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Masnavi I, 2429-37
Explanation of the Tradition, 'Verily, they (women) prevail over the wise man, and the ignorant man prevails over them.'
"The Prophet said that woman prevails exceedingly over the
wise and intelligent,
(While), on the other hand, ignorant men prevail over woman,
for in them the fierceness of the animal is imprisoned.
They lack tenderness, kindness, and affection, because
animality predominates over their (human) nature.
Love and tenderness are human qualities, anger and lust are
animal qualities.
She (woman) is a ray of God, she is not that (earthly) beloved:
she is creative, you might say she is not created."
The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi
Translation and Commentary by Reynold A. Nicholson
Published and Distributed by
The Trustees of The "E.J.W. Gibb Memorial
She is a ray of the Beauty of God
Mathnawi I: 2429-37
Water overpowers fire by (its) terror, (yet) it boils when it is
inside a partition.
(For) when a pot becomes the screen between (these) two,1
it makes the water vanish (and) turns it (into) air.
If you dominate women outwardly, like water (over fire), you are
dominated inwardly and you are seeking [and boiling in desire for]
women.
This is such a special quality in mankind, (since) love is lacking
in animals,2 which is due to (their) deficiency.
The Prophet said,3 "Women become very dominant over wise and
pious (men),
"Yet ignorant (men) become dominant over women"-- because
they go (about) in a rash and very hot-tempered (manner).4
They are lacking tenderness, kindness, and love because animality
dominates over (their) nature.
Love and tenderness are qualities of humanity, (while) anger and
lust are qualities of animality.
She is a ray of [the Beauty of] God;5 she is not a beloved. She is a
creator; you may say that she is not created.6
Translation and notes by Ibrahim Gamard
1between these two: this is the first half of the couplet in the
earliest manuscript of the Mathnawi, which Nicholson later corrected (from "When a cauldron comes between (them), O king").
2love is lacking in animals: "Although animals relatively to man are
deficient in love, they 'know what love is' and 'he that is blind to
love is inferior to a dog' (V 2008)" (Nicholson, Commentary)
3the Prophet said: refers to a saying of the Prophet Muhammad,
"Truly, they dominate the wise man and the ignorant man dominates
them."
4hot-tempered manner: this is the second half of the couplet in the
earliest manuscript, which Nicholson later corrected (from "for in
them the fierceness of the animal is imprisoned").
5a ray of God: "Woman is the highest type of earthly beauty, but
earthly beauty is nothing except in so far as it is a manifestation and reflexion of Divine attributes" (Nicholson, Commentary)
6not created: "The expressions used in the
second hemistich are
remarkable. Sweeping aside the veil of form, the poet beholds in
woman the eternal Beauty which is the inspirer and object of all love,
and regards her, in her essential nature, as the medium par excellence
through which that uncreated Beauty reveals itself and exercises
creative activity. From this point of view she is a focus for the
Divine tajallí [= manifestation] and may be identified with the
life-giving power of its rays." "...the context here, together with
other passages in the Mathnawí, leaves no doubt that what the
poet has in view is not the physical functions of woman but the
spiritual and essentially Divine qualities in her which 'create' love
in man and cause him to seek union with the true Beloved." (Nicholson,
Commentary)
"She is the Creator"
There's a tradition that Muhammad said, "A wise man
will listen and be led by
a woman, while an ignorant man will not." Someone too
fiercely drawn by animal
urges lacks kindness and the gentle affections
that keep men human.
Anger and sharp desiring are animal qualities. A
loving tenderness toward
women shows someone no longer pulled along by wanting.
The core of the feminine
comes directly as a ray of the sun. Not the earthy
figure you hear about in
love songs; there's more to her mystery than that. You
might say she's not from
the manifest world at all, but the creator of it.
Version by Coleman Barks
"The Soul of Rumi"
Harper, San Francisco, 2001
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