: his wicked spirit sets the

whole world on fire.

4-1648

Hypocrisy is like lightning, and in its gleam the travellers cannot see the way.

4-1697

Do not act thus as a guide out of greed for amassing wealth and power: follow

behind, in order that the Candle (the true guide) may go in front of you.

4-1698

The Candle, like the moon, clearly shows the traveller’s destination, whether it

leads to the grain of spiritual welfare or to the snare of spiritual ruin.

4-1699

Whether you want it or not, as long as you are with the Lantern the form of

falcon and the form of crow become visible to you.

4-1700

Otherwise, beware, for these crows have lit the lantern of deception: they have

learned the cry of the white falcons.

4-1701

A man may learn the cry of the hoopoe, but where is the mystery of the hoopoe

and the message from Sabā413?

4-1702

Know the difference between the natural cry and the artificial one, know the

difference between the crown of kings and the crown (crest) of hoopoes.

410 The Persian Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī, also known as Ḥażrat Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr al-Bisṭāmī (ca.

804-874 CE), is one of the key figures in the history of Sufism, in that he founded what came to be known as

“the School of Intoxication ( sukr)”, which flourished in Greater Khurāsān, as opposed to the equally influential

“School of Sobriety ( saḥw)”, which was founded in Baghdad by the Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Junayd al-Baghdādī (ca.

830-910 AD).

411 Yazīd (ca. 645-683 CE): son of and successor to the first Umayyad caliph, Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān (602—

680 CE). He was responsible for the martyrdom of Ḥażrat Ḥusayn, son of Ḥażrat ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, in 680 CE,

an event that marked the final split between Sunnī and Shī‘ī Muslims. But the true Ṣūfī wayfarer ( sālik) transcends the outer and conventional forms of religion. He isn’t bound to any religion, school of thought or a set of beliefs. His religion is the religion of Love, which surpasses all forms. Even so, mystical lovers may use a specific form of religion to come closer to Divine Love. But when they reach Love and become absorbed in it, they are one, and they experience all as one. As Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī states: “What is the means of ascension

to Heaven? This not-being. Not-being is the creed and religion of the lovers.” Mathnawī 6-233.

412 Most orientalists and Ṣūfī Masters agree that the words “ṣūfī” and “taṣwwuf” are derived from the Arabic

word ṣūf, meaning “wool”. The early Ṣūfīs had a tendency towards asceticism and may have taken to wearing simple, coarse woollen garments, following the example of contemporary Christian monks and ascetics, who abounded in the Near East.

413 Sabā = Sheba – an ancient kingdom in south-western Arabia, mentioned in the Bible and the Qur’ān, in the

story of the Prophet Salomon/Ḥażrat Sulaymān and the Queen of Sheba/Sabā.

157

4-1703

The shameless have attached the speech of dervishes and the deep sayings of

Gnostics to their tongues.

1-319

The vile man will steal the language of dervishes, so that he may cast a spell of

fascination and deceit on one who is simple.

1-320

The work of holy men is as light and heat; the work of vile men is trickery and

shamelessness.

6-2548

Who boast far and wide414 of being Shaykhs and make it appear that they have

attained to the rank of Bāyazīd.

6-2549

And, claiming to have travelled away from themselves and have become united

with God, open an assembly for disciples in the house of pretence.

1-2276

He does not possess a morsel of bread and food of Heaven: God did not throw

a single bone to him.

1-2277

He has proclaimed, “I have laid out the dishes, I am the Deputy of God, I am

the son of the spiritual Khalīfa415:

1-2278

Welcome to the feast, o simple-hearted ones, tormented by hunger, that from

my bounteous table you may eat your fill – of nothing.

4-1449

When one who is as a child in the Way of spiritual poverty takes on the role of

an Elder (Director of souls, Pīr), those who follow him are seized by the ghoul

of adversity.

4-1450

“Come,” he says, “for I will show you the moon”; yet that impure one never

saw the moon.

4-1451

How will you show the moon when during all your life you have not seen even

the reflection of the moon in the water, o half-baked fool?

6-1282

How long will you steal the words of the men of God that you may sell them

and receive applause from the crowd?

6-1285

When the call to get up and leave has come, all arts of disputation vanish.

2-2584

You take flattery, sweet words and blandishment and putting them like gold in

your bosom.

6-1286

The world of silence comes into view. Stop talking! Alas for him who is not

familiar with inner silence!

414 Literally “let fall into the world (spread abroad) the boast” (Nich.).

415 “Khalīfa” literally means “one who replaces someone else who left or died”, hence the English word “caliph”.

In the Sunnī tradition, “Khalīfa” denotes “a successor to the Prophet Muḥammad”; this is not the case in the

Shī‘ī tradition – Shī‘ī Muslims call the successors to the Prophet “Imām”. In Ṣūfī Orders, “khalīfa” is a title given to one who may represent his Master abroad or in his absence. Khalīfa then means “deputy” or “deputized teacher and representative”. In certain orders however, khalīfa means “successor to a Ṣūfī Saint or Master”.

158

5-1424

O, there are many impudent fellows who, with little practice in the religious

life, have learned nothing but talk and brag from the spiritual kings.

5-1425

Each one of them, holding a rod in their hands, says, “I am Moses”, and all of

them breathe upon foolish people, saying, “I am Jesus.”

5-1429

Having heard a form of words, you have become its interpreter, even though

you do not know the meaning of your words – like parrots.

Allegory:

The parrot and the mirror. [2.2.1]

5-1430

A parrot sees its reflection (image) facing it in the mirror.

5-1431

The teacher is concealed behind the mirror: that sweet-tongued well-instructed

man is talking.

5-1432

The little parrot thinks that these words uttered in low tones are spoken by the

parrot in the mirror.

5-1433

Therefore it learns human speech from one of its own kind, being unaware of

the cunning of that old wolf.

5-1434

He is teaching it behind the mirror; otherwise it would not talk, for it does not

learn except from his congeners.

5-1435

In reality, it learned to talk from that accomplished man, but it does not know

his meaning and mystery.

5-1437

Similarly, the disciple full of egoism sees himself in the mirror of the Shaykh’s

body.

5-1438

How should he see Universal Reason behind the mirror at the time of speech

and discourse?

5-1439

He supposes that a man is speaking; and the other (Universal Reason) is a

mystery of which he has no knowledge.

5-1440

He learns the words, but he cannot know the eternal mystery, for he is a parrot,

not a close companion.

5-1441

Likewise, people learn the song of birds, for this speech (of birds) is an affair

of the mouth and the throat:

5-1442

But all are without knowledge of the birds’ meaning, except an exalted

Solomon who possesses considerable insight.

5-1443

Many learned the language of true dervishes and with it brought splendour to

the pulpit and the assembly-place.

159

5-1444

Either nothing was given to them except formal expressions, or eventually the

Divine mercy came and revealed the right way.

Story:

The fools pretending to be wise416. [2.2.1]

5-1445

During a chillah 417 (forty days’ mystical seclusion), a certain man dreamed that

he saw a pregnant bitch on the road.

5-1446

Suddenly, he heard the cry of puppies: the puppies were in the womb, invisible.

5-1447

The yelps astonished him greatly: he wondered how the puppies called out in

the womb.

5-1448

Puppies howling in the womb – “has anyone,” he thought, “ever seen this in

the world?”

5-1449

When he sprang up from his dream and came to himself, his bewilderment

increased at every moment.

5-1450

During the chillah none should untie the knot except the Presence418 of God,

full of Greatness and Majesty is He.

5-1451

He said, “O Lord, because of this difficulty and idle talk I am deprived of

remembrance ( dhikr)419 of You during the chillah.

5-1452

Loosen my wings that I may soar and enter the garden of remembrance and the

apple-orchard of gnosis.”

5-1453

At once there came a mysterious voice420 in reply to him saying, “Know that it

is a sign of the idle talk of the ignorant,

5-1454

Who, being blindfolded, have begun to speak in vain, without having emerged

from the veil and curtain.”

5-1455

The yelp of the dog in the womb is useless: in such a case he is neither a hunter

of animals nor a keeper of watch by night.

416 Qur’ān 46:32.

417 Chillah: pronounced as something in between chillé and chellé in Persian (with the stress on the first syllable); the word is derived from chihil (more or less pronounced as chehel, with the stress on the second syllable), the Persian word for “forty”.

418 Literally “Portal” (Nich.).

419 Dhikr or dhikru’Llāh means “remembrance of God” or “restoring the memory of God”, by repeating various sacred phrases and names of God, either silently or aloud. Dhikr is practised individually as well as collectively, and is the most fundamental practice of Sufism. Practising dhikr restores man’s memory and consciousness of his True Being, his essential unity with the Divine. “Dhikr” is not limited to one or more practices: literally anything that brings about this mystical consciousness may be called “dhikr”.

420 Literally “the voice of the hātif” (Nich.). In classical Ṣūfī parlance, the hātif is “the inner caller” or “inner speaker”.

160

5-1456

He has not seen the wolf, so as to stop him; he has not seen the robber, so as to

repel him.

5-1459

Without having seen the Moon, he gives indications: in doing so he misleads

the ignorant countryman.

5-1460

He gives the purchaser a hundred indications describing the Moon which he

has never seen, for the sake of gaining power.

How knowledge and devotion cause arrogance and turn into a veil. [2.2.1]

Allegory. [2.2.1]

3-721

A certain jackal went into the dyeing vat, stayed in the vat for a while,

3-722

And then came out, his skin having become multi-coloured, saying, ‘I have

become the peacock of ‘Illiyyīn421.’

3-724

He saw himself green, red, ginger and yellow, so he presented himself merrily

to the jackals.

3-725

They all said, “O little jackal, what is the matter, that your head is so full of

with joy?

3-726

Because of rejoicing you have turned away from us with disdain: where does

this arrogance of yours come from?”

3-727

One of the jackals went to him and said, “O so-and-so, have you acted

deceitfully or have you really become one of those whose hearts rejoice in

God422?

3-728

You have acted deceitfully so that you may jump on to the pulpit and by your

idle talk give these people the feeling of regret423.

3-729

You have striven much, but you have not felt any spiritual ardour; therefore

your deceit has demonstrated your impudence.”

3-730

Spiritual ardour belongs to the Saints and Prophets; on the other hand,

impudence is the refuge of every impostor.

3-766

Likewise the multi-coloured jackal came secretly and tapped on the lobe of the

rebuker’s ear.

3-767

“Please look at me and at my colour; truly the idolater possesses no idol like

me.

421 A place in the Seventh Heaven (Nich.).

422 I.e. “are you a hypocrite seeking to pose as a Saint?” (Nich.).

423 I.e. cause them to envy your felicity (Nich.).

161

3-768

Like the flower garden I have become many-hued and lovely: bow in homage

to me, do not withdraw from me in aversion.

3-769

Behold my glory, splendour, sheen, radiance and colour! Call me the Pride of

the World and the Pillar of the Religion!

3-770

I have become the place of manifestation of the Divine Grace, I have become

the tablet on which the Divine Majesty is unfolded.

3-771

O jackals, take heed, do not call me a jackal: how should a jackal have so much

beauty?”

3-772

Those jackals came to him in large numbers, like moths around the candle.

3-773

“Say then, what shall we call you, o precious creature424?” He replied, “A

peacock brilliant as Jupiter.”

3-774

Then they said to him, “The spiritual peacocks show themselves with the

Beloved in the Rose garden:

3-775

Do you display yourself like that?” “No,” he said: “not having gone into the

desert, how should I tread the valley of Minā425?”

3-776

“Do you utter the cry of peacocks?” “No,” he said. “Then, Master Bū’l-‘Alā426,

you are not a peacock.

3-777

The peacock’s garment of honour comes from Heaven: how will you reach it

by means of colours and pretences?”

3-784

If you appear in the direction of the peacocks, you are incapable of their

display and you will be put to shame.

3-786

Your foulness and disgrace were exposed, you did fall headlong from your

height.

3-787

When you saw the touchstone, you became black, like false coin: the lion-like

figure vanished, and the dog was revealed.

3-788

O foul mangy dog, do not clothe yourself in the lion’s skin through greed and

insolence.

4-1774

In the battlefield of this world there are wise ones who distinguish the smell: do

not idly imitate the ecstatic cries of the truly enraptured in your presumption.

424 The word used in the Persian text is jawhar, which can mean “a jewel” as well as “substance” or “essence”

(in a philosophical sense).

425 The valley of Minā is the place where pilgrims to Mecca symbolically stone three pillars representing the Devil on the last day of the Ḥajj.

426 A name signifying “Father of sublimity” (Nich.).

162

2-3454

Be a vassal since you are not a lord: do not steer the boat yourself, since you

are not the boatman.

2-3455

Since you are not perfect in spiritual tradesmanship, do not set up a shop by

yourself. Be pliable to the hand, in order that you may become leavened like

dough.

2-3456

Listen to the Divine command, “Remain silent427,” be mute; since you have not

become the tongue (mouthpiece) of God, be an ear.

5-903

But that one whose hypocrisy pleases you, he is only your Saint, he is not the

elect of God.

5-904

Whoever lives in accordance with your disposition and nature seems to be a

Saint and a Prophet to your carnal nature.

2-23

Go, seek the friend of God at once: when you have done so, God is your friend.

Allegory:

Following an unaccomplished Pīr leads

one astray and causes despair. [2.2.1]

6-129

One day an inquirer said to a preacher, “O you who are the pulpit’s most

eminent speaker,

6-130

I have a question to ask. Answer my question in this assembly place, o

possessor of the marrow of wisdom.

6-131

A bird has settled on the city wall: which is better – its head or its tail?”

6-132

He replied, “If its face is to the town and its tail to the country, know that its

face is better than its tail;

6-133

But if its tail is towards the town and its face to the country, be the dust on that

tail and spring away from its face.”

3-517

Do not go to the country: the country makes a fool of a man, it makes the

intellect void of light and splendour428.

3-522

What is “the country”? The Shaykh that has not been united with God, but has

become addicted to conformity and argument.

4-3375

Use the dust of every elect one as eyewash: it will both burn the eye and do it

good.

427 Qur’ān 7:240.

428 In Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s time, “the country” symbolized ignorance and all that was crude and uncivilized, whereas “the city” was a symbol for knowledge, civilization and sophistication.

163

6-126

Every metal that sets its face towards (aspires to evolve into) the plant (the

vegetative state) – life grows from the tree of its fortune.

6-127

Every plant that turns its face towards the animal spirit drinks, like Khiḍr, from

the Fountain of Life.

6-128

Once more, when the animal spirit turns its face towards the Divine Beloved, it

lays down its baggage and passes into the life without end.

2-1317

No mirror ever became iron again; no bread ever became the wheat in the

stack.

2-1318

No full-grown grape ever became a young grape; no mature fruit ever became

unripe fruit.

2-1319

Become mature and be far from the possibility of change for the worse: go,

become the Light, like Burhān-e Muḥaqqiq429.

2-1320

When you have escaped from self, you have become wholly the proof430 of

God: when the slave in you has become nothing, you have become the King.

How being put to the test reveals the true nature of things. [2.2.1]

3-682

There are hundreds of thousands of trials, o father, for anyone who says, “I am

the commander of the Gate.”

3-683

If the common people do not recognize him by putting him to the test, then the

followers of the Way will demand the sign of his truthfulness from him.

3-686

If every vicious person were not put to the test, every weakling would be a

Rustam431 in combat.

6-2069

The light of the holy men has taken hold of the East and the West: the heavens

have prostrated themselves in wonder.

6-2070

The Sun of God has risen from the sign of the Ram: the material sun has gone,

shamefaced, under the veil.

1-1930

Listen, for the Saints are the Isrāfīls432 of the present time: from them comes

life and freshness to the dead.

429 Ḥażrat Shaykh Sayyid Burhānu’ddīn al-Muḥaqqiq at-Tirmidhī (d. ca. 1245 CE) was an eminent Ṣūfī Master.

Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī studied and practised Sufism under his guidance for nine years, prior to his meeting with Ḥażrat Shams-e Tabrīzī in 1244 CE.

430 Proof: in the Persian text, ḤażratMawlānā Rūmī uses the Arabic word for “proof”, i.e. burhān; in doing so, he pays homage to Ḥażrat Shaykh Burhānu’ddīn al-Muḥaqqiq, who is mentioned in the preceding verse.

431 In the Shāhnāmeh, “The Book of Kings”, the national epic of Iran, which was written in the 10th century CE

by the poet Firdawsī, Rustam is a heroic figure who distinguished himself in combat.

432 Isrāfīl is the Arabic name for the angel Raphael, who will herald Judgment Day by blowing his trumpet.

According to the Qur’ān and the Ḥadīths, the first blow of Isrāfīl’s trumpet will destroy everything, the second one will bring the dead back to life (Qur’ān 39:68).

164

1-1931

Their voice enlivens the dead souls in the body’s grave in their shrouds.

1-1932

He who is thus awakened says, “This voice is different from all other voices: to

quicken the dead is the work of the voice of God.

1-1933

We had died and were entirely decayed: the call of God came: we all arose.”

1-1936

Absolutely, indeed, the voice is from the King (God), even though it comes

from the throat of God’s servant.

The meaning of the name ‘Abdullāh (i.e. “true servant of God”)

is possessing Divine qualities and characteristics. [2.2.1]

1-2267

Since he had no light in himself, how should others obtain light from him by

associating with him?

1-2268

He is like the half blind healer of eyes: what should he put in people’s eyes

except wool433?

2-1567

The Shaykh who has become one who sees by the light of God has obtained

knowledge about the end and the beginning.

2-1479

Such a one enters within the heart like a fantasy: the mystery of the real state is

unveiled to him.

2-1482

How should it be hard for him who walks on the spheres to walk on the earth?

3-79

O son, the Saints are God’s children: both in their absence and presence He is

well aware of what happens to them.

3-3333

The watchers of the Sun of Reality are the Saints: in the flesh they are

acquainted with the Divine mysteries.

3-3353

Or the friend of God (the Saint), who has assumed the nature of God and has

become luminous and has received the Absolute Radiance.

3-3364

He has died to self and become living through the Lord: that is why the

mysteries of God are on his lips.

2-1478

In the spiritual world the chosen servants of God, the Knower of things unseen,

are the spies on hearts.

1-1669

The Saints possess power derived from God: they turn the speeding arrow from

its course.

6-1287

Polish your breast (heart) for a day or two: make that mirror434 your book of

meditation.

433 Here, Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses a play on two Persian words, i.e. chashm (“eye) and pashm (“wool”).

165

The value and greatness of Saints can only

be perceived with the inner eye. [2.2.1]

1-263

Do not measure the actions of holy men by comparing them to yourself, though

shēr (lion) and shīr (milk) are similar in writing.435.

1-264

That is why the whole world has gone astray: hardly anyone has knowledge of

God’s Abdāl (Substitutes)436.

1-265

They claimed to be equals of the Prophets; they supposed the Saints to be like

themselves.

1-266

“Look;” they said, “we are men, they are men; both we and they are bounded

by sleep and food.”

1-267

In their blindness they did not perceive that there is an infinite difference

between them.

1-268

Both species of zanbūr 437 ate and drank from the same place, but from that one

(the hornet) came a sting, and from this other (the bee) honey.

1-269

Both species of deer ate grass and drank water: from this one came dung, and

from that one pure musk.

1-270

Both reeds drank from the same water source, but this one is empty and that

one full of sugar.

1-271

Consider hundreds of thousands of such likenesses and observe that the

distance between the two is as great as a seventy years’ journey.

1-272

This one eats, and discharges filth; that one eats, and entirely becomes the light

of God.

1-273

This one eats, and nothing is born from him but avarice and envy; that one eats,

and nothing but love of the One (God) is born from him.

1-275

If both resemble each other in appearance, it may well be so: bitter water and

sweet water have the same clearness.

434 I.e. the illumined heart (Nich.) “Polishing the heart” or “polishing the mirror of the heart” is a common Ṣūfī

expression to describe dhikr, remembrance of God. In a particular ḥadīth the Prophet Muḥammad says: “There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is remembrance of God” (Bukhārī).

435 In written Persian these two words are indistinguishable from each other.

436 The Saints next in rank to the Quṭb, who is the head of the spiritual hierarchy (Nich.). Even though the term Abdāl usually denotes a lesser degree of Saint in the hidden hierarchy of Saints, here it means the Saints who are next in rank to the Quṭb, who is at the pinnacle of this hierarchy. Another possible meaning of Abdāl in this context is “sāliks who have been fully spiritually transformed and purified and who have attained a high spiritual rank”.

437 The general meaning of the word zanbūr is “bee” or “wasp”, but it may also denote other stinging flying insects, such as the hornet ( zanbūr-e surkh) and the honeybee ( zanbūr-e ‘asal). It’s likely that Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī means the Oriental hornet (Vespa orientalis), which has a reddish-brown appearance ( surkh = red).

166

1-276

Who knows the difference except a man endowed with spiritual taste438? Find

him: he knows the sweet water from the brine.

5-1323

Muḥammad is made of flesh and skin; and yet he is unique, even though every

body is made of the same material as his.

5-1324

It has flesh, it has skin and bone; but does this ordinary composition have the

same qualities as his?

5-1325

No; for in that composition (of Muḥammad) there appeared miracles which

vanquished all other bodily compositions.

1-278

The magicians in the time of Moses lifted up a rod like this in their hands for

argument’s sake

1-279

But there is a vast difference between this rod and that rod; there is a great way

from this action (magic) to that action (miracle).

1-280

This action is followed by the curse of God, while that action receives the

mercy (blessing) of God in payment.

3-3515

In the bazaar, the people go about their business all alike, but one is joyous and

another sorrowful.

3-3513

The colour of leaves appears the same to the eye, but every single fruit is of a

different sort.

3-3511

Although the serpent’s egg resembles the sparrow’s egg outwardly, there is a

great distance439 between them.

3-3512

Again, although the seed of the quince440 resembles the seed of the apple,

recognize the differences, o dear one.

3-2297

You are in a hole441 here, o so-and-so, because you have regarded them as

flesh, not as spirit.

2-3113

They were going to make war on the Prophets: they saw the body (of the

Prophet), they supposed he was a man.

3-2298

You have come to ruin442, o foolish man, because like the common people you

regarded these persons as human beings.

438 I.e. one who possesses dhawq, “spiritual taste”, meaning that he obtains knowledge through direct mystical experience.

439 Literally “a far way”.

440 A western Asian shrub or tree ( Cydoniaoblonga) having white flowers and hard apple-like fruit.

441 Literally “the ass is lying down,” i.e. “you cannot make any progress in this matter.” (Nich.).

442 Literally “the affair is ruined” (Nich.).

167

3-2299

You have regarded them in the same way as the accursed Iblīs regarded Adam:

he said, “I am made of fire, while Adam is made of earth.”

3-2300

Bandage your Satanic eye for one moment: how long, I ask you, will you

regard the outer form? How long, how long?

The true Saints are hidden from man’s eyes

Some Saints are only recognized by other Saints. [2.2.1]

Ḥadīth qudsī443:

“My Saints are under My domes and no one knows them except Me”444.

3-3104

Another group of Saints moves to and fro in utter secrecy: how should they

become well-known to the people of the external world?

3-3105

They possess all this spiritual dominion, and yet no one’s eye falls upon their

sovereignty for one moment.

2-168

The Pīrs are they whose spirits were in the Sea of Divine Bounty before this

world existed.

2-169

Before the creation of this body they passed many lifetimes; before the sowing

they took up (harvested) the wheat.

2-174

Before the creation of the heavens they have seen Saturn, before the existence

of seeds they have seen the bread.

2-182

In the heart of the grape they have seen the wine; in absolute fanā 445 they have

seen the true nature of all things.

2-180

Before the creation of grapes it has drunk wines and shown the fervours of

intoxication.

2-175

Without brain and mind they were full of thought, without army and battle they

gained victory.

2-183

The sky is draining drafts from their circling cup, their bounty clothes the sun

in cloth of gold.

3-3598

And in this Sea are artful fish, who turn snakes into fishes by magic –

3-3599

The fish of the deepest depth of the Sea of Divine Majesty: the Sea has taught

them lawful magic;

443 A well-known definition of a ḥadīth qudsī or sacred ḥadīth is this: “A sacred ḥadīth is, as to the meaning, from God the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the Messenger of God. It is that which God the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he has communicated it in his own

words”.

444 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 181.

445 Fanā means to die to your limited self and baqā means to resurge and abide in the Divine Being.

168

3-3600

Therefore, through their brightness the thing that was absurd became a fact: the

ill-starred one went there and his luck changed for the better.

2-3112

God never put any generation to shame until the heart of the man of God was

grieved.

3-2814

The wrath of the spiritual kings has overthrown hundreds of thousands of

cities, o you wicked ones who have lost the way.

3-2816

The wrath of holy men makes the clouds dry; the wrath of saintly hearts has

laid worlds waste.

3-3601

Even if I spoke on this topic until the Resurrection, a hundred Resurrections

would pass, and this speech would still be incomplete.

The hidden Saints are like a treasure that lies hidden in the ruins. [2.2.1]

2-2153

(You may despair of finding the true friend of God; but) since there exists a

treasure in the world, do not grieve: do not think that a ruined place is empty of

treasure.

2-2154

Go to every dervish at random, and when you find the mark of the true Saint,

frequent him assiduously.

2-2155

As the inward-seeing eye was not granted to you, think always that the treasure

may be in everybody.

5-3449

Do not look at the ragged cloak only, for they have put black on the outside of

the gold446.

5-3450

Because of the evil eye the dervish becomes apparently cast out, and that

spiritual ruby is tarnished with smoke on the outside.

5-3451

When are treasures and jewels exposed to view in the rooms of a house?

Treasures are always hidden in ruins.

5-3452

Since Adam’s treasure was buried in a ruin, his clay became a bandage over the

eye of the accursed (Iblīs447).

5-3453

Iblīs looked upon the clay with the utmost contempt, but the spirit of Adam

was saying, “My clay is a barrier to you.”

1-3962

As long as you consider the holy Prophets and Saints as men, know that that

view is an inheritance from Iblīs.

446 I.e. the black woollen cloak worn by the dervish conceals his spiritual worth like the black pigment with which gold is disguised (Nich.).

447 Iblīs: a name of the Devil. This name is probably derived from the Arabic verb ablasa, meaning “he despaired (of God’s Mercy)”.

169

1-3963

If you are not the child of Iblīs, o obstinate one, then how has the inheritance of

that vicious dog come to you?

1-3964

“I am not a vicious dog, I am the Lion of God, a worshipper of God: the lion of

God is he who has escaped from outer form.

1-3965

The lion of this world seeks a prey and provision; the lion of the Lord seeks

freedom and death.

2-2348

To the eye that is open and is as a guide, every dervish cloak enwraps a Moses.

2-2347

If your eye of intuitive certainty is open, see a spiritual commander under every

stone.

All Saints are one. [2.2.1]

1-678

If ten lamps are present in one place, each differs in form from another:

1-679

It is impossible to distinguish without any doubt the light of each, when you

turn your face towards their light.

1-680

If you count a hundred apples or a hundred quinces, they do not remain a

hundred but become one, when you crush them together.

1-681

In spiritual matters there is no division and there are no numbers; in spiritual

matters there is no separation and there are no individuals.

2-186

The Sun, which is the souls, became separated (broken into rays) in the

windows, which are bodies.

2-187

When you gaze at the Sun’s disk, it is itself one, but he who is veiled by his

perception of the bodies is in some doubt.

2-188

Separation (plurality) is in the animal spirit; the human spirit is one essence.

2-189

Since God sprinkled His light upon them (mankind) 448, they are essentially one:

in reality His light never becomes separated.

1-682

Sweet is the oneness of the Friend with His friends: catch and cling to the foot

of spirit. Form is headstrong449.

1-3086

Every Prophet and every Saint has his own way of religious doctrine and

practice, but it leads to God: all the ways are really one.

4-408

The Faithful are numerous, but the Faith is one: their bodies are numerous, but

their soul is one.

448 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 33.

449 I.e. opposed to spiritual unity (Nich.).

170

4-411

The animal soul does not possess oneness: do not seek this oneness from the

airy (vital) spirit.

4-412

If this one eats bread, that one is not filled; and if this one bears a load, that one

does not become burdened;

4-413

No, but this one rejoices at the death of that one, and dies of envy when he sees

that one’s prosperity.

4-414

The souls of wolves and dogs are separate, every one, the souls of the Lions of

God are united.

4-415

I have spoken of their souls in the plural, for that single soul is a hundred in

relation to the body,

4-416

Just as the single light of the sun in heaven is a hundred in relation to the house

courts on which it shines,

4-417

But when you remove the wall, all the lights falling on them are one.

4-418

When the bodily houses remain without foundation, the Faithful remain one

soul.

The Quṭb – the Highest Saint450. [2.2.1]

5-2339

The Quṭb is like the lion, and it is his business to hunt: all the rest, namely,

these people of the world, eat his leavings.

5-2341

When he is weakened, the people remain unfed, for all food provided for the

throat comes from the hand of reason451,

5-2342

Since the ecstasies (spiritual experiences) of the people are only his leavings.

Keep this in mind, if your heart desires the spiritual prey.

5-2343

He is like the reason, and the people are like the members of the body: the

management of the body depends on the reason.

1-2507

The foolish thought him to be lonely and weak: how could he who has become

the King’s companion be weak?

5-2344

The weakness of the Quṭb is bodily, not spiritual: the weakness lies in the ship

(Ark), not in Noah.

450 According to Ṣūfī literature, Quṭb (“Pole”, “Axis”, “Pivot”) refers to the spiritually most perfect human being ( al-Insānu’l-Kāmil or Insān-e Kāmil), who is thought to be the universal leader of all Saints, to mediate between the Divine and the human and whose presence is deemed necessary for the existence of the world. The Quṭb is the head of a hierarchy of hidden Saints, known as Ghawth, Awtād, Nuqabā’, Abdāl, etc., who vary in number and authority.

451 I.e. as the discursive reason is the source of material livelihood, so all spiritual food comes from the Quṭb, who is the organ of Universal Reason (Nich.).

171

The meaning of “Quṭb”. [2.2.1]

5-2345

The Quṭb is he who turns around himself, while the celestial spheres revolve

around him.

5-3601

The one figure of him (the Prophet) is seated in this earthly world, while his

other figure is in heaven, like the moon.

5-3602

This mouth of him is speaking on subtle points of religion to those sitting

beside him, while the other mouth is conversing with God and is intimate with

Him.

5-3603

His outward ear hears these external words, while his spiritual ear is listening

to the mysteries of the Creative Word Be 452.

5-3604

His outward eye perceives human forms and features, while his inward eye is

dazzled in the glory of the eye did not stray 453.

5-3605

His outward feet stand evenly in the row of worshippers in the mosque, while

his spiritual feet are engaged in circumambulation454 above the sky.

5-3606

Consider his every part and judge it in the same way: this bodily part is within

Time, while that spiritual part is beyond Time.

5-3607

This which is in Time lasts until death, while the other is the associate of

everlastingness and eternity.

5-3608

One of his names is “owner of the two empires”; one description of him is

“Imām of the two qiblas”455.

5-3609

The religious seclusion and the forty days’ fast are no longer required for him:

no cloud overclouds him anymore.

5-3610

His solitary cell456 is resplendent as the sun’s orb: how should the alien night

throw a veil over it?

5-3611

Sickness and abstinence are gone, the crisis has come to an end: his infidelity

has become faith, and disbelief is no more.

5-3612

Like the letter alif, he has taken the foremost place because of his uprightness

(rectitude)457.

452 Qur’ān 3:47 and 36:82.

453 Qur’ān 53:17.

454 In analogy to the circumambulation of pilgrims around the Ka‘ba in Mecca ( ṭawāf).

455 The first qibla (direction of prayer) established by the Prophet Muḥammad was towards Jerusalem. The Jews kept rejecting Ḥażrat Muḥammad as Emissary of God. It is recorded that during a communal prayer, the Prophet suddenly changed his direction from Jerusalem to the Ka‘ba in Mecca. This event came to be known as ṣalātu’l-qiblatayn, “the prayer with two directions”, and hence Ḥażrat Muḥammad was named Imāmu’l-Qiblatayn, “Imām of the two qiblas”. In this case “Imām” means “leader of the congregational prayer” and nothing more.

456 I.e. his heart (Nich.).

457 Alif, the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, has the form of a straight perpendicular line (Nich.).

172

5-3615

It put on a robe of the King’s qualities: it flew up from the pit to the palace of

majesty.

2-818

He is the Mahdī (the God-guided one) and the Hādī (the Guide), o seeker of the

right way: he is both hidden from you and seated in front of you458 before your

face.

2-819

He is as the Light of Muḥammad, and Universal Reason is his Gabriel; the

Saint who is lesser than he is his lamp (and receives illumination from him).

2-820

That Saint who is lesser than his lamp is our lamp niche459: the Light has

gradations in degree,

2-821

Because the Light of God has seven hundred veils: regard the veils of the Light

as so many layers.

2-823

Because of their weakness, the eyes of those in the last (lowest) rank cannot

endure the light in front of them.

The levels of sanctity according to Sufism and the

status of the Pīr, who is the shadow of God. [2.2.1]

1-423

The shadow of God is that servant of God who is dead to this world and living

through God.

1-424

Take hold of his skirt with utmost swiftness and without distrust, that you may

be saved in the skirt (end) of the last days of the world.

2-1984

If you do not wish to lose your head, be lowly as a foot: be under the protection

of the Quṭb who possesses wisdom.

2-1987

In reality, you are he: seek yourself in his “he” (personality). Say coo, coo460:

become a dove that flies towards him.

6-3784

The shadow (protection) of the spiritual Guide is better than praising God by

one’s self: a single feeling of contentment is better than a hundred meals and

trays of food.

6-3785

A seeing eye is better than three hundred blind men’s staffs: the eye knows

(can distinguish) pearls from pebbles.

5-1160

Do not let your heart stealthily slip away from the spirit-bestowing heart-ravisher, for he will mount you on the back of Raksh 461 .

458 Literally “in front of your face”.

459 Qur’ān 24:35.

460 Kūkū, the cry of the dove, also means “where? Where?”(Nich.).

461 The name of Rustam’s horse (Nich.).

173

5-1161

Do not let your head stealthily slip away from the crown-giving one whose

head is exalted, for he will untie a hundred knots from the foot of your heart.

1-425

The shadow mentioned in the words How He (God) extended the shadow 462 is

the form of the Saints, which is the guide to the light of the Divine Sun.

1-426

Do not go in this valley without this guide; like Khalīl463 (Abraham), say, “I do

not love the ones that set” 464.

1-2975

The hand of the Pīr is not withdrawn from the absent (those who are not under

his authority): his hand is nothing but the grasp of God.

1-2976

Since they give such a robe of honour to the absent, what must they give their

disciples?: undoubtedly the present are better than the absent.

1-2977

Since they hand out spiritual food to the absent, just imagine what bounties

they must lay before one who is present.

1-2966

Every one took refuge in some act of devotion and discovered some means of

salvation for themselves.

1-2967

Go, you, take refuge in the shadow of the Sage, that you may escape from the

Enemy that opposes you in secret.

1-2968

Of all acts of devotion this is the best for you: with it you will outrank every

one that has surpassed the rest.

1-2961

Come into the shadow (protection) of the Sage who cannot be led astray from

the Way by any self-proclaimed spiritual teacher.

1-2962

His shadow on the earth is like Mount Qāf, his spirit is like the Sīmurgh465 that

circles (soars) up high.

1-2963

If I should enumerate his qualities until the Resurrection, do not expect them to

have a conclusion and an end.

1-2941

He is so old that he has no beginning: there is no rival to such a unique Pearl.

1-2964

The Divine Sun has veiled Itself in Man: understand this Mystery, and God

knows best what is right.

462 Qur’ān 25:45.

463 Khalīlu’Llāh, “the Friend of God”, is the traditional Islamic epithet of the Prophet Abraham (Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm).

464 “The ones that set”: i.e. stars – Qur’ān 6:76.

465 Qāf: mythical mountain or chain of mountains surrounding the earth, created from a single emerald. Mount

Qāf is the dwelling place of the ‘Anqā, a mythical phoenix-like bird from Arabic story tradition, the Sīmurgh being its Persian equivalent. This mythical bird represents the Perfect Man, whose spirit abides with God, even though his body is in the world.

174

The Second Rivulet [2.2.2]

The proper spiritual conduct or etiquette (adab,

plural: ādāb) of the sālik towards his Pīr.

1-78

Let us implore God to help us find self-control: one who lacks self-control is

deprived of the grace of the Lord.

1-79

The undisciplined man does not mistreat himself alone, but he sets the whole

world on fire.

1-89

Moreover, any amount of gloom and sorrow that comes over you is the result

of disrespect and insolence.

1-92

Because of disrespect the sun was eclipsed, and insolence caused an ‘Azāzil466

to be turned back from the door.

1-91

Through discipline467 this Heaven has been filled with light, and through

discipline the angels became sinless468 and pure.

1-1488

Satan said Because You have misled me 469; the vile Devil concealed his own

doing.

1-1489

Adam said We have wronged ourselves 470: unlike us, he was not heedless of the

action of God.

1-1490

Out of respect he concealed the action of God in (regard to) the sin: by casting

the sin upon himself he ate fruit (was blessed).

1-1491

After his repentance, He (God) said to him, “O Adam, did not I create that sin

and those tribulations in you?

1-1492

Was it not My decree and predestination? How did you hide that at the time of

excusing yourself?”

1-1493

Adam said, “I was afraid, so I did not let respect go (did not fail to observe due

respect).” God said, “I too have observed it towards you.”

1-1494

Whoever brings reverence gets reverence in return: whoever brings sugar eats

almond-cake.

466 The name of Iblīs before his fall (Nich.).

467 In the Persian text the word adab is used, the Ṣūfī term for moral etiquette. Practising adab requires discipline and therefore it is justified to translate adab as “discipline” here.

468 The word ma‘ṣūm can be translated in many ways: “blameless”, “innocent”, “sinless”, “immaculate”… Shī‘ī

Muslims also apply this term to the Prophet Muḥammad, his daughter Fāṭima, his nephew and son-in-law ‘Alī

ibn Abī Ṭālib, who married Ḥażrat Fāṭima, and the Shī‘ī successors to Ḥażrat Muḥammad and Ḥażrat ‘Alī – the

Shī‘ī Imāms. In this context, the term ma‘ṣūm takes on the meaning of “infallible”.

469 Qur’ān 15:39.

470 Qur’ān 7:23.

175

3-4018

Those who fled from correction dishonoured471 both their own manhood and

true men.

1-90

Anyone who behaves irreverently in the path of the Friend is a highwayman

who robs men, and he is no man.

Showing courtesy towards the Saints is indispensible for murīds472. [2.2.2]

2-3218

Keep watch over your hearts, o unsuccessful ones, in the presence of the

majesty of the men of the heart (Saints).

2-3219

To men of body (worldly people), respect is shown outwardly, for God veils

what is hidden from them.

2-3220

To the men of heart (Saints), respect is shown inwardly, because their hearts

have insight into the secret thoughts.

2-3221

You are the opposite: for the sake of worldly position you come with reverence

before them who are blind to spiritual things, and sit on the low plane of

earth473;

2-3222

But you behave disrespectfully towards the seers; because of this you have

become fuel for the fire of lust.

2-3223

Since you do not have spiritual understanding and the light of Divine guidance,

continue to polish (cleanse and brighten) your face for the sake of the blind!

2-1740

To speak irreverently to one of God’s elect causes the heart (spirit) to perish

and keeps the page (record) black.

1-812

He twisted his mouth and called the name of Aḥmad (Muḥammad) in a

mocking way: his mouth remained twisted.

1-813

He came back, saying, “Pardon me, o Muḥammad, o you to whom belong the

Divine gifts of esoteric knowledge.

1-814

In my foolishness I ridiculed you, but I myself became the object of ridicule,

and deservedly so.”

Everything in love is adab (meticulous observance

of the spiritual etiquette of Sufism). [2.2.2]

3-3677

These comparisons made by imperfect men concerning the action of the Lord

are like the emotion of love, they do not stem from disrespect.

471 Literally “spilt the water of” (Nich.).

472 Murīd: a Ṣūfī disciple, who is committed to a Ṣūfī Master. In Arabic, murīd means “desirous” or “desiring”.

In the context of Sufism, a murīd is someone who desires the knowledge of knowing God and loving God. A Ṣūfī disciple is also often referred to as sālik – “wayfarer”, “traveller on the Inner Path”.

473 In the Persian text the word pāygāh is used, which usually means “base” or “degree”.

176

3-3678

The lover’s heart pounds without reverence, he lays himself on the scale of the

King’s balance474.

3-3679

No one is more irreverent than he who lives in the world (i.e. outwardly); no

one is more reverent than he who keeps it a secret (i.e. inwardly).

3-3681

Outwardly, the lover looks irreverent, for his claim of love involves equality

with the beloved;

3-3682

But when you regard the inward aspect, where is the claim? He and his claim

are annihilated in the presence of the Sulṭān.

The Saints too can assess the sālik’s inner state and heal it. [2.2.2]

4-1794

These physicians of the body have knowledge of medicine: they know more

about your disease than you do,

4-1795

So that they gain knowledge about the state of your health from the urine—

bottle, even though you yourself cannot know your illness by the same means,

4-1796

And from your pulse, complexion and breath alike they diagnose every kind of

disease in you.

4-1797

How, then, should the divine physicians in the world not diagnose disease in

you without the use of speech?

4-1798

From your pulse, your eyes and your complexion alike they immediately

discern a hundred spiritual illnesses in you.

4-1799

Truly, only newly-taught physicians have need of external signs.

4-1800

The perfect (the divine physicians) will hear your name from afar and quickly

penetrate into the deepest ground of your being and existence;

4-1801

No, they will have seen you many years before your birth – you together with

all the circumstances connected with you.

4-1777

The heart resembles a great house: the house of the heart has neighbours

hidden from view:

4-1778

Through the window slit and crevices in the walls they observe the hidden

thoughts –

4-1780

Recite from the Qur’ān the verse which declares that the Devil and his tribe

secretly get scent of (become acquainted with) the inward state of

humankind475.

474 I.e. he places himself on the same level as the King (Nich.).

475 Qur’ān 7:26.

177

4-1781

In a way unknown to humankind, because it is not of this perceptible world or

one of these semblances (phenomenal objects).

4-1784

Since the devils, in spite of their coarseness, are acquainted with our inmost

soul, thought and belief

4-1787

Why, then, should the illuminated spirits in the world be unaware of our hidden

state?

4-1793

Be ashamed and do not speak idle words, do not torment yourself in vain, for

there are many spies observing you beyond the range of the body.

4-1851

His guide is “the Guarded Tablet”476. From what is it guarded? It is guarded

from error.

4-1852

The inspiration of God is not like astrology, geomancy477 or dreams – and God

knows best what is right.

4-1853

The Ṣūfīs, in explaining their doctrine, call the Divine inspiration the

inspiration of the heart, in order to hide its real nature from the common

people.

4-1854

Take it to be the inspiration of the heart, for the heart is the place where He is

seen: how should there be error when the heart is aware of Him?

4-1855

O true believer, you have gained sight by the light of God: you have become

safe from error and heedlessness.

6-2642

The forehead of the Friend is a Preserved Tablet: to him (his friend) it reveals

plainly the secret of the two worlds.

6-2641

When he sits beside his Friend, a hundred thousand tablets of mystery are made

known to the friend.

You must listen to the Pīr’s words with your inner ear. [2.2.2]

1-566

Put cotton-wool in the ear of the low (physical) sense, take off the bandage of

that sense from your eyes!

1-567

The ear of the head is the cotton-wool of the ear of the conscience: until the

former becomes deaf, that inward ear is deaf.

2-1943

Remove the cotton of evil suggestion from your ear, that the cries from heaven

may come into your ear.

3-1291

Let your mind go, and then be mindful! Close your ear and then listen!

476 “the Preserved Tablet”: see Qur’ān 85:22. Al-Lawḥu’l-Maḥfūẓ means the knowledge that is firmly protected.

It is said to contain all Divine decrees and the archetypes of all that ever was, is and will be.

477 Divination by means of lines and figures or by geographic features.

178

1-1459

If the mind of your spirit is not in a state of perplexity, do not stuff this cotton-wool into your spiritual ear,

1-1460

So that you may understand those riddles of His, so that you may apprehend

both the secret sign and the open.

1-1461

Then the spiritual ear becomes the place where wahī (inspiration) enters. What

is wahī? A speech hidden from sense-perception.

1-1462

The spiritual ear and eye are different from this sense-perception, the ear of

discursive reason and the ear of opinion are devoid of this inspiration.

1-2718

Go to the Sulṭān478 and see all this display of splendour and majesty! See the

senses of those for whom God has prepared gardens beneath which rivers

flow479!

1-2719

Our senses and perceptions, such as they are, are but a single drop in those

rivers.

1-2762

Senile and short-sighted minds bring a hundred evil fantasies into their

thoughts.

6-1594

Direct yourself480 towards silence: when you seek the marks of the Way, do not

make yourself a mark for attention.

6-1592

When you come into a company of friends, sit silent: do not make yourself the

bezel in that ring.

2-315

Listen attentively to these sayings, o squint-eyed one: apply the eyewash

through the ear.

3-1305

Do not speak, so that you may hear from the Speakers that which was not

uttered or explained.

3-1306

Do not speak, so that you may hear from the Sun that which was not written

down in a book or said in a speech.

3-1307

Do not speak, so that the Spirit may speak for you: stop swimming in the Ark

of Noah!

3-1304

Indeed, what cause is there for the terms481 wakefulness and sleep? Do not

speak, for God knows best what is right.

4-3294

Unite yourself – union is a Divine mercy – that I may be able to tell you that

which is.

478 In this verse, “Sulṭān” refers to the worldly Sulṭān of Baghdad. It has no mystical connotation.

479 Qur’ān 9:89.

480 Literally “convey your baggage” (Nich.).

481 Literally “the limitation of (denoted by the terms) wakefulness and sleep”, i.e. these terms are only analogical (Nich.).

179

2-316

Holy words, then, do not abide in blind hearts, but go to the Light where they

came from,

2-317

While the deceitful spell of the Devil goes into crooked (perverse) hearts as a

crooked shoe on to a crooked foot.

Only a pure heart can understand the true

words of God and His Saints. [2.2.2]

5-1531

Even though the adviser has a hundred advices, counsel requires a receptive

ear.

5-1532

You counsel him (the heedless man) with a hundred graces, and he turns away

from your counsel.

5-1533

A single person who obstinately refuses to listen482 will baffle a hundred

eloquent speakers.

6-1656

If anyone possesses the gift of eloquence, listening to him brings it out: the

teacher’s enthusiasm and energy are derived from the boy whom he teaches.

6-1659

If there were no ears to receive the message from the Unseen, no announcer

(Prophet) would have brought a Revelation from Heaven;

6-1660

And if there were no eyes to see the works of God, neither would the sky have

revolved nor would the earth have smiled (been bright with verdure).

5-1143

What relation is there between these people and the Divine message483? Who

can hope for spiritual life from a soulless thing?

5-1144

If you bring them a message concerning a woman or gold, they will all lay their

money and lives484 before you in entire devotion –

5-1145

The message, ‘A sweetheart in such-and-such a place invites you to come to

her: she is in love with you, she knows you.’

5-1146

But if you bring them the honey-like message of God, ‘Come to God, o you

who have a good covenant with Him;

5-1147

Go from the world of death towards the eternal provision: since everlastingness

is possible, do not be perishable –

5-1148

They will seek to shed your blood and take your life, but not in zeal for religion

and spiritual and moral excellence.

482 Literally “who does not listen out of obstinacy and revulsion” (Nich.).

483 Literally “where do his people come from and where does his message come from?” (Nich.)

484 Literally “head” (Nich.).

180

5-1149

No, but because they stick to house and goods485 it is bitter (hateful) to them to

hear this explanation given by the Prophets.

5-1155

If a royal falcon comes from the road and brings a hundred messages from the

King to these owls,

5-1156

With a full account of the imperial city, the orchards and the rivers – then a

hundred enemies will jeer at him,

5-1157

Saying, ‘What has the falcon brought? An old story. He is weaving words of

vanity and idle brag.’

5-1158

It is they who are old and rotten for all eternity; otherwise they would know

that that breath of prophetic inspiration makes the old new.

5-1159

It gives life to the old dead (spirits): it gives the crown of reason and the light

of faith.

5-1162

Whom shall I tell? Where in the village486 is there anyone who leads a spiritual

life? Where is anyone who runs towards the Water of Life?

1-2379

When the hearer has become thirsty and craving, the preacher becomes

eloquent, even if he is as good as dead.

1-2380

When the hearer is fresh and not tired (not bored), the dumb and mute will find

a hundred tongues to speak all the same.

1-2381

When a stranger comes in at my door, the women of the harem hide themselves

in the veil,

1-2382

But if a harmless relative should come in, those covered ones will lift up their

face-veils.

1-2383

Everything that is made beautiful, fair and lovely is made so for the eye of him

that sees.

The secrets of the Path are not to be disclosed. [2.2.2]

1-176

The Prophet said that anyone who hides this innermost thought will soon attain

to the object of his desire487.

1-177

When seeds are hidden in the earth, their inner secret becomes the verdure of

the garden.

1-178

If gold and silver were not hidden, how would they get nourishment (grow and

ripen) in the mine?

485 I.e. “the world and worldly possessions” (Nich.).

486 I.e. “in the World” (Nich.).

487 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 14.

181

1-3426

Listen to the words of the Sage (Ḥakīm), who lived in seclusion488, “Lay your

head in the same place where you have drunk the wine.”

3-21

The secrets of the Divine Majesty are drunk by the ear of that one who, like the

lily, has a hundred tongues and is dumb.

3-3387

To learn the secret of the Unseen is only fitting for him who can seal his lips

and refrain from speech.

1-14

This reason is entrusted only to him who is without reason: the tongue has no

other customer than the ear.

2-194

When will He who is envied by Light allow me to tell that which is

obligatory489 and ought to be told?

5-2238

For on the gnostic’s lips is a lock, while his heart is full of mysteries: his lips

are silent, although his heart is filled with voices.

5-2239

Gnostics who have drunk of the cup of God, have known the mysteries and

kept them hidden.

5-2240

Whoever has been taught the mysteries of the Divine action, his lips are sealed

and closed.

5-2055

With him who aspires high the secrets of the soul are better guarded from low

and worldly people than the ruby in the mine.

6-2037

When you see someone you can trust, tell him the mystery of the Soul: if you

see the rose, sing loud like nightingales.

6-2038

But when you see someone who resembles a water-skin full of deceit and

falsehood, shut your lips and make yourself like a (dry-lipped) jar.

2-1500

How wondrous is it that you should hide your secret from the evil one. The

wondrous thing is that you should hide the secret from yourself.

2-1501

Hide your work from your own eyes, that your work may be safe from the evil

eye.

3-20

So that you will not tell the King’s secret to anyone nor pour out sugar before

flies.

3-3388

Only the waterfowl is suited for the sea. Understand this – and God has the best

knowledge of the right course.

488 Literally “the Sage of a pardah” ( Pardah, literally meaning “veil”, “curtain”, is the practice of preventing men from seeing women). The Persian Ṣūfī poet and mystic Ḥakīm Sanā’ī of Ghazna (ca. 1050-1131 CE) is meant.

He was the first poet to write a major mathnawī, entitled Ḥadīqatu’l-Ḥaqīqa wa Sharī‘atu’ṭ-Ṭarīqa (“The Walled Garden of Truth and the Law of the Path”). This work also was an inspiration to Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī.

489 Obligatory = farḍ, the Arabic term for what is obligatory in religion.

182

The murīd’s patience and surrender to the Pīr’s commands. [2.2.2]

1-2969

When the Pīr has accepted you, take heed, surrender yourself to him: like

Moses, go under the authority of Khiḍr.

1-2970

Bear patiently whatever is done by a Khiḍr who is without hypocrisy, in order

that Khiḍr may not say, “Go away, here we part company”490.

1-2971

Even if he smashes a hole in the boat, do not speak a word; even if he kills a

child, do not tear your hair.

1-2972

God has declared that his the Pīr’s hand is as His own, since he gave out the

words the Hand of God is above their hands 491.

1-2973

The Hand of God causes the child to die and then brings it to life. What kind of

life? He makes it an everlasting spirit.

6-4122

The worshipper of darkness seeks the light immediately as soon as he becomes

subject to the authority of the Pīr.

6-4123

What is required is self-surrender, not long toil: it is useless to rush about in

error.

1-2979

When you have chosen your Pīr, do not faint-hearted, do not be weak as water

and crumbly as earth.

1-2980

If every blow angers you, how then will you become a clear mirror without

being polished?

The story of the impatient ones. [2.2.2]

1-2981

Hear from the narrator this story about the way and custom of the people of

Qazwīn492.

1-2982

They tattoo themselves in blue with the point of a needle on their bodies, hands

and shoulders, in order to protect themselves from injury.

1-2983

A certain man of Qazwīn went to a barber and said, “Tattoo me and do it

charmingly (artistically).”

1-2984

“O brave sir,” he said, “what figure shall I tattoo?” He answered, “Prick in the

figure of a furious lion.

1-2985

Leo is my ascendant: tattoo the form of a lion. Exert yourself, prick in plenty of

the blue dye.”

490 Qur’ān 18:78.

491 Qur’ān 48:10. This verse is frequently recited when a Ṣūfī seeker receives formal initiation from a Shaykh or Pīr. During the formal Ṣūfī initiation ceremony called bay‘at, the aspirant places his or her hands in the Master’s and pledges allegiance to him.

492 A province and city in the North of Persia.

183

1-2986

“Where shall I tattoo?” he asked. He said, “Prick the design of the beauty493 on

my shoulder-blade.”

1-2987

As soon as he began to stick in the needle, the pain of it settled in the shoulder,

1-2988

And the hero began to moan – “O illustrious one, you have killed me: what

figure are you tattooing?”

1-2989

“Why,” he said, “you asked me do a lion.” “What limb of the lion did you

begin with?” asked the other.

1-2990

“I have begun at the tail,” he said. “O my dear friend494,” he cried, “leave the

tail out!

1-2991

My breath is stopped by the lion’s tail and rump: his rump has tightly closed

(choked) my windpipe.

1-2992

Let the lion be without a tail, o lion-maker, for my heart is faint from the blows

of the prong (the tattooer’s needle).”

1-2993

He (that person) started to prick in the blue on another part of the man’s

shoulder without fear, without favour, without mercy.

1-2994

He yelled – “Which of his members is this?” “This is his ear, my good man,”

the barber replied.

1-2995

“O wise physician,” he said, “let him have no ears; leave the ears out and get it

over and done with.”

1-2996

The barber began to insert his needle in another part: once more the man of

Qazwīn began to lament,

1-2997

Saying, “What is the member you are pricking in now on this third spot?” He

replied, “This is the lion’s belly, my dear sir.”

1-2998

“Let the lion have no belly,” he said: “what need is there for a belly for a

picture that is already satiated?495”

1-2999

The barber became distressed and utterly bewildered: for a long time he stood

with his fingers in his teeth;

1-3000

Then the master flung the needle to the ground and said, “Has this happened to

anyone in the world?

1-3001

Whoever saw a lion without tail, head and belly? God Himself did not create a

lion like this.”

493 Literally “idol” (Nich.).

494 Literally “O my two eyes” (Nich.).

495 I.e. “it has already imbibed as much of the blue dye as I can bear” (Nich.).

184

1-3002

O brother, endure the pain of the lancet, that you may escape from the poison

of your depraved self ( nafs),

1-3003

For sky, sun and moon bow in worship to the people who have escaped from

self-existence.

4-3348

Go therefore, be silent in submission beneath the shadow of the command of

the Shaykh and Master;

4-3349

Otherwise, even though you are willing and capable, boasting about your

perfection will deform you.

4-3350

You will be deprived even of your good disposition, if you rebel against the

Master of the mystery who is endowed with knowledge.

4-3351

Do you still have patience in shoemaking; for if you are impatient, you will

become a rag-stitcher.

4-3352

If the stitchers of old clothes had patience and forbearance, all of them too

would become stitchers of new garments by acquiring knowledge.

The story of Ḥażrat Luqmān, the patient one. [2.2.2]

3-1842

Luqmān496 went to David, the pure of heart, and saw that he was making rings

of iron,

3-1843

And that the exalted King was casting all the steel rings into each other.

3-1844

He had not seen the armourer’s497 workmanship before, so he remained in

astonishment and his curiosity increased –

3-1845

“What can this be? I will ask him what he is making with the interlaced rings.”

3-1846

Again he said to himself, “Patience is better: patience is the quickest guide to

the object of one’s quest.”

3-1847

When you ask no question, the sooner will the secret be disclosed to you: the

bird, patience, flies faster than all others;

3-1848

And if you ask, the more slowly will your goal be achieved: what is easy will

be made difficult by your impatience.

3-1849

When Luqmān kept silent, the work of making rings was finished right away

by David’s craftsmanship.

496 ḤażratLuqmān was a very wise and holy man who is mentioned in the Qur’ān, in the Sūra that is named after him (Sūra Luqmān, the 31stSūra). He is believed to have been a Nubian.

497 Literally “maker of coats of mail” (Nich.).

185

3-1850

Then he made a coat of mail and put it on in the presence of the noble and

patient Luqmān.

3-1851

“This”, he said, “is an excellent garment, o young man, for warding off blows

on the battlefield and in war.”

3-1852

Luqmān said, “Patience too has a good effect498, for it is the protection and

defence against pain everywhere.”

5-2570

Hurriedness and haste are the Devil’s ruse; patience and deliberation are God’s

grace499.

3-3500

This earth and the heavenly spheres were brought into existence by God with

deliberation in a period of six days;

3-3501

Furthermore, He was able – “Be, and it is”500 – to bring forth a hundred earths

and heavens from non-existence.

3-3502

Little by little, until the age of forty, that Sovereign makes human being a

complete man,

3-3503

Although He was able to set flying (raise up) fifty persons from non-existence

in a single moment.

3-3506

The purpose of this deliberation is to teach you that you must seek God slowly

and relentlessly.

6-1212

Let the cooking-pot boil gradually, as a skilful cook does: the stew boiled in a

mad hurry is of no use.

6-1213

Was not God able to create heaven in one moment by the word “Be”? Without

any doubt He was.

6-1214

Why, o you who desire to be taught501, did He extend the time for it to six days,

every day being as long as a thousand years502?

6-1215

Why is the creation of a child completed in nine months? Because gradualness

is a characteristic of the action of that King.

6-1216

Why did the creation of Adam last forty mornings? Because God was adding

perfections to that clay little by little503.

6-1217

Not like you, o foolish one, who has rushed forward just now: you are a child,

and you consider yourself a Shaykh504.

498 Literally “of good breath” (Nich.)

499 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 317.

500 Qur’ān 2:117.

501 In the Persian text, the word mustafīd is used, which means “beneficiary”, “he who benefits (from teaching)”.

502 Qur’ān 7:54 and 22:47.

503 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 545.

186

4-1994

The foundation of an army is unquestionably the chief in command: a people

without a chief is a body without a head.

4-1995

That you are spiritually dead and worn out – all this is because you have

abandoned the chief.

4-1996

Because of laziness, avarice and egoism you are drawing your head back

(behaving in a headstrong way) and making yourself the head.

4-1997

You are like the beast that flees from the burden: it takes its head (goes its own

way) into the mountains.

4-1998

Its master is running after it, crying, “O thoughtless one, on every side there is

a wolf on the prowl for an ass.

4-1999

If you disappear from my sight now, the mighty wolf will approach you from

every direction.

4-2000

He will chew your bones like sugar, so that you will never see life again.

4-2002

Beware! Do not flee from my control and from the heaviness of the burden, for

I am your rational soul.”

Surrendering to the Saints on the Path is

the first sign of spiritual maturity. [2.2.2]

2-1252

If you wish to remove the evil from the fire, aim the water of Divine mercy at

the heart of the fire.

2-1253

The true believer is the fountain of that water of mercy: the pure spirit of the

well-doer is the Water of Life.

2-1254

That is why your fleshly soul ( nafs) flees from him, because you are of fire,

while he is the water of the stream.

2-1255

The reason why fire flees from water is that its fire (flame and heat) is

destroyed by water.

2-1256

Your sense and thought are entirely of fire: the sense and thought of the

Shaykh (spiritual guide) are the Beautiful Light.

2-1257

When the water of his Light trickles on the fire, chakchak (a gnashing sound)

rises from the fire, and it leaps up in fury.

2-1258

When it makes the sound chakchak, say to it, “Death and misery to you,” in

order that this hell, which is your fleshly soul, may become cold (quenched).

504 In Arabic, the literal meaning of Shaykh is “old man” or “an elder” (as opposed to “a child”).

187

2-1259

So that it may not burn your rose garden, so that it may not burn your justice

and well-doing.

2-1260

After that, anything that you sow will yield fruit or flowers; it will yield

anemones, wild roses and thyme.

1-2491

If you turn away your head from the holy servants of the Almighty, know that

they are disgusted by your existence.

1-2492

They possess the amber: when they show it, they make the straw of your

existence frenzied with desire for it.

2-31

The friend is a mirror for the soul in sorrow: do not breathe on the face of the

mirror, o my soul!

2-32

You must swallow (suppress) your breath at every moment, for fear that it

should cover its face because of your breath.

2-95

The mirror of iron is only for husks (external forms): the mirror that shows the

aspect of the heart is of great value.

2-96

The soul’s mirror is nothing but the face of the friend, the face of that friend

who is of the spiritual land.

2-28

The friend is your eye, o hunter: keep him pure from sticks and straws.

2-2687

How should I make the beautiful ugly? I am not the Lord. I am only a mirror

for the beautiful and the ugly.

2-2688

The Hindu505 burnt a mirror in annoyance, saying, ‘This mirror causes a man to

look black-faced.’

2-2689

God has made me an informer and truth-teller, that I may tell where the ugly

one is and where the beautiful.

The true murīd never critisizes the work of his Pīr,

as the will of a true Pīr is the will of God. [2.2.2]

1-225

He who receives inspiration and answer to his prayer from God, whatever he

himself may command is the essence of what is right.

1-224

As for the boy whose throat was cut by Khaḍir, common people do not

understand the mystery of it506.

1-226

If one who bestows spiritual life should kill, it is allowable: he is the Divine

vicegerent, and his hand is the hand of God.

505 In Fārsī, the word hindū can also mean “a dark-coloured person”. So, by no means does Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī intend to denigrate the Hindu religion, or indeed any religion. Whenever he uses the names of religions

and ethnicities, it is merely meant as a figure of speech.

506 This verse refers to the story about Moses and Khiḍr in Qur’ān 18:60-82.

188

1-227

Like Ismā‘īl (Ishmael), lay your head before him; gladly and laughingly give

up your life and soul before his dagger,

1-228

In order that your soul may remain laughing until eternity, like the pure soul of

Aḥmad (Muḥammad) with the One (God).

1-229

Lovers empty the cup of joy at the moment when the beautiful ones kill them

with their own hand507.

5-106

There are many acts of hostility which are really friendship, many acts of

destruction which are really restoration508.

1-242

One who is killed by such a king, is led by him to fortune and to the best and

most honourable state.

1-245

He takes half a life and gives a hundred lives in exchange: he gives that which

your imagination cannot conceive.

1-307

The spiritual King ruined the house for the sake of the golden treasure, and

with that same treasure rebuilds it better than before.

1-308

The spiritual King cut off the water and cleansed the riverbed, then caused

drinking water to flow in the riverbed;

1-309

The spiritual King pierced the skin and drew out the iron point (of the arrow or

spear) – then fresh skin grew over the wound.

1-3882

Since His hand binds what is broken, it follows that His breaking is assuredly

mending.

1-3885

He who knows how to sew together knows how to tear apart; whatever He

sells, He buys something better in exchange.

1-3886

He lays the house in ruins, upside down; then in one moment He makes it more

habitable than it was before.

1-3887

If He severs one head from the body, He immediately raises up hundreds of

thousands of heads for the beheaded person.

1-3884

Therefore He alone has the right to break, for He alone can mend what has

been broken.

507 In this verse, “killing” means the process of spiritual transformation of the ego ( nafs) in order to raise it to higher level of purity.

508 Literally “architecture” (Nich.).

189

Everything a Pīr says is the Truth and truly is beyond all doubt. [2.2.2]

Allegory. [2.2.2]

2-1878

A wise man was riding along on horseback at the moment when a snake was

entering the mouth of a sleeping man.

2-1879

The rider saw that, and hurried to scare the snake away, but he got no chance to

do so.

2-1880

Since he had an abundant supply of intelligence, he struck the sleeper several

powerful strokes with a mace.

2-1881

The strokes of the hard mace made him flee from the rider to beneath a tree.

2-1882

There were many rotten apples which had fallen from the tree: he said, “Eat

from these, o you who are in the grip of pain!”

2-1883

He gave the man so many apples to eat that they were falling out of his mouth

again.

2-1884

He was crying, “O Amīr509, why have you attacked me? What have I done to

you?

2-1885

If you have a deep-rooted and mortal feud510 with me, strike with your sword

and shed my blood at once.

2-1886

Ill-fated was the hour when I came into your sight: oh, happy is he who never

saw your face!

2-1889

At every moment he uttered a new curse, while the rider kept beating him and

saying, “Run in this desert.”

2-1890

Blows of the mace, and the rider swift as the wind! So he kept on running and

now and again fell on his face.

2-1893

All the things he had eaten, bad or good, came out of him: along with what he

had eaten the snake shot out of him.

2-1894

When he saw the snake outside of him, he fell on his knees (prostrated himself)

before that beneficent man.

2-1895

As soon as he saw the horror of that black, ugly, big snake, those sufferings left

him.

2-1896

“Truly,” he said, “you are the Gabriel of Divine mercy, or you are God, for you

are the lord of bounty.

509 Amīr: “commander”, “lord”, “master”, “nobleman”, “prince”.

510 Literally “if you have a quarrel with my soul (life) from the beginning” (Nich.).

190

2-1897

Oh, blessed is the hour that you saw me: I was dead, you have given me new

life.

2-1898

You were seeking me like mothers who search their children; I was fleeing

from you like asses.

2-1901

Oh, happy is he who catches sight of your face or suddenly finds himself near

your abode.

2-1902

O you whom the pure spirit has praised, how many foolish and idle words have

I spoken to you!

2-1930

The hostility of the wise is like this: their poison is gladness to the soul.

5-1163

You flee from Love because of a single humiliation: what do you know of

Love except the name?

5-1164

Love has a hundred coquettish prides and disdainful arrogances: Love is

gained511 by means of a hundred flatteries.

2-2585

For you the scolding and blows of the spiritual kings would be better than the

praise of the unrighteous512.

3-1873

If he burns your vineyard, He will give you grapes; in the midst of mourning

He will make you rejoice.

1-2042

This breath of the Abdāl (Saints) is from that spiritual spring: from it there

grows a green garden in heart and soul.

1-2043

In him who is fortunate their breaths produce the same effect as that of the

spring rain on the tree.

1-2046

The Prophet said, “Take heed, my friends! Do not cover your bodies from the

cold of spring513,

1-2047

For it does to your spirits the same thing that spring does to the trees;

1-2048

But flee from the cold of autumn, for it does what autumn did to the garden and

the vines.”

1-2049

The storytellers514 have referred to the outer meaning of this saying, and have

contented themselves with that same outer form.

511 Literally “comes to hand” (Nich.).

512 Literally “them who have lost the way” (Nich.).

513 This is a ḥadīth.

514 The word used in the Persian text is the Arabic word rāwī, which means “one who transmits old tales or poetry”.

191

1-2051

In the sight of God that “autumn” is the flesh ( nafs) and its desires: reason and

soul are the essence of spring and everlasting life.

1-2054

Therefore, according to the right interpretation, the meaning is this, that the

holy breaths are like spring and the life of leaf and vine.

1-2055

Do not cover your body from the sayings of the Saints, whether soft or rough,

for they are the support of your religion.

1-2056

Whether the Saint speaks hot or cold, receive his words with joy: in doing so

you will escape from the hot and cold of Nature and from Hellfire.

1-2057

His “hot” and “cold” is life’s new season of spring, the source of sincerity,

faith and service.

All a Pīr’s actions are signs of the Truth. [2.2.2]

1-815

When God wishes to rend the veil of anyone (expose him to shame), He makes

him inclined to speaking evil of holy men.

1-816

When God wishes to hide the blame of anyone, he (that person) does not

breathe a word of blame against the blameworthy.

2-3477

Do not find fault with the Servant of God: do not suspect the King of being a

thief.

2-3351

Sins are made sinful by the disapproval of Pīrs; mysteries515 are made

mysterious by their envy516.

Whoever misjudges a true Master, in fact misjudges himself. [2.2.2]

Story. [2.2.2]

2-3303

A certain man brought charges against a Shaykh, saying, “He is wicked and not

on the path of righteousness;

2-3304

He is a wine drinker, a hypocrite and a scoundrel: how could he be able to help

his disciples?”

2-3305

One of the disciples said to him, “Show respect: it is no light matter to think of

the great in that way.

2-3307

Do not slander the people of God like that! This is merely your own

imagination. Turn over a new leaf.

515 Literally “hidden things”.

516 Meaning: through the powers of Pīrs and Saints mysteries can be turned into sins and sins can be transformed into mysteries.

192

2-3308

What you say is not true: and even if it were, o earthly fowl, what harm comes

to the Red Sea from a carcass?

2-3309

The Shaykh is not less than the required two jarfuls or the small tank517, so that

a single drop of impurity would be able to disqualify him for religious

purposes.

2-3347

You notice defects on the face of the moon: you are picking thorns in a

Paradise.

2-3349

You are covering a sun with some soil518: you seek flaws in a perfect full

moon.

2-3399

He said: “I saw him at a gathering519: he is utterly devoid of devotion and

spirituality520.”521

2-3400

And if you do not believe it, get up tonight and go, that you may plainly see

your Shaykh’s depravity.

2-3401

At night he took him to a window and said, “Look at this debauchery and

merrymaking!

2-3404

The disciple saw a full glass in the Shaykh’s hand. “O Shaykh,” he said, “is

there vice even in you?”

2-3412

The Shaykh said, “Indeed this is not a cup, nor is this wine. Hey, unbeliever,

come down and look at it!”

2-3414

After that, the Pīr said to his disciple, “Go, seek wine for me, o noble sir;

2-3415

For I have a pain; I am reduced to necessity: because of the pain, I have passed

beyond starvation522.

2-3416

In dire need any carcass is clean (lawful to eat) – may curses fall like dust523 on

the head of him who denies it!”

517 This verse refers to certain regulations in fiqh or Muslim jurisprudence. There are four Sunnī schools of Islamic jurisprudence: the Ḥanbalī, Ḥanafī, Shāfi‘ī and Malikī schools. In his commentaries on the Mathnawī

Nicholson writes: “According to Shāfi‘īte law, stagnant water used for ritual purification is regarded as

undefilable when it amounts to what would fill two large jars ( qullatān). […]. The Ḥanafītes must perform their ablutions “with running water, or from a tank or pool at least ten cubits, in breadth and the same in depth”. Here, the metaphor implies that spirituality as pure as that of the Shaykh cannot be injured by any outward act of sin on his part.”

518 Literally “some clay”.

519 The implication is: “at a gathering among merrymakers, with much drink and debauchery”.

520 Literally “he is naked in devotion and poor [in spirituality]” – “devotion”: in the Persian text the word taqwā

is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

521 Verses 2-3399 and ff. are taken from a story in the Mathnawī entitled “How a stranger spoke evil of the Shaykh and how the Shaykh’s disciple answered him”. In this story, a spiritually ignorant and blind man accuses a Ṣūfī Master of depravity.

522 Literally “the condition of one whose stomach is empty.”(Nich.). See Qur’ān 16:115.

193

2-3417

The disciple went around the wine-cellar, tasting of every jar on the Shaykh’s

behalf.

2-3418

In all the wine-cellars that he visited he found no wine: the jars of wine had

become full of honey.

2-3419

He said, “O drunkards, what is this? What is the matter? I find no wine in any

jar.”

2-3420

All the drunkards came to the Shaykh, weeping and beating their heads with

their hands.

2-3421

They said, “You came into the tavern, o most exalted Shaykh, and by your

coming all the wines have turned to honey.

2-3422

You have changed the wine and purified it from filth: change our souls also

and purify them from defilement!”

2-3429

Beware and beware! Stop envying the spiritual kings, otherwise you will

become a devil in the world.

2-3430

For if he drinks poison, it turns to honey; but if you eat honey, it is poison to

you;

2-3431

For he has been changed, and his action has been changed: he has become the

Grace of God, and every fire in him has been turned into Light.

A beginner on the Path should not blindly

imitate the Master’s work. [2.2.2]

1-1603

It does not harm the spiritual man (Saint) even if he should drink deadly poison

for all to see,

1-1604

Because he has attained to spiritual health and has been set free from

abstinence, while the poor seeker of God is still in the state of fever.

1-1606

A Nimrod524 is in you: do not go into the fire. If you wish to go in, first become

Abraham!

1-1607

When you are neither a swimmer nor a seaman, do not hurl yourself into the

sea from a feeling of self-conceit.

1-1609

If a perfect man (Saint) takes earth, it becomes gold; if an imperfect one has

carried away gold, it becomes ashes.

523 Literally “may the dust of execration be” (Nich.).

524 Nimrod ( Namrūd in Arabic): according to biblical sources, Nimrod was the sixth son of Kush, grandson of Ham and great-grandson of Noah, and the founder of Babylon and Nineveh. He stands for evil, while Abraham stands for righteousness.

194

1-1610

Since the righteous man is accepted by God, his hand in all things is the hand

of God.

1-1611

The hand of the imperfect man is the hand of Devil and demon, because he is

in the trap of deceit and guile.

1-1613

Whatever an ill man takes becomes illness, but if a perfect man takes infidelity,

it becomes religion.

1-1621

To the perfect man every mouthful of food and every saying is lawful. You are

not perfect: do not eat, be mute.

1-1579

In the sight of God his wrongdoing is better than obedience; compared to his

infidelity all faiths are worthless.

1-1580

At every moment he has his own particular ascension to God: God lays a

hundred particular crowns upon his crown.

1-1581

His form is on earth and his spirit in “no-place”525, a “no-place” beyond the

imagination of travellers on the Mystical Path.

1-1612

If ignorance comes to the perfect man, it becomes knowledge, but the

knowledge that goes into the imperfect man becomes ignorance.

5-2705

As regards him, the eating of bread and honey and the drinking of milk is better

than the forty days’ seclusion526 and the three days’ fast of a hundred dervishes.

The murīd should never put a Master to the test. [2.2.2]

4-374

If a novice has put the Shaykh who is the spiritual leader and guide to the test,

he is an ass.

4-375

If you put him to the test in the way of religion, you will be tried by tribulation,

o man without faith.

4-380

Know that putting him to the test is like exercising authority over him: do not

seek to exercise authority over such a spiritual king.

Allegory. [2.2.2]

4-353

One day an obstinate man, who was ignorant of the reverence due to God, said

to Murtażā (‘Alī),

4-354

On the top of a very high terrace or palace, “Are you conscious of God’s

protection, o intelligent man?”

525 No-place: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

526 Specific Ṣūfī retreat or seclusion ( khalwa) of forty days, known as chillah (approximately pronounced chelleh, with the stress on the first syllable) in Persian and arba‘īn in Arabic.

195

4-355

“Yes,” he replied, “From the time of infancy and conception527 He is the

Protector and the Self-sufficient for preserving my existence.”

4-356

He said: “Come, throw yourself down from the roof, put all your confidence in

the protection of God,

4-357

So that your sure faith and your steadfast conviction may become clear to me.”

4-358

Then the Prince528 said to him, “Be silent, go, so that this boldness might not

lead your soul to perdition.”

4-360

How should a servant of God have the stomach529 to put Him to the test in vain,

o mad fool?

4-359

How is it right for a servant of God to hazard530 an experiment with God by

putting Him to the test?

4-361

That right belongs to God alone, who brings forward a test for His servants at

every moment,

4-362

In order that He may show us plainly to ourselves and reveal our secret beliefs.

4-366

How can you put Him to the test who raised the vault of heaven?

4-381

By what right should the pictures (phenomenal forms) exercise authority over

such an Artist in order to test Him?

4-367

O you who have not known good and evil, first put yourself to the test, and

then others.

4-368

When you have put yourself to the test, o such-and-such, you will feel no need

to put others to the test.

527 Literally “semen” (Nich.).

528 “Prince or Commander of the Faithful” or Amīru’l-Mu’minīn.

529 Literally “gallbladder” (Nich.).

530 Literally “bring forward” (Nich.).

196

The Third River [2.3]

The Pīr’s guidance of the murīd on the Path.

The First Rivulet [2.3.1]

The different stages of the mystical journey

(sayr wa sulūk) towards the ultimate Goal.

As-sayr ilā’Llāh (“the Journey towards God”): renouncing the negative

aspects of the nafs and drawing nearer to the World of the Heart and

Divine qualities.

As-sayr fī’Llāh (“the Journey within God”): drawing nearer to the World

of the Spirit as one acquiries Divine qualities through the Heart.

As-sayr ma‘a’Llāh (“the Journey with God”): the state of fanā’ fi’Llāh

(“annihilation of the limited self in God”).

As-sayr bi’Llāh mina’Llāh (“the Journey from God by His Power”):

returning to the world and the people in order to give them spiritual

guidance after having attained the ultimate stage of baqā (“everlasting

subsistence in God”), which follows the stage of fanā.

3-534

For by travelling the moon becomes splendid, like Kay Khusraw531: how

should it become an emperor ( Khusraw) without travelling?

3-535

By travelling the pawn becomes a noble queen, and by travelling Joseph gained

a hundred objects of desire.

4-2208

Love of their native land and home keeps a tight grip on their souls: their

indolence and ignorance will affect them.

Returning to the house of the body. [2.3.1]

4-2211

Move on from the literal expression, “love of country”; do not stop at its outer

sense, for your real country is the Other Side, o soul: it is not on this side532

4-2212

If you long for your country, cross to the other bank of the stream: do not

misread this true Ḥadīth533.

2-3776

In your body you are an animal, and in your spirit you are of the angels, so that

you may walk on the earth and also in the sky;

3-4584

Strive that your inner light may become radiant, so that your travelling on the

path of devotion and service to God may be made easy.

531 Kay Khusraw was the name of four Seljuk sulṭāns who ruled the Anatolian Sultanate of Rūm between 1192

and 1282 CE.

532 Or, “your real country is the Other Side: the spirit is not on this side.” (Nich.).

533 The Prophet said, “Love of one’s country is part of the Faith.” (Nich.).

197

3-1616

In the same way as staying at home is easy for us, travelling is easy for another

kind of people.

3-1618

Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work

has been put into his heart.

3-1619

How should hand and foot be made to move without desire? How should sticks

and straws be removed from their place without any water or wind?

3-1620

If you see that your desire is towards Heaven, unfold the wings of empire, like

the Humā 534,

3-1621

But if you see that your desire is towards the earth, keep lamenting, do not stop

moaning.

6-134

A bird flies to its nest using its wings: the wings of Man are aspiration, o

people.

3-1970

I will fly with wings and feathers for years: what are years? For thousands of

years.

3-1971

“I will travel,” meaning, “Is it not worth that arduous journey? Do not consider

the love for the Beloved to be less than the love for bread (worldly goods).”

The ordinary journey through this world should

be a stepping-stone to the mystical journey. [2.3.1]

2-2221

God has said, “Wherever you go in your travels, you must first search a holy

man.”

2-2222

Go and seek a treasure, for worldly profit and loss come second: regard them as

the branch, not as the root.

2-2223

Whoever sows is in search of wheat; the straw comes to him indeed, but only

in the second place.

2-2225

When it is the season of pilgrimage, go in search of the Ka‘ba; when you have

gone with that purpose, Mecca also will be seen.

2-2226

In the Mi‘rāj (Ascension of the Prophet) the quest was to see the Beloved; it

was but secondarily that the Highest Heaven and the angels were also shown.

Story:

2-2227

One day a disciple built a new house; the Pīr535 came and saw his house.

534 The lammergeier (great bearded vulture). According to popular belief, the falling of its shadow on anyone was a sign that he would become king (Nich.).

535 Ṣūfī Master or Mentor and Guide on the Path ( Murshid or Shaykh).

198

2-2228

The Shaykh said to his new disciple – he put to the test him who has good

thoughts –

2-2229

“Why have you made a window, o friend?” He said, “In order that light may

come in through it.”

2-2230

The Shaykh said, “That is only the branch (secondary object); your desire must

be this, that through this window you may hear the call to prayer.”

2-2484

This world is the Desert of the Israelites, and you are Moses, and we remain in

the Desert in tribulation because of our sin.

2-2485

We are wayfaring for years, and at the end we are still held captive in the first

stage of the journey.

2-2486

If the heart of Moses were pleased with us, the way through the Desert and its

farthest border would be shown to us.

The mystical journey is fulfilled in two stages: fleeing

from the nafs and drawing closer to the Beloved. [2.3.1]

3-1976

Do not see these feet that walk on the earth, for assuredly the lover of God

walks on his heart;

3-1977

And the heart that is intoxicated with the Sweetheart536, what should it know of

road and stage or of short and long distance?

3-1978

That “long” and “short” are attributes of the body: the journey of spirits is

another kind of journey.

1-570

Our speech and action are the outer journey: the inner journey is above the sky.

3-1980

The journey of the spirit is not conditioned by Time and Space: our body

learned from the spirit how to travel.

1-571

Physical sense saw only dryness, because it was born of dryness (earth): the

Jesus of the spirit set foot on the sea.

1-572

The journey of the dry body took place on dry land, but the journey of the spirit

took place in the heart of the sea.

1-573

Since your life has passed while travelling on land, now mountain, now river,

now desert,

1-574

Where will you find the Water of Life? Where will you cleave the waves of the

Sea?

536 Literally “he who cherishes the heart” (Nich.).

199

1-575

The waves of earth are our imagination, understanding and thought; the waves

of water are mystical self-effacement, intoxication and death ( fanā).

4-533

The heart (spirit) travels to the Ka‘ba at every moment, and through Divine

bounty the body takes on the nature of the heart.

4-534

This longness and shortness are proper to the body: where God is, what is

“long” and “short”?

4-535

When God has transformed the body, He makes its journey without league or

mile537.

4-536

There are a hundred hopes at this present time. Step forward like a true lover, o

young man, and give up idle disputation.

3-4582

All go along this Way in the chains of fear and tribulation, except the Saints.

5-2180

The mystic’s progress is an ascension to the throne of the Divine King at every

moment; the ascetic’s538 progress is one day’s journey every month.

5-2181

Even though for the ascetic one day is of great value, yet how should his one

day be equal to fifty thousand years 539 ?

5-2182

The length of every day in the life of the adept540 is fifty thousand of the years

of the world.

5-2183

Intellects are excluded541 from this mystery: if the heart542 of Imagination

bursts, let it burst!

4-555

The steed of not-being (self-annihilation) became a worthy Burāq543: it brings

you to real existence, if you are non-existent (self-annihilated).

4-558

With no hands and no feet, go to Eternity in the same way as that in which the

spirits rushed from non-existence.

4-1105

Circle heaven without wings and feathers, like the sun, like the full moon and

like the new moon.

4-1106

You will move like the spirit, and there will be no foot; you will eat a hundred

delicacies, and no one will chew a morsel.

537 I.e. it doesn’t matter how long the journey will be.

538 ḤażratYaḥyā ibn Mu‘ādhar-Rāżī (830-871 CE), a Ṣūfī who taught in Central Asia, said: “The ascetic travels, but the mystic flies” [Adapted from Nicholson’s Commentaries on the Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí].

539 Qur’ān 70:4.

540 Literally “the man of (spiritual) efficiency” (Nich.).

541 Literally “are outside of the door of” (Nich.).

542 Literally “gallbladder” (Nich.).

543 In Islamic tradition, a creature said to have transported the Prophet Muḥammad to heaven. Described as “a white animal, half-mule, half-donkey, with wings on its sides”, Burāq was originally introduced into the story of Ḥażrat Muḥammad’s night journey ( isrā’) from Mecca to Jerusalem and back, thus explaining how the journey between the cities could have been completed in a single night.

200

4-1107

Neither will pain, the infernal sea monster, dash against your ship, nor will the

ugliness of death appear in you.

The Second Rivulet [2.3.2]

In order to avoid the perils and pitfalls on the Path, the mystical

journey must be undertaken under the guidance of a Master.

4-1429

Abandon ostentation on this Path: do not move unless your spiritual guide

moves.

4-1430

Anyone who moves without the head (guide) is no more than a tail (base and

contemptible); his movement is like the movement of a scorpion.

4-1431

Going crookedly, night-blind, ugly and venomous – his role is the wounding of

the pure bodies of the unworldly.

4-1432

Beat the head of him whose inmost spirit is like this, and whose permanent

nature and disposition is like this.

4-1433

In fact it is good for him to beat this head of his, so that his weak soul544 may

be delivered from that unfortunate body.

6-4073

How can you go without being counselled by a wise Shaykh, since you do not

have a discerning heart?

6-4074

Alas for to the unfledged bird that flies up to the zenith and falls into danger!

6-4078

See a whole world ensnared by desire and by wounds (harmful things) that

look like remedies (beneficial things).

6-4093

He is deadly poison, even though in appearance he is honey and milk. Beware,

do not go on your way except in the company of a wise spiritual teacher.

6-4094

All selfish pleasures are a deceit and fraud: around the lightning flash is a wall

of darkness.

6-4095

The lightning is but a brief gleam, false and fleeting, surrounded by darkness;

and your way is long.

6-4096

By its light you can neither read a letter nor ride to your destination.

6-4099

Now you fall on a mountain, now into a river; now you wander in this

direction, now in that.

4-537

Even though you are closing your eyelids, you are asleep in the ship and

travelling in safety.

544 Literally “small fragments of soul” (Nich.).

201

4-538

Because of this the Prophet said, “I am as the Ark in the Flood of Time.

4-539

I and my Companions are as the Ark of Noah: whoever clings to us will gain

spiritual graces545.”

4-540

When you are with the Shaykh you are far removed from evil: day and night

you are a traveller and in a ship.

4-541

You are under the protection of a life-giving spirit: you are asleep in the ship,

you are going on the way.

4-542

Do not break with the Prophet of your time546: do not rely on your own skill

and desire547.

4-543

Even though you are a lion, you are self-conceited, in error and contemptible

when you go on the way without a guide.

4-544

Beware! Do not fly but with the wings of the Shaykh, that you may see

(receive) the help of the armies of the Shaykh.

4-552

If you stand in the rank of those who make the spiritual ascension, not-being

(self-annihilation) will lift you up, like Burāq.

4-553

It is not like the ascension of a piece of earth (of an earthly being) to the moon;

no, but like the ascension of a cane to sugar.

4-554

It is not like the ascension of a vapour to the sky; no, but like the ascension of

an embryo to rationality.

5-2556

In the world there are invisible ladders, leading step by step up to the summit

of heaven.

5-2557

There is a different ladder for every category, there is a different heaven for

every traveller’s way.

6-4125

The Pīr is the ladder to Heaven: who or what makes the arrow fly? The bow.

6-4124

From now on I will not seek the way to the Ether (the highest celestial sphere):

I will seek the Pīr, I will seek the Pīr, the Pīr, the Pīr!

Allegory. [2.3.2]

6-4126

Was it not Abraham who made the crude Nimrod try to fly to heaven by means

of a vulture?

545 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 354.

546 I.e. the Ṣūfī Masters who are the spiritual heirs and representatives of the Prophet.

547 Even though in the Fārsī text the word gām is used, meaning “footstep”, in this context it is more appropriate to read it as kām, meaning “desire”.

202

6-4127

Driven by selfish desire, he often went upward; but no vulture can fly to

heaven.

6-4128

Abraham said to him, “O traveller, I will be your vulture: this is more

appropriate for you.

6-4129

When you make a ladder of me to go up, you will ascend to heaven without

flying” –

6-4130

As the heart (spirit), without provisions or riding-camel, travels swift as

lightning to west and east.

6-4137

Get up, o you who are like Nimrod, and seek wings from holy persons: you

will not get any ladder from these vultures.

6-4138

The vulture is partial intellect548, o poor-spirited one: its wings are connected

with the eating of carrion;

6-4139

But the intellect of the Abdāl (exalted Saints) is like the wings of Gabriel: it

soars, mile by mile, up to the shade of the Lotus Tree in Paradise549.

6-4140

It says, “I am a royal falcon, I am beautiful and beneficent, I have nothing to do

with carrion: I am not a vulture.

6-4141

Abandon the vulture, for I will be your helper: one wing of mine is better for

you than a hundred vultures.”

6-4142

How long will you gallop blindly? For learning a trade and business one needs

a master.

1-2943

Choose a Pīr, for without a Pīr this journey is exceedingly full of pain, fear and

danger.

1-2944

Without a Guide you are bewildered even on a road you have travelled many

times before:

1-2945

Do not, then, travel alone on a Way that you have not seen at all, do not turn

your head away from the Guide.

1-2974

If by rare exception anyone went this Path alone (without a Pīr), he arrived at

his goal through the help and favour of the hearts of the Pīrs.

3-588

If anybody goes on the Way without a Guide, every two days’ journey

becomes one of a hundred years.

548 Proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition.

549 Qur’ān 53:10-18. Lote Tree in Paradise ( Sidratu’l-Muntahā): this tree marks the end of the Seventh Heaven, the boundary where no created being can pass. However, the Prophet Muḥammad was allowed to travel to it with Gabriel during his Celestial Journey ( Mi‘rāj wa Isrā). Unlike Gabriel, Ḥażrat Muḥammad was allowed to travel beyond this boundary. Here – in as spiritual sense – Ḥażrat Muḥammad stands for the Love that transcends the level of intellect, in this case symbolically respresented by Gabriel.

203

3-589

Whoever speeds towards the Ka‘ba without a Guide becomes contemptible,

like these bewildered men.

3-590

Whoever takes up a trade or profession without a teacher becomes a laughing-stock in town and country.

6-4100

O seeker of worldly status, you will never find the Guide; and if you find him,

you will turn your face away from him.

6-4115

Any blind man who scornfully turns away from a Messiah will be left without

guidance, like the deniers of the Truth550.

6-4117

Jesus says to him, “O blind man, cling to me with both hands: I have a precious

eye-lotion.

Travelling in the company of advanced fellow

wayfarers makes the journey lighter. [2.3.2]

Ḥadīth: “Choose your travelling companion before you depart”551.

6-1591

The Friend is the support and refuge on the Way; if you consider well, you will

see that the Friend is the Way.

6-498

Be a firm friend, that you may find countless friends; for without friends you

will be left helpless.

6-499

The Devil is a wolf, and you are like Joseph: do not let go of Jacob’s skirt, o

excellent one.

6-500

Generally the wolf seizes his prey at the moment when a year-old sheep strays

alone by itself from the flock.

6-503

But not the fellow-traveller who is an enemy to Reason and seeks an

opportunity to carry off your clothes.

6-505

Nor one who has the fearful heart of a camel and, when he feels afraid, tells

you to turn back on the road!

6-506

By his lack of courage, like that of a camel, he frightens his companion: know

that such a fellow-traveller is an enemy, not a friend.

550 In Nicholson’s translation it says “Jews” instead of “deniers of the Truth”. But this is wrong. The word which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses in the Mathnawī is jahūd(āneh), which is derived from the word jahūd. The word jahūd is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”). Jahūd is best translated as “deniers of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood.

It is usually rendered as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e. “someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

551 Aḥādith-e Mathnawī p. 573.

204

6-508

The road of religion is full of trouble and misfortune because it is not the road

for anyone whose nature is effeminate552.

3-4034

Beware! Do not ask sensualist dandies to fight; do not ask peacocks to engage

in the hunt and the chase.

3-4035

The carnal nature is a peacock: it tempts you and talks idly, that it may remove

you from your spiritual position.

6-510

What is the Path? Full of footprints. What is the companion? The ladder by

which it ascends553.

6-512

He who cheerfully goes along on a journey – if he goes with companions he

advances a hundred times faster.

6-517

There is no doubt that he who cheerfully goes alone into the custom house554

will go more cheerfully if he is with companions.

6-519

How could houses and storehouses be constructed without the help of walls?

6-520

How shall the roof remain suspended in the air, if each wall is separated from

the others?

6-521

How shall the writing come on the surface of the paper without the help of ink

and pen?

6-3009

Since the earth of the grave is ennobled and made fortunate by the nearness of

the pure body,

6-3010

Do you too, then, say, “First the neighbour, then the house555”: if you have a

heart, go, seek a sweetheart.

The Third Rivulet [2.3.3]

Prudence on the Path556.

3-268

The Prophet has said, “Prudence is (consists in) thinking evil”557: know that for

every footstep there is a snare, o fool!

3-216

On every side a ghoul is calling you – “Listen, o brother, if you wish to find the

way, come here.

552 This verse does not denigrate homosexuals. What is really meant by “anyone whose nature is effeminate” is

“anyone who is weak-willed and lacks inner strength and resolve”.Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s message is a

universal message of Divine Love, a Love that reaches out to and embraces all people, irrespective of creed, race, social status, gender, sexual orientation or any other distinction. If certain verses in the Mathnawī make it appear any different, this is solely due to the restrictions imposed by the religious laws, cultural and social conventions, values and perceptions of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s era.

553 I.e. the road trodden by Prophets and Saints and true believers (Commentary Nicholson).

554 Where toll was paid by travellers (Nich.).

555 I.e. before buying a house, make sure that you will have good neighbours (Nich.).

556 Qur’ān 23:97.

557 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 254.

205

3-217

I will show you the way, I will be your kind fellow-traveller, I am the guide for

you on this intricate path.”

3-218

The ghoul is not the guide, and she does not know the way. O Joseph, do not

go to that wolflike one!

3-213

None escaped from this ambush without some patience and prudence: to

prudence, indeed, patience is the foot and hand.

3-2201

What is prudence? To think of the world as evil. In this world the prudent man

will expect to see a sudden calamity at every moment.

3-2202

It is as when a lion has suddenly come up, seized a man and dragged him into

the jungle.

3-2203

At the moment of that carrying off, what will he think of? Consider this, and

think of the same thing, o you who are well-versed in Religion.

3-2204

The lion, Destiny, is dragging our souls, which are preoccupied with worldly

business and trade, into the jungles of death.

3-2564

Every worthless fellow pretends to be a David; everyone who lacks

discernment attaches himself to him.

3-2566

He does not distinguish fact from fiction: he is misguided. Come, run from

him, even if he is spiritual in appearance.

3-2567

What has grown in reality and what has been tied on artificially is all one to

him: even though he may claim to possess intuitive certainty, in reality he is in

great doubt.

3-2568

If such a person is absolutely keen-witted, still, when he does not have this

power of discernment, he is a fool.

3-2569

Listen, run away from him as the deer from the lion: do not hasten boldly

towards him, o wise man!

3-276

If you have eyes, do not walk blindly; and if you do not have eyes, take a staff

in your hand.

3-277

When you do not have the staff of prudence and judgement, make the seer’s

eye your leader.

3-279

Step in the same way as a blind man steps, in order that your foot may escape

from the pit and the dog.

3-280

The blind man plants his foot tremblingly, with fear and precaution, so that he

may not fall into derangement558.

558 I.e. may not be upset (Nich.).

206

3-267

Prudence is this, that you think of the world as evil, so that you may escape evil

and become free of it.

3-219

Prudence is this, that you are not deluded by the fat things, sweets and snares of

the World559.

3-230

Prudence is this, that when worldly people invite you, you should not say,

“They are in love with me and fond of me.”

3-231

Know that their invitation is like the birdcall which the bird-catcher utters

hidden in his ambush.

3-233

The birds think he is one of their kind: they gather around, and he strips off

their skins –

3-234

Except, no doubt, the bird to which God has given prudence, so that it may not

be fooled by that bait and enticement560.

3-2842

What is prudence? Precaution in the case of two different plans: of the two you

will take that one which is far from craziness.

3-2843

One person may say, “On this road there is no water for seven days, and there

is foot-scorching sand.”

3-2844

Another may say, “This is false: walk on, for you will find a flowing fountain

every night.”

3-2845

It is prudence that you take water with you, so that you may be saved from

dread and be on the right side.

3-2846

If there is water on the road, spill this water which you have taken with you;

and if there is none, alas for the obstinate man!

Story. [2.3.3]

6-467

A certain man had a ram which he was leading along behind him: a thief

carried off the ram, having cut its halter.

6-468

As soon as the owner noticed, he began to run to the left and to the right, that

he might find out where the stolen ram was.

6-469

Next to a well he saw the thief crying, “Alas! Woe is me!”

6-470

“O master,” he said, “why are you lamenting?” He replied, “My purse full of

gold has fallen into the well.

559 Literally “this caravanserai” (Nich.).

560 Literally “feigned affection” (Nich.).

207

6-471

If you can go in and fetch it out, I will gladly give you a fifth of the money.

6-472

You will receive the fifth part of a hundred dīnārs561 in your hand.” The owner

of the ram said to himself, “Why, this is the price of ten rams.

6-473

If one door is shut ten doors are opened: if a ram is gone, God gives a camel in

compensation.”

6-474

He took off his clothes and went into the well: at once the thief carried away

his clothes too.

6-476

The Devil is a mischievous thief: like a phantom, he appears in a different

shape at every moment.

2-2274

If she tells you to pray and fast – the fleshly soul ( nafs) is a great plotter; she

will come up with some plot against you.

6-477

No one but God knows his cunning: take refuge with God and escape from that

impostor.

The Fourth Rivulet [2.3.4]

Jadhba (Divine attraction, the force of attraction of God’s Love).

How God attracts His chosen servants, enabling them to strive

in the Path and accomplish goals with little or no effort.

Ḥadīth: “A single occurrence of jadhba

equals all the good deeds of both worlds” 562.

6-3869

One atom of the protection of Divine favour is better than a thousand efforts of

the devout worshipper.

6-1071

The Divine attraction holds a hundred discourses with the effects and apparent

causes563, without uttering a word or moving a lip.

6-1068

You yourself know what words a sun, in the sign of Aries, speaks to the plants

and the date palms.

6-1069

You yourself, too, know what the clear water is saying to the sweet herbs and

the sapling.

561 A coin; dīnār is derived from the Late Greek denarion, which in turn was derived from the Latin word denarius.

562 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 374.

563 “First Cause” and “apparent cause(s)”: “The First Cause” is God, who is called Musabbibu’l-Asbāb, “the Causer of Causes”. His existence is absolute and necessary ( Wājibu’l-Wujūd), i.e. He exists independently through Himself and His existence is necessary for the existence of all other things. When He wishes to make something happen He uses some of His own creations as mediators or “apparent causes” or “secondary causes”.

Apparent causes are capable of causing future events in some way. However, apparent causes always remain

subordinate to the First Cause. Therefore seekers of God must never let themselves be blinded and misled by

apparent causes, since their seeming power and relative existence invariably stem from God, the First Cause and Causer of all Causes.

208

6-1074

If reason should ask how the goal564 may be reached, say, “In a way that you

do not know, and so farewell!”

1-878

The mother is always in search of her child: the fundamentals seek the

derivatives565.

1-879

If water is imprisoned in a tank, the wind sucks it up, as the wind belongs to the

original source:

1-880

It sets it free, it wafts it away to its source, little by little, so that you do not see

its wafting;

1-882

The perfumes of our good words rise up even to Him, ascending from us to a

place that God knows.

1-887

Let us speak Persian566: the meaning is that this attraction by which God draws

the soul towards Himself comes from the same place where the taste567 came

from.

6-3360

What is the attracting power, hidden in the most hidden, that shines out in this

world from its source in the other world?

3-4597

Whether he is like this or like that, if he is a seeker of God, God’s attraction is

drawing him towards God.

The grace of God’s force of attraction (jadhba)568. [2.3.4]

4-1321

Every one is moving towards the One Who Draws: the true drawing is not like

the false drawing.

4-1323

You are a blind camel, and if your restraint became visible to the senses, then

this world would no longer remain the abode of heedlessness (delusion).

4-2004

The Almighty did not call you an ass. He called you a horse: the Arabs say

ta‘āl (“come”) to the Arabian horse.

4-2005

Muṣṭafā569 (Muḥammad) was God’s stable overseer for the beasts, which are

the sinful carnal souls ( nafs).

4-2006

Moved by loving-kindness, God said “Say ‘come’ ( ta‘ālaw)570, so that I may

train you571: I am the trainer.”

564 An allusion to Qur’ān 7:139 (Nich.).

565 I.e. “the source seeks its offshoot.”

566 The five preceding verses are in Arabic (Nich.).

567 Taste ( dhawq): the direct “tasting” of God’s Being in a state of mystical bliss.

568 Qur’ān 10:25.

569 Al-Muṣṭafā is an epithet of the Prophet meaning “Chosen One”, with the implication that Ḥażrat Muḥammad was chosen by God because of his purity – ṣafā in Arabic. Muṣṭafā and ṣafā are derived from the same Arabic verbal root, ṣ-f-y or ṣ-f-w, meaning “to be pure”.

570 Qur’ān 3:61.

209

4-2011

The Lord said, ‘ Say, Come, say, Come, o beasts that have shied away from

discipline.

4-2025

Do not belittle the Divine Word ta‘ālaw (Come): this Word is an extremely

great elixir.

4-2026

If copper (an ignoble person) turns away from your saying (this Word) in

disgust, then by no means withhold the elixir from him.

4-2028

O slave of God, say, Come, say, Come: pay attention, for verily God invites to

the Abode of Peace 572.

5-1669

Listen, renounce suspicion and error: make your head a foot (to hasten towards

Him) since He has summoned you to come.

5-1670

His ‘Come’ will exalt you; it will intoxicate you and give you spiritual brides

and couches573.

The sālik keeps progressing along the Path,

whether he receives this grace or not. [2.3.4]

6-1477

God’s pulling is, indeed, the original source; but, O fellow-servant, work hard,

do not be dependent on that pulling;

6-1478

For to renounce exertion is like an act of disdain: how should disdain be fitting

for a devoted lover of God?

6-1479

O youth, think neither of acceptance nor refusal: always consider the Divine

command and prohibition.

6-1480

Then suddenly the bird, namely, the Divine attraction, will fly from its nest

towards you: put out the candle as soon as you see the dawn.

3-981

Now by speech, then by silence and then by smelling, catch the scent of the

King everywhere.

1-2211

A search and a quest beyond all search and quest: I do not know how to

describe it; if you can, tell!

5-2044

If you are a man, dig earth from this earthen body, like a well digger, that you

may reach some water;

5-2045

And if God’s inspiration comes to you, the running water will bubble up from

the earth without having dug a well.

571 I.e. God ordered the Prophet to request the carnal souls to come that he (the Prophet) might train them

(Nich.). [In this case “training” implies “inner discipline”, “inner training” ( riyāżat)]

572 Qur’ān 10:25.

573 Couches: refers to Qur’ān 56:10-38 and Qur’ān 88:8-16, which describe the Garden of Paradise. In these

Sūras the word “couches” occurs in the verses 56:15, in 56:34, and also in 88:13.

210

The Fourth River [2.4]

Riyāḍā574 wa mujāhada (spiritual

practices and spiritual effort or struggle).

In this stage, the dervish renounces many things, such as the

material world, lust and greed, the company of ill-natured people,

saying hurtful things, sleeping unnecessarily long hours, immoderate

eating, a life of excessive luxury, imitating others, pride,

craving for worldly fame, status and reputation575.

Ḥadīth: “This world is a prison for the true believer”576.

In this stage, the dervish strives for good and effective deeds,

purificationof the heart, solitary retreat and seclusion (khalwa),

acquiring gnosis, inner and outer awakening, taking in spiritual

food, dedication, effort and atience on the Path, knowledge, a state

of spiritual indigence towards the Beloved and inconspicuousness.

The First Rivulet [2.4.1]

1-525

This world, indeed, is the prison of your souls: oh, go in that direction, for there

lies your open country.

1-982

This world is the prison, and we are the prisoners: dig a hole in the prison and

let yourself out!

6-3471

This world is a rotten walnut: o faithful man, do not put it to the test, but look

at it from a distance.

6-3475

Since the Prophet’s eye was always fixed on the end, seeing the world with that

eye made him call it a carcass.

1-3431

God said, “This world is a play and pastime577, and you are children”; and God

speaks truth.

1-3432

If you have not given up playing, you are a child: without purity of spirit, how

will you be fully intelligent like an adult?

1-3430

All men are children except he who is God-intoxicated; no one is grown-up

except he who is freed from sensual desire.

574 “Riyāżāt” in Persian.

575 Qur’ān 57:20.

576 This is a ḥadīth – see Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 48.

577 Qur’ān 29:64.

211

2-2598

Or like children who set up a shop as a game, but it is of no use to them except

as a pastime.

2-2599

Night falls, and the child who acted as shopkeeper comes home hungry: the

other children are gone, and he is left alone.

2-2600

This world is a playground, and death is the night: you return with an empty

purse, tired out.

Story. [2.4.1]

4-3085

A certain king had a young son, endowed with excellence both inwardly and

outwardly.

4-3086

He dreamed that his son suddenly died: for the king the pure pleasure of the

world was changed into pain.

4-3088

The king became so full of sorrow and grief that sighs could not find a way out

of him.

4-3089

He was about to die, his body became slow and apathetic; but his life had been

left for him to complete: the king woke up.

4-3100

The king pondered, saying, “This sorrow, indeed, is past, but my soul has

become fearful of being afflicted by one of the same kind;

4-3101

And if such a thorn enters my foot (if such disaster happens to me) that the rose

disappears (that my son dies), I should have a keepsake of him.

4-3113

The king said to himself, “It is necessary, then, to seek a bride for him, that this

marriage may yield offspring.

4-3115

And that if the form of the falcon leaves this world, its inner meaning may live

on in his son.

4-3138

The king prevailed and gave a good-natured girl, belonging to the family of a

righteous man, in marriage to his son.

4-3139

She truly was of unrivalled loveliness: her face was brighter than the sun in the

morning.

4-3140

Such was the girl’s beauty; and her qualities were such that no description

could capture their excellence.

4-3145

By Divine destiny a decrepit old witch, who was in love with the handsome

and generous prince –

4-3146

An old woman of Kābul – bewitched him with a sorcery that would be envied

by the magicians of Babylon itself.

212

4-3147

The prince fell in love with the ugly hag, so that he abandoned his bride and the

wedding.

4-3150

For a whole year the prince was captivated: the sole of the hag’s shoe was the

place where he planted his kisses.

4-3151

Being with the hag consumed him, until through wasting away only half a

soul578 was left in him.

4-3152

Others were deeply grieved because of his weakness, while he was

unconscious of himself as a result of the intoxicating effect of the sorcery.

4-3153

This world has become as a prison to the king, while this son of his was

laughing at their tears.

4-3154

The king became exceedingly desperate in the struggle579 to save his son: day

and night he offered sacrifice and gave alms, but to no avail,

4-3155

For whatever remedy the father applied, the son’s love for the old hag would

always increase.

4-3159

He prayed like this until, because of the “O Lord! O Lord!” and other such

lamentations, a master magician approached him from the road.

4-3160

From a faraway place he had heard the news that that boy had been captivated

by an old woman.

4-3165

The king said to him, “This boy has lost his wits.” The magician said, “Look, I

have come as a powerful remedy.

4-3166

None of these sorcerers is equal to the old woman except me, the wise one,

who has arrived from a distant shore.

4-3167

Truly, by command of the Creator, I, like the hand of Moses, will utterly

destroy her sorcery.

4-3169

I have come to undo her sorcery, so that the prince may not remain pale-faced.

4-3170

Go to the graveyard at the hour of the meal taken before dawn: beside the wall

is a whitened tomb.

4-3171

Dig up that place in the direction of the qibla580, that you may see the power

and the working of God.”

4-3172

This story is very long, and you, o reader are weary: I will tell the cream of it, I

leave out what is superfluous.

578 This can also be rendered as “half a life”, as the Persian word jān means both “soul” and “life”.

579 Literally “victory and checkmate”, a metaphor derived from the game of chess.

580 I.e. towards Mecca.

213

4-3173

The magician untied the heavy knots581: then, he gave to the king’s son a way

to escape from the affliction.

4-3174

The boy came to himself and ran towards the throne of the king with a hundred

sorrows.

4-3175

He prostrated himself and beat his chin on the earth: the boy held in his arms a

sword and a shroud582.

4-3176

The king ordered the city to be decorated, and the citizens and the despairing

disappointed bride rejoiced.

4-3177

The whole world came to life once more and was filled with radiance: the

people said, “Oh, what a marvellous difference between that day of sorrow and

today!”

4-3179

The old witch died of anguish and grief and gave up her hideous face and foul

nature to Mālik583.

4-3180

The prince was left bewildered: he said to himself, “How did she rob me of

understanding and insight?”

4-3181

He saw a newly wedded bride, beautiful as the moon, who eclipsed the beauty

of all the other fair ones.

4-3185

After a year the king said to him jokingly in conversation, “O son, think of that

old friend of yours.”

4-3187

“Go away!” he said; “I have found the abode of joy, I am freed from the pit of

the abode of delusion.”

The conclusion of the story. [2.4.1]

4-3189

O brother, know that you are the prince born again in the old world.

4-3190

The witch of Kābul is this World which made men captive to colour and

perfume.

4-3193

The Prophet called this world of yours an enchantress because through her

spells she put mankind in the pit584.

-3194

Beware! The stinking hag has hot (powerful) spells: her hot breath has made

kings captive.

4-3195

She is the witches who blow on knots 585 within your chest: she maintains the

knots of sorcery.

581 I.e. he broke the spells (Nich.).

582 As a token that he acknowledged his sin and was ready to pay the penalty.

583 Mālik, one of God’s Angels, is the Keeper of Hell. See Qur’ān 43:77.

584 This refers to a ḥadīth – see Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 408.

214

6-318

The World is a stinking hag, even though she makes herself look like a young

bride by means of her great power of enticement.

6-319

Listen! Do not be deceived by her rouge, do not taste her sherbet which is

mixed with poison!

6-321

The World’s bait is visible, but its trap is hidden: at first sight its favours seem

sweet to you.

4-3196

The sorceress, who is the World, is a mighty cunning woman: common people

do not have the power to undo her sorcery;

4-3197

And if men’s understandings could loosen her knot, why would God have sent

the Prophets?

4-3198

Listen, seek one whose breath is pure, a loosener of knots, one who knows the

mystery of God does whatever He pleases 586.

4-3199

The World has imprisoned you in her net, like a fish: the prince remained there

one year, and you sixty.

4-3202

The World’s breathing has made these knots tight: seek, then, the breathing of

the Unique Creator,

4-3203

In order that “I breathed of My spirit into him”587 may free you from this

sorcery and say to you, “Come higher!”

4-3210

Hard is the separation from this transitory abode: know, then, that the

separation from that permanent abode is even harder.

4-3211

Since it is hard for you to be separated from the form, how hard must it be to be

parted from its Maker!

4-3212

O you, who do not have the patience to do without the vile world, how, o

friend, do you have the patience to do without God?

4-3213

Since you do not have the patience to do without this black water, how do you

have the patience to do without God’s pure fountain?

4-3215

If you see the beauty of the Loving One for one moment and cast your soul and

existence into the fire of love.

4-3217

Like the prince, you will reach your Beloved; then you will draw the thorn of

self out of your foot.

585 Qur’ān 113:4. In the time when the Qur’ān was revealed, the Arabs believed that sorcerers or witches could cause harm to others by blowing on knots while uttering evil spells and incantations.

586 Qur’ān 3:40.

587 Qur’ān 15:29 and 38:71-72.

215

4-3218

Strive for selflessness, find your true self as soon as possible — and God

knows best which course is right.

Powerlessness on a spiritual level588. [2.4.1]

3-3280

Power is not suitable for everyone: self-abasement is the best stock-in-trade for

the devout.”

3-3281

For this reason poverty is everlasting glory, since the hand that cannot reach

the objects of desire is left with devotion to God589 and nothing else.

3-3282

Riches and the rich are spurned by God because power relinquishes acts of

self-denial.

3-3283

Self-abasement and poverty are a security for a man against the suffering of the

covetous and anxious fleshly soul ( nafs).

3-3297

All debauched drunkards become devout, ascetic and invokers of God when

they are in prison.

3-3260

Whatever becomes lost to you by Divine destiny, know for sure that it has

saved you from affliction.

3-3265

For that Godsent suffering keeps off great sufferings, and that loss prevents

huge losses.

Allegory. [2.4.1]

Poem:

“While passing through this world you will meet many pickpockets”.

“Happy are those who have nothing in their pockets”

(i.e. who are not attached to anything). [2.4.1]

5-2361

There was a water carrier590 who owned an ass that had been bent double like a

hoop by affliction.

5-2362

Its back was chafed in a hundred places by the heavy load: it passionately

desired the day of its death.

5-2364

The Master of the royal stable saw it and took pity – for the man knew the

owner of the ass –

5-2365

So he greeted him and asked him what had happened, saying, “Why is this ass

bent double like a dāl?”591

588 Qur’ān 96:6 and 7.

589 “Devotion to God”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

590 Apparently he, or rather his ass, carried firewood too (Nich.).

216

5-2366

He replied, “Because of my poverty and destitution this dumb animal592 does

not even get straw.”

5-2367

“Hand him over to me,” the other said, “for a few days, that in the King’s

stable he may grow strong.”

5-2369

All around him the ass saw Arab horses, well-fed, fat, handsome and glossy593;

5-2370

He saw the ground swept clean under their feet and sprinkled with water: the

straw coming at the proper time, and the barley at the hour when it was

expected.

5-2371

He saw the horses currycombed and rubbed down. Then he lifted up his

muzzle, crying, “O glorious Lord,

5-2372

Am not I Your creature? I grant that I am an ass, but why am I wretched, with

sores on my back, and thin?

5-2373

At night, I always wish to die because of the pain in my back and the pangs of

hunger in my belly.

5-2374

These horses are so happy and prosperous: why am I singled out for torment

and tribulation?”

5-2375

Suddenly came the rumour of war: it was the time for the Arab horses to be

saddled and brought into action.

5-2376

They were wounded by arrows by the enemy: the barbs entered them on every

side.

5-2377

When the Arab horses returned from the campaign, they all fell down and lay

on their backs in the stable.

5-2378

Their legs were tightly bandaged with strips of canvas: the farriers were

standing in a row,

5-2379

Piercing their bodies with the scalpel in order to extract the barbs from their

wounds.

5-2380

The ass saw all that, and said, “O God, I am satisfied with poverty and health.

5-2381

I do not desire that plentiful food and those hideous wounds.” Everyone who

desires spiritual health abandons the world.

5-2357

I give thanks to the Friend (God) in good and bad times, because the Divine

destiny holds worse than the present ill.

591 The Arabic letter dāl (ﺩ).

592 Literally “this one whose mouth is closed” (Nich.).

593 Literally, “new” (Nich.).

217

5-2358

Since He is the Dispenser of portions, complaint is an act of infidelity. Patience

is necessary: patience is the key to the gift (bounteous reward).

5-2360

As long as He gives me buttermilk I will not desire honey, for every pleasure is

connected to a pain.”

The world and what is in it, is transitory.

Wise is he who is not attached to worldly things. [2.4.1]

Poem by Ḥażrat Mawlānā ‘Abdu’r-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414-1492 CE):

“Death separates us from everything. Happy is he who is separated

from the material world ( dunyā) before dying” [2.4.1]

1-1369

Take heed! Do not rejoice in a kingdom that is passed on from one to another.

O you who are chained to the vicissitude of fortune, do not act as though you

were free!

1-1370

But those for whom a kingdom beyond vicissitude is prepared, for them the

drums (of sovereignty) are beaten beyond the Seven Planets.

1-1371

Beyond alternation (regular recurrence) are the everlasting kings: their spirits

are perpetually circling with the Cupbearer594.

3-2239

Since you have not been granted true servitude to the Beloved595, from where

did the wish for kingship arise in you?

4-660

Abandon all that, even if it is the kingdom of Sabā596, for beyond this water and

earth there are many kingdoms.

4-661

That which you have called a throne is really a fetter: you consider it the seat of

honour, but in reality you have remained at the door.

4-662

If you do not have sovereignty over your own beard, how will you exercise

sovereignty over good and evil?

4-663

Without you wishing it, your beard grows white: be ashamed of your beard, o

you whose hopes are perverse.

4-671

If as a tribute you pile up gold as though it were sand, in the end it will be left

behind you as an inheritance.

594 Cupbearer or Sāqī: he who pours out the mystical Divine Wine. In order to receive this Wine, the adept must empty himself from his nafs or ego, i.e. he has to become empty as a wine cup. In Sufism, the Sāqī often is a symbol for one’s Master ( Shaykh or Pīr).

595 Literally, “has not given its hand (yielded itself) to you” (Nich.).

596 Sabā = Sheba.

218

4-672

Sovereignty and gold will not accompany your spirit on its journey: give your

gold away, get eye-salve for your sight,

4-673

In order that you may see that this world is a narrow well, and that, like Joseph,

you may grasp that rope.

5-3926

Suppose the monarch’s empire is the empire of the West and the East: since it

will not last, consider it as fleeting as a lightning-flash.

5-3927

O you whose heart is slumbering (heedless), know that the kingdom that does

not endure until eternity is but a dream.

3-3697

Everything that rejoices you in the world – think of the time when you will part

from it.

3-3698

Many people have been gladdened by what made you glad: in the end it

escaped from him and became as wind.

3-3699

It will escape from you too: do not set your heart upon it. Escape from it

yourself before it escapes from you.

To the wise, the transitory nature of worldly

things holds a valuable lesson. [2.4.1]

“Since much good comes from foresightedness, riches is the

servant of poverty(non-attachment)” – Niẓāmī Ganjawī597

4-1594

In this realm of existence and corruption, o master, existence is the deception

and corruption is the warning.

4-1595

Existence says, “Come, I am full of delight,” and its corruption says, “Go, I am

nothing.”

4-1596

O you who bite your lip in admiration of the beauty of spring, consider the

coldness and paleness of autumn.

4-1597

In the daytime you found the face of the sun beautiful: remember its death

when it sets.

4-1598

You saw the full moon on this lovely firmament598: also notice its anguish

(caused by the loss of visibility) during its waning.

4-1599

A boy became the lord of the people because of his beauty: the following day

he became feeble-minded and exposed to the scorn of the people.

4-1600

If the body of those in the fresh bloom of youth599 has captured you, then see a

body bleached like a cotton plantation after it has grown old.

597 Niẓāmī Ganjawī: a 12th century Persian poet.

598 Literally, the quadrangular tent (of the sky) (Nich.).

599 Literally, silver-bodied ones (Nich.).

219

4-1605

See how in the end the soul-like intoxicating narcissus-eye (of the Beloved)

grows dim and how water trickles from it.

4-1604

Many fingers that were envied by master-craftsmen because of their skill and

dexterity in the end have become trembling.

4-1607

The acute, far-seeing, artful genius – see how it finally has become dim-witted

as an old ass.

4-1609

Observe the World’s existence, how at first it is pleasing and joyous; and

observe its shamefulness and corruption in the end;

4-1610

For it clearly showed the snare: it plucked out the fool’s moustache in your

presence600.

4-1611

Do not say, then, “The World deceived me by its trickery; otherwise, my

reason would have fled from its snare.”

4-1612

Come now, see how the golden collar and shoulder-belt have become shackles

and chains.

4-1613

Consider every particle of the World to be like this: consider both its beginning

and its end.

4-1614

The more anyone considers the end ( ākhir) the more blessed he is; the more

anyone considers the stable ( ākhur)601 the more banned he is

4-1615

Consider everyone’s face as the glorious moon: when the beginning has been

seen, also see the end,

6-316

Even if all the pleasures of this world are very delightful when viewed from a

distance before they are actually put to the test.

6-317

Seen from a distance they appear as refreshing water, but when you approach

them they are a mirage.

6-243

The wealth and riches and silks of this travellers’ halt are a chain on the light—

footed spirit.

5-4127

Listen, o Pharaoh, renounce Egypt: there are a hundred Egypts within the

Egypt of the Spirit.

5-4126

If you want to rid yourself of this filthy tattered cloak, you will drown the

bodily Nile in the Nile of the soul.

600 I.e. “It has revealed its reality”.

601 In Persian, ākhur means “stable”, but it may also mean “refuse”, “filth”, “waste grass of stables”. Here, ākhir (meaning “last”, “the end” in Arabic) and ākhur are used as a pun.

220

Someone who chooses the way of the dervishes is saved

from the deceitfulness of the world and the nafs. [2.4.1]

5-1951

Riches are like a snake, and power is a dragon: the shadow (protection and

guidance) of holy men is the emerald which is fatal to both of them.

5-1952

At the sight of that emerald the snake’s eye jumps out of its head: the snake is

blinded and the traveller is delivered from death.

4-3122

This righteous man is himself a king, he is free, he is not the prisoner of lust

and gluttony.

4-3123

The people have given those prisoners the title of “king” in an opposite way,

just as Kāfūr (Camphor) is the name of that black man602.

4-3125

They have described the prisoner of lust, anger and ambition by the name of

Mīr or Ṣadr-e Ajall (most honourable prince).

4-3127

They call high-placed ( Ṣadr) him whose soul is placed low in the entrance

hall603, that is to say, worldly power and riches.

6-323

The names “princehood”, “vizierate” and “kingship” are enticing, but hidden

beneath them is death, pain and giving up the ghost604.

6-324

Be a servant of God and walk on the earth like a horse under the rider, not like

a corpse which is carried on the necks of the bearers.

6-328

Do not lay your burden on anyone, lay it on yourself: do not seek eminence, it

is best to be poor605.

2-3462

Since Iblīs had become accustomed to being leader, he looked down on Adam

with disbelief (and denial).

2-3466

When leadership has become a bosom friend to your brain606, anyone who

breaks (thwarts) you becomes as an old enemy.

602 Abū’l-Misk Kāfūr (b. 905 CE) was a former Ethiopian slave who ruled Egypt from 946 to 968 CE.

603 In the Persian text, Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses the expression ṣaff-e ni‘āl, which literally means “the row of the slippers”. It refers to the last row of sitting people, the row which is closest to the place where one takes off one’s shoes or slippers before entering, like at the entrance to a mosque or at a formal assembly of Ṣūfīs. It is a symbolic description of “a low, worthless and insignificant place”.

604 Literally “giving up the soul” or “giving up life” ( jān).

605 Poor: in the Persian text “darwīsh” – one of the definitions of darwīsh is “one who is poor in God”.

606 I.e. haunts your brain (Nich.).

221

The meaning of the saying:

“All that keeps you from loving God, is the material world. But to the

wise man, the material world is merely a means, not an end”. [2.4.1]

1-983

What is this world? To be forgetful of God; it is not merchandise, silver and

weighing scales and women.

1-984

As to the wealth that you carry for religion’s sake, “How good is righteous

wealth for the righteous man!” as the Prophet recited607.

1-985

Water in the boat is the ruin of the boat, but water underneath the boat is a

support.

1-986

Since Solomon cast the desire for wealth and possessions out from his heart, he

did not call himself anything else but “poor”.

1-3718

Wealth is seed, do not sow it in any salty ground: do not put a sword in the

hand of every highwayman.

Allegory. [2.4.1]

4-238

The lust of this world is like the bath stove by which the bath, piety608, is made

luminous;

4-239

But the pious man’s609 portion from this stove is nothing but purity, because he

is in the hot bath and in cleanliness.

4-240

The rich resemble those who carry dung for the bath-keeper’s fire making.

4-241

God has planted greed in them, in order that the bath may be hot and well—

provided.

4-242

Abandon this stove and enter the hot bath: know that abandonment of the stove

is the very essence of that bath.

4-244

The (characteristic) sign of whoever has entered the bath is visible on his

beautiful face.

4-245

The signs of the stokers are visible too – in their dress, in the smoke and dust

(which blacken them).

4-249

Your greed is like fire in the material world: its every flaming tongue has

opened a hundred mouths (to swallow filthy profit).

607 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 49.

608 “Piety”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

609 “Pious man” or muttaqī: “someone who practices taqwā”. See the previous footnote and Qur’ān 2:2.

222

4-250

In the eyes of Reason, this gold is filthy as dung, even though, like dung, it is

the cause of the blazing of the fire.

Renouncing the material world through the

power of love and the longing for God. [2.4.1]

3-1293

This world is like the tree, O noble ones: we are like the half-ripened fruit on it.

3-1294

The unripe fruits cling fast to the branch, because during their immaturity they

are unfit to be taken to the palace.

3-1295

When they have ripened and become sweet – after that, biting their lips610, they

cling but feebly to the branches.

3-1296

When the mouth has been sweetened by that bliss, the kingdom of the world

becomes cold (unpleasing) to man.

3-1297

To take a tight hold and to attach one’s self strongly to the world is a sign of

unripeness: as long as you are an embryo, your task consists of drinking blood.

Allegory. [2.4.1]

1-2113

The Yearning Pillar611 was complaining of its separation from the Prophet, just

as rational beings might do.

1-2114

The Prophet said, “O pillar, what do you want?” It said, “My soul has turned

into blood because of being separated from you.

1-2115

I was your support: now you have run away from me: you have made a place to

lean against on the pulpit.”

1-2116

“Do you desire,” he said, “to be made a date palm, so that the people of the

East and the West shall gather fruit from you?

1-2117

Or that God should make you a cypress in the other world, so that you will

remain everlastingly fresh and flourishing?”

1-2118

It replied, “I desire that of which the life endures forever.” Listen, o heedless

one! Do not be less than a piece of wood!

1-2120

So that you may know that everyone whom God has called to Himself remains

detached from all the work of this world.

1-2121

Whoever obtains his work and business from God, gains admission there and

abandons worldly work.

610 I.e. in remorse for having clung so tightly to the tree (Nich.).

611 The “Yearning Pillar” or “Moaning Pillar ( ustun-e ḥannāna) was a wooden pillar in the time of the Prophet Muḥammad. He used to lean against it while preaching.

223

6-4421

Worldly dominion is lawful only to those who indulge the body: we (lovers)

are devoted to the everlasting kingdom of Love.

6-4422

He (the prince) is in Love’s employ: do not deprive him of his employment, do

not let him be employed in anything but loving you.

6-4423

The high position (business) that veils me from seeing your face is the very

essence of being disgracefully dismissed, even though it is called ‘high

position.

The Second Rivulet [2.4.2]

Renouncing the perils and pitfalls of the nafs and of passion,

and the meaning of the ḥadīth: “Your greatest enemy is

your nafs, enclosed between your two sides”612.

1-772

The idol of your self ( nafs) is the mother of all idols, because the material idol

is only a snake, while the spiritual idol is a dragon.

1-773

The self is like iron and a flintstone, while the material idol is like the sparks:

those sparks are extinguished by water.

1-774

But how should the stone and iron be appeased by water? How should a man,

who has these two, be secure?

1-778

It is easy to break an idol, very easy; to regard the self as easy to subdue is

foolishness, foolishness.

2-15

Adam took one step in sensual pleasure: separation from his high place in

Paradise became a collar on the neck of his fleshly soul ( nafs).

2-16

The angels fled from him as from a devil: how many tears did he shed for the

sake of a single loaf of bread613!

1-3004

Sun and cloud obey the command of anyone in whose body the unbelieving

self has died.

2-474

Beware! Do not wish your currish (fleshly) soul alive, for it has been the

enemy of your soul for a long time.

2-475

Dust be on the head of the bones that prevents this cur from hunting the soul!

4-1916

You are like Pharaoh, who had left Moses alone and was taking off the heads

of the people’s babies;

4-1917

The enemy (Moses) was in the house of that blind-hearted man, while outside

he was cutting the necks of the children.

612 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 41. The meaning of “between your two sides” is between man’s two different aspects: his material or earthly aspect and his spiritual or heavenly aspect. It does not refer to the human body.

613 I.e. the forbidden fruit.

224

4-1918

You too are bad to others outside, while you have become compliant to the

grievous self (carnal soul, nafs) within.

4-1919

It is your enemy indeed, yet you are giving it candy, while outside you are

accusing everyone.

Allegory. [2.4.2]

2-776

A certain man killed his mother in anger, with blows of a dagger and also with

blows of his fist.

2-777

Someone said to him, “Out of your evil nature you have not borne in mind

what is due to motherhood.

2-778

Hey, tell me why you killed your mother. What did she do? Please, tell me, o

foul villain614!”

2-779

He said, “She did a deed that is a disgrace to her; I killed her because the earth

(her grave) covers her (hides her shame).”

2-780

The other said, “O honoured sir, kill the one who was her partner in guilt.”

“Then,” he replied, “I should kill a man every day.

2-781

I killed her, I was saved from shedding the blood of a great number of people:

it is better that I cut her throat than the throats of so many people.”

2-782

That ill-natured mother, whose wickedness is everywhere, is your fleshly soul.

2-783

Come, kill it, because that vile creature makes you attack an esteemed one at

every moment.

2-784

Because of it, this beautiful world is narrow (distressful) to you, for its sake

you are at war with God and man.

2-785

If you have killed the fleshly soul, you are delivered from the necessity of

excusing yourself: nobody in the world remains your enemy.

4-1913

Do not then, no matter what grief comes over you, resentfully accuse anyone:

turn towards yourself.

6-4856

Doubtlessly your wicked carnal soul is a voracious wolf: why do you lay the

blame on every fellow companion?

6-4857

In its misguidedness, the corrupt, unbelieving, conscienceless carnal soul is like

a cap which conceals the diseased condition of a hundred baldheads.

614 Literally: O man of evil disposition (Nich.).

225

6-4858

For this reason, o poor servant of God, I always say, “Do not remove the chain

from the neck of the mongrel dog.”

6-4859

Even if this mongrel has become a teacher, it is still a mongrel: be one whose

carnal soul is humbled, for it is evil-natured.

3-375

It is a triangular thorn: however you may place it, it will pierce, and how will

you escape from its stab?

6-4862

The entire Qur’ān is a description of the depravity of carnal souls: look into the

Holy Book! Where is your eye?

3-4066

Listen to this good advice in the Traditions of the Prophet – “Your worst

enemy is between your two sides.”

3-4067

Do not listen to the pompous talk of the enemy615, but flee, for she616 (the

carnal soul, nafs) is obstinately arguing and quarrelling like Iblīs.

3-4068

For the sake of this world and for argument’s sake she has made the everlasting

torment seem easy (of little meaning) to you.

3-4069

Is it any wonder then, if she makes death seem easy? By using her magic she

does a hundred times more than this.

3-4071

It makes ugly things beautiful by means of cunning trickery; it makes beautiful

things ugly by means of false opinion.

3-4072

The work of magic is this, that it breathes incantations and at every breath

(moment) transforms realities.

3-4074

Such a magician is latent within you: truly, there is a concealed magic in

temptation,

3-4075

But in the world in which these magic arts exist, there are magicians who

defeat sorcery.

3-4076

In the plain where this fresh (virulent) poison grew, there has also grown the

antidote, o son.

2-1063

Do not cling to the thievish fleshly soul and her work: whatever is not God’s

work is nothing, nothing.

615 The fleshly soul (Nich.).

616 The carnal soul or nafs’s gender is female. This does not mean that “woman” or “the feminine” are “evil”. It is related to the four earthly elements which constitute material man: water, fire, wind and earth. Just like the earth produces food, woman can give birth to children in this world, and likewise the nafs is able to produce a new nafs over and over again. That is why linguistically, the gender of nafs is female, since it can generate new life over and over again. Similarly, when Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks about “woman” in the Mathnawī, it is only meant metaphorically, as it refers to the productive quality of the nafs.” [Adapted from the speech delivered on the occasion of Mawlā ‘Alī’s Birthday by Ḥaẓrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣafī ‘Alī Shāh II, Master of the Ne‘matollāhī

Ṣafī ‘Alīshāhī Ṣūfī Order, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 20th August 2005.]

226

2-1062

Whatever you sow, sow for His sake, since you are the Beloved’s captive, o

lover.

2-1850

Forsaking Jesus, you have nurtured the ass: inevitably, like the ass, you are

outside of the veil.

2-1852

You listen to the moaning of the ass, and pity comes over you; then you do

know that the ass commands you to behave like an ass617.

2-1853

Have pity on Jesus and have no pity on the ass: do not make the carnal nature

lord over your intellect.

2-1855

For years you have been the ass’s slave. It is enough, for the ass’s slave is

behind even the ass.

1-2951

Seize the neck of your ass (the flesh) and lead him towards the Way, towards

the good keepers and knowers of the Way.

1-2952

Beware! Do not let your ass go, and do not remove your hand from him,

because his love is for the place where green herbs abound.

1-2953

If you carelessly leave him free for one moment, he will go many miles in the

direction of the herbage.

1-2954

The ass is an enemy to the Way, he is madly in love with fodder: oh, how many

of his attendants has he brought to ruin!

1-2955

If you do not know the Way, do the opposite of whatever the ass desires: that,

surely, will be the right Way.

2-2273

If you take advice from your fleshly soul, whatever she may say, do the

opposite.

2-2278

I have seen wondrous things arising from the deceitfulness of the fleshly soul,

for by her magic she takes away the faculties of discernment.

2-2280

If your life is prolonged618 even for a hundred years, she will lay a new pretext

before you every day.

2-2276

If you cannot cope with her and her stubborn rebelliousness, go to a friend and

keep him company.

617 I.e. “foolish”.

618 Literally: grant a respite (Nich.).

227

Being freed from the snares and pitfalls of the nafs

by a wise Pīr who is a spiritual healer. [2.4.2]

2-2528

Nothing will slay the fleshly soul except the shadow (protection) of the Pīr:

grip tightly the skirt of that slayer of the flesh.

2-2529

When you grip it tightly, that is done with God’s help: whatever strength

comes into you is the effect of His drawing you towards Him.

3-2547

The intellect, chasing spiritual truth, prevails over your doggish fleshly soul

only when the Shaykh is its helper.

3-2550

when he (the dragon) approaches the Saint who is close to God, his tongue, a

hundred ells619 long, is shortened.

3-2551

He has a hundred tongues, and each of them has a hundred languages: his

deceit and cunning cannot be described.

3-2553

He deceives all in the city except the king: he cannot ambush the wise king.

3-2554

The fleshly soul has glorification of God on its tongue, and the Qur’ān in its

right hand; but in its sleeve she has dagger and sword.

3-2555

Do not believe her Qur’ān and hypocritical ostentation, do not make yourself

its confidant and comrade;

3-2556

For it will take you to the tank to perform the ritual ablution, and will throw

you to its bottom.

3-2560

The common folk of the city do not know the deceit of the fleshly soul and of

the body: she (the fleshly soul) is not subdued except by Divine inspiration in

the heart.

3-2561

Everyone who is her congener becomes her friend, except, to be sure, the

David who is your Shaykh;

3-2562

For he has been transformed, and anyone whom God has seated in the abode of

the heart, he (that person) no longer remains the body’s congener.

3-2563

All the other people are made ill by that which lies in ambush within them: it is

certain that illness associates with illness.

3-2693

As you are sick from the samūm 620 of the carnal soul; whatever you may take,

you are the instrument for infecting it with disease.

3-2698

Remove the disease: when the disease is eradicated, every old tale will become

new to you.

619 Any of several historical units of measure corresponding roughly to the length of the arm.

620 A very hot, poisonous wind, blowing from the desert.

228

3-2700

We are the spiritual physicians, the disciples of God: the Red Sea saw us and

parted 621 .

3-2701

Those natural physicians are different, for they look into the heart by

measuring a pulse.

3-2702

We look gladly into the heart without intermediary, for through clairvoyance

we see from a high place.

3-2703

Those others are physicians of food and fruit: by them the animal soul is made

strong.

3-2704

We are physicians of deeds and words: the ray of the light of Divine Majesty is

our inspirer.

3-2707

To those other physicians a sample of urine is evidence, whereas this evidence

of ours is the inspiration of the Almighty.

3-2708

We do not desire payment from anyone: our payment comes from a Holy

Place.

3-2709

Listen, come here for the incurable disease! We, one by one, are a medicine for

those who are spiritually ill.”

3-2732

Become devoted to these physicians with all your soul, that you may be filled

with musk and ambergris622.

The nafs and Satan are in fact one and the same623. [2.4.2]

3-4053

The fleshly soul and the Devil have both essentially always been the same

person; but they have manifested themselves in two forms,

3-4054

Like the angel and the intellect, which were really one, but became two forms

for the sake of God’s wise purposes.

3-4055

You have such an enemy as this in your inner being: she is the preventer of the

intellect, and the adversary of the spirit and of religion.

3-4056

At one moment she dashes forward like the lizard; then again in flight she darts

away into a hole.

3-4057

Just now she has many holes in the human heart, and from every hole she is

sticking out her head.

621 Qur’ān 26:63.

622 A waxy greyish substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales and found floating at sea or washed

ashore. It is added to perfumes.

623 Qur’ān 35:6.

229

3-4063

If the fleshly soul had not ambushed you from within, how would the

highwaymen have any power to lay a hand upon you?

3-4065

Because of that inner accomplice you have become thievish and depraved, so

that the way is open for the external accomplice to subjugate you.

5-668

I will continue to flee as long as blood runs through my veins624, but how

should it be easy to escape from one’s self?

5-669

He who runs away from another finds rest when he has been separated from

him (the pursuer).

5-670

I, who am my own adversary, it is I who am running away from myself: getting

up and leaving is my never-ending task.

5-671

He whose adversary is his own shadow is not safe either in India or Khutan625.

3-2848

That enemy who took vengeance on your father626 and dragged him from

‘Illiyyīn627 to prison.

3-2847

O children of the Viceregent628 (Adam), act justly: act with prudence for the

sake of the Day of Meeting (Judgement).

3-2850

How often did he deceitfully seize him in combat, so that he may wrestle with

him, and throw him to the ground in disgrace629!

3-2851

This is what he has done to that heroic champion (Adam): do not regard him

with contempt, o you others!

3-2856

Beware of his malice, o clay-worshippers: strike his head with the sword of

lāḥawl 630!

3-2857

For he sees you from ambush, so that you do not see him. Be careful!

3-2858

The fowler scatters grain incessantly: the grain is visible, but the deceit is

hidden.

3-2859

Wherever you see the grain, beware, in order that the trap does not restrain

your wings and feathers,

624 Or “my nerves are vibrating” (Nich.).

625 Khutan or Khotan is a city of Eastern Turkestān, now also known as Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwestern China.

626 I.e. Adam.

627 “The register of the righteous” or a place in the seventh heaven where that record is kept (Nich.).

628 The word used in the Persian text is khalīfa, which in Arabic means “deputy” or “steward”.

629Literally “pale-faced” (Nich.).

630 See Book 2, p. 232, note 2 (Nich.). This refers to the saying of the Prophet Muḥammad Lā ḥawla wa lā

quwwata illā bi’Llāh, “There is neither might nor any power except with God” – meaning that only God has the power to bring about transformation.

230

3-2860

Because the bird that relinquishes the grain (bait), eats grain from the spacious

field of Reality, which is without trickery.

3-2861

With that grain it is satisfied, and escapes the trap: no trap restrains its wings

and feathers.

6-378

This world is a trap, and desire is its bait: flee from the traps, quickly turn your

face towards God.

6-4658

Pull the snare to pieces, burn the bait, open new doors in this bodily house!

1-374

O God, there are hundreds of thousands of snares and baits, and we are as

greedy foodless birds.

1-375

From moment to moment we are caught in a new snare, even though we

become, each one, like a falcon or a Sīmurgh631.

1-376

You deliver us at every moment, and once more we are heading for a snare, o

You who are without need!

1-377

We are putting corn in this barn, and then we are losing the corn that has been

amassed.

1-378

Why, after all, do not we consider with intelligent mind that this damage to the

corn comes from the deceitfulness of the mouse?

1-379

Since the mouse has made a hole in our barn, and our barn has been ravaged by

its artful trickery.

1-380

O soul, in the first place ward off the mischief of the mouse, and then show

zeal in amassing the corn.

1-382

If there is no thievish mouse in our barn, where is the corn of forty years’

works of devotion?

1-387

Even if there are thousands of snares at our feet, when You are with us there is

no trouble.

The trap of lustful passion (shahwa). [2.4.2]

5-942

The accursed Iblīs said to (God), the Dispenser of justice, “I want a powerful

snare for this prey.”

5-952

God brought and placed wine and harp in front of him: he smiled faintly at it

and was half-pleased.

631 Sīmurgh: mythical, phoenix-like bird in ancient Iranian mythology. The renowned 12th century Ṣūfī Master

and author Ḥażrat Shaykh Farīdu’d-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār used it in his famous book “The Conference of the Birds”. In this book the Sīmurgh symbolically represents man’s Divine potential, which can be realized by completing the mystical journey.

231

5-943

God showed to him gold and silver and herds of horses, saying, “By means of

these you can seduce mankind.”

5-945

Then God offered to that fallen one gold and jewels from His plentiful mines,

5-946

Saying, “Take this other snare, o accursed one.” He replied, “Give more than

this, o most excellent Helper.”

5-947

Then He gave him oily and sweet foods, costly sherbets and many silken robes.

5-948

Iblīs said, “O Lord, I want more help than this, to bind them with a cord of

palm-fibre 632.

5-949

In order that Your intoxicated devotees, who are fierce and courageous, may

bravely break free from those bonds,

5-950

And that by this snare and these cords of sensuality Your holy man may be

separated from the unmanly (cowards),

5-951

I want another snare, o Sovereign of the throne – a mighty cunning633 snare that

abases men.”

5-953

Iblīs sent a message to the eternal Predestination of perdition634, saying, “Raise

dust from the bottom of the sea of temptation635.

5-956

When God showed Iblīs the beauty of women that dominated the reason and

self-restraint of men,

5-957

Then he joyfully snapped his fingers and began to dance, crying, “Give me

these as quickly as possible: I have obtained what I desired.”

5-958

When he saw those languishing eyes which make the reason and understanding

restless,

5-959

And the loveliness of that enchanting cheek636 on which this heart of man burns

like rue-seed on the fire637.

5-1365

Lustful desire makes the heart deaf and blind, so that an ass seems like Joseph,

fire like light.

5-1369

Sensual desire makes foul things seem fair: among the afflictions of the Way

there is none like lust, none worse.

632 Qur’ān 111:5.

633 Literally “inventive in deceit” (Nich.).

634 I.e. to the Divine Name al-Muḍill (“He Who leads astray whom He chooses.” – see Qur’ān 39:37)

635 I.e. “Make a dry path through the sea, so that the wicked may be tempted and destroyed like Pharaoh and his people” (Nich.).

636 Literally “the cheek of those heart-captivating ones” (Nich.).

637 Rue-seed is burnt as a charm against the evil eye (Nich.).

232

5-1370

It has disgraced a hundred thousand good names, it has stupefied a hundred

thousand clever men.

5-1371

Since it made an ass seem like Joseph of Egypt, how will that denier of the

Truth638 cause a Joseph to appear?

5-1372

Its spell made dung seem honey to you: will it, in truth, make the time of battle

seem honey639 to you?

4-3612

Know that every sensual desire is like wine and bang 640: it is a veil over the

intelligence, and so the rational man is stupefied.

4-3613

The intoxication of the intelligence is not caused by wine alone: any sensual

thing closes the spiritual eye and ear.

4-3614

Iblīs was far removed from wine-drinking: he was drunk with pride and

unbelief.

4-3615

The drunken man is he who sees that which is not: what is really a piece of

copper or iron appears to be gold to him.

3-820

Know, again, that this intoxication of lust in the earthly world does not mean

much compared to the intoxication of the angels.

3-821

The intoxication of the angel makes the intoxication of the human being

insignificant: how should the angel show any inclination to lust?

3-822

Until you have drunk sweet water, briny water is sweet, sweet as the light in

the eye.

5-2446

As long as your fleshly soul is intoxicated with the dessert and date-wine of

sensuality, know that your spirit has not seen the cluster of grapes belonging to

the Unseen World.

5-2448

Since the bird641 is frequenting a briny water, it has not seen (found) help for its

thirst in the sweet water.

1-3815

In God’s sight the slave of lust is worse than servants and slaves brought into

servitude.

638 In Nicholson’s translation it says “Jew” instead of “denier of the Truth”. But this is wrong. The word which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses in the Mathnawī is jahūd, which is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”).

Jahūd is best translated as “denier(s) of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood. It is usually rendered as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e. “someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

639 I.e. the battle of passion with passion (Nich.).

640 An intoxicating potion made from hemp leaves.

641 I.e. the worldly man (Nich.).

233

1-3817

The slave of lust has no means of release at all except through the grace of God

and His special favour.

1-3818

He has fallen into a pit that has no bottom, and that is his own sin: it is not

Divine compulsion and injustice.

1-3819

He has thrown himself into such a pit that I find no rope capable of reaching its

bottom.

3-2133

The people are distracted by these idols (objects of desire), and afterwards they

repent of the lust which they have indulged.

3-2134

Because he (such a one) has indulged his lust with a phantom and has remained

further away from the Reality than he was before.

3-2135

Your desire for a phantom is like a wing, so that by means of that wing he (the

seeker) may ascend to the Reality.

3-2136

When you have indulged a lust, your wings drop off; you become lame, and

that phantom flees from you.

3-2137

Preserve the wing and do not indulge such lust, in order that the wing of desire

may carry you to Paradise.

3-4064

Because of the exacting accomplice, who is Lust, the heart is captive to greed,

cupidity and disaster.

5-1373

Lust arises from eating and drinking: diminish your food, or marry and in this

way flee from wickedness.

5-1375

Marriage, then, is like the exorcism, “There is neither might nor any power

except with God,”642 in order that the Devil may not lead you into temptation.

5-1376

Since you are fond of eating and drinking, ask a woman in marriage at once;

otherwise the cat comes and carries off the fat sheep’s tail643.

4-818

This world, which is associated with lust, is an idol-temple: it is a nest (abode)

for the Prophets and the infidels alike.

4-814

My deepest nature644 is a breaker of idols, like Abraham, the Friend of God,

and all the Prophets.

4-815

“O slave, if I enter the idol-temple, the idol, not I, will prostrate itself in

adoration.”

642 This refers to the saying of the Prophet Muḥammad Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā bi’Llāh, “There is neither might nor any power except with God” – meaning that only God has the power to bring about transformation.

643 I.e. the Devil takes away your righteousness (Nich.).

644 Literally “the root of my root” (Nich.).

234

4-816

Both Aḥmad (Muḥammad) and Bū Jahl645 went into the idol-temple; but there

is a great difference between the one going into it and the other.

4-817

This one (Muḥammad) enters, the idols lay down their heads before him; that

one (Bū Jahl) enters and lays down his head before the idols, like the peoples

of old.

4-819

But lust is the slave of holy men: gold does not burn in the fire, because it is

sterling coin from the mine.

4-820

The infidels are alloy, while the holy men are as pure gold: both these classes

of persons are within this crucible.

4-821

When the alloy came into the crucible, it became black at once; when the gold

came in, its goldenness was made manifest.

4-1656

Although the fleshly soul ( nafs) is shrewd and astute, her qibla (goal) is this

world, therefore regard her as dead.

4-1654

The fleshly soul is not bound by any covenant; for that reason she ought to be

killed: she is base, and base is the spot to which her desires are directed.

2-3472

Kill the snake of lust at the beginning; otherwise, you see, your snake becomes

a dragon.

Story. [2.4.2]

3-977

A snake-catcher went to the mountains to catch a snake by means of

incantations.

3-996

There he saw a huge dead dragon, the sight of which filled his heart with fear.

3-1003

The snake-catcher took up that snake and came to Baghdad in order to cause

astonishment.

3-1005

Saying, “I have brought a dead dragon: I have suffered agonies646 while I was

hunting it.”

3-1006

He thought it was dead, but it was living, and he did not see it very well647.

3-1007

It was frozen by frosts and snow: it was alive, but it looked as if it were dead.

3-1008

The world is frozen: its name is jamād (inanimate): jāmid means “frozen”, o

master.

645 Bū Jahl is an abbreviated form of Abū Jahl: ‘Amr ibn Hishām, an uncle of the Prophet, was a Meccan leader who ferociously opposed Islām. He disliked Ḥażrat Muḥammad and publicly humiliated him. He had once been known as Abū’l-Ḥakam – “Father of Wisdom”, but because of his hostility towards Ḥażrat Muḥammad, he

became known as Abū Jahl – “Father of Ignorance”.

646 Literally “I have consumed livers” (Nich.).

647 I.e. his view was superficial (Nich.).

235

3-1009

Wait until the sun of the Resurrection shall become visible, that you may see

the movement of the world’s body.

3-1010

When the rod of Moses became a snake in this world, the intellect received

information about motionless (inanimate) beings.

3-1011

Since God made a man out of your piece of earth, you should recognize the

real nature of the entire sum of the particles of earth:

3-1012

That from this standpoint they are dead and from that standpoint they are

living; that they are silent here and speaking over there.

3-1013

When He sends them towards us from that place, the rod becomes a dragon to

us.

3-1014

The mountains too make a song like that of David, and the substance of iron is

as wax in the hand.

3-1015

The wind becomes a bearer for Solomon, the sea becomes capable of

understanding words regarding Moses648.

3-1016

The moon becomes able to see the sign in obedience to Aḥmad

(Muḥammad)649, the fire becomes wild-roses for Abraham650.

3-1017

The earth swallows Qārūn (Korah)651 like a snake; the Moaning Pillar652

becomes righteous.

3-1018

The stone greets Aḥmad (Muḥammad); the mountain sends a message to

Yaḥyā (John the Baptist)653.

3-1019

They all say, “We have hearing and sight and are happy, even though with you,

the uninitiated, we are mute.”

3-1020

Since you are inclined to inanimateness (worldliness), how shall you become

familiar with the spiritual life of inanimate beings?

3-1021

Go from inanimateness into the world of spirits; listen to the loud noise of the

particles of the world.

3-1022

The glorification of God by inanimate beings will become clear to you; the

doubts suggested by false interpretations will not carry you away from the

truth.

648 Qur’ān 26, 63-66.

649 Alluding to the splitting of the moon, a miracle said to have been performed by Muhammad (Nich.).

650 The fire into which Abraham was cast by order of Nimrod (Nich.).

651 Qārūn (Biblical: Korah): leader of a rebellion against Moses in the desert.

652 Mathnawī, Book I, verses 2113 ff. (Nich.). The “Moaning Pillar” or “Yearning Pillar” ( ustun-e ḥannāna) was a wooden pillar in the time of the Prophet Muḥammad. He used to lean against it while preaching.

653 When Ḥażrat Yaḥyā was fleeing from the Jews, a mountain offered to conceal him in its interior (Nich.).

236

3-1023

Since your soul does not have the lamps needed for seeing, you have made

interpretations,

3-1024

Saying, “How should visible glorification of God be the intended meaning?

The claim to see that glorification is a misguided fantasy.

3-1029

This discourse has no end. The snake-catcher brought the snake along with a

hundred pains.

3-1031

The man set up a show on the bank of the Tigris, and a hubbub arose in the city

of Baghdad,

3-1032

“A snake-catcher has brought a dragon: he has captured a marvellous rare

beast.”

3-1033

Hundreds of thousands of simpletons654 gathered, who had become a prey to

him as he to it in his folly.

3-1039

And saw that the dragon, which had been frozen by intense cold, was

underneath a hundred kinds of coarse woollen cloths and blankets.

3-1040

He had bound it with thick ropes: that careful keeper had taken great precaution

for it.

3-1041

During the delay of expectation and coming together, the sun of ‘Irāq shone

upon the snake.

3-1042

The sun of the hot country warmed it; the cold humours went out of its limbs.

3-1043

It had been dead, and it came back to life: from astonishment at feeling the

sun’s heat the dragon began to uncoil itself.

3-1044

By the stirring of the dead serpent the people’s amazement was multiplied a

hundred thousand times.

3-1045

With amazement they started shrieking and all together fled from its

movement.

3-1046

It set about bursting the bonds, and at that loud outcry of the people the bonds

on every side went crack, crack.

3-1047

It burst the bonds and glided out from beneath – a hideous dragon roaring like a

lion.

3-1048

Many people were killed in the turmoil: a hundred heaps were made of those

who fell and were killed.

654 Literally “those whose beards are immature” (Nich.).

237

3-1049

The snake-catcher became paralyzed with fear on the spot, crying, “What have

I brought from the mountains and the desert?”

3-1050

The blind sheep awakened the wolf: unknowingly it went towards its ‘Azrā‘īl

(the Angel of death).

3-1051

The dragon made one mouthful of that dolt: blood-drinking (bloodshed) is easy

for Ḥajjāj655.

3-1053

The dragon is your sensual soul: how is it dead? It is only frozen by grief and

lack of means.

3-1057

Keep the dragon in the snow of separation (from its desires); beware, do not

carry it into the sun of ‘Irāq.

3-1058

As long as that dragon of yours remains frozen, you are at ease; you are a

mouthful for it, when it gains release.

3-1059

Mortify it and become safe from spiritual death; have no mercy: it is not one of

them that deserve favours.

3-1064

Do you hope, without using violence, to keep it bound in tranquillity and

faithfulness?

3-1065

How should this wish be fulfilled for any worthless one? It requires a Moses to

kill the dragon.

3-2504

Kill your fleshly soul and make the world spiritually alive; she (your fleshly

soul) has killed her master: make her your slave.

3-2548

The fleshly soul is a dragon with hundredfold strength and cunning: the face of

the Shaykh is the emerald that plucks out her eye656.

6-3492

In a blind man’s way, grasp the rope of Allāh 657: do not cling to anything but

the Divine commandments and prohibitions.

6-3493

What is the rope of Allāh? To renounce desire, for this desire was a roaring

wind of destruction to the people of ‘Ād658.

The nafs as the major source of vice and reprehensible qualities. [2.4.2]

1-1079

As long as desire is fresh, faith is not fresh, for it is this desire that closes that

gate to you.

655 Al-Ḥajjāj ibnYūsuf (661-714 CE): an Arabic army commander, who was known for his cruelty.

656 The emerald was supposed to have the power of blinding snakes (Nich.).

657 Qur’ān 3:103.

658 Qur’ān 11:50-60 and 69:6. The ‘Ād were an ancient Arab tribe. According to the Qur’ān, the Prophet Hūd

was sent to them. They did not heed his warnings and so God destroyed the town of the ‘Ād with a furious wind.

238

1-1101

The wind in men is vanity and desire; when you have abandoned vanity, then it

is time for the message from Him ( Hū, God).

6-3494

It is because of desire that people sit in jail, it is because of desire that the

trapped bird’s wings are tied.

6-3495

It is because of desire that the fish is cooked in a hot pan, it is because of desire

that shame (bashfulness) is gone from the modest.

6-3496

The anger of the police magistrate is a fiery spark from desire; crucifixion and

the awfulness of the gallows are the consequence of desire.

6-3497

You have seen the magistrate who carries out the punishment of bodies on the

earth: now, see also the magistrate who executes judgements against the soul.

6-3501

When, out of fear of God, you have relinquished desire, the cup from God’s

Tasnīm 659 will arrive.

2-2743

Whoever has rid his nature of vain desire has thereby made his spiritual eye

familiar with the secret.

3-1831

But when piety660 has chained the hands of desire, God loosens the hands of the

intellect.

6-3651

Oh, let not vain desire waylay you, or you will fall into everlasting misery.

1-3694

Do you not know who your enemies are? Those made of fire661 are enemies to

the existence of those made of earth662.

1-3697

To continue663, this fire is the fire of lust, which contains the root of sin and

error.

1-3698

The external fire may be quenched by some water, but the fire of lust brings

you to Hell.

1-3699

The fire of lust is not appeased with water, because it has the insatiable nature

of Hell in inflicting torment.

1-3701

What kills this fire? The Light of God. Make the light of Abraham your

teacher.

1-3702

That this body of yours, which resembles wood fagots, may be delivered from

the fire of the Nimrod-like664 flesh ( nafs).

659 A fountain in Paradise (Nich.). See Qur’ān 83:27.

660 “Piety”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

661 The devils (Nich.).

662 Mankind (Nich.).

663 Literally “after that” (Nich.).

239

1-3703

Fiery lust is not diminished by indulging it: it is inevitably diminished by not

giving in to it.

1-3704

As long as you keep laying fagots on a fire, how will the fire be extinguished

by a carrier of fagots?

1-3705

When you stop putting fagots on it, the fire dies out, because fear665 of God

carries, as it were, water to the fire.

4-2475

God has given to you the polishing instrument, Reason, in order that by using it

the leaf (surface) of the heart may be made shining.

4-2476

You, o prayerless man, have put the polisher (Reason) in bonds and have freed

the two hands of sensuality.

4-2477

If bonds are put on sensuality, the hand of the polisher (Reason) will be untied.

4-2480

So have you done until now: now do it not. You have made the water turbid: do

not make it more so.

4-2481

Do not stir it up (soil it): let this water become clear, and then see the moon and

stars circling in it.

4-2482

For man is like the water of the river: when it becomes turbid, you cannot see

its bottom.

4-2484

The spirit of a man resembles air: when it (air) is mixed with dust, it veils the

sky,

4-2485

And prevents the eye from seeing the sun; but when its dust is gone, it becomes

pure and undefiled.

The Third Rivulet [2.4.3]

Shunning the company of ill-natured persons

and the benefits of solitude and seclusion.

1-645

Turn your face to the wall, sit alone, and choose to be secluded even from your

own existence.

1-1299

Everyone who is wise chose the bottom of the well to live in, because spiritual

joys can only be attained in solitude.

664 Nimrod ( Namrūd in Arabic): according to biblical sources, Nimrod was the sixth son of Kush, grandson of Ham and great-grandson of Noah, and the founder of Babylon and Nineveh. He stands for evil, while Abraham stands for righteousness.

665 “Fear of God”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

240

1-1300

The darkness of the well is better than the dark shades of the world: he who

followed at the heels of the world never saved his head.

1-1849

The body is like a cage: the body became a thorn to the soul during the

deceptive chattering of those who come in and go out.

2-25

One must seclude one’s self from strangers, but not from the friend: the fur—

coat is for winter, not for spring.

2-251

Most people are man-eaters: put no trust in their saying, “Peace be upon you”.

2-252

The hearts of all are the Devil’s house: do not accept (listen to) the idle chatter

of devilish men.

5-2634

I swear by the Truth of the Holy Essence of Allāh, the Self-Sufficient ( aṣ-

Ṣamad)666, that a malicious snake is better than a malicious friend.

5-2635

The malicious snake takes a soul (life) from the man it has bitten; the malicious

friend leads him into the everlasting Fire.

5-2635

The evil snake takes a soul (life) from the man it has bitten; the evil friend

leads him into the everlasting Fire.

Story. [2.4.2]

3-2570

Jesus, son of Mary, fled to a mountain: you would say that a lion wished to

shed his blood.

3-2571

A certain man ran after him and said, “Are you all right? No one is chasing

you: why do you flee, like a bird?”

3-2572

But he (Jesus) still kept running with haste, so quickly that because of his haste

he did not answer him.

3-2573

He kept following Jesus for the distance of one or two fields, and then invoked

Jesus with the utmost earnestness,

3-2574

Saying, “For the sake of pleasing God, stop one moment, for I have a problem

concerning your flight.

3-2575

From whom are you fleeing in this direction, o noble one? No lion or enemy is

chasing you, and there is no fear or danger.”

3-2576

He said, “I am fleeing from the fool. Go away! I am saving myself. Do not

hinder me!”

666 The divine attribute aṣ-Ṣamad is hard to translate in one word. It means, amongst other things, “the Self-Sufficient”, “the Absolute”, “He Who is without needs but upon Whom all depends”, “He Who is Eternal without change”…

241

3-2577

“Why,” said he, “are you not the Messiah by whom the blind and the deaf are

restored to sight and hearing?”

3-2578

He said, “Yes.” The other said, “Are you not the King in whom abide the spells

of the Unseen World? –

3-2579

So that when you chant those spells over a dead man, he springs up, rejoicing

like a lion that has caught its prey.”

3-2580

He said, “Yes, I am he.” The other said, “Do you not make living birds out of

clay, o beautiful one667”?

3-2581

He said, “Yes.” The other said, “Then, o pure Spirit, you do whatever you

wish: whom do you fear?”

3-2583

Jesus said, “By the holy Essence of God, the Maker of the body and the Creator

of the soul in eternity;

3-2585

I swear that the spells and the Most Great Name668 which I pronounced over

the deaf and the blind had good effects.

3-2587

I pronounced them over the corpse: it came to life. I pronounced them over

something that was not669: it became something670.

3-2588

I pronounced them lovingly over the heart of the fool hundreds of thousands of

times, and it was no cure for his folly.

3-2589

He became hard as rock and did not change from that disposition: he became

sand from which no produce grows.”

3-2590

The other said, “What is the reason why the Name of God was effective

there671, while it had no good effect here672?

3-2591

That physical illness is disease too, and so is this folly: why did the Name of

God not become a cure for this, since it cured that?”

3-2592

Jesus said, “The disease of folly is the result of the wrath of God; physical

disease and blindness are not the result of Divine wrath: they are a means of

testing.”

3-2593

Testing is a disease that brings Divine mercy with it; folly is a disease that

brings Divine rejection.

667 Qur’ān 3:49.

668 “The Greatest Name” or Ism-e A‘ẓam: the hidden Name of God, which permeates all creation, and which is ceaselessly uttered by every creature and even by the smallest particles in creation.

669 Lā shay, literally “no thing”.

670 Shay, literally “a thing”.

671 I.e. “in those cases which have been mentioned” (Nich.).

672 I.e. “in the case of the fool” (Nich.).

242

3-2595

Flee from the foolish, since even Jesus fled from them: how much blood has

been shed by companionship with fools!

3-2596

The air steals away (absorbs) water little by little: so too does the fool steal

away religion from you.

3-2597

He steals away your heat and gives you cold, like one who puts a stone under

your behind.

3-2598

The flight of Jesus was not caused by fear, for he is safe from the mischief

done by fools: it was for the purpose of teaching others.

5-716

Treasures are deposited in a ruin so that they may escape the greed of those

who dwell in places of cultivation.

5-717

If you cannot not tear out your feathers, go, adopt a life of solitude, that you

may not be entirely squandered (consumed) by that one and this one;

5-718

For you are both the morsel of food and the eater of the morsel: you are the

devourer and the devoured. Understand this, o dear soul!

Allegory. [2.4.2]

5-719

A little bird was hunting a worm: a cat found its opportunity and seized it.

5-720

The bird was a devourer and a thing devoured, and being engrossed in its

hunting was unaware of another hunter.

5-721

Although the thief is engaged in hunting valuable objects, yet the prefect of

police is on his track with the thief’s enemies

5-723

He is so absorbed in his passion for gain that he pays no attention to his seekers

and pursuers.

5-747

Who said, ‘A man is with him whom he loves’: the heart is not separated from

its object of desire.

5-749

O you who consider the weak as weak (and at your mercy), know this, that

there is a hand above your hand, o young man.

5-750

You are weak yourself and you consider others as weak. Oh, wonderful! You

are both the prey and the hunter in its pursuit.

5-402

Most of your life is gone and the day is late; yet you are still pursuing people.

5-403

Go on catching one and releasing another from the trap and pursuing another,

like mean people;

5-404

Then again release this one and seek the other! Here’s a game of careless

children!

243

5-405

Night comes, and nothing is caught in your trap: the trap is nothing but a

headache (affliction) and shackle to you.

5-406

Therefore in reality you were catching yourself with the trap, for you are

imprisoned and deprived of your desire.

5-408

Pursuit of the common people is like hunting pig: the fatigue is infinite, and it

is unlawful to eat a morsel of it.

5-409

That which is worth pursuing is Love alone; but how should He be contained in

anyone’s trap?

5-410

Yet perhaps you may come and be made His prey, you may cast the trap aside,

and go into His trap.

5-411

Love is saying very softly into my ear, “To be a prey is better than to be a

hunter.

5-412

Make yourself My fool and be a deluded one: renounce the high position of the

sun, become a speck of dust!

5-413

Become a dweller at My door and be homeless: do not pretend to be a candle,

be a moth,

5-414

That you may see (taste) the savour of Life and contemplate the sovereignty

hidden in servitude.”

1-1868

As much as you can, become a slave, do not be a monarch. Suffer blows:

become like the ball, do not be the bat.

The meaning of aloneness. [2.4.2]

6-443

Since I shall be left alone at the last, it is not proper for me to become friendly

with every man and woman.

6-444

I shall turn my face to the grave at the last: it is better that I should make

friends with the One (God).

6-447

We shall turn our faces to the earth from which we have arisen: why then have

we fixed our hearts on creatures that lack all constancy (permanence)?

6-449

During many years the body of Man had companionship and intimacy with the

elements.

6-450

His spirit, indeed, is from the world of souls and intelligences, but the spirit has

abandoned its origins.

6-451

From the pure souls and intelligences a letter comes to the spirit, saying, ‘O

faithless one,

244

6-452

You have found some miserable five-day friends and have turned your face

away from your former friends.’

6-453

Although the children are happy in their play, yet at nightfall they are dragged

off and taken home.

6-1420

Keep company with Him who created human nature and nurtured the nature of

the Prophets.

6-1424

If an oaf shows sympathy towards you, yet in the end he will inflict blows upon

you because of his oafishness.

6-1431

Do not listen to the friendliness of the sweet-spoken ignorant man, for it is like

old poison.

6-2225

Know every Saint to be a Noah and captain of the Ark; know that

companionship with these worldly people is the Flood.

6-2226

Do not flee from lions and fierce dragons, but beware of friends and kinsmen.

6-2227

They waste your time when you are face to face with them, and your

recollections of them devour the time of your absence from them.

6-2950

Oh, alas, alas for the sorrow caused by a mean friend! O sirs, seek a good

companion.

6-2951

Reason bitterly complains of the vicious carnal soul: they are as disharmonious

as an ugly nose on a beautiful face.

6-2471

If a wolf catches a Saint, it is better than that the Saint should be caught by the

wicked carnal soul,

6-2472

Because, even though the wolf uses great violence, yet it does not have the

same knowledge, craft and cunning.

The Fourth Rivulet [2.4.4]

Avoiding slander and the benefit of keeping silence.

Ḥadīths: “Keeping silence leads to liberation (of the nafs)”673and:

“The sign of a virtuous person is that he abandons useless things”674.

3-2725

Patience and silence attract the Divine mercy, while seeking this sign is a sign

of insight.

3-2726

Accept the Divine command, “Be silent,”675 so that the reward of “Be silent”

may come to your soul from the Beloved.

673 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 588.

674 Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm ad-Dīn, Vol. 3, p. 147.

245

3-2728

Sell your superfluous speech, buy sacrifice of life, sacrifice of position and

sacrifice of gold.

4-860

Except, maybe, the bird that was without spirit or wings, or was dumb and

deaf, like a fish, from the beginning.

4-861

No, I have spoken wrongly, for if the deaf one lays his head before the

inspiration of the Divine Majesty, it will give him the power of hearing.

5-1175

These words, while they stay in the breast, are an earning consisting of spiritual

kernels: in silence the spiritual kernel grows a hundredfold676.

5-1176

When the word comes on the tongue, the kernel is spent: refrain from spending,

in order that the magnificent kernel may remain with you.

5-1177

The man who speaks little has strong thoughts: when the husk, namely speech,

becomes excessive, the kernel goes.

5-1178

When the peel is too thick, the kernel is thin: the peel becomes thin when the

kernel becomes perfect and magnificent.

5-2149

How long have you been uttering poetry and prose and proclaiming mysteries!

O master, try the experiment and, for one day, be dumb!

5-3190

O you who really are more silent than Night677, how long will you search

someone who will buy your words?

5-3191

Your hearers nod their heads in approval in your presence: you waste your time

in trying to attract them with passionate desire.

1-1623

When the suckling baby is born, at first it keeps silence for a while, it is all ear.

1-1624

For a while it must close its lips and refrain from speech, until it learns to

speak.

1-1626

He who is deaf by nature, he who has no ear at the beginning, is dumb: how

should he burst into speech?

1-1627

Since, in order to speak, one must first hear, come to speech by the way of

hearing.

1-1628

Enter the houses by their doors678, and seek the ends in their causes.

675 Qur’ān 7:204.

676 Qur’ān 73:20.

677 I.e. what you say has no spiritual value (Nich.).

678 Qur’ān 2:189.

246

Man’s attitude is hidden under his tongue679

i.e. your words reveal your personality. [2.4.4]

2-845

Man is concealed under his tongue: this tongue is the curtain over the gate of

the soul.

2-846

When a gust of wind has rolled up the curtain, the secret of the interior of the

house is disclosed to us,

2-847

And we see whether in that house there are pearls or grains of wheat, a treasure

of gold or whether all is snakes and scorpions;

2-848

Or whether a treasure is there and a serpent beside it, since a treasure of gold is

not without someone to keep watch.

1-1097

Know that these words are as the skin, and the meaning is as the kernel; these

words are as the form, and the meaning is like the spirit.

1-1098

The skin hides the defect of the bad kernel; it also jealously hides the secrets of

the good kernel.

1-1593

This tongue is like stone and is also fire-like, and that which springs from the

tongue is like fire.

1-1596

Unjust are those who close their eyes and set a whole world ablaze through

vain words.

1-1597

A single word lays a whole world waste, turns dead foxes into lions.

1-1658

Know that a word which suddenly shot from the tongue is like an arrow shot

from the bow.

1-1659

O son, that arrow does not turn back on its way: you must dam a torrent at the

source.

1-1699

O tongue, you are a great damage to me, but since you are speaking, what

should I say to you?

1-1700

O tongue, you are both the fire and the stack: how long will you throw this fire

upon this stack?

1-1702

O tongue, you are a treasure without end. O tongue, you are also a disease

without remedy.

679 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 180.

247

Keeping silence is not required for those whose

tongue is a source of Divine knowledge680. [2.4.4]

“O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed

to you from your Lord” – Qur’ān 5:67

1-1626

He who is deaf by nature, he who has no ear at the beginning, is dumb: how

should he burst into speech?

6-1597

If you utter two true words, o such-and-such, the dark (false) speech will begin

to flow in their trail.

6-1599

Beware, do not begin to speak those right words, for words quickly draw other

words after them.

6-1600

Once you have opened your mouth, they are not in your control: the dark

(falsehood) flows on the heels of the pure (truth).

6-1601

Only he who is preserved from error in the way of Divine inspiration may open

his mouth: it is permissible, since he is entirely pure.

6-1602

For a Prophet does not speak from out of his own desire 681: how should his

desire issue from him who is preserved by God682?

5-3205

How long will you set up a show on the public road? Your feet are sore683

(from travel), and no desire of yours has been fulfilled.

6-2638

Flow of speech from the heart is a sign of intimate friendship; obstruction of

speech arises from lack of intimacy.

6-2639

The heart that has seen the sweetheart, how should it remain bitter? When a

nightingale has seen the rose, how should it remain silent?

The Fifth Rivulet [2.4.5]

Moderation in sleeping, the secret of the

night and vigilance of the true lovers.

1-3691

In the evil-coloured night there is much good: the Water of Life is the mate of

darkness.

1-3690

In the dark night seek that shining Day: put in front (follow) the Reason that

consumes darkness.

6-2307

‘O Gracious One who deposits the treasure of Mercy and all the delicious

experiences in the lonesome (fearful) Night!

680 Qur’ān 5:67 and 18:27.

681 Qur’ān 53:3.

682 Literally “an innocent of God” ( ma‘ṣūm-e Khudā).

683 Literally “you have wounded your foot” (Nich.).

248

6-2310

Moses believed that which he saw to be fire, but in reality it was light: we

regarded Night as a Negro684, but in reality it was a houri685.

6-621

Abandon sleep tonight, o father: for one night roam the quarter of the sleepless.

6-622

See these lovers who have become frenzied and have been killed, like moths,

through their union with the Beloved.

1-3172

God, exalted is He, will say to the people at the gathering for Judgement,

“Where is your gift for the Day of Resurrection?

1-3173

You have come to Us and alone without provision, just in the same appearance

as We created you 686 .

1-3174

Listen, what have you brought as an offering – a gift on homecoming for the

Day when you rise from the dead?

1-3175

Or did you not have any hope of returning? Did the promise of meeting Me

today seem vain to you?”

1-3176

Do you, o reader, disbelieve in the promise of being His guest? Then you will

get only dust and ashes from the kitchen of His bounty.

1-3177

And if you are not disbelieving, how do you set foot in the Court of the Friend

with such empty hands?

1-3178

Abstain a little from sleep and food: bring the gift for your meeting with Him.

1-3179

Become one who sleeps little like those who were slumbering but a small part

of the night; in the hours of dawn be of those who were asking forgiveness of

God 687.

4-1456

Listen, stand up in prayer during the night 688, for you are a candle, o prince: at

night a candle stands up and burns.

1-3692

How is it possible to lift up the head from slumber, while you are sowing a

hundred seeds of laziness?

1-3693

Dead (heavy) slumber and dead (unlawful) food became friends689: the

merchant fell asleep and the night-thief got to work.

684 The word “Negro” ( zangī) may sound offensive to our modern ears; however, we should bear in mind that in the cultural context in which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī lived and worked such expressions were common. What he actually means by “negro” – merely as a figure of speech – is “a dark and frightful thing”.

685 Houri (from the Arabic ḥūr): usually rendered as “voluptuous, alluring maidens of Paradise”, but its true meaning is “pure companions, most beautiful of eye” – neither explicitly male nor female (see Qur’ān 44:54).

686 Qur’ān 6:94.

687 Qur’ān 51:17-18.

688 Qur’ān 73:2.

689 I.e. spiritual lethargy is closely allied with sin (Nich.).

249

4-2237

The hare’s sleep (heedlessness) with the dog in pursuit is a sin: how indeed is

sleep dwelling in the eye of him who has fear?

3-1193

When the shepherd has gone to sleep, the wolf becomes unafraid: when he

sleeps, his effort ceases.

3-1194

But the animal whose shepherd is God – how can the wolf have any hope or

find a way to get there?

4-3236

You are sleepy, but sleep on the Way690 anyhow: for God’s sake, for God’s

sake, sleep on the Way of God.

4-3237

That perhaps a Traveller on the Way may attach himself to you and tear you

from the fantasies of slumber.

4-3239

Whether the sleeper’s thought is double or triple, still it is an error on error on

error.

4-3235

The far sight and boasting of the sleeper is of no avail; it is nothing but a

fantasy: keep far away from it.

Wakefulness of the heart. [2.4.5]

1-409

Whoever is awake to the material world is all the more asleep to the spiritual

world; his wakefulness is worse than his sleep.

1-410

When our soul is not awake to God, wakefulness is like closing our doors to

Divine influences.

3-1222

Oh, there are many whose eyes are awake and whose hearts are asleep: what, in

truth, should be seen by the eyes of creatures of water and clay?

3-1114

With us, you need to be a waking sleeper, so that in the state of wakefulness

you may dream dreams.

2-39

Sleep, when it is accompanied by wisdom, is spiritual wakefulness; but alas for

the awake man who consorts with the ignorant!

3-1223

But he who keeps his heart awake – even though the eyes691 of his head may

sleep, his heart will open a hundred eyes.

3-1224

If you are not one of those who have an illumined heart692, be awake (keep

vigil), be a seeker of the illumined heart, and always struggle with your fleshly

soul.

690 I.e. “do not abandon the Way and sleep elsewhere.” (Nich.).

691 In the first part of the verse the word used for “eye” is the Persian word chashm, which usually refers to the physical eye, whereas in the second part the Arabic word baṣar is used; baṣar implies the notions of “vision”

and “inner understanding”. It is derived from the same root as the Divine name al-Baṣīr, “the All-Seeing”.

692 Ahl-e Dil, literally “People of the Heart”, is an expression that is often used as a synonym for “Ṣūfī Masters”.

250

3-1225

But if your heart has been awakened, sleep sound: your spiritual eye is not

absent from the seven heavens and the six directions.

2-3549

The Prophet said, “My eyes sleep, but my heart is not asleep to the Lord of

created beings693.

3-1226

The Prophet said, “My eye slumbers, but when does my heart slumber in

drowsiness?”

2-3547

At times my state resembles sleep: a misguided person may think it is sleep.

2-3548

Know that my eyes are asleep, but my heart is awake: know that my seemingly

inactive form is really in action.

2-3550

Your eyes are awake, and your heart is sunk in slumber; my eyes are asleep,

but my heart is in contemplation of the opening of the door of Divine Grace.

2-3551

My heart has five senses (other than the physical): both the external and the

spiritual worlds are the stage for the senses of the heart.

3-1227

The King is awake: what does it matter if the guardsman is asleep? May my

soul be sacrificed to the sleepers whose hearts are seeing!

3-1221

For pleasure’s sake he had closed the two eyes of his head, but all Heaven and

Earth were under his gaze.

3-1228

The description of the heart’s wakefulness, o spiritual man, would not be

contained in thousands of rhymed couplets694.

The Sixth Rivulet [2.4.6]

Moderation in eating and the secret of spiritual food.

1-1639

If you make this bag empty of bread, you will make it full of glorious jewels.

1-1640

Wean the baby, your soul, from the Devil’s milk, and after that make it keep

company with the Angel.

1-1641

While you are dark, weary, depressed and gloomy, know that you are sucking

from the same breast as the accursed Devil.

3-3748

If you cut off your body from the Devil’s milk, you will enjoy much delight

1-2871

The feather of your thought has become mud-stained and heavy because you

are a clay-eater: clay has become as bread to you.

693 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 240.

694 This refers to the poetical genre mathnawī, which is a poem consisting of an indefinite number of rhyming couplets, with the rhyme scheme aa/bb/cc etc.

251

1-2872

Bread and meat are originally clay: eat little of it, that you may not remain in

the earth, like clay.

1-2873

When you become hungry, you become a dog: you become fierce, ill-tempered

and ill-natured.

1-2874

When you have eaten your fill, you have become a carcass: you have become

devoid of understanding and without feet (inert), like a wall.

1-2875

So at one time you are a carcass and at another time a dog: how will you run

well in the road of the lions (follow the Saints)?

1-2876

Know that your only means of hunting is the dog (the animal soul): throw

bones to the dog only now and then,

1-2877

Because when the dog has eaten its fill, it becomes rebellious: how should it

run to the cheerful chase and hunt?

4-3621

The carnal soul is a follower of Pharaoh: beware, do not satisfy it, so that it

might not remember its ancient infidelity.

6-4726

An empty belly never bragged of Divinity, for it has no fagots to feed its fire.

6-4727

An empty belly is the Devil’s prison, because anxiety for bread prevents him

from plotting and deceiving.

6-4728

Know that a belly full of food is the Devil’s market, where the Devil’s

merchants shout loudly.

4-3624

Even if it weeps and wails most piteously, it will never become a true believer.

Be careful!

4-3622

Without the glowing heat of the fire (of mortification) the carnal soul will

never become good: listen, do not beat the iron until it has become like live

coals.

4-3623

Without hunger the body makes no movement towards God: it is cold iron that

you are beating. Know this for sure!

5-150

The Devil frightens you, saying, “Listen and listen again! You will be sorry for

this and will be saddened.

5-151

If you waste away your body as a result of these idle whims, you will become

very sorry and anxious.

5-152

Eat this, it is hot and good for your health695; and drink that for your benefit

and as a cure.

695 Literally “a remedy for the temperament” (Nich.).

252

5-153

With the intention of acting on the principle that since your body is your

riding-animal696, giving it that to which it is accustomed is best for it.

5-154

Beware, do not change your habit, otherwise mischief will ensue and a hundred

diseases will be produced in brain and heart.

5-155

Such menaces does the vile Devil use, and he chants a hundred spells over the

people.

5-156

He makes himself out to be a Galen697 for skill in medicine, in order to deceive

your diseased soul.

5-165

The Devil has a hundred spells of cunning and deceit, which would entrap698

anyone, even if he is strong and wily as a great serpent.

5-166

The Devil will bind him, even if he is swift and elusive as running water; he

will make a mock of him, even if he is the most learned man of the time.

5-167

Therefore befriend your intelligence with the intelligence of a friend: recite the

words their affairs are carried on by taking counsel with each other 699, and

practise it.

5-293

O you whose belly is greedy, turn away from the world like this: the only

method is change of food.

5-294

O you whose heart is sick, turn to the remedy: the whole diet consists of

changing your disposition.

5-2829

If there were no hunger, a hundred other afflictions would raise their heads in

you as a result of indigestion.

5-2831

The affliction of hunger is purer than all other afflictions, especially since in

hunger there are a hundred benefits and merits.

5-2830

Truly the affliction of hunger is better than those diseases, both in respect of its

subtlety and lightness and its effect on devotional work.

5-2832

Indeed hunger is the king of medicines: listen, cherish hunger in your heart700,

do not regard it with such contempt.

5-2833

Everything unsweet is made sweet by hunger: without hunger all sweet things

are unacceptable.

696 And therefore (as the Prophet said) to be treated kindly (Nich.).

697 Galen ( Jālīnūs in Arabic and Persian): the famous Greek physician (ca.129/131-ca. 200/216 CE), whose medical system remained dominant throughout the East and Europe for more than 1500 years.

698 Literally “put into the basket”, a metaphor derived from the custom of snake-catchers (Nich.).

699 Qur’ān 42:38.

700 Literally “put hunger in your soul” (Nich.).

253

5-2838

Hunger is bestowed as a gift on God’s elect alone, that through hunger they

may become mighty lions.

5-2839

How should hunger be bestowed on every beggarly oaf? Since the fodder is not

scarce they set it before him.

5-2844

You are consumed with grief because of your craving for bread: you have

closed the eye of self-denial and trust in God.

5-2845

You are not one of the honoured favourites of God that you should be kept

without (deprived of) walnuts and raisins701.

5-2846

Hunger is the daily bread of the souls of God’s elect: how could it be in the

reach of a beggarly fool like you?

5-2847

Be at ease: you are not one of those, so that you should remain without bread in

this kitchen.

5-2848

There are always bowls on bowls and loaves on loaves for these vulgar belly—

gods.

6-4704

When the World squeezes our throats tightly702, how do we wish that our

gullets and mouths had eaten only earth!

6-4705

This mouth, indeed, has always been an eater of earth; but an earth that has

been coloured.

6-4706

This roast-meat, this wine and this sugar are merely coloured and painted earth,

o son.

6-4707

When you have eaten or drunk them and they have become flesh and skin, He

gives them the colour of flesh, but they are still the earth of His street.

6-4708

It is from a bit of earth that He stitches the body of clay, and then makes the

whole fabric a bit of earth again.

4-1601

O you who have seen rich foods, get up and see their residue in the latrine.

4-1602

Say to the filth, “Where is that beauty of yours – the fine taste and sweet scent

which you had in the dish?”

4-1603

It replies, “That beauty was the bait: it was its trap: since you have fallen prey

to it, the bait has become hidden.”

6-4710

So you may know that all these colours and pictures are entirely a mask and

deceit and that they are borrowed (ephemeral).

701 I.e. “you are as an ignorant child, and childish things are suitable for you.” (Nich.).

702 I.e. when death is drawing near (Nich.).

254

6-4711

The only lasting colour is the dye of Allāh 703: know that all the rest are tied on

superficially like a bell.

4-2554

This cloak, your body, is always being torn, and you are patching it by this

eating and drinking of yours.

4-2553

What is patch sewing? The drinking of water and the eating of bread: you are

applying these patches to the heavy cloak.

4-2550

You are sewing patches in the shop, while under this shop of yours two

treasure mines are buried.

4-2555

O you who are the descendant of the fortunate King704, come to yourself, be

ashamed of this patch sewing.

Food that is consumed with a good intention is

transformed into inner light and purity. [2.4.6]

2-3568

When morsels of food become (changed into) pearls within you, do not hold

back: eat as much as you can.”

2-3571

When pure lawful food turns into impurity in your stomach, put a lock on your

gullet and hide the key.

2-3572

But anyone in whom morsels of food become the light of spiritual glory, let

him eat whatever he wants, it is lawful to him.

1-1642

The mouthful that made light and perfection increase is obtained from lawful

earnings.

1-1643

The oil that comes and extinguishes our lamp – when it extinguishes a lamp,

call it water.

1-1644

From the lawful morsel knowledge and wisdom are born; from the lawful

morsel come love and tenderness.

1-1645

When you see envy and trickery arise from a morsel, and when ignorance and

heedlessness are born of it, know that it is unlawful.

1-1646

Will you sow wheat and will it produce barley? Have you seen a mare give

birth to an ass’s foal?

1-1647

The morsel is seed, and thoughts are its fruit; the morsel is the sea, and

thoughts are its pearls.

1-1648

From the lawful morsel in the mouth is born the inclination to serve God and

the resolution to go to the other world.

703 Qur’ān 2:138.

704 Adam, whom God created in His own image (Nich.).

255

Paying much attention to the body while forgetting

that the soul can cause disharmony in life. [2.4.6]

5-144

When the body is in leaf, because of that by day and night the branch, which is

the soul, is shedding its leaves and is in autumn.

5-145

The leafage (flourishing state) of the body is the leaflessness (unprovidedness)

of the soul. Be quick! You must let the body dwindle and the soul increase.

5-146

Lend to God 705, give a loan of this leafage of the body, that in exchange a

garden may grow in your heart.

5-147

Give a loan, diminish the food of your body, that the vision of what the eye has

not seen may appear.

2-265

As long as you are giving your body greasy and sweet food, you will not see

fatness in your spiritual essence.

2-266

If the body is set in the midst of musk, yet on the day of death its stench will

become manifest.

2-267

Do not put musk on your body, rub it on your heart. What is musk? The holy

name of the Glorious God.

4-1955

Man has no food but the light: the soul does not obtain nourishment from

anything else.

4-1956

Little by little cut yourself off from these material foods – for these are the

nourishment of an ass, not that of a free (noble) man –

4-1957

So that you may become capable of absorbing the original nourishment and

may eat usually the delicate morsels of the light.

4-1958

It is from the reflection of the light that the bread has become bread; it is from

the overflowing grace of the soul that the soul has become soul.

4-1959

When you eat once of the light-food, you will pour earth over the material

bread and oven.

2-1078

What profit is there in sugar for the ox and the ass? Every soul has a different

food.

2-1079

But if that food is not according to its real nature, then admonition is the proper

correction for it.

2-1080

As in the case of one who from disease has become fond of eating clay – so

much so that he may suppose clay to be indeed his natural food.

705 Qur’ān 73:20.

256

2-1081

In reality he has forgotten his original food and has taken706 to the food of

disease.

5-2476

Break your belly’s habit of eating straw and barley: begin to eat the sweet basil

and the rose.

5-2475

Accustom your belly to the sweet basil and the rose, that you may gain the

wisdom and spiritual food of the Prophets

5-2477

The bodily belly leads to the straw barn; the spiritual belly leads to the sweet

basil.

5-2478

Whoever feeds on straw and barley becomes a sacrifice ( qurbān); whoever

feeds on the Light of God becomes the Qur’ān.

2-1083

Man’s original food is the Light of God: animal food is improper for him.

2-1084

But, as a result of disease, his mind has fallen into the delusion that he should

eat of this water and clay day and night.

2-1085

He is pale-faced, weak-footed, faint-hearted – where is the food of by the

Heaven full of starry paths 707?

2-1086

That is the food of the chosen ones of the Divine sovereignty; it is eaten

without throat or instrument.

2-1088

God said concerning the martyrs, they are alive with their Lord receiving

sustenance 708. For that food there was neither mouth nor dish.

3-42

When the soul’s throat is emptied of thinking of the body, then its allotted

sustenance becomes Majestical.

3-1285

You, like seeds, are a slave to the milk of earth: seek to wean yourself with

spiritual food709.

3-47

And, even though she blocks its way to her nipple, may the way to a hundred

gardens of delight open up for it?

3-48

Because the nipple has become a barrier to that feeble baby, separating it from

thousands of pleasures, dishes of food and loaves of bread.

3-49

Our life, then, depends on weaning. Strive to wean yourself little by little. This

discourse is now complete.

706 Literally “has turned his face” (Nich.).

707 Qur’ān 51:7.

708 Qur’ān 3:169.

709 Literally “the food of hearts” (Nich.).

257

3-1286

Drink the word of Wisdom, for it has become a hidden (veiled) Light, o you

who are unable to receive the unveiled Light,

3-1287

So that you may become able, o Soul, to receive the Light, and that you may

behold without veils that which now is hidden,

3-1288

And traverse the sky like a star; no, that you may journey without limitations,

without any sky.

3-3745

O slave to your lusts, you have understood bread, not wisdom, what is meant in

the words that God has spoken to you – Eat of His sustenance 710.

3-3756

Since they were seeing profit in that toil, each one was snatching the load from

the other.

3-3747

When you have closed this bodily mouth, another mouth is opened, which

becomes an eater of the morsels of spiritual mysteries.

4-3609

Bodily eating and drinking is the obstacle to spiritual eating and drinking: the

spirit is like a tradesman, while the body is like a highwayman.

4-3610

The candle of the tradesman only shines when the highwayman is consumed

like firewood.

The true sālik does not feed his nafs and eats

from the Divine table (mā’ida711). [2.4.6]

5-3469

To be a seeker of God, and then indulge in pleasure and drinking? To drink the

Devil’s wine, and then be half-intelligent?

5-3489

Keep the enemy on the Way to God in abject submission: do not place a pulpit

for the robber, but keep him on the gibbet.

5-3490

Consider the amputation of the robber’s hand desirable: if you are unable to cut

his hand off, bind it.

5-3491

Unless you bind his hand, he will bind yours; unless you break his leg, he will

break yours.

5-3492

You give the enemy wine and sugarcane – for what reason? Tell him to laugh

venomously and eat earth.

5-3470

Even without wine your intelligence is so shabby that other intelligences must

added to yours.

5-3480

The ascetic said, “How, then, do you have the intelligence, how do you have

the necessary understanding to drink wine, o enemy of knowledge?

710 Qur’ān 67:15.

711 Mā’ida: refers to Sūratu’l-Mā’ida (“The Table” or “The Table Spread”), the 5thSūra of the Qur’ān.

258

5-3485

The wine for the lovers of God is their heart’s blood: their eyes are fixed on the

Way and on Destination.

5-3588

The Prophets abandoned712 this delight because they were steeped in the Divine

delight.

5-3589

Since their soul had experienced that delight, these delights seemed mere play

to them

5.-3590

When anyone has been united with a living object of adoration713, how should

he embrace a dead one?

5-299

If Gabriel pays no attention to the carcass, yet how should he have less strength

than the vulture?

5-295

O you who are kept in pawn to food, you will escape if you allow yourself to

be weaned.

5-297

Feed on the Light, be like the eye, be in accord with the Angels, o best of

mankind.

5-298

Like the Angel, make the glorification of God your food, that like the Angels

you may be delivered from suffering.

3-6

The power of Gabriel did not come from the kitchen; it came from beholding

the Creator of existence.

3-4

This lamp, the sun, which is bright – it is not made bright by means of wick,

cotton and oil.

3-5

The vault of heaven, which is so enduring, is not supported by any tent-rope or

pillar.

3-7

Likewise, know the power of the Abdāl 714 of God to be derived from God, not

from foods and from trays of food.

3-8

Their bodies too have been moulded from the Light, so that they have

transcended the Spirit and the Angel.

5-300

What a magnificent table is spread in the world! But it is quite hidden from the

eyes of the vile.

5-2706

He eats Light, do not say he eats bread: he sows anemones even though he

appears to feed on them.

712 Literally “went away from” (Nich.).

713 Literally “a living idol”.

714 The Perfect Saints (Nich.).

259

5-2707

Like the flame that consumes the oil wax in a candle, his eating and drinking

increases the light for the whole.

5-2708

God has said, “Do not be immoderate 715,”with regard to the eating of bread; He

did not say, “Be satisfied,” with regard to the eating of Light.

2-3423

If the whole world is filled to the brim with blood, how should the servant of

God drink anything but what is lawful ( ḥalāl)?

5-301

Even if the world should become a delightful orchard, still the part of the

mouse and the snake would consist of earth.

The Seventh Rivulet [2.4.7]

Refraining from an overluxurious way of life and willingness

to endure the sorrows and pain of life lovingly and patiently.

3-1854

God created hundreds of thousands of elixirs, but Man has not seen an elixir

like patience.

3-1853

God has joined ṣabr (patience) with ḥaqq (the real and permanent): o reader,

recite attentively the end of the Sūra Wa’l-‘Aṣr 716.

2-3145

To practise patience is the soul of your glorifications: have patience, for that is

the true glorification.

2-3146

No glorification has such a high degree as patience; have patience: patience is

the key to relief from pain.

6-1411

When you see anyone wearing fine clothes, know that he has gained them by

patience and work.

6-1412

If you have seen anyone naked and destitute, that is a testimony of his lack of

patience.

2-601

The Prophet said, “God has not given faith to anyone in whose nature there is

no patience717.”

2-1276

You are Joseph full of beauty, and this world is as the pit, and the rope to pull

you up is patience with submission to the command of God.

2-1277

O Joseph, the rope has come: put your two hands around it. Do not neglect the

rope, for it is late.

2-1278

Praise be to God, that this rope has been dangled, and that grace and mercy

have been blended together.

715 Qur’ān 7:31.

716 Qur’ān 103:3: “Except the ones who have believed, and done deeds of righteousness, and enjoin each other to the Truth, and enjoin each other to patience.”

717 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 174.

260

2-3149

What should you know of the sweet savour of patience, o you of brittle heart –

especially, of patience for the sake of that Beauty of Chigil718?

The secret of patience. [2.4.7]

2-3074

O you who cannot refrain yourself from this vile world, how can you refrain

yourself from Him who spread the earth out like a carpet 719?

2-3075

O you who cannot refrain yourself from delight and luxury, how can you

refrain yourself from the Bountiful God?

2-3076

O you who cannot refrain yourself from anything pure or foul, how can you

refrain yourself from Him who created this?

For the sālik, practicing patience during adversity, suffering

and difficulties breeds purity and maturity. [2.4.7]

3-4008

I marvel at the seeker of purity who at the time of polishing shrinks from being

handled roughly.

4-2469

Then, you are dark-bodied like iron, make a practice of polishing, polishing,

polishing.

1-3459

Like polished iron, lose the rusty colour; become like a mirror without rust in

your spiritual self-discipline.

4-2470

That your heart may become a mirror full of images, with a lovely silvery form

reflected in it on every side.

4-2471

Although the iron was dark and devoid of light, polishing cleaned away the

darkness from it.

4-2472

The iron saw (suffered) the polishing and made its face beautiful, so that

images could be seen in it.

3-4011

That harshness is not directed against you, o son; no, against the evil qualities

within you.

3-4012

The blows of the stick with which a man beats a rug are not inflicted on the

rug, but on the dust in the rug.

3-4013

If that vindictive man lashes the horse, he does not direct the blows at the

horse, but at its stumbling.

3-4014

So that it may be delivered from the vice of stumbling and may move well: you

imprison must in the vat in order that it may become wine.

718 An ancient Turkic tribe known for the beauty of its members. Here, it symbolizes the Divine Beloved.

719 “And We have spread the earth out like a carpet, and how well have We spread it out!” – Qur’ān 51:48.

261

3-4017

If your mother says to you, “May you die!” she wishes the death of your evil

nature and the death of wrongdoing.

2-2963

God Most High lays heat, cold, grief and pain on our body, o brave man720

2-2964

Fear, hunger, damage to wealth and body – all in order that the soul’s coin

might be seen and used721.

2-2261

Pain is a treasure, for there are mercies in it: the kernel becomes fresh when

you scrape off the peel.

3-2344

Just as the delicious savour of the cry Am I not your Lord? 722 is in the heart of

every true believer until the Resurrection,

3-2345

So that they do not rebel against tribulation or shrink from obeying the

commands and prohibitions of God.

1-1777

His unsweetness is sweet in my soul: may my soul be sacrificed to the Beloved

who grieves my heart!

1-1779

I make the dust of sorrow a salve for my eye, that the two seas of my eyes may

be filled with pearls.

6-4913

And make patience a ladder to climb upwards723: patience is the key to success.

Patience leads to sincerity. [2.4.7]

2-3147

Patience is like the bridge Ṣirāṭ 724, with Paradise on the other side: with every

beautiful boy there is an ugly tutor.

2-3148

As long as you flee from the tutor, there is no meeting with the boy, because

the handsome boy does not part from the tutor.

6-1408

The patience shown by the moon to the dark night keeps it illumined: the

patience shown by the rose to the thorn keeps it fragrant.

6-1407

Yet the bad companion725 is good for you because of the patience which you

must show in overcoming its desires; for the exercise of patience expands the

heart with spiritual peace.

6-1410

The patience shown by all the Prophets to the unbelievers made them elect of

God and lords of the planetary conjunction726.

720 Literally “lion-man” (Nich.).

721 Qur’ān 2:155.

722 Qur’ān 7:172.

723 Literally “towards the ascending steps” (Nich.).

724 Aṣ-Ṣirāṭ: “The path”. In Muslim tradition, the bridge to Paradise. Aṣ-Ṣirāṭ is narrower than a spider’s thread and sharper than a sword. Only the good pass swiftly over it. Also called Bridge of Jahannam or Jaḥīm (“Hell”).

725 I.e. the body (Nich.).

262

6-2040

Patiently endure the punishments inflicted by the ignorant man: speak gently to

him and dissemble towards him with the reason that is divinely inspired.

6-2041

Patience shown to the unworthy is the means of polishing (purifying) the

worthy: wherever a heart exists, patience purifies it.

4-80

Whatever is loathed is a lover and friend when it becomes your guide towards

your beloved.

1-1748

Although the object of your desire has a taste of sugar, is not absence of any

object of desire in you the object of the Beloved’s desire?

Suffering for love’s sake brings ease and relief to the sālik. [2.4.7]

1-1566

Oh, Your cruelty is better than felicity, and Your vengeance dearer than life.

1-1565

Oh, the evil You do in anger and quarrel is more delightful than music and the

sound of the harp.

1-1569

I complain, and yet I fear that He may believe me and make His cruelty less out

of kindness.

3-4499

Since to be vanquished is the mark of the true believers; yet in the true

believer’s defeat there is goodness.

4-343

O pearl, do not beat your head in grief for having been broken, for through

being broken you will become radiant light.

4-342

But, even though the pearls are broken into small fragments, they become a

lotion for the sore eye of the spirit.

Story. [2.4.7]

4-81

A certain preacher, whenever he mounted the pulpit, would begin to pray for

the highway robbers (who plunder and maltreat the righteous).

4-82

He would lift up his hand, crying, “O Lord, let mercy fall upon evil men,

corrupters and insolent transgressors.

4-84

He would not pray for the pure; he would only pray for the wicked.

4-85

They said to him, “This is unheard of727: it is no generosity to pray for the

unrighteous.”

4-86

He replied, “I have seen (experienced) goodness from these people: for this

reason I have chosen to pray for them.

726 I.e. mighty and victorious spiritual emperors (Nich.).

727 Literally “this is unknown”.

263

4-88

Whenever I turned my face towards this world, I suffered blows and beating

from them,

4-89

And took refuge from the blows in the Other World: the wolves always brought

me back into the right Way.

4-90

Since they were the means of my spiritual wellbeing, it is fitting for me to pray

for them, o intelligent one.”

For every pain comes a remedy and

after darkness comes light. [2.4.7]

6-4830

Life depends on dying to self and on suffering tribulation: the Water of Life728

is in the Land of Darkness.

2-2264

Spring is latent in autumn, and autumn is fulfilled in Spring: do not flee from

it.

2-2265

Be a fellow-traveller with grief, agree with desolation, seek long-lastingness in

life in your death to self.

3-3752

The sugar of joy of the Hereafter is the fruit of the garden of sorrow in this life:

the sensual joy is the wound and the spiritual sorrow is the ointment.

3-3753

When you see spiritual sorrow, embrace it with passionate love: look on

Damascus from the top of Rubwa729.

3-3754

As the wise man sees the wine in the grape, the lover of God sees the thing

(entity) in the non-existent.

3-3755

The day before yesterday the porters were quarrelling and crying, “Don’t you

lift it, let me lift this load and carry it off like a lion!”

3-3756

Since they saw profit in that toil, each one snatched the load from the other.

3-3757

What comparison is there, between God’s reward and the reward given by that

worthless creature? The former gives you a treasure as your reward, and the

latter a silver coin.

3-4149

At every moment my new Fortune730 whispers into my ear, ‘I will make you

sorrowful, but do not be not sorrowful because of this.

3-4150

I will make you sorrowful and weeping, so that I may hide you from the eyes

of the wicked.

728 Legend has it that Khiżr discovered the Source of Life in the Darkness and became immortal after having

drunk from it.

729 A proverb meaning here: “View things from the standpoint of reality” (Nich.).

730 I.e. the Beloved (Nich.).

264

3-4151

I will cause your temper to be soured with sorrows, in order that the evil eye

may be averted from your face.

4-2340

In appearance I am ruining your work, but in reality I am turning a thorn into a

rose-garden.

Allegory:

Life consists of oppositions.

(Relativity) [2.4.7]

4-2341

A certain man came and was cleaving the soil: a fool cried out and could not

control himself.

4-2342

Saying, ‘Why are you ruining this soil and cleaving and scattering it?’

4-2343

‘O fool,’ he said, ‘go away, do not interfere with me731: recognize the

difference between cultivation and devastation.

4-2344

How should this soil become a rose-garden or cornfield until this soil becomes

ugly and ruined?

4-2345

How should it become orchards, crops, leaves and fruit until its structured

order has been turned upside down?’

4-2348

When a tailor cuts the cloth for a garment piece by piece, will anyone strike

that expert tailor,

4-2349

Saying, ‘Why have you torn this choice satin? What can I do with a torn

garment?’

4-2350

Whenever the builders repair an old building, do they not first ruin the old one?

4-2353

Until you crush wheat in the mill, how will our table be garnished with it?

4-102

The hide is afflicted by the medicine (tan-liquor), but it becomes sweet like

Ṭā’if732 leather.

4-104

Know that Man is an untanned hide, made hideous and gross by fluids.

4-105

Give him733 bitter and harsh discipline and much rubbing (tribulation), that he

may become pure, lovely and very strong;

4-106

But if you cannot mortify yourself, be content, o cunning one, if God gives you

tribulation without choice on your part,

731 Literally “do not advance against me” (Nich.).

732 Ṭā’if is a city in the Mecca province of present-day Saudi Arabia, which used to be known for its fine leather products.

733 I.e. the carnal nature (Nich.)

265

4-107

For affliction sent by the Friend is the means of your purification: His

knowledge is above your cunning.

4-108

The affliction becomes sweet to the sufferer when he sees happiness: the

medicine becomes sweet to the sick man when he sees health.

4-109

He sees victory for himself in the very essence of checkmate; therefore he says,

“Kill me, o trustworthy friends!”734

1-3163

If in that period the new moon is bent double, does she not in the end become

the full moon in the sky?

1-3165

They threw a grain of wheat under earth, then from its earth they raised up ears

of corn;

1-3166

Once more they crushed it with the mill: its value increased and it became soul—

invigorating bread;

1-3167

Again they crushed the bread under their teeth: it became as that which rejoices

the sowers 735after the sowing.

3-3396

Therefore be a buyer of spiritual self-discipline with all your soul: you will

save your soul when you have given up your body to the service of God.

5-1668

In His cruelty reside secret kindnesses: to surrender the soul for His sake

increases the life of the soul.

3-3397

And if the self-discipline comes to you without free choice on your part, bow

your head in resignation and give thanks, o successful one.

3-3398

Since God has given you that self-discipline, give thanks: you have not done it;

He has drawn you to it by the command, “Be!”736

Story. [2.4.7]

3-3399

That woman used to bear a son every year, but he never lived more than six

months;

3-3400

He would die either in three or four months. The woman lamented, crying,

“Alas, O God,

3-3401

For nine months I have the burden of pregnancy, and for three months I have

joy: my happiness is more fleeting737 than the rainbow.”

3-3403

In this way twenty children of hers went into the grave: a destroying fire fell

swiftly upon their lives,

734 The first hemistich of an Arabic verse by Ḥażrat Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj (Nich.).

735 Qur’ān 48:29.

736 Qur’ān 3:47.

737 Literally “departing more quickly” (Nich.).

266

3-3404

Until, one night, she was shown the vision of an everlasting garden, verdant,

delightful, and unlimited.

3-3405

I have called the Unconditioned Bounty a garden, since it is the source of all

bounties and the assembly of all gardens;

3-3406

Otherwise, it is that which no eye has seen: how is it proper to speak of a

garden? Yet the term “garden” may be applied to it: God has called the Light of

the Unseen “a lamp”.

3-3407

It is not a comparison, it is a parable of it, which is used in order that he who is

bewildered may get a scent of the reality.

3-3408

In short, the woman saw that Bounty and became intoxicated: at that revelation

the weak creature fell into an ecstasy738.

3-3409

She saw her name written on a palace: she, who was a true believer, knew that

the palace belonged to her.

3-3410

After that, they said to her, “This Bounty is for him who has risen up with

constant sincerity739 in self-devotion.

3-3411

You must have done much service to God, that you may partake of this

meal740;

3-3412

Therefore, since you neglected to take refuge with God, God gave you those

afflictions instead.”

3-3413

“O Lord,” she cried, “give me such afflictions for a hundred years and more!

Shed my blood!”

2-3239

Sharp-sightedness becomes the means of awakening (stimulating) every sense,

so that perception of the spiritual becomes familiar to all the senses.

2-2730

He said, “Nothing but the truth will save you: justice is calling you to speak the

truth.

2-2735

The troubled heart is not comforted by lying words: water and oil kindle no

light.

2-2736

Only in truthful speech is there comfort for the heart: truths are the bait that

entraps the heart741.

2-2737

Sick? Surely, and ill-savoured742 is the heart that cannot distinguish the taste of

this and that.

738 Literally “outcry (consisting) of this complaint” (Nich.).

739 Literally “has not risen up except sincerity” (Nich.).

740 Literally “morning-meal” (Nich.).

741 Literally “the grain of the snare of the heart” (Nich.).

267

2-2738

When the heart becomes whole (is healed) of pain and disease, it will recognize

the flavour of falsehood and truth.

The pain of love. [2.4.7]

3-4009

Love is like a lawsuit; to suffer harsh treatment is like evidence: when you

have no evidence, the lawsuit is lost.

3-4010

Do not be aggrieved when this Judge demands your evidence: kiss the snake in

order that you may gain the treasure.

3-510

Sorrow is a treasure, and your pain is as the mine, but how should this saying

catch hold of (make an impression on) children?

2-2575

Those lovers that are within the house (and close to Him) are like moths to the

candle of the face of the Friend.

2-1375

O blamer of lovers, may you be safe! O seeker of safety, you are infirm743.

2-1376

My soul is a furnace: it is happy with the fire: it is enough for the furnace that it

is the fire’s house.

The story of Ḥażrat Dhū’n-Nūn al-Miṣrī. [2.4.7]

2-1386

It so happened to Dhū’n-Nūn the Egyptian744 that a new agitation and madness

was born within him.

2-1387

His agitation became so great that salt (bitterness) from it reached all hearts, up

to above the heavenly sphere.

2-1389

The people could not endure his madness: his fire was carrying off their

beards745.

2-1390

When that fire fell on the beards of the common folk, they bound him and put

him in a prison.

2-1391

It is impossible to pull back this rein, even if the common folk are distressed by

this way746.

2-1392

These spiritual kings have seen themselves in danger of their lives from the

common folk; for this mass is blind, and the kings have no visible mark.

742 Literally “ill-mouthed” (Nich.).

743 Literally “having weak stays or handles” (Nich.).

744 Al-Miṣrī means “the Egyptian”; Ḥażrat Dhū’n-Nūn al-Miṣrī (796-859 CE) was one of the most prominent early Ṣūfī mystics. In his teachings, he placed great emphasis on the attainment of gnosis ( ma‘rifa).

745 I.e. in his ecstasy he had no regard for their formal religion (Nich.).

746 I.e. the way of mystical transport and ecstasy (Nich.).

268

2-1393

When authority is in the hands of debauched drunkards, a Dhū’n-Nūn is

inevitably in prison.

2-1430

The friends went to the prison to inquire about the story of Dhū’n-Nūn, and

expressed their opinion about it,

2-1431

Saying, “Perhaps he does this on purpose, or there is some deep wisdom in it:

he is an exemplar747 and a shining light748 in this religion.

2-1432

Far, far be it from his sea-like (profound) intelligence that madness should

drive him to foolishness!

2-1433

God forbid, in view of the perfection of his spiritual attainments, that the cloud

of sickness should cover his moon!

2-1434

He has gone into the house and taken refuge from the wickedness of the

common folk: he has become mad because of the infamy of the sane.

2-1435

Feeling the disgrace of the dull body-serving intellect, he has gone and become

mad on purpose.

2-1447

When those persons arrived near him, he shouted, “Hey, who are you? Be

careful!”

2-1448

They said respectfully, “We are some of your friends: we have come here in

devotion to ask after you.

2-1449

How are you, o Sea of numerous intelligences? What defamation of your

intelligence is this alleged madness?

2-1454

We are loving and true and with wounded (bleeding) hearts: in the two worlds

we have fixed our hearts on you alone.”

2-1456

He jumped up and let fly stones and sticks; the whole party fled from fear of

blows.

2-1457

He laughed loudly and tossed his head in scorn. “Look,” he said, “at the vain

windstorm749 of these friends!

2-1458

See the friends! Where is the sign of true friends? To true friends pain is as

dear as life.

2-1459

How should a friend turn away from the pain inflicted by his friend? Pain is the

kernel, and friendship is only as its husk.

2-1461

A friend is like gold, tribulation is like the fire: the pure gold is glad in the

heart of fire.”

747 Literally “one to whom all turn” (Nich.).

748 Literally “a sign or evidence” (Nich.).

749 Literally “the wind of the beard” (Nich.).

269

The story of Ḥażrat Luqmān750. [2.4.7]

2-1462

Was it not the case that this happened to Luqmān, who was a pure (unselfish)

slave, and was brisk in service day and night?

2-1463

His master preferred him to all others in the work of service and deemed him

better than his own sons.

2-1510

Whatever food they brought to Luqmān’s master, he would send someone to

Luqmān after receiving it,

2-1511

That Luqmān might put his hand to (partake of) it, so that the master might eat

Luqmān’s leavings.

2-1512

He would eat his remnants and be enraptured751: any food that Luqmān did not

taste, the master would throw away.

2-1514

They had brought a melon as a present. “Go,” he said, “call my son here,

Luqmān.”

2-1515

When he cut it and gave him a slice, he ate it as if it were sugar and honey.

2-1516

Because of the pleasure with which he ate it, he gave him a second slice, and

went on until he had been given seventeen slices.

2-1517

One slice remained. He said, “I will eat this myself, so that I may see what a

sweet melon this is.”

2-1519

As soon as the master ate it, its sourness kindled a fire which blistered his

tongue and burnt his throat.

2-1520

He became beside himself for a while because of its sourness; after that he said

to him, “O you who are soul and world,

2-1521

How did you make all this poison an antidote? How did you deem this cruelty

to be kindness?

2-1523

Why did you not slyly present a request, saying, ‘I have an excuse for refusing

to eat: be patient for a while’.”

2-1524

Luqmān said, “I have eaten so much from your munificent hand that I am bent

double with shame.

2-1525

I was ashamed not to eat one bitter thing from your hand, o you who possess

knowledge.

750 Ḥażrat Luqmān was a very wise and holy man who is mentioned in the Qur’ān, in the Sūra that is named after him (Sūra Luqmān, the 31stSūra). He is believed to have been a Nubian.

751 Literally “he would raise (a feeling of) enthusiasm” (Nich.).

270

2-1526

Since all parts of me have grown from your bounty and are plunged in your

bait and snare –

2-1527

If I cry out and complain because of one bitter thing, may the dust of a hundred

roads be on all parts of me!

2-1529

By love bitter things become sweet; by love pieces of copper become golden;

2-1530

By love dregs become clear; by love pains become healing;

2-1531

By love the dead is made living; by love the king is made a slave.

2-2574

Wherever the candle of tribulation has been lighted, hundreds of thousands of

loving souls are burnt.

2-2575

Those lovers who are within the house (and close to Him) are as moths to the

candle of the face of the Friend.

The true lover also accepts the pain of love. [2.4.7]

3-3349

These acts of spiritual self-discipline of dervishes – what are they for? The

reason is that the tribulation imposed on the body is in effect the everlasting

life of souls.

3-3350

Unless a mystic traveller gains the everlasting life of his spiritual self, how

should he make his body a sick and perishing thing?

3-3351

How should he move his hand to acts of altruism and devotional work unless

he sees the salvation of his soul in exchange for what is given by him?

3-3355

Until a child sees that the apple is there, it will not give the stinking onion up

from its hand.

3-3356

All these market folk, for the sake of this worldly object, are seated on the

benches in the shops in the hope of receiving compensation:

3-3357

They offer a hundred fine articles of merchandise, and within their hearts they

are intent on compensations.

6-1638

Whatever blow may come to you from Heaven, always expect to receive a gift

of honour after it.

6-1640

The whole world is not worth more than a gnat’s wing; but for one slap there is

an infinite reward.

271

The pain of love is followed by healing and liberation. [2.4.7]

3-4466

By their failures to achieve success the lovers are made aware of their Lord752.

3-4467

Unsuccessfulness is the guide to Paradise; listen, o good-natured man nature, to

the tradition, “Paradise is surrounded by hardships753”.

4-92

God says, “After all, grief and pain have made you imploring humbly and

righteous.

3-4152

Are you not really a hunter and seeker of Me? No, you are My servant, who

prostrates himself before My command.

3-4153

You are thinking of devices with which you might reach Me: both in being

separated from Me and in seeking Me you are helpless.

3-4154

Your anguish is seeking a means to reach Me: yesterday evening I heard your

heavy sighs.

3-4155

I am even able to give you access to and show you the way of passage without

this waiting,

3-4156

That you may be delivered from this whirlpool of Time and may set your foot

on the treasure of Union with Me;

3-4157

But the sweetness and delights of the resting-place are in proportion to the pain

of the journey.

3-4158

Only then will you enjoy your native town and your kinsfolk when you suffer

the pains and tribulations of exile.”

6-1642

Since the Prophets suffered those blows on the nape of the neck, they have

lifted their heads high as a result of that affliction.

4-100

For this reason the sufferings and humiliations of the Prophets are greater than

those of all the other creatures in the world.

6-2043

The wrongful unbelief of Noah’s people and the patience of Noah were

instrumental in polishing the mirror of Noah’s spirit.

3-3365

The death of the body754 in spiritual self-discipline is life: the sufferings of the

body are the cause of everlastingness for the spirit.

752 The word used for “Lord” is Mawlā. Mawlā means “Master”, “Lord”, or “Caring, Supporting and Protecting Friend”. It is a name of God, and is mentioned as such in the Qur’ān (see Qur’ān 2:286 and 47:11), but it is also an honorific title of the Prophet Muḥammad and of Ḥażrat ‘Alī, the Prophet’s nephew, son-in-law and foremost mystical successor. Mawlā is also often found with the possessive suffix -nā as an honorific title for Ṣūfī Saints and Masters: Mawlānā (e.g. Mawlānā Jalālu’ddīn Rūmī). Mawlānā means “Our Master, Lord and Caring, Supporting and Protecting Friend”. The word Mawlā is derived from the same Arabic verbal root as the word walī (plural awliyā’). Walī is a name of God ( al-Walī, “the Protecting Friend”), as well as the common Ṣūfī term to designate a Saint. Walī means “one who is close to God”, “a close Friend of God”, hence a Saint.

753 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p.203.

272

1-2298

Know that every pain is a piece of Death: expel that part of Death from you, if

you have a way to do so.

1-2299

When you cannot flee from the part of Death, know that the whole of it will be

poured on your head.

1-2300

If the part of Death has become sweet to you, know that God will make the

whole sweet.

1-2301

Pains come from Death as his messengers: do not turn away your face from his

messenger, o foolish one!

1-2302

Whoever lives sweetly (pleasantly) dies bitterly (painfully): whoever serves his

body does not save his soul.

The Eighth Rivulet [2.4.8]

Renouncing imitation and blindly aping others.

2-484

Since imitation is the ruination of every good quality: imitation is but a straw,

even if it is a mighty mountain.

2-493

There are great differences between the true knower and the blind imitator, for

the former is like David, while the latter is but an echo.

2-494

The source of the former’s words is a glow of feeling, whereas the imitator is

one who learns old things by rote.

2-497

Both infidel and true believer say “God,” but there is quite a difference

between the two.

2-498

The beggar says “God” for the sake of bread; the devout man says “God” from

his very soul.

2-499

If the beggar distinguished God (as He really is) from his own saying (the

name of God), neither less nor more would remain before his eye755.

2-500

For years that bread-seeker says “God”; like the ass, he carries the Qur’ān for

the sake of being fed with straw.

2-501

If the word on his lips had shone in his heart, his body would have been

shattered to atoms.

2-1481

He who has become acquainted with the secrets of Hū (God), what is the secret

(inmost consciousness) of created beings to him?

754 The implied meaning is “the transformation of the self”.

755 I.e. he would lose all consciousness of self-interest (Nich.).

273

2-1482

He who walks is on the heavenly spheres, how should it be hard for him to

walk on the earth?

2-2326

Although your intellect is flying upward, the bird of your conventional

notions756 is feeding below.

2-2327

Conventional knowledge is the downfall of our souls; it is a borrowed thing,

but we rest at ease in the belief that it is ours.

2-491

The imitator is like a professional mourner in his words: that wicked man has

no motive but covetousness.

2-492

The professional mourner utters burning words of grief, but where is the glow

of heartfelt sorrow and the rent skirt?

2-563

Blind imitation of them has brought me to ruin: two hundred curses be on that

imitation.

The muqallid (the blind imitator) and the muḥaqqiq

(one who actively seeks the Truth). [2.4.8]

4-2169

He who has escaped from the pardah 757 of blind imitation sees that which

really is by the light of God.

4-2170

Without proof and without explanation the pure Light cleaves the object’s skin

and enters into the core.

4-2171

To one who only sees the appearance, what is the difference between the false

and genuine coin? How should he know what is in the date-basket?

4-2172

Oh, there is much gold made black with smoke, that it may be saved from

falling into the hands of every envious thief.

4-2173

Oh, there is much copper gilded with gold, that the counterfeiter may sell it to

those of small understanding.

4-2174

We, who see the inward reality of the whole world, see the heart and do not

look at the outward form.

4-2175

The qāżīs758 who are concerned with the outward form (the letter of the law)

give judgement according to outward appearances.

4-2176

When the suspected person has uttered the testimony of the Faith and has

shown some formal sign of true belief, at once the qāżīs declare him a true

believer.

756 The word used for “conventional notions” is taqlīd, which means “to follow or imitate blindly without questioning”.

757 In the lands of India the actual translation of the word pardah is “screen” or “veil”. It is the practice of preventing men from seeing women. Here it means “seclusion” (Nich.).

758 Judges in Muslim communities (Arabic qāḍī, Persian qāżī).

274

4-2177

There are many hypocrites who have taken refuge in this outward form and

have shed the blood of a hundred true believers in secret.

4-2178

Strive to become ripe in intelligence and religion, that you may become, like

the Universal Intelligence, a seer of the inward reality.

5-2470

The imitator brings forward a hundred proofs in his explanation, but he speaks

to them from logical reasoning, not from immediate experience.

5-2471

He is impregnated with musk, but he is not musk: he has the scent of musk, but

he is only dung.

5-2472

In order that a piece of dung may become musk, o disciple759, one must graze

for years in the spiritual garden.

5-2473

One must not eat straw and barley, like asses: graze on arghawān 760, like the

musk-deer in Khutan761.

5-2475

Accustom your belly to the sweet basil and the rose, that you may gain the

wisdom and spiritual food of the Prophets.

5-2476

Break your belly of its habit of eating straw and barley: begin to eat the sweet

basil and the rose.

5-2478

Whoever feeds on straw and barley becomes a sacrifice ( qurbān); whoever

feeds on the Light of God becomes the Qur’ān.

5-2480

The imitator brings a hundred proofs and explanations on to his tongue, but he

has no soul.

5-2482

He boldly directs people in the Way to salvation, even though he is more

quivering (weak) in soul than a blade of straw.

5-2490

Become like the sky, become like the cloud and shed rain: the drain pipe rains

too, but it is not at work productively762.

5-2491

The water in the drain pipe is borrowed; the water in the cloud and in the sea is

original.

5-2492

Your thought and reflection resemble the drain pipe; inspiration and revelation

are like the cloud and the sky.

5-2493

The rainwater produces a many-coloured garden; the drain pipe causes your

neighbour to quarrel with you.

759 The word used in the original text is murīd, which is the common term for a Ṣūfī disciple. It literally means

“one who is willing” or “one who is longing”.

760 The flowers of the Judas tree (Nich.).

761 Khutan or Khotan is a city of Eastern Turkestān, also known as the northwestern Xinjiang province of China.

762 I.e. the drain pipe has nothing to do but discharge the rainwater which passes through it (Nich.).

275

The difference between muqallid and muḥaqqiq. [2.4.8]

1-2125

Hundreds of thousands of conformists and legalists763 are cast into the abyss

(of destruction) by a single tinge of doubt.

1-2126

For their conformity and their drawing evidence from logical proofs and all

their wings and wing-feathers (every means which they use in order to arrive at

the truth) depend on opinion.

1-2127

The vile Devil raises doubt in their minds: all these blind ones fall in headlong.

1-2128

The leg of the logicians is of wood: a wooden leg is very weak.

5-4144

If the intellect could discern the true way in this question, Fakhr-e Rāzī764

would be an adept in religious mysteries.

1-2135

If God did not bestow mercy and grace upon you, the wood of your logical

deduction would break.

1-2136

What is this staff? Logical reasoning and demonstration. Who gave the blind

that staff? The All-Seeing and Almighty One.

1-2137

Since the staff has become a weapon of quarrel and attack, break that staff into

pieces, o blind man!

1-2138

He gave you the staff that you might approach Him: with that staff, in your

anger, you struck even at Him.

1-2140

Take hold of the skirt of the One who gave you the staff: consider what

dreadful things Adam suffered because of his disobedience.

1-2133

If, with the help of a staff, the blind have seen their way, yet only under the

protection of other people are they clear-sighted.

5-1274

The first time by way of imitation ( taqlīd) and pretense, because he sees the

people laughing.

5-1275

The deaf man laughs then like them, without knowing the inner state of those

who laugh.

5-1276

Afterwards he inquires what the laughter was about, and then, having heard, he

laughs a second time.

5-1277

That is why the mere imitator of a Shaykh, too, resembles the deaf man with

regard to the feeling of joy that is in his head.

763 Literally “followers of signs (external evidences)” (Nich.).

764 Fakhr-e Rāzī (or Fakhru’ddīn ar-Rāzī, 1149-1209 CE) was a well-known Persian theologian and philosopher,

who relied heavily on rationalism. He was nicknamed Imāmu’l-mushakkikīn, “Leader of the Doubters”.

276

5-1289

The imitator is like a sick child, although he may have subtle argumentation

and logical proofs at his disposal.

The Ninth Rivulet [2.4.9]

Renouncing pride and cherishing indigence towards

the Beloved opens the gate to Divine grace765.

3-3204

It was Mary’s want and pain that made a baby like Jesus begin to speak in the

cradle766.

3-3208

Whatever grew has grown for the sake of the needy, in order that a seeker may

find the thing he sought.

3-3209

If God Most High has created the heavens, He has created them in order to take

away needs.

3-3210

Wherever a pain is, there the cure goes; wherever a poverty is, there the

provision goes.

3-3212

Do not seek the water, but become thirsty, so that the water may gush forth

from above and below.

3-3213

Until the tender-throated baby is born, how should the milk for it begin to flow

from the mother’s breast?

2-1953

God created the child, i.e. your needs, in order that it might moan and that milk

might then be produced for it.

2-1954

He said, “Call upon God! ”767. Do not stop lamenting, so that the milk of His

loving kindnesses may flow.

1-822

If you desire tears, have mercy on one who sheds tears; if you desire mercy,

show mercy to the weak.

5-1601

He whom You wish to strike with sorrow – You close the way to lamentation

to his heart,

5-1602

So that affliction may come over him without there being anything to repel it,

when there is no intercessor in the form of humble supplication;

5-1603

And on the other hand You lead the soul of him whom You wish to redeem

from affliction to humble supplication.

2-373

“When I make anyone weep, My mercy is aroused: that wailer drinks of

(enjoys) My bounty.

765 Qur’ān 27:62 and 2:186.

766 Qur’ān 19:30.

767 Qur’ān 17:110.

277

2-374

If I do not wish to give, then indeed I do not show him the desired gift, but

when I have closed (contracted)768 his heart with grief, I open (expand) it with

joy.

2-375

My mercy depends on that happy weeping: when he weeps, waves rise from

the sea of My mercy.”

Story. [2.4.9]

2-376

There was a Shaykh who was continually in debt because of the generosity

which that illustrious one had in his nature.

2-377

He used to make myriads of debts by borrowing from the great, and spend all

the money on the poor (dervishes)769 of the world.

2-388

When the Shaykh’s life reached its end and he saw the signs of death in his

bodily existence,

2-389

The creditors were seated together around him, while the Shaykh was gently

melting on himself (going out), like a candle.

2-391

“Look at these evil-thinking men,” said the Shaykh. “Does God not have four

hundred gold dīnārs?”

2-392

A boy outside shouted “Ḥalwā!770” and bragged of the excellence of the ḥalwā

in the hope of getting some dangs 771.

2-393

The Shaykh directed the khādim 772 with a nod of his head to go and buy the

whole of the ḥalwā,

2-394

Saying to himself, “so that the creditors, when they eat the ḥalwā, for a short

while may not look bitterly on me.”

2-395

The khādim immediately went out through the doorway to buy the entire ḥalwā

with gold.

2-399

He made a sign to the creditors as though to say, “Look, this gift of sweetmeat

is a present to you: eat this gladly, it is lawful food.”

2-400

When the tray was emptied, the boy took it and said, “Give me the gold, o

Wise One.”

768 Even though they are not literally mentioned in the original Persian text, these words refer to the Ṣūfī terms qabż (< Arabic qabḍ), meaning “contraction of the heart, and basṭ, meaning “expansion of the heart”.

769 In the Persian text the word faqīr is used, which means the same as darwīsh, i.e. “one who is poor before God and in need of His mercy”.

770 The word ḥalwā is used to describe many distinct types of sweet confection, across the Near and Middle East,

Central Asia, South Asia and the Balkans.

771 The dang is the sixth part of a dirham (Nich.).

772 A private secretary or other close attendant.

278

2-401

The Shaykh said, “From where shall I get the money? I am in debt and going

towards non-existence.”

2-402

The boy in his grief dashed the tray on the ground; he raised his voice in

lamentation, weeping and moaning.

2-403

The boy was weeping with loud sobs because of the swindle, and crying, “I

wish that both my legs had been broken before I came here!

2-404

I wish that I had loitered around the bath-stove and had not passed by the door

of this khānaqāh773!

2-411

The boy wept until afternoon prayers; the Shaykh closed his eyes and did not

look at him.

2-426

When it was time for afternoon prayers, a servant came with a tray in his hand

from one like Hātim774,

2-428

There were four hundred dīnārs, and in the corner of the tray another half dīnār

in a piece of paper.

2-429

The servant came forward and honoured the Shaykh, and laid the tray before

the peerless Shaykh.

2-431

Immediately cries of sorrow and lamentation arose from all – “O head of the

Shaykhs and spiritual kings, what was the meaning of this?

2-440

The secret of this matter was that I implored God: consequently He showed me

the right way,

2-441

And said, ‘Even though that dīnār is little, yet the payment of it depends on the

boy’s outcry.

2-442

As long as the ḥalwā-eating boy does not weep, the sea of My mercy is not

aroused.”

2-444

If you wish that the robe of honour which you desire should come to you, then

make the child (pupil) of your eye weep over your body.

5-134

Until the cloud weeps, how should the garden smile? Until the baby cries, how

should the milk begin to flow?

5-135

The one-day-old baby knows the way: (its instinct says), “I will cry, that the

kind nurse may come.”

773 A khānaqāh or khāniqāh (pronounced khāneghā in Fārsī) is a sacred place where Ṣūfīs meet and hold their gatherings under the guidance of a Shaykh or Pīr.

774 Hātim aṭ-Ṭā’ī was a Christian poet and a contemporary of the Prophet Muḥammad. He was known for his

exceptional charity, hospitality and generosity.

279

5-136

Do you not know that the Nurse of all nurses gives no milk freely without your

crying?

5-137

He (God) has said, “Let them weep much.” Give ear, that the bounty of the

Creator may pour out the milk.

2-1952

The wet-nurse and mother seek a pretext for giving relief: she waits to see

when her child will begin to weep.

2-1951

Lamentation and weeping are a mighty capital (resource); the Universal Mercy

is the mightiest wet-nurse to comfort and cherish.

6-839

The capital required for the market of this world is gold; in the next world the

capital is love and two eyes wet with tears.

6-840

Whoever went to market without any capital, his life passed and he speedily

returned in disappointment.

6-879

If you want a customer from whom you will obtain gold, how should there be a

better customer than God, o my heart?

6-881

He receives the melting ice of this mortal body, and gives a kingdom beyond

our imagination.

6-883

He receives sighs full of melancholy and vaporous gloom775, and gives a

hundred lucrative dignities for every sigh.

6-882

He receives a few tear-drops, and gives a Kawthar 776 so delicious that sugar is

jealous of its sweetness.

6-885

Listen, sell your old rags in this bustling incomparable market, and receive the

real and genuine kingdom in exchange.

5-1617

Since humble supplication is so valuable to God – and where else is

lamentation rewarded as it is there? –

5-1618

O, take hope! Now gird your loins tight777! Get up, o weeper, and laugh

continually,

5-1619

For the glorious King considers tears as equal in merit to the blood of the

martyr.

The love for God renders the garden of the heart green and fresh. [2.4.9]

6-1579

This heart of mine is an orchard, and my eye is like the cloud: when the cloud

weeps the orchard laughs joyously and happily.

775 Literally “smoke” (Nich.).

776 A river, fountain, cistern or pond in Paradise; kawthar literally means “abundance” in Arabic – see Qur’ān 108:1-3.

777 I.e. “Prepare yourself for action!”.

280

2-480

The branch is made green and fresh by the weeping cloud, for the same reason

that the candle is made brighter by its weeping.

6-1581

You have read in God’s command the words and weep much 778: why have you

remained grinning like a roast sheep’s head?

2-479

O eye, you lament for others: sit down a while and weep for yourself!

6-1582

You will be the light of the house, like the candle, if you shed showers of tears

like the candle.

1-1637

Prepare a dessert of heart-fire (burning grief) and eye-water (tears): the garden

is made blooming by clouds and sun.

6-1584

You have experienced the pleasure of laughing, o impudent laugher: now

experience the pleasure of weeping and recognize that it is a mine of sugar.

6-1586

Tears conceal laughters: seek treasure amidst ruins, o simple (sincere) man.

6-1587

Pleasure is concealed in pains: the track has been lost, the Water of Life has

been taken away into the Land of Darkness.

6-2346

Make yourself harmonious, in agreement and balanced779: let your bread be

baked well with burning tears.

1-1633

Because Adam escaped from reproof by means of tears: moist tears are the

breath (speech) of the penitent.

1-1634

For weeping’s sake Adam came down to the earth, that he might be weeping,

moaning and sorrowful.

1-818

Oh, happy the eye that is weeping for His sake! Oh, fortunate the heart that is

seared for His sake!

1-1636

If you are from the back of Adam and from his loins, be constant in seeking

forgiveness in his company.

1-823

The king turned his face to the fire, saying, “O fierce-tempered one, where is

your world-consuming nature?

1-824

Why are you not burning? What has become of your particularity? Or has your

intention changed because of our fortune780?

4-1614

The more anyone regards the end ( ākhir) the more blessed he is; the more

anyone regards the stable ( ākhur) the more cursed he is.

778 Qur’ān 9:82.

779 I.e. in full accordance with the Divine will (Nich.).

780 I.e. because Fate has ordained it so (Nich.).

281

Story. [2.4.9]

2-445

A companion in the work (of religion) said to an ascetic, “Weep little, so that

no harm will come to your eye.”

2-446

The ascetic said, “In this case there are only two alternatives: the eye will see,

or it will not see the Divine Beauty.

2-447

If it sees the Light of God, what is there to grieve about? How little are two

eyes to him who is united with God!

2-448

And if it shall not see God, let it go! Let such a miserable eye become blind!”

Shedding tears for God purifies the heart. [2.4.9]

5-618

Sincere weeping touches the souls of all, so that it makes even the sky and

heaven weep

5-476

The weeping of Joseph’s brothers is a trick, for their hearts are full of envy and

vice.

Story. [2.4.9]

5-477

The dog was dying, and the Arab was sobbing, shedding tears, and crying,

“Oh, sorrow!”

5-478

A beggar passed by and asked, “What is this sobbing? Whom do you mourn

and lament?”

5-479

He replied, “I had a dog of excellent character. Look, he is dying on the road.

5-481

The beggar asked, “What is wrong with him? Has he been wounded?” The

Arab replied, “Ravenous hunger781 has made him so pitiful.”

5-483

Afterwards he said to him, “O noble chief, what is this full leather bag in your

hand?”

5-484

He replied, “My bread and provision and food left over from last night, which I

am taking along with me to feed my body.”

5-485

“Why don’t you give some bread and provision to the dog?” he asked. He

replied, “I do not have that much love and generosity.

5-486

Bread cannot be obtained by a traveller on the road without money, but water

from the eyes costs nothing.”

5-487

The beggar said, “Earth be on your head, o water-skin full of wind! For in your

opinion a crust of bread is better than tears.”

781 Literally “canine hunger” (Nich.).

282

5-488

Tears are originally blood and have been turned into water by grief: idle

tears782 do not have the value of earth.

1-1638

What do you know of the taste of water of the eyes? You are a lover of bread,

like the blind beggars.

Not every tear can contain love for God783. [2.4.9]

5-1265

A certain man asked a muftī 784 in private, “If anyone weeps lamentably during

the ritual prayer,

5-1266

I wonder, will his prayer be rendered void, or will his prayer be lawful and

perfect?”

5-1267

He replied, “Why is it called ‘the water of the eye’? You should consider what

the eye saw before it started weeping.

5-1269

If the supplicant has seen the Other World, his lamentation makes his prayer

luminous,

5-1270

But if that weeping was caused by bodily pain or by mourning for the dead, the

thread is snapped and the spindle too is broken”785.

Story:

The difference between the tears of the Pīr and those of a murīd. [2.4.9]

5-1271

A disciple786 came into the presence of the Pīr: the Pīr was weeping and

lamenting.

5-1272

When the disciple saw the Shaykh weeping, he began to weep: the tears ran

from his eyes.

5-1298

For, like the deaf man, he regarded the Shaykh’s weeping in the way of an

imitator787 and was unaware of the cause.

5-1299

When he had wept a long while, he paid his respects and left: the Shaykh’s

favourite disciple came quickly after him,

5-1300

And said, “O you who are weeping like a senseless cloud in harmony with the

weeping of the Shaykh endowed with insight,

782 I.e. his tears (Nich.).

783 Qur’ān, 35:12.

784 Muftī: an Islamic scholar who interprets and expounds Islamic law ( Sharī‘a) and issues fatāwā (= fatwā- s) – i.e. religious opinions and advices, which generally are not-binding but authoritative.

785 I.e. the prayer is void (Nich.).

786 The word used in the original text is murīd, which is the common term for a Ṣūfī disciple. It literally means

“one who is willing” or “one who is longing”.

787 I.e. a muqallid, “one who blindly follows and imitates but is void of true insight and knowledge”.

283

5-1301

For God’s sake, for God’s sake, for God’s sake, o loyal disciple, even though

you seek spiritual profit in your imitation,

5-1302

Be careful not to say, ‘I saw that spiritual king weeping, and I wept like him’;

for that is denial (of his exalted state).”

5-1303

A weeping full of ignorance, imitation and mere opinion is not like the

weeping of that trusted one.

5-1304

Do not judge one weeping by comparing788 it to another weeping: it is a long

way from this weeping to that weeping.

5-1306

Beyond reason there are a hundred stages: do not think that the intellect is

acquainted with that caravan.

5-1307

His weeping is neither from sorrow nor from joy: only the spirit knows the

weeping of him who is the fountain of beauties.

5-1308

His weeping, his laughter – both are of the Other World789 and transcend all

that the intellect can conceive790.

5-1309

His tears are like his eye: how should the sightless eye become a seeing eye791?

5-1330

The Shaykh’s weeping, his laughter, and his speech are not from him: they are

the pure nature of Hū (God).

The softness of the heart causes the pure tears to flow. [2.4.9]

5-490

I am the devoted slave of him who will not sell his existence792 except to that

bounteous and magnanimous Sovereign,

5-491

So that when he weeps, heaven begins to weep, and when he moans in

supplication, the celestial sphere begins to cry, “O Lord!”

5-492

I am the devoted slave of that high-aspiring793 copper which humbles itself794

before nothing but the Elixir795.

5-493

In prayer, lift up a broken hand: the loving kindness of God flies towards the

broken.

6-2337

Give greenery and vegetation from this bountiful pasture to the tears of Your

sightless slave;

788 Literally “by analogy of”.

789 Literally “of that side” (Nich.).

790 Literally “are exempt from that which is the conception of the intellect.” (Nich.).

791 I.e. how should the spiritually blind man become a mystic seer? (Nich.).

792 I.e. himself (Nich.).

793 Literally “cherishing lofty aspiration” (Nich.).

794 Literally “offers brokenness (repentance)” (Nich.).

795 Literally “alchemy” ( kīmīyā).

284

6-2338

And if I leave no tears in my eyes, give me tears flowing abundantly from an

eye like the two streaming eyes of the Prophet.

6-2339

Since he, with all that high fortune, majesty and excellence, sought tears from

the bounty of God.

6-2340

How should not I, a poor empty-handed lick-platter, spin fine webs of blood-stained tears?

6-2341

Since an eye like that of the Prophet is in love with tears, it is fitting that my

tears be like a hundred great rivers.”

6-2342

A single drop of those tears is better than these two hundred great rivers, for by

that single drop mankind and the Jinn796 were saved.

1-1714

Oh, alas! If only my tears were an ocean, that they might be scattered as an

offering to the beautiful charmer!

1-1774

I wail because wailings are pleasing to Him: from the two worlds He wants

wailing and grief.

1-1569

I complain, and yet I fear that He would believe me and out of kindness make

His cruelty less.

1-1780

The tears which people shed for His sake are pearls – and people think they are

tears.

5-474

Renounce power and adopt piteous supplication: the Divine mercy comes

towards piteous supplication, o dervish797.

The sālik draws closer to the Divine through

indigence towards the Beloved. [2.4.9]

1-1908

Do not give yourself airs and behave like a beauty in the presence of Joseph:

offer nothing but the supplication and sighs of Jacob.

1-1904

You who are not a Joseph, be a Jacob: be familiar, like him, with weeping and

deep sorrow.

1-1905

Listen to this counsel from the Sage of Ghazna798, that you may feel freshness

in your old body.

796 In Islām and pre-Islamic folklore, Jinn (singular: jinnī) are supernatural creatures, who possess free will and can be good or evil in nature. Iblīs (Satan) was the chief of the Jinn; when God ordered him to bow down before Adam, he refused and fell from grace.

797 In the Persian original, the word faqīr is used, which means the same as darwīsh: “one who is poor before God and in need of His mercy”.

798 “Sage of Ghazna”: the Persian Ṣūfī poet Ḥakīm Sanā’ī of Ghazna (d. ca.1131 CE). He was the first poet to

write a major mathnawī, entitled Ḥadīqatu’l-Ḥaqīqa wa Sharī‘atu’ṭ-Ṭarīqa (“The Walled Garden of Truth and the Law of the Path”). This work also was an inspiration to Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī.

285

1-1906

“Contempt needs a face like the rose; if you do not have such a face, do not

indulge in799 ill-temper.

1-1907

Contempt in an unpleasant face is ugly, eye-ache in an unseeing eye is

painful.”

5-543

Oh, there are many contempts that become a sin and cause the servant to fall

from favour with800 the King (God).

5-544

To show contempt is sweeter than sugar; but do not chew it, for it holds a

hundred dangers.

5-545

The place of safety is the way of indigence (lowliness): abandon contempt and

be satisfied with that way.

5-546

Oh, many contemptuous ones flapped their wings and plumes, but in the end it

became a curse to those arrogant persons.

5-547

If the sweetness of contempt uplifts you for a moment, yet its latent fear and

dread consume you.

5-548

While this indigence (lowliness), even though it makes you lean, will make

your breast (heart) like the radiant full moon.

1-629

The more wakeful anyone is, the more full of suffering he is; the more he is

aware of God, the paler his face is.

6-4304

Oh, do not sigh heavily from weariness: seek passion, seek passion, passion,

passion!

1-1257

Oh, happy is he who clung to righteousness, he who let his own strength go

and took to supplication!

1-1577

When he moans bitterly, without thanksgiving or complaint, an uproar arises in

the Seven Spheres of Heaven.

1-1578

At every moment there come to him from God a hundred messages, a hundred

messengers: from him one cry of “O my Lord!” and from God a hundred cries

of “Labbayka” (“Here I am”)801.

3-4469

That is why the sincere believers have become humbled before Him; but where

indeed is their humility compared with the humility of those who love Him?

799 Literally “do not roam around” (Nich.).

800 Literally “from the eye of” (Nich.).

801 This refers to a prayer called talbiya, which is constantly repeated by Muslims, as they set out to perform the Ḥajj or ritual pilgrimage to Mecca: “Labbayka, Allāhumma, Labbayk! Labbayka, la sharīka Laka, Labbayk!

Inna’l-ḥamda wa’n-ni‘mata Laka wa’l-Mulk! Lā sharīka Lak!” . This means: “Here I am, o God, Here I am

[literally “with You, o God”; the implication is: “Here I am at Your service!”]! Here I am, You are without equal, here I am! Verily, to You all praise is due, to You belongs all Beneficence, Yours is the Dominion! You are without equal!”.

286

3-4470

The intelligent humble themselves before Him out of necessity; the lovers

humble themselves with hundredfold free will.

3-4471

The intelligent are bondslaves to Him; the lovers are like sugar and candy to

Him802.

3-4499

Since to be vanquished is the mark of the true believers; yet in the true

believer’s defeat there is goodness.

3-4500

If you crush some musk or ambergris803, you will fill a whole world with a

scent of sweet herbs.

4-342

But, even though the pearls are broken into small fragments, they become a

lotion for the sore eye of the spirit.

4-343

O pearl, do not beat your head in grief for having been broken, for through

being broken you will become radiant light.

Story. [2.4.9]

2-2771

A certain man was going into the mosque when the people were coming out of

it.

2-2772

He began to ask one of them, saying, “What troubles the congregation that they

are coming out of the mosque so soon?”

2-2773

Someone said to him, “The Prophet has prayed with the congregation and

finished his prayers.

2-2775

He cried, “Ah!” and smoke came out from his burning sigh: his sigh gave out

the smell of blood from his heart.

2-2776

One of the congregation said, “Give me this sigh, and my prayers are yours.”

2-2777

He answered, “I give the sigh and accept the prayers.” The other took that sigh

with a hundred yearnings towards God.

2-2778

At night, while he was asleep, a Voice said to him, “You have bought the

Water of Life and salvation.

2-2779

In honour of this choice and this acquisition the prayers of all the people have

been accepted.”

2-2782

And that regret, lamentation and sorrowful yearning would have been more

valuable than two hundred remembrances804 and prayers.

802 I.e. they show sweetness and delight in resigning themselves to His will.

803 A waxy greyish substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales and found floating at sea or washed

ashore. It is used in perfumery.

287

How God answers His servants’ prayers. [2.4.9]

4-1169

The celebrated Sībawayh805 said that the meaning of the name Allāh is that His

worshippers take refuge with Him for all their needs.

4-1170

He said, “We have turned to You for help in our needs, have sought them and

found them with You806”

4-1171

At the time of affliction hundreds of thousands of intelligent persons are all

crying for help before that unique Judge.

4-1173

If the intelligent had not experienced God’s beneficence more than a thousand

times, how should they have turned to Him?

4-1174

No, all the fish in the waves of the sea, all the birds high up in the sky,

4-1176

No, earth and wind (air) and water and every spark of fire obtain subsistence

from Him both in December (winter) and spring.

4-1177

Heaven incessantly pleads with Him – “Do not forsake me, o God, for a single

moment!”

4-1179

And earth says, “Preserve me, o You who have made me ride on the water.”

4-1180

All have filled their purses from Him and have learned from Him to satisfy the

needs of others.

4-1182

Come, ask of Him, not of any other than Him: seek water in the sea, do not

seek it in the dry riverbed.

3-2304

Consider this well, o you who are veiled by worldliness, that God has tied

invocation807 to “I will answer”808.

4-91

The servant of God complains to Him of pain and grief: he makes a hundred

complaints of his pain.

4-92

God says, “After all, grief and pain have made you humbly imploring and

righteous.”

804 Remembrance: dhikr or dhikru’Llāh means “remembrance of God” or “restoring the memory of God”, by repeating various sacred phrases and names of God, either silently or aloud. Dhikr is practised individually as well as collectively, and is the most fundamental practice of Sufism. Practising dhikr restores man’s memory and consciousness of his True Being, his essential unity with the Divine. “Dhikr” is not limited to one or more practices: literally anything that brings about this mystical consciousness may be called “dhikr”.

805 Sībawayh ( Sībūyeh in Persian): a famous linguist and grammarian (d. ca. 797 CE).

806 I.e. we have sought and obtained from You the satisfaction of our needs.

807 Invocation or du‘ā’: in Arabic du‘ā’ means “invocation”, “supplication” or “calling” – the act of remembering God and calling upon Him.

808 Qur’ān 40:60.

288

4-94

In reality every enemy of yours is your medicine: he is an elixir809, beneficial

and one who seeks to win your heart810.

4-95

For you flee away from him into solitude and would gladly implore the help of

God’s grace.

6-2344

O my brother, do not cease to invoke God: what is it to you whether He accepts

or rejects your prayer?

Why God doesn’t always answer His servants’ prayers immediately.

Ḥadīth: “God loves those who are constant in their prayers”. [2.4.9]

6-4217

Oh, how many sincere worshippers moan in prayer, so that the smoke of their

sincerity rises up to Heaven.

6-4218

And from the lamentation of the sinful the perfume of the censer811 floats up

beyond this lofty roof!

6-4219

Then the angels implore God piteously, saying, “O You who answers every

prayer and o You whose protection is invoked.

6-4220

A faithful servant of Yours is supplicating humbly: he knows noone but You to

rely on.

6-4221

You bestow Your bounty even on strangers: every ardent wisher obtains his

desire from You.”

6-4222

God says, “It is not that he is despicable to Me; no, the very postponement of

the bounty is for the sake of helping him.

6-4223

Need caused him to turn towards Me from his former state of forgetfulness: it

dragged him by the hair into My presence812.

6-4224

If I satisfy this need, he will go back and again become absorbed in idle play.

6-4225

Even though he is now crying with all his soul, “O You whose protection is

invoked,” let him continue to moan with broken heart and wounded breast!

6-4226

It pleases Me to hear his piteous voice and his cries of “O Lord” and his secret

prayer.

6-4228

Parrots and nightingales are put into cages because they give pleasure by their

sweet song;

6-4229

But how should crows and owls be caged? This has never been recorded in a

story.

809 In the Persian text the word kīmīyā (“alchemy) is used.

810 I.e. he is really acting as your true friend and well-wisher (Nich.).

811 I.e. the remorseful heart glowing with love and longing (Nich.).

812 Literally “street, “quarter” (Nich.).

289

Allegory:

God loves those who weep and plead during their prayers. [2.4.9]

6-4230

When two persons, one of them a decrepit old man and the other a fair-chinned

youth, come to a baker who is an admirer of handsome boys,

6-4231

And both ask for bread, he will at once fetch the unleavened bread and ask the

old man to take it;

6-4232

But why should he immediately give bread to the other, whose figure and

cheeks (countenance) please him? No, he will delay him813.

6-4233

And say to him, “Sit down a little while, it will do you no harm; for the new

bread is baking in the house”:

6-4234

And when, after the work of baking is finished, the hot bread is brought to the

youth, and the baker will say to him, “Sit down, for ḥalwā (a sweet delicacy) is

coming.”

6-4235

In this same way he always detains him and secretly seeks to make him his

prey,

6-4236

Saying, “I have some important business with you: wait a moment, o beauty of

the world!”

6-4237

Know for sure that this is the reason why the true believers suffer

disappointment whether in seeking good or in avoiding evil.

1-1748

Even though the object of your desire has the taste of sugar, is not absence of

any object of desire in you the object of the Beloved’s desire?

3-4809

God says, “Do not ask yourself whether you are on a tree or in a pit: look at

Me, for I am the Key of the Way.”

God answers the true lovers without prayer and supplication. [2.4.9]

3-2305

Whoever’s heart is purified of defectiveness, his invocation will go to the Lord

of Majesty814.

3-2219

In reality, that unconscious invocation is different: that invocation is not from

the speaker, it is spoken by the Divine Judge.

3-2220

God makes that invocation, since the speaker is annihilated ( fanā): the

invocation and the answer to it are both from God.

813 I.e. he will make him wait.

814 Dhū’l-Jalāl, which literally means “the Possessor of Majesty”.

290

3-204

The call of the griefless is from a frozen heart815, the call of the grieving one is

from rapture

3-203

Grief is better than the empire of the world, so that you may call unto God in

secret.

3-2371

Since you are spiritually dead, with what face have you turned816 your face

towards the heavens?”

5-2243

For the prayer of a Shaykh is not like every prayer: he is one who has achieved

annihilation and his words are the words of God.

5-2244

Since God asks and begs of Himself, how then, should He refuse to grant His

own prayer?

The Tenth Rivulet [2.4.10]

Renouncing reputation, fame and glory and

striving for anonymity and self-effacingness.

Ḥadīth: “Pursuing fame and renown leads to disaster and misfortune,

striving for anonymity brings wellbeing, ease and tranquillity817”.

1-1545

That you should make yourself ill, extremely wretched, in order that you may

be let out of the cage of reputation.”

1-1546

Worldly reputation is a strong chain: how is this less than a chain of iron in the

mystical Way?

1-3240

God has made reputation to be like a hundred maunds’818 weight of iron: oh,

many are bound by the unseen chain!

1-3247

The chain is hidden, but it is worse than iron: the iron chain is split by the axe.

1-3248

The iron chain can be removed: no one knows how to cure the invisible chain.

1-1833

If you are a grain, the little birds will peck you up; if you are a bud, the

children will pluck you off.

1-1834

Hide the grain (bait), become wholly a snare; hide the bud, become the grass

on the roof.

1-1835

Anyone who offers his beauty for auction, a hundred evil fates set out towards

him and overtake him.

1-1837

Enemies tear him to pieces out of jealousy; even friends take his lifetime away.

815 Literally “congealment”.

816 I.e. “how have you dared to turn?” (Nich.).

817 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 75.

818 A unit of weight varying in different countries of Asia from 11.2 to 37.4 kilograms (24.8 to 82.6 pounds).

291

1-1850

This one says to him, “I will be your confidant,” and that one says, “No, I am

your partner.”

1-1852

That one says to him, “Both worlds are yours, all our souls are your soul’s

parasites.”

1-1853

When he sees the people intoxicated with desire for him, his arrogance makes

him lose self-control.

1-1855

The world’s flattery and hypocrisy are a sweet morsel: eat less of it (do not eat

it), for it is a morsel full of fire.

1-1856

Its fire is hidden and its taste is manifest: its smoke becomes visible in the end.

1-1857

Do not say, “How should I swallow that praise? He is speaking out of desire

for reward: I am on his track and see quite well what he is after.”

1-1858

If the one who praises you should ridicule you in public, your heart would burn

for many days because of those scorches of abusive language.

6-290

An animal is made fat, but only by fodder; man is fattened by honour and

eminence.

6-291

Man is fattened through his ear; an animal is fattened through its gullet and by

eating and drinking.

1-1867

Pharaoh was made what he was by abundance of praises: be lowly of spirit

through meekness, do not be a dominator.

2-256

Beware! Do not listen to the flatteries of the bad friend: spot the snare, do not

walk securely on the earth.

2-258

He gives you vain words, he says to you, “O my soul and beloved,” that he

may strip the skin off his beloved, like a butcher.

2-259

He gives vain words that he may strip off your skin: woe to him who tastes

opium from the mouth of enemies.

4-2743

You take pride in the fact that men, out of fear and servitude, have become

your flatterers for a few days.

4-2744

When men bow in adoration to anyone, in reality they are cramming poison

into his soul.

3-2240

In your desire that they should say to you “Bravo!” you have tied a bowstring

on the neck of your soul.

292

Praise or disapproval do not affect the inner

state of a true dervish or sālik. [2.4.10]

Poem:

“People will sacrifice themselves for you if they see you

do a good deed. But if you tend to act unkindly towards

them, they will turn venomous towards you”. [2.4.10]

2-24

He who has fixed his gaze on seclusion (and made it his goal), after all it is

from the friend of God that he has learned that lesson.

1-1865

Since it does not last perceptibly, it lasts imperceptibly: recognize every

opposite by means of its opposite.

1-1870

The group of people who used to flatter you deceitfully, will call you a devil

when they see you.

1-1871

When they see you at their doors, they all will cry, “A dead man has risen from

his grave.”

1-1872

You will be like the beardless youth whom they address as “Lord” so that they

may make him infamous by this hypocrisy.

1-1873

As soon as he has grown a beard in infamy, the Devil is ashamed to search for

him.

1-1877

Once they clung to your skirt: when you became like this they all fled.

5-3201

I am not jealous that your pupils stand listening in your presence: in reality

they are mocking you, they are not lovers.

5-3202

See your true lovers behind the veil of Divine Bounty, crying aloud for you

continually.

5-3203

Be the lover of those unseen lovers: do not cherish819 the lovers who last no

longer than five days;

5-3204

For they have devoured you through a great deceit and attraction (exerted upon

you), and during many years you have never seen a grain of profit from them.

5-3206

When you enjoy good health all of them are your friends and comrades, but

when you suffer pain and sorrow, where is any familiar friend but God?

5-3207

When you have eye-ache or toothache, will anyone take your hand to help

except Him who comes at the cry of distress?

819 Literally “carve, hew into shape”; hence “make an idol of” (Nich.).

293

5-3208

Therefore always remember that sickness and pain: take a lesson from it, like

Ayāz820 from that sheepskin jacket.

3-1132

If you are not famous in the world, yet you are not inferior821: God knows His

servants best.

3-1133

A treasure of gold is hidden, for safety’s sake, in a desolate spot that is not

well-known.

3-1134

How should they deposit the treasure in a well-known place? Because of this it

is said822, “Joy is hidden beneath sorrow.”

When a sālik is rejected by people, it does not affect him,

secure in the knowledge that the Beloved loves him. [2.4.10]

5-1521

If you really understood the injustice shown towards you by the people in the

world, it is a hidden treasure of gold.

5-1522

The people are made to be so evil-natured towards you, in order that your face

may inevitably be turned to the Other World.

5-1523

Know this for sure that in the end all of them will become adversaries, enemies

and rebels.

5-1524

You will be left in the tomb, lamenting and beseeching the One, and crying,

“Do not leave me alone here! ”823

2-251

Most people are man-eaters: put no trust in their saying, “Peace be with you.”

3-3358

O man of the true Religion, you will not hear a single salām (blessing) that is

not intended to pluck your sleeve (and demand something of you).

3-3359

I have never heard a disinterested salām from high or low, o brother – and I

give the salām to you824.

820 There are a number of stories in the Mathnawī about the king Maḥmūd of Ghazna (971-1030 CE) and his

favourite slave, Ayāz. In these stories Ayāz symbolizes a Ṣūfī dervish Saint and the king symbolizes Almighty God. Ayāz was made the king’s vizier (or prime minister). In Islamic cultures, it was common for favourite slaves to be given positions of power and influence. “In the allegorical interpretation of this Story the King is God, Ayāz the Spiritually Perfect Man who intercedes for sinners on the Day of Judgment and the ‘ancient executioner’ the Angel of Divine punishment. ( malaku’l-‘adhab).” (Nich.).

821 I.e. you are none the worse for that (Nich.).

822 Literally, “it (the proverb) came” (Nich.).

823 Qur’ān 21:89.

824 I.e. peace be with you (Nich.).

294

The Fifth River [2.5]

Renouncing bad qualities and bad character

and striving for good and Divine qualities

The First Rivulet [2.5.1]

Good character and virtuous behaviour825.

2-810

In the world of search and seeking (trial and probation) I have not seen a merit

of greater value than a good disposition826.

2-816

Whoever has a good disposition is saved; whoever is of frail heart827 is broken.

2-1017

It is said in the Ḥadīth (Traditions of the Prophet): “Avoid the verdure that

grows on a dunghill828”.

2-1018

Know, then, that a fair and pleasing appearance with bad qualities within is not

worth a cent;

2-1019

And even though the appearance is despicable and unpleasing, yet when that

person’s disposition is good, die at his feet!

2-3459

When an evil disposition becomes strengthened by habit, you are angered by

anyone who hampers you.

2-3460

After you have become an eater of clay, anyone who prevents you from eating

clay is your enemy.

2-3467

When anyone contradicts your disposition (habit of mind), many feelings of

hatred against him arise in you.

2-3469

Unless the evil disposition has become strongly implanted, how should the fire-temple of passion blaze up by being opposed?

2-3470

He may show some feigned courtesy to the opponent, he may make a place for

himself in his heart829.

3-43

Know that the necessary condition for obtaining this sustenance is the

transformation of the sensual nature, for the death of evil men arises from their

evil nature.

3-44

When it has become natural to a human being to eat clay, he grows pale, ill—

complexioned, sickly and miserable;

825 Qur’ān 68:4 – “and indeed, you are of a great moral character”.

826 Ḥadīth: “A good character is a gift that God bestows on people”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 178.

827 Literally “glass-hearted”, i.e. weak and vicious (Nich.).

828 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 160. In Nicholson’s translation this is rendered as: “Know that glorification of God out of hypocrisy is like the verdure growing on a dunghill”.

829 I.e. he may seek to win his favour by flattering him (Nich.).

295

3-45

But when his ugly nature has been transformed, the ugliness leaves his face,

and he shines like a candle.

Story. [2.5.1]

6-1780

An ascetic830 asked an old priest, “Reverend Sir, is it you who is the oldest, or

your beard831?”

6-1781

He replied, “No; I was born before it: I have seen much of the world without a

beard.”

6-1782

The gnostic said, “Your beard has turned white, it has changed, but your evil

disposition has not become good.”

6-1783

Your beard was born after you and yet it has outdone you: you are so dry (vain

and useless) because of your passion for tharīd 832.

6-1784

You still have the same complexion with which you were born: you have not

taken one step forward.

6-1788

Like the people of Moses in the heat of the desert, you have remained forty

years in the same place, o foolish man.

6-1789

Daily you march rapidly until nightfall and find yourself still in the first stage

of your journey.

2-1226

The roots of bad habit firmly set, and the power to tear them up decreased.

Story. [2.5.1]

2-1227

As (for example) that harsh sweet talker833 planted a thornbush in the middle of

the road

2-1228

The wayfarers reproached him and repeatedly told him to dig it up: he did not

dig it up.

2-1229

At every moment the thornbush was growing bigger: the people’s feet were

streaming with834 blood from its pricks.

830 Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses the word ‘ ārifī (“a gnostic”). Yet, according to Ḥażrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣafī ‘Alī

Shāh II, who is an authority on interpreting the Mathnawī, in this passage ‘ārifī should be understood as “an ascetic”.

831 Ḥażrat Mawlāna Rūmī uses the word kashīsh (“priest”) to make it rhyme with rīsh (“beard”); no deeper meaning is implied.

832 Bread soaked in gravy (Nich.).

833 The implication is: “Someone who speaks in a nice, flattering and courteous way, but in fact says harsh and unfair things to others.” The juxtaposition of the opposites “harsh” and “sweet talker” is an example of the eloquent sarcasm that is sometimes found in Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s poetic use of the Persian language.

834 Literally; “full of” (Nich.).

296

2-1230

The people’s clothes were being rent by the thorns: the feet of the poor were

being wounded pitiably.

2-1231

When the Governor said to him with earnestness, “Dig this up,” he replied,

“Yes, I will dig it up some day.”

2-1232

For a long while he promised to dig it up tomorrow and tomorrow: meanwhile

his thornbush became robust.

2-1235

You who say “Tomorrow,” be aware of this, that with every day that time is

coming and going,

2-1236

That evil tree is growing younger, while this digger is growing old and is

becoming a great deal poorer.

2-1237

The thornbush is growing stronger and higher; its digger is aging and wasting

away.

2-1238

Every day and every moment the thornbush is green and fresh; every day its

digger is more sickly and withered.

2-1239

It is growing younger, you older: be quick and do not waste your time!

2-1240

Know that every single bad habit of yours is a thornbush: many times, after all,

have its thorns pierced your foot.

2-1241

Many times you have been wounded by your own evil habits – you have no

sense, you are very senseless.

2-1244

Either take up the axe and strike like a man – like ‘Alī, destroy this gate of

Khaybar835 –

2-1245

Or unite these thorns with the rosebush: unite the light of the Friend (God) with

the sensual fire,

2-1246

In order that His light may extinguish your fire, and that union with Him may

turn your thorns into roses.

The Second Rivulet [2.5.2]

Sincerity (ṣidq).

6-4276

The heart is comforted by true words, just like a thirsty man is comforted by

water –

2-3239

Sharp-sightedness becomes the means of awakening (stimulating) every sense,

so that perception of the spiritual becomes familiar to all the senses.

2-2730

“Nothing but the truth will save you: justice is calling you to speak the truth.

835 A reference to Ḥażrat ‘Alī’s famous victory over the rebellious fortress of Khaybar in Arabia in 629 CE.

297

2-2735

The troubled heart is not comforted by lying words: water and oil kindle no

light.

2-2736

Only in truthful speech is there comfort for the heart: truths are the bait that

entraps the heart836.

2-2737

Sick? Surely, and ill-savoured837 is the heart that cannot distinguish the taste of

this and that.

2-2738

When the heart becomes whole (is healed) of pain and disease, it will recognize

the flavour of falsehood and truth.

4-3030

Your true substance is concealed in falsehood, like the taste of butter in the

taste of buttermilk.

4-3032

During many years this buttermilk, which is the body, is visible and manifest,

while the butter, which is the soul, is perishing and is annihilated within it.

6-4713

And the colour of doubt and the colour of ingratitude and hypocrisy will endure

forever in the disobedient and rebellious soul838.

6-4712

The colour of sincerity and the colour of piety and intuitive faith will endure in

the devout worshippers for evermore.

Story. [2.5.2]

3-732

A person, who was held in low esteem because of his poverty, used to grease

his moustache every morning

3-733

And go among the rich, saying, “I have eaten some well-greased food at the

dinner party.”

3-734

He would merrily put his hand on his moustache as a sign, meaning, “Look at

my moustache!

3-735

For this is the witness to the truth of my words, and this is the token of my

eating greasy and delicious food.”

3-736

His belly would say in soundless (mute) response, “May God destroy the plots

of the liars!

3-737

Your boasting has set me on fire: may that greasy moustache of yours be torn

out!

3-738

Were it not for your foul boasting, o beggar, some generous man would have

taken839 pity on me.

836 Literally “the grain of the snare of the heart” (Nich.).

837 Literally “ill-mouthed” (Nich.).

838 Literally “rebellious soul”.

298

3-740

God has said, “Do not move ear or tail crookedly840: their truthfulness will

benefit the truthful 841”.

3-742

Or if you do not tell your fault, at least refrain from idle talk: do not kill

yourself by ostentation and trickery.

3-752

Bring forward (practise) honesty, or else be silent, and then see pity and enjoy

it.

3-748

Because of his pretension, the boastful hypocrite desires to be (reputed) rich,

but his belly loathes his moustache.

3-749

Crying, “Show that which he is hiding! He has consumed me with anguish: o

God, expose him!”

3-753

His belly became the adversary of his moustache and secretly resorted to842

prayer.

3-755

The belly’s prayer was answered: the fieriness of need put out a flag843.

3-758

When the belly committed itself to God, the cat came and carried off the skin

of that sheep’s tail.

3-759

They ran after the cat, but it fled. The child of the boaster, for fear of being

scolded, changed844 colour (turned pale).

3-760

The little child came into the midst of the company and took away the prestige

of the boastful man.

3-761

It said, “The sheep’s tail with which you greased your lips and moustaches

every morning –

3-762

The cat came and suddenly snatched it away: I ran hard, but the effort was

useless.”

3-763

Those who were present laughed from astonishment and their feelings of pity

were stirred up again.

3-764

They invited him to eat and kept him full-fed, they sowed the seed of pity in his

soil.

3-765

When he had tasted honesty from the noble, he became devoted to honesty

without arrogance (humbly).

839 Literally “would have let fall” (Nich.).

840 Meaning “Do not act untruthfully”.

841 Qur’ān 5:119.

842 Literally “took hold of” (Nich.).

843 I.e. the fervour of the prayer produced a manifest effect (Nich.).

844 Literally “shed” (Nich.).

299

Sincerity stems from renouncing desire. [2.5.2]

2-2742

The people are drunk with greed and desire: that is why they accept your

deceit.

2-2743

Whoever has rid his nature of vain desire has in doing so made his spiritual eye

familiar with the secret.

Story. [2.5.2]

2-2744

They installed a qāżī845, and meanwhile he wept. The deputy said, ‘O qāżī,

what are you weeping for?

2-2745

This is not the time for you to weep and lament: it is the time for you to rejoice

and receive felicitations.’

2-2746

‘Ah,’ he said, ‘how shall a man without insight pronounce judgement – an

ignorant man decide between two who know?

2-2747

Those two adversaries are acquainted with their own case: what should the

poor qāżī know of those two entanglements?

2-2748

He is ignorant and unaware of their real state: how should he proceed to give

judgement concerning their lives and property?’

2-2749

The deputy said, ‘The defendants know the truth of their case and nevertheless

they are unsound (prejudiced); you do not know the facts, but you are the

guiding light846 of the whole religious community.

2-2750

Because you have no prejudice to interfere with your discernment, and that

freedom from prejudice is light to the eyes;

2-2751

While those two who know are blinded by their self-interest; prejudice has put

their knowledge in the grave.

2-2752

Uprightness makes ignorance wise; prejudice makes knowledge perverse and

unjust.

1-334

When self-interest appears, virtue becomes hidden: a hundred veils rise from

the heart to the eye.

1-335

When the qāżī lets bribery take hold of his heart, how should he know the

wrongdoer from the wretched wronged ones?

2-2753

As long as you accept no bribe, you are seeing; when you act greedily, you are

blind and enslaved.

845 Judge in Muslim communities (Arabic qāḍī, Persian qāżī).

846 Literally “candle”.

300

2-2754

I have turned my nature away from vain desire: I have not eaten delicious

morsels.

2-2755

My heart, which tastes and distinguishes, has become bright like a clear mirror:

it really knows truth from falsehood.

Meeting one’s commitments is the sign of sincerity847. [2.5.2]

“O you who believe, fulfill all your contracts (obligations)848!”

5-1004

He who poured a drop of water on the earth of faithfulness, how should the

prey, fortune, be able to flee from him?

5-1165

Since Love is loyal, it purchases (desires) him who is loyal: it does not look at

a disloyal friend.

5-1166

Man resembles a tree, and the root is the covenant with God: the root must be

cherished with all one’s might.

5-1167

A corrupt (infirm) covenant is a rotten root and is cut off (deprived) of food

and grace.

5-1168

Although the branches and leaves of the date-palm are green, greenness is no

benefit if the root is corrupted;

5-1169

And if it the branch has no green leaves, while it has a good root, in the end a

hundred leaves will stretch out their hands.

5-1181

When you have acted loyally in keeping your covenant with God, God will

graciously keep His covenant with you.

5-1182

You have shut your eyes to keeping faith with God, you have not listened to

the words Remember Me, I will remember you 849.

5-1183

Give ear, listen to the words Keep My covenant, in order that the words I will

keep your covenant 850 may come from the Friend.

5-1192

The company of the loyal is given superiority over all other sorts of men.

5-1193

Seas and mountains are made subjects to them; the four elements are also their

slaves.

5-1194

This (miraculous power) is only a favour (conferred on them) for a sign, so that

the disbelievers may see it plainly.

847 Qur’ān 33:7-8 and 5:1.

848 Qur’ān 5:1.

849 Qur’ān 2:152.

850 Qur’ān 2:40.

301

5-1195

Those hidden graces of theirs, which are not perceived by the senses and which

are beyond description –

5-1196

Those are the real matter: those endure forever, they are neither cut off nor

reclaimed.

5-1173

I you dislike being jealous like Iblīs, come away from the door of pretension

and go to the portal of loyalty.

5-1174

If you have no loyalty, at least do not talk presumptuously, for words are for

the most part self-assertion – “we” and “I”.

2-2842

Do not, indeed, go (incline) towards the courtesy of the faithless, for it is a

ruined bridge: take heed of my warning.

2-2132

Do not believe him, even if he takes an oath: the man whose speech is false

will break his oath.

2-2133

Since, without the oath, his word was a lie, do not be ensnared851 by his deceit

and oath.

2-2134

His fleshly soul is in command, and his intellect is captive; even supposing that

he has sworn on a hundred thousand Qur’āns,

2-2135

Yet, since without taking an oath he will break his pact – if he takes an oath, he

will break that too;

2-2136

Because the fleshly soul becomes all the more infuriated by your binding it

with a heavy oath.

2-2139

Wash your hands (give up hope) of his obeying the Divine command, “Fulfil

your obligations”852; do not say to him, “Keep your oaths”853.

2-2873

Since the wicked man does not keep faith in matters of religion, he will break

his oath at any time.

2-2874

The righteous have no need of taking oath, because they have two clear

(discerning) eyes.

2-2875

Breach of pacts and covenants is the result of stupidity; keeping of oaths and

faithfulness to one’s word is the practice of him who is devoted to854 God.

851 Literally “do not fall into buttermilk” (Nich.).

852 Qur’ān 5:1.

853 Qur’ān 5:89.

854 In the Persian text the word taqī is used, i.e. someone who practises taqwā. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

302

The Third Rivulet [2.5.3]

Generosity (jūd).

“And they give them preference over themselves, even though poverty became their lot855.”

2-895

The Prophet said, “Whoever knows for sure his recompense on the day of

Resurrection –

2-896

That this reward will be multiplied tenfold – at every moment a different act of

generosity will issue from Him856.”

2-897

All generosity arises from seeing compensations; therefore seeing the

compensation is opposed to fearing (and shrinking from the act of generosity).

2-898

Miserliness consists in not seeing compensations: the prospect of pearls keeps

the diver glad.

2-900

Generosity, then, comes from the eye, not from the hand: it is seeing that

matters; none but the seer is saved.

2-894

On the river-bank, only he who is blind to the stream of water is stingy with it.

2-1273

This generosity is a branch of the cypress of Paradise: woe to him who lets

such a branch go from his hand!

2-1272

Generosity is the abandonment of lusts and pleasures; no one who is sunken in

lust rises up again.

2-1274

This abandonment of sensuality is the firmest handle 857: this branch draws the

spirit up to Heaven.

2-1275

So act in such a way that the branch of generosity, o righteous man858, drawing

you up, may carry you to its origin.

6-3572

So that Muṣṭafā (Muḥammad), the King of prosperity, has said, “O possessors

of wealth, it pays to be generous859.”

6-3573

Riches were never diminished by almsgiving: in reality, acts of charity are an

excellent means of attaching wealth to one’s self.

4-1201

The beneficent died, but their acts of beneficence remained: oh, blessed is he

who rode this steed860!

4-1203

The Prophet said, “Blessed is he who departed from this world and left good

deeds behind him.”

855 Qur’ān 59:9.

856 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 180.

857 Qur’ān 2:256.

858 Literally “o man of good religion” (Nich.).

859 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 582.

860 I.e. practised beneficence (Nich.).

303

4-1204

The beneficent man died, but his beneficence did not die: to God, religion

(piety) and beneficence are not of little value.

3-863

The invitation of the deceiver enticed them. O righteous man, beware of the

deceit of the Devil!

1-2223

The Prophet said, “For admonishment’s sake two angels are always

proclaiming merrily,861

1-2224

Saying, ‘O God, keep the squanderers fully satisfied, give hundred thousand—

fold recompense for every dirham that they spend.

1-2225

O God, do not give the niggards in this world anything but loss upon loss!’

Being generous without expecting a reward. [2.5.3]

1-2236

If you give bread for God’s sake, you will be given bread in return; if you give

your life for God’s sake, you will be given life in return.

1-2226

Oh, there are many acts of niggardliness that are better than wastefulness: do

not give what belongs to God except by the command of God,

1-2227

That you may gain infinite treasure in return, and that you may not be

numbered among the infidels.

5-192

He is a fowler if he scatters grain not out of mercy and generosity but in order

to catch (the birds).

3-864

Listen to the cry of the poor862 and needy, so that your ear does not receive

(with approval) the cry of a cunning rogue.

3-865

Even if the beggars (dervishes) are covetous and depraved, yet seek the man of

heart (the spiritual man) amongst the gluttons.

3-866

At the bottom of the sea there are pearls mingled with pebbles: glories are to be

found amidst shames.

Story. [2.5.3]

1-3707

A fire broke out in the time of ‘Umar863: it was devouring stones as though they

were dry wood.

1-3709

Half the city caught fire from the flames: water was afraid of it (the fire) and

was amazed.

861 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 99.

862 In the Persian text the word darwīshān, which is synonymous with faqīr (plural fuqarā’) i.e. “those who are poor before God and in need of His mercy”.

863 Ḥażrat ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (ca. 581-644 CE), the second caliph or successor to Ḥażrat Muḥammad in Sunnī

Islām.

304

1-3710

Some intelligent persons were throwing water-skins and vinegar on the fire,

1-3711

But out of spite (obstinacy) the fire was increasing: help was coming to it from

One who is infinite864.

1-3712

The people came to ‘Umar in haste, saying, “Our fire will not be quenched at

all by water.”

1-3713

He said, “That fire is one of God’s signs: it is a flame from the fire of your

wickedness.

1-3714

Abandon water and deal out bread (in charity), abandon avarice if you are my

people (followers).”

1-3715

The people said to him, “We have opened our doors, we have been bountiful

and devoted to generosity.”

1-3716

He replied, “You have given bread because of rule and out of habit, you have

not opened your hands for the sake of God –

1-3717

Only for glory, for ostentation and for pride, not because of fear, piety865 and

supplication.”

1-3720

Everyone shows favour to his own people: the fool (who shows favour to the

foolish) thinks he has really done good and religious work.

1-2235

It is fitting for the generous man to give money in this way, but verily, the

generosity of the lover is the surrender of his soul (life).

The Fourth Rivulet [2.5.4]

Gratitude (shukr).

3-2677

The Prophets said, “In your hearts is an illness which produces a canker that

leads you away from true understanding,

3-2678

And which turns the benefit entirely into disease: how should food become a

source of strength in the sick?

3-2684

You must remove that illness swiftly, for with that illness sugar will seem filth.

3-2896

Showing gratitude is the soul of the bounty, and the bounty is like the husk,

because showing gratitude brings you to the abode of the Beloved.

864 Or “from (the realm of) infinity.” (Nich.).

865 “Piety”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

305

3-2897

Bounty produces heedlessness, and gratitude alertness: hunt after bounty with

the snare of gratitude to the King.

5-2315

If the tip of every hair of mine should gain a tongue (power to speak), yet the

thanks due to You are inexpressible.

1-1525

Giving thanks to God is a collar on every neck (everyone’s duty); it is not

giving thanks to dispute and make one’s face look sour.

1-1526

If giving thanks is only to look sour, then there is no giving thanks like vinegar.

3-2895

Giving thanks for the bounty is sweeter than the bounty itself: how should he

who is addicted to giving thanks go towards (direct his attention to) the

bounty866?

3-2899

You will eat your fill of the food and dessert of God, so that hunger and

begging will leave you.

Being thankful in all circumstances, in both sorrow and joy. [2.5.4]

3-2870

Many times you have fallen into the snare of greed and given up your throat to

be cut;

3-2871

Again He who graciously inclines hearts to repentance has set you free, has

accepted your repentance and made you glad.

3-2882

In giving thanks for the bounty shown in setting you free, it is fitting for you to

commemorate the bounty of God.

3-2883

How often in sorrows and in tribulation have you cried, “O God, deliver me

from the snare,

3-2884

That I may serve You in a similar way, practise beneficence and throw dust in

the eyes of the Devil!”

Allegory. [2.5.4]

3-2885

In winter the bones of the dog are drawn together: the blows of the frost make

him so small

3-2886

That he says, “Having such a little body, I must build a house of stone.

3-2887

When summer comes, I will build a house of stone against the cold with my

paws.”

3-2888

But when summer comes, his bones expand from the relief (which he feels),

and his skin grows sleek,

866 I.e. he turns towards the Benefactor instead of occupying himself with the benefit (Nich.).

306

3-2889

And, when he sees himself thick-bodied, he says, “In what house should I find

room, o noble sir?”

3-2892

At the time of pain the bones of your greed shrink together and diminish in

size,

3-2893

And you say penitently, “I will build a house: it will be a resting-place (refuge)

for me in winter”;

3-2894

But when the pain is gone and your greed has grown thick-bodied, the desire

for the house leaves you, just as in the case of the dog.

Being thankful to God as well as to people. [2.5.4]

Ḥadīth:

“He who is not thankful to people will not be able to be thankful to God867”.

6-3252

He said, “When a servant of God gains the Divine favour so that he shows

hospitality to a fortunate man,

6-3253

Gives up his own wealth for his sake and sacrifices his own dignity for the sake

of conferring dignity on him,

6-3254

Gratitude to the benefactor is certainly the same as gratitude to God, since it

was the Divine favour that caused him to show beneficence868.

6-3256

Always give thanks to God for His bounties, and always give thanks and praise

to the Khāwja869 (your benefactor) too.

6-3257

Even though a mother’s tenderness is derived from God, yet it is a sacred duty

and a worthy task to serve her.

6-3258

For this reason God has said, “Bless him (the Prophet) 870 , ” for Muḥammad was

one to whom the attributes of Divine Providence were given.

1-443

Give thanks to God and be a servant to those who give thanks: be in their

presence as one who is dead, be steadfast.

3-2671

From the viewpoint of reason it is necessary to give thanks to the Benefactor;

otherwise the door of everlasting wrath will be opened.

5-997

The excellence and knowledge disappear from the ungrateful man, so that he

does not see a trace of them ever again.

5-1000

Except the thankful and faithful who are attended by fortune871.

867 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 576.

868 Literally “associated him with beneficence” (Nich.).

869 Khwāja (< Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

870 Qur’ān 33:56.

871 Literally “behind whom is fortune” (Nich.).

307

5-1001

How should the past fortune bestow strength on its possessors? It is the future

fortune that bestows a special virtue.

2-3288

At every moment, in the rose-garden of giving thanks to God, it will produce a

hundred sweet songs, like the nightingale.

The ungrateful. [2.5.4]

1-946

Because ingratitude is wickedness and disgrace and brings the ingrate to the

bottom of Hellfire.

3-286

But those bad-natured ones gave no thanks for that bounty: in fidelity they

were less than dogs.

3-287

When a piece of bread comes to a dog from the door, he will gird up his loins

at the door.

3-288

He will become the watcher and guardian of the door, even though he has to

endure violence and hard treatment.

3-310

Your ingratitude and forgetfulness did not call to mind your former drinking of

honey.

3-314

Pace around that same door: do not be less than a dog, if you have become

associated as a fellow-servant with the dog of the Cave872.

3-290

And again, if a strange dog comes by day or night to a quarter of the town, the

dogs there will teach him a lesson at once.

3-291

Saying, “Get back to the place that is your first lodging: obligation for that

kindness is the heart’s pledge (which it must redeem).”

3-292

They will bite him, saying, “Get back to your place, do not leave the obligation

for that kindness unpaid anymore.”

3-316

Hold fast to the first door where you ate bones, and fulfil your obligation: do

not leave that debt unpaid.”

3-318

They bite him, saying, “O disobedient dog, go away! Do not become an enemy

to your benefactor.”

3-315

Because even dogs admonish dogs, saying, “Fix your heart on your first home.

3-319

Be attached, like the door-ring, to that same door; keep watch, be nimble and

ready to spring.

872 The story of “The Companions of the Cave” is told in the Qur’ān in the 18thSūra ( Sūratu’l-Kahf, “Sūra of the Cave”), verses 9-27. The dog of the Companions of the Cave occurs in verse 18.

308

3-320

Do not be the image of our breaking faith, do not recklessly make our

disloyalty notorious.

3-321

Since fidelity is the sign by which the dogs are known, go away and do not

bring disgrace and infamy on the dogs.”

3-322

Since unfaithfulness has always been a disgrace even to dogs, how should you

consider it right to show unfaithfulness?

The Fifth Rivulet [2.5.5]

Contentment (riḍā).

True sāliks and gnostics are content

with whatever happens to them.

3-1879

Those Saints who perform invocation873 are in reality different from these

travellers: sometimes they sew and sometimes they tear.

3-1880

I know another class of Saints whose mouths are closed to invocation874.

3-1881

Because of the contentment (quietism) that is subservient to (possessed by)

those noble ones, it has become unlawful for them to seek to avert Destiny.

3-1882

In submitting to Destiny they experience a peculiar delight: it would be an act

of infidelity for them to crave release.

Story. [2.5.5]

3-1884

Buhlūl875 said to a certain dervish, “How are you, o dervish? Tell me.”

3-1885

He said, “How should that one be, according to whose desire the work of the

world goes on? –

3-1886

According to whose desire the torrents and rivers flow, and the stars move in

such way as He wants;

3-1888

He sends condolence wherever He wants; He bestows congratulation wherever

He wants.

3-1889

The travellers on the Way go according to His pleasure; they who have lost the

Way have fallen into His snare.

3-1891

Buhlūl said, “O King, you have spoken the truth: it is like this: this is manifest

in your spiritual radiance and glorious appearance.

873 Arabic du‘ā:’ “invocation”, “supplication”.

874 Ḥadīth: “Those who acquire Divine Knowledge keep silent” (close their mouths, i.e. they do not divulge

Divine Mysteries). Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 489.

875 “Buhlūl (or Bahlūl) the Madman” ( Buhlūl-e Majnūn or Bahlūl-e Majnūn): a wise mystic who feigned madness. He is supposed to have lived in the 9th century CE. The name Buhlūl or Bahlūl means “fool” or “clown”.

309

3-1892

You are this and a hundred times as much, o truthful one; but explain this

mystery and explain it very well.

3-1894

Explain it in your words in such a way that the understanding of the common

people may profit from it.”

3-1898

The dervish said, “This at least is evident to the common people, that the world

is subject to the command of God.

3-1899

No leaf drops from a tree without the predestination and ordainment of the

Ruler of Fortune.

3-1901

The inclination and desire which is Man’s bridle – its movement is subject to

the command of the Self-Sufficient One.

3-1905

Hear this much, however: since all action in the universe only comes to pass by

the command of the Maker,

3-1906

When the predestination of God becomes the pleasure of His servant, the

servant becomes a willing slave to His decree.

3-1909

Wherever the Eternal Command takes its course, living and dying are one to

him.

3-1910

He lives for God’s sake, not for riches; he dies for God’s sake, not from fear

and pain.

3-1911

His faith is held for the sake of doing His will, not for the sake of Paradise and

its trees and streams.

3-1912

His abandonment of infidelity is also for God’s sake, not for fear of going into

the Fire.

3-1914

He laughs at the moment when he sees the Divine pleasure: to him Destiny is

even as sugared sweetmeat.”

3-1915

The servant of God whose disposition and character are like this – does not the

world move according to his command and decree?

3-1916

Then why should he implore and cry in prayer, “O God, avert this destiny”?

3-1919

Why, then, should he invoke God, unless perhaps he sees the pleasure of the

Divine Judge in such invocation?

5-1172

Whenever a man’s temperament and constitution are feeble, he does not wish

anyone to be sound of body.

4-2679

Because every miserable wretch whose harvest has been burnt does not want

that anyone else’s candle should be lighted.

310

Envy and its dangerous consequences. [2.5.5]

1-435

When you practise deceit and envy against one who is without envy, black

stains arise in your heart from that envy.

1-429

And if on the way envy seizes you by the throat, it belongs to (is characteristic

of) Iblīs to go beyond bounds in envy.

1-431

In the Way there is no harder passage than this. Oh, fortunate he who does not

have envy as travel companion!

2-804

You are envious, saying, “I am inferior to so-and-so: he (by his superior

position) is increasing my inferiority in fortune.

2-805

But indeed envy is another defect and fault; no, it is worse than all inferiorities.

2-806

That Devil (Satan), through the shame and disgrace of inferiority to Adam, cast

himself into a hundred damnations876.

2-807

Because of envy, he wished to be at the top. At the top, indeed! No, he wished

to be a blood-shedder.

2-808

Abū Jahl877 was put to shame by Muḥammad, and because of envy raised

himself to the top.

2-809

His name was Abū’l-Ḥakam, and he became Abū Jahl: oh many worthy ones

have become unworthy because of envy.

2-1405

Josephs are hidden because of the jealousy of the ugly, for because of enemies

the beautiful live in the fire of tribulation.

2-1406

Josephs are in the pit through the deceit of their brothers, who give Joseph to

the wolves out of envy.

2-1407

What happened to Joseph of Egypt because of envy? This envy is a big wolf in

disguise.

2-1408

Inevitably, kind Jacob always had fear and dread for Joseph because of this

wolf.

2-1409

The outward (visible) wolf, indeed, did not prowl about (approach) Joseph; but

this envy has actually surpassed wolves (in malice).

876 Literally “deprivation (of spiritual blessings)” (Nich.).

877 Abū Jahl: ‘Amr ibn Hishām, an uncle of the Prophet, was a Meccan leader who ferociously opposed Islām.

He disliked Ḥażrat Muḥammad and publicly humiliated him. He had once been known as Abū’l-Ḥakam –

“Father of Wisdom”, but because of his hostility towards Ḥażrat Muḥammad, he became known as Abū Jahl –

“Father of Ignorance”.

311

2-1412

Because on the Day of Gathering the envious will without doubt be raised from

the dead and brought together to Judgement in the shape of wolves.

5-1201

How do the common folk burn with envy for the fleeting happiness of riches

and pleasures of the body!

5-1202

See the kings, how they lead armies to battle and slay their own kinsmen

because of envy.

5-1210

If the Law had not cast a gracious spell on them, everyone would have torn the

body of his rival to pieces.

5-1216

If, then, there is all this jealousy, disagreement and injustice with regard to this

foul faithless carcass878.

5-1217

How, then, must it be when genies879 and men become envious with regard to

that fortune and felicity (hereafter)?

5-1218

Truly those devils are envious of old: never for a moment do they cease from880

waylaying;

5-1219

And the sons of Adam who have sown the seed of disobedience – they too have

become devils out of enviousness.

5-1180

Whoever disobeys God becomes a devil, for he becomes envious of the fortune

of the righteous.

5-1224

And if anyone has saved his soul and become eminent in religion, those two

jealous parties keep lamenting.

5-1225

Both gnash their teeth in envy at anyone to whom the spiritual Teacher has

given wisdom.

5-1171

When you see that the loyal have profited, you become envious because of it,

like a devil.

4-2680

Listen, acquire some degree of perfection, in order that you too may not be

afflicted by the perfection of others.

1-436

Become (like) dust under the feet of the men of God; throw dust on the head of

envy, like we do.

1-432

This body, you must know, is the house of envy, for the household is tainted

with envy.

878 I.e. the World (Nich.).

879 In Islām and pre-Islamic folklore, Jinn (singular: jinnī) are supernatural creatures, who possess free will and can be good or evil in nature. Iblīs (Satan) was the chief of the Jinn; when God ordered him to bow down before Adam, he refused and fell from grace.

880 Literally “are they devoid of” (Nich.).

312

1-434

The text Purify My house, you two 881, is the explanation of such purity: the

purified heart is a treasure of Divine light, even though its talisman is of earth.

4-2681

Beg of God the removal of this envy, that God may free you from the body,

4-2682

And give you an inward occupation, from which you will not become separated

(so as to turn your attention) outwards.

The Sixth Rivulet [2.5.6]

Contentment (qanā‘a) and avarice (ḥirṣ).

Ḥadīth:

Saying: “The contented person receives honour and

glory, the covetous person’s life is full of difficulties”.

Ḥadīth: “Contentment is an unfailing treasure”882.

1-2321

The Prophet said, “What is contentment? A treasure.” You cannot distinguish

the gain from the pain.

1-2322

This contentment is the soul’s treasure: do not boast of possessing it, o you

who are grief and pain to my soul.

5-2395

Since the Prophet has said that contentment is a treasure, how should the

hidden treasure be gained by everyone?

1-2320

When have you illumined your soul by contentment? Of contentment you have

learned only the name.

1-19

O son, break your chains and be free! How long will you be a slave to883 silver

and gold?

1-20

If you pour the sea into a pitcher, how much will it contain? One day’s portion.

1-21

The pitcher, the eye of the covetous, never becomes full: the oyster-shell is not

filled with pearls until it is contented.

1-140

Ask your wish, but ask with moderation: a blade of straw will not support the

mountain.

1-141

If the Sun, which illumines this world, should come a little nearer, all will be

burned.

1-2374

Have patience with poverty and abandon this disgust, because in poverty there

is the light of the Lord of Majesty884.

881 Qur’ān 2:125; “you two” refers to Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and his son Ismā‘īl (Ishmael).

882 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p.104.

883 Literally “in the bonds of” (Nich.).

884 Dhū’l-Jalāl, which literally means “the Possessor of Majesty”.

313

1-2375

Do not look sour885, and you will see thousands of souls plunged, through

contentment, in an ocean of honey.

1-2302

Whoever lives sweetly (without Love) dies bitterly (painfully): whoever serves

his body does not save his soul.

1-2303

Sheep are driven from the plains (to the town): the fatter they are, the quicker

they are killed.

1-2390

If I filled the world with hidden pearls of wisdom, what good would it do to

me, since they are not your portion (since you are unfit to receive them)?

2-454

Do not burden your heart with thoughts of livelihood; livelihood will not fail:

be constant in attending the Divine Court.

5-1409

The wise man gets happiness from the present life, not sorrow, while the

ignorant are left in disappointment and regret.

5-1410

When the trap-cord of sensuality falls on their throats, it becomes unlawful

(forbidden) to them all to eat the grain.

5-1413

Again, the knowing and prudent birds have shut themselves out886 from the

grain;

5-1414

For the grain in the trap is poisonous food: blind is the bird that desires the

grain in the trap.

5-1412

Only the heedless bird will eat grain from the trap, as these common folk do in

the trap of the present world.

5-1407

Eat less of the grain, do not patch the body so much with food: after having

recited eat, recite also do not be excessive 887,

5-1408

So that you may eat the grain and yet not fall into the trap. Knowledge and

contentment have this effect. And now farewell888.

Disappointment results from greed. [2.5.6]

5-1468

Greed has blinded you and will deprive you of blessedness: the Devil will

make you accursed like himself.

3-595

O son, every greedy person is deprived of spiritual blessings: do not run like

the greedy, walk more slowly.

885 Literally “do not sell vinegar” (Nich.).

886 Literally “have made for themselves a dry bandage” (Nich.).

887 Qur’ān 7:31.

888 In the original text the expression wa’s-salām is used, which may also mean “and let it be done with that”,

“and let that be the end of the matter”.

314

5-2398

No one was ever deprived of spiritual life by contentment; no one was ever

made a spiritual king by covetousness.

5-2823

Greed makes one blind, foolish and ignorant: to fools it makes death seem

easy.

2-1547

Failing because of covetousness is to see the end; it is to laugh at your own

heart and intellect.

5-2821

At any rate I shall be delivered from this torment of hunger: if this is life, I am

better off dead.

4-249

Your greed is like fire in the material world: its every flaming tongue has

opened a hundred mouths (to swallow filthy profits).

3-2629

The blind man is Greed: he sees other people’s faults, hair by hair, and tells

them from street to street,

3-2630

But his blind eyes do not perceive one mote of his own faults, even though he

is a fault-finder.

3-512

O blind asses, in this direction there are snares; in this direction there are

bloodsheds hidden in ambush.

2-584

The man dazed by greed may hear a hundred stories, but not a single point

comes into the ear of greed.

1-333

Anger and lust make a man squint-eyed, they change the spirit (so that it

leaves) from uprightness.

5-764

Snap this cord, which is greed and envy: remember the words on her neck a

cord of palm-fibres. ”889

Covetousness as a veil before the heart’s inner eye. [2.5.6]

2-569

If you wish eye, understanding and hearing to be pure, tear the veils of selfish

desire to pieces.

2-579

Whoever has such desire becomes a stammerer (morally confused); if desire is

present, how should the spiritual eye and the heart become bright?

2-580

The imagination of power and wealth before his eye is just as a hair in the eye,

2-581

Except, of course, in the case of the intoxicated Saint who is filled with God:

even if you give him treasures (vast riches), he is free;

2-582

For when anyone enjoys vision of God, this world becomes carrion in his eyes.

889 Qur’ān 111:5.

315

2-572

If desire were to appear in the mirror, that mirror would be like us with regard

to hypocrisy.

2-573

If the balance had desire for riches, how would the balance give a true

description of the case?

3-1693

Oh, how many birds flying in search of grain had their gullets cut by their own

gullet (greediness)!

3-1694

Oh, how many birds that, through their belly (appetite) and pangs of hunger,

were made captive in a cage!

3-1695

Oh, how many fish that, because of their gullet’s greed, were cut by a hook in

water hard to reach!

3-1697

Oh, how many learned and honest judges who were disgraced890 by greed and

bribery!

3-1696

Oh, how many chaste women and men hidden behind a curtain were brought to

open shame by the misfortune of lust and gluttony!

Story:

Covetous people forfeit the grace of the Saints891. [2.5.6]

3-421

Hear how many admonitions, hot and cold (kindly and severe), God addressed

to the Companions of the Prophet,

3-422

Because, in a year of distress (famine), at the sound of the drum892 they quitted

the Friday congregation without tarrying, thus rendering it void,

3-423

“For fear” so they said “others should buy cheap and get the advantage over us

with regard to the imported goods.”

3-424

The Prophet was left alone in prayer with two or three poor men firm in their

faith and full of supplication.

3-425

God said, “How did the drum, the pastime and a trading affair separate you

from a man of God?

3-427

Because of the wheat, you have sowed the seed of vanity and abandoned the

Messenger of God.

3-428

Companionship with him is better than pastime and riches: look and see whom

you have abandoned, rub an eye!

890 Literally “made pallid” (Nich.).

891 Qur’ān 62:11.

892 Announcing the approach of a caravan with merchandise (Nich.).

316

3-429

Verily, did this not become certain to your greed, that I am the Provider and the

Best of Providers?”893

3-431

For the sake of wheat you have become separated from Him who has sent the

wheat from Heaven.

3-419

Whatever would set you apart from the Friend, do not listen to it, for it holds

loss, loss.

3-420

Even if the gain is a hundred hundredfold, do not accept it: do not, for the sake

of the gold, break with the Treasurer, o dervish!

3-3731

If there were no night, because of covetousness all people would consume

themselves by the agitation (of pursuit).

3-3733

Night appears, like a treasure of mercy, that they may be delivered from their

greed for a short while.

4-1116

The people of the world are like demons, and desire is the chain dragging them

to shop and crops.

4-1118

It drags them to earning and hunting; it drags them to the mine and the seas.

4-1119

It drags them to good and evil: God has said, “On her neck a cord of palm-

fibre 894.

5-47

That gullet of hers is never idle for a moment: it listens to nothing but the

Divine ordinance except the command “Eat! ”895

5-48

It is like the looter who digs up (ravages) the house and very quickly fills his

bag.

5-52

He does not have such confidence in his Sovereign as to believe that no enemy

will be able to come forward against him.

5-53

But the true believer, from his confidence in the Divine Life896, conducts his

raid897 with ease and leisure.

5-54

He has no fear of missing his chance, nor fear of the enemy, for he recognizes

the King’s dominion over the enemy.

5-57

Consequently he does not hurry and is calm: he has no fear of missing his

appointed portion.

893 Qur’ān 34:39.

894 Qur’ān 111:5.

895 Qur’ān 7:31.

896 I.e. the living in God (Nich.).

897 I.e. takes his allotted portion of worldly goods (Nich.).

317

Allegory. [2.5.6]

6-806

The ant trembles for a grain of wheat because it is blind to the delightful

threshing-floors.

6-807

It drags a grain along greedily and fearfully, for it does not see such a noble

stack of winnowed wheat as is there.

6-808

The owner of the threshing-floor says to the ant, “Hey, you who in your

blindness consider nothing something,

6-809

Have you considered that alone as belonging to My threshing-floors, so that

you are devoted898 with all your soul to that single grain?”

6-810

O you who in appearance are insignificant as a mote, look at Saturn; you are a

lame ant: go, look at Solomon.

Cupidity among the elderly. [2.5.6]

6-1228

May even deniers of the Truth899 have no such greed in their old age! Oh, how

miserable is he to whom God has given this greed!

6-1229

A dog’s teeth fall out when it grows old: it leaves people alone and takes to

eating dung;

6-1230

But look at these sixty years old dogs! Their dog-teeth get sharper at every

moment.

6-1231

The hairs fall from the fur of an old dog: but see these old human dogs dressed

in satin!

1-2305

You were young once, and then you were more contented: now you have

become a seeker of gold, but at first you were gold indeed (precious and

perfect).

1-2306

You were a fruitful vine: how have you become unsaleable (worthless)? How

have you become rotten when your fruit is ripening?

1-2307

Your fruit ought to become sweeter and not move further backwards like rope—

makers900.

898 Literally “wrapped up” (Nich.).

899 In Nicholson’s translation it says “Jews” instead of “deniers of the Truth”. But this is wrong. The word which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses in this verse is jahūdān, the plural of the word jahūd. Jahūd is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”). Jahūd(ān) is best translated as “deniers of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood. It is usually rendered as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e.

“someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

900 I.e. deteriorate.

318

6-1232

See how their passionate desire and greed for women and gold, like the

offspring of dogs, continuously increases!

6-1233

Such a life as this, which is Hell’s stock-in-trade, is a shambles for the butchers

(executioners) of the Divine Wrath.

1-22

He alone whose garment is rent by a mighty love is purified of covetousness

and all fault.

1-1600

If you wish to utter words like sugar, refrain from sensual desire and do not eat

this sweetmeat (the desires of the flesh).

1-1601

Self-control is the thing desired by the intelligent; sweetmeat is what children

long for.

1-1602

Whoever practises self-control ascends to Heaven, whoever eats sweetmeat

falls further behind.

Allegory. [2.5.6]

5-626

Desires are like sleeping dogs: good and evil are hidden in them.

5-627

When there is no power of action, this troop of desires are asleep and silent like

fagots smouldering in the fire,

5-628

Until a carcass comes into view, the blast of the trumpet of greed strikes on

(suddenly rouses) the dogs.

5-629

When the carcass of a donkey appears901 in the street, a hundred sleeping dogs

are awakened by it.

5-630

The greedy desires that had gone into hiding within the Unseen rush out and

show themselves902.

5-631

Every hair903 on every dog becomes like a tooth904, even though they wag their

tails fawningly in order to obtain the object of their desire.

5-634

In this body of ours a hundred dogs like these are sleeping: when they have no

prey in sight, they are hidden.

5-637

The appetite of the sick man is dormant: his thoughts are going (are turned)

towards health.

5-638

When he sees bread, apples and water-melons, his relish and his fear of

harming himself come into conflict.

901 Literally “when a donkey becomes a carcass” (Nich.).

902 Literally “put forth the head from the bosom of the shirt” (Nich.).

903 Literally “hair by hair” (Nich.).

904 I.e. stands on end with anger and fury against rivals (Nich.).

319

The negative effects of greed. [2.5.6]

4-1122

Your greed for evildoing is like fire: the live coal (the evil deed) is made

pleasing by the fire’s pleasing hue.

4-1123

The blackness of the coal is hidden in the fire: when the fire is gone, the

blackness becomes visible.

4-1124

By your greed the black coal is made alive: when the greed is gone, that

vicious coal remains.

4-1129

Out of vain desire, the reflection (distorting influence) of the ghoul, which is

greed, made the trap look like a delicious berry, even though in reality it was

unripe.

4-1130

Seek greed (seek to be eager) in the practice of religion and in good works:

they are still beautiful, even when the greed (eagerness) does not remain.

4-1131

Good works are beautiful in themselves, not through the reflection of any other

thing: if the glow of greed is gone, the glow of good remains;

4-1132

But when the glow of greed is gone from worldly work, of the red-hot coal

only the black ashes are left.

Love and greed. [2.5.6]

3-1955

Greed for Your love is glorious and great; greed for the love of anyone but You

is shameful and corrupt.

3-1956

The lust and the greed of the manly is advancement in the spiritual Way, while

that of the effeminate905 is disgrace and irreligion.

3-1958

The one greed belongs to the perfection of manliness, while the other greed is a

cause of disgrace and disgust.

3-1960

By God, do not tarry in anything (any spiritual position) that you have gained,

but crave more like one who suffers from oedema906 and is never saturated with

water.

905 This verse does not denigrate homosexuals. What is really meant by “anyone whose nature is effeminate” is

“anyone who is weak-willed and lacks inner strength and resolve”. Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s message is a

universal message of Divine Love, a Love that reaches out to and embraces all people, irrespective of creed, race, social status, gender, sexual orientation or any other distinction. If certain verses in the Mathnawī make it appear any different, this is solely due to the restrictions imposed by the religious laws, cultural and social conventions, values and perceptions of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī’s era.

906 Oedema, formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, an illness in which watery fluid collects in the body.

320

The Seventh Rivulet [2.5.7]

Absolute trust in God (tawakkul).

“And whoever puts his trust in God, then He is sufficient for him907.”

1-916

No work is better than absolute trust in God: what, indeed, is dearer to God

than surrender?

1-923

As long as the child could neither grasp (exert strength) nor run, it had nothing

to ride on but its father’s neck;

1-924

When it became a busybody and plied hand and foot (exerted itself), it fell into

trouble and wretchedness908.

1-925

Because of their faithfulness, the spirits of created beings, before the creation

of hand and foot, were flying in the realm of purity;

1-926

When they were constrained by the Divine command, Fall down 909, they

became imprisoned in anger, covetousness and contentment.

1-2296

All these griefs that are within our breasts arise from the vapour and dust of our

existence and wind (vain desire)

1-2297

These uprooting griefs are like a scythe to us: to think that this is such-and-such or that that is such-and-such is a temptation of the Devil to us910.

1-2257

The poorest of the poor feel shame at our poverty: day is turned into night

(darkened) by our anxiety about our daily portion of food.

1-2291

In this world thousands of animals are living happily, without up and down

(anxiety).

1-2293

The nightingale is singing praise to God and saying, ‘I rely on You for my

daily bread911, o You who answers prayer.’

1-2292

The dove on the tree is uttering thanks to God, even though its food for the

night is not yet ready.

1-2294

The falcon has made the king’s hand his joy (the place in which it takes

delight), and has given up hope of (has become indifferent to) all carrion.

1-2295

Similarly you may take every animal from the gnat to the elephant: they all

have become God’s family (dependent on Him for their nourishment), and

what an excellent nourisher God is!

907 Qur’ān 65:3.

908 The words rendered by “wretchedness” are kūr ū kabūd, “blind and blue” (Nich.).

909 Qur’ān 2:36.

910 I.e. “we ought not to complain of our fate but put our trust in God” (Nich.).

911 Literally “sustenance” ( rizq).

321

1-927

We are the family of the Lord and craving for milk like infants: the Prophet has

said, ‘The people are God’s family912.’

1-928

He who gives rain from heaven is also able, from His mercy, to give us bread.”

5-1492

If you have sown seed just now (recently), as I suppose, in a soil which you

thought would be suitable for producing crops –

5-1493

When the seed does not grow during two or three years, what else can you do

but put your hand to your head in supplication and prayer?

5-1494

You will beat your hand on your head in the presence of God: your hand and

head will bear witness to His giving sustenance;

5-1495

So that you may know that He is the Source of the source of all sustenance, and

that the seeker of sustenance may seek only Him.

5-1496

Seek sustenance from Him, do not seek it from Zayd and ‘Amr913: seek

intoxication from Him, do not seek it from bang 914 and wine.

5-1497

Desire wealth from Him, not from treasure and possessions: desire help from

Him, not from paternal and maternal uncles.

5-1498

In the end you will be left without all these things: listen, on whom will you

call then?

5-1499

Call on Him now, and leave all the rest, that you may inherit the kingdom of

the world.

5-1504

Take heed and say, “Look, my fortune915 is triumphant: that which would have

happened tomorrow (at the Last Judgment) has happened today”.

Worrying about sustenance is incompatible with tawakkul. [2.5.7]

“Indeed, it is God who is the Provider, the Firm Possessor of Strength916”.

2-3087

O you who are dead with anxiety because your hands are empty of bread, what

is this fear, since He is forgiving and merciful?

5-2391

The Provider gives their daily bread to all: He lays before each one the portion

allotted to him.

5-2392

The Divine provision comes to everyone who seeks to show patience: the

trouble of making efforts arises from your lack of patience.

912 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 103.

913 Zayd and ‘Amr are Arabic fictitious or generic names, used for anonymous persons, like “John Doe” in

English.

914 An intoxicating potion made from hemp leaves.

915 Literally “my day”.

916 Qur’ān 51:58.

322

5-2400

Just as you are pitiably in love with of the daily bread, so the daily bread is in

love with its consumer917.

Story. [2.5.7]

5-2401

A certain ascetic had heard the saying of Muṣṭafā (Muḥammad) that the daily

bread918 surely comes from God to the soul.

5-2402

And that, whether you want it or not, your daily bread comes running to you

because it is so fond of you.

5-2403

By way of trial that man went into the desert and immediately laid down near a

mountain,

5-2404

Saying, ‘I will see whether the daily bread will come to me: my goal is that my

belief in the daily bread may become firm.’

5-2405

A caravan lost its way and marched towards the mountain: the travellers saw

him who was making the trial lying there.

5-2406

One said to another, ‘How is this man destitute here in the wilderness, far from

road and town?

5-2407

Oh, I wonder, is he dead or alive? Evidently he has no fear of wolves or

enemies.’

5-2408

They came on and touched him with their hands: that venerable man

deliberately said nothing.

5-2409

He did not stir, he did not even move his head or open his eyes, because he was

making a trial.

5-2410

Then they said, ‘This poor disappointed man has had a stroke caused by

starvation.’

5-2411

They fetched bread and also food in a kettle, that they might pour it into his

mouth and down his throat.

5-2412

Upon that, the man purposely clenched his teeth, in order to see (test) the truth

of that promise.

5-2413

They felt pity for him and said, ‘This man is starving and perishing with hunger

and he is at the point of death’;

5-2414

So they brought a knife and hastily made a rift in his closed teeth.

5-2415

They poured soup into his mouth and forced into it fragments of bread.

917 I.e. “it is seeking you: there is no need for you to seek it.” (Nich.).

918 Literally “sustenance” ( rizq).

323

5-2416

He said to himself, ‘O my heart, even though you remain silent, you know the

secret and show a great disdain.’

5-2417

His heart replied, ‘I know the secret and am purposely behaving like this: God

is the provider for my soul and body.’

5-2418

How should there be a trial more perfect than this? The daily bread comes with

joy to those who have patience.”

Allegory. [2.5.7]

5-2855

In the world there is a green island where a sweet-mouthed cow lives alone.

5-2856

She feeds on the whole field till nightfall, so that she grows stout, big and

choice.

5-2857

During the night she becomes thin as a hair from anxiety, because she thinks,

“What shall I eat tomorrow?”

5-2858

At daybreak the field becomes green: the green blades and grain have grown

up to a man’s middle.

5-2859

The cow falls to ravenously: until night she feeds on that vegetation and

devours it entirely.

5-2860

Again she becomes stout, fat and bulky: her body is filled with fat and strength.

5-2861

Then again at night she is stricken by panic and falls into a fever of anxiety, so

that from fear of seeking vainly for fodder she becomes lean,

5-2862

Thinking, “What shall I eat tomorrow at meal-time?” This is what that cow

does for many years.

5-2863

She never thinks, “All these years I have been eating from this meadow and

this pasture;

5-2864

My fodder has never failed even for a day: what, then, is this fear and anguish

and heart-burning of mine?”

5-2865

No; when night falls that stout cow becomes lean again, thinking, “Alas, the

fodder is gone.”

5-2866

The cow is the carnal soul ( nafs), and the field is this world, where she (the

carnal soul) is made lean by fear for her daily bread,

5-2867

Thinking, “I wonder what I shall eat in the future: where shall I seek food for

tomorrow?”

324

5-2668

You have eaten for years, and food has never failed: leave the future and look

at the past.

5-2669

Bring to mind the food and delicacies you have eaten already: do not think of

what is to come, and do not be miserable.

Forgetfulness (ghafla)919. [2.5.7]

1-2066

Forgetfulness, o beloved, is the pillar (prop) of this world: spiritual intelligence

is a disaster to this world.

1-2067

Intelligence belongs to that other world, and when it prevails, this world is

overthrown.

1-2064

If man were to remain in that fire of grief, much ruin and loss would happen.

1-2065

This world would at once become desolate: all selfish desires would emerge

from men.

1-2068

Intelligence is the sun and greed the ice; intelligence is the water and this world

is dirt.

1-2069

A little trickle of intelligence is coming from the Other World, so that greed

and envy may not roar too loudly in this world.

1-2070

If the trickle from the Unseen should become greater, in this world neither

virtue nor vice will be left.

4-2609

It is true that heedlessness is a manifestation of Divine Wisdom and Bounty, in

order that his capital may not suddenly fly out of his hand.

4-2610

But not heedlessness so great that it becomes an incurable illness and a poison

to the soul and intellect of one who is sick.

1-914

Listen to the meaning of ‘the earner (worker) is the beloved of God’: by

trusting in God do not become neglectful as to the ways and means.

1-947

If you put trust in God, put trust in Him with regard to your work: sow the

seed, then rely on the Almighty.

1-955

O illustrious one, do not regard work as a mere name! O cunning one, do not

think that exertion is merely a vain illusion!

2-735

How does earning a livelihood prevent the discovery of treasure? Do not

withdraw from work: that treasure, indeed, is following behind the work.

919 Ghafla or “forgetfulness (of God)” is the opposite of dhikr, “remembrance (of God)”.

325

Worldliness is a sign of forgetfulness. [2.5.7]

2-2592

You have learned a trade to earn a livelihood for the body: now apply yourself

to a religious (spiritual) trade.

2-2593

In this world you have become clothed and rich: when you come out from

there, how will you do it?

2-2594

Learn such a trade that hereafter the earning of God’s forgiveness may come to

you as a revenue

2-2595

The Other World is a city full of trafficking and earning: do not think that the

earnings here (in this world) are sufficient.

2-2596

God Most High has said that beside those (the Next World’s) earnings these

earnings in the (present) world are but children’s play –

2-2601

The earnings of religion are love and inner rapture – capacity to receive the

Light of God, o you obstinate one!

2-2602

This vile fleshly soul wants you to earn that which passes away: how long you

earn what is vile? Let it go! Enough!

2-263

Do not make your home in other men’s land: do your own work, don’t do the

work of a stranger.

2-264

Who is the stranger? Your earthen body, for the sake of which is all your

sorrow.

The Cause of Causes. [2.5.7]

5-1543

God has established a customary law, causes and means for the sake of those

who seek Him under this blue veil of heaven.

5-1544

Most events come to pass according to the customary law, but sometimes the

Divine Power breaks the law.

5-1546

If honour does not reach us without a mediating cause, yet the Divine Power is

not remote from the removal of the cause920.

5-1547

O you who are caught by the cause, do not fly outside of causality; but at the

same time do not suppose the removal of the Causer921.

5-1548

The Causer brings whatever He wants into existence: the Absolute Power tears

up (destroys) the causes;

920 I.e. can remove the cause and act without it (Nich.).

921 I.e. “do not suppose that where there is no cause there is no exercise of Divine Power” (Nich.).

326

5-1549

But, for the most part, He lets the execution of His will follow the course of

causality, in order that a seeker may be able to pursue the object of his desire.

5-1550

When there is no cause, what way should the seeker follow? Therefore he must

have a visible cause in the way that he is following.

The mystic transcends the causes. [2.5.7]

5-1699

There are also servants of Yours who rend (shatter the illusion of) causes, o

Almighty One.”

5-1700

Their eye pierces through the cause: by the grace of the Lord, it has passed

beyond all veils.

5-1701

It has obtained the eyewash of Unity from the oculist of ecstasy and has been

delivered from illness and weakness.

5-1551

These causes are veils on the eyes, for not every eye is worthy of

contemplating His work.

5-1552

An eye that can penetrate the cause is needed to eradicate these veils from root

and bottom,

5-1553

So that it may see the Causer in the world of non-spatiality922 and consider

efforts, earnings and shops as mere nonsense.

5-1554

Everything good or evil comes from the Causer: causes and means, o father,

are nothing.

5-1708

How should the perception of the mystic seer be veiled by these apparent

causes923, which are a veil to catch the fool?

5-1709

When the eye is quite perfect, it sees the root (origin); when a man is squint-eyed, it sees the branch (derivative).

3-2517

The Prophets came in order to cut the cords of apparent causes: they flung their

miracles at Saturn (in the Seventh Heaven).

3-2518

Without cause means they split the sea; without sowing they found heaps of

corn.

922 Non-spatiality: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

923 “First Cause” and “apparent cause(s)”: “The First Cause” is God, who is called Musabbibu’l-Asbāb, “the Causer of Causes”. His existence is absolute and necessary ( Wājibu’l-Wujūd), i.e. He exists independently through Himself and His existence is necessary for the existence of all other things. When He wishes to make something happen He uses some of His own creations as mediators or “apparent causes” or “secondary causes”.

Apparent causes are capable of causing future events in some way. However, apparent causes always remain

subordinate to the First Cause. Therefore seekers of God must never let themselves be blinded and misled by

apparent causes, since their seeming power and relative existence invariably stem from God, the First Cause and Causer of all Causes.

327

3-2520

The whole of the Qur’ān consists in (is concerned with) the cutting off of

apparent causes: its theme is the glory of the poor (Prophet or Saint) and the

destruction of those like Abū Lahab924.

3-2521

A swift925 drops two or three pebbles and shatters the mighty army of

Abyssinia926:

3-2523

God said, “Inflict a blow with the tail of the killed cow on the murdered man,

in order that at the same moment he may come to life again in the winding—

sheet927.

3-2525

In the same way, from the beginning of the Qur’ān to the end, it is wholly

concerned with the abandonment of apparent causes and means. And now

farewell (to this subject)928.

3-2526

The explanation of its mystery is not given by the meddlesome intellect: do

service to God, in order that it may become clear to you.

3-3153

As you have observed apparent causes since your childhood, through ignorance

you have stuck to the apparent cause.

3-3154

Being occupied with causes makes you forgetful of the Causer: that is why you

are inclined towards these veils.

3-3155

When all apparent causes are gone, you will beat your head and cry many

times, “O our Lord! O our Lord!”

3-2516

Above the apparent causes there are other causes: do not look at the apparent

cause: let your gaze fall on that First Cause929.

1-844

And those causes which guide the Prophets on their way are higher than these

external causes.

1-845

That spiritual cause makes this external cause active; sometimes, again, it

makes it fruitless and ineffective.

924 An uncle of the Prophet and an enemy of Islām; he was given the nickname “Abū Lahab”, meaning “Father

of the Flame”, as his cheeks were always red or inflamed. He died ca. 624 CE.

925 In Persian, it says murgh-e abābīl, which is a swallow-like bird. It also refers to Qur’ān 105:3, where ṭayr abābīl is translated as “flocks of birds”.

926 In 570 CE, called “the Year of the Elephant” by the Arabs, the ruler of Abyssinia marched on Mecca with a large army, which included elephants. It is said that the Prophet Muḥammad was born in this year.

927 Cf. Qur’ān 2:67 ff.

928 In the original text the expression wa’s-salām is used, which may also mean “and let it be done with that”,

“and let that be the end of the matter”.

929 “First Cause” and “apparent cause(s)”: “The First Cause” is God, who is called Musabbibu’l-Asbāb, “the Causer of Causes”. His existence is absolute and necessary ( Wājibu’l-Wujūd), i.e. He exists independently through Himself and His existence is necessary for the existence of all other things. When He wishes to make something happen He uses some of His own creations as mediators or “apparent causes” or “secondary causes”.

Apparent causes are capable of causing future events in some way. However, apparent causes always remain

subordinate to the First Cause. Therefore seekers of God must never let themselves be blinded and misled by

apparent causes, since their seeming power and relative existence invariably stem from God, the First Cause and Causer of all Causes.

328

1-846

Ordinary minds are familiar with the external cause, but the Prophets are

familiar with the spiritual causes.

To the mystic, the One is the Cause of Causes.

He only beseeches the One for help. [2.5.7]

6-3389

To seek guidance from candle and wick when the perfect Sun is present,

6-3390

To seek light from candle and lamp when the smoothly-rolling Sun is present,

6-3391

Doubtlessly it is irreverence on our part, it is ingratitude and an act of self-will.

Allegory. [2.5.7]

6-3400

That is like Joseph’s asking help of a fellow-prisoner, a needy abject

groundling930.

6-3401

He implored his help and said, “When you come out of prison, your affairs will

prosper931 with the king.

6-3402

Mention me before the throne of that mighty prince, that he may redeem

(release) me also from this prison.”

6-3403

But how should a prisoner in captivity932 give release to another imprisoned

man?

6-3404

All the people of this world are prisoners waiting in expectation of death in the

abode that is passing away;

6-3405

Except, surely, in the rare case of one who is unique ( fardānī), one whose body

is in the prison of this world and whose soul is like Saturn (in the Seventh

Heaven).

6-3406

Therefore, in retribution for having regarded him (the fellow-prisoner) as a

helper, Joseph was left in prison for several years 933.

6-3408

As a result of the sin which came from that man of good qualities (Joseph), he

was left in prison for several years by the Divine Judge,

6-3409

Who said, “What failure was shown by the Sun of justice that you should fall,

like a bat, into the blackness of night?

6-3410

Listen, what failure was shown by the sea and the cloud that you should seek

help from the sand and the mirage?

930 Literally “akin to the sa‘dān”, a prickly shrub on which camels browse” (Nich.).

931 Literally “will be set on a sound footing” (Nich.).

932 Literally “in the state of being made a prey” (Nich.).

933 Qur’ān 12:42.

329

6-3411

If the common people are bats by nature and are unreal (unspiritual), you, at

least, o Joseph, have the eye of the falcon.

Story:

Moses and trust in God. [2.5.7]

4-2921

God spoke to Moses by inspiration of the heart, saying, “O chosen one, I love

you.”

4-2922

Moses said, “O Bountiful One, tell me what special quality in me is the cause

of that, in order that I may increase it.”

4-2923

God said, “You are like a child in the presence of its mother: when she

chastises it, it still holds her tight.

4-2924

It does not even know that there is anyone in the world except her: it is both

afflicted with headache (sorrow) by her and intoxicated with joy by her.

4-2925

If its mother gives it a slap, still it comes to its mother and clings to her.

4-2926

It does not seek help from anyone but her: she is all its evil and its good.

4-2927

Your heart, likewise, in good or bad situations never turns from Me to other

places.

4-2928

In your view all besides Me are as stones and clods of earth, whether they be

boys, youths or old men.”

Story. [2.5.7]

4-2933

A King was angry with a close friend and was about to reduce him to smoke

and dust934.

4-2935

No one had the courage to utter a word, nor did any mediator dare to mediate,

4-2936

Except one amongst the courtiers named ‘Imādu’l-Mulk935, who was privileged

as a mediator, like Muṣṭafā (Muḥammad).

4-2937

He sprang up and at once prostrated himself: the King immediately took the

sword of vengeance from his hand,

4-2938

And said, “If he is the very Devil, I forgive him; and if he has done a satanic

deed, I cover it up.

4-2939

Since you936 have intervened, I am satisfied, even if the culprit has committed a

hundred acts of harm.

934 Literally “raise smoke and dust from him” (Nich.).

935 A name meaning “Pillar of the Realm”.

330

4-2950

And the close friend who had been delivered from the stroke of calamity was

offended with this mediator and drew back from his former loyalty.

4-2952

He became estranged from his mediator; in astonishment at this the people

began to talk,

4-2953

Saying, “If he is not mad, how did he cut off friendly relations with the person

who saved his life?”

4-2954

The mediator saved him from beheading at that moment: the culprit ought to

have become the dust of the mediator’s shoe.

4-2956

Then a certain conciliator reproached him, saying, “Why are you acting so

unjustly towards a loyal friend?”

4-2959

He replied, “Life is freely given for the King’s sake: why should he come as a

mediator between us?

4-2960

At that moment I was in the state described by the words – “I am with God in a

state in which no chosen Prophet is my equal937.”

4-2961

I desire no mercy but the blows of the King; I desire no refuge except that

King.

4-2962

I have annihilated all besides the King because I have devoted myself to the

King.

4-2963

If the King beheads me in his wrath, He will bestow on me sixty other lives938.

4-2964

It is my business to hazard and lose my head and to be selfless; it is the

business of my sovereign King to give me a new head.”

4-2965

Honour to the head that is severed by the King’s hand! Shame on the head that

submits itself to another!

4-2974

“I am the Khalīl (Abraham)939 of the present time940, and he is the Gabriel: I do

not want him as a guide to deliver me from calamity.

4-2975

He did not learn respectfulness as he might from the noble Gabriel, who asked

the Friend of God (Abraham) what his wish was,

936 Literally “your foot” (Nich.).

937 This is a well-known ḥadīth of the Prophet (Nich.). Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 152.

938 This refers to a ḥadīth: “When someone loves Me, I annihilate his existence, and thus I Myself become his blood money” – Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 404. Note: “blood money” ( diyya) = compensation paid to the relatives of a murdered person.

939 Khalīlu’Llāh, “the Friend of God”, is the traditional epithet of the Prophet Abraham (Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm).

940 I.e. “in the present case” (Nich.).

331

4-2976

Saying, ‘Do you have a wish – that I may help you to obtain it; otherwise, I

will flee and leave speedily.’

4-2977

Abraham said, ‘No; go out of the way! After direct vision the intermediary is

only an inconvenience941.’

He who is attached to worldly things, is far

removed from the Cause of Causes. [2.5.7]

2-3784

The noise of thunder gives the thirsty man a headache, when he does not know

that the thunder brings on the rain-clouds of felicity.

2-3785

His eye remains fixed on the running stream, unaware of the delicious taste of

the Water of Heaven.

2-3786

He has directed the horse of his attention towards apparent causes:

consequently he remains cut off from the Causer942.

2-3787

But one who sees the Causer plainly – how should he set his mind on the

apparent causes in the world?

Story. [2.5.7]

2-3788

In the middle of the desert lived an ascetic, absorbed in devotion like the

people of ‘Abbādān943.

2-3789

The pilgrims from different countries arrived there: their eye fell on the

parched ascetic.

2-3790

The dwelling-place of the ascetic was dry, but he was moist in temperament: in

the samūm 944 of the desert he had a remedy for this moistness.

2-3791

The pilgrims were amazed at his solitariness and his wellbeing in the midst of

calamitous circumstances.

2-3792

He stood on the sand, engaged in ritual prayer – sand so hot it would make the

water in a pot boil.

941 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 404.

942 “First Cause” and “apparent cause(s)”: “The First Cause” is God, who is called Musabbibu’l-Asbāb, “the Causer of Causes”. His existence is absolute and necessary ( Wājibu’l-Wujūd), i.e. He exists independently through Himself and His existence is necessary for the existence of all other things. When He wishes to make something happen He uses some of His own creations as mediators or “apparent causes” or “secondary causes”.

Apparent causes are capable of causing future events in some way. However, apparent causes always remain

subordinate to the First Cause. Therefore seekers of God must never let themselves be blinded and misled by

apparent causes, since their seeming power and relative existence invariably stem from God, the First Cause and Causer of all Causes.

943 The use of ‘Abbāsīya for ‘Abbādānīya is justified by the fact that ‘Abbādān was originally named ‘Abbād (Nich.).

944 A very hot; sand-laden and suffocating desert wind. Samūm is derived from the same Arabic verbal root as sumūm, which means “poison”.

332

2-3793

You would have said he was standing enraptured amongst herbs and flowers,

or mounted on Burāq or Duldul 945;

2-3794

Or that his feet were on silk and broidered cloths; or that to him the samūm was

more pleasant than the zephyr (gentle breeze).

2-3795

The pilgrims stood waiting, while he remained standing in prayer, sunk in long

meditation.

2-3796

When the dervish came back to himself from this state of absorption in God,

one of that company, a man spiritually alive and of enlightened mind,

2-3797

Saw that water was trickling from his hands and face, and that his clothes were

wet from the traces of ablution;

2-3798

So he asked him, “Where do you get water?” He lifted his hand, indicating that

it came from heaven.

2-3799

The pilgrim said, “Does it come whenever you want, without any well and

without any rope of palm-fibre 946?

2-3800

Solve our problem, o Sulṭān of the Religion, in order that your spiritual

experience may give us certain faith.

2-3801

Reveal to us one of your mysteries, that we may cut the cords of infidelity947

from our waists.”

2-3802

The ascetic turned his eyes to heaven, saying, “O God, answer the prayer of the

pilgrims!

2-3803

I am accustomed to seek daily bread from above: You have opened to me the

door form above,

2-3804

O You who from non-spatiality948 have made space visible, and have made

manifest the fact that in heaven is your sustenance 949.”

2-3805

In the midst of this prayer a beautiful cloud suddenly appeared, like a water—

bearing elephant,

2-3806

And began to pour down rain, like water from a water-skin: the rainwater

settled in the ditch and in the caves.

945 Burāq: the animal ridden by the Prophet when he ascended to Heaven. Duldul: a mule belonging to the

Prophet (Nich.).

946 Qur’ān 111:5.

947 “cords of infidelity”: in the Persian text it says zunnār, which another name for the kushtī, the ritual cord worn by Zoroastrians. Zunnār also refers to the cords worn around the waist by Christian monks. In Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī’s time these cords were considered as the sign of infidelity. In Ṣūfī symbolism, however, the word zunnār symbolizes the readiness to serve others.

948 Non-spatiality: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

949 Qur’ān 51:22.

333

2-3807

The cloud kept raining tears, like a water-skin, and the pilgrims all opened their

water-skins.

2-3808

As a result of those marvellous events, one group among them cut the cords of

unbelief from their waists950.

2-3809

The certainty (faith) of another group was increasing because of this miracle –

God knows best how to guide in the right Way.

2-3810

Another group was unreceptive, sour and unripe, eternally imperfect ones. Here

ends the discourse.

The Eighth Rivulet [2.5.8]

Honour (‘izza), humility and modesty (tawāḍu‘), baseness (dhilla)

and false pride, vanity and arrogance (takabbur).

Ḥadīth: “If someone is humble for the sake of God,

God will raise him to a higher inner degree951.”

4-2747

Know that pride is a killing poison: that fool was intoxicated by the poisonous

wine.

4-2748

When an unhappy wretch drinks the poisonous wine, he nods his head in

delight for one moment.

4-2749

After one moment the poison falls on his soul952: the poison exercises complete

power953 over his soul.

4-2751

When one king gains the upper hand (prevails) over another king, he kills him

or locks him up in a dungeon;

4-2752

But if he finds a fallen wounded man, the king will make a plaster for him and

bestow gifts on him.

4-2753

If that pride is not poison, then why did he kill the vanquished king, even

though he had not committed any crime or offence?

4-2754

And why did he treat this other helpless man so kindly, even though he had not

performed any service? From these two actions you may recognize the

poisonous nature of pride.

4-2755

No highwayman ever attacked a beggar: does a wolf ever bite a dead wolf?

950 I.e. that group attained to the realm of certainty and non-doubtfulness.

951 Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm ad-Dīn, Vol. 3, p. 437.

952 I.e. “affects his spirit”.

953 Literally “giving and taking” (Nich.).

334

4-2756

Khiżr made a breach in the boat954 in order that the boat might be saved from

the wicked.

4-2757

Since the broken (repentant) one will be saved, be broken (repentant). Safety

lies in spiritual poverty: enter into spiritual poverty955.

1-2318

Pride is ugly, and in beggars all the more ugly: it is like wet clothes after a cold

snowy day956.

4-2760

Eminence is naphtha and fire, o misguided one: o brother, why are you going

into the fire?

4-2761

How should anything that is on the same level as the earth become a target for

arrows? Think!

4-2762

But if it raises its head from the earth, then, like targets, it will suffer blows that

cannot be cured.

4-2763

This egoism is the ladder climbed by the creatures of God: they must fall from

this ladder in the end.

4-2764

The higher anyone goes, the more foolish he is, for his bones will be broken

more severely.

4-2765

This is (constitutes) the derivatives of the subject, and its fundamental

principles are that to exalt one’s self is to claim partnership with God.

5-524

The Arabs called a restive (high-spirited) horse a “devil” ( shayṭān): they did

not give that name to the beast of burden that stayed quietly in the pasture.

5-525

In lexicology “devilry” ( shayṭanat) is synonymous with “rebelliousness”957:

this quality deserves to be cursed.

5-519

He who is in power really claims Divinity: how should one who pursues

partnership with God be saved?

5-533

Divinity is the mantle of the Lord of Majesty: it becomes a plague to anyone

who puts it on.

5-534

The crown of sovereignty belongs to God, to us belongs the belt of

servanthood: woe to him who oversteps his own limit!

1-3008

What is the meaning of exalting and glorifying God? To consider yourself

despicable and worthless as dust.

954 Qur’ān 18:71.

955 Spiritual poverty ( faqr) implies inner detachment from worldly matters.

956 Literally “the day cold and snow – and then the clothes wet!” (Nich.).

957 Literally “raising the neck”, “holding the head high” (Nich.).

335

3-454

Since you have heard “We created you from dust”958, know that God has

required you to be humble and submissive as dust: do not turn your face away

from Him.

1-1911

How should a rock be covered with verdure by the Spring? Become earth, that

you may grow flowers of many colours.

1-1912

Years you have been a heart-breaking rock: once, for the sake of experiment,

be earth!

3-455

God said, “See how I have sown a seed in the earth: you are dust of the earth,

and I have raised it up high.

3-458

The wheat went beneath the earth from above; afterwards it became ears of

corn and sprang up quickly.

3-461

Since it came down from Heaven because of humility, it became part of the

living and valiant man.

3-462

That is why that inanimate matter (rain and sunlight) was turned into human

qualities and soared joyously above the highest heaven.

2-1939

Wherever there is a pain, there the remedy goes: wherever there is a lowland,

there the water runs.

2-1940

If you want the water of mercy, go, become lowly, and then drink the wine of

mercy and become drunk.

The difference between being drunk with

love and drunk with pride. [2.5.8]

5-1920

Because self-existence959 produces severe intoxication: it removes intelligence

from the head and reverence from the heart.

5-1922

By this self-existence an ‘Azāzīl960 was made to be Iblīs, saying, “Why should

Adam become lord over me?

5-1923

I too am noble and nobly-born: I am capable of receiving and ready to receive a

hundred excellences.

5-1924

In excellence I am inferior to none, that I should stand before my enemy to

serve him.

5-1927

The fire of pride and jealousy was flaming in the soul of the fool (Iblīs),

because he was born of fire961: “the son is endowed with the inner nature of his

father962.”

958 Qur’ān 22:5.

959 I.e. egoism and worldly pride (Nich.).

960 ‘Azāzīl was the name of Iblīs before he refused to prostrate himself before Adam, as God commanded. The

name Iblīs is probably derived from the Arabic verb ablasa, meaning “he despaired (of God’s mercy)”.

336

5-1941

What is this arrogance? It consists in being forgetful of the essential principle

and being frozen (insensible) – like the forgetfulness of ice to the sun.

5-1942

When the ice becomes conscious of the sun, the ice does not last: it becomes

soft and warm and moves on rapidly.

5-1960

The Absolute Worker is a worker in non-existence: what but non-existence is

the workshop (working material) of the Maker of existence?

5-1961

Does one write anything on what is already written over, or plant a sapling in a

place that is already planted?

5-1962

No; he seeks a sheet of paper that has not been written on and sows the seed in

a place that has not been sown.

5-1963

O brother, be an unsown place; be a white paper untouched by writing,

5-1964

That you may be ennobled by Nūn. Wa’l-Qalam 963 , and that the Gracious One

may sow seed within you.

1-3606

If you wish light, make yourself ready to receive light; if you wish to be far

from God, become self-conceited and remote.

Self-conceit and arrogance stem from the ego ( nafs). [2.5.8]

1-3214

There is no worse disease in your soul, o haughty soul, than the conceit of

perfection.

1-3215

Much blood must flow from your heart and eye, that self-complacency may go

out of you.

1-3216

The fault of Iblīs lay in thinking “I am better (than Adam)964”, and this disease

is in the soul of every human creature.

1-3212

Whoever has seen and recognized his own deficiency has ridden hastily965

(made rapid progress) in perfecting himself.

1-3213

The reason why he (anyone) is not flying towards the Lord of Majesty is that

he supposes himself to be perfect.

1-3290

You have laughed at Iblīs and the devils because you have considered yourself

as a good man.

961 Qur’ān 55:15.

962 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 406.

963 Nūn: the Arabic letter “n” at the beginning of Sūratu’l-Qalam, “The Sūra of the Pen” (the 68thSūra). This letter may denote Nūr (“Light”); “By the Pen”: Qur’ān 68:1. “The Pen” may denote Universal Reason (Nich.).

964 Qur’ān 7:12.

965 Literally “has galloped with two horses” (Nich.).

337

1-3292

On the counter of the shop everything (every gilded coin) that looks like gold is

smiling, because the touchstone is out of sight.

1-3305

You are a favourite of God, but within your due bounds. For God’s sake, for

God’s sake, do not set foot beyond those bounds.

5-535

Your peacock feathers are a great temptation to you, because you need to have

partnership with God and All-holiness966.

Story. [2.5.8]

5-536

A peacock was tearing out its feathers in the open country, where a Sage had

gone for a walk.

5-537

He said, “O peacock, why are you tearing out such fine feathers remorselessly

from the root?

5-538

Why indeed does your heart allow that you should tear off these gorgeous

garments and let them fall in the mud?

5-539

Those who memorize the Qur’ān place every feather of yours, because it is

prized and admired, within the folding of967 the Holy Book.

5-540

In order to stir the beneficial air your feathers are used as fans968.

5-541

What ingratitude and what recklessness is this! Do you not know who is their

Painter?

5-553

Do not tear out your feathers969, for it cannot be mended: do not rend your face

in grief, o beautiful one.

5-613

When the peacock heard this counsel, it looked at the Sage and, after that,

began to lament and weep.

5-641

When the peacock had finished weeping, it said, “Go away, for you are

enthralled by colour and perfume970.

5-642

Do you not see that because of these feathers a hundred afflictions approach me

on every side?

5-643

Oh, many pitiful fowlers always lay a trap for me everywhere for the sake of

these feathers.

5-644

How many archers, for the sake of my plumage, shoot arrows971 at me when I

am in the air!

966 I.e. the pride of power necessarily involves the claim to possess the attributes of Divine majesty (Nich.).

967 I.e. inside of (Nich.).

968 Literally “they make a fan of your feathers” (Nich.).

969 I.e. your spiritual qualities and graces (Nich.).

970 I.e. outward appearances (Nich.).

338

5-645

Since I do not have strength and self-control to preserve me from this destiny,

this affliction and these tribulations,

5-646

It is better that I should be ugly and hideous, that I may be safe amidst these

mountains and deserts.

5-647

The feathers are the weapons of my pride, o brave youth: pride brings a

hundred afflictions on the proud.

5-648

Talents destroy the spiritually ignorant man, for in his pursuit of the bait he

does not see the trap.

5-650

When there is no safeguarding of one’s self and piety972, beware, keep the

instrument of sin far from you: renounce free-will.

5-651

Those feathers are the object of my display (pride) and free-will: I will tear out

the feathers, for they are after my head973.

1-2317

How long will you utter pompous and artificial phrases? Look at your own acts

and feelings and be ashamed!

1-2316

Do not talk nonsense in your presumption and pretension: go away, do not

speak from pride and arrogance.

Criticizing others’ faults and forgetting

one’s own arises from self-conceit. [2.5.8]

1-3892

Go, be fearful and do not criticize the wicked: know your own powerlessness

before the snare of the Divine decree.

1-3893

One day Adam looked with contempt and scorn on Iblīs who is damned.

1-3894

He behaved with self-conceit and became self-approving: he laughed at the

plight of the accursed Iblīs.

1-3895

The jealousy of God cried out against him – “O chosen one, you know nothing

about the hidden mysteries (of His providence).

1-3896

If He should turn the fur inside out974, He would tear up even the firmest

mountain of faith from root and bottom;

1-3897

At that moment He would rend the veil of (put to shame) a hundred Adams and

bring to light a hundred Devils newly converted to Islām.”

971 Literally “draw arrows (from their quivers in order to shoot)” (Nich.).

972 “Piety”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

973 I.e. they endanger my life (Nich.).

974 I.e. “if God were to manifest His wrath instead of His mercy or His mercy instead of His wrath” (Nich.).

339

1-3898

Adam said, “I repent of this way of looking; I will not think so disrespectfully

again.”

2-3034

Oh, happy the soul that saw its own fault, and if anyone told (found) a fault,

wished eagerly to take that fault upon itself975!

2-3036

Since you have ten sores on your head, you must apply the plaster to yourself.

2-3037

Finding fault with the sore in yourself is the right remedy for him who is at

fault; when he has become broken (repentant), then it is the proper occasion for

obeying the Prophet’s injunction, “Have pity”976.

2-1944

Purify your two eyes from the hair of defect, that you may see the garden and

cypress park of the Unseen World.

2-3026

You have often mocked those visitors to the Mosque; but when you consider

carefully, you yourself have been one of them977.

Story. [2.5.8]

2-3027

Four Hindus978 went into a mosque: they bowed their heads and prostrated

themselves in worship.

2-3028

Each one performed the takbīr 979following a niya 980, and began to pray with

lowliness981 and repentance.982

2-3029

When the muezzin came, one of them remarked983 – “O muezzin, have you

given the call to prayers? Is it time?”

975 This refers to a ḥadīth – see Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 349.

976 This is the beginning of a ḥadīth: “Have pity on three kinds of people in particular: the rich man who has become poor, the honoured one who has been humiliated and the scholar who is surrounded by fools”. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 443.

977 I.e. one of those who visited a mosque for their own glory and not for the glory of God.

978 In Fārsī, the word hindū can also mean “a dark-coloured person”. So, by no means does Ḥażrat Mawlānā

Rūmī intend to denigrate the Hindu religion, or indeed any religion. Whenever he uses the names of religions

and ethnicities, it is merely meant as a figure of speech.

979 At the beginning of the ritual prayer, called ṣalāh (Arabic) or namāz (Persian) Muslims utter the takbīr, i.e.

the words Allāhu Akbar (“God is the Greatest”), and raise their hands with the takbīr until their thumbs are alongside their earlobes. In this way they shut out all worldly matters and focus entirely on worshipping God.

980 The word niya means “intention” or “declaration of intent”. Before starting ritual prayer, the Muslim mentally expresses his intention to worship God, standing with respect and full attention. The niya is also required while performing the ritual ablution (Arabic: wuḍū‘ or ghusl; Persian ābdast), which precedes the ritual prayer. The concept of niya or “intention” is very important in Muslim culture in general. Muslims make a habit of stating their intention to God every time they undertake something important; if someone intends to do a good deed but his actions are cut short due to no fault of his own, then he remains blameless, as though he had succeeded. The intention is considered more important than the act itself or its result – the intention belongs to man, the outcome belongs to God. There is a well-known ḥadīth which says: “Verily, actions are judged according to their intentions”.

981 Literally “in indigence”.

982 Literally “in pain”.

983 Literally “an utterance escaped” (Nich.).

340

2-3030

The second Hindu said on the spur of the moment984, “Hey, you have spoken,

and so your prayer is invalid.”

2-3031

The third one said to the second, “O uncle, why do you criticize him? Tell

yourself how to behave.”

2-3032

The fourth said, “Praise be to God that I have not fallen into the pit of error,

like those three persons.”

2-3033

In this way the prayers of all four were spoiled; and the fault-finders went

astray more (than he who made the original mistake).

2-882

These people of the world take no heed of themselves, o father: consequently

they blame one another.

2-883

O idolater (dualist), if I do not see my own face (reality), I see your face and

you see mine.

2-884

He who sees his own face (reality) – his light is greater than the light of the

creatures of God.

2-885

Even if he dies, his sight is everlasting, because his sight is the sight of the

Creator.

2-902

He has always been one who speaks ill of himself and seeks to blame himself;

he has always been good (kind) to all and bad (unkind) to himself.”

The true artfulness lies in the willingness to see

the positive aspects of things as well. [2.5.8]

1-1995

The fault is in him who sees nothing but fault; how should the Pure Spirit of

the Invisible see fault?

1-1996

Fault arises only in relation to the ignorant creature, not in relation to the Lord

of favour (clemency).

1-1997

Infidelity, too, is wisdom in relation to the Creator, but when you attribute it to

us, infidelity is a harmful thing.

1-1998

And if there is one fault together with a hundred advantages (excellences), it

resembles the woody stalk in the sugarcane.

1-1999

Both sugar and stalk alike are put into the scales, because both are sweet like

body and soul.

1-2000

Not in vain, therefore, the great mystics said this: “The body of the holy ones

(the Saints) is essentially pure as their spirit.”

984 Literally “from the need (which he felt of expressing his feelings.”(Nich.).

341

3-3574

In reality God is the creator of effects, but followers of the husk (formalists)

see nothing but the apparent cause.

3-3575

The kernel (intellect) that is not separated from the husks cannot escape from

doctor and disease985;

3-3576

But when a son of man is born twice, he plants his foot on the head986 of all

causes987.

4-74

If you wish that he should be like sugar, then look at him with the eye of

lovers.

Story. [2.5.8]

4-75

Do not look at that Beautiful One with your own eye: see the Sought with the

eye of seekers.

1-407

The Khalīfa said to Laylā: “Are you the one for whom Majnūn988 was

distracted and led astray?

1-408

You are not superior to other beauties.” “Be silent,” she replied, “since you are

not Majnūn.”

4-76

Close your own eye to that Sweet-eyed One: borrow an eye from His lovers.

4-77

No, borrow eye and sight from Him, and then look at His face with His eye.

In reality ugliness does not exist, since

God created all things perfect989. [2.5.8]

4-65

That is why there is no absolute evil in the world: evil is relative. Know this

truth also.

4-66

In the realm of Time there is no poison or sugar that is not a foot (support) to

one and a fetter (injury) to another –

4-67

To one a foot, to another a fetter; to one a poison and to another sweet and

wholesome like sugar.

4-68

Snake-poison is life to the snake, but it is death to man.

985 I.e. it needs a doctor to cure its disease (Nich.).

986 Literally “the line which parts the hair on the crown of the head” (Nich.).

987 According to the Ṣūfīs, Jesus has said: “Man will not enter the Divine Realm unless he is spiritually reborn.”

See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 318. This saying is similar to what is written in the Gospel of Matthew: “And he said: “I say to you, unless you change and become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3).

988 This refers to the classical love story of “Laylā and Majnūn”, also known as “Laylā and the Madman”, as

majnūn means “possessed (by a jinnī, a spirit)” or “mad” in Arabic. Majnūn was so desperately in love with and possessed by Laylā’s beauty that he lost his senses. In Ṣūfī literature, Laylā symbolizes the Supreme Beauty of the Divine Beloved. The Persian form of the name Laylā is Laylī.

989 In reality the absolute evil does not exist,since God has created all things perfect and beautiful.

342

4-69

The sea is as a garden to the water-creatures; to the creatures of earth it is death

and a painful brand.

4-70

Count in the same way, o man of experience, instances of this relativity from a

single individual to a thousand.

4-71

Zayd990, in regard to that particular one, may be a devil, but in regard to

another person he may be a beneficent sulṭān.

4-73

Zayd is one person – to that one he is as a shield, while to this other one he is

wholly pain and loss.

5-3295

Venom also is the snake’s food and provision, but its venom is anguish and

death to others.

5-3296

The form of every blessing and affliction is a Hell to this one, a Paradise to that

one.

6-29

Everyone, then, has his separate customer in this bazaar of He does what He

pleases 991.

6-30

The dessert provided by the thornbush is food (fuel) for the fire; the scent of

the rose is food for the intoxicated brain.

6-31

If filth is disgraceful in our opinion, yet it is sugar and sweetmeat to the pig and

the dog.

The relativity of worldly things.

All things are known by their opposites. [2.5.8]

6-2615

For the jealousy of God has produced a veil of concealment and has mingled

the low and the high together.

6-2597

Nothing that God created is vain, whether it is anger, forbearance, sincere

counsel or deceit.

6-2599

The usefulness and harm of each depend on the place (occasion): for this

reason knowledge is necessary and useful.

2-2927

Know the truth to be this, that all these different persons are not in the right;

nor is this herd entirely astray,

2-2928

Because nothing false is shown without the True: the fool bought (desired)

false coin in the hope of its being gold.

990 Names like Zayd and ‘Amr are Arabic fictitious or generic names, used for anonymous persons, like “John

Doe” in English.

991 Qur’ān 3:26.

343

2-2929

If there were no current (genuine) coin in the world, how would it be possible

to issue false coins?

2-2933

Do not say, then, that all these utterances are false: the false (pretenders) are a

snare to the heart on the ground of (because they give) hope of truth.

2-2934

Do not say, then, that all this is fantasy and error: without truth fantasy does

not exist in the world.

2-2942

He that says, “All are true”— it is folly on his part; and he who says, “All are

false”—he is damned.

2-2939

If there were no faulty things in the world, all fools would be shrewd

merchants.

2-2940

Then it would be very easy to know the value of goods: when there is no

defect, what is the difference between the incompetent and the competent

appraiser?

2-2941

And if everything is faulty, knowledge is of no advantage: since everything

here is common wood, aloeswood is not to be found.

The Ninth Rivulet [2.5.9]

Gentleness and forbearance (ḥilm) and anger (ghaḍab).

4-113

A sober-minded man said to Jesus, “What is the hardest to bear of all things in

existence?”

4-114

He replied, “O my dear soul, the hardest is God’s anger, which makes Hell

tremble like ourselves.”

4-115

He said, “How can you protect yourself against this anger of God?” Jesus said,

“By immediately abandoning your own anger.”

4-116

Therefore, as the enforcer of the law became this anger’s mine (source), his

ugly anger surpassed even that of a wild beast.

4-117

What hope is there for him of Divine mercy, unless perhaps that graceless man

should relinquish that vile quality?

2-273

Do not bear malice: they who are led astray by malice, their graves are placed

next to the malicious.

2-274

The origin of malice is Hell, and your malice is a part of that whole and is the

enemy of your religion.

2-275

Since you are a part of Hell, beware! The part gravitates towards its whole.

344

Story. [2.5.9]

6-3281

One sheep fled from God’s Kalīm 992: the feet of Moses were blistered from

following it and his shoes fell off.

6-3282

He continued searching after it until nightfall, and meanwhile the flock had

vanished from his sight.

6-3283

The lost sheep was weakened and exhausted by fatigue: then God’s

Kalīm shook the dust off it,

6-3284

And stroked its back and head with his hand, fondling it lovingly like a mother.

6-3285

Not even half a speck of irritation and anger, nothing but love, pity and tears!

6-3286

He said to the sheep, “I grant that you had no pity on me, but why did your

nature show such cruelty to itself?”

6-3287

At that moment God said to the angels, “So-and-so is suitable for

Prophethood.”

6-3289

And that without his having been a shepherd and having undergone that trial,

God did not bestow on him the leadership of the world993.

6-3291

In order that the Prophets’ dignity994 and patience should be manifested, God

made them shepherds before investing them with Prophethood.

6-3292

Every prince who performs the task of shepherding mankind in such a way that

he obeys the Commandments of God

6-3293

And in tending them with foresight and understanding shows a forbearance like

that of Moses,

6-3294

Inevitably God will bestow on him a spiritual shepherd’s task exalted above the

sphere of the moon,

6-3295

Even as He raised the Prophets from the herding of sheep and gave them the

task of tending the righteous.

1-3347

When a self-conceited person has seen anyone commit a sin, there appears a

fire from Hell in him.

1-3348

He calls that hellish pride defence of the Religion: he does not see the soul of

arrogance in himself.

992 In the Muslim tradition, Kalīmu’Llāh, “he who spoke with God” is the epithet of the Prophet Moses (Ḥażrat Mūsā).

993 Ḥadīth: “All those who have been chosen as Prophets by the Lord have been shepherds to their people”. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 578.

994 Here, “dignity” implies “calmness”, “modesty” and “constancy”.

345

1-3349

Defence of the Religion has a different character, for from that religious fire a

whole world is green (verdant and flourishing).

The wrath of the Perfect Man995. [2.5.9]

1-3799

Anger is king over kings, and to me it is a slave: I have bound even anger

under the bridle.

1-3800

A sword of my forbearance has struck the neck of my anger; the anger of God

has come on me like mercy.

1-3794

I am not a straw, I am a mountain of forbearance, patience and justice: how

should the fierce wind carry off the mountain?”

1-3825

“Since I am free, how should anger bind me? Nothing is here but Divine

qualities. Come in!

The Tenth Rivulet [2.5.10]

Sincerity (ikhlāṣ)996.

2-2900

If you closely examine the work of them who follow falsehood, you will see

that it stinks, layer upon layer, like an onion –

2-2901

Every single one of these efforts weaker than another, while, in the case of the

sincere, every effort is more excellent than the other.

3-4591

The former loves God for the sake of some apparent cause, while the other

does indeed have a pure disinterested love.

3-4592

The former loves the Wet-Nurse, only for the sake of the milk, while the other

has given his heart for the sake of the Veiled One.

3-4593

The child (the blind follower) has no knowledge of Her beauty: he has no

desire for Her in his heart except for milk,

3-4594

While the other is, truly, the lover of the Wet-Nurse: he is disinterested, single—

minded in passionate love.

3-4595

That is why he who loves God because of hope and fear, studiously reads the

book of blind imitation, without the interference of logic and reason.

3-4596

While he who loves God for God’s sake – where is he? For he is separated

from all self-interests and apparent causes.

995 In a ḥadīth qudsī, God says: “Verily, My mercy precedes My wrath”.

996 Qur’ān 18: 110.

346

Story. [2.5.10]

1-3721

Learn how to act sincerely997 from ‘Alī: know that the Lion of God (‘Alī) was

purified from all deceit.

1-3722

In fighting against the infidels he got the upper hand of (vanquished) a certain

heroic warrior998, quickly drew a sword and made haste to slay him.

1-3723

He spat in the face of ‘Alī, the pride of every Prophet and every Saint;

1-3724

He spat on the countenance before which the face of the moon prostrates itself

in the place of worship.

1-3725

‘Alī at once threw his sword away and stopped fighting him999.

1-3726

The heroic warrior was astounded by this act and by his showing forgiveness

and mercy without reason (occasion).

1-3727

He said, “You lifted your sharp sword against me: why have you flung it aside

and spared me?

1-3787

He said, “I am wielding the sword for God’s sake, I am the servant of God, I

am not under the command of the body.

1-3788

I am the Lion of God, I am not the lion of passion: my deed bears witness to

my religion.

1-3802

Since the thought of something other than God has intervened, it is fitting that I

should sheathe my sword.

1-3976

When you spat in my face, my fleshly self ( nafs) was aroused and my good

nature was spoiled.

1-3977

Half of my fighting came to be for God’s sake, and half for idle passion: in

God’s affair partnership1000 is not allowable.

1-3980

The infidel heard this, and a light appeared in his heart, so that he cut a

girdle1001.

1-3981

He said, “I was sowing the seed of injustice: I imagined you to be different

than you are.

1-3985

I am the slave of the great wave of that Sea of Light which makes a pearl like

this visible.

997 I.e. to act for God’s sake alone, without any regard to self-interest (Nich.).

998 Literally “champion”.

999 Literally “relaxed (his efforts) in fighting him”.

1000 I.e. to associate the worship and service of God with any other object (Nich.).

1001 I.e. the sacred thread ( kushtī) which Zoroastrians wear on their waists (Nich.).

347

1-3986

Offer me the declaration of the Muslim Faith1002, for I consider you as the

exalted one of the time.

1-3987

Almost fifty persons of his relatives and tribe lovingly turned their faces

towards the Religion.

1-3988

With the sword of clemency ‘Alī saved the throats of so many people from the

sword.

1-3989

The sword of clemency is sharper than the sword of iron; no, it yields more

victories than a hundred armies.

Hypocrisy (riyā)1003. [2.5.10]

4-1564

The body is like a letter: look into it and see whether it is worthy of the King;

then take it to Him.

4-1565

Go into a corner, open the letter, read it, see whether its words are fit for kings.

4-1566

If it is not fit, tear it in pieces and write another letter and correct the fault1004.

4-1568

How hard and difficult is it to open the letter! It is a task for men, not for

children playing with knucklebones1005.

4-1569

We have all become satisfied with reading the table of contents, because we are

steeped in greed and vain desire.

4-1570

The table of contents is a snare for the common people, that they may think the

text of the scroll is like that table.

4-1571

Open the title-page, do not turn your neck away from these words – and God

knows best which course is right.

4-1572

That title is like a declaration made by the tongue: examine the text of the

scroll, namely, the bosom (your inner self),

4-1573

And see whether it is in agreement with your declaration, in order that your

actions may not be hypocritical.

Story. [2.5.10]

4-1578

A certain theologian1006 had collected some old rags and wound them in his

turban,

1002 The Shahāda, which consists of the words “I testify that there is no deity but God and I testify that Muḥammad is the Messenger of God”. Shī‘ī Muslims add the phrase “and I testify that ‘Alī is the Friend of God”.

1003 Qur’ān 4:142.

1004 Literally “remedy (the fault)”.

1005 Literally “children of the knucklebone” (Nich.).

1006 A faqīh, one who is well-versed in fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence.

348

4-1579

In order that it might become big and look dignified when he came into the

assembly in the Ḥaṭīm 1007.

4-1580

He had clipped the rags from various garments and outwardly embellished the

turban with them.

4-1581

The exterior of the turban was like a robe of Paradise, but it was shameful and

ugly within, like the hypocrite.

4-1582

Shreds of dalq (dervish-cloak), cotton and fur were buried inside that turban.

4-1583

He had turned his face towards the madrasa1008 at dawn1009, that by means of

this false dignity he might gain material blessings.

4-1584

A clothes-robber stood waiting on the dark road to practise his craft.

4-1585

He snatched the turban from his head, and then started to run in order that he

might settle the business.

4-1586

Then the theologian shouted at him, saying, “O son, undo the turban first, then

take it away with you.

4-1587

Even as you are flying with four wings very rapidly, undo the gift which you

are taking away with the same speed.

4-1588

Undo it and rub (feel) with your hand, then take it if you like: I have made it

allowable1010.”

4-1589

When he who was fleeing undid it, a hundred thousand rags fell on the road.

4-1591

He dashed the rag on the ground, saying, “O worthless man, by this fraud you

have put me out of business (deprived me of profit).”

4-1574

When you are carrying a very heavy sack, you must not fail to look into it1011.

4-1575

To see what of sour and sweet you have in the sack. If it is worth bringing

along, bring it;

4-1576

Otherwise, empty your sack of the stones in it, and save yourself from this

fruitless toil and disgrace.

4-1577

Put in the sack only that which must be brought to righteous sulṭāns and kings.

1007 The name Ḥaṭīm is properly given to a semi-circular wall adjoining the north and west corners of the Ka‘ba.

Here it denotes the space between the wall and the Ka‘ba (Nich.).

1008 Madrasa means “a place of learning”.

1009 Literally “(at the time of) the morning-drink” (Nich.).

1010 In the Persian text the word ḥalāl is used, which is the Islamic legal term for what is allowable.

1011 Literally “no less is necessary than that you should look into it” (Nich.).

349

1-2700

Produce some evidence other than talk and show, so that the beautiful King

may take pity,

1-2701

For the evidence that consisted of talk and show has always been invalidated

before the Supreme Judge.

1-2702

He requires truth (veracity) as witness to the indigent man’s state, so that his

inner light shall shine out and proclaim his indigence without any words of

his.”

2-1313

For the mukhliṣ (sincere worshipper) is in danger of the snare until he becomes

entirely purified of self,

2-1314

Because he is still on the Way, and the highwaymen are innumerable: only he

escapes who is protected by God.

2-1316

But when the mukhliṣ has become mukhlaṣ 1012, he is delivered: he has reached

the place of safety and has won the victory.

The Sixth River [2.6]

The qualities which enable a sālik to come closer to the Way of God.

The First Rivulet [2.6.1]

Samā‘ (spiritual musical audition) is the sālik’s spiritual

food, enabling him to experience the Divine1013.

Poem by Ḥażrat Shaykh Sa‘du’ddīn al-Ḥamawī1014:

“During samā‘1015, the heart is filled with the Beloved’s fragrance

and the soul is transported to the Garden of Divine Secrets.

These melodies are like a horse that carries your spirit

to the world of your Beloved.”

4-735

But the true believers say that the influences of Paradise made every unpleasant

sound beautiful.

4-736

We all have been parts of Adam, we have heard those melodies in Paradise.

1012 The mukhliṣ is he who worships devotedly, but regards his devotion as his own, while the mukhlaṣ, whom God has purified of self, attributes all his actions to God (Nich.). Mukhlaṣ refers to the sālik who has become free of all worldy attachments.

1013 Qur’ān 39:17-18: “So give good news to My servants; those who listen to the word, then follow the best of it; those are the ones whom God has guided, and those are the ones who are endowed with of understanding.”

1014 Ḥażrat Shaykh Sa‘du’ddīn Muḥammad ibn al-Mu’ayyad al-Ḥamawī (ca. 1191-1252 CE) was a Persian

mystic who was widely acclaimed by his contemporaries.

1015 Samā‘ (from the Arabic “to listen” or “to hear”): ritual gathering where Ṣūfīs listen to mystical singing and music. The aim of samā‘ is to reach a heightened state of consciousness, which draws them closer to the Divine Beloved and eventually unites them with Him. In scientific literature samā‘ is usually translated as “spiritual audition” or “mystical audition”.

350

4-737

Although the water and earth of our bodies have made us doubt, something of

those melodies comes back to our memory.

4-732

For the shrill noise of the surnā 1016 and the menace of the drum somewhat

resemble that universal trumpet.

1-1920

The sensual ear does hear those melodies, for the sensual ear is defiled by vice.

4-733

That is why the wise have said that we received these harmonies from the

revolution of the celestial sphere,

4-734

And that this melody which people sing with ṭanbūr 1017 and throat is the sound

of the revolutions of the sphere;

4-742

Therefore samā‘1018 is the food of lovers of God, since it contains the vision of

inner unity and peace.

4-743

From hearing sounds and songs the inner visions derive a great strength; in fact

they take shape (become forms) in the inner being.

4-744

The fire of love is made sharp (inflamed) by melodies, just as the fire (ardour)

of the man who dropped walnuts into the water1019:

Allegory. [2.6.1]

4-745

The water was in a deep place: the thirsty man went up the tree and scattered

the walnuts one by one.

4-746

The walnuts were falling from the walnut-tree into the water: its sound reached

him, and he saw the bubbles.

4-747

A sensible person said to him, “Leave it alone, o young man: truly, the loss of

the walnuts will bring thirst (regret) to you.

4-748

The more the fruit falls into the water – since the water is below at a great

distance from you,

4-749

The river-water will have carried the fruit far away before you will have

managed to come down from the top of the tree.”

4-750

He replied, “My purpose in this scattering is not to come to possess the

walnuts: look more keenly, do not stop at this superficial view.

1016 Surnā: a hobo-like double-reed wind instrument.

1017 Ṭanbūr or ṭunbūr: a Persian long-necked lute.

1018 During Samā‘, Ṣūfī dervishes often experience various states of mystical ecstasy; more advanced Ṣūfīs often enter into a state of perfect inner peace.

1019 This verse and the following verses are taken from a story about a thirsty man who dropped walnuts into

water in order that he might enjoy the sound of it, as though it were sweet music. “Thirsty” should be understood in a spiritual sense, i.e. thirsty for the Divine.

351

4-751

My purpose is that the sound of the water should reach my ears; also, that I

should see these bubbles on the surface of the water.”

4-752

What, indeed, is the thirsty man’s business in the world? To circle forever

around the base of the tank.

1-1919

The Prophets also have spiritual melodies within, from where there comes

priceless life to them who seek God.

3-33

“The truly noble is he who gives to himself the Water of Life that remains

forever”

1-2763

Not every one is able to hear rightly: the fig is not a morsel for every little bird.

The ney (reed flute) or the narrator of Divine love. [2.6.1]

1-1

Listen to the reed how it tells a tale, complaining of separation –1020

1-2

Saying, “Ever since I was cut from the reed-bed, my lament has caused man

and woman to moan.

1-3

I want a bosom torn by severance, that I may unfold the pain of love-desire to

him.

1-4

Everyone who is left far from his source longs for the time when he was united

with it.

1-5

In every company I uttered my wailing notes, I consorted with the unhappy and

with them who rejoice.

1-6

Everyone became my friend following his own opinion; none sought my inner

secrets.

1-7

My secret is not far from my complaint, but ear and eye lack the light (to

understand it).

1-8

The body is not veiled from the soul, nor the soul from the body, yet none is

allowed to see the soul.

1-9

This sound of the reed is fire, it is not wind: whoever does not have this fire,

may he be annihilated!

1-10

It is the fire of Love that is in the reed, it is the fervour of Love that is in the

wine.

1-13

The reed tells of the Way full of blood and relates stories of the passion of

Majnūn1021.

1020 Ḥażrat Shaykh Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī, a renowned Ṣūfī Master (d. 996 CE), said about this verse: “The true

believer is like a reed when his voice becomes beautiful”. Source: Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 592.

352

1-11

The reed is the companion of everyone who has been parted from a friend: its

strains pierced our hearts1022.

1-12

Who ever saw a poison and antidote like the reed? Who ever saw a confidant

and a longing lover like the reed?

1-29

When the rose is gone and the garden has faded, you will hear the nightingale’s

story no more.

1-28

But whoever is parted from one who speaks his language becomes dumb, even

though he has a hundred songs.

1-27

Were I joined to the lip of one in harmony with me, I too, like the reed, would

tell all that may be told;

6-2002

We have two vocal mouths, like the reed: one mouth is hidden in its lips.

6-2003

One mouth is wailing at you: it lets many shrill notes fall in the air;

6-2006

If the reed did not converse with1023 his lip, the reed would not fill the world

with music sweet as sugar.

6-659

These two – the minstrel1024 and the wine – are partners: this one quickly leads

to that, and that one to this.

6-660

They who languish for drunkenness feed on the song of the minstrel: the

minstrels bring them to the Tavern1025.

6-645

The minstrel led them to intoxication; then again, the intoxicated one drank

intoxication from the song of the minstrel.

6-646

The mystic fetches God’s Wine to drink because of the spiritual minstrel, while

the sensual man drinks the bodily wine from the sensual minstrel1026.

6-644

The spiritual minstrel is the bosom-friend of those intoxicated with God: he is

the dessert, food and strength of the drunken.

1021 This refers to the classical love story of “Laylā and Majnūn”, also known as “Laylā and the Madman”, as

majnūn means “possessed (by a jinnī, a spirit)” or “mad” in Arabic. Majnūn was so desperately in love with and possessed by Laylā’s beauty that he lost his senses. In Sūfī literature, Laylā symbolizes the Supreme Beauty of the Divine Beloved. The Persian form of the name Laylā is Laylī.

1022 Literally “rent our veils” (Nich.).

1023 I.e. “if the reed was not joined to the lip”.

1024 The minstrel ( muṭrib): a Ṣūfī minstrel who performs music and/or sings mystical poetry during the practice of Samā‘.The ecstasy Ṣūfīs often experience during Samā‘ is often referred to as “drunkenness”, caused by “Wine”, i.e. the overwhelming force of Love. The Ṣūfī Master who presides over the Samā‘ usually is

considered the one who pours the Wine.

1025 In Ṣūfī terminology, “the Tavern” symbolizes the heart of the Perfect Ṣūfī, the Master who has realized

Union with God.

1026 Qur’ān 76:21: “and their Lord will give them a purifying drink.”

353

The Second Rivulet [2.6.2]

Dhikr (remembrance of God)1027.

“And remember your Lord when you forget it1028.”

6-1476

Remembrance (of God) brings thought into movement: make remembrance the

sun for this frozen thought.

6-1475

We have said so much: think of the rest, or if thought is frozen (unable to

move), practice remembrance of God1029.

4-435

It is just like the naked man who jumps into the water, so that in the water he

might escape from the sting of the hornets:

4-436

The hornets circle above him, and when he puts out his head they do not spare

him.

4-437

The water is remembrance ( dhikr) of God, and the hornet is the memory,

during this time, of such-and-such a woman or such-and-such a man.

4-438

Swallow (hold) your breath in the water of recollection and be brave1030, that

you may be freed from the old thought and temptation.

5-470

Concoct a deceit that you may be delivered from your own deceit; concoct a

deceit that you may become detached from the body1031.

3-186

Remembrance of God is pure: when purity has come, impurity packs and

leaves.

3-187

Opposites flee from opposites: night flees when the light of dawn breaks.

3-188

When the pure (holy) Name comes into the mouth, neither impurity nor any

sorrow remains.

Story. [2.6.2]

6-4021

Zalīkhā1032 had applied the name of everything to Joseph, from rue-seed to

aloeswood.

1027 Dhikr or dhikru’Llāh means “remembrance of God” or “restoring the memory of God”, by repeating various sacred phrases and names of God, either silently or aloud. Dhikr is practised individually as well as collectively, and is the most fundamental practice of Sufism. Practising dhikr restores man’s memory and consciousness of his True Being, his essential unity with the Divine. “Dhikr” is not limited to one or more practices: literally anything that brings about this mystical consciousness may be called “dhikr”.

1028Qur’ān 18:24.

1029 As explained earlier, dhikr or dhikru’Llāh – remembrance of God – can be practised in many ways and can take on any form. However, in this case dhikr only means “remembrance of God by incessantly repeating one or more of His names”.

1030 Literally “be patient”.

1031 In the Persian text its says az jasad, which means “from the body”, this may also be read as az ḥasad, meaning “from envy”.

1032 Zalīkhā is the Persian form of the Arabic name Zulaykha. The story of Yūsuf (Joseph) and Zulaykha is told in the Qur’ān (SūraYūsuf – the 12thSūra – verses 31-34), even though Zulaykha’s name is not explicitly

354

6-4022

She hid his name in all other names and made their inner meaning known to

none but her confidants.

6-4024

And if she said, “Look, the moon has risen”; or if she said, “The willow-branch

is green with new leaves”;

6-4025

Or if she said, “The leaves are quivering mightily”, or if she said, “The rue-seed is burning merrily”;

6-4026

Or if she said, “The rose has told her secret to the nightingale”, or if she said,

“The king has disclosed his passion for Shahnāz1033”;

6-4028

Or if she said, “The water carrier has brought the water”; or if she said, “The

sun has risen”;

6-4030

Or if she said, “The loaves of bread have no salt (taste)”; or if she said, “The

heavenly sphere is going round in the opposite direction”;

6-4029

Or if she said, “Last night they cooked a potful of food” or “The vegetables are

cooked to perfection1034”;

6-4031

Or if she said, “My head aches”; or if she said, “My headache is better” –

6-4033

If she piled up a hundred thousand names, her meaning and intention was

always Joseph.

6-4035

Her thirst would be quenched by his name: the name of Joseph was a sherbet to

her soul1035;

6-4036

And if she was in pain, her pain would immediately be turned into profit by

that exalted name.

6-4037

In cold weather it was a fur to her. This, this is what the Beloved’s name can do

when one is in love.

6-4038

The common people are always pronouncing the Holy Name, but it does not do

this work for them since they are not endowed with true love.

6-4039

The miracle1036 which Jesus had worked by pronouncing the Name of Hū

(God) was manifested to her through his name (Joseph).

mentioned. Their story has been retold many times. The most famous version is the one written by the great

Persian Ṣūfī poet and mystic Ḥażrat Mawlānā Nūru’ddīn ‘Adbu’r-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414-1492 CE), in his Haft

Awrang (“Seven Thrones”).

1033 Literally “has told the secret of Shahnāz.”. The name Shahnāz means “the king’s delight.” (Nich.).

1034 Literally “have been made uniform by cooking.”(Nich.).

1035 Literally “an inward sherbet” (Nich.).

1036 I.e. bringing the dead to life (Nich.).

355

6-4040

When the soul has been united with God, to speak of God is to speak of the

soul, and to speak of the soul is to speak of God.

6-4041

She was empty of self and filled with love for her friend (Joseph), and (as the

proverb says), “A pot1037 drips what is in it.”

The Third Rivulet [2.6.3]

Contemplative thought and reflection (tafakkur).

“Indeed in that are signs for a people who reflect1038.”

1-2870

When you knock on the door of Reality, it will be opened to you: beat the wing

of thought, in order that you may be made a king-falcon.

2-3207

The right thought is that which opens a way: the right way is that on which a

spiritual king advances.

1-710

Go, pursue Reality, o worshipper of form, since Reality is the wing on form’s

body.

1-1136

Know that form springs from Reality like the lion from the jungle, or like voice

and speech from thought.

1-1137

This speech and voice arose from thought; you do not know where the sea of

thought is,

1-1138

But since you have seen that the waves of speech are full of subtle grace, you

know that their sea also is noble.

1-1140

The form was born of the Word and died again, the wave drew itself back into

the sea.

6-71

When it (the Mathnawī) is made singular and stripped of words, sounds and

breaths, it leaves all that behind and becomes the spiritual Ocean.

6-72

The speaker of the word, the hearer of the word and the words themselves – all

three become spirit in the end.

6-73

The bread-giver, the bread-receiver and the wholesome bread become singular

(stripped) of their forms and are turned into earth,

6-74

But their realities, in the three categories mentioned above, are both

distinguished from each other in these grades and are lasting

6-75

In appearance they have become earth, in reality they have not; if anyone says

that they have, say to him, “No, they have not.”

1037 Literally “from the pot” (Nich.).

1038 Qur’ān 13:3.

356

1-1141

The form came forth from Formlessness and returned to it, for Verily, to Him

we shall return 1039.

3-579

When you have broken and destroyed your own form, you have learned to

break the form of everything.

3-580

After that, you will break every form: like Ḥaydar1040 (‘Alī), you will uproot

the gate of Khaybar.

1-1018

How long will you care about form? After all, o form-worshipper, has your

Reality-lacking soul not yet escaped from form?

1-711

Seek the company of the followers of Reality, that you may both win the gift

and be generous (in giving yourself up to God).

1-3330

What is the form in the presence of (in comparison with) Reality? Very feeble.

It is the reality of the sky that keeps it upside down (like a cup turned upside

down).

1-3331

Judge by the analogy of the celestial wheel: where does its motion come from?

From Reason, which directs it.

1-3332

The motion of this shield-like body comes from the veiled spirit, o son.

1-3454

What is born from attribute and name? Imagination; and that imagination

shows the way to union with Him.

2-720

Reality is that which seizes (enraptures) you and makes you independent of

form.

2-721

Reality is not that which makes blind and deaf and causes a man to be more in

love with form.

2-578

I will tell you a story: listen to it attentively, that you may know that selfish

desire is a plug in the ear.

5-4064

Do not endure all this anguish for the sake of mere forms: grasp the reality

without suffering headache because of a form.

6-4399

The form (appearance) of the fire is beneath the kettle; the reality of the fire is

in the soul of the kettle.

1039 Qur’ān 2:156.

1040 Ḥaydar: a name of Ḥażrat ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, nephew and successor to the Prophet. Ḥaydar means “Lion of

God”, or “invincible warrior”, suggesting Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī’s perfect and exceptional courage and strength.

Certain Persian mystics have given an additional explanation of Ḥaydar: they say that Ḥay means “dragon”, and that dar is derived from the Persian verb darīdan, meaning “to tear up”, “to rip into pieces”. According to a traditional story, as a baby Ḥażrat ‘Alī tore a dragon to pieces from his cradle (the dragon being a symbol for the lower self – the nafs). Therefore Ḥaydar might be translated as “Dragon Slayer”. According to another version of this Persian traditional story, Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī gripped the dragon’s mouth and held it tightly shut, to prevent later mystical seekers from walking into it. Khaybar: a rebellious fortress in Arabia vanquished by

Ḥażrat ‘Alī in 629 CE.

357

6-4400

Its form is outside and its reality inside: the real nature of the soul’s Beloved is

(in the soul) like blood in the veins.

Outer form or appearance and inner quintessential

core or inner quintessential meaning. [2.6.3]

6-4747

Form is the shadow, reality is the sun: the shadowless light is only to be found

in the ruin1041.

1-2624

If the spiritual explanation were sufficient, the creation of the world would

have been vain and idle.

1-2640

And as for him who perceived the inner meaning in the outward form, the form

is both near to the meaning and far away from it.

1-2641

As to indication, they (the meaning and the form) are like the sap and the tree;

but when you turn to the essence1042, they are very far removed from each

other.

1-2769

The picture’s smiling appearance is for your sake, in order that by means of

that picture you may rightly understand the reality.

6-650

Bodies are like pots with the lids on: look and see what is in each pot.

6-651

The pot of that body is filled with the Water of Life; the pot of this body is

filled with the poison of death.

6-652

If you keep your eye fixed on the contents, you are a (spiritual) king; but if you

merely see its vessel, you are misguided.

1-1019

If a human being were a man on the basis of mere form, Aḥmad (Muḥammad)

and Bū Jahl1043 would be just the same.

1-1020

The painting on the wall is like Adam: see from the pictured form what is

missing in it.

1-1021

The soul is missing in that resplendent form: go, seek that rarely found jewel!

Without their inner quintessential core or meaning,

outer forms or appearances are transitory. [2.6.3]

4-2878

The unbeliever’s argument is just this, that he says, “I see no dwelling-place

except this external world”.

1041 I.e. when material forms are eliminated (Nich.).

1042 Literally māhiya, “quiddity”, “what it really is”.

1043 Bū Jahl is an abbreviated form of Abū Jahl: ‘Amr ibn Hishām, an uncle of the Prophet, was a Meccan leader who ferociously opposed Islām. He disliked Ḥażrat Muḥammad and publicly humiliated him. He had once been known as Abū’l-Ḥakam – “Father of Wisdom”, but because of his hostility to Ḥażrat Muḥammad, he came to be known as Abū Jahl – “Father of Ignorance”.

358

4-2879

He never thinks that in every place any external thing gives information of

hidden wise purposes.

4-2880

The usefulness of every external object is, indeed, internal: it is latent, like the

beneficial quality in medicines.

4-2881

Does any painter paint a beautiful picture1044 for the sake of the picture itself,

without hope of conferring benefit?

4-2884

Does any potter make a pot in haste for the sake of the pot itself and not in

hope of the water?

4-2885

Does any bowl-maker make a finished bowl for the sake of the bowl itself and

not for the sake of the food?

4-2886

Does any calligrapher write artistically for the sake of the writing itself and not

for the sake of the reading?

4-2887

The external form is for the sake of the unseen form; and that took shape for

the sake of another unseen form.

4-2888

Count up these consequences to the third, fourth, or tenth in proportion to your

insight.

4-2892

The first is for the sake of the second, like climbing the steps of a ladder;

4-2893

And consider the second to be for the sake of the third, and so on up to the end,

in order that you may arrive, step by step, at the roof.

5-1331

Since the foolish considered only the external appearances, and since the

subtleties (inner aspects) were very much hidden from them,

5-1332

Necessarily they were hindered from reaching the real object; for the subtlety

escaped them when the object presented itself.

6-3728

All the infinite ways of life and all the crafts are the shadow (reflection) of the

form of thoughts.

6-3729

For example, when happy people are standing on the edge of a roof, observe

the shadow of each one on the ground1045.

6-3730

The form of thought is on the mighty1046 roof of the spirit, while the action

resulting from it appears, like a shadow, on the pillars (bodily limbs).

1044 Literally “the beauty of the picture” (Nich.).

1045 This bears a very strong resemblance to Plato’s Theory of Forms (or Ideas). Sufism has been influenced by the Wisdom of the Ancient Greeks, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī simply adopted Plato’s Theory; it’s much more likely that these two great Sages obtained Wisdom from the same timeless and

universal Source and consequently arrived at the same insights.

1046 Literally “strengthened”.

359

6-3720

The formless working of God sows the seed of a form (idea), from where a

body grows up endowed with senses and a rational faculty,

6-3721

So that the form (idea), whatever it is, according to its own nature brings the

body into a state of good or evil1047.

6-3722

If it is a form (idea) of beneficence, the body becomes thankful; if it is a form

of delay, the body becomes patient;

6-3723

If it is a form of mercy, the body becomes flourishing; if it is a form of injury,

the body becomes full of moans;

6-3724

If it is the form of a city, the body travels to it; if it is the form of an arrow, the

body takes a shield in defence;

6-3725

If it is the form of beautiful ones, the body indulges in enjoyment; if it is a form

of the unseen world, the body practises spiritual seclusion ( khalwa).

6-3740

Know that the form of the walls and roof of every dwelling-place is a shadow

(reflection) of the thought of the architect,

6-3742

Assuredly the Absolute Agent is formless: form is as a tool in His hand.

6-3743

Sometimes the Formless One graciously shows His face to the forms from the

concealment (veil) of non-existence,

6-3744

So that every form may thereby be filled again with some perfection, beauty

and power.

6-3745

When, again, the Formless One has hidden His face, they come to beg in the

realm of colour and perfume.

All forms are dependent on the Formless One and the true

sālik must transcend all forms and appearances. [2.6.3]

6-3746

If one form seeks perfection from another form, it is the very essence of error.

6-3747

Why, then, o worthless man, do you submit your need to another needy

creature?

6-3748

Since all forms are slaves to God, do not say or think that form is applicable to

God: do not seek Him by tashbīh (the comparison of God to created things).

6-3750

And if you derive no advantage (comfort) except from form, the form that is

born within you involuntarily1048 is the best.

1047 Ḥadīth: “Actions are only by intention, and every man shall only have what he intended”. Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī, Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm ad-Dīn, Vol. 2, p. 338.

1048 Literally “without you”, i.e. without conscious thought or imagination on your part (Nich.).

360

6-3751

Suppose it is the form of a city to which you are going: you are drawn to it by a

formless feeling of pleasure, o dependent one1049.

6-3754

Therefore in reality you go to the formless world, even though you are unaware

that that is the object of your journey.

6-3753

Suppose it is the form of a friend to whom you would go: you are going for the

sake of enjoying his companionship.

6-3752

Therefore you are really going to that which has no location1050, for pleasure is

something different from place and time.

6-3755

In reality, then, God is worshipped by all, since all wayfaring is for the sake of

the pleasure (of which He is the source).

6-3756

But some have set their face towards the tail1051 and have lost the Head,

although the Head is the principal1052;

6-3757

But nevertheless, by means of the tail, that Head bestows the bounty proper to

Headship on those who are lost and erring.

6-3758

That one obtains the bounty from the Head, this one from the tail; another

group (of mystics) has lost both foot and head.

6-3759

Since all has been lost, they have gained all: by dwindling away (to

nothingness) they have rushed towards the Whole.

Words that contain the quintessential meaning of a subject. [2.6.3]

6-653

Know that words resemble this body and that their inner meaning resembles

the soul.

6-654

The bodily eye always sees the body; the spiritual eye sees the artful (elusive)

soul.

2-3013

The expression always fails to reach the meaning, which is why the Prophet

said, “(Whoever knows God), his tongue falters1053.”

2-3292

The word is like the nest, and the meaning is the bird: the body is the riverbed,

and the spirit is the rolling water.

2-3297

The husks on the surface of this rolling water have rushed along from the fruits

of the Invisible Garden.

1049 Literally “O rhyme-letter” (Nich.).

1050 No location: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

1051 I.e. phenomenal form (Nich.).

1052 In the Persian text the word aṣl is used, which primarily means “origin” or “root”.

1053 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 489.

361

2-3298

Seek the kernels of the husks (not on the water, but) in the Garden, because the

water comes from the Garden into the riverbed.

1-296

The letters are the vessel: the meaning is (contained) in it like water; but the sea

of the meaning is with God – with Him is the Ummu’l-Kitāb 1054.

2-3622

O brother, the story is like a measure: the real meaning in it resembles grain (in

the measure).

2-3623

The intelligent man will take the grain of meaning: he will not pay any

attention to the measure: even if it is removed altogether.

2-3624

Listen to what passes between the rose and the nightingale, even though in that

case there is no obvious speech.

2-3625

Listen also to what passes between the moth and the candle, and pick out the

meaning, o worshipful one1055.

2-3626

Even though there is no speech, there is the inmost soul of speech. Come, fly

upward, do not fly low, like the owl.

2-3627

The chess-player said, “This is the house of the rook1056”. “How”, he said (the

literalist), “did the house come into its hands?

2-3628

Did it buy the house, or inherit it?” – happy is he who rushed towards the real

meaning!

4-1285

Move on from the outer form and rise beyond the name: flee from title and

from name and enter into reality.

Story. [2.6.3]

5-354

A certain Ṣūfi tore his jubba 1057in distress: after it had been torn, relief ( faraj)

came to him.

5-355

He gave the name farajī 1058 to that torn garment: from that man, who was a

confidant of God, this title became well-known.

1054 Qur’ān 13:39. In Arabic, Ummu’l-Kitāb means “the Mother of the Book”. This term usually refers to Sūratu’l-Fātiḥa, the Opening Sūra of the Qur’ān. However, Ummu’l-Kitā b equally means a heavenly prototype, the substance, essence or “blueprint” of all holy books, i.e. not only of the Qur’ān, but of the sacred scriptures of all religions. The Ummu’l-Kitāb is inscribed on the “Preserved Tablet” ( al-Lawḥu’l-Maḥfūẓ). Ṣūfīs mystics have also identified Ummu’l-Kitāb with the First Intellect ( al-‘Aqlu’l-Awwal), which is the first manifestation of Divine Beauty. Since man’s true nature is Divine, this implies man’s possibility to attain to Divine Knowledge.

1055 Literally “o idol” (Nich.).

1056 The castle at chess.

1057 A long outer garment, open in front, with wide sleeves.

1058 One who obtains relief ( faraj).

362

5-356

This title became well-known; but only the Ṣūfī Shaykh grasped its pure

essence: in the nature of the common people the mere letter, which is the dregs,

remained.

5-357

Similarly, with every name, the Shaykh has kept the pure essence and left the

mere name behind, like dregs.

5-358

Whoever is a clay-eater (corporealist1059) took the dregs, but the Ṣūfī went

impatiently towards the pure essence.

5-359

He said to himself, “The dregs necessarily have a pure essence: with the help of

this indication the heart advances to purity.”

5-363

The true Ṣūfī is he who has become a seeker of purity: it is not by wearing the

garment of wool, patching it1060 and committing sodomy.

5-365

To wear colours (coloured garments) with the desire1061 of attaining to that

purity and good name is good (commendable), but

5-366

Only if, with its desire, you go on until you attain to its essential principle; not

like those who worship numerous worldly fancies.

6-84

The Holy Transcendent One who makes the apple-orchard hides them (the

apples) in a mist of words.

6-85

From this mist of sound, words and talk arises such a screen that nothing of the

apple is perceived except its scent.

6-86

At least draw (inhale) this scent in greater quantity with the nostrils of your

intelligence, that taking you by the ear it may lead you towards your origin.

6-87

Preserve the scent and beware of nasal secretions: protect your body from the

cold wind (breath) and being of the common people,

6-88

For fear that its effect would stop up your nose: ah, their air is colder than

winter.

1-3453

How will you be freed from selfish desires without the cup of Hū (Him1062), o

you who have become content with no more of Hū than the name of Hū?

1-3456

Have you ever seen a name without the reality (denoted by the name)? Or have

you plucked a rose from the letters r-o-s-e1063?

1059 One who denies the reality of spiritual existences; a materialist.

1060 I.e. by merely showing off the outer attributes of a Ṣūfī without actually practising Sufism.

1061 Literally “with the fancy of”.

1062 In Arabic, hu is the shortened form of the third person masculine singular personal pronoun huwa (“he”), and is used as a suffix, e.g. ra’aytu-hu (meaning “I saw him”). In Sufism however, the name or sound Hū represents the Divine Essence, and as such Hū is neither male nor female.

1063 In Persian the word for “rose” is gul, and is written with the letters gāf and lām.

363

1-3457

You have pronounced the name: go, seek the thing named. Know that the moon

is high above, not in the water of the stream.

1-1729

What are words that you should think of them? What are words? Thorns in the

hedge of the vineyard.

1-1730

I will throw word, sound and speech into confusion, so that I may converse

with you without these three.

1-3092

O God, reveal to the soul that place where speech grows without letters,

1-3093

So that the pure soul may make of its head a foot (fly headlong) towards the

far-stretching expanse of non-existence.

1-3409

The Abdāl (exalted Saints) have certain mystical expressions which the

doctrines of external religion do not know.

1-3458

If you want to pass beyond name and letter, oh, purify yourself wholly of self.

2-159

The Ṣūfī’s book does not consist of ink and letters: it is nothing but a heart

white as snow.

2-160

The scholar’s provision consists of pen-marks (written letters and words). What

is the Ṣūfī’s provision? Footprints.

3-1173

Since the knee1064 is the Ṣūfī’s school, the two knees are magic for solving a

problem.

The Fourth Rivulet [2.6.4]

Transcending the stage of Doubt (shakk wa taraddud)

and reaching the realm of Certainty (yaqīn).

3-4124

Spiritual vision is immediately born of certainty, just as imagination is born of

opinion.

3-4117

And in you, o contemptible man, there is this wonderful opinion that does not

fly to the garden of certainty.

3-4118

O son, every opinion is thirsting for certainty and ambitiously flapping its

wings (in search of it).

3-4119

When it attains to knowledge, then the wing becomes a foot1065, and its

knowledge begins to scent certainty,

3-4120

For in the tested Way knowledge is inferior to certainty, but above opinion.

1064 Referring to the posture of Ṣūfīs whilst engaged in meditation (Nich.).

1065 I.e. the aspiration becomes a basis for further progress (Nich.).

364

3-4121

Know that knowledge is a seeker of certainty, and certainty is a seeker of

vision and intuition.

3-4122

Seek this difference between knowledge and intuitive certainty now, in the

Sūra which begins with alhākum (“[the pursuit of worldly things] diverts you”

for after the word kallā (“By no means”) and after the words law ta‘lamūna

(“if only you had knowledge [of certainty]1066”).

3-4123

Knowledge leads to vision, o knowing one: if knowledge became intuitive

certainty, they would see Hell.

3-1510

Knowledge has two wings, opinion one wing: opinion is defective and

curtailed in flight.

3-1511

The one-winged bird soon falls headlong; then again it flies up some two paces

or a little more.

3-1512

The bird, opinion, falling and rising, goes on with one wing in hope of reaching

the nest.

3-1513

But when he has been delivered from opinion, Knowledge shows its face to

him: that one-winged bird becomes two-winged and spreads its wings.

3-1514

After that, it walks upright and straight, not falling flat on its face or feeling ill.

3-1515

It flies upward with two wings, like Gabriel, without opinion, without

uncertainty and without idle talk.

Speculative uncertainty and illusory conjecture

(ẓann wa wahm) as obstacles on the Path. [2.6.4]

3-1558

Imagination and opinion are the downfall of particular (discursive) reason,

because its dwelling-place is in the darkness.

5-2659

A hundred thousand awe-inspiring and formidable ships have been shattered to

pieces1067 in the sea of imagination.

5-2662

Since your own imagination keeps you giddy-headed, why should you revolve

around the imagination of another1068?

3-1559

If there is a path half an ell wide on the ground, a man will walk safely without

delusive imagination.

3-1560

But if you walk on the top of a high wall, you will stagger1069, even if it is two

ells wide.

1066 Qur’an 102:1-5.

1067 Literally “have become plank (torn apart from) plank (Nich.).

1068 I.e. first heal yourself before attending to others (Nich.).

1069 Literally become crooked (Nich.).

365

3-4027

The infidel1070 has fear in his heart, for, judging from opinion, he lives in doubt

regarding the Other World.

3-4028

He is walking along the road, but he does not know any halting place: one who

has a blind heart walks timidly.

3-4029

When the traveller does not know the way, how does he go? He goes with

many hesitations, while his heart is full of blood (anguish).

3-4030

If anyone says to him, “Hey! This is not the way1071, he will halt there and

stand still in terror.

3-4031

But if the traveller’s wise heart knows the way, how should every hey and ho

go into his ear?

3-4032

Therefore do not travel with these camel-hearted (cowardly) ones, for at the

time of distress and danger they are the ones who sink.

Certainty as the guideline towards Salvation. [2.6.4]

3-2348

Anyone who has dreamed of the Day of Alast 1072 is intoxicated in the path of

devotional works, intoxicated:

3-2349

Like an intoxicated (frenzied) camel, he is bearing this heavy sack without

weakening, without questioning and without fatigue.

3-2353

But he who has not dreamed such a dream in Alast does not become a servant

and seeker of God in this world;

3-2354

Or if he does become one, he is always changing and shifting1073 in

indecisiveness: he gives thanks to God for one moment and utters complaints

for a year.

3-2355

He steps forward and backwards in the Way of the Religion with a hundred

hesitations and without any certainty.

3-490

This wavering is a steep cliff on the Way to God: oh, blessed is he whose feet

are loosened (from its bonds).

3-488

This wavering is a prison and jail that will not let the soul go in any direction.

1070 Literally gabr, which originally meant “fire-worshipper”. By the time of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī, the term gabr was applied to anyone who didn’t adhere to Islām. Since gabr had such a pejorative connotation, in time followers of the Zoroastrian faith were given the respectable name Zardushtī.

1071 Literally the way is not in this direction (Nich.).

1072 Qur’ān 7:172 – the Day of Alast: while all human souls already existed within God before creation, God asked them: “Am I not your Lord? ( a lastu bi-Rabbikum? )”, and they all answered “Yes! We testify!”. Ṣūfī

mystics have always endeavoured to inwardly remember the Day of Alast, in order to return to man’s true inner state, which is the awareness of the soul’s existence in the love of God, just as the love of God has always existed within the souls of mankind.

1073 Literally “he is in a hundred minds” (Nich.).

366

3-489

This motive draws you in one direction, and that motive in another, each

motive saying, “I am the right way”.

3-1516

If all the world should say to him, “You are on the Way of God and are

following the right religion,”

3-1517

He will not be made hotter1074 by their words: his lonely soul will not associate

with them;

3-1518

And if they all should say to him, “You are straying: you think you are a

mountain, and in reality you are a blade of straw,”

3-1519

He will not fall into opinion (doubt) because of their taunts, he will not be

grieved by their departure (estrangement from him).

3-1520

No, if seas and mountains should gain speech and say to him, “You are wedded

to perdition,”

3-1521

Not the least bit will he fall into fantasy or sickness because of the taunts of the

scoffers.

The world of fantasy (khayāl) as a veil. [2.6.4]

1-70

In the spirit fantasy is as nothing, yet see a world based on a fantasy!

1-71

Their peace and their war are based on a fantasy, and their pride and their

shame spring from a fantasy.

5-320

Inspired by a fantasy, one person is filled with desire for magnificence and

turns his face towards the mines of precious ore in the mountains;

5-321

And, inspired by a fantasy, another turns his face with bitter toil towards the

sea for the sake of pearls;

5-322

And another goes into a church to perform religious exercises, while another

applies himself to sowing in his greed for profit.

5-2648

The world of imagination and the phantom of hope and fear are a great obstacle

to the traveller (on the mystical Path).

5-2649

The pictures (illusions) of this picture-making fantasy were harmful even to

one like Khalīl (Abraham), who was firm as a mountain.

5-2650

The noble Abraham said, “This is my Lord”1075, when he fell into the world

(fell into the grip) of imagination.

1074 I.e. more fervent in his Faith (Nich.).

1075 See Qur’ān 6:76.

367

5-2651

The person who bored the pearl of interpretation1076, interpreted the mention of

the star 1077 in this way.

2-594

Man obtains fatness from (thrives on) fantasy, if his fantasies are beautiful.

5-2654

Understandings strong as mountains have been submerged in the seas of

imagination and the whirlpools of fantasy.

2-595

And if his fantasies show anything unpleasant he melts away like wax is melted

by a fire.

2-598

Patience is sweetened by beautiful fantasy, since in that case the fantasies of

relief from pain have come to the mind.

2-1029

By one thought that comes into the mind a hundred worlds are overthrown in a

single moment.

2-1032

See the endless number of people who, moved by one thought, have gone over

the earth like a flood;

2-1034

So, when you see that every craft in the world arises and subsists from a

thought.

2-277

O brother, you are that same thought of yours; as for the rest of you, you are

only bone and fibre.

2-278

If your thought is a rose, you are a rose-garden; and if it is a thorn, you are fuel

for the bath-stove.

2-3559

All creatures are subjugated to thought; that is why they have weary hearts and

are full of sorrow.

3-837

All eyes and ears have been closed, except for them who have escaped from

themselves.

Division between groups of people arises

from the negative power of illusion. [2.6.4]

5-2656

By this fantasy, which infests the road of Faith1078 like a highwayman, the

followers of the true Religion have become split into seventy-two sects.

5-325

The observer sees that the ways of action in the external world are different

since they arise from the various inner fantasies.

5-327

Unless those fantasies are not in harmony with each other, how did the ways of

action become externally different?

1076 I.e. gave a profound and convincing interpretation (Nich.).

1077 The star ( kawkab) is mentioned in Qur’ān 6:76: “When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said:

“This is my Lord”. But when it set, He said: “I do not love things that set”.

1078 Literally “the way of certainty” ( rāh-e yaqīn).

368

5-329

They are like people trying to find the direction of the Ka‘ba and each turning

in a certain direction which they imagine is the qibla (direction of prayer).

5-328

Since the qibla (the true object) of the soul has been hidden, every one has

turned his face to a different direction1079.

5-330

When at dawn the Ka‘ba appears, it is revealed who has lost the right way.

5-350

Everyone else has turned his face in some direction, but the holy ones have

turned towards that which transcends direction.

5-351

Every other pigeon flies on some course, but this pigeon (spiritual person) flies

in a region where there is no region.

5-2657

The man of sure faith is delivered from imagination and fantasy: he does not

call a hair of the eyebrow the new moon1080.

1-72

But those fantasies which ensnare the Saints are the reflection of the beautiful

ones1081 of the garden of God.

3-1095

I will confound all their deceits, and I will reduce to little that which they

increase.

3-1096

Let them fetch water, and I will make it fire; let them get honey and sweets and

I will make them bitter.

3-1097

Let them join in a bond of love, and I will destroy it; I will do that which they

cannot imagine.

3-967

Hand is above hand: how far is this (series)? Up to God, for to Him is the final

goal 1082.

3-968

For that Omnipotence is a sea without bottom or shore: all the seas together are

but as a torrent compared to it.

3-969

If human deceits and schemes are a dragon, yet they all are nothing ( lā) next to

(there is no god) except Allāh ( illā’Llāhu).

1-3445

Come, recognize that your imagination, reflection, sense-perception and

apprehension are like the reed-cane on which children ride.

1-3437

They all are riding on a reed-cane (hobby-horse), saying, “This is our Burāq1083

or mule that walks like Duldul1084.

1079 Literally “to a different side”.

1080 This verse refers to the story of Ḥażrat ‘Umar and the new moon – see Mathnawī, Book II, verse 111 ff.

1081 Literally “the moon-faced ones” (Nich.).

1082 Qur’ān 53:42.

1083 The animal ridden by the Prophet when he ascended to Heaven (Nich.).

1084 A mule belonging to the Prophet (Nich.).

369

1-3439

Wait until the day when those who are carried high by God shall pass,

galloping, beyond the nine layers of Heaven!

1-3440

“The spirit and the angels shall ascend to Him” 1085 : at the ascension of the

spirit Heaven shall tremble.

1-3441

Like children, you all are riding on your skirts: you have taken hold of the hem

of your skirt to serve as a horse.

1-3442

From God came the words, “Verily, assumption does not avail against the

Truth at all” 1086: when did the steed of assumption run (mount) to the

Heavens?

The Fifth Rivulet [2.6.5]

The Perfect Man as the manifestation of the Divine1087.

6-3138

Adam is the astrolabe of the attributes of Divine Sublimity: the nature of Adam

is the theatre1088 for His revelations.

6-2151

Since in eternity it was the will and decree of God, the Forgiver, to reveal and

manifest Himself,

6-2152

This involves opposition, for nothing1089 can be shown without an opposite;

and there was no opposite to that incomparable King.

6-2153

Therefore He made a viceroy, one having a heart1090, in order that he might be

a mirror for His sovereignty;

6-2154

So he endowed him with infinite purity (spiritual light), and then set up an

opposite against him in the form of darkness.

6-3172

Know that the world of created beings is like pure and limpid water in which

the attributes of the Almighty are shining.

6-3173

Their knowledge, their justice and their clemency are like a star of heaven

reflected in running water.

6-3174

Kings are the theatre for the manifestation of God’s kingship; the Wise are the

mirrors for God’s wisdom.

1085 Qur’ān 70:4.

1086 Qur’ān 10:36 and 53:28.

1087 It is appropriate to mention a famous ḥadīthqudsī from the Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī here: “And My servant continues drawing nearer to Me through supererogatory acts of worship until I love him; and when I love him, I become the ear with which he hears, the eye with which he sees, the hand with which he grasps, and the foot with which he walks”. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 89.

1088 The word used in the Persian text is maẓhar, which literally means “place where something is made manifest”.

1089 Literally “no opposite”.

1090 Literally “a breast” (Nich.).

370

6-3181

The beautiful are the mirror of His beauty: love for them is the reflection of the

desire of which He is the real object.

6-3182

This cheek and mole go back to their Source: how should a phantom stay in the

water forever?

6-3183

The whole sum of pictured forms (phenomena) is mere reflection in the water

of the river: when you rub your eye, you will perceive that all of them are

really He.

6-3190

This resembles the other reflections; but in reality it is not a reflection, it is the

appearance of God in the likeness of a reflection.

6-3193

How should the qibla (object of worship), namely, the Divine Unity, be two?

How should earth be worshipped by the angels1091?

6-3197

The Khwāja1092 is the God-man of whom God said You did not throw when you

threw 1093: to see him is to see the Creator.

6-3198

To serve him is to serve God: to see this window1094 is to see the Daylight1095.

6-3218

Listen, let your inner eye and your heart pass beyond (transcend) the bodily

clay! This is One Qibla (object of worship): do not see two qiblas.

6-3215

Do not say ‘two’, do not know ‘two’, and do not call ‘two’: consider the slave

to be effaced in his master.

Man’s outer aspect and his inner essence. [2.6.5]

5-3341

Oh, blessed is he who has recognized his real essence and built for himself a

palace in everlasting security.

5-3340

We have come to know that we are not this body: beyond the body we are

living through God.”

5-3342

A child cries for walnuts and raisins; those are very trifling things in the view

of a reasonable man.

1091 I.e. in worshipping Adam the angels really worshipped God (Nich.).

1092 Khwāja (< Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

In Sufism, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, it takes on the meaning of “Master”, e.g. Ḥażrat Khwāja

Mu‘īnu’ddīn Chishtī, the great Ṣūfī Saint of Ajmēr, Rājasthān, India. But also outside the Indian subcontinent Ṣūfī Masters have borne this title. A few examples: the prominent Persian Ṣūfī mystic and prolific author Ḥażrat Khwāja ‘Abdullāh Anṣārī of Herāt (1006-1088 CE) and the influential Turkic Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Aḥmad Yasawī (1093-1066 CE), who lived and worked in Kazākhstān. It is also worth mentioning that between

the 12th and 14th centuries CE the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order was known as Ṭarīqat-e Khwājagān, i.e. “the Way of the Masters” ( Khwājagān is the plural of Khwāja). The Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order took its present name from the illustrious Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Bahā’u’ddīn Shāh Naqshband of Bukhārā (1318–1389 CE).

1093 Qur’ān 8:17.

1094 I.e. the Perfect Man (Nich.).

1095 I.e. the Light of God (Nich.).

371

5-3343

So in the spirit’s1096 view the body is like walnuts and raisins, but how should

one who is a child in spiritual matters attain to the knowledge possessed by

spiritual men?

5-3344

Whoever is veiled from God in reality is a child: the man is he who is beyond

all doubt.

5-3345

If having a beard and testicles is sufficient to be a man, every he-goat has a

beard and plenty of hair.

5-3348

Listen, choose travelling on the Way of righteousness as your vocation and

abandon your beard: abandon this egoism and troubled thought,

5-3349

That you may become like the scent of the rose to God’s lovers and may be

their leader and guide to the Rose-garden.

5-3350

What is the scent of the rose? The breath (voice) of reason and intelligence

which is a sweet guide on the way to the Everlasting Kingdom.

Allegory. [2.6.5]

4-1007

Because the earth has the external form of dust, while inwardly it has the

qualities of bright light.

4-1008

Its outer appearance has come into conflict with its inner reality1097: its inward

is like a jewel and its outward like a common stone.

4-1009

Its outward says, “We are this, and no more”; its inward says, “Look well

before and behind!”

4-1010

Its outward is denying and says that the inward is nothing; its inward says, “We

will show you the truth: wait and see!”

4-1013

For even though outwardly the earth is nothing but sorrow and tears, within it

there are hundreds of thousands of laughters.

4-1024

Your outer form is wailing because of the darkness; your inner spirit is like

roses within roses.

4-823

Our body is our veil in the world: we are like a sea hidden beneath this straw.

4-827

What is straw that it should cover the face of the water? What is clay that is

should cover the sun?

4-824

O fool, do not consider the king of the true Religion as clay; for the accursed

Iblīs held this view of Adam.

1096 The word used in the Persian text is dil, which may mean “spirit” as well as “heart”.

1097 Literally: “has come to be at war with its inner reality”.

372

4-825

How is it possible to daub the sun with a handful of earth? Please, tell me that!

4-826

Even though you pour earth and a hundred ashes over its light, it will come up

above them.

3-4255

If, outwardly, the parī 1098 is hidden, yet Man is a hundred times more hidden

than the parīs.

3-4256

In the view of the intelligent, Man is indeed a hundred times more hidden than

the parī who is hidden.

6-4584

O you who are a thousand Gabriels in the form of man, o you who are many

Messiahs inside the ass of Jesus.

6-4586

You are the spaceless1099 Object of worship in space: the devils have their shop

destroyed by you,

6-4587

For they say, “How should I be a servant to this clay? How should I give a

mere form a title signifying my obedience (adoration)?”

6-4588

He is not the form in which he appears: rub your eye well, that you may see the

radiance of the light of Divine glory in him!

2-1353

When Man receives light from God, he is worshipped by the angels because of

his being chosen by God.

The meaning of the ḥadīth qudsī: “Verily, God

created man in His own image1100”. [2.6.5]

6-3139

Whatever appears in him (Adam) is the reflection of Him, just as the moon is

reflected in the water of the river.

6-3236

If you have seen buds or trees reflected in this River1101, do not suppose that

they are a phantom (illusion) like those of any ordinary river;

6-3237

For by means of the very reflection of these images God is made real to you

and sells you the fruit of reality.

6-3238

By means of this Water the eye is freed from seeing double: it sees the

reflection, and the basket is filled with fruit.

6-3239

Therefore in reality this Water is an orchard, not water: do not, then, like

Bilqīs1102, strip yourself from fear of being splashed by the waves.

1098 Parī: in Persian mythology, a beautiful and benevolent supernatural being or fairy.

1099 This refers to “non-spatiality” or lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

1100 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 365. Cf. Genesis 1:26: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”.

1101 I.e. the Perfect Man (Nich.).

1102 See Qur’ān 27:23-44. Bilqīs is the name of the queen of Sheba ( Sabā).

373

6-3242

Do not apply this same principle to all rivers; in this River see the Moon itself,

and do not call it a mere reflection.

6-3243

This is the Water of Khiżr1103, not the water drunk by plant-eating animals and

beasts of prey: everything that appears in it is Real.

6-3244

From the bottom of this River the Moon cries, “I am the Moon, I am not a

reflection: I converse and travel with the River.

6-3246

Do not assume this River to be like other rivers: know that this ray of the

moon-faced Beauty is the Moon itself.

1-2862

It was a hidden treasure1104: because of its fullness it burst forth and made the

earth more shining than the heavens.

1-2863

It was a hidden treasure: because of its fullness it rose up and made the earth

like a sulṭān robed in satin.

6-4580

He is a Sun hidden in an atom: suddenly that atom opens its mouth and reveals

the Sun.

6-4581

The heavens and the earth crumble to atoms before that Sun when he springs

up from ambush.

4-519

And from the pure starlike souls help is continually coming to the stars of

heaven.

4-520

The outer aspect of those stars is our ruler, but our inner essence has become

the ruler of the sky.

4-521

Therefore in form you are the microcosm, therefore in reality you are the

macrocosm.

4-522

Externally the branch1105 is the origin of the fruit; intrinsically the branch came

into existence for the sake of the fruit.

4-523

If there had not been desire and hope for fruit, why should the gardener have

planted the root of the tree?

4-524

Therefore in reality the tree was born of the fruit, even if in appearance the fruit

was produced by the tree.

4-526

For this reason that master of all kinds of knowledge has uttered the allegorical

saying, “We are the last and the first1106”.

1103 Khiżr (or alternatively spelled Khaḍir or Khiḍr), the enigmatic “Green Man”, who acted as a spiritual guide for a number of Prophets and Saints who did not have a guide of flesh and blood, such as the Prophet Moses and the great Ṣūfī Master and theoretician Ḥażrat Muḥyī’ddīn ibn ‘Arabī (1165-1240 CE).

1104 This is a reference to the famous ḥadīth qudsī: “I was a hidden treasure and I desired [loved] to be known; so I created creation [mankind], in order that I might be known”.

1105 Literally “the outer aspect (which consists) of the branch.”(Nich.).

374

4-527

That is to say, “If in appearance I am born of Adam, in reality I am the

forefather of every forefather.

4-529

Therefore in reality the Father (Adam) was born of me, therefore in reality the

tree was born of the fruit1107.”

4-530

The thought (idea), which comes first, is last to be made real, in particular the

thought that is eternal.

3-1129

Although the fruit comes last into being, it is the first, because it was the goal.

The meaning of macrocosm and microcosm and self-realization. [2.6.5]

Saying of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī:

“O Man, compared to the universe you seem small,

yet within yourself you contain the macrocosm”. [2.6.5]

5-3576

O you to whom reason, foresight1108 and intelligence are slaves, why do you

sell yourself so cheaply?

5-3578

You seek knowledge from books – alas, how ridiculous! You seek pleasure

from ḥalwā (sweetmeats) – alas, how ridiculous!

5-3565

Wine derives its original substance from your gentle kindness; the kindness of

water regrets its lack of your gentle kindness.

5-3567

Every wine is the slave of your lovely figure and pretty cheek: all the

intoxicated ones are envious of you.

5-3568

You have no need of rosy wine: abandon its rosiness1109, you yourself are its

rosiness.

5-3569

O you whose Venus-like countenance is bright as the morning sun, o you of

whose colour all rosinesses are beggars.

5-3570

The wine that is bubbling invisibly in the jar bubbles in this way out of longing

for your face.

5-3571

O you who are the whole sea, what will you do with dew? And o you who are

the whole of existence, why are you seeking non-existence?

5-3572

O radiant Moon, what will you do with the dust, o you beside whose face the

moon is pale?

1106 This a well-known ḥadīth. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 232.

1107 Cf. the Gospel of John 5:58, where Jesus says: “Before Abraham was born, I am.”

1108 Literally “deliberations”.

1109 Literally “rouge” (Nich.)

375

5-3574

The crown of We have honoured the sons of Adam 1110 adorns your head1111; the

collar of We have given to you 1112 hangs on your chest.

5-3573

You are lovely and beautiful and the mine (source) of every loveliness: why

indeed should you make yourself indebted to wine?

6-139

Did this heaven ever hear the words We have honoured 1113 which this

sorrowful Man heard from God?

6-140

Did anyone offer his beauty, reason, eloquence1114 and fond affection to earth

and sky?

6-1005

Read in the Sūra beginning with Wa’t-Tīn (“By the fig”) the words, We created

Man in the best of forms 1115, for the soul, o friend, is a precious pearl.

6-1007

If I reveal the value of this inaccessible pearl1116, I shall be consumed, and the

hearer too will be consumed.

4-803

O you who have devoted yourself to fighting with others, you have not known

(discriminated) others from yourself.

4-804

You stop at every form that you encounter, saying, “I am this.” By God, you

are not that form.

4-805

If you are left alone by people for a single moment, you remain plunged up to

the throat in grief and anxiety.

4-806

How are you this form? You are the Unique One, for in reality you are lovely,

beautiful and intoxicated with yourself.

4-807

You are your own bird, your own prey, and your own snare; you are your own

seat of honour, your own floor, and your own roof.

6-811

You are not this body: you are the spiritual Eye. If you have seen the soul, you

are delivered from the body.

6-812

Man essentially is Eye: the rest of him is mere flesh and skin: whatever his eye

has seen, he is that thing.

4-809

If you are born of Adam, sit like him and see all his descendants in yourself.

4-810

What is in the jar that is not also in the river? What is in the house that is not

also in the city?

1110 Qur’ān 17:70.

1111 Literally “is on top of your head”.

1112 Qur’ān 108:1.

1113 Qur’ān 17:70.

1114 Literally “expressions (of speech)”, “phrases” (Nich.).

1115 Qur’ān 95:4.

1116 Litearlly “If I speak of the value of this inaccessible pearl”.

376

4-811

This world is the jar, and the heart (spirit) is like the river; this world is the

chamber, and the heart is the wonderful city.

Man as microcosm and as sole representative

of Divine qualities on earth. [2.6.5]

Poem: [2.6.5]

“You who are the transcription of God’s Scripture1117

You are the mirror of the Divine Beauty

There is nothing outside yourself, o Man

Seek whatever you desire within yourself.”

Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī, quatrain 1761

5-1073

There is a basket full of loaves on the crown of your head, and you are begging

a crust of bread from door to door.

5-1074

Attend to your own head, abandon giddy-headedness; go, knock at the door of

your heart: why are you knocking at every door?

5-1075

While you are up to the knee in the river-water, you are heedless of yourself

and are seeking water from this one and that one.

5-1079

He (such a one) is mad with thirst for the water, and the water is before his

face: he is in the water and unconscious of the running water.

5-1080

Like the pearl in the sea, he says, “Where is the sea?” and that shell-like

fantasy is his wall1118.

3-2934

The Heart-ravisher and Desired One is present with us; amidst the

generosity1119 of His mercy our souls are giving thanks.

3-2935

In our hearts is an anemone-field and a rose-garden: there is no way for old age

and decay to enter;

3-2936

We are ever fresh, young, gracious, vigorous, sweet, laughing and charming.

3-1000

Wretched Man does not know himself: he has come from a high state and has

fallen into lowliness.

3-1001

Man has sold himself cheaply: he was satin, he has sewn himself on (become

attached) to a tattered cloak.

1117 Literally: “You who are the copy of the Divine Letter”. This famous quatrain has been attributed to the

Persian Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Shaykh Majdu’ddīn Baghdādī (d. 1219 CE), but Badi‘ozzaman Forouzanfar (1904—

1970 CE), the prominent Iranian scholar of Persian literature and expert on the works on Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī, claimed it to be part of the latter’s Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī.

1118 I.e. “it obstructs his vision” (Nich.).

1119 Literally “scattering about”.

377

5-319

Everyone is infatuated with some fantasy and digs in corners in mad desire for

a buried treasure.

5-336

Similarly, every kind of people in the world are fluttering like moths around a

candle1120.

5-337

They attach themselves to a fire and circle around their own candle.

4-3241

The sleeper dreams of the hurtful pangs of thirst, while the water is closer to

him than his jugular vein 1121.

Allegory. [2.6.5]

4-3242

Even as for example that ascetic was laughing in a year of drought, while all

others were crying.

4-3243

So they said to him, “What is there to laugh about, when the drought has

uprooted (destroyed) the true believers?

4-3249

The ascetic replied, “In your eyes this is a drought, but to me1122 this earth is

like Paradise.

4-3250

In every desert and everywhere I see ears of corn in abundance, reaching up to

the waist;

4-3251

I see the wilderness full of ears of corn tossed in waves by the east-wind, so

that it is greener than the leek.

4-3253

You are friends of Pharaoh, who is the body, o base people: that is why the

Nile seems to be blood to you.

4-3254

Quickly, become friends of Moses, who is the intellect, in order that the blood

may not remain and you may see the river-water.

4-3265

I see the world to be full of bounty – the waters constantly gushing from the

springs.”

2-3552

Do not look at me from the standpoint of your weakness: to you it is night, to

me that same night is morning.

2-3553

To you it is prison, to me that prison is like a garden: to me the most absolute

state of occupation with the world has become a state of spiritual freedom.

2-3554

Your feet are in the mud; to me the mud has become roses. You have

mourning; I have feasting and drums.

1120 I.e. an object of desire (Nich.).

1121 Qur’ān 50:16.

1122 Literally “before my eye”.

378

4-3269

I am not telling one mystery out of thousands, because every ear is filled with a

doubt.

4-3270

To Conjecture1123 this saying of mine is only a joyful announcement

concerning the future, but Reason says, “What is there to announce? It is my

cash in hand (actual and present experience).”

Story. [2.6.5]

4-3271

The case is like that of the sons of ‘Uzayr1124, who went into the passageway,

asking news about their father’s circumstances.

4-3272

They had grown old, while their father had been made young. Then suddenly

their father met them.

4-3273

So they asked him, saying, “O traveller, we wonder if you have news of our

‘Uzayr;

4-3274

Because someone told us that today that man of great authority would arrive

from abroad after we had given up hope of seeing him.”

4-3275

“Yes”, he replied, “he will arrive after me”. That one (the son of ‘Uzayr)

rejoiced when he heard the good news.

4-3276

Crying, “Joy to you, o bringer of good news!” But the other son recognized

him and fell unconscious to the ground.

4-3277

Saying, “What cause is there for good news, o scatterbrain, when we have

fallen into the mine (the very midst) of sugar?”

4-3278

To Conjecture it is merely good news, whereas in the view of Reason it is

ready cash (actuality), because the eye of Conjecture is veiled and does not find

the object it seeks.

4-3279

It is pain to the infidels and glad news to the faithful, but in the eye of the seer

it is immediate experience.

4-3280

As the lover is intoxicated at the moment of immediacy1125, he is necessarily

superior to infidelity and faith1126.

Story. [2.6.5]

6-2714

A certain Khwāja1127, accustomed to scatter pieces of silver, said to a Ṣūfī, “O

you for whose feet my soul is a carpet,

1123 The word used in the Persian text, wahm, primarily means “illusion”.

1124 Qur’ān 2:259. ‘Uzayr is usually identified with the Biblical Prophet Ezra.

1125 In the Persian text it literally says “at the time of ready money” ( dam-e naqd).

1126 Another possible translation of this verse would be: “He (the true believer, the Wise Man) transcends both belief and unbelief”.

1127 Khwāja (<Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

379

6-2715

Would you like one dirham today, my king, or three hundred dirhams at

breakfast-time tomorrow?”

6-2716

He replied, “I am more pleased with having half a dirham yesterday than with

the promise of this one dirham today and a hundred dirhams tomorrow.”

6-2717

“A slap given in cash immediately is better than a donation paid on credit later:

look, I put the nape of my neck before you: give me the cash!

6-2718

Especially as the slap is from Your hand, for both the nape and the slap

inflicted on it are intoxicated (enraptured) with You.

The Sixth Rivulet [2.6.6]

The Divine world of the heart.

Ḥadīth qudsī:

“Neither My heavens nor My earth can encompass Me, but the

purified heart of My loving and devoted servant encompasses Me1128”.

1-1479

If the heart should open the lid of the purse containing this mystery, the soul

would rush in rapture towards the highest heaven.

1-2652

In comparison with the wide range of that pure soul (Adam), the expanse of the

seven heavens became narrow.

1-2653

The Prophet said that God has said, “I am not contained in the jar of “high” and

“low” (spatial dimensions);

1-2654

I am not contained in earth or heaven or even in the highest reaches of heaven

– know this for certain, o noble one;

1-2655

But I am contained in the true believer’s heart: oh, how wonderful! If you seek

Me, search in those hearts”.

1-2658

Truly, the magnitude of the Highest Heavens1129 is very great, but what is form

when reality has arrived?

3-514

You must set foot on the desert plain of the heart (spirit), because in the desert

plain of the body’s clay there is no opening for spiritual progress.

3-515

The heart is the abode of security, o friends; it has fountains and rose-gardens

within rose-gardens.

1128 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 113.

1129 In the Persian text the word ‘arsh is used, meaning “Throne (of God)”.

380

Story. [2.6.6]

4-1358

In the orchard a certain Ṣūfī laid his face on his knee1130 in the Ṣūfī way for the

sake of mystical revelation;

4-1359

Then he sank deep down into himself. An impertinent man was annoyed by his

apparent slumber.

4-1360

“Why”, he said, “do you sleep? No, look at the vines, see these trees, signs1131

of Divine mercy and green plants.

4-1361

Listen to the command of God, for He has said, “Look” 1132: turn your face

towards these signs of Divine mercy”.

4-1362

He replied, “O vain man, its signs are within the heart: that which is outside of

it are but the signs of the signs”.

4-1365

The real orchards and fruits are within the heart: the reflection of their beauty

falls on this water and earth (the external world).

4-1363

The real orchards and verdure are in the very essence of the soul: their

reflection on that which is on the outside is like the reflection in running water.

4-1366

If it were not the reflection of that delightful cypress1133, then God would not

have called it the abode of deception1134.

4-1367

This deception consists in this: i.e. this phantom (the external world) derives its

existence from the reflection of the heart and spirit of the holy men.

4-1368

All the deceived ones come to gaze on this reflection in the belief that this is

the place of Paradise.

4-1369

They flee from the origins of the orchards; they are making merry1135 over a

phantom.

3-1283

But when you receive life from God, o dependent one1136, then you will

become independent of the mud and will rise up.

3-1284

When the sucking baby is separated from its wet-nurse, it becomes an eater of

morsels and abandons her.

1130 A posture adopted by Ṣūfīs for contemplation or meditation.

1131 The word used for “signs” in the Persian text is āthār (the plural of athar); it is not be confused with āyāt (singular: āya), which also means “signs”, and more particularly “signs of God”. Āyāt or “signs of God” is also the name given to the verses of the Qur’ān.

1132 Qur’ān 30:50.

1133 The heart of the Saint (Nich.).

1134 Qur’ān 3:185.

1135 Literally “they are making those jests (frolics)” (Nich.).

1136 Literally “rhyme-letter” (Nich.).

381

3-2243

O heart, you will be looked upon with favour by God at the moment when, like

a part, you go towards your Whole.

3-1138

The cornerless corner of the heart is a King’s highway: the radiance that is

neither of the East nor of the West is derived from a Moon1137.

3-1641

It has come down in the Traditions ( aḥādīth) of the Prophet that the heart is

like a feather in a desert, the captive of a violent wind1138.

3-1642

The wind drives the feather recklessly in every direction, now left, now right,

in a hundred different ways.

3-1644

At every time the heart has a different resolution: that resolution is not derived

from it, but from a certain place.

3-2061

How should the mystery of left and right be hidden from the heart that is in the

state of bewilderment with God?

6-3069

Know that the holy men’s bodies are the lamp-niche and their hearts the glass:

this lamp illumines the Highest Heaven1139 and the Celestial Spheres.

6-3068

A lamp-niche and a lamp-glass1140 have become the dwelling-place of the Light

by which Mount Qāf1141 and Mount Sinai are torn to pieces.

2-840

This discourse needs much illustration and explanation, but I fear that the

delusive opinion of the common people might stumble (and fall into error).

The heart as a Divine mirror1142. [2.6.6]

3-2244

God says, “Our eye is turned toward the heart; it is not turned toward the

external form, which is but water and earth.”

3-2245

You say, “I too have a heart”; but the heart is above the Highest Heaven1143, it

is not below.

3-2246

Certainly there is water in the dark earth too, but it is not proper for you to

wash your hands with this water.

3-2247

Because, even though it is water, it is overcome by the earth. Do not, then, say

of your heart, “This too is a heart.”

1137 Qur’ān 24:35: “…a blessed olive tree, neither of the East nor of the West,…”.

1138 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 280.

1139 In the Persian text the word ‘arsh is used, meaning “Throne (of God)”.

1140 See Qur’ān 24:35.

1141 Qāf: mythical mountain or chain of mountains surrounding the earth, created from a single emerald. Mount Qāf is the abode of the ‘Anqā, a mythical phoenix-like bird from Arabic story tradition, the Sīmurgh being its Persian equivalent. This mythical bird represents the Perfect Man, whose spirit dwells with God, even though his body is in the world. For clarity’s sake: in this verse the word Qāf does not refer to Sūra Qāf (the 50thSūra of the Qur’ān).

1142 Qur’ān 50:37.

1143 In the Persian text the word ‘arsh is used, meaning “Throne (of God)”.

382

3-2248

The heart that is higher than the Heavens, is the heart of the Saint or the

Prophet.

3-2249

That heart has become cleansed of earth and has been purified; it has reached

its full growth and has been made complete.

3-2250

It has abandoned earth and has come to the Sea; it has escaped from the prison

of earth and has become of the Sea.

3-2251

But our water has remained imprisoned in earth. Listen, o Sea of Mercy, draw

us out of the clay!

3-2252

The Sea says, “I draw you into myself, but you are vainly pretending to be

sweet water.

3-2253

Your vain pretence is keeping you deprived of fortune: abandon that idle

fantasy and enter into me.”

3-2261

You scornfully refused help, saying, “I am the owner of a purified heart: I have

no need of anyone else, I am united with God.”

3-2262

That is as though the water in the earth should scornfully refuse, saying, “I am

the water, and why should I seek help?”

3-2263

You imagined that this polluted heart was the pure heart; consequently you

turned your heart away from those who possess purified hearts1144.

3-2264

Do you indeed think it possible that this heart which is in love with milk and

honey should be that pure heart?

3-2265

The deliciousness of milk and honey is the reflection of the pure heart: from

that heart the sweetness of every sweet thing is derived.

3-2266

That is why the heart is the substance1145, and the world is the accident1146: how

should the heart’s shadow (reflection) be the object of the heart’s desire?

3-2267

Is that pure heart the heart that is in love with riches and power, or is it

submissive, to this black earth and water (the body)?

3-2269

The heart is nothing but the Sea of Light: is the heart the place for vision of

God – and then blind?

1144 “those who possess purified hearts” or Ahl-e Dil: this term literally means “People of the Heart” and often denotes “Ṣūfī Masters”.

1145 Substance ( jawhar): here, the word is used as a philosophical term. It means. “A being whose nature it is to exist in and for itself and not in another as in a subject.”

1146 Accident ( ‘araż, from the Arabic ‘araḍ) is also used as a philosophical term. It means : “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something”.

383

3-2270

The heart is not contained in hundreds of thousands noble or common ones; it

is in a single one: which is he? Which?

2-839

Again, these partial (individual) hearts are as the body in relation to the heart of

the man of heart (the Perfect Saint), which is the original source1147.

3-2271

Leave what is only a fragment of the heart and seek the perfect heart, in order

that by means of it that fragment may become as a mountain.

5-871

Since you have imagined your heart to be the Heart1148, you have abandoned

the search after those who possess the Heart –

5-872

If seven hundred heavens like these Seven Heavens should enter into this

Heart, they would be lost and hidden from view.

5-874

The owner of the Heart becomes a six-faced mirror: through him God looks

upon all the six directions.

5-875

Whoever has this dwelling-place in the world of six directions, God does not

look upon him except through the mediation of the owner of the Heart.

5-876

If God rejects anyone, He does it for his sake; and if God accepts anyone, it is

also on His authority.

5-881

O rich man, if you bring a hundred sacks of gold, God will say, “Bring the

Heart1149, o you who bend yourself in devotion.

5-882

If the Heart is pleased with you, I am pleased; and if it is averse to you, I am

averse.

5-883

I do not look at you, I look at the Heart: bring it, o soul, as a gift to My door!

5-884

In the same way as it is in relation to you, so am I: Paradise is under the feet of

mothers1150”.

5-885

The Heart is the mother and father and origin of all creatures: oh, blessed is the

one who knows the Heart from the skin.

5-869

The Prophet said, “God does not look at your outer form: therefore seek the

owner of the Heart1151 as you devise plans.

5-870

God says, “I look at you through the owner of the Heart, not because of the

external marks of prostration in prayer and the giving away of gold in

charities.”

1147 Literally “mine”, “quarry”.

1148 I.e. the fully transformed and realized Spiritual Heart.

1149 I.e. “win the heart of the Saint and approach Me through him” (Nich.).

1150 I.e. admission to Paradise depends on piety shown towards one’s mother (Nich.). Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p.446.

1151 I.e. the Perfect Man, the Saint united with God (Nich.).

384

5-886

You will say, “Look, I have brought a heart to You”: God will say to you,

“Qutū1152 is full of these hearts.

5-887

Bring the Heart that is the Quṭb (Pole) of the world and the soul of the soul of

the soul of the soul of Adam.”

5-902

Seek the owner of the Heart, if you are not without soul: become a congener of

Heart, if you are not an adversary of the spiritual Sulṭān.

3-2272

The Perfect Heart encompasses the entire existence and scatters gold in

beneficence and bounty.

3-2273

It chooses to lavish blessings derived from the Blessedness of God upon the

people of the world.

3-2274

Whoever’s skirt1153 is right and ready, the generosity1154 of the heart comes to

that person.

3-2275

Your skirt to catch that generosity is supplication and presence with God:

beware, do not put the stone of iniquity in your skirt,

3-2276

In order that your skirt may not be torn by those stones and that you may

distinguish the superior coin of truth from the colours of falsehood.

3-2277

You have filled your skirt with stones of iniquity from this world, and also with

stones of silver and gold, as children do.

3-2278

Since that fantasy of silver and gold yielded no real gold, the skirt of your

sincerity was rent and your sorrow increased.

The heart is where Divine manifestations take place. [2.6.6]

2-2063

The mirror of the heart must be clear, in order that in it you may distinguish the

ugly form from the beautiful.

2-72

When the mirror of your heart becomes clear and pure, you will see images

which are outside of the world of water and earth.

1-3486

That Moses (the Perfect Saint) holds in his bosom the formless infinite form of

the Unseen reflected from the mirror of his heart.

1-3487

Even though that form is not contained in Heaven, nor in its Highest Sphere,

nor in the sphere of the stars, nor in the earth which rests on the Fish1155,

1152 Perhaps identical with Qūchū, the capital of the Uighūr Turks of Turfān (Nich.).

1153 Skirt ( dāman): the part of a garment (not necessarily a skirt) that fell from the waist. In these verses, “skirt”

obviously has symbolic meaning: it stands for man’s inner capacity to grasp and contain spiritual ideas and

realities. Dāman also symbolizes the spiritual state of inner neediness and thirst for Divine Grace, a state that is essential for sāliks, as this neediness will make them receive more and more Divine Grace.

1154 Literally “the scattering (of precious gifts)”.

1155 According to a popular Persian myth, the earth globe rests on the horns of bull, which itself rests on a fish.

385

1-3488

Because all those are limited and numbered – yet it is contained in the heart:

know that the mirror of the heart is boundless.

6-3071

That is why the Seal of the Prophets1156 has related the saying of the

Everlasting and Eternal Lord –

6-3072

“I am not contained in the Heavens, in the void or in the exalted intelligences

and souls:

6-3073

But I am contained, as a guest, in the true believer’s heart, without

qualification, definition or description.

6-3074

In order that by the mediation of that heart all above and below may win

sovereignties1157 and fortune from Me.

6-3075

Without such a mirror neither Earth nor Time could bear the vision of My

beauty.

3-2402

The window of my soul is opened, and from the purity of the Unseen World

the Book of God comes to me without intermediary.

3-2404

The house that is without a window is Hell: to make a window, o servant of

God, is the foundation of the true Religion.

3-2405

Do not strike the axe on every thicket: oh, come and strike the axe in carving

out a window.

The heart’s window. [2.6.6]

6-3091

The light of Joseph’s face, when he was passing by, used to fall on the latticed

windows1158 of every house1159,

6-3092

And people within the house would say, “Joseph is taking a walk in this quarter

and passing by”;

6-3093

For they would see the radiance on the wall, and then the owners would

understand why.

6-3094

The house that has its window in that direction is ennobled by Joseph’s

leisurely walking.

6-3095

Listen, open a window towards Joseph1160 and begin to delight yourself by

looking at him through the hole1161 in the wall.

1156 In Islām, Ḥażrat Muḥammad is considered as Khatm-e Rusul, “the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers”, i.e.

the last Prophet sent by God to deliver His Message to mankind. All great spiritual Teachers and Reformers who came after Ḥażrat Muḥammad were and are his heirs.

1157 I.e. “spiritual kingship”.

1158 Oriental window with a screen of interwoven lattices.

1159 Literally “on every palace”.

386

6-3096

The task of love is to make that window in the heart, for the breast is illumined

by the beauty of the Beloved.

2-3129

The house, namely, the heart that remains unlighted by the beams of the sun of

Divine Majesty

2-3130

Is narrow and dark as the souls of the deniers of the Truth1162, being destitute of

spiritual savour1163 of the loving King.

6-3097

Therefore gaze incessantly on the face of the Beloved! This is in your

power1164. Listen, o father!

6-3100

When you have become beautiful you will attain to the Beautiful One who

delivers the spirit from being without companions.

The Seventh Rivulet [2.6.7]

The world of the human spirit.

2-3326

Spiritual life is nothing but knowledge in the time of trial: the more knowledge

one has, the more spiritual capacity one has.

2-3327

Our spirit is greater than the spirit of animals. Why? Because it has more

knowledge.

2-3328

That is why the spirit of the angels is greater than our spirit, for it is exempt

from (transcends) the common sense1165;

2-3329

And the spirit of mystic masters is greater than that of the angels. Do not be

bewildered on this subject anymore.

3-2534

The value of bag and purse is derived from the gold: without the gold, bag and

purse are docked1166.

3-2535

Just as the worth of the body is derived from the soul, so the worth of the soul

is derived from the radiance of the Soul of souls.

1160 I.e. “open your hearts to God” (Nich.).

1161 Literally “crevice”.

1162 In Nicholson’s translation it says “the Jews”. But this is wrong. In Fārsī, the word for “Jews” is Yahūd, and the word for “Jew” or “Jewish” is either Yahūdī, Mūsawī or Kalīmī. Yet the word which Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī

uses in the Mathnawī is jahūd, which is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”). Jahūd is best translated as “deniers of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood. It is usually rendered as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e. “someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

1163 Spiritual savour ( dhawq): experiencing the Divine in a state of bliss.

1164 Literally “this is in your hand”.

1165 Here, “common sense” ( ḥiss-e mushtarak) means the faculty of common or unifying sense, which allows us to bring together our perceptions derived from both internal and external senses.

1166 I.e. deprived of worth (Nich.).

387

1-3273

As the beam of the spirit falls on the body, so do the beams of the Abdāl (the

exalted Saints) fall on my soul.

3-2536

If the soul were now alive without that radiance, would God ever have called

the infidels “dead”1167?

3-3274

It is not worthy of your benevolent kindness, o generous one, to deny me this

object of desire.

1-3907

When You will not admit him to Your presence – even supposing he has saved

his soul, consider as dead the soul that would live without You.

6-148

What is soul? Soul is conscious of good and evil, rejoicing because of

kindness, weeping because of injury.

6-149

Since consciousness is the inmost nature and essence of the soul, the more

aware one is, the more spiritual one is.

6-150

Awareness is the effect of the spirit: anyone who has this in abundance is a

man of God.

6-151

Since there are consciousnesses beyond the bodily nature, in the spiritual

domain the sensual souls are like inanimate matter.

Allegory. [2.6.7]

6-3306

A bird is flying in the atmosphere of the Unseen: its shadow falls on a piece of

earth.

6-3307

The body is the shadow of the shadow of the shadow of the heart: how is the

body worthy of the exalted rank of the heart?

6-3308

A man lies asleep: his spirit is shining in Heaven, like the sun, while his body

is in bed.

6-3309

His spirit is hidden in the Void, like the fringe (sewn inside a garment): his

body is tossing and turning under the blanket.

6-3310

Since the spirit, being from the command of my Lord 1168, is invisible, every

likeness that I may utter denies the truth of it.

1-2008

“Below” and “above”, “before” and “behind”, are attributes of the body: the

essence of the bright soul is without direction (not limited by attachment to a

place).

1-1502

The quest of the soul is on another level: the wine of the soul has another

nature (has a different consistency).

1167 See Qur’ān 39:30.

1168 Qur’ān 17:85.

388

1-2007

If you imagine you have a “before” and “behind”, you are tied to the body and

deprived of soul.

The difference between the animal soul and the human soul. [2.6.7]

4-425

At night a lamp is placed in every house, in order that by its light the occupants

may be delivered from darkness.

4-426

That lamp is like this body, its light like the animal soul; it requires a wick and

this and that.

4-427

That lamp with six wicks, namely, these senses1169, is based entirely upon sleep

and food.

4-428

Without food and sleep it would not live half a moment; nor would it even live

with food and sleep.

4-429

Without wick and oil it does not last, and with wick and oil it is also faithless

(transient).

4-430

Since its light, being related to apparent causes1170, is seeking death: how

should it live when bright day is the death of it?

4-431

Likewise all the human senses are impermanent, because they are nothing in

the presence of the Day of Resurrection.

4-453

The animal soul is kept alive by food; however good or bad its state may be, it

dies all the same.

4-454

If this lamp dies and is extinguished, yet how should the neighbour’s house

become dark?

4-455

Since without this lamp the light still remains in that house, it follows that the

lamp of sense-perception is different in every house.

4-456

This is a parable of the animal soul, not a parable of the divine soul.

4-457

Again, when the moon is born from the Hindu1171, Night, a light falls on every

window.

1169 Apparently “the common sense” ( ḥiss-e mushtarak), which receives the perceptions conveyed by the five bodily senses, is itself reckoned here as a sixth bodily sense (Nich.).

1170 “First Cause” and “apparent cause(s)”: “The First Cause” is God, who is called Musabbibu’l-Asbāb, “the Causer of Causes”. His existence is absolute and necessary ( Wājibu’l-Wujūd), i.e. He exists independently through Himself and His existence is necessary for the existence of all other things. When He wishes to make something happen He uses some of His own creations as mediators or “apparent causes” or “secondary causes”.

Apparent causes are capable of causing future events in some way. However, apparent causes always remain

subordinate to the First Cause. Therefore seekers of God must never let themselves be blinded and misled by

apparent causes, since their seeming power and relative existence invariably stem from God, the First Cause and Causer of all Cause.

389

4-458

Count the light of those hundred houses as one, for the light of this house does

not remain in existence without the light of the other1172.

4-459

As long as the sun is shining on the horizon, its light is a guest in every house;

4-460

Again, when the Sun of the soul sets, the light in all the houses disappears.

3-3189

The colour is changed; but the pure soul is free from colour, from the four

elements and dust.

6-4582

How can a soul like this be confined in the body? Listen, o body, wash your

hands of this soul!

6-1406

Know that this unjust body is like a coat of mail: it serves neither for winter nor

summer1173.

About the spirit, which is like a bird,

and is caught in the body’s cage. [2.6.7]

6-4443

O wrong-thinking perversely-acting body, you who have held a hundred

thousand free men captive.

2-772

Just like the sensual man who pampers his body and suspects someone else of a

bitter hatred against him,

2-773

Saying, “This one is a foe, and that one is envious and an enemy”, even though

in reality his envier and enemy is his own body.

6-1404

Even though the body is like a mother in fostering the spirit, yet it is more

hostile to you than a hundred enemies.

2-1211

It is impossible to perform the prostration on the Water of Life, until I am

delivered from this earthly body.

5-842

O Man, you are in torment because of this body: the bird, your spirit, is

imprisoned with one of another kind.

5-843

The spirit is a falcon, and the bodily properties are crows: it has (receives)

painful brands1174 from the crows and owls.

5-838

Whoever is left in the company of his opposite, the wise have considered that

punishment terrible as death.

1171 In Fārsī, Hindū can also mean “a dark-coloured person”. Here it is used as a symbol for the darkness of the night. So, by no means does Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī intend to denigrate the Hindu religion, or indeed any religion. Whenever he uses the names of religions and ethnicities, it is merely meant as a figure of speech.

1172 I.e. when the moon sinks, all the houses are left in darkness (Nich.).

1173 I.e. it is like a useless garment (Nich.).

1174 I.e. it suffers great anguish (Nich.).

390

5-3543

Oh, blessed is he who has sacrificed his body for the sake of that for which it is

worthwhile to sacrifice oneself.

3-3417

The core of every fruit is better than its peel: consider the body to be the peel,

and its friend (the spirit) to be the core.

3-3191

They who know the soul are free from numbers (multiplicity): they are sunk in

the Sea that is without quality or quantity.

3-3192

Become spirit and know spirit by means of spirit: become the friend of vision

(clairvoyant), not the child of deductive reasoning.

6-152

The first spirit is the theatre1175 of the Divine court1176; the Spirit of the spirit is

verily the theatre of God Himself1177.

The Greatest or Supreme Spirit (ar-rūḥu’l-a‘ẓam), the Universal

or First Intellect (‘aqlu’l-kull1178) or the Soul of Souls. [2.6.7]

6-153

The angels were entirely reason and spirit until there came a new Spirit1179 of

which they were the body1180.

6-154

When, by happy chance, they attached themselves to that Spirit, they became

subservient to that Spirit1181, as the body is subservient to the spirit dwelling in

it.

1-1541

If the bird that is a prisoner in a cage does not try to escape, it is out of

ignorance.

1-1542

The spirits which have escaped from their cages are the Prophets, those worthy

guides.

1-2000

Not without good reason, therefore, the great mystics have said: “The bodies of

the holy ones (the Saints) are essentially pure as their spirits”.

1-2001

Their speech, soul and form, all this is absolute spirit without external trace.

1-712

Indisputably, in this body the spirit devoid of reality is like a wooden sword in

the sheath:

1175 In the Persian text the word maẓhar is used, which literally means “place where something is made manifest”.

1176 I.e. the unrepentant soul belongs to the phenomenal world (Nich.).

1177 I.e. the soul of the Perfect Man is the mirror.

1178 Apart from “the Universal or First Intellect”, ‘Aqlu’l-Kull can also mean “the Supreme Spirit”, “ the Divine Throne ( ‘Arsh)”, “the Divine Essence of Man” and what is known in Sufism as “the Light of Muḥammad” ( an-Nūru’l-Muḥammadī). According to Ṣūfī thought, “the Light of Muḥammad” existed before creation: “the Light of Muḥammad” was the Primal Light in pre-existence. All Prophets and Saints – regardless of the religion they belong to – derive their Light from this Pre-eternal Light.

1179 The spirit of Adam (Nich.)

1180 I.e. to which they were subordinate (Nich.).

1181 Referring to the worship of Adam by the angels (Nich.).

391

1-713

While it remains in the sheath, it is apparently valuable, but when it has been

drawn it is a tool only fit for burning.

1-714

Do not take a wooden sword into the battle! First see whether your sword is a

real one, in order that your plight may not be wretched.

1-715

If it is made of wood, go, seek another; and if it is hard as a diamant, march

forward joyously.

1-716

The sword of reality is in the arsenal of the Saints: to see and associate with

them is as precious as the Elixir1182 for you.

The relation between spirit, soul and body. [2.6.7]

5-3423

The spirit1183 cannot function without the body; your body is frozen (inanimate)

and cold (inert) without the spirit.

5-3422

The Divine Wisdom has bound these opposites together: O butcher, this fleshy

thigh-bone goes along with the neck1184.

5-3424

Your body is visible, while your spirit is hidden from view: the business of the

world is conducted by means of them both.

5-3425

If you throw earth at someone’s head, it will not be broken; if you throw water

at his head, it will not be broken.

5-3426

If you wish to break his head, you bring the earth and the water into contact

with each other (and make a lump of clay).

5-3427

When you have broken your head1185, its water (the spirit) returns to its source,

and earth returns to earth on the day of separation.

5-3428

The providential purpose that God had – namely, humble supplication or

obstinacy1186 – was fulfilled by means of the marriage of body and spirit.

5-3429

Then (afterwards) there are other marriages that no ear has heard and no eye

has seen.

6-2936

(The Divine command) get down 1187 cast the spirit into the body, that the pearl

of Aden1188 might be hidden in clay.

1182 In the original text the term kīmīyā is used, meaning “alchemy”.

1183 Generally speaking, “spirit” ( rūḥ, an Arabic word) and “soul” ( jān, a Persian word) are quite similar in meaning. But when Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks of “the spirit” ( rūḥ), he means that level of the spirit which is the supreme degree of mystical consciousness.

1184 A proverb alluding to the Persian butcher’s habit of giving his customers a cut partly from the thigh and partly from the neck (Nich.).

1185 I.e. when you die (Nich.).

1186 I.e. the manifestation of Faith or infidelity (Nich.).

1187 Qur’ān 2:38.

1188 I.e. something of the utmost value.

392

5-3579

You are the sea of knowledge hidden in a dewdrop; you are the universe

hidden in a body three ells long.

5-3582

You are the unconditional spirit imprisoned in conditionality, you are the sun

imprisoned in the descending knot1189: what a pity!

4-1876

At first, man is a slave to sleep and food; in the end he is higher than the

angels.

4-1874

The fire that first shoots out from the impact of the iron, puts its foot forward

very feebly.

4-1875

Cotton is its wet-nurse at first, but in the end it carries its flames up to the ether.

4-1879

Even though the fire too is connected with the body, is it not derived from the

spirit and the spiritual?

4-1880

The body has no share in that glory: the body is as a drop of water in

comparison with the sea of the spirit.

4-1881

The days of the body are increased by the spirit: see what becomes of the body

when the spirit leaves it.

4-1882

The range of your body is an ell or two, no more: your spirit is a maker of swift

flights to heaven.

4-1883

In the spirit’s imagination, o prince, it is but half a step to Baghdad and

Samarqand.

4-1884

The fat (white) of your eye is two dirhams in weight: the light of its spirit

reaches to the lofty region of the sky.

4-1885

The light sees in dream without this eye: without this light what would the eye

be but ruined?

4-1887

Such is the magnificence of the animal spirit: go further, see the human spirit.

4-1888

Pass beyond Man and logical disputation unto the shore of the sea of the spirit

of Gabriel.

4-1889

After that, the spirit of Aḥmad (Muḥammad) will bite your lip (kiss you

lovingly), and Gabriel will creep back in fear of you1190.

1189 I.e. eclipsed (Nich.).

1190 This verse alludes to the night of the Ascension ( mi‘rāj) of the Prophet Muḥammad to the Highest Heaven.

During this Night of Ascension, ḤażratMuḥammmad reached the Sidratu’l-Muntahā (a Lote tree in Heaven

which symbolizes the level of reason and intellect), together with the archangel Gabriel. When they had passed all veils of light and darkness, Gabriel said to Ḥażrat Muḥammad: “O Muḥammad, from here proceed alone, for if I take any step further, I will be burned”. Here – in as spiritual sense – Ḥażrat Muḥammad stands for the Love that transcends the level of intellect, in this case symbolically respresented by Gabriel. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī

p. 423.

393

The Eighth Rivulet [2.6.8]

Sufism (taṣawwuf) or spiritual poverty (faqr).

The spiritual journey towards the Divine.

1-3150

Such is the custom of kings: you will have heard of this, if you remember.

1-3151

The paladins1191 stand on their left hand, because the heart (the seat of bravery)

is fixed on the left side of the body.

1-3152

On the right hand are the chancellor and the secretaries, because the science of

writing and book-keeping belongs (in practice) to this hand.

1-3153

They gave the Ṣūfīs the place in front of them1192, for they (the Ṣūfīs) are a

mirror for the soul, and better than a mirror,

1-3154

Since they have polished their breasts (hearts) in remembrance of God and

meditation, that the heart’s mirror may receive the virgin (original) image.

1-3146

He whose clear breast has become empty of any image (impression) has

become a mirror for the impression of the Invisible.

1-3261

Even though the iron has become red, it is not red by nature: its redness is a ray

borrowed from something that strikes fire1193.

5-4187

The Ṣūfīs pure as the light of the sun, who for a long time had fallen into the

world of earth and filth,

5-4188

Have now come back stainless and undefiled, as the sunlight to the lofty orb of

the sun.

2-532

Only after long waiting does the Ṣūfī gain his desire (the satisfaction of his

appetite) from Fortune: for that reason the Ṣūfī is a great eater1194;

2-533

Except, to be sure, the Ṣūfi who has eaten his fill of the Light of God: he is free

from the shame of beggary;

2-534

But of these Ṣūfīs there are only a few among thousands; the rest are living in

under the protection of his (the perfect Ṣūfī’s spiritual) empire.

1-2754

The dervish who wants bread is a land-fish: he has the form of a fish, but he is

fleeing from the sea.

1-2755

He is a domestic bird, not the Sīmurgh1195 of the air: he swallows sweet

morsels of food, he does not eat from God.

1191 Literally “brave champions”, “brave heroes” ( pahlawānān).

1192 Literally “in front of their face”.

1193 I.e. something that causes fire.

1194 An allusion to the many fake Ṣūfīs who have existed in all times.

1195 Sīmurgh: mythical, phoenix-like bird in ancient Iranian mythology. The renowned 12th century Ṣūfī Master and author Ḥażrat Shaykh Farīdu’d-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār used it in his famous book “The Conference of the Birds”. In this 394

1-2756

He loves God for the sake of gain: his soul is not in love with God’s excellence

and beauty.

1-2753

He wants a morsel of food, he does not want God: do not set dishes before a

lifeless picture!

The true dervish is indigent towards God alone. [2.6.8]

1-2352

The work of spiritual poverty (dervishhood)1196 is beyond your understanding:

do not look on dervishes with contempt.

1-2353

Because dervishes are beyond property and wealth: they possess an abundant

portion from the Lord of Majesty.

6-1471

Since the highest stage is non-existence, the dervishes have surpassed all

others.

3-989

The wars of mankind are for the sake of Beauty; the foliage without foliage is

the sign of the Ṭūbā tree1197.

3-990

The angers of mankind are for the sake of Peace; restlessness is always the

snare for Rest.

4-2055

The provision of leaflessness (spiritual poverty) is the sign of being a Gnostic;

the yellowness of gold is the cause of the money-changer’s ruddiness of face

(cheerful face).

3-1117

The more perfect he is in worldly knowledge, the more backward he is in

reality and the more forward in appearance.

3-1078

In the sight of the people he is contemptible, wretched and a laughing-stock: in

God’s sight he is loved, sought and approved.

3-1118

He (God) has said, “Verily, to Him we are returning” 1198; and the return is in

the same way as a herd turns back and goes home.

3-1119

When the herd has turned back after going down to the water, the goat that was

the leader now falls behind (becomes the last).

3-1121

How did this company (the Prophets and Saints) become lame, give up glory

and buy disgrace in vain?

book the Sīmurgh symbolically represents man’s Divine potential, which can be realized by fulfilling the mystical journey.

1196 In the Persian text the word darwīshī is used, i.e. “the work, attitude and way of life of a darwīsh (one who is poor before God)”.

1197 Ṭūbā: a tree in Paradise. Its name means “Blessedness” or “Goodness”. See Qur’ān 13:29.

1198 Qur’ān 2:156.

395

3-1122

This company goes on the pilgrimage to Reality with broken legs, because

there is a secret way from difficulty to relief.

3-1127

Therefore do not seek to be in front: be lame on this side, and be the leader at

the moment of return.

3-1128

O clever one, be according to the Prophet’s saying, “We are the last and the

first”: the fresh fruit comes before the tree.

Allegory. [2.6.8]

6-1374

Since that non-existence is in agreement with your desire, why do you avoid

this nonentity and non-existence?

6-1382

Having heard what I have said concerning your misunderstandings, o dear

friend, hear also the words of ‘Aṭṭār on the same subject.

6-1383

He, God have mercy upon him, has told it: he has strung together1199 the tale of

King Maḥmūd, the Ghāzī1200 –

6-1384

How, amongst the booty of his campaign in India, there was a boy who was

brought into the presence of the sovereign.

6-1385

Afterwards he made him his vicegerent, seated him on the throne and preferred

him above the rest of the army and called him “son”.

6-1388

He cried and shed tears in burning grief. The King said to him, “O you whose

day (fortune) is triumphant,

6-1389

Why should you cry? Has your fortune become disagreeable to you? You are

above kings, you are the familiar companion of the Emperor.

6-1390

You are seated on this throne, while the viziers and soldiers stand in rows

before your throne, like the stars and the moon”.

6-1391

The boy said, “The cause of my bitter crying is that in that faraway city and

country my mother

6-1392

Was always threatening me with you, saying, “May I see you in the hands of

the lion, Maḥmūd!”

6-1393

Then my father would quarrel with my mother and answer, “What anger and

torment is this that you would inflict on him?

6-1394

Can you not find any other curse lighter than this deadly curse?”

1199 Literally “has bored (the pearls of) the tale” (Nich.).

1200 I.e. champion of Islām against the infidels (Nich.).

396

6-1396

I used to be upset1201 by the talk of both: a great fear and pain would come into

my heart,

6-1397

Thinking, “Oh, wonderful! What a hellish person Maḥmūd must be, since the

disaster and affliction he causes have become proverbial!”

6-1398

I used to tremble in fear of you, being ignorant of your gracious treatment and

high regard.

6-1399

Where is my mother, that she might see me now seated on the throne, o King

of the world?”

6-1400

Spiritual poverty is your Maḥmūd, o man without wealth: your sensual nature

is always making you afraid of it.

6-1401

If you come to know the mercifulness of this noble Maḥmūd, you will cry

joyously, “May the end be praised1202”!

6-1402

Poverty is your Maḥmūd, o faint hearted one: do not listen to this mother,

namely, your misguiding nature.

6-1403

When you become a prey to poverty, you will certainly shed tears of delight,

like the Hindu boy, on the Day of Judgement.

6-1446

Listen, o fellow-servant, go and, like the Hindu boy, do not be afraid of the

Maḥmūd of non-existence.

6-1447

Be aware of the existence in which you are now: that fantasy of yours1203 is

nothing and you yourself are nothing.

6-1448

One nothing has fallen in love with another nothing: has any nothing ever

ambushed and attacked any other nothing?

1201 Literally “perplexed”, “bewildered” ( ḥayrān).

1202 Maḥmūd means “praised” “or praised one”.

1203 I.e. the illusion of your existence (Nich.).

397

The Third Source

The Light of Truth – Ḥaqīqa

The First River [3.1]

The Power of the Qualities of ‘Ishq (Love)

The First Rivulet [3.1.1]

How the hidden light of Love manifests itself.

1-23

Hail1204, o Love that brings us benefit – you who are the physician of all our

illnesses,

1-24

The remedy of our pride and conceit, our Plato and our Galen1205!

1-25

Through Love the earthly body soared to the skies: the mountain began to

dance and became nimble.

1-26

Love inspired Mount Sinai, o lover, so that Sinai was made drunken and Moses

fell down unconscious 1206 .

1-1793

In the verdant garden of Love, which is endless, there are many fruits besides

sorrow and joy.

1-1794

Love is higher than these two states of feeling: without spring and without

autumn it is ever green en fresh.

3-4719

Love is a stranger to both worlds: in it are seventy-two madnesses1207.

3-4720

It is extremely hidden, and only its bewilderment is perceptible: the soul of the

spiritual Sulṭāns is pining for it.

3-4721

Its religion is other than that of the seventy-two sects: beside it the throne of

kings is but a splint-bandage.

3-4722

At the time of the samā‘ 1208 Love’s minstrel plays this melody: “Servitude is

chains and lordship is headache”.

1204 Literally “Be happy!”.

1205 Galen ( Jālīnūs in Arabic and Persian): the famous Greek physician (ca.129/131-ca. 200/216 CE), whose medical system remained dominant throughout the East and Europe for more than 1,500 years.

1206 Qur’ān 7:143.

1207 In Sufism “spiritual madness” transcends the mental faculties.

1208 Samā‘ (from the Arabic “to listen” or “to hear”): ritual gathering where Ṣūfīs listen to mystical singing and music. The aim of samā‘ is to reach a heightened state of consciousness, which draws them closer to the Divine 398

3-4723

Then what is Love? The Sea of Not-Being. There the foot of the intellect is

shattered1209.

3-4751

Why is Love murderous at first, so that he who is an outsider runs away?

5-588

Love is that flame which, when it blazes up, consumes everything else but the

Beloved.

5-589

The lover drives home the sword1210 of No 1211 in order to kill all other than

God: after that consider what remains after No.

5-590

Only but God remains1212: all the rest is gone. Salutations1213, o mighty Love,

destroyer of attributing partners to the Beloved1214!

5-591

Truly, He is the First and the Last: consider giving partners to God only as

something that arises from the eye that sees double.

5-2184

In the sight of Love, fear is not worth more than a single hair: in the law of

Love, all other things are offered as a sacrifice.

5-2193

How should those fearful ones overtake1215 Love? – for Love’s passion makes

heaven its carpet –

Beloved and eventually unites them with Him. In scientific literature samā‘ is usually translated as “spiritual audition” or “mystical audition”.

1209 I.e. the intellect is unable to swim in that Sea (Nich.).

1210 I.e. “strikes at all other than God with the sword of No”.

1211 I.e. the word lā, which means “no”. This word is the beginning of the Arabic phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh – “There is no deity but God”, “Nothing is worthy of worship but God”, or – in the view of the Ṣūfī mystics –

“Nothing exists but God” or “There is no Reality but God”. The phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh is known as Kalimatu’t-Tawḥīd (“the Word of Divine Unity”). It consists of two parts: a negation or nafī – Lā ilāha (“there is no deity”, “nothing exists”, “there is no reality”), followed by an affirmation or ithbāt – illā’Llāh (“but God”).

The phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh is of fundamental importance to the Ṣūfī practice of zikr (< Arabic dhikr), i.e.

“Remembrance (of God)”. “Drawing the sword of no” may be interpreted as a reference to this practice of Divine remembrance.

1212“Except God” = illā’Llāh, i.e. “but God”.

1213 Literally “Be Happy!”.

1214 In Islām, “attributing partners to God” or shirk is considered an abominable sin. It leads to the deification and worship of things or beings other than God, and therefore is contrary to the fundamental Islamic concept of monotheism or Tawḥīd, i.e. that God is One, Unique and Absolute. Ṣūfī mystics teach that there is no reality but God, that only He truly exists, and that He is Present in all things and beings. This implies that God can also be worshipped in all created things and beings. But that isn’t necessarily shirk to Ṣūfī mystics: as long as believers worship God in created things and beings, and not the created things and beings themselves, it is not shirk. What Ṣūfī mystics do reject as shirk or “attributing partners to God” is man’s worship of and servitude to his own untrue ego or nafs, and the worship of illusory concepts of the Divine Being. These concepts are mere figments of man’s own imagination, and consequently, they are false idols. In the early stages of the mystical Path, Ṣūfī

wayfarers or sāliks usually need to revere something they can grasp with their hearts and minds in order to be able to make progress, e.g. most sāliks lovingly worship their Pīr, who inwardly is one with the Divine. Some sāliks may perceive their Pīrs’ true Inner Being and may inwardly become one with him. This phase will make it possible for them to break through to the highest level of worship, i.e. Khudā-parastī (“God-worship”), Tawḥīd (“Divine Unity”) or Ḥaqq-parastī (“Truth-worship”). Yet most sāliks’ perception of their Pīr will remain a mere projection of their own imagination, and therefore a false idol. At some point though, all true sāliks inevitably will have to smash their false idols on the rock of Divine Truth – a Truth that is beyond all concepts and limitations, a Truth that transcends all duality ( Ḥaqq).

1215 Literally “reach the dust of” (Nich.).

399

5-3276

The Elder ( Pīr, Ṣūfī Master) is your love, not someone with a white beard. It is

he (Love) who gives a helping hand to thousands who are in despair.

5-3230

The only muzzle for evil whisperings1216 of doubt is Love; if not, when has

anyone ever stopped such temptation?

5-3241

Eloquence is dumbfounded by Love: it lacks the courage to engage in dispute.

5-2731

Love is not contained in speech and hearing: Love is an ocean whose depth is

invisible.

5-2732

The drops of the sea cannot be numbered: the Seven Seas are petty in

comparison with that Ocean.

5-2735

Love makes the sea boil like a kettle; Love crumbles the mountain like sand;

5-2736

Love splits the sky into a hundred splits; Love recklessly causes the earth to

tremble.

5-2737

The pure Love was united with Muḥammad: for Love’s sake God said to him,

“Had it not been for you”1217.

5-2738

Since he alone was the ultimate goal in Love, God singled him out from the

other Prophets1218,

5-2739

Saying, “Had it not been for pure Love’s sake, how should I have brought the

heavens into existence?1219”

5-2740

I have raised up the lofty celestial sphere, that you may learn the sublimity of

Love.

5-2742

I have made the earth lowly, that you main gain some notion of the lowliness

of lovers.

5-2743

We have given greenness and freshness to the earth, that you may become

acquainted with the spiritual transformation of the dervish1220.

1216 This is a reference to Qur’ān 114:4: “the evil of the whisperer (the devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in someone’s when God is mentioned or remembered)”. In Sufism, “the devil” is a symbol for the untrue ego or nafs.

1217 This refers to a famous ḥadīth qudsī or sacred ḥadīth: “Had it not been for you [o Muḥammad], I would not have created the celestial spheres”, i.e. God only created the celestial spheres for man in his most perfect form, the Spiritually Perfect Man ( Insān-e Kāmil). See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 484. A well-known definition of a ḥadīth qudsī is this: “A sacred ḥadīth is, as to the meaning, from God the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the Messenger of God. It is that which God the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he has communicated it in his own words”.

1218 In traditional Islām, this would mean that Ḥażrat Muḥammad is higher than all other Prophets, but from a mystical point of view it is interpreted differently: all Prophets and Sages are one and each one of them represents all others. In verse 6-1106 of his Mathnawī Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī says: “The name of Aḥmad (i.e.

Muḥammad) is the name of all Prophets: when the hundred comes (is counted), ninety is with us as well.”

1219 This refers to the ḥadīth qudsī mentioned in verse 5-2737. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 484.

400

5-2744

These firm-set mountains describe (represent) to you the state of lovers in

steadfastness.

5-3854

Know that the wheeling heavens are turned by waves of Love: were it not for

Love, the world would be frozen (inanimate)1221.

5-3855

How would an inorganic thing disappear (by change) into a plant? How would

vegetative things sacrifice themselves to become endowed with spirit?

Love’s force of attraction. [3.1.1]

5-3932

And if a rational person does not see the various aspects of Love, yet the

auspicious moon of Love does not wane.

5-3933

Joseph’s beauty was not seen by the eyes of his brothers, but when did it ever

disappear from the heart of Jacob?

5-3934

The physical eye of Moses saw the staff as wood: the eye of the Invisible1222

saw a viper in it and a cause for terror.

6-623

Look at this ship of God’s creatures and see how it is sunk in Love: you would

say that Love’s throat has become a dragon (to swallow it) –

6-624

An invisible heart-ravishing dragon: it is a magnet1223 to draw towards itself the

reason that is firm like a mountain.

6-625

Every perfumer whose reason became acquainted with Him (Love) dropped the

trays containing drugs and perfumes into the water of the river1224.

6-626

Go, for you will not emerge from this river of Love until eternity: in truth none

is comparable or equal to Him 1225.

5-2191

Love has five hundred wings, and every wing extends from above the highest

heaven to beneath the earth.

5-2189

If I should continue to describe Love, a hundred Resurrections would pass, and

my description would still be incomplete;

5-2190

For there is a limit to the date of the Resurrection, but what limit can there be

where the Divine attributes are concerned?

1220 In the Persian text the word faqīr is used, which means the same as darwīsh: “one who is poor before God and in need of His mercy”.

1221 “The movement which is the existence of the universe is the movement of Love.” From the Commentary on Ibn ‘Arabī’sFuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam by Hussain Khwarizmi, .p 741.

1222 I.e. the inward eye (Nich.).

1223 Literally “the attractor of straw” i.e. amber (Nich.).

1224 This verse alludes to Ḥażrat Shaykh Farīdu’ddīn ‘Aṭṭār (“the Druggist and Perfumer”) of Nīshāpūr (Nich.).

1225 Qur’an 112:4.

401

1-112

Whatever I say to describe and explain Love, when I come to Love itself I am

ashamed of my explanation of it.

1-114

While the pen was writing hastily, it split on itself as soon as it came to Love.

1-113

Although the commentary of the tongue makes all clear, yet tongueless love is

clearer.

6-5

Love has nothing to do with the five senses and the six directions: its goal is

only to experience the attraction exerted by the Beloved.

1-115

In expounding Love, the intellect lay down helplessly like an ass in the mud: it

was Love alone that uttered the explanation of love and loverhood.

1-116

The proof of the sun is the sun itself: if you require the proof, do not you’re

your face away from it!

The Second Rivulet [3.1.2]

The qualities and stages of true lovers.

1-2800

Nothing in the world is without object (disinterested) in its movement (activity)

except the bodies and the souls of God’s lovers.

1-2801

The lovers of the Whole are not those who love the part (material1226): he who

longed for the part (material) failed to attain the Whole.

1-2880

Whatever the man in love with God says, the scent of Love is springing from

his mouth into the abode of Love.

1-2881

If he talks formal theology, it all turns to spiritual poverty: the scent of poverty

comes from the man of sweet and fascinating discourse.

1-2882

And if he talks infidelity, it has the scent of the true religion, and if he talks

doubtfully, his doubt turns to certainty.

1-109

Being in love is made manifest by soreness of heart: there is no sickness like

heart-sickness.

1-110

The lover’s illness is different from all other diseases: love is the astrolabe1227

of the mysteries of God.

1-111

Whether it be earthly love or heavenly love, in the end it leads us there.

3-3021

Lovers have nothing to do with existence: lovers have the interest without

having the capital.

1226 I.e. the material world as opposed to the spiritual world.

1227 A medieval instrument, now replaced by the sextant, which was once used to determine the altitude of the sun or other celestial bodies.

402

3-3022

They have no wings, and yet they fly around the world; they have no hands,

and yet they carry off the ball from the polo-field.

3-3024

Lovers have pitched their tents in non-existence: they are of one colour

(quality) and one essence, like non-existence.

5-586

For His lovers He alone is all their joy and sorrow; He alone is their wages and

payment for service.

5-587

If there is any sight (object of regard for them) except the Beloved, it is not

love: it is an idle passion.

5-1866

To anyone who finds life in love, anything but devoted service would seem

infidelity.

Story. [3.1.2]

5-2712

God had offered to the Shaykh all the treasures of the earth down to the seventh

degree;

5-2713

But the Shaykh said, “O Creator, I am a lover: if I seek nothing but You, I am

impious.

5-2714

If I should bring into view the Eight Paradises, or if I should serve You out of

fear of Hell,

5-2715

Then I am only a believer seeking salvation, for both these motives are

concerned with the body.”

5-2716

A hundred bodies are not worth a bean1228 in the eyes of the lover who has

been nourished by God’s love;

5-2718

To be in love with God’s love and then desire a wage! To be a trusted Gabriel

and then a thief!

5-2719

In the eyes of that wretched1229 lover1230 of Laylā1231 the kingdom of the world

was worthless as a speck of dust.

5-2720

Earth and gold were alike in his eyes. What of gold? Even his life had no value

for him.

5-2721

Lions and wolves and wild beasts were acquainted with him and gathered

around him like family members,

5-2722

Knowing that this man had become entirely purified of his animal nature and

filled with love, and that his flesh and fat were poisonous to them.

1228 A leguminous plant resembling Cassia fistula (Golden Shower Tree) (Nich.).

1229 Literally “blind and blue” (Nich.).

1230 I.e. Mājnun. This name literally means “possessed (by a jinnī, a spirit)”.

1231 The Persian form of the name Laylā is Laylī.

403

5-2724

The wild beast dare not devour the flesh of the lover: Love is known both to

the good and the evil;

5-2725

And if the wild beast devours him even in a metaphorical way1232, the lover’s

flesh will become poison and kill him.

5-2726

Everything except love is devoured by Love: to the beak of Love the two

worlds are but a single grain.

5-2729

The servant of God desires to be freed from Destiny; the lover of God desires

to be free never again1233.

5-2730

The servant is always seeking a robe of honour and wages; all the lover’s robe

of honour is his vision of the Beloved.

5-2761

As long as you are in the veil of the father of mankind (Adam)1234, do not look

on the lovers of God in a disparaging way.

5-2767

Abandon this defamation; listen, accept my counsel: look at the lovers of God

with the eye of love.

5-2192

The fearful ascetic runs on foot; the lovers of God fly more quickly than the

lightning and the wind.

6-910

The lovers of God have fallen into a fierce torrent: they have set their hearts on

(have resigned themselves to) the decree of Love.

6-911

They are like the millstone turning, day and night, in continual revolution and

moaning incessantly.

6-592

Arise, o lover, show passionate agitation: there is noise of water and you are

thirsty, and then you fall asleep!

Story. [3.1.2]

6-593

In bygone days there was a lover, one who kept his covenant in his time.

6-594

For years he had been captivated (checkmated) by arduously seeking the favour

of his fair one1235 and was checkmated1236 by his Emperor.

6-595

In the end the seeker is a finder, for from patience joy is born.

1232 In Arabic and Persian the metaphorical expression “to devour a person’s flesh” means to backbite and speak evil of him (Nich.).

1233 Literally “until eternity”.

1234 I.e. in the bond of the flesh (Nich.).

1235 Literally “moons” (Nich.).

1236 The Persian word for “captivated (checkmated)”, māt, may also mean “keen on”, “doting on” or even

“amorous of” in this ambiguous verse. The expression “checkmated by his Emperor” means “being annihilated

by and in the Divine Emperor,” ( fanā’fī-’Llāh).

404

6-596

One day his friend said, “Come tonight, for I have cooked a bean stew for you.

6-597

Sit in such-and-such a room until midnight, that at midnight I may become

unsought1237.”

6-598

The man offered sacrifice and distributed loaves, since the moon of good

fortune had appeared to him from beneath the dust of ill-fortune.

6-599

At night the passionate lover seated himself in the room in hope of the meeting

promised by that loyal friend1238.

6-600

Just after midnight his friend, the charmer of his heart, arrived punctually like

those who keep their promise.

6-601

She found her lover lying asleep; next, she tore off a little piece of the lover’s

sleeve,

6-602

And put some walnuts in his lap, saying, “You are a child: take these and play

a game of dice.”

6-603

When at dawn the lover sprang up from sleep, he saw the torn sleeve and the

walnuts.

6-604

He said, “Our king is entirely truth and loyalty: the disgrace that befalls us is

from ourselves alone.”

6-605

O sleepless heart, we (true lovers) are secure from this: we, like guardsmen, are

beating our clubs on the roof.

6-615

O You who by Your magic has spell-bound the soul’s sleep, o hard-hearted

Beloved that You are in the world.

6-612

Love and reputation, o brother, are not in accordance: do not stand at the door

of reputation, o lover.

6-2675

Love craves to drink and seeks him who craves to drink: Love and the lover are

at each other’s heels, like Day and Night.

6-4046

He is both the lover’s day and daily bread, He is both the lover’s heart and

heart-burning.

6-2679

In the heart of the Beloved the lover is all: Wāmiq is always in the heart of

‘Adhrā1239.

6-2680

In the lover’s heart is nothing but the Beloved: there is nothing to separate and

divide them.

1237 Literally “without seeking”.

1238 Literally “that friend of the Cave” (Nich.).

1239 A famous couple of lovers in Arabic and Persian literature.

405

The Third Rivulet [3.1.3]

The lover’s annihilation in love.

1-1751

Oh, the life of lovers consists in death: you will not win the Beloved’s heart

except in losing your own.

1-1750

We gained the price and the blood-price: we hastened to gamble our soul away.

1-1757

I am drowned in a love so deep that the first loves and the last are drowned in

it.

1-1745

He who is drowned in God wishes to be more drowned, while his soul is tossed

up and down like the waves of the sea.

1-30

The Beloved is all and the lover but a veil; the Beloved is living and the lover a

dead thing.

1-31

When Love doesn’t care about him, he is left like a bird without wings. Alas

for him then!

1-32

How should I be aware of anything before me or behind me when the light of

my Beloved is not before me and behind me?

6-613

The time has come for me to become naked, to quit the bodily form and

become wholly soul.

6-614

Come, o Enemy of shame and anxious thought, for I have rent the veil of

shame and bashfulness.

6-616

Listen, grip the throat of patience and strangle it, in order that Love’s heart may

be made happy, o noble horseman!

6-617

How should His heart be made happy until I burn? Oh, my heart is His home

and dwelling-place.

6-618

If You will burn Your house, burn it! Who is he who will say, “It’s not

allowed”?

6-619

Burn this house well and thoroughly, o furious Lion! The lover’s house is

better so.

6-620

From now on I will make this burning my qibla 1240(aim), for I am like the

candle: I am made bright by burning.

6-902

Love is the Subduer of all, and I am subdued by Love: by Love’s bitterness1241

I have been made sweet as sugar.

1240 In this verse qibla means “aim”, but its general meaning is: the direction faced by Muslims during ritual prayer (i.e. the Ka‘ba in Mecca).

406

3-4127

Since my mouth ate of His sweetmeat, I have become clear-eyed and able to

see Him.

3-4135

And they shot arrows at my heart, robbing me of my senses and making me fall

in love with giving thanks and chewing sugar.

6-903

O fierce Wind, before You I am but a straw: how can I know where I shall fall?

6-969

Being a lover1242, repentance or even the possibility of patience – this, o dear

soul, is entirely absurd.

6-970

Repentance is a worm, while Love is like a dragon: repentance is an attribute of

Man, while that other is an attribute of God.

6-4003

Even without anger, at the time when it is well-pleased, Love is always

accustomed to kill recklessly.

6-4004

This is its habit at the moment when it is contented: how shall I describe what

it does when it is angered?

6-4005

But may the soul’s pasture be the ransom for Love’s lion who is killed by this

Love and his scimitar1243!

6-4006

It is a killing better than a thousand lives: all sovereignties are mortally in love

with this servitude.

6-4059

My religion is to be kept alive by Love: life derived from this animal soul and

head is a disgrace to me.

6-4058

How long will the anguish of separation from her be killing me? Cut off my

head, in order that Love may give me a new head.

6-4060

The sword of Love sweeps the dust away from the lover’s soul, because the

sword wipes sins out1244.

6-4061

When the bodily dust is gone, my moon shines: my soul’s moon finds a clear

sky.

6-4062

For ages, o adored one, I have been beating the drum of love for you to the tune

of “Verily, my life arises from my death”1245.

1241 Literally “saltiness”; but there is also an allusion to the ordinary meaning of shūr, “tumultuous agitation”.

(Nich.).

1242 I.e. accompanied by (Nich.).

1243 A curved oriental sword with the edge on the convex side.

1244 Ḥadīth: Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 591.

1245 This is a famous saying of the Ṣūfī martyr Ḥażrat Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj (d. 922 CE). Selections from the Works of Ḥallāj, Qasem Mirakhori, p. 253.

407

The Fourth Rivulet [3.1.4]

Metaphorical love and True Love1246 and the meaning of

metaphorical love as a stepping-stone to True Love.

“In the beginning heroes give wooden swords to their sons,

In order to learn how to fight and later become a true hero,

Who will be able to wield a Dhū’l-Faqār1247 (a real sword)”.

– Sanā’ī Ghaznawī1248 –

1-219

Choose the love of that Living One who is everlasting, who gives you to drink

of the wine that increases life.

1-220

Choose the love of Him from whose love all the Prophets gained power and

glory.

1-217

Because love of the dead is not enduring, because the dead one is never coming

back to us;

1-218

But at every moment love of the living is fresher than a bud in the spirit and in

the sight.

1-3686

Everything except love of the most beautiful God, even though outwardly it

may be pleasant like eating sugar, in reality is agony of the soul.

1-3687

What is agony of soul? To advance towards death and not grasp the Water of

Life.

1-205

Those loves which are for the sake of a colour (outward beauty) are not love: in

the end they are a disgrace.

2-702

Give up this belief1249. The outward form or the lady’s face is not the object of

loves felt for what is endowed with form.

1246 “Metaphorical love” ( ‘Ishq-e majāzī) is the love between parents, children and other relatives and friends. It also relates to the love or passion for art and culture, for plants and animals or for music. All these forms of love follow fluctuating patterns. From time to time they may increase, and from time to time they may decrease, but they may also vanish altogether. This is because the power of this love is not constant and is transient in nature.

It may even turn into its opposite: hate. And yet all these metaphorical forms of love may lead to “True Love”: True Love ( ‘Ishq-e Ḥaqīqī) is not transient in nature, it has no opposite and it never decreases. It is Divine Love or Love for God. [Adapted from the speech delivered on the occasion of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī’s birthday on 5th August 2006 by Ḥażrat Pīr Mawlānā Ṣafī ‘Alī Shāh II, Master of the Ne‘matollāhī Ṣafī ‘Alīshāhī Ṣūfī Order].

1247 Dhū’l-Faqār or, more commonly, Dhū’l-Fiqār, is the name of the formidable two-pointed sword of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī. In plain Arabic the name Dhū’l-Fiqār simply means “having notches”, but it may also be translated as “Backbone of All Swords”. According to the Shī‘ī Islamic tradition, Dhu’l-Fiqār was first sent to the Prophet Muḥammad by the Archangel Gabriel. Ḥażrat Muḥammad later passed it on to his chosen successor, Ḥażrat ‘Alī

ibn Abī Ṭālib. On this occasion, the cry: “There is no Hero or True Man but ‘Alī, there is no sword but Dhū’l-Fiqār,” was heard ( Lā Fatā illā ‘Alī, lā sayfa illā Dhū’l-Fiqār”). These words proclaim the unsurpassed spiritual perfection and the supreme chivalry, bravery and humanity of Ḥażrat Mawlā ‘Alī. One of the spiritual meanings of this sword is that it clearly separates falsehood from truth.

1248 Ḥakīm Sanā’ī of Ghazna (= Ḥakīm Ghaznawī, ca. 1050-1131 CE) was one of the great Persian Ṣūfī poets.

He was the first poet to write a major mathnawī, entitled Ḥadīqatu’l-Ḥaqīqa wa Sharī‘atu’ṭ-Ṭarīqa (“The Walled Garden of Truth and the Law of the Path”). This work also was an inspiration to Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī.

408

2-703

That which is the object of love is not the form, whether it be love for the

things of this world or the other world.

2-704

That which you have come to love for its form – why have you abandoned it

after its soul has fled?

2-705

Its form is still there: what then is the cause of this satiation (disgust)? O lover,

ask yourself who your beloved really is.

2-708

The sunbeam shone on the wall: the wall received a borrowed splendour.

2-709

Why set your heart on a lump of earth, o simple man? Seek out the source

which shines perpetually.

2-712

Beauty in humankind is like gilding; if not, how did your sweetheart become as

ugly as an old ass?

2-713

She was like an angel, she became like a demon, for that loveliness in her was

a borrowed (transient) thing.

5-981

The favourite of love for whom the world wept – the world now is rejecting

him from itself: what is his crime?

5-982

“The crime is that he put on a borrowed adornment and pretended that these

robes were his own property.

5-983

We take them back, in order that he may know for sure that the stack is Ours

and the fair ones are only gleaners;

5-986

They, the light of the Sun, turn back again, like the stars, from these bodily

walls.

5-987

When the Sunbeam has gone home, every wall is left dark and black.

6-971

Love is one of the attributes of God, who needs nothing: love for anything

other than Him is unreal,

6-972

Because anything other than Him is but a gilded beauty: its outside is shining

light, but it is like dark smoke within.

6-973

When the light goes and the smoke becomes visible, at that moment the unreal

love is withered away1250.

6-974

That beauty returns to its source; the body is left – foul-smelling, shameful, and

ugly.

1249 I.e. the belief in phenomena (Nich.).

1250 I.e. in worse disgrace (Nich.).

409

6-975

The moonlight is returning to the moon: its reflection goes off the black (dark)

wall.

6-976

And then, when the water and clay of the wall are left without that beauty, the

wall, being moonless, becomes hideous as a devil.

6-977

When the gold flies from the surface of the base coin, that gold returns to its

original mine and settles there;

6-978

Then the shamefully exposed copper is left looking black like smoke, and its

lover is left looking blacker1251 than it.

6-979

But the love of those who have spiritual insight is fixed on the gold-mine;

necessarily it is grows greater every day,

6-980

Because the mine has no partner in goldenness. Salutations, o Gold-mine of

Reality, You about whom there is no doubt!

6-981

If anyone lets a base coin become a sharer with the Mine in his affection, the

gold goes back to the Mine which is beyond locality1252,

6-982

And then the lover and his beloved are left to die in agony: the fish is left

writhing, the water is gone from the whirlpool.

5-3231

Become a lover, seek a fair sweetheart, hunt a waterfowl from river to river.

6-983

The Divine Love is the Sun of perfection: the Divine Word1253 is its light, the

creatures are as shadows.

Story:

How the Beloved manifests Himself in other creatures. [3.1.4]

5-3286

In their ignorance the fools said to Majnūn1254, “The beauty of Laylā is not so

very great, it is of little account.

5-3287

There are thousands of moonlike sweethearts1255 more beautiful than her in

our city.”

5-3288

He replied, “The outward form is a pitcher, and beauty is the wine: God is

giving me wine from her form.

1251 I.e. is extinguished (Nich.).

1252 “Beyond locality” = “Non-spatiality”: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

1253 Literally “command” (Nich.).

1254 This refers to the classical love story of “Laylā and Majnūn”, also known as “Laylā and the Madman”, as

majnūn means “possessed (by a jinnī, a spirit)” or “mad” in Arabic. Majnūn was so desperately in love with and possessed by Laylā’s beauty that he lost his senses. In Ṣūfī literature, Laylā symbolizes the Supreme Beauty of the Divine Beloved. In Fārsī she is called Laylī.

1255 Literally “heart-captivating ones” (Nich.).

410

5-3289

He gave you vinegar from her pitcher, for fear that love of her should pull you

by the ears.”

5-3290

The hand of God, the Almighty and Glorious, gives poison or honey to

everyone from the same pitcher.

5-3291

You see the pitcher, but the wine does not show itself1256 to the wrong eye.

5-3292

Spiritual experience is like the women who restrict their glances 1257: it shows

no sign but to its possessor.

5-3293

That wine is like the women who restrict their glances, while these vessels1258

screening it from view are like the tents 1259.

5-3300

The form of Joseph was like a beautiful cup: from it his father drank a hundred

enrapturing wines.

5-3301

Again, to his brothers the draft they took from it was poisoned water which

increased anger and hatred in them.

5-3302

Again, to Zalīkhā1260 the draft she took from it was sweet as sugar: she was

drinking a different opiate from the hand of Love.

5-3303

The nourishment that came from Joseph to that beautiful one was different

from that which came to Jacob.

5-3304

There are various sherbets, but the pitcher is one, so that no doubt may remain

in you about the wine of the Unseen.

5-3305

The wine belongs to the Unseen, the pitcher to this world: the pitcher is visible,

the wine in it is well-hidden;

5-3306

Well-hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated, but manifest and evident to the

adept.

2-1021

How long will you play at loving the shape of the jug? Leave the shape of the

jug; go, seek the water.

2-1022

You have seen its outward from, you are unaware of the reality; pick out a

pearl from the shell, if you are wise.

1256 Literally “its face” (Nich.).

1257 Literally “the women who restrain their eyes (to looking at their husbands)” (Nich.). See Qur’ān 55:56.

1258 Literally “veils” ( ḥijāb).

1259 See Qur’ān 55:72.

1260 I.e. Zalīkhā’s love for Joseph was sensual, while Jacob’s love was spiritual (Nich.). Zalīkhā is the Persian form of the Arabic name Zulaykha. The story of Yūsuf (Joseph) and Zulaykha is told in the Qur’ān (Sūra Yūsuf – the 12th Sūra – verses 31-34), even though Zulaykha’s name is not explicitly mentioned. Their story has been retold many times. The most famous version is the one written by the great Persian Ṣūfī poet and mystic Ḥażrat Mawlānā Nūru’ddīn ‘Adbu’r-Raḥmān Jāmī (1414-1492 CE), in his Haft Awrang (“Seven Thrones”).

411

2-1023

These shells of bodies in the world, although they all are living by grace of the

Sea of Soul –

2-1024

Yet there is not a pearl in every shell: open your eyes and look into the heart of

each one,

2-1025

And pick out what that one holds and what this one holds, because that costly

pearl is seldom found.

3-547

Make an effort in hope of the Living One who does not become lifeless after a

day or two!

2-715

Go, recite the words to whomever We grant long life, We cause him to

decline 1261. Seek the heart (spirit), do not set your heart on bones;

2-716

For that beauty of the heart is the lasting beauty: its lips give to drink of the

Water of Life.

2-1020

Know that the outward form passes away, but the world of reality remains for

ever.

2-714

Little by little God takes away that beauty: little by little the sapling withers.

3-552

That friendship was a radiance on their wall: the sign of the Sun went back

towards the Sun.

3-553

On whatever thing that radiance may fall, you fall in love with it, o brave man.

3-554

On whatever thing in existence you bestow your love1262, that thing is gilded

with Divine qualities.

3-555

When the goldenness has gone to its original source and only the copper

remains, your nature is overfed and begins to part from (discard) it1263.

3-556

Withdraw your foot from that which is gilded by His qualities, do not call the

base alloy beautiful out of ignorance;

3-557

For in base coin the beauty is borrowed: beneath the beauty the substance is

devoid of beauty.

3-558

The gold is going from the face of the false coin into the mine where it came

from: do you too go towards the Mine to which it is going.

3-560

From now on take the water that comes from Heaven, since you have not found

faithfulness in the drainpipe.

3-1418

The real Beloved is the one who is unique, who is your beginning and end.

1261 Qur’ān 36:68.

1262 Literally “is present” or “is found”.

1263 Literally “begins to divorce it”.

412

4-3223

The Light of that Countenance will deliver you from the fire: listen, do not be

satisfied with borrowed light.

4-3224

This borrowed light causes the eye to see what is transient: it causes body,

mind and spirit to be scabby (diseased).

4-3226

The eye and spirit that only see the transient continually fall on their faces

wherever they go.

5-988

That which made you bewildered at the sight of the faces of the beautiful ones

is the Light of the Sun, reflected from the three-coloured glass1264.

5-989

The glasses of various colours cause that Light to seem coloured like this to us.

5-990

When the many-coloured glasses are no more, then the colourless Light

perplexes you.

5-991

Make it your habit to see the Light without the glass, so that there may not be

blindness in you when the glass is shattered.

The true lover sees the Beloved’s face everywhere. [3.1.4]

6-3637

Like the chamber of Zalīkhā which she made full of pictures, in order that

Joseph should look at her, willingly or unwillingly.

6-3638

Since Joseph would not look at her, she cunningly filled the room with portraits

of herself,

6-3639

So that, wherever the fair-cheeked youth looked, he might see her face without

having the power to choose.

6-3640

The peerless God has made all the six directions a place for the manifestation

of His signs to the clear-sighted,

6-3641

In order that, whatever animal or plant they look at, they may feed on the

meadows of Divine Beauty.

6-3642

That is why he said to the company of mystics, “Wherever you turn, there is

the Face of God 1265.

6-3643

If you are thirsty and drink some water from a cup, you behold God within the

water.”

6-3644

He who is not a lover of God sees his own image in the water, o man of insight;

1264 I.e. things seen from the viewpoint of self-existence, the world of multiplicity.

1265 Qur’ān 2:115.

413

6-3645

But since the lover’s image has disappeared in the Beloved, whom now should

he behold in the water? Tell me that!

6-3646

Through the working of the Jealous One, the mystics behold the beauty of God

in the faces of the houris1266, like the moon reflected in water.

6-3647

His jealousy is directed against a lover and sincere adorer; His jealousy is not

directed against a devil and beast;

6-3648

But if the devil becomes a lover of God, he has carried off the palm1267: he has

become a Gabriel and his devilish nature is dead.

6-3649

The meaning of “the devil became a true believer”1268 is made manifest on the

occasion when by God’s grace a Yazīd1269 becomes a Bāyazīd1270.

The Fifth Rivulet [3.1.5]

The detachment of the true lover.

6-4604

No one can run the Path of Love with two feet: no one can play the game of

Love with one head;

6-4605

Yet everyone has two feet and one head: the body with thousands of feet and

heads is a rarity.

6-4606

Because of this all other battles are fought in vain, while the battle of Love

grows hotter at every moment.

6-232

There is no way (admittance) for anyone into the hall of audience of Divine

Majesty until he becomes annihilated1271.

1266 Houris (< Arabic ḥūr): usually rendered as “voluptuous, alluring maidens of Paradise”, but the true meaning of houris is “pure companions, most beautiful of eye” – neither explicitly male nor female (See Qur’ān 44:54).

1267 Literally “the ball”, a metaphor derived from the game of polo (Nich.).

1268 This refers to the ḥadīth: “My devil has become Muslim”, which really means “My nafs (“lower self”,

“ego”) has surrendered to God”.

1269 Yazīd (ca. 645-683 CE): son of and successor to the first Umayyad caliph, Mu‘āwiya ibn Abī Sufyān (602—

680 CE). He was responsible for the martyrdom of Ḥażrat Ḥusayn, son of ‘Ḥażrat Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, in 680 CE,

an event that marked the final split between Sunnī and Shī‘ī Muslims. But the true Ṣūfī wayfarer ( sālik) transcends the outer and conventional forms of religion. He isn’t bound to any religion, school of thought or a set of beliefs. His religion is the religion of Love, which surpasses all forms. Even so, mystical lovers may use a specific form of religion to come closer to Divine Love. But when they reach Love and become absorbed in it, they are one, and they experience all as one. As Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī states: “What is the means of ascension

to Heaven? This not-being. Not-being is the creed and religion of the lovers.” Mathnawī 6-233.

1270 The Persian Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī, also known as Ḥażrat Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr al-Bisṭāmī (ca.

804-874 CE), is one of the key figures in the history of Sufism, in that he founded what came to be known as

“the School of Intoxication ( sukr)”, which flourished in Greater Khurāsān, as opposed to the equally influential

“School of Sobriety ( saḥw)”, which was founded in Baghdad by the Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Junayd al-Baghdādī (ca.

830-910 CE).

1271 “annihilated” = fanā, i.e. the annihilation of the false ego ( nafs) in the Divine Being. It is followed by baqā, resurging and abiding in the Divine Being.

414

Allegory:

Reason and Love. [3.1.5]

4-1534

Majnūn’s desire is speeding towards the presence of the beloved Laylā; the

she-camel’s desire is hurrying back to her foal.

4-1535

If Majnūn forgot himself for one moment, the she-camel would turn and go

back.

4-1536

Since his body was full of love and passion, he had no resource but to become

beside himself.

4-1537

Reason was ever heedful: passion for Laylā carried his reason away.

4-1538

But the she-camel was very heedful and alert: whenever she saw her toggle

slack

4-1539

She would immediately understand that he had become heedless and dazed,

and would turn her face back to the foal without delay.

4-1540

When he came to himself again, he would see on the spot that she had gone

back many parasangs 1272.

4-1541

In these conditions Majnūn remained going back and forth for years on a three

days’ journey.

4-1542

He said, “O camel, since we both are lovers, therefore we two, who are

opposites, are unsuitable to travel together.

4-1543

Your affection and toggle (inclination) do not agree with me: I must part from

your companionship.

4-1544

These two fellow-travellers (reason and flesh) are highwaymen ambushing

each other: the soul that does not come down off the body is lost.

4-1545

Because of its separation from the highest Heaven, the soul is in great want;

because of its passion for the thorn-shrub of sensual pleasure, the body is like a

she-camel.

4-1546

The soul unfolds its wings to fly upwards; the body has stuck its claws in the

earth.

4-1547

“As long as you are with me, o you who are hopelessly in love with your

home1273, my spirit will remain far from Laylā.

4-1550

The way is near (not far), but I have tarried very late: I have become sick of

this riding, sick, sick.”

1272A parasang ( farasang in Fārsī) is an ancient Persian unit of distance equal to ca. 3.5 miles or 5.6 km.

1273 Literally “dead for your home” (Nich.).

415

4-1551

Majnūn threw himself headlong from the camel. He said, “I am consumed with

grief: how long, how long?”

4-1553

He flung himself down so violently that the body of the brave man was broken.

4-1554

When he flung himself to the ground like this, at that moment also by Divine

destiny his leg1274 broke.

4-1555

He tied up his leg and said, “I will become a ball, I will go rolling along in the

curve of His bat.”

4-1557

How should love for the Lord be inferior to love for Laylā? To become a ball

for His sake is more worthy.

4-1558

Become a ball, turn on the side which is sincerity, and go rolling, rolling in the

curve of the bat of Love.

6-3420

Know that the way of spiritual pleasure is from within, not from without: know

that it is folly to seek such pleasure in palaces and castles.

6-3422

The palace (body) is nothing: ruin your body! The treasure lies in the ruin, o

my prince.

6-3423

Don’t you see that at the wine-feast the drunkard becomes happy only when he

becomes ruined (senseless)?

6-3424

Although the bodily house is full of pictures, demolish it: seek the treasure, and

with the treasure repair the house well.

Annihilation in the Beloved. [3.1.5]

Story:

5-1242

A certain lover in the presence of his beloved was recounting his services and

works

5-1243

Saying, “For your sake I did such-and-such, in this war I suffered wounds from

arrows and spears.

5-1244

Wealth is gone, strength is gone and fame is gone: because of my love for you I

have been struck by many misfortunes.

5-1245

No dawn found me asleep or laughing; no evening found me with capital and

means.”

5-1246

What he had tasted of bitters and dregs he was recounting to her in detail, point

by point.

1274 In verses4-1554 and 4-1555 “leg” symbolizes reason.

416

5-1247

Nor for the sake of reproach; no, he was giving a hundred testimonies of the

trueness of his love.

5-1248

For men of reason a single indication is enough, but how should the thirst

(longing) of lovers be removed by that?

5-1251

There was a fire in him: he did not know what it was, but because of its heat he

was weeping like a candle.

5-1252

The Beloved said, “You have done all this, yet open your ear wide and listen

well;

5-1253

For you have not done what is the root of the root of love and loyalty: what you

have done is only the branches.”

5-1254

The lover said to her, “Tell me, what is the root?” She said, “Its root is to die

and be nothing.

5-1255

You have done everything else, but you have not died, you are living. Listen,

die, if you are a self-sacrificing friend!”

5-1256

Instantly he laid himself at full length on the ground and gave up the ghost: like

the rose, he played away his head (life), laughing and rejoicing.

5-1262

The light of the sun heard the call return 1275 a nd came back in haste to his

source.

5-1263

No disgrace remained with it from the ash-pits, no colour remained with it

from the rose-gardens.

5-1264

The light of the eye and the seer of the light returned to their source: the desert

and plain were left passionately longing for it.

The Sixth Rivulet [3.1.6]

The lover’s unification with the Beloved and

the colourless Divine colour of Love1276.

6-940

The spiritual Water of Life has returned to our riverbed, our King has returned

to our street.

6-941

Fortune is strutting, proudly trailing its skirt and beating the drums as a signal

to break vows of repentance.

6-900

O you with whom my body and all my veins are filled – how should there be

room in them for repentance?

1275 Qur’ān 89:28.

1276 Qur’ān 2:138: “We take our colour from God, and who is better than God at colouring? And we are His

worshippers.”

417

3-4660

The reflections that are seeking the Light are reduced to nothing when His

Light appears.

3-2408

“I am absorbed in the Light, like the sun; I cannot distinguish myself from the

Light1277.

Story:

Laylā and Majnūn. [3.1.6]

5-1999

Grieving over a long separation from Laylā suddenly caused a sickness in

Majnūn’s body.

5-2000

Heated by the flame of longing his blood boiled up, so that the symptoms of

diphteric angina1278 appeared in the mad lover.

5-2001

Then the physician came to treat him and said, “There is no resource but to

bleed him.

5-2002

Bleeding is necessary in order to remove the blood.” So someone skilled in

bleeding went there,

5-2003

Bandaged his arm and took the lancet to perform the operation; but

straightaway the passionate lover cried out,

5-2004

“Take your fee and leave the bleeding! If I die, let my old body go to the

grave!”

5-2005

“Why,” he said, “why are you afraid of this, when you have no fear of the lion

of the jungle?

5-2015

Majnūn said, “I do not fear the lancet: my endurance is greater than the

mountain formed of rock.

5-2016

I am a vagabond: my body is not at ease without blows; I am a lover: I am

always in close touch with blows.

5-2017

But my whole being is full of Laylā: this shell is filled with the qualities of that

Pearl.

5-2018

I am afraid, o bleeder, that if you let my blood, you should suddenly inflict a

wound on Laylā with your lancet.

5-2019

The man of reason whose heart is enlightened knows that there is no difference

between Laylā and me.”

1277 The speaker is David (Nich.).

1278 A severe and potentially lethal infection of the throat and larynx.

418

Story:

The annihilation of the lover in the Beloved. [3.1.6]

5-2020

At the time of the morning-drink a beloved said to her lover as a test, “O such-and-such son of such-and-such,

5-2021

I wonder, do you love me or yourself more? Tell the truth, o man of sorrows.”

5-2022

He replied, “I have become so annihilated in you that I am full of you from

head to foot.

5-2023

There is nothing left of my existence in me but my name: in my being there is

nothing but you, o you whose wishes are fulfilled.

5-2024

In this way1279 I have become annihilated, like vinegar, in you, who are an

ocean of honey.”

5-2025

As the stone that is entirely turned into pure ruby: it is filled with the qualities

of the sun.

5-2026

That stony nature does not remain in it: back and front, it is filled with

sunniness.

5-2027

Afterwards, if it is love itself, that self-love is love of the sun, o young man;

5-2028

And if it loves the sun with all its soul, it is undoubtedly love of itself.

5-2029

Whether the pure ruby loves itself or whether it loves the sun,

5-2030

There is really no difference between these two loves: both sides (aspects) are

nothing but the radiance of the sunrise.

5-2031

Until the stone has become a ruby, it is an enemy to itself, because it is not a

single “I”: two “I’s” are there.

5-2034

Therefore it is not fitting that the stone should say “I”, for it is wholly darkness

and in the state of death.

5-2035

A Pharaoh1280 said “I am God” and was debased; a Manṣūr (Ḥallāj1281) said “I

am God” and was saved.

5-2036

The former “I” is followed by God’s curse and the latter “I” by God’s mercy, o

loving man;

1279 Literally “from that cause”.

1280 The Pharaoh is a symbol for the arrogance and self-conceit of the tyrannical ego or nafs-e ammāra.

1281 Ḥażrat Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj (ca. 858-922 CE): a Persian mystic, who was condemned for heresy and

blasphemy, and was put to death in Baghdad. He is best known for having exclaimed in ecstasy “Anā’l-Ḥaqq!” –

“I am the Truth”, i.e. God.

419

5-2037

For that one (Pharaoh) was a black stone, this one (Ḥallāj) a cornelian; that one

was an enemy to the Light, and this one passionately in love with it.

5-2038

This “I”, o presumptuous meddler, was “He” (God) in the inmost

consciousness, through oneness with the Light, not through belief in the

doctrine of incarnation1282.

5-2039

Work hard, so that your stony nature may be diminished, and that your stone

may become shining with the qualities of the ruby.

5-2040

Have patience in enduring self-mortification1283 and affliction; continually see

everlasting life ( baqā) in dying to self ( fanā)1284.

5-2041

Then your stoniness will become less at every moment, the nature of the ruby

will be strengthened in you.

5-2042

The qualities of self-existence will leave your body, the qualities of

intoxication (ecstasy) will increase in your head (your spiritual centre).

The Second River [3.2]

The stages of the inner vision and

inner witnessing (mushāhada), i.e.

perceiving the true nature of things.

The First Rivulet [3.2.1]

The stage of witnessing light in the sālik’s heart.

1-1396

Whoever has a soul that is purified of sensual desires will at once behold the

Presence and the Holy Porch1285.

1-1394

O brother, how will you see his palace, when hair has grown in the eye of the

heart1286?

1-1395

Purify your heart’s eye of hair and defect, and then hope to see this palace.

1-1397

When Muḥammad was purified of the fire and smoke of human passions,

wherever he turned his face, was the Face of God.

1282 Incarnation: the heretical doctrine of ḥulūl or incarnation of God in a human body. Al-Ḥallāj was charged with this heresy. Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī however, refuted the allegations of heresy and blasphemy against the great martyred mystic.

1283 Literally “holy war” ( jihad); what is meant is the holy war against the nafs or lower self.

1284 Fanā means to die to your limited self and baqā means to resurge and abide in the Divine Being.

1285 “The Presence and the Holy Porch” should be understood as “the Presence of the Divine King in the Porch of Divine Love”. This refers to the state of qurb or “nearness to the Divine Presence”. See also Qur’ān 54:54-55: “Verily, those who possess devotion* will dwell among gardens and rivers (i.e. in Paradise), in a seat of sincerity in the Presence of an Omnipotent King.” * “those who possess devotion” ( al-muttaqūna) means “those who possess taqwā.” Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

1286 I.e. when the eye is covered.

420

1-1399

Everyone in whose breast the gate is opened will see the sun shining from

every city.

1-1400

God is manifest amongst others as the moon amidst the stars.

3-4680

The unfamiliar (unprivileged) soul does not see the face of the Beloved: only

the soul that has its origin in His dwelling-place can see it.

1-1406

Man is eye, and all the rest is worthless skin: the sight of that eye consists in

seeing the Beloved.

1-1407

When the eye does not see the Beloved, it is better blind; a beloved who is not

everlasting is better far away and out of sight.

1-1401

Lay two finger-ends on your two eyes, and will you see anything of the world?

Act justly (confess that you will see nothing).

1-1402

If you do not see this world, yet it is not non-existent: the fault only lies in the

finger of your evil self.

1-1403

Come, lift the finger from your eye, and then see whatever you wish.

The unveiling of the Divine mysteries to the sālik. [3.2.1]

4-2901

But those insights that are not frozen (dense and dull) are nothing if they do not

pierce and rend the veil.

4-2904

When the barrier in front and the barrier behind are removed, the eye

penetrates and reads the tablet of the Unseen.

4-2905

When someone like him looks back at the origin of existence, the past

circumstances and beginning of existence unfold themselves before him –

4-2907

When he looks forward he plainly sees that which will be (all that will happen)

until the Last Assembly1287.

4-2908

Therefore he looks back at the root of the root (the primal origin), and he

clearly sees forward to the Day of Decision.

4-2909

Everyone, according to the measure of his spiritual enlightenment, sees the

unseen things in proportion to the polishing of the heart’s mirror1288.

4-2910

The more he polishes, the more visible does the form of unseen things become

to him.

1287 Maḥshar, “the (Last) Gathering” = Judgment Day.

1288 “Polishing the heart” or “polishing the mirror of the heart” is a common Ṣūfī expression to describe dhikr, (approximately pronounced “zikr” or “zekr” in Persian) remembrance of God.

421

4-3311

The foresight of the intellect extends only to the grave, while that of the

spiritual man lasts until the blast of the trumpet of Resurrection.

4-3312

This intellect does not pass beyond the grave and the earth, and this intellectual

foot does not tread the arena of marvels.

4-3315

From this scholarly study and this intellect comes nothing but dizziness;

therefore leave this study and adopt expectation instead.

2-2309

The eye is made seeing by meeting with God: how should God become the

confident of every fool?

6-1464

Dissolve the whole of this body of yours in vision: go into sight, go into sight,

into sight!

6-1922

And that when both his senses had passed through the veil, his vision and

speech from God would then be ceaseless.

2-3139

Whoever has seen God belongs to God: whoever has seen that Sea1289, is that

fish.

1-1121

How will you see the colours red, green and brown, unless you have first seen

the light?

1-1122

But since your mind was lost (absorbed) in seeing the colours, those colours

became a veil which prevented you from contemplating the light.

1-1123

Since at night those colours were hidden, you understood that your ability to

see colour was derived from the light.

The effect of inner light in the outer World. [3.2.1]

1-1124

It is impossible to see colour without the external light, even when the colour is

an inner fantasy.

1-1125

This outer light is derived from the sun and from Suhā1290, while the inner light

comes from the reflection of the beams of Divine Sublimity.

1-1126

The light which gives light to the eye is in truth the light of the heart: the light

of the eye is produced by the light of hearts.

1-1127

Again, the light which gives light to the heart is the Light of God, which is pure

and separate from the light of intellect and sense.

3-4605

So we abandoned it, for he is engaged in pursuit and searching, that before

death he may see the face of his beloved,

1289 When “the Sea” or “the Ocean” are mentioned in the Mathnawī, they refer to the Divine Essence. That is why they are written with capital letters.

1290 A small star (Nich.)

422

3-4606

In order that he may escape from death and obtain salvation, because the sight

of the beloved is the Water of Life.

3-4607

Anyone whose sight does not ward off death is not the beloved, for he has

neither fruit nor leaf.

4-506

And he who can see that Light – how should the explanation of his state be a

task within the reach of Bū Sinā’s1291 capabilities?

Seeing and hearing inwardly. [3.2.1]

2-858

The ear is a go-between, while the eye is capable of union (immediate vision);

the eye has direct experience of reality while the ear has only words (doctrine).

2-857

Whenever an answer comes to the heart through the ear, the eye says, “Hear it

from me; do not pay attention to the answer given through the ear!”

2-859

In the ear’s hearing there is a transformation of qualities; in the eyes’ seeing

there is a transformation of essence.

5-3906

Description is a picture drawn for the eye of intelligence: know that the

sensible form belongs to the eye, not to the ear.

4-333

Lifetimes are needed – so rarely and occasionally does it happen – for the

seeing man to fall into the pit by destiny.

4-334

As regards the blind man, this destiny in reality is his companion on the way;

for it is his nature and disposition to fall.

4-337

Therefore to you, o man of vision, two clear eyes are as a hundred mothers and

a hundred fathers;

4-338

Especially the eye of the heart (the spiritual eye), which is seventy-fold and of

which the two sensible eyes are only the gleaners.

4-512

If I say that between the tongue and the eye that is free from doubt there is a

hundred thousand years’ journey, it is little in comparison with the reality.

5-3907

A certain man asked an eloquent person, “What are truth and falsehood, o man

of articulate discourse?”

5-3908

He took hold of his ear and said, “This is false: the eye is true and possesses

certainty.”

5-3920

Strive that the imagination may pass from your ear into your eye, and that what

has until now been unreal may become real.

1291 Bū Sinā, Abū ‘Alī ibn Sinā = Avicenna (ca. 980-1037 CE), the great Persian physician, philosopher and

scholar. Here Avicenna represents the highest flight of philosophical speculation.

423

5-3921

After that, your ear will become of the same natures as your eye: the two ears,

gross as wool, will become of pure substance and subtle,

5-3922

No, your whole body will become like a mirror: it will become all eye and pure

spiritual substance1292.

5-3923

The ear arouses a fantasy, and that fantasy is the go-between that leads to union

with Beauty.

5-3924

Strive that this fantasy may increase, so that the go-between may become a

guide for Majnūn1293.

2-861

There is no intuitive (actual) certainty1294 until you burn; if you desire this

certainty, sit down in the fire.

The Second Rivulet [3.2.2]

The contraction and expansion of the heart (qabḍ1295 and basṭ).

3-2777

The eye and the heart are between two fingers like a pen in the hand of the

writer, o Ḥusayn.

3-2778

These are the fingers of Grace and Wrath, and between them the pen, the heart,

is in a state of distress1296 or ease1297, caused by these fingers.

3-2779

O pen, if you do not duly glorify God, consider between whose two fingers you

are.

3-2780

All your will and movement are controlled by this finger: your head (point) is

on the cross-roads of the assembly-place1298.

3-2781

These letters symbolising your diverse states are written by Him: your forming

a purpose and changing it entirely stems from His forming a purpose and

changing it.

3-2782

There is no way but supplication and self-abasement: not every pen is

conscious of this subjection to Divine control.

3-3734

When a feeling of spiritual contraction comes over you, o traveller, it is for

your good: do not become burning with grief in your heart,

1292 Literally, “the pure substance of the breast (heart)” (Nich.).

1293 I.e. may bring the lover ( Majnūn) to the Beloved ( Laylā) (Nich.).

1294 In the original text it says ‘Aynu’l-Yaqīn, which literally means “the Eye of Certainty”. Its spiritual meaning is contemplating and experiencing True Knowledge. In Ṣūfī lore it is preceded by ‘Ilmu’l-Yaqīn (“theoretical knowledge of Certainty”) and is followed by Ḥaqqu’l-Yaqīn (“realizing True Knowledge and becoming one with it”).

1295 The Persian form of the Arabic qabḍ i s qabż.

1296 “Distress” = qabḍ or contraction of the heart.

1297“Ease” = basṭ or expansion of the heart.

1298 I.e. “you must follow either the road of Divine Mercy or the road of Divine Wrath to meet the ultimate

destiny in the ‘assembly-place’ on the Day of Judgment.” (Nich.).

424

3-3735

For in that state of expansion and delight you are spending: the expenditure of

enthusiasm requires an income of painful preparation to balance it.

3-3736

If it were always the season of summer, the blazing heat of the sun would

scorch the garden

3-3737

And burn up from root and bottom the soil in which its plants grow, so that the

old (withered) ones would never again become fresh.

3-3738

If December1299 is sour-faced, yet it is kind; summer is laughing, but

nevertheless it is burning (destroying).

3-3739

When spiritual contraction comes, see expansion in it: be fresh (cheerful) and

do not let wrinkles fall on your brow.

3-3762

Sorrow is a mirror in front of the struggler, for in this opposite appears the face

of the other opposite.

5-3678

If the thought of sorrow waylays (spoils) joy, yet it makes preparations for joy.

5-3680

It scatters the yellow leaves from the branch of the heart, in order that incessant

green leaves may grow.

5-3683

No matter what sorrow may cause to be shed from the heart or may take away

from it, it will certainly bring better in exchange.

3-3763

After the one opposite, which is pain, the other opposite, that is, gladness and

triumph, shows its face.

3-3764

Observe these two qualities (contraction and expansion) in the fingers of your

hand: surely after the closing of the fist comes the opening.

3-3765

If the fingers be always closed or entirely (invariably) open, he (their owner) is

like an afflicted person.

6-1847

This Divine Maker is He who abases1300 and exalts1301; without these two

attributes no work is accomplished.

6-1848

Consider the lowness of the earth and the loftiness of the sky: without these

two attributes the revolution of the celestial spheres is impossible, o such-and-such.

6-1849

The lowness and loftiness of this earth are of another kind: for one half of the

year it is barren and for the other half it is green and fresh.

1299 In the original text, the tenth month of the Zoroastrian calendar is mentioned, i.e. Day. This month corresponds with the month December.

1300 This refers to the Divine attribute al-Khāfiḍ, “the Abaser”.

1301 This refers to the Divine attribute ar-Rāfi‘, “the Exalter”, “He Who uplifts”.

425

6-1850

The lowness and loftiness of the time of grief are of another kind: one half day

and the other half night.

6-1851

The lowness and loftiness of our mixed bodily temperament are now health and

then sickness that causes us to cry out in pain.

6-1852

Know that all the changing conditions of the world are like this – famine and

drought and peace and war – which arise from Divine ordeal.

6-1853

By means of these two wings this world is kept up like a bird in the air; by

means of these two all souls are the residences of fear and hope.

The Third Rivulet [3.2.3]

The stage of intoxication by Love (mystical drunkenness – sukr),

which leads the sālik to spiritual bewilderment (ḥayra)

and spiritual insanity (junūn).

5-390

When the Cupbearer of Alast 1302 poured a draft upon this saline worthless

earth,

5-391

The earth seethed, and we are the result of that seething. O God, pour another

draft, for we are very effortless (unaspiring).

1-1809

The light of dawn has shone out, and from Your light we are drinking the

morning-drink with the wine of Your Manṣūr1303.

1-1810

Since Your gift keeps me in this state (enravished), what other wine should

bring me rapture?

1-1811

Fermenting wine is a beggar imploring our ferment; the rotating Heavenly

Spheres are beggars imploring our consciousness.

1-1812

Wine became intoxicated with us, not we with it; the body came into being

from us, not we from it.

2-2571

Whether we are cunning (sane) or mad, we are intoxicated with the Cupbearer

and the cup.

2-2572

In submission we lay our heads on His written order and command: we give

our sweet lives in pawn to Him.

6-2140

I am not half-raw (imperfect) in fulfilling the Divine order and command, that I

should take into consideration any thought of defamation by the public.

1302 Qur’ān 7:172 – the Day of Alast: while all human souls already existed within God before creation, God asked them: “Am I not your Lord? ( a lastu bi-Rabbikum? )”, and they all answered “Yes! We testify!” Ṣūfī

mystics have always endeavoured to inwardly remember the Day of Alast, in order to return to man’s true inner state, which is the awareness of the soul’s existence in the love of God, just as the love of God has always existed within the souls of mankind.

1303 I.e. Ḥażrat Ḥallāj, who said “Ana‘l-Ḥaqq” (Nich.).

426

3-688

How will he who is intoxicated with God be restored to his senses by (the soft

breath of) the west-wind1304? The God-intoxicated man will not come to

himself at the blast of the trumpet of Resurrection.

4-2097

Especially consider the effect of the spiritual wine which comes from the jar of

Balā 1305 – not the wine that intoxicates for only one night;

4-2098

But that wine from which, by drinking it at dessert and while migrating from

place to place, the Men of the Cave (the Seven Sleepers)1306 lost their reason

for three hundred and nine years.

4-2099

The women of Egypt drank one cup of that wine and cut their hands to

pieces1307.

4-2100

The magicians of Pharaoh had the same intoxication as Moses: they considered

the gallows to be their beloved1308.

4-2101

Ja‘fār-e Ṭayyār1309 was drunken with that wine: therefore, being beside

himself, he was pawning (sacrificing) his feet and hands for God’s sake

3-824

So that you may imagine what intoxications come over the angels and the

spirits purified by the Divine Splendour,

3-825

Who, after smelling it only once, have set their hearts on that wine and have

broken the jar of this world’s wine.

3-4744

When He increases the wine of His help, the power of the wine bursts the flask.

3-823

But a single drop of the wines of Heaven causes the soul to be snatched away

from the wine and cupbearers of this world.

5-3595

The cup that purifies is for those intoxicated with God; this briny water is for

these blind birds.

4-2691

Listen, be not deceived, o heart, by every intoxication: Jesus is intoxicated with

God, the ass is intoxicated with barley.

3-710

O man without wisdom, do not be a drunkard of the sort that feels sorry when

he comes back to his wits;

1304 I.e. if he were truly “intoxicated” he would not come to his senses on such a slight provocation (Nich.).

1305 Balā, “Yes”, refers to the Primal Covenant on the Day of Alast (Qur’ān 7:171) (Nich.).

1306 This story is related in the 18th Sūra of the Qur’ān, Sūratu’l-Kahf, “The Sūra of the Cave”. This story is also known in Christianity.

1307 Qur’ān 12:31.

1308 Qur’ān 7:117-122.

1309 Ja‘fār ibn Abī Ṭalīb, cousin of the Prophet Muḥammad and brother of Ḥażrat ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib, fell in battle against the Greeks in 8 AH/629 CE. It is said that when the enemy cut off his hands and feet, God gave him wings in order that he might fly to Paradise. This is why he is known as aṭ-Ṭayyār (“the Flier”).

427

3-711

No, be one of those drunkards who, while drinking the wine of Divine Love,

make mature strong intellects suffer regret1310.

3-671

He who eats carrion, that is to say, drinks date-wine – the religious Law

numbers him among1311 those who are excused.

3-672

The drunkard and eater of bang 1312 is not allowed to divorce or trade; he is like

a child: he is excused and free1313.

3-673

The intoxication that arises from the scent of the unique King – a hundred vats

of wine never brought about that intoxication in head and brain.

3-674

Then how should the obligation to keep the Law be applicable to the God-intoxicated man? The horse is fallen out of use and has become unable to

move1314.

3-670

I am sane and maddened by God: remember this, and since I am in such a state

of selflessness, consider me excusable.

Divine Madness (Junūn-e Ilāhī). [3.2.3]

2-1381

Once more I have become mad, o Physician! Once more I have become

frenzied, o Beloved!

2-1382

The links of Your chain have many forms: every single link causes a different

madness.

2-1383

The gift of every link consists in different forms: therefore I have a different

madness at every moment.

2-1384

So “Madness has different forms” – this has become a proverb; it is especially

true regarding the chain of this most glorious prince.

2-1385

Such a madness has broken the bonds of my reason to such a degree that all

madmen would rebuke me.

6-1979

No one is madder than the lover, yet Reason is blind and deaf to his

melancholy.

2-1386

It so happened to Dhū’n-Nūn1315, the Egyptian, that a new agitation and

madness was born within him.

1310 I.e. they regret that they are not similarly “intoxicated” (Nich.).

1311 Literally “drew him to the side of” (Nich.).

1312 Also known as “bhang”, a mildly intoxicating preparation of the leaves and flowering tops of uncultivated hemp.

1313 I.e. the usual restrictions of the religious Law do not apply to him.

1314 Literally “has become without hand or foot” (Nich.).

1315 Ḥażrat Dhū’n-Nūn al-Miṣrī (the name al-Miṣrī means “the Egyptian”, 796-857 CE) was one of the most prominent mystics of Early Sufism.

428

2-1387

His agitation became so great that salt (bitterness) from it was reaching all

hearts up to above the sky.

2-1389

The people could not endure his madness; his fire was carrying off their

beards1316.

2-1390

When that fire fell on the beards of the common people, they bound him and

put him in a prison.

6-1980

Because this is no common madness: in these cases medicine cannot give right

guidance.

6-1981

If frenzy of this kind overtakes a physician, he will wash out (obliterate) the

book of medicine with tears of blood.

5-1888

Beyond doubt, o worshipped one1317, I must become mad for three days at the

beginning of every month1318.

5-1889

Listen, today is the first of the three days: it is the day of triumph ( pīrūz), not

the day of the turquoise ( pīrūzah)1319.

5-1890

For every heart that is in love with the King, it is always the beginning of the

month.

5-1894

It is not just one madness I have amidst the sorrows of love, but it is madness

upon madness upon madness.

3-1394

In a mystical intoxication like his, the observance of due respect to the letter of

the Qur’ān will not be there at all; or if it is, it is a wonder.

5-1892

Since my elephant has dreamed of Hindūstān1320, abandon hope of receiving

the tax1321: the village is ruined.

5-1908

If a single mote of reason and consciousness is left in me, then what is this

melancholy, madness and distracted speech?

5-1909

Since my brain is empty of reason and consciousness, how then am I at fault in

these mad ravings?

5-1910

No; the fault is his, for he robbed me of my reason: in his presence the reason

of all rational beings is dead.

5-1911

O you who causes the reason to wander and the understanding to go astray,

intelligences have no beacon of hope but you.

1316 I.e. in his ecstasy he had no regard for their formal religion. (Nich.).

1317 Literally “idol” ( ṣanam).

1318 Referring to the old belief that madness was influenced by the moon (Nich.).

1319 I.e. spiritual bliss, not worldly fortune (Nich.).

1320 I.e. “my spirit has had a vision of its original home” (Nich.).

1321 I.e. “of hearing the tale” (Nich.).

429

5-1913

Is my madness for love of you approved? Say “yes”, and God will reward you.

5-1914

Whether he speaks Arabic or Persian, where are the ear and mind by means of

which you should be able to understand it?

5-1915

His wine is not suitable for every mind, his ring is not subject to every ear1322.

5-1916

Once again I have become mad: go, go, my dear soul, quickly fetch a chain;

5-1917

But if you bring any except the chain of my beloved’s curl – even if you bring

two hundred chains, I will burst them all.

6-573

I am in love with the art of madness, I am glutted with wisdom and discerning

insight.

6-574

When the veil of shame is torn to pieces, I will publicly divulge the mystery:

how much more of this self-restraint1323, excruciating pain and trembling?

6-610

Listen, put that fetter on my leg, for I have torn the chain of rational

consideration to pieces.

6-611

Even if you bring two hundred fetters, I will snap them all except the curls of

my favourable Beauty.

6-607

O rebuker, how long will you continue to give this invitation to join in the

business of the world? From now on stop giving advice to a madman.

6-608

I will not listen to deceitful talk of separation from the Beloved: I have

experienced it: how long shall I experience it?

6-609

In this Way everything except insanity and madness causes of remoteness and

alienation from Him.

Partial intellect (or “ego-mind”) as an obstacle on the Path. [3.2.3]

4-1402

He who is blessed and familiar with spiritual mysteries knows that craftiness

belongs to Iblīs1324, while love belongs to Adam.

4-1403

Craftiness is like swimming in the seas: the swimmer is not saved: he is

drowned at the end of the day.

4-1404

Abandon swimming, let pride and hostility go: this is not a Jayhūn1325 (Oxus)

or a lesser river, it is an Ocean;

1322 I.e. the capacity for hearing his words may be compared to an ear-ring which not every ear is worthy to

possess.

1323 In the Persian text the word ṣabr is used, meaning “patience” or “endurance”.

1324 Iblīs: a name of the Devil. This name is probably derived from the Arabic verb ablasa, meaning “he despaired (of God’s Mercy)”.

430

4-1405

Moreover, it is the deep Ocean without refuge: it sweeps away the seven seas

like straw.

4-1406

Love is as a ship for the elect: it rarely results in calamity; for the most part it is

deliverance.

4-1407

Sell craftiness and buy bewilderment: craftiness is opinion, while bewilderment

is immediate vision.

2-2337

I have tried the intellectual mind often enough; from now on I shall seek shelter

in spiritual madness.

2-2329

Always run away from whatever you consider profitable to your lower self:

drink poison and spill the water of life.

2-2330

Taunt1326 anyone who praises you: lend both interest and capital to the

destitute.

2-2331

Let safety go, and dwell in the place of fear (danger): leave reputation behind

and be disgraced and notorious1327.

Story. [3.2.3]

2-2338

A certain man was saying, “I want someone of intelligence, that I may consult

him about a difficulty”.

2-2339

One said to him, “In our city there is nobody of intelligence except that man

who appears to be mad.

2-2340

Look, there is one named so-and-so: mounted on a cane, he rides it as a

cockhorse amongst the children.

2-2342

His glory has become the rational soul of the Cherubim; he has become hidden

in this feigned madness.”

2-2350

No one can recognize him by means of wisdom when he has feigned to be

mad.

2-2384

The seeker of counsel approached him (the Saint who was feigning madness),

saying, “O father who has become like a child, tell me a secret.”

1325 The Jayhūn River is in fact the Āmū Daryā or Oxus River, the longest river in Central Asia. It more or less constitutes the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

1326 Literally “Give a bad name to”.

1327 Literally “be manifestly notorious or infamous”. This refers to a particular current in Sufism, namely the Malāmatiyya. Malāmatī Ṣūfīs (“the People of Blame”) are people who willingly and ostentatiously transgress all social, moral and religious conventions and boundaries, and thus incur the blame ( malāma) of society. Malāmatī

Ṣūfīs are critical of these conventions and boundaries and consider them as obstacles on the Inner Path. Name and fame are but a hindrance to them. That’s why they feign impiety and sometimes even insanity. Inwardly however, they are utterly devoted to the quest for the Divine. Being rejected by society helps them to become detached from worldliness, turn inward and draw closer to God.

431

2-2385

He answered, “Go away from this door-ring, for this door is not open. Turn

back: today is not the day for secrets.”

2-2400

The seeker said, “O you mounted on the cane, please, ride your horse this way

for one moment.”

2-2401

He rode towards him, crying, “Listen, say as quickly as you can what you

want, for my horse is very restive and fierce-tempered.

2-2402

Be quick, that he might not kick you: explain clearly what you are asking

about.”

2-2418

The other said, “O king, with such intelligence and erudition as you have, what

feigning is this? What way of acting is this? O, how wondrous!”

2-2419

You transcend the Universal Intellect in your power to elucidate. You are a

sun: how are you hidden in madness?”

2-2420

He replied, “These rascals are proposing to make me qāḍī1328 in this their city.

2-2421

I raised objections, but they said to me, ‘No, there is no one as learned and

accomplished as you.

2-2422

As long as you exist, it is unlawful and wicked that anyone inferior to you

should quote Prophetic Traditions as qāḍī1329.

2-2424

Because of this necessity I became unsettled and mad in appearance, but

inwardly I am just the same as I was.

2-2425

My intelligence is the hidden treasure, and I am the ruin covering it; if I show

the treasure1330, then I am mad indeed.

2-2426

The true madman is he who has not gone mad, he who has seen the night-patrol

and has not gone home.

2-2428

I am a mine of sugar, I am a plantation of sugarcanes: it is growing from me,

and at the same time I am eating of it.’

4-1408

Sacrifice your intellect the presence of Muṣṭafā (Muḥammad1331); say,

“ḥasbīya’Llāh – God is sufficient for me.”

4-1424

Sacrifice your intellect in love for the Friend: anyhow, all intellects come from

where He is.

1328 A Muslim judge who settles religious cases according to the Sharī‘a, the Islamic law. The Persian form of qāḍī is qāżī.

1329 I.e. “holding the office of qāḍī”.

1330 The treasure is ma‘rifa or gnosis (Nich.).

1331 In this verse Ḥażrat Muḥammad symbolizes Love.

432

4-1426

If, out of bewilderment, your intellect goes out of this head of yours, every

tip1332 of your hair will become a new head and intellect.

6-2140

I am not so imperfect1333 in fulfilling the Divine order and command, that I

should take notice of any slandering thought of the commoners.

3-668

Saying, “I have no consciousness even of myself: in my heart there is no room

for anything but God.

3-669

I cannot remember what I ate yesterday: this heart of mine takes delight in

nothing except bewilderment.”

1-130

How should I – while no vein of mine is conscious – describe that Friend who

is peerless?

3-3869

He had seen a hidden rose-garden: the raiding assault of Love had cut him off

himself.

3-3870

You, frozen in spirit, are not worthy of this inspiring breath of love: even

though you are a reed (cane), you are not associated with sugar.

3-3871

The luggage of intellect is with you, and you still have your wits, for you are

unaware of armies which you did not see 1334.

3-1987

I became amazed, so that even amazement itself became amazed: the waves of

bewilderment passed over the head of my understanding.

3-1116

A mystical bewilderment is needed to sweep such thought away: bewilderment

devours all thought ( fikr)1335 and remembrance ( dhikr)1336.

1332 Literally “every head of your hair”.

1333 Literally “half-raw”.

1334 Qur’ān 9:26.

1335 Fikr literally means “thought”, but in the context of Ṣūfī practices it denotes “contemplation” or “reflection”.

Fikr can be practised as a separate exercise.

1336 Dhikr– approximately pronounced “zikr” or “zekr” in Persian – means “remembrance of God” or “restoring the memory of God”, by repeating various sacred phrases and names of God, either silently or aloud. Dhikr is practised individually as well as collectively, and is the most fundamental practice of Sufism. Practising dhikr restores man’s memory and consciousness of his True Being, his essential unity with the Divine. “Dhikr” is not limited to one or more practices: literally anything that brings about this mystical consciousness may be called “dhikr”.

433

Story:

When spiritual bewilderment hinders the power of thinking. [3.2.3]

3-1376

A certain man, whose hair had two colours1337, came in haste to a barber1338 of

great renown.

3-1377

He said, “Remove the whiteness from my beard, for I have chosen a new bride,

o young man.”

3-1378

He cut off his beard and laid all of it before him, and said, “You pick out the

white hairs, for as it happens I have something important to attend to1339.”

3-1379

That “pick them out” is dialectic1340, for religious emotion does not care for

these things (hair-splitting disputes).

Allegory1341. [3.2.3]

3-1380

A certain man slapped Zayd1342 on the neck; Zayd at once rushed at him to give

him a good beating.

3-1381

The attacker said, “I will ask you a question, so answer me first and then strike

me.

3-1382

I struck the nape of your neck, and there was the sound of a slap: at this point I

have a question to ask you regarding this:

3-1383

Was this sound caused by my hand or by the nape of your neck, o pride of the

noble?”

3-1384

Zayd said, “The pain I suffer prevents me from occupying myself with

reflection and contemplation.

3-1385

You, who are without pain, consider this; he who feels the pain has no such

thoughts. Pay attention!”

1-628

Note, then, this principle, o you who are looking for the principle; everyone

who suffers pain has caught its scent.

1337 I.e. black and white (Nich.).

1338 Literally “mirror-holder” (Nich.).

1339 Literally “an important matter (work) has happened to me.”

1340 Literally “in this question and that answer”, i.e. the method of the scholastic theologians (Nich.).

1341 In order to understand the following verses it might be helpful to know that they are part of a story entitled:

“A parable illustrating the fact that mystical bewilderment prevents investigation and consideration”.

1342 Zayd is an Arabic fictitious or generic name, used for anonymous persons, like “John Doe” in English.

434

The Fourth Rivulet [3.2.4]

The stage of God’s nearness (Qurb).

Going beyond time and space, ego and senses.

3-4514

To be close to God is not to go up and down: to be close to God is to escape

from the prison of existence.

3-4516

The laboratory and treasure of God is non-existence. You are deluded by

existence: how should you know what non-existence is?

3-4512

The Prophet said, “My ascension1343 is not to be considered superior to the

ascension of Yūnus (Jonah).

3-4513

Mine was up to heaven, and his was down below (in the belly of the fish),

because closeness to God is beyond calculation.”

The meaning of the Quranic verse 50:16:

“And We are closer to him than his jugular vein.” [3.2.4]

4-3678

Since the intellect is with you, overseeing the body, and even though your

perception is unable to grasp it,

4-3679

Yet its perception, o such-and-such, is not unable to understand your rest and

movement when it tries1344.

4-3681

Someone pays no heed to his intellect and embarks on1345 evil; afterwards his

intellect rebukes him.

4-3683

If it had not been present (attentive) and had been heedless, how should it have

slapped you in rebuke?

4-3685

That is why you and your intellect are like the astrolabe1346: by means of this

you may know the nearness of the Sun of existence.

4-3686

Your intellect is indescribably near to you: it is neither to the left nor to the

right, nor behind nor in front.

4-3687

How then should not the King be indescribably near? For intellectual search

cannot find the way to Him.

1343 The celestial ascension made by the Prophet Muḥammad, called Mi‘rāj (“Ascension”). During this ascension he was taken to the Highest Heaven and the Presence of God.

1344 Literally “at the trial” (Nich.).

1345 Literally “comes into touch with, “cleaves to” (Nich.).

1346 A medieval instrument, now replaced by the sextant, which was once used to determine the altitude of the sun or other celestial bodies.

435

4-3691

The light of the eye and pupil, by what other way than the six directions does it

come into your eye?

4-3692

The world of creation has diverse quarters and directions, but know that the

world of the Divine Command1347and Divine Attributes is without (beyond)

direction.

4-3693

Know, o beloved, that the world of the Command is without direction:

necessarily the Commander is even more without direction.

4-3694

The intellect has always been without direction, and the Knower of the

elucidation1348 is more intelligent than intellect and more spiritual even than

spirit1349.

6-2353

That which is real is nearer to the jugular vein1350: you have shot the arrow of

thought far away.

6-2354

O you who have provided yourself with bows and arrows, the prey is near and

you have shot far.

6-2355

The farther one shoots, the farther away and more separated he is from a

treasure like this.

3-705

There are various kinds of nearness, o father: the sun strikes both on the

mountains and on the gold in the mine.

Love as a means to draw nearer to God. [3.2.4]

5-1685

He is like Āzar1351 in craftsmanship, and I am the idol made by Him: whatever

instrument He may make of me, I become that.

5-1686

If He makes me a cup, I become a cup; and if He makes me a dagger, I become

a dagger.

5-1687

If He makes me a fountain, I give water; and if He makes me fire, I give heat.

5-1688

If He makes rain of me, I give a stack of wheat; and if He makes an arrow of

me, I dart into the body.

5-1689

If He makes me a snake ( mārī), I emit venom; and if He makes me a friend

( yārī), I render service with kindness.

5-1690

I am as a pen between His two fingers: I am not a waverer1352 in the ranks of

obedience to Him1353.”

1347 I.e. the supersensible world of the Creative Word, Kun, “Be!” (Nich.).

1348 God (Nich.).

1349 Literally “more soulful even than the soul.”

1350 Qur’ān 50:16.

1351 The father of Ḥażrat Ibrāhīm/Abraham – see Qur’ān 6:74.

1352 Literally, “between and between” (Nich.).

436

1-394

One who does not see the hand while it is writing thinks that the movement of

writing proceeds from the pen itself.

Allegory. [3.2.4]

4-3721

A little ant saw a pen writing on a paper, and told this mystery to another ant,

4-3722

Saying, “That pen made wonderful pictures like sweet basil and beds of lilies

and roses.”

4-3723

The other ant said, “That artist is the finger, and this pen is actually no more

than the instrument1354 and the sign.”

4-3724

A third ant said, “It is the work of the arm, by whose strength the slender finger

drew it.”

4-3725

In this way the argument was carried upward until a chief of the ants, who was

endowed with a little insight and wisdom,

4-3726

Said, “Do not consider this skill as proceeding from the material form, which

becomes unconscious in sleep and death.

4-3727

Form is like a garment or a staff: bodily figures do not move except by means

of intellect and spirit.”

4-3728

The wise ant was unaware that without the controlling influence of God the

intellect and heart (mind) would be inert1355.

4-3729

If He withdraw His favour from it for a single moment, the astute intellect will

commit many follies.

1-2463

Is it not true that my heart (spirit) and body are under His control, so that at one

moment He makes me a kernel, at another moment a rind?

1-2464

When He commands me to be a cornfield, I become green; when He

commands me to be ugly, I become yellow.

1-2466

Before the blows of the bat of His decree; “Be, and it is”1356, we are running

like balls in Space and beyond1357

6-3332

The pictures (phenomenal forms), whether they are unconscious or conscious

of it, are always present in the hand of the Painter.

1353 Ḥadīth: “Man’s heart is between two of God’s fingers; He turns it as He wants.” Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 33.

1354 Literally “derived”, “sprung from”.

1355 Literally “inanimate”.

1356 Qur’ān 3:47, 2:117, 6:73, 16:40, 19:35 and 36:82.

1357 Literally “in space and non-space” (Nich.). “Non-space” = lā makān, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

437

6-3333

Moment by moment that traceless One writes down1358 what He wants on the

page of their thought and then obliterates it.

6-3334

He puts anger there and takes resignation away: He puts stinginess there and

takes generosity away.

6-3336

The potter works at the pot to shape it: how should the pot become broad by

itself?

6-3338

The garment, while being made, is in the hands of a tailor: how else should it

sew and cut by itself?

6-3339

The water-skin is with the water-carrier, o high-aspiring seeker1359: how else

should it become full or empty by itself?

2-1306

God said, “You did not throw when you threw”1360: the action of God has

precedence over our actions.

1-616

If we let an arrow fly, that action is not our doing: we are only the bow, and the

shooter of the arrow is God.

1-1514

In this tangled and complex world, who are we? What other thing is there but

He who is single like alif 1361? Nothing, nothing.

2-1300

This world, like straws in the hand (sway) of the wind, which is the unseen

world, has taken on helplessness as its only resource1362,

2-1301

Then makes it high, then low; then makes it sound and whole, then broken;

2-1302

Then carries it to the right, then to the left; then makes it roses, then thorns.

2-1310

We are the hunted prey: to whom belongs such a fearful snare? We are the ball

for the blows of the polo-bat – and where is the Batsman?

2-1311

He tears, He sews: where is this Tailor? He blows, He burns: where is this Fire—

kindler1363?

2-1303

See how the Hand is hidden, while the pen is writing; the horse galloping,

while the Rider is invisible.

1358 Literally “sets down”.

1359 The word used in the Persian text is muntahī. In this context muntahī can be explained as “a seeker who keeps striving for ever higher stages on the mystical Path, so that one day he or she may reach its Supreme Goal ( Intihā, literally “the End”), i.e. the ultimate mystical realization.”

1360 Qur’ān 8:17.

1361 The Arabic letter alif is written as a perpendicular line: ﺍ. It symbolizes God’s absolute Oneness, and that He only is with us in respect of His attributes, which are reflected in our unreal existence [adapted from Nicholson’s Commentaries on the Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí].

1362 Literally “trade” or “practice” (Nich.).

1363 Literally “one who throws petrol”.

438

2-1304

See the arrow flying, while the Bow is invisible; the individual souls manifest,

and the Soul of souls hidden.

4-153

Therefore in the mind of everyone possessing knowledge this is certain, that

with everything that moves there is a mover.

4-154

If you do not see him visibly, understand him by means of the manifestation of

the effect.

4-155

The body is moved by the soul: you do not see the soul; but from the

movement of the body know the soul to be its mover.

When the sālik is annihilated in God, his or her

actions and words equally become Divine. [3.2.4]

1-599

We are as the flute, and the music in us is from You; we are as the mountain,

and the echo in us is from You.

1-600

We are as pieces of chess engrossed in victory and defeat: our victory and

defeat are from You, o You whose qualities are resplendent with beauty!

1-601

Who are we, o You soul of our souls, that we should continue to exist beside

You?

1-603

We are all lions, but lions on a banner: because of the wind they are rushing

onward from moment to moment.

1-604

Their onward rush is visible, and the wind is unseen: may that which is unseen

not become absent from us!

1-602

We and our existences are really non-existences: You are the Absolute Being

who manifests the perishable (causes phenomena to appear).

1-605

The wind that moves us and our being are given by You: our whole existence

comes from You bringing us into being.

1-611

Before the painter and the brush the picture is helpless and bound like a child in

the womb.

1-612

Before Omnipotence all the people of the Divine court of audience (the world)

are as helpless as the embroiderer’s fabric before the needle.

1-613

Now He makes the picture of the Devil on it, then that of Adam; now He

makes the picture of joy, then of grief.

1-1510

If we come to ignorance, that is His prison, and if we come to knowledge, that

is His palace1364;

1364 In the Persian text the word īwān is used, which means a vaulted hall or space, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open.

439

1-1511

And if we come to sleep, we are His intoxicated ones; and if we come to

wakefulness, we are in His hands;

1-1512

And if we weep, we are a cloud laden with the bounty given by Him; and if we

laugh, at that time we are His lightning;

1-1513

And if we come to anger and war, it is the reflection of His Might; and if we

come to peace and forgiveness, it is the reflection of His Love.

4-398

Such a non-existent one who has become selfless1365 (lost his “self” in fanā) is

the best of beings, and the greatest one among them.

4-399

His own attributes have become annihilated ( fanā) in the Divine attributes, but

in reality he has gained everlasting life ( baqā) by dying to himself.

4-400

All spirits are under his sway; all bodies too are under his control.

4-401

He who is overpowered (overwhelmed) by Our grace is not under any

compulsion; no, he is one who freely chooses devotion to Us.

1-1937

God has said to the Saint, “I am your tongue and eye; I am your senses and I

am your contentment and your anger1366.

1-1938

Go, for you are he of whom God said, “Through Me he hears and through Me

he sees”1367: you are the Divine consciousness itself: how could you possibly

say: “You are the possessor of the Divine attributes”?

4-402

In reality the end of free-will is that his free-will should be lost here.

Story. [3.2.4]

4-2102

That venerable dervish1368, Bāyazīd1369, came to his disciples saying: “In reality

I am God”.

1365 Literally “has gone from himself”.

1366 This refers to a ḥadīth: “And My servant continues drawing nearer to Me through supererogatory acts of

worship until I love him; and when I love him, I become the ear with which he hears, the eye with which he sees, the hand with which he grasps, and the foot with which he walks”. See Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 89.

1367 This is a ḥadīth qudsī (a well-known definition of a ḥadīth qudsī is this: “A sacred ḥadīth is, as to the meaning, from God the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the Messenger of God. It is that which God the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he has communicated it in his

own words”): “Through Me he hears, through Me he sees, and through Me he understands”.

1368 In the Persian text the word faqīr is used, which means the same as darwīsh: “one who is poor before God and in need of His mercy”. Since in this verse the term faqīr is applied to a fully accomplished Ṣūfī Master as Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī, it means “someone who has wholly realized spiritual poverty ( faqr)”.

1369 The Persian Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Bāyazīd-e Basṭāmī, also known as Ḥażrat Abū Yazīd Ṭayfūr al-Bisṭāmī (ca.

804-874 CE), is one of the key figures in the history of Sufism, in that he founded what came to be known as

“the School of Intoxication” ( sukr), which flourished in Greater Khurāsān, as opposed to the equally influential

“School of Sobriety” ( saḥw), which was founded in Baghdad by the Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Junayd al-Baghdādī (ca.

830-910 AD).

440

4-2103

That master of the mystical sciences said in manifest intoxication, “Listen,

there is no god but I, so worship me”.

4-2104

When the ecstasy had passed, they said to him at dawn, “You said such-and-such, and this is not proper piety”.

4-2105

He said, “This time, if I make a scandal, come immediately and dash knives

into me.

4-2106

God transcends the body, and I am with the body: you must kill me when I say

a thing like this”.

4-2107

When that spiritually liberated man gave the injunction, each disciple kept a

knife ready.

4-2108

Again Bāyazīd became intoxicated by that powerful flagon: those injunctions

vanished from his mind.

4-2109

Love came: his reason became crazed. The dawn came: his candle became

helpless.

4-2110

Reason is like the officer of the law; when the sulṭān arrives, the helpless

officer creeps into a corner.

4-2111

Reason is the shadow of God; God is the sun: what power does the shadow

have to resist His sun?

4-2112

When a genie prevails over (gains possession of) a man, the attributes of

humanity disappear from the man.

4-2113

Whatever he says, in reality a parī 1370 will have said it: the one who belongs to

this side will have spoken from the control of the one who belongs to the other

side.

4-2115

The possessed man’s “he” (personality) is gone: he has in fact become the parī:

the Turk, without receiving Divine inspiration, has become a speaker of

Arabic1371.

4-2116

When he comes to himself, he does not know a word of Arabic. Since a parī

has the essence and quality,

4-2117

Then how, tell me, should the Lord of parī and man be inferior to the parī?

1370 Parī: in Persian mythology, a beautiful and benevolent supernatural being or fairy.

1371 This verse is about inner transformation, when the “I” is absorbed in Divinity. “Parī” stands for someone who is inspired by Divine Revelation ( Waḥī-ye Dil, literally “Inspiration of the Heart”), i.e. who has penetrated the Divine Realm. “Turk” represents someone who has not reached that level. Arabic is considered the language of higher levels of consciousness, i.e. of Divine Inspiration. Thus someone who’s “I” is transformed into a parī, is like a Turk who can speak Arabic (i.e. “Divine Language”). It should be borne in mind that the use of ethnic and linguistic distinctions in the Mathnawī is purely symbolical and should never be interpreted differently.

441

4-2114

Since a parī has this influence and power, how much more powerful indeed

must be the Creator of that parī!

4-2118

If a drunken fellow1372 has drunk the blood of a fierce lion, you will say that the

wine did it, not he;

4-2119

And if he makes words of old (pure) gold1373, you will say that the wine has

spoken those words.

4-2120

A wine has this power to arouse disturbance and commotion: does the Light of

God not have that virtue and power

4-2121

To make you entirely empty of self, so that you should be laid low and He

should make the World exalted within you?

4-2122

Even though the Qur’ān is dictated from the lips of the Prophet – if anyone

says God did not speak it, he is a denier1374.

4-2123

When the humā 1375 of selflessness took wing and soared, Bāyazīd began to

repeat those words.

4-2124

The flood of bewilderment swept away his reason: he spoke more strongly than

he had spoken at first,

4-2125

Saying, “Within my mantle there is nothing but God: how long will you seek

on the earth and in heaven?”

4-2126

All the disciples became frenzied and dashed their knives at his holy body.

4-2128

Everyone who plunged a dagger into the Shaykh was reversely making a gash

in his own body.

4-2129

There was no mark of a wound on the body of the possessor of mystical

knowledge, while the disciples were wounded and drowned in blood.

4-2130

Whoever aimed a blow at his throat saw his own throat cut, and died miserably;

4-2131

And whoever inflicted a blow on his breast, his own breast was torn apart, and

he became dead forever;

4-2132

And he who was acquainted with that spiritual emperor of high fortune, with a

heart (courage) that did not consent to strike a heavy blow,

1372 With the implication “having the courage given by drink”.

1373 I.e. “if he speaks with perfect eloquence” (Nich.).

1374 In the original text the word kāfir is used, which usually is translated as “infidel”, “unbeliever” or “pagan”; however, its literal meaning is “one who covers the Truth”.

1375 In the Ṣufi tradition, the humā is a mythical bird of paradise. Even though catching the humā itself is considered impossible, anyone who catches a glimpse or sees even a shadow of it will be happy for the rest of his or her life.

442

4-2133

Half-knowledge tied his hand, so that he saved his life and only wounded

himself.

4-2134

Day broke, and the disciples were thinned: wails of lamentation arose from

their houses.

4-2135

Thousands of men and women came to him (Bāyazīd), saying, “O you in

whose single shirt the two worlds are contained,

4-2136

If this body of yours were a human body, it would have been destroyed, like a

human body, by the daggers”.

4-2137

A self-existent one encountered a selfless one in combat: the self-existent one

drove a thorn into his own eye (hurt himself).

4-2138

O you who stab the selfless ones with the sword, you are stabbing your own

body with it. Beware!

4-2139

For the selfless one has been annihilated in God and is safe: he is dwelling in

safety forever.

4-2140

His form has been annihilated and he has become a mirror: there is nothing but

the form (image) of the face of another.

4-2141

If you spit at it, you spit at your own face; and if you strike at the mirror, you

strike at yourself;

4-2142

And if you see an ugly face in that mirror, it is you; and if you see Jesus and

Mary, it is you.

4-2143

He is neither this nor that: he is simple (pure and free from attributes of self):

he has placed your image before you.

4-2144

When the speech reached this point, it closed its lips; when the pen reached this

point, it broke to pieces.

4-2145

Close your lips, o my soul: even though eloquence is at your command, do not

breathe a word – and God knows best what is right.

The Fifth Rivulet [3.2.5]

The stage of unification (wuṣla or wiṣāl) with God.

4-760

There is a union beyond description or analogy between the Lord of Man and

the spirit of Man.

4-761

But I said nās (Man or Mankind), not nasnās 1376, nās is none but the spirit that

knows the Divine spirit.

1376 A fabulous monster which is described as “resembling the half of a human body” (Nich.).

443

4-762

Nās is Man, and where is Manhood? You have never seen the head (spiritual

principle) of Man: you are a tail.

4-763

You have recited the words “You did not throw when you threw”1377, but you

are a mere body: you have remained in division.

5-793

Consider all change as derived from the Transformer, leave (ignore) the

intermediaries, for by considering the intermediaries you will become far

removed from their Origin.

5-794

Wherever the intermediaries increase, union with the Origin is removed: in the

same way that the intermediaries are less, the delight of attaining to union is

greater.

2-3313

Those who have attained to union with God need nothing except the eye of the

spirit and the lamp of intuitive faith: they have no care for indications to guide

them or with a road to travel by.

5-877

Without him God does not bestow bounty on anyone. I have told only one

small part of the sublimity of the possessor of union with God.

5-878

God lays His gift on the palm of his hand, and from his palm gives it to those

who are the objects of His Mercy.

5-879

The unitedness of the Universal Sea of Bounty with his palm is without

attribute, without condition and perfect.

5-880

A unitedness that cannot be contained in words – to speak of it would be a vain

task, so farewell1378.

The Beloved seeks the lover (for unification – wuṣla or wiṣāl). [3.2.5]

“We were yearning for unification with the Beloved, while the

Beloved was yearning even more for unification with us.”

– Ḥāfīz –

1-221

Do not say, “We have no access to that King”. Dealings with the generous are

not difficult.

3-4393

In reality, no lover seeks union without his loved one seeking him;

3-4394

But the love of lovers makes the body thin as a bowstring, while the love of

loved ones makes it gracious and strong.

3-4395

When the lightning of love for the beloved has shot into this heart, know that

there is love in that heart.

1377 Qur’ān 8:17.

1378 In the original text the expression wa’s-salām is used, which may also mean “and let it be done with that”,

“and let that be the end of the matter”.

444

3-4396

When love for God has been doubled in your heart, without any doubt God has

love for you.

3-4397

No sound of clapping comes from one hand of yours without the other hand.

3-4603

The desire of loved ones is hidden and veiled; the desire of the lover is

accompanied by a hundred drums and trumpets.

3-3799

It is better to be slain and dead before you, o Moon, than to be the king of the

living in another place.

3-3800

I have put it to the test more than a thousand times: I do not consider my life

sweet without you.

5-4117

It is sweet to die in hope of union with You; the bitterness of separation from

You is worse than1379 fire.

3-4682

He said, “O soul that has fled from tribulation, We have opened the door to

union with Us: welcome!

3-4683

O you whose selflessness and intoxication are caused by Our Self, o you whose

being is incessantly derived from Our Being,

3-4684

Now, without lip, I tell you the old mysteries again: listen!

3-4686

At this moment open the ear of earlessness for the sake of hearing the mystery

of God does whatever He pleases 1380.

The tasting of unification with the Beloved. [3.2.5]

Poem:

“I am drunk and you can’t ask me what the wine of love tastes like.

Taste it yourself, so you too may know what it tastes like.” [3.2.5]

6-1095

O lovers, from the old World new fortune has arrived that makes all things

new1381.

6-1096

From the World that is seeking a remedy for those who have no remedy:

hundreds of thousands of wonders of the present world are contained in it.

6-1097

O people, since the relief has come; be glad, O people: the distress is removed.

5-2525

The Khusraw (who is the lover) of the spiritual Shīrīn1382 has beaten the drum

of sovereignty; consequently sugar has become cheap in the city.

1379 Literally “is above” (Nich.).

1380 Qur’ān 3:40.

1381 I.e. the World of Reality (Nich.).

1382 “Khusraw and Shīrīn” is a famous Persian love story. The name Shīrīn means “Sweet”.

445

5-2526

The Josephs of the unseen world are marching: they are bringing bales of

candy and sugar.

5-2527

The faces of the camels of Egypt are turned towards us: listen, o parrots, to the

sound of the camel-bell.

5-2528

Tomorrow our city will be filled with sugar; sugar is cheap today: tomorrow it

will be cheaper.

5-2529

O confectioners, wallow in sugar, like the parrot, despite the bilious1383 ones.

5-2530

Pound the sugarcane: this is the only work of importance; lavish your souls on

him: this is the only Beloved.

5-2531

Now not a single sour one is left in our city, since Shīrīn has seated the

Khusraws on the throne of Love.

5-2532

It is dessert on dessert and wine on wine! Ho, go up on the minaret and

proclaim that all are welcome to the feast.

5-2533

The nine years old vinegar is becoming sweet; the stone and marble are

becoming ruby-like and golden.

5-2534

The sun in heaven is clapping his hands: the motes are dancing like lovers.

5-2535

All eyes are intoxicated with the orchard abounding in greenery, where the

blossoms are budding on the boughs.

5-2536

The eye of blessedness works absolute magic: the spirit is made victorious

( manṣūr 1384), crying “I am God.”

6-944

From drinking the ruby wine of the life-increasing Soul we are ruby within

ruby within ruby.

6-945

Once more the assembly-place has become flourishing and heart-illuminating:

arise and burn rue-seed to keep off the evil eye1385.

6-950

The scent of a beloved Soul is coming towards my soul; the scent of my loving

Friend is coming to me”.

6-946

The cries of the joyous drunken lovers are coming to me: o Beloved, I want it

to continue like this for all time.

1383 “Bilious” means “suffering from gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gallbladder”. In this verse however, “bilious ones” means “embittered, bad-tempered people”.

1384 This verse alludes to Ḥażrat Ḥusayn ibn Manṣūr al-Ḥallāj (ca. 858-922 CE), the Persian mystic who was

condemned for heresy and blasphemy and was put to death in Baghdad. He is best known for having exclaimed

in ecstasy “Anā’l-Ḥaqq!” – “I am the Truth”, i.e. God.

1385 Burning rue-seed is a tradition in Persian culture; it is believed to ward off evil energies.

446

The way to unification with the Beloved. [3.2.5]

2-1179

After all, the soul is joined to the body, but does the soul resemble the body in

any way?

2-1180

The sparkle of the eye’s light is paired with the fat1386; the light of the heart is

hidden in a drop of blood;

2-1181

Joy is located in the kidneys, grief in the liver; intellect, bright as a candle,

inside the brain in the head.

2-1182

These connections are not without a how and a why, but as to knowledge of the

why our minds are helpless.

4-3695

No created being is unconnected with Him: that connection, o uncle, is

indescribable.

4-3696

Because in the spirit there is no separating and uniting, while our thought

cannot think except in terms of separating and uniting.

4-3697

Pursue that which is without separation and union with the help of a spiritual

guide: but the pursuit will not quench your thirst.

4-3698

Yet pursue incessantly, if you are far from the Source, that the vein of true

manhood in you may help you attain your desire.

4-3699

How should the intellect find the way to this connection? The intellect is bound

to separation and union.

4-3700

That is why Muṣṭafā (Muḥammad) forbade us, saying, “Do not try to

investigate the Essence of God”1387.

4-3701

As regards the One whose Essence is an object of thought1388, in reality the

thinker’s speculation does not concern the Essence.

4-3702

It is only his false opinion, because on the way to God there are a hundred

thousand veils.

4-3703

Everyone is naturally attached to some veil and judges that in reality it is the

identity (‘ ayn) of Him.

4-3704

Therefore the Prophet banished this false judgement from the thinker, for fear

that he erroneously might conceive a false imagination.

1386 I.e. the white of the eye (Nich.).

1387 Ḥadīth: “Reflection the creation and do not reflect on the Essence of God.” Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 418.

1388 Literally “concerning whose Essence there is an act of thought” (Nich.).

447

The lower self (nafs) as the obstacle. [3.2.5]

5-777

The good life is to nourish the soul in nearness to God; the crow’s life is for the

sake of eating dung.

6-1756

The cruelty of Time (Fortune) and every affliction that exists are lighter than

farness from God and forgetfulness of Him.

6-1757

Because the afflictions will pass, but the forgetfulness will not. Only he who is

aware possesses happiness.

6-2786

Who am I in relation to this1389? Come, o my King, make my ruling star

auspicious and wheel towards me1390.

6-2787

Illumine my spirit with moonbeams, for my soul is blackened (eclipsed) by

contact with the Dragon’s Tail1391.

6-2893

Do not let Your night-companion be banished from Your presence in the daytime, do not inflict farness (separation) on the soul that has experienced

nearness (union).

6-2894

Absence from You is a grievous and tormenting death, especially the absence

that comes after enjoyment of Your favour.

Story. [3.2.5]

6-1758

A certain woman said to her husband, “Hey, you who have finished with1392

generosity once and for all,

6-1759

Why don’t you take care of me? How long shall I remain in this place1393 of

misery?”

6-1760

The husband replied, “I am doing my best1394 to earn money; even though I am

destitute, I am moving hand and foot.

6-1761

O beloved1395, it is my duty to provide you with money and clothes: you get

both these from me and they are not insufficient”.

6-1762

The wife showed him the sleeve of her shirt: the shirt was very coarse and

dirty.

1389 I.e. “I am helpless before the Divine destiny, which brings good or evil fortune to everyone” (Nich.).

1390 I.e. “let Your favour descend upon me” (Nich.).

1391 One of the two places where the moon’s apparent path intersects the ecliptic (Nich.).

1392 Literally “folded up” (Nich.).

1393 Literally “pasture” (Nich.).

1394 Literally “using (every) means” (Nich.).

1395 Literally “o (my) idol” (Nich.).

448

6-1763

“It is so rough”, she said, “it wounds my body: does anyone get a garment of

this kind for anyone?”

6-1764

He said, “O wife, I will ask you one question. I am a poor man: this is all I

know how to do1396.

6-1765

This shirt is rough, coarse and disagreeable, but think well, o anxious wife!”

6-1766

Is this shirt rougher and nastier, or divorce? Is this shirt more odious to you, or

separation?”

6-1767

Even so, o Khwāja1397 who are scolding because of affliction, poverty, distress

and tribulations,

6-1768

No doubt this renunciation of sensuality gives bitter pain, but it is better than

being far from God.

6-1769

If fighting1398 against the flesh and fasting1399 are hard and rough, yet these are

better than being far from Him who inflicts tribulation.

6-1770

How should pain last for a single moment when the Giver of favours says to

you, “How are you, o my sick one?”

6-1771

And even if He does not say it, because you lack the understanding and

knowledge needed for it, yet your inward feeling of supplication is equivalent

to His inquiring after you.

6-1772

Those beautiful ones who are spiritual physicians turn towards the sick to

inquire after them.

1396 I.e. in the way of providing for you (Nich.).

1397 Khwāja (< Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

In Sufism, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, it takes on the meaning of “Master”, e.g. Ḥażrat Khwāja

Mu‘īnu’ddīn Chishtī, the great Ṣūfī Saint of Ajmēr, Rājasthān, India. But also outside the Indian subcontinent Ṣūfī Masters have borne this title. A few examples: the prominent Persian Ṣūfī mystic and prolific author Ḥażrat Khwāja ‘Abdullāh Anṣārī of Herāt (1006-1088 CE) and the influential Turkic Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Aḥmad Yasawī (1093-1066 CE), who lived and worked in Kazākhstān. It is also worth mentioning that between

the 12th and 14th centuries CE the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order was known as Ṭarīqat-e Khwājagān, i.e. “the Way of the Masters” ( Khwājagān is the plural of Khwāja). The Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order took its present name from the illustrious Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Bahā’u’ddīn Shāh Naqshband of Bukhārā (1318-1389 CE).

1398 In the Persian text the word jihād is used.

1399 In the Persian text the word ṣawm is used, which means “fasting”, particularly during the month of Ramaḍān.

It is one of the five Pillars of Islām.

449

The lover’s yearning for union with the Beloved. [3.2.5]

Poem:

“O Friend, I have looked for You everywhere

I have asked everyone about You

I have sought You, while You were in my heart

I feel ashamed for having searched a trace of You” [3.2.5]

1-1775

How should I not wail bitterly because of His deceit, since I am not in the

circle of those intoxicated with Him?

1-1776

How should I not mourn, like night, without His day and without the favour of

His day-illumining countenance?

1-1777

His unsweetness is sweet in my soul; may my soul be sacrificed to the Beloved

who grieves my heart!

1-1778

I am in love with my grief and pain for the sake of pleasing my peerless King.

6-4161

There was a great fortitude1400 in my breast, but now it is no more: Love has set

fire to the dwelling-place of fortitude.

6-4162

My fortitude died on the night when Love was born: it has passed away – long

live those who are present!

6-4163

O you who tells me of a stern rebuke from the King and terrible

punishments1401, I have passed beyond all that: do not beat a piece of cold

iron!1402

6-4164

I am rushing headlong: hey, let go my feet! Where in all limbs is there any

understanding?

6-4165

I am like a camel: I carry my load as long as I can, but when I fall down

exhausted, I am glad to be killed.

6-4168

Now I will plant my banner in the open plain: let my fate be either to lose my

head or to behold the face of my adored one!

6-4169

The throat that is not worthy of that wine – it is best that it should be cut by

blows of the sword1403;

6-4170

The eye that does not rejoice in abundance by union with her1404 – such an eye

is best white with disease and blind;

1400 Literally “patience” ( ṣabr).

1401 Literally “events”, “calamities” (Nich.).

1402 In Fārsī this expression means “don’t try something in vain”.

1403 Literally “by the sword and conflict” (Nich.).

450

6-4171

The ear that is not worthy of hearing her secret – tear it off, for it is no good on

the head;

6-4172

The hand in which there is not the required amount to win her favour – it is

best that it should be chopped off by the butcher’s knife;

6-4173

The foot by whose walk the soul is not led into1405 her narcissus-plot –

6-4174

Such a foot is best in iron chains, for such a foot is ultimately the cause of

headache (affliction).

1-1801

O you who are a new soul to the old world, hear the cry that comes from my

body which is without soul and heart.

1-1802

Leave the tale of the Rose! For God’s sake continue the tale of the Nightingale

that is separated from the Rose!

1-2414

You talk of bitter separation from me: do whatever you want, but not this.

1-3902

There is nothing more bitter than separation from You: without Your protection

there is nothing but perplexity.

5-4115

A hundred thousand bitter sixtyfold deaths cannot be compared to separation

from Your face.

5-4113

Have mercy on him that beheld Your face: how shall he endure the bitter

separation from You?

3-2933

Oppressed in heart and weary is only he who is in prison through separation

from the Friend.

3-3690

Through separation these soils are nitrous (barren), and water becomes yellow,

stinking and dark.

3-3693

The quick-witted intellect, through separation from its friends, becomes like an

archer whose bow is broken.

3-3694

Through separation Hell has become so burning; through separation the old

man has become so trembling.

3-3695

If I should speak of separation, which is like sparks of fire, until Resurrection,

it would be only one part out of a hundred thousand.

3-3696

Therefore do not breathe a word in trying to describe its burning: say only

“Lord, save me! Lord, save me!”

1404 From verse 6-4170 to verse 6-4173 “her” represents the Divine Presence.

1405 Literally “joined to” (Nich.)

451

The Third River [3.3]

The final stages of sulūk (the Spiritual Journey)

The First Rivulet [3.3.1]

Realization of Reality through Divine manifestations in life1406.

3-3634

Know that the mercy of the Unconditioned God1407 is like this, o father;

nothing but its effect comes into the imagination (is conceivable to us).

3-3635

The effects and fruit of His mercy are manifest, but how should anyone except

Him know its quiddity1408?

3-3636

No one knows the quiddities of the attributes of Divine Perfection except

through their effects and by means of comparison.

3-3641

Therefore, if you say “I know”, it is not far from the truth”; and if you say, “I

do not know”, it is not a lie and a falsehood.

3-3642

If someone says to you, “Do you know Noah, the Messenger of God and the

Light of the spirit?” –

3-3643

And if you reply, “How should not I know him? For that spiritual Moon is

more celebrated than the sun and moon:

3-3645

Recite his name explicitly in the Qur’ān and clearly tell his story as it has come

down from the past”

3-3647

And if you reply, “How should I know Noah? Only one like him can know

him, o young man.

3-3648

I am a lame ant. How should I know the elephant? How should a gnat know

Isrāfīl1409?”

3-3649

This saying (answer) is also true in regard to the fact that you do not know him

in his quiddity, o so-and-so.

3-3650

To be unable to perceive the quiddity, uncle, is the condition of common men:

do not say it absolutely,

1406 Qur’ān 3:190: “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding”.

1407 Literally “without like” ( bī chun), i.e. beyond words, ineffable, indescribable, indefinable.

1408 Quiddity ( māhiya) is a philosophical term. “Quiddity” is the “whatness” of a thing, its “what it is”, i.e. the essential nature of a thing.

1409 Isrāfīl is the Arabic name of the angel Raphael, who will herald Judgment Day by blowing his trumpet.

According to the Qur’ān and the Ḥadīths, the first blow of Isrāfīl’s trumpet will destroy everything, the second one will bring the dead back to life (Qur’ān 39:68).

452

3-3651

Since quiddities and their inmost secret are clearly visible to the eyes of the

Perfect.

2-43

But the Sun of Divine knowledge is motionless: its place of rising is nothing

but the soul and the intellect.

6-2090

The Gnostic is the soul of religion and the soul of piety1410: gnosis is the result

of past asceticism;

6-2091

Asceticism is the labour of sowing; gnosis is the growth of the seed.

3-3781

There is no calamity worse than ignorance: you are with your Friend and do

not know how to play the game of love.

3-3782

You consider your Friend a stranger: to a joy you have given the name of a

grief.

4-1869

Consider the skies and the earth to be an apple that appeared from the tree of

Divine Power.

4-1870

You are like a worm in the middle of the apple and know nothing of the tree

and the gardener.

4-1871

The other worm1411 too is in the apple, but its soul is outside, holding the

banner high.

4-1872

The worm’s movement splits the apple in two: the apple cannot endure that

shock.

4-1873

Its movement has rent all veils: its form is that of a worm, but its reality is a

dragon.

5-1907

The Gnostics (mystics) possess an eye-salve: seek it, in order that this eye

which now resembles a river may become an ocean.

6-4403

O sincere man, a single atom of the light of mystic knowledge within you is

better than a hundred announcers.

1410 “Piety”: in the Persian text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love. Such an attitude brings about “awareness through the heart”.

1411 I.e. the Prophet or Saint (Nich.).

453

Realization of God’s Essence. [3.3.1]

Poem:

“The intellect is bewildered and dumbfounded and lacks

the ability to ask about the reality of His Essence” [3.3.1]

The inability of the human intellect to

comprehend God’s Essence. [3.3.1]

1-2725

O you who dwells in the briny spring, how should you know the Shaṭṭ1412, the

Jayhūn1413 and the Euphrates?

2-1450

How should the smoke of the bath-stove reach the Sun? How should the

‘Anqā1414 be crushed by the crow?

3-3718

Verily, there is no evidence for a sun except the light of the majestic sun.

3-3719

What is the shadow that it should be abased before Him?

5-1313

When the Eternal comes, the temporal is made futile: what, then, should the

temporal know of Eternity?

3-3720

This majesty which I have attributed to Him as an evidence1415 declares the

truth: all perceptions are behind Him, He surpasses them.

3-3721

All perceptions are mounted on lame asses; He is mounted on the wind that

flies like an arrow.

3-3722

If He flees, none of them finds the dust of1416 the King; and if they flee, He bars

the way in front of them.

3-3723

All the perceptions are restless; it is the time for battle1417, not the time for the

festive cup.

1-2757

If he imagines that he is in love with the Essence of God, imagining the Divine

names and attributes is not the Essence.

1-2758

Imagination is born of qualities and limitation: God is not begotten, He is lam

yūlad 1418.

1412 Shaṭṭ: the Shaṭṭ al-‘Arab (“River of the Arabs”) or Arwand Rūd (“Arwand River”) is the river that is formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates in Southern Iraq. Its mouth is in the Persian Gulf.

1413 The Jayhūn River is in fact the Āmū Daryā or Oxus River, the longest river in Central Asia. It more or less constitutes the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

1414 ‘Anqā: a mythical phoenix bird from Arabic story tradition, the Sīmurgh being its Persian equivalent. This mythical bird represents the Perfect Man, whose spirit dwells with God, even though his body is in the world.

1415 I.e. His transcendence of all external evidence.

1416 I.e. overtakes (Nich.).

1417 I.e. for strenuously pursuing the spiritual quest (Nich.).

454

1-3641

Since the unseen, the absent and the veil are better, close your mouth: it is

better for us to be silent.

How to understand that God’s Essence has

never been revealed to anyone. [3.3.1]

Quatrain:

“O, none but You exists in both worlds

Both reason and imagination are inadequate to know You

Even though there are countless signs of Your existence,

the greatest sign is that no trace of You can be seen” [3.3.1]

God’s countless qualities cannot be explained by reason1419. [3.3.1]

2-1715

Our King (God) has given permission, saying, “Remember Allāh”1420: He saw

us in the fire and gave us light.

2-1716

He has said, “Although I far transcend1421 your remembrance of Me, and

although the pictorial images of human speech are not suitable to Me,

2-1717

Yet he who is intoxicated with pictorial imagination and fantasy will never

grasp My essence without the help of likeness.”

2-1718

Bodily remembrance1422 is an imperfect fantasy: the Kingly attributes are far

removed1423 from those forms of speech,

2-1719

If anyone says of a king, “He is not a weaver”, what praise is this? That person

is surely spiritually unaware.

Allegory. [3.3.1]

2-1720

Moses saw a shepherd on the way, who was saying, “O God who chooses

whom You want,

2-1721

Where are You, that I may become Your servant, sew Your shoes and comb

Your head?

2-1722

That I may wash Your clothes, kill Your lice and bring milk to You, o

worshipful One;

1418 Qur’ān 112:3.

1419 Ḥadīth: “I fail in my efforts to praise You (as You should be praised); only You know how to praise

Yourself”. Ḥadīth: “When man attains to realization, he is be dumb (unable to speak)”. Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p.

12.

1420 Qur’ān 3:41, 4:103 and 62:10.

1421 Literally “I am exempt from” (Nich.).

1422 I.e. praise and prayer uttered by the tongue (Nich.).

1423 I.e. “are purer than” ( khāliṣ).

455

2-1723

That I may kiss Your little hand and rub Your little foot, and when bedtime

comes I may sweep Your little room,

2-1724

O You to whom I would give all my goats as a sacrifice, o You in

remembrance of whom are my cries of ay and ah!”

2-1725

In Moses’ mind, the shepherd was speaking absurd words in this way. Moses

said, “Man, to whom are you talking?”

2-1726

He answered, “To that One who created us; by whom this earth and sky were

made visible.”

2-1727

“Listen!”, said Moses, “You have become very backsliding (depraved): indeed

you have not become a believer, you have become an infidel.

2-1728

What babble is this? What blasphemy and raving? Stuff some cotton into your

mouth!

2-1729

The stench of your blasphemy has made the whole world stinking: your

blasphemy has turned the silk robe of religion into rags.

2-1730

Shoes and socks are fitting for you, but how are such things right for One who

is a Sun?

2-1731

If you do not stop your throat from uttering these words, a fire will come and

burn up the people.

2-1736

Only he who is growing up drinks milk: only he who has need of feet puts on

shoes.

2-1745

The words He did not beget, He was not begotten 1424 are appropriate to Him:

He is the Creator of begetter and begotten.

2-1740

To speak irreverently to one chosen of God causes the heart (spirit) to perish

and keeps the page (record) black.

2-1748

The shepherd said, “O Moses, you have closed my mouth and you have burned

my soul with repentance.”

2-1749

He rent his garment and heaved a sigh, and hastily turned his head towards the

desert and went his way.

2-1750

A revelation came to Moses from God – “You have separated My servant from

Me.

2-1751

Did you come as a Prophet to unite, or did you come to divide?

1424 Qur’ān 112:3.

456

2-1753

I have bestowed on everyone a special way of acting: I have given to everyone

a peculiar form of expression.

2-1755

I am independent of all purity and impurity, of all slothfulness and hastiness in

worshipping Me.

2-1756

I did not ordain Divine worship that I might make any profit; but on the

contrary, that I might do a kindness to My servants.

2-1759

I look at the tongue and the speech; I look at the inward spirit and the state of

feeling.

2-1761

Because the heart is the substance1425, speech is only the accident1426; so the

accident is subordinate, the substance is the real object.

2-1762

How much more of these phrases, conceptions and metaphors? I want burning,

burning: become a friend of that burning!

2-1763

Light up a fire of love in your soul, burn thoughts and expression entirely

away!

2-1764

O Moses, they who know the conventions are of one kind, they whose souls

and spirits burn are of another kind.”

2-1765

To lovers there is a burning which consumes them at every moment: tax and

tithe1427 are not imposed on a ruined village.

2-1766

If he the lover speaks faultily, do not call him faulty; and if were bathed in

blood, do not wash those who are martyrs.

2-1767

For martyrs, blood is better than water: this fault committed by him is better

than a hundred right actions of another1428.

2-1770

The religion of Love is apart from all religions: for lovers, the only religion and

creed is – God.

2-1772

After that, God hid in the inmost heart of Moses mysteries which cannot be

spoken.

2-1775

If I should unfold his tale after this, it is foolishness in me, because the

explanation of this is beyond our understanding;

1425 Substance ( jawhar): here, the word is used as a philosophical term, i.e. “A being whose nature it is to exist in and for itself and not in another as in a subject.”

1426 “Accident” (‘araż, from the Arabic ‘araḍ) is also used as a philosophical term, meaning “a nonessential attribute or characteristic of something”.

1427 A tithe is the tenth of one’s income, paid as a tax.

1428 Islamic custom dictates that the body of a dead person should be washed before it is buried. However, this does not apply to martyrs –innocent persons who have been killed – their blood-stained bodies must not be washed before they are buried.

457

2-1776

And if I should speak about it, it would root up men’s minds; and if I should

write about it, it would shatter many pens.

2-1777

When Moses heard these reproaches from God, he ran into the desert in quest

of the shepherd.

2-1783

At last Moses overtook and saw him; the giver of glad news said, “Permission

has come from God.

2-1784

Do not seek any rules or method of worship; say whatever your distressful

heart desires.

2-1785

Your blasphemy is the true religion, and your religion is the light of the soul:

you are saved, and through you a whole world is redeemed1429.

2-1786

O you who made secure by God does whatever He pleases 1430, go, loosen your

tongue without worrying about what you say.”

2-1787

He said, “O Moses, I have passed beyond that: I am now bathed in my heart’s

blood.

2-1788

I have passed beyond the Lote-tree of the utmost boundary1431, I have gone a

hundred thousand years’ journey on the other side.

2-1789

You lashed out, and my horse shied, made a bound, and passed beyond the sky.

2-1791

Now my state is beyond telling: this which I am telling is not my real state.”

2-1790

May the Divine Nature1432 be intimate with my human nature1433 – blessings be

on your hand and on your arm!

2-1794

Pay good attention! Whether you praise God or thank Him, know that it is the

same as the unseemly words of that shepherd.

2-1795

Even though your praise is better in comparison with that, yet in relation to

God it too is maimed (feeble).

3-1081

The explanation of the attributes of God, like God Himself, has no limit. Take

heed, close your mouth and turn over a new leaf.

Everybody speaks of That One from

his or her own perspective. [3.3.1]

2-3321

Before the infinite all that is finite is nothing: everything except the Face of

God is perishable1434.

1429 Literally “in salvation” ( dar amān).

1430 Qur’ān 3:40.

1431 Qur’ān 53:14. The Lote-tree (called Sidratu’l-Muntahā) marks the end of the Seventh Heaven.

1432 Lāhūt or ‘Ālam-e Lāhūt: classical Ṣūfī term for “the Realm of Divinity”.

1433 Nāsūt or ‘Ālam-e Nāsūt: classical Ṣūfī term for “the Realm of Humanity”.

458

3-1391

When the Attributes of the Eternal have shone out, then the mantle of

temporality is burned.

2-3107

All that you may think of is liable to perish; he who does not come into thought

is God.

2-2923

This equally applies to knowledge of God ( ma‘rifa, “gnosis”, “mystical

knowledge”). Everyone describes the Unseen Object of description in a

different way.

2-2924

The philosopher explains it in another way: a scholastic theologian invalidates

this statement;

2-2925

And someone else jeers at both of them, while another hypocritically tires

himself to death (trying to prove that he has real knowledge of God).

2-2926

Each one of them gives these indications of the Way, in order to make people

believe that they belong to that Village1435.

2-3679

Move on from the name and look at the attributes, in order that the attributes

may show you the way to the essence.

2-3680

The discord of mankind is caused by names: peace follows when they move on

to the reality denoted by the name.

Story:

The different languages and the same essence. [3.3.1]

2-3681

A certain man gave a dirham to four persons: one of them (a Persian) said, “I

will spend this on angūr 1436.”

2-3682

The second one was an Arab: he said, “No, I want ‘inab, not angūr, o rascal!”

2-3683

The third was a Turk: and he said, “This money is mine: I don’t want ‘inab, I

want uzum.”

2-3684

The fourth, a Greek, “Stop this talk: I want istāfīl.”

2-3685

These people began fighting with each other, because they were unaware of the

hidden meaning of the names.

2-3686

In their folly they punched each other with their fists: they were full of

ignorance and empty of knowledge.

1434 Qur’ān 28:88.

1435 I.e. that they belong to the spiritual land and are familiar with Divine mysteries (from Nicholson’s

Commentaries on the Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí).

1436 Angūr is the Persian word for “grape”, ‘inab the Arabic word, uzum the Turkish word [cf. Modern Turkish üzüm] and istāfīl the Greek word [cf. Ancient Greek stafulè, and Modern Greek stafíli].

459

2-3687

If an esoteric master had been there, a reverend man, knowing several

languages, he would have restored the peace between them;

2-3688

And then he would have said, “With this one dirham I will give all of you what

you wish.

2-3689

When without deceit you surrender your hearts to me, this dirham will do all

this for you.

2-3692

Therefore be mute, remain silent 1437 , that I may be your tongue in speech and

talk.”

3-2125

Know that every praise goes (belongs) to the Light of God and is only lent to

created forms and persons.

1-2212

Words and feelings beyond all feelings and words—he had become drowned in

the beauty of the Lord of Majesty

1-2213

Drowned, not in such way that there should be any deliverance for him, or that

any one should know him except the Divine Ocean.

The Second Rivulet [3.3.2]

Annihilation in the Beloved (fanā, merging with the Beloved).

Poem:

“Merge with the Beloved, that is unification

Avoid duality, that is perfection” [3.3.2]

1-2199

“This wailing of yours is also one of the signs of your self-consciousness.

1-2200

The way of him who has transcended1438 self-consciousness is another way,

because self-consciousness is another sin.

1-2205

O you whose knowledge is without knowledge, your repentance is worse than

your sin.

1-2210

At that time such a bewilderment arose within him that it made him leave earth

and heaven –

1-2211

A seeking and searching beyond all seeking and search1439: I do not know how

to describe it; if you know, tell!

1437 Qur’ān 7:204.

1438 Literally “has passed away from”, i.e. has experienced fanā (annihilation of the limited self).

1439 This verse depicts the end of the mystic’s quest, i.e. fanā (from Nicholson’s Commentaries on the Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí).

460

Allegory:

Fat in milk. [3.3.2]

3-3669

The speaker said, “There is no dervish in the world; and if there is a dervish,

that dervish is in reality non-existent.”

3-3670

He exists in respect of the survival of his essence, but his attributes have

become non-existent in the attributes of God.

3-3671

Like the flame of a candle in the presence of the sun, in reality he is non-existent, even though he is formally existent1440.

3-3672

The flame’s essence is existent, so that, if you put cotton on it, it will be

consumed by the sparks;

3-3673

But in reality it is non-existent: it gives you no light: the sun will have

annihilated it.

3-3674

When you have thrown an ounce of vinegar into two hundred maund1441 of

sugar, and it has become dissolved in it,

3-3675

The flavour of the vinegar, when you taste the sugar, is non-existent, although

the ounce exists as a surplus when you weigh.

3-3676

In the presence of a lion a deer becomes senseless: its existence becomes a

mere veil for the lion’s existence.

Complete annihilation in the Beloved (fanā-ye fanā)

(beyond the power of reason). [3.3.2]

5-672

When, through spiritual poverty, someone is graced by fanā (self-annihilation),

he becomes shadowless like Muḥammad1442.

5-673

Fanā graced The Prophet who said “Poverty is my pride1443”: he became

shadowless like the flame of a candle.

1440 Literally “in (formal) calculation”.

1441 A unit of weight in different Asian countries.

1442 According to Islamic lore, the Prophet Muḥammad didn’t cast a shadow on the ground whenever he was

seen walking in the sunlight or moonlight, or sitting in candlelight. This isn’t mere mythology: in Ṣūfī

mysticism, Ḥażrat Muḥammad is perceived as the Embodiment of Light ( Nūr-e Mujassam). This Light is Pre-Eternal Light ( Nūr-e Azal). It existed before creation and becomes fully manifest in the Spiritually Perfect Man ( Insān-e Kāmil), like the Prophet Muḥammad, and Prophets and Saints like him, to whatever religion, era or culture they may belong. All Prophets and Saints are one; they all embody the same Light. How should Light cast a shadow?

1443 Or, Fanā graced (him who attained to the state denoted by the Prophet’s saying) “Poverty is my pride”

(Nich.). Al-faqru fakhrī or “Poverty is my pride” is a well-known ḥadīth (see Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī, p. 104). Faqr and Fanā (“Spiritual Poverty and Annihilation in God”) is the last and highest stage ( maqām) of realization on the Ṣūfi Path. This is symbolically represented by the Seventh Valley of Ḥażrat Shaykh Farīdu’ddīn ‘Aṭṭār’s “The Conference of the Birds”; this valley is called “the Valley of Faqr and Fanā”.

461

5-674

When the candle1444 has become entirely flame from head to foot, the shadow

hath no passage (way of approach) around it.

5-675

The wax (candle) fled from itself and from the shadow into the radiance1445 for

the sake of Him who moulded the candle.

5-676

He said, “I moulded you for the sake of fanā (self-annihilation).” It replied,

“That is why I took refuge in fanā.”

5-677

This is the necessary everlasting radiance, not the radiance of the perishable

accidental candle.

5-679

Evidently, in dispelling the darkness, the external (material) flame is

maintained by a wax candle;

5-680

But the candle, which is the body, is opposed to the wax candle, because the

more the body dwindles, the more the light of the soul is increased.

5-681

This is the everlasting radiance, and that bodily candle is perishable: the candle

of the soul has a Divine flame.

5-678

When the candle is wholly annihilated in the fire of Divine illumination, you

will not see any trace of the candle or rays of its light.

5-682

Since in reality this tongue of fire was light, it could not become1446 a

perishable shadow.

5-683

The cloud’s shadow falls on the earth: the shadow never keeps company with

the moon.

5-684

Selflessness is cloudlessness, o kind-hearted one: in the state of selflessness

you will be like the orb of the moon.

5-685

Again, when a cloud comes, driven along, the light goes: of the moon there

remains only a fantasy.

5-687

The moon is made to appear as a phantasm by clouds and dust: the cloud,

which is the body, has caused us to conceive imaginations.

5-689

The Moon is independent of clouds and dust: the Moon has Its orbit high in the

spiritual sky.

5-690

The cloud1447 is our mortal enemy and adversary because it hides the Moon

from our eyes.

1444 I.e. the lover of God (Nich.).

1445 I.e. the Light of God (Nich.).

1446 Literally “was far from it to become”.

1447 I.e. “selfish attachments”.

462

5-699

My feathers are like the cloud, they are a veil and are coarse: only by the

reflection of God’s grace are they made graceful.

5-700

I will pluck my feathers and their beauty from the Way to God, that I may see

the Moon’s beauty by the Moon’s own light.

5-703

Unless the intermediary is a cloud1448 who becomes annihilated in the Way to

God in order that it may not be a veil over the face of the Moon.

5-704

In the aspect of lā (self-negation) such a cloud displays the Moon’s form, like

the bodies of the Prophets and Saints.

5-705

Such a cloud is not veil-tying; it is in reality veil-tearing and beneficial.

5-706

It is as when, on a bright morning, drops of rain were falling even though there

was no cloud above in the sky.

5-707

That water-skin was a miracle of the Prophet1449: through self-effacement the

cloud which filled it had become of the same colour as the sky.

5-708

The cloud was there, but the cloud-nature had gone from it: the body of the

lover of God becomes like this by means of renunciation.

5-709

It is body, but bodiliness has vanished from it: it has been transformed, colour

and perfume have gone from it.

4-1055

The Friend has taken them, like a dead bird, that by means of them He may

hunt down their congeners.

4-1056

The dead bird is compelled (deprived of free-will) in respect of being united or

separated: you have read the ḥadīth, “The heart of the believer lies between

two fingers of the Merciful God.”1450

4-1057

Everyone who has fallen prey to His dead bird will see, when he sees the truth,

that he has fallen prey to the King.

4-1058

Whoever turned his head away from this dead bird never gained1451 the hand of

the Hunter.

4-1059

It the dead bird says, “Do not consider my being a carcass: see the King’s love

shown in preserving me.

4-1060

I am not a carcass: the King has killed me1452: my appearance has become like

that of the dead.

1448 I.e. a perfect man (Nich.).

1449 See Book III, verses 3130 ff. (Nich.).

1450 Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 33.

1451 Literally “never found the hand of the Hunter”.

1452 I.e. “I have become annihilated in the Divine Being”.

463

4-1061

I used to move by means of wings and feathers: now my movement comes

from the hand of the Divine Judge.

4-1062

My perishable movement has vanished from my skin1453: now my movement is

everlasting, since it comes from Him.

4-1064

Beware! If you are spiritually alive, do not consider me dead; if you are a

devoted slave of God, consider me as being in the hand of the King.

4-1065

Jesus, by his grace, brought the dead back to life: I am in the hand of the

Creator of Jesus.

4-1066

How should I remain dead in the grasp of God? Likewise, do not think this to

be possible in the case of the hand of “Jesus”1454.

4-1067

I am “Jesus”; but whoever has been brought back to life by my breath will live

(remain) forever.

4-2615

When the hū 1455that is perishable has surrendered itself to Him, it becomes

everlasting and never dies1456.

4-2616

It is like a drop of water which is afraid of wind (air) and earth; for these two

cause it to perish ( fanā).

4-2617

When it has jumped (thrown itself) into the sea, which was its source, it is

delivered from the heat of the sun and from wind and earth.

4-2618

Its outward form has disappeared in the sea, but its essence is intact1457,

steadfast and sound.

1-3052

Everything is perishable 1458except His face; unless you are in his face

(essence), do not seek to exist.

1-3053

When anyone has died to himself1459 in My face (essence), the words

everything is perishable do not apply to him.

1453 I.e. “from my body”.

1454 Here “Jesus” exemplifies the Saint who is united with God.

1455 In Arabic, hu is the shortened form of the third person masculine singular personal pronoun huwa (“he”), and is used as a suffix, e.g. ra’aytu-hu (meaning “I saw him”). In Sufism however, the name or sound Hū represents the Divine Essence, and as such Hū is neither male nor female.It is considered the primeval sound which pervades all of creation and which is exclaimed by all beings and things in creation. In this verse “the hū that is perishable” refers to the worshipper’s hū, i.e. his identity. If he wants to reach Eternal Subsistence in God ( baqā), the worshipper’s hū must be annihilated ( fanā) in God’s everlasting Hū, God’s “Identity” ( Huwiyya).

1456 In order to be able to understand this verse it is necessary to know the previous verses: [4-2612] Where a hundred orchards are offered to you in exchange for one seed, a hundred mines in exchange for one grain?*” [4-2613] “Kāna li’Llāh is the giving of that groat, in order that kāna’Llāh lahu** may come into your hand; “ [4-2614] “For this weak unstable hū (personality) was brought into being by the steadfast (permanent) hū of the Lord.” Here “one grain” means “a small thing of little or no value”. * The Prophet is reported to have said, Man kāna li’Llāhi kāna’Llāhu lahu, “Whoever belongs (devotes himself) to God, God shall belong to him.”

(Nich.) – meaning that will bestow His mercy upon him.

1457 Literally “innocent”.

1458 Qur’ān 28:88.

464

1-3054

Because he is in except 1460, he has transcended no 1461: whoever is in except has

not perished.

6-233

What is the means of ascension to Heaven? This not-being. Not-being is the

creed and religion of the lovers of God.

6-1467

Since the foundation of the workshop is non-existence which is void, traceless

and empty.

6-1468

And since all master-craftsmen seek non-existence and a place of breakage1462

in order to exhibit their skill.

6-1470

Wherever this non-existence is greater, the more manifest is the work and

workshop of God in that place.

6-1466

Since you have heard the description of the sea of non-existence, continually

endeavour to stand (depend) on this sea.

1-3201

What is the mirror of Being? Non-being. Bring non-being as your gift, if you

are not a fool.

1-3156

The beautiful face is in love with the mirror: such a face is a polisher of the

soul and a kindler of the devotion 1463 to God in (men’s) hearts 1464.

Story. [3.3.2]

1-3157

The loving friend came from the ends of the earth and became the guest of

Joseph the truthful.

1-3170

After Joseph had told him his story, he (Joseph) said, “Now, o so-and-so, what

traveller’s gift have you brought for me?”

1-3171

To come empty-handed to the door of friends is like going to the mill without

wheat.

1-3193

“How many gifts,” he said, “did I seek for you! Nowhere did I see any worthy

gift1465.

1-3194

How should I bring a grain of gold to the mine? How should I bring a drop of

water to the Sea of ‘Ummān1466?

1459I.e. has experienced fanā.

1460 I.e. illā, from lā ilāha illā’Llāh, “there is no deity except God”, “no reality exists except God”.

1461 I.e. lā, from lā ilāha illā’Llāh, “these is no deity except God”, “no reality exists except God”.

1462 Here “breakage” implies humiliating and abasing oneself before God, as exemplified by the prostration

during ritual prayer.

1463 “Devotion to God”: in the original text the word taqwā is used. Taqwā is often translated as “piety” or “fear of God”, but in reality, it denotes an inner attitude of devotion to God and seeking the pleasure of God, not out of fear, nor out of desire for the rewards of Paradise, but merely out of selfless love.

1464 Qur’ān 22:32.

1465 Literally “No (worthy) gift came into sight”.

465

1-3195

I shall only bring cumin to Kirmān1467, if I bring my heart and soul as a gift to

you.

1-3196

There is no seed that is not in this barn, except your beauty, which has no

equal.

1-3197

I thought it would be fitting to bring you a mirror like the inward light of a pure

breast.

1-3200

He drew the mirror from under his arm: the beautiful one occupies himself with

the mirror1468.

1-3155

Whoever is born beautiful from the loins of Creation, a mirror must be placed

before him.

1-3202

Being can be seen only in not-being: the rich bestow (exhibit) generosity on the

poor.

1-2750

Beggars, then, are the mirror of God’s bounty, and they who are with God are

united with the Absolute Bounty;

1-2751

And everyone except those types of beggar is truly a dead man: he is not at this

door (the Divine Court), he is lifeless as a picture embroidered on a curtain.

2-1173

Since my genus is not the genus of my King, my ego has perished ( fanā) for

the sake of His ego.

2-1174

Since my ego perished, He remained alone: I roll at the feet of His horse, like

dust.

2-1175

The individual soul (self) became dust, and the only signs of it are the mark of

His feet on its dust1469.

2-1176

Become dust at His feet for the sake of this mark, in order that you may

become the crown on the head of the exalted.

2-1373

If in the presence of kings there is danger to life, yet those who aspire cannot

refrain from being in His presence.

2-1374

Since the King is sweeter than sugar, it is better that life should go as a

sacrifice to that sweetness.

1466 I. e. Baḥr-e ‘Ummān, the southernmost part of the Persian Gulf.

1467 For Persians, the expression “carrying cumin to Kirmān” has the same meaning as the phrase “carrying coals to Newcastle”, i.e. a foolhardy or pointless action.

1468 I.e. “the beautiful one and the mirror go together”.

1469 In Persian, the expression “to become someone’s foot’s dust” suggests humility.

466

Eternal life (baqā) arises from annihilation (fanā). [3.3.2]

“And do not think of those who have been killed in the way of God as

dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving sustenance1470.”

3-3910

Oh, the cold lover, wearing in the felt garment of shame, who from fear of

losing his life is fleeing from the Beloved!

1-2218

It is appropriate for us to gamble away (sacrifice) hundreds of thousands of

souls (lives)in order to gain such delight and joy.

1-2221

O Sun of Reality, spread spiritual life all around, bring newness to this old

world!

3-3911

O you, who are a disgrace even to cowards , see hundreds of thousands of souls

clapping their hands and rushing towards the sword of His love!

5-551

Become dead, that the Lord who brings out the living1471 may bring out a

spiritually living one from this dead one.

4-2766

Unless you have died and have become living through Him, you are an enemy

seeking to reign in partnership with Him.

4-2767

When you have become living through Him, that which you have become is in

reality He: it is absolute Unity; then how can it be partnership?

1-921

Since our eyesight (foresight) is much impaired, go, let your own sight perish

( fanā) in the sight of the Friend (God).

1-922

His sight for ours – what an excellent recompense! In His sight you will find

the whole object of your desire.

3-3912

You have seen the river: spill your jug in the river: how should the water flee

from the river?

3-3913

When the water in the jug goes into the river-water, it disappears in it, and it

becomes the river.

3-3914

The lover’s attributes have been effaced, and his essence remains: after this, he

does not dwindle or become ill-favoured.

3-3919

Like the moth, the lover considered the fiery sparks to be the light: foolishly he

fell in and was cut off from (deprived of) life.”

3-3920

But the candle of Love is not like the external candle: it is radiance in radiance

in radiance.

1470 Qur’ān 3:169.

1471 Qur’ān 6:95 and 30:19.

467

3-3921

It is the opposite of the fiery candles: it seems to be fire, while in reality it is all

sweetness.

The contradiction between words and deeds. [3.3.2]

3-3996

Before the battle, the image of good and evil is faint (makes no deep

impression) in a man’s heart;

3-3997

But when he goes into battle, then to that person the matter becomes sorrowful.

3-3998

Since you are not a lion, beware, do not step forward, for that doom is a wolf,

and your soul is the sheep;

3-3999

But if you are one of the Abdāl (Saints) and your sheep has become a lion, then

come with confidence, for your death has been vanquished.

3-4000

Who are the Abdāl? They who become transformed, they whose wine is turned

into vinegar by Divine transformation.

3-4621

You are a lover of God, and God is such that when He comes, not a single hair

of you remains.

3-4622

At that look of His a hundred like you perish away: it seems to me, good sir,

that you are in love with self-annihilation.

3-4623

You are a shadow and are in love with the sun: the sun comes, the shadow is

swiftly reduced to nothing.

Allegory. [3.3.2]

3-4624

The gnat came from the garden and the grass, and the gnat began to demand

justice from Solomon.

3-4625

Saying, “O Solomon, you deal out justice to the devils, the children of men and

the Jinn1472.

3-4627

Give justice to us, for we are very miserable: we are deprived of the orchard

and the rose-garden.

3-4628

You solve the problems of every weakling: in reality the gnat is the proverbial

example of weakness.

3-4629

We are celebrated for weakness and frailty1473: you are celebrated for kindness

and care for the lowly.

1472 In Islamic and pre-Islamic folklore, jinn (singular: jinnī) are supernatural creatures, who possess free will and can be good or evil in nature. Iblīs (Satan) was the chief of the Jinn; when God ordered him to bow down before Adam, he refused and fell from grace.

1473 Literally “broken-wingedness” (Nich.).

468

3-4631

Do justice, relieve us from this sorrow, take our hand to help us, o you whose

hand is the hand of God.”

3-4632

Then Solomon said, “O seeker of equity, tell me, against whom are you

demanding justice and equity?”

3-4644

The gnat said, “My appeal is against the hand (light) of the Wind, for it opened

the two hands of oppression against us.

3-4645

Through this oppression we are in dire straits: with closed lips we drink blood

(suffer torment) from him.”

3-4646

Then Solomon said, “O you with the pretty voice, it is proper for you to listen

with all your soul to the command of God.

3-4647

God has said to me, “Beware, o Judge! Do not hear one party1474 without the

other party.”

3-4648

Until both parties are present1475, the truth does not come to light before the

judge.

3-4650

I dare not turn away my face from the Divine command. Go, bring your

adversary before me.”

3-4651

The gnat said, “Your words are reasonable1476 and sound. My adversary is the

Wind, and he is under your jurisdiction.”

3-4652

The King shouted, “O East-Wind, the gnat complains about your injustice:

come!”

3-4654

When the Wind heard the summons, it came very rapidly: the gnat at once flew

away.

3-4655

Then Solomon said, “O gnat, where are you going? Stop, that I may pass

judgement on you both.”

3-4656

The gnat answered, “O King, its being is the cause of my death: truly, this day

of mine is blackened by its smoke.

3-4657

Since it has come, where shall I find rest? For he squeezes the vital breath out

of my body.”

3-4658

Such is the seeker of the Court of God: when God comes, the seeker is reduced

to nothing1477.

1474 I.e. a party engaged in a lawsuit.

1475 Literally “come into the presence”.

1476 Literally “is a proof”.

1477 Literally “becomes no ( lā)”.

469

3-4659

Although union with God is immortality on immortality, yet at first that

immortality ( baqā) consists in dying to self ( fanā).

3-4661

How should reason remain when He bids it to go?1478 Everything is perishable

except His face 1479 .

3-4662

Before His face the existent and the non-existent perish: existence in non-existence is truly a marvellous thing!

3-4663

In this place of Presence all minds are lost beyond control; when the pen

reaches this point, it breaks.

Poem:

“He broke my wine jar and threw away the wine,

I yelled at him that this was a great loss to me

To restore me to happiness, he then compensated

my loss with hundreds honey jars”1480 [3.3.2]

3-3833

You, do not threaten me with being killed, for I thirst grievously for my own

blood.”

1-242

When one is slain by a king like this, the king leads him to fortune and to the

best (most honourable) estate1481.

1-245

He takes half a life and gives a hundred lives in exchange: he gives that which

you cannot even begin to imagine.

3-3834

For lovers, there is a dying at every moment: verily, the dying of lovers is not

of one sort.

3-3835

The lover has two hundred souls (lives)1482, coming from the Soul of Guidance,

and he sacrifices those two hundred souls (lives) at every instant1483.

3-3836

For each soul (life) he receives ten as its price: read from the Qur’ān “ten times

the like of it” 1484.

3-3837

If the One with the friendly face sheds my blood, dancing in triumph I will

strew (lavish) my soul (life) on Him.

3-3839

“Kill me, kill me, o trusty friends! For in my being killed is my life1485.”

1478 Literally “when He gives (it its) head, i.e. dismisses (it)” (Nich.).

1479 Qur’ān 28:88.

1480 Dīwān-e Shams-e Tabrīzī, Ode 971.

1481 Ḥadīth Qudsī: “Whoever loves Me, that person I kill, and whomever I kill, I owe that person blood-money.”

Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī p. 404.

1482 The Persian word jān can mean both “soul” and “life”.

1483 Verses 3-3834 and 3-3835 refer to the manifold variety of “states” experienced by the mystic and his

successively “passing away” ( fanā) from these until he attains to union with God (Nich.).

1484 Qur’ān 6:160.

470

3-3901

I died to the inorganic state and became endowed with growth, and then I died

to vegetable growth and attained to the animal state.

3-3902

I died from animality and became Adam (man): why, then, should I fear?

When have I become less by dying?

3-3903

At the next move I shall die to man, that I may soar and lift up my head

amongst angels;

3-3905

Once more I shall be sacrificed and die to the angel: I shall become that which

is beyond imagination.

3-3904

And I must escape1486 even from the state of the angel: everything is perishable

except His Face 1487 .

3-3906

Then I shall become non-existence: non-existence says to me, in tones loud as

an organ, Verily, unto Him shall we return 1488.

3-3907

Know death to be that what the community of believers are agreed upon,

namely, that the Water of Life is hidden in the Land of Darkness.

3-3908

Grow from this river-bank, like the water-lily, greedy and craving for death as

he who suffers from oedema1489.

3-3909

The water is death to him, and yet he seeks the water and drinks it – and God

knows best what is right.

The Third Rivulet [3.3.3]

The Unicity of God – Tawḥīd,

or the final stage, when the sālik

sees nothing but the Beloved.

1-3009

What is the meaning of learning the knowledge of Divine Unity ( Tawḥīd)? To

consume yourself in the presence of the One.

1-3005

Since his heart has learned to light the candle of spiritual knowledge and love,

the sun cannot burn him.

1-3010

If you wish to shine like day, burn up your night-like self-existence.

1-3011

Melt away your existence, as copper melts away in the Elixir1490, in the being

of Him who fosters and sustains existence.

1485 This is a quotation. The author of the verse is the famous Ḥallāj (Nich.).

1486 Literally “leap out of the river” (Nich.).

1487 Qur’ān 28:88.

1488 Qur’ān 2:156. Verses 3-3901 to 3-3906 seem analogous to Darwin’s evolution theory. Yet many scholars

who study Persian mystical literature don’t believe that these verses are about Darwinian evolution. In their opinion they describe man’s spiritual evolution through various stages.

1489 Oedema, formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, an illness in which watery fluid collects in the body.

471

1-3055

Whoever utters “I” and “we” at the door of the Divine Court, is turned back

from the door and is continuing in no 1491 (nonentity).

Story. [3.3.3]

1-3056

A certain man came and knocked at a friend’s door: his beloved asked him,

“Who are you, o trusty one?”

1-3057

He answered, “I”. The beloved said, “Go away, it is not the time for you to

come in: at a table like this there is no place for the raw.”

1-3058

Except the fire of absence and separation, who will cook the raw one? Who

will deliver him from hypocrisy?

1-3059

The wretched man went away, travelled for a year, separated from his beloved,

and was burned with sparks of fire.

1-3060

That burned one was cooked: then he returned and again paced to and fro

beside the house of his playing companion.

1-3061

He knocked at the door with a hundred fears and respects, for fear that any

disrespectful word might escape from his lips.

1-3062

His beloved called to him, “Who is at the door?” He answered, “It is you who

is at the door, o charmer of hearts.”

1-3063

“Now,” said the friend beloved, “since you are I, come in, o myself: there is no

room in the house for two I’s.

1-3064

The double end of thread is not for the needle: since you are single (alone),

come into this needle.”

1-3078

The thread has become single. Now do not fall into error if you see that the

letters Kāf and Nūn are two1492.

1-3080

That is why the noose must be double in the world of forms, even though those

two letters are single in effect.

6-3707

Do not be intoxicated with these cups, which are phenomenal forms, for fear

that you should become a carver of idols and an idolater.

1490 In the original text the term kīmīyā is used, meaning “alchemy”.

1491 I.e. the word lā, which means “no”. This word is the beginning of the Arabic phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh – “There is no deity but God”, “Nothing is worthy of worship but God”, or – in the view of the Ṣūfī mystics –

“Nothing exists but God” or “There is no Reality but God”. The phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh is known as Kalimatu’t-Tawḥīd (“the Word of Divine Unity”). It consists of two parts: a negation or nafī – Lā ilāha (“there is no deity”, “nothing exists”, “there is no reality”), followed by an affirmation or ithbāt – illā’Llāh (“but God”).

The phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh is of fundamental importance to the Ṣūfī practice of zikr (< Arabic dhikr), i.e.

“Remembrance (of God)”. “Drawing the sword of no” may be interpreted as a reference to this practice of Divine remembrance.

1492 The letters Kāf and Nūn, when united make up the Creative Word KuN, “Be” (Nich.).

472

6-3708

Abandon the cups, namely, the phenomenal forms: do not tarry! There is wine

in the cup, but it is not derived from the cup.

6-3709

Open your mouth wide to the Giver of the wine: when the wine comes, the cup

will not be lacking.

6-3712

Form is brought into existence by the Formless, just as smoke is produced by a

fire.

6-3714

But Formlessness throws you into absolute bewilderment: from non—

instrumentality1493 a hundred kinds of instruments are born.

6-2683

That of which I speak is not the sort of oneness that reason understands: the

understanding of this oneness depends on a man’s dying to himself;

6-2684

And if it were possible to perceive this oneness by means of reason, then why

should battle against the lower self ( nafs) have become a duty?

6-2685

Why, with such infinite mercy as He has, would the King of intellect say

unnecessarily “Kill yourself”1494?

Existence and non-existence. [3.3.3]

5-1026

God has caused the non-existent to appear existent and magnificent; He has

caused the existent to appear in the form of non-existence.

5-1027

He has hidden the Sea and made the foam visible; He has hidden the Wind and

shown the dust to you.

5-1030

You see the foam moving in every direction: without the Sea the foam has no

turning-place1495.

3-1271

Day and night there is the movement of foam-flecks from the Sea; you see the

foam, but not the Sea. How wondrous!

5-1034

Consequently we were bewildered by error, since Reality was hidden and

Fantasy visible.

2-3323

These fleeting things have become a veil over that Face1496, like a lantern

hidden under a bowl.

1493 In this verse “instrument” refers to power and “non-instrumentality” to powerlessness”. When a Ṣūfī

wayfarer or sālik has reached the stage of Fanā (annihilation in God), he/she abandons his/her own will for the sake of his/her Beloved. In this stage God takes over the sālik’s own will. Whatever the sālik does after this is in reality an act of God; this process is called “non-instrumentality”.

1494 I.e. “practise self-mortification, die to self” (Nich.).

1495 I.e. no power of turning one way or another (Nich.).

1496 To be able to understand this, it is necessary to know the two preceding verses: [2-3321 “Before the infinite all that is finite is nothing: everything is perishable except the Face of God*”. [2-3322] “Infidelity and faith do not exist where the Shaykh is, because he is the kernel, while these two are only colour and husk.” * Qur’ān 28:88.

473

2-1280

This phenomenal world of non-existence has become like real existence, while

the world of real existence has become very hidden.

2-1282

This, which is busy in appearance, in reality is idle and superficial, like a husk;

and that which is hidden is its core and origin.

1-417

The bird is flying on high, and its shadow is speeding on the earth, flying like a

bird:

1-418

Some fool begins to chase the shadow, running after it so far that he becomes

powerless (exhausted).

1-419

Not knowing that it is the reflection of the bird in the air, not knowing where

the origin of the shadow is.

1-2807

He was left far from the object of his desire – his labour lost, his toil useless,

his foot wounded,

1-2808

Like the hunter who catches a shadow – how should the shadow become his

property?

1-2809

The man grasped tightly the shadow of a bird, while the bird on the branch of

the tree has fallen into amazement,

1-2810

Thinking, “I wonder who this crack-brained fellow is laughing at? Here’s folly

for you, here’s a rotten cause1497!”

Existence (this world) as a veil before the light of Truth. [3.3.3]

6-1019

In the same way as He caused the light to flow from the fountain of your eye

with liberality1498 and without abating1499;

6-1020

It has no source of supply either in the fat (the white of the eye) or in the

coating (retina); but the Beloved made these a veil for Himself when He

brought light into existence.

6-1021

The attracting1500 air in the cavity of the ear understands that which is spoken,

whether it is true or false.

6-1022

What is that air within that little bone, that air which receives the words and

sounds uttered by the storyteller?

6-1023

The bone and the air are only a veil: in the two worlds there is none except

God.

1497 I.e. a cause that cannot lead to any good result (Nich.).

1498 Literally “without stinginess”.

1499 Here it is helpful to know the preceding verse: [6-1018] “For God has made that rock as shield (veil) for Himself and opened a way for the blue crystalline water”.

1500 I.e. drawing the spoken words to itself (Nich.).

474

The secret of the lover’s unification with the Beloved and the

transformation of human qualities into Divine attributes. [3.3.3]

6-2096

When a man’s “I” is denied and eliminated from existence, then what remains?

Consider, o denier.

1-3124

Noah said, “O you headstrong ones, I am not I: I am dead to the animal soul, I

am living through the Soul of souls.

1-3125

Since I am dead to the senses of the father of mankind (human sense—

perceptions), God has become my hearing, perception and sight.

1-3126

Since I am not I, this breath of mine is His: if anyone breathes a word in the

presence of this breath he is a denier1501.”

6-1192

How is the “how” (contingent being) that has been freed from “how-ness”

(conditionedness) and has attained to the abounding life1502 of “how-lessness”?

6-1193

He has become a dispenser of “how-ness” in the world of non-spatiality1503: all

“how’s” are gathered around his table, like dogs.

6-1194

He gives (throws) to them a bone from the table of “how-lessness”. You, who

are in a state of uncleanness, be silent: do not recite this Sūra of the Qur’ān.

6-1195

Until you wash yourself entirely clean of “how-ness”, do not put your hand on

this Holy Book, o youth.

1-1765

Anyone whose prayer-niche is turned to mystical revelation, consider his going

back to traditional faith as shameful.

3-344

O brave friend, take hold of the skirt of Him who is free from “above” and

“below”.

3-346

He is with you in space and in the spaceless world when you leave house and

shop behind.

1-2686

If you gain access to that King, you will become a king: how long will you go

after every kind of misfortune?

1501 In the original text the word kāfir is used, which usually is translated as “infidel”, “unbeliever” or “pagan”; however, the literal meaning of kāfir is “one who covers the Truth”.

1502 Literally “the place abounding with life” (Nich.).

1503 Non-spatiality: lā makān, literally “no space”, i.e. “the Placeless Realm”, the place of the deity, where there is no space and time, a state beyond our conception.

475

Unification with the Beloved does not mean becoming the Beloved,

but rather losing one’s ego and seeing the Beloved everywhere. [3.3.3]

6-1855

And that ultimately the vat of single-colouredness of our Jesus1504 may destroy

the value of the vat containing a hundred dyes1505.

2-1346

When the mystic falls into the vat, and you say to him, “Get up”, he says in

rapture, “I am the vat: do not blame me.”

2-1347

That “I am the vat” is the same as saying “I am God”: he has the colour of the

fire, even though he is iron.

2-1348

The colour of the iron is annihilated in the colour of the fire: the iron boasts of

its fieriness, even though actually it is like someone who keeps silence.

2-1349

When it has become like gold of the mine in redness, then without tongue its

boast is “I am the fire”.

2-1350

It has become glorified by the colour and nature of the fire: it says, “I am the

fire, I am the fire.

2-1351

I am the fire; if you have doubt and suspicion, try it, put your hand on me.

2-1355

What fire? What iron? Close your lips: do not laugh at the beard of him who

makes comparisons1506.

6-3212

The Khwāja1507 is annihilated: do not call him existent, o bold-eyed (impudent)

man! How should the clod of earth remain dry in a River like this?

4-1827

For Muḥammad said, “The scent of God is coming to me from Yemen, wafted

on the hand of the zephyr1508”.

4-1828

The scent of Rāmīn is coming from the soul of Wīs1509; the scent of God, too,

is coming from Uways1510

1504 I.e. the spiritual world of Unity and Reality

1505 I.e. the world of plurality (Nich.).

1506 I.e. do not mock the comparison by suggesting that it corresponds with reality (Nich.).

1507 Khwāja (< Fārsī khwājeh, more or less pronounced khōjé) is an honorific title given to people of distinction.

In Sufism, particularly in the Indian subcontinent, it takes on the meaning of “Master”, e.g. Ḥażrat Khwāja

Mu‘īnu’ddīn Chishtī, the great Ṣūfī Saint of Ajmēr, Rājasthān, India. But also outside the Indian subcontinent Ṣūfī Masters have borne this title. A few examples: the prominent Persian Ṣūfī mystic and prolific author Ḥażrat Khwāja ‘Abdullāh Anṣārī of Herāt (1006-1088 CE) and the influential Turkic Ṣūfī Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Aḥmad Yasawī (1093-1066 CE), who lived and worked in Kazākhstān. It is also worth mentioning that between

the 12th and 14th centuries CE the Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order was known as Ṭarīqat-e Khwājagān, i.e. “the Way of the Masters” ( Khwājagān is the plural of Khwāja). The Naqshbandī Ṣūfī Order took its present name from the illustrious Master Ḥażrat Khwāja Bahā’u’ddīn Shāh Naqshband of Bukhārā (1318–1389 CE).

1508 Zephyr ( ṣabā): literally “the west wind”; a mild and gentle breeze.

1509 The love of Rāmīn for Wīs, the wife of King Mūbad of Merw, is the subject of an early Persian romance

(Nich.).

1510 Ḥażrat Uways al-Qarnī or al-Qaranī (d. 667 CE) was a mystic, martyr and philosopher who lived in Yemen,

during the lifetime of the Prophet Muḥammad. Even though they never met personally, Ḥażrat Uways al-Qarnī

converted to Islām. He had a strong inner bond of profound spiritual understanding and love with Ḥażrat

476

4-1830

Since Uways had died to himself, the earthly Uways had become heavenly.

4-1831

The myrobalan1511 conserved in sugar – its bitter taste is not retained anymore.

4-1832

Similarly, the spiritual myrobalan that is freed from egoism has only the

appearance of myrobalan, but not the flavour.

6-1856

For that world of Unity is like a salt-mine: whatever has gone there has become

free from coloration (dyeing with various colours).

6-1857

Look at the earth: it makes many-coloured (diverse) humankind to be all of one

colour in their graves.

6-1858

This is the salt-mine for visible (material) bodies, but in reality the salt-mine

for ideal (supersensible) things is different.

6-1859

The salt-mine for ideal things is ideal (spiritual and real): it remains new1512

from eternity to eternity1513.

6-1860

This earthly newness has oldness as its opposite, but that newness (belonging

to the world of Reality) is without opposite, equal or number.

Transcending duality and drawing nearer to

unification and union with the Beloved. [3.3.3]

5-4081

Come into the river of reality, dash the pitcher of phenomenal form against the

stone, set fire to mere scent and colour.

5-4082

If you are not one of the highwaymen on the Way of the Religion, do not be

addicted, like women1514, to colour and scent.

3-1418

The true Beloved is the one who is unique, who is your beginning and end.

1-498

Until you pass beyond the difference between poison and sugar, how will you

catch a scent of unity and oneness?

1-683

Make stubborn form waste away with suffering, that under it you may see

(discover) unity, like a buried treasure.

Muḥammad – a bond that was mutual. It is said that they “communicated heart to heart”, in an unseen way.

Every Ṣūfī order has a chain of transmission of mystical power ( Baraka) and succession of Masters. These chains are called silsila-s. When in a certain silsila transmission from one Master to another happens in an unseen way, without physical contact between the two, and transcending the boundaries of time and space, it is called an “Uwaysī transmission”, after Ḥażrat Uways al-Qarnī. Also see Aḥādīth-e Mathnawī, p. 250.

1511 A kind of oriental fruit.

1512 Literally “is in the state of newness” (Nich.).

1513 Two different words for “eternity” are used here: azal and abad respectively. The difference between the two is that azal has no beginning and that abad has a beginning but no ending.

1514 When Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī speaks about “woman” or “women” in certain parts of the Mathnawī, it is only meant metaphorically, as it refers to the qualities of the lower self or nafs. Generally speaking, Ṣūfīs see women as the manifestation of Divine Beauty.

477

6-2028

Go to the Sea of whose fish you are born: how have you fallen, like rubbish,

into the beard1515?

6-2029

You are not rubbish – may it be far from you! You are envied by the pearl: you

have the first and foremost right to dwell amidst the waves and the sea.

6-2030

It is the Sea of Unity: there is no companion or consort: its pearls and fishes are

not different from its waves.

Although God may be witnessed in countless manifestations,

His Essence always remains one. [3.3.3]

Poem:

“When a face is reflected by hundreds of mirrors, the face always

remains the same, even though the mirrors are manifold.” [3.3.3]

6-1606

Since all these rivers flow from a single Sea, then why is this river honey and

that river poison in the mouth?

6-1605

Since the whole of Creation has come from a single Hand, why has this one

come sober and that one intoxicated?

6-1607

Since all lights are derived from the everlasting Sun, why did the true dawn and

the false dawn1516 rise?

6-1608

Since the blackness of every person’s eye is derived from a single eyewash,

why did true sight and squinting come into being?

6-1610

Since God has called the Way “My Way”, why is this way a trusty guardian

and that way a highwayman?

6-1612

Whoever saw a Unity with so many thousand numbers, or a hundred thousand

movements proceeding from the essence of Rest?

6-1617

All this conditionality1517 is tossing like foam on the surface of the

unconditioned Sea.

6-1622

Opposites and likes, in number as the leaves of the orchard, are but a flake of

foam on the Sea that has no like1518 or opposite.

1515 In order to be able to understand this verse it is useful to know the previous one: [6-2027] “That which the bushy-bearded man never saw in his own house is immediately clear to him who has but a few hairs on his chin”.

1516 The difference between “true dawn” and “false dawn” is this: when you have not yet reached the ability to distinguish true from false, you are liable to mistake the dim light that appears some time before the true sunrise for the actual dawn, which is bright. The false dawn’s dim light is deceptive. This is why in Persian the inability to distinguish the “true dawn” from the “false dawn” is called hawā-ye mīsh wa gurg, i.e. “not seeing the difference between a sheep and a wolf”.

1517 Literally “all this ‘how’ and ‘of what sort’”? (Nich.).

478

6-1623

See that the victory and defeat of the Sea1519 are unconditioned: how, then,

should there be room for conditionality in the essence of the Sea?

6-1624

Your soul is the least of its playthings; yet how can the quality and description

of the soul be ascertained?

6-1625

Such a Sea, then, of which every drop’s intellect and soul are more familiar1520

than the body –

6-1626

How should it be contained in the narrow room of quantity and quality? There

even Universal Reason is one of the ignorant.

6-1630

Here the resplendent sun pays homage to the speck of dust, like a servant.

6-1631

There the lion lays his head in submission before the deer; here the falcon lays

(droops) its wings before the partridge.

2-1356

Do not set foot in the Sea1521, do not speak of It: on the shore of the Sea keep

silence, biting your lips in amazement.

2-1358

May my soul and mind be a sacrifice to the Sea: this Sea has paid the blood-price of mind and soul.

2-1359

I will march in It as long as my feet move; when I have no feet anymore1522, I

plunge into It, like ducks.

6-4063

My soul has boasted that it is a water-bird: why should it lament the storm of

affliction?

6-4064

What does the duck care about shipwreck? Its feet in the water are ship enough.

6-4065

My soul and body are kept alive by this boast: how then should I refrain from

this boast?

6-4067

Even if you behead me a hundred times, I am like a candle: I will burn brightly

(still).

2-1361

O you whose body is soiled, visit1523 the water tank: outside of the water tank;

how shall a man be cleansed?

2-1362

The pure one who has been banished from the water tank also becomes far

removed from his purity.

1518 I.e. something resembling it.

1519 I.e. the opposite attributes of God (Nich.).

1520 Literally “greater upstarts”, i.e. more uninitiated and uninformed. The ignorance of the intellect and spirit concerning the Essence of God is more profound than the ignorance of the body concerning themselves (Nich.).

1521 I.e. leave the Sea of Divine Unity untouched and unprofaned by your comparisons (Nich.).

1522 Literally “when feet do not remain”.

1523 Literally “move around in”.

479

The mystic is immersed in the ocean of God’s

Essence and has reached oneness (waḥda). [3.3.3]

2-2812

The man who is veiled from the Essence sees the Divine action as proceeding

from the Attributes: he who has lost the Essence is confined to the

Attributes1524.

2-2813

Since those who are united with God are absorbed in the Essence, o son, how

should they see His Attributes?

2-2814

When your head is at the bottom of the river, how will your eye fall on the

colour of the water?

2-2816

The devotion of the common folk is sin for the elect; know that the state of

union of the common folk is a veil for the elect1525.

3-1256

If you keep looking at the glass of the lantern, you will be lost, because from

the glass arise the numbers of (the plurality) of the finite body.

3-1257

But if you keep your gaze fixed on the Light, you will be delivered from

duality and the numbers (plurality) of the finite body.

3-1258

The different notions on the kernel of Existence come from different point of

views, that’s why there is theoretically discord between the believers, the

unbelievers1526 and the deniers of the Truth1527.

Allegory:

Different words but the same goal. [3.3.3]

3-1259

The elephant was in a dark house: some Indians had brought it for exhibition.

3-1260

In order to see it, many people were going, everyone, into that darkness.

3-1261

As seeing it with the eye was impossible, each one was feeling in the dark with

the palm of his hand.

1524 Literally “is in the Attributes”.

1525 I.e. in their case it would be a state of separation from God (Nich.).

1526 The word used in the Persian text is gabr, which originally meant “fire-worshipper” or “Zoroastrian”. By the time of Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī, the term gabr was applied to anyone who didn’t adhere to Islām. Since gabr had such a pejorative connotation, in time followers of the Zoroastrian faith were given the respectable name Zardushtī. Therefore Gabr can be translated as “unbelievers”.

1527 In Nicholson’s translation it says “Jews” instead of “deniers of the Truth”. But this is wrong. The word Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī uses in the Mathnawī is jahūd, which is often confused with the word Yahūd (“Jews”).

Jahūd is best translated as “deniers of the Truth”. Jahūd is similar in meaning to the Arabic word kāfir, another word that is very often misinterpreted and misunderstood. It is usually translated as “infidel”, “unbeliever”, or “pagan”. Yet in Arabic, kāfir literally means “one who covers the Truth”, i.e. “someone who is spiritually ignorant and blind”. As such, a kāfir can belong to any religious group or faith, including Islām. The same applies to the term jahūd.

480

3-1264

Since another handled its leg, he said, “I found the elephant’s shape to be like a

pillar”.

3-1265

Another laid his hand on its back: he said, “Truly, this elephant was like a

throne”.

3-1262

The hand of one fell on its trunk: he said, “This creature is like a water-pipe”.

3-1263

The hand of another touched its ear: to him it appeared to be like a fan.

3-1266

Similarly, whenever anyone heard a description of the elephant, he only

understood it as the part that he had touched.

3-1267

Because of the diverse places of view, their statements differed: one man

entitled it “dāl”, another “alif”1528.

3-1268

If there had been a candle in each one’s hand, the difference would have

disappeared from their words.

3-1269

The eye of sense-perception is only like the palm of the hand: the palm does

not have power to reach the whole of it (the elephant).

3-1270

The eye of the Sea1529 is one thing, and the foam1530 another: leave the foam

and look with the eye of the Sea.

The eternity of God’s Essence1531 and the meaning of

the Divine colour which is without colour. [3.3.3]

6-59

Colourlessness is the origin of colours, peaces are the origins of war.

1-2467

Since colourlessness (pure Unity) became the captive of colour (manifestation

in the phenomenal world), a Moses came into conflict with a Moses.

1-2468

When you attain to the colourlessness which you originally possessed, Moses

and Pharaoh are at peace with each other.

2-1345

The dye (i.e. religion) of Allāh 1532is the dyeing-vat of Hū (the Absolute God):

in it all multi-coloured things become of one colour.

6-3214

The only real Creator seeks and prevails over all, so that He may utterly

destroy all unreal existences.

6-3234

But if you get two eyes that can recognize God, you will see that the entire

expanse of both worlds is full of the Beloved.

1528 I.e. crooked like the letter ﺪ or straight like the letter ﺍ (Nich.)

1529 I.e. the eye of Reality (Nich.).

1530 I.e. phenomena (Nich.).

1531 Qur’ān 28:88.

1532 Qur’ān 2:138.

481

6-2146

It is far beyond all conceptions and imaginations, it is the Light of light of light

of light of light of light.

6-2097

If you have an eye, open it and look! After “no” 1533, why, what else remains?

6-2266

He said, “There is no god”, and He said, “but God”: not any god became but

God, and Unity blossomed (was revealed).

3-35

If the noble are thousands (seemingly), there is no more than one in reality: it is

not like the fantasies of him who thinks in terms of numbers.

6-2032

In the Sea there is no partnership1534 or perplexity; but what can I say to him

who sees double? Nothing, nothing.

5-1709

When the eye is quite perfect, it sees the root (origin); when a man is squint-eyed, it sees the branch (derivative).

6-2033

Since we are the companions of those who see double, o idolater, it is

necessary to speak like him who attributes a partner to God ( shirk).

6-2034

That Unity is beyond description and condition: nothing comes into the arena

(domain) of speech except duality.

6-2035

Either, like the double-seeing man, drink in (absorb and be satisfied with) this

duality, or close your mouth and be very silent;

6-2036

Or do both in turn, now silence, now speech: in the company of the uninitiated

beat the drum like him who sees double, and peace be with you.

6-819

This duality is characteristic of the eye that sees double; but in reality the first

is the last and the last is the first.

1-3923

Everything except Allāh is vain: verily the grace of Allāh is a cloud pouring

abundantly and continually.

6-2186

Listen, o boastful speaker, it is the hour for mumbling: if you speak clearly to

the people, it is a shameful exposure.

1-3136

My power is broken (fails me) on reaching this point: how can I explain this

mystery?

1533 I.e. the word lā, which means “no”. This word is the beginning of the Arabic phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh – “There is no deity but God”, “Nothing is worthy of worship but God”, or – in the view of the Ṣūfī mystics –

“Nothing exists but God” or “There is no Reality but God”. The phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh is known as Kalimatu’t-Tawḥīd (“the Word of Divine Unity”). It consists of two parts: a negation or nafī – Lā ilāha (“there is no deity”, “nothing exists”, “there is no reality”), followed by an affirmation or ithbāt – illā’Llāh (“but God”).

The phrase Lā ilāha illā’Llāh is of fundamental importance to the Ṣūfī practice of zikr (< Arabic dhikr), i.e.

“Remembrance (of God)”. “Drawing the sword of no” may be interpreted as a reference to this practice of Divine remembrance.

1534 Partnership = shirk. See the footnote for verse 5-590 in the First Rivulet of the First River of the Third Source.

482

1-3138

Lay the whole of your “we” and “I” before Him: the kingdom is His kingdom:

give the kingdom to Him.

1-3921

Apart from You alone, everything that is sweet or unsweet is man—

destroying1535 and is the essence of fire.

6-2236

You have seen the fire that burns every dry sapling; now see the fire of the

Soul by which fantasy is burnt.

6-2237

Neither for fantasy nor for reality is there any protection against a fire like this

which blazed up from the soul.

Where the meaning (Essence) transcends the words. [3.3.3]

3-4730

Beware, beware! Be careful not to utter a breath! First spring up and seek a

trusted friend.

3-4731

You are a lover and are intoxicated, and your tongue is loosened! – God! God!

You are like the camel on the water-spout1536!

3-4732

When the tongue tells of His mystery and coquetry, Heaven chants the prayer,

“O you who are beautiful in covering!”

3-4733

What covering can there be? The fire is in the wool and cotton: while you are

covering it up, it is all the more manifest.

3-4734

When I try to hide His Love’s secret, He lifts up His head, like a banner,

saying, “Look, here am I!”

5-2141

Had it not been for the trouble caused by one who is unfamiliar with what I

mean to say, I would have spoken a few words concerning loyalty.

3-1292

No, I will not tell it, because you still are unripe: you are in your springtime,

you have not seen the month of Tamūz1537.

3-4193

I am speaking bitter words to you, in order that I may wash you clean of all

bitterness.

3-4195

When, from having endured bitterness (self-mortification), your heart is filled

with blood like the grape, then you will escape from all bitterness.

1-3820

I will make an end. If this discourse goes further, not only hearts but rocks will

bleed1538.

1535 Literally “man-burning” (Nich.).

1536 I.e. on the brink of danger.

1537 Tamūz or Tammūz is a summer month of 29 days. It was adopted from the Babylonian/Assyrian calendar, in which the month was named after one of the main Babylonian Gods, Tammūz. Gregorian equivalent: June/July.

1538 Literally “what of the liver? For the hard rock will become blood” (Nich.).

483

1-3821

If these hearts1539 have not bled, it is not because of their hardness, it is because

of bewilderment, preoccupation and misfortune.

1-3822

They will bleed one day when blood is of no use to them: bleed at a time when

your blood is not rejected.

5-2142

But since a world (multitude of people) seeks to raise doubt and difficulty, we

will let the discourse run beyond the skin1540.

5-2143

If you break your material self, you will become a kernel and will hear the tale

of an elegant kernel1541.

5-2144

The voices of walnuts are in their skins (shells): where, indeed, is any voice in

the kernel and the oil?

5-2145

The kernel has a voice, but one that is not suited to the bodily ear: its voice is

hidden in the ear of ecstasy1542.

5-2148

Be without lip and without ear for a while, and then, like the lip, be the

companion of honey.

1-568

Become without sense, without ear and without thought, that you may hear the

call of God to the soul, “Return!” 1543

6-697

In keeping silence our inward speaking of Him is only made more evident,

since the desire for manifestation becomes stronger by suppressing it.

6-696

Reason says, “If I keep silence, I fear that the Sun will rend the veil and display

Himself from another place.

6-699

To utter words about Him is to shut the window through which He reveals

Himself: by merely speaking of Him you conceal Him.

6-700

Sing, like nightingales, in the presence of the Rose, in order that you may

divert them1544 from the scent of the Rose.

1-3090

The rational spirit (the Logos) comes to the mouth for the purpose of teaching:

otherwise it would not come, for truly that speech a separate channel.

1-1758

I have told it briefly, I have not explained it at length, otherwise both your

perceptions and my tongue would be consumed.

1539 Literally “livers” (Nich.). In Persian culture, the liver is considered as the seat of strong emotions, especially of courage, but also of compassion.

1540 I.e. “we will not discuss the subject, because words are mere symbols which cannot be understood by non—

mystics except in a superficial sense” (Nich.).

1541 I.e. “you will receive spiritual communications” (Nich.).

1542 Literally “drinking”, i.e. mystical perception (Nich.).

1543 Qur’ān 89:28.

1544 The lovers of God (Nich.).

484

1-1762

In order that this subject may not come to every ear, I am telling only one out

of a hundred esoteric mysteries.

1-579

Lay on the beast a burden in proportion to its force, lay on the weak a task in

proportion to their strength.

1-580

The bait for every bird is according to the bird’s size (capacity): how should a

fig be the food (lure) for every bird?

1-581

If you give a baby bread instead of milk, take it for granted that the poor baby

will die of the bread;

1-582

Yet afterwards, when it grows teeth, that baby will ask for bread of itself.

1-583

When an unfledged bird begins to fly, it becomes a mouthful for any rapacious

cat;

1-584

But when it grows wings, it will fly of itself without trouble and without

whistling (prompting), good or bad.

4-2577

Since my task happens to be with a child, I must use the language suitable for a

child1545.

4-2061

From within a hundred sweet-breathing silent ones put their hands on their lips,

meaning, “It’s enough”.

4-2062

Silence is the sea, and speech is like the river. The sea seeks you: do not seek

the river.

4-2063

Do not turn your head away from the indications given by the sea: conclude the

subject – and God knows best which course is right.

The epilogue of this Book. [3.3.3]

6-4620

These topics may be discussed up to this point, but all that comes after this

must be kept hidden;

6-4621

And if you would tell it and make a hundred thousand efforts, it is fruitless

work, for it will never become clear.

6-4622

As far as the sea, it is a journey on horseback1546: after this you need a wooden

horse.

6-4623

The wooden horse is no good on the dry land: it only carries those who travel

on the sea.

1545 Literally “loosen the tongue” (Nich.).

1546 Literally “a journey of horse and saddle” (Nich.).

485

6-4624

The wooden horse is this mystical silence: its silence gives instruction to the

people of the sea.

6-4625

In reality, every such silent one who annoys you is uttering shrieks of love in

that Direction.

6-4626

You say, “I wonder why he is silent”; he says to himself, “How strange! Where

is his ear?

6-4627

I am deafened by the shrieks, yet he is unaware of them.” The apparently

sharp-eared are in fact deaf to this mystical conversation.

6-4628

For example, someone cries aloud in his dream and utters a hundred thousand

discussions and communications,

6-4629

While this other, sitting beside him, is unaware of it: in reality it is he who is

asleep and deaf to all that turmoil and tumult.

6-4630

And he whose wooden horse is shattered and sunk in the water of the sea, in

reality he is the fish.

6-4631

He is neither silent nor speaking: he is a marvel: there is no name to describe

his state.

6-4632

He does not belong to these two categories, and yet in reality that prodigy is

both: to explain this would overstep the boundaries of due respect.

3-970

Now that my exposition has reached this point, it lays down its head and

expires; and God knows best how to guide in the right Way.

Epilogue by Mawlānā Ḥusayn Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī

1-Thanks be to God for granting me the ability to pick the pure and spiritual

fruits in the garden of this paradise (i.e. the Mathnawī) with tenderness,

gentleness, gracefulness and love

I placed them in a bowl for the sāliks, from whom I had learnt so much

These words are the essence of essences of the Mathnawī,

which is like food for the spirit of true lovers

5-The Mathnawī is a treasure that words cannot grasp

and contains infinite realities

Words fail to praise him who divulged this treasure

He (Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī) was able to disclose it,

486

and the way in which this sublime and noble one did so,

is full of beauty and splendour

My words also fail to exalt that spiritual monarch (Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī),

just as dark dust is unable to praise the moon

Yet his eyes could see that Light,

and his ears could hear His praise

10-Those who are obscured by illusion and doubt

cannot say anything about mystical Certainty

Since he (Ḥażrat Mawlānā Rūmī) was immersed into non-existence,

the signs of existence would also dissolve into him

His Mathnawī is like a pearl that

transcends all thoughts and words

If one single pearl can fascinate us that much, then

what would happen if we saw a big wave from that Ocean?

The Mathnawī is but a cup, drawn from that jar of

spiritual wine, to enrapture men by its fragrance

15-If someone can get so bemused by its fragrance alone, then

what would happen if he drank from this jar of spiritual wine?

The Mathnawī is like a fathomless ocean,

incomprehensible to the minds of those who dive in it

We have chosen but a few fine and beautiful pearls

from that exalted ocean

Intended for those who do not know the way to that ocean and

are satisfied with the ocean’s fragrance that these pearls emit

And if someone has not received a jug of this spiritual wine,

then these words should satisfy his need

20-Working on this fruit from the unseen world ( ghayb) was

completed on a Saturday, at the end of the month of Ramaḍān

In the year 875 AH (1455 CE) the magic

487

of this treasure ascended upwards

The Mathnawī was made manifest once more

for the sulṭān1547 who possesses Divine qualities

The celestial sun of generosity and greatness,

the majesty of elevated spiritual rank

The pearl of the ocean of knowledge and wisdom

The lord with a pure heart and the qualities of a true Ṣūfī

25-His mind is so perfect and pure

and the secret of beauty has been revealed in his heart

The amulet of the word’s soul adorns his world

The poet Khusraw1548 is his servant

The protector of the land, the glory of the faith

The gem of the ring of happiness and riches

The noble Āṣif1549 of this time

who offers the righteous of his court protection and safety

Even though he was a king, he chose the way of the dervishes

and by doing so he surpassed all other kings

30-His high ambition and aspiration caused such a blessing

(i.e. the Mathnawī) to be born from the unseen world

The Mathnawī unlocked the door to the treasure,

and showered and scattered gold and silver on all friends

Listen! Step forward with the hand of spiritual indigence and sincerity,

so that this riches may make you rich

We arranged an invitation to a spiritual feast

1547 The Timurid Sulṭān Ḥusayn Bāyqarā (1438-1506), who ruled over Greater Khurāsān from Herāt.

1548 The poet Nāṣir: Mawlānā Wā‘iẓ-e Kāshifī probably means the Persian Ismā‘īlī religious poet Nāṣir-e

Khusraw, who was born in Qubādyān, a village near the province of Balkh (1004-1077 CE, some say 1004-1073

CE, or 1004-1088 CE).

1549 Ḥażrat Āṣif ibn Barkhiya was the saintly vizier of the Prophet Sulaymān (Solomon), who possessed great

spiritual powers ( karāmāt). It is said that he could produce the Throne of the Queen Bilqīs, from thousands of miles away in the blink of the eye before his King. Ḥażrat Sulaymān is reported to have appointed his vizier Āṣif as his successor.

488

and prepared the table for the lovers

The door is open to all, come in, come in

Set aside all your bashfulness and come in

35-In their favour, the others said:

“O Lord, send down a table1550 from heaven!”

When this spiritual table is spread for you,

you must not remain unfed

Someone who doesn’t take anything from this spiritual table

will endure great hardships in the desert

This table is like a gift of God

Not taking anything from it is sheer ignorance and negligence

We have spread a table so full of grace

He who does not take anything from it, will suffer loss

40-O Kāshifī, how much longer all this bluff, all these lies?

Real lies never hold any light

You claim to have the inner state of the dervishes and

to possess knowledge about healing while you are ill yourself

You know nothing about them, apart from their words and sounds, you fool!

Do not say you know anything

You want to make it seem as though you have a common language with those

who taste the pain of love

Try to be one of heart with them, so that you may be freed

A common language implies that one must

also be one of heart with others

and your useless knowledge is tantamount to ignorance

45-You know hundreds of words, but what of their meaning, their essence?

Knowing the meaning of a beautiful word is a good and noble thing indeed

If your good words are not followed by good deeds, then be silent!

1550 Mā’ida: refers to Sūratu’l-Mā’ida (“The Table” or “The Table Spread”), the 5thSūra of the Qur’ān, and in particular it refers to verse 114.

489

Idle chit-chat without deeds is of no significance

Mere babbling will be of no avail to you, so leap into action,

so that the taste of ‘ilm-e ladunnī 1551 may arise

Words are like sowing seeds, deeds make them come up and grow

Harvesting them is eternal knowledge ( ‘ilm-e azal)

You have sown them, make sure they become green,

so that you may harvest eternal life

50-To nourish these seedlings, use the water purveyed by the Friend

So keep waiting for that water near this garden

O Lord, from the rain of Your goodness and generosity,

grant me a drop on my dry farmland

So that it may become green and lush

through Your greatness and generosity,

and I may take a small share of the harvest

I have planted a few green trees from the Mathnawī

in a spiritual garden

May God keep it eternally verdant and fresh until the Day of Resurrection

May God keep the fruits of this garden safe from theft

55-O Lord, strike with blindness until the Day of Judgment

those who choose not to see beyond the outer skin of this Book1552

O Lord of both worlds, through this flowing water (Mathnawī),

pour out Your grace on the lovers

1551 Qur’ān 18:65 – a special kind of Inner Knowledge and Wisdom, derived from the Presence of God and

bestowed on His chosen servants.

1552 “This Book”: the Lubb-e Lubāb-e Mathnawī.

490

Bibliography

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Badiozzaman Forouzanfar, Ferdosi Publication, Tehran, 1374 HS/1995 CE.

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University Press, 1940.

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Djalâl-od-Dîn Rûmî, Éditions du Rocher, 2004.

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About the Editor

Wazir Dayers was born to Dutch-speaking Belgian parents on 9th November 1967 in

Belgium’s capital, Brussels. He first came into contact with Sufism at the age of 18. It

affected him so profoundly that Sufism soon became the focus of his life. It made him decide

to enrol at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium, to read Arabic and Islamic

Studies1553.

While still a student, he set out to seek a Sufi Master and become a sālik, a wayfarer on the

Sufi Path. Over the years he has received initiation and guidance from Masters of several Sufi

Orders.

Wazir Dayers now lives in Antwerp, where he works as a translator and devotes himself to the

practice and the study of Sufism.

1553 Which included courses in Persian language and Persian classical literature.

493