The Masnavi, Book Three

by Jalal al-Din Rumi

  Who hasn’t heard of Noah’s flood . . . the troops of Pharaoh were undone?: see notes to vv. 86 and 2702.

  Who hasn’t heard of Thamud’s fate . . . the Aad away?: see ‘Aad’ and ‘Thamud’ in the Glossary.

  The soul remaining wolf-like . . . Joseph’s face assuredly: see note to v. 218.

  David’s Psalms reached . . . men still couldn’t hear: see note to v. 1014.

  O children of God’s deputy . . . Adam would weep for years, disconsolate: God’s deputy refers here to Adam as seen in the Islamic tradition, the forefather of all mankind, whom the Devil caused to fall.

  God give me strength!: an abbreviated form of ‘There is no strength or power except through God’, which is an invocation recommended in many of the sayings of the Prophet Mohammad, especially when one is faced with extreme difficulties.

  Return like this and we will too . . . with rewards ahead: this seems to allude to Qur’an 17: 8, where God warns that misdeeds will receive an appropriate response.

  For those men in the cave . . . sorrow, harm, and tears: see ‘Seven Sleepers in the Cave’ in the Glossary.

  Heading Come either obediently, or disliking it!: Qur’an 41: 10, where it refers to God’s power to bring created things into being.

  I made Mankind and jinn for just one thing: Qur’an 51: 56, where God states that he created them only for the purpose of worshipping Him.

  Heading Enter the gate . . . ‘God lighten our burden!’: Qur’an 2: 58, where God is addressing Moses about His past support.

  Heading mealcloth: the cloth put on the floor to use instead of a dining table when you sit on the floor to eat meals.

  Egyptians viewed the Nile . . . would not be saved: see note to v. 1304.

  No prayer unless you’ve washed: a saying of the Prophet Mohammad that alludes to the necessary ablution before the Islamic ritual prayer.

  Heading Until when the messengers lose hope: Qur’an 12: 110, where God explains how, when His Prophets despair and give up hope, He has always come to their aid.

  The First Soul brought the Second Soul forth: this alludes to Neoplatonic theories of emanation that had already come to have a significant influence on Sufi theosophy before Rumi’s time. Here it is used to point out that a specific order is followed sequentially in many aspects of the creation.

  Deliver!: Qur’an 5: 67, where God tells Mohammad to deliver the message he has been given for the people or else he will not have completed his duties.

  To Abraham the flames became obedient: see note to v. 10.

  And waves bore Noah safely like a servant: see note to v. 86.

  Iron obeyed, melting in David’s hand: see note to v. 1014.

  Wind turned to Solomon’s slave at his command: see note to v. 1015.

  Heading The Story about how Anas threw . . . but it did not burn: the story instead describes Anas’s maid throwing the handkerchief in the oven on his instruction.

  The Prophet made mere bricks the qebla: this is the direction of the Kaaba (see Glossary) in Mecca towards which Mohammad instructed Muslims to pray. It is a roughly cube-shaped brick structure, and is the destination of the Muslim pilgrimage.

  Sea of Origins: an epithet used by Rumi for God.

  If sent back, they’d do that again: Qur’an 6: 28, where it refers to the inhabitants of hell, who would return to their misdeeds if brought back to the world.

  Can one speak of Omar to Shi’ites then?: the second caliph Omar ebn al-Khattab (r. 634–44) is considered an illegitimate usurper by Shi’ites.

  Heading Is it not He . . . when he prays?: Qur’an 27: 62.

  It was once Mary’s need . . . with what he said: see note to v. 1796.

  Kawsar’s water fills clouds of kindnesses: Kawsar is the heavenly fount of divine grace mentioned in Qur’an 108: 1.

  Their Lord gave them to drink: Qur’an 76: 21, where the inhabitants of paradise are the ones to whom God gives a drink.

  My name’s ‘Abd al-Aziz’ . . . But ‘Abd al-Ozza’ with vile men like them: this wordplay alludes to the fact that Abd al-Ozza was a pre-Islamic name meaning ‘slave of the idol called Ozza’, while Abd al-Aziz is a Muslim personal name meaning ‘slave of God’.

  the circle’s head: this refers to the position of a teacher in a teaching circle, as the focus of the students sitting facing him in a circle.

  Heading with hardship there’s ease: Qur’an 94: 5.

  Don’t grieve for what you cannot keep: Qur’an 57: 23, where it is mentioned in the context of stressing that everything has been ordained by God.

  Man’s been honoured: Qur’an 17: 70, where it is clarified that all of ‘the progeny of Adam’ have been honoured by God through His protection and nurturing.

  We have honoured: see note to v. 3293.

  azan: the Muslim call to prayer recited by a muezzin.

  Come to the good!: see note to v. 175.

  God spoke to that one: see note to v. 1964.

  Moses, Kalim: see note to v. 1964.

  The one who can . . . transforms rods to them magically: see note to v. 37.

  Present in Our Presence: Qur’an 36: 32, where God’s ability to raise the dead is referred to.

  Be!: the divine fiat; the way in which God is repeatedly described as granting created things existence, before which they are described as non-existents in a storehouse. See Qur’an 16: 40, 15: 21.

  For what no one’s seen . . . ‘lamp’ once for the Unseen’s Light: the first hemistich refers to a saying of the Prophet Mohammad where it describes what God bestows on His slaves. The second hemistich refers to the well-known enigmatic verse in the Qur’an (24: 35) about God’s Light.

  Don’t throw yourselves towards you own destruction: Qur’an 2: 195, among a list of general commandments to Muslims.

  Don’t throw yourself in harm’s way!: see note to v. 3424.

  Race here!: Qur’an 3: 133, where people are urged to strive for God’s forgiveness and entry to paradise.

  Those seeing Resurrection—race up here!: see previous note.

  For Joseph . . . The wolf makes all leave guidance, though, instead: see note to v. 218.

  Moses, how can a rod seem like a snake?: see note to v. 37.

  The Lord of Dawn: a title used for God in Qur’an 113: 1.

  Although bird semen is a kind of air: this refers to a common belief in Rumi’s time regarding how birds reproduce.

  the water stream . . . your drunkenness’s stupor: a reference to the four streams in paradise, which the inhabitants will drink from (Qur’an 76: 17–18).

  In hell a Zaqqum tree then quickly grows: the Qur’anic (37: 62) tree in hell that grows out of fire.

  We’re grateful that your light put our fire out: according to a saying of the Prophet Mohammad, when believers walk across the bridge over hell, hellfire expresses gratitude like this for their light’s ability to extinguish its flames.

  Be!: see note to v. 3400.

  Sea of Majesty: this expression is used by Rumi to refer to the divine realm.

  You did not throw when you threw: Qur’an 8: 17, in a passage interpreted as describing the Prophet Mohammad’s action of throwing sand in the direction of enemy troops as being in reality God’s actions. This is one of the most frequently cited Qur’anic verses in Sufi discussions of annihilation in God.

  Can sand defeat vast armies full of men?: see note to v. 3661.

  Prophets are recognized . . . from others’ children: this alludes to Qur’an 2: 146, which similarly refers to Prophets being recognized by people as they recognize their sons.

  God says, ‘He knows’ . . . ‘None knows them at all apart from Me’: part of a Sacred Tradition, or saying of the Prophet in which he presents a message from God in his own words, about the hidden nature of Friends of God.

  They’re hidden under my domed tents: see previous note.

  If Zayd’s the subject of these words: ‘Zayd died’: see note to v. 1153.

  Like Mary say: ‘I pray . . . Saves me from you!’: Qur’
an 19: 18, where Mary says the same prayer on first seeing the Angel Gabriel.

  If Joseph had seen . . . cut his hands in awe: a reference to Qur’an 12: 31, where women cut their own hands by mistake owing to the awesome handsomeness of Joseph.

  And if contraction . . . you feel expansion: see notes to vv. 349 and 363.

  Eat what He provides!: Qur’an 67: 15, where it is emphasized that God is the Provider to Mankind.

  Eat grief, not bread . . . children eat up sugar: this is a couplet from Hakim Sana’i’s Garden of Truth, which is the book Rumi refers to as ‘The Divine Book’.

  ‘God’s strength’ . . . God’s strength: see note to v. 2858.

  Ten of their like: Qur’an 6: 160, where mankind is promised that for every good deed ten times its reward will be given on Judgment Day.

  Murder me, murder me . . . He will: these verses in Arabic are from a famous poem attributed to the Sufial-Hallaj (d. 922).

  The ‘chain’ . . . Their ‘circle case’ . . . ‘the purse’s case’: these all refer to intellectual puzzles that interest philosophers and theologians as opposed to mystics, who are focused on God exclusively.

  armies you can’t see: Qur’an 9: 26, where it refers to invisible soldiers sent by God to aid the Prophet Mohammad and his followers in battle.

  He’s Eid; the slaughtered beast is my small role: this alludes to the ritual slaughter during the Eid after the Hajj pilgrimage.

  Moses’ cow’s tail . . . revive the liberated!: see note to v. 2525.

  ‘Strike him with part of her!’ the Lord had said: Qur’an 2: 73. See note to v. 2525.

  All perishes except God’s face: Qur’an 28: 88, where it is emphasized that there is no deity except Him.

  To Him we are returning: Qur’an 28: 88. See previous note about the first part of the same Qur’anic verse.

  Rayy: see note to v. 2098.

  I was breathed into: Qur’an 15: 29, where God describes how He breathed His spirit into Man, as a sign of his superiority in creation, and commands the angels to prostrate before Adam.

  Sincere one, long for death!: Qur’an 62: 6, where Jews are told that if they believe they are favoured by God then they should long for death and the return to Him.

  Heading Galen: Greek physician and authority on medicine of the second century ce, whose works came to symbolize Greek medicine and ethics in the medieval Middle East.

  Among themselves they act courageously: Qur’an 59: 14, where ‘hypocrites’, those who pretend to follow Mohammad but oppose him in reality, are described.

  But kiss the snake to find the treasure-chest!: in Persian literature, snakes are invariably found with treasure, which is usually hidden in ruins.

  Heading Qoraysh: Qoraysh is the name of the tribe into which the Prophet Mohammad was born in Mecca about 570. The leaders of the tribe rejected Mohammad and forced him out of Mecca, after which they waged war against him and his followers in Medina.

  I’ll be your helper from today!: Qur’an 8: 48, where Satan makes the same promise of support to an army of enemies of the Prophet.

  Those troops you couldn’t see: Qur’an 9: 26, where a reminder is given to the Prophet of help previously given by God, including such invisible troops.

  I now am quit of you!: Qur’an 8: 48, where Satan turns back on the promise of support he had given to an army of enemies of the Prophet.

  the one who slinks back: a name given to the Devil, which is found in Qur’an 114: 4.

  he who shrinks back: see previous note.

  Heading Shah Mahmud’s: Shah Mahmud was the ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty between 971 and 1030, and is celebrated by Iranians and Afghans as a heroic king who achieved much success on the battlefield.

  God give me strength!: see note to v. 2858.

  I am a lover, sacrificed for ‘No!’: ‘No’ here is the Arabic ‘La’ used in the statement ‘There is no deity but God’, so Rumi’s point is that he has sacrificed himself in the process of denying everything other than God through self-annihilating love.

  I’m like the Ismailis : I lack dread: this seems to be a reference to the Nizari Ismailis, who were perceived in Rumi’s time as fearless assassins of their oppressors.

  Or like Ishmael, with no care for my head: see note to v. 2147.

  Say ‘Come!’: Qur’an 3: 61 and 6: 151, where it means ‘Come and worship God!’

  The Lord has bought: Qur’an 9: 111, where it is used to mean ‘bought’ in the sense that the faithful serve God and He rewards them with paradise.

  ‘Alhaykom’s’ chapter’s . . . If you know: Qur’an 102, which is about the eventual realization of material possessions once one has acquired better knowledge, knowledge of certainty followed ultimately by immediate vision of certainty.

  In ‘alhaykom’ . . . vision of certainty: see previous note.

  And Ja’far’s pure gold: it is unclear whether this refers to the coinage of an Abbasid vizier called Ja’far, or to Ja’far al-Sadeq, the sixth Shi’ite Imam and important Sufi authority, who is attributed with works on alchemy.

  ‘Each is a shepherd’ . . . he’s overseeing: a saying of the Prophet Mohammad.

  His mercy’s prior to His wrath: a Sacred Tradition, or saying of the Prophet in which he presents a message from God in his own words.

  His mercy comes before His wrath: see previous note.

  I see I’ll sacrifice you: Qur’an 37: 102. See note to v. 2147.

  cut your throat as Ishmael’s was: see previous note.

  Then milk, be now a lion of the jungle!: this is a play on the fact that the word for milk and the word for lion are written the same in Persian.

  Kill me my trusty friends!: see note to v. 3841.

  There’s life in my death: see note to v. 3841.

  Abraham won’t seek help from any blaze: see note to v. 10.

  The Prophet Joseph . . . Zulaikha’s love for him and her despair: a reference to the life story of Joseph in the twelfth chapter of the Qur’an, which is introduced as ‘the most beautiful of stories’.

  The Devil saw in Adam naught but clay: see note to v. 2301.

  Between two fingers: see note to vv. 2779–81.

  when Prophet Moses came . . . heart aflame: see note to v. 16.

  Heading O hills and birds, repeat his praise!: Qur’an 34: 10.

  I am God’s Speech, subsisting through His Essence: this is the orthodox Sunni understanding of the theological status of the content of the Qur’an as God’s Speech, although its actual wording is considered inherently temporal and created.

  Heading And use your horses . . . against them!: Qur’an 17: 64, where it forms part of God’s instructions to Satan.

  None of the sweet sea joins the salty sea: an allusion to the famous statement about this being a sign of God’s creation in Qur’an 25: 53.

  Its root is firm, its branches in the sky: Qur’an 14: 24, in the course of a comparison of healthy and unhealthy trees for the purpose of an analogy.