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Masnavi II, 0001-22
1 The Mathnawi was postponed for a time.1 A delay was necessary
until blood became (changed to) milk.2
Listen well: as long as your luck doesn't give birth to a new child,3
blood will not change to sweet milk.
Since the Splendor of God, Husamuddin,4
turned the reins (of his
mount)5
from the top of the heavens,
Since he had gone for an ascension6
to (spiritual) realities--
without (the influence of) his Spring, the rose-buds (of mystical
poetry) had not burst forth.7
5 (But) when he returned from the Ocean toward the shore,8 the
harp of the Mathnawi's verses became tuned (again).
(And as this is) the Mathnawi which is the polisher of spirits,9his
return was the day of (my) seeking help in opening [the Mathnawi
once again].10
The date of the arising11
of this (spiritual) gain and profit was in the
year six hundred and sixty two.122
A nightingale13
went from here, returned, (and) became a falcon for
the sake of hunting these spiritual truths.
May the forearm of the King be the resting place for this falcon!14
(And) may this door be open to the people for the length of
eternity!15
10 The misfortune of this doorway is (the result of) craving desire
and sensual lust; otherwise, there is drink after drink (of spiritual
knowledge) here.
Shut this mouth (of yours) so that you may see clearly, for the
throat and mouth (of greed) are the eye-covering (which prevents
the seeing) of that (transcendent) world.16
O mouth, you are the mouth of Hell.17
And O world, you resemble
the interval (between death and resurrection).18
The eternal Light (is) to the side of (this) lowly world; the pure
Milk (is) to the side of [these bodily] rivers of blood.19
If you take a step in (this lowly world) without caution, your milk
may change to blood because of mixture.20
15 Adam took a single step in tasting the pleasures of ego-
cravings,21
(and) separation from the uppermost seat in Paradise
became a chain upon (his) base self.22
The angels were running away from him as (if he were) a devil.23
He shed (so) many tears from (his) eyes for the sake of a (bit of)
bread.24
Even though the sin which he had acquired was (only the size of) a
single hair, yet that hair had grown in both (of his) eyes.
(Because) Adam was the eye of the Beginningless Light, (and) a
hair in (such) an eye is (like) a huge mountain.25
If Adam had asked advice,26
he would not have (needed to) express
apologies (to God) in repentance.27
20 Since, if a discerning intellect is joined with (another)
discriminating mind,28
it becomes an obstacle to (committing)
harmful and sinful actions and speech.
(But) if the base ego becomes friends with another base ego, the
partial intellect becomes worthless and useless.
22 When you become hopeless because of isolation,29 (if) you go
beneath the shadow of a (spiritual) friend30
you will become a
(shining) sun.
--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)
First published on "Sunlight" (yahoogroups.com), 11/29/01
Notes on the text, with line number:
1 (1) The
Mathnawi was postponed
for a time: apparently, Rumi stopped composing the Mathnawi for about
two years. Rumi dictated the Mathnawi to his closest disciple and
spiritual friend, Husamuddin Chelebi-- whose presence he found
necessary for the inspiration of the verses. When Husamuddin's wife
died, Husamuddin was in such a state of bereavement that he was
"absent" for a time as the inspiring companion he had been.
Nicholson commented on the words Rumi used in the Preface to Book II,
"part of the reason of its postponement" as follows: "In this passage
the 'postponement' is explained as an act of Divine Wisdom....
Apparently the poet meant to imply that his powers as a medium were
intermittent and subject to conditions over which he had no control. At
times God veils His glory even from prophets and saints." (Commentary)
2 (1) A delay
was necessary until
blood became (changed to) milk: "i.e. 'in order that inspiration might
flow pure and undefiled'. Cf. I 4001 sqq. The metaphor, as the
following verse makes plain, alludes to the process of purification
whereby the blood which nourishes the embryo in the womb is converted,
after birth, into milk for the nourishment of the child. Cf. Qur. XVI
68, where the inner meaning of nusqíkum miná
fí
butúnihi min bayni farth-in wa-dam-in laban-an
khális-an [= "... We produce (wholesome) drink for you from
what is within the (cow's) body, between the excretions and the
blood..."] is explained by Najmu 'ddín
Kubrá [= sufi master who died in 1221]: 'God gives you to
drink the pure milk of Divine inspiration (extracted) from the chyme
and blood of sensual thoughts within your carnal souls.'" (Nicholson,
Commentary)
3 (2) as long
as your luck doesn't
give birth to a new child: "I.e. 'before your heart can absorb the
mysteries of gnosis [= mystical- intuitive knowledge], it must
experience a spiritual regeneration'." (Nicholson, Commentary)
4 (3) the
Splendor of God,
Husamuddin: "See note on I 428 [= "In bestowing this title on
Husámu'ddín, the poet
alludes to Qur. X 5: Huwa 'lladhí ja`ala 'l-shamsa
diyá-an [= "He is
the one who made the sun a shining splendor"]. See Book IV 16 sqq."].
It is implied that Husámu'ddín [= Rumi's closest
disciple and
spiritual companion] is the very Light of God with which, as the Qutb
(supreme saint) of the age, he irradiates all beneath him." (Nicholson,
Commentary)
5 (3) the
reins (of his mount):
Nicholson translated, "the reins (of his spirit)..."
6 (4) an
ascension
[mi`râj]: the famous Ascension [Mi`râj] of the
Prophet Muhammad into the Heavens (from Jerusalem) has been the model
which sufi mystics have sought to aspire in their journey toward
spiritual Reality.
7 (4) without
(the influence of)
his Spring, the rose-buds (of mystical poetry) had not burst forth:
Nicholson translated, "without his (life-giving) springtide the buds
(of mystic knowledge) were unburst (in my heart)..."
8 (5) Since
he returned from the
Ocean toward the shore: "i.e. from the infinite Unity and Reality to
the plane of phenomenal limitation." (Nicholson, Commentary)
9 (6) the
Mathnawi which is the
polisher of spirits: Nicholson translated, "which was the burnisher
(purifier) of spirits..."
10 (6) the
day of (my) seeking
help in opening [istiftâH] [the Mathnawi once again]:
Nicholson translated, "the day of (my) seeking (an auspicious)
commencement (for it)." And he mentioned ''the expression
istiftáhu 'l-dhikr [= seeking
(God's) help in opening (the sufi practice of chanting in a group) the
remembrance (of God)], i.e. the introductory prayer changed by
dervishes about to perform the dhikr [= remembrance of God]..."
(Commentary)
11 (7) The
date of the arising:
"Literally, 'the rising-point of the date (of composition).'"
(Nicholson, Footnote)
12 (7) in
the year six hundred
and sixty two: this date is according to the Islamic calendar
(beginning with the emigration of the Prophet Muhammad and his
followers from Mecca, where they had been harshly persecuted for years,
to Medina, where they were welcomed to settle), and is equivalent to
the C.E. (Common Era) year of 1264, when Rumi was 57 years old.
"On the authority of Aflákí (see note on I 3990
[= This is a figurative way of saying that the flow of the poet's
inspiration has temporarily ceased.... Among the conjectures made by
different commentators the most plausible is one suggested by
Sárí [= a Turkish commentator, who wrote a
commentary on Book I in 1871]-- the death of
Husámu'ddín's wife, which
occurred 'just as the First Book was completed'
(Aflákí in the
abridged translation by Redhouse, Mesnevî, p. 89) and caused
the further progress
of the poem to be delayed for a long time"]) it is generally supposed
that owing to the death of Husámu'ddín's wife an
interval of two years elapsed between the completion of Book I and the
resumption of the work in A.H. 662/A.D 1263- 1264. The date is certain,
but Rúmí does not mention explicitly
either the cause of the interruption or the length of its duration.
What he says here... neither confirms nor contradicts
Aflákí's account
of the matter. We only gather that Husámu'ddín...
had withdrawn his
inspiring
influence and was 'occupied with inward experiences' (I 594)."
(Nicholson, Commentary)
13 (8) A
nightingale: "the
meaning of 'a nightingale' is intended for Hazrat-i Husamuddin."
(Anqaravi, the famous Mevlevi 17th century Turkish commentator,
translated here into English from a Persian translation)
14 (9) May
the forearm of the
King be the resting place for this falcon: a common image in Rumi's
poetry, in which a falcon trained for hunting symbolizes the return of
a saintly soul to its Divine Origin.
15 (9) may
this doorway be open
to the people for the length of eternity: Nicholson translated, "May
this gate (to the Truth) be open to (all) the people..." And he
explained: "i.e. may Husámu'ddín ever enjoy
intimate communion (uns)
with God!' The words ín dar [= this door/gate] may refer to
the
Mathnawí, or (as Wilson [= C.E. Wilson, who translated and
wrote a commentary on Book II, in 1910] thinks) to
Husámu'ddín
himself." (Commentary)
"And the intended meaning of 'this doorway' is this same noble
Mathnawi." (Anqaravi, Commentary)
16 (11) for
the throat and mouth
(of greed) are the eye-covering (which prevents the seeing) of that
(transcendent) world: Nicholson transposed his translation, based on
the earliest manuscript of the Mathnawi, to "Close this mouth that you
may see plainly: gullet and mouth are the eye-bandage (which makes you
blind) to yonder world" (from, "Gullet and mouth are the eye-bandage
(which makes you blind) to yonder world: close this mouth, that you may
see (it) plain").
17 (12) O
mouth, you are the
mouth of Hell: "For the comparison of the appetitive soul (nafs) to
Hell, see I 1375 sqq. [= translated by Nicholson: "The carnal self
(nafs) is Hell, and Hell is a dragon (the fire of) which is not
diminished by oceans (of water)...."] and note on I 779 [= "The nafs is
Hell (I 1375) or a part of Hell (I 1382); in essence it is one with the
Devil (III 4053). Therefore Hell, being the nature of the nafs-i
ammárah (the soul that commands to
evil [= a term from Qur'an 12:53]), is really within you. The seven
gates or limbos of Hell typify the vices which lead to perdition
(muhlikát). According to Sárí [= a
Turkish commentator] on I 1376, these are pride, cupidity [= greed,
excessive desire], lust, envy, anger, avarice, and hatred. Hell is
called 'a seven-headed dragon' (VI 4657)"]." (Nicholson, Commentary)
"It means, 'You are the mouth of the Hell of the base ego [nafs]. And
you will never be satisfied by any amount of food you consume. And you
will always shout, "Are there more (mouthfuls)?"'" [= "(On the Day (of
Judgment), We will ask Hell, 'Are you filled?' And it will say, 'Are
there any more (mouthfuls)?'" (Qur'an 50:30)] (Anqaravi, Commentary)
18 (12) O
world, you are the
likeness of the interval (between death and resurrection): Nicholson
translated, "O world, thou art like the intermediate state." And he
explained: "The spirit came from God and will return to God. The
present life is its 'intermediate state.'" (Footnote) Nicholson further
explained: "The Oriental commentators take jahán [= world]
in the sense one would
expect it to have in such a context, viz. the material world.... The
resemblance between jahán [= world] and barzakh [=
interval/intermediate state] consists in the fact, which is stated
figuratively in the following verse, that during the present life those
destined for paradise and those doomed to Hell-fire dwell together
externally, but are separated inwardly by an insuperable barrier:
baynahum barzakh-un lá yabghiyáni [=
"Between them is an (invisible) barrier (barzakh) which they cannot
pass"] (Qur. LV 20). See I 297 sqq., 2570 sqq. Although the world is
not itself this barrier, it is the theatre in which the conflict of
good and evil and the separation of the 'sheep' from the 'goats' are
exhibited, so that the name barzakh (sometimes used of the wall between
Hell and Paradise) may easily be transferred to it." (Commentary)
19 (13) the
pure Milk (is) to the
side of [these bodily] rivers of blood: see note on line 2. Here, pure
milk is a metaphor for Paradise, which is hidden by a barrier yet has
close proximity to this impure world-- just as pure milk from a
mother's breast is secreted from a place in close proximity to veins
and arteries filled with blood. (The latter is viewed as an impure
substance in Islam, since contact with blood requires ritual washing
with water before one can do the required daily ritual prayers.).
20 (14) your
milk may change to
blood because of mixture: "The spirit, while confined in the world and
the body, is side by side with sensuality and liable to contamination.
Cf. the Story of the gazelle among the donkeys (V 833 sqq.)."
(Nicholson, Commentary)
21 (15)
tasting the pleasures of
ego-cravings [Zawq-é nafs]: Nicholson translated, "sensual
pleasure." "It means (that) he ate wheat." (Anqaravi, Commentary) For
this, see note below on line 16.
22 (15) base
self [nafs]:
Nicholson translated, "(fleshly) soul." Means the ego which identifies
with the body and is preoccupied with satisfying its endless worldly
cravings.
23 (16) The
angels were running
away from him as (if he were) a devil: Nicholson translated, "The
angels were fleeing from him as from a devil." The meaning here is not
that angels are fearful of >
devils, but that they flee from being repelled by their evil
qualities-- just as they were repelled from being in the presence of
Adam after he sinned.
24 (16) for
the sake of a (bit
of) bread: "i.e. gandum [= wheat], the forbidden fruit." (Nicholson,
Commentary) According to Islamic beliefs, the forbidden "fruit" eaten
by Adam and Eve was wheat.
25 (18) a
hair in (such) an eye
is (like) a huge mountain: "Adam, typifying the Perfect Man [= a
concept in the sufi philosophy of Ibnu 'l-`Arabi, died 1240, according
to which the "completed" saint reflects all the Attributes of God] is
the eye with which God beholds the world. What would be a venial [=
minor] sin in ordinary men is in him a grave offence, just as a hair in
the eye is especially pernicious. Cf. the saying, hasanátu
'l-abrár sayyi'átu 'l-muqarrabín, 'the
good actions of the devout are the evil
actions of the elect'..."
26 (19) If
Adam had asked advice:
"i.e. if he had consulted Universal Reason, of which the Angels are an
embodiment (cf. III 3193 sqq., 4054)." (Nicholson, Commentary)
27 (19) he
would not have (needed
to) express apologies (to God) in repentance: "They [= Adam and Eve]
said, "O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. We will surely be among
the lost if You do not forgive us and give us mercy." (Qur'an 7:23)
28 (20) if a
discerning intellect
is joined with (another) discriminating mind: Nicholson referred to
other passages in the Mathnawi which have this theme (and its opposite:
associating with a base, or lowly, person): "Cf. III 2689 sqq., IV 1263
sqq., V 167, 738 sqq., VI 2611 sqq." (Commentary)
29 (22)
because of isolation:
Nicholson translated, "loneliness." And he explained: "i.e. religious
seclusion (khalwat)." (Commentary) "(It means), 'If, because of
isolation from other persons, you find that your state is hopeless, it
is necessary for you to take comfort and rest beneath the shadow of a
friend-- and (then) you are a (shining) sun.' In other words, '(If) you
perform devoted service to a trained (spiritual) guide [murshid] and
convey your devoted attachment to him, you may obtain (Divine) grace
and favor from his company.'" (Anqaravi, Commentary)
30 (22)
beneath the shadow of a
(spiritual) friend [yâr]: Nicholson translated, "under the
shadow (protection) of the friend." And he explained: "Yár,
i.e. the saint and spiritual guide."
(Nicholson, Commentary)
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