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Masnavi I, 1510-13
We Are In His Hands In Anger And In Peace
If we come to (a state of) ignorance, that is His
prison. And if we come to (a state of) knowledge, that is
His (lofty) balcony.
If we come to (a state of) sleep, we are His
drowsy-drunken ones. And if we come to (a state of) wakeful
alertness, we are in His Hands.
If we come to (a state of) weeping, we are His cloud
full of glistening (raindrops).1 And if we come to (a state
of) laughing,2 we are His lightning in that moment.
If we come to (a state of) anger and battle, it is the
reflection of His Wrath.3 And if we come to (a state of)
peace and pardon, it is the reflection of His Love4.
From "The Mathnawî-yé Ma`nawî" [Rhymed Couplets of
Deep Spiritual Meaning] of Jalaluddin Rumi.
Translated from the Persian by Ibrahim Gamard (with
gratitude for R. A. Nicholson's 1926 British translation)
© Ibrahim Gamard (translation, footnotes, & transliteration)
Archives at Dar-al-Masnavi
1 we are His (raining) cloud full of magnificence:
The rhyme here uses the idiom "zarq--o barq," which means
"gleaming and flashing," "dark-blue and glittering (with
lightning)," as well as "magnificence and grandeur."
Nicholson later changed his translation to, "we are His
cloud shedding rain-drops abundantly" (from, "we are a cloud
laden with the bounty dispensed by Him"). And he explained:
"i.e. full of the rain of Divine Mercy. GH [= the two
earliest manuscripts of the Mathnawi] read 'zarq,'
'brightness', 'splendour'. . . In that case there would be a
comparison of glistening tears to rain-drops." (Commentary)
2 laughing: refers to the flashing gleam of smiling
or laughing teeth, which is compared to the flashing quality
of lightning.
3 it is the reflection of His Wrath: "If we are
full of anger and are quarrelsome, that anger of ours is the
reflection and the effect of the Wrath of God [qahr-é
khodâ]. In other words, the qualities of anger and rage
which manifest in us are the reflection and effect of the
qualities of Divine Punishment and Wrath which have
manifested in us. Because human existence is the mirror and
place of manifestation of the Divine Attributes." (Anqaravi,
the 17th century Turkish commentator, translated here into
English from a Persian translation)
4 it is the reflection of His Love: "And, likewise,
if we are inclined to peace and gentle kindness [SulH wa
luTf], those are also the effects of the Love and Gentle
Kindness of God which have appeared in us. In sum, whether
(it is) anger or kindness, both qualities (derive) from
Divine Being, become overflowing in the servant (of God) [=
the human being] and mankind is never the source of any
attribute." (Anqaravi, Commentary)
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